In the first four months of 2026, China's textile industry delivered a mixed performance. According to customs data, yarn and fabric exports reached $46.896 billion, up 2.3% year-on-year, while apparel exports fell 0.9% to $44.231 billion. More notably, textile raw material imports surged 19.1% to $3.774 billion, far outpacing export growth.
Structural divergence in exports
The divergence between yarn/fabric and apparel is not short-term. From $45.836 billion in 2025 to $46.896 billion in 2026, yarn and fabric exports grew modestly by about $1.06 billion. In contrast, apparel exports dropped from $44.611 billion to $44.231 billion, a decrease of $380 million. This indicates that China's textile export volume is stable, but value-added is shifting upstream.
Monthly data for April 2026 shows yarn and fabric exports at $12.705 billion, while apparel stood at $11.348 billion, a gap of $1.357 billion—wider than the same period in 2025. This structural shift puts pressure on industrial clusters in Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu that rely heavily on garment processing orders.
Import surge signals industrial upgrading
The 19.1% jump in imports points to key industry trends. Imports mainly include high-end yarns, specialty fabrics, and chemical fiber raw materials, driven by two factors:
- Domestic brands' growing demand for premium fabrics, especially in sportswear, fast fashion, and functional garments;
- Local capacity gaps in meeting high-end requirements, making imports a necessary supplement.
For fabric hubs like Keqiao and Shengze, rising imports mean local enterprises must accelerate technology upgrades to avoid losing high-margin orders to foreign suppliers. Meanwhile, import price volatility will trickle down to garment factories, raising production costs.
Industrial belt responses vary
Different clusters react differently to the data. Nantong's home textile base, relying on domestic demand and cross-border e-commerce, is less affected by export fluctuations. Shaoxing and Wujiang, focused on foreign trade yarn and fabric, are closely watching whether the 2.3% growth is sustainable. Apparel export decline directly impacts garment processing hubs like Huzhou and Pinghu, where factories are accelerating low-end capacity relocation to Southeast Asia or shifting to small-batch, quick-turnaround models.
From a supply chain perspective, modest yarn and fabric export growth suggests stable demand for upstream polyester and cotton, but the apparel decline will reduce orders for dyeing and finishing, especially mid-to-low-end processes.