In the past three months:

Marked improvement in apparel sector

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

Rohan Masakorala

There has been a marked improvement in the apparel industry performance in the past three months and the industry expects steady performance this year. “The apparel industry is doing well for the past three months. We expect this year’s performance to be as same as the last year and to end the year at the same level of US $ three billion revenue for 2011. There has been a positive trend for the past three months and this is a good sign,” Joint Apparel Association Forum Secretary General Rohan Masakorala told Daily News Business.

“The apparel industry is anticipating a five to six percent growth provided the external markets continue to improve. Our focus is mainly for the USA and the European Union markets at present with market diversification as an integral aspect in the agenda,” he said. The industry expects the implementation of budget proposals which are favourable in the long run. However, it is concerned about the proposed electricity tariff increase which will be 17 to 21 percent for the apparel sector.

“The tariff increase will adversely affect the industry as we consider it as a major increase. However, an eight percent increase that was originally proposed at the last budget will be rational and reasonable as the industry is facing stiff competition from emerging markets internationally. The labour laws do not permit the industrialists to adjust the working hours to receive the benefit of the off-peak hours. They are compelled to conduct operations within the stipulated working hours.

“This will be a major set back for the apparel industry and we will lose the competitive edge in the global market. We seek remedial measures to sustain the growth momentum”, he said.

The apparel industry is looking at markets mainly in Asia including Japan and Russia. It is important to have policy level initiatives to conduct dialogue for trading with these countries. The establishment of market access in these countries will further improve the industry performance in the future, Masakorala said.