(Yicai) Dec. 1 -- China’s garment exports slumped 8.8 percent between January and October from a year ago as international orders stay weak, according to the latest data.

China’s clothing exports amounted to USD133.5 billion in the first 10 months, according to the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles.

Exports have slowed in the second half, the chamber of commerce said. In the first six months, garment exports sank 6.1 percent year on year.

The influence of the pandemic is now coming to an end, it added. In October, apparel exports dipped 0.7 percent from the same period in 2019, compared with a surge of 17.6 percent in the first six months from 2019, it added.

Exports of apparel to developed countries in the West sank 15.3 percent in the ten months ended Oct. 31 from a year earlier to USD77.3 billion. This accounted for 57.9 percent of the country’s total clothing exports, a contraction of 4.5 percentage points from the previous year.

Apparel sales to the US, though, increased for the second straight month in October, jumping 6.6 percent from a year ago to USD2.5 billion, indicating that demand in the US is beginning to stabilize.

China’s garment exports to countries along the Belt and Road route climbed 3.1 percent from January to October year on year to USD38.3 billion. Exports to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan surged 70.8 percent and 45.2 percent, respectively, while those to Africa soared 15.7 percent to USD7.3 billion.

Editor: Kim Taylor