In the first half of 2026, China's textile and apparel foreign trade posted a result of $145.96 billion, up 1.4% year-on-year. The figure itself is not stunning, but the structural divergence hidden behind and the sudden surge in June are the real signals the industry needs to understand.
Overall Stability with Underlying Currents
Data released by the General Administration of Customs on July 14 shows that H1 export volume remained at a historical high. However, sub-category performances diverged sharply: textile exports reached $73 billion, up 3.5%; apparel exports were $72.96 billion, down 0.7%. The near-equal scale but opposite trends reflect the vastly different situations upstream and downstream.
More noteworthy is June's single-month performance. Exports hit $29.27 billion, up 7.2% year-on-year and a sharp 14.3% month-on-month. Textile exports were $13.52 billion, up 12.2% year-on-year; apparel exports were $15.75 billion, up 3.2% year-on-year and surging 21% month-on-month. What does this mean? The autumn-winter restocking season has officially begun, with upstream fabrics and yarns being procured faster than garments.
In RMB terms, cumulative H1 exports were 1,012.22 billion yuan, down 2.2% year-on-year. Exchange rate fluctuations squeezed profit margins, but textile exports only fell 0.1%, showing strong resilience; apparel exports fell 4.2%, putting greater pressure on garment manufacturers.
Market Divergence: US Stands Out, EU and Japan-Korea Lag
Looking at overseas markets, the demand pattern in the first five months showed significant fragmentation. The US market became the biggest growth driver in H1, with export growth accelerating by 15 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The summit meeting between Chinese and US leaders stabilized bilateral relations, and with overseas brands completing inventory destocking, buyers increased procurement from Chinese supply chains.
In contrast, traditional mature markets like the EU, Japan, and South Korea continued to weaken. The EU is mired in high energy costs and inflation, depressing consumer clothing spending; ASEAN, Japan, and South Korea face constraints from regional tensions and rising energy prices, reducing textile and apparel imports from China. Additionally, the temporary easing of the Middle East situation and falling shipping costs provided important short-term boosts to June exports.
Upstream Advantage, Downstream Pressure
Sub-category data for the first five months vividly showed the temperature difference between upstream and downstream. Yarn exports grew 6.6% year-on-year, fabric exports fell only 0.5%, and finished textile products rose 2.6%; meanwhile, apparel and accessories exports fell 1.6%.
The logic is clear: overseas brands are adopting low-inventory strategies, reducing large long-term garment orders and instead frequently procuring semi-finished products like yarns and fabrics. China boasts the world's most complete textile industry chain—from chemical fibers, spinning, dyeing and finishing to finished products—with delivery efficiency and product quality that are hard to replace by other regions. This is the core confidence behind upstream growth. In contrast, the garment OEM track has low barriers, with international capacity diversion and price competition being prominent issues, making the long-term pressure hard to reverse in the short term.
Outlook: Challenges and Confidence Coexist
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the global trade environment remains complex. The World Bank warns that the global economy will continue to face triple pressures from rising energy prices, high inflation, and tightening monetary policies abroad, weakening global consumption growth. Weak recovery in European and American end-consumer demand, persistently high production costs, and capacity competition from fragmented global trade patterns will continue to test industry players.
However, the June rebound has injected confidence into the industry and clearly points the direction for transformation. The era of crude export growth based on low prices is over. A complete industrial chain, product innovation, and diversified global布局 are the core tools for the industry to navigate cycles. While external uncertainties remain in H2, relying on a deep domestic textile industrial foundation and companies' timely adjustment of product and market strategies, the industry's foreign trade base still has solid support for stable operation.