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The Department of Commerce officials and the Commercial officers abroad met with the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) which is the
leading association when it comes to the apparel industry of Sri Lankan on 8th March 2023.
leading association when it comes to the apparel industry of Sri Lankan on 8th March 2023.
Eleven members of the JAAF including the Sri Lanka Chamber of Garment Exporters and Fabric & Apparel Accessory Manufacturers Association (FAAMA) were participated at this meeting.
At the outset, by describing significance of the apparel industry to the growth of Sri Lankan economy, Acting Director General of Commerce expressed the importance of initiation of the dialogue between exporters of the Sri Lanka apparel products. She elaborated that the apparel ranks the number one exporting product which accounts nearly 46% of the Sri Lankan export basket. Further it contributed 5.6 billion US$ of exports earning to Sri Lanka in year 2022.
During the discussion Secretary General of JAAF and the member of the Sri Lanka Chamber of Garment Exporters expressed that the expectation of JAAF from the commercial officers based in overseas mission is not only to assist the market entrance but also to assist to find investment partners and sourcing partners according to the industry competency of the host country.
Further Secretary General of JAAF mentioned that due to the drop of the demand for apparel products in USA and EU markets which are the two major markets for apparel exports, the exporters are keen to reach-out for new markets. As an initiative JAAF has identified few focus new markets such as Australia, Japan, Canada and South Korea for Sri Lankan apparel products.
Head of the Trade Promotion Division of the Department of Commerce elaborated on the importance of the continuous dialogue with JAAF to identify and build strategies to overcome the barriers of trade together which would deliver a better solutions and way forward the achievement of the export target of 8 billion US$ by 2025 through the apparel sector.
