Edited by Zhao Xinhua

In 2021,in the face of complex and changeable situation at home and abroad,China’s dyeing and printing enterprises actively adjusted development strategy,dyeing and printing cloth production maintained a good growth momentum,the main products export was further expanded than the pre-pandemic period,the main economic indicators continued to recover,enterprise profitability improved significantly,the industry has shown the strong resilience,the 14th Five-Year Plan got off to a good start.However,it should be noted that the current global pandemic is still not under effective control,commodity prices are still at a high level although there has been a decline,and the textile and apparel industry chain and the supply chain is still not smooth enough,and the foundation for a full recovery of the industry still needs to be further consolidated.

Good production situation,steady growth in output

From January to December 2021,the dyeing and printing cloth output of enterprises above designated size in the dyeing and printing industry was 60.581 billion meters,with a year-on-year growth of 11.76 percent and a two-year average growth of 6.15 percent,according to the National Bureau of Statistics.The two-year average growth rate was higher for four consecutive months.In 2021,China’s dyeing and printing industry was still facing a complex development environment.The combination of multiple factors,such as pandemic,flood,power cut and raw material price rise,has affected the production of dyeing and printing enterprises to a certain extent.However,driven by the gradual recovery of the consumer market and the sustained recovery of terminal demand,the production of dyeing and printing industry has maintained a good growth trend.The monthly output of dyeing and printing cloth of enterprises above designated size has remained above 5 billion meters,and the annual cumulative output has exceeded 60 billion meters,which is the best record in the past decade.

Market demand continued to pick up,exports achieved rapid growth

From January to December 2021,the export volume of eight categories of dyeing and printing products was 28.23 billion meters,with a yearon-year growth of 22.11 percent and a two-year average growth of 2.59 percent.The export was USD 28.743 billion,with a year-on-year growth of 28.83 percent,a two-year average growth of 2.39 percent.The average unit price of exports was USD 1.02 per meter,up 5.50 percent yearon-year and down 0.39 percent compared with 2019,according to the HS8 bit code statistics of China Customs.In 2021,driven by the recovery of international market demand,the export of main products in the dyeing and printing industry is rising,and the export scale exceeded the level of the same period in 2019.The average unit price of exports continued to rise,increasing by 6.25 percent at the end of the year compared with the beginning of the year.China’s indirect export of dyeing and printing products also shows an expanding trend.From January to December,China’s total export of clothing and clothing accessories reached USD 170.263 billion,with a year-on-year growth of 24 percent and a two-year average growth of 7.7 percent,hitting a new high since 2016.

From the point of export markets,Nigeria,Vietnam,Bangladesh,Indonesia and Brazil are the top five export markets for China’s eight categories of dyeing and printing products,export volume are above 1 billion meters,the year-on-year growth rate is more than 20 percent except for Vietnam,Bangladesh and Indonesia’s demand for China’s eight categories of dyeing and printing products has grown strongly,up 46.71 percent and 49.40 percent year-on-year respectively,contributing 17.35 percent to China’s export growth of dyeing and printing products.In the traditional markets,exports to Japan have recovered to pre-pandemic levels,with a slight increase of 1.10 percent compared with 2019.Exports to the United States continued a downward trend in the past two years.In 2021,the annual exports reached 393 million meters,down 19.52 percent year-on-year and 34.37 percent compared with the same period in 2019,which is mainly related to the Sino-US trade frictions and the Xinjiang issues.In 2021,China’s exports of five categories of cotton-related products in the United States,including pure cotton dyed fabric,pure cotton printed fabric,cotton blended dyed fabric,cotton blended printed fabric,and T/C printed fabric,significantly decreased by 50.05 percent,61.31 percent,28.66 percent,19.35 percent,and 56.06 percent year-on-year respectively.

Operation quality is steadily recovered,the connection of production and sales is still not smooth

From January to December,the proportion of three expenses of dyeing and printing enterprises above designated size was 6.68 percent,down 0.13 percentage points year-on-year,of which,cotton dyeing and printing enterprises was 6.52 percent,chemical fiber dyeing and printing enterprises was 7.86 percent;finished goods turnover was 18.31 times/year,up 1.09 percent year-on-year;receivable turnover was 8.22 times/year,up 3.21 percent year-onyear;total assets turnover was 1.04 times/year,up 9.39 percent year-on-year,according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Compared with 2019,the proportion of three expenses of dyeing and printing enterprises above designated size in 2021 decreased by 0.04 percentage points,indicating that with the rise of raw material prices,enterprises are more refined in cost control,and the proportion of three expenses has decreased;finished goods turnover and total assets turnover decreased by 15.68 percent and 5.78 percent respectively,and receivable turnover increased by 0.57 percent.In 2021,with the gradual release of global consumer demand,the demand for container transportation is high,and most export-oriented enterprises are faced with the dilemma of getting a container.The recurrence of the pandemic at home and abroad further hinder the effective connection between supply and demand,and the product delivery cycle is forced to prolong.Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that from January to December 2021,the inventory of enterprises above designated size in the dyeing and printing industry reached 34.97 billion yuan,with year-on-year growth rate rising month by month,and the annual cumulative year-on-year growth rate was 12.78 percent,13.79 percentage points higher than the same period in 2020.

Operation efficiency continued to improve,profit pressure has eased

From January to December,the national 1,584 dyeing and printing enterprises above designated size achieved operating revenue of 294.987 billion yuan,a year-on-year growth of 15.06 percent,a two-year average growth of 2.07 percent;the total profit reached 15.913 billion yuan,with a year-on-year growth of 25.60 percent and a twoyear average growth of 0.25 percent;ratio of profits to cost was 5.84 percent,up 0.54 percentage points year-onyear;sales margins was 5.39 percent,up 0.45 percentage points year-on-year;the number of loss-making enterprises was 331,the percentage of loss-making enterprises was 20.90 percent,6.36 percentage points narrower than last year;the total loss of loss-making enterprises was 1.748 billion yuan,down 5.37 percent year-on-year;the export delivery value was 38.819 billion yuan,up 12.30 percent year-on-year and down 3.25 percent in two years.However,compared with the same period in 2019,theratio of profits to cost of dyeing and printing enterprises above designated size decreased by 0.22 percentage points,sales margins decreased by 0.20 percentage points,the percentage of loss-making enterprises expanded by 1.98 percentage points,and total loss increased by 2.17 percent,according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Since 2021,the price of raw materials has continued to fluctuate at a high level.Combined with factors such as poor international logistics and high freight prices,the operating costs of dyeing and printing enterprises have increased significantly.According to the National Bureau of Statistics,in 2021,the total cost of enterprises above designated size in the dyeing and printing industry increased by 14.01 percent year-on-year,and the rise in cost makes enterprises bear great pressure in the profit end.With the implementation of a series of policies to protect people’s livelihood,promote consumption and expand domestic demand,dyeing and printing industry gradually improve the main economic indicators,improve corporate profitability,from January to December,the average growth rate of operating revenue of dyeing and printing enterprises above designated size was 2.80 and 1.15 percentage points higher than that of the first half of the year and the first three quarters,respectively,the average growth rate of total profits in two years was positive for the first time,and the sales margins was 1.53 and 1.16 percentage points higher than that of the first half of the year and the first three quarters,respectively.

Looking forward to 2022,the economic operation of the dyeing and printing industry still has the conditions and foundation for stable and sound development,but there are still many uncertainties in the stable development.On the one hand,China’s economy is resilient and has great potential,and the fundamentals of its long-term sound economic development have not changed.With the central government’s determination of the economic policy,the state will actively introduce a series of policies conducive to economic stability,and the vitality of market entities will continue to be stimulated.Meanwhile,the world economy is also expected to gradually recovery,which provides impetus for the improvement of market demand for textile dyeing and printing industry.On the other hand,the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread,and the high inflation rate in developed countries such as Europe and the United States has become an important obstacle to the recovery of the world economy.The anticipated tightening of monetary policies in developed economies will exert negative constraints on market consumption power and consumer confidence.In addition,raw material prices are still high fluctuations,rising operating costs and difficulties in transmitting prices downstream have put pressure on the profit growth of dyeing and printing enterprises,and the confidence in enterprise development remains to be consolidated.