BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's major textile companies are expected to witness an annual increase of 8 percent in their value-added output over the next four years, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Thursday.

The ministry published a plan regarding supporting the development of the textile industry during the country's 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), according to which the sector's exports will reach 300 billion U.S. dollars by 2015 with an annual growth of 7.5 percent.

The industry is also expected to employ 20 million people by 2015 and its energy consumption per unit of value-added output will drop by 20 percent from 2010, the guideline said.

The country will encourage the textile industry to enhance brand-building and aims to build 5-10 textile companies of global influence and 50 companies with an annual revenue of more than 10 billion yuan by 2015.

The guideline warned of potential risks for the sector, including volatile changes in raw material prices, rising production costs and a complicated international trade environment.

The guideline said the industry should develop new products and explore new markets to ensure a healthy development during the coming period.