The rate of growth in the output of major textile enterprises slowed sharply, to single-digit levels in some cases, in the first seven months of 2008, the China National Textile and Apparel Council said on Monday.

The council said the deceleration reflected slowing textile exports and a cooling global economy.

From January to July, chemical fiber production rose 4.76 percent from a year earlier, but that was 13.23 percentage points less than the growth rate during the same seven-month period last year, the lowest growth rate since March 2006.

Yarn production grew 10.78 percent during the period, but that was 9.41 percentage points less than a year earlier.

The output growth of the cloth and garment sectors fell 7.45 and 7.92 percentage points, respectively, from year-earlier rates of 13.9 percent and 14.1 percent.