The competitiveness of small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises is fluctuating upwards
On February 29th, XTransfer, a one-stop foreign trade financial service platform, released the 2023 Small and Medium sized Enterprise Export Trade (B2B) Index Report. The report shows that although the competitiveness index of Chinese small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises has shown significant fluctuations in the past year, it has still improved compared to 2022.
This report evaluates from three dimensions: buyer trust, product attractiveness, and export operational efficiency. Among them, there are five indicators, including "first installment payment ratio of orders", "average number of single order payments", and "prepayment ratio of orders".
In the above report, the indicator of "total amount of single order" has significantly improved compared to the previous year, becoming the main factor driving competitiveness upward. The average total amount of a single order in 2023 increased by 17.2% compared to last year. This indicates that the product attractiveness of China's foreign trade enterprises is gradually increasing, thereby obtaining a larger purchasing volume from international buyers. Despite the complexity and variability of external factors, a large number of Chinese made products still stand firm worldwide with their advantages of "high-quality and affordable".
From May to October 2023, the first installment payment ratio of orders in the competitiveness index indicator decreased, with an average decrease of 1.7 percentage points compared to the same period last year in 2022. Among them, July had the worst performance, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points compared to the same period last year. During the same period, the average number of payments received for a single order also fluctuated, with an average increase of 4% compared to the same period last year in 2022. The first installment payment ratio of orders and the average number of payments per single order reflect the purchasing confidence of international buyers. Affected by the overall weak global demand, some buyers have become more cautious in placing orders and making payments. During this period, although the overall competitiveness index of China's small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises increased, there were significant fluctuations.
From then until the end of 2023, the "average delivery time" in the competitiveness index of China's small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises fluctuated significantly. In December of that year, the average delivery time of Chinese small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises reported in the report was the highest since 2023, an increase of 14.4% from the annual average in 2023, indicating a decline in the operational efficiency of foreign trade enterprises in December. On the contrary, the "average delivery time" indicator for the first three quarters of 2023 remained stable compared to the same period in 2022. The report indicates that the decline in export operational efficiency at the end of the year is likely mainly due to temporary disturbances caused by force majeure.
The report believes that despite facing complex and ever-changing external environments, as a leading force in China's foreign trade, the overall competitiveness of small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises in China has maintained an upward trend in 2023.
From the perspective of export destinations, the top three export destinations for Chinese small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises are North America, the European Union, and ASEAN in order. The countries with high growth rate of export volume of China's small, medium-sized and micro foreign trade enterprises include Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, etc. In the case of declining market demand in traditional developed countries, small, medium-sized and micro foreign trade enterprises are accelerating to explore the emerging markets of the "the Belt and Road".
From the perspective of export product categories, the top three categories of export value for Chinese small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises are: mechanical and electrical products, base metals and their products, and textile raw materials and their products. Among them, the collection volume of women's clothing increased by 15% year-on-year. In addition, the payment volume of high-definition cameras increased by 14% year-on-year, and the export of electronic products is no longer limited to complete products. The export of core accessories has become a new trend.