TEXTILES AND APPAREL SECTOR UPDATE: SRI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001644 SIPDIS STATE/EB/TPP/ABT EDWARD HEARTNEY STATE FOR SA/INS DEPT PASS USTR ABIOLA HEYLIGER COMMERCE/ITA/OTEXA MARIA D'ANDREA GENEVA PASS USTR E.O 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KTEX ETRD EAID CE ECONOMICS SUBJECT: TEXTILES AND APPAREL SECTOR UPDATE: SRI LANKA REF: (A) STATE 146213 (B) 05 COLOMBO 1247 (C) 05 COLOMBO 965 (D) 04 COLOMBO 1604 (E) 04 COLOMBO 1271 ¶1. Per ref (A),information for Sri Lanka follows: - 2004 2005 - thru - June Total Industrial Prod. (USD MN) 6,889 NA Total text/apparel/leather prd(USD MN)2,919 NA Total textiles/apparel exports(USD Mn)2,809 1,326 Textile/apparel share of total exports 49% 45% Total manufacturing employment (`000) 1,221(a) NA Total textile/apparel employment NA(b) NA (a) 3rd Quarter (b) According to 2003 data, total manufacturing employment was 1.16 million in 2003, with 357,538 employed in apparel factories. ¶2. Export Data: Sri Lanka's apparel industry appears to have weathered the MFA expiration reasonably well judging by export data. In the first half of 2005, total exports of textiles and apparel have risen by 8.2 percent to USD 1.33 billion from USD 1.23 billion in the corresponding period in 2004. The growth follows a 9 percent growth in CY 2004. However, according to latest Central Bank data, apparel exports in July dropped by about 2 percent. According to US data, apparel exports to the US, Sri Lanka's largest market, increased 16 percent in the first half of 2005. Exports to the EU which increased by 27 percent in 2004 in response to tariff concessions under a EU GSP scheme, have declined in the first few months of 2005 as the duty concessions were not sufficient to offset heavy Chinese competition (see below for most recent developments in EU GSP). ¶3. Prices: Prices received by garment manufacturers generally declined in the first half of 2005 and steeper declines are expected in the second half of ¶2005. Some specialty segments (e.g. sportswear, bras, and briefs) have, however, seen an increase in price. According to industry sources, price competition from China has been greatest in the EU market. ¶4. Orders: Most large producers experienced larger orders in 2005. Cottons have done particularly well. Both the EU quotas and the US safeguards on Chinese products are assisting local companies. Consequently, large producers expect increased orders in the next few months based on feedback from buyers. Some large producers are expecting to enhance capacities by way of acquisitions to meet capacity requirements. In addition, Sri Lanka qualified for the EU's new GSP "Plus" scheme, allowing even greater access to its second largest apparel market. Under this scheme, Sri Lankan apparel, made of EU or Sri Lankan fabric, may enter the EU duty free as of July 1(ref b). Sri Lankan apparel with regional fabric (from South Asia) also qualifies for duty free access to the EU if local value addition exceeds 50 percent. According to a senior EU Trade Commission official in Colombo, there has been a renewal of Sri Lankan exports to the EU recently following the EU GSP "Plus" scheme. Previously, the EU commission reported a decline in Sri Lankan orders in the first half of 2005. Small scale producers continue to complain of a reduction in orders and heightened price competition. ¶5. Special arrangements: In addition to the EU GSP "Plus" scheme, Sri Lanka has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with India and Pakistan. Under these agreements, apparel exports from Sri Lanka are under quota. However, Sri Lanka has not been able to fully exploit the quotas due to heavy price competition in these markets. Some Sri Lankan manufacturers are also investing in other countries to stay competitive in the post MFA era. A leading apparel manufacturer, Brandix, will start work on a large apparel manufacturing unit in a special economic zone in Andra Pradesh in India. Another smaller group has set up a factory in Africa to benefit from the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). ¶6. Wages: Increased global competition has not resulted in a reduction in wages. Due to increased over-time work to meet new orders the wage bill of some companies has actually risen. Some manufacturers, especially smaller firms, reported a shortage of workers. According to them, high inflation (around 13 percent) has led to increased cost of living in most urban areas where factories are located. The government, which is contemplating a mandatory wage increase for private sector employees, may exclude the garment sector from the wage increase temporarily, but several manufacturers has told us they expect to get hit with the wage hike soon. ¶7. Factory closures: There have been many consolidations and acquisitions of smaller factories by larger factories. There are no reliable statistics on factory closures. ¶8. Actions: Sri Lanka is continuing various programs to improve the apparel industry, which is the mainstay of the manufacturing and export sectors. According to the Joint Apparel Associations Forum (JAAF),current rules of origin in textile trade are favoring countries with a strong textile base. Sri Lanka is disadvantaged in this respect due to the lack of a textile base. Infrastructure bottlenecks (especially the high cost of power and poor rural road conditions) are hampering the establishment of a vibrant textile base. ¶9. Among some of the actions being taken by the Government and the JAAF are: -- encourage the local textile industry by requiring all government purchases of fabric (for school uniforms, military uniforms and prison uniforms) to be made by local manufacturers -- imports of textiles and inputs for the apparel industry are exempted from the Value Added Tax (VAT). -- a productivity improvement program in 200 small and medium sized factories. -- an apparel branding/image building program -- upgrading of vocational training courses for apparel sector -- affiliation with North Carolina State University's textile institute -- a Government credit guarantee scheme for commercial banks that lend to apparel industries. The scheme is available for factory upgrades. However, the scheme has not been successful as bankers are reluctant to fund the apparel industry until they see more clearly how it will weather the transition to a post-MFA world. -- a newly created Government SME bank also has a low interest loan scheme for the apparel industry. However, few SME apparel manufacturers have taken advantage of this opportunity. ¶10. According to JAAF sources if the apparel industry stagnates, the country will need to identify other industries to fuel growth. JAAF recognizing the vital contribution made to the economy by the apparel industry, asked to present the following "wish list" to USG to protect the apparel sector in Sri Lanka: --enhanced access to the US through special legislation for tsunami affected and low income countries --continuation of Chinese safeguard actions --technical assistance to reopen an ELVIS like system to avoid transshipment of Chinese goods through Sri Lanka. Lunstead