Raw leather exports: India &Australia's loss is China's gain

There has been a dramatic shift in global raw leather exports.India’s exports have dropped drastically, and Australia’s exports have also suffered a loss in the last six years.The same trend continued for these countries during the current year.However, their loss has become China’s gain as its exports of the product rose during the current year.

India’s leather exports were at $885.526 million in 2017 which came down to $449.727 million in 2021.The outbound shipment was at $311.601 million in the first eight months of this year.Exports have been constantly declining in the last few years.They slipped to $782.838 million in 2018,$555.100 million in 2019 and $375.158 million in 2020.

Australia’s exports of raw leather could not recover in 2021 from the COVID impact of 2020.The country’s exports were at $483.509 million in 2021 which was better than the exports of $351.445 million in 2020, but lower than that of $493.749 million in 2019.Earlier, Australia’s exports of raw leather were recorded at $665.063 million in 2018 and$743.039 million in 2017.

On the other hand, China’s exports grew at an impressive rate despite the COVID-19 disruption.Shipment increased to $996.791 million in 2021 from $645.689 million of 2020, when it had reduced from $705.397 million of 2019 due to the global pandemic.The country exported raw leather worth $638.338 million in 2018 and $620.324 million in 2017.

China’s exports reached $777.908 million in the first three quarters of this year.India shipped raw leather worth$311.601 million, and Australia’s exports were at $273.346 million for the same period.

Rising COVID-19 cases to weaken China's retail sales in 2023: Fitch

China’s easing of pandemic control measures is projected to revive retail sales in 2023, as per Fitch Ratings.However, the recovery trajectory is likely to be sluggish during the initial phase of reopening, due to a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, increased absenteeism in the retail workforce, and weak consumer confidence in employment and income prospects.

“Retail sales growth is expected to remain sluggish in the near term as COVID-19 spreads rapidly, discouraging outdoor shopping.Spiralling confirmed case numbers in the past few weeks have also dampened labour productivity and caused widespread disruptions in manufacturing supply chains,” according to a non-rating action commentary by Fitch Ratings.

Online retail sales will also be impacted as a result of logistics disruptions and shoppers refraining from online purchases to avoid delivery couriers or tainted packages.An increase in infections among express-delivery couriers has led to cancelled orders and backlogs at sorting centres and distribution outlets.

China’s total retail sales dropped -5.9 per cent year-on-year(YoY) in November 2022 (-0.5 per cent YoY in October 2022), with 11M22 total retail sales growth of -0.1 per cent YoY.

“The pace of retail sales recovery is expected to remain uncertain,subject to the extent of pandemic-related productivity disruptions and improvements in sentiment and employment,” added Fitch.

Home textile exports of China, India,Sri Lanka, Pakistan down in 2022

COVID-19 was a golden era for home textiles.Their exports witnessed a robust demand during the pandemic as people spent lot of time at home which increased the sales of these products,according to industry experts.However, exporting countries like China, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan are facing headwind for home textile exports in the current year.

China’s home textile exports slipped in the first quarter of this year but improved in the following quarters.They came down to $10.062 billion in the first quarter of 2022 from$12.031 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 and moved up again to $10.292 billion in the second quarter and $10.681 billion in the third quarter of 2022.The exports amounted to$10.941 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

However, a trend like that of China’s was not seen in India,Sri Lanka or Pakistan.India’s exports of home textiles declined to$2.189 billion in the first quarter of 2022 from $2.333 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021.The export further slipped to $2.026 billion in the second quarter of 2022.The shipment was $2.153 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

Similarly, home textile exports from Sri Lanka came down to$32.516 million in the first quarter, $31.501 million in the second quarter and $27.239 million in the third quarter of 2022 from$34.013 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 and $35,993 million in the first quarter of 2021.

Pakistan’s exports fell to $1.465 billion in the first quarter of 2022 from $1.575 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021.The shipment stood at $1.262 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

Nanshan Zhishang antiviral fabric project made a major breakthrough

Under the influence of the pandemic situation, consumers pay more and more attention to the application of new technologies such as antivirus and antibacterial in textiles in the postpandemic era, and the research and development of antiviral fabrics has become the top priority of the textile industry.Nanshan Zhishang took the initiative to develop antiviral fabrics with a strong sense of social responsibility, and in 2021, he participated in the formulation of the standard "Antivirus and Antibacterial Finishing Agents for Textiles and Their Functional Evaluation" by China Textile Engineering Society.

Our clothes are exposed to an environment full of viruses and bacteria every day, and they will become infectious agents if they are not careful.Because viruses and bacteria are essentially different in structure and characters, viruses have no cell structure and rapid evolution, so it is difficult to study, so antiviral textiles are more complicated and technically more difficult than traditional antibacterial textiles.In 2022, after overcoming many difficulties, Nanshan Zhishang made a major breakthrough in the antiviral fabric project and completed the technical research and development of antiviral fabrics and product development.

The anti-virus function of this fabric of Nanshan Zhishang can be realized by functional fibers or functional additives; Nanshan Zhishang develops antiviral fabrics based on liposome vesicle technology; Liposome vesicle technology is equivalent to capsule sustained release technology, which can release silver ions for a long time and has a long-term antiviral effect.At present, this antiviral fabric can be used to make wool suits, shirts,casual fashions, and other different products, which can meet people's diverse needs, help reduce the spread of viruses, and reduce the cross-infection rate in the public environment, thus protecting human health.

Nanshan Zhishang's anti-virus textile fabrics have been able to achieve mass production.In the future, Nanshan Zhishang will continue to research and develop anti-virus antibacterial fabrics,and continue to provide safe, broad-spectrum and efficient antivirus textiles for the post-pandemic era.