From January to May, official government data shows the combined operating revenue of 12,451 major enterprises in China’s garment sector reached 525.1 billion yuan ($81.1 billion), up 13.29 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

These enterprises raked in total profits of 23.5 billion yuan ($3.63 billion) in the period, jumping 27.87 percent year on year, MIIT data shows.

The latest statistics also show that China’s online retail sales of clothing products climbed 28.2 percent year on year in the first five months, while the country’s exports of garment and accessories surged 48.3 percent year on year to $56.6 billion.