(Yicai) Feb. 29 -- Chinese manufacturers of brocade used in traditional horse-face skirts are slow to increase output despite rising demand due to their calculations of return on investment.

Zhu Xinmin, a fabric manufacturer in Suzhou, told Yicai, that the popularity of such patterned woven fabric has been high and the firm expects to boost its order volume by over 50 percent this year from the past two years. The horse-face skirt, characterized by pleated side panels, is a hanfu style that has been worn in China since the Song dynasty.

Zhu pointed out that about 20 percent of the firm's products are indirectly exported overseas. “Not only Chinese people but also foreigners in Southeast Asia and other places are willing to wear horse-face skirts and clothes made from hanfu fabrics.”

A textile company in Zhejiang province's city of Haining recently renewed its record high of orders. General Manager Yu Ruming revealed that the firm received an order of 600,000 meters of brocade from Southeast Asia before Chinese New Year earlier this month. Some Southeast Asian enterprises are in talks to introduce horse-face skirts to local Chinese communities, Yu added.

However, fabric manufacturers remain cautious. Cao Yaoqiang from the Haining Household Textile Industry Association said that producing brocade requires a certain level of technical expertise, and the needed investment is not low.

A machine costing CNY400,000 to CNY500,000 (USD56,000 to USD70,000) can produce an average of 40 to 50 meters of brocade per day. "It is not possible to immediately meet the growing market demand. The return on investment is typically moderate," Cao said.

Moreover, textile companies worry about changing trends. Zhu from Suzhou said that the popularity of horse-face skirts is likely to cool down as the off-season starts in July or August.

Editor: Emmi Laine