According to a recent survey in Shandong province, it is becoming a matter of the survival of the fittest in the textile industry, with a few falling by the wayside unable to take the brunt, while others are becoming more competitive.
However, the impact of the current international financial crisis seems to be deepening further, and analysts predict that the most difficult period of China's textile industry is yet to come and is expected to appear in the second quarter of this year.
At present, Shandong Province has nearly 30 million spindles and nearly 2 million workers, with rural migrant workers accounting for more than 70 percent. The number of big textile and garment companies reached 4,933 in 2008.
The textile economy of the province ranks among the top three in the country and from amongst the rankings, yarn and cloth output ranks first, knitting wool second, garment manufacturing third and the petrochemical industry at fourth place.
The real problem faced by the textile and garment industry in Shandong is the squeeze on credit, which is creating problems in implementation of orders received from their overseas buyers, in turn disrupting the whole textile chain in Shandong.
According to a revival plan, the revenue of large scale companies is estimated to touch 900 billion Yuan by 2011, an average annual increase of 17 percent or more and will have at least one company with turnover above 100 billion Yuan.
Further, it proposes to have twenty brands, each with sales of over 1 billion Yuan, with export proportions of these brands increasing by 10 percent. During the period, the province will concentrate on providing all help needed by the sector.
The Shandong Province Textile Industry Association recently conducted a survey among 30 leading textile enterprises in the province of which 98 percent have orders in hand, but at prices which they may not be able to sustain for long.
The textile industry in Shandong is the traditional pillar of its economy and has played an important role in creating jobs, increasing income of farmers, earning foreign currency from exports, promoting market prosperity and urbanization.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - China
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