Economist Marat Shaleshenkov, chairman of the Federation of Kyrgyzstan Industry and Trade, recently completed a list of issues in the textile industry. He pointed out that due to aging equipment and lack of talent, Kyrgyzstan’s textile industry is facing a serious crisis of declining competitiveness. In the next few years, the textile industry’s original share of the global market will decrease. At the same time, since the country joined the three-country customs union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the quality requirements for underwear and other textile products have increased across the board. Textile products entering the country’s market will face more stringent inspections.
At present, due to outdated and backward production equipment, some textile companies in Kyrgyzstan are in a state of shutdown and bankruptcy. The market share of some domestic textiles (finished fabrics, knitted fabrics, non-woven fabrics, carpets) is very small, about 25% to 27%, but the market share of cotton products has reached 95%, and wool products also occupy 55%. % market share, product coverage is relatively uneven.
Shaleshenkov said: “Some textile enterprises in our country are completely shut down. The main reason for this situation is that most of the production equipment in the textile industry are left over from the former Soviet Union and are in urgent need of comprehensive updating. Therefore, it is difficult for us to compete effectively with other countries in the textile field. In addition, the global textile market has been occupied by some textile companies for a long time. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, we have lost our original market and have to fully restore and revitalize textiles again. The industry requires huge investment. At the same time, until the labor problem is solved, even if companies resume production and purchase equipment, the situation will not improve.”
Shaleshenkov also emphasized that the revitalization and development of enterprises require outstanding professionals and marketers who can find the right way out of the market. Unfortunately, the staff of Kyrgyzstan companies are basically relatives or friends of officials. For example, the worsted spinning complex spent a lot of money to equip advanced equipment from Italy, but the equipment was not properly utilized due to a lack of talented people.
At the same time, after Kyrgyzstan enters the three-country customs union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the country’s requirements for imported textile products will be more stringent. The Customs Union stipulates that the import of inferior and harmful textile products is prohibited. To comply with the requirements of the Customs Union, corresponding supervision stations and laboratories need to be established, and underwear textiles are among the list of regulated products.
Sergei Ponomarev, chairman of the Kyrgyzstan Association of Market Service Enterprises, said: “Currently, there are no standardized inspections of imported underwear products and raw materials. In the future, relevant inspections will be implemented in consumer process, and the introduction of universal technical specifications on a legal basis. In other words, as Kyrgyzstan enters the customs union, textile products with quality problems will no longer appear on the market.”
The expert also pointed out that the raw materials for underwear and underwear products will be resolved in accordance with the regulations of the Customs Union. Finally, Ponomarev mentioned: “For imported linen and raw materials, relevant licenses and certificates are required to prove that the product complies with the regulations of the Customs Union.”
