China textile exports fall in Feb. on weaker demand, harsh weather
\nXinhua,\u00c2\u00a0China<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) — China’s textile and garment exports in February dropped 32.9 percent from the previous month, largely due to weakening U.S. and European demand and the severe winter storms, customs authorities said.<\/p>\n
Exports reached 10.3 billion U.S. dollars last month, down 8.5 percent from a year earlier, according the General Administration of Customs.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Exports in January and February were 25.6 billion U.S. dollars, up only 9.6 percent from a year earlier, compared with an increase of about 20 percent for that period in previous years.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0China exported 171.2 billion U.S. dollars worth of textile and garment products in 2014, up 18.9 percent from the previous year.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The slowdown in February resulted from slack demand in the United States and Europe and the unusually harsh winter weather in China, said Zhang Bin, analyst with Sinolink Securities.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0But he said that it was too soon to decide if predicted full-year growth of 15 percent was excessively optimistic. The prediction came from the National Development and Reform Commission.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The February trade surplus shrank to a third of the year-earlier level. Exports to the United States fell 5 percent, while sales to Europe rose only 1 percent.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The rising Chinese currency and labor costs played a role in dragging down textile and garment exports, said Zhang. Producers were reluctant to take orders for fear of exchange losses and many low-end orders went to other countries such as India, he said.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0China moved its currency, the yuan, away from a pegged exchange rate to the U.S. dollar in July 2005 and has allowed it to appreciate by about 14 percent since then.<\/p>\n
Editor: An Lu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China textile exports fall in Feb. on weaker demand, harsh weather Xinhua,\u00c2\u00a0China BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) — China’s textile and garment exports in February dropped 32.9 percent from the previous month, largely due to weakening U.S. and European demand and the severe winter storms, customs authorities said. Exports reached 10.3 billion U.S. dollars last month, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n