The growth rate of China's textile and garment exports dropped 3.7 percentage points year-on-year from September to May, China Customs said in a report released over the weekend.

The significantly smaller growth was attributed to a combination of a faster appreciation of Chinese currency, rising labor and production costs, the export rebate rate cut and a global economic slowdown.

During the first five months, textile and garment exports were valued at 66.2 billion U.S. dollars, up 15.4 percent from a year earlier. The growth rate was down 0.2 percentage points over the same period last year, according to the customs.

Increasing pressure on domestic exporters had resulted in a transfer of production from the economically prosperous eastern region to the central and western regions where labor and production costs were comparatively lower, China National Garment Association said.

The association added the textile and garment output in the central region was up around 30 percent during the first five months. Central provinces including Henan, Hunan, and Sichuan have become more attractive for domestic textile and garment companies.

(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2008)