World production of all fibers rose to 111 million metric tons in 2018, a one- year increase of four million tons, and a rise over the past decade of 35 million tons. Of the world total, natural fibers accounted for 32 million tons in 2018, an increase of less than two million tons in 10 years. The share of natural fibers in world fiber production fell from 41 per cent in 2008 to less than 30 per cent in 2018.

World production of synthetic filament is 50 million tons; of this polyester filament alone is about 45 million tons. Synthetic staple production is 22 million tons, and production of cellulosic fibers is seven million tons.

Cotton production in 2017-18 is estimated at 26.72 million tons. World production of jute fell to less than three million tons because of poor weather in India and Bangladesh. Jute markets in Bangladesh and India showed increases in value and decreases in volumes during 2018. A decreased jute production caused by poor weather means that consumption exceeds production, and stocks are being reduced. It is likely that prices could continue to increase during 2019. Production of wool fell in 2018. Wool production figures have been declining since 2000.

World cotton production for the 2018-19 season is forecast up slightly, led by larger crops in China, Brazil, and Australia. But this will offset lower production in Turkey and India. US production is down almost 2,00,000 bales and consumption is reduced by 1,00,000 bales.

The harvested area in Australia is estimated at 0.3 million hectares, down 43 per cent from last year. Yield is forecast at 1.887 tons per hectare, two per cent below the five-year average. Yield is expected to increase from last year because of an estimated decrease in the share of the area sown to lower-yielding dryland cotton.

Brazil is expected to have record exports, driven by a record crop. November and December 2018 Brazil exports showed record monthly numbers. Continued improvement in grading and classification of Brazil’s cotton is also supporting strong interest from overseas buyers.

Stagnant demand from Brazil’s domestic yarn and textile industry is expected to encourage future shipments. Brazil’s exports are forecast to be more than a third higher than last year. A weak monsoon has dragged Indian cotton production by nearly seven per cent. Yield is down five per cent from last year. The below-average monsoon rainfall coupled with pest infestation has truncated India’s cotton harvesting. After the first picking, farmers in Gujarat abandoned non-irrigated areas.

US cotton acreage in 2019 is expected to be 2.9 per cent more than in 201. Overall abandonment is projected to be lower in 2019 because most regions currently have adequate moisture levels. Abandonment is assumed at approximately ten per cent for the United States.

A modest increase in US mill use of cotton is expected in the 2019 crop year. As the single largest user of US cotton, US mills continue to be critically important to the health of the cotton industry. In the face of rising textile imports from Asian suppliers, the US textile industry has focused on new investment and technology adoption in order to remain competitive.

Trade tensions and increased competition from other major exporting countries have led to a decline in the US trade share. Despite the decline, the US will remain the largest exporter of cotton in 2018. US exports are projected to reach 15 million bales in the 2018 marketing year.

A key factor affecting the US cotton industry is the ongoing US-China trade dispute and the 25 per cent tariff on US cotton imported into China. With the imposition of 25 per cent tariff, China has turned to other suppliers, allowing Brazil, Australia, and other countries to gain market share.

After a 7 per cent increase in exports during 2018, Guatemala's apparel and textile sector expects to reach $2 billion in sales this year. Crisis in Nicaragua and an 8 per cent increase in customer demand in the United States were some of the reasons for growth reported last year by textile companies in Guatemala.

According to the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat), during the first 11 months of last year sales of costume items to the U.S. represented 91 per cent of the total sold by local companies. Figures show between January and November 2017, and the same period in 2018, exports to the US registered an 8 per cent increase, from $1.111 million to $1.200 million.

India's cotton imports may jump 80 per cent from a year ago. Production could fall to the lowest level in nine years due to low rainfall in key growing regions. Since production is not sufficient to fulfil local consumption from March onward imports are expected to pick up.

Due to the dry weather farmers were forced to uproot plants early. They couldn't go for third or fourth pickings. Rains in Gujarat and Maharashtra, which account for more than half of India's cotton production, were nearly a quarter below normal during the June-September monsoon season in 2018.

Indian farmers have adopted genetically-modified seeds that are resistant to boll worms but that hasn't stopped infestations. India is likely to produce 33 million bales in the current season. Last year's output was 36.5 million bales.

The drop in output is likely to lead to lower cotton shipments from India. India's exports could fall 27.5 per cent from a year ago, the lowest level in a decade. The drop in Indian supplies could help rivals such as the United States, Brazil and Australia increase exports to key Asian buyers such as China, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Higher imports by the world's biggest cotton producer could support global prices, trading near their lowest in more than a year.

The eighth edition of Asia Apparel Expo will be held in Messe Berlin from February 20-22, 2019. The expo will feature European apparel professionals who can meet a wide variety of Asian suppliers for men, women and children’s wear clothing as well as a wide range of fashion accessories plus garment trimmings. Over 350 companies from Hong Kong, China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Taiwan will display their creations at the show.

The expo is established as the major sourcing event in Europe exclusively for Asian suppliers of finished apparel, contract manufacturing and private label development. It connects the Asian clothing manufacturers with the suppliers providing low cost, high quality and stable products to European brands. This year the expo will be supported by Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh, China Council for the Promotional of International Trade (CCPIT) Jiangsu, China and Bureau of Commerce of Qingdao, China.

A yarn bank has been set up in Ludhiana to facilitate the garment industry in procuring yarn without any middleman. There will be no price issues. Yarn sellers fix rates arbitrarily and yarn prices of yarn fluctuate every day. A few companies had developed a cartel and buyers were being exploited. While input costs were increasing the customer was not ready to pay more.

As of now, only the power loom and loom industries can avail of the facilities at the yarn bank. Knitwear manufacturers also want to be included in the scheme, arguing the procedure of making cloth is the same, the only difference being that the knitwear industry uses machines while the other industry uses looms.

A special purpose vehicle (SPV) has been formed and 13 members have been selected from Ludhiana and who will be purchasing the yarn and will also control its input cost. As much as two crore rupees have been given to the SPV for three years without any interest by the Textile Department. If three to four transactions are done in a year then it can be approved further.

Ludhiana is a hub of the knitwear industry and has around 5000 units with a majority of them in the medium and small scale sector.

KPR Mill will add another 10 million garment capacity to its existing facility besides expanding its processing capacity to match the increased garments' requirements. With this the total capacity of the company will increase to 115 million garments per annum and the processing to 22,000 MT per annum.

Many embroidery machines suppliers and jobworkers are facing a tough time in India. There is 40 to 50 per cent fall in the demand of embroidery machines. According to Deepak Choudhary, Founder and CEO, Aura Technologies, one of the main reasons for the dip is embroidery is not in fashion as much as it used to be. Its popularity even in domestic market has reduced. Import of multi-head computerised machines has seen a drastic fall.

Kavita Ahlawat, Director, Q-One, Gurgaon renowned embroidery jobworker with 1,300 heads of computerised embroidery also accepted that last year was really difficult and even couple of seasons too seemed tough. She feels, one of the biggest reasons for this is shifting of orders towards Bangladesh

Novelty in products and unexplored markets seemed to be the main options for the companies. For further growth opportunities, Aura Technologies is focusing on technology upgradation for adding more value in products. The organisation has recently developed innovative technology for glass beads. Simultaneously, it is also exploring new markets. Like recently it forayed into Bangladesh for the first time and is already expecting good installation of his machines in the country in the long run.

Q-One recently participated for the first time in the India International Garment Fair (IIGF). The company is also in process to work with some Jaipur-based exporters which is a new market for the company. It is also focusing on new and different kinds of embroidery.

Bangladesh needs additional investments in the export-oriented garment sector to reduce its dependence on imported fabrics. Domestic textile millers can supply four billion meters of fabrics, so Bangladesh imports six billion meters of fabrics from China and three billion meters from India.

Currently, Bangladesh’s textile millers can meet 85 per cent of the demand from the knitwear sector and 35 per cent from the woven sector. At least another 20 big textile mills have to be built which can supply quality fabrics to the garment exporters. Right now quality fabric is being supplied but in insufficient amounts.

However, there are difficulties in attracting fresh investments in the sector. Among these are high interest rates and scarcity of industrial land. Gas connections and effluent treatment plants are needed. Bangladesh needs to improve the capacity of its primary textile sector. Increased supply of local raw materials also decreases the lead time, which is very important in the competitive apparel business. The primary textile sector needs to be able to add more value in the garment sector, which typically rakes in more than 82 per cent of the export receipts in a year. Bangladesh wants to targets $50 billion in garment export receipts by 2021.