Export revenues of Vietnam’s textile and garment sector increased 8.61 per cent in the first six months of this year over the same period in 2018. Vietnam’s total export revenue to the US was up 12.84 per cent compared to the same period in 2018. The US is the biggest market for Vietnamese textiles and garments. It accounts for 46.9 per cent of Vietnam’s total export revenue of textiles and garments.

However the country’s textile and apparel firms are facing a shortage of orders. Their orders are just 70 per cent that of 2018. The main reason for the reduction in number of orders include higher and more demanding requirements from buyers, pressure on reducing prices and increasing trade barriers such as import tariffs and quality inspection, among others. The country’s textile and garment sector has grown less than nine per cent in the first half of this year, requiring the sector to expand by 11 per cent to12 per cent to fulfill the export turnover target for 2019.

Vietnam attracted $700 million worth of foreign direct investments in 63 garment and textile projects in the first five months of this year, including 17 Chinese-invested projects, and 12 Korean-invested projects.

The 7th edition of TANTU seminar, to be held at the India International Center, New Delhi, on September 14, 2019, will focus on ‘Jeans Manufacturing.’ Over the years, the TANTU seminar has established itself as a focused product-based seminar discussing critical issues pertaining to manufacturing.

Ramsons, one of world’s most respected apparel finishing solutions provider, will be the title sponsor of the seminar while Tukatech, USA will be its Gold Partner. The other technology solution providers associated with the seminar include Aeoon Digital Printing Solutions, Rajasthan International, Kalpataru International and Pulcra Chemicals.

Experts from jeans manufacturing organisations and brands around the world will discuss key issues related to cutting, sewing, finishing, dry and wet finishing of Jeans. The seminar will have three panel discussions apart from presentation from technology solution providers. The experts in panel discussion will also focus on the technology and manufacturing processes such as pattern making, fit and construction techniques. On the other hand, technology suppliers will also present their innovative and latest offerings to augment the value of jeans.

Sri Lanka hopes to significantly boost its apparel exports to the United Kingdom. Apparel exports make up 46 per cent of Sri Lanka’s total exports to the UK. Last year, Sri Lanka’s apparel and textile exports to the UK accounted for 78 per cent of the country’s exports to that market. The UK market is seen as one with a large unutilised export potential.

Fast moving consumer goods, pharmaceutical and technology services are seen as potential areas for more collaboration and investment between the two countries. Sri Lanka also hopes to increase exports of vegetable products, plastic, rubber, transportation and machinery and electrical products to the UK. Sri Lanka is confident of offering ethically-manufactured, environmentally-responsible high quality products for the British market. Sri Lanka is seeking a preferential trade arrangement with the UK to continue to reap the benefits of GSP Plus, leading towards a free trade agreement in future. The country’s preferential access needs will continue regardless of Britain’s EU membership.

Bilateral trade between the two countries is largely in favor of Sri Lanka. The UK is the fifth largest FDI source for Sri Lanka. The UK plans to focus more on Commonwealth countries, including Sri Lanka, an area which has somewhat been neglected for several decades.

US companies are moving their supply chains from China to neighboring countries. This follows the 25 per cent duties the US has levied on Chinese imports. Companies in sectors such as technology, clothing and footwear are exporting more goods from emerging giants including Vietnam and Malaysia. Exports of computers and electronics from Vietnam to the United States have grown 71.6 per cent in the first five months of 2019. Even before the trade war, US companies had been reducing their dependence on China because of increasing production costs and elevated transport expenses compared with other Asian countries. The trade war has only sped up those moves.

At the same time, the shift has exposed murkiness of trade export rules. In attempting to avoid having to pay 25 per cent, companies are violating US rules against transhipments, the routing of China-made goods through other countries to evade tariffs. Also, shifting production outside of China to other Asian centers is not necessarily a panacea. Many of these countries lack the roads, airports and other vital infrastructure China has. Retailers are more likely to stop producing goods with very low profit margins than to incur additional costs by moving production out of China.

As per Vietnam Cotton and Spinning Association, developing the fabric and dyeing segments would be the key factor in the growth of garment and textile industry in Vietnam. Despite being the second biggest exporter of textile and readymade garments globally, Vietnam is yet to fully exploit its true potentials, thanks to its incompetent dyeing facilities and its increasing dependence on imported fabrics. As per available figures, In 2017, Vietnam imported 6.5 billion metre of fabric, or two-thirds of the industry`s total requirement.

Considering that 750,000 tons of Vietnam’s fibres (two-third) make way overseas at lower prices every year, the increasing fabric imports sound rather contradictory. Industry insiders blame the poor development of the dyeing segment for the same. Industry insiders further added that local companies lack proper awareness about dyeing process alongside technology, human resources and skills required to develop this sector.

Polyester/cotton yarn mills reported a slump in their overall demand this year, partly owing to the surge in supply caused by previous production shift and partly due to the change in market sentiment owing to the trade war. As the CCF Group notes, after initial smooth sales and low inventory in end-2018, the sales of polyester/cotton yarn stagnated with its inventory averaging at 20 days or above.

Based on downstream plants, the sales in major producing areas are moving slowly with both domestic and foreign sales being under unprecedented pressure. For example, Henan, Shandong, Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are witnessing continuous high inventory pressure with many medium-sized enterprises cutting their productions largely.

For example, the largest cotton yarn producing area, Shandong is highly burdened with unsold inventory this year as the demand has not improved even though the prices have been lowered. Other regions face the same issue more or less. In South China, many spinners transfer to produce polyester yarn instead of polyester/cotton yarn, which is also a miniature of spinners’ expectation to later market.

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid has updated the dates of its 2020 summer edition. Instead of being held in July as previously planned, the event will now be held from June 23-28, 2019. The Madrid Fashion Week is keen to attract foreign interest, and its last two summer editions had already been brought forward to July from September.

Designers had requested the former fashion week director Charo Izquierdo, who stepped down from her role a few weeks ago, to change the dates of the fashion week. The change to the calendar was formally put in place after several discussions with the new management.

The last edition of the Madrid Fashion Week, featured over 40 designers who presented their offerings for spring/summer 2020. The next edition of the event will be held from January 23-28, 2020.

Kumar Mangalam Birla has been appointed the new chairman of Century Textiles and Industries after the death of his grandfather Basant Kumar Birla. Birla joined the board of Century Textiles in 2006 and in 2015 became its vice-chairman. The board of Century Enka elected Rajashree Birla as chairperson. She was the vice chairperson before. Basant Kumar's daughter Manjushree Khaitan was re-designated as chairman of Kesoram Industries.

Khaitan relinquished her position as executive vice-chairperson and would continue on the board as a non-executive director. She had been on the board of Kesoram since 2001. Basant Kumar's other daughter Jayashree Mohta is the vice-chairperson of Jay Shree Tea & Industries.

India has taken several steps for the promotion of investment, exports and creation of new job opportunities in the textile sector. GST on manmade fiber yarns has been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. GST rates for garments and made-up articles not exceeding Rs 1000 a piece are five per cent of the sale value and 12 per cent for articles of sale value exceeding Rs 1000 a piece. Accumulated input tax credit on fabrics will be refunded. This is aimed at reducing the cost of fabrics, which are major inputs for garments.

The package offers Rebate of State Levies, labor law reforms, additional incentives under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme and some income tax relaxation. A 40 per cent subsidy is being provided for setting up textile parks. A scheme has been launched for boosting production in knitting and knitwear clusters. The Samarth scheme will train 10 lakh youngsters for a period of three years at an estimated cost of Rs 1300 crores. Total compensation under the remission of state levies scheme and a new scheme to reimburse against embedded central taxes (even after the GST rollout) will be raised to 6.05 per cent (of freight-on-board value) for garments and 8.2 per cent for made-ups from the current 1.7 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.

India’s apparel exports have increased by two per cent from 2015 to 2018. The country faces competition from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which have competitive manufacturing costs and enjoy duty free access to major markets like the EU. So some garment units have set up units in Ethiopia due to zero duty access for Ethiopian exports in the US and the EU and due to incentives being offered for investments there. A special package for garments and made-ups offers labor law reforms, additional incentives under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme, enhanced duty drawback coverage and relaxation of income tax rules. Rates under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme have been enhanced from two per cent to four per cent. The interest equalization rate for pre and post shipment credit for exports by micro, small and medium textile units has been enhanced from three per cent to five per cent. Benefits of the interest equalization scheme have been extended to merchant exporters, something that was earlier limited to manufacturer exporters.

India’s apparel exports fell by 1.2 per cent in fiscal year ’19 from fiscal ’18, which in turn was four per cent lower than the previous year. The share of apparel exports in the country’s total textile exports fell from 51 per cent in fiscal ’17 to 45 per cent in fiscal ’19.