Retail sales in EU, US, UK & Japan rose in May 2022: AWI


Key consumer markets overseas showed growth in retail sales in May 2022 compared with the same period last year. Retail sales in the EU, US, UK and Japan rose 6.8 per cent, 8.1 per cent, 5 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively. Whereas China’s retail sales of consumer goods in May were affected by the zero-COVID policy, falling by 6.7 per cent year on year (YoY), according to Australian Wool Innovation Limited’s (AWI) Monthly Market Report – August 2022.

In January to May, the total retail sales of garments, footwear, hats and knitwear was down by 8 per cent YoY, and the online retail sales of apparel products fell 1.6 per cent. China contributed to more than half of the world’s e-commerce retail sales, with the sales value totalling an estimated $2.1 trillion, surpassing the combined total of Europe and the United States.

Key consumer markets overseas showed growth in retail sales in May 2022 compared with the same period last year. Retail sales in the EU, US, UK and Japan rose 6.8 per cent, 8.1 per cent, 5 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively. Whereas China’s retail sales of consumer goods in May were affected by the zero-COVID policy, falling by 6.7 per cent year on year.

June retail sales in China rebounded to above pre-pandemic levels. Lockdowns across major cities, however, had a significant impact on retail sales across March, April and May. The pandemic continues to have effects in China as the consumer market has slowed down significantly and as a result, the wool textile industry experienced a slowdown in the second quarter this year also.

Production of wool yarn and wool fabric saw an increase of 3.6 per cent and 46 per cent respectively across this time. The demand for wool fabric has increased rapidly since the beginning of this year. Cumulative production from January to May exceeded production during the same period pre-pandemic, showing a significant YoY increase, the report said.

Total Chinese exports of raw wool materials and wool products reached $3.2 billion, an increase of 21.3 per cent YoY (excluding chemical fibre carpets). The total value of products of all categories enjoyed YoY growth; in terms of export volume, most categories saw growth, excluding wool yarn and wool knitwear. Among them, wool fabric showed a strong rebound from the shrinkage in the previous two years.

Given the growth trend of overall consumption, the consumption of wool products in the key markets has also perked up. From January to May, total imports of the US market reached $1.3 billion, an increase of 51 per cent YoY. The wool apparel market in the US grew faster than expected and showed high growth for two years.

“Looking ahead, the World Bank lowered its 2022 global economic growth forecast from 4.1 per cent to 2.9 per cent. Global growth is expected to remain at this level in 2023 and 2024. COVID-19, geo-political developments, rising inflation are all posing risks to the world economic recovery. International consumer demand may weaken, industry exports contributed significantly in the first half of the year, and there may be some changes in the second half this year. On the other hand, with the ease of COVID prevention and control policies, the overall situation in China is improving, and the domestic textile and apparel market trade and consumption are expected to improve. But it will take some time to restore consumer confidence,” the report added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)



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