Swiss textile exports show marginal growth in 2013

22 May '14

2 min read

The exports of textiles from Switzerland recorded marginal growth for the first time after three consecutive years of decline, the Switzerland Textile Federation said at its Annual Media Conference last week.

Media persons were told that the performance of the Swiss textile and clothing industry was stable in the last fiscal year, despite a difficult environment.

Although there was a small growth in textile exports, the total value of textile and garment exports during the year decreased slightly. The number of employees in the industry also fell from 13,600 in 2012 to 12,500.

Andreas Sallmannshausen, president of the Textile Federation, said the small growth in textile exports despite a difficult global economy and strong franc can be termed as a success for the industry.

The textile exports grew by 0.2 percent year-on-year to 1.43 billion francs in 2013, while garment exports declined by 1.8 percent to 1.4 billion francs, according to the figures released by the Federation.

The EU continued to remain the top destination for Swiss textiles, and it accounted for 72.9 percent of all Swiss textile exports. Meanwhile, exports to Asian countries increased to 12 percent from a 9 percent share in 2012. This was because China’s textile imports from Switzerland soared 27.8 percent year-on-year.

In Switzerland, the members of the Textile Federation are committed to careful use of resources, far exceeding the normal required standards. But, the upcoming legislations like the initiative for a ‘green economy’ and the revision of environmental legislation would lead to more bureaucracy and regulation, and paralyze the voluntary efforts, the Federation said.

The Federation said it is of the opinion that the textile and clothing industry is global in scope and hence it needs environmental and energy regulations that are agreed upon internationally, and a solo effort by Switzerland would weaken textile manufacturing in the country.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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