Textile exports are expected to improve in the latter half of the year as international buyers shift from higher-cost Chinese producers to local firms, said Virat Tandejanurat, Director of the Thai Textile Institute.

He said foreign buyers have also shifted away from countries suspected of using child labour. The industry's peak sales season falls in the latter half of the year and orders for this period have increased as buyers move away from China.

Customers see Thai products as a better choice because the quality is higher while the prices are relatively indifferent. More orders shift away from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who face child labour exploitation allegations. 

Thai textile and garment shipments to the US, which consumes about 40% of the sector's exports, contracted by 28% in the first half of the year, due mainly to its slumping domestic economy and fierce competition from producers whose countries have free trade agreements with the US. The industry's total exports are expected to fall to $7.2 billion this year from US$7.4 billion in 2008.

Thai Textile Institute is also seeking co-operation from the Board of Investment to design special incentives to target foreign direct investment in the local technical textiles segment.

Thailand also has a strong position in producing synthetics, the raw material for technical textiles. Local demand for technical textiles is expected to reach 50 billion