Worry creases in Chinese textile industry

The Chinese government's priority has been to curb the skyrocketing trade surplus in formulating policies. But now that exports have indeed slowed down, more problems have surfaced and both industry and government bodies are worried.
Chinese textile companies have been hit the hardest as many of them rely on exports for profits and the profit margin for most is narrow. Faced with rising raw material costs, no export tax rebate and rapid yuan appreciation, many textile manufacturers are saying this is going to be the toughest year ever.
If a lot of these labour-intensive textile companies do go under, the government will be faced with a rising unemployment rate. Official figures show the textile industry alone employs over 20 million people across China, most of whom are migrant workers.
Textile and garments exports make up nearly 13 per cent of China's total exports. Total export value of textile and garments in the first quarter of this year was US$38.5 billion, up 19.47 per cent over the corresponding period last year. Experts say that although it is still increasing, the pace of growth has slowed down.