Local manufacture of uniform materials saves Rs.100 m

Irangika Range

COLOMBO: The Government has been able to save foreign exchange amounting around Rs.100 million last year by locally manufacturing school and Armed forces and police uniforms and suspending uniform material imports.

Minister of Textile Industry Development, Jayatissa Ranaweera told the Daily News that this would vastly improve the local textile manufacturing industry creating a fresh demand for textiles in the local market.

“The valuable foreign exchange which we spent on importing textile materials earlier would remain in the country and help improve the livelihoods of many local textile manufactures,” the Minister said. Nearly 18 local companies are involved in manufacturing 62,149,00 meters of school uniform material and a quota worth Rs.911 million has been allocated by the Domestic Textile Allocation Committee.

Nearly 22 local companies have manufactured Armed Forces and Police uniforms and other requirements and the total value is Rs.528 million.

Local manufactures have manufactured 99,75,000 metres of Dhamma School Teachers’ uniforms materials while 64,90,000 meters of uniform materials have been manufactured for the Prisons Department last year.