MENA's textile industry awaits ITCE Cairo 2005

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The ninth international African Arabian exhibition for textile, embroidery and sewing machinery and accessories, ITCE'9, that will take place at the Cairo Fair Ground during the period from May 12 - 15 2005, is expected to offer abundant opportunities to participating countries by highlighting new technologies and business prospects.

'No doubt the elimination of quotas will open up the world market considerably. We will witness a surge in the trade of textile products, which will surely benefit all the countries. Although there is a lot of apprehension among some countries on the implications of the new trading environment, they will soon realise that there is ample opportunity for everyone. Countries have to focus on implementing the latest technology and maintaining a high level of quality. ITCE'9 will play a major role in presenting new dimensions to the entire textile industry in the region,' said Ahmad Ghozzi, Chairman, ACG, organisers of the event.

'While there would be an increased level of competition after the removal of quotas, it could simultaneously open many windows of opportunity for all the countries that rely heavily on the textile sector. The Middle East and the entire Euro-Mediterranean region will benefit a great deal in the new scenario. There will be tremendous demand for textiles and apparel particularly from Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan primarily because of the high quality production in this region.'

'The free trading environment will restrict domination of the textiles and apparels market by any particular country or region as every country involved in this sector can now offer quality products at reasonable prices. Rationalisation of prices could be a major fall out from the lifting of trade barriers. It will create the need for countries to have an indigenously integrated textile industry,' added Ghozzi.

The European Union is the world's largest exporter of textile products and the world's second largest exporter of clothing after China. Textiles and clothing form the main industrial activity in countries like Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey and is the largest employer in most of theses countries besides being the main export item for them.

The European and Mediterranean textile industries can take advantage of the opening up of markets worldwide. The ongoing negotiations at the WTO should make it possible to balance the conditions of trade by accompanying the removal of quotas with tariff cuts.
The future of the textile industry also lies in the conquest of new markets.

There is a good possibility to increase not only north-south trade but also south-south trade as the West-Mediterranean textile industry has competitive assets and advantages. The Mediterranean region has production factors combining reasonable costs, quality, and proximity to the European market. This region can attract investment by modernising infrastructure, opening up services, facilitating trade to allow better movement of goods in the area and improving access to finance for small and medium-sized firms.

On the other hand, a growing number of countries are taking measures to protect their trading interests and maximise their gains from the new market scenario by signing Free Trade Agreements. The geographical proximity of the Middle East to the Euro-Mediterranean region will also be a favourable factor for countries in this region involved in the textile business. Egypt recently signed the Qualified Industrial Zone (QIZ) agreement with USA that will open up the US market to goods that are produced in pre-determined industrial zones in Egypt.

The textile industry in Egypt, the largest manufacturer of textile products in the MENA region, covers the entire spectrum of cotton processing operations, including spinning, weaving, converting, knitting and garment manufacturing. It grows at an average rate of 6.5% annually and is considered of great importance to the Egyptian economy. It comprises of 1500 private apparel and intermediate manufacturers, in addition to 4,250 weaving, textiles and clothing manufacturers. The latest technologies are adopted in all phases of production and innovations such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Supply Chain Management (SCM), and Product Data Management (PDM) are also extensively used by apparel manufacturers in Egypt. Further, the region's textile industry has been boosted by the exemption of custom fees on textile machinery and accessories as per the new customs law in Egypt.

'The fact that ITCE'9 is being held at Cairo is a fitting tribute to Egypt and its contribution to the textile industry. Egypt is an outstanding example for other countries to emulate as it leads the way in adopting the best technology to produce goods of unmatched quality. The new era could witness an influx of low priced, low quality textile products, which could lead to fierce competition and a fear of textile job losses in some countries. What we need to realise is that, on the long run only those countries producing superior quality products will flourish. In order to maintain a competitive standard of quality, the Egyptian textile manufacturers will be demanding the latest technologies for machinery and ITCE'9 would form an ideal platform to bring together the buyers and sellers of textile machinery as there will be abundant trading opportunities during the fair,' concluded Ghozzi.