China trade: another blow for battered consumer exports to US in October

Chinese exports to the US were down by 12.6 per cent year on year to US$47 billion in October, compounding the 11.6 per cent fall in September

Top Chinese exports to the US – such as mobile phones, clothing, toys and furniture – all declined last month

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Exports of toys, games and sporting products fell 36 per cent to US$2.56 billion, while furniture and bedding dropped 23 per cent to US$2.73 billion, the data showed. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 11:00pm, 20 Nov 2022Updated: 10:50am, 22 Nov 2022

Shipments of most major Chinese consumer products to the United States fell last month, hit by the triple whammy of dwindling demand, coronavirus disruptions to manufacturing and trade bans.

Top Chinese exports to the US – such as mobile phones, clothing, toys and furniture – all declined last month, according to detailed Chinese customs data released on Sunday, as the pandemic-triggered consumer goods boom turned into a bust under pressure from purchasing power-suppressing price and interest rate rises.

Exports of toys, games and sporting products fell by 36 per cent to US$2.56 billion, while furniture and bedding dropped by 23 per cent to US$2.73 billion, the detailed data showed.

Despite the upcoming holiday shopping season, China had already confirmed its exports to the US were down by 12.6 per cent year on year to US$47 billion in October, compounding the 11.6 per cent fall in September.

This was part of an overall slowdown in China’s exports, which declined by 0.3 per cent in October compared with a year earlier, down from 5.7 per cent growth in September, according to data released earlier this month.

The impact of a sweeping US ban on all goods from Xinjiang was felt in apparel, with China exporting US$2.28 billion in clothing to the US in October, 35 per cent less than the same time last year, according to the Post’s calculations.

Xinjiang produces around 90 per cent of China’s cotton, but exports of apparel made with the material are subject to scrutiny under the US’ Uygur Forced Labour Prevention Act, legislation that took effect in June and was introduced in response to human rights concerns.