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By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
CEMS Global USA officially inaugurated the triple exhibition on apparel supply chain material yesterday, in the presence of Minister for Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, who was the Chief Guest at the occasion.
In addition to the minister, key officials present at the opening ceremony were JAFF Secretary General M.P.T. Cooray, CEMS Global Group CEO S.S. Sarwar and CEMS Bangladesh Representative Shariff Hussain.
Held at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC), the three-day concurrent exhibitions held are the fourth Textech Garment Technology & Machinery, the Dye+Chem Sri Lankan 2013 International Expo and the fourth Yarn & Fabric Show 2013.
The international exhibition is not only aimed at the textile and apparel sector but also focused towards the entire manufacturing sector of Sri Lanka. The exhibition was made possible through the participation of 95 companies from 10 different countries who have occupied over 150 booths, revealed the CEMS-Global organising team.
Sarwar stated that more exhibitors are participating this year round, compared to the number of participants at the exhibition held last year in Sri Lanka.“This already shows that international suppliers and buyers are interested in being a part of the booming apparel sector of Sri Lanka.”
Bathiudeen during his speech stated that the Textech is set to become a perfect one-stop solution for visitors, providing a platform for exhibitors to interact directly with the buyers and importers, making it the ultimate buyer-seller meet. Noting it to be a strong all-under-one-roof marketplace for the entire textile and apparel industry of Sri Lanka, he said: “I am pleased to see that the Textech event comes at a time when we have set a new goal of US$ 4 billion in apparel exports by 2015.” Pointing out that Sri Lanka is soaring to new heights in the textile and apparel sector over its competitors, Bathiudeen shed light on the country’s apparel exports which has recorded earnings of US$ 2.83 billion, from which US$ 1.53 billion was exported to the USA and US$ 1.86 was exported to the European markets.
He further stated that the challenging marketplace requires the comparative advantage of strong brand identity to be successful. While noting that the promotion of textiles from Sri Lanka is a highly imperative activity, Bathiudeen said: “CEMS Global USA’s latest show is clearly a step in the right direction to advance our global apparel revenue and meet the target of US$ 4 billion.”
Adding to this statement, Cooray called the exhibitors to look at Sri Lanka as a distribution centre for apparel and textiles. “Sri Lanka has a creative, conducive environment while it will also have a liberal trading environment in the future. The regulatory reforms to promote the same would be facilitated this year,” said Cooray.
CEMS-Global USA launched its operations in Sri Lanka in 2009 with most of its important international branded trading exhibitions with the vision of expanding the fast booming industrial sector by bringing in the most reputed international suppliers and manufacturers to the country.
Since its inception in 1992, CEMS Global USA has made a commendable presence as a multinational exhibition organiser in South and Southeast Asia and is expected to expand to Brazil by the end of 2013.
– Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe
