The combined ITMA and CITME shows were held in China, October 26 to 30, 2018. The exhibition welcomed over one lakh visitors from 116 countries and regions and recorded a 10 per cent increase in domestic visitors compared to the 2016 show. About 20 per cent of the visitors were from outside China. There was a large pool of qualified buyers.

Among overseas participants, Indian visitors topped the list, reflecting the strong growth of its textile industry. Following closely were trade visitors from Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea and Bangladesh.

Leading textile machinery manufacturers from around the world attended the event. The combined shows offered a cost-effective platform for their products and services in Asia.

In a global market, textile makers are sourcing innovative solutions and upgrading their facilities. The drive for better technological solutions is expected to grow in Asia, especially China. Hence, leading brand names had a large presence at this event. The last such combined show in 2016 welcomed 1,673 exhibitors from 28 economies and had over 1,00,000 visitors from 102 countries.

To enhance the country’s position in the global value chain, China has drawn up a roadmap to upgrade industries through innovation. The strategy aims at driving manufacturers swiftly toward smart industrial production and value-added manufacturing.

The garment industry has welcomed the package announced by the Centre for the MSME sector as growth oriented and visionary. Rahul Mehta, President, Clothing Manufacturers' Association of India (CMAI), the apex chamber of the garment industry pointed out that over 75 per cent of the garment industry was in this sector and the 12 announcements covered in the package would therefore benefit most units in this industry.

Identifying scarcity of working capital as a major constraint for the industry, Mehta said the 2 per cent interest subvention for new loans, 2 per cent additional subvention for export credits and clearance of loans within 59 minutes would immensely help the garment industry to address working capital problems. Credit based on upcoming receivables under e-discounting system is another welcome step in this direction.

Garment industry being the most labor intensive segment of the manufacturing sector, complying with the requirements under various labor laws is a major responsibility for the industry. The present government had initiated some labor reforms for the segment earlier under a special package. Stricter regulation of visits by inspectors and stipulating that returns under 8 labor laws and 10 union regulations have to be filed now only on annual basis have taken this process further. Mehta also welcomed the social security measures contemplated for workers in the MSME sector.

The Union government might consider more incentives for textile exporters, to bridge the gap between costing of products originating from the world’s least developed countries and India. Under the global preferential treatment rules, textiles imported from countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam are preferred over those from India. Earlier extension of lower import duty in developed countries including America, to Indian exporters, is no longer valid. Reason: growing size of Indian economy — it has crossed the threshold size and became the world's six largest economy in 2017.

The total in differential duty works out to nearly 9 per cent between products from India and the other smaller economies. With the present incentives offered by the government and the rupee's recent depreciation, the total duty differential works out to 5 per cent, on which the government announced a two per cent export incentive under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme.

The US government has complained about the Indian incentives at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as legally unsustainable. WTO has set up a committee on the issue.

Under the package, MSMEs registered under the goods and services tax will get a two per cent interest rebate on incremental loans up to Rs 10 million. A web portal has been launched through which such units may avail of loans up to this size. The segment accounts for about 45 per cent of the sector's manufacturing output and around 40 per cent of export.

Raw material imports by Germany dropped 9.4 per cent in August as textile production sank 3.3 per cent. Clothing production fell three per cent. While textile production price increased 0.9 per cent, clothing production price increased 0.7 per cent.

Because of the development of the entire German economy and the long summer months, a turnaround in the situation looks likely. Expectations are markedly lower. There is still hope for a changing trend in autumn, but the general economic risks, such as foreign trade or raw material prices, are weighing heavily. Both textile and clothing proceeds fell in August 2018.

Order intake increased steadily in textiles in August by 0.1 per cent above July. Clothing had a 13.1 per cent lower order intake. German retail has increased proceeds by 3.1 per cent above 2017.

Germany has overtaken the United States and become the largest export market for Bangladesh’s readymade garments. Due to strong economic activities in Europe, especially in Germany, and preferential treatment received by Bangladeshi exporters, Europe’s largest economy has become the largest market for Bangladeshi garment products. Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports to Germany grew 8.65 per cent in fiscal ’18 against a growth of 2.84 per cent in the US market.

Over the past few years, Dubai has steadily positioned itself as the regional hub for fashion entrepreneurs, stylists, designers and international retail brands. This growth is also being fuelled by up and coming local and regional designers, who are capitalising on the diverse cultural experiences to provide a tailored product range for their customers.

Global brands as well as big names such as Dolce & Gabbana and Tommy Hilfiger have launched their own modest fashion collections. Technology, from an e-commerce point of view, has also played a huge role in providing a platform to startups to reach their consumers directly at a much lower cost than they would have expected to bear about a decade ago.

All of these factors create an environment that is ripe for further disruption and evolution in the coming years and Dubai, as always, has set itself up at the forefront of this fashion revolution. The region's first dedicated fashion and design institution, College of Fashion and Design, aims to nurture local, regional and international talent.

There is a clear gap in the market for skilled fashion professionals and CFD hopes to equip students with international standard education and training in the business of fashion.

Bangladesh’s garment exports to the US rose 5.83 per cent year-on-year in the nine months to September. The growth of garment export to the US indicates that Bangladesh is becoming a lucrative destination for American retailers and brands.

US retailers expect strong demand this year and are prepared with a wide array of merchandise while offering strong deals and promotions during the busiest and most competitive shopping season of the year. Holiday retail sales in November and December are expected to be up between 4.3 per cent and 4.8 per cent over 2017. US consumers will spend in three main categories during the holidays – gifts, non-gift holiday items such as food, decorations, flowers and greeting cards, and other non-gift purchases that take advantage of the deals and promotions throughout the season.

Bangladesh expects a 10 to 15 per cent growth in garment exports to the US as the economy is rebounding there. Bangladesh has been sending garment products facing a 15.62 per cent duty whereas the duty for other garment exporting nations is relatively low. Even then the country is competitive in the US markets.

For many years, the US was the single largest garment export destination for the country, but last year Germany became the number one destination.

"A new market report by Transparency Market Research titled ‘Knitwear Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2018-26 reveals the global knitwear market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.3 per cent from 2018 to 2026 reaching $817,402.7 million by 2026. In terms of volume, the market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.0 per cent from 2018 to 2026 reach 26,208 million units in 2026. The market share of Asia Pacific in the global knitwear market is expected to increase during the forecast period."

A new market report by Transparency Market Research titled ‘Knitwear Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2018-26 reveals the global knitwear market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.3 per cent from 2018 to 2026 reaching $817,402.7 million by 2026. In terms of volume, the market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.0 per cent from 2018 to 2026 reach 26,208 million units in 2026. The market share of Asia Pacific in the global knitwear market is expected to increase during the forecast period.

Preference for low-cost Asia Pacific markets

Global knitwear brands such as Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch and major activewear brands such as Adidas AG and Nike continue to focus on research and development, design, logistics marketing and branding, and service to improve their position in the market. These brands outsource their manufacturing to low-cost Asia Pacific countries such as China, Bangladesh, and India. Adidas AG manufactured only 2 per cent of its apparels in US and only one per cent in Europe in 2017; outsourcing almost 97.0 per cent production to Asia Pacific.

Similarly, Nike manufactures all its apparels through independent contract vendors. The apparel contract factories in China, Vietnam, and Thailand manufactured 26.0 per cent, 18.0 per cent, and 10 per cent, respectively of the company’s total apparel production. China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and other South Asian and East Asian countries are major exporters of knitwear products across the globe.

Although, knitwear is still manufactured in Europe, its quantity has declined. The unit cost to manufacture knitwear is high in the UK due to high wages, yet British designers prefer to manufacture locally due to short lead time and flexibility in minimum order quantity.

Rising demand for branded knitwear

North America on the other hand, imports almost all of its knitwear products from Asia Pacific. Although R&D and designing of these is majorly done outside Asia Pacific, manufacturing is mostly done in China, India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. The knitwear market in India is also rising due to a growth in the number of organised knitwear retailers selling branded knitwear products. Demand for branded knitwear is also rising in the Middle East. With approximately 62.0 per cent of its population being young and middle-aged, the region imports knitwear products worth US$ 3.5 billion annually. Knitwear exporters such as Bangladesh export knitwear to the UAE to increase its knitwear revenue.

Cotton knitwear products are in demand in South American countries. There is growing demand for cotton knitwear products in Brazil and other South American countries. In 2016-17, Brazil imported approximately $11.47 million of T-shirts, singlets and other vests made of cotton. Almost half of the knitwear imports in Brazil are from China.

India’s rank in the Ease of Doing Business 2019 survey climbed 23 places to 77 among 190 countries surveyed, making it the only country to rank among the top 10 improvers for the second consecutive year. India saw a similar improvement in the “trading across borders” section to 80th position from 146th a year ago. This improvement was made possible by reducing the time and cost to export and import through various initiatives, including the implementation of electronic sealing of containers, upgrading of port infrastructure and allowing electronic submission of supporting documents with digital signatures under its National Trade Facilitation Action Plan 2017-2020.

India has registered huge improvement in six out of the 10 indicators and has moved closer to international best practices. The biggest improvements have been in the indicators related to construction permits, in which India’s ranking improved by 129 points, and trading across borders, in which it rose by 66 points. Areas where the country still needs to improve are starting of business, in which the country ranked 137, paying taxes and enforcement of contracts.

As per Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the country exported readymade garments worth $599.260 million in the first quarter of current financial year as compared the exports of $608.688 million of the corresponding period of last year. Exports of readymade garments during the period under review in dollar terms decreased by 1.55 per cent as compared the exports of first three months of last year.

During the period from July-September, 2018-19, about 10,235 thousand dozen of readymade garments exported as compared the exports of 8,939 thousand zozen of same period of last year.

However, the knitwear exports during the period from July-September, 2018-19 grew by 9.80 percent as over 30,912 thousand dozen of the knitwear worth $710.210 million exported as compared the exports of 25,587 thousand dozen valuing $648.805 million of same period of last year. On month on month basis, the exports of knitwear grew by 6.66 percent bedwear by 3.26 per cent.

Sri Lanka is in danger of losing its duty-free access to the EU. The European Union is worried the return of Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister could derail the progress made toward national reconciliation. Under Generalised System of Preferences Plus status, Sri Lanka's top exports of garments and fish get lucrative concessions in the world's largest single market.

Trade is key to Sri Lanka’s economy and the EU is its biggest export market, accounting for nearly a third of exports in 2017. Sri Lanka regained the GSP plus preferential treatment in 2017. Its exports to the EU have since jumped 18 per cent. Sri Lanka had promised the EU in 2016 it would work toward reconciliation with Tamils, who mostly live in the north and east of the predominantly Buddhist nation. The country also pledged to provide justice and reparations to victims of human rights violations committed during the 26-year civil war.

The EU warning on trade is the strongest yet from western powers. On the other hand, China, which has invested billions of dollars during Rajapaksa's presidency, has called for non-interference and said Sri Lanka could tackle its own problems. Sri Lanka’s garment industry is its second biggest hard currency earner.