If we look at the textiles industry in general, we will notice the importance that textiles hold for big and small economies within Asia. For some countries such as India and Thailand, the textile sector contributes up to 20% of their GDP; it has provided a total of more than 50 million jobs for the women, the unskilled and the poor in the region. China alone has an output worth more than US$ 100 billion, similarly India, Vietnam, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka have fared equally well, registering sector growth ranging from 20% to 40%. Presently, Asia has the largest concentration of textile economies in the world.
The fundamentals of the textiles industry in Asia are strong. Chinese silk, Indonesian batik, Indian sari - Asia has a myriad of cultures, known for its colour, creativity in costume design and workmanship. As a major supplier of textile and garments, Asia have a large pool of labour and an abundance of natural resources that enable them to produce goods in a cost-effective manner. Since the phase out of quotas and China's accession to WTO has provided huge market to suppliers, it has also increased pressure on the local textile industry of various economies
As the old economy has evolved into a knowledge-based economy the answer for the textiles industry in meeting the increasingly sophisticated consumer demands world-wide lies in incorporating e-capabilities to satisfy customers who are now demanding faster and accurate flow of information and transactions.
With the rapid pace of
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| globalisation, it is also important for suppliers to create an extensive global production network in order to be closer to the market place. To stay relevant to the expectations of the buyers, suppliers need to tap on the market strength to create competitive merchandise. It will be a challenge for suppliers to regionalise the production pattern in order to achieve proximity to the markets. To rise up to these new challenges, Asia's textiles industry will need to re-invent itself. Production has to be streamlined to improve efficiency. Skills of the workers have to be further enhanced to ensure higher quality and faster output to meet the consumer demands. There is a need to build up design and product development capabilities to provide value and add services to the buyers.
The industry will also need to upgrade its machinery and explore the application of innovative tools such as advanced software in the business operations. We need to look at ways to ensure market competitiveness, and this may include adopting efficient production methodology or using the latest machinery. Ever since India ITME 2004, Machinery manufacturers in India and around the world have been waiting for ITMA Asia 2005, to be held at Singapore from Oct17-21, 2005. ITMA Asia is a significant event. It is a key milestone of Asia's growth in the global textiles and textile machinery industry. We hope ITMA Asia 2005 would come out trumps in being a platform for industry players to update and acquaint themselves with available advanced textile machinery and innovative software necessary for reinvention of the Asian textile Industry! 
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