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| Sunday, 23 January 2005 |
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Sri Lanka's apparel exports beat post - MFA blues by Elmo Leonard Sri Lanka's exports of apparel in 2004 which was a record $2.3 billion (Rs 98 to a US dollar) has the possibility of growing by 20 percent this year contrary to fears that with the year-end scrapping of the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) the country's apparel exports would wilt and die. Over a 20-years-wait for the scrapping of the MFA the fear-of-the-unknown had generated much global research among marketeers and economists of apparel export nations and among world monetary bodies. Sri Lanka's early success of surviving the MFA-free scenerio is because 25 percent of the exporters who account for 75 percent of apparel shipments had teamed up with some of the world's leading buyers to secure orders. These leading local exporters had offered the buyer a total package of what they could supply. "All the buyer has to do is to offer the design," Rohan Kuruppu, Chairman, the Textile Institute, Sri Lanka Section said. This package offer, includes the product development, upto the first fit-sample and consists of sourcing of fabrics and accessories, trims and packaging. "Now, what the foreign buyer had to do in their country is done here, saving the buyer cost and energy, Kuruppu, who was the founder director of the Clothing Industry Training Institute (CITI) said. Sri Lanka has around 800 garment factories and over 350,000, mainly female workers employed in her garment industry. Thus far, this strategy of the exporter offering the package poses the possibility of the nation receiving continuous orders, necessitating the bringing in of sub-contractors from among the small and medium sector of the island's apparel industry. But, the country's attempt to overcome the MFA scrapping, would end at this point with the small and medium sector lacking facilities and services in their factories to satisfy requirements of buyers. "Smalltimers are not accredited; they do not have compliance certificates recognised by the leading buyers." Kuruppu explained. Government must move in financial assistance, for the small and medium sector to upgrade their factories enabling them to receive compliance certificates from buyers. In bracing for the scrapping of the MFA, few companies have been modernised and thus, their output is slow and consequently, cost of production is high and uncompetitive. The small and medium sector cannot stand on their own as they do not have the marketing capability to compete in the post-MFA global scenario, Kuruppu said. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
