RP garment firms to get help in accessing China

Local garment makers will receive pointers from Chinese experts on penetrating the lucrative China market.

Representatives from the China National Garment Association (CNGA) will make their presentations today on the requirements of China’s emerging middle- and high-end market.

The forum, entitled “Doing Business for the China Market” at the Board of Investments, is sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through its attached agency, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem), in cooperation with the Garments and Textile Industry Development Office (GTIDO).

The conference itself is part of a three-day China inbound mission that seeks to explore the Philippines as a potential and viable sourcing destination of middle- to high-end apparel to service China’s growing middle-income market, which comprises 20 percent of the country’s total population.

Problems such as high overhead costs and competition from encroaching international brands have plagued China’s large garments manufacturing sector since the onset of the global recession.

“With our large labor pool capable of producing apparel at par with the world’s best, the Philippine garments industry can definitely position itself as an attractive answer to China’s interest in high-quality and expertly-made garments,” Thelma Dumpit-Murillo, deputy executive director of Citem and project director for GTIDO-related trade projects, said.

“We have here the opportunity to create a sizable demand share from China’s market by offering joint ventures, foreign investments, as well as design services to Chinese distributors, wholesalers, store owners, and manufacturers — and perhaps even explore the possibility of franchising Philippine homegrown brands to their investors,” she said.

Having started as a cottage-type industry in the early 1950’s, Filipino manufacturers have already catered to brands such as GAP, Old Navy, Ann Taylor, Liz Claiborne, and Polo Ralph Lauren, among others.

Reports from the 1st Asean-China Business Council held in China’s Yunan Province last year showed that in 2008, China’s garments production had topped a total of 52 billion units, 80 percent of which was produced mainly in its 1st tier cities such as Shanghai, Guangdong and Beijing. However, the industry suffered great setbacks from the recession that hit its biggest markets — the US and Europe — particularly hard the following year, whereby it dropped 23 percent of its production units, leading it to look outward and redirect its economic thrust to be more consumer-driven.

The speakers from the Chinese delegation include CNGA vice president Dr. Wei Lin who will discuss the current state of the China garments and textiles trade; and CNGA Secretary General Wang Zhuo and Deputy Director to the Liaison Department Li Zhi to tackle the factors involved in supplying to the China market.

Participants from the Philippine garment manufacturing industry can look forward to discussions on approaches on how to penetrate China’s growing middle- and high-end market, with specifics on cities to target and potential channels of distribution. –Ayen Infante, Daily Tribune