China's imports of chemical fiber are expected to drop 6 percent to 1.4 million tons in 2006, a result of surging domestic output, said the Chinese Association of Chemical Fiber Industry.

The association has just issued its annual outlook report. It predicts that the output of China's chemical fiber industry will soar 8 percent to 17.5 million - 17.6 million tons in 2006.

Expanding demand from China's textile industry, stable international oil prices and several Chinese chemical fiber projects are the main factors for the rebound in the Chinese chemical fiber industry, said the association.

The association predicts that sales revenue of China's chemical fiber industry will hit 280 billion yuan (34.7 billion US dollars) next year, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent, while gross production value will edge 285 billion yuan (35.3 billion dollars), a hefty 15 percent up on 2005.

Source: Xinhua