China's textile industrial output for 2007 is forecast to reach
3.05 trillion yuan (416.8 billion US dollars), a 21.9 percent
increase year-on-year, according to a report released on Thursday
by the Textile Industry Association.
Large-scale textile enterprises (those with annual sales
exceeding two million yuan) were expected to realize profits of
115.2 billion yuan this year, a 32 percent jump over the previous
year. The export value would reach 177.2 billion US dollars, a 20.1
percent increase year-on-year. This was compared with the import
value of 18.9 billion US dollars, which experienced growth of 4.4
percent.
However, with the ongoing appreciation of the yuan and the
textile export tax rebate reduction, the low-cost edge of Chinese
textile products was gradually weakening.
The yuan's appreciation was hitting the country's textile
industry hard. According to an estimation by webtextile.com, every
rise of one percent in the yuan would cause a two to six percent
drop in textile commodity profit.
Price hikes of international crude oil and wool also put
chemical fiber enterprises and the wool industry under huge
pressure.
As the world largest textile exporter, China made tremendous
efforts to extricate itself from these predicaments. These included
further exploring domestic and overseas markets and counteracting
the adverse impact of rising costs by technological innovation and
industrial upgrading. In addition, developing countries in Asia and
Africa had become a major engine for export growth, the report
said.
Despite constantly rising oil prices and the ongoing
appreciation of the yuan, the export value of China's textile
industry was expected to increase by 15 percent in 2008.
"Although the RMB appreciation is painful for the textile
industry for the time being, it is hoped that the RMB exchange
reform would help adjust export orders of the industry so that only
the competitive could survive," said an industry expert.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2007)
