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"With over 14 textile parks, big-ticket projects of some textile majors, relaxed norms for backward regions and ‘Farm-to-Fashion’ initiative, Maharashtra is set to craft its textile dream into reality. With IT services companies moving away from the financial capital, Maharashtra government is on the look-out for new avenues of growth and has identified textile industry as a new ‘sunrise’ industry. Ichalkaranji, Solapur, Nagpur are the newly emerging big textile cities in Maharashtra."
With over 14 textile parks, big-ticket projects of some textile majors, relaxed norms for backward regions and ‘Farm-to-Fashion’ initiative, Maharashtra is set to craft its textile dream into reality. With IT services companies moving away from the financial capital, Maharashtra government is on the look-out for new avenues of growth and has identified textile industry as a new ‘sunrise’ industry. Ichalkaranji, Solapur, Nagpur are the newly emerging big textile cities in Maharashtra.
Ichalkaranji: 9,000 shuttleless weaving machines have been installed in here. In all, technology selected for shuttleless weaving machines running in and around Ichalkaranji is having 50 per cent, 45 per cent, 5 per cent contribution of rapier, airjet and projectile technology respectively. There are about 160 sizing units, consisting of 250 sizing machines, which include conventional to modern machines and 1.2 lakh powerlooms in this decentralised sector. At present spinning, weaving preparatory and weaving sectors are well grown in this region.
Vidarbha : Vidarbha is one of the largest cotton-growing regions of India and contributes for nearly one-thirds of the state’s cotton production. Vidarbha is expected to be a next emerging hub for textiles. Advantages of Vidarbha region are: central location and a strategic place on international aviation routes. A textile hub started at Amravati and the proposal is to similar textile hubs in eight more districts of cotton-growing areas like: Jalgaon, Yavatmal, Aurangabad, Jalna, Parbhani, Nanded, Buldhana, and Beed.
Nagpur: Owing to its strategic location, Nagpur is an upcoming textile hub in the state. Nagpur lies at the dead centre of the country with the zero-mile marker indicating the geographical centre of India.
Growing investments in textile sector
Just over a year back, textile major Raymond announced an ambitious Rs 1,500-crore greenfield project in the Vidarbha region. The cotton growing belt of Nagpur, Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Yavatmal, Washim and Wardha is getting a shot in the arm with the state government revealing its scheme to integrate six distressed districts of Vidarbha through 80 per cent cotton industry, as a part of Narendra Modi’s vision of transforming textile industry through the visionary ‘Farm-to-Fashion’ concept. Amravati district is in the process of transforming itself as the international textile hub of country. In Vidarbha and Marathwada alone, the state government plans to spend Rs 2,000 crores to develop the region.
Work is in progress on the pilot project under the ‘farm to fashion’ in Amravati, the second biggest city after Nagpur in Vidarbha region. At Nandgaon, 500 hectares of land has been approved for the textile hub which has received proposal from eight players. The main aim is to provide basic infrastructure to make industries more conducive, and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) is playing facilitator for providing land for the textile sector in Amravati, spread across 500 hectares at Nandgaon. The companies include Shyam Indofab Ltd, MVHM Industries, Suryalaxmi Mills, and Siyaram Silk for textile and processing units at Nandgaon. The new textile hubs sanctioned in MIDC include Nandgaon (Amravati), Yavatmal,Chikali (Buldhana), Jamner (Jalgaon), Kannad (Aurangabad), Selu (Parbhani),Bhaler (Nandurbar), Malegaon (Nashik), Kunnor (Nanded) and Mazalgaon (Beed).
Maharashtra, so far has 1,108 units, investment of Rs 10,725.87 crores has been achieved and job to about 62,000 peoples has been provided. In order to create basic infrastructure, 14 textile parks under are being established. These parks will accommodate 1,280 units and provide jobs to 64,000 people. Maharashtra government has decided to set up Rs 300 crore garment park in Solapur to promote the city as a ‘major garment hub’.
Vietnam’s denim exports to the US has risen 16.1 per cent so far this year. Women’s jean exports from Vietnam to the US rose by almost 17 per cent. Although China held its share of total denim imports into the US, Mexico lost 200 basis points of share, while Bangladesh and Vietnam gained 150 and 80 basis points. Pakistan and Nicaragua also gained share, while Egypt lost.
China has maintained its 26.5 per cent share of US denim imports. Unit imports from China dropped by eight per cent, but the average cost per garment rose by four per cent. There was a seven percent increase in men’s jean imports from China but a nine per cent drop in women’s jeans imports.
Imports from Bangladesh, the US’s third largest source of denim apparel, increased by eight per cent, with units up 11.7 per cent and average cost down by more than three per cent, with women’s seeing most of the gains. More than 98 per cent of total denim apparel imports by the US are jeans. Men’s and boys’ are the largest segment, at 52 per cent of the total on a dollar basis, down 100 basis points from the prior year, while women’s and girls’ rose to more than 46 per cent of the total. Denim jackets, skirts, dresses and other garments represent less than two per cent of the total.
The United States is Vietnam’s biggest export market. About 50 per cent of Vietnam’s total textile and garment exports goes to the US. Total exports of textiles and garments from Vietnam to the US gained a 11 per cent year-on-year from January to November 2015. From January to November 2016, Vietnam’s textile and garment shipments to the US edged up 4.7 per cent from the previous year.
The TPP would have eliminated the 17 per cent tariff on US imports of garments from Vietnam and the deal would have given Vietnam-based textile industrialists a great advantage in exporting their products to the US. Even in the absence of TPP, Vietnam’s economy is well positioned to continue growing, with various other trade deals giving it good access to international markets, including the recently negotiated EU free trade deal and other agreements.
Vietnam’s textile, seafood and footwear sectors would remain competitive even without TPP. The country feels its textile and garment exports to the US will increase, with or without TPP. The reason is that while Vietnam’s export turnover has been growing by 12 to 13 per cent each year, revenue from US imports has been growing by just three per cent. Vietnam’s products account for just nine per cent of US’ total textile and garment imports.
Textile dyeing and printing mills in Surat have turned to processing high-end mercerized cotton fabrics. These fabrics are in high demand in the southern and northern parts of the country and have a strong export potential. Surat has a good potential for manufacturing and processing cotton fabrics. It wants to shed its image of being a traditional center for polyester fabrics. Textile processors feel mercerized cotton fabric processing helps them stay relevant and become tuned to market demands and trends and tide over tough days, like a recession. Also, while polyester fabrics see many ups and downs, the demand for cotton fabrics remains steady.
Power loom units in Surat use traditional or water jet looms, which are not compatible with manufacturing of cotton fabrics. So some power loom units, which use high-end rapier looms, have started manufacturing cotton fabrics. Surat has traditionally been a hub of manmade fabrics. Right now cotton fabric processing is at a nascent stage in Surat but it is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years. Surat’s textile mills offer competitive rates for job work and have a range of color choices as well.
More than 20 lakh meters of unfinished cotton fabrics from Bhiwandi and Ahmedabad wind up daily in the textile processing mills of Surat’s industrial areas for mercerization.
Bangladesh will have to address three important factors -- higher productivity, workers' wage hike and profitability -- for sustainability of the apparel sector, say experts. This was the predominant thought in a discussion “Business Policy and Environment: Towards a Better Bangladesh” at Dhaka Apparel Summit 2017 on Saturday. “Frequent changes in policies hurt the viability of business. We need a long-term policy with a period of 10-12 years for making investment plan,” said BGMEA vice-president Mohammed Nasir. In his keynote address Nazneen Ahmed, senior research fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) said RMG sector is the driving force for growth of Bangladesh’s economy. It contributes 13 per cent to GDP. To achieve $50 billion export target Bangladesh will have to earn $22 billion in the next five year with a 12 per cent growth. He emphasized, Bangladesh RMG sector needs policy support, technological upgradation, skilled labour, market and product diversification. Retailers, suppliers and stakeholders could share the remediation cost of factories to reduce the burden on manufacturers. Apparel makers want to brand Bangladesh as the most compliant supplier. Investment in social dialogue is crucial at this moment.
Manufacturers have been spending millions of dollars on remediation and relocation of factories. Unavailability of workers is a major challenge in the case of relocation of factories. Most factories face multiple challenges in implementing remediation recommendations. Bangladesh will face challenges in becoming a middle income country if workers' wages are not increased. The voice of workers needs to be heard in terms of health and safety.
While more than 90 per cent of the factories in Vietnam and Cambodia are owned by foreign investors, in Bangladesh more than 90 per cent of the factories are owned by local entrepreneurs. For some reason buyers do not pay higher prices for garment products from Bangladesh, although they offer higher rates in China, India, Vietnam and Pakistan. The garment sector in Bangladesh has had to face major challenges, including the shock of a quota-free era, child labor, fallouts from the global financial meltdown, and finally, the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013.
Smart textiles use technology to recycle and reuse textile fibers. They can monitor health and can measure movements. Advances in specialized materials and fabrication technologies offer exciting opportunities to create seamless garments as sensors and actuators for biomedical applications.
Designers, scientists and doctors are producing new biomedical textiles and the resulting smart clothes are not only fashionably functional but could also be life savers. RFID technology is being integrated into belly bands for women with high-risk pregnancies. The band continuously tracks data and alerts the doctor’s office via the net should the woman start contractions. A smaller version is being created for babies at risk for sleep apnea.
An intersection of engineering, medicine and design, these examples of new human-centered service technology show vast potential to improve health care. Textile innovations improve people’s lives and benefit the industry, the health care sector and the environment.
The global smart textiles market is growing at a CAGR of 33.58 per cent from 2015 and 2020. China and India are two of the major manufacturers of smart textiles in the Asia Pacific market, and are the largest producers of manufactured fibers, and are expected to dominate the global smart textile market in the near future.
Knitting technology has gained a great deal of attention in the field of wearable electronics and could become a widespread method of construction for smart textiles in future.
Exports of the value-added textile sector in Pakistan rose in the first seven months of the fiscal year 2016-17. Exports of bed wear were up 5.07 per cent and exports of readymade garments rose 4.17 per cent in the July-January period of 2016-17.
Knitwear exports remained almost flat. Overall textile sector export revenues were down 1.54 per cent over the previous fiscal year. In January, textile exports increased 2.73 per cent over the preceding month but decreased 1.3 per cent over the same month a year earlier.
An incentive package worth Rs180 billion was offered export-oriented sectors, mainly the textile industry, which accounts for more than half of the annual exports from the country. The package comprises withdrawal and concessions on customs duty and sales tax on import of cotton and machinery.
Machinery imports soared 42.36 per cent in the period under review. Power generation machinery imports rose 90 per cent over the previous year. Imports of electric machinery and appliances also rose 16.14 per cent. In January, machinery imports increased 50.17 per cent over the same month a year ago and rose 14.24 per cent over December 2016. In July-January, import bill of machinery was the heaviest, accounting for almost a quarter of gross imports during the seven months.
The negative outlook on global lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret for this year is unlikely to have a major impact on Sri Lanka’s apparel industry, a major supplier to the high end lingerie brand. Sri Lanka is the largest supplier of products on Victoria’s Secret’s supply chain.
A negative guidance has been announced for Victoria’s Secret for 2017 and the first quarter of 2017, coupled with a mid-teen year-on-year fall in sales from its stores in February, due to a restructuring effort where the lingerie brand will focus on core products, while shedding swimwear, footwear and other apparel.
In 2016, the lingerie giant posted net sales of $12.57 billion, with cost of sales, buying and occupancy of $7.45 billion. Sri Lanka supplies around 800 million dollars out of its $4.7 billion total apparel exports to Victoria’s Secret annually. However, pressure isn’t just coming from Victoria’s Secret. Marks & Spencer’s is converting its clothing and household units into more profitable food units due to competition from online and budget retailers.
Many other traditional retailers are also facing stiff competition. Sri Lanka’s exports to the world declined slightly from September to December 2016, with exports to the US and the EU—which account for 85 per cent of Sri Lankan apparel exports—falling or remaining flat.
The footwear industry hopes that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will help it come on an equal footing with the apparel industry. While basic customs duty remains the same value added tax for footwear averages at about 14 per cent across the country, and at about five per cent for apparel. Excise on MRP is much higher for footwear.
With glaring dissimilarities in the tax structure, the footwear industry is at a disadvantage compared with the apparel industry. Having a higher excise on footwear makes it harder for the industry to compete with apparel brands, when it comes to consumer wallet share.
The differential in VAT not only escalates the price of footwear but also adds to the cost of compliance, which in turn is ploughed back into the cost. Consequently footwear price becomes non-competitive compared with garments’ price. Footwear is subject to about 12.5 per cent excise duty, which is marked on MRP. The impact of this becomes huge because MRP is usually four times the cost of the product. Apparel on the other hand does not face such high duties.
The footwear industry in India hopes that with GST, multiple levels of taxation, including CST, VAT, excise and octroi, will be eliminated, which will ease the whole tax process to a huge extent and add to bottom lines.
The global textile market is expected to reach approximately 1,237 billion dollars by 2025, driven by population growth in emerging economies including China, India and Mexico.
Product innovation is also expected to have a positive impact on the industry while a growing number of fashion retail outlets and supermarkets in developing economies, including China and India, is expected to increase the textiles demand in the near future.
The Middle East and Africa is expected to witness volume growth at a CAGR of 3.6 per cent from a period of 2016 to 2025. The rising expenditure by Islamic clothing manufacturers to incorporate new hijab styles in apparel is projected to increase the product use over the next nine years.
There is an increasing importance of Environmental Health and Safety systems in the manufacturing sector, owing to stringent regulations aimed at worker safety and reporting incidents in offshore industries, including oil and gas, which is expected to increase the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE). This trend is projected to play a vital role in increasing the market penetration of textiles in the form of technical fabrics in PPE over the forecast period.
Polyester is expected to witness growth over the forecast period due to its superior properties including lightweight and excellent resistance to shrinking.
