The China National Garment Association said on Wednesday that apparel sales in May rose 6.6 percent year-on-year, 5.5 percentage points faster than a month earlier.

So strong are the inventories, the association said, that if all the garment factories closed there would be enough for three years.

The China National Textile and Apparel Council cited two reasons for the high inventories. First, Chinese clothing brands have developed too fast in recent years and the purchasing power of potential customers has not increased.

Second, some clothing companies went into massive production to reduce costs, leading to a "sameness" in products, something that would-be buyers do not like.