FW
Currently 9,818 industrial units are active in Iran’s textile and apparel industry. They constitute 11 per cent of all industrial entities in the country and have created more than 2,90,000 direct jobs, accounting for 13 per cent of all industrial jobs in Iran.
Textile exports alone stood at over $620 million last year, registering a one per cent increase year-on-year. Textile flooring topped the list of exports in this sector, with a 45 per cent share. Iran is also known for handwoven carpets.
Iran is the 36th biggest exporter of textile products and the 90th biggest exporter of apparel in the world. Taking into account both textile and clothing products, Iran’s ranking stands at 59th. Iran imported textile products worth $1.6 billion last year. Taking into account equipment and machinery, the figure reaches $1.9 billion dollars.
Fabrics worth $500 million were imported –70 per cent more compared to the previous year. Other major products imported were fiber ($440 million) and yarn ($300 million). In addition, the import of black fabrics used to make chador (a full body-length fabric worn by many Iranian women) saw a 73 per cent increase compared to the year before.
African Development Bank has developed a flagship initiative named Fashionomics. This initiative aims at increasing Africa’s participation in the global textile industry supply chain. The objective is to enable African women and youth operating in the textile, apparel and accessories sector to develop their micro, small and medium-sized businesses and grow their manufacturing operations to the next level of innovation and job creation.
The bank has a high-5 agenda, which is light up and power Africa, feed Africa, industrialise Africa, integrate Africa, and improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. The overarching objective of the African Development Bank is to spur sustainable economic development and social progress in its regional member countries, thus contributing to poverty reduction.
The bank achieves this objective by mobilizing and allocating resources for investment in member countries and by providing policy advice and technical assistance to support development efforts. With Fashionomics, ADB plans to raise the profile of African fashion and textiles on the international stage.
The textile and clothing sector in Africa is dominated by small, medium and micro enterprises and holds the potential to create jobs for millions of women and youngsters. Whether in New York, London, Milan or Paris, African fabrics are inspiring more and more famous designers.
The Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia plans to raise a number of tax issues with the General Department of Taxation at a public-private partnership meeting next week. Garment manufacturers have requested the association raise issues about tax facilitation, clarification on some tax term definitions and other tax-related paperwork at the next General Department of Taxation Private Sector Partnership Mechanism meeting on July 13.
The public-private partnership, created in 2016, has brought together the General Department of Taxation and four main sectors of the country’s economy, including the garment, rice, young entrepreneurs and banking sectors. Albert Tan, head of GMAC’s committee on taxation says his association would be seeking further clarification, and co-ordination, from the government at the meeting next week.
Taxation is the second main priority issue in the garment industry to be solved after labour and they hope the issues will be resolved during the upcoming meeting for the improvement of the industry. Presently, there are about 512 export-oriented garment factories, and 59 footwear factories, creating jobs for more than 700,000 Cambodian workers. The garment industry is one of the main pillars out of four to back the country’s economic growth. The export from the sector accounts for more than 70 percent of country’s total exports. According to Cambodia’s General Department of Customs and Excise, exports of Cambodia’s garment and footwear sector rose by 7.2 per cent to $7.3 billion in 2016, up from $6.8 billion in 2015.
The sector remains the most important component of Cambodia’s exports, with garment and footwear exports accounting for 78 percent of the country’s total merchandise exports in 2016.
Zimbabwe imported clothing and footwear worth $20 million in the first five months of the year, latest data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) shows, as local industry called for tighter controls on imports. Imports of clothing and footwear rose in comparison to the same period last year, when they accounted for $19, 3 million.
The imports include: handkerchiefs, coats, suits, etc. Paramount Garments managing director Jeremy Youmans who is leading the crusade against cheap imports says most companies are not operating at full capacity but the local industry has capacity to meet the country’s demand.
The flood of used clothes has compounded the woes of the local textile industry and squeezes the margins of established retailers such as Edgars and Truworths. Zimbabwe banned import of used clothes from September 1, 2015 but industry minister Mike Bimha says, in January 2017 the ban was unenforceable because the local industry had no capacity to meet demand. Youmans, however, stated the local industry has the capacity to manufacture all the items on the imports list.
Experts say Zimbabwe has a market for 80 million garments annually but only 20 million of those are locally manufactured. Almost 90 per cent of imported new clothes are exempt from duty because of regional trade agreements. The local footwear industry has not recovered from a collapse at the height of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis that saw hyperinflation reach 500 billion per cent.
Exports of readymade garments from Pakistan during July to May 2016-17 grew by 4.10 per cent as against the same period of last year. Readymade garments worth $2.073 billion were exported during the last 11 months of financial year 2016-17.
Bed wear exports from the country grew by 3.22 per cent. In the last eleven months of financial year 2016-17, about 3,18,070 metric tons of bed wear were exported as compared to exports of 3,03,054 metric tons of the same period last year.
However, textile group exports from the country during the last 11 months of financial year 2016-17 recorded a drop of minus 1.98 per cent growth. Pakistan is helping the entire chain of the textile sector to adopt and upgrade to new technology. Funds have been allotted to carry out research activities and bring about a qualitative improvement in industry-academia linkages.
A textile corner will be set up to provide guidance and awareness to exporters to adopt new technologies in order to improve the quality of their products. It will also help in sensitizing manufacturers to promote value addition and earn more profit from exportable surplus. The textile corner is meant to bridge the gap between industry and academia. Funds have been allotted to carry out research activities and bring about a qualitative improvement in industry-academia linkages.
Pakistan’s free trade agreement with Turkey may not happen any time soon. Despite Pakistan’s willingness to open up the auto sector, Turkey has shown reluctance to reduce duties on textile products, an important demand from Pakistan.
Rules of origin offered by the Turkish side for Pakistani products are more restrictive than those applied by the EU. Turkey is not letting the textile sector enter its market easily and has offered to reduce duty by 25 per cent on textile items in five years with the remaining 75 per cent duty to be revisited after this period.
Turkey wants a generous offer from Pakistan but is not ready to reciprocate or to meet Pakistan’s demand for inclusion of three or four textile products. The diaper industry in Pakistan wants a pragmatic approach to concessions on raw material import against import of finished goods to boost the local industry, generate employment and tap export markets.
Pakistan aims to have a targeted approach to seek tariff reduction from Turkey on high potential export items from Pakistan while also reducing its customs duties for raw material imports and machinery that is used for local manufacturing. In the FTA with China, many of Pakistan’s leading exportable items were given lower concessions than Pakistan’s competitors from Asean, which worsened its competitive position.
The sharing economy is on the rise in China where customers are now able to rent high-priced handbags on WeChat or via mobile apps. After sharing taxis, bikes and many other products, the world’s second-largest economy has started to share luxury goods.
As per Global Times, founders of many sharing platforms think “it is more economical and environmentally friendly to rent a luxury bag as fashion accessories are replaced frequently.” As per the National Information Center, China’s sharing economy is expected to grow rapidly in the next couple of years and is projected to contribute to over 10 per cent of the country’s GDP by 2020, many business professionals thus see great potential in the share economy.
Dou Bao Bao has a WeChat account, which currently serves as the main platform for borrowers. It will also soon be launching an official mobile app. The company requires consumers to place a deposit of about 10 times the monthly rental fee of the selected bag. It also pledges that the items are authentic, knowing that a major concern for Chinese consumers is that they might be loaned fake products. In June, the company received more than 10 million yuan (USD$1,470,560) in funding from Chinese domestic investors.
Another startup, Y-Closet, or “Yi Er San” in Mandarin, is copying the business model of the New York-based designer dress rental platform Rent the Runway but adapts it to consumption habits of Chinese clients. Another innovative approach taken by Y-Closet is that it works with Zhima Credit, the credit rating service under Alibaba’s Alipay, which assesses the credit quality of a potential customer. If their credit score on the platform meets the minimum requirements, the deposit is waived for them.
A Japanese designer has found a way of designing garments for exact fit. Yuima Nakazato has been working for six months on a new 3D clothes-making technique using traditional materials like cotton, nylon and wool but without needles and thread. He believes in future clothes will be infinitely adaptable and will adjust to a person’s waistline.
He visualizes a world where everyone can have tailor-made garments. Tailor-made clothes, particularly haute couture, are out of reach most except the richest. But Nakazato feels his technology can bring clothes that fit perfectly within the reach of all.
This system builds all silhouettes imaginable. It is like creating a garment from a dress pattern but with more flexibility. His designs, which included evening dresses and a version of Dior’s classic bar suit as well as jeans and a leather jacket, were built digitally-cut squares of fabric. Rather than a fitting, the wearer is first scanned before numbered squares of digitally cut fabrics are riveted together to form a perfectly fitting piece.
The major breakthrough is finding a way to use everyday fabrics like cotton, nylons and wool, which are difficult to control in digital fabrication.
Vietnam will step up efforts to boost exports to the EU. The country can enjoy benefits from GSP for the period 2017-2019. Many countries exporting to the EU do not enjoy this preference. For several years, Vietnam has enjoyed a trade surplus with the EU. In 2016, Vietnam exported goods worth 34 billion dollars to the EU, 12 times the value in 2000, and paid 11 billion dollars for imports from the bloc.
The EU is a market with 28 member countries and a total population of 500 million people. The Vietnam-EU import-export structure is mutually complementary and less confrontational than direct competition.
Vietnam and EU are working towards a free trade agreement. Commitments under the FTA on opening each other’s markets will be an important impetus for boosting Vietnam-EU trade relations. It is also an opportunity to further expand exports, especially of key items like textiles, footwear, agro-forestry and wooden products.
The EU is a market with strict quality and safety standards. Vietnamese enterprises need to actively adjust their supply chain and input materials to adhere to the rules of origin and enjoy preferential tax regimes under the FTA. They have to actively reform and improve their ability in all fields and enhance product quality to face future challenges.
In 2015-16, world cotton production declined by 19 per cent. This was a result of both a nine per cent contraction in area due to low cotton prices and a ten per cent fall in world average yield.
India will likely be the world’s largest producer for the third consecutive season with production growing by six per cent. An early and adequate monsoon, a higher minimum support price, and the prospect of better returns from cotton compared to competing crops have encouraged farmers in India to expand area by eight per cent.
Cotton area in China is expected to expand by three per cent due to high cotton prices and the new subsidy announced during the planting season. Production in the United States is forecast to increase by 12 per cent. After two seasons of decline, cotton area in Pakistan is projected to grow by eight per cent.
World cotton consumption is expected to increase by two per cent. China leads as the world’s largest consumer of cotton. High domestic and international cotton prices and constrained supply are likely to limit any growth. After a three per cent decline last season, India’s consumption is forecast to recover by three per cent. Pakistan’s consumption is expected to increase by three per cent.
