China's garment industry sees lower revenues in H1

BEIJING -- China's garment industry registered shrinking revenues and profits in the first half of the year, but the decline was narrower, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed.

From January to June, the combined operating revenue of major garment enterprises, each with an annual operating revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about $2.89 million), dipped 16.39 percent year on year to 577.63 billion yuan, MIIT data showed.

The contraction narrowed by 7.07 percentage points from the decline in the first quarter (Q1).

Meanwhile, profits of these enterprises shrank 27.34 percent to 23.53 billion yuan from the same period last year, with the fall narrowing by 16.16 percentage points compared with the decrease in Q1.

The output of the enterprises was down 13.69 percent to 9.6 billion pieces in the first six months of the year, according to the ministry.

During the same period, exports of clothing and accessories decreased by 19.42 percent year on year to 53.64 billion dollars, said the MIIT.