The Sri Lankan Apparel Industry Suppliers Exhibition (AISEX) will be held from May 10 to 12 at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Centre, BMICH premises. Organised and managed by Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Apparel Institute (SLAI), it aims to bring together suppliers and service organisations in the apparel industry and make it a platform where future development of the industry will help it become a major sourcing hub for the apparel segment by 2020. Held every two years, AISEX 2018, the eighth edition of the exhibition will bring together a range of players focused on the development of the industry. Reinvigorated by GSP Plus, the apparel industry is ready to take full advantage of the benefits permitted under the scheme.
Sri Lanka Apparel Institute Chairman Professor Lakdas Fernando explained, this is a benefit that is time stamped. As the country develops and reaches a higher per capita income, we will lose this opportunity. The time is now to make full use of what is given to the country. Sri Lanka has the potential of converting to a major supplier’s hub for the industry, with the added advantage and given its reputation of manufacturing high quality garments in the region, this is positive benefit that needed to be marketed and taken full advantage of, Fernando says.
AISEX will focus on a wide range of textile machinery, accessories and services worldwide and will provide manufacturers of all sizes a methodology to expand existing manufacturing methods and possibilities of increasing production volumes through state of the art innovative technology.
The South Asian apparel market is the second largest in Asia, after China. AISEX will also focus on generating new opportunities closer to home for small scale local designers and manufactures an open door to enter the market regional and international market. AISEX 2018 will provide the ideal platform for corporations to communicate amongst apparel related bodies in the region.
