India will promote the development of textile machinery through a production linked incentive (PLI) than the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme.

The threshold for textile manufacturing units to be eligible for sops under the proposed scheme would be investment in plant and machinery of Rs1 crore to Rs50 crores for micro, small and medium enterprises and above Rs50 crores for non-MSMEs.

Incentives would be provided based on the turnover achieved after making the threshold investment in modernisation through installation of benchmarked technology.Incentives of up to 60 per cent based on the investment and turnover criteria could be provided across weaving, knitting and spinning, among other textile segments. Turnover achieved from job work in select segments would be accounted for while calculating incentives and only the products manufactured by the registered company would be eligible.

Incentives are likely for manufacturing of garments and home textiles such as blankets and bed spreads, and textile accessories like lace, button, and zippers. The Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) was intended as a flagship incentive scheme for capital investments in textiles and garments.

ATUFS was notified in January 2016 with an outlay of Rs17,822 crores to mobilise new investments of about Rs 95,000 crores. It helped create employment for about 3.5 million till 2022. The scheme expired on March 31, 2022.

At the UK’s leading trade fashion buying event, Pure London, February 12 to 14, 2023, retail industry legend Ed Burstell and winner of All That Glitters jewellery designer Piers Carpenter will be among the keynote speakers.

There will be an in-depth discussion on fashion expansion and growth and how this can be navigated in a sustainable and ethical manner. Burstell’s adept leadership of Liberty during his stint at the department store saw double-digit year on year growth driven by a renewed focus on young British designers as well as spearheading a host of collaborations with brands to highlight Liberty’s renowned floral prints. Piers Carpenter loved jewellery from a young age and in 2011 joined the industry as a sales assistant in an antique jeweller. As a goldsmith apprentice Piers channeled his passion and honed his craft, becoming recognized for his technical and creative abilities as a designer.

At Pure London, Piers will discuss his journey to become a jewellery star, charting his experiences and advice along the way.

In today’s challenging retail environment, Pure London wants to encourage conversations about building businesses and utilising modern technology. Since launching the Power of One initiative in 2018 the event has committed to supporting the journey of brands and retailers towards sustainability.

Lenzing hosted conclaves in Surat and Mumbai. India is one of the key markets for Lenzing.

The aim was to connect supply chain partners with the new generation of fibers and products for the textile industry, engage with the local weaving community, domestic brands, and their supply chains and explore a new line of products.The conclaves offered a platform for discussion and ideas exchange.The conclave in Mumbai focused on the creation of new product lines with Tencel lyocell and modal fibers along with homegrown brands and their supply chains.

The discussions focused extensively on the current developments within the global market for fiber and how the Indian textile makers can benefit from it. The discussion during the conclave in Surat concentrated on collaborating with the local weaving community and creating innovative new products, especially with traditional clothing like saris. The conclave hosted a discussion with Gujarat’s weaving community on global fiber market updates and trends.

Lenzing is a pioneer in wood-based specialty fibers. Lenzing’s viscose fibers help maintain environmental balance by being integrated into nature’s cycle. These are efficient and environmental-friendly products. As more brands and manufacturers show interest in embracing sustainable textiles, Lenzing expects the market for these products to grow further.

China’s exports to the EU dropped by nine per cent in October 2022. China’s exports of many upstream and midstream products, such as base metals, ceramics and glass, textiles, and plastics and rubber, to the EU have plunged amid the latter’s muted downstream production this winter.

One exception is the export of gas-intensive chemicals, in particular, fertilisers, which continues to surge. The EU’s demand for mineral fuels, food and beverage and some winter necessities stayed resilient, with its imports of mineral fuels from China soaring by 218 per cent in October.

Softening global demand for computer, communication and consumer electronics products has dimmed the export outlook for China’s machinery and electrical and electronic products, which account for 57 per cent of its overall exports. Growth in exports of renewable energy equipment has also slowed from earlier months. Near-term exports of digital products may be hampered by the latest Omicron outbreaks in China that have resulted in operational disruptions in some production hubs, including Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant, since late October. In contrast, electric vehicles and batteries remain the bright spots in China’s export outlook.

The US and the EU are China’s largest export destinations, accounting for 16 per cent and 15 per cent of its overall export value.

Bangladesh has managed to retain nearly 67 per cent garment export receipts, thanks to increasing use of local raw materials.

The retention value of the exported apparel surged 36 per cent in financial year 2021-2022 from what it was a year earlier. That means Bangladesh was able to retain 66 per cent of the total garment export receipts in the financial year.

Bangladesh's apparel export earnings fell 12 per cent in the first 18 days of September 2022.This fall in export receipts has been putdown to record inflation in the sector's major destinations fuelled by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.In the face of reduced consumer demand, a number of retailers, including Walmart, have already cancelled some orders. Besides, some buyers are requesting exporters to delay shipments or suspend orders ready for delivery. The slowdown of apparel shipments was expected from August 2022 as most factories have been facing a fall in work orders, which is being reflected in export earnings.The fear is that it might continue till May 2023. The industry is experiencing a slowdown as retailers are stuck with too much inventory at their stores.The war-driven economic recession has badly affected clothing demand.

Some knitting factories in Bangadesh have shut down because of order shortages that have continued over two months.

The free trade agreement between India and the UAE will give duty free access to garments made in India and help increase India’s garment exports.

India is already the second largest supplier of readymade garments to the UAE after China. The UAE has traditionally been the topmost trading partner for Indian garment exports. With signing of the UAE-India CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) giving duty-free access to Indian garment exports, this share is expected to increase further.

India has a huge export potential especially in categories such as women’s wear, kids’ wear, knitwear, home furnishings and technical textiles used in the construction industry, agriculture, medicine etc.UAE clothing brands have a great opportunity to source from India considering the strengths of the Indian garment industry in terms of raw material availability and variety right from cotton, jute, silk, viscose, nylon, acrylic with abundant in house production. India’s apparel designs and styles are in line with the latest fashion trends in a wide range of traditional cotton and manmade fiber garments.

After having established itself in traditional garments, the Indian apparel industry has now moved on to diversifying itself into newer areas of manmade fiber garments. Indian companies and businesses have benefited from leveraging Dubai’s position as a supply market to the Gulf and other regions.

From January 2022 to September 2022 India’s exports of children’s wear increased by 16 per cent.

The US has a 36 per cent share in India’s export values in the category, followed by UK (15 per cent), UAE (six per cent), Germany (four per cent) and France (four per cent).

Clothing worn by children up 14 years is referred to as children’s wear. These garments are often composed of high-quality materials that provide comfort and breathability, and come in a wide range of colours and textures.

The children’s apparel market in India is growing at five percent a year.The market is primarily driven by the rising number of nuclear and double-income households in India. Strong economic growth in recent years and increasing purchasing power, along with the changing spending patterns of parents with an increasing inclination toward providing their children with enhanced comfort and convenience, is boosting the sales of branded and high-quality children’s apparel.

Additionally, children in the urban and semi-urban settings of the country are now being exposed to mass media, which has accelerated their active participation in purchase decisions. Along with this, several players are focusing on effective promotional strategies and modes of advertisements to gain prominence among their target consumers.

India’s cotton yarn exports fell 70 per cent during September 2022.

Cotton yarn shipments to Bangladesh dropped by 71 per cent in September 2022, while shipments to Egypt and Portugal tumbled by 57 per cent and 79 per cent. However shipments to Italy and Sri Lanka increased by ten per cent and 37 per cent in September 2022.

The projection of India’s cotton crop was lowered from around 3.55 crore candy to 3.15 crore candy and it resulted in an unprecedented rise in cotton prices, reaching Rs. 1.10 lakh per candy from its traditional price of about Rs 45,000 per candy. The price of Indian cotton remained at least 20 per cent higher than that of other varieties and therefore Indian competitiveness against Turkey, Vietnam and China went down.

In fact, India imported about 10,000 tons of cotton yarn from Vietnam. The far-eastern country was earlier one of the major markets for Indian cotton yarn. The scarcity of cotton along with a comparatively higher price in India has resulted in a shift in its trade dynamics with Vietnam.Cotton prices in India are still ruling higher than those in the international market.But fiscal year 2022 had proved to be a great one for Indian cotton yarn exporters as they managed to tap 92 per cent growth on a yearly basis.

The Russia-Ukraine war, growing inflation and supply chain pressures are two of the biggest threats to the global fashion industry in the run-up to a challenging year, states The State of Fashion 2023 released by The Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Company today. The other key insights of the report are: the Middle East and North America are expected to have the highest growth potential in 2023 as executives deprioritise countries like China in the short term; and the industry will be buoyed by luxury, with global sales in this category expected to grow up to 10 per cent in 2023, compared to 3 per cent for the rest of the industry.

Predictions of an eminent slowdown in 2023

As per Imran Amed, Founder and CEO of The Business of Fashion: “The global economy is facing one of its toughest years ahead — with rising inflation, the cost of living crisis and the continued fallout from the war in Ukraine creating a ‘polycrisis’ requiring careful cost management and focused growth strategies to seize on pockets of opportunity in the luxury and in the Middle East, India and South Korea, as well as in resale and the discount market for customers who are trading down.”

The report released on day two on of BoF VOICES, BoF’s annual gathering for top thinkers in the sector, reveals the industry is headed for a global slowdown due to the Ukraine war, inflation and supply chain pressures which are combining to create an uncertain year ahead. Almost, 56 per cent of fashion executives expect conditions to worsen in 2023. Another 85 per cent predict inflation will continue to be a challenge next year and 58 per cent believe energy crisis will continue to weaken the market. Global GDP growth is expected to slow to approximately 2.2 per cent in 2023 and the threat of recession looms over many major economies.

However, the report also highlights some opportunities. Sales of luxury fashion is expected to grow globally between 5 and 10 per cent in 2023, compared to between negative 2 and positive 3 per cent for the rest of the industry. Fashion companies overall have been able to build robust foundations in 2021 and in the first half of 2022 to help them weather the storm; the proportion of “value destroying” companies (that is, those generating negative economic profit) is now at its lowest since 2013.

Consumer behaviour

Inflation has created a cost-of-living crisis in many countries and consumers are reassessing or changing their spending habits. Nearly three-quarters of US consumers sought out lower-cost brands or lower-priced products between April and July 2022. This puts the pressure is on brands to remain attractive given the tough economic environment.

Indeed, higher-income households will be less affected by this crisis and will continue shopping for luxury goods in particular; lower-income households will look to cut back or even eliminate discretionary spending on items like fashion. Many consumers will likely shop at value retailers and discounted stores.

What’s more among the 10 themes to shape fashion industry in 2023, fluid fashion is one of them, as the lines between menswear and womenswear are increasingly blurred, brands have an opportunity to rethink business processes and operations in order to tap into this evolution. Half of Gen-Z consumers have purchased fashion outside their gender identity. Also, formalwear is being reinvented. Formalwear for special occasions is expected to be the most resilient fashion category, as consumers rethink how they dress for the office and special events. Almost 39 per cent expect sales of occasion wear to be among the top three growth categories in 2023.

Another important takeaways is digital marketing costs are increasing as e-commerce growth rates normalise after pandemic highs, making it challenging to build a sustainably profitable online DTC business. One-third of fashion executives cite challenges to direct-to-consumer channels as one of the top themes that will impact their business next year.

Changing regional realities

The world map of growth opportunities for fashion brands has shifted, with regions like the Middle East and countries like the US emerging as priorities for the year ahead. Half of fashion executives expect to expand their companies’ footprint in North America in 2023. Notably, with Chinese economy expected to slow in 2023, some fashion executives are looking at opportunities elsewhere, at least over the short term. And the most preferred destination is the Middle East, almost 88 per cent executives cite the Middle East for a shift as the luxury market in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is expected to generate $11 billion of sales in 2023, with 60 per cent of luxury spending among GCC consumers occurring domestically. Also, 50 per cent executives are expected to increase their companies’ footprint in North America next year. Meanwhile, Japan and South Korea are renewing their reputations as dependable growth drivers in the Asia-Pacific region.

Focus on Greenwashing

The European Commission's strategic roadmap to make textiles more durable and recyclable by 2030 is homing in on greenwashing, while consumer watchdogs in Europe are keeping a close eye on the sustainability claims of fashion brands. Almost 79 per cent cite the lack of industry-wide standards to help them assess their sustainability performance as the greatest hurdle to improving how consumers perceive their efforts to reduce harm to the environment. Also, 65 per cent said they are considering nearshoring, to create new hubs dedicated to serving their domestic consumer markets. Two-thirds expect digitisation to be the most important capability to enable suppliers to grow in the year ahead.

The world of international trading has been grappling with one challenge after the other since the pandemic, followed by the war theatrics Europe. Many sectors had roller coaster rides and are continuing to do so, trying their best to keep their heads above the water. For the Indian textile exporters, October 2022 was no season of festive delight as it experienced a crash of 41.53 per cent year-on-year. Clearly, the worldwide economic slowdown is hitting home big time. With high inflation and energy crisis, Europe is bracing for a winter of discontent. Consumers in the US too are weary as news of a looming recession is compounding on the fears that the pandemic-induced lockdown had gotten.

Figures don’t look good

This October, textile export share in total merchandise export registered at 7.68 per cent compared to 9.72 per cent in October 2021. The Ministry of Commerce & Industry also released some facts to corroborate this decline – whilst India exported textiles valued at $2220.30 million in October 2021, this October it just managed exports worth $1298.34 million. In October 2021, export of manmade yarn, fabrics and other associated products stood at $468.69 million and the same dropped to $350.56 million in October 2022. The most important figure was that in October 2021, $1,335.97 million worth of cotton yarn, fabric and made-ups were exported. This year in October the figure reads nearly half at $719.03 million.

In the last six months leading up to October, the decline has been a steady one of 20.78 per cent year on year, valued at $11348.46 million. If this trend continues, then the textile sector, both export and manufacturing, are bound to face enormous difficulties which in turn would affect local economies on the whole. Experts predict the slow down as imminent and a reality that needs to be addressed. However, some pundits are predicting a comeback as despite the adverse conditions in the US and Europe, markets are slowing picking up strength.

Financial analysts are advising that domestic consumption textile manufacturers will fare better than export-orientated ones in the short term. Figures indicate that giants like Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd., Raymonds and Welspun are gaining strength.

Emerging hope

India’s huge festive and wedding season represents hope as many manufacturers are busy establishing robust domestic sales. The other silver linings come in the form of the shifting of manufacturing bases from China to India, the favorably strong US dollar, and Indian government’s lowering of cotton import duties as well as offering production-linked incentive schemes. In fact, the government has set ambitious goals to help bolster textile exports by targeting a total of $100 billion of exports within the next five years and upgrade the total value of the sector as in export and domestic trade between $250 billion and $300 billion.

While India managed to become more cost efficient in terms of cotton production however, thanks to the higher depreciation of currencies in competing countries makes Indian cotton still more expensive. This is a challenging factor as it is stressing out profitability and margins factors and also telling on capacity utilization of plants, which in turn affects the work force.

The upheaval of this nature is challenging indeed and experts are advising a wait and watch strategy up until the release of the Q3 figures of fiscal Y23 are out before considering serious investments or big moves.