Garment exporters ready to face China — GTEB head

Garment exporters are now prepared to meet the formidable competition posed by China with the removal of garments quota by 2005, a ranking government official said.

Serafin Jullano, Garments and Textile Export Board (GTEB) executive director, said local manufacturers have started shifting their production to value-added branded garments.

Local exporters acknowledge that China will easily dominate the export market for basic, low-cost garments.

Thus, Filipino garment manufacturers are focusing on providing quality, branded products for such firms as Polo-Ralph Lauren, the Gap, Liz Claiborne and Anne Klein.

At present, Jullano said, about 50 percent of the garments sector’s production consists of high-quality, branded garments.

Jullano also noted that the Philippines is benefitting from the imposition of safeguards by the US on Chinese garments.

With the imposition of the safeguards, US buyers have adopted a multiple inventory sourcing system to make sure that they can easily buy from other garments manufacturing countries.

Next year, the GTEB foresees a five-percent growth as the US market picks up.

As of Dec. 14 this year, the GTEB reported that garments exports amounted to only $2.626 billion, 3.68 percent lower than the $2.726-billion garments exports from Jan. 1 to Dec. 14, 2002.