Fashion imports from China down 8.1%: what the figure says about suppliers

MONDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2026

In the first five months of 2026 Italian fashion imports from China fell 8.1%, more than the overall sector decline: what changes in negotiations with suppliers.

Fashion imports from China fell 8.1% in the first five months of 2026, against an overall decline of 5% in the sector's imports. China remains the leading supplier to Italian fashion, but records a sharper contraction than the average: it is the figure that says most to anyone buying textiles, leather goods and footwear.

Fashion imports from China: the figure and what sets it apart

The numbers were presented by Carlo Capasa, president of the Italian national fashion chamber, at the press conference preceding Milan fashion week, dedicated to the women's spring-summer 2027 collections and scheduled for 22 to 28 September. They refer to trade flows updated to May 2026.

Imports in the core sectors, meaning textiles-clothing-leather, leather goods and footwear, fell 5%. Within that figure China does worse than the average, at minus 8.1%. It is not a loss of position: it remains the leading supplier. It is a reduction in purchased volumes.

It is worth reading alongside another figure from the same period. In the first eight months of 2026 China's goods trade, measured in yuan, grew 17.6%, with exports up 14.6% and imports up 22%. Chinese trade as a whole is running; Italian fashion is buying less from that supplier. The divergence is sector-specific, and anyone reasoning only on the aggregate figure misses it.

The figures for the first five months

• Exports of core sectors: down 2.3%
• Imports of core sectors: down 5%
• Imports from China, the leading supplier: down 8.1%
• Exports of related sectors, eyewear, jewellery, costume jewellery and beauty: down 7%
• Sector turnover expected for 2026: 91.4 billion euro, against 92.87 in 2025

On turnover the picture is less bleak than it appeared. The decline expected for the year is 1.6%, whereas at the start of 2026 estimates pointed to minus 8.5%. The correction is wide, and Capasa paired it with an explicit note of caution about the geopolitical context.

Exports are not falling everywhere

The aggregate export figure, minus 2.3%, hides very marked differences between destination markets. France grows by 3.7%, Spain by 4.5% and Hong Kong by 6.8%. The United States falls by 2.8% and Germany by 4.2%. The heaviest declines concern Japan, down 9.6%, and the United Kingdom, down 8.8%.

The related sectors do worse still, contracting 7%, weighed down by the collapse of jewellery exports to the United Arab Emirates, minus 27.4%.

What it means for buyers

Here the data ends and the operational reading begins, and the two are worth keeping apart. The 8.1% decline measures how much Italy bought, not how much production capacity is idle in China: the contraction may also reflect diversification towards other supplying countries, product mix, prices or domestic demand, and over the same period Chinese exports overall were growing. The figure therefore does not prove that factories have spare lines, but it signals a context in which an Italian buyer is well advised to test again the room for negotiation on minimum quantities, lead times and commercial terms.

The first point is minimum order quantities. Volumes presented as non-negotiable twelve months ago deserve to be put back on the table, above all by those working on collections with many variants and few pieces per size: the answer will show whether there is room, and asking costs nothing.

The second is timing. A shorter lead time, if obtained, must be fixed in writing: capacity available today can be sold to another customer tomorrow, and a verbal confirmation does not protect the delivery calendar.

The third is quality, and it is the counterweight to the first two. Greater pressure on price must not translate into fewer checks: if the negotiation becomes more aggressive on price, minimum quantities and timing, then written technical specifications, an approved golden sample and pre-shipment inspection become more important, not less.

With La Merce, handling fashion imports from China during an 8.1% decline means testing again minimum orders and lead times with suppliers, and guarding what has just been renegotiated with written specifications, an approved golden sample and pre-shipment inspection.

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