Squeezed by rising costs and appreciating Chinese currency Yuan, nearly half of the cotton textile companies in the country are wanting to quit, a new industry survey said.
According to the survey, which was conducted by the China Cotton Textile Association covering companies across 17 provinces, 49.2 per cent of them said they wanted to quit and venture into other businesses.
The survey said 44.4 per cent of the respondents had begun selling some export-oriented products in the domestic market.
It said 27.3 per cent described as "unbearable" the pressure arising out of the rising Yuan, which forced them to slash investment by 15.5 per cent last year as they were also hit by reduced tax rebates and mounting costs in both labour and raw materials.
The companies invested in the real estate sector, equity market and other businesses.
Two thirds of the companies reported an average profit margin of a meagre 0.62 per cent in an industry whose profit margins averaged 3.9 per cent, the China National Textile and Apparel Council said in a survey, according to official Xinhua news agency.
