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According to the Chairman of Sri Lanka Apparel Institute Prof. Lakdas Fernando increasing apparel exports or receiving trade benefits such as GSP Plus facility, should not blind the sector which should move on and face emerging challenges to advance to the next level.
It should try to achieve the best from GSP concession.
There have been a lot of innovations in the sector such as CAT tech, digital printing and digital designs. The sector has the majority labour force, who are employing new export strategies, new facilities, and new maritime changes to eradicate poverty.
Europe is a key market for Lankan apparels. Last year Sri Lanka earned 2 billion US dollars from apparel exports to EU, which was 42 percent of total apparel exports. In the first quarter this year, Lankan apparel exports to EU increased by 5.2 percent to 526 million dollars in comparison to 500 million dollars in first quarter of 2017.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the textiles and garment industry gained the second-largest export value in the first four months of 2018, after the export value of phones and their components.
The export value of textiles and garments in the first four months was estimated at 8.6 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 15.7 percent.
In terms of export markets, the United States ranked first, with the export value of textiles and garments from Vietnam reaching 3.04 billion USD, a year-on-year surge of 11.6 percent. This accounted for 47.3 percent of the total garment export value.
The export value of textiles and garments from Vietnam to Japan reached 855.44 million USD, 19.6 percent higher than the same period last year, accounting for 13.3 percent of the total export value.
The export value of textiles and garments to the Republic of Korea stood at 798.6 million USD and 268.95 million USD to China, an increase of 14.8 percent and 40.9 percent, respectively, against the same period in 2017.
Bangladeshi denim products have gained huge popularity in the US with over 20 percent of the US citizens using these products, resulting in a sharp rise of exports.
In 2017, Bangladeshi denim exports to the US rose by 9.55 per cent of total $507 million.
Bangladesh is the third largest exporter of denim products to the US with a 14.20 percent market share after Mexico and China.
According to data of the Office of Textiles and Apparel (Otexa) in US, Bangladesh earned $507.92 million by exporting denim products to the US markets in 2017. In 2016, Bangladesh earned $463.61 million.
China, the world largest exporters of apparel products, earned $921.90 million with 1.41 percent negative growth, while second largest exporter Mexico registered 7.9 percent negative growth by earning $793.42 million.
Denim fabric makers in Bangladesh have reduced water consumption over the last few years due to the adoption of latest production technologies.
Previously, the denim fabric makers in Bangladesh used 270 litres of water for washing a kilogramme of denim fabrics, for which the ground water level in Dhaka and its adjacent areas has been depleting at 3 metres every year.
Now, some of the companies in Bangladesh can produce a kilogramme of denim fabrics with only 15 to 16 litres of water on an average.
Such low levels of water consumption were enabled by Jeanologia's state-of-the-art technology, which not only cuts down on water consumption but also the time needed. The global standard for washing a kilogramme of denim fabrics is 70 litres.
The global online clothing rental market is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of ten per cent till 2023.
Online clothing rental is a service wherein one can rent apparel items on a predefined period. The service is gaining popularity among youngsters as this is the only way they can afford to buy high-end designer wear trendy clothes for events such as weddings, theme parties, photo-shoots and film making.
In 2017, women online clothing rental and ethnic wear segments dominated the global market share. Men‘s end user and western clothing style segments are also anticipated to grow at a robust rate in terms of market share.
North America is the market leader and accounted for a 40 per cent share of the global market in 2017 followed by Europe. In addition, Asia-Pacific is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR, projected to be 11.4 per cent during the forecast period.
The market is increasing in developing economies of the Asia-Pacific mainly because of the need of an economical alternative to direct purchasing each time, gradual increase in social acceptance of rental clothing and overall increase in sales in the online clothing industry.
Increasing internet penetration in developing countries with a promising demographic breakdown, such as India, China, Brazil, and others is expected to fuel market growth over the forecast period.
Cotton stocks outside of China will increase for the third year in a row in 2018-19 and reach a record at just over 50 million bales.
Ending stocks are forecast to increase in nearly all major producing and consuming countries, as global production remains high relative to consumption.
In contrast, China’s ending stocks are forecast to fall for the fourth consecutive year and be less than half the level seen in 2014-15. Continued reserve sales and strong consumption growth in China will combine to work down stocks.
Global textile consumption continues to recovery from recessionary contractions.
Growth is expected in all of the top ten spinning countries, with continued very strong growth forecast for Vietnam and Bangladesh in particular, two countries that have led the way in growth over the last several years. India is also expected to see above-world-average growth rates after several years of sluggish performance.
World exports are forecast up over 4.4 per cent. Trade will be up in nearly all exporting countries, although in many cases not enough to offset higher production. With significantly higher exportable supplies, Brazil, West Africa, and Australia will capture a majority of the increase.
Import growth in Vietnam and Bangladesh is expected to continue alongside rising mill use.
BIGTEX 2018, a garment and textile machinery, equipment, technology, and accessories expo for leading garment and textile companies is held from May 10-12, 2018 at the GEC convention centre, Chattogram, Bangladesh.
The event, which provides an excellent platform for manufacturers to network with global traders and wholesalers, had 120 stalls with products from 12 countries including Bangladesh, China, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.
The trade event plays an important role with the latest machineries, technologies, dyes / chemicals, yarns, fabrics available for Bangladesh on display with manufacturers / suppliers from the world available to our Industry at the doorstep.
It provides an opportunity to experts, engineers, and technicians in the field of textile to have a practical knowledge of the recent technological advancements available, without going abroad.
Bangladesh’s export earnings in ten months of the current financial year grew by 6.41 per cent.
But the export earnings fell short by 0.30 per cent of the target. Earnings in April 2018 grew by 7.11 per cent.
It is a serious concern for Bangladesh that competing countries like Vietnam achieved double-digit export growth. The country’s readymade garment sector has been facing serious price challenges in the global market and exporters are considering various measures for cutting costs so that they can remain competitive in the market.
Garment exports have increased in quantity but prices of the products did not increase. While global buyers want full compliance they do not increase product prices but rather are gradually decreasing their target price of apparels.
Meanwhile export earnings from jute and jute goods in the ten months of the current fiscal increased by 7.66 per cent compared to the same period in the last fiscal. Leather and leather product exports witnessed a negative growth of 10.02 per cent. Leather footwear exports increased by 6.60 per cent. Exports of frozen and live fish grew by 2.32 per cent. Export earnings from agricultural products increased by 16.77 per cent. Home textile exports in the period grew by 13.07 per cent.
The sixth edition of Arab Fashion Week opened recently with fallen angels, Rococo corsets, cupcake headbands and nary a kaftan in sight.
The Arab edition of fashion week is the sole event dedicated entirely to ready-couture and pre-collections.
Hosted on the Queen Elizabeth II cruise ship, the show, which prides itself on its Arab name, opened with angel-inspired and baroque kitsch collections by designers from Russia, Portugal, the UAE, the Philippines, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and more.
Designer Furone One, loved in Dubai for his ethereal designs, opened the four-day affair with his "White Noise" resort collection, inspired by angels both cherubin and fallen. Russia's Tatiana V. Lyalina paid tribute to Marie Antoinette with a Rococo-inspired collection featuring pink heart-print pantsuits underneath bright blue fur stoles, teal velvet gowns with brooches, glitter knee boots, corsets and cupcake headbands.
The Arab Fashion Council has openly stated that it aims to spread ready-couture across the region -- a form of fashion that is financially more accessible than haute couture, but pricier and slightly more exclusive than ready-to-wear. The spread of ready-couture has not sat particularly well with traditional gatekeepers in the fashion world, but the growing influence of social media has seen its popularity continue to skyrocket.
The Arab Fashion Council is banking on that popularity to make its mark on the global scene. Arab Fashion Week now has two editions that is Dubai Arab Fashion Week, and Riyadh Arab Fashion Week.
Saudi Arabia last month hosted its own version of the event, drawing press from around the world to a lineup that included trunk shows by Jean Paul Gaultier and Roberto Cavalli but did not include men or cameras.
"Low financial returns have pitched New Zealand’s crossbred wool industry into a crisis. To avert this, crossbred wool needs to be treated less like a commodity and its model overhauled to become more user-centric by the time it enters the marketplace, feels New Zealand Merino senior procurement manager Craig Adams. At the recent Farming's Social License: A Genetic Solution field day at Duncraigen Farm, near Wyndham, he observed the model used to sell crossbred wool was damaging the wool industry since it was not focused on what consumers were asking for and needed to adapt to become end-user centric."
Low financial returns have pitched New Zealand’s crossbred wool industry into a crisis. To avert this, crossbred wool needs to be treated less like a commodity and its model overhauled to become more user-centric by the time it enters the marketplace, feels New Zealand Merino senior procurement manager Craig Adams. At the recent Farming's Social License: A Genetic Solution field day at Duncraigen Farm, near Wyndham, he observed the model used to sell crossbred wool was damaging the wool industry since it was not focused on what consumers were asking for and needed to adapt to become end-user centric.
The need to shift
The wool industry operates with an adversarial approach, which leaves the farmers vulnerable to commodity
prices. Adams argued the model needed to shift to one where the value chain was aligned and there was transparency through the supply chain. The companies were willing to spend on premium products, instead of sourcing wool cheaper at auction because they wanted the confidence that the ethically-sourced story they were marketing their products with was correct.
NZ Merino has signed a seven year deal through the Ministry for Primary Industries' Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) for strong wool called Wool Unleashed, or W3, in 2016, to boost the prospects of strong wool in the same way the company has done with merino. The company has also partnered companies such as Allbirds, Glerups, Smartwool and Icebreaker to provide fine wool supplied by its farmers in contracts to international businesses. It aims to be the largest supplier of ethically sourced premium and luxury wool in the world, and they wanted to partner with people who shared the same ideas, Adams said.
Tapping new opportunities
In the past, strong wool had been mainly used for carpeting and Italian wool suits. However, to improve industry profitability it needed to shift towards looking for new users and new uses of wool. The health and lifestyle sector is an area where wool is being embraced. Glerups and All Birds shoe brands are using wool products as are clothing lines.
But NZ Merino had only just started scratching the surface of opportunities for strong wool. The company has an opportunity to target premium wool products to "elite" people who have money to spend. The aim is to be the biggest supplier of ethically sourced premium and luxury wool in the world. They are looking to partner people who share similar ideas
