Shania Shayal Prasad 
Mala Wanarajan.
The Textile Clothing and Footwear Council has noted a decline in garment trade over the past few years.
The Council President Mala Wanarajan says this has led to the closure of three major garment factories in the past three years.
She says the international market is less competitive as the TCFC is targeting niche markets.
Wanarajan believes if the end cost is high they might lose opportunities.
“We see a decline in the garment trade, and the remaining factories focus on smaller runs than larger quantities. And that is the current situation.”
Wanarajan adds that they are also not able to meet the specialized demands from overseas due to lack of skilled specialists.
She says there is also a need for training centres because in-house training is costly.
“If we don’t develop skilled labour through training centres, we will have problems in the future. For example, an Australian-based company might export a unique bridal garment to the US. We tried this and couldn’t cope due to the technical support in this factory.”
Currently, the textile industry exports around $120 million worth of garments annually.
