«Kyrgyz garment workers need to enter the markets of the European Union, China and other countries with their products,» Deputy Economy Minister of Kyrgyzstan Eldar Abakirov said at a press conference today.
At the end of 2017, the garment industry accounted for 15.7 percent in the volume of exports of goods. According to him, about 200,000 people work in this sector. The sewers sell their goods mainly to Russia and Kazakhstan, where domestic products have firmly taken their place.
«Over the past two years, after the depreciation of the Russian ruble and the Kazakh tenge, profits from exports to these countries have declined. In addition, competition is growing, as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are actively developing this industry. Therefore, domestic garment workers need to enter new markets — EU, China, and other countries,» Eldar Abakirov stressed.
In addition, he added that today about 400 specialists of the garment industry are trained in colleges and lyceums, higher education institutions — about 70 technologists and engineers, and about 4,000 garment workers graduate from vocational schools every year. But the level of professional knowledge and skills of graduates leaves much to be desired. The education system needs to be changed.
