“Fiji Times” recently reported that due to increased operating costs and other reasons, Fiji’s exports of textiles, clothing and footwear products (TCF products for short) are expected to drop by 25% this year.
Inbamalar Wanarajan, chairman of the TCF Product Council, said that the industry has been affected by the loss of skilled workers and the production costs are increasing, and exports are expected to drop by at least 25% in 2023/24. Increases in the minimum wage level, training costs for new practitioners and increases in raw material taxes are also important factors. In order to avoid losing customers, all relevant costs cannot be passed on to the market, which ultimately leads to Fiji TCF products facing difficulties in the international market. Employment in the industry has dropped from 7,000 to 4,000, and product productivity and efficiency are also declining. </p
