Business

Sri Lankan Apparel Maker Calls For Investment In Textile, Fabric Production

A leading Sri Lankan apparel manufacturer called for greater investment in textile and fabric production in order to strengthen domestic value addition and improve lead times. Aroon Hirdaramani, Group Director of Hirdaramani which is one of Sri Lanka's largest apparel manufacturing companies, said that investment in fabric production would reduce foreign currency outflows as Sri Lanka currently depends on imported inputs for apparel manufacturing. "There has been a proposal to set up a textile zone in Eravur, which will be an environmentally friendly textile zone, with recycling of water and use of sustainable energy. We are working very hard to attract some key fabric players to invest in the zone and to also invest in other fabric mills," Hirdaramani said. Speaking at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2021 organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Hirdaramani said that there should be policy consistency and continued incentives to attract foreign investment from raw materials producers around the world. Sri Lanka's textile and garments exports were worth US$ 4.4 billion in 2020 while imports of textiles amounted to US$ 2.3 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.