{"id":2629,"date":"2022-05-31T14:31:11","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T14:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.topic.lk\/?p=2629"},"modified":"2022-05-31T14:31:15","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T14:31:15","slug":"protecting-hard-earned-reputation-of-sl-apparel-exports-is-priority-jaaf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/2629\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting hard-earned reputation of SL apparel exports is priority: JAAF"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Warns that brands may move to alternate production locations <\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Bracing for 20% reduction in orders, export earnings to take a hit <\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amid rising apprehension of a global economic recession and resulting softening of international consumer demand, Sri Lanka\u2019s Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) reiterated its demand for systemic economic and political reforms to restore stability, and rebuild trust and confidence in the nation \u2013 locally and globally.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Addressing the impact of the ongoing volatility on the sector, JAAF noted that Sri Lanka\u2019s apparel sector had continued to display outstanding resilience by continuing to fulfill all existing orders and production schedules in the face of unprecedented adversity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, at a time when global consumer sentiment is expected to weaken and many in the industry bracing for a potential reduction in orders by as much as 20% in the next season\u2019s orders (June to August), the association warned of serious negative consequences if policy makers continued to delay on the sweeping reforms needed to put Sri Lanka back on track.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Accordingly, JAAF called on the Government to immediately commence discussions with credible policy and industry experts towards rapid development of a practical, apolitical Roadmap for Sri Lanka\u2019s Economic Recovery.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Secretary General of JAAF Yohan Lawrence stressed that the need of the hour is to ensure that Sri Lanka continues to maintain the confidence of its buyers by remaining resilient amidst the coming global economic crisis.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cFor more than 30 years \u2013 including multiple global and regional economic downturns &#8211; the Sri Lankan apparel industry has meticulously built a reputation that reflects the highest levels of reliability, quality and sophisticated technical capabilities. Particularly in recent years, these efforts have been complemented with a truly visionary approach to innovation, sustainability and circularity in fashion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cOwing to unprecedented national economic mismanagement, this sector, which has long served as a fundamental pillar to the Sri Lankan economy, is now under serious threat. Any plan for economic revival must prioritize support to apparel manufacturers large and small, and leverage this strength to help stabilize the Sri Lankan economy. We need sustainable, decisive solutions and we need them now,\u201d stated Lawrence.<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of 2021, Sri Lanka\u2019s apparel sector increased its earnings by 22.9% Year-on-Year (YoY) generating US$5.42 billion in export earnings, and accounting for almost half of all merchandise exports, in addition to providing gainful employment for a workforce of approximately 1 million (direct and indirect).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moving forward, Lawrence noted that the apparel sector\u2019s most urgent need was a stable energy supply to ensure operational continuity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cLarge Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers have been among the most effective adopters of renewable energy technology, particularly solar energy. Together with other optimizations in energy consumption, these proactive measures have mitigated some of the worst disruptions to production.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThere is also potential to build on these initiatives over the medium term. However, what can be done is limited if the Government is unable to meet its obligations in terms of energy supply. Given the success of renewables, it is clear that the state-owned energy suppliers must also place renewed emphasis on such sources\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addition to economic reforms, JAAF also reiterated the demand from the Joint Chambers calling for the abolition of the 20th Amendment to the constitution as a first step to driving systemic reform of Sri Lanka\u2019s political culture.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cAll Sri Lankans, including those in positions of power today agree that the root of the nation\u2019s economic woes are in its dysfunctional political culture. In order to achieve meaningful economic recovery, we need political leaders willing to sacrifice their own interests in order to advance those of ordinary citizens. Without this systemic change, we cannot achieve the stability necessary to navigate our way out of the current crisis,\u201d Lawrence stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Warns that brands may move to alternate production locations Bracing for 20% reduction in orders, export earnings to take a hit Amid rising apprehension of a global economic recession and resulting softening of international consumer demand, Sri Lanka\u2019s Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) reiterated its demand for systemic economic and political reforms to restore stability, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2629","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-biz_news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2629"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2631,"href":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629\/revisions\/2631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topic.lk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}