The combined operating revenue of major Chinese garment enterprises expanded 13.4 percent year-on-year to 407.8 billion yuan ($63.86 billion) over the January to April period, according to the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Meanwhile, total profits of 12,444 major garment firms surveyed jumped 37.9 percent from a year ago to 18 billion yuan ($2.81 billion) and the companies saw their combined output rise 23.87 percent from a year ago to over 7.05 billion pieces.

The ministry’s latest statistics show China’s online retail sales of clothing products rose 33.8 percent year-on-year in the first four months, while the country’s garment exports soared 51.7 percent year-on-year to $44.4 billion, in spite of precipitous price rises impacting fashion companies sourcing from China over the same period.