Although there are more garment makers working today than ever in the past, the closure of some of the country's biggest manufacturers and exporters has apparently had a negative effect on Philippine exports of RTW to major buying countries in recent months. Philippine exports of garments and other textile products in the first seven months of 2004 have, as projected earlier, dropped by about 4%. The Department of Trade & Industry has however been encouraged by the recovery of sales to the European Union and to Canada. The United States which has taken as much as 70% of total RTW sales by the Philippines in the past has this time taken rather less. Cheaper clothing and other textile products from China and other suppliers in the Asian region have apparently crowded out some Philippine exports in categories, which go mainly to the low-income groups in the US. Some of the big EU garment firms that have left the Philippines and moved to other countries in Asia are those that specialise in children's and infants' wear as well as in men's shirts and pants.
展开▼
