China's Textile and Apparel Exports Surged Sharply in January

 

Imports of Chinese clothing to US surged 47% in January, the first month after the expiration of a global system of quotas on the textile and apparel trade, according to U.S. government figures released. 

In January, the United States imported more than $1.2 billion in textiles and apparel from China, up from about $701 million a year ago. Imports of major apparel products from China jumped 546%. Last January, for example, China shipped 941,000 cotton knit shirts, which were limited by quotas; this January, it shipped 18.2 million, a 1,836% increase. Imports of cotton knit trousers were up 1,332%  from a year ago.

The 25 countries that are part of the European Union also registered big increases, importing about $1.4 billion worth of textile and apparel goods from China, up from about $975 million a year ago, a jump of 46% with Germany rising sharply by 46.39% in January. Germany was China's fourth largest market in January.

The United States overtook Hong Kong and Japan to become the biggest buyer of Chinese textiles and apparels in January. Besides the United States, other countries that saw major increases in Chinese textile and apparel included EU countries, Turkey and Canada .Exports to Turkey increased 78.9%; those to Japan increased 11.9%; and products to Hong Kong increased 18.26%.

The top 10 markets for such Chinese exports in January include the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, South Korea, Russia, Italy, Australia, Britain and the United Arab Emirates. These countries comprised 65% of China's total exports in textiles and apparels in January.

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