"Vietnam has been exporting unprocessed agriculture and other primary products to China for decades. Of late, there has been strong growth in its export of higher value agriculture products, including fruits, vegetables and other horticulture products and seafood. Vietnam also exports electronic and other manufactured products to China. However, its integration in regional production chains has reversed the situation leading to an increase in Vietnam’s imports and investment from China."

Vietnam has been exporting unprocessed agriculture and other primary products to China for decades. Of late, there has been strong growth in its export of higher value agriculture products, including fruits, vegetables and other horticulture products and seafood. Vietnam also exports electronic and other manufactured products to China. However, its integration in regional production chains has reversed the situation leading to an increase in Vietnam’s imports and investment from China. Now, besides consumer products, the country also imports large volumes of components and parts for its manufacturing sector from China.

Impact of Chinese slowdown on Vietnam’s markets

China’s slowing economic growth is affecting growth of Vietnam’s key markets like the US, EU and Asean. This is likely to impact global demand for Vietnamese exports. Although the net impact of this slowdown on FDI from China is not clear, it will emerge as an increasingly attractive option to diversify investment risks. Though it is unlikely for China to return to previous high levels of growth, it is important to ensure that the growth rate remains high. The country accounts for nearly 20 per cent of global trade with its potential as economic partner continuing to grow.

Trade agreements to provide new opportunities

The implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the long-anticipated EU-Vietnam trade and investment agreements (EVFTA), will provide new opportunities for Vietnam to expand and diversify its economic relations. The country will also benefit from the expected agreement on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2019. Its other bilateral initiatives, including streamlining of cross-border inspections and payments services will stimulate its economic cooperation with China.

Import-export mix to reduce global economic shocks

The negative impacts of Chinese slowdown on Vietnam’s economy will be relatively limited. Increase in exports of higher value-added agriculture, manufactured goods and services to China will remain strong. The country would face serious concerns if its growth falls to OECD country growth rates. Its exposure to global economic shocks can be reduced by providing a more diversified mix of import and export markets. The country can diversify its trade and investments through reforms under regional and economic cooperation agreements.

The American denim market has entered an exciting phase where brands are becoming more and more innovative. Earlier this week, American Apparel relaunched its denim line in a variety of cuts, colors and extended sizes. In December, ’80s cult favorite brand Jordache reintroduced itself to the world after falling out of favor with shoppers for several years.

The Jordache brand printed the company’s logo on certain of its products that glowed  in the dark when consumers flashed a light on it, It also experimented with new washes and trends. A big hit for Jordache is a special rainbow-wash denim, available both in jeans and jean jacket styles.

A key to success for denim brands today will be in their ability to not only create products that consumers will fall in love with, but also to create them in a way that consumers will appreciate. Today, the consumer isn’t looking to be one of a million; they are looking to be one in a million. They don’t want to look like everybody else. They want to have their own unique style and product. 

During the financial year 2018-19, TT Ltd has completed two hi-tech world class garment manufacturing projects at Avinashi in Tamil Nadu and  Gajroula in Uttar Pradesh. These plants have been installed after modifying the existing spinning mills buildings. Both plants have been approved for social compliance (SEDEX and WRAP) and will attract world class garment importers. Both of these plants are eligible for tuf subsidies and state government incentives presently in force for apparel industry.

The company has also been exploring various other fields for diversification of its business to more profitable lines such as packaged food, agri products, bulk transportation, retail business, e-commerce and dairy products. Depending upon the results of test marketing, consultations and market feedback, 

The company recently reconstituted its Board of Directors as per SEBI requirements. VR Mehta has been re-appointed as Independent Director of the company for a period of further five years. Ankit Gulgulia has been inducted as an Independent Director. He is expected to contribute substantial inputs for chalking out the company’s strategy, economic policies and funding growth.    

At the Kingpins Amsterdam tradeshow, The Lycra Company is showcasing fabrics with its latest sustainable offerings, including Lycra® fiber 166L which was recently awarded a Gold Level Material Health Certificate by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. The company will also display customers’ fabrics made with its EcoMade technology, including Lycra® T400® and Coolmax® fibers. The EcoMade versions of these products offer the same performance benefits as their standard counterparts, while being made partly from recycled materials. The latest innovation to be launched within this group is Coolmax® Natural Touch technology, which uses a patented composite yarn structure to deliver enhanced moisture management and a natural appearance and hand.

The Kingpins Show is being held from April 10-11, 2019 in Amsterdam. 

Texprocess, a trade fair for processing textile and flexible materials will be held in Germany, May 14 to 17, 2019. The theme in this edition is: smart textiles micro factory. Visitors will be able to get an idea of how integrated textile processing works and where micro factories are already being used. Partners from industry and research will produce a smart pillow which, with the application of integrated LEDs, provides a platform for all new ways of interaction. With this demonstration, partners in the project will present an exemplary, fully connected manufacturing process for a smart textile from design to finished product. Behind it, however, lies a host of complex processes, involving production, processing and logistics.

Individualization, automation and digitalization: micro factories are the way forward for the future of clothing production. Texprocess will display the main theme broadly and prominently. Micro factories, based on networked and integrated procedures, represent the progressive way of making textile processing quicker, more flexible and, because it is more local, also more sustainable, while, at the same time, producing personalized products. So it’s possible for one to send their favorite design to the manufacturer via an app and get an individually designed, perfectly fitting trainer or shirt tomorrow.

Ijaz A. Khokhar , Chief Coordinator,  Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) has urged upon the government to chalk out next five years plan to bring boom in exports and stablilise the national economy. He feels, the government should formulate short term and long term policies for getting economic benefits.  It should take effective steps to explore non-conventional international markets to boost export volumes. The PRGMEA Coordinator further disclosed that Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) is organising the Textile Exhibition (TEXPO) from April 11 to 14, at Expo Centre Lahore. Delegations from Middle East, Far East, China, Africa and Europe will attend the exhibition alongiwth over 250 domestic delegations. 

The exhibitors will showcase products like knitwear, readymade garments, sportswear and accessories, etc. The exhibition will provide an opportunity to domestic businessmen to develop not only B2B links bout also help in establishing joint ventures with their foreign counterparts.

Driven mostly by soaring sales of products other than men's bottoms, Levi Strauss registered double-digit revenue and operating income growth in 2018. This momentum carried over into the first quarter of 2019. The company’s revenue increased in double-digit percentage on a constant-currency basis, and its adjusted operating income grew at an even quicker pace. The company's guidance for the full year was a little less impressive, but Levi still sees revenue and earnings marching higher in 2019.

Levi's revenue growth was driven by both the wholesale business and the direct-to-consumer business. Its wholesale revenue totaled $869.3 million, increasing by 5 per cent year over year, while direct-to-consumer revenue jumped 9.6 per cent to $565.1 million. Its direct-to-consumer revenue included sales at its company-operated stores, company-operated shop-in-shops located in third-party retail stores, and company-operated e-commerce sites.

Levi's revenue also grew across its three geographic regions. America’s revenue increased by 9 per cent year over year; European revenue increased by 3 per cent year over  year; and Asian revenue was up by 8 per cent year over year. All three regions also saw increases in operating income.

Levi's adjusted operating income growth was driven by higher revenue and a reduction in operating expenses as a percentage of revenue. However, adjusted net income soared primarily due to a $37 million charge related to undistributed foreign earnings in the prior-year period.

Itma to be held in Spain from June 20 to 26, 2019, will feature companies that use new and emerging textile technology. One is Natural Fiber Welding that uses a closed loop platform to fuse fibers together without denaturing the natural polymers of the fibers. The technology hinges on a key technical insight that the glue that holds cellulose molecules in cotton together – intermolecular forces – can be extended from within a fiber to bridge surrounding neighboring fibers. The technology uses intrinsically safe salt-based chemistries to activate fibers to controllably fuse them together (using no resins, glues, or synthetic plastics) to make new materials. The salt is then continuously reclaimed and recycled making the process closed loop.

Software Automation is a US-based company that’s disrupting the sewn products industry by creating autonomous sewbots that use artificial intelligence to automate garment and footwear production. Software uses machine vision to map fabric and robotics to steer the fabric through the needle. This is the critical step to creating rapid reaction urban manufacturing anywhere in the world regardless of the supply of cheap labor.

Wider is a company that provides diagnostic tools such as workers’ mobile phones to track and encourage improvement in labor practices along the textile supply chain.

Isko is presenting Denim Sound Textures at Milan Design Week, April 8 to 14, 2019. This is an immersive and interactive experience that will introduce guests to the surprising multi-sensoriality of denim. This project is the result of Isko’s focus on pushing the unlimited possibilities of denim: an ongoing technical, aesthetic and functional research process which highlights the core values of the company – competence, creativity, social and environmental responsibility – as its leading force. Isko presents this experience in collaboration with a selection of premium fashion brands like Hugo, Madewell, Replay, Dovetail Workwear, François Girbaud, Taylor Stitch, 7 For All Mankind, Blue de Gênes, Tiziano Guardini and O’Neill which have relied on Isko fabrics for their collections.

The core of the project is a series of advanced denim technologies that Isko designed and developed over the years. Isko was the first to introduce the life cycle assessment methodology in the denim industry, which in line with the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 certifications makes it possible to evaluate and quantify the environmental footprint of a product throughout the entire life cycle, from the raw material to the finished product. The company is committed to applying the life cycle assessment to all its 25,000 products, with the aim of identifying areas for improvement for sustainability.

The Cotton Association of India (CAI) has estimated exports for the season 2018-19 at 47 lakh bales which are lower by 22 lakh bales compared to the export of 69 lakh bales estimated last year. The CAI has estimated cotton crop for 2018-19 at 321 lakh bales of 170 kg each, which is lower by 7 lakh bales than its previous estimate of 328 lakh bales made during last month. The CAI reduced crop estimate for Gujarat by 1 lakh bales, Maharashtra by 80,000 bales, Telangana by 4 lakh bales, Andhra Pradesh by 1 lakh bales and Karnataka by 75,000 bales whereas there is marginal increase of 50,000 bales in Tamil Nadu and 5,000 bales in the State of Orissa.

The main reason for reduction in cotton crop during this year is the scarcity of water in some states and the fact that farmers uprooted their cotton plants in about 70-80 per cent area without waiting for 3rd and 4th pickings.