Local manufacturers should focus more on "technical textile" production to avoid tougher competition in the mass and fashion markets, government officials and textile experts said yesterday.

Production of technical textiles will help reduce imports and generate foreign exchange, they told a seminar.

Global demand for hi-tech textiles has been growing by leaps and bounds. Last year 19.7 billion tonnes of technical textiles worth US$106.9 billion (Bt4 trillion) were sold, while this year 23.8 billion tonnes valued at $127.3 billion are forecast. Asia is one region with strong demand for such speciality products.

Technical textiles are an innovative development of both fabric and garments with qualities tailored for special purposes in fields such as sports, construction and medical care.

Local manufacturers have not developed their own technology to produce technical textiles. Most of the innovations come from Japanese companies.

Chakramon Phasukvanich, permanent secretary of the Industry Ministry, said nowadays technical textiles play an important role in industry.

"Thai enterprises should produce their own technical products. That will not only help reduce imports, but also create billions of income for the country," he said.

Now food and textiles are among the country's key export industries, he said.

Last year, textile exports were up 5.6 per cent to Bt270 billion.

Virat Tandaechanurat, executive director of the Thailand Textile Institute, said the textile and garment industry was facing stiff competition today. Manufacturers should move to technical textiles because their production requires more sophistication than run-of-the-mill products.

In Asia only Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and China can turn out technical textiles.

The institute is working on seven research and development projects from the five major technical textile branches - agrotech, buildtech, sportech, medtech and mobitech.

The projects are anti-microbial and self-cleaning textiles, medical textiles using nanotechnology, anti-mite bedcovers, plasma-treated sportswear, ground covers for raising organic crops, non-woven fabric wraps for vegetables and fruits, and woven fabrics, such as insulation, for the building industry.

The seven research projects involved the collaboration of various universities and a budget of Bt25 million. The institute will soon launch a demonstration plant to further the development of technical textiles as well as educate commercial manufacturers in advanced production processes and techniques.

The plant should help the textile industry show improvement in three to five years, Virat said.

The institute has asked the government for a budget to establish the plant.

Textile-makers need government support because competition in textile markets is now severe, he said.

The development of technical textiles will encourage local manufacturer to invest in this specific market.

It will also support other industries such as automobile production, where half of the materials use technical textiles.

The institute needs Bt500 million from the government for the project plan, so it can create new technical textile products to support domestic industries and build a laboratory to develop other specialised products.

The institute will also seek foreign investment in the local technical textile industry.

Next Monday, representatives from the United Nations Industry Development Organisation will arrive to observe investment opportunities in the technical textile industry here, Virat added.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation