The manufacturing sector is creating investment and employment for the country.
Re-elected Textile Clothing and Footwear President Kaushik Kumar says growth over the last seven years has been very encouraging.
“…the textile clothing and footwear industry has made very good recovery and currently employment numbers are between six and a half thousand to seven thousand workers directly employed in the TCS sector.Annual exports currently stand over hundred and ten million and we expect steady growth in our exports and employment in the coming years,” said Textile Clothing & Footwear of Fiji president, Kaushik Kumar.
The sector is also expecting new investors and expansion works at several Garment factories.
“I’m also pleased to say that a new foreign based company will start operations in Suva so its good to see that foreign investors are coming back to the TCF sector.A number of existing factories have also got major expansion plans. There’s Denem in Lautoka who also built a new factory also got Lindhurst whose got major expansion plans, lots of other existing factories are investing a lot of money in new plant and equipment so that is a very positive sign for the TCF industry.”
Training programs offered by Government will also support a challenge that the industry currently faces.
“..there’s a shortfall basically we need sewing machinists, quality controllers, we need production managers,we need industrial engineers,there’s a whole heap a whole sector that’s got a major shortfall.”