Chinese textiles blocked at Maltese ports

A substantial number of jerseys, trousers and blouses imported from China to be sold in Malta are being held by Customs and will not be released before instructions are received from Brussels.

A senior customs official yesterday told The Times that the quota imposed on the importation of textile products from China has long been surpassed and the EU ordered its member states to hold any imports pending a solution.

About 75 million items of Chinese textile goods are currently sitting in warehouses and ports around Europe waiting to be allowed in. They represent orders that are not allowed into Europe because China has exceeded the new annual limits on imports of certain goods that were agreed to in June.

In Malta, Chinese textile imports have been held up in stores at Customs since mid-June and no new import licences are being issued for the time being. Sources said it had been noted that the importation of Chinese textiles had increased substantially this year and the cheap products were flooding the Maltese market.

The global textile industry has been in flux since the beginning of the year after quotas, that had limited worldwide clothing sales for 30 years, were scrapped. The move, part of a global drive towards trade liberalisation, has resulted in a huge increase in Chinese clothing exports, with sales of certain items to the EU rising by up to 500 per cent.

As part of the rules governing China's entry to the World Trade Organisation, however, Europe has temporarily won the right to place limits on textile imports to give European manufacturers time to adapt to the new trading environment.