BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 19
By Fakhri Vakilov – Trend:
Given the central geographical location of the country, Uzbekistan has the potential to become a decisive hub between East and West, Chief Executive Officer of German Gesamtmasche Silvia Jungbauer told Trend.
Gesamtmasche represents the interests of German manufacturers of knitted clothing, lingerie and knitted fabrics on a national and international level.
Jungbauer noted that the country has close ties to prominent textile locations like China and Turkey, and there are traditional connections to Russia and Europe – trade-wise as well as in terms of transport routes.
"Our Confederation has been maintaining good contacts with our association colleagues in Tashkent for several years," she said.
Today, the interest of German companies in Uzbekistan is steadily growing.
"We hope that the intensive efforts of the associations and the political support provided by the Uzbek and German sides will soon lead to close links between our industries. For the German textile and clothing industry, Uzbekistan is slowly, but increasingly coming into the focus of sourcing interest," Jungbauer stated.
Within the past 10 years, textile sector has seen dramatic shifts in worldwide economic power and international trade flows. The COVID-19 crisis has, also in this respect, further sped up developments, and it made these new patterns clearly visible.
Since one year or even more, textile industry face soaring freight rates, losses in reliability of delivery in international sourcing, and at the same time enormous boosts in textile raw material prices.
"This underlines that the industry must re-examine its supply chains for efficiency and risks. This being said, this is a good opportunity for Uzbekistan to present itself as a new sourcing location," she noted.
A further aspect that is currently shaping sourcing strategies in Germany and Europe is transparency and due diligence in supply chains.
"The GSP+ (Generalised Scheme of Preferences) status therefore comes at exactly the right time for Uzbekistan. It is not only an important tariff advantage. It is an important signal that production in Uzbekistan is carried out in compliance with international social and environmental standards," Jungbauer stated.
She also added that the EU Commission is thus confirming, as does the ILO, that Uzbekistan’s value chain, from the cotton field to the finished product, is working in line with international conventions.
"Today, we find state-of-the-art and diverse textile value chains," she stated.
Moreover, Chief Executive Officer added that on September 30, Gesamtmasche will hold an online conference on Uzbekistan’s textile industry, presenting important facts and figures about the sector as well as practical information concerning trading conditions.
"Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Germany Nabijon Kasimov, has the kindness to open the event together with Gesamtmasche’s President, Mrs. Martina Bandte. Uztekstilprom’s Chairman Ilkhom Khaidarov, will enrich the event with a sector presentation," she said.
The conference will be followed by further steps to enhance cooperation like business delegations, cooperation events and an intensive dialogue about education and training, covering the entire value chain.
Germany is still highly contested textiles and clothing market, and one of the largest and most attractive sales markets in the world. Crucial aspects are quality, price competitiveness, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) compliance and manageable, reliable lead times.
Lastly, she added that Uzbekistan could score with its vertically integrated chain, modern production facilities, complying with international standards and the conditions for logistics. Moreover, zero duties in the framework of the EU’s GSP+ can be a decisive cost advantage.
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