Reference
AING WITH SELECTED IK AGENTS OF UK FABRIC EXPORTERS: 2 SEPTEMBER 1980
Present:
Mr Parkinson
Mr Regan
Mr Audsley
Mr Nightingale
Mr Harrison
bat makanan dan krafa u ka shtet tek kadinskoteku nak dan fabRKA, MELEY
textile
1
Mr Wilson
Mr Gibson
Mr March
Mr Morrison
Mrs Gingell Mr Bailey
Mr J Rice
Mr Otto Jager Mr Dunn Kin
Mr P K Sonpar Mr S W Rice
Mr N J Sousa Mr H C Lee
Mr C F Tang Mr O Corrigan
British Trade Commissioner
Assistant British Trade Commissioner
Managing Director, B Van Zuiden Bros Ltd Proprietor, Dunnkin and Co
Director, Seven Sea Enterprises (FE) Ltd
Managing Director, Belding Brown and Finch (FE) Ltd Director, Dodwell (Hong Kong) Ltd
Managing Director, Wall and Webb (SE Asia) Ltd Manager, Brandsten (HK) Ltd
Managing Director, Samalco (Hong Kong) Ltd
Mr March opened the meeting by summarising the Trade Commission's report on the HK/market. Mr Sousa explained that there were two main sectors of the market: fabrics for making up for home consumption, and fabrics for making up for re-export (by far the larger sector). The re-export market was similarly divided: "commodity" fabrics constituted the great bulk of the market, although there was a substantial and increasing demand for high quality and fashion, fabrics. The three principal types of commodity fabric imported were shirting, blouse fabric and trouser fabric. HK's largest supplier of high-quality fabric was Japan: 20 years ago the Japanese industry had recognised that HK would become a leading garment manufacturer and as a result had largely withdrawn from garment manufacture and concentrated on spinning, weaving and dyeing. The UK had failed to pursue this course. Medium and low-quality fabrics were sourced largely from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Korea etc. Mr SW Rice commented that HK did still produce some cheap garments but the industry as a whole was moving upmarket. This in itself made for caution in fabric purchases: a manufacturer was unlikely to purchase expensive fabric "on spec", and large purchases would tie up too much money in stock. There were two main ways of increasing UK fabric exports to HK. The first was to encourage UK retailers to specify that UK cloth was to be used in the garments they ordered from HK. The second would to be introduce duty relief on garments made of UK cloth. Mr Parkinson pointed out that there already was a scheme providing this duty relief. Mr Corrigan said that in his view the key was to make garment importers in the UK and elsewhere aware of what fabrics the UK had to offer, and to encourage them to specify those fabrics. Mr Nightingale commented that at a previous meeting HK garment manufacturers had said that retailers generally specified the quality but not the origin of the fabric to be used. Mr Sousa pointed out that for high fashion garments it was also importent to persuade the designer to specify British cloth.
2 Mr Parkinson asked whether the proportion of the HK garment industry producing fashion and quality garments was increasing. Mr Sousa replied that it was; many of the large fashion houses had now established manufacturing facilities in HK, and the general trend was towards higher-quality garments. Mr Nightingale
CODE 18-77
S$ 8/73