Sri Lanka looking at manufacturing 180 tons of fabric daily at Eravur Industrial Zone
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry experts noted that once the proposed industrial zone in the country’s Eastern Province comes into operation giving prominence to fabric manufacturing, a quantity of around 180 tons of fabric could be manufactured within the zone.
Secretary General of Sri Lanka’s Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) Tuli Cooray has told the media that there was scope for a minimum of six fabric factories and a maximum of 10 factories to operate in the proposed Eravur Industrial Zone.
Cooray has told Sri Lanka’s state owned Daily News that six factories could have a daily output of 180 tons while 10 factories could rise to 300 tons daily.
Explaining the statistics of the apparel and fabric industries, Cooray has said that the total value of the apparel exports amounts to US$ 5.3 million while the value of the local apparel industry for the domestic market would be around US$ 2 million which aggregated to US$ 7.3 million and the fabric component of the US$ 7.3 million would be in the region of 40%, which is calculated to around US$ 3 million.
“Taking into consideration, the large local corporates and the six to seven small corporates which manufacture fabric for both the local and export markets, still there would be a deficit which could be manufactured locally, which would save valuable foreign exchange as well, he explained. Still, there will be a deficit of around US$ 1.5 to US$ 2 million which could be manufactured locally,” the JAAF General Secretary has said.
He has further noted that knitted and woven fabric could also be manufactured in the Eravur Industrial Zone, which could then be supplied to all these factories.
OSL take:
The move to set up a fabric park with the capacity of manufacturing 180 tons of fabric per day would make it one of the most lucrative business/investment opportunity in Sri Lanka. The location of an international port in the region where the fabric park is to be located would further help the products gain easy access to overseas markets. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country will also add to the business advantage. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s proposed fabric park in the eastern province.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20200608/Z_4 |