Retailers rebuffed on textile duty

Press, 28 November 1980, Page 5

Retailers rebuffed on textile duty

PA Wellington Retailers’ statements that manufacturers are failing to pass on the benefits of the "textile development plan” are based on an incorrect assumption, according to the vice-president of the Textile and Garment Manufacturers’ Federation, Mr J. Booker. The Retailers’ Federation has said that manufacturers have greatly improved access to imported fabrics at concessionary duty rates under the plan but that they are not passing on the benefits of these lower costs. Mr Booker said that the bounties and concessions granted under the plan applied only from July 1, 1980, and then only to the first stage of raw-material purchasing.

It was unrealistic to expect consumers to benefit before the winter of 1981 because manufacturers using raw materials which had qualified for the concessions had still to make the materials into finished apparel. Mr Booker warned of the danger of the retailers’ desire to see imported clothing take a greater share of the market The textile and garment industry was a big employer but had already lost many jobs in the last two years, he said. More imports could only aggravate this situation. “Who do they (the retailers) imagine is going to pay for imported clothing with more and more people being put out of work?” asked Mr Booker.