Keqiao Textile City's H1 Turnover Reaches 237 Billion Yuan: Digitalization and Overseas Channels Drive Growth

237.068 billion yuan—that is the turnover of Shaoxing Keqiao China Textile City in the first half of 2026, a 9.26% year-on-year increase. In an industry facing demand volatility and cost pressures, this figure signals more than just sales growth; it reflects a deep structural transformation of China's largest fabric distribution hub.

Digital Restructuring of Trading Scenarios

Q1 turnover reached 109.927 billion yuan, up 8.54%, and the growth accelerated to 9.26% in H1. A key driver is digital penetration into traditional trading processes. The new 'AI Cloth 3.0' system digitizes fabric search, selection, and order placement.

For buyers, the cumbersome process of visiting markets, flipping through sample cards, and waiting for quotes is compressed into a few clicks. The system's image recognition and database matching enable precise targeting, while supplier inventory and capacity become transparent in real time. This reduces search costs and shortens transaction cycles from days to hours.

Dual Progress in Specialized Clusters and Overseas Channels

Alongside digitalization, the Textile City has expanded physical spaces for specialized clusters, such as outdoor functional fabrics and plush materials. This responds to structural demand from the booming outdoor and functional apparel sectors. These clusters create pricing anchors and innovation hubs for specific categories.

More notable is the breakthrough in overseas channels. From January to May, market procurement trade exports reached $2.038 billion, surging 25.72% year-on-year. The establishment of overseas operation centers and public overseas warehouses allows Chinese fabrics to penetrate terminal markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa directly. For small and medium-sized fabric merchants, overseas warehouses mean lower logistics costs and faster delivery, enabling direct competition in global supply chains.

Synergy of Three Engines

Digitalization, specialization, and globalization are not isolated. Online inquiry data from the AI system can guide which specialized products to increase supply. Order data from overseas warehouses can optimize domestic production schedules. The Textile City is evolving from a physical trading venue into a data-driven global fabric circulation hub.

For buyers, this means more transparent price comparison, shorter procurement cycles, and richer selection. For exporters, the combination of public overseas warehouses and digital tools lowers the barrier to reaching overseas buyers and reduces intermediary costs.

Practical Recommendations

For Buyers - Use the AI Cloth system for initial screening, then arrange factory visits for 3-5 shortlisted suppliers to save over 60% in travel time. - Focus on the new product launch cycles of specialized clusters, typically in the first two weeks of each quarter, to secure early selections. - Leverage inventory data from overseas warehouses to predict hot-selling categories and avoid restocking delays.

For Exporters - When joining public overseas warehouses, prioritize those aligned with target market preferences (e.g., Middle East warehouses for high-count cotton, Southeast Asia for synthetic blends) to reduce secondary distribution costs. - Integrate AI system inquiry data with warehouse sell-through data to create a flexible supply chain model: 'online trial – small batch warehousing – rapid replenishment.' - Monitor subsidies for specialized clusters to access rent discounts and traffic support, ideal for testing new product categories.