The combined operating revenues of major Chinese garment enterprises grew by 13.4 per cent year-on-year to 407.8 billion yuan in the first four months of this year, shows data from the Ministry of Industry and Technology. From January to April, total profits of 12,444 major garment firms increased by 37.9 per cent from a year ago to 18 billion yuan. The companies also witnessed a 23.87 per cent rise in their output to over 7.05 billion pieces during the period from a year ago.

China's online apparel retail sales grew 33.8 per cent year on year in the first four months, while the garment exports soared by 51.7 per cent year on year to $44.4 billion. China is the largest producer and exporter of textiles and apparel in the world. Textile exports increased 30.4 per cent in 2020, boosted by the demand for face masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Its closest rival, the European Union economic bloc, exports only 75 per cent of that, with regional competitors exporting far less.

In 2019, China was the top ranked global clothing exporter with a share of approximately 30.8 per cent, followed by the European Union (27.6 per cent), Bangladesh (6.8 per cent) and Vietnam (6.2 per cent).