A group of textile and apparel exporters is projecting a “moderate” boost in their shipments to South Korea with the planned free trade agreement (FTA) between Manila and Seoul.
According to Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (Fobap) President Robert Young, they exported around $50 million worth of mixed apparel to South Korea in 2023.
“Due to [the] increasing cost of China apparel … the Philippines can have a share of the apparel business in the Korean local market,” Young told the Inquirer.
Fobap members’ exports to South Korea include woven and knitted fast fashion and casual wear, Young said.
But the free trade pact may prove double-edged, as Young said they are still concerned with Korean-made apparel flooding the Philippine market, which he said could kill the few remaining local players.
“Fobap’s main concern is the oversupply of low-priced, cheap fabric and textile into the Philippines, which will definitely put the last nail to the plan of putting up Philippine textile mills,” he said.
