In 2017, Chinese tile exports continued to drop in volume and value. And the exports value suffered a much larger drop than the exports volume. According to the Customs data, the exports value decreased by 19.98% to 4.426 billion dollars, while the exports volume decreased by 8.56% to 908 million dollars. The Customs data also reveals that for the third consecutive year the monthly exports value of 2017 broke the lows. See Chart 1.

I.Chinese Tile Exports by Domestic Areas

In 2017, Guangdong continued to stay ahead of Chinese tile exports. The Customs data shows that the exports value of Guangdong reached 3.24 billion dollars(-14.48%), 73.2% of Chinese tile exports(+4.7%). See Table 1 and Chart 2.

Four of top ten areas saw a growth in tile exports. They were Henan(+71.12%), Liaoning(+41.77%), Guangxi(+28.44%) and Fujian(+0.54%). And there were also four areas which saw a reduction in tile exports, including Jiangxi(-80.07%), Shandong(-40.46%), Shanghai(-31.51%) and Hubei(-30.81%). The largest decline was seen in Jiangxi, which tile exports share dropped by 7.16%. 

II.Chinese Tile Exports by Country/Region

According to the Customs data, the top ten countries/regions for Chinese tile exports are America, Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. America’s share on total 2017 Chinese tile exports stood at 8.38%, reaching 371 million dollars(-0.67%). See Table 2 and Chart 3. Philippine’s share stood at 6.71%, reaching 297 million dollars(-11.59%). Vietnam’s share stood at 6.33%, reaching 280 million dollars(+9.31%).

Three of top ten areas saw a growth in exports, including Hong Kong(+21.20%), Vietnam(+9.31%) and Indonesia(+6.27%). The exports to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Philippines declined by over 10%. Saudi Arabia saw the biggest plunge(-55.49%), which lowered its rank from the third place to the ninth place. 

III.Chinese Tile Exports by Geographical Areas

Although Chinese tile exports to Asia fell by 20.13% to 2.676 billion dollars, the area’s share of total Chinese tile exports were the biggest, reaching 60.46%. See Table 3 and Chart 4.

Chinese tile exports to Africa saw a 31.29% contraction with value declining to 651 million dollars, and the area’s share of total exports stood at 14.7%. 

The decline affected all continents with the exception of North America, where Chinese tile imports value grew by 1.74%,reaching 465 million dollars, and the area’s share of total exports stood at 10.51%. 

Chinese tile exports to South America saw a fall with value declining to 311 million dollars(-20.52%), and the area’s share of total exports stood at 7.03%.

A similar contraction occurred in Oceania, where Chinese tile imports value dropping to 175 million dollars(-15.31%), and the area’s share of total exports stood at 3.96%. 

Chinese tile exports to Europe continued to drop, reaching 147 million dollars(-16.93%).Europe’s share of total Chinese tile exports was just 3.33%.