One of the upsides of covid-19 is that there will be a shift away from China and Sri Lanka will benefit from this, according to Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA). The SLAEA is working with the authorities to attract investment in fabric mills and other backward linkages to strengthen the offer that Sri Lanka can make to international buyers.

"The key drivers in the supply of apparel are quality, speed and pricing. Sri Lankan apparel has always prided itself on our product quality, our ethical and sustainable manufacturing practices, speed to market and value for money. Sri Lanka offers its customers a total solutions service which includes dedicated innovation and product development working spaces, local design houses, etc right through to warehousing and dispatch to individual outlets, etc. We believe that these all add up to a fairly unique and attractive proposition to our customers," SLAEA chairman Rehan Lakhany tells Richa Bansal in August 2020 edition of Fibre2Fashion.

"The apparel industry has always worked closely with our stakeholders to balance these issues. The government continues to support the industry through a number of initiatives, and we are appreciative of the efforts taken in this regard," Lakhany tells Bansal in the article 'The Pandemeconomics of Manufacturing'.