China’s apparel exports have got off to a strong start this year. The figures show a surge of 13.4 per cent year-on-year in January. Both apparel shipments and textile exports from China have jumped compared to a year earlier. Exports of textile products and apparel reached $283 billion in 2013, up 11.4 per cent from 2012, compared to only a 2.8 per cent growth year-on-year in 2012.

Chinese textile and clothing industry exports are expected to grow by at least by 8 per cent year-on-year in 2014 thanks to the a recovery of US and European Union markets. With textile exports remaining high in January, and finished product inventory less than expected, the price of textile products was raised slightly during the month. High domestic cotton prices have also been inflating costs for Chinese textile and clothing producers.

The government began selling off some of its national cotton reserves in November. There are plans to replace the national cotton reserve program with a system of subsidies, which would help narrow the difference between Chinese cotton prices and the cotton price on the global market - largely lowering the cost for Chinese manufacturers.