The export quotas online bid invitations caused overcrowding on China's official website in December 2005 as the manufacturers prepared for a Sino-US agreement on 21 types of textile and clothing product that became effective from January 1, 2006.
The China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Textiles (CCCT) said that the heated online bid caused congestion on official website for bid invitations. In response, the government had prolonged the bid period by another 24 hours early last month.
Nearly 28,296 qualified textile companies in China joined the bidding for export quotas on 21 textiles categories to the US next year. According to the regulations made by China's Ministry of Commerce Mofcom, thirty percent of the agreed quota in 2006 was distributed through public bids.
After seven rounds of tough talks, China and the US in November 2005 signed a three-year agreement on Chinese textile and clothing imports.
The agreement provides for a progressive increase in imports of 21 product categories including cotton trousers and shirts from China ?by 10 to 15 percent in 2006, 12.5 to 16 percent in 2007, and 15 to 17 percent in 2008.
Meanwhile, China also reached a deal with the European Union on limits on some ten textile and clothing categories in June 2005.
In December 2005, Chinese textile association China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) forecast textile exports growth of 19.2 percent to $116 billion (?9 billion) for 2005.
