China’s chiefly wool exports rose strongly (by both value and volume) in the first two months of 2007 compared with the same period last year.

In January, China’s chiefly wool exports of most categories of wool products made significant gains with the exception of worsted fabric and carpets. February exports surpassed the growth seen in January with all wool product categories reported two-digit or three-digit growth in both value and volume terms.

A potential reason for the extraordinary growth is that Chinese textile companies decided to ship their goods as soon as possible to avoid large losses from potential cuts in export tax rebates.

The main export destinations for China’s chiefly wool exports in January and February were Japan, the United States, Hong Kong, the EU, and South Korea. Japan still dominated China’s wool apparel export market, both for men’s and women’s apparel, while the United States purchased a very large share of China’s carpet.

As well as the traditional destinationsfor China’s wool exports, strong growth was seen in some developing countries. For example, woollen yarn exported to the Czech Republic and Indonesia rose in January and February year-on-year.

In the worsted yarn sector, exports to former USSR countries saw huge growth year-on-year. Turkey was the dominant export destination for both woollen and worsted fabric for the period.