Nicaragua ready to shine at the upcoming MAGIC event

July 21, 2011 - PRLog -- Nicaragua will be participating in the upcoming edition of MAGIC, the preeminent trade event of the international fashion industry, which hosts global buyers and sellers of apparel, footwear and accessories. The event, which will take place from August 21st to the 24th at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada, gathers global fashion brands and industry leaders, who will have the opportunity to take an inside look at Nicaragua’s burgeoning textiles and apparel industry.

The Nicaraguan delegation participating in the event will include PRONicaragua, the official investment promotion agency of Nicaragua, the National Free Zones Commission (CNZF, for its acronym in Spanish), the Nicaraguan Association of the Textiles and Apparel Industry (ANITEC, for its acronym in Spanish) and the Nicaraguan Chamber of Private Industrial Parks (FCNZFP, for its acronym in Spanish).

One of the highlights of Nicaragua’s participation in the event will be the feature presentation titled “Competitiveness of Nicaragua’s Apparel Industry and Nicaragua’s Cotton Production Project”, which will take place on August 21st at 1:00 pm in Room S231 of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The presentation will be delivered by Mary O’Rourke, President and Managing Director of O’Rourke Group Partners and Javier Chamorro Rubiales, Executive Director of PRONicaragua, and will showcase Nicaragua’s excellent competitive position for apparel production and the country’s efforts to develop a cotton production project that would supply raw material to the local textiles and apparel industry. Later on at 4:00 pm, Nicaragua will be a premium sponsor of the Networking Event of the Department of Commerce, in the lounge area of the Americas Pavilion right in front of Nicaragua’s booth.

In Nicaragua’s booth (#66706 in the Americas Pavilion), participants will be able to obtain information on the country’s apparel manufacturing sector, establish key contacts with companies of the textile and apparel industry operating in Nicaragua and witness the quality of garments manufactured in the country. Additionally, the country’s industrial parks will also be present to show the type of infrastructure available for establishing textiles and apparel manufacturing operations.

A recent study by O’Rourke Group Partners found Nicaragua to be the single most competitive option for sourcing numerous apparel products, not just in this hemisphere, but in some cases also compared to China, Vietnam and Bangladesh, due the country’s low costs, educated labor pool, improving labor productivity, its consistent quality, an excellent free trade zone system, as well as its speed-to-market performance.

By 2010, Nicaragua was the 12th largest worldwide apparel supplier to the U.S. in volume, thus becoming an important player in the global textile and apparel industry. According to estimates by the CNZF, in 2011 there will be significant growth in Nicaragua’s textile exports to the world, reaching a total of US$1,300 million, a 28 percent increase versus exports in 2010.

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PRONicaragua is the Nicaraguan Investment Promotion Agency, established in 2002. It is a non-profit, public-private institution whose mission is to generate economic growth and job creation in Nicaragua by attracting high-quality foreign direct investment. The agency provides complimentary support services to qualified investors seeking investment opportunities in our country.