US import of denim apparels drops 7.43 per cent in the first two months of the year to $460.25 million, expanding on a 5.36 per cent year-over-year falloff in January, says the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA). As per the OTEXA report, among top 10 supplier countries, shipments from only four increased. Bangladesh emerged the leading supplier with imports increasing 5.57 per cent year to date through February compared to the same time last year for a value of $95.16 million. US’ imports from Pakistan increased 11.01 per cent to $42.96 million.

Imports from Nicaragua increased 21.26 per cent year to date to $16.79 million, while shipments from Lesotho increased by 19.04 percent to $9.23 million. Other AGOA countries posting gains in the period are: Madagascar whose exports to the US increased 34.25 percent to $7.69 million; Ethiopia’s shipments increased 66.48 per cent to $2.76 million; Kenya, up 48.91 per cent to $3.11 million, and Tanzania, jumping 94.92 per cent to $1.23 million.

Jeans imports from Mexico declined 4.9 per cent to $87.47 million while shipments from China fell by 11.66 per cent to $49.36 million. Imports from Cambodia, which had shown strength in 2020, declined 12.93 per cent year to date through February to $25.38 million, while Egypt’s shipments fell by 32.76 percent to $17.14 million.

Reputed manufacturer and exporter of readymade garments, Gokuldas Exports has signed an MoU with the Telangana government to set up a manufacturing facility at the Sircilla Textile Park in Telangana. The facility will help the company provide jobs to around 1,100 people, of which 75 per cent will be women. It will provide also necessary skill development training for women in Sircilla and surrounding villages. Sumir Hinduja, Managing Director says, the company has decided to start operations in Telangana due to the State government’s investment-friendly policies.

So far, the company has supplied garments to many well-known international brands and garments manufactured at its Sircila plant will be supplied to leading brands in the US and Europe. Rama Rao, Textile Minister, the Telangana government has made the textile sector one of its main priorities and has undertaken a number of programs to support growth, including the creation of necessary infrastructure as well as skill development programs.

Leading data and analytics company GlobalData expects emerging Asia Pacific markets to significantly contribute to the revival of the global denim market. As per Philstar Global, the global jeans market grew at an annual rate of 0.5 percent between 2014 and 2019 to hit $74 billion. However, global lockdowns due to the pandemic led to store closures, which dampened overall apparel spend, including denim jeans. Ayan Gangopadhyay, Retail Analyst, GlobalData said the Asia Pacific region registered a growth in demand for denim over the years, supported by rapid urbanization, cheaper connectivity, growing investment in the digital space and a strong domestic demand.

Within this region, India is forecast to grow the fastest, driven by large investments by international and local retailers on online platforms. The men’s jeans market in the country will grow with increasing casualization of the workplace, said Gangopadhyay.

He advised brands to encourage women to buy more using strategies such as incorporating comfort in jeans by using softer fabrics, going beyond the conventional size ranges, as well as offering the opportunity to customize products based on personal preferences

Rising work-from-home initiated by several employers globally prompted demand for comfortable clothing to significantly increase. Hence, retailers must incorporate more stretch and comfort in jeans besides aiming for more sustainable sourcing, he added.

A Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council believes, though PPE manufacturers are getting fresh enquires, the spike in COVID-19 cases may not necessarily lead to a surge in demand again. Raja M Shanmugham, President, Tiruppur Exporters’ Association agrees, though a few manufacturers will continue to make PPEs and masks, there will not be a major shift to PPE production as demand will not be high. Garment manufacturers are likely to continue making regular products.

A recognized laboratory to test PPEs and masks, the Southern India Textile Research Association, has been receiving a steady stream of samples to test different standards, but there is no rush for products as before. K S Sundararaman, Chairman, Indian Technical Textile Association believes, as there is no government mandate now on the use of PPEs demand is not likely to be high. Also, not all hospitals are keen on buying laminated PPEs as the focus now is more on the use of masks and sanitizers, and there is adequate capacity for manufacturing gloves, sanitizers, and masks.

The leader in developing innovative solutions for the textile, apparel, and personal care industries, The Lycra Company has appointed Yafu Qiu as its new Chairman and Julien Born, Chief Commercial Officer as co-chief executive officer.

Effective April 1, 2021, the appointments follows the retirement of David Trerotola and is intended to help the company better implement its strategic development plan for the next five years and bring greater operational focus.

Born, currently the company’s chief commercial officer, will serve as co-CEO and lead the overall operations of the company and implement its ambitious growth vision. He joined the business in 2007 and, since 2018, led the company’s apparel business, where he managed the global commercial organization, helped strengthen R&D and innovation capabilities, and oversaw manufacturing assets. Prior, he had a diverse 24-year career spent in the U.S,, Europe and Asia, as both an executive in large multinational companies and as a business owner of a full-service corporate licensing agency.

Meanwhile, Qiu, in addition to continuing as chairman of The Lycra Company, will focus his co-CEO role on the company’s relationships with key stakeholders, board governance matters, strategic planning, and capital structure adjustments, including the strategy and timing of an initial public offering.

The ministry is urging engineering organizations to meet the gap in domestic machinery production and demand, informed Smriti Irani, Minister of Textiles.

One of the challenges that the Indian textile industry faces is the shortage of machine tools, saids Irani. With the guidance of Principal Scientific Advisor, K Vijay Raghavan, Irani reached out to IITs across the country, particularly Chennai, to highlight to them what the machinery needs of the industry were.

Another challenge facing the sector was that machine tool making did not fall within the Textile Ministry administratively, Irani said. However, she ensured that it will make sure the machines are made in India.

Irani said, the PLI scheme aims to create global champions in MMF apparel and Technical Textiles by providing incentive from 3 per cent to 15 per cent on stipulated incremental turnover for five years.

She said, the National Textiles Policy has been delayed because it could not have been conclusive when other things were developing. Irani appreciated the reforms in agriculture and labor but added that the new policy needed to find a balance between government’s speedy allocations and the industry’s preparedness to take that allocation and convert it into opportunity.

Presiding over the first convocation of NIFT Srinagar, Smriti Irani, Union Minister of Textiles said, the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) plans to introduce technical textiles as an academic subject in the near future.

As per Apparel Resources, Irani said, the field of technical textiles, which involves production and design of textiles for use in industries other than apparel and decoration, is going to be the next big thing in the future. Textile Ministry is making efforts to utilize its potential to the fullest.

Despite limitations of space and other operational difficulties, almost 65 percent of the students of the first batch have managed to secure placements.

The permanent campus of NIFT Srinagar is coming up at an estimated cost of Rs. 287 crore and would soon be operational.

The Minister said that the first batch of NIFT Srinagar has added a golden page in the 35-year-old history of the institution.

NIFT Srinagar offers two undergraduate courses in Fashion Design and Fashion Communication of four-year duration each.

Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju was the Guest of Honour and Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha attended the ceremony through video link from Raj Bhawan Jammu. Dr. Javid Ahmad Wani, Director, NIFT Srinagar and other senior officials of the state were also present on this occasion.

Many textile and apparel companies are increasing their investments in Madhya Pradesh, says a report by the Apparel Resources.

As per the report, Ludhiana-based Vardhman Group is investing Rs. 800 crore in spinning and this project is expected to complete in the next one-and-a-half years. Tirupur-based Best Corporation has started construction of its unit near Ujjain which is its first-ever in MP. The company is investing Rs. 60 crore in the garment factory which will be having initially 1,000 stitching machines.

Another textile company that has also announced to invest more in the state is Sagar Group, which is also the leading group of MP. The company is establishing textiles and food processing units at Tamot in Raisen district. There will be an investment of Rs. 600 crore in the projects and 2,500 people would get jobs in the two units.

The main reasons for the fresh investment are easy and very cost-effective availability of land and availability of labour as well. For example, Best Corporation has been allotted 15 acres of land on 75 per cent subsidy compared to the market price of land. On the ground level, the State Government is highly supportive of the industry.

S. Pal, Director, Vardhman Group, said along with polices, the major positive aspect is the supportive attitude of the State Government. Policies related to textile industry in the state are like a complete package for the companies.

The state also has some strong availability of resources for the textile industry like it is amongst the top 10 states of India producing cotton. Since 2008, NIFT is also operational at Bhopal with UG and PG courses. Similarly is NID, Bhopal.

The Pakistan Readymade Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PGRMEA) has called for a forensic audit of the yarn producers to break cartel of cotton mafia in line with the actions taken by the PTI government against sugar lobby.

PRGMEA has pointed out that the textile manufacturers have increased the rates of yarn by more than 40 per cent in a very short span, creating artificial shortage on the excuse of lower production of cotton in the country despite declining prices of cotton in the international market, hitting the apparel sector exports badly.

Sohail Sheikh, Central Chairman PRGMEA urged Prime Minister Imran Khan to take serious steps to break the textile industry cartel, giving it strong message that no cartelization would be allowed to manipulate prices in future and if they commit such crime they have to face the full brunt of law.

He asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to conduct raids on the warehouses of yarn dealers who have been hoarding a huge quantity of yarn to create artificial shortage and manipulate the rates in connivance with the manufacturers, taking advantage of record low produce of cotton in Pakistan.

Ijaz Khokhar, Chief Coordinator, PRGMEA said that arrival of low-cost cotton yarn from neighboring country through land route, on the approval of ECC, could have broken this powerful textile cartel, shaking the monopoly of yarn producers to fix the rates artificially very high.

Moreover, the deferment of cabinet to allow yarn import via Wagah has not only damaged the clear stance of the government's zero tolerance against all kinds of mafias like sugar, flour, petroleum and IPPs but also sent a wrong message to the international buyers that Pakistan is facing yarn shortage and authorities are not allowing raw material import. So, Pakistan value-added textile export industry cannot fulfill the new orders timely due to short and expansive raw material.

Indian textile makers are planning to export fabrics for making clothes, carpets, rugs and towels to the Kenyan market. As per Business Daily Africa, these firms presented their bids to potential Kenyan apparel makers during the Reverse Buyer Seller Meet (RBSM) Wool and Woollen exhibition in New Delhi.

The three-day event which took place from March 25 to 27, saw Kenya’s fashion designers and sourcing agents interact with India’s wool and Woollen products manufacturers and exporters.

Kenyan fashion companies and importers that graced the event included Rialto Enterprises, Occasions and Days, Sao Satorial and Combiat Agencies.

Monica Kanari, CEO, Occasions and Days, said that they are eyeing partnerships with the Indian textile and apparel industry for a seamless source of quality fabrics for Kenya's textile industry.

Kenya has been pushing consumption of locally-made apparel to create jobs as well as reduce the annual forex stockpile spent annually in buying second hand clothes from abroad.

Under the manufacturing pillar of the government’s “Big Four” agenda, jumps-tarting the leather, textiles and agro-processing sub-sectors was seen as key in making quick gains in rebuilding Kenya’s industry.