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Bangladesh is interested in cotton from Australia.
While Australian cotton is expensive for Bangladesh’s spinners, tie-ups between textile companies in Bangladesh and big retail buyers in Australia are proving to be a lucrative and growing channel for Australian cotton growers.
Australia’s trade with Bangladesh has grown steadily over the past few years. With a growing middle class of around 30 million, Bangladesh is also developing as a significant consumer market, while exports account for 25 per cent of GDP.
Bangladesh is the second largest cotton importer in the world and has recorded an annual growth of six per cent since 1990 due to its growing textile industry. It is also the second largest garment exporter in the world, with readymade garments accounting for nearly 80 per cent of the country’s export revenue. Yet, as only 0.1 million bales are produced locally, Bangladesh imports more than six million bales of cotton. This is projected to double within four years and see Bangladesh overtake China as the world’s largest importer of cotton.
Australia is the world’s fourth largest cotton exporter and has earned a reputation as a reliable supplier of high-quality cotton which has almost zero contamination. Short shipping times from Australian ports, in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, to Asian markets provide added advantages.
Grafica Flextronica, a manufacturer and exporter of screen printing machines, has teamed up with Aeoon Technologies, Austria, to market their digital textile printing machines in the Indian market by displaying the latter’s digital textile printing machine at the show.
Aeoon's CEO, Angelo Schiestl, who will be present at KnitShow said that it is true that digital DTG presses were hitherto used for low volume or novelty production, but with Aeoon's new technology, it can now become the industrial production method for garment decoration.
Bhargav Mistry, managing director at Grafica Flextronica, said that both digital and screen printing technologies can co-exist. While digital press can be used for printing spot and CMYK colours even with big quantity, screen printing process would still be required to print high density and special effects.
The Aeoon machine can reach printing speed of up to 950 t-shirts per hour (A4 print size, depending on image and resolution). The machine is available with four or eight print heads that can be configured according to requirement.
Till-date, two Aeoon digital textile printers have been sold in India through their partner Grafica. Since its launch, KnitShow, the one-stop sourcing and selling platform, is getting bigger every year. This year, the show, to be held in Tirupur from 7 to 9 August, will provide an opportunity for garment manufacturers and printers in the city to experience live demonstrations.
Knit Show, organized by City Leaves, is the definitive gateway that shares local knowledge and helps businesses reach out to the textile and garment machinery and accessories market worldwide.
"The UK shook the world with Brexit vote as the country is the fifth largest economy of the global market and second in the EU after Germany. Brexit will not only result in crucial changes for the UK and its economy but also for the whole region. The leaving process is expected to take 2-3 years and is expected to have a major impact on Turkish economy."
The UK shook the world with Brexit vote as the country is the fifth largest economy of the global market and second in the EU after Germany. Brexit will not only result in crucial changes for the UK and its economy but also for the whole region. The leaving process is expected to take 2-3 years and is expected to have a major impact on Turkish economy. As an important partner in both export and imports, the UK counts among crucial markets of textiles and ready-to-wear industries. Experts feel rapid new trade regulations should be developed with the UK as it is set to exit tariff union once Brexit is complete.
Turkey-UK Foreign Trade
The total foreign trade volume between Turkey and the UK was approx imately $16 billion in 2015. Turkey has been importing more from the country since 2001. As per 2015 data, exports from Turkey to the UK were $10.56 billion while imports were around $5.54 billion. Exports to that country increased 80 per cent in the last decade. Turkey’s total exports to the UK were up to $3.5 billion.
Turkey exported textile and RMG, electronic and non-electronic machines, etc to the UK, while importing electronic and non-electronic machines, etc. As an important partner supporting Turkey’s EU membership, the UK is known to have $1.3 billion investments in Turkey.
UK is the second largest market for RMG Turkey’s 13 per cent of total 2015 RMG exports at $17 billion, were made to the UK out of which $2.2 million were achieved as income. Thus, the UK was the second largest market for Turkish garments after Germany. The industry’s exports to the UK was $671 million in January-April 2016. Meanwhile, Turkey imported only around $21.8 million from the UK during 2015.
Textile and raw materials industry exported worth $330 million to the UK in 2015, while the country ranked fifth gaining 4 per cent in textile exports. In January-April 2016, textiles exports to the UK was down 2.8 per cent to around $135.5 million. Looking at imports of textile and raw materials from the UK, it was $76 million during 2015.
New opportunities
According to İHKİB President Hikmet Tanrıverdi, the UK is the second RMG market for Turkey following by Germany, adding that exports were on a positive path during the first 5 months of 2016. Analysts foresee the country will grow 6 per cent less until 2030 following the exit. Therefore, Turkey may see some negative reflections on trade with England. Nevertheless, the country may witness some positive impacts and Brexit may open new opportunities for their exports as well. Brexit will push the UK out of Tariff Union and Turkey and the UK should create a new mechanism for foreign trade rapidly.
UK is an important market for Turkish ready-wear industry, according to TGSD President Şeref Fayat, the country is the only one for which Turkey records foreign trade surplus. He argued that UK leaving Tariff Union and possible duties on Turkish exports will cause negative affects particularly for ready-wear industry. If the UK does not sign FTA with Turkey once it leaves the EU, they may face a dramatic end-up similar to the US, to which our export goods are due to 30 per cent duty.
Vietnam’s textile and garment companies are experiencing tough days with falling turnovers. Some have had to scale down production, while others are facing closure. They have to try to take any job they can to survive. Foreign partners try to force prices down. If the companies don’t accept lower prices, they lose orders. If they do, they incur losses. So companies have to accept a price decrease of 10 to 15 per cent and sometimes 20 per cent for some orders.
Vietnam now has to compete fiercely with Bangladesh and Cambodia. Orders are leaving Vietnam for countries which give support to their enterprises and can enjoy preferential tariffs when exporting products to large markets. Meanwhile, Vietnamese enterprises are burdened with social insurance, healthcare and unemployment insurance premiums. While the profit is modest, just four to six per cent per annum, the cost has increased by tens of per cent.
Vietnam recorded a six per cent export increase in the first half of this year. There was a growth in export value to major markets. Exports to the US rose by 5.9 per cent, to Japan increased by 2.9 per cent, and to South Korea increased by 15.58 per cent.
Knitwear products are not going to be benefitted by the tax slabs proposed under Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the present rate of taxation on textile products is much lower.
However, the Tirupur knitwear cluster as a whole can rejoice when the GST bill finally gets implemented since it would ease taxation procedures through synchronisation of excise duty, state Value Added Tax and service tax uniformly across the country. Said S Dhananjayan, a senior member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) that rates of taxation for certain products like textiles are only going to scale up under the GST system as present accumulated tax on textile products is in the range of seven to eight percent whereas GST has a cap of 18 per cent.
Pointed out R M Senthil Kumar, a former chairman of ICAI (Tirupur chapter), the transparency in movement of goods would improve as tax payments at various stages could be monitored online under GST which, in turn, reduce the black marketing.
Meanwhile, G R Senthivel, secretary of Tirupur Exporters and Manufacturers Association, feels tax slabs under GST should be brought down from the proposed 18 per cent.
Italian warp knitting seamless (WKS) specialist Cifra reported strong growth in manufacturing orders for some of the world’s leading sportswear brands. The Milan headquartered company says its sportswear business is up around 20 per cent this year alone and is growing rapidly.
Currently Cifra produces between 10,000 and 15,000 pieces of sportswear and athleisure per week, a massive jump from a standing start just four years ago. Previously the company was totally focused on the fashion sector with seamless warp knitted fancy hosiery being its specialisation. But when the hosiery market collapsed it decided to make the strategic move into sportswear.
Now, sportswear accounts for 70-80 per cent of Cifra’s output and it lists Adidas, Lululemon Athletica, Falke, The North Face, Diadora, Biotex, Decathon and Zerofit amongst the companies it manufactures for.
Meanwhile, Cifra owner and CEO Cesare Citterio describes the company’s move into sportswear with warp knitting seamless for its rapid rise in just a few years.
Chemically protective suits made of fabrics coated in self-healing, thin films can prevent farmers from exposure to pesticides, soldiers from chemical attacks and factory workers from accidental release of toxic materials.
Fashion designers use natural fibers made of proteins like wool or silk that are expensive and are not self-healing. The material to be coated is dipped in a series of liquids to create layers of material to form a self-healing, polyelectrolyte layer-by-layer coating. This coating is deposited under ambient conditions in safe solvents, such as water, at low cost using simple equipment amenable to scale-up. Polyelectrolyte coatings are made up of positively and negatively charged polymers.
Many toxic substances can be absorbed through the skin. Organophosphates, for example, which are used as herbicides and insecticides are absorbed through the skin and can be lethal. Some of these chemicals have also been used as nerve agents. A garment coated with a self-healing film containing an organophosphate hydrolase, an enzyme that breaks down the toxic material, could limit exposure.
The squid ring teeth polymer is self-healing in the presence of water, so laundering would repair micro and macro defects in the coating, making the garment rewearable and reusable.
Chinese sports brands have thrown themselves into the Brazil Olympic Games, sponsoring the event itself and supplying apparel for athletes from more than ten countries. For example, 361 Degrees is an official games sponsor and is providing official clothing to the thousands of volunteers and technicians who will ensure the event runs smoothly. It has also more than doubled the number of places its goods are sold in Brazil, to 900.
The brands that medal-winning athletes wear always become popular after the games. That’s what Peak Sport Products, which is sponsoring apparel and footwear for athletes from various countries, believes. Chinese brands may use the games to gain international recognition, but whether the returns are worth the investment is open to question. This aggressive expansion is a risky strategy. Sportswear sales don’t really rise after a brand attaches itself to these types of global events. And Brazil may not be the place to have hopes pinned on because the economy there is weak and local brands are also very competitive.
Apart from this, Chinese brands have a lot of fine tuning to do. Many don’t have defined strategies. One brand, for example, has dithered terribly over the years, with eight different taglines in ten years.
In a significant development, GOTS has announced Lori Wyman as the new Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) representative for North America and Elif Yarasik is the new regional representative in Turkey.
Prior to joining GOTS, Wyman was Senior Auditor with Control Union Certifications and has served as an inspector to textile programs for over ten years. She had previously worked in the membership and marketing departments of the Organic Trade Association (OTA). She is excited to draw upon past partnerships with brands, retailers, regulatory agencies, NGOs, organic certification agencies, and educational textile programs to strengthen the visibility of the GOTS program. Wyman will be based in Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, Turkey is the country with the second most GOTS certified facilities worldwide (469 in 2015) which make it a very important sourcing market. Previously, Yarasik has worked in textile both in manufacturing and sourcing industry since 1993, among others for Turkey offices of Nike, Hanes brands, Next and Puma and for big vertical garment suppliers of Turkey. She has an extensive experience on understanding manufacturing and sourcing side of business in addition to technical side. Her main expertise is the implementation and managing the ecological, environmental, social compliance requirements of textile suppliers as per brand specific requirements which includes global legislations.
For the first quarter of financial year 2017 Arvind’s revenue has increased by 17.76 per cent as compared to same period in the previous financial year. EBITDA too has risen by 16.35 per cent on a yearly basis. EBITDA margin contracted by 12 basis points to 11.5 per cent in the first quarter of financial year 2017 as compared to the same period in the previous financial year. Net profit has gone up by 87.86 per cent as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal. Arvind’s net profit margins expanded 132 basis points to 5.37 per cent on a yearly basis.
On segmental revenue front, Arvind earned 67.15 per cent from textiles, 26.05 per cent from branded apparels, 0.08 per cent from the internet and the remaining 6.72 per cent from others.
Arvind is a vertically integrated textile company. The company manufactures cotton shirtings, denim, knits and bottom weight fabrics, and jeans and shirting garments. Its portfolio includes international brands like Arrow, US Polo, Izod, Elle and Cherokee. Arvind also operates a chain of apparel value retail stores, called Mega Mart. It also operates specialty retail stores under licensing arrangements with international brands Debenhams and Next.
