FW
Aubervilliers, a town on the northern edge of Paris has generations of Chinese settlers. Traders recently opened the continent’s biggest garment centre where a vast range of clothing is on offer. Hundreds of wholesalers offer endless choices of textiles, colors and patterns in this vast district.
The center aims to draw buyers from across Europe and make the textile import-export trade more efficient by consolidating business in one location. The project is being seen as beneficial for the French economy. The fashion center is now Europe’s biggest wholesale textile market with 310 shops in 55,000 sq. mt. in the heart of Aubervilliers. The town has become one of the most important places for business and exchange with China in all of Europe.
In the maze of alleys and dead ends, almost all family businesses are run by people from Wenzhou region of Chian, a town in southeast of the country where emigration is a deep-rooted tradition. With the city today counting about 1,200 Chinese traders – not including laborers and other employees – Aubervilliers has become the main commercial junction between France and China.
There is a new generation of businessmen who have arrived, who are French of Chinese origin and who speak French.
Cashmere is a luxury product that finds customers as far away as the United States, Britain and Europe. Afghan farmers not long ago collected the thick winter undercoat their goats shed every spring and threw it on the fire to heat their homes and cook their food.
The super-soft fluff that comes off in clumps as the weather warms up, and is cleaned, refined and spun into yarn is cashmere. Traders, processors, donors and international businesses are cottoning on to Afghanistan’s potential as a major producer of cashmere. The Afghanistan government has also recently come up with a cashmere action plan, having recognised potential for cashmere and aiming to target the highest end of the global luxury market, where a designer-label cashmere sweater can cost $1,000.
Years after the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan, which ousted the Taliban, foreign businesses started arriving, investors willing to bring money and expertise to develop a profitable, niche market. Only about 30 to 40 per cent of Afghanistan’s seven million goats are combed for cashmere, even though up to 95 per cent of the animals could become part of the production chain. Most of the raw product is bought by traders who sell it to Chinese middlemen to feed the mills that produce affordable clothing for much of the world.
The global market value for cashmere is over a billion dollars. As China is known to blend different qualities of cashmere to achieve volume, the top end of the market is wide open for the unadulterated Afghan product.
Himachal Pradesh's weaving industry has been left high and dry in the wake of the Union government stopping subsidy on woolen yarn. Weavers in neighboring Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir, where weaving industry depends on wool, also face an uncertain future.
There are about 22,000 weavers in Himachal alone, while the number in two neighboring states is much higher. In addition there are thousands of families who run small looms at their homes, and aren't registered with any co-operative. It is feared ending the subsidy on woolen yarn will rob weavers of their jobs, and affect their families, as most of them come from poor backgrounds.
The decision will have economic and social implications. A large number of women in hill states rely on weaving and they would be the worst hit from this move and left idle. The weaving industry in Himachal Pradesh is dependent on woolen yarn as silk and cotton are not locally available. The downward slide in the industry began in the late 90s owing to increased competition, lack of promotion and market accessibility.
The all India handloom board had announced a 10 per cent price subsidy on woolen yarn in addition to cotton and domestic silk yarn in February 2014.
Apparel manufacturers based in Europe and China are likely to expand their businesses in Sri Lanka if the country can revive the EU GSP Plus by next year. Sri Lanka has been in discussions with the European Union to ascertain how to revive the GSP Plus trade concessions that would likely be implemented in 2016.
In the wake of these developments, overseas apparel manufacturers in Sri Lanka are likely to expand their capacity. European investors are keen on expanding their production if GSP Plus concessions are available. Investors already manufacturing out of China also want to expand their capacity in Sri Lanka. China’s labor wages are increasing and in comparison Sri Lanka seems more competitive at lower rates.
The industry is awaiting final talks between the government and the US authorities on the possibility of gaining market access especially through negotiations underway on the Trans Pacific countries that could impact on Sri Lankan trade if this agreement was to go ahead.
There is increased local investment in the North and East. Manufacturers want to cash in on the opportunities to get access to EU markets when the EU GSP Plus concessions are revived.
Europe has increased a retaliatory tariff that it imposes on women’s blue jeans imported from the United States. As of May 1, the additional tariff, which is added to the already 12 per cent tariff on US denim pants, went from 0.35 per cent to 1.5 per cent. That makes the total EU tariff on women’s blue jeans imported from the United States rise to 13.5 per cent, compared with 12.35 per cent last year. The 1.5 per cent retaliatory tax is a pittance compared to the 26 per cent additional tariff imposed on US women’s denim pants on May 1, 2013.
The extra 26 per cent tariff was part of a trade dispute that centered around the Byrd amendment, by which the United States collected extra duties several years ago on EU- made items that were considered to be unfairly traded goods that affected US manufacturers. Even though the Byrd amendment was rescinded, the United States continued distributing the money collected under the Byrd amendment, to which the EU objected. Due to this, the World Trade Organization authorized the EU to increase tariffs on certain US items for a one-year period, with the option to renew the tariff—either increasing it or decreasing it.
Since the United States reduced by nearly 50 per cent the distribution of Byrd amendment duties, the EU decided in 2014 to reduce the extra denim tariff, which was costing some Los Angeles denim makers as much as 2,50,000 dollars during a six-month period.
Interfilière Paris and Paris Capitale de la Création have recognised Italian company Eurojersey, for the production of patented warp knit sensitive fabrics, as the ‘Designer of the Year’ in the beachwear category.
Since its creation in 1960, Eurojersey has been innovating, creating and improving its performance and the quality of its fabrics. The company pays particular attention to quality and the sustainable development of its large-scale production owing to its ‘Sensitiv Eco System’ project. The company has invested in ethical technologies, optimized production processes and saved resources.
Developed in 1989, Sensitive Fabrics are designed as lightweight, breathable, and versatile, with unique technical features and functionality and meet the most modern solid and printed trends. They are suitable for ready to wear, lingerie, beachwear and sportswear collections. These fabrics allow body mapping and matching between different materials, using bonded and taping technology.
The latest application techniques, including contouring, laser cuts and flocking, expertly bring about the performance of Sensitive Fabrics, according to the manufacturer.
www.eurojersey.com
Global buyers sourcing from Bangladesh have raised concerns over sale of products manufactured for global brands, in the local market. As the products made for international buyers are being sold in the local market with the labels of noted brands, buyers have raised the issue at the Buyers’ Forum in Dhaka, seeking assistance in protecting their brand image.
At a recent meeting of Buyers’ Forum, the point raised was that the image of brands was getting hampered as some manufacturers are selling surplus products under their brand name in the local market. They also alleged that some of the manufacturers not involved with export business were using fabricated tags in low quality products and selling those in the local market.
After receiving complaints from buyers Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has issued a circular to its members asking for better disposal of left-over products so that no leakage takes place. BGMEA said that to maintain good business relationship with buyers, it is important that all factory owners extend support to the buyers to resolve the issue. BGMEA strongly feels that the precautionary measures which they follow to dispose of the left-over have to be more closely monitored to ensure that no leakage takes place.
The DKTE Centre of Excellence has installed a complete needling line. DKTE aims at advancing the development of the nonwovens industry. With a working width of 1,800 mm, the system is considerably larger than standard laboratory equipment. Production of functional nonwovens made of polymers such as polyester, polyamide and polypropylene is growing in India. The DKTE installation is designed for the processing of these fibers for light-weight to medium-weight needled webs.
Trützschler Nonwovens and Man-Made Fibers supplied all the components, from bale opening, roller cards and crosslappers all the way to the two needling machines and a winder. For technicians, the aim was to realise a hybrid installation for research and industry.
The installation is mainly optimised in terms of complex product development. The components are flexible enough to accommodate the various tests and experiments conducted in a research institute. The installation is fitted with machines that can also be used in industrial production. This gives students the opportunity to study the operation, maintenance and behavior of state-of-the-art machines that they will encounter again later in their working life.
The nonwovens industry in India is still at an early stage of development, although some well-known companies have invested in nonwovens. The needling line was formally commissioned in Ichalkaranji.
www.dktes.com/
‘Yarn forward’ forms a key part of the proposed format of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a United States led trade agreement involving twelve countries, which is under negotiation. In essence, ‘yarn forward’ would require that only fabric produced from yarn made by a TPP country would qualify for the trade agreement’s duty-free status. Vietnam, one of the signatory countries, will have significant effect of this rule which is intended to ensure that the trade benefits of the TPP only apply to signatory countries rather than outside players such as China.
Vietnam has much to gain from the implementation of trade agreement, including drastically reduced tariffs in some of the world’s largest markets because the TPP trade area would comprise a region with $28 trillion in economic output upon completion. If the TPP is successfully implemented, tariffs will be removed on almost $2 trillion in goods and services exchanged between the signatory countries.
Vietnam is currently a key global garment manufacturing location, however, its factories often use Chinese-made fabrics in their products, and China is not a part of the TPP. If the country wants to be eligible for TPP benefits such as lower tariffs in the US, it will have to develop its own local fabric industry or constrain itself to only importing fabric from another TPP country. Hence, Vietnam is currently working to have the ‘yarn forward’ rule removed, or its implementation delayed, from TPP. A number of other countries have also pledged their support to Vietnam. However, it seems that Vietnam may be ready to acquiesce to yarn forward, and the country has so far expressed fairly consistent support for the trade agreement, since it will allow many of its other products market access to some of the world’s biggest economies. The US Trade Representative (USTR) has also stated that the US will not pull back from its demand for ‘yarn forward’.
A number of Vietnamese companies are already starting up, or expanding, their own fiber manufacturing operations in order to not be left behind when the TPP is finally implemented. Key companies include the Century Synthetic Fiber Corporation (CSFC), Thanh Cong Joint Stock Co (TCM), and the Vietnam Textile and Garment Corporation (Vinatex). These companies are also getting the support from government to enhance the competitiveness of the country’s fiber manufacturing industry. Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed levying a two percent import tax on polyester staple fiber (PSF). Currently PSF imports are not subject to tax.
In case the Pakistan government alters the Reduced Rate Regime, and fails to release stuck up funds and ensures immediate liquidity supply from banks, the textile industry will face 50 per cent closure, fears S M Tanveer, Chairman, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA). The textile industry in Pakistan is facing a crisis due to the high cost of doing business, energy constraints, high cost of finance and labour wages as against regional competitors.
According to the APTMA chairman, refund claims worth Rs 100 billion across the textile industry have been stuck up with the Federal Board of Revenue with no clue as when these would be released. It has choked the textile industry and causing colossal losses due to the constraints beyond its control.
Then there are rumors about the government mulling imposition of 5 per cent sales tax on all inputs and utilities across the value chain under the Reduced Rate Regime.
