China’s textile industry under the weather  

今年中国纺织业经济增速将继续回落

在内需市场支撑下，今年全年中国纺织行业的主要产销指标仍将实现增长。但在国际市场需求难以明显好转、国内生产成本持续上涨以及市场竞争日趋激烈的情况下，预计纺织行业出口压力仍然突出，将带动行业产销增速进一步回落。

Beijing (CNS) -- Shrinking foreign demand is adversely affecting China's textile industry, Sun Huaibin, spokesman for the China National Textile and Apparel Council, said Thursday.

Sun cited statistics showing that in the first half of this year, the EU's textile and apparel imports decreased 6.9 percent year-on-year, while the US had zero growth. Japanese imports experienced only a slight growth of 2.2 percent.

Domestic cotton prices remain higher than in the global market, and the price gap continues to enlarge, added Sun. The rising cost of materials is another key contributor to the industry's sluggish growth, he said.