Malaysia : Trade fairs open door for textile firms to enter China

Intertextile Shanghai fabric show, one of world’s most important business venues and perhaps the biggest apparel fabric show in Asia saw the participation of only one Malaysian company. Solitary presence of just one company underlines the issues which Malaysian textile and garment industry is confronted with where demand has surged in tune with severe competition. Event organizer, Messe Frankfurt said that it is like a breakthrough which will lead to bigger Malaysian participation in the future. Director of Messe Frankfurt (Hong Kong), Katy Lam, says that such shows are going to benefit the Malaysian companies as they will come in contact with buyers from mainland China. The demand for high-value product has seen an increase and Malaysian can benefit from this by offering their better-quality but little costly fabrics to Chinese garment industry. Malaysian companies have not been able to make most of the changes in trend although Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) keeps them regularly updated about such opportunities. The event has seen participation from ASEAN members like Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Philippines. A total of 7, 822 buyers around the world registered themselves which was a nine percent increase compared to 2005 event.