The Philippines is planning to revive its textile and garment industries. Among other things, the plan is to put an end to the proliferation of used-clothing imports from North America and Europe that compete with domestic suppliers. Other strategies include better integrating the garment and textile sectors, earmarking capital and land to increase production, encouraging the purchase of new equipment, providing fiscal incentives to manufacturers through lower value-added taxes and reduced power rates, tackling infrastructure gaps and logistical bottlenecks, investing in product development and marketing, incorporating loom weaving into the school curriculum and cleaning up the textile value chain by requiring the registration of chemicals and substances. The corporate tax rate will be lowered from 30 per cent to 20 per cent over the next ten years.

The aim is to position the Philippines as one of the top 10 global garment and textile exporters with an annual export growth of 45 per cent. Garment export earnings are expected to be flat this year. At present, almost all its apparel production are halted due to delayed deliveries of raw materials from China, Korea, Taiwan and other Asian countries. The Philippines has no local source or back-up industries as every fabric, textile and accessory item is imported.