From January to April 2020, the output of dyeing and printing enterprises above designated size was 13.305 billion meters, a year-on-year decrease of 15.86%. Since April, although China’s pandemic prevention and control has achieved stage-by-stage results, and enterprises have resumed production steadily, with the rapid spread of foreign pandemics, domestic dyeing and printing companies generally face the dilemma of cancelled orders or demand for delayed delivery, and the output of the dyeing and printing industry has further declined, with a decline rate of 0.71 percentage points compared with the first quarter.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the dyeing and printing industry has faced enormous environmental pressure and systemic risks. Both the supply and demand sides have experienced unprecedented impacts, the quality of operations has significantly decreased, and the economic benefits have deteriorated significantly.

 

From January to April 2020, the ratio of three expenses for dyeing and printing enterprises above designated size was 7.57%, an increase of 0.46 percentage points from the same period in 2019. Among them, cotton dyeing and printing enterprises accounted for 7.23%, and chemical fiber dyeing and printing enterprises accounted for 10.37%. The turnover rate of finished products was 4.92 times/year, a year-on-year decrease of 31.66%; the receivables turnover rate was 2.50 times/year, a year-on-year decrease of 23.63%; the total asset turnover rate was 0.27 times/year, a year-on-year decrease of 22.49%. Under the pandemic situation, international transportation logistics was blocked, and domestic and foreign demand was further weakened. The enterprise’s capacity utilization rate was far below the normal level, the capital turnover was difficult, the cash flow was tight, and production and operation faced greater pressure.

 

Since April 2020, due to insufficient production orders, the company’s capacity utilization rate has remained at a low level, and corporate profits have shrunk significantly. From January to April, the main business income of dyeing and printing enterprises above designated size was 69.154 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 20.17%; the main business cost was 60.949 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.89%, accounting for 88.14% of the main business income; the cost expense profit margin was 3.24% , a decrease of 0.68 percentage points from the same period in 2019; a sales profit margin of 3.10%, a decrease of 0.62 percentage points from the same period in 2019; a total profit of 2.144 billion yuan, a significant decrease of 33.54% year-on-year; completed export delivery value of 10.443 billion yuan, a decrease of 23.05% year-on-year.

 

From January to April, 676 of the 1558 dyeing and printing enterprises above the designated size suffered losses, with the percentage of loss-making enterprises was 43.39%, an increase of 17.52 percentage points from the same period in 2019. The total loss of loss-making enterprises was 1.289 billion yuan, a significant increase of 62.12% from the same period last year. From a quarter-on-quarter perspective, the company’s losses in April improved from the first quarter, and the percentage of loss-making enterprises was narrowed by 4.34 percentage points from March. The total loss growth was narrowed by 10.44 percentage points from March. However, compared with the same period last year, the percentage of loss-making enterprises and total loss still increased substantially.

 

According to national customs statistics, the total import and export of the eight categories of dyeing and printing products from January to April 2020 was USD 6.822 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 23.94%; the trade surplus was USD 6.028 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 23.38%. The import volume of the eight categories of dyeing and printing products was 183 million meters, a year-on-year decrease of 39.25%; the import value was USD 397 million, a year-on-year decrease of 27.94%; the average import unit price was USD 2.17/m, an increase of 18.62% year-on-year. The export volume of the eight major dyeing and printing products was 6.473 billion meters, a year-on-year decrease of 20.52%; the export value was USD 6.425 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 23.68%; the average export unit price was USD 0.99/m, a year-on-year decrease of 3.98%.

 

In terms of market, from January to April, the export value of the eight categories of dyeing and printing products to ASEAN decreased by 18.39% year-on-year, and the export value to countries along the “Belt and Road” decreased by 20.12% year-on-year, and the decline was narrowed by 5.29 and 3.56 percentage points respectively. Exports to countries and regions, such as the United States and the European Union, where the pandemic is more severe, have further decreased. The value of exports has fallen by 31.42% and 33.22% year-on-year, respectively, and the decline has increased by 1.70 and 7.83 percentage points respectively. From January to April, the export volume of dyeing and printing products to Japan decreased by 1.2% year-on-year, which is close to the level of the same period last year, indicating that the Japanese export market is accelerating recovery.

 

As the global pandemic prevention and control has become normal, restarting the economy is becoming the focus and important option of countries all over the world. The domestic economic and social order is accelerating recovery, many European countries have gradually relaxed restrictions in April, and the United States has gradually started to unblock it from May. Despite many positive signals, the global pandemic prevention and control situation is still grim, and the full economic restart is facing challenges. Based on comprehensive analysis, it is expected that the operating pressure of the dyeing and printing industry will remain heavy in the second quarter.