YPD Region in S. Korea emerges as the Mecca of global knitwear industry
June 25, 2014 Leave a comment
Region in S. Korea emerges as the Mecca of global knitwear industry
2014.06.20 17:
“When buyers in Los Angeles order fabrics for knitwear, it takes about two months for Chinese companies to deliver them to their office. But companies in Yangju, Pocheon and Dongducheon (YPD) in South Korea can perform the job just in a month as both the process from the beginning to shipment and transportation take two weeks respectively,” said Gwon Byung-hee, chief of a textile exporter based in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
YPD is emerging as the heart of the global knitwear production, as the apparel consumption pattern is shifting from woven fabrics to more luxurious knitwear especially in developed countries. The success is believed to have stemmed from the fact that YPD has about 3,000 companies specializing in each phase of the textile production such as knitting, dyeing and post-processing and the firms’ cooperation system is working very well because they are located in one hour car-ride distance. As a result, large textile fashion companies such as LG Fashion and Kolon are flocking to YPD to set up knitwear production plants and research institutions.
Korea’s exports of woven fabrics have stagnated from $3.18 billion in 2005 to $3.17 billion in 2012, but those of knitwear have jumped 51 percent in seven years from $2.6 billion to $4 billion, according to the Korea High Tech Textile Research Institute. Korea is estimated to have gained the top 40 percent market share in the over 12 trillion won ($11.7 billion) global high-end knitwear market.
“Korea’s exports of knitwear are projected to grow to $5.7 billion in 2015 to $6.8 billion in 2025,” said Kim Sook-rae, chief of the textile institute.
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