“The government will focus on enhancing cotton crop productivity by adopting a cluster-based approach with a public-private partnership model and enhanced use of advanced technologies”, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

The emphasis to increase cotton crop productivity was positive for cotton textile stocks.

At the bourses, the textile stocks rallied up to three per cent in morning

Trade show Pure London (UK, February 12 to 14, 2023) will present alternative lifestyle brands which offer a fresh, innovative approach to fashion.

These proudly embrace difference in all its glory and will offer bold collections that make a statement and demand zero-judgement. Airwalk, a skateboarding and action sports lifestyle brand, will feature super-soft peached fabric and branded detailing, nineties-inspired classic skate graphics and vintage washes. Licensed distributor Heroes will present Super Heroes, the bespoke premium apparel range featuring Marvel, Disney, Star Wars, Pokémon, Stranger Things, DC Comics and Harry Potter across a wide range of different products.

Pure London is the UK’s leading trade fashion buying event. Twice a year the brightest minds in the fashion industry come together at Pure London to discover the season’s must-have collections, latest trends, and exclusive business insights. Priding itself on offering unmatched free content, from trend focused catwalks to incredible expert talks, not only is Pure London a fashion buying destination, but is a place to network and learn about key industry issues and topics.

Pure London has the largest women’s wear offering in the UK and the largest offering of international brands as well as exciting onsite trend partner and new sustainability initiatives.

Source Fashion will take place in the UK, February 12 to 14, 2023.

This is the only international fashion sourcing platform of its kind in the UK and renowned speakers, designers, industry professionals, experts and brands will discuss and explore trends, next-generation textiles and alternative fibers, recycling and the circular economy plus all the latest topics relevant to responsible and sustainable fashion sourcing.

A discussion will invite visitors to discover the biomaterial revolution.Sustainable innovation has been made possible with biofabricated materials and the market has grown significantly over the last few years seeing an increase in plant substitutes for leather and fabrics.Ethical supply chains will be explored.

The trend of developing a green supply chain is gaining immense popularity now, and businesses are focusing more on improving their supply chain visibility, efficiency, and costs. It’s a long-term commitment for a business but adopting a green supply chain strategy will prove vital to spearhead the growth of a business in the long run.A compelling line-up of over 150 audited, quality manufacturers and dedicated country pavilions from around the world will include Peru, India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Portugal, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Madagascar, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, the UK and many more.

Pakistan is turning to e-commerce platforms to increase textile exports. Major exports of Pakistan that are expected to play a role in e-commerce include textile, leather and sports goods, chemicals, carpets and rugs, hosiery, bedding and bath, apparel, sports and outdoors and kitchen and dining items.

The aim of using e-commerce platforms is to maximize Pakistan’s share in global textile exports and also build up brands in terms of sales, customer satisfaction, and overall performance. Sellers are being given hopes of achieving significant profit margin by pushing their products through e-commerce and are given tips on selling strategies.

Supply chain issues and logistic challenges are being identified while promoting e-commerce in the textile industry of Pakistan. China is the top global exporter in the world through e-commerce. Pakistan is ranked as the third topmost country with highest number of sellers on Amazon after the United States and China. The country meanwhile hopes to uplift total textile exports to $50 billion in the next five years. Garment and textile units are being planned which will have the potential to provide employment to around one million people and which will utilize surplus yarn and fabric in the production of garments and other value added textile products.

Fespa will be held in Germany, May 23 to 26, 2023. This digital and textile printing exhibition is for companies producing printing, signage equipment and materials.

More than 330 exhibitors will present visitors with the latest product innovation for large format digital printing, screen printing, textile printing, sublimation, signage, garment decoration, finishing equipment and 3D printing. They will use this exhibition as a platform to showcase their machinery, supplies and services and meet and network with customers from different sectors of the industry.

Visitors will be offered an experiential showcase of products and solutions for personalization. A conference will feature over 50 expert speakers, featuring individual content streams dedicated to personalized loyalty marketing, sportswear and fashion customization, bespoke interiors and personalized packaging.

Fespa is the global federation of specialized print, education and training. Every year the show continues to grow. Fespa is the leading European exhibition for textile printing, where vendors offer new textile printing solutions. Printers and sign makers attend. Visitors have access to a comprehensive line-up of suppliers of technology, materials for printing and sign-making, consumables and accessories.

The expo is a forum for meeting customers face-to-face, making concrete sales and developing business pipelines. Printers from all parts of the world attend but particularly from Europe and the Middle East.

ITMA will be held in Milano, Italy, June 8 to 14, 2023. This is a textile machinery trade show attracting leading textile and garment manufacturers from around the world.

Held every four years, ITMA has become a platform for emerging trends and innovative solutions, new knowledge and best practices, and establishing relationships with textile industry leaders.As the world’s most established showcase of its kind, ITMA is the platform for the industry to buy and sell, and to collaborate face-to-face.

The last show took place in 2019. The industry has been very supportive of the event and strong participation is expected. More than 1,570 exhibitors from 42 countries are expected. Italy, Germany and Spain form the top three countries based on the number of exhibiting companies and the top sectors are finishing, spinning, weaving, printing, knitting, winding and nonwovens. A number of exhibitors have taken up a larger stand surface. On an average, there has been a more than ten percent increase in the space booked by exhibitors.

Start-ups are being offered a useful platform to put their innovations in front of a global audience, to find investors and collaborators, and to leverage industry connections and professional networks.

ITMA connect is an online platform that connects visitors with exhibitors and industry partners to make appointments for in-person meetings during the show as well as enable discussions.

G2 Dynamic and Anubis enable the production of sustainable fabrics and achieve a perfect combination of fabric and finish. These are technologies developed by Jeanologia which guarantee more authentic and enhanced laser results, reducing water consumption by up to 95 per cent, chemical consumption by 100 per cent, and energy by 80 per cent and carbon footprint by up to 40 per cent.

They have been implemented by more than 40 industrial weavers around the world. Anubis is based on thermal shock. Using no water, and in a reduced timeframe, it provides maximum shrinkage control and permits fabric relaxation.In combination with the subsequent ozone treatment with G2 Dynamic, the cleaning effect is maximized. G2 Dynamic is an eco-friendly alternative to some of the most polluting and water-consuming fabric finishing processes.

This ozone technology for continuous treatment of fabrics achieves more authentic results more quickly, saving resources both during fabric production and during the subsequent stages of garment production.

For Jeanologia, sustainable textile production starts with the fabric, reducing its environmental impact in the manufacturing process and carrying out a precise selection to achieve more efficient processes from the fabric. Jeanologia’s mission is to eliminate 100 per cent of the waste generated in the manufacturing and finishing of jeans.

Textile mill owners and spinners in Bangladesh are finding difficulties in opening letters of credit to import raw materials and cotton.

This is because of the ongoing dollar shortage in the banking sector of the country. Banks are taking more time than usual, ten to 15 days more,to open the letters of credit. Businesses have expressed apprehensions this may affect the import of raw materials such as dyes, chemicals, viscose, staple fiber and cotton, which are considered vital for manufacturing garments that are exported.

When the currency began sliding against the dollar textile and readymade garment exporters in Bangladesh were supposed to gain from the development. But the reality turned out to be different for them as they saw lower profits or even losses.

Bangladesh’s currency depreciated by about 25 per cent against the dollar between February and September, driven by the Russia-Ukraine war.A currency depreciation, if orderly and gradual, usually improves a nation’s export competitiveness, but exporters in Bangladesh could not make the most of the depreciation since they had to buy dollars at a higher price while opening letters of credit to import raw materials needed to serve the global markets.

Most textile and apparel manufacturers in Bangladesh purchase raw materials from international markets and they have had to pay higher prices while opening letters of credit.

Of Sri Lanka’s fabric imports in the first eleven months of 2022, China and India were the top suppliers with a total contribution of more than 64 per cent.

Imports from China had a share of 38 per cent while India’s share was 26 per cent of the total. But Indian fabrics are gaining ground in the Sri Lankan textile market as imports from India are increasing in the island country compared to Chinese supplies.

Sri Lanka’s fabric imports from India are witnessing an upward trend as they have jumped by more than 50 per cent in four years, but imports from China have remained almost stable during the same period.Fabric imports from China to Sri Lanka have increased by just one per cent in four years. During the first seven months of 2022 fabric imports by the south Asian island nation of Sri Lanka remained volatile. The country’s fabric imports declined in March 2022 when the country faced economic problems, but it managed to control the damage quickly and imports rose again in the subsequent months indicating normal textile and apparel manufacturing.Import declined in March 2022 from February 2022, but recovered in April 2022. Sri Lankan inward shipment of the product again increased in May 2022 and June 2022 but dropped once again in July 2022.

The last Union Budget before the next general election in 2024 has got a mixed reaction from India’s textile and apparel industry. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s focus on infrastructure, investment, green growth, youth power and inclusive development has got a thumbs-up from across the industry. Also, the income tax incentives has also gone down well with expectation of more cash for spending among the consuming class.

Boost to ELS cotton

“The government will focus on enhancing cotton crop productivity by adopting a cluster-based approach with a public-private partnership model and enhanced use of advanced technologies,” said Sitharaman in her Budget speech. The emphasis to increase cotton crop productivity will be positive cotton textile stocks. With this announcement these stocks rallied up to 3 per cent in morning deals on NSE.

Reacting to the Budget Ravi Sam, Chairman, Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) thanked the government for giving thrust towards inclusive growth, infrastructure and investment green growth, skills development, etc, that would greatly help the highly labour, power and capital intensive textile industry. He also thanked the government for considering the Association’s proposal and announcing a scheme for increasing production of Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton under Cluster Development Initiative through PPP mode. As per Ravi Sam, SIMA can match with international ELS cotton varieties and would take initiatives to increase production under the scheme. He says after introduction of Bt technology only for Long Staple Cotton, the industry started facing shortage of ELS cotton. The industry’s requirement of ELS cotton is around 20 lakh bales while the country produces only five lakh bales and depends on imports of superior quality ELS cotton. This initiative will benefit the whole textile value chain including cotton farmers.

“The focus on enhancing the yield of Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton, a long requirement of textile industry, will help to increase manufacturing of value added garments and also to reduce the import of ELS Cotton,” said KM Subramanian, President, Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA).

The emphasis to increase cotton crop productivity will be positive for cotton textile stocks. At the bourses, these stocks rallied up to 3 per cent in morning deals on NSE. HP Cotton Textile Mills, one of the largest exporters of cotton specialty yarns and cotton sewing threads in India, rallied 3.19 per cent to Rs 103.65.

Focus on Green Growth

Green growth will be one of the seven priority sectors of Union Budget 2023. In her Budget speech, she explained that “green growth” priority sector will include multiple programmes on green fuel, green energy, green farming, green mobility, green buildings and green equipment. This will also include policies for efficient use of energy across various sectors. “These green growth efforts will help in reducing carbon intensity of the economy and provides for large scale green job opportunities,” she said.

Naren Goenka, Chairman, AEPC feels the Budget is a positive, growth oriented and forward-looking one. “The focus on infrastructure, investment, green growth, youth power and inclusive development will boost India’s journey to be the fastest growing- robust economy. The announcement to cover more sectors under the PLI scheme and support to the MSME sector will help thrust exports and investment in the country,” he added.

Goenka says the Rs 9,000-crore corpus for a revamped credit guarantee scheme will alleviate the stress of small and medium enterprises in India. As desired by exporters, the increased allocation for Interest Equalization Scheme from Rs 2,376 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 2932 crore in 2023-24, up 23 per cent, will support exports. Further he says, “The increased allocation of ATUFS from 650 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 900 crore in 2023-24 an increase of 38 per cent will help in release payment of pending cases faster.” Further Chairman AEPC observed, by removing a large number of compliances converting over 3400 legal provisions into decriminalization and amending 42 Central Acts will help smooth revival of businesses.

Unhappy about increase in customs duty for textile machinery

Ravi Sam pointed out the government could have avoided the increase in basic customs duty on textile machinery from 5 to 7.5 per cent as the country is not even producing 20 per cent of the machinery requirement. This will impact global competitiveness and also the recently announced Production Linked Incentive Scheme and PM MITRA Scheme in the absence of Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme which was in vogue from April 1 1999 to March 31, 2022.

Subramanian concurs, “Unfortunately, there was no announcement on continuance of ATUF Scheme in the Union Budget.”

Commenting on the Budget Sanjay K Jain, MD TT Ltd & Chairman ICC National Textiles Committee says, “As expected nothing really for textile industry in this Budget.” He is excepting more disposable income in consumer’s hands due to tax cuts plus with inflation taming which means more consumption.”

Mayank Tiwari, Founder and CEO, ReshaMandi, says “The government’s decision to relax taxation for start-ups for up to 10 years, coupled with the setting up of bio hubs in rural areas, will greatly ease the process of setting up units in villages. Our efforts to improve the supply-chain network for all our stakeholders in the natural fibre ecosystem supply chain receives a major boost from the decision to support collaborative projects between farmers, states, and businesses to provide input supply extension services and market connections. Besides providing direct access to global markets, ready access to the internet will expose the farming community to the best trade and agricultural practices the world over. Promise of financial assistance to traditional artisans such as weavers, who are ReshaMandi’ s strategic stakeholders and partners, is a decision we welcome with much delight.”