VILNIUS - Several clothing manufacturers in north Wales are planning to move part of their production to Lithuania to cut operating costs, the Lithuanian Internet news portal Delfi reported citing The British Daily Post.
This decision followed a visit by Huw Williams of the Welsh Clothing and Textile Association to the Baltic textile and leather international trade fair in Vilnius. Williams said that Lithuanian enterprises had agreed to produce overalls and pajamas for companies in north Wales. Local firms will also supply fabrics and leather to Welsh companies.
In a related project led by the WCTA, a group of Lithuanian women are improving their seamstress skills at the Textile Support Initiative's center of excellence.
The Lithuanian clothing and textile industry currently employs around 51,700 people, of which 80 percent are women.
The international trade fair, which took place in Vilnius Sept. 8 's 11, attracted nearly 300 companies, half of which were from Lithuania. Businesses from the United Kingdom attended the annual event for the first time.
Lithuania's textile and clothing exports fell by 1 percent year-on-year to 1.8 billion litas (500 million euros) in the first seven months of this year. The decline was largely due to problems at Alytaus Tekstile, Lithuania's ailing cotton producer. The EU accounted for 90 percent of total textile and clothing exports.
