The Philippine apparel manufacturing industry began in the late 1950s as a cottage industry that took over home sewing, dressmaking and tailoring activities.
The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI's) Garments and Textile Industry Development Office (GTIDO) reports that Philippine textile and apparel exports increased annually from 2009 to 2011. According to GTIDO, exports in 2011 totaled US$2.14 billion — of which apparel exports accounted for $1.92 billion; textiles, US$162 million; and used apparel, US$53 million — and accounted for 4.4 percent of total Philippine exports. During the January through October 2012 period, the United States ranked first among export markets for Philippine textiles and apparel, accounting for a 59-percent share, followed by the European Union, 13 percent; and Japan, 9 percent.
Apparel exports increased annually from 2008 to 2011, and on average, accounted for approximately 91.1 percent of total textile and apparel exports, GTIDO notes. The DTI recently announced that apparel exports alone reached US$2 billion in 2012.
The Philippine textile and apparel industry employed 13.05 percent of the nation's workforce in 2009, according to data from the Philippine Statistical Yearbook 2012, with 97,475 people employed by the apparel sector and 25,767 employed by the textile sector.
Export Opportunities
The Philippine textile and apparel