Silk: To Improve Domestic Needs Must Improve Quality

Export Silk Road is now no longer smooth

According to statistics from the Customs statistics, from January to May, the export of silk goods was 1.316 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 8.95%. The export of silk products was 6,804 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 6.37%. The export volume of silk satin was 79.575 million meters, a year-on-year decrease of 11.54%.

As China’s traditional export products, China’s output of silk, silk and silk respectively account for 85%, 80% and 45% of the world’s total output, ranking first in the world. However, due to the influence of unfavorable factors both at home and abroad, the overall export of silk commodities has seen an overall decline this year. Although the launch of domestic demand has become the consensus of the industry, but industry sources pointed out that if you want to use domestic demand to make up for the loss of exports, we must first improve the quality of domestic silk products.

Sharp decline in export orders

Review the past. Nearly 70% of China’s silk products are exported to Europe, the United States and Japan, and recent silk export orders have decreased compared with previous years.

Take Hangzhou silk women's apparel enterprises as an example. Export-oriented orders have fallen by about 30%. Many companies have reduced their orders. Some orders have been suspended, some have been cancelled, and companies have started underemployment. Happening.

According to Chen Lin of Hangzhou Clothing, “As our export-only company, the foreign economic situation is very important to us. This year, foreign purchasers are constrained by the country’s weak consumer confidence, and the price, quantity, etc. It can't be compared in a few years. Many European buyers can't just buy it. This year's business is hard to do."

According to industry insiders, since the instability and uncertainty of economic recovery in various countries have increased since the beginning of this year, especially the high debt risks escalated by the United States, Japan, and some countries in the euro area, the United States and Europe as the main consumers in the international market have developed. The lack of economic recovery and sluggish consumer confidence have directly constrained the international market’s recovery in consumer demand for China’s real silk products.

In addition, publicly available data showed that in mid-to late May, fresh oysters were listed on a centralized basis and raw silk prices oscillated downward. There are three main reasons: on the one hand, due to tight domestic monetary policy since 2011, leading to corporate financing difficulties, capital circulation pressure has increased significantly, directly constraining the company's procurement and hoarding of silk raw materials; on the other hand, Post-sale products such as clothing are not well-sold, export orders for silk factories have been significantly reduced in the downstream areas, and the inventory of products has generally increased, and the contradiction of oversupply has begun to appear.

“The silk industry, which has long relied on foreign trade orders, can no longer go on like this.” The words of Wang Wei, president of Zhejiang Silk Industry Association, seem to be the most intuitive summary of the development of the silk industry in Zhejiang in the past decades.

If there is no strong international demand, speeding up the development and activation of the domestic market will become an inevitable choice for the silk industry.

Improve quality to open up domestic demand

With the shrinking export market, domestic demand has been placed on high hopes. Can the domestic demand market become the "firewood" for export-oriented enterprises to get warmer over the winter?

A professional sample survey conducted by the China Business Confederation on the cognition of residents in the silk consumer market revealed that the overwhelming majority of domestic consumers recognize silk, understand silk culture, and also like to wear silk products. This is particularly true for the natural environmental health and fashion of silk. Accredited.

“Over the years, silk companies have focused on exports and have not attached great importance to the domestic market. It has also caused good silk products to be exported overseas. Products with a good grade and quality have remained in the domestic market.” Director of Hangzhou Silk Association, Zhejiang Dongtai Garments In an interview with a reporter from the "China Sankei Shimbun", the Director of Industry Monitoring Center Zhao said that if Silk wants to fully open up the domestic market, it will not only need the market to guide and nurture, but more importantly, it will create high quality products to satisfy consumers.

Li Honghai, head of Beijing Kelly Silk franchise store, agrees with the above-mentioned sources: “There is a strange phenomenon. China is a major producer and exporter of silk. The best silk products are made in mainland China, but many of them are held by silk. The good guys often go to Hong Kong to buy."

“Under the backdrop of weak consumer spending in the international market, companies should start by expanding China's domestic market and improve product quality”, experts in the industry pointed out; from an industry perspective, companies should focus on product upgrading, design, branding, and channels. In many areas such as innovation and improvement, it takes a place in the domestic demand market.

“By expanding domestic demand, increasing value-added products, developing new products, and expanding the market, although it is impossible to completely solve the export problem, there is ample opportunity to weather this crisis,” said the expert.