Data released recently by the China Federation of Light Industry show that the domestic light industry economy continues to show a good trend of recovery, thanks to the macro-policy implemented by the government and the steady growth of the consumer market. In the two months before 2023, the size of light industry enterprises achieved significant performance growth, which is reflected not only in the increase in operating income and profits, but also in the increase in production and market expansion.

According to reports, from January to February 2023, the total number of small and medium-sized enterprises in the country exceeded 13,38 million, and the total operating income of these enterprises reached RMB 3.26 trillion, up 4.1% compared to the same period; the total profit reached 1973.8 billion, up 26.9% compared to the same period.

In terms of value increase, the value added of light industry above the scale grew by 6.7%, the rate of growth increased by 4.9 percentage points compared to the end of the same period last year. Of the 91 major light industry products monitored by the National Bureau of Statistics, the production of 75 products grew, the growth facet reached 82.4%. In particular, the value added of paper, plastic products, household appliances, furniture and other industries grew by more than 10%, showing the strong development momentum of the light industry sub-industry.

In terms of profitability, the operating income rate of lightweight enterprises over the first two months reached 6.1%, increased by 1.1 percentage points, higher than the average industrial profit rate over the same scale by 1.4 percentage points, and higher than the manufacturing average by 2.4 percentage points. Among them, the profit growth in the paper, furniture and art and beauty industries was prominent, rising 3.37 times, 1.98 times and 50.4% respectively.

In terms of the market, the retail market for light industrial products also showed a steady growth trend. In the two months before 2023, the retail sales of lightweight 11 categories of goods reached 1.3 trillion yuan, accounting for 15.9% of the total retail sales of social consumer goods, compared with 5.2% growth. In this growth, the contribution of online consumption is significant, with the retail sales of physical goods online exceeding 1.8 trillion yuan, growing 14.4%, accounting for 22.4% of the total retail sales of social consumer goods.

In terms of international trade, the value of export deliveries of lightweight and larger enterprises grew by 3.5 percent over the first two months, with export deliveries of paper, household appliances, lighting, plastics, furniture and toysining a two-digit growth rate, reflecting the competitiveness and attractiveness of Chinese manufacturing in the global market.