25 July 2006
Romanian textile industry's output is expected to drop by an annual 20 pct in 2006, data from Romanian Federation of Light Industry Employers (FEPAIUS) showed on July 25, 2006.
Romanian textile and clothing industry's production was estimated at 6.733 bln Romanian lei ($2.39 bln/1.88 bln euro) in 2005, of which exports to the European Union (EU) countries made up 80 pct.
FEPAIUS sees that some 40 pct of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) active in the textile industry will have to cease activity after Romania's accession into the EU due to increasing textile imports from Asia.
A total of 5,743 small enterprises and 4,000 SMEs are currently active in the domestic textile and clothing industry.
FEPAIUS's president Maria Grapini said that the Romanian Government should invest in promoting investments in the domestic textile industry in much need for modern technology as only 11 pct of the companies active in the industry own such technology.
Currently the companies active in the Romanian textile industry import 80 pct of the raw material from the EU countries, China, South Korea and India, while in 1989 they only imported 25 pct of the raw material.
In 2005, the world's textile and clothing production reached $250 bln (196.74 bln euro), of which Asia generated $160 bln (125.9 bln euro).
China produces 22 pct of the world's annual textile fibre output and 25 pct of the annual global textile production.
China's textile exports rose 25 pct on the year in 2004. AII Data Processing