An outlook for the Russian textile industry at ICAC's conference

17 Jun '10

4 min read

It was emphasized at the conference that the government of Russia is providing support to the industry by subsidizing interest rates on loans to the textile industry, providing funding for textile industry research, working to improve customs statistics, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade is developing a reference book of state-of-the-art spinning equipment as a guide to machinery imports. Imports of textile machinery, which is not produced in Russia, are duty free. The government of Russia has no benchmark or target for national textile production. However the government is emphasizing technology development, tax policy, renovation, and enforcement of customs regulations. Production of technical textiles and heavy textiles and garments, such as military uniforms, is encouraged. The government is also encouraging the use of chemical fibers.

It was noted that Russia is philosophically supportive of free trade and realizes that the center of textile production is moving toward East Asia. Russia is interested in joining the WTO. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are considering WTO accession as a customs union. It was observed that proximity to production does not guarantee competitiveness, as evidenced by the decline in mill use in the U.S. and the rise in garment production in Mauritius and Bangladesh. Productivity, efficiency and labor costs are more important than proximity to cotton production. However, proximity to cotton production could be advantageous, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Russia is asking the Ministry of Agriculture to reactivate a plan to produce cotton in Russia.

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International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)

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