Легка промисловість України: проблеми і перспективи конкурентноздатності

First of all, Asian countries (especially China and Indonesia) definitely dominate in this direction. If you remember some basic concepts of international economics, then the abundance of labor immediately has to pop-up in your mind.

Ukraine does not have and does not need enough labor resources to concentrate on production of textiles and apparel. High educational level of the nation lets us claim that these resources can be used more efficiently in more ‘hich-tech’ sectors of the economy. Another issue to keep in mind is that even some Post Soviet countries that used to dominate this market at least in former socialist countries lost their positions and do not consider light industry a priority for development (Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz tan make a good case to support this idea). And finally, even US that used to protect its production of apparel heavily started to change its position largely because of the recent WTO rounds.

Considering all those factors what can we say about the prospects for textile producers in Ukraine?Well, first of all it is obvious that at least for now more realistic goal is to get more confident positions on Ukrainian market. In terms of national strategy I would describe it as import competing (substitution) approach. In terms of financial management it means devoting more resources to developing of the new brands and promoting them wisely on the internal market. It may also mean looking not for average customers but for specific clients that are interested in the product.

Ukraine cannot boast a developed supporting sub-industry that produces all major raw materials for textile industry. Therefore, expansion of textile industry can be achieved mainly at the expense of imports of raw materials. This goal does not seem very realistic on the current stage (especially if you are thinking about fast growth in the industry).

Very important for financial health of the companies is the ability to use debt and public financing effectively. Many producers in Ukraine simply do not know how to do this and/or are too afraid to be involved in any financial procedures. This situation is even more complicated by the attempts of many enterprises to simply keep afloat. Therefore, many companies have more ‘urgent’ issues to take care of.

Due to opening opportunities (rising population incomes, consumers' preferences switch towards high quality clothing, etc) Ukraine has to spread the knowledge on Ukrainian products and design among consumers and related businesses to fill up the market.

But until textile producers turn their minds to the problems mentioned above the problems and prospects of textile industry in Ukraine look somewhat murky. And it is obvious the plausible assumption is that this process may take a while until it yields some positive results.

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The major Ukrainian producers of silk are: Kyiv Silk Integrated Plant, Darna Kyiv JSC, Kherson Cotton JSC, Cherkasy Silk Integrated Plant, Volteks Silk Integrated Plant (Lutsk).

The leading Ukrainian manufactures of wool fabrics are: Cheksil OSC (Chernihiv), Donetsk Fabrics Factory, Troyanda JSC (Kyiv), Bohuslav Fabrics Factory (Kyiv oblast), Oteks OSC (Kharkiv), and Lazur JSC (Odesa).

The largest producer was Cheksil OSC which produced 6,237 linear meters of wool in 1997. The company operates 20 enterprises, six of which are factories, and the others specialize in marketing, export/import transactions, supply, energy, repair, construction, engineering, and transportation. The company has exported wool to Europe and the U.S. since 1993. The northern and central regions of Ukraine (Chernihiv, Zhytomyr and Rivne oblasts), known as Polissya, is famous for cultivating flax. The Ukrainian manufacturers of linen are: Lyonoteks JSC (Zhytomyr), Rivnelyon JSC (Rivne), and Kherson Cotton JSC.

Використана література:

1.І. Бураковський: Підприємство в Україні: революційна зміна парадигми управління//Економічні реформи сьогодні №33, 2000, с. 38-41

2.Український промисловець, 2/99

3.Український промисловець 6/99

4.Український промисловець 4/99

5.Український промисловець 1/99

6.Ринок одягу//Бізнес №50(413), 11.12.2000, c. 62-63