FW
Around 200 delegates from IndustriALL Global Unions are gathering in Phnom Penh today and tomorrow for Executive Committee meetings. The garment industry employs 600,000 workers in Cambodia and as part of its global action towards living wages in the sector, IndustriALL is working with its eight Cambodian affiliates to push for higher wages.
According to IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina, the latest increase to the minimum wage does not meet workers’ expectations for a wage sufficient to support themselves and their families. The current demands by unions in Cambodia reflect the workers’ frustration with the brands, as well as the lack of response from government and employers to the unions’ 13 demands. Workers are saying that brands sourcing from the country must guarantee a living wage.
This is why it has become urgent for IndustriALL to continue to work with the brands sourcing from Cambodia towards industry level collective bargaining in order to improve wage conditions. The garment brands that source from Cambodian factories must take their share of responsibility for ensuring that garment workers earn a living wage.
H.E. Sat Samoth, Under-Secretary of State from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training will speak at the opening of the Executive Committee. To highlight the complex situation in the region, IndustriALL is hosting a panel debate on living wage action, collective bargaining and organizing in Cambodia and other Asian countries. Panelists include Cambodian government representative Heng Sour, Swedish retail giant H&M, GMAC general secretary Ken Loo and trade union representatives from Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia.
www.industryall-union.org
Taiwan based knitting machinery manufacturing giant Pai Lung Machinery Mill attracted a significant number of interested visitors at this month’s ITMA 2015 in Milan. With new technology in 13 different circular and flat knitting machines and a display of hundreds of roles of fabric, Pai Lung presented its capabilities in line with the ITMA 2015 theme of ‘Sustainability.’
According to the company, the most exciting development was its SPINIT technology, an advanced concept and revolutionary technology combining spinning and knitting. The cost of knitted fabric from SPINIT is significantly lower than traditional processes, Pai Lung estimating that savings of up to 37 per cent can be made in equipment costs, power supply and labour costs.
Another new technology introduced was its ‘inverse plating’ on its PLF-IP132 flat knitting machine. However, innovative circular knitting technology is always the key attraction at Pai Lung’s booth and the company introduced its new circular knitting technologies under new fabric designations as Active mesh- a single jersey with eyelet jacquard fabric made by a full jacquard rib-mesh machine, ‘3D embossing’ - a new yarn inlay knitting technology on Pai Lung’s PL-KD2, ‘Duplexknit’, ‘Multi-fleece’ is produced on Pai Lung’s PL-KFCJ 34“, 28GG, 72 feeders machine, ‘Warm terry’ is made on Pai Lung’s PL-KDPS-HP high pile shearing machine in 36-inch diameter with 14 gauge on the dial, and 28 gauge in the cylinder, with 56 feeders for high volume pile fabric production.
Many other developments and fabric applications were also shown on Pai Lung’s 880 square metres booth.
www.pailung.com.tw
Turkish foreign investments across the globe have increased considerably over the last decade. Major investment has particularly gone to Africa, where its value has reached $6 billion. According to industry estimates investments in North Africa almost doubled in the past five years, while in the sub-Saharan region Turkish investors have invested in countries such as Ethiopia, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
According to Oktay Ercan, Chairman of OE Group, the rise is in investment is because of the success of foreign policy initiatives of the Turkish government in Africa and Middle East since 2005. By providing employment to locals and making use of home-grown resources, the Turkish companies are helping Africa’s development. However, Ercan feels that more investment in Africa is required if Turkey aims to sustain its economic growth and move up the ranks of the G20.
“In brief, with the business and investment opportunities in Africa, the Turkish know-how, the financial mechanism in the Gulf should be established. The African countries declare that they have been taking Turkey as an example for development especially in the last five years,” he said.
The OE Group, has been actively operating in Africa and in the Gulf region since 2001, in the textile, retail, import-export, construction, mining, agriculture, livestock breeding and tourism sectors, employing 6,500 in its operations in 14 companies in the region: in the Middle East – in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia – and Africa, in Sudan, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon.
Oe-group.com
FESPA has announced that FESPA Digital 2016 will mark its tenth anniversary by returning to the Amsterdam RAI from March 8 – 11, 2016. The four-day event will once again include FESPA Fabric, Printeriors and European Sign Expo.
According to Roz McGuinness, Divisional Director, FESPA, “As the first digital wide format and speciality printing event of 2016, exhibitors will maximise the opportunity to use FESPA Digital as a launchpad for digital devices that will address the wide format and speciality printing markets, including garment decoration, printed interiors and industrial.”
Over the last ten years, FESPA Digital has firmly established its role as one of the most creative and inspirational exhibition platforms within the wide format digital printing industry – not only in Europe, but around the world, attracting visitors from around 120 countries.
The Amsterdam RAI has seen significant improvements since FESPA Digital was hosted there in 2009. A brand new congress centre, which is due to open later this year, along with new cafés and eateries mean a much wider choice for both exhibitors and visitors.
Roz concludes, “FESPA’s commitment to digital is stronger than ever as we continue to reinvest back into the exhibition and our global print community. FESPA Digital 2016 will once again celebrate the endless opportunities with digital print through industry leading exhibitors, seminars, workshops and networking opportunities. It is set to be one of the most influential wide format digital and textile print exhibitions in 2016.”
www.fespa.com
The Government of Indonesia announced a package of economic policies consisting of three facilities. Cabinet Secretary along with the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Agricultural and Spatial Planning / Head of National Land Agency, Deputy Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) made an announcement.
Package is divided into two approaches. The first regulation is related to labour-intensive industries, who will be given income tax relief under Article 21 and the second is about changes in Government Regulation No. 18 of 2015 which will provide tax allowance to the five labour-intensive industries.
The tax allowance was granted to new industries including footwear for everyday purposes, industrial sports shoes, the shoe industry engineering field, the apparel industry and the textile and apparel industry of leather.
Around 200 clothing brands such as Zara, Adidas, Nike, The North Face, Amer Group, Salomon, Arcteryx, Calvin Klein and H & M have production facilities in Indonesia. Recently Saiful Bahri, a member of the Indonesian Textile Association (API) field of Data and Information, explained the potential of Indonesia's involvement in producing the world's leading products.
Chairman of the Indonesian Textile Asoasiasi (API) Ade Sudrajat added that competitiveness of producers from Indonesia needs to be improved to compete with the rivals like China and Vietnam.
www.indotextiles.com
The textile, clothing and footwear industry in Fiji is gearing up for bigger growth. Fiji’s niche is specialised products in small volumes. It is close to its main markets of Australia and New Zealand. The developing country preference offered by Australia at the beginning of this year has also opened some new doors as it offers better rules of origin.
SPARTECA (South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement ) is a nonreciprocal trade agreement where Australia and New Zealand offer duty-free and unrestricted access for specified products originating from the developing island member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum. However, low cost Asian competitors continue to attract bulk orders because of lower pricing. The challenge now is to convince buyers to come back to Fiji.
The industry is working on increasing exports and creating more employment. There has been a significant growth in employment numbers in the garment manufacturing factories with close to 8,000 staff now directly employed. This increase is attributed to the expansion of current manufacturers and a few new factories opening up. Work on revamping training facilities for the industry is going on. Meanwhile raw material inputs for the textile, clothing and footwear industries have been made duty-free. Sewing machinery, spare parts are duty-free as well.
Bangladesh has halted all jute exports to Pakistan. This has put Pakistan’s mills in trouble. Any delay in supply would mean an end to production of jute products especially jute sacks and leave thousands of its labor force jobless. Pakistan is one of the biggest importers of Bangladesh jute. If jute sacks are not available, the storage of crops, especially of wheat, rice, grains, and potatoes, is likely to go waste throughout Pakistan.
Raw jute was waiting to be shipped at Bangladesh’s ports, but the government issued a notification by hich exports of raw jute were suspended until further notice. The jute sector in Pakistan is already facing stiff competition from woven polypropylene and other packaging materials. Small farmers are likely to be the worst hit by the ban since they would not be able to sell their crops without the required jute bags.
Bangladesh is the largest exporter of raw jute in the world. It imposed the ban on jute exports to increase supply of the fiber for local jute bag and sack-makers. Jute prices have shot up in Bangladesh due to heavy rains and floods which caused yield loss. Mills in Pakistan, Nepal and some in India depend on Bangladeshi jute.
Gujarat is likely to benefit from the growing interest of Chinese dyestuff and intermediaries manufacturers. They are looking to invest in Gujarat through joint ventures with local partners. Tian Liming, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of China Dyestuff Industry Association (CDIA) at the inauguration of 5th 'Interdye Asia' said that 10 Chinese companies have shown interest in projects in Gujarat.
According to Liming, the fundamental idea is to expand commercial relations beyond the cooperation with Dyestuff Manufacturers Associations in India and invest in various projects. Jiangsu Yabang Dyestuff and Shanghai Anoky Group are amongst the 10 companies interested in investing around $10 million.
Statistics reveal, China’s annual revenue from dyestuff is $10 billion with 300 dyestuff manufacturers producing 1.2 million tonnes of dyestuff. India’s 1,000 manufacturers, produce 0.3 million tons of dye stuff, generating $4 billion revenues. Also, as acknowledged by Janak Mehta, President, Dyestuff Manufacturers Association of India (DMAI), more than 80 per cent manufacturers are located in Gujarat. Contribution $2.5 billion revenue from exports and $1.5 billion from domestic market together.
The 5th 'Interdye Asia' exhibition held from December 3 to ,5 was organised by CDIA and CCPIT Shanghai Sub-council at Gujarat University Convention and Exhibition Centre. Supported by CHEMEXCIL, DMAI, Gujarat chapter of Textile Association of India (TAI), SGTPA and GPE Expo. The event saw participation from 200 companies including 80 international firms and approximately 110 domestic companies.
The global textile industry is undergoing a major transformation. Consumers nowadays prefer synthetic textile fibres over cotton fibre and carbon black, one of the primary dyeing substances utilised to dye textile fibers. Synthetic textile fibres are, therefore, witnessing soaring demand as a result of this shift in consumer preference. According to a market study published by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global carbon black market for textile fibers stood at $597.2 million in 2012 and it is expected to rise at a CAGR of 7.10 per cent from 2013 to 2019 and reach $964.4 million.
The global carbon black market for textile fibres is analysed on the basis of types of products and end users. Polyester, acrylic, and nylon are the key segment of this market based on products. The carbon black market for polyester fibres dominates the global carbon black market with a majority share. Owing to the wide usage of polyester, this market segment is likely to maintain its dominance in the coming years as well.
The markets for apparel, home textiles, automotive, protective clothing, and agriculture are the key end users of carbon black. The apparel market has emerged as the biggest consumer of carbon black for textile fibres, accounting for more than half of this market. While this market segment is likely to continue to lead, the demand from the agriculture textile and automotive textile industries is projected to witness immense growth over the next few years.
North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Rest of the World are the main regional markets for carbon used in textile fibres. Asia Pacific at present is dominating the global market for carbon black used in textile fibres. The high growth rate of the GDP in developing Asian countries such as India and China is driving the textile industry in this region, thereby fueling the demand for carbon black used in textile fibres.
The Europe carbon black market for textile fiber has occupied the second position among the regional markets and the North America and the Rest of the world are also witnessing robust demand for carbon at present. The soaring demand for synthetic fibres from the Middle East is expected to drive the demand for carbon black utilised in textile fibres in the Rest of the World. Analysts expect the Rest of the World market to report the fastest growth over the next few years.
www.transperancymarketresearch.com
Targets $10 billion in exports
Apparel segment is the highest contributor to exports in the economy. In 2014, apparel experts were worth $4.9 billion, just short of the $5 billion target, increasing by 9.2 per cent since 2013. Now the country has set an ambitious export target of $10 billion for the apparel industry, which it aims to achieve by 2025.
After the new Unity government led by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, came to power this year, two premier apparel associations in Sri Lanka decided to join hands. Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA) merged with the 200 Garment Factory Program Association (200 GFP) to strengthen the aim of all their members. Jafferjee said the association is pleased with the 19th Amendment to the Constitution and the establishment of independent commissions, which are clear signs that Sri Lanka is stepping in the right direction and working towards creating prosperity in a fair and just society. “The constructive engagement with International organisations to address human right issues though a domestic mechanism is another positive step to improve our international relations,” he said.
Sri Lanka is the largest industrial exporter in the country, exporting $4.9 billion in 2014 with a value addition of 60 per cent. With the advent of GSP+, the industry expects to increase its growth rate substantially in the future. The industries’ credentials as a green, ethical, high quality, reliable manufacturing destination is globally recognised. “We will continue to strengthen the competitive position with investment in technology, automation, lean management systems and upskilling our associates. We have also begun our product innovation and design journey to get high value-addition on the front end. Our local brands are making waves, and we expect more to fill the retail malls of regional markets in the future,” said Jafferjee.
Facing challenges amid stiff competition
Jafferjee further said for the past few the growing number of multi-lateral, regional and bilateral trading arrangements have been a concern. The preliminary conclusion of the Transpacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) among 12 nations, covering 45 per cent of the world GDP, will be a serious challenge to the industry. “We, as the largest exporter in the country, fully endorse the Prime Minister’s policy direction that we urgently require an international trade policy framework to bridge such threats. India, China, the US, Korea and Singapore are already on the road map of the government for such negotiations. Our membership also believes that Japan, Brazil and Turkey, too, should be added to this for preferential trade negotiations.”
The industry is happy that the government is taking positive measures to regain GSP+. The steps taken towards creating good governance and an answer to some of the serious issues that were raised while withdrawing GSP+.
Jafferjee also highlighted issues being faced by the industry including the revision of PAL from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent, and NBT from 2 per cent to 4 per cent that will have a serious impact on capital investment program, revision on duty on sale of garments to Rs 200 per piece, which is an increase of 800 per cent from the existing rate structure, income tax rate revision from 12 to 15 per cent for value added exports and under the reform measures, the domestic market and export income are unified into one standard rate of 15 per cent. He also urged for government intervention in wage process be limited only to tri-partite arrangements of the Wages Board for the establishment of minimum wages for the industry.
On a concluding note, Jafferjee said, “We are encouraged that even today, seven advanced economies are occupying spots among the 10 largest exporters of apparel in the world, which only strengthens our conviction that we can continue to grow and play this role for many years. In this backdrop, we have set our own a target of $ 10 billion by 2025 and continue to be a strong player, not only in rural Sri Lanka but regionally and globally as well.”
www.srilanka-apparel.com
