Mr. Ramesh Solanki President of the Fiji Textile, clothing and Footwear Council said this is needed because the industry is already in a decline and will deteriorate further if Australia and China sign a free trade agreement, as planned. Mr. Solanki said they want to see rules of origin relaxed from 50 to 25 percent in order to become more competitive. Under the SPARTECA trade agreement, the Fiji clothing industry must use 50 % locally-manufactured fabric
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| but Mr Solanki says this hampers their efficiency.
He says there are now only 9,000 jobs in an industry which at its peak has provided 19,000. Further he said, “If government intervenes and negotiates better entry under SPARTECA for Australia and New Zealand, then I think we stand a very good chance of re-employing some of the laid off workers. About 6,000 workers in the next six to twelve months.” The government is negotiating with Australian officials but he believes there needs to be more urgency, he added. 
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