1.China’s Import and Export of Absorbent Sanitary Products in 2022
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Export
The export scale of absorbent sanitary products has steadily increased, reaching 1,138,600 tons in 2022, with a year-on-year growth of 10.46%. The total export volume of absorbent sanitary products far exceeds the import volume, demonstrating the continuous enhancement of China’s production capacity in the absorbent sanitary products industry. The largest proportion of exported products is baby diapers, accounting for 37.15% of the total export volume. It has shown the highest growth rate of 15.52%, indicating the sustained competitiveness of Chinese baby diaper products in overseas markets.
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Import
The total import volume of absorbent sanitary products has been decreasing year by year, with a diminishing impact on the industry. In 2022, the import volume has decreased from 255,000 tons in 2017 to 67,800 tons. Baby diapers still dominate the imports, accounting for 73.51% of the import quantity, with a significant decrease of 39.02%. The reasons for the decrease can be analyzed as follows: In recent years, there has been an increase in production capacity and improvement in quality of Chinese baby diapers, accompanied by a decrease in the birth rate, leading to a reduced target consumer group and further lowering the demand for imported products. The import of sanitary napkins has remained stable with a slight increase over the years.
2.Wet wipes
In 2022, both the import and export quantities of wet wipes in China experienced a significant decline, but the export volume was much higher than the import volume. The demand growth caused by the COVID-19 gradually returned to normal, and China’s wet wipes production capacity not only meets the domestic market demand but also possesses high competitiveness in the international market.
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Export
In 2022, the total export volume of wet wipes was 522,400 tons, showing a year-on-year decrease of 17.79%. The majority of exported products were cleaning wet wipes, accounting for 69.24% of the export quantity. The average export price of wet wipes is significantly lower than the average import price, indicating that high-value products such as functional wet wipes from China still have room for expansion in overseas markets.
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Import
In 2022, the total import volume of wet wipes was 37,600 tons, with a relatively small impact on the domestic market. Disinfecting wet wipes primarily constituted the imports, accounting for 81.9% of the import quantity. Therefore, the 26.72% decrease in the import volume of disinfecting wet wipes resulted in an overall decline in the import volume of the entire wet wipes category.