Impediments to Promoting Backward Linkages from the Garment Industry in Sri Lanka
Loading...
Date
1999
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The slow growth of backward linkages from the garment industries (exportoriented)
in developing countries and the policy merits of promoting these linkages have
considerable contemporary relevance. Backward linkages are useful particularly for a
garment industry to reduce the lead time and remain competitive in the international
market. Local suppliers to the garment industry cannot function however unless
conditions exist which allow them to be competitive. Furthermore, in a world where
multinational garment-buying ®rms are dominant, a large import dependence in the
garment industry does not necessarily imply that there are many opportunities to create
local supplies and thereby create backward linkages. These factors are shown from the
Sri Lankan attempts to promote backward linkages from the garment industry. It is
argued that formation of backward linkages in the garment industry that operate in an
open economy such as Sri Lanka is a natural outcome of industrial deepening and
therefore will be time dependent. It is noted that even with less backward linkages, the
garment industry in Sri Lanka has contributed signi®cantly to foreign exchange earnings
and employment creation in the country. Ó 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.
Description
Keywords
Asia, Sri Lanka, Industrialization, Export promotion, Linkages