Exports of cotton yarn by China increased by 33.3 per centin 2021. However, they declined by 28.7 per cent compared with that in 2019, as per data by China customs.

China’s cotton yarn exports increased by 33.3 per cent to 170kt, against 12.7kt in 2020, but declined by 28.7 per cent compared with that in 2019. It peaked in 2018 during the past ten years. The decrease in exports mainly lies in the production distribution and transfer of cotton textile industrial chain in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

The product structure did not change much compared with that in the past years. It was still centered on combed cotton yarn, as combed 30.4-46.6S, combed 54.8-66S and combed over 66S still ranked the top three in exports, but the shares of combed cotton yarn decreased by 2.3 per cent on the year and that of uncombed 8.2-25S improved by 2.3%.

The export volume of combed 30.4-46.6S/1 and ply yarn, and combed 8.2-25S dropped obviously by 25 per cent, 11 per cent and 2 per cent respectively, while that of uncombed 8.2-25S, combed 46.6-54.8S and combed over 66S increased by 39 per cent, 22 per cent and 22 per cent respectively.

Sateri’s five viscose mills in China have been independently evaluated for their social and labor practices. As per a Textile Value Chain report, these mills have completed the Higg Facility Social and Labour Module (FSLM) audit and achieved a consistently high score of above 80 per cent. A member of the RGE group of companies, Sateri is also one of the world’s first viscose producers to have completed the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) assessment, with a similar verified high score of over 80% for all its viscose mills.

Developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, a global, multi-stakeholder non-profit alliance for the fashion industry, the Higg Index is a suite of tools that enables brands, retailers, and facilities of all sizes to accurately measure and score a company or product’s sustainability performance. The FSLM tool of the Higg Index holistically assesses working conditions of the mills, including fair wages and compensation, health & safety, respectful treatment of employees, etc; while the FEM tool focuses more on environmental performance, including energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, chemical, and waste management.

Bangladesh exported $150.39 million worth of lingerie products, including categories such as shapewear and foundation garments to the US in the 11 months of 2021.

According to the latest official US custom data, Bangladesh brassieres export to the US surged by 43 per cent during the January to November period of 2021.

The US imported $2.57 billion worth of brassieres in the first 11-month period of 2021, observing 46.81 per cent year-on-year growth.

Among the other top 4 lingerie exporter countries – China bragged the top position with $858.81 million, noting 48.64 per cent Y-o-Y growth in January to November 2021 period.

Vietnam exported $496.76 million brassieres to the US, growing by 52.77per cent on yearly basis.

Sri Lanka exported $244.73 million worth of lingerie items, gaining by 34.54 per cent.

While Indonesia shipped $238.97 million worth of lingerie and intimatewear garments witnessing a significant 89.64 per cent growth in January to November period of 2021.

As per trade promotion body ZimTrade, Zimbabwe’s textile and footwear exports by 85 percent in 2021 as the country made inroads into regional markets. Zimbabwe’s exports of these products surged to $32,3 million in the first eight months of 2021 from $17,7 million in 2020, as per a report by The Herald.

Traditionally Zimbabwe’s textile market sector exports products mainly to South Africa with an estimated export market share of 91,74 percent, Zambia (1,91 percent), Germany (0,34), Malawi with an exports contribution of 0,12 percent, and Mozambique.

Currently less than 10 per cent textile manufacturers export their products inspite the growing regional market and inroads being made into Europe in the past few years. On the other hand, footwear production is on path to recovery after taking a battering in the economically turbulent years between 2001-2008.

The National Development Strategy (NDS 2021-2022) has also identified the leather sector as one of the key-value chains. The government has also pledged to recapitalize the leather and footwear sub-sector so as to increase industrial capacity utilization and boost exports through the production of value-added products such as finished leather, footwear, and other leather products.

If current bidders do not improve their offers significantly, lenders of textile major Sintex Industries’ plan to hold a Swiss challenge auction to prevent the business from going bankrupt. The lenders plan to adopt several ways to encourage bidders to substantially increase their offers for purchase. They plan to take the auction route instead of voting for liquidation.

The Swiss challenge system involves publishing of the bid made upon it by an entityt and inviting third parties to either match the bid or submit a higher bid. Reliance Industries ACRE team earlier made a bid for Sintex industries, which led to resolution professional Pinakin Shah asking bidders to submit improved offers and resolution plans for the business.

Sintex currently has four bidders with Reliance Industries’ ACRE team having offered the most for the business with an offer of Rs 2,363 crore. Textile business Welspun’s Easygo Textile has offered Rs 2,300 crore and Himatsingka Ventures and GHCL have also placed slightly smaller bids.

In its third quarter ended December 31, 2021, Sangam India posted a net profit of Rs 43.74 crore as against loss of Rs 29.87 crore posted during the quarter ended September 30, 2021. The company reported total income of Rs 652.44 crore in Q3 ended December 31, 2021 as compared to Rs 642.20 crore during the quarter ended September 30, 2021.

On a year-on-year basis, Sangam India posted a profit of Rs 43.74 crore during the quarter ended December 2021 against a loss of Rs 7.43 crore posted during the quarter ended December 31, 2029. The company reported total income of Rs 652.44 crore during the period ended December 31, 2021 as compared to Rs442.83 crore during the period ended December 31, 2020.

The Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC) has urged the Union government to help contain the rising cotton yarn and fabrics prices. Lalit Thukral, President, NAEC, urged the government to control cotton exports, remove 10 per cent cotton import duty, and develop a mechanism to regulate cotton and other raw materials prices to support the sector.

Thukral said the unexpected steep price rise of the cotton is hurting the production costs of apparel manufacturers and exporters. It is leading to loss of orders for exports and dwindling confidence of importers and buyers. Unchecked exports to competing countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Thailand is further aggravating the situation, Thukral added.

Prices of the fabrics have increased to Rs 40-50. Low import costs is helping Bangladesh, Vietnam Thailand and other countries reduce apparel production costs, threating India’s position in the global apparel market.

Currently buying £1 billion worth of clothes from Bangladesh each year, M&S intends to step up its purchases to make the country its top sourcing location for apparel products. The brand wishes to acquire more garments from Bangladesh due to supplier obligations and product diversification. It no longer aims to source basic sourcing, reports Textile Focus.

M&S has increased sourcing from Bangladesh by 30 per cent year on year in the last three years. It imports a variety of garments from the country. Besides, it also provides manufacturers technological, design and finance assistance to help them stay in business. It collaborates with 12 green factories in the country.

Bangladesh’s clothing industry has undergone significant transformation in the last few years. The country is no longer a provider of basic clothing. It has become more aggressive in protecting the production environment. Factory owners in the country have begun to repair structural issues with the support of Accord, Alliance, and the government, and are making their factories an example of safety.

The reluctance of textile business to set up fabric manufacturing units in the country is leading to a gap between demand and supply of yarn-dyed fabrics known as checked and striped shirting clothes in Bangladesh. According to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), demand for checked and striped shirting clothes is the highest among other woven garments in the world, businesses said.

Mohammad Ali Khokon, President, BTMA says, production of woven fabrics lags behind in the country due to the absence of adequate facilities due to lack of investment and uninterrupted gas and power supply. He urged the government to invite foreign investments for the backward linkage of woven-subsector as a plant for checked and striped shirting fabrics requires Tk 300-400 crore which is many fold higher than the cost for a knit fabric manufacturing unit.

Local textile mills meet four billion meters of woven fabrics out of 10 billion meters for annual exports. The local mills meet 50-60 per cent of demand for plain woven fabrics, 50 per cent for denim fabrics and nearly 10 per cent of (yarn dyed) checked and striped fabrics, he said.

Production units for woven fabrics are not increasing in the country due to high project costs, adds Md Shahidullah Azim, Vice President, BGMEA. He requested the government to extend low-cost finance for strengthening the backward linkage to tap the potential of global export market.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau data, Bangladesh’s export earnings from woven garments in the first half (July—December) of FY22 increased by 24.50 per cent to $8.74 billion while earnings from knitwear increased by 30.91 per cent to $11.16 billion. Despite having potential, Bangladesh RMG sector would lose work orders of woven garments as the sub-sector depends on imported fabrics, Khokon adds

Rising yarn and fabric prices are causing loss of orders for garment exporters, says Vimal Shah, President, Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan. He adds, it has become impossible to absorb the increase of 40-50 per cent in fabric prices and remain competitive. Domestic exporters are finding it tough to convert queries into orders as they cannot match the price countries like Bangladesh offer, Shah adds. They cannot offer the rates offered by other countries for their orders. This is impacting their profit margins, he further states.

Cotton prices have escalated owing to supply constraints with hoarding by traders and speculation in the commodities markets further adding to woes. Garment manufacturers catering to the domestic market as well, have been impacted due to COVID lockdowns as organized retailers, who sourced from them, did not pay for 6-12 months.