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The Sri Lanka Apparel Brands Association (SLABA) has been launched in Colombo. It was earlier called the Domestic Garment Manufacturers Association (DGMA). SLABA’s objectives are: to gain both local and international recognition as the hub of Sri Lanka’s apparel brands; operate as a facilitator to develop the branded apparel segment among newcomers in the industry; take Sri Lankan brands to the international arena and establish them globally.
It will provide a common forum for the diverse product portfolio of branded apparels representing casual wear, tailoring and formal wear, fashion wear, uniform and work wear, lingerie, and other products such as socks, head wear, bags etc. Sri Lankan brands account for 40 per cent of the country’s estimated $2 billion retail apparel market. The association wants to be seen as one which encourages branded quality products for the consumer. It plans to expand market opportunities through the introduction of international market places (as in Thailand, Indonesia and China) for tourists and business travelers with a variety catering to all segments. It will also shape the policies that impact the apparel industry in the domestic market through dynamic lobbying with both government and non-government organizations.
The competitiveness of the Chinese clothing industry is set to weaken over the next few years as costs rise. As a result, export growth could falter. Rising costs in China are already forcing many western apparel brands and retailers to cut back on their sourcing from China and have their apparel manufactured elsewhere. In response, the Chinese government is pursuing a policy of encouraging growth in the domestic clothing market in order to take up slack in its manufacturing sector caused by this apparent loss in competitiveness.
The rise in costs in China stems in part from significant increase in fuel costs and shipping costs. Also, wage rates have risen to the point where they are higher than in many other Asian countries. Early signs of a shift in apparel manufacturing have been seen in EU and US clothing import trends. In 2013, China’s share of EU clothing imports from all sources in value terms fell from 41.7 to 40 per cent. China’s share of US clothing imports from all sources fell from 37.8 to 37.3 per cent.
The strongest growth in EU clothing imports in 2013 was in imports from Bangladesh, Cambodia and Pakistan, while the strongest growth in the US clothing import market was in imports from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
From April 2013 to January 2014, India exported 1,082 million kg of cotton yarn. India's cotton yarn exports are meeting their targets barring the seasonal fluctuations generally witnessed every April in spite of high raw cotton prices. The high quality of Indian yarn is ensuring firm orders for Indian mills from international markets.
Exports of cotton yarn dropped during the last three years in the month of April and it happened in 2014, too. One of the reasons, in addition to the high year-end exports which cause a drop in April, is the temporary high cotton prices during this period.
There is an increasing anxiety in the industry due to China’s recent cotton policy. China is the major importer of cotton and cotton yarn from India. Presently, the price difference between Indian and Chinese cotton is quite high with Indian yarn selling at much lower rates. In fact, prices of Indian cotton yarns after payment of duty and taxes in China are still much lower than Chinese domestic yarn prices.
Given the better quality produced by Indian mills it’s expected there will always be good exports of Indian yarns, even if the difference between Chinese cotton prices and international cotton prices narrows down substantially.
The Kenyan government has taken up the task to revive its textile and leather sectors. It is working to lower the costs of locally produced goods that compete with imported goods. The aim is improve efficiency in manufacturing companies in order to boost trade in the country. Delays caused by congestion at ports and poor road conditions have been blamed for cancelled orders from apparel buyers. The government has decided to provide assistance to the textile industry by bringing down the cost of production, lowering the cost of power, improving the quality of roads to ensure market accessibility and improving value addition of raw products.
It would also work on issues like influx of cheap imports from Asia which pose unfair competition to local producers, imports of secondhand garments, delays in sourcing of raw material. Demand for leather in Kenya is a high 28 million units annually, but since production is heavily reliant on imported supplies, the current local supply is less than four million units annually.
Kenya has ideal production zones for quality leather. Since the global leather demand is now $60 billion, it can work towards grabbing a share of the cake.
China may cut down on cotton yarn purchases this fiscal, slowing the good run that Indian spinning mills had had last year. Recovering from a rough patch in the previous few years, spinning mills across India did good business last fiscal with a surge in demand in the Chinese market.
Idle mills sprang to life across the southern states, boosted by healthy cotton production and the government’s decision to make yarn export eligible for benefits under the Incremental Export Incentivisation Scheme for 2013-14. In Gujarat, 80 new spinning mills with a capacity of two million spindles are coming up, especially boosted by the interest subvention announced by the state government to boost industrial growth.
For four years since 2008, mills across India had been going through hard times, battling global slowdown, volatility in cotton prices and a squeeze on power availability, especially in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. During this period about 380 mills closed down, with Tamil Nadu and Gujarat accounting for about 70 per cent of this.
This year mills expect China to import lesser yarn, which means they will have to look for alternative markets. In addition to shrinkage in the Chinese market, mills in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh will have to bear power shortage and higher tariffs this year.
Pakistan and Tajikistan have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaboration in textile development, in a bid to enhance friendly ties and to promote bilateral co-operation. The scope of the MoU extends to exchange of information on cotton, organising training programs, establishing joint enterprises, exchange of experts and trade delegations.
The National Textile University, Faisalabad, and Tajik Technological University would facilitate research in fiber development and textile related technologies. In order to boost trade between the two countries trade fairs, exhibitions and seminars would be conducted on a regular basis. Pakistan and Tajikistan are also concerned about the menace of narcotics, crossborder organized crimes, and human trafficking and have resolved to collectively fight these evils. The countries would expand mutual cooperation in diverse fields including energy, security, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.
Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown significantly in recent years. Both countries attach great importance to the completion of the CASA-1000 project, which would enable Pakistan to import 1,000 MW of electricity from Tajikistan. Tajikistan is Pakistan’s closest neighbor in Central Asia. It is located at the confluence of South and Central Asia and is a gateway to the CIS region. Similarly, Pakistan offers the shortest possible sea route to Tajikistan and other countries in the region.
Egypt wants to import more cotton from African countries. The country seeks to import around 2,50,000 tons of African cotton a year. A two-year temporary import ban designed to protect the domestic industry was recently lifted.
African countries expected to benefit include Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Egypt currently sources cotton from Greece, Uzbekistan and Burkina Faso, with Sudan and Syria also, though political unrest in these two countries has hampered imports. Egyptian spinners and weavers want more countries to be a source of cotton imports. In fact, the industry in Egypt would like cotton from all African countries, except if there is infestation of certain pests.
The African continent produces some 1.2 million tons of cotton a year, six per cent of the world’s production. The envisaged African imports are not expected to have any impact on local Egyptian producers because it is of a different variety. Egyptian cotton is extra long stable and the industry wants to import short stable to produce a coarser yarn for T-shirts and for denim.
Egypt’s cotton exports have been hit by a local hike in prices this year, following a decline in local production brought about by reduced acreage and the import ban removal.
CEMATEX has launched an award program for ITMA 2015 as a part of its efforts to reward industry members and post-graduate students for their contribution to the sustainable development of the global textile and garment industry. CEMATEX is the European committee of textile machinery manufacturers. It has adopted the theme ‘Master the Art of Sustainable Innovation’ for ITMA 2015.
The ITMA Sustainable Innovation Award comprises two categories: Industry Excellence Award and R&E Excellence Award. The Industry Excellence Award recognises textile and garment manufacturers who have leveraged on technological innovations to advance business sustainability that benefit people, planet and profit. The Research & Education Excellence Award recognises outstanding achievements in textile and garment related post-graduate research.
ITMA 2015 will be held at Milan. CEMATEX will continue to support institutions participating in the Research and Education Pavilion through a grant of at least 50 per cent to help cover their participation cost. The pavilion showcases leading-edge research that will power textile innovation and well-known institutions that develop world-class human resources.
Complementing the exhibition are several initiatives that will promote knowledge exchange and networking. All the initiatives are designed to help industry members heighten their engagement with the very important subject of sustainable innovation at ITMA 2015.
Gulf countries are emerging as leading textile manufacturing and trading centers globally. The UAE is a leading centre for textile industry automation where nearly 150 apparel manufacturing companies operate. By 2016, the UAE is set to develop into world’s leading high-end textile and garment re-export centre. At present the UAE controls 5.5 per cent of the world’s textile market.
It has a role to play as a re-export center to diverse markets in Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia. Local textile companies compete with international brands through the quality of their products. They also have a price advantage since they don’t have to bear import duties and customs tariffs.
The country’s textile and apparel industry faces competition from the other manufacturing countries in South east Asia, China, India and Thailand. However, the UAE textile industry uses automation and advanced textile machinery similar to what European countries use. The textile industry encompasses several categories such as woven, knitted and non-woven fabrics. UAE is one of the major textile markets of the world which includes fibers, fabrics, cloth, apparels, outerwear and several others. China and India constitute a major segment of textile and textile articles imports in the UAE.
Cambodian garments and textile exports grew 9 per cent in the first three months of the year. Cambodia exported $1.17 billion worth of garments and textiles between January and March this year compared to $1.08 billion in the same period a year ago.
During the first quarter, the US was the number one export market for Cambodian garments and textiles, followed by the European Union, Canada and Japan. While Cambodia’s garment industry has been the beneficiary of sourcing shifts from more expensive countries, including China in recent years, it has also been shaken in recent months by lapses in factory safety and large-scale labor unrest. Some denim giants have reduced their sourcing from Cambodian garment factories in a bid to minimise supply-chain risk and ensure delivery amid ongoing unrest in the country.
The garment sector accounts for more than 80 per cent of Cambodia's exports, and is a lynchpin of the country’s economy. Cambodia began exporting garments in the 1990s. Low wages and an abundant workforce, powered mainly by the country’s rural population, have drawn major clothing brand names to the country. Today, the industry has almost 550 factories, mostly owned by Taiwanese, Korean, Chinese, Hong Kong and Singaporean companies.
