Scottish textile sector eyes new markets for expansion

06 May '13

2 min read

The textile and apparel companies in Scotland are eyeing on new and emerging markets, including China, Russia, the UAE, Brazil and India, for expanding their business worldwide, since the country aims to increase its exports by 50 percent by 2016, according to Scottish industry representatives.

The Business Plan 2013-16 released by Scottish Enterprise, a sponsored non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business, states that “Scottish textile sector aims to increase export sales by 50 percent by 2016”.

“Our focus will be around opportunities to generate additional industry growth through increased exports, building on the sector’s reputation and product strengths,” states the report.

“We are looking forward to countries such as China, Russia and the UAE with increasing interest in Brazil and India for expanding our textile and apparel market, since these countries have an immense appreciation for Scotland’s key product i.e., good quality luxury products,” the spokesperson of Scottish Development International told fibre2fashion.

Scotland Development International is the investment and trade promotion agency of the Scotland Government.

According to Datamonitor, a worldwide provider of premium global business information, the global textiles, apparel & luxury goods industry growing at a healthy rate of around 35 percent since 2009.

“With the rapid growth in global luxury market, the opportunities for Scotland's textile industry are growing too,” says the spokesperson of Scottish Development International.

Talking about the challenges faced by the Scottish textile and apparel industry, he says, “The challenge for the textile industry in Scotland is to encourage our mills to promote themselves and be visible in key markets.”

“Scottish textile mills have hundreds of years of production experience, and being able to promote those skills and the heritage, to influence consumers in key markets, is one of the industry's key objectives,” she informs.

When asked about the trade relation with South Asian countries, he says, “The origin of a product made in Scotland carries a lot of dignity around the world in existing, new and emerging markets and the country views the southern Asian countries as a great opportunity. There is a whole new audience/consumer to inform about the history and integrity of Scottish textiles.”

The Scottish textile sector plays a vital role in the country’s rural economy and the industry has notable strengths in technical and traditional textiles such as cashmere, tweed and tartan as well as in medical and construction textiles.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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