The chairman of Enterprise Mauritius, Amédée Darga, organiser of a two-day workshop on textile, made it clear that it was not going to be one more report ending up in a drawer. Now that the professionals of the sector have identified the main problems that have led to the decline of the industry, Amédée Darga has committed to set up a Textiles and Clothing Strategy Group, which will establish a three-year action plan and monitor its implementation.

The textile sector has been facing problems since 2002 when exports started to drop and the first waves of job losses appeared. Consultant David Birnbaum, who took part in the workshop, admitted that Mauritius is not the only country to face such problems but he pointed out that they had found solutions to revert from this dead end. So, there is no reason to despair? and we should rather dwell on the solutions.

One important conclusion is that airfreight is at the core of the industry?s problems? thus at the centre of the solutions. ?Airfreight is the main issue if we want our industry to survive and to thrive. If we can?t obtain a more competitive tariff, we will surely die,? explained the president of the Mauritius Export Processing Zone Association (Mepza), Ahmed Parkar.

China and Bangladesh appear as textile giants as they can offer products at cheaper prices thanks to their low production costs. As a result, Mauritius can?t compete with them if it does not have an additional advantage. The delivery time could well be one of them and this is where airfreight becomes important. Delivery time should be reduced by seven to fourteen days and air cargo conditions appear crucial to achieve this goal.

Moreover, David Birnbaum warns. ?In the future, purchasers will not do anything and will expect the suppliers to do the whole job. There is no future in the ?cut, make and trim?. With this in mind, design and service will also play a major role in making Mauritius more competitive.

The president of Mepza made it clear that the industry can?t be alone in taking steps to make it more profitable. There should be a national effort to ensure general success; each stakeholder should play its role at its level. Likewise, industrialists should make sure their companies are managed efficiently before asking for cost reduction from other stakeholders.

The minister of Trade and Small and medium enterprises, Rajesh Jeetah, stated he would chair a meeting with leaders of the textile-clothing sector this week. ?The main goal of this meeting will be to eliminate red tape for industrialists when a business is set up but also when it is already established.? This is certainly a good sign that will motivate the industry?