The country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data, which tracks China’s largest apparel enterprises (those with more than 20 million yuan, or $3.1 million in annual revenue), showed that the 12,510 businesses surveyed over the January to July period saw revenue reach 780 billion yuan ($120.76 billion), up 11 percent year-on-year. In July, however, the growth rate was 1.95 percent lower than the average for the first six months.
Cumulatively, the tracked companies reached total profit of 33.2 billion yuan ($5.14 billion), between January and July, up 9.81 percent year-on-year, though that metric was also down 4.06 percent in July, compared to the average for the previous six months.
It is expected that these figures will rise again in August as China’s latest Covid-19 outbreak was quickly curbed, but government agencies have warned that rising logistics costs and raw material prices will lead companies to face a continued strain on their margins.