“Among the textile items, yarns, cloths, and garments all witnessed a sharp drop in exports for the year. Market observers attributed the fall to the growing presence of mainland Chinese textile manufacturers in the global arena, particularly after the cancellation of the Multi-Fiber Agreement on global textile quotas, effective in 2005. Another reason is that Taiwan’s mid- and down-stream cloth and garment makers have moved their production lines abroad to lower manufacturing cost. .To avoid the price-cutting competition in the world market from their mainland counterparts, Taiwan’s textile makers have in recent years actively zeroed in on high-end products, such the textile items made of bamboo carbon fiber with nano-technology and those featuring anti-bacteria, anti-ultraviolet rays, anti-odor, and perspiration-absorption & quick drying functions. .Hsu Wen-cheng, deputy secretary general of Taiwan Textile Federation, predicted Taiwan’s textile exports to keep falling and advised domestic textile makers to focus on the production of value-added high-end products instead of mass production of cheap items. He urged Taiwan’s textile industry to lower the production ratio of garments to 60 percent from the current 80 percent and boost the ratio of household- and industrial-use textile items by 10 percent-20 percent . “Source: Taiwan Headlines .
Date:2/23/2006
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