Cheap Living, Good Weather Draw U.S. Retirees Farther South

Thursday, September 2, 2004

Sept. 2, 2004 -- Central America may still conjure up images of right-wing dictators and left-wing insurgents. But now, places such as Nicaragua and Honduras are beckoning some Americans seeking retirement destinations. Cheap living, affordable waterfront housing and pleasant weather are drawing many who wouldn't be able to live in similar luxury in the United States.

As apparel quotas end, Nicaragua hopes to gain

Monday, August 30, 2004

With quotas on most of the world's apparel trade set to end Jan. 1, a nation long overlooked for clothing production is gaining favor: Nicaragua.

The struggling Central American country of 5 million people is luring companies with costs lower than in many of its neighbors, which have longer track records in the clothing industry.

Apparel assembly workers in Nicaragua earn roughly 40 to 50 cents an hour, including fringe benefits. That compares with 70 to 80 cents an hour in Honduras and more than $1 an hour in Costa Rica, said Norman E. Gelber, president of Miami-based Customs and Trade Services Inc., which specializes in apparel.

Moreover, the government of Nicaragua has become more aggressive since 2002 in promoting the country's offerings, including its ample, low-cost energy and generous business incentives.

Foreign direct investment in Nicaragua for all industries -- including apparel -- reached $241 million last year, trailing only Costa Rica in the five-nation Central American common market, according to the U.N. Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Among Nicaragua's newest apparel investors: Montreal-based Gildan Activewear Inc., which posted record $26 million profits on $168 million in sales last quarter.

Gildan has announced plans to invest $60 million in Nicaraguan facilities to make fleece fabric and sew that cloth into sportswear.

The investments come as clothing makers scramble to slash costs to better compete come 2005, when the World Trade Organization is set to end a decades-old system of quotas on most apparel trade.

Quotas had limited export sales from behemoths China and India, nations with strong textile industries and some of the world's lowest wages.

Many companies selling to the United States opted to sew U.S. fabric in the lower-cost Caribbean Basin, taking advantage of special programs Washington offered partly to help U.S. textile makers.

But as quotas are being phased out, Asia is regaining its edge, with tens of thousands of apparel jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean at risk.

To compete, some companies are developing textile factories in the Caribbean Basin to supply their longstanding sewing operations there.

They're confident an integrated textile-garment complex can offer quicker delivery to U.S. and Western European buyers than more distant Asia, giving them an edge for time-sensitive items.

Gildan also is investing in a textile factory in Dominican Republic to supply garment operations on Hispaniola, which also includes Haiti.

South Florida is watching closely, because textiles and clothing represent the largest segment of the area's massive trade with the Caribbean Basin, a key business partner.

South Florida's apparel-related trade tops $6 billion a year, with Dominican Republic and Honduras its top partner.