FW
An international direct-investment information bulletin from the Turkish economy ministry has confirmed Chinese investors continue to increase their foothold in Turkey’s textile industry. Between January and December 2015, 60 new foreign companies invested $429m in Turkey’s textile and clothing manufacturers – up 30 per cent compared to the previous year the figures suggest.
Analysis of the data by Turkish language newspapers show, Chinese investors contributed a significant portion of this money, attracted by the Turkish textile sector’s product quality and fast delivery. Looking at all economic sectors, Chinese investment in Turkey exceeded $1.6bn in 2015.
According to Huang Songfeng, Consulate General of China in Istanbul, so far, more than 60 medium-and-large sized Chinese enterprises have opened a representative office in Istanbul. Chinese investment projects in Turkey and central Asia have also been given support from the government in Beijing through the China’s One Belt, One Road development strategy. He added that the decision of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to buy majority shares in Turkey's Tekstilbank AS was a good example. It acquired a 76 per cent stake in Tekstilbank in April 2014 for $316 million.
A recent survey has found most of the 1,163 member factories of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association are either closed or are non-existent. Yet these RMG factories still enjoy BGMEA membership thanks to ballot politics.
According to a number of BGMEA members, the non-existent factories maintain their membership by paying annual subscription fees to the trade body. The members who take part in elections to the executive body of the association often pay the money for the owners of the closed and non-existent factories to increase their vote base, they said.
The BGMEA conducted the survey to find out the real status of its member factories. According to a BGMEA official involved with the process, most of the 1,163 closed factories have no existence and they have no chance of restarting business but some of the units closed operations in recent years due to noncompliance and shortage of orders and they are trying to resume operations.
According to some BGMEA members, a good number of factories disappeared from the sector due to the impact of quota phase-out in the RMG sector in 2005 but most of the factories maintained membership of the trade body.
The Punjab region of Pakistan wants farmer-friendly intervention from the government in the form of an indicative price and the procurement of two million bales to address the issue of low price. It is feared that even a 50 per cent sowing target may not be achieved if some such intervention doesn’t take place.
Cotton is Pakistan’s main foreign exchange earner and is the life line for the agrarian economy of Pakistan as it feeds the vital raw material for the entire value addition industry of cotton. But cotton farmers across the country have suffered huge losses in the previous two consecutive years. Last year, due to untimely rains and the pest attacks, farmers did not even recover half of the price of their cost of production. Given this scenario, farmers were generally reluctant to sow cotton during the current crop season.
Measures were undertaken to procure cotton during the crop year 2014-15 though this was not a well planned and timely intervention. Procurement began tardily and very poor quality lint was bought from ginning factories. This lint is still lying in warehouses, and it has become almost impossible to sell the stock at reasonable prices, although the middlemen are getting fair prices, by selling the same quality of lint at higher rates.
A denim expo will be held in Vietnam, June 16 to 17, 2016. The show is aimed at bringing reputed denim producers, brands, retailers and supply chain partners together at a single platform. At least 34 companies from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Italy, Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia and Turkey are expected to participate.
The expo is being organized by Indian Denimsandjeans.com, a website dedicated to the world denim industry since 2007. It is the first ever denim sportswear show in Vietnam.
Vietnam is a growing apparel exporting country. It presently ranks the fourth largest exporter of apparel and clothing after China, Bangladesh and Hong Kong and it has around 4,000 garment factories employing about 2.5 million workers.
The Vietnamese apparel industry has been emerging as the next major sourcing destination for many buyers, especially from the US market. Denim is a growing segment of apparel sourced from Vietnam and is likely to witness significant growth in the coming years.
Bangladeshi denim makers are planning to expand their market in Vietnam through participating in the denim show. At least four Bangladeshi denim industries are taking preparations to participate. The denim groups are Amber Denim, Square Denims, Aaron Denim and Shasha Denims.
Businesses in Vietnam prefer the free trade agreement with the EU than the Trans Pacific Partnership. They feel the EU agreement can bring them bigger benefits and gives more favorable conditions in government procurement as it allows procurement deals in localities as well.
Since the EU offers attractive schemes for Vietnam, in return, Vietnam is also willing to give preference to the EU. Under the free trade agreement, the EU will remove 85 per cent of the tariffs imposed on Vietnamese goods as soon as the agreement takes effect. The EU has offered attractive provisions to Vietnam regarding many production fields. For example, it agreed to remove all import tariffs on Vietnam’s textile and garment products within seven years. The tariffs on footwear and shoes will also be completely removed by the EU.
The EU has also promised strong support to Vietnamese farm produce to approach the EU market. Vietnam’s fish products, for example, will be freed of tariffs within three years. Moreover unlike TPP, EU does not set the yarn-forward principle for Vietnam’s garment exports. Instead, the fabric-forward principle is applied. The EU agreement and the TPP are expected to take effect in one or two years.
Australian International Sourcing Expo will be held from November 14 to 16, 2017. Designed to connect New Zealand and Australian trade buyers with a wide range of suppliers and manufacturers from around the globe, the expo will be attended by more than 500 exhibitors displaying their wares.
With a focus on apparel, accessories and textiles, exhibitors representing key sourcing hot spots such as China, India, Bangladesh, and Hong Kong will attend the expo and showcase their respective industry’s appeal to foreign business and investment. The expo provides an organised way for international sourcing, learning and networking for a wide range of industry professionals from around the world. It is essential for anyone in the apparel, accessories and textiles industry.
It is not only an opportunity to meet some of the world’s most respected industry professionals but a chance to discuss larger issues facing the industry today, such as global trends and logistical challenges. The show also provides the opportunity for visitors to collect valuable market insights and business tips as well as comparing production capability and costs, diversifying their supply chain, and sourcing new business.
The event will feature the latest in men’s wear, women’s wear and children’s wear on display, along with footwear, accessories, home textiles, jewelry and travel goods.
ITM Texpo Eurasia took place in Turkey from June 1 to 4, 2016. The exhibition covered areas like yarns, knitting, weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing and hosiery machines, sub-industries and chemicals. More than 1,000 textile technology producers presented their latest models in operation.
Textile machinery specialists presented their innovations. Shima Seiki, a leading computerized knitting machine manufacturer, featured its flagship Mach 2XS whole garment knitting machine with original slide needle on four needle beds and spring-loaded moveable sinkers as well as the compact SW G091 N2 for producing smaller whole garment items and accessories.
Italian hosiery knitting machine builder Busi Giovanni presented the company’s J-Terry and Busi medical terry pantyhose single cylinder sock machines. Groz-Beckert, a leading provider of industrial machine needles, precision parts and fine tools, showcased its circular knit exhibit, a circular knitting machine replica made of acrylic glass that visualized 14 different knitting technologies from gauge E10 to E50.
Monforts presented a wide range of advanced innovations and developments. Karl Mayer exhibited its new HKS 4-M EL tricot machine and the Size Box VSB innovative sizing technology.
ITM Texpo saw the sector’s leading textile technology representatives and welcomed 49,730 visitors. It provided a great opportunity to foreign and local participants to present their new technologies.
Major users of cotton the world over are failing to source sustainable cotton on a large scale. Despite the significant progress made by a few leading companies, there is significant room for improvement in sourcing and reporting of sustainable cotton. The last few years have seen an increase in attention for sustainable apparel from both consumers and market, which has created momentum for initiatives focused on promoting the sustainable production of cotton. Under right conditions, organic cotton production, regarded as the gold standard for sustainable cotton production, delivers impressive benefits to the farmer, the environment, and the industry as a whole.
Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) is a new collaborative platform which strives to address the issues the sector is facing, by coordinating actions that enable improvements in the organic cotton farmer’s business case, appropriate integrity, and increased security of supply.
Organic Cotton Accelerator is committed to building a prosperous organic cotton sector which benefits everyone—from farmer to consumer. Its aim is to build a fair, robust organic cotton market with appropriate integrity at every relevant level, while growing supply and demand. This momentum for sustainable apparel has motivated several sustainability front-runners in apparel to join forces with OCA.
Klaus Huneke is the new president of Euratex for new two years beginning January 2017. Euratex is the European apparel and textile confederation.
Huneke, an experienced industrialist, has wide international experience in the textile industry. He made a remarkable career at Heimbach, a large technical textiles producer in Germany. Having started his path as an engineer in the petrochemical industry in 1990s, he joined Heimbach where he was a CEO until his retirement.
Huneke has been president of the German textile employer’s association since April 2000. He has also been actively involved in the representation of the textile and clothing industry at the European level, acting as a board member and vice-president treasurer of Euratex.
As Euratex president, his work will be directed in three strategic areas: trade and industrial policy, innovative industry and responsible businesses. Huneke has an ambitious plan for his upcoming presidency. He believes Euratex shall continue being a bridge between the companies in the textiles sector and European institutions, namely the European Commission and the European Parliament.
Euratex has also nominated Serge Piolat (UIT, France) and Rusen Cetin (ITKIB, Turkey) as vice-presidents and Alberto Paccanelli (SMI, Italy) as its vice-president treasurer for the upcoming two-year term.
Egypt’s cotton exports fell by 54.2 per cent in the second quarter of the agricultural season 2015-2016. Cotton exports between December 2014 and February 2015 reached 112.7 quintals compared to 246 quintals in the same period last year.
The decline in exports is attributed to a decline in the amount of cotton harvested this year. Cotton crop, which has been one of Egypt’s leading agricultural export crops, has seen a number of crises over the past years leading to a deterioration in its quality and decline in its exports.
Last month, Egypt agreed to set a guarantee price to buy cotton from local farmers so as to enable farmers to earn higher profits. Suggestions on how to enhance cotton cultivation methods have been invited. Local consumption of cotton declined to reach 76.4 thousand quintals while during the same period last year local consumption reached 175.8 thousand quintals. Spinning and weaving in Egypt depend primarily on cotton.
The largest importer of Egyptian cotton in the global market is India. Egypt produces medium long staple, long staple and extra long staple cotton. These cottons produce a wide range of yarn counts needed for the production of fine textiles.
