Taiwanese apparel expert says, “We are not here (merely) for revenue, but to make good friends”
Parallel to hosting the Taiwan Textile Fair for the third consecutive year in Colombo, the bilateral relationship between Sri Lanka and Taiwan is growing.
Taiwan is here in Sri Lanka not expecting to make business, but to create ‘friendship’ between the two countries, says Sean Tsai from the Taiwan Textile Federation. He made this comment speaking to the Business Times on the sidelines of the launch of the Fair at Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo last Tuesday.
A Taiwan investor at the fair.
Mr. Tsai said, “There is a lot of demand for Taiwan textiles in Sri Lanka and there will be more and more in the future. Apparel sector growth in Taiwan is about 5 per cent per year because the global market is doing well.
We are expecting a growth of 5-10 per cent next year. Most fabrics are imported from China and we do export the value added products to China as well as for many other countries including Sri Lanka. The South Asian region will become the next biggest production base for Taiwan. We are here to make friends and relationships, not to expect growth and revenue.”
A lot of local companies have started working with the Taiwan apparel industries. Most of the Taiwanese companies are new in the market. Some of the companies that were present at the 2-day Fair in Colombo were here for the first time. There were 10 textile companies from Taiwan and there has been a maximum of 17 companies in the previous Fairs in South Asia, he added. The Taiwan Textile Industry is the acknowledged world leader in research, development and manufacturing of fabric and garment accessories. The Textile Fair brings together leading suppliers of textiles and related products from Taiwan, one of the world’s largest apparel textiles exporting countries to Sri Lanka. The fair showcases innovative and high performance functional textiles for apparel, bags, shoes, rainwear to Sri Lankan manufacturers.
The Sri Lankan apparel industry is set for strong growth on the back of continued positive growth in the economy, recording 7.8 per cent growth year-on-year in the second quarter. The apparel industry which contributes 15.9 per cent to the economy is on track to achieve the export target of US$ 5 billion by 2016 buoyed by rising export demand. Bilateral trade between Taiwan and Sri Lanka has increased over the years and Sri Lanka has a strong demographic dividend. With South Asia predicted to become the largest textile and apparel producer, Taiwan is looking for stronger bilateral trade and co-operation with Sri Lanka, officials said.