The textile and apparel industry segment in Malaysia is supporting Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), which is expected to promote at least 30 per cent growth in export revenue for the industry. Malaysian Knitting Manufacturers Association (MKMA) president Tang Chong Chin said that the association was confident that the sector’s business growth is expected to double in five years.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Textile Manufacturers Association (MTMA) president Datuk Seri Tan Thian Poh also shared the optimism and stated that the growth would be more than the projection in the cost-benefit analysis. The textile and apparel industry to be the big gainer of the TPP, according to the cost-benefit analysis carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The projected output growth for the industry is by 3.14 per cent to 3.78 per cent point, and the projected export growth is by 4.09 per cent to 4.87 per cent point.

Out of the projected investment growth amount, the estimated investment growth for textile industry is 3.42 to 4.29 percentage point. The increase in investment growth is projected to rise by $136 billion to $239 billion over 2018-2027, attributing largely to higher investment growth in textiles, construction and distributive trade.

The support by both the trade associations came barely a week before the Parliament expected to vote for the agreement. They are joining the bandwagon of other groups representing manufacturers from various sectors, namely the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association, among others.

However, the Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises Association had said about 30 per cent of SMEs risk going under once the TPP comes into force in two years as they would have trouble meeting higher labour and environmental standards under the agreement.