For its textile and garment industry to flourish further, Singapore needs to capitalize on Asia's strength as a sourcing hub, move up the value chain and develop its own-brand apparel, a senior official said in Singapore Tuesday.

"We can do this by leveraging on our knowledge economy and our strengths in areas such as innovation, design and technical developments, and technological expertise," S. Iswaran, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, said at the opening ceremony of the 7th Asia Apparel Machinery and Accessories Exhibition.

He noted that trends have shown South Asia and Southeast Asia have emerged as important sourcing bases for buyers from the United States and Europe Union, the two largest textiles and clothing markets in the world.

He called on Singapore's textile and garment industry to expand beyond its shores and capitalize on the new opportunities in the international market.

The textile and apparel sector is one of Singapore's important manufacturing industries.

There are over 720 textile and apparel companies employing more than 10,000 workers, making up three percent of Singapore's manufacturing jobs. In 2004, the textile and apparel sector generated 1 billion Singapore dollars (about 654 million U.S. dollars) in sales and 273 million Singapore dollars (about 178 million U.S. dollars) in value-add.

To response for rising competition from the region due to lower labor costs and a ready supply of skilled workers, many garment manufacturers in Singapore have set up production bases in other countries such as China and Vietnam to leverage on their low labor costs.

At the same time, the minister said that the manufacturers continue to retain their production bases in Singapore to carry out higher value-added activities such as design, prototyping, production planning and sourcing to leverage on Singapore's high quality standards and efficiency for a faster turnaround.

The four-day apparel machinery and accessories exhibition, which inaugurated in Singapore in 1989, attracted about 250 exhibiting companies from 25 countries and regions and 6,000 trade visitors from 60 countries and regions.

Source: Xinhua