FW
The US has renewed GSP facility for Sri Lanka. This has boosted Sri Lanka’s export development efforts. The US is the biggest consumer of Sri Lankan apparels. Sri Lankan exporters will gain duty free access for eligible products under the GSP program. The US GSP Program is in force until December 31, 2017. It provides preferential duty free entry into US market for nearly 5,000 products from 122 designated beneficiary countries and territories including Sri Lanka.
US importers are eligible to claim import duty paid by them for eligible products during the lapse in GSP coverage from July 31, 2013, with retrospective effect. Since 2010, Lankan exports to US have increased by 59 per cent. In 2014 Lankan exports to US were valued at $2.7 billion. In the same year, apparels comprised 73 per cent of Lankan exports to the US. In 2014, Lankan exports to the US rose year on year by 8 per cent in comparison to 2013.
Apart from apparels, Sri Lanka’s other leading exports to the US in 2014 were rubber tyres, plastic based packing materials, rubber gloves, activated carbon, coir products, and rubber floor coverings.
Rohit Aggarwal is the new VP and MD of Huntsman India. He will help grow the business, drive strategic partnerships and third party investment in India and the subcontinent. Aggarwal brings over 20 years of experience in the chemical industry, having led businesses across multiple chemical specialties, including additives, coatings, advanced materials and textiles.
Aggarwal will rejoin Huntsman after two years with Louis Dreyfus Commodities BV where he was CEO for Asia Region. He has worked out of Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland. He started as strategic marketing director in advanced materials division of Huntsman before moving to Textile Effects where he progressed from vice president and business unit head to vice president strategic marketing and planning.
Aggarwal’s appointment is meant to accelerate Huntsman’s growth in a market that is exciting and filled with opportunities. Huntsman is a $14 billion chemical giant, a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. Huntsman Textile Effects is the leading global provider of high quality dyes and chemicals to the textile and related industries. It has operations in more than 90 countries and seven primary manufacturing facilities in China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand.
www.huntsman.com/textile_effects/a/Home
An international textile, weaving machinery and accessories expo was held in Erode, Tamil Nadu from July 10 to 12, 2015. More than 90 companies from the US, Italy, Germany and India displayed their products that provided insights into moving up the value chain. The expo had 60 stalls featuring latest machineries with modern technologies.
A large number of students and entrepreneurs visited the expo which, proved to be a great opportunity for the growth of textile sector. The three day fair generated business worth over Rs 200 crores. The next expo would feature machinery of higher technologies, factoring in the desire of the younger generation of entrepreneurs to move up the value chain.
Erode is one of the most industrialised districts in Tamil Nadu. Industry and trade occupy a place of prominence in the district. The textile industry is one of the oldest and one of the biggest industries in the district and provides large scale employment and is a source of foreign exchange earnings. The textile industry in Erode has developed in all three segments namely mill sector, handloom and powerloom. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation and nationalised banks received several enquiries for business modernization during the expo.
Istanbul is ready to host the annual IAF convention from October 13 to 15. Top industry veterans; have confirmed their participation as speakers for this event. The three day conference will touch on global trade dynamics.
Big names share ideas
Big names have confirmed their presence and the list include: Chief
Brand Officer of Hugo Boss, Christoph Auhagen, European Production Manager of H&M, the COO of Ahlers (Baldessarini, Pierre Cardin), McKinsey and WGSN. This edition, has been subdivided into seven sessions, including the introduction by Turkish minister of trade, as the key note speaker, Auhagen, sessions about supply chain and sourcing developments, CSR and sustainability, TTIP and trade policy and emerging brands and emerging markets. In the sustainability session, IAF will share examples from the denim industry while the supply chain session will feature results from McKinsey’s by now famous CPO study on expectations of future sourcing trends.
Woven into the conference is the convention’s theme: ‘Making it Better’. For the industry as a whole to really improve, new value must be added and old values implemented. The supply chain session is built around the slogan: ‘Not moving production, but improving production.’ Panelists at the sustainability session will debate on: how the total textile and fashion industrial chain can become a better employer with less negative impact on environment. The ‘emerging brands and emerging markets’ session will show how local Turkish brands have developed into big retail chains. There would also be a session on new entrepreneurs as well as the role of wearable technology.
Istanbul, the perfect platform for convention
Istanbul offers the ideal setting for a convention carrying optimistic message about the development of fashion value chain. It is a great place to network with Turkish manufacturers, and other delegates from over 20 countries. After IAF President Rahul Mehta visited Istanbul to meet Hikmet Tanriverdi, President of the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters Association (IHKIB) and Şeref Fayat, President of the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers' Association (TGSD), he said, “IAF wants to create bridges between continents. We aim to provide maximum value to our members in international cooperation. Manufacturers, retailers, brands, solution providers and associations are working together to improve our industry together. That is why we are hosting this year’s convention in Istanbul, close to the bridge that is literally connecting the continents.”
On October 13 evening, delegates will participate at a gala dinner in the new Raffles Hotel, which is also a part of the Istanbul Fashion Week program. The third day, (October 15) will be devoted to a get-together with the Turkish fashion industry. Companies can sign up for a well guided business to business program.
With the 31st edition of the IAF World Fashion Convention coming to Istanbul, Turkey will be at the center stage of international apparel industry. And as IHKIB President Hikmet Tanriverdi puts it, “We hope to make significant contribution to the world apparel industry.”
Several domestic and foreign-invested cotton projects in Vietnam are rushing to begin operating in anticipation of competition from across borders after the free trade agreements goes into effect. Businesses have sought to invest in cotton production plants in a bid to participate in the industry and increase their competitiveness. Two of the largest FDI projects are trying to build cotton and fiber factories.
Vietnam has called for investment in producing materials for the garment and textile sectors, and to embrace both opportunities and challenges arising from FTAs. In the first five months of the year, the country's imports of cotton and fiber were higher against the same period last year both in terms of quantity and value. However, the country’s exports of these items are also on the rise. There has been a 20 per cent and 5.4 per cent year-on-year rise in quantity and value respectively.
Right now China supplies 60 to 70 per cent of the material used in the country's textile sector. But China is not part of the TPP block. Using Chinese materials for Vietnamese garment and textile products could be a violation of the TPP agreement. It was for this reason that Vietnamese garment and textile firms have hurried to invest in cotton factories.
Italian company Fulgar, a specialised high performance nylon and coated yarn manufacturer has launched a series of innovative fibers. One product is Space 3.0, a special fiber made up three different yarns. When the yarns are dyed they create special melange effects obtained by using a unique controlled and continuous one-step process. This fiber can be used for fashion apparel and sportswear as well as for circular knitwear, hosiery and seamless clothing.
Nanofiber is an innovative yarn composed of seven-micron thick filaments that can be employed for very soft hand and silky-looking items. Q-Skin is a microfiber devised for underwear with anti-bacterial and skin-care properties. Q-Nova is a polyamide 6.6 microfiber made from 99 per cent recycled materials. It aims at reducing CO2 emissions and water consumption while employing energy from renewable sources.
The company produces 35 million tons of nylon 6.6 fiber per year. It has production centers in Sri Lanka and Serbia. It’s an international leader in the synthetic fiber market. It produces polyamide 6.6 and coated elastomers in the textile and technical sectors.
Fulgar is present in all textile sectors (hosiery, circular knits, corsetry, swimming and sport) with high quality products, most of whose are produced in Italy.
www.fulgar.com/
Bangladesh garment exporters want the 0.3 per cent tax at source on exports of readymade clothing to be retained. Bangladeshi apparels are seen to be losing their competitive edge as the currency has strengthened against the US dollars. In such a situation, exporters feel the one per cent tax at source on total export value will lower competitiveness of the garment industry. So they want the tax at source to be maintained at 0.3 per cent.
They also want withdrawal of one per cent duty on capital machinery import, extension of the tax rebate for apparel sector by five more years, waiver of outstanding VAT on service sector and suspension of bonded warehouse audit. They fear the violence and political unrest will cause the country to miss its export targets. Overseas buyers of Bangladeshi garments are hesitant to place orders.
Bangladesh exported clothes worth $22.9 billion this financial year against the target of $27 billion for the entire year. The export figure is expected to reach $25 billion. Entrepreneurs in the apparel sector have been urged to relocate their industries from the capital to the garment village at Baushia in Munshiganj.
Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports to non-traditional markets recorded a marginal growth in 2014-15. Total export earnings from readymade garment sector also recorded the poorest performance in six years with a 4.08 per cent rise in the just-concluded fiscal while the country’s overall export growth recorded a 13-year low. Knitwear exports were up 3.13 per cent compared to previous fiscal. Woven products saw a five per cent growth.
The country is losing its edge to competitors like Vietnam, Cambodia, India and Pakistan. Buyers are cutting back orders because of political unrest, safety and other compliance issues. Apparel exports to non-traditional markets registered a growth of 8.60 per cent. In fact, growth was 20.99 per cent in 2013-14 and 28.75 per cent in 2012-13. Bangladesh is exploring business opportunities in markets like Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
The non-traditional market’s contribution increased to 15.33 per cent in the last fiscal which was 14.69 per cent in the previous fiscal while the EU and the US accounted for 60.28 per cent and 20.74 per cent respectively. Apparel exports grew by 37.05 per cent in South Africa, 26.33 per cent in China, 23.88 per cent in Australia and 14.02 per cent in Japan while it declined by 21.57 per cent in Turkey.
A MoU has been signed between Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT), Coimbatore, and Indian Textile Accessories & Machinery Manufacturer's Association (ITAMMA), Mumbai to establish a common facility centre for textile engineering at the KCT campus. This will be done under the Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) of Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
Through the MOU, both will establish testing and quality control facility for engineering and plastics design corner for product design and development training for manpower capability development, knowledge corner, data centre and library technology/product development for the benefit of the textile accessories and machinery manufacturing industry situated in and around Coimbatore.
KCT is an autonomous institution affiliated to Anna University Chennai offering 13 undergraduate (BE, BTech.) and 14 post-graduate (ME, MTech, MCA, MBA) programs of study. All eligible UG programs have also been accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA). Nine of the 13 academic departments have been recognised as research centres by Anna University for doing research leading to PhD Degree.
www.itamma.org
The textile and commerce ministries in Pakistan won’t be merged. Instead there will soon be a minister to handle only textiles. The absence of a textile minister and the proposed merger of textile and commerce ministries had created uncertainty and affected the export-oriented textile industry. Textiles contribute 55 per cent to the country’s total exports. The sector has become important especially after the grant of GSP Plus status by EU as 75 per cent products incentivised under the package relate to this sector.
Currently, Pakistan’s textile industry comprises cotton spinning (yarn), cotton weaving (cloth), cotton fabric, fabric processing, home textiles, towels, hosiery and knitwear and apparels. These are manufactured both on a large scale as well as by small and medium cottage units.
Pakistan’s exporters feel since regional competitors, including India, China and Bangladesh, have a separate and dedicated ministry of textiles, Pakistan must follow suit.
There is immense pressure from textile industry stakeholders, including value-added and spinning, to go forward in this direction. They say a full time textile minister is vital keeping in view the strategic importance of the sector. Only then will it get the required attention to enhance performance and increase exports.
