FW
Vietnam's garment and textile industry is facing challenges. A shortage of capital and backward technology, along with weak management capacities, has created difficulties for businesses.
Vietnam has some 5,000 businesses in the sector. Most of them are small- and medium sized enterprises. They work with machines purchased 20 years ago. In the first half of the year, Vietnam’s garment exports to markets participating in the Trans Pacific Partnership accounted for 70 per cent of its total export value. But domestic garment and textile companies have not been able to invest in modern technology lines to enjoy benefits of the free trade agreement.
There are just a few enterprises engaged in all stages of manufacturing, from cotton to finished product. Local firms depend a lot on imported materials, and this in combination with low productivity makes it difficult for them to enjoy the benefits from FTAs. The value added in garment exports is still limited, despite high growth rates of 15 to 20 per cent a year. Domestic garment and textile companies have not been able to develop their own markets and products.
Businesses need to restructure to improve their competitiveness. Experts point out that the Trans Pacific Partnership would bring a wave of foreign investment in the garment and textile industry in Vietnam. The country would have a wider market and investors would gradually shift their production to the country.
Nandan Denim started in 2004 and since then has been constantly expanding it production capacity. By next year, it would be one of the largest denim players in the country and globally would probably be among the top five denim players.
The company has implemented a Rs 612 crores expansion plan which would take its capacity to 110 million meters a year. A lot of investment is being done, not only on hardware, but on software, market research, understanding and delivering fashion.
Nandan Denim is part of the Rs 3,000-crores Ahmedabad-based Chiripal Group. It markets 85 per cent of its denim fabrics for the Indian market, with the balance being exported to several countries. Going ahead, the company wants to hike its share of exports to 25 to 30 per cent of overall production. The company has clocked a CAGR of 25 per cent since inception and hopes to maintain it till it commissions the new capacity.
Nandan produces denim fabrics beginning from four ounce fabrics right up to 15 ounce fabrics, which find applications in a range of apparels like trousers, jackets, shirts, skirts, and school uniform wear.
www.nandandenim.com
Impact on the global economy
The devaluation was largely a result of technical adjustment by the People's Bank of China (PBoC). It was aimed at determining the daily reference rate of the Renminbi (yuan) against the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market.
The daily reference rate is set based on the previous day's closing rate rather than fixed by the PBoC, as per the new policy regime. This allows the market to play a bigger role in determining the exchange rate. The daily trading band around the central reference rate remains two per cent. However, as this move followed the release of July data showing weaker growth of retail sales and industrial output and merchandise exports dropping by 8.3 per cent (in value terms), the devaluation, says many analysts was a policy to stimulate the economy. The IMF welcomed China's latest exchange rate regime.
However, the adjustment of the exchange rate regime in China and the subsequent fall of the yuan against the dollar may directly impact those trade partners whose export sectors are increasingly dependent on China. For instance, last year, over 30 per cent of least developed countries' shipments went to China.
Besides, China also accounted for over 30 per cent of total merchandise exports for several economies in Asia and the Pacific, including Australia, Laos, Mongolia and the Republic of Korea. Moreover, the currency regime adjustment has implications for those economies that compete with China in the global export market. Many economies in East and Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, had a trade structure quite similar to China, according to the UNCTAD indicator of similarity in merchandise trade structures for 2013. For those developing countries with US dollar pegs, this move by China, pushed adjustments further downward.
Weak yuan affects Bangladeshi exports
Bangladesh has also been affected by this move by China causing concerns to the country's export industries. Economists suggest that the Bangladesh Bank and the government needs to act immediately to offset the damage that would be caused to the exporters in a period of negative export growth.
In the global market China’s readymade garment (RMG) product would be cheaper which would increase the possibility of losing the market share for Bangladesh, as it has to compete with China. Last year, China’s global apparel market share was 37.5 per cent followed by Bangladesh’s 4.85 per cent or worth US$ 25.50 billion.
Industry analysts said that the 'Made-in-China' apparel products are the main competitors of apparel products originating from Bangladesh in the European and US markets. Bangladesh majorly exports RMG products to the US and certain countries of Europe where China is a big competitor. Here, the weakened Yuan will help China to sell its product at cheaper price than Bangladesh. Besides, some apparel exports that fetched Bangladesh around $ 241.37 million in 2013-14 may face trouble.
Some economists, though said that the devaluation of Chinese currency against the US dollar will not harm Bangladesh's external trade; rather this move will help through cheaper import of raw materials from the giant economy. However, the concerned authority of the Bangladesh Bank said the country it is not taken in by the depreciation because of the strength of its garment export industry, where it is the global leader after China.
The import of cotton and synthetic-based Indian textile goods, including all types of yarns, fabric and garments, should be put on the negative list, demanded Tariq Saud, Chairman, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), in an in-house meeting of the Association.
The unchecked onslaught of imported and smuggled textile goods has created a crisis situation in the textile industry, on which he expressed concerns.
Joblessness and mill closure in Pakistan was because of domestic commerce becoming hostage to Indian goods; the Chairman said and added that this was an encroachment of the Indian textile industry in the domestic commerce of Pakistan.
Immediate action is required on the surge in dumping of Indian textile goods in the country as the start of the summer production season is about to begin, said Saud. He believes that India is creating hurdles in the way of level playing field as it introduced Pakistan-specific duties, reaching to the highest range of 100 per cent and that India was providing safeguards to its textile industry. Thus, Pakistan goods were met with discriminatory treatment. The Government should not deny a level playing field to the textile industry of Pakistan for trade with India. Aamir Fayyaz, APTMA Punjab Chairman said that India has waged an economic war against Pakistan by hurting its textile industry.
www.aptma.org.pk
Taiwan’s textile manufacturers are catering to the global demand for fashion-forward athletic apparel. Chainlon is a leading manufacturer of nylon 6, nylon 66 and nylon fiber air textured yarn. The company uses green technologies like recycled yarn, dope dyed yarn and deep dyed yarn. The manufacturing process can reduce energy consumption, Co2 emissions and eliminate wastewater.
Far Eastern New Century makes a kind of luminescent yarn for those who go to night sports like running and jogging. It thus enhances the safety of night time sports. It is suited for gloves, caps, shoes etc. Another product is a two tone filament which provides multiple combinations of colors. It also provides thick and thin effects for those who like a fashionable look.
Hung Wang specialises in horsehair braid and other braids including paper braids, hemp braids etc. The crinoline made of 100 per cent polyester is perfect for wedding dress and millinery use. Another specialty is a kind of straw braid consisting of four per cent polyester and 96 per cent paper yarn.
Shinkong offers a hydrophilic polyester fiber designed to enable active temperature and humidity management. It has a high hygroscopic characteristic with an inherent anti-static function.
www.chainlon.com.tw
UK based manufacturer of super absorbents and nonwoven materials, Technical Absorbents (TAL), for the first time, is set to exhibit at the ‘Performance Days’ functional fabric trade fair in Munich on November 3 and 4, 2015.
Performance Days has become a well-established semi-annual event, created as a special platform for functional sports and work wear fabrics, including yarns, finishes, and accessories. TAL would be displaying its technology to many different visitors, which includes major European sportswear brands.
Super Absorbent Fibre (SAF), which apparently absorbs up to 200 times its own weight in demineralised water, is manufactured by TAL. It also has been developing SAF-based super absorbent solutions for over 20 years.
Technical Absorbents has a plethora of experience—from working with clients from zero level, supporting development programmes, to creating bespoke absorbent solutions that are tailored to meet specific customer requirements.
Dr Mark Paterson, Product Development Director, TAL explained that SAF can be converted into a wide range of disposable and durable fabrics for use within performance apparel. Being fibre-based, TAL’s fabrics can be precisely tailored into a diverse range of functional fabric formats that offer the potential for enhanced design and performance, he added.
Technicalabsorbents.com
www.performancedays.eu
After two foreign nationals were gunned down in Bangladesh, international retailers postponed their scheduled meeting with garment makers citing security fears in Dhaka recently.
Faruque Hassan, Vice-President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said that the buyers' forum meeting, a regular monthly discussion between the retailers and garment makers has been deferred.
International retail comprises about 90 per cent of the country’s $25 billion receipts from garment exports a year and representatives from 65 to 70 international retailers participate in the meeting. Just five days after an Italian aid worker was murdered in the capital's diplomatic zone a Japanese national was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Rangpur.
A major garment exporter said that one of his major US buyers asked him via email whether he should visit Bangladesh or not as two foreign nationals were killed. The garment exporter told him not to cancel the trip as the situation had not worsened. However, industry insiders fear a reduction, cancellation and shift of work orders to other countries. Some retailers have even moved the meeting to Hong Kong, Dubai, China, India and Thailand and asked the garment makers to visit them in there instead.
Shahidullah Azim, Managing Director, Classic Group, one of the leading garment exporters said that one of his American buyers cancelled his trip to Dhaka and that he rescheduled the meeting and asked Azim to go to Dubai to attend it. He added that this is the peak time to get work orders for the fall season in the western world and if retailers cannot go to Bangladesh during this important season, the garment makers will lose work orders again.
www.bgmea.com.bd
A fall in global yarn prices and a glut in the international market have hit Indian textile mills and exporters hard. Yarn prices have declined around 30 per cent this year. The recent devaluation of the yuan against the dollar by China has also affected the spinning and textile industry in India.
A few players are looking for restructuring of their debt. Stocks of finished goods at mills have increased as buyers have refused to lift the stock because of the decline in prices. The price of yarn is down by Rs 10 on a month-on-month basis and by Rs 30 a kg compared with the corresponding period last year. The price of fine yarn (above 30 counts) is now Rs 156 against Rs 176 last year. The two-count yarn is now around Rs 136. The price reduction has eroded margins for the industry and affected their turnovers.
About 40 to 50 per cent of India’s textile production is exported and China is one of its big markets. But China is striving to push exports by making the pricing of its products attractive in global markets. With more stocks in the hands of Indian mills, prices have fallen in the absence of corrective measures.
Exchange rate fluctuations in economies have sizeable effects on import and export volumes—a 10 per cent currency depreciation generally results in a rise in exports of an average 1.5 per cent of GDP—because cheaper currencies make exports more appealing.
There has been a rising trend toward global value chains. Manufacturers have been making more products in multiple places, with different stages in the development cycle done in different economies. This production fragmentation weighs on any gains from currency depreciation because multiple economies and their respective exchange rates are also factored in. In general, increased participation in global value chains could lower the effects of exchange movements on trade prices and of trade prices on trade volumes.
The world’s recent exchange rate movements are expected to result in redistribution of new exports across economies. Among economies experiencing currency depreciation, the rise in exports is likely to be the greatest for those with slack in the domestic economy and with financial systems operating normally.
Organic cotton will be grown in the Satpuda-Pench corridor of central India. The aim is to combine organic agriculture with environmental conservation to create a win-win situation for both farmers and nature. The multi-year project will help 6,000 farmers obtain organic certification by the end of 2018.
This is an approach that minimises the negative impacts of farming while ensuring farmer livelihoods. By helping farmers go organic, the degradation of soil and water quality can be minimised. Costs can be reduced and yields for local cotton farmers can be increased.
Cotton farmers play a critical role in the apparel industry value chain. They will be trained to build the fertility of soil to increase yields and make natural plant pesticides and compost. This, in turn, enhances their agricultural productivity in the long term.
Central India is home to some of India’s largest intact forest tracts and iconic and endangered species including tigers and gaur. It is also home to several tribal communities with diverse traditional livelihoods. In recent years, however, cotton production has become a primary source of income for nearly 1.6 million farmers in the area.
Farmers that complete the program will also be able to obtain organic certification, giving them better access to international organic cotton markets.
