Ninety-one Percent of Mainland China Summer Garment Suppliers Increasing Capacity in Expectation of Elimination of Quotas -- Global Sources Report

Ninety-one Percent of Mainland China Summer Garment Suppliers Increasing Capacity in Expectation of Elimination of Quotas -- Global Sources Report

HONG KONG, Nov. 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Global Sources' (NASDAQ:GSOL) China Supplier Survey: Summer Garments 2005 Buying Season shows that more than 91 percent of mainland China summer garment suppliers are expanding production capacity in anticipation of increased orders once quotas are lifted. Two-thirds expect capacity increases of more than 20 percent.

Of the 205 suppliers featured in the survey, 92 percent anticipate higher sales for the summer 2005 season than 2004. More than 60 percent of respondents expect sales to increase by more than 10 percent, with 24 percent preparing for increases of more than 25 percent. Mainland China is presently the world's largest clothing exporter.

More than half of the survey's respondents indicated plans to increase capacity by 20 to 50 percent by hiring more workers, purchasing additional machinery and/or expanding existing factories. Additionally, one-third are currently planning or building new garment plants.

Michael Kleist, editor-in-chief of Asian Sources' Fashion Accessories & Supplies, whose team conducted the survey, said, ''Suppliers are gearing up for more orders. Many makers are simply responding to advance notification from their current U.S. and European buyers to be ready for increased orders if quotas aren't replaced with some other restriction.''

Seventy-five percent of suppliers see the EU as a post-quotas growth market, while 68 percent regard the United States in the same light. As a direct result of increased concentration on Western markets, the percent of exports to Asian markets is expected to decrease.

The Summer Garments report includes manufacturers from 15 provinces and regions in China, including the seven major production hubs of Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Fujian provinces, and the Shanghai and Beijing/Tianjin municipalities.

The China Supplier Survey: Summer Garments 2005 Buying Season is the latest title in the Global Sources Market Intelligence Report series. Global Sources produces these reports and surveys from on-site factory visits and interviews, and extensive questionnaires. The report assists buyers to make better-informed purchasing decisions.

Market Intelligence Reports complement Global Sources' sourcing and product information services, which include Asian Sources trade magazines, Global Sources Online and China Sourcing Fairs.

The Summer Garments Market Intelligence Survey is available for US$645 and can be ordered online at http://www.globalsources.com/astj/garsurpress .

Selective survey results are available at http://xprnnews.xfn.info/gs/20041129.htm .

About Global Sources

Global Sources is a leading business-to-business (B2B) media company that facilitates global trade, with a particular focus on the China market, by providing information to international buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers.

We deliver content to our communities through our leading network of nine vertical marketplaces and 13 geographic portals, and through magazines, CD- ROMs and private catalogs, as well as China Sourcing Fairs and technical events. Our flagship marketplace, Global Sources Online (www.globalsources.com), hosts more marketing and sourcing activity than any other global merchandise trade marketplace.

We serve a growing, independently certified community of more than 419,000 active buyers in over 230 countries and territories. These buyers generate more than 4 million inquiries annually for over 130,000 suppliers through Global Sources Online alone. We offer extensive creative services and export consultation through 150 client service officers in Greater China and other leading supply markets, and through more than 750 sales representatives who make approximately 40,000 supplier visits monthly. In mainland China, we have 23 years on-the-ground presence, supported by over 1,000 team members in 44 locations throughout the country.

Global Sources' solutions are based on 34 years as a trade magazine publisher serving the global trade community, 14 years as a trade management software developer, 13 years as manager of trade shows in Asia, and nine years as an online marketplace operator.

Global Sources Investor Contacts:

Kirsten Chapman & Moriah Shilton
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
Tel: +1-415-433-3777
Fax: +1-415-433-5577
Email: kirsten@lhai-sf.com

Global Sources contact in Asia:

Camellia So
Tel: +852-2555-5023
Fax: +852-2518-8764
Email: cso@globalsources.com

Global Sources contact in U.S.:

James W.W. Strachan
Tel: +1-602-978-7504
Fax: +1-602-978-7512
Email: strachan@globalsources.com


Source: Global Sources Ltd.

CONTACT: Kirsten Chapman & Moriah Shilton of Lippert/Heilshorn &
Associates, Inc., +1-415-433-3777, or fax, +1-415-433-5577, or
kirsten@lhai-sf.com, for Global Sources; Camellia So of Global Sources Asia,
+852-2555-5023, or fax, +852-2518-8764, or cso@globalsources.com; or James
W.W. Strachan of Global Sources U.S., +1-602-978-7504, or fax,
+1-602-978-7512, or strachan@globalsources.com

Web Site: http://www.globalsources.com/astj/garsurpress
http://www.globalsources.com/
http://xprnnews.xfn.info/gs/20041129.htm


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