Foreign trade companies encounter "long winter" The textile and garment industry is struggling

This year, as the European economy continues to decline and the US economy continues to be weak, China’s foreign trade exports will face even more severe challenges. At present, the industry generally predicts that this year will be the most difficult year since the financial crisis. The weak export situation may continue, and there may even be a trade deficit and a cold wave of exports.

In 1998, the profit rate of foreign trade companies exceeded 20%, which was reduced to 12%-15% by 2002 and 5%-8% before 2008. The subprime mortgage storm struck in 2008 and the profit dropped to 3% by 201110. In the month, many companies began to have zero profits and even lost money. Nowadays, the tide of closure of apparel foreign trade companies has begun to appear...

The general environment still does not give force. At present, due to the complicated economic environment, China's textile and garment industry is facing the dual pressure of downward export and increased risks.

According to customs statistics, from January to April 2012, China’s total exports of clothing and accessories were US$40.27 billion, up 1.77% year-on-year, and the number of exports was 8.148 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 5.28%. Among them, the export of knitted garments was 18.173 billion U.S. dollars, which was a year-on-year increase of 4.35%; the number of exports was 5.736 billion, which was a year-on-year decrease of 4.04%; the export of woven garments was 14.573 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 4.68%; and the number of exports was 2.412 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.10%. . Among them, the amount of clothing exports accounted for 56.72% of the textile export amount.

In the first quarter of 2012, China’s exports to all continents were also high and low. Asia is still the country's largest exporter of garments, accounting for 39.75% of total exports, a year-on-year increase of 10.34%. Europe accounted for 26.92% of total exports. Although it is the second largest continent for garment exports in China, it has dropped by 10.31% compared with the same period of last year. The third is North America. The export volume has increased by 7.54% year-on-year, accounting for 19.08% of total exports. China's exports to Africa grew rapidly, up 20.14% year-on-year. China’s exports to emerging markets such as Latin America continued to grow, an increase of 9.24% year-on-year, accounting for 6.66% of total exports.

What are the factors that affect China's textile and garment export situation?

In the current textile industry operation situation and policies and measures announced by the China Textile Industry Federation on May 31st this year, from the perspective of textile and apparel demand, due to the uncertainty of European sovereign debt, the EU’s unemployment rate is high, and consumption lacks fundamental motivation. Demand growth will be weak for a long time. Although the US and Japan consumer markets have stabilized, they still have more uncertainties. It is difficult for external demand to contribute to the growth of the industry. It is expected that in 2012, if the domestic and foreign cotton price gap does not shrink, China's textile and garment export situation will continue to be severe.

The status of cotton for the textile and clothing industry is self-evident.

The large price difference between domestic and foreign cotton prices is the primary factor affecting the operation of the industry in 2012. According to the calculation of historical data and the reflection of enterprises, the difference between cotton prices at home and abroad is controlled within 1,500 yuan per ton, and economic indicators of the textile industry are expected to reverse the downward trend. If the cotton price problem can be solved as soon as possible, despite the sluggish external demand and slowing domestic demand, the textile industry will still be able to rely on its own structural adjustment and transformation and upgrading to alleviate the lack of market demand. According to the analysis of the person in charge of Futian Putian Otis Garment Co., Ltd., the widening domestic and foreign cotton spreads have led to a decline in exports. From the data of May 25, 2012, the domestic price of 328 cotton was 18,853 yuan per ton, which was 5460 yuan more than the international market price per ton. The price was seriously upside down. The domestic and foreign cotton spread widened and weakened the international textile industry. Competitiveness. For this reason, some foreign merchants are trying to lower prices on the basis of the decline in cotton prices and the shortage of foreign demand.

Due to the pressure on the international market and the high domestic costs, according to the survey, more than 80% of the enterprises have a shortage of labor, and wages rose by more than 15%. Difficulties in recruitment, unreserved retention, and improvement in the living conditions of employees have all led to a rigid rise in the labor cost of enterprises. As a result, some changes have taken place within the industry. Many companies have moved factories outward, and Cambodia, Vietnam, and other countries have become targets for change. However, this type of transfer is all major road cargoes. It is a large-scale production of medium and low-end products. If these middle and low-end processing and manufacturing companies in the Midwest can take over, they do not need to go out. This shows that our ability to undertake in the Midwest is still not as fast as they can go. The two are still not very matched. The Midwest still lacks some external conditions and resource conditions to undertake this kind of export-oriented middle and low-end export processing and manufacturing.

In addition, the continuous escalation of the debt crisis in Europe has had a significant negative impact on the international market demand. The developed countries such as the US and Europe have experienced weak economic recovery, the unemployment rate remains high, the employment structure has deteriorated, and consumer confidence has been declining. This has constrained the demand for textiles and garments and implicated development. The growth rate of national apparel exports has been reduced, and the demand for related industry chains has slowed down. It is expected that in the first half of 2012, China's textile and apparel export demand will be insufficient and competitive pressure will become more prominent. In the first half of the year, the number of industrial exports will be low or negative. The ***** has recently received a written interview with the Mexican mainstream media that at present, the world economy continues to recover and the economic growth prospects have improved. However, the unstable and uncertain factors of the recovery are still prominent, and the total global demand is still insufficient. Major economies The lack of growth has made it difficult for countries to coordinate their macroeconomic policies. We must also make strenuous efforts to achieve a strong, sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy.

Difficulty for small and medium-sized enterprises is affected by the environment. Many small and medium-sized foreign trade companies in the textile and garment industry face problems such as poor penalties, high costs, and unstable orders. In particular, export-processing companies are expected to continue The ability to resist risks is weak. Once these enterprises are shut down too much, they will directly affect employment and social stability. It is more difficult for export-oriented processing companies to change brands.

There are a large number of small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises in the textile industry, which not only face difficulties, but also face ** expensive issues. Most textile SMEs have poor access to credit, and it is difficult to obtain credit support. Enterprises that receive credit support have to face problems such as the floating of interest rates by banks, the adoption of acceptance gambling, the difficulty in obtaining full payments, and the tedium cycle being too short. The interest rate ultimately borne by enterprises is generally 10%-30% higher than the benchmark interest rate. At present, the state's policies to support small and medium-sized enterprises have been introduced one after another, but only a handful of companies can enjoy policy support.

Earlier this year, in the spring survey organized by the China National Textile and Apparel Council, it was learned that the overall funding channels for the apparel industry are mostly small and medium-sized commercial banks and financial guarantee companies. The overall capital cost is 1.5 to 2 times the normal capital cost of the market.

For some companies, banks also set obstacles for companies. For example, an outfit costs a hundred million yuan to a bank, but the bank requires companies to deposit 30 million first. As a result, companies actually only spent 70 million yuan, but they still have to pay one billion yuan in interest to the bank. It is a smooth process. For apparel companies, there is also a problem of short term. For example, an apparel foreign trade company in Henan is trying to raise a total of 3 million yuan for purchasing new production lines and recruiting new employees. However, in accordance with corporate profits, the ** principal and interest can be paid off at least three years. One year has passed and the funds have expired. Companies can only apply again for the second time to the three banks or they can apply for an extension and return the old debts with new debts. Even so, the central bank raised the reserve ratio in 2011. "Banks are now starting to recover debt."

This makes many companies even worse. The helpless companies had no choice but to turn their attention to private lending. It is said that Wenzhou Zhengdeli Shoes Co., Ltd. owner Shen Kui jumped out of the building and there were two loan collectors around the scene. Some *** said, "They don't fight you or call you, they follow you every day. Go to your office, and when guests come, they open up for money, even go to your home and sleep on your sofa, seriously affecting the business. Normal business, even personal and family safety."

Indeed, "private lending is the last straw to pressure the company." Zhou Dewen, head of the Wenzhou SME Association, said.

Although garment foreign trade companies have been struggling, they have become the main targets of foreign fraudsters. "The number of Chinese companies that have been cheated in international trade is still increasing. Although there are no specific figures, the situation is very serious," said a Chinese Ministry of Commerce official. According to Dr. Mei Xinyu of the China Academy of Commerce, China and foreign trade companies have encountered foreign trade fraud in many countries. In Europe, Africa, and Asia, there are annual foreign trade frauds that cause losses to Chinese companies of at least billions of dollars.

The experience of many textile companies in Jiangsu last year was even more painful. They were defrauded by the same U.S. company and lost a total amount of nearly 10 million U.S. dollars. According to a fraudulent company, they met the American company at the product fair. The company claims to be a long-term supplier to Wal-Mart Stores and has generously used it. It also has a separate room at a five-star hotel in Shanghai. It costs more than 100,000 yuan a day. The deceived enterprises are convinced of their strong strength and soon signed a million-dollar ordering contract. However, when the deceived company sent the goods to the United States according to the contract, it could not receive the payment. U.S. companies made the first payment after payment on the ground of difficulty in capital turnover. The deceived enterprises did not want to lose their large customers on the one hand, and on the other hand also believed in the strength of the other company, they agreed to this requirement. However, this American company would not be heard after picking up the goods.

All of the above is enough to prove that China's foreign trade companies are now in a difficult position. How should we overcome the adverse impact of the European debt crisis on China's exports, how to implement the market diversification strategy in depth, how to consolidate the traditional market while vigorously exploring emerging markets, how to get rid of the status quo and make China's foreign trade grow steadily, this is all insiders Questions to think about.