SunSirs:Stabilization and Recovery: China's Garment Industry Shows Growth in Early 2026
April 22 2026 09:11:01 China Garment Association (lkhu)
In the first two months, the global trade demand marginally rebounded, domestic policies to boost consumption continued to take effect, and the effect of the super-long holiday of the Spring Festival jointly played a role, the economic operation of China's apparel industry stabilized and recovered, domestic sales and exports achieved rapid growth, and the main indicators such as production and efficiency were significantly improved, only the investment scale showed a slight contraction trend. At present, the external environment is more complex and severe, geopolitical risks are increasing, and issues such as insufficient terminal consumption demand are intertwined, and enterprises are still facing many difficulties and challenges in production and operation, and the foundation for the industry's stable recovery still needs to be further consolidated.
01 Production
According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first two months of 2026, the industrial added value of the apparel industry in China's above-scale enterprises increased by 5.1% year-on-year, a rise of 8.1 percentage points from the full year of 2025. The output of apparel in above-scale enterprises increased by 0.82% year-on-year, a rise of 4.26 percentage points from the full year of 2025.
02 Domestic Sales
According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first two months of 2026, China's social consumer goods retail sales increased by 2.8% year-on-year, a slowdown of 0.9 percentage points from the full year of 2025. Among them, the retail sales of clothing in enterprises above the designated scale increased by 10.7% year-on-year, an acceleration of 7.9 percentage points from the full year of 2025. According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first two months of 2026, the online retail sales of goods increased by 10.3% year-on-year. Among them, the online retail sales of wearable goods increased by 18.0% year-on-year, an acceleration of 16.1 percentage points from the full year of 2025.
03 Exports
According to the data of the General Administration of Customs of China, in the first two months of 2026, China's cumulative exports of apparel and clothing accessories increased by 14.8% year-on-year, a rise of 21.7 percentage points from the same period of 2025, and a rise of 19.8 percentage points from the full year of 2025.
04 Investment
According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first two months of 2026, the actual completed investment of China's apparel industry decreased by 3.3% year-on-year, a decline of 8.5 percentage points from the full year of 2025.
05 Efficiency
According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first two months of 2026, there were 12,532 enterprises in China's garment industry with a scale above the standard ( annual main business income of 20 million RMB or more), which achieved operating income of 162.985 billion RMB, an increase of 0.89% year-on-year, a recovery of 13.56 percentage points from the whole year of 2025; the total profit was 5.829 billion RMB, a decrease of 5.19% year-on-year, a narrowing of 22.15 percentage points from the whole year of 2025; the operating income profit rate was only 3.58%, 0.23 percentage points lower than the same period in 2025, and 0.47 percentage points lower than the whole year of 2025.
Data source: National Bureau of Statistics, General Administration of Customs of China
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