Government moves to revive textile & garments sector

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will work together with three other government agencies in an effort to revive the textile and garments industry in the country.

Along with the Departments of Science and Technology (DOST), Agriculture (DA), Trade and Industry (DTI), the DENR will participate in the Natural Fabrics Research and Development Program (NFRDP).

In a memorandum of agreement, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Heherson Alvarez committed to take charge of identifying, evaluating, determining and facilitating the establishment of plantations for fiber sources.

The DENR will also conduct bio-prospecting activities for the identification and evaluation of forest species, and feasibility studies on hybridization cross-breeding and genetic engineering of forest species suitable for textile manufacturing.

"Textile and garments are one of the primary exports of the country and employs thousands nationwide. It is about time that we develop the Philippine’s tropical fabrics and make it internationally competitive, and the DENR will support this endeavor through natural resources research and development," Alvarez said.

According to Alvarez, the textile and garments industry has been heavily dependent on imported raw materials, particularly the synthetic fiber, despite the industry’s steady decline for the past years.

Due to this, the participating government agencies decided to come up with a program that is aimed at strengthening research and development on local natural fibers and Philippine tropical fabrics to make them commercially viable and globally competitive.

The project is expected to benefit among others the Abaca, pineapple and banana farmers; banana and pineapple corporate farms; fiber processors; textile mills; cottage industries; non-woven factories; and garment producers.

The University of the Philippine Los Baños (UPLB) and Visayas State College of Agriculture (VSCA) will also participate in the undertaking.