Thailand Textile Manufacturer Starting to Think the Future of the European Marke
Dated- 10 Jul , 2012 - Thailand
Exports of textiles and apparel menjada one of Thailand hopes to boost growth this year due to lower demand influenced the European debt crisis. Suttinee Poopaka, executive director of the Thailand Textile Institute (THTI), said many countries are buying raw materials from Thailand has been experiencing. Thailand and Indonesia are two countries in ASEAN with the supply chain from raw materials to finished products.
"If we can export outside of Europe and problems in the EU is not so bad, the export growth this year would be similar to last year's exports reached U.S. $ 8.36 billion, up 6.5% from 2010.
Exports to Asean grew by 14% to $1.5 billion, the first time the region became Thailand's top importer for this sector, climbing up from third.
Thai shipments to Europe last year totalled $1.45 billion, followed by $1.4 billion to the US, $728 million to Japan and $460 million to China. For the first five months of this year, exports have dropped by 15%, led by a 27% drop in Europe, 19% fall in the US, and 16% drop in China. Mrs Suttinee said Thai manufacturers should look towards exporting in other markets in Asean, as well as Japan, Korea, China and the Middle East.
"The Middle East is not limited to Muslim fashion, and it is possible Japan might become the top export market for Thailand, but their market is unique and we still have to learn more. For instance, they like environmentally friendly textiles and prefer flower patterns rather than animals," she said. Moreover, Japan has a policy to lessen its dependence on China and purchase more from Asean, especially Thailand, to lower risks.
Thailand has around 120,000 textile manufacturers, of which 99.8% are small and medium-sized enterprises. Mrs Suttinee said the THTI strategy is for Thailand to focus on technical and functional textiles in addition to home and non-woven textiles as the apparel sector has been experiencing slow growth except for football shirts.
