Chinese quota system ‘an abysmal failure’

JUST WHY is the department
of trade and industry (dti)
still fiddling around with the
Chinese clothing and textile
import quota system when
it expires this December 31,
and the various stakeholders
in the clothing and textiles
trades expected it to then
be “allowed to drop through
the carpet”, is the question
raised by one an industry
commentator.
This follows the dti issuing
a request for a study group
to do an “assessment of the
effectiveness of clothing and
textile import quotas from the
People’s Republic of China”.
“The purpose of the
proposed study,” said a
departmental statement, “is to
determine the effectiveness,
or otherwise, of the import
quotas imposed on textile
and clothing products
originating in China, and
to propose appropriate
recommendations.”
But, suggested a voice in
the SA retail clothing trade,
that “or otherwise” in the
dti statement should be the
findings of any such study.
“On the fabric side, it
was a complete disaster,”
said Selwyn Eagle, MD of
the Foschini Group’s apparel
supply company, TFG.
“It ruined all our
relationships and the local
market just could not deliver
– with 40% either bad quality
or late.
“We can’t get hold of
the right stuff at the right
time, and it’s really hurt our
in-house manufacturing. I’m
devastated – sitting here
crying because I just can’t get
anything into the stores.
“The local guys have been
a disaster. They don’t have the expertise, the infrastructure
to cope, or the money to
finance it.”
He was not alone in
his tears.
Martin Deall,
merchandise logistics
executive at Edcon, also
couldn’t see why the dti was
still talking about the quota
system.
“I thought the
department had realised
that the quota system
wasn’t the answer,” he told
FTW. “We warned them
that it wouldn’t help local
industry as they wanted,
and would have detrimental
effects on the local retail
trade.
“It hit local
manufacturers, who just
couldn’t get a lot of the
fabrics they needed.
Retailers, meantime, just
had to struggle to find new
sources, because the local
market couldn’t supply
the shortfall.
“And it takes time to
make new contacts and find
sources of supply.”
The SA textile industry
wasn’t too enamoured
of the quota system
either – with Brian Brink,
executive director of
the Textile Federation,
unenthusiastically ranking it
only “marginally good”.
He felt it had little effect
on the overall importation of
cheap textiles and clothing,
with importers just changing
to other cut-price producer
countries.
And stimulate the local
industry it did not.
Said Brink: “The
intentions were good, but
the design and the way it
worked were just not as was
desired.”
The only good news
at the moment, according
to Eagle, was that there
appeared to be a new
name at the dti – with
a more attentive ear
to the ground. “We’ve
had a meeting with the
department – and they’re
actually listening to us for
a change."