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The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) and the Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) will organise the first manmade fiber textile conclave in Mumbai, March 17. Under the themes innovation, efficiency and competitiveness, the conclave will explore the potential and examine the constraints in manmade fiber sector and evolve measures to spur growth and investment in this segment of the textile value chain.
The conclave, which would also emphasise on the need for interdisciplinary cooperation along the processing chain, would bring together leading manufacturers, consumers and end users of manmade fiber products to enhance the business potential in this vital sector.
As a part of the conclave, a business session will be held on emerging trends in manmade fiber technology. This session will discuss latest technologies, fiber/filament innovations, changing technology, changing applications, and also issues related to fiber demand and long term opportunities.
The conclave will also hold two panel discussions. One on issues related to manmade fiber consumption and mill demand, which is considered to be growing, but below potential. Experts will discuss the issues which affect fiber consumption and capacity. Demand for manmade fiber products is expected to increase with the advent and wide applicability of technical textiles.
The second panel will discuss the international manmade fiber textile trade and growth opportunities for India.
Despite Parliament's adoption of amended law more than one and a half years ago, the Bangladesh government has still not set rules for implementing the amended labour law, a key requirement for regaining the country’s GSP in the US. Labour and employment secretary Mikail Shipar has said that the government was supposed to formulate the rules a lot earlier. But, is still taking stakeholders’ opinions to incorporate them in the rules. Considering opinions from many sectors that are under the purview of labour law has delayed the formulation of the rules, even though the draft of the rules has already been written, he added.
The government amended labour laws allowing full freedom of association by workers at the factory level after the industrial disasters of Tazreen Fashions fire and Rana Plaza building collapse. The government has also allowed formulation of more than 236 trade unions in garment factories over the last one and a half years under the amended labour law.
Citing serious shortcomings in workplace safety and labour rights, the US government gave a set of 16 conditions for regaining the GSP which was suspended for Bangladesh on June 27 in 2013. Amendment to the labour law and formulation of the rules were major among the 16 conditions which are collectively called the Action Plan for GSP retention. Bangladesh has already submitted progress reports on the Action Plan twice, to regain GSP. But, the GSP scheme is currently suspended by the United States Trade Representative, the chief trade negotiation body of the US government, for all beneficiary countries since July 31 of 2013. The government hopes the country will regain the GSP as almost all the conditions have been fulfilled, with both government and private sector initiatives.
The cotton policies of China, the world's largest consumer, have global consequences. China changed farmer support policies, began restricting cheaper imports through its import quota system, and then started selling from its reserve stocks last year. The resultant drop in Chinese demand impacted global prices and prospects for India, for which China is the largest export market. Chinese imports have shrunk about 70 per cent in the past three years. This apart, the alternative to cotton — synthetics — has also turned cheaper on falling crude oil prices, the USDA reports find.
Going by India Ratings & Research reports, India’s exports to China dropped 26.4 per cent between April and October 2014 and with China not absorbing the increased supply it put a lid on prices. Meanwhile exports to countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh picked up but overall exports are still low. Total exports will drop 23 per cent in the 2014-15 season over the previous one, the Cotton Corporation estimates.
Minimum Support Price (MSP) for cotton have moved marginally by Rs 50 or so adding to the woes of excess supply. Market prices are now ruling below MSP. In the medium term, the situation is likely to remain the same and prices for cotton may not see a sharp climb.
A fall in production has been predicted by the USDA as large producers such as China, the US and Pakistan reducing output. The Indian market is set to remain flat, but will still be the top producing region for the second year running. Much of the increase in demand is estimated to stem from Chinese market, which holds almost half the global stock. China’s cotton policies and import restrictions can keep up pressure on prices. In Indian markets too, the muted export climate and higher stocks can restrict price rises.
Ethiopia and Kenya have succeeded in attracting the attention of investors by creating favourable conditions, and many major brands are beginning to source from these countries. The reason: rising wages in China, labour unrest and violence in Cambodia, and ineffective compliance with rules in Bangladesh, a new report from the global business information company Textiles Intelligence reveals.
Several major foreign companies have invested in the textile and clothing industry and a number of high profile brand names have started sourcing from Ethiopia. Brands including Marks & Spencer, VF Corporation, and the Inditex brand Zara are reportedly in the process of setting up offices in the country. This is reflected in the increase in the employment and export figures of the country as apparel industry employment in Ethiopia doubled while textile and apparel export earnings rose from $12.6 million to $111 million between 2010-11 and 2013-14.
In Kenya, as many as 46 apparel manufacturing industrial projects were approved in 2013. This was a record level and was more than double the annual average of 19 projects approved for the period 2009-12. In 2014, delegations from several large companies interested in sourcing from Kenya visited the country.
Due to forex losses amidst a slow global economy, garment exporters are now resigned to a contraction of 4 per cent this year, instead of zero or about 2 per cent expansion. The minimal depreciation of the baht and deflation in the EU is weighing heavily on the industry, says the Thai Garment Manufacturers Association.
As per the association, the US is still the major market for Thai garments followed by the EU, Japan and Asian countries. The industry that lost EU import-duty privileges for apparel early this year has many negative factors hitting global economic expansion. Last year, garment shipments to US were flat at about $2.9 billion. The recovery in the United States was too slow while buyers have focused more on Vietnam and other countries with cheaper labour. The US will have free trade with Vietnam under the Trans Pacific Partnership, so some importers have turned to doing business with Vietnam instead of Thailand. The government should ensure that the baht moves in line with export rivals. So far, the baht has depreciated the least among Asian currencies, it adds.
Review of three more garment factories by inspection teams appointed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) found structural faults and recommended immediate course of action. Representatives from the government, Accord, Alliance, BUET, BGMEA and BKMEA are in the review committee that reviewed a factory in Chittagong. The panel asked the factory owner to conduct Detailed Engineering Assessment within the next six weeks. Critical findings on the three garment factories — Fashion Export International in Chittagong, Eraf Composite at Fatullah and Mujib Fashion at Siddhirganj in Narayanganj — have been sent to the review committee.
According to Inspector General of the Department of Inspection of Factories and Establishments, Syed Ahmed, the review committee had asked the Fashion Export International owner to remove unauthorised structure from the factory. The two other factories will be reviewed on March 12, he said.
The TUV-SUD Bangladesh and Veritas Engineering and Consultant, the two firms hired by the ILO, have recently started safety assessment in the garment factories that are not included on the list of the EU and North American retailers’ assessment programmes. Since November 2013, the BUET team had inspected about 500 garment factories and referred two factory names to the review panel.
Apparel imports into the US declined in January. Shipments fell from six of the top-10 supplier countries. But those further down the ranking -- Honduras and El Salvador -- recorded stand-out performances during the month. Total US apparel and textile imports dropped 5.6 per cent in January, with textiles down 6.7 per cent.
The volume of apparel imports from all sources fell 4.2 per cent year-on-year in January following a five per cent increase in December. As for individual supplier countries, there was a marked difference in the performance between the top two. Shipments from China, the largest supplier of apparel to the US, with a 42.5 per cent share of the market, declined 7.8 per cent in January. Those from nearest rival Vietnam saw a growth of 0.9 per cent compared to a year earlier.
Honduras, number five in the table, saw its apparel shipments grow 17.7 per cent. India and El Salvador booked year-on-year increases of 4.4 per cent and 10.7 per cent. Even so, China remains a compelling source for apparel buyers as rising prices are largely being offset by productivity gains. There is also the fact that no country can match China in terms of the size of its supply base, its range of skills, its quality levels, its product variety and the completeness of its supply chain.
Vietnam, meanwhile, continues to benefit as both producers and buyers diversify their supply chains.
The four finalists of the SCAP (Sustainable Clothing Action Plan) Extending the Life of Clothes Design Award have been announced. The award challenged designers to address the key reasons for garment failure and the concepts needed to achieve longer life times, as well as to deliver ideas that are fashionable and marketable.
The SCAP ELC Award is delivered by WRAP, the organisation behind the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) and Love Your Clothes, with support from organisations including the British Fashion Council, Innovate UK, and The Sustainable Angle. Entries are being judged on their design process, environmental benefits or reduced impact, innovation, and commercial potential.
The finalists are Gayle Atkins, of Northbrook College Sussex/Marbella Design Academy, Nicholas Fellows, of London College of Fashion, Rhiannon Hunt, graduate of Chelsea College of Art and Design; and Valerie Goode, of Kitty Ferriera.
Gayle’s submission focuses on changing items from one product into another - she outlined a dress that can be transformed into a bag, and Nicholas proposed a children’s wear concept with dissolvable threads that enables consumers to increase the size of the item to accommodate a growing child.
Rhiannon focused on detachable fastenings for ease of size adjustment, and Valerie’s concept offers made-to-measure tailoring for items that are easy to mix and match. Next, the finalists will face a panel of judges where they will be questioned on the inspiration for their submissions, and how they would develop their idea. The winner will receive £5,000 and the opportunity to progress their work and develop it for a commercial market.
Trident has reported net revenue of Rs 931.3 crores in Q3 ending December 31, 2014, compared to Rs 1,020.9 crores in the third quarter of financial year ’14. Net sales declined due to lower yarn realizations. De-growth from yarn was partly mitigated by increased terry towel offtake. Trident is the flagship of the Trident Group and a leading manufacturer and exporter of textiles and paper products. The company repaid 4.5 per cent of the outstanding term loans during the quarter.
The results in the third quarter are a reflection of the challenges faced by the textile industry in terms of volatile cotton costs vis-à-vis lower yarn realizations which impacted earnings. Now, with new cotton available at lower levels, Trident expects margins to normalize from the fourth quarter onward.
EBIDTA margins stood at 17.1 per cent vis-à-vis 18 per cent due to declining spreads in the yarn business. This was partially offset by improved margins in the terry towel business. EBITDA margin in the textiles division improved to 15.5 per cent from 14.5 per cent. This was on account of healthy margins in terry towels. In paper and chemicals, EBITDA margin improved by 80 bps to 28 per cent as compared to the same quarter the previous year.
www.tridentindia.com/
While the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) submitted a proposal with the ministry of commerce (MoC) to establish the Cotton Security Council to control prices of domestic cotton yarn, the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) has opposed the BGMEA proposal calling it 'unreasonable', 'unrealistic' and 'inconsistent.'
The former, a body of apparel makers has also demanded inclusion of the provision of council into the new export policy of 2015-18. The country's spinning mills provide around 40 to 80 per cent of cotton yarn to the domestic knit and woven garments units at competitive prices but the domestic spinning mills face competition from the low cost imported cotton yarn.
Prices of the country's yarn depend on prices of imported cotton yarn, of Indian cotton yarn and domestic demand of apparel makers. However, textile millers say that if the cotton council is formed, expansion and competitive situation of the country's spinning mills will be hampered.
