FW
A slide in China’s exports in January was eclipsed by an even bigger tumble in imports, leaving a record trade surplus for the world’s biggest trading nation. Shipments from China declined 11.2 per cent in January in US dollar terms from a year earlier and compared with a 1.4 per cent drop in December. Imports extended a stretch of decline to 15 months, tumbling 18.8 per cent.
The yuan surged the most in more than a decade. The slide in exports suggests the yuan’s depreciation since August has yet to result in a sustained boost to the competitiveness of China's factories. China's economy continues to give mixed signals. While areas like consumption and services show signs of holding up, the manufacturing sector remains in the doldrums. Retail sales over the spring festival holiday rose 11.2 per cent from the same vacation period a year earlier, with cinemas posting sharp increases in box-office sales.
If China wants to deliver a 6.5 to 7 per cent growth target this year it has to rely on domestic demand. Exports are likely to grow zero per cent this year and property investment by zero to five per cent. The country needs to come out with a bigger infrastructure package to invest.
Apparel Industry Suppliers Exhibition (AISEX) will take place in Sri Lanka, June 10 to 12, 2016. AISEX aims at sharpening the manufacturers’ hunger for technological innovations in the apparel industry and providing the garment industry with the complete solutions necessary to forge ahead in Sri Lanka.
It will bring together suppliers and service organizations under one roof and focus on a wide range of textile machinery, accessories and services from many parts of the world. The exhibition will generate new opportunities closer to home, within the South Asian region. AISEX 2016 will encourage suppliers and service organisations to showcase their latest products for apparel manufacturers. The networking taking place during this exhibition will also help build global relationships between such parties.
Exhibiting companies will be from material flow, quality control, model and cutting preparation, cutting room, fusing, stitching, joining and fastening technology, product processing, distribution logistics, energy and air-conditioning, information media, fabric and yarn, and support services like insurance companies and banks, freight forwarders, courier companies and shipping companies.
Readymade garments are Sri Lanka’s biggest export products. However, the region’s investment in technological development and R&D is rather low, and in the face of increasing global competition, the apparel industry is in need of sustainable solutions to meet its technology needs.
Intermoda was held in Mexico from January 19 to 22, 2016. This fair is regarded as one of the most important and specialised apparel and textile events in Mexico which connects potential buyers. It was supplemented with a fashion extravaganza showcasing the latest fashion trends on colors, textures, fabrics and merchandising.
The event brought together Mexican and international companies, manufacturers, importers and distributors, and was an ideal place for publicising brand image, besides giving one and all the opportunity to analyse competition, step up sales, launch new products, get to know market trends and expand network of business contacts.
India unveiled her apparel and textile export potential at the fair. India's participation was aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and economic cooperation with Mexico, a strategically located Latin American country bound by the United States to the north and Belize and Guatemala to the south-east. Indian brands exhibited apparel, textile, leather garments, fashion accessories, blouses, skirts, evening wear, woolen shawls, tie and dye items, made-ups, fashion jewelry, wooden block printed garments and terracotta items etc.
The fair aims to provide an excellent business opportunity in high potential Mexican markets, which attract a large number of buyers from North America and Latin American regions.
intermoda.com.mx/
Sangam India a leading integrated textile conglomerate has reported a 12.92 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 15.55 crores for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, compared to Rs 13.77 crores in the corresponding quarter ended December 31, 2014. Earnings before interest, depreciation and taxation (EBIDTA) increased by 4.02 per cent at Rs 55.35 crores compared to Rs 53.21 crores in the corresponding quarter ended December 31, 2015. The company’s operating margins improved by 112 basis points to 15.61 per cent in the third quarter of financial year ’16. Increased integration and a focus on exports have helped the company in maintaining realisations, despite falling prices.
Falling commodity prices impacted the company’s net sales during the quarter. The company’s total income from operation dipped marginally to Rs 354.54 crores for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, compared to Rs 367.31 crores in the corresponding quarter ended December 31, 2014.
Despite falling commodity prices, the company was able to maintain realisation in exports of denims and suitings during the quarter. Denim exports reported a sharp jump of 204 per cent year on year and suiting fabrics exports rose by 25.7 per cent year on year.
www.sangamgroup.com/
India’s textile exports are likely to decline marginally to $40 billion this year as against $41.4 billion last year. However, prices of raw materials in India are higher than prices in international markets. Because of this, the country’s exports are becoming uncompetitive. India is the largest producer of cotton in the world. The industry wants a quick implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and a rethink on free trade agreements with major consuming countries like Canada.
Textile mills want cotton available at prices cheaper than prevailing prices in international markets. The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil), has been the international face of cotton textiles from India facilitating exports worldwide. Texprocil has a membership of around 3,000 companies spread across major textile clusters in India. Its members are well established manufacturers and exporters of cotton textile products like cotton, yarns, fabrics and home textiles.
Demand is healthy for Indian cotton from Pakistan and other Asian countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam. India’s production in the current year is estimated to drop four per cent especially after floods hit cotton growing in Tamil Nadu. Financial year ’17 is unlikely to bring cheers for the Indian cotton sector as prices are set to be under pressure.
At the recent ‘Happening Haryana: Global Investors Summit’ in Gurgaon, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) had a discussion with industry experts on the scope of investments in apparel industry. Speaking at the summit P K Das, Additional Chief Secretary, Haryana, commented the state has made a mark in apparel exports globally. It is the seventh largest apparel exporter in the world and the industry is growing at 3.50 per cent. Haryana is the upcoming destination for investment in apparel industry and is turning into an apparel hub. He said Gurgaon has the potential to become an apparel hub like Surat and Banaras. The Haryana government will support budding entrepreneurs and provide a favorable environment.
Critical issues such as skilled manpower supply, ease of doing business and need for constant interaction between government and industry for easier compliance of regulations for the apparel industry were discussed. The agenda of the meeting was to understand critical issues that the apparel industry is facing and the entrepreneurial growth in the sector.
To lead its turnaround efforts, Japanese investment fund Integral will acquire apparel company Itokin for an estimated 16.5 billion yen ($144 million). Itokin, the struggling Japanese apparel giant's decision to get help from investment fund Integral in its rehabilitation efforts came as the company faced the prospect of imminent insolvency.
According to the company sources, Integral will obtain new shares in Itokin via a private placement for 4.5 billion yen ($39.5 million) on Feb. 26 and gain 98 per cent in voting rights. The fund will appoint three directors to Itokin's board to oversee the operations.
Itokin bled red for four straight years through January 2015, due to slow restructuring operations. The company finally took action at the end of 2015, when concern grew that it may not be able to get through February, when it has to make many payments for spring items procured, according to sources.
Sixty readymade garment factories in Bangladesh, suppliers of European retailers and brands, have completed all remediation work suggested by the Accord on Fire and Building Safety and are waiting for the recognition from the European buyers’ platform.
According to senior officials from Accord, once the factories’ claim are verified, the names would be released. The Accord received information from approximately 60 factories in which all remediation items were completed but only two of them were verified and accordingly received recognition letters from the chief safety inspector of Accord, said a recent report on advisory board meeting of the platform. The two factories are Concord Fashion Export and Jeacon, both are housed in the same building at South Salna in Gazipur.
The two factories received the recognition on May 2015 nearly two years after the launch of Accord. The Accord steering committee decision on the remediation completion plan and associated allocation of additional resources, staff, and budget towards completion of remediation at the inspected factories were discussed in the advisory board.
According to the Accord update, it had decided to hire 39 additional engineers to increase the follow-up and verification inspections by Accord engineers to 16 teams in the field per day, visiting 32 factories per day.
Nigeria has set up a garment design center to create a pool of skilled personnel for employment in garment manufacturing; inculcate international best practices in apparel production; build capacity for entrepreneurs in apparel production thereby making the sector more competitive; and strengthen the existing sector for domestic production and export purposes. Nigeria is awash with creative talents in the fashion industry, whose designs can compete anywhere globally. However, there is a wide gap in production and finishing, which affects the marketability of garments made in Nigeria at the international market. The center is equipped with machines and facilities to enhance learning for skill development in the sector.
Nigeria has consistently participated in Magic Las Vegas, the world’s largest sourcing show for apparels and footwear. The event exposes the country’s designers to other international designers and helps them learn about international trade, the dynamics of the trade and the intricacies of exporting to America. The Nigerian fashion industry will use the center to brainstorm truly innovative concepts and execute them professionally and so participate more in the global market for garments, which is expected to reach a trillion dollars by 2020.
Taiwan’s sportswear and functional textile exports will get a boost with the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August this year. Nike is going to source water-free dyeing fabric for the Olympic games in Taiwan. Taiwanese textile mills might also get busy supplying Adidas before the Olympics, as during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, all Adidas-sponsored teams wore sportswear made in Taiwan from recycled polyester.
The bulk of polyester orders would go the New Wide Group, a Taiwan manufacturer of knitted fabrics, who was awarded last year for supplying fabrics and garment to Adidas. There are between 20 and 25 Taiwanese textile mills capable of turning recycled PET bottles into fiber acceptable for high-quality filament. Demand for sportswear and functional textiles remains strong, even while orders for other textile categories are cut.
Formosa Taffeta is supplying water-free dyed fabrics to Nike for the Olympics. For this, Formosa Taffeta will be using Aquaoff supercritical Co2 technology, which can dissolve dyes, taking them to the surface of the fabric for dyeing, so that water and dyeing auxiliaries are not required.
Another company is supplying water-free dyed lightweight fabrics with stretch quality for shorts and windbreakers to Nike for the Olympics.
