According to the Shanghai New Union Textra Import and Export Co, Chinese textiles and apparel exporters have been hit hard by COVID-19, with most foreign orders delayed and profits projected to slow down by about 50%. No new orders were reported from the company, while deliveries of other orders were postponed. This noted that second-half expectations are still quite negative. The extreme situation is more evident in Keqiao District in the Zhejiang Province of Eastern China, called the foreign textile capital.
The company currently holds orders for 500,000 to 600,000 garments overseas, but it is facing the question of whether or not to carry out the orders. It has exported a 20-foot-equivalent-unit (TEU) of clothes up to three days before the outbreak, but now it exports only 1 TEU every one to two weeks.
According to a report from the China Logistics & Purchasing Federation, China’s textile industry has seen large-scale cancelations of orders overseas as the global situation deteriorates, and exports of domestic machinery, automotive and home appliances may also be impacted in the future.
Many have embraced attractive measures such as a low interest rate to reduce credit losses in the face of this situation, but others have preferred to rely on themselves. Some exporters of clothing who did not have orders are idling workers and paying minimum wages.
