Chinese textile exports to the US and the EU markets in March touched 1.32 billion US dollars and 1.44 billion US dollars, up 20% and 33.2% from the same period in 2005, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

An increase in the amount of textiles exported did not come under the quota restrictions imposed by the U.S. and the EU. Predictably exports of textile goods that were affected by the restrictions fell by a large margin.

China's exports of textile and clothes in March came to 10.54 billion US dollars, a 33.9% increase. In February, China's textile exports to the US and the EU dropped 13.3% and 9.2% respectively, from the previous year.

China's import and export of textiles and clothes in March accounted for 12.1 billion US dollars, up 29.4% over the same month in 2005 and with a surplus of 8.97 billion US dollars, up 40.4%.

Export of textile goods to Korea, Russia and Canada continued to rise to become the main driving force of China's exports.

Hong Kong in March surpassed the US to be the Chinese mainland's third largest export destination with the EU first and Japan second.