FW
In December 2017 the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) had raised its apprehension over the 3 per cent decline in CAGR in textiles and apparel exports. During the period, India’s textile and apparel exports stood at US $ 2996 million as compared to US $ 3075 million in the same period of 2016, revealed data released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Constant increase in imports of textiles and clothing during the same period also worried the trade association which otherwise appreciated the cumulative increase in the textiles and clothing exports during April-December 2017 at US $ 26,136 million against US $ 25,721 million in the corresponding period of last year.
Additional, as compared to US $ 137.24 million in 2017 the imports of textiles registered a 20.48 per cent increase to US $ 165.34 million in December 2017.
India noted a 66 per cent increase garment imports to US $ 111.3 million as per the data released by Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh, during July to December 2017 from US $ 66.9 million during the same period last year.
The data further showed that knitted garment imports from Bangladesh zoomed 77 per cent US $ 36.5 million during July-December 2017, while woven garment import increased by 62 per cent to US $ 74.8 million.
According to a major industry manufacturer has prediction the European lingerie market will experience a growth of 2-3 per cent in 2018.
Peter Partma, CEO of European Lingerie Group AS (ELG) believes that further consolidation of Europe’s still relatively fragmented lingerie industry will also continue this year.
Partma further says that as for further consolidation, mergers and acquisitions are a strategic way of entering the market and understanding the current needs and preferences of the population.
ELG has a clear strategy to grow through geographical and product portfolio expansion, new distribution channels and online sales. It is expecting organic and stable growth in the next years approximately 6-10 per cent turnover increase yearly for the Group companies, he added.
European Lingerie Group’s revenue for 2017 is approximately EUR72 million, including EUR34 million generated by Lauma Fabrics and around EUR38 million by Felina International.
ELG’s nearest competitors in 2017 were other European countries, mainly Germany, but the biggest competition in the lower-priced segment came from Asian and Turkish manufacturers.
In recent years, however, production costs in Asia have grown rapidly and production in Europe has started to flourish and regain its global position in the industry, noted Partma.
Baiba Birzniece, a supervisory board member of ELG says that western consumers value locally sourced materials and production quality, comfort, design and innovations of the products which is ELG’s big advantage together with the full production cycle from fabrics to ready-made garments.
The fact of the matter is that consumers’ preferences vary from country to country. European women often prefer functional lingerie over fashionable lingerie. They also value convenient shopping and online becomes more and more relevant. That is why ELG has defined online sales channels development as one of the priorities in 2018 together with product innovations and expansion into new markets, she added.
Ten U.S. cotton organizations have promised industry contributions in 2018 to sustenance the demand-building activities of Cotton Council International (CCI), the National Cotton Council’s (NCC) export promotion arm, headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Plains Cotton Growers Executive Vice President Steve Verett says that the growers believe that contributing to CCI is an investment in the future of our industry and ultimately is essential to our success. The work they do is dynamic to helping safeguard that the rest of the world knows why U.S. cotton is a superior product and worthy of sourcing. The fact that 80 per cent of U.S. cotton is exported highlights the critical need for a healthy export market.
U.S. cotton industry contributions help CCI to build export markets for U.S. cotton fiber, yarn and other cotton products, and are an invaluable supplement to the funding from the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service’s Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program. CCI is the largest recipient of MAP and FMD funding to promote U.S. cotton overseas.
CCI promotes U.S. cotton in more than 50 countries under its COTTON USA trademark. Last year alone, buyers and sellers throughout the global textile supply chain conducted more than 2,100 business meetings at COTTON USA events aimed at increasing exports of U.S. cotton.
Export markets are critical to the U.S. cotton industry, as nearly all cotton grown in the United States is exported either in the form of fiber or cotton yarn.
In the 2016 marketing year, the U.S. cotton industry exported 18.4 million bales of raw cotton fiber and cotton textiles. The 2016 marketing year was the second highest year of U.S. raw fiber exports, with exports reaching 14.9 million bales.
Jharkhand governor Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the state’s first Green khadi park in Seraikela-Kharsawan District. The first-of-its’s-kind park is spread over two acres. Murmu lauded the move and said it will play a key role in promoting khadi products as well as create job opportunities for many in the sector.
Around 200 charkhas have been installed at the solar-based khadi park set up at a cost of Rs 4 crores. These charkhas will run on renewable source of energy. The inauguration, was attended by ex-chief minister Arjun Munda and Sanjay Seth, Chairman of Jharkhand Khadi Evam Gramodyog Board, who said the importance of khadi can be gauged out from the fact that this movement has succeeded in preserving traditional arts and crafts. It has also been successful in providing self-employment to a large number of people in rural areas, particularly among women.
A training centre for the skill development of artisans has also been set up along with the accommodation facility. The state khadi board has termed it an ambitious project for them. Other than the production unit, the park boasts a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, manicured gardens and an emporium. The main aim of which is to showcase khadi (park). Presently, a weaver can produce around 100 gm of silk threads a day. The introduction of solar charkhas will eventually increase the production.
Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) Los Angeles along with Unionwell participated in Agenda Show 2018 held January on 4-5, in Long Beach, California. Agenda Show is a fashion show for street style (streetwear). ITPC Los Angeles Head Antonius Budiman says Indonesia's participation in the Agenda Show is an effort to open market penetration opportunities in the US, especially California, for Unionwell and other independent fashion brands from Indonesia. Agenda Show is a gathering for buyers, business, investors, distributors etc.
Unionwell is an Indonesian product that sells a variety of fashion street clothes with distinctive Indonesian accents that are packaged vintage to make Unionwell stand apart from other similar products in the market. In Agenda Show, Unionwell entered the ‘The Woods’ segment which focused on craftsmanship and emerging trends. The brand’s products are a fashion product with added value designed by young Indonesians. The presence of Unionwell at Agenda Show 2018 successfully attracted the attention of independent and other major brands, including Carhartt, Eno, Chinese Laundry, Clarks, Supra, and Toms. Unionwell also managed to lure up 25 potential buyers, including major retailers such as TJX Companies, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.
Textile and textile products are Indonesia's main exports to the US which record export value of about $4.1 billion in 2017. Indonesia's main competitors for textile products are China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Honduras and El Salvador.
Worried about the recent drop in exports of textiles and garments and rise in imports from countries like Bangladesh, exporters have urged the government to come up with more incentives in the forthcoming Union Budget to help the domestic industry stay competitive. The Textile Ministry has already formed a Committee to look into the issues raised by the industry and exporters are hopeful that together with the Finance and Commerce Ministries, help could be given to this sector.
HKL Magu, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said, garments exports have suffered a huge loss within three consecutive months since October 2017 and hopefully the industry’s problems would be looked into seriously and suitably addressed. “Under the new GST and drawback rules, the reimbursements of taxes for the sector have gone down to the extent of 7 per cent (of the value of exports), whereas an additional incentive of 2 per cent was given to the sector in the foreign trade policy review in December. There is a shortfall of 5 per cent which has to be addressed in the Budget as it is pulling down exporters,” Magu said.
AEPC has sought a number of Budget interventions, which include: more incentives, continuation of duty-free import of speciality fabric up to 1 per cent of export value of garments, 24x7 customs clearance, withdrawal of GST on air-freight and duty-free import of samples. Exports of garments and textiles fell 3 per cent in December 2017 to $2.99 billion, although in the April-December 2017 period it recorded a growth of 2 per cent at $26.13 billion.
What has shaken the domestic industry is the rise in imports in the comparable period. According to CITI, India’s imports of garments from Bangladesh increased 66 per cent to $111.3 million during July- December 2017 as against $66.9 million in the same period last year.
Birla Cellulose, a part of Aditya Birla Group’s Grasim Industries, has launched its premier international design studio in New York. Grasim is India’s leading fibre manufacturer and the global leader in Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF). The company offers an entire range of cellulosic fibre under Birla Cellulose.
Located at 7th Avenue in New York fashion district, the design studio will cater to the demands of the international market. The studio will offer a one-stop solution for brands in the US in terms of fabric samples in viscose, modal and spunshade. The studio will be actively involved in supply chain support from India, technical support to fabric manufacturers, fabric swatch support, followed by yardages for making prototype samples. The presence of the studio in New York is also targeted at reducing lead time for buyers.
Speaking at the launch, Rajeev Gopal, Chief Marketing Officer of Grasim Industries Limited, said, “It is a historic moment for all of us at Birla Cellulose as we embark on this new journey. Birla Cellulose design studio will offer a one-stop solution for brands in the USA.” The design studio will display an assortment of over 300 varieties of fabrics created by the value chain partners in India, showcasing the best of innovations done on modal, viscose and spunshades, besides the core fabric collection. It will also have a display of 74 shades of dope dyed spunshades fibres from Birla Cellulose.
Gopal says this move is targeted at building awareness for international buyers on possible partnerships towards a mutually profitable growth. Birla Cellulose will exhibit innovations in fibres that work beautifully with the fashion sentiment, thus re-enforcing the group’s philosophy of constant innovation to suit changing consumer needs. He also officially launched the Spring/Summer 2019 fabric collection in viscose, modal, spun-dyed which would be beneficial to the fashion industry as January and February are the months when the Industry looks forward to new fabric range for the upcoming season.
Birla Cellulose has made its seasonal collection accessible to global markets, with this launch. The company already has manufacturing in six countries and sales in over 65 countries.
Experts say Bangladesh’s woven garments are losing competitiveness in international markets due largely to longer lead time, poor backward linkage, insufficient gas and port facilities. Data records woven garments exports to the two major markets, Germany and the US spiralled downwards during the first half of the current fiscal 2017-18. Data records during the July-December period of the FY18, woven items garnered $1.03 billion from Germany, recording a 10.84 per cent negative growth as against the earnings during the corresponding period of last fiscal. Wove garments exports to the US fell by 1.15 per cent with earnings valued at $1.88 billion during the same period. Knitwear exports, bucking the trend, grew by 10.76 per cent and 9.94 per cent to Germany and the US during the first half of the current fiscal. Export of woven items grew negatively by 15.89 per cent and 6.95 per cent to Belgium and Denmark while witnessing a slow growth of 2.89 per cent and 9.32 per cent to France and Italy during the period.
Mahmud Hasan Khan, Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) says knitwear exporters get strong support from local backward-linkage industry, which is not available for woven-garment makers as the latter still largely depends on import to meet their fabric requirements. About 40 to 60 per cent of required fabrics for woven items are met through import from China, India, Korea and other countries. Longer lead time has now become a major concern for woven makers. Local woven exporters were lagging behind at least 15 days for inefficient port handling in Chittagong while they faced problems in making air shipment, too, he noted.
Khan explained around 10 to 12 days can be saved by efficient port handling, which means a lot for exports.
The Apparel Manufacturers of India (AMI) targets orders worth Rs 50 crore (around $8 million) at the upcoming four-day trade fair in Hyderabad, beginning February 6. Over 135 brands from Mumbai will showcase their latest collection, at the first ever zonal trade fair organised by AMI, to retailers and MBOs of South India. Some big brands expected to participate include: Ethos, Geevankee, Era, Final Choice, Torso Shirts, Diya Design Studio, Big Brother, Hansi, Fayon Troupe and Femi Designs. Nikhil Furia, organiser, AMI says, "This is the first time we are conducting the fair at a Zonal level and we are very excited for the same. The phenomenal response we received in the earlier editions have motivated and inspired us to escalate our magnitude to a Zonal level. We intend to convert orders worth Rs 50 crore in this edition. Our idea is to give a platform where all the retailers find the best fashion options from Mumbai at one place and one time. We look forward to a positive and welcoming response this time too and hope the retailers and MBOs get a varied catalogue to select from," he added.
AMI’s main aim is to bridge the gap between manufacturers, retailers, agents and suppliers and build a networked community that will be meaningful to the entire value chain of readymade apparel markets across India. This is the 13th edition of the trade fair organised by AMI in Southern India.
"The textile industry is tightly linked to various development issues, including employment, labour and promotion of clean/green technology. For textile manufacturers, promoting green value chains means that sustainability and green awareness should be encapsulated in the entire production process. This means an assessment of the environmental impact at the beginning of the design stage, and focus on the application of environmental protection technology and cleaner production processes. Manufacturers must adopt sustainable standards for cleaner production to effectively control the use of harmful chemicals."
The textile industry is tightly linked to various development issues, including employment, labour and promotion of clean/green technology. For textile manufacturers, promoting green value chains means that sustainability and green awareness should be encapsulated in the entire production process. This means an assessment of the environmental impact at the beginning of the design stage, and focus on the application of environmental protection technology and cleaner production processes. Manufacturers must adopt sustainable standards for cleaner production to effectively control the use of harmful chemicals.
Government’s green initiatives
From the government’s perspective, it should actively provide enterprises with policy guidance and necessary financial support while making complete use of market instruments to finance sustainable production, the green value chain and it should also promote the formation of green standards in the textile industry.
In 2016, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a ‘Development Plan for the Textile Industry (2016-20),’ including a proposal to promote smart and green manufacturing in the textile industry and form new momentum for development to propel China's textile industry toward the middle and high end of the value chain. During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), China will strive toward green development, establish a green manufacturing system for the textile industry and promote the widespread application of cleaner production technologies.
By 2020, China's textile industry is expected to cut energy consumption per unit of industrial added value by 18 per cent, with a cut in water use per unit of industrial added value of 23 per cent and a reduction of 10 per cent in the total discharge of major pollutants. As well as breakthroughs in a number of key generic technologies for the recycling of used textiles. The proportion of the textile fibre recycling volume in total fibre processing volume is also expected
To be continuously increased
From an international perspective, the pattern of the textile industry will be further adjusted. Despite the fact China has comprehensive and competitive advantages in the international value chain, it faces pressure from global competition. The country faces the urgent task of structural adjustment and industrial upgrade and must also deal with a ‘double squeeze’ between developed countries' re-industrialisation and developing countries' accelerated industrialisation. The manufacturing capabilities of developed countries is projected to grow in the areas of high-end equipment, high-performance fibres and smart textiles and garments because of their advantages in research, branding and sales channels.
