Analysis of the economic operation of the textile industry in 2019 is released,increased development pressure in 2020

In 2019， the development of Chinas textile industry faces significant domestic and foreign risk challenges. The entire industry persists in deepening supply-side structural reforms， continues to accelerate the transformation and upgrading， strives to overcome the downward pressure， and the overall prosperity and production conditions are generally stable. However， under the multiple pressures of slowing domestic and foreign market demand， more complicated trading environment， and continuous increase in comprehensive costs， the momentum of corporate investment growth is weak， and the level of benefits has declined. The main economic indicators have slowed down.

Industry prosperity and start-up production are basically stable

In 2019， the overall prosperity of the textile industry is in the expansion range. According to survey data from the China National Textile and Apparel Council， the textile industry prosperity index in the fourth quarter was 55.2， maintaining an expansion range of more than 50， and rebounding from the first three quarters， reaching the highest level of prosperity throughout the year. The textile industry chain starts and production is generally normal. According to the National Bureau of Statistics， the capacity utilization rate of the textile industry （excluding chemical fiber and apparel） and the chemical fiber industry in 2019 are 78.4% and 83.2%， which are higher than the 76.6% capacity utilization level of national industry in the same period. In the whole year， the industrial added value of enterprises above the designated size in the textile industry increased by 2.4% year-on-year， a growth rate lower than 0.5 percentage points in 2018. In all links of the industrial chain， chemical fiber， filament， and industrial industries grew steadily， the annual growth rate of industrial added value was 11.9%， 15.6%， and 6.9%.

Domestic and foreign markets continue to be under pressure

In 2019， the growth rate of Chinas domestic market for textile and apparel has slowed down. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics， in 2019， the retail sales of clothing， footwear， and textile products above designated size nationwide was 1，351.7 billion yuan， an increase of 2.9% year-on-year， and the growth rate was 5.1 percentage points slower than in 2018； the retail sales of online clothing products nationwide increased 15.4% year-on-year， and continued to maintain a good doubledigit growth level， but slowed by 6.6 percentage points from the previous year. Affected by weakening external demand and rising trade environment risks， the textile industrys export situation is more severe. According to Chinese customs data， Chinas cumulative export value of textiles and apparel in 2019 was USD 280.7 billion， a yearon-year decrease of 1.5%， a growth rate lower than the previous year 5.3 percentage points， but an increase of 0.8 percentage points from the first three quarters of 2019. In terms of product structure， the value of textile exports was USD 127.25 billion， an increase of 1.4% year-on-year； the value of apparel exports was USD 153.45 billion， a decrease of 3.7% year-on-year. From the perspective of market structure， exports to emerging markets have performed better than traditional markets. In 2019， the value of textile and clothing exported to countries and regions along the “Belt and Road” increased by 3.7% year-onyear， while the value of textile and clothing exported to the United States， Japan， and the European Union decreased by 6.6%， 4.6% and 4.4% respectively.

Efficiency and investment pressure increased

In 2019， the profit pressure of the textile industry has increased significantly， and the efficiency of most links in the industry chain has continued to be under pressure. In the whole year， 35，000 textile enterprises above the designated size realized operating income of 4，943.64 billion yuan， a year-on-year decrease of 1.5%， a growth rate lower than 4.4 percentage points in 2018； total profit of 225.14 billion yuan， a decrease of 11.6% year-onyear， a growth rate lower than 19.6 percentage points in the previous year. In all sub-sectors， the total profit of the hemp textile， dyeing and printing and knitting industry achieved positive growth， with growth rates of 8.4%， 5.8% and 0.2%， which were 20， 17.4 and 11.8 percentage points higher than the growth rate of the entire industry. Throughout the year， the operating profit margin of textile enterprises above designated size was 4.6%， a decrease of 0.5 percentage points from the previous year； the profit margin level of the terminal industry was relatively stable， and the operating income margins of the apparel， home textile， and industrial industries were 5.5%， 5.1%， and 5%. The turnover rate of finished products in the textile industry was 14.9 times per year， and the turnover rate of total assets was 1.2 times per year， all slowing down slightly from the previous year； the ratio of three fees was 6.9%， slightly higher than that of the previous year by 0.1 percentage points， indicating that the operation pressure of the enterprise is large. The scale of investment in the textile industry has shrunk. In 2019， the completion of national fixed asset investment decreased by 5.8% yearon-year， and the growth rate slowed by 10.8 percentage points from the previous year. In terms of different industries， the investment in the textile industry and the chemical fiber industry decreased by 8.9% and 14.1% year-on-year respectively； the annual investment in the clothing industry achieved a positive growth of 1.8%， a growth rate of 3.3 percentage points higher than the previous year.

2020 is the end year of building a well-off society in an all-round way and the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan”. The external situation facing the textile industry in China will become more complicated and severe， and the development outlook will be highly uncertain. From the perspective of risk factors， the complex situation of global economic turbulence and increased risk points is intertwined with domestic structural and periodic issues. Normalized pressures such as rising costs and intensified competition still exist， putting greater pressure on the textile industry to maintain a stable operation. The sudden COVID-19 epidemic at the beginning of the year not only caused direct economic losses to textile companies， but also caused the company to face loss of foreign trade orders and intensified international competition within a period of time after the epidemic， further increasing development uncertainty. However， from a positive perspective， the global economy as a whole will continue its modest growth trend， and Chinas macroeconomic long-term foundation will not change. Domestic macroeconomic policies will focus more on stable growth and risk prevention， and will improve the policy environment for small and medium-sized private enterprises in a more important position. In response to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic， the state has begun to introduce a variety of support policies to help enterprises gradually ease their operating pressure. The conclusion of the first-phase economic and trade agreement between China and the United States is beneficial to improving Chinas foreign trade environment and market expectations and reducing the pressure on export companies. In recent years， Chinas textile industry has continued to advance on the road to becoming a textile power， and has achieved significant results in terms of structural adjustment and transformation and upgrading， and its resilience to resist downside risks has gradually increased. The textile industry will continue to adhere to the general tone of progress while maintaining stability， continue to deepen supply-side structural reforms， actively resolve the adverse effects of the COVID-19 epidemic， and strive to maintain economic operations in a reasonable range. We should make a due contribution to ensure the smooth operation of the national economy， win the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way and promote the successful completion of the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan”.