Bangladesh was seen as a big loser from the end of the MFA

The International Labour Organization (ILO) argues that - as foreseen - China and India are among the big winners.

But Bangladesh, which had been expected to be among the worst affected countries, saw exports rise in February and March 2005 after a fall in January.

But Europe and the US have lost jobs, and Africa has been hit hardest of all.

The report precedes a conference convened by the ILO in Geneva to discuss the future of the textile industry in the wake of the end of the Multi Fibre Agreement.

That agreement - which limited textile imports to rich countries - ended in January, leading to a free-for-all among developing countries.

The industry employs more than 40 million people worldwide, with revenues reaching $350bn (�200.1bn; 291.3bn euros).

Mixed picture

The UN organization's report - Promoting Fair Globalization in Textiles and Clothing in a Post-MFA Environment - describes what it calls a "more complex (picture) than had been expected".

Among its findings is an indication that the initial boom for India and China slowed after the first three months of the year.

China "is in the process of outgrowing its comparative advantage for the most labour-intensive manufacturing industries ... and evolving towards higher value-added industries", the ILO said.

It noted that sanctions by Europe and the US against Chinese imports could be having an effect.

As for Bangladesh - which had been a recipient of preferential treatment under the MFA - a $57m fall in exports in January was followed by a $157m rise in February and another slight gain in March.

Africa hurts

In contrast, though, many African countries - much favoured by US retailers as garment assemblers thanks to the tax and tariff breaks included in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) - have suffered a drastic decline.

Agoa-related exports to the US fell 25% in the three months to March 2005 from the previous year's levels.

For example, of 39,000 jobs generated in Kenya 6,000 have been lost since October 2004.

In Lesotho, more than one in 10 of the country's 56,000 garment workers are jobless, and a further 10,000 are only expected to be hired and paid only when work is available.

And Asia has been far from immune to the damage.