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The Coronavirus (COVID 19) outbreak is wreaking havoc on Southeast Asia’s garment supply chain. Transport and supply chain disruptions in China are spilling over into Southeast Asia. Uniqlo’s shipments from Vietname suppliers have been delayed by about two weeks. Uniqlo has already pushed back the launch of some new product lines. Garment makers in Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar still depend on China, Asia's biggest economy, for raw materials – 60 per cent of the materials used for Vietnam’s sewn products, for example, come from China. More than 60 per cent of raw materials for Cambodia’s apparel industry come from China. These garment makers have become increasingly important to global fashion brands. May 10, a supplier for brands such as Gap and Tommy Hilfiger, imports 50 per cent of raw materials from China and is facing difficulties meeting March and April orders. Saigon 3 Garment, which produces for Uniqlo and Nike, has only enough materials for production until March.
Textile production is more capital intensive than sewing, and China remains dominant in material production even as brands diversify their manufacturing bases. Factories in China are operating at a reduced rate due to staff shortages caused by restrictions on movement of people.
The impact of the virus will likely have a legacy on how companies source in future. Having yarn/fabric/product finishing all done domestically will reduce future risks to global supply of materials.
The International Cotton Conference Bermen will take place in Germany from March 25 to 27, 2020. The conference will showcase latest developments and promising topics of the cotton textile supply chain and discuss the resulting challenges for the market. Science and industry will be equally represented. A session on alternative and previously little-known uses of this natural, renewable and biodegradable raw material in highly innovative and useful products will be hosted. The session will show that the use of cotton goes far beyond household textiles and clothing. In fact, thanks to its intelligent properties, cotton can also be found in technical products or in smart textiles. Cotton can be equipped with fluorescent, super-magnetic and water-repellent properties. This is not brought about by a chemical change, but biologically through the implementation of a specially developed glucose molecule in cotton. The development has the potential to be used in large formats in cotton-based functional materials and textiles. Padding for use in furniture is not made from oil-based synthetic fibers but from cotton and other bio-based natural fibers and are used in the area of home textiles (e.g. wallpaper) or for functional components for technical textiles and for clothing development.
Karl Mayer’s new RDJ 6/1 EN has piezo jacquard technology for producing stylish shoe fabrics. Almost 90 per cent of the jacquard shoe fabrics currently produced can be manufactured on the RDJ 6/1 EN. The new machine has a better price and operates faster than the higher-bar version. The configuration of this new machine makes it ideal for producing engineered spacer textiles. The RDJ 6/1 EN is available in gauges of E 22 and E 24 and has a working width of 138 inches and the distance between the knock-over comb bars can be adjusted continuously from two mm to eight mm. This is a flexible production machine with five guide bars and one split jacquard bar. It can also produce an extensive range of fabrics. Dense structures can be worked, as well as a wide range of patterns with holes, which can be of any size and placed in any location.
The result is attractive shoe fabrics with a specific breathability. If the split jacquard bars are moved in a counter lapping operating mode, the contours of the openings are exceptionally clear. In this case, the yarn is fed from two sectional warp beams. This facilitates yarn drawing-in and doubles the yarn running times – with a positive effect on productivity.
US denim apparel imports fell by 3.16 per cent in 2019. Mexico’s denim shipments to the US fell 1.84 per cent and China’s fell 25.68 per cent. Mexico and China are the top two denim apparel exporters to the US. Bangladesh’s denim shipments grew 3.50 per cent. Vietnam’s denim shipments grew 25.60 per cent. India’s denim shipments grew by 21.80 per cent. Ethiopia saw a massive growth of 464.76 per cent in its shipments. Ethiopia is an emerging manufacturing hub. Denim imports from Pakistan rose 8.69 per cent in volume while increasing 5.13 per cent in value. Imports from Egypt rose 12.7 per cent in value and increased 8.96 per cent in volume. Denim imports from Nicaragua were up 16.91 per cent in value terms while volume was down 3.73 per cent. And denim imports from Cambodia increased 11.8 per cent in value as volume decreased 0.49 per cent in the year.
The balance of power in denim manufacturing took a dramatic turn in 2019, leading to a decline in volume and value for the top three suppliers–China, Mexico and Bangladesh – and strong upswings for the next three – Vietnam, Pakistan and Egypt. American imports of denim apparels constitute blue denim jeans, blue skirts and blue denim jackets.
Stitch and Tex in Egypt will consist of two trade fairs, February 27 to March 1, 2020, and March 5 to 8, 2020.
The first trade fair is dedicated to garment processing technologies including sewing, embroidery, fabrics and accessories. The second is dedicated to textile processing technologies including weaving, spinning, knitting and dyeing machinery, technologies and spare parts.
Stitch and Tex is Africa’s most important trade fair and platform for textile technologies. Global players, innovative newcomers and providers of niche technology will all represented here. Brands will demonstrate textile technologies that will be revealed for the first time in African markets. Visitors can explore unprecedented profit-making business hot spots. For the first time in the history of textile technologies trade fairs in Africa, the event will feature the presence of buyers and factory owners from Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, South Africa, Madagascar, Tanzania, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. They can have open channels of communication directly with the exhibitors within a well set bilateral business meetings program. Flow of 40,000 visitors from 16 countries will be welcomed into the trade fair. Over two-thirds of these visitors work in upper and middle management in their companies and as such have a direct influence on on-site procurement decisions.
European Parliament of the European People’s Party (MEP) in cooperation with the Bangladesh Embassy in Brussels held a multi-stakeholder event titled ‘EU-Bangladesh Apparel Trade: A Time for a Reality Check’ create a platform to discuss the current state of the European Union-Bangladesh garment trade. At the event, former BGMEA President and Advisory Committee member of the Commerce Minister of Bangladesh Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin addressed some of the issues raised later on subcontracting, the fire safety standard and the Rana Plaza tragedy.
State Minister Shahriar Alam said that the sea change in Bangladesh’s RMG industry over the past seven years, especially as a result of the concerted efforts of many dedicated actors and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina envisioned a Bangladesh where prosperity and social justice coexist in a prosperous economy and our social partners work together to manage industrial relations in harmony. He called on Brussels stakeholders to help set a positive agenda for EU-Bangladesh trade relations beyond ‘disseminating relentless misinformation by some malls’.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has proposed to raise the bulk tariff of electricity by 23.28 per cent from this year and the minimum wage increased 51 percent by now. In this current situation, Bangladesh RMG must highlight the fair price of products to sustain the RMG industry.
Several British retailers are likely to face stock shortages over the Coronavirus outbreak. Factories of brands like Halfords, B&M, DFS, Asos and Primark are likely to shut operations leaving gaps on their store shelves. Britain's biggest car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover, which has been flying components from China in suitcases, has curbed production at 11 domestic plants while Chinese suppliers facing the ongoing coronavirus crisis 'struggle' to ship parts.
European seaports have been warned that shutting down of plants across China could result in the suppression of the country's trade with the continent by a fifth. Ultimate Products, who are behind Russell Hobbs kitchen products, has been warned of possible delays, as have Kleenze mops and Dreamtime duvets. Fashion retailer Joules, which imports 90 per cent of its product range from China, is planning to shift its manufacturing to Turkey and Bangladesh.
Brexit can potentially have a major negative impact on Pakistan’s exports to the UK. Pakistan’s exports to the UK are governed by the GSP Plus scheme. Meanwhile addressing the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) British Ambassador Gillian Rogers has said that UK is establishing its own GSP Plus scheme or a similar arrangement to maintain the current level of merchandise exports from Pakistan to UK. Increase in bilateral trade is more interest to the both government
The UK is a major trade partner of Pakistan. Much of Pakistan’s exports to the UK consist of made-up textile articles, articles of apparel, cotton and articles of leather. All these products currently enjoy duty-free access to the UK under the GSP Plus. The UK is one of the vocal and reliable supporter of Pakistan and has taken extreme measures to support its economy. The UK is establishing its own GSP Plus scheme or a similar arrangement to maintain the current level of merchandise exports by Pakistan to the UK.
The UK is currently focusing on green energy and energy efficiency in Pakistan including consultancy for individual enterprises on energy conservation in their production processes. It is working in different sectors of the economy to enhance the productivity and the working conditions to further improve the quality and quantity of exportable surplus from Pakistan. By taking advantage of Brexit, the UK hopes to take economic ties with Pakistan to the next level. The textile industry in Pakistan is the eighth largest exporter of textile products in Asia.
The Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG, the world’s leading producer of botanic cellulose fibers, has appointed two new members to the company’s management Board. Stephan Sielaff will serve as the new Chief Technology Officer effective March 1, 2020, succeeding Heiko Arnold, who left the Lenzing Group in November 2019. At the same time, Lenzing’s highest management body led by Chairman Stefan Doboczky will be expanded to include a newly created Management Board position for “Pulp and Wood Raw Materials” and will thus consist of five members instead of four. Christian Skilich will assume the position of member of the management board for pulp and wood raw materials as at June 1, 2020. “In the coming years our focus will be on achieving the strategic target of strongly increasing our own supply of pulp in line with our corporate strategy sCore TEN. By creating this new division, the composition of the management board now also reflects this focus”, says Peter Edelmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG.
Coronavirus (Covid 19) is affecting the Indian textile and apparel industry. The prevailing situation in China is posing a major threat for Indian manufacturers dependent on the supply of raw materials from China. India imports $ 460 million worth of synthetic yarn and $ 360 million worth of synthetic fabric from China annually. It also imports accessories like buttons, zippers, hangers and needles. India does not have the domestic supply base to cater to such a huge demand of these raw materials.
Traders in India also anticipate curtailed demand from China. There may be a decline in China’s imports of cotton yarn from India. This will divert India’s surplus cotton yarn to the domestic market, further reducing the price of cotton yarn. With the epidemic, Chinese textile factories have stopped operations. If this continues, Indian garment manufacturers will need to look at other alternatives, including local sourcing, which in turn may increase the finished goods’ cost by three percent to five percent. In addition to this, identifying vendors in such a short time can take a toll on lead times, quality and cost.
However, there can be a positive impact on India as well. During the month of January, buyers from Europe and the US generally travel to China to negotiate with garment exporters for the next season. However, due to the Coronavirus scare, most of the buyers are looking at alternatives and India could emerge strong.
