China’s once-booming textile and clothing industry faces tough times
Country remains the world’s biggest clothing exporter, but oversupply, high labour costs and rising protectionism have eroded its competitiveness
At the bustling Canton Fair in southern China, second-generation textile manufacturer Pan Jing has drastically marked down her prices.
The sign at her booth says it all: “Stock very cheap, factory for sale ... stock clearance.”
It wasn’t an easy decision for Pan’s family to sell the 32-year-old cotton mill started by her father in 1986, a time when China was emerging as the global centre for textile and clothing production.
For years, they have been making household cotton products – from pot holders and oven mitts to dishcloths and towels – and exporting them to the United States and Europe.
More recently they tried to upgrade their product lines at the 40,000 sq m factory in the southern Guangxi region, adding recycled cotton shopping bags and pillows in the shape of emojis in a bid to bring in more customers. But rising labour costs and slow growth in overseas demand left Pan with no choice but to sell the business to a bigger textile manufacturer with a domestic focus, in the hope that new capital can keep it afloat.
“I don’t see a future in continuing to sell these low-value goods,” said Pan, who has been attending the Guangzhou fair for over a decade. The trade fair, which runs until May 5, is the country’s oldest and biggest export-oriented event.