In the first four months of 2026, the operational data for China's textile industry sends a clear signal: overall growth is slowing, but the performance across different segments is far from uniform. Core indicators such as industrial value-added, fixed asset investment, retail sales, and exports reveal a pronounced structural divergence, indicating that the industry is transitioning from a phase of broad-based growth to a period of deep adjustment.
Production Side: Growth Slows, Chemical Fibers Remain Resilient
According to public data from the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), the textile industry's value-added output grew by approximately 4.2% year-on-year in Jan-Apr 2026, a deceleration of 1.8 percentage points from the same period last year. Within this, the chemical fiber sub-sector performed relatively strongly, with value-added growth reaching 6.5%, significantly above the industry average. This reflects that upstream raw material segments are maintaining high operating rates despite downstream demand fluctuations. In contrast, growth in apparel and home textile manufacturing segments slowed to around 3%, indicating that order uncertainty is transmitting to the production side.
Fixed asset investment in the industry grew by about 3.5% year-on-year, but capital flows were heavily skewed toward smart manufacturing upgrades and chemical fiber expansion projects. Investment in traditional weaving and dyeing segments nearly stagnated, suggesting that companies are cautious about expanding conventional capacity and prefer to enhance competitiveness through technological upgrades.
Domestic Market: Retail Holds Steady, But Consumption Patterns Shift
In the first four months of 2026, retail sales of apparel, footwear, hats, and textiles at units above the designated size grew by about 5.1% year-on-year, slightly outpacing the average growth rate of total retail sales of consumer goods. This indicates that the domestic textile and apparel consumption base remains stable, without a sharp decline. However, by sub-category, growth in sportswear and functional fabric garments significantly outpaced that of traditional formal wear and fashion apparel, reflecting a consumer shift from 'quantity' to 'quality' and 'functionality.' For fabric suppliers, this means order volumes for conventional products are shrinking, while demand for functional fabrics with waterproof, breathable, and antibacterial properties is rising.
Online channel penetration continued to increase, with online retail sales of textile products growing by approximately 12% year-on-year in the first four months, though this pace slowed by 3 percentage points compared to the same period last year. This suggests that the online traffic dividend is waning, requiring brands and factories to adopt more refined operational strategies to sustain growth.
Foreign Trade: Volume and Prices Decline, Pressure Concentrated in Apparel
Exports were the weakest segment in the Jan-Apr data. In USD terms, total textile and apparel exports fell by about 2.8% year-on-year. Among this, textile exports (including yarn and fabric) dipped by only 0.5%, essentially flat, while apparel exports dropped by about 4.5%, the main drag on overall exports. This divergence indicates that overseas brands and retailers prefer to procure semi-finished goods over finished products during the restocking cycle, possibly to hedge against end-market demand uncertainty.
By market structure, textile exports to ASEAN and Belt and Road countries maintained positive growth of about 3%, while apparel exports to traditional European and US markets declined by over 5%. This market substitution effect is reshaping the foreign trade landscape: Southeast Asian countries have absorbed some garment processing orders, thereby boosting demand for Chinese fabrics.
Profit Side: Revenue Up, Margins Down, Cost Pressure Persists
From Jan to Apr 2026, the operating revenue of textile enterprises above designated size grew by about 3.8% year-on-year, but total profit increased by only 1.2%, with the profit margin falling by 0.3 percentage points to 4.1%. Volatile raw material costs (especially cotton and chemical fiber inputs), rising labor costs, and competitive pricing pressures on end products collectively squeezed corporate profitability. Chemical fiber companies performed relatively better, benefiting from higher technical barriers and bargaining power, while the profit margin for garment OEMs fell below 2.5%, with some smaller firms slipping into losses.