China’s textile and apparel exports fell 24.3 percent year on year to 7.98 billion U.S. dollars in March, according to a report from the National Development and Reform Commission on Tuesday.

The country exported 31.35 billion U.S. dollars worth of textiles and apparel in the first quarter, up 14.7 percent from the same period of last year.

China’s textile production maintained fast growth in the first quarter, with yarn output rising 21.6 percent to 4.17 million tons, said the report.

Last year, China’s textile and apparel exports grew 25.2 percent to 143.99 billion U.S. dollars, while imports edged up 5.6 percent to 18.09 billion U.S. dollars.

To help balance the trade surplus, the government is planning to cut the export tax rebate on textile products.