Over 1.8 m Lankans employed in Textiles sector

Indunil Hewage

Textiles and Clothing makes up close to 80 % of total exports from Bangladesh, providing direct employment opportunity to 5 million people; for Sri Lanka, the figure is 45 % with sector employing more than 1.8 million people; for Pakistan 55 %, with employment for more than 15 million; and for India around 12 %,employing more than 38 % million. The growth of the sector has picked up during the past years , textiles and clothing industry is a sector where competition is fierce .

South Asian countries have major rivals in every exports category, improving competitiveness in this heavily labour intensive industry has therefore become one of the critical issues for export –led growth and poverty reduction. South Asian countries , particularly Bangladesh, India, Pakistan , and Sri Lanka, compete with one another in global market. However, effective regional collaboration, taking advantage of these current production bases, could contribute to enhancing their competitiveness and result in greater world maker share in the textiles and apparel trade.