Fiji Times, Fiji
THE garment industry needs to have more awareness and resources from the interim Government to restore it to its former strength.
Fiji’s textile and clothing industry says it has the potential to be one of the top export earners but what the industry needs is to see certain factors changed
This follows comments by interim Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry who vowed that the interim regime would support all efforts to help the industry.
Industry spokesman Mark Halabe said the factors included a 25 per cent rule of origin under the preferential trade arrangement made under South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement and STCF (inclusive of wool) with Australia and NZ.
Other factors, he said included maintaining a long-term tax concession for export earnings, having the exchange rate of the Fiji dollar at realistic values, ensure costs are not distorted by additional labour costs that is not based on productivity and continual increased productivity in the industry.
“The reality to what any government can do with the above factors is limited,” he said.
He said this totally depended on the Australian and New Zealand Governments willingness to make the changes.
“There has been no apatite from successive Fiji Governments to continue long term tax concessions for the garment industry,” he said.
The example of the new Employment Relation laws that increase costs without any productivity gains is detrimental and was ignored by the law makers, he said.
Mr Halabe said Fiji’s garment industry has been exporting for over 20 years at its peak over F$320m per annum.
“More than 50 per cent was to the US markets that has now completely dried up at the termination of global trade agreements back in 2000,” Mr Halabe said.
He said currently Fiji’s main markets are Australia and New Zealand.
Both governments wish to assist Fiji to economically advance, but under the current strained relationship it would be difficult to see how this could happen sooner than later, Mr Halabe said.
