China's textile sector rises 30% in H1

BEIJING - China's textile industry posted a 30-percent growth year-on-year in output in the first half of this year in spite of a raft of challenges, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.

Output of the industry hit 2.39 trillion yuan ($370.7 billion) in the first six months, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Its value-added industrial output rose 9.9 percent from a year earlier, down 2.3 percentage points compared with the rate for the same period of last year, it said.

Total profits of textile enterprises reached 97.7 billion yuan in the first five months, up 42.9 percent from a year earlier, the statement said. Exports of textile products increased 28.8 percent to $45.9 billion in the first half, it added.

China's textile industry faced a series of challenges in the first half, the statement said, citing fluctuations of cotton prices and higher costs due to labor costs, yuan's appreciation and increases in interest rates.

Some small and medium-sized textile enterprises suffered from financing difficulties as the government tightened liquidity, it added.

The ministry said more hurdles will take toll on the sector, resulting in a slowdown in output growth in the second half of the year compared with the first half.

Foreign demand will falter as regional political disturbance, euro debt crisis and massive fiscal deficit of the United States will slow down global economic recovery, it said.

High inflation in China will restrict domestic consumption of textile and garment, it said, adding that higher material costs and tighter credit will increase pressure for enterprises.