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Textile and apparel industry records phenomenal growth rate

Sri Lanka's main foreign exchange spinner, the textile and apparel industry had recorded a 92 per cent growth rate between 1994 to 2000 while earnings increased from US$ 1.5 billion in 1994 to US$ 3 billion in 2000, an Industrial Development Ministry official said.

"During this period 67 new large factories were established increasing the number of job opportunities from 143,000 in 1994 to 300,000 in 2000," he said.

Due to the relentless efforts of the Government, the availability of quotas to the USA, EU countries and Canada increased by 12.2 per cent to 435.6 million pieces in 2000. A high level delegation was sent to the USA and to the EU to get more quotas.

Textiles and Garments which became Sri Lanka's largest single export item in 1986 continued to maintain the dominant position, increasing its share from 28 per cent in 1986 to 54 per cent in 2000. Garment exports amounted to 78 per cent of industrial exports, he said.

The healthy growth in the apparel sector came from the consolidation of the market position in the USA and the expansion of up market and non-quota items in the European Union (EU). "The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the EU last year will further boost apparel earnings," he said. He said that Sri Lankan garment manufactures are moving towards quotaless markets which is a good indication of the strength of the local garment industry. The government has taken many measures to strengthen the apparel industry to meet the challenge of a quotaless textile trade in the 21st century.

The growing popularity of brand marketing in international markets encouraged Sri Lankan manufacturers to supply their products to reputed brand name holders in international markets. The top US branded apparel firms visited Sri Lanka last year to establish contacts with major manufacturers for future purchases from Sri Lanka.

Since the domestic textile industry was exposed to global competition, equipment, spare parts and all inputs were made available to the industry free of customs duties and levies.

In addition, to improve product quality and value addition, major apparel manufactures commenced large scale programmes for upgrading technology. The programme included automated systems for designing and grading, embroidery, machine smocking, pleating and screen printing, centralised cutting plants that eliminated human error and improved efficiency in cutting.

The government is encouraging local industrialists to produce fabrics and other raw material for the garment industry locally. This move will help save an enormous sum of foreign exchange spent on raw material imports, he said.

The rationalisation of the quota allocation procedure and the introduction of the Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS) in 1999 helped achieve a higher utilisation rate of 80 per cent during last year. ELVIS replaced the existing manual systems and improved the efficiency of quota administration through speedy and accurate data transmission, simplification of exports documentation and a speedy import clearance process in the USA.

The Ministry has taken many positive steps to upgrade the textile industry with the assistance of various organisations during the last six years. The Textile Training and Services Centre (TTSC) and the Clothing Industry and Training Institute (CITI) are providing comprehensive training and services to persons in this sector.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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