The surge to bid online for export quotas on 21 categories of textiles to the United States has caused a bottleneck on the official Website.
In response, the central government has extended the bid period by another 24 hours, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles said yesterday.
Last week, almost 30,000 qualified textile enterprises in China joined the bidding for export quotas on 21 categories of textiles to the US market next year.
The bid, which had been expected to end last Thursday originally, actually concluded the next day due to "technical problems," the Ministry of Commerce said on its Website.
The competition was very heated due to a half-year block on some kinds of products to the United States, insiders said. When the bid result was released by the chamber of commerce, bidders found the final prices on most textile categories were much higher than the minimum bid prices.
After seven rounds of talks, the United States and China in November signed a three-year pact on textile trade, imposing quotas on Chinese textile products but clearing a major obstacle to bilateral trade.
A total of 21 types of clothing and textiles has been placed under import restrictions. The deal provides for a progressive increase in imports of major textiles and apparel products from China - by 10 to 15 percent in 2006, 12.5 to 16 percent in 2007, and 15 to 17 percent in 2008.
Thirty percent of the agreed quota next year will be distributed through public bids, said the ministry.
(Xinhua)