China Light & Textile City: Transactions in polyester-cotton blended fabrics have contracted, though some spring fabrics continue to show brisk sales.

Recently, the fabric market at China’s Light and Textile City has seen insufficient demand from both northern and southern buyers. Transactions involving polyester-cotton blended fabrics have declined, leading to an overall contraction in market activity. However, orders for spring fabrics remain relatively robust in certain segments. Some textile companies operating on a “store-front factory” model, as well as marketing departments of manufacturers and large-scale retail outlets, continue to enjoy strong sales of finished polyester-cotton blended fabrics. These businesses are still receiving sizable bulk orders for specific spring fabric types, and external orders for spring fabrics remain fairly active in some areas. Nevertheless, the supply of ready-to-sell finished polyester-cotton blended fabrics at small- and medium-sized retail outlets across the market remains limited, resulting in generally inadequate spot-market transactions. Overall, spot transactions of finished polyester-cotton blended fabrics have shown a noticeable decline compared to earlier periods; yet, order placements remain robust at larger-scale retail outlets. Product innovation and marketing innovations continue to highlight certain segments of the market, keeping polyester-cotton blended fabric marketing relatively lively. Several textile companies operating on a “store-front factory” model, along with manufacturer marketing departments and large-scale retail outlets, continue to demonstrate vigorous activity in taking on and shipping external orders for spring polyester-cotton blended fabrics. Fabrics made primarily from T/C 65/35 and T/C 80/20 yarns—processed through machine dyeing or roller dyeing—are widely used for producing school uniforms, workwear, casual wear, and professional attire. Some large-scale retail outlets continue to experience relatively smooth order placements for these fabrics.
The sudden outbreak of a second wave of the pandemic has cast a shadow over the textile market, which had recently shown some signs of recovery! The impact of the uncontrolled pandemic in Europe and the U.S. at the beginning of the year—resulting in large-scale cancellations of textile orders—has yet to fully dissipate. Many textile companies still have substantial inventories piling up in warehouses, or are struggling to collect payment for goods already shipped. With the resurgence of the pandemic in Europe, pessimistic sentiments are inevitably spreading throughout the market. Concerns are intensifying about whether orders already secured might be canceled once again and whether payments for shipments already made will become difficult to collect. The pandemic has dealt a blow to supply chains both in China and around the world. As the global market has yet to fully recover and turn positive, it’s premature to talk about an “explosive rebound” for China’s textile industry at this stage. “The entire industry remains in a state of slowing growth and mounting difficulties, and it still needs a recovery period.”
In the recent market, spot transactions of T/C blended grey fabrics have been declining day by day. However, large-scale operators and some small- to medium-sized retail outlets continue to offer a substantial number of spring-ready T/C blended fabrics made from T/C 65/35 and T/C 80/20 yarns, primarily focusing on taking in orders. These T/C blended fabrics—mainly using machine-dyed and roller-dyed T/C 65/35 and T/C 80/20 yarns—are widely used for making school uniforms, workwear, casual wear, and professional attire. Some large-scale retail outlets are still shipping bulk orders. Specifically, fabrics made from T/C yarns such as 21S×21S with a warp density of 108×58 (machine-dyed), 20S×16S with a warp density of 128×60 (machine-dyed), 21S/2×10S with a warp density of 72×42 (roller-dyed canvas), T/C 80/20 yarns at 21S×21S with a warp density of 100×53 (silk-sheen mercerized and singed, machine-dyed), and T/C 42S/2×21S with a warp density of 124×69 (silk-sheen mercerized and singed, machine-dyed)—are still seeing bulk order shipments from certain fabric companies operating both retail stores and manufacturing facilities, as well as from large-scale retail outlets.
Recently, the production capacity of weaving and dyeing mills has been somewhat reduced. Transactions involving finished T/C polyester-cotton blended fabrics have remained relatively subdued, with sales volumes showing a downward trend for several consecutive days. However, some fabric companies and manufacturers operating on a “front-store, back-factory” model—particularly those with sizable operations—continue to enjoy relatively active order intake for certain spring-season T/C fabrics, such as 45S×45S T/C 80/20 yarn, 139×94 plain dyed fabrics; and 45S×45S T/C 80/20 yarn, 139×94 brushed plain fabrics. Order placements from these front-store, back-factory fabric companies and manufacturer-operated outlets remain fairly smooth. In the domestic market, transactions for this series of fabrics have declined somewhat, with most deals occurring in small batches and on an intermittent basis. Nevertheless, some front-store, back-factory fabric companies and large-scale retail outlets continue to receive and ship bulk orders. Meanwhile, several textile companies and major players in ASEAN, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, South America, and Latin America are still placing bulk overseas orders; however, due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, overseas order shipments have experienced localized declines. For T/C fabrics—including 45S×45S high-count, high-density plain fabrics and 21S×21S medium-density satin weaves, as well as 20S×20S medium-density plain fabrics—both dyed and printed fabrics have seen varying degrees of decline in daily transactions. Spot prices have shown mixed trends, with some areas remaining stable while others have fallen slightly. Prices for certain popular color and pattern varieties have also edged down marginally. Specifically, T/C 80/20 yarn, 45S×45S, 133×72 plain dyed fabrics—primarily used for making spring casual shirts—and T/C 65/35 yarn, 45S×45S, 133×72 roller-dyed plain fabrics, as well as T/C 65/35 yarn, 45S×45S, 133×72 reactive-printed poplin fabrics—continue to see relatively smooth domestic sales and shipments through front-store, back-factory fabric companies and manufacturer-owned direct-sales outlets. Pricing varies depending on order quantities, with some fluctuations between stability and slight declines. On the other hand, business remains rather sluggish for many smaller and medium-sized operators in this segment, with both spot transactions and order shipments experiencing noticeable declines.