Apparel SMEs need help

Indunil HEWAGE

The Small and Medium Enterprise sector of the Lankan apparel industry which is currently weakening needs assistance and correct direction to enable it to realize its full potential to become the backbone of that sector as it is in many other countries.

However, the country situation now provides new opportunities for investors in the respective industry to look at new and more profitable areas of textile manufacture which is in technical textiles.

Textiles such as geo textiles and medical textiles are of particular importance.

The technology for Sri Lanka to get into these areas should come through Foreign Direct Investments or through joint venture partnerships.

The government should offer high incentives to attract such pioneering industries so far totally ignored by the textile manufacturing community, the Sri Lanka Export Development Board said.

Sri Lankan Textile and Apparel Industries including leather products and footwear form an important sector in the economic development of the country. Local textiles sector caters to the apparel export industry and domestic consumer through imports and local production.

However, this area of industry has not been able to reach its full potential due to many factors.

A hand-loom industry manufacturing bed sheets and dusters which can be easily manufactured by power looms has no future. The survival of the hand-loom industry depends on its ability to upgrade itself into high end fashion market as has been recently developed in both India and Bangladesh.

The demise of the hand-loom industry is mainly due to its inability to pay a competitive wage to its employees.

This initiative should attract new entrepreneurs and designers to manufacture a product mix which can be priced sufficiently high to sustain contented workforce.