SOUTH KOREA: Taiwan Takes Lead In Synthetic Fabric Supply

Taiwan is taking over from Korea in the export of synthetic fabrics to China. The widening gap is due to uncompetitive prices, a lack of new products, and Hong Kong's switch to China for synthetic fabrics. Figures presented by the Korea Synthetic Fabric Export and Import Union show that Taiwan and Korea were neck and neck in 1998, both accounting for 44.8% of China's imported synthetic fabric market. However, a June 2001 survey brought the picture up to date. Korea's share of the market has declined to 36.8%, with Taiwan racing ahead to take 63.2%.