The Textile Industry stresses on pre-shipment approval for garments with Mark Halabe of Mark One Apparel making a presentation during the Top Executive Conference in which he explained that the garments he produced for export needed to reach its destination within a set time, or the effort would go to waste.

Mr Halabe said that recently, his business has gone across from a commodity to sports division. Cowboys, an NRL team, will grace the field on Sunday wearing uniform which has been made in Fiji

Mr Halabe has argued that they run on a very tight schedule. If Cowboys win on Sunday, by Monday night, we will need to send 750 pieces of garments. But, if his garments are not on the back of the players on the said day, it is perishable.

Recently, the industry has been informed that garment would no longer be provided pre-shipment clearance. For regular shipment, documents need to be sent to the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority at least eight hours in advance.

Mr Halabe has argued that this is not possible in some cases where they do not know for sure the quantity they need to ship out. He said that this was an easy fix and for trade to flourish, a minor administrative decision needed to be made by Government.

Trade and Investment Minister Faiyaz Koya said that the ministry is there to facilitate the ease of doing business. It is an administrative decision and he is sure once a submission is made in this regard, it would be looked into quickly.

Thus the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industry will be submitting to Government to consider adding garments as ‘perishable’ good to allow for pre-shipment approval. Currently, only perishable goods like dalo and cassava receive pre-shipment approval.