BEIJING - The growth of China's textile industry slowed in the first five months of the year, as domestic and external demand continued to drop amid a sluggish economy, according to data from the country's top economic planner.

The gross output value of the textile industry increased 11.81 percent year on year to 2.14 trillion yuan ($340.5 billion) from January to May, down 18.34 percent year on year, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) data showed.

The sector's sales went up 11.35 percent year on year to 2.09 trillion yuan during the period, the data said.

In the first five months, the value of textile exports totaled $90.64 billion, up 2.06 percent year on year. The rate pulled back 24.47 percentage points from that of the same period last year.

After adjusting for inflation, actual exports saw decrease during the period, the NDRC said.

The slowing growth has dragged down profits in the sector. During the January-April period, profits of textile manufacturers dropped 2.31 percent year on year to 72.12 billion yuan, down 45.15 percentage points from a year earlier.

The profit margin for the sector shed 0.62 percentage point from the same period last year to 4.46 percent during the period.