Status quo (Jan.-May,2015) of China’s bast and leaf fibers textile industry

The bast and leaf fibers textile industry remained a stable and positive situation since the beginning of the year. The export of products with bast realized a rapid growth， while the investment appeared uneven phenomenon.

Prime operating revenues increased； core products production went up or down.

According to National Bureau of Statistics of China （NBS）， in January- May this year， the prime operating revenues of 287 domestic bast and leaf fabrics textile enterprises above designated size reached 21.012 billion yuan， 10.15 percentage points higher than the same period of 2014； the cumulative costs of which did 18.515 billion yuan， 10.50 percentage points higher than that of last year； the profits were 1.105 billion yuan， 18.49 percentage points higher than that of the same period of 2014.

Meanwhile， core products production went up or down. According to the NBS， from January to May， 53 domestic linen enterprises above designated size produced 0.109 billion meters of linen cloth （with more than 55% ramie）， down 11.51 percentage points year on year.

Investment in fixed assets was uneven.

According to the statistics from NBS， in January-May， the related enterprises above designated size accomplished investment of 4.180 billion yuan， up 16.68 percentage points year on year. The pre-spinning process and spinning of fibrilia invested 1.528 billion yuan， down 25.26 percentage points year on year； the process of bast and leaf fibers weaving did 2.130 billion yuan， up 61.30 percentage points year on year； the process of bast and leaf fibers dyeing and finishing did 0.521 billion yuan， up 140.39 percentage points year on year （Table 1）.

It can be seen from the above statistics that the growth of the industrial investment picked up， which relies on the appearance of weaving process， but the investment of pre-spinning process and spinning of fibrilia did the opposite. This uneven situation will make negative impact on the industry， especially for the industries of ramie and jute.

Steady import and export growth was maintained in the first half year.

According to customs statistics， national bast and leaf fibers textile industry reached 1.190 billion dollars of total foreign trade value， 20.81 percentage points higher than the same period of last years 0.985 billion dollars.

The raw material was being the key one for import

According to customs statistics， from January to May of 2015， the industry realized 0.387 billion dollars of total import value， up 8.57 percentage points year on year.

For total import value， the raw materials of bast and leaf fibers reached 0.307 billion dollars， up 7.81 percentage points year on year； hemp thread and yarn did 0.049 billion dollars， up 14.14 percentage points year on year； hemp fabric did 0.022 billion dollars， down 11.19 percentage points year on year； the products did 8 million dollars， up 145.17 percentage points year on year.

For total import volume， the raw materials of bast and leaf fibers realized 321.5 thousand tons， up 2.04 percentage points year on year； hemp thread and yarn did 56.2 thousand tons， up 8.95 percentage points year on year； hemp fabric did 39470.1 thousand meters， up 79.39 percentage points year on year.

The products were being the new power for export

According to customs statistics， from January to May of 2015， the industry realized 0.803 billion dollars of total export value， up 27.61 percentage points year on year.

For total export value， the raw materials of bast and leaf fibers reached 3.6529 million dollars， down 16.6 percentage points year on year； hemp thread and yarn did 0.137 billion dollars， up 12.27 percentage points year on year； hemp fabric did 0.5 billion dollars， up 39.87 percentage points year on year； the products did 0.162 billion dollars， up 11.62 percentage points year on year.

For total export volume， the raw materials of bast and leaf fibers realized 1.89363 thousand tons， down 12.17 percentage points year on year； hemp thread and yarn did 16.2 thousand tons， up 8.43 percentage points year on year； hemp fabric did 139 million meters， up 22.17 percentage points year on year.

The export of linen clothing kept growing

According to customs statistics， from January to May， the total export value of linen clothing reached 10.290 billion dollars， up 97.23 percentage points year on year； the total volume did 1.543 billion， up 109.33 percentage points year on year.