TNAG-1053-FCO40-1303-China-and-Hong-Kong-Working-Group-1981 — Page 43

VI

FOLLOW-UP TO THE SEPTEMBER 1980 TEXTILES MISSION TO HONG KONG

So far 500 copies of the Mission Report have been circulated around the country to a wide selection of trade bodies in all sectors of the UK textile and clothing industries. One direct result of the Mission Report is that Manchester regional office is organising a mission sponsored by the British Textile Employers Association to visit Hong Kong, hopefully this year. The Minister for Trade held a follow-up meeting with the mission and a major UK retailer in December; a joint study is now under way between the Mission Team and the Retail Organisation into the competitiveness of specific sectors of the UK textile industry in relation to the retailers purchasing policies. When the results of the study are available there will be a further meeting with the Minister. At this point the Mission Team would decide whether an inward mission from Hong Kong Garment Manufacturers to the UK was justified in 1981. The existence of a high quality ready-to-wear festival' in Paris at the beginning of April might offer scope for Hong Kong Garment Manufacturers to visit a number of UK companies without mounting a full scale inward mission or might pave the way for one which would draw in the retailers as well.