FW
Textile printing is a $7.5 billion market, and projected to grow more than 34 per cent worldwide. As per World Textile Information Network, digital textile printing is expected to grow at 25 per cent. The oncoming Gartex exhibition to be held from August 27 to 29 at Pragati Maidan in Delhi, is expected to throw up trends and new technologies. In fact, more and more such shows from Fespa to Media Expo to Gartex are showcasing the strength of digital print with textiles. The reason: size plus growth. As per Fespa's survey textile print growth in graphics, garment, decor and industrial markets is the big shift in the future.
However, after a decade of advances in digital printing technologies for textiles, just one per cent of India's printed textiles are produced digitally. Most digital printing on textiles is done today mainly on polyester fabrics using dye sublimation. A total of 384 million sq. mt of fabric are being printed digitally via dye sublimation. In the first quarter of 2016, this grew by 18.4 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year. This is set to rise to 892 million sq. mt. in 2021.
Textile print growth in graphics, garments, decor and industrial markets is the big shift in the future. Initially inkjet was used for prototyping and one-offs as the time and cost of setting up screens made inkjet a better value. With the advent of customization and more efficient production equipment, digital printing is becoming mainstream.
In India, dye sublimation digital prints have been growing since 2011. It is easy to print digitally with low cost sublimation on polyester, but cotton and blends are also growing fast with reactive printing. The market for reactive inks has grown into high volumes but with low margins.
According to experts, a mere 10 per cent of brands today are responding to trends in music, media and movies in 90 days or less. Apparel retailers need to react more quickly and effectively to what consumers want, said speakers at the Canadian Apparel and Textile Sourcing Show in Toronto scheduled from August 22 to August 24. Long lead times are a thing of the past and telling the consumer what she wants is not the way to win anymore, believes global industry expert Jeff Streader, who will deliver the keynote speech at what is being billed as Canada’s first apparel and textile show at the International Centre.
The longest lead time in the manufacturing cycle is procuring raw materials which can take six to 12 weeks. But there are ways to position raw materials to keep them ready to be dyed and cut when new trends begin surfacing at retail. More than 3,000 people would attend the show, according to organizer Jason Prescott, CEO of Top10Wholesale.com and Manufacturer.com.
Andhra Pradesh government is contemplating slashing power tariff for spinning mills and providing them some relief. The proposal is to offer power at Rs 2 per unit to the spinning mills.
Spinning mills in the state provide employment to four lakh people but several mills are on the verge of closure due to heavy losses. Since lakh of cotton farmers and workers depend on the survival of the textile industry, the power tariff may be lowered. However, the new tariff, if implemented, would cause a burden of Rs 400 crores on the exchequer.
Similarly, ferro alloy industries owe power distribution companies Rs 300 crores. These industries may be allowed to clear their debts in two years. The price of cotton has increased from Rs 35,000 to Rs 48,000 a candy and is racing towards Rs 50,000 mark. But the yarn rate is not increasing commensurate with the increased cotton price. With a deep parity in yarn production and marketing cost, the industry is losing heavily from Rs 25 to Rs 30 per kg.
Spinning mills say the main reason for this unusual increase in cotton prices is because multinational and local trading companies are allowed to participate in auctions.
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.
