Eyeing business bonanza in the global apparel market, Bangladesh exporters have sought faster delivery of imported raw materials by coordinating between customs and port authorities. Exporters have also demanded a ‘self-clearance license’ by the revenue board to expedite trade transactions to catch up with market demand.

The demands were placed by Farque Hassan, President, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) during its meeting with Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, Chairman, National Board of Revenue. Shahidullah Azim, Vice-President, BGMEA, Asif Ashraf, Director, and Shams Mahmud, Chairman, BGMEA Standing Committee on Foreign Mission Cell were also present at the meeting.

The leaders emphasized on the importance of simplifying business procedures for the export-oriented apparel industry to help retain its competitiveness on the global market. They also requested the NBR to banish customs and bond-related obstacles from the business proceedings to accelerate growth of the RMG industry.

At the recent Growers Forum organized by the International Wool Textiles Organization (IWTO), Jo Hall, CEO, WoolProducers Australia identified animal welfare, biosecurity, competition for land use and labor shortages as key issues faced by the industry).

An international forum for wool growing countries the IWTO Grower’s Forum provides a platform for the global wool producers to exchange ideas and discuss current issues.

Ed Storey, President, WoolProducers says, the forum can be made more active by discussing current issues and having both international and external consultations. It can discuss issues related to emissions trading schemes, Responsible Wool Standard demand, COVID impacts and trade agreements. Grower member countries represented at the forum’s June meeting included: Australia, the Falkland Islands, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay. The forum meets face-to-face on an annual basis; however, the IWTO working groups meet more frequently. The next growers forum is scheduled for the IWTO Conference next year, but work will continue out of session

Recognized by the industry as the global authority for standards in the wool textile industry since 1930, the IWTO has members from 22 countries encompassing the wool industry, and represents the interests of the world’s wool textile trade at the international level.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) is providing machine price discounts to make textile and textile product (TPT) industry more productive and competitive. This move is also a part of the implementation of the Making Indonesia 4.0 roadmap, which makes the textile sector one of the priorities.

The incentive encourages companies to use more modern, energy efficient and eco-friendly machines. Till date, 10 companies have benefited from this move through the Agreement on the Provision of Discounted Reimbursements (P4H), says Ellis Masitoh, Director-Textile, Leather and Footwear Industry, Ministry of Industry.

In 2022, the Ministry of Industry aims to provide incentives for engine price discounts worth IDR 5 billion. Until June 27, 2022, the Ministry of Industry approved discounts for 10 companies that have stimulated investment in new machines from the industry amounting to IDR 53.9 billion.

The total discounted price given is Rp. 3.07 billion, so there is still a budget of Rp. 1.93 billion which is planned to be realized in July 2022.

In the first half of 2022, demand for spandex declined while supply soared. This led to Spandex price declining to a half of the 2021 levels. As per a CCF Group report, stocks of spandex 40D worsened due to rise in spot raw material prices from Q2, which reached historic highs in end-Q2.

Inventory surged to 45 days by end-June, even near two months in some factories. The expanding of capacities by companies led to overall inventory of spandex hitting a historic high. Orders for downstream fabric mills declined in late-June leading to a further decline in prices of polyester fiber, nylon fiber, spandex, cotton and cotton yarn. Some fabric mills increased cutting or suspending production.

The operating rate of spandex plants declined to 82 per cent by end-Jun. Plants with 70kt/year of capacity or above ran at around 87 per cent of capacity, those with 30-40kt/year of capacity ran at around 75 per cent of capacity and that of small factories with capacity at 200kt/year or below ran at around 40 per cent of capacity. Spandex factories in Middle and West China ran at above 90 per cent of capacity and that of units in East China ran at around 70 per cent of capacity with pressure from losses.

In July, spandex production is likely to be cut further due to soft demand and more losses. More spandex plants in East China are expected to reduce or suspend production in July. This will cause the operating rate of spandex plants to fall by around 10 percentage points to below 75 per cent during the month.

Affected by low exports and a sharp increase in raw materials and transportation costs, the operating profitability of India’s home textile makers has moderated by 150-200 basis points to 13 per cent during this financial year 2022-23, says financial research and rating agency CRISIL. The agency, however, expects, credit outlook for the sector to remain stable. It will be supported by balance sheets strengthened by healthy cash generation and debt reduction over the past two fiscals will lend support, the agency says in its report.

It further adds, demand for home textiles will be impacted in the near term by inflationary pressures as big retailers cut down on inventory and consumers curb discretionary spending. Rising prices of raw cotton are adding to the challenges faced by the industry. Supply-chain disruptions leading to volatility in ocean freight costs are also impacting profitability, the report adds.

Demand will gradually be restored in the second half of this fiscal as freight and raw cotton costs moderate, and ease pressure on profitability, says Mohit Makhija, Senior Director, CRISIL. Revenues of the Indian home textile industry are expected to grow 11-12 per cent this financial year, primarily due to higher price realizations. Domestic demand for home textile is expected to grow at a healthy 13 per cent, driven by sharp demand recovery in the domestic hospitality industry and continued focus on health and hygiene, the report says.

Finally, the report predicts, growth in export demand will moderate to 10 per cent this year as against 25 per cent last financial year due to slow recovery in international travel and hospitality segments globally.

India’s apparel exports grew 30.2 per cent year-on-year to $4439.2 million in the first three months of current fiscal 2022-23, as per estimates of Ministry of Commerce and Industry. India’s RMG exports grew 3.80 per cent in the April-June 2022 period to reach $1449.3 million in June 2022, against export of $1003.3 million in June 2021, showing a growth of 44.67 per cent.

An analysis of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) based on the ministry’s data, shows, India’s exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups and handloom products etc, declined 22.5 per cent to $3124 million during the first three months of current fiscal, against the export of $3364.4 million in the same period of last fiscal. In June 2022, the exports declined to $925.2 million against the export of $1194.5 million n June 2021.

India’s overall merchandise exports increased by 16.78 per cent to $37.94 billion in June 2022 against $32.49 billion achieved in June 2021. The country’s merchandise export during April-June 2022 increased by 22,22 per cent to $116.77 billion against $95.54 billion worth of exports during April-June 2021.

India’s total merchandise import s increased by 51.02 per cent to 63.58 billion in June 2022 against $42.1 billion imports in June 2021. India’s merchandise import in April-June 2022-23 increased by 47.31 per cent to $187.02 billion against $126.96 billion in April-June 2021-22.

Vietnam’s textile-garment export turnover reached its highest ever levels as it increased 23 per cent Y-o-Y to about $22 billion in the first six months of 2022 (H1’2022), says Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). The country’s textile and garment exports to the US increased 26 per cent Y-o-Y to $7.58 billion during the period. The future of Vietnam’s textile and garment industry is expected to be determined by the economic developments in the US markets, says a report by Viet Dragon Securities JSC (VDSC) based on data from Vietnam’s General Department of Customs;

However, in the second half of 2022, demand will decrease due to high consumption in 2021, predicts the VDSC report. Vinatex states, US market’s textile and garment import demand is likely to decline 7-10 per cent in Q2 of 2022. The US ban on cotton originating from the Xinjiang region may cause further disruptions in supply chain and contribute to higher cotton prices. The ban may affect the source of raw materials of Vietnamese enterprises and create barriers when exporting to the US market.

However, large textile and garment enterprises in Vietnam can benefit by replacing orders of Chinese companies in the US. The recent shutdown of China’s economy also led to a shift in orders from China to Vietnam. China’s market share in textile imports to the US fell to a record low of 26.3 per cent in volume and 16.8 per cent in value in April this year.

A recent report by SSI Research estimates, revenues of textile and garment manufacturing companies in Vietnam will decelerate in the last six months of 2022 and in 2023. Additionally, the costs of yarn, fabrics, logistics and labor are expected to increase due to rising oil prices and growing competition in the labor market, the report concludes.

The 10th edition of UK’s sustainable materials trade show Future Fabrics Expo was organized at its new venue Magazine London in Greenwich. As per a Forbes report, the event showcased 10,000 textiles from over 220 suppliers across 34,000 sq. ft. from June 28 to 29, 2022. Launched in 2011, Future Fabrics Expo grew big enough to move into its own independent space. In a few years, it outgrew that space too, causing it to move to its latest venue.

Amanda Johnston, Curator, The Sustainable Angle says, interest in sustainable fashion continued to gain momentum. UK trade shows have been impacted by many challenges including the pandemic. Brexit has made it more difficult for European exhibitors to come to the show and for visitors from Europe to source from the UK because of export fees.

Annet Sunderman, Fabric Consultant from Belgium says, post Brexit, it has become difficult for European to visit this fair. Ronja Nielsen, Founder, Bag Affair, an accessories label adds, the fair attracts many exhibitors and visitors from different sectors. Another exhibitor, offering partially recycled leather, said compared to other shows, Future Fabrics Expo aims to learn and make a difference, rather than simply sourcing low impact materials because they have to.

Exporters say, the impact of changes announced by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council last week, including the one to expedite refunds to those categorized as risky exporters, will mainly depend on their implementation. The GST council has recommended amendment in rule 96 of the Central GST Rules for transmission of Integrated GST refund claims on the portal in a system generated FORM GST RFD-01 to the jurisdictional GST authorities for processing.

Earlier, refund claims were suspended or withheld for exporters identified as risky and authorities would conduct lengthy verifications before releasing the amount. The rule change promises to expedite such IGST refund claims. The Council will now consider supplies from duty-free shops at international terminal to outgoing international passengers as exports by such shops. Consequently, it will make refund benefits available to such suppliers.

The country’s key markets, such as the US and the EU, are facing risks of recession. Against this backdrop, the move to expedite refunds for even risky exporters will help improve their cash flow. However, Raja Shanmugham, President, Tirrupur Exporters Association, opines, the move to treat supplies from duty-free shops at international terminal to outgoing international passengers as exports, is unlikely to have substantial beneficial impact on exports.

Business publication Quartz has released a report publishing the results of its investigations into the environmental claims made by H&M. The report exposed the discrepancies in the ratings given by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition using its Higg Sustainability Index. The ratings enabled customers to compare their purchases in relation to its environmental impact.

However, H&M proved the results on the index to be contrary to actual impact of the garment on environment. These discrepancies are a result of retailer ignoring negative signs in Higgs Index score, says Quartz. Using an example from the H&M website, Quartz displayed how the figures did not match the data provided on the Higgs website.

While most products on H&M website did not include the ratings, those that did were featured in a special page about their environmental record. Quartz stated words such as ‘less’, and ‘reduction’ were hard coded into H&M's website to portray that their environmental scorecards offer a green picture of their clothing.

The Higg Index has faced rampant criticism ever since H&M and other clothing retailers launched the effort. George Harding-Rolls, Campaign Manager, Changing Markets Foundation, and a long-time critic of the Higg Index, said the initiative was designed to mislead people.