Analysis and suggestions on import and export of hose and tape products

In 2023, my country's industrial economy will generally show an upward trend. The capacity utilization rate of hose and tape companies has increased steadily, and output has grown steadily. At the same time, the industrial development of the world's major economies and emerging economies has picked up, and the demand for hose and tape products in overseas markets has further expanded, creating good conditions for the export environment of my country's hose and tape products in 2023.

1. Overview of the import and export of hose and tape products from 2022 to 2023

1. Conveyor belt

According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China, my country's total import volume of conveyor belts dropped by 2.4% (year-on-year, the same below) to US$31 million in 2023, the total import volume increased by 39.1% to 10,800 tons, and the average import price dropped by 29.8% to US$2.88. /kilogram.

The total export volume of conveyor belts increased by 9.9% to US$1.008 billion, and the total export volume increased by 13.1% to 445,100 tons, setting a new record high. The average export price fell by 2.8% to US$2.27/kg.

2.Hose

In 2023, my country's total rubber hose imports dropped by 8.8% to US$503 million, the total import volume dropped by 14.2% to 28,200 tons, and the average price increased by 6.3% to US$17.84/kg.

The total export volume of rubber hoses increased by 6.2% to US$1.499 billion, and the total export volume increased by 12.6% to 312,400 tons, setting a new record high. The average price dropped by 5.8% to US$4.8/kg.

3. Transmission belt

In 2023, my country's total imports of Transmission Belts dropped by 17% to US$170 million, the total import volume dropped by 17.3% to 5,300 tons, and the average price increased slightly by 0.4% to US$32.38/kg.

The total export volume of transmission belts decreased by 0.6% to US$521 million, the total export volume decreased by 2.1% to 80,000 tons, and the average price increased by 1.5% to US$6.52/kg.

4. Summary

Looking at the import and export of the entire hose and tape products in 2023, the total import volume of conveyor belts, hoses, and transmission belts is approximately US$704 million, and the total export volume is approximately US$3.028 billion. The total export volume is 4.3 times the total import volume; the total import volume is approximately 4.43 million tons, the total export volume is about 837,500 tons, and the total export volume is nearly 19 times the total import volume. It can be seen that the scale of my country's exports is much larger than the scale of imports. At the same time, judging from the changes in imports and exports in recent years, my country's exports of hose and tape products have shown a steady growth trend, while imports are still on an overall decreasing trend, indicating that my country's hose and tape products are in While actively expanding markets overseas, we are also doing increasingly well in domestic substitution.

2. Analysis of average import and export prices of hose and tape products

The following data shows the changes in the average import and export prices of hose and tape products since 2014. Judging from the average import and export prices of hose and tape products in the past ten years, the average export price of hose and tape products is significantly lower than the average import price. Among them, the export price of conveyor belts has been below US$2.3/kg in recent years, while the average import price has been between US$3-4/kg in most years; the average export price of rubber hoses has long been hovering at a low level of around US$5/kg, while the import price The average price has been above US$15/kg for a long time, and will reach nearly US$18/kg in 2023. Although the average export price of transmission belt products is slowly increasing, there is a huge gap with the average import price. The average import price has long been the average export price. More than 5 times.

It can be seen that although the global market share of my country's hose and tape products continues to expand, most of the imported hose and tape products are high value-added products, while exports are still dominated by mid- to low-end cheap products. my country's hose and tape companies are in the international trade. The situation of being in a weak price position has not fundamentally improved.

Through the different performances of the import and export markets of conveyor belts, hoses and transmission belts, some characteristics of the three industries of conveyor belts, hoses and transmission belts can be reflected:

1. my country's conveyor belt industry has strong self-sufficiency, and the demand for imported conveyor belt products is small. Judging from the export situation of my country's conveyor belt products in recent years, the total export volume accounts for about 10-15% of the total product output, indicating that my country's conveyor belt industry still has strong export potential. On the other hand, the export competition of conveyor belt products is fierce, especially the low-price competition. Under the current situation, it is more likely to trigger anti-dumping investigations by importing countries, which requires export companies and traders to pay sufficient attention.

2. The scale of my country's hose industry has been growing steadily in recent years. The import and export scale of products ranks first among the three types of hose and tape products. While the export volume of products is large, the demand for imports is also large, especially high value-added products. Products are still largely dependent on imports, and there is still a significant gap between my country's hose companies and foreign-funded companies in high-end market share.

3. The added value of my country's transmission belt products has increased, and the product price has further narrowed compared with foreign countries. However, the international competitiveness of my country's transmission belt products is still weak. In the long term, product exports mainly rely on the two characteristics of large volume and low price to occupy the international market. The added value of products is in line with international prices. There is still a big gap in advanced transmission belt products.

3. Analysis of export situation of hose and tape products

1. Comparison of export market segments

(1) Conveyor belt

Judging from my country's conveyor belt product market segments in 2023, as shown in the table below, exports of various types of conveyor belts have basically maintained good growth. Among them, the largest export type is textile conveyor belts, accounting for approximately 2/3 of the total export volume of conveyor belts, and accounting for approximately 3/4 of the export volume. However, textile conveyor belts have the lowest average price among several types of conveyor belt export products; The export growth rate of steel wire conveyor belts is the largest, with both export value and export volume growing at around 50%. Therefore, its proportion in the conveyor belt product market segment has increased, and its export value has increased from about 20% in 2022 to 2023. Nearly 28% in 2023, and export volume will increase from 16% in 2022 to more than 20% in 2023, becoming the largest growth point in the export of the entire conveyor belt product in 2023; other conveyor belt categories account for the least proportion, but have the highest average price.

(2) Hose

In 2023, the largest export type of my country's hose products is steel wire hose. The export value accounts for about 44% of the total hose exports, and the export volume accounts for about 55% of the total hose exports. At the same time, steel wire hoses also have the lowest average price among all export hose types. ; The export value of pure hoses and fiber hoses each accounted for more than 20% of total exports, and the export volume each accounted for less than 20% of total exports. The average export price is higher in the segment of hose products, and the export share of the two types of products is higher than that in 2022 rise.

(3) Transmission belt

In 2023, the highest average price in my country's transmission belt export market is Synchronous Belt products, with an average price of more than 18 US dollars/kg, but its export volume only accounts for less than 15% of the total exports of transmission belts, and its export volume only accounts for less than 5% of the total exports of transmission belts. %, while the export value of V-belts and other transmission belts with an average export price of around US$6/kg accounts for more than 85% of total exports, and the export volume accounts for almost 95% of total exports.

(4) Summary

As far as the market segments of conveyor belts, hoses and transmission belts are concerned, although the proportion of exports of high value-added products is slowly increasing, the long-standing phenomenon of "those with higher average prices have lower sales, and those with lower average prices have higher sales" has not Fundamental changes occur. This shows that the structural contradictions in the export of my country's hose and tape products are still relatively prominent. The export of high value-added products is still a shortcoming for my country's export market. It is recommended that hose and tape export companies refer to the overall structural characteristics of the export market and combine it with future market development trends. , seeking differentiated development, leveraging strengths and avoiding weaknesses, in order to expand its market share.

2.Main exporting countries and hotspot areas

(1) Conveyor belt

It can be seen from the chart data that the top ten countries for my country's conveyor belt export destinations are the United States, Australia, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Chile, South Korea, the Netherlands, South Africa and Japan. In 2023, the export volume of conveyor belts to the top ten countries will increase. 10.5% to US$530 million, accounting for 52.34% of my country’s total conveyor belt exports. Among the top ten exporting countries, except for Chile, the Netherlands and Japan, exports to other countries all showed positive growth. Among them, exports to Russia had the largest increase of 63.8%. In terms of average price, the average export price to Japan is the highest at 3.04 US dollars/kg; the average export price to the United States is the lowest at 1.83 US dollars/kg, which is lower than the average export price of my country's entire conveyor belt industry.

(2) Hose

The top ten countries for my country's rubber hose export destinations are the United States, Japan, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Mexico, India, Vietnam, Poland and Indonesia. In 2023, the export value of rubber hoses to the top ten countries will increase by 12.27% to US$839 million. Accounting for 55.56% of my country's total rubber hose exports, export concentration has increased. Among the top ten exporting countries, exports to Brazil, Vietnam, Poland, and Indonesia declined, while the rest grew. Among them, exports to the United Arab Emirates had the largest increase, at 118.49%. In terms of average price, the average export price to Japan is the highest at US$9.97/kg. The average export price to Russia and Brazil is the lowest, less than 4 US dollars/kg, which is lower than the average export price of my country's entire hose industry.

(3) Transmission belt

The top ten countries for my country's transmission belt export destinations are the United States, Russia, Brazil, South Korea, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Nigeria, Mexico and Malaysia. In 2023, the export value of transmission belts to the top ten countries will increase by 1.72% to US$270 million. Accounting for 51.47% of my country's total exports of transmission belts, export concentration has increased. Among the top ten exporting countries, the growth in export volume is relatively divided. Among them, the export volume to the United States, South Korea, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and Mexico has declined, the export volume to Malaysia has increased slightly, and the export volume to Russia, Brazil and Germany has increased significantly. , among which exports to Russia had the largest increase, reaching 55.49%. In terms of average price, the average export price to South Korea is the highest, at US$18.94/kg. The average export price to Malaysia is the lowest, less than US$3/kg, which is lower than the average export price of my country's transmission belt products.

(4) Summary

The top ten exporting countries of hose and tape products all account for more than half of the total exports. Among the top ten exporting countries, in addition to traditional countries such as the United States and Russia, resource-based countries represented by Brazil, Australia, and Indonesia, and Japan, South Korea, etc. The represented East Asian industrial countries also occupy an important position in the export market.

The United States is still my country's largest exporter of hose and tape products. The export value of the three categories of products all accounts for more than 10% of total exports. However, the average export price is generally low among major exporting countries, and the bargaining power of products is limited. And in 2023 The growth rate of exports to the United States slowed down significantly in 2018. Russia occupies the top three positions in my country's exports of hose and tape products, and its export volume has increased significantly by double digits. The market still has huge potential. Japan and South Korea are the major exporting countries of hose and tape with higher export volume and average export price, indicating that the added value of products exported to Japan and South Korea is higher.

4. Suggestions for exporting products in the hose and tape industry

1. Actively plan transformation and upgrading, realize the export and import substitution process of high-end products through high-quality development, and enhance product competitiveness.

At present, my country's hose and tape industry is transforming from large to strong. How to get a share of the mid-to-high-end field of the hose and tape product market in the future should become a focus that my country's hose and tape companies need to seriously think about and practice in the next few years. In recent years, transformation and upgrading, independent research and development, green and low-carbon, intelligence, high quality, and high added value have become high-frequency words in the manufacturing industry and are also the main theme of the future development of the industry.

It is recommended that enterprises carefully understand the country's development ideas for the manufacturing industry, actively respond to the country's strategic policy of manufacturing power, firmly follow the path of green, intelligent and high-quality development, and make full use of various preferential support policies for enterprises by governments at all levels to maintain sufficient Invest in R&D, strengthen product innovation and brand building, provide differentiated products and customized services for downstream industries, abandon the involution of low-price competition and homogeneous competition, and deploy domestic and foreign mid-to-high-end hose and tape markets as soon as possible to realize its own goals The transformation, upgrading and high-end development will promote the industry to achieve effective qualitative improvement and reasonable growth in quantity, and ultimately enhance the international competitiveness of products.

2. Learn from the development trends of outstanding foreign companies, understand the development trends of cutting-edge products, and formulate corporate development strategies that suit you.

Since 2023, foreign rubber giants such as Continental Germany, Yokohama Japan, Michelin France, and Semperit Austria have increased capital and expanded production in the hose and tape business sector and developed and produced new technology products to strengthen the profits of their non-tire product businesses. In addition, many foreign-funded companies invest and set up factories in emerging industrial countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Mexico with low labor costs and convenient upstream and downstream markets to reduce their production, logistics and other costs. At the same time, my country's hose and tape companies have also begun to go abroad to invest and expand production overseas, opening up a new pattern of industrial globalization.

It is recommended that my country's hose and tape enterprises increase their awareness of risks, pay close attention to and understand the trends of foreign rubber giants and emerging industrial countries, grasp the demand trends for new hose and tape products and the new industrial development pattern, benchmark their own company's strengths and weaknesses, and know ourselves and our enemies. , Leverage strengths and avoid weaknesses, and formulate a development strategy suitable for the enterprise.

3. Pay attention to the issue of RMB exchange rate fluctuations, establish awareness of exchange rate risk prevention, and improve the ability to deal with exchange rate risks.

In 2023, the exchange rate of RMB against the US dollar once fell below "7". This was the result of multiple factors. Among them, factors such as U.S. interest rate hikes, uneven domestic economic recovery, and some economic indicators falling short of expectations have intensified the fluctuations in the RMB exchange rate. The future trend of the RMB exchange rate will still be affected by multiple factors such as domestic and foreign economic fundamentals, trade conditions, and monetary policies. Therefore, the trend of the RMB exchange rate in 2024 may still face certain uncertainties. But overall, with the improvement of the domestic and foreign economic environment and the advancement of the internationalization of the RMB, the RMB exchange rate is expected to remain stable and show a certain appreciation trend.

This requires us to pay close attention to changes in the global economic situation and policy trends of major economies in order to promptly respond to possible exchange rate fluctuation risks and challenges. It is recommended that enterprises maintain a rational attitude, establish awareness of exchange rate risk prevention, and formulate reasonable exchange rate risk management strategies based on their own enterprise's risk tolerance to improve their ability to deal with exchange rate risks.

4. Vigorously explore the blue ocean market, look for export opportunities, avoid export risks, and develop long-term layout with high-quality products

With the continuous advancement of my country's high-level opening up to the outside world, more and more emerging markets have become ideal places for my country's foreign trade. From the perspective of the export market of hose and tape products, it is mainly composed of the world's traditional industrial countries and resource-rich countries, and the export regions are diversified, and no single country is dominant. Diversification of trade will help reduce dependence on specific markets, disperse export risks, and ensure export safety. It will also help Chinese enterprises participate in the international division of labor and strive for more favorable trade conditions.

It is recommended that enterprises, while maintaining existing trading partners, pay attention to international trends and favorable policies, and actively explore blue ocean markets. In recent years, international trade frictions have occurred from time to time, and the export prices of products will become more sensitive. At the same time, companies are called on to actively avoid export risks, consider the long term, and deploy high-quality and low-priced products in the international mid-to-high-end market, striving to start from "volume-based" "Winning by quality" has been transformed into "winning by quality", gaining a favorable position for the development of the enterprise.