Karim Tazi, the general secretary of the Moroccan Association of the Textile and Clothing Industry said competition from China and India could mean “Morocco risks losing between 30 and 40% of the European market” and was “an upheaval, a real earthquake,” .
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according to the Aujourd hui le Maroc daily. .
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“This will force textile firms to put the key under the mat” and close down, Tazi said, saying the loss in export gains could reach even 50%. More than a third of the 200,000 textile worker in the north African country face losing their jobs, the paper estimated. The kingdom “is preparing to confront one of the most serious crises in its industry,” the newspaper added, since it “must now go into competition with Chinese and Indian manufacturers, known for the large scale of their exports and low prices”. .
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It recommended: “Our industries should abandon the traditional system of sub-contracting work … and develop new lines, particularly concentrating on top quality products.” .
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Apart from Asian competition, textile professionals in Morocco have expressed fears of competition from the United States in the wake of a free trade agreement reached between Rabat and Washington in 2004. .
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Under the agreement, textile and clothing imports may be exempt from customs duty – if they respect rules of origin aimed at promoting the use of fibres and fabric made in the United States and Moroccom. .
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Source: Business Day
Date:1/6/2005
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