Turnover of textile industry's no. 1 down to half in five years

Rosko Textil Arad, Romania’s biggest textile manufacturer, which is exclusively involved in exports, has budgeted a 60.9 million-euro (250 million-RON) turnover for this year, similar to last year’s, but half the figure posted in 2005 – 139 million euros (505.6 million RON). Among the reasons cited by the company is the low demand for underwear European-wide, as well as the Chinese “invasion” on the textiles manufacturing market. Since 2004, the “golden year” of Romanian manufacturers, which dropped their own brands for contracts with major retailers such as H&M, Hugo Boss, and C&A, turnovers started on a downward path in the textile industry. “This year industrial production will fall by a further 10-15% against last year, although forecasts pointed to a stagnation against last year, with 2011 to see growth again. The euro’s appreciation helped exporting manufacturers, but not those who have to import raw materials,” said Maria Grapini, chairperson of the Federation of Business Owners in the Light Industry.
Rosko Textil, held by DBApparel Nederland, announced the profit would also be similar to the 2009 one, at 4.5 million euros (19 million RON), whilst the number of employees will rise from 825 last year to 1,000 in 2010.