China Sewing Threads Industry

The total production volume of sewing threads in China peaked in 2014 and then decreased in 2015 and 2016, mainly because of the weakened export performance. Sustaining the consumption of garment is expected to drive the total production volume of sewing threads in China to recover with an increase from 297.3 thousand tonnes in 2016 to 308.2 thousand tonnes in 2021 with a CAGR of 0.7%. The domestic sales volume of sewing threads in China was greatly affected by the production volume of garment from 107.0 thousand tonnes in 2011 to 127.3 thousand tonnes in 2016 with a CAGR of 3.5%. With the development of the garment industry, it is expected that the domestic sales volume of sewing threads will grow continuously, with an increase in the domestic selling price reaching 157.3 thousand tonnes in 2021. The export volume of sewing threads in China has slightly declined from 216.4 thousand tonnes in 2011 to 177.6 thousand tonnes in 2016. Such decline was mainly due to the decrease in the export volume of synthetic fibers. It is expected that the export volume of sewing threads in China will reach 155.4 thousand tonnes in 2021.

The total production value of sewing threads in China peaked in 2011, and subsequently fluctuated from 2012 to 2016. This trend was reflected in the sewing thread price pattern for the same period. There was also an increase in the sewing thread production value in 2014 attributed by the rising domestic consumption as well as stable export. The production value then continued to decrease to CNY9,162.4 million in 2016, because of a decline in export as the economy in China shifted from export driven to consumption led. Driven by the increase in product prices and downstream demand, the production value of sewing threads is expected to recover from the decline and will further increase to CNY9,983.9 million in 2021 with a CAGR of 1.7% between 2016 and 2021. Future growth in the production value of sewing threads is likely to be driven by sustaining garment consumption, as the market is moving from favoring low price products to favoring quality and differentiated products.

The mid- to high-end sewing threads in China experienced a favorable growth for the period from 2011 to 2016, with a production value from CNY2,859.6 million in 2011 to CNY3,237.1 million in 2016, representing a CAGR of 2.5%. The percentage of mid- to high-end sewing threads in production value increased from 28.6% in 2011 to 35.3% in 2016 of the total sewing threads in China. Further, it is expected that the production value of mid- to high-end sewing threads will reach CNY3,910.9 million in 2021, representing a CAGR of 3.9% since 2016. The mid-to high-end sewing threads will account for 39.2% of the total production value of sewing threads in China in 2021. The domestic sales revenue of sewing threads in China experienced a decline and recovered between 2011 and 2016, with an increase from CNY3,929.5 million in 2011 to CNY4,461.5 million in 2016, representing a CAGR of 2.6%. With the further development in the garment manufacturing industry, the domestic sales revenue of sewing threads is expected to reach CNY5,796.7 million in 2021.

The export value of sewing threads decreased from CNY6,549.5 million in 2011 to CNY5,160.3 million in 2016 with a CAGR of -4.7% caused by the decline of garment markets in major export destinations such as Asia and Africa. The export value of sewing threads is expected to reach CNY4,665.2 million in 2021. Asia remains the largest export destination of PRC’s sewing thread in terms of the export value in 2016 as production of textile products continues migration from developed countries to less developed regions such as China and Southeastern Asian countries for their low production costs. Among Asia, the Middle East represented approximately one sixth of the market share. UAE has contributed for one sixth of the export of sewing threads from China to the Middle East due to its implementation of free trade policies. In addition, per capita consumption of textile products of the Middle East ranked world’s highest. Africa is Following Asia , which was the second largest sewing thread export destination with 16.9% market share in 2016. The textile industry is one of the pillar industries for the local economy of Africa not only because it has areas of intense cotton production but also the transportation costs from Africa to the United States or Europe are much lower. America, Europe and Oceania collectively accounted for less than 25% of the total export of China’s sewing threads.