Asia Needs To Strengthen Collaboration In Chemical Fibre, Textile Industry - MITI

Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Sim Tze Tzin said Asia now controls about 54.1 per cent of the global textile market with almost 70 per cent of the world's textile and clothing production occurring in the region, making it the main powerhouse of the industry.

However, he said competition among countries in Asia was causing the industry to face profit pressure as well as an imbalance between overproduction of standard products and a shortage of high-quality, specialised materials that met technical requirements and environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.

“Asia comprises many countries and they compete with each other making this industry very unprofitable, hence it is important for us to collaborate.

“I have already given an overview of how Europe collaborates, for example in the aircraft industry through Airbus, so we also need to find solutions through large-scale industrial collaboration similar to the Airbus model in Europe,” he said.

He said this to reporters after attending the 15th Asian Chemical Fibre Industries Federation (ACFIF) Conference 2026 here today, which was also attended by Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Steven Sim.

The three-day conference, which began yesterday, brought together more than 200 delegations consisting of industry leaders from eight countries, namely China, Indonesia, India, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Taiwan and Thailand.

Sim said the chemical fibre and textile industry also needs to move towards a higher value chain through the development of functional textiles, environmentally friendly materials and products that are of higher quality, comfortable and suitable for climate change.

He said this effort requires an emphasis on research and development as well as closer collaboration between industry and universities to produce materials that meet market needs and ESG standards.

He said ESG compliance is now an important requirement, especially to penetrate the markets of developed countries including Europe which sets strict requirements on the supply chain and manufacturing materials.

Sim said the current global geopolitical challenges are also impacting international supply chains, including rising shipping costs, insurance and logistical uncertainties.

He said Malaysia is ready to play a role as a strategic partner in building a more resilient regional supply chain through the country's strengths in terms of political stability, trade and manufacturing base.

He said the collaboration should encompass not only production, but also logistics, warehousing, standards compliance and digital traceability systems to cope with global supply chain disruptions.

-- BERNAMA