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Cotton is set to fall to the lowest in five years as demand slows in China, the world’s biggest consumer, and India heads for a record crop. Cotton has an oversupply situation both in the global market as well as in India. Demand is also weakening in countries like China. It’s going to be a challenge for India to export the same amount of cotton next year.
China’s imports fell 39 per cent in the first seven months from a year earlier. The country holds more than half of the global inventory. Slowing demand from China would reduce India’s exports next year even as the harvest flourishes. The harvest in India, the world’s second largest grower, may jump to a record 40 million bales from 37 million bales this year.
Prospects for yarn exports, mostly shipped to China, may also be hurt by weakening demand. This means demand for cotton from India’s spinning mills is set to decline further. Stockpiles in the US, the world’s biggest exporter, will probably more than double to 5.6 million bales of 480 pounds each by July 2015, the biggest increase since 1986. Global reserves are poised to reach an all-time high of 105 million bales.
The turmoil in Ukraine has pitted Russia against the US and the European Union. Fearing sanctions, Russia has threatened a ban on imports of clothing and textiles from the EU and the US. Moscow has already said it will not allow the import of EU clothing and textile products for government purchasing contracts. It has also banned the import of a wide range of clothing and textile inputs for such contracts.
On August 11, the Russian government ordered that public procurement from overseas of textiles, knitwear, nonwovens and some clothing should cease from September. The ban covers imports of fabrics, made-up textile articles, except apparel, ropes, cords and net, nonwoven materials and products, except clothing, knitted cloths, hosiery, pullovers, cardigans, overalls, top clothes, underwear and fur products.
The share of textile and clothing imports from the US and the EU make up around 10 per cent of such goods consumed in Russia. Traditionally, such imports account for the most expensive, high-margin production. Russia feels the clampdown on western textile and light industry products would significantly increase the volume of domestic production, for which local demand is growing steadily.
The government is planning to provide domestic textile producers access to bank loans with interest rates no higher than five per cent . In addition, there are also plans to provide additional tax benefits to producers.
Cinte Techtextil will be held from September 24 to 26, 2014 in Shanghai. A biennial Chinese trade fair, it’s aimed at for technical textiles and nonwovens. Nearly 500 exhibitors from 19 countries are expected. The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel focuses on developing new materials and textiles, advanced production technology and design and evaluation technology. It will present its intelligent impact protectors based on 3D auxetic spacer fabrics at the fair.
Korea Textile Trade Association will showcase heat protecting fabrics, non-slip carbon fabrics, carbon fiber and aramid composite fabrics, nonwoven textiles for automobile interiors and ultra lightweight fabrics for tents and tarps. The German pavilion will house 30 well-known exhibitors representing textile technology, technical textiles, nonwovens and coated textiles. Companies will display a special range of products for finishing airbag fabrics, pre-preg fibers and technical felts, turnkey airlay, carding and thermo bonding lines for the nonwovens industry, various nonwoven, spun melt and air laid technologies for a wide range of applications and rapier and air-jet weaving machines.
Technical textiles are used in many industrial areas in China like the automotive industry and the medical and consumer goods industry. Nonwovens for the automotive industry and filter media are of particular interest in this market particularly high-quality nonwovens for complex products.
cinte-techtextil-china.hk.messefrankfurt.com/
Owners of some non-compliant readymade garment factories in Bangladesh would like to relocate their units to new places. But non-availability of suitable land, gas and electricity, and unwillingness of workers to shift have emerged as major impediments to their initiatives.
The issue arises against the backdrop of the ongoing factory inspections on workplace safety by western retailers and the government. It is difficult to convince workers to migrate from one place to another due to reasons like lack of facilities for accommodation, education for their children among others.
These non-compliant factory owners are demanding a garment village, especially for Chittagong-based units, saying the port city factories would not shift to the capital. They want the government to provide funds at a low interest rate, especially for the closed factories, so that they can relocate their units to safer places.
Labor leaders say workers will lose their jobs and be deprived of their lawful rights of compensation and other service benefits following relocation. Women who constitute a large section of the workforce say they can’t pack their bags and leave and uproot their children from school.
However, amid all this confusion and uncertainty some manufacturers have already started the process of relocation. Some 50 factories have already shifted.
Munich Fabric Start will take place September 2 to September 4, 2014, in Germany. The fair attracts manufacturers from around the globe who weave, wash, dye, and finish fabrics and produce accessories. The event is a prelude to the Fall/Winter 2015-2016 fabric season. It will present about 950 brands from 35 countries and around 20,000 visitors are expected.
International weavers, finishers and washers will present their latest developments for denim and sportswear segments. Technical, functional denim with weaved-in reflectors will present a contrast to calm and clean models. The show will cover a wide range of international suppliers divided in different areas. Collections will host about 600 manufacturers for fabrics and knit materials from wool, cotton, silk and functional materials. Additionals will show the products of over 180 international leading manufacturers for accessories and trimmings. At the Asia Salon, about 100 partners will present their developments from China and Korea. The Design Studios will offer individual solutions for prints, patterns and designs. Another section will present a selection of 500 certified materials and accessories with sustainable production backgrounds.
Denim experts will present a trendsetting forecast about key looks, materials and colors for Fall/Winter 2015-16. There will be a workshop covering the subject of sustainable textile sourcing.
www.munichfabricstart.com/
ITMA 2015 will feature a new sub-chapter on recycled fibers and yarns. The event will be held from November 12 to 19, 2015 in Italy. ITMA is a business platform for fiber and yarn producers. It attracts an international pool of buyers sourcing for end-to-end solutions in the production of traditional textile and innovative textile materials. It presents an opportunity for fiber and yarn producers to work alongside machinery partners during live demonstrations. And it is the only exhibition in the world that features the largest and most comprehensive range of textile and garment technology products and raw materials in one venue.
Since its inception in 1951, every ITMA exhibition has presented the latest manufacturing technology to textile and garment makers. Over the years, it has been a catalyst for change and competitiveness for the industry. The drive towards sustainability in the entire textile and garment value chain is increasingly integrated with enlightened business practices, and innovative technology holds the key to environmental sustainability.
ITMA 2015 is a global marketplace and a one-stop sourcing platform for emerging trends and innovation solutions, acquiring new knowledge and best practices and establishing strategic relationships with industry leaders. The exhibition will spotlight innovations that promote sustainability.
www.itma.com/
While companies like ASOS have been offering courses in how to cut, sew and stitch at the Stitching Academy, in collaboration with local social enterprise Fashion Enter, garment manufacturing industry in the UK is facing severe shortage of skilled workers.
Sourcing from low-cost manufacturing countries like China and India has negatively impacted the UK industry. The number of jobs has fallen from about 800,000 in 1980 to 100,000 today. Now, realizing the need of the hour, several companies are trying to tackle the skills gap. Last month, Fashion Enter announced plans to launch a Fashion Training Academy in January, after securing £570,000 of funding from Haringey Council. The academy will train around 3,000 people over the next five years, with the capacity for 1,620 places a year by 2019. It will teach from the basic ‘level 1’ of the stitching academy to level 5, providing trainees with haute couture manufacturing skills.
Also, the Fashion Retail Academy, an industry-backed school, has introduced a garment technology course to teach skills including machining and pattern cutting. It had previously concentrated on areas such as fashion buying and merchandising. Mulberry, the luxury bag-maker too, is trying to deal with the ageing skilled workforce. In 2005, half of its employees were over the age of 50, while 13 per cent were past the state retirement age.
The company launched a programme with Bridgewater College in southwest England, training 300 new employees for its second UK factory, which opened in Bridgewater last year.
The tax authority in Bangladesh has withdrawn the special tax rate for apparel exporters in a bid to prevent transfer of profit from other businesses to export-oriented industries. From 2005 to June 30, 2014, taxmen calculated tax at an estimated 10 per cent at the time of annual tax assessment. But the National Board of Revenue (NBR) did not extend the facility in the Budget for fiscal year 2014-15 following allegations of shifting profits from other businesses to export-oriented industries. The tenure for the special tax rate for readymade garment and knitwear exporters expired on June 30, 2014.
Under the previous rules, there was scope to show higher income from apparel export, by shifting from other businesses, in the tax file. Taxmen smelt that a large volume of undisclosed money was whitened by taking advantage of the provision. From the current financial year, taxmen would not allow the special tax rates to the readymade garment sector and knitwear exporters for their export earnings. In April 2014 the NBR had cut the rate of tax at source for apparel exporters to 0.30 per cent from 0.80 per cent that would continue until June 30, 2015. Exporters say investment in the apparel sector would be discouraged by the provisions.
Pakistan's weaving and spinning sectors registered a drop in exports by 2.37 per cent in July due to erratic power supply. The weaving sector operated at 60 per cent of its production capacity. But the share of textiles in total exports of Pakistan improved by 64 per cent. Yarn exports dived by 35.32 per cent in July 2014. Exports of fabric dropped 43 per cent in quantity and 8.13 per cent in value. Exports of knitwear, bed wear, towels and readymade garments increased by 21.66 per cent, 14.54 per cent, 7.43 per cent and 3.76 per cent.
Exports dropped by 7.8 per cent in July 2014 compared to July 2013. If the basic textile sector is not revived, the value-added sectors of textiles would come under pressure, which buy raw materials from the former. The ongoing political turmoil in the country would badly impact exports in August.
Pakistan’s textile and apparel industry consists of ginning, spinning, man-made fiber, weaving, finishing, apparel, terry towel, tarpaulin and canvas, and knitwear machinery sectors. The textile and apparel industry as a whole employs 40 per cent of total industrial workers and accounts for 46 per cent of total manufacturing. There are a little more than 1,220 ginning units, featuring an installed capacity of 20 million bales of cotton. The spinning sector comprises 408 spinning units. The country has 10 man-made fiber units.
During the last edition of the trade show in July, Bread & Butter (BBB) Founder Karl-Heinz Müller had announced his plans of shifting the 2015 show to Barcelona. However, he has now decided to stick to Berlin. Muller had earlier got negative feedback for changing the venue since brand representatives were skeptical about the new location and date and many regular BBB exhibitors claimed that Barcelona was not an option for them.
Bread & Butter Barcelona was scheduled to take place from January 8-10, 2015, which could have been the kick-off event of the season. The industry’s response towards this shift was damp. As Müller says “Various discussions with the decision makers of our industry made clear that people rather want to stick to the current format. Most exhibitors of course have the healthy and safe German market in focus. Therefore we follow the call of our industry and stay on our common grounds at former airport Berlin-Tempelhof. Bread & Butter is going to take place simultaneously with the other Berlin trade shows from January 19-21, 2015.” He says “At the moment I cannot say yet if or when we will hold an event in Barcelona in the future, maybe in addition to Berlin. As I have said in my presentation: Maybe a summer event in Barcelona is more advisable.”
Meanwhile his plans for Seoul remain unaffected by this. “We will present our concept in Seoul on 12th September 2014 as planned. All preparations run at full speed. BREAD & BUTTER will take place in Seoul in September 2015,” he added.
Last season, Müller had caused a stir by announcing plans to open up the show for end consumers but backed out in the end. The hot topic at the current Bread & Butter was the planned relocation of the trade show to Barcelona this coming January as announced by Müller.
The industry has reacted positively to this move. As Dietmar Axt, from Mustang put it that it’s a good decision and underlines the significance of Berlin being the European epicenter of fashion trade shows. Similar sentiments were echoed by Christian Brennenstuhl of Filson who seconded Müller’s decision of staying in Berlin. He said for Filson Barcelona was not an option.
