According to data released by the State Statistical Bureau, China completed an output of 23.549 billion meters of cotton cloth in January-December 2006, an increase of 18.49 percent.

This showed the rapid increase in cotton cloth output, reflecting the more obvious growth rate of the industry.

According to Chinese customs statistics, during the period, total exports of cotton textile and apparel amounted to US $55.998 billion, an increase of 36.20 percent.

Figure accounted for 38.07 percent of the total export value of $147.085 billion of textile and apparel.

On the import side, China’s cotton textile and apparel imports in January-December 2006 amounted to $5.891 billion, an increase of 9.23 percent, accounting for 32.63 percent of the total import value of $18.051 billion of textile and apparel.