Apparel sector grows
Major players take closed factories :
Sanjeevi Jayasuriya
The apparel industry will continue its growth momentum and is
expected to end the year by recording a growth of four percent. The
industry is really booming except for a few hiccups, Sri Lanka Garment
Buying Offices Association President J D R Sylvester said.
A sum of Rs 40 million allocated from the consolidated fund per year
was spent to promote the local apparel industry in the past and this
money will be diverted to the new image building campaign this year.
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The garments sector continues growth |
Many closed down garment factories in the country have been taken
over by major garment factories and work is in full capacity now. The
industry has managed to create around 400,000 jobs in various
manufacturing processes in the apparel industry.
“A strategic plan needs to be put forward for 2012 to increase
capacity and to work out a mechanism to reopen factories closed during
the recession. This would certainly help our industry and change the
business climate,” Sylvester said.
The Moratuwa University is coordinating with the Joint Apparel
Association Forum to build the industry, the hub concept, training,
quality and product development. The JAAF human resources program will
also help to uplift the industry.
The apparel industry needs to promote production integration and
bilateral trade to capture market opportunities. Despite the loss of GSP+
facility the country is doing well. The industry is confident that it
could surpass expectations this year, Sri Lanka Garment Buying Offices
Association Secretary General Hiran Bandaranayake said.
The Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) has begun implementing a
countrywide image building campaign from February 2011 a bid to
highlight the contribution of garment factory workers towards the
improvement of national economy.
The Association is working with the Joint Apparel Association Forum
to promote the industry and “Garments without Guilt” has made Lankan
garments very popular internationally.
The apparel industry recorded an export income growth of 3.7 percent
from January to November of 2010 with exports totalling US$ 3.038
billion compared to US$ 2.930 billion during the same period in 2009 and
anticipate that the year will end with a four percent growth. |
