Garment exports up 2% to $1.676B in January-August

The country’s exports of garments and textiles amounted to $1.676 billion in the firs eight months this year, posting a slight growth of two percent compared to $1.639 billion in the same period a year ealier, the Garments and Textile Export Board (GTEB) said.

In terms of value, exports to the United States remained the highest, amounting to $1.233 billion and accounting for 74 percent of total garments and textiles export receipts.

However, compared to garments and textile exports from January to August last year of $1.282 billion, exports to the US posted a decline of four percent.

In contrast, exports to the European Union posted a 30-percent growth from $174.606 million to $227.5 million this year.

Likewise, exports to other countries posted a healthy growth of 26 percent from $131.72 million last year to $166.416 million this year.

Exports to Canada, like in the US, posted a slight decline of two percent with total exports this year amounting to $49.018 million compared to P49.645 million a year ago.

Garments and textile associations and labor unions have been urging the Arroyo government to act with urgency on the sector’s request for a government-to-government talk on a sector-specific preferential tariff agreement with the United States and the European Union.

Confederation of Garments Exporters of the Philippines (Congep) chairman Donald Dee warned that failure to act immediately within the next six months could marginalize Philippine garments and result in foreign currency losses of up to P1.5 billion.

Congep, along with the Garments Business Association of the Philippines (GBAP), Textile Mills Association of the Philippines (TMAP), Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (FOBAP), the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), National Confederation of Labor (NCL) and Alyansa ng mga Manggagawa sa Garments at Textiles, appealed for speedy action on the request before half of industry’s workforce or 200,000 workers lose their jobs.

Congep had formally asked the government, through the Department of Trade and Industry, to help pay for the services of a US lobby group to promote the Philippines’ interest in securing a sector-specific preferential tariff agreement.

Dee also clarified that the preferential tariff agreement is sector-specific and would not involve the more complex and comprehensive free trade agreement.

He reiterated that the garments and textile market is very competitive and the Philippines’ failure to respond immediately could result in buyers pulling out their order and giving them to competitors like China and Sri Lanka which are more competitive because of their cheaper labor.