China's garment exports up 31.6 pct

China exported garment and textile products worth 42.3 billion U.S. dollars in the first two months of 2013, up 31.6 percent from last year, according to China National Textile and Apparel Council statistics.

The increase was 34.1 percentage points higher than the same period in 2012 and 8.3 percentage points higher than the country's overall export growth from January to February, according to the statistics.

Nearly 70 percent of the increase came from export price rises, according to the council. It estimated that garment export prices rose 9.8 percent in January from a year earlier.

"The industry is growing steadily and moving to the higher end of the production chain," said Wang Tiankai, head of the council.

He said the council would help exporters to improve product designs and promote their brands in order to sharpen their competitive edge in the global market.