China’s textile export growth drops to 9.7% in May
Growth of China’s textile and garment exports dropped to 9.7%, China Customs said in a report released over the weekend.
During the first five months, textile and garment exports went up by 15.4% from a year earlier to hit US$66.2 billion. Growth rate was down 0.2 percentage point compared with the same period last year, according to the customs.
Increasing pressure on domestic exporters has resulted in shifting of production from the economically prosperous eastern region to central and western regions and even neighboring countries where labor and production costs are comparatively lower.
Textile and garment output in the central region was up around 30% during the first five months. Domestic textile and garment companies are more attracted by central provinces including Henan, Hunan, and Sichuan.
Currently, over 400 Chinese textile enterprises have set up plants in neighboring countries like Cambodia and Bangladesh. This is one of main reasons for slower growth.
Textile and garment exports to EU during the Jan-May period was valued at US$13.61 billon, up 43.1% year-on-year, while exports to U.S. rose only 1.4% to US$8.64 billion, as they were affected by the subprime crisis.
Tags: exports, Textile