China's textile and garment export dropped 12.35 percent to $16.38 billion in July from the same period last year, according to the latest statistics on the official website of the General Administration of Customs.

The figure in July, however, was 21 percent up from $13.48 billion in June.

The textile and garment export declined 11.15 percent to $89.17 billion in the first seven months from the same period last year due to sluggish demand in China's major export destinations -- the United States, the European Union and Japan.

The decline in textile and garment export in July showed the enterprises were still struggling at the profits bottom, said Ma Xinzheng, vice editor-in-chief of Wetextiles.com, a leading textile website in China.

Growing domestic orders would support the recovery of China's textile sector despite slack overseas market demand, said Ma, adding that the prospect of China's textile sector was upbeat.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2009)