Cablegate: Textiles and Apparel Sector - Poland

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Anne W McNeill 10/13/2006 02:58:34 PM From DB/Inbox: Search Results

Cable
Text:

UNCLAS WARSAW 01796

SIPDIS
CXWARSAW:
ACTION: ECON
INFO: MGT ORA FCS DCM AMB PAS POL ADM

DISSEMINATION: ECOX
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: ECON: RORORVIG
DRAFTED: ECON: HWMONSTER
CLEARED: ECON: LGRIESMER

VZCZCWRI805
RR RUEHC RUCPDOC RUEHKW RUEHZL
DE RUEHWR #1796 2371500
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251500Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1788
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHKW/AMCONSUL KRAKOW 1276
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS WARSAW 001796

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/NCE AND EB/TPP/ABT
EUR/NCE FOR DKOSTELANCIK AND BPUTNEY
EB/TPP/ABT FOR THOMAS LERSTEN
COMMERCE FOR ITA/OTEXA MARIA DANDREA
STATE PASS USTR FOR ABIOLA HEYLIGER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD KTEX PL
SUBJECT: TEXTILES AND APPAREL SECTOR - POLAND

REF: A) STATE 138090

1. (U) In response to reftel, post provides the following
information regarding the Polish textile and
apparel sector, all data from end-year 2005:

Total production: in textiles 8.96 billion PLN (2.89
billion USD); in apparel 4.47 billion PLN (1.44 billion
USD)(Note: revenues from activities which employ more
than 49 workers)

Total textile and apparel production by kind of product:
-- manufacture of textiles 9.88 billion PLN (3.18
billion USD)
-- manufacture of wearing apparel and furriery 8.70
billion PLN (2.80 billion USD)
-- processing of leather and manufacture of leather
products 3.19 billion PLN (1.03 billion USD)

Textile/apparel share of Poland's imports and exports:
-- Textiles: exports 1.2 billion EUR (1.54 billion
USD); imports 1.46 billion EUR (1.87 billion USD)
-- Apparel: exports 1.317 billion EUR (1.69 billion
USD); imports 999 million EUR (1.28 billion USD)
-- Textiles and apparel together account for 3.61%
of Polish exports and 3.12% of Polish imports

Destination of exports of textiles and apparel:
approximately 80% to the EU, exports to the U.S. are
marginal

Total textile and total apparel employment:
-- textiles 56,000 employees; apparel 73,000 employees

2. (SBU) According to Krzysztof Zareba, expert on
textile industry at the Department of Industry,
Ministry of Economy, Polish producers are feeling great
pressure due to increased competition from China.
Poland is a member of the "southern countries" of the
EU (including France, Greece, Spain, Portugal,
and Italy) who support restrictions against China's
exports of textiles and apparel, but is unlikely to implement
any of its own restrictions. Poland has not noted any
closures of factories due to a company's desire to move
production to Asia. There have been some reductions in
employment in the textile and apparel industry, but
this is due to increased efficiency and automatization,
thereby requiring less people to produce the same
amount of goods.

ASHE

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