Gulf countries are slowly but surely burgeoning as leading textile manufacturing and trading centres globally. The UAE is a leading centre for textile industry automation where nearly 150 apparel manufacturing companies operating in the country. By 2016 the UAE is set to develop into the world's leading high-end textile and garment re-export centre.

Currently, the UAE controls 5.5 percent of the world's textile market, as clothing emerges as the world's fourth largest trading segment in fashion and apparel as per the China National Textile & Apparel Council (CNTAC).

According to Mr. Midhat M. Abu Ghazaleh, CEO, Abughazaleh Trading Company, (ABCO), the UAE has a role to play as a re-export center to diverse markets in Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia. Local textile companies compete with international brands through the quality of their products and price advantage, as well as lower import duties and customs tariffs as these two costs are not borne by local players.

The UAE textile and apparel products stand popular globally despite intense competition faced by the textile manufacturing market in UAE from the textile manufacturing countries in South East Asia, such as China, India and Thailand

One major facet of UAE's textile industry is the high level of automation using advanced textile machinery of European countries.

Abughazaleh Trading Company (ABCO) is one of the leading wholesale distributor and manufacturer in UAE since 1975 of all types of apparel, footwear, luggage, hand bags and house hold products. The company operates in GCC countries, MENA, South Africa, South East Asia, East Europe and Russia.