From Chieftain Custom Apparel to Trendy Fabrics: Binhai Textile Enterprises Seize Opportunities to Explore Africa
Date: 2026-05-21
Supported by the steady advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative, China-Africa trade volume has repeatedly hit new highs. Leveraging solid industrial foundations and favorable policy dividends, numerous textile and garment enterprises in Shaoxing Binhai New Area have targeted Africa’s blue‑ocean market, rolling out targeted layouts and proactive expansion to carve out new tracks in global competition. In the first quarter of this year, Binhai New Area’s export volume to Africa reached 748 million yuan, mainly dominated by textile products, showcasing a robust and steady foreign trade growth momentum.
“Binhai Tailors” Win Popularity Among African Chieftains
A cross-border customization video released by Zhejiang Brloote Garment Co., Ltd., a local apparel brand based in Binhai New Area, has gone viral online. The video showcases exquisitely tailored bespoke outfits custom-made for a popular Nigerian chieftain. The refined craftsmanship subtly integrates distinctive African cultural elements with premium textures, sparking widespread attention and shares across social media platforms.
The bespoke order was placed by Chief Chibuzor Chinere of Nigeria. Breaking the traditional mode of offline business negotiations, the chieftain placed the order directly after viewing detailed product photos on Brloote’s official Alibaba.com store. The full-set customization covers custom shirts, coats, shoes and hats with an upscale light-luxury positioning. Among the products, four models of high-end custom shirts are priced at over USD 1,000 each, according to Lü Yong, Chairman of Brloote.
A reputable domestic apparel brand rooted in Shaoxing, Brloote officially set up its foreign trade department in 2024 after consolidating its domestic market presence. It has fully implemented a dual-wheel-driven strategy for domestic and overseas trade, striving to promote “Binhai Manufacturing” to the global market.
“Customized apparel for the Nigerian chieftain marks a key breakthrough in our African market expansion,” said Lü Yong. Tailored with traditional Nigerian chieftain style elements and premium Shaoxing fabrics, the garments were produced on the brand’s digital intelligent production lines, backed by the company’s long-term investment in smart manufacturing.
Brloote has built an integrated smart workshop featuring MES (Manufacturing Execution System), hanging control system and intelligent terminals, enabling full-link data collection and mixed production of diversified orders. Empowered by the customized intelligent cloud system, the factory realizes in-depth collaboration of personnel, equipment, materials and processes, supporting efficient urgent order insertion and flexible production.
“Flexible production and urgent order processing have become our normal operations. The mechanical processing of chieftain-level customized orders can be completed within two days. Right after the first batch of delivery, the chieftain intended to place an additional formal costume order, which is currently under negotiation,” Lü added.
Thousands of Fabric Patterns Gain Popularity in North Africa
Success in exploring the African market relies on enterprises’ inherent strengths as well as in-depth insight into local consumption trends. Winning in Africa demands precise alignment between product advantages and market needs to ensure stable and smooth industrial and supply chains. Among local enterprises thriving in Africa’s blue-ocean market, Shaoxing Langhui Textile has achieved remarkable results.
Specializing in women’s fabric exports, Langhui Textile has prioritized the African market in recent years. In the first quarter of 2026, its export volume hit 128 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of over 60%, with 90% of its products exported to Africa. “Our core markets cover North African countries including Morocco and Tunisia, as well as East Africa’s Ethiopia. The robust Q1 growth stems from seasonal market demand, optimized export schedules and our targeted, in-depth cultivation of the African market,” explained Liu Jielun, Deputy General Manager of the company.
The company focuses on the high-value links of the industrial chain—design and marketing—and outsources traditional production procedures to high-quality local manufacturers. It has built an in-house design team that develops 1,000 to 1,500 trendy fabric patterns annually. “African consumers favor bright-colored, full-patterned textiles, and our designs perfectly fit local aesthetics. Our order books are fully scheduled until August and September this year,” Liu said. Thanks to weak local manufacturing capacity in Africa, Shaoxing’s high-quality and cost-effective textiles enjoy outstanding market recognition and huge growth potential.
Similarly, Shaoxing Oumaner Textile Trading is accelerating its layout in Africa. The company mainly supplies fabrics to the Middle East and Africa. Its General Manager Farhad, a Yemeni national with over 20 years of trading experience in Shaoxing, noted that the company’s Q1 export volume exceeded 84 million yuan, up more than 60% year on year. Nearly half of its products are exported to Sudan, Egypt, Morocco and other African nations, with production orders fully scheduled until July and August. “The African market boasts enormous potential yet distinctive regional demands. Only precise demand matching and continuous product R&D can secure long-term market opportunities,” Farhad emphasized.
Policy Support Empowers Enterprises’ Global Expansion
Effective May 1, China implemented zero-tariff policies for 20 newly included diplomatic African countries that are not classified as least developed countries. Previously, zero-tariff treatment had been applied to 33 least developed African countries. The policy upgrade achieves full zero-tariff coverage for all diplomatic African countries, greatly reducing trade costs, simplifying customs procedures and accelerating China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
Beyond national policy dividends, Binhai New Area offers substantial financial incentives and one-stop supportive services to assist enterprises going global. In April 2026, the district released a new round of enterprise-support policies with a total estimated fund of 595 million yuan, representing a 35.2% year-on-year increase.
To bolster open economy development, the district provides 100% booth subsidies for key overseas exhibitions and 50% subsidies for general exhibitions for export enterprises. It also supports the expansion of processing trade and cross-border e-commerce exports. One-time rewards of 300,000 yuan are granted to newly recognized municipal, provincial and above foreign trade comprehensive service enterprises, while new provincial-level public overseas warehouses receive a one-time subsidy of 1 million yuan.
According to officials from the Shaoxing Comprehensive Bonded Zone Service Center, the in-depth implementation of zero-tariff policies will unlock new growth opportunities for local foreign trade enterprises. Traditional advantageous industries including textiles and garments, mechanical and electrical equipment, and home furnishing have huge potential to further explore the African market, continuously driving the high-quality development of regional foreign trade.
Reporter: Wang Xudong, Chen Jiaqi
Editor: Yan Xinyu