The tenth edition of Texpo inaugurated at Expo Centre Sharjah

The exhibition was inaugurated by Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry in the presence of board members of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, directors of various government departments, members of the diplomatic corps and trade associations, heads of the participating exhibitors and delegation of international and regional businessmen.

Explaining the special significance of the show in the highly competitive world of garment manufacturing, Mr. Midfa said, "The lifting of garment export quota restrictions from 2005, under the Agreement on Textile and Clothing (ATC), has poised numerous challenges for garment manufacturers and exporters in the UAE and elsewhere in the MENA region.

"Competitiveness and specialisation in niche products will be the key to survival and growth for most firms in the post-ATC era. Since technology is the decisive factor for the competitiveness of any manufacturing environment, or to develop niche products, the staging of TEXPO acquires a special significance for garment manufacturers from the MENA region.

"Featuring the full spectrum of the latest advances and developments in garment manufacturing technology, the coming show will be an excellent opportunity for the region's manufacturers to upgrade their facilities."

Texpo represents a world of garment manufacturing technology; it features over 100 reputed international brands from 20 countries.

Speaking on the prospects of UAE's garment industry in the changing scenario, Mr. Fasahat Ali Khan, Deputy Director General of Expo Centre Sharjah said, "Even as the manufacturing trend may shift to cost-competitive China, India and some Middle East and African countries, UAE will still remain as the sourcing and marketing hub of the industry. Also, in the long run, industry players in the UAE would be better off concentrating on high-end and quality apparel on a larger scale, aimed at the western market. One area where the industry will have to work towards is reducing the leap period of airfreight delivery of garments from 120 to 90 days or even 70 days, hitting the market faster," he said.

Commenting on the future of the Middle East's garment manufacturing industry, Mr. Khan identified Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain as countries with a strong potential. "Jordan, exempt from US quota as well as import duties, has become a favoured ground for UAE garment manufacturers. Despite the lacklustre performance of other sectors in the mid of 2003, textile and garment sales continued to bring up Jordan's overall export figures," he said.

Textiles and garments is one of the few sectors of Jordan posting increases in sales and is one of the biggest export products from the kingdom. Clothings, mainly manufactured by the countries four qualified industrial zones, accounted for 22 per cent or $397.6 million of the total Jordanian exports in the first ten months of 2003.

Speaking on Egypt, Mr. Khan said, "Because of its enormous market and cheap labour, an increasing number of international garment companies are manufacturing their products in Egypt."

Almost one-fifth of Egypt's total industrial output is in textiles, with about 4500 companies employing 30 per cent of the nation's work force. LE 18.3 million worth of fabrics were produced in 2002, which accounted for 11 per cent of the total industrial production. Textile exports comprise 25 per cent of the total Egyptian exports, reaching a value of $848 million in 2002.

Also Bahrain, according to him, which is on the verge of signing a free trade agreement with the US could also emerge as a major player in the Middle East's garment manufacturing industry.

Texpo has on display the complete range of technology and products used by garment manufacturers, including industrial & domestic sewing machines, knitting and hosiery machinery and accessories for the making up industry, pressing machines, industrial irons, ironing tables etc., embroidery machines, laboratory dyeing machinery, quality testing and measuring equipment, accessories, including machinery components, fasteners, threads, machine needles, raschel elastics, zippers, dyes & chemicals, tapes & ribbons, enzymes, softeners etc., yarns and fabrics, home textiles and more.

Brands being featured at the show include Doory - Korea; Barudan ­ Japan; Groz-Beckert ­ Germany; Juki ­ Japan; Mecca- Italy; Gerber ­ Germany; Lonati - Italy; Santoni ­ Italy; Silver Star ­ Korea; Siruba - Taiwan; Sunstar ­ Korea; Su Lee- Taiwan; Stoll ­ Germany; SWF ­ Korea; Ugolini SRL; Open Data ­ Italy; Oshima ­ Taiwan; Hirose Hooks - Japan; Exacta ­ Italy; Corghi ­ Italy; Macpi ­ Italy; Mentasti ­ Italy; Investronica ­ Spain; CF ­ Italy; SilverStar ­ Korea; KM ­ Japan; Flying Tiger - Taiwan; Maier Unitas Gmbh ­ Germany; De Sales Trading - USA; Ramsons Garment Equipment ­ India; Veit ­ Germany; Stirovap - Italy; Gfk Laser-Spain; Macpy-Italy; Kinder-UK; Jeans Care ­ UK; Presto - India; Oshima - Taiwan; Osaka Denki Kogyo; Tajima Industries Ltd. - Japan; Thermotron - Greece; Toyota ­ Japan; Rhein Needles ­ Germany; Kingtex - Taiwan; Lectra ­ France; VI. BE.MAC - Italy; Rotondi ­ Italy; Yamato ­ Japan; Durkopp Adler ­ Germany; Mitsubishi ­ Japan; Smart MRT - Singapore; S-Tech ­ Korea; Swarovski - Middleast; Taiwan Taffeta Fabric ­ Taiwan; Typical Sewing Machine ­ China; Meyer KG ­ Munich Germany; Kaulin Manufacturing ­ Taiwan; G.M. PFAFF AG ­ Germany; CF Italy; JAM Automatic Machines; Ferd Schmetz GMBH ­ Germany; Eastman Machine Company ­ USA; CERLANI - Italy; LASTAR - Korea; Brother Industries ­ Japan; Assyst/Bullmer SpezialMaschinen ­ Germany; and Vision Tech ­ Korea.

The show will be open everyday from 15 to 19 February 2004 from 11 am to 8 pm strictly for trade.