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Exports of US cotton are at the second highest level in 50 years. Exports of raw cotton through mid-May were 65 per cent higher. Vietnam is the top buyer of US cotton. This position was held by China until it began to sell off large cotton reserves some years ago. But as stocks shrink, China is expected to regain its top buyer status. The other top buyers of US cotton are Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico, India, Pakistan, Korea, Bangladesh, and Thailand.
US cotton had a huge year in India and Pakistan. US exports to India were at the largest level in 17 years. Much of it was extra-long staple Supima cotton. New cotton varieties and genetics combined with grower management tools have provided higher yields and improved fiber quality.
The US hopes to export 20 million cotton bales by 2020. It will drive export growth of US cotton through fiber, yarn, or value-added cotton products. US cotton is marketed as premium cotton, as higher quality fiber than other cotton grown worldwide. However, the industry continues to deal with low fiber prices and other issues that threaten the future. There are significant lint differences between lowest- and highest-yielding varieties.
Denim North America (DNA) has collaborated with Poole to introduce a product line called FYnesse Denim. This incorporates FYnesse yarn, developed and produced by a division of Poole. This is the latest innovation in superior performance stretch with exceptional low growth and groundbreaking reduced shrinkage. The new technology cuts shrinkage virtually in half compared to traditional stretch denims with similar elasticity. The result is greater fabric utilization and increased garment to garment sizing consistency. Best of all, its unique attributes combine consistent shape retention with an amazing soft and smooth hand.
FYnesse is the latest and most advanced innovation in air-covering technology, taking engineered polyester and introducing spandex at the point of maximum dynamic bulk. The result is a superior performance stretch yarn with the unique capability to retain exceptional power, resilience, and bulk all while concealing spandex deep into the yarn.
FYnesse eliminates sagging and bagging while also keeping the consumer cooler with faster drying and moisture wicking technology inherent in the process. Opening offerings are in lightweight indigo and black women’s products with heavier weights for men available soon.
Denim North America is a division of DNA Textile Group This is the second collaboration between DNA and Poole.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are looking to strengthening their bilateral ties. Their bilateral trade is valued at $142 million and has the potential to be boosted. Even though goods are traded at a significant level, emphasis will be given to increase the trade volume and further diversify the product range benefitting both countries.
Sri Lanka imports from Bangladesh pharmaceutical products, electrical machinery and equipment, edible vegetables and roots, apparel and clothing accessories, iron and steel, textile fibers, chemicals, sacks and bags, toilet and facial tissues, cellular phones and bicycle parts. Sri Lanka exports to Bangladesh textiles and textile articles, enzymes, chemicals, minerals, plastics, rubber products, paper products and tea.
Bangladesh is also a country that exports apparel to the global market but has not been able to secure GSP Plus that Sri Lanka currently enjoys. Hence, Sri Lanka is able to export apparel to the European market at cheaper rates than Bangladesh can. On the other hand the cheap labor in Bangladesh is the main attraction for apparel investors. Labor in Sri Lanka is no longer cheap. The apparel industry has been suffering from lack of sufficient labor.
Bangladesh’s gross domestic product growth accelerated to 7.1 per cent in 2016 from 6.6 per cent in 2015. Sri Lanka’s economic growth in 2016 was at 4.4 per cent, lower than 4.8 per cent in 2015.
The Indian Texpreneurs Federation, with a total membership of 35 spinning mills, has formed a consortium to purchase quality cotton from ginners of Maharashtra and Telangana with zero trash and low level contamination. Even one per cent savings by way of good quality, better pricing, timely purchase is expected to help the spinning sector reduce its cost of manufacturing.
The consortium, which requires 11 lakh bales per year, has purchased two lakh bales this year. It’s planning to buy four lakh bales during this cotton season, starting October, since raw material cost was the major factor in spinning mills’ manufacturing cost, ranging from 60 per cent to 70 per cent.
The consortium helps ginners reach the top performing mills on a single platform and get a guarantee on professional transactions and timely payments and honoring contracts. It has been able to partner with more than 50 ginners in Telangana and Maharashtra. This season Telangana is expected to produce 70 lakh bales of cotton and Maharashtra 100 lakh bales. Indian Texpreneurs Federation is an association of the Indian textile industry. Members represent the entire technical textile value chain from raw materials to finished goods producers, machinery manufacturers, consultants, centers of excellence and R&D institutes.
Former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian regrets having allowed Genetically Modified (GM) cotton in the country over two decades ago. He says he is responsible for the suicides of thousands of cotton farmers. He introduced GM cotton in India in the 1990s. Most European countries and Japan don't allow GM crops.
Genetically engineered cotton is currently grown on 25 million hectares around the world, mostly in India, China, Pakistan and the US. Other countries growing significantly smaller amounts of GM cotton are South Africa, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Columbia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Burma, Australia, and Egypt.
GM cotton is engineered with one of two traits. One makes it resistant to glyphosate-based herbicides such as Monsanto’s Roundup, while the other stimulates the plant to produce a toxin that kills the bollworm, one of the crop’s primary pests.
Cotton is an important cash crop in India. It is grown on 12 million hectares, making India the second largest producer of cotton in the world, behind China. Insect-resistant Bt cotton is the only GM crop currently grown in India. It was introduced in India by Monsanto in 2002, under the trade name Bollgard, in a joint venture with the Indian seed company Mahyco.
Some 26 Bangladeshi fabric and garment makers will participate at Texworld Paris, September 19 to 21, 2017. Visitors are expected to come from all over Europe with a large number of buyers from the UK, France, Turkey, Spain, Italy and Germany. The exhibition attracts manufacturers from all major sourcing countries. China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Ethiopia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and other countries will have national pavilions. In addition there will be exhibitors from the Netherlands, Turkey, and Portugal.
The organizers are launching a new fair concept, Texworld Denim, combining denim textiles and clothing. This new denim sector offers an exceptional ambiance and a distinct concept dedicated to the blue canvas. Planned around a concept for stands that are easier to view and are variable in size, this new segment will have a new trends forum and a social village enlivened by a diverse program of meetings and presentations.
Texworld is a place where one can get international recognition in textile arena as it is a one step solution to promote products globally. Leather World Paris will be launched next year in September 2018, which will be held simultaneously at the same venue. Leather World Paris will contain tannery as well as finished leather goods ranging from leather garments to accessories such as bags, shoes and other fashion products.
Italian luxury group Giorgio Armani group sales fell five per cent in 2016. Group revenues fell in 2016, squeezing margins compared to the previous three years. Net profit rose due to cost control. The dip in company revenues has been attributed to macro and geopolitical concerns and also a general change in purchasing behavior and attitudes.
Armani was an early mover into luxury e-commerce in China but was slow to embrace social media. From mid September it will have separate dedicated accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani and Armani Exchange.
Armani — like Ralph Lauren — is facing structural challenges of being a fashion and ready to wear brand. There has been an increase in competition in the last decades from mid priced brands. At the top end designer brands are losing out in terms of brand appeal to accessories brands as they have much lower control of their distribution.
The global luxury industry is in the throes of adapting to changes in shopping behavior brought about by social media and the internet. In future online sales will have the highest growth of any retail channel in the sector. The luxury market is set to grow two to four per cent in 2017.
"The EU, which is Sri Lanka's biggest export destination, absorbing 36 per cent of total shipments, reinstated the country into the GSP Plus program in mid-May, removing import tariffs on more than 6,000 products, including clothing. Sri Lanka was dropped from GSP Plus in 2010 for human rights violations but remained in the less-favourable GSP program, under which its exports were taxed at 9.6 per cent. That had had an impact. Total apparel exports fell from $4.7 billion in 2014 to $4.6 billion in 2015 and 2016, according to the Joint Apparel Association Forum, an industry body."
The EU, which is Sri Lanka's biggest export destination, absorbing 36 per cent of total shipments, reinstated the country into the GSP Plus program in mid-May, removing import tariffs on more than 6,000 products, including clothing. Sri Lanka was dropped from GSP Plus in 2010 for human rights violations but remained in the less-favourable GSP program, under which its exports were taxed at 9.6 per cent. That had had an impact. Total apparel exports fell from $4.7 billion in 2014 to $4.6 billion in 2015 and 2016, according to the Joint Apparel Association Forum, an industry body. Exports to the EU in 2014 stood at $2.1 billion, but dropped to $1.9 billion in 2015 and 2016.
The slump has continued in 2017, with apparel exports falling another 5.8 per cent in the first five months, compared with the same period in 2016. But JAAF adviser KJ Weerasinghe says they can now receive at least an additional $400 million worth of orders from the EU initially, which will increase further, after regaining GSP Plus. Retailers, says it would not be possible to meet the government's target of doubling exports by 2020, although 2022 could be a possibility. Analysts say that Sri Lanka needs to do more to catch up with countries like Bangladesh, which is now the world's second-largest clothing exporter after China. Bangladesh accounts for 6.4 per cent of global clothing exports, compared with Sri Lanka's 1.2 per cent.
Upgradation is the key
Sri Lanka has fallen behind in terms of value chain creation. Bangladesh, for example, has set up spinning mills and knitting mills, which allow manufacturers to cut production costs and improve efficiency. This also puts Bangladesh in a good position to sell large volumes of cheaper apparel such as knitwear, woven shirts, sweaters and sweatshirts. Amit Gugnani, analyst, Technopak Advisors, points out Sri Lanka must adopt a similar approach to developing value chain capabilities. In complete integration, it becomes relatively easier to look at cost engineering across the value chain. The government should set up textile industrial clusters in the country's north and east by providing investment incentives, as part of the value chain creation.
Another aspect of making production cheaper is to concentrate on remote and backward regions. Wages in Sri Lanka are typically higher than in Bangladesh and Vietnam, making the country better suited to producing high-end garments such as swimwear, trousers and underwear, including lingerie for top brands such as Victoria's Secret.
As per World Bank's ‘Stitches to Riches’ report, the minimum monthly wage in Sri Lanka is $120, compared with $70 in Bangladesh. Sri Lankan labour laws also limit factory workers to 57.5 hours per week, with fixed weekly holidays. This compares with Bangladesh's working limit of 60 hours and Vietnam's 64 hours.
Controlling costs
It's important for Sri Lanka to look at providing lower minimum wages in backward and remote regions where the cost of living is comparatively lower. The industrial clusters in these regions can focus on basic products with minimal value addition and large volumes, Gugnani fee;s. To cut production costs further, JAAF has requested exemptions from Sri Lanka's 2 per cent nation-building tax and a 7.5 per cent port and airport development tax on the importation of machinery for the sector.
As per Anushka Wijesinha, Chief Economist, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce the country must also focus on becoming an easier place to do business. For a more sustainable and sustained increase it needs to focus on competitiveness and factors that hold exporters back – like standards, bureaucratic and procedural delays. The government must help exporters test products to meet international standards. He urged the government to remove archaic laws such as the need to obtain permits for each shipment. Sri Lanka is ranked 110th among 190 economies in terms of the ease of doing business in 2016, slipping one place, according to the latest World Bank annual ratings.
Experts say Sri Lanka should explore the idea of exporting more and must look at consolidating its position, and not only focus on higher-end and value-added garments.
Lineapelle New York 2017 was held from July 18 to 19, 2017. This is a leather goods trade show. It confirmed the interest of US buyers in Italian materials, despite the unpredictable market situation, with retail channel especially on edge. The number of exhibitors rose 20 per cent compared to previous edition with nearly 120 exhibitors and some 1,300 buyers attending.
The focus was on trends for 2018-19 winter season, which will be characterised by an unconventional color palette and the use of basic yet high-quality materials. The two-day event saw the participation of exclusive European and international makers of leather, textiles and synthetics, components and hardware for shoes, handbags and leather goods, leatherwear, upholstery and car interiors.
The high quality and variety of cutting edge collections make it a must-see event for producers and designers of luxury and contemporary items. Lineapelle New York is held twice a year. Summer and winter collections are presented in February and July respectively. The next edition, which brings together international manufacturers of leather, fabrics and synthetic materials, will be held in Italy, October 4 to 6, while the next New York edition is scheduled for January 31 to February 1, 2018.
Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has welcomed the continuation of GSP Plus status to Pakistan in UK beyond Brexit. The British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Richard Crowder has confirmed UK wants to maintain and strengthen access to UK markets for developing countries after leaving the EU. For Pakistan, which benefits from zero tariffs on two-thirds of all products export to the UK, says PIAF Chairman Irfan Iqbal Sheikh.
PIAF feels the assurance is heartening as there were apprehensions in the market that Pakistan and some of the other developing countries could lose GSP Plus status in the British market post-Brexit. It is reassuring that such apprehensions have been removed and Brexit would not make any difference on present trade relations between the UK and Pakistan.
However, Sheikh said exporters have failed to get new export order which will further decline exports in coming months, as their genuine demands were not met by the government. The PIAF chairman alleged FBR officials are treating exporters and tax-payers as thieves and arbitrarily debiting amounts directly from the banks accounts of exporters. He added that trade deficit has touched $30 billion; markets due to decrease in exports while, on the other hand, competitor Bangladesh's textile exports alone have touched $28 billion mark and they have set their target of $35 billion in next five years.
Presently, Pakistan has the highest-ever cost of doing business/manufacturing as compared to eight competing countries in the region. He stated that duty-free access was of critical importance for Pakistan but government will have to implement its commitments to provide incentives to the exporters.
