Textiles and garments to buck slowdown.

Byline: The Nation.

The Office of Industrial Economics (OIE) forecasts that the textile and garment industry will grow at least 3 per cent next year despite the global economic slowdown.

After discussion with manufacturers, OIE director-general Arthit Wuthikaro noted that they had shifted focus to producing premium products to serve higher demand in Japan and other developed countries.

"We have become very competitive since we gained tax benefits under the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement, and so we expect to boost our textile and garment exports to Japan by 20 per cent next year," he said.

He added that although the global …