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The global economy is expected to grow at a steady pace of around three per cent in 2019 and 2020. Risks include escalation of trade policy disputes, financial instabilities linked to elevated levels of debt and rising climate risks.
Growth in East Asia is projected to be moderate 5.8 per cent in 2018 to 5.6 per cent in 2019 and 5.5 per cent in 2020. Private consumption will remain the key driver of growth, supported by healthy job creation, rising incomes and moderate inflationary pressures. In most countries, infrastructure investment is also expected to remain strong as they focus on expanding productive capacity and easing structural bottlenecks. The region’s export growth, however, is likely to slow, amid a softening of the global electronics cycle and elevated trade tensions.
In China, growth is projected to remain solid, but will moderate from 6.6 per cent in 2018 to 6.3 per cent in 2019. The imposition of tariffs by the United States will dampen exports, while ongoing economic rebalancing measures will weigh on industrial sectors with excess capacity. The Indian economy is expected to expand by 7.6 per cent and 7.4 per cent in 2019 and 2020, respectively, underpinned by robust private consumption, a more expansionary fiscal stance and benefits from previous reforms.
German-based Bayer has taken over US seeds group Monsanto. The integration of Monsanto into Bayer is creating tremendous innovation and tailored solutions for the agriculture industry as a whole, including of course cotton growers.
Bayer’s move to combine its crop chemicals business with Monsanto’s industry-leading seeds business is the latest in a series of major agrochemicals tie-ups. The deal creates the world’s largest integrated pesticides and seedscompany but would limit the number of competitors selling herbicides and seeds in Europe. There are concerns the proposed acquisition could reduce competition in a number of different markets resulting in higher prices, lower quality, less choice and less innovation.
The breeding, biotechnology and digital advancements of Monsanto, combined with the broad crop protection and seed treatment portfolio of Bayer, may support the cotton industry globally.
Bayer has a keen focus on delivering increased yield, fiber quality, disease resistance, and product choices that work across a diverse set of environmental conditions. Additionally, Bayer will continue to engage, listen, promote, and partner in key supply chain initiatives for cotton fiber.
Bayer has a plan to create combined offerings of seeds and pesticides with the help of new digital farming tools, which include sensors, software and precision machines.
Chinese tariffs on imports of cotton from the US have been extremely destructive to the US cotton market. Cotton is a big money-making product for the United States, which exports almost all its domestic crop and is the largest cotton exporter in the world. Its biggest market area is Latin America, where cotton gets shipped to Central America to be spun into yarn and then made into fabric for clothes that come back to the United States. The country’s second-largest cotton export area is northeast Asia.
With tariffs making US cotton cost more, Chinese cotton importers are looking to other countries—including Brazil, Australia and India—to fill their needs at a lower cost. Brazil is the country that everyone is expecting China to buy from. Brazil is preferred because, like the United States, it uses machines rather than hand labor to harvest its cotton, resulting in less debris in the picked cotton.
Brazil is trying to gain more market share in China by upping its cotton production by 19 per cent. For the 2018-2019 crop season, the country is expected to harvest 11 million bales of cotton. The tariff problem comes at a bad time because China will probably have to import more cotton this year than in previous years. China’s cotton inventory last year was less than 6.5 million tons, which is half the reserve it had in 2014.
"A new research from UNFCCC reveals, greenhouse gas emissions from textile production currently amount to 1.2 billion tons annually. This is more than the emissions of all international flights and maritime shipping combined. The fashion industry has increasingly been working on issues such as chemicals, circularity and equality but must also further address its impact on climate change."
A new research from UNFCCC reveals, greenhouse gas emissions from textile production currently amount to 1.2 billion tons annually. This is more than the emissions of all international flights and maritime shipping combined. The fashion industry has increasingly been working on issues such as chemicals, circularity and equality but must also further address its impact on climate change.
At the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, Global Fashion Agenda released the CEO Agenda 2019. Developed in collaboration with leading fashion players Asos, Bestseller, H&M group, Kering, Li & Fung, Nike, PVH Corp., Sustainable Apparel Coalition and Target, the CEO Agenda 2019 reflects global developments, highlighting climate change as a core priority.
Contributing to the development of the local fashion industry
The release event in Davos was attended by CEOs from fashion and interconnected industries who discussed ways to make fashion more sustainable at an accelerated pace. This would require a collaborative effort across the value chain and engaging in a dialogue with external stakeholders, who play an integral role in creating this change.
The CEO Agenda contributes to development of the Davos fashion industry as a major contributor to the global sustainability
agenda. To achieve this, fashion companies need to future-proof their businesses. Social and environmental issues such as climate change, microfibre pollution, growing population and automation are likely to affect the future business model of the industry. According to projections from the Pulse of the Fashion Industry 2018 report, co-authored by Global Fashion Agenda and The Boston Consulting Group, fashion brands, by investing in sustainability, will be able to reduce their social and environmental footprint whilst improving their bottom line, with a potential increase in EBIT margins.
COA Agenda sets sustainability goals
The CEO Agenda has become a reference point for implementing sustainability measures, guiding corporate strategies, policymaking and investments. While many CEOs are already stepping up their work to address these shifts, half of the industry is yet to take action on sustainability. This will require top-level engagement from fashion brand CEOs, who can lead the transformation of not only their own companies but also the entire industry. The CEO Agenda 2019 details eight priorities for CEOs in fashion industry. Of these four core priorities for immediate implementation include:
• Supply chain traceability
• Combating climate change
• Efficient use of water, energy and chemicals
• Respectful and secure work environments
The remaining four transformational priorities for fundamental change are:
• Sustainable material mix
• Circular fashion system
• Promotion of better wage systems
• Fourth industrial revolution
H&M Group and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have expanded their partnership to jointly promote improved working conditions in the textile and garment industry supply chains. The new agreement expands an existing partnership, and continues the longstanding, close collaboration between H&M Group and the ILO that aims to strengthen work in the group’s supply chain on sustainability. The new partnership will include more H&M Group business functions than before, making it even broader.
The flagship Better Work Programme of the ILO, jointly managed by the International Finance Corporation, will play a key role in implementing activities under the agreement. The Better Work Programme operates in seven countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Haiti, Indonesia, Jordan, Nicaragua and Viet Nam) working with about 1,600 factories that employ around 2,200,000 workers.
H&M Group and the ILO have been working together since 2001 in countries such as Cambodia and Bangladesh. They have specifically addressed a range of issues including wages, work quality, productivity, and the documentation and recognition of workers’ skills.
Both parties acknowledge that systemic changes are needed in terms of labor relations by working with governments, trade unions and employers’ organisations.
Bangladesh is hosting a yarn and fabric show from January 23 to 26. The aim is to introduce latest sophisticated yarn, fabrics, accessories and emerging technologies for textile and garment industries. Over 370 exhibitors from 22 countries are showcasing textile products that include latest trends and technologies in fabrics, accessories, ready-to-wear and industrial fabrics, innovative and smart fabrics and many more.
The exhibition will enable textile and apparel industry buyers to meet local and overseas textile and yarn manufacturers face to face for the best qualities and reasonable prices.
Bangladesh is recognised as a lower middle income country. The contribution of the industrial sector to national growth has been increasing. Considering purchasing power, Bangladesh is now the world’s 32nd largest economy. The garment sector contributed 81.23 per cent to total revenue in the last fiscal year. China is the top exporter of apparel products in the world while Bangladesh is in second place.
This year’s expo is taking place along with two concurrent exhibitions, Denim Show and Dye and Chem. There are seven garment factories in Bangladesh that are placed in the top 10 environmentally-compliant readymade garment factories around the world. The country has a target of reaching $50 billion in textile exports by 2021.
Victoria Beckham is launching her full-fledged collaborative collection with Reebok after the small collection introduced by Beckham and Reebok with NBA player Shaquille O’Neal. Tapping the pulse of streetwear that generally gets associated with athletic fashion, the collection comprises work-to-workout ensembles for both women and men with pieces such as slouchy drawstring trousers, a short-sleeved hoodie and orange leggings. More gender centric items include styles such as sports bras and cropped tees.
The designer’s three strengths lifestyle, her husband’s professional soccer experience and her children’s near-constant-motion lives, dictate the design themes of the collection. The collection will be retailed at a microsite and other premium stores.
For the third quarter Raymond’s consolidated net profit was up 30 per cent. Total income was up 12.69 per cent. Revenue from the textile segment was up 10.32 per cent. Revenue from the apparel segment was up 19.62 per cent. Revenue from the garmenting segment was up 13.65 per cent.
Raymond's total expenses were at Rs 1,639.03 crores as against Rs 1,471.38 crores in the year-ago period. Revenue from shirting was at 159.25 crores as against Rs 149.34 crores in the corresponding quarter last year.
Raymond now has four strong brands: Raymond, Park Avenue, Park and Colour Plus and the company is doing well and delivering a high double-digit growth. The company is currently in the right place with the right set of opportunities. The company is made up of many parts -- textile, apparel, B to C fabrics, engineering, auto components, FMCG. Every part has its own challenges and its own needs and desires.
For Raymond fabrics are a solid and legacy business, while apparels are growing strongly. It is a market leader in its space and has managed to enter the FMCG space. As for key focus areas of the company, the priority is to see exponential shareholder returns.
Mauritius is reasserting itself as a sourcing option for American brands and retailers thanks to a tenuous trade market and tensions with China over tariffs and the like that are seeing US companies look for alternate supply chain solutions. Mauritius enjoys duty free shipment for US-bound apparel and textiles under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade privilege program yet undisrupted by the Trump Administration, and one whose benefits are proving ideal at a time when trade is in the uncertain position it’s currently in.
Mauritius is known for its high level of quality and attention to detail in manufacturing, specialising in the medium to higher-end of the market. Brands like Asos, Monoprix and Calvin Klein make products in Mauritius. It is also one of the rare countries that have enjoyed positive economic growth consistently since 1983, according to Bucktowonsing. Between 2001 and 2018, the average economic growth in Mauritius was 3.89 percent. For 2018, estimates peg the growth at 3.9 percent.
Cambodian PM Hun Sen has urged China to consider entering a free trade agreement with the Cambodia to spur trade and investment between the two nations. This will help Cambodia diversify its export market, currently dominated by the European Union and the United States. As a member of ASEAN, Cambodia benefits from FTAs signed between the regional organisation and other countries and regions, including Australia and New Zealand, and Hong Kong.
Trade between Cambodia and China reached $5.6 billion last year, a 12 per cent increase from 2017’s $5 billion. However, China’s share of the Kingdom’s export market is still small compared to those of the EU and the US, who jointly account for more than 70 percent of Cambodian exports.
From 1994 to 2016, China invested $14.7 billion in the Kingdom, mostly on four sectors – agriculture and agro-industry, manufacturing, infrastructure, and services and tourism, according to the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). China also funded the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, which cost $3 billion and now hosts 108 enterprises and companies. In the tourism sector, China recently invested in two big projects, an international resort in Koh Kong province and a five-star hotel and resort in Preah Sihanouk.
Moreover, of the 23 companies investing in the mining industry, 10 are from China. China is also the largest foreign investor in the energy sector in Cambodia, with more than $7.5 billion invested in hydropower plants and about $4 billion in coal-fired power plants.
