FW
Despite brisk sales of silk products, lack of skilled labour and cheap imports seems to be a cause of worry for Cambodia’s already stressed domestic production. While recent government efforts to stimulate traditional silk production in Cambodia have had moderate success, the availability of cheap Vietnamese and Chinese silk, and silk-cotton blends seem to be stifling further progress to develop the country’s centuries old homespun industry, opinrd Mao Thora, Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce, and Chairman of the Cambodia Silk Sector Development and Promotion Commission.
The silk industry has been declining because some in areas in the country, especially in Phnom Srok in Banteay Meanchey province, there is a lack of labour as majority of silk producers have migrated to neighbouring countries. The market for silk production is not the main issue, but what Cambodians are doing now is strengthening silk producers.
The commission has been working hard to boost the silk industry by producing documents about silk in Khmer in order to instruct local silk producers on how best to feed the silk worms, maintain a healthy and productive environment for worms to grow and ensure that silk production is of a quality to meet local and export markets. The lack of domestic production can be linked to spread of garment factories offering rural women alternative employment opportunities etc.
Myanmar-based Olympus Asia Group has signed a MoU with Korea’s Panko Corporation and now they are looking for a land in Yangon, Bago or Ayeywarwady to set up textile units. Giving details, Olympus Asia Group CEO U Okkar Zaw Naing said that the factories would operate under the FOB model and focus on creating jobs for local people. The project will include an international-standard wastewater treatment plant; generate its own electricity and include dormitories for employees. The companies will produce their own cotton and buttons in Myanmar as well as produce clothes for export.
The project will start within one year and take three years to build the required infrastructure, said Naing. This timeframe is based on the time it took for Panko Corporation to build a similar zone in Vietnam, which was launched in 2013 and completed this year, he said. According to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, the vast majority of Myanmar’s garment factories operate under the cut-make-pack (CMP) system.
Under the CMP model, a foreign buyer with financial backing and technical expertise will contract a garment factory usually in an emerging market to carry out their labour-intensive work. On the other hand, foreign retailers place orders from well-financed factories with technical expertise under the FOB system. Most factories in Myanmar lack access to financing and do not have enough skilled workers to operate under the more profitable FOB model.
Forgetting the serious damage caused by the weather on the crop last season, West African cotton production is set to bounce back, US officials say. Despite the region's top growers abandoning genetically modified seeds, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s bureau in Dakar has forecast rising crops in the main West African cotton growing areas of Burkina Faso, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal and Chad. Production across the West African countries was recorded at 1.9m tonnes in 2016-17 up 24 per cent on year-on- year basis with production in Burkina Faso hitting record levels.
The cotton crop is recovering from last season's disappointing phase when production fell 16 per cent year-on-year to 1.6m tons falling short of USDA forecasts. USDA’s Dakar bureau ascribed the drop in production to late rains at the beginning of the season and heavy rains at the end of the season. This situation resulted in decreased cotton yield and seed cotton production in most of the countries, the bureau said. Meanwhile in Burkina Faso, the region's top growing area, the beginning of the 2016-17 cotton planting campaign started well with enough rains. In mid-July, 90 per cent of the area had been sowed. This fiscal, the Burkinabe government expects production to reach 750,000 tons, up from 581,000 tons in 2015-16.
But in Mali, the second-ranked West African growing area, the beginning of the 2016-17 season was quite difficult due to a shortfall of rains leaving numerous dry areas and a delay in sowing schedule. Therefore, Mali is most likely to revise its target to 650,000 tons but the bureau is of the view that seed cotton production may not exceed 600,000.
The annual China Guangxi Products Exhibition (CGPE) was held in Mumbai from August 19 to 21, 2016. Around 58 Guangxi enterprises exhibited at this event, with 65 booths and 2,700 sq. mt. exhibition area. Exhibits include light industrial products, arts and crafts, foodstuffs and native produce, medicine and health care, machinery and electronics, metals, minerals and chemicals, textile and clothes. CGPE is an annual products exhibition but this is the first time it’s coming to India. This is also the first time Guangxi is independently hosting the exhibition to showcase its products and services. The fair is a platform for enterprises from both countries to strengthen exchange and trade cooperation.
Maharashtra has exhorted Chinese companies to invest in sectors, including infrastructure, to help accelerate economic growth of the state and the country as well. So far Guangxi has set up seven ventures in India. China’s knowledge in areas like water and waste management, along with its experienced urban planners and administrators, is seen as helpful in providing the necessary push to the growth of Maharashtra and India. Such expertise is expected to not only lift the quality of Indian products and services but also give them an edge in the international market.
In a big move of sorts, China is all set to help Bangladesh improve issues of trade and investment environment and address the concerns of Chinese corporations operating in the country in the meeting of Bangladesh and China. Both sides are holding the 14th session of the Bangladesh-China Joint Commission on Economic and Trade Co-operation (JEC) with focus on specific issues relating to bilateral trade, economic assistance, investment and mutual co-operation.
As the second biggest global economy, China is keen to share its experience and advanced technology with Bangladesh, to provide finance, technology and training personnel to Bangladesh without reservation to expedite industrialisation. The Chinese side will raise seven specific issues including negotiations on China-Bangladesh Free Trade Agreement, strengthening co-operation on major projects.
They country will also discuss ways to strengthen Chinese assistance to Bangladesh, its future expansion, promotion of China-aided projects and co-operation on human resources. Bangladesh and China will discuss ways to have further concrete measures to bolster bilateral trade, widen economic co-operation and boost investment flow, eying mutual benefits by reducing the bilateral trade imbalance. China will also discuss Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone in Chittagong and Garment Industrial Park, the officials added. Apart from evaluating bilateral economic and trade relations, the Chinese side will also discuss economic development of China. The Bangladesh side will discuss ways to close the trade gap between the two countries and will highlight investment opportunities in the country.
The China National Textile and Apparel Council will hold an organic textiles roundtable on September 19. The event will look at the scale of organic textile industry in China and focus on efforts to harmonise Chinese national standards on organic textiles.
With continuous improvement of living standards, Chinese consumers are increasingly inclined to seek pollution-free, pure and natural textile products as well as for skin care and health care. Organic textiles meet this need as well as helping to reduce environmental pollution. China’s organic standards and relevant laws and regulations, although similar to other international standards in framework and content, are more stringent in terms of supervision, management and certification procedures.
There is a continued upward trend in demand for organic textiles in China. China's organic fiber - mainly cotton – comes mostly from the northwesterly Xinjiang region, with an output of approximately 1,570 tons per year, accounting for 50 per cent of the total national output. In terms of global organic cotton consumption, 60 to 70 per cent of the world’s organic cotton is used in China. Factories in Xinjiang are working with international organic organisations on organic cotton projects.
Since the introduction of new environmental regulations in the last two years, a quarter of the textile dyeing and finishing capacity in Shaoxing City have shut down. This information has been revealed in a recent research from China. The local government of Shaoxing has been particularly proactive in enforcing stricter national government regulations aimed at curtailing pollution from the country's textile industry. Incidentally, the city accounts for around a third of China's dyeing production capacity.
Research claims 64 dyeing and finishing units have been closed and a further 100 ordered to make technological upgrades as a prerequisite of remaining operational. The research conducted by China Water Risk offers a clear proof that China is serious about tackling textile industry pollution and will only tolerate cleaner, non-polluting operations in the future. China Water Risk also claims that with the spotlight on pollution, brand reputational risk is high. It adds that the shift in Chinese consumer attitudes towards clothes that do not contaminate their waters means that the largest consumer market in the world may have a different idea of the future of fashion.
It also claims that textile mills need to comply with new industrial standards or face shutdown within the next three years. For records sake 1.77 million inspections were conducted across the country that resulted in 191,000 companies being investigated. Of these around 20,000 were shut down, 34,000 had their operations closed while 89,000 had to conduct rectification actions.
Cambodia is hosting a garment machinery exhibition from August 26 to 29, 2016. This will have exhibitors from Austria, Cambodia, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. They will showcase a wide variety of cutting-edge machinery equipment, parts and components, and technologies, including printing machinery and ironing presses, sewing needles, knitting machine needles and felting needles etc.
Participants can find partners to network with, tap more business opportunities, and build long-term business partnerships. Inspired by Cambodia’s strong economic growth momentum, globally renowned industrial leaders are participating in the event to explore better opportunities in the Cambodian market. A business matching service will be provided for pre-registered buyers. By knowing buyers’ needs and preferences in advance, business matching specialists will be able to help them single out potential suppliers.
After decades of steady economic development, Cambodia has successfully drawn attention from foreign entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, the country still has some challenges to tackle such as low productivity, rising labor costs and a manufacturing coverage mostly confined to garment and food processing. In this regard, upgrading machinery equipment is among the solutions to boosting overall production capacity.
Denim Project is a brand that produces garments from 98 per cent denim waste. The Denim Project aims to be the most resource neutral denim label in the world. Fabrics that have been discarded by expensive brands are sorted by color, re-fibered, and spun into yarns. Then Denim Project adds two per cent stretch to the 98 per cent wasted fabric and designs a brand new line. Not only does the company focus on saving the earth's natural resources, it provides stylish denim at a fair price. The goal is to dress the world while doing good.
Production of textile materials such as cotton creates numerous ecological effects that are detrimental to land and water supply, especially when pesticides are applied. An overwhelming amount of waste is created by the fashion industry as it consumes precious resources and generates pollution.
Up to 15 per cent of fabric intended for clothing is wasted during the cutting process. The waste can provide every person on the planet three new T-shirts a year. This waste also contains enough water that could have supplied 25 million people annually, which equates to 38.5 billion liters of fresh water.
Denim Project has launched a fund-raising campaign. Funds received will be used to purchase machinery, source wasted fabric for production and create the base materials.
Worried over a non-stop fall in exports of woollen products, woollen manufacturers, are exploring options to reduce its dependency on the US and European markets that are facing a slowdown. The manufacturers are planning to increase their exports to Kazakhstan, Australia, Germany and China.
Besides their own concerted efforts, the exporters have sought government’s intervention. They believe the government’s support was needed in increasing duty drawback rates, speedy release of drawback, abolition of import duty on raw wool and textile machinery and consideration of special package to boost exports.
During the first quarter of the current fiscal, woollen exports have shown a decline of about 17 per cent in dollar terms. According to statistics, the total value of exports during April-June this year was $103 million (Rs 685 crores) as compared to $123 million (Rs 780 crores) in the corresponding period last year. Further, the total value of exports in 2015-16 was $462 million (Rs 3,013 crore) as compared to $510 million (Rs 3,112 crore) last year. The industry witnessed negative growth of 9 per cent in dollar terms.
Currently, import duty on wool is 5 per cent and the industry imports raw wool from the UK, Australia, China and Japan etc. Prices of wool have risen by 10-15 per cent in the last one year. The value of imports of raw wool was $69 million during April-June this year as compared to $76 million in April-June, 2015.
In 2015-16, India imported wool worth $308 million as compared to $349 million in 2014-15. The decline in wool import was mainly attributed to the decline in exports owing to weak global sentiments.
