First, Zhejiang clothing export advantage analysis
Balassa reflects the comparative advantage of a country or region in the export of a certain commodity, and its formula is as follows:
RCAij=(Xij/Xit)/(Xwj/Xwt)
Xiji represents the export volume of J products in country I; Xit stands for the export volume of all products in country I; Xwj stands for the total export volume of global J products; Xwt stands for the total export value of all products in the world. If rcaij < 1, the smaller the value, the more obvious the comparative disadvantage; If rcaij > 1, the larger the value, the more obvious the comparative advantage. Further analysis shows that when RCA≥2.5, the products of this country are extremely competitive.
Source: Zhejiang Statistical Yearbook and United Nations Merchandise Trade Database calculation.
As can be seen from the above table, the comparative advantage index of Zhejiang clothing has been higher than 6, indicating that the comparative advantage of Zhejiang clothing export is obvious. Zhejiang's clothing export advantage is mainly "low cost advantage", which mainly comes from labor cost advantage, industrial cluster advantage and location advantage. First of all, Zhejiang is rich in labor resources, with a large population in the province itself, and the influx of a large number of migrants, so Zhejiang clothing has obvious labor cost advantages in export. Secondly, Zhejiang garment industry cluster has formed three regional distribution patterns: Hangzhou, Ningbo and Wenzhou. The industrial chain covers fiber, spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing, auxiliary materials, garment processing and other links, with outstanding scale effect and reduced production costs. In addition, Zhejiang Province is located in the eastern coast, with convenient transportation, which creates convenient conditions for Zhejiang clothing export and reduces transportation costs. However, it is worth mentioning that the comparative advantage index of Zhejiang clothing has declined slightly in recent years, and the export advantage of clothing has weakened. This is mainly because with the increase of domestic labor costs and the appreciation of RMB, Zhejiang garment enterprises shift the increase of production costs to product prices, thus reducing the price advantage of garment exports.
Second, the disadvantage analysis of Zhejiang clothing export
From the above analysis, we can see that Zhejiang clothing has obvious cost advantages in export, but there are also disadvantages in export, such as weak brand operation ability, low R&D and design level, and low price competition.
(A) the lack of internationally renowned brands
Zhejiang's clothing is mostly OEM products, and its brand operation ability is generally weak, so it lacks competitiveness in the international market. For a long time, Zhejiang garment enterprises have been mainly engaged in OEM in export, mainly for some foreign importers and retailers. Most Zhejiang garment enterprises are based on "running volume" in their business model. The average profit rate of enterprises is only about 4%, while the profits obtained by foreign manufacturers are about 80%. Due to the lack of world-famous brands, Zhejiang garment enterprises can't get large profit margins at high-end prices. Zhejiang garment enterprises are always at the low end of the value chain in the process of participating in the international division of labor.
(B) R&D design level is low
The independent design and development ability of Zhejiang garment enterprises is still weak, and the investment of R&D funds is limited. At present, the homogenization of Zhejiang clothing products is serious, and the original design is relatively lacking. The key lies in the fact that most Zhejiang garment enterprises lack first-class professional garment design talents, and usually make fake and imitation production by obtaining garment samples from other manufacturers. At the same time, Zhejiang garment enterprises are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises, and most of them lack R&D ability. Due to the fabric style, feel, color difference, defects, color fastness and other reasons, all kinds of high-grade fabrics needed by enterprises mainly rely on imports.
(C) Low-cost competition within the industry
Zhejiang garment industry is dominated by homogeneous middle and low-grade products, with little difference between products, which leads to over-concentration of the market. In recent years, Zhejiang garment industry has developed too fast and its investment has expanded rapidly, resulting in the production capacity and scale exceeding the market demand. In order to gain more market share, Zhejiang garment enterprises started a low-price war, which led to intensified market competition and further decline in profits. Although the low price has promoted Zhejiang's clothing export, it is also easy to fall into the crisis of foreign anti-dumping.
Adverse macro-environmental factors
In recent years, rising domestic raw material prices, rising labor costs, appreciation of RMB and other factors have increased the export cost of Zhejiang clothing, which in turn has affected the export competitiveness of Zhejiang clothing. At the same time, the financial crisis caused the global economic growth to slow down, which greatly catalyzed the release of protectionist sentiment. A series of external factors, such as green barriers, anti-dumping and SA8000 certification in developed countries in Europe and America, have affected the export of Zhejiang clothing.
Third, Zhejiang clothing export trade development countermeasures
(A) change the mode of production, industrial upgrading
Zhejiang garment industry should change the extensive growth mode and make the industry change from the low-end link of the value chain to the high value-added link, which is an important way to deepen the development of Zhejiang garment industry. At present, Zhejiang garment industry is generally at the low end of the global value chain, which has cost advantages in production, mainly exporting middle and low-grade garment products, but has no advantages in high value-added R&D and brand marketing. Zhejiang garment industry should constantly improve all aspects of the industrial value chain, realize the overall upgrading of the industry, and change the blank of high-end private brand garment export at present.
(2) Increase investment in R&D and improve the design level.
Zhejiang garment enterprises should increase their investment in the research and development of garment fabrics and pay attention to the research and development of garment fabrics. By improving the technological innovation system and increasing the added value of products, we will gradually upgrade from the international low-end market to the high-end clothing market. At the same time, Zhejiang garment enterprises need to pay constant attention to international fashion consumption trends and have advanced innovative ideas. On the one hand, Zhejiang garment enterprises should hire foreign first-class designers to design fashion clothes; On the other hand, it is necessary to organize enterprise designers to go abroad for further study, engage in the production design of related clothing industries, and improve the production concept and design level.
(C) the implementation of brand strategy to encourage enterprises to "go global."
Zhejiang garment industry should build an internationally famous brand, take internationalization as the standard, position itself on the level of clothing design, brand promotion and management, and gradually realize the transformation of independent export brands. In particular, it is necessary to strengthen the publicity of Zhejiang clothing brands, such as promoting clothing through international clothing fairs and fashion conferences, or holding large-scale domestic brand clothing exhibitions in first-tier cities in China on a regular basis, and inviting well-known foreign media to participate, so as to enhance the visibility of Zhejiang clothing brands. Encourage and support large Zhejiang garment enterprises to implement the "going out" development strategy, set up branches abroad, or acquire or participate in internationally renowned garment enterprises at appropriate prices, bypassing a series of trade barriers set by European and American countries.
(Author: Zhijiang College of Zhejiang University of Technology)