Foreign trade orders are drastically reduced

Textile foreign trade enterprises that have just returned to work have begun to withstand the impact of the spread of the new overseas pneumonia epidemic. As the number of overseas diagnoses continues to rise, some textile and apparel companies have indicated that their overseas orders have continued to decrease sharply, and some companies have even cancelled all orders.

According to the January-February 2020 textile and apparel foreign trade data released by the General Administration of Customs, due to the superimposed impact of the Spring Festival holiday and the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, my country’s textile and apparel export value fell in the first two months, and the magnitude was greater than the overall cargo export amount.

Facing the above situation, some textile enterprises seek changes in the epidemic and plan ahead. Some experts also suggested that the relevant government departments periodically increase the export tax rebate rate of textile export enterprises to help enterprises stabilize exports.

Export orders disappear

Following Hermes and Gucci, French luxury brand Chanel also decided to suspend production in the short term and will close its factories in France, Switzerland and Italy in the next two weeks.

The company issued a statement saying: "Chanel decided to close all its production bases in France, Italy and Switzerland (watchmaking industry), as well as the production of high-end fashion, ready-to-wear, high-end jewelry and jewelry based on government instructions."

It is understood that affected by the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, the French luxury brand Kaiyun Group has closed 6 production plants in Italy. Hermes also announced that it will close 42 production sites in France until March 30, and many other brands have canceled the 2021 early spring vacation show.

Affected by the foreign market, many domestic textile foreign trade companies began to have orders cancelled and production stalled.

China Textile City, located in Keqiao District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, is the largest textile distribution center in the country. Although it has been more than half a month since the market was reopened, the business is far less than expected.

"All our foreign trade orders have been cancelled." On March 24, the relevant staff of Shaoxing Keqiao Naxu Textile Co., Ltd. told Shanghai Securities News that the company's products are mainly exported to more than 10 countries and regions such as the United States, Italy, and the United Kingdom. As the European epidemic continued to ferment, many orders have been cancelled, and related production had to be suspended.

The staff of another local apparel foreign trade company said that around March is the peak period of summer delivery. Due to the impact of the epidemic, the start time was 20 days late and the factory delayed orders. "The cost has risen and we have to pay the penalty for the order. Now that the cash flow in the factory is tight, and the order from South Korea is cancelled, we are facing a test of life and death."

There are many similar cancellations. According to a person in charge of a textile company in Huzhou City, the company's foreign trade accounted for 90%. Participating in the exhibition is one of the most important ways to expand the market, but the more than 20 overseas exhibitions that originally participated in the first half of this year have canceled the itinerary due to the impact of the epidemic. . At this time in the past year, the company's orders have already been scheduled to June and July, but the orders after April this year have not yet landed.

On March 19th, the Ministry of Commerce held a routine online press conference and stated that the new coronary pneumonia epidemic is spreading globally. Some countries have suffered from production and consumption. Trade activities have decreased and the downward pressure on the global economy has increased. In the coming period, foreign trade companies may encounter problems such as weak external demand and reduced orders.

Textile enterprises seek change and save themselves

Faced with the predicament, some textile companies began to change their thinking and layout in advance.

On February 3, Guangdong Textile Import and Export Co., Ltd. has fully resumed production. As a textile and apparel company that accounts for more than 70% of its export business, the company has accumulated a number of well-known international brand and retail customers such as the United States, the European Union, and South America. Compared with some small and medium-sized textile companies, the company's response is more positive and self-confident.

Recently, the company's staff introduced to the Shanghai Securities News that although there has been no notice of order cancellation, there has been a small delay in foreign orders. "The epidemic situation will definitely have an impact on the order volume. We will develop more products according to changes in the consumption structure, provide unique quality services, meet various needs, and retain customers."

The person in charge of a textile import and export company in Sichuan, which mainly targets the Southeast Asian and African markets, told Shanghai Securities News that the epidemic is less widespread in Southeast Asia and other countries than in Europe and the United States. The company continues to stabilize Southeast Asian market share and maintain its online presence after resuming production. Customers work hard.

"Next, we will consider adjusting the import and export ratio internally." A cotton textile exporter in Xinxiang, Henan Province, also revealed that the company's orders in the first quarter of this year will be reduced by about 30% from last year. In the short term, the company will consider shifting the focus of foreign trade sales to domestic or To develop new overseas markets in areas where the epidemic situation is relatively light.

Bai Ming, deputy director and researcher of the International Market Research Institute of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, believes that in addition to implementing the stabilization of foreign trade more in the maintenance and expansion of customer channels, it is also necessary to retreat and improve consumption when necessary. Actively expand the domestic market. By deeply cultivating the domestic market, domestic enterprises, especially some textile enterprises, can be "remained in the mountains" when the external environment deteriorates.

Facing the postponement or cancellation of international exhibitions, Zhejiang, Gansu and other places helped foreign trade enterprises expand their markets through the deployment of "online exhibitions".

A few days ago, Zhejiang Provincial Council for the Promotion of International Trade organized enterprises to participate in online exhibitions of a number of international exhibitions served by the "Intelligent Cloud Exhibition (CALSEE)" system. Exhibitors can communicate and negotiate with customers at the exhibition site through the Internet at any location to obtain customers. Needs information to solve the problems of not being able to get booths from well-known exhibition companies, being unable to visit the exhibition due to factors such as epidemic conditions.

Gansu Provincial Council for the Promotion of International Trade relies on the existing relevant digital foreign trade platforms to provide a "network exhibition and trade (experience version)" service platform for foreign trade enterprises in Gansu Province, and to carry out "online exhibition" activities, so as to achieve foreign trade at home, find customers at home, at home Expand the market.

Frequent support policies

A number of policies supporting foreign trade companies have also been implemented.

On March 19, the General Office of the Ministry of Commerce and the General Office of the Ministry of Finance issued the "Notice on Proper Use of Special Funds for Domestic and Foreign Trade to Support the Stabilization of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment and Promote Consumption", proposing to give full play to the internal and foreign trade funds of the Central Finance and fully support the stability of foreign trade Basic foreign investment, increase support to promote domestic consumption, and release the great potential and powerful momentum of business development in various places.

Keqiao District, Shaoxing City has also introduced a series of new policies, extending the scope of exhibitor subsidies for enterprises from key exhibitions to all overseas exhibitions, encouraging enterprises to actively break through to markets with less epidemic conditions; implementing export credit insurance government joint guarantee policies, eliminating high The worries of enterprises placing orders during the risk period; accelerating the fulfillment of foreign trade enterprise policies and resolving the cash flow problems encountered by enterprises.

"This epidemic has also virtually changed social concepts and people's living rules, changed social lifestyles and consumption patterns, and then also changed the industrial ecology and industrial structure." Donghua University Textile Industry "Belt and Road" International Cooperation Center Chief Researcher Wang Hua believes that as consumers' awareness of life and health improves, the habits of sanitary protection consumption will become a new fashion, and various textiles for protection and disinfection will emerge in an endless stream to satisfy consumers' new physiology and psychology demand.

Some people in the industry said that the test brought about by the epidemic is the source of motivation for textile foreign trade enterprises to become bigger and stronger. Textile enterprises should take this opportunity to occupy a place in the "epidemic war" through technological innovation, transformation and upgrading.