|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 29 August 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Govt to resurrect local textile industry by Chanuka Mannapperuma The Government has come forward to give a new lease of life to the country's textile industry which has suffered severely over the past years. Under this, the Government had agreed to obtain the full quantity of fabric from local manufacturers for 2005 for the free distribution of school uniforms. The textile quota requirements of the Education Department for free distribution of school uniforms is around 10 million metres per annum. This decision by the government will provide an assured market for the industry during the difficult period, Director TT&SC D.P. Gunawardena said. "Already 'Texpro' manufactures have completed the first lot of 60,000 meters of fabric to be used for school uniforms," Gunawardena said adding that the Bank of Ceylon and Peoples bank were also willing to help the local manufacturers. According to Gunawardena, Sri Lanka spends in excess of Rs.2 billion annually for the import of textiles mainly from China for uniforms of children and security forces. He was confident that the country's total textile requirement could be manufactured locally. "Due to various reasons this was not followed up and only 50 per cent was manufactured and supplied locally" he said.Sri Lanka requires nine million metres of textiles for school children annually. In addition, one million meters of blue drill and white drill for shorts and slacks for schoolboys are also required. Gunawardena explained that locally manufacture of textiles, will help to save valuable foreign exchange and at the same time, generate more employment opportunities for Sri Lankans while reviving the textile factories which have remained closed for sometime now. Meanwhile, about fifty leading textile manufacturers in the industry met recently at the Textile Training and Services Centre to discuss the revival of the textile industry. Industrialists lamented that the government was not addressing the burning issues of the industry and pointed that out of the 132 factories that existed more than 100 have closed while some others are on the verge of collapse or running at a marginal market. The result has been that a massive Rs. 12 billion capital investment with around 40,000 workers are losing employment, the industrialists said. Leading manufacturers such as Cyntex, Nagindas, Hybro and Asian Cotton Mills have downsized their employment by large numbers, they pointed out. The objective of the meeting was to examine the problems associated with the textile manufacturing sector and to make a concerted effort towards the upliftment of the sector concentrating on the market, technology, manpower, fiscal and finance and raw material. " As there is no national policy framework for the industry even foreign investors are reluctant to invest, the industrialists said. On the other hand the bankers are also reluctant to support the industry and the energy costs itself is around 40 per cent of the total costs which is extremely high, they said. Lack of high technology and rigid labour regulations, low productivity due to the large number of holidays and high interest rates for bank loans, are among the other shortcomings, they said.However, the latest decision by the government will guarantee an assured market for the industry to sustain itself during the difficult period, Gunawardena said. The requirement for 2005 has been estimated at nine million metres which consists of seven million metres of shirting, dress material and one million metres white drill, one million metres blue drill and 185,000 metres of robe material. Local manufacturers have agreed to weave and supply only 1.2 million metres due to the time factor and offered to import grey fabrics and carry out the finishing process on the fabrics. Further, they have agreed to supply the fabric at the same rate at which the Education Ministry purchased stocks from China last year, which they had also done for the previous three years. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
