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According to Indonesia Filament Fiber and Yarn Producers Association (APSyFi), not a single policy has been issued to reduce the rate of import growth in the country. The association has urged the President of the nation to reduce the rate of imports as many imported mafias have entered the bureaucracy making policies pro-imported compared to locally made goods.
Previously, APSyFI had officially proposed to revise the Regulation of the Minister of Trade 64 of 2017, because permits were given to traders to import raw materials, whereas previously import permits were only granted to producers who needed raw materials for export purposes.
APSyFi also highlighted that the Bonded Logistics Center (PLB) should be used for imported goods only to facilitate the access of industries that need imported raw materials.
For this reason, APSyFi also proposed that the PLB should be used only for cotton and not for other fibers, threads and fabrics.
In Australia, the fast fashion sector has grown by 19.5 per cent over five years.
Almost a quarter of Australians throw away an item of clothing after wearing it just once. They don't always see it as something that is a valuable product to keep in their wardrobe.
A booming part of the industry, including in Australia, is fast fashion, where catwalk designs are quickly turned into apparel sold at low or ultra-low prices and easily accessible via online sites.
The longevity of clothing has declined over the years. Some products only last two or three washes because people are turning over products in their own home more quickly.
The rock bottom prices for consumers contrast with the high cost paid by the environment. Tons of cheap clothes are churned out every year in developing countries, using copious amounts of energy and resources and polluting waterways near factories with toxic chemicals.
The materials used are often synthetic and non-biodegradable, meaning even washing can be hazardous, with some textiles shedding plastic micro-fibers that make their way to water catchments and oceans in consumer countries like Australia.
Globally, clothing production doubled from 2000-2014, with the number of garments bought each year by consumers soaring by 60 per cent.
The textile sector in India is showing signs of recovery.The stressed advance ratio of the textile sub-sector has improved in March 2018 from the levels of September 2017.
The sector was heavily hit by demonetization, GST, rupee appreciation and high domestic cotton prices.
Support in the form of the Rs 1300-crore ($US 185.41 million) Samarth scheme for skilling and the Rs. 6000-crore($US 855.86 million) package for apparel and made-ups, along with various incentives, is expected to create a strong turnaround in the textile and clothing sector and put the industry back on the growth path.
What the industry now needs is policy support for stopping excess imports and refund of all duties and taxes on exports across the value chain. In the financial year 2018, imports of textiles and apparel were 16 per cent higher than the previous year’s value. All categories across the value chain have seen a drastic rise in imports.
Moreover, embedded duties, which are in the range of four per cent to six per cent across the value chain, are not getting refunded. This is one of the key factors for the decline in exports, apart from blockage of funds due to delay in GST refunds and rupee appreciation.
The textile and the garment industry in the Philippines is hoping the free trade deal with the United States will revive its struggling businesses.
The fact that the US is now focusing on bilateral free trade agreements instead of multilateral deals has made the Philippines optimistic.
The US is one of the Philippines’ oldest allies. At one time the Philippines used to be one of the biggest exporters of garments to the US. The industry used to be very competitive in its exports and was even considered a sunrise industry during the 90s.
Export performance, however, dropped since the abolition of textile quotas by the World Trade Organization in 2005. As a result, garment and textile enterprises in the Philippines which relied on quotas underwent difficulties leading to closure of factories and downsizing.
Garments might be eventually included under the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a trade arrangement that allows market access for numerous Philippine exports. This will have to come after the inclusion of footwear in the US GSP.
However wrapping up an FTA might take years. In the meantime, textile and garment companies have been granted incentives such as an income tax holiday on preferred kinds of businesses that help reach inclusive growth.
Swiss Textile Machinery Association will hold a press conference during ITMA Asia & CITME 2018 in Shanghai. The conference will be held on October 16, 2018. Around 15 member companies of the association will present their latest technologies and solutions the conference.
ITMA ASIA + CITME 2018 is owned by CEMATEX and its Chinese partners – the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT (CCPIT-Tex), China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA) and China Exhibition Centre Group Corporation (CIEC). It is organised by Beijing Textile Machinery International Exhibition Co Ltd and co-organised by ITMA Services. The Japan Textile Machinery Association (JTMA) is a special partner of the show.
The exhibition will feature around 1,700 local and international textile machinery manufacturers from 28 countries who will showcase the latest machinery, as well as products that boost automation and energy-saving features.
Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) will sign a trade economic cooperation agreement with the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce (GNYCC) in September 2018 to capitalise on declining Chinese textile exports to US.
As per official figures, Chinese textile and apparel exports to US are declining while Pakistan’s textile exports surged by 4.0 percent and apparels exports surged by 7.0 percent in May 2018. The US is one of the largest trading partners of Pakistan. However, the export base of Pakistan is narrow with heavy reliance on textiles and apparels for export earnings. China, Mexico, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Bangladesh are the main trading competitors of Pakistan in terms of its exports to the US.
In terms of textile and apparel exports, Pakistan continued to remain at seventh position last fiscal having 2.57 percent share in US’s overall imports to these products.
Ethiopia and Vietnam are cooperating in various fields. Among these are culture, economics, trade, science-technology and investment. However, the economic relationship remains modest.
The two countries first established diplomatic relations in 1976.
Ethiopia is a country situated in the Horn of Africa with a population of nearly 100 million. Agriculture remains a major part of the Ethiopian economy, accounting for 46 per cent of its GDP. Ethiopia is known for coffee, cotton, fruits, pepper, sugarcane and timber. The country also has Africa’s largest livestock population and the world’s tenth largest, providing meat, milk and leather for the processing industry.
Considered as a model for economic development in Africa, Ethiopia is the fastest-growing economy in the region, with its income per capita increasing by four times during the 2009-2017 period. It is seeking to privatise the banking, insurance and telecommunications sectors.
Vietnam’s export turnover has increased 21.2 per cent year-on-year.
Commitments for international integration have been implemented, helping reduce import-export taxes. A favorable business environment had aided export activities.
The country’s garment export turnover accounts for four per cent of the world’s total turnover. Total import-export turnover in the first seven months of this year rose by 12.7 per cent from the same period last year.
According to Canada-based Global News, China’s ambassador to Canada hopes to make progress on a free-trade agreement with Canada and others. The U.S. and China are locked in a trade war and China is seeking options for imports outside the United States. The trade war includes tariffs on U.S. agricultural products, presenting potential harm to U.S. farmers.
Free trade talks between China and Canada have also slowed as Canada has insisted on a progressive trade deal that would also cover some labor, environment, gender and governance issues. There was little progress on issues that are not directly related to trade.
Canada has its own tensions with China, as earlier this year Canada blocked a $1.5 billion takeover of a construction firm by a Chinese company, starting a trade deterioration between the two nations.
Turkey is one of the major markets for manmade textile products.
India is the second largest supplier of textile and apparel products to Turkey. Manmade textiles is the largest category with a share of 73 per cent in India’s textile and apparel exports to Turkey. This is followed by cotton textiles and apparel having a share of 20 per cent and three per cent respectively.
A large part of the manmade fiber-based fabrics manufactured and processed in India are low value added and primarily supplied to the mass market. In order to give a boost to exports, Indian firms need to invest in manmade fiber-based textile manufacturing processes. Also, the firms that are already manufacturing manmade based textile products should target Turkey as a key market. Moreover, Turkey is also a major importer of cotton textiles. Owing to the availability of raw material and infrastructure, Indian firms have a potential to increase their market share in Turkey in cotton textiles as well.
Manmade textiles are Turkey’s largest imported category, representing 47 per cent of total textile and apparel imports. This is followed by cotton textiles, apparel and others with a share of 26 per cent, 18 per cent and nine per cent respectively.
According to the NPD Group’s recently released “The Future of Apparel” report, athleisure currently accounts for 24 per cent of total apparel industry sales and this growth is likely to continue over the course of this year and into 2019.The report further highlights that sales of sweatshirts increased by double digits in the twelve months ending June 2018, while sales of active bottoms increased by 5 per cent.
The report demarcates consumers into six segments, including Connected Consumers, Brand Loyals and Retail Reluctant. It found that Social Shoppers, defined as being ‘fashion and image conscious,’ and ‘comfortable shopping online’, were representative of typical athleisure consumers. The study also points out that athleisure has become mainstream across all segments, having been embraced by consumers from a wide range of demographics.
Changing social attitudes concerning casual wear and increasingly health-consciousness among consumers have also contributed to activewear becoming a staple in the wardrobes of its consumers.
