In the first five months of 2025, China's down industry trade data painted a clear picture of divergence: total exports fell 14.2% to $650 million, while imports surged 46.5%, with a 66.0% spike in May alone. This is not a simple market shift but a result of global consumption restructuring and domestic industrial upgrading.
For buyers, this signals that pricing power for premium international down raw materials is shifting toward a scarcer supply side, while domestic demand for high-end down garments continues to accelerate.
Export Pressure: External Cycles, but Structure Intact
From January to May, down exports totaled about $650 million, down 14.2% year-on-year, with the decline slightly widening from the first four months. This is driven by the downward cycle in overseas consumer goods and shifts in global consumption patterns. European and American markets are slowly digesting inventories, coupled with consumption downgrades in some regions, directly dragging down export orders.
However, the decline has not caused industry panic. Domestic down companies have been advancing product iteration, transitioning from conventional down jackets to functional, lightweight, and recyclable fabrics. The share of high-fill-power, high-cleanliness products in exports is still rising, indicating that the decline is more about volume contraction than quality degradation.
Import Boom: Raw Material Price Surge and High-End Demand
In stark contrast to weak exports, the import market is booming. Cumulative imports reached $350 million, up 46.5%, with May alone hitting $87.09 million, a 66.0% surge from April's 15.2% growth.
The most notable data is for raw down imports: 15,000 tons were imported, up 13.1%, but the import value soared 70.3% to $170 million. In May, import value surged 118.6% year-on-year, far outpacing the 9.5% volume growth. This sharp divergence points to a significant rise in global premium down prices.
Global supply of high-quality goose and duck down is tightening, with traditional producing regions like Eastern Europe and Hungary facing output constraints. Meanwhile, domestic demand for premium down raw materials continues to expand, forcing companies to increase overseas procurement. For downstream brands and OEMs, this means rising raw material costs are inevitable.
Down garment imports also rose strongly: 2.017 million pieces were imported, up 25.3%, with import value up 29.9% to $180 million. In May, volume and value growth reached 39.9% and 41.8%, respectively. The synchronized rise indicates steady growth in domestic consumer demand for high-end imported down apparel, rather than purely price-driven.
Industry Impact: High-End and Global Trends
The divergence behind the trade data is accelerating the structural upgrade of the down industry. Export pressure is forcing companies to diversify overseas markets, from traditional Europe and the US to emerging regions like Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Import growth is pushing domestic supply chains toward high-end and differentiated transformation.
For raw material suppliers, high international prices mean domestic farms and processors must reassess cost models. If domestic high-quality goose down capacity cannot ramp up quickly, import dependence may deepen. For brands, rising demand for imported high-end down garments is both a challenge and an opportunity: can domestic brands compete in the premium segment?