A ton of wool costing over 40% more at the port within eight months, while downstream garment export unit prices dare rise less than 20% — this scissors gap is the most alarming signal hidden in China's wool textile trade data for the first eight months of 2026. According to China Customs data, total imports and exports of wool textile raw materials and products reached US$11.7 billion (approximately RMB 80.5 billion), up 12.9% year-on-year. On the surface, this looks like broad-based growth. Unpacked, however, it reveals two divergent curves: imports pushed by price, exports propped up by unit value.
Import Side: Values Sprint, Volumes Jog
In the first eight months, imports of wool textile raw materials and products totaled US$3.14 billion (RMB 21.6 billion), surging 33.67% year-on-year. Yet import volumes grew only 4.56% over the same period. The vast gap between these two figures was almost entirely contributed by price. Within this, imports of wool and early-processed wool reached US$1.87 billion, jumping 48.19% year-on-year, with import volume at 213,000 tons and an average import price of US$8.77/kg, up 41.73% year-on-year. This means that for domestic wool textile enterprises, the extra money on their raw material procurement bills was overwhelmingly not for buying more wool, but for paying a higher premium for the same fiber.
For spinning, weaving, and garment factories that rely on wool as their primary raw material, this cost shock is rigid. During the period of rapid price escalation, enterprises found it difficult to pass on the increase to overseas buyers within a short timeframe, because export contracts often lock in prices months in advance. The compressed profit margin could only be absorbed internally or offset through product mix adjustments.
A noteworthy turning point emerged in August: the average import price of wool that month was US$8.96/kg, down 7.5% month-on-month, and the average import price of other animal fibers also fell 7.5% month-on-month. The retreat from high price levels indicates that the momentum of rapid escalation is fading. For downstream factories, this provides a breathing window for raw material procurement in the fourth quarter, but it does not mean cost pressure has been resolved — the year-on-year base remains elevated.
Export Side: Structural Divergence of Falling Volume, Rising Price
On the export side, wool textile raw materials and products exports reached US$8.56 billion (RMB 58.9 billion) in the first eight months, up 6.82% year-on-year, but internal structural divergence is pronounced. Most major wool textile product categories saw export volumes increase, yet woven wool garments stood out with export volume of 11.06 million pieces, down 9.49% year-on-year.
However, the average export price of woven wool garments reached US$48.65 per piece, surging 18.23% year-on-year. The unit price increase largely offset the value loss from falling shipment volumes. Behind this phenomenon lies a migration of woven wool garment exports from volume-driven to value-driven — low-priced orders may be shifting to other supplier countries, while what remains are categories with more complex craftsmanship, finer fabrics, and higher unit values.
The year-on-year price fluctuation range for early-processed and mid-to-downstream wool textile products was between -5% and 6%, indicating that most midstream products have limited bargaining power, with price increase room firmly suppressed by downstream customers. Only terminal garment categories achieved notable unit price increases, confirming the industry rule that higher added value brings stronger price transmission capability.
Cost Transmission: The Core Contradiction
Placing the import and export lines side by side, the core contradiction facing the wool textile industry becomes crystal clear: raw material price increases far exceed finished product price increases, with the processing segment in between bearing most of the cost pressure. Wool import prices rose 41.73% year-on-year, while the upper limit of the price fluctuation range for most export products was only 6%. This asymmetry means profit margins for spinning, weaving, and other midstream segments are being significantly squeezed.
Industry analyses also point out that despite the overall positive momentum in wool textile imports and exports, the cost transmission challenge persists. Most export products have limited room for price increases, with only some garment categories achieving price gains. Going forward, continuous tracking of international wool market movements is needed, particularly the supply rhythm and auction price trends of major wool-producing countries, which will directly determine the raw material cost center for domestic factories.
For buyers, the current price window deserves attention. The month-on-month decline in August import prices has somewhat eased short-term raw material cost pressure, but year-on-year levels remain high, requiring more cautious pricing strategies. For foreign trade enterprises, the significant unit price increase in woven wool garments proves the high-value-added route is viable, but falling shipment volumes also signal intensifying competition in low-end orders. Product upgrading is not a multiple-choice question but a mandatory one.