China’s textile industry becoming less competitive

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Jan 8: China's dominance of the global garments trade may be eroded as rising labour and raw material costs are making it tougher to compete with rival Asian producers, a textile industry executive said.

"China is gradually losing its traditional competitiveness in production costs, while other Asian countries are speeding up development,'' Sun Ruizhe, vice president of the China National Textile & Apparel Council, said at a conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

China accounted for almost a third of world garment exports last year, according to Sun.

A slowdown in shipments may help to reduce the country's trade surplus, which surged 52 % in the first 11 months of 2007 from a year earlier to $238 billion. Textiles and apparel accounted for 15 % of total exports. “China will only be a textile export juggernaut for a fixed period of time, perhaps 10 to 15 years,'' Robert Antoshak, president of Nashville-based cotton information provider Globecot Inc. said at the conference.

Other Asian nations, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, will take some of China's business, while Vietnam and Cambodia may become apparel

“tigers,'' Antoshak said in an interview.

China's average wages have risen more than 50 % in the past five years, while the yuan currency has gained about 14 % against the dollar since the end of a peg in 2005.

The government has also cut export tax rebates and tightened lending. “Production costs have increased in terms of raw material, labour, energy and environmental protection,'' Sun said. “Rising interest rates and capital shortages also affect the industry.''

The China National Textile & Apparel Council represents the industry in contacts with government and international organizations. Weiqiao Textile Co. is the biggest Chinese maker of cotton fabric.

Its shares have risen 7 % in the past year, compared with a 35 % gain in the Hang Seng Index.

China's textile industry output in 2007 may reach 3.05 trillion yuan ($419 billion), a 22 % increase year-on-year, according to a report released on December 27 by the Textile Industry Association, cited by Xinhua News Agency.

China exported $156.6 billion worth of clothing and textile products in the first 11 months of last year, up 20 % from a year earlier, the top economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, said on Dec. 21.

China's growth in exports of apparel may slow after 2010, and its purchases of shoes and clothing from overseas may rise as domestic consumers become more affluent, Antoshaksaid.

The expected rise in China's consumption may be offset by declines in developed countries, he added.

China's cotton imports fell 37% to 2.14 million tons in the first 11 months of 2007 from a year ago, according to customs data.

Cotton futures in New York rose 21% last year, trailing gains in grains and oilseeds due to lower-than- expected Chinese buying. The March delivery contract rose 0.4% to settle yesterday at 68.95 cents a pound on ICE Futures US, formerly known as the New York Board of Trade.