China-Australia trade in textile and apparel products exceeded US$3.4 billion

Chinese Customs statistics reveal that during the first three quarters of this year, China-Australia trade in textile and apparel products exceeded US$3.4 billion, up by 23.4% as compared with the same period of last year.

Of this sum, China's exports to Australia amounted to US$3.39 billion, up by 23.5% year on year, while China's imports from Australia were US$12 million, similar to the same period of last year. It is expected that the textile and apparel trade between the two countries will reach US$4.5 billion for the whole year.

According to the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles (CCCT), in recent years, the textile and apparel trade between China and Australia has seen rapid growth. During the past 10 years, the value of bilateral trade jumped from less than US$1.15 billion in 2001 to US$3.79 billion in 2010, a growth of 2.3 times over the period, or a rise of 12.7% annually, despite a slight decrease in 2009 caused by the global financial crisis.

At present, Australia is China's 10th largest textile and apparel trading partner and its ninth biggest export market. Textile and apparel trade makes up about 4% of the total value of bilateral trade between the two countries.