Statistics from China's Textile Industry Association show that while China's textile exports dropped in the first half of the year, China continues to maintain a stable share of the international market.
Between January and May, the trade surplus of China's textile and clothing industry increased 11.58 percent compared to the same period last year. Exports were more competitive than the same period in 2008 by 1.22 percent. China's textiles saw a 3.75 increase in the share of the American import market.
Based on a national follow-up survey conducted on 173 Chinese enterprises, 87% of businesses expect orders for the second half of the year to remain stable or increase over the first half. 33% expect improvements in business, and generally these enterprises see improvements in cash flow.
Thanks to policies implemented by the central government that promote domestic demand and adjust tax rebates on textile and clothing exports, indicators for the second quarter show that the textile industry has begun to recover. Between January and May, the total output of 51,700 enterprises in the textile industry valued at 1.35 trillion yuan.
Currently, domestic sales have become the main support for stable growth industry-wide. Between January and May this year, large textile enterprises reported a cumulative domestic output value of 1.05 trillion yuan, a 9.42 percent increase year-on-year, with the growth rate rising by 2.79 percent compared to the end of February. For the same period, the proportion of domestic sales within the industry also increased from 77.07 percent in 2008 to 80.03% in 2009.
At the same time, investment in the textile industry appears to have reversed a decline. In the first five months of the year, investments in businesses with 5 million yuan of fixed assets totaled 96.93 billion yuan, an increase of 5.70 percent year-on-year. Compared to 2008, the growth rate for the first five months dropped 11.12 percent, but for the same period, the growth rate picked up by 4.09 percent compared to that in the first four months.
