FW
A group of businessmen from the United States, Germany, Turkey and Mozambique will invest $150 million to install the textile industry in the northern Malanje province of Angola. This project provides the promotion of cotton production in Quela district and study from other regions for cultivation. With the implementation of the two components of the project (industrial and agricultural), around 40 to 50 thousand direct jobs are expected to be added.
The industry minister is establishing contacts with the ministry of construction and public works to improve access roads to areas where cotton is intended to be grown in Quela district. The textile factory will be installed in the Agro-industrial Development Hub of Malanje, whose conditions for installation of electric power and drinking water will be created soon.
As per Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VTAA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) expected to come into force in early 2019, will offer numerous opportunities for the garment-textile sector. Firstly, the industry will be able to access many markets with huge potential, including those with which Vietnam has yet to sign free trade agreements (FTA). Import tariff on most products will reduce to zero over the course of seven years, which will help businesses achieve high economic efficiency and increase competitiveness. Garment-textile firms will be also able to make use of raw material supply and learn about production technology and management skills from CPTPP member countries.
The pact will provide new opportunities for businesses in both export and import. For example, currently Vietnamese apparel makers have to rely on materials imported from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. With the CPTPP, enterprises could import material from other CPTPP countries such as wool from Australia. In order to capitalise on opportunities presented by the CPTPP, enterprises will need strong support from State management agencies. On their part, the enterprises must spare no effort to penetrate into the markets, first of all by studying thoroughly their target markets. They should also invest in modern machines and sharpening skills for workers.
Britain’s looming departure from the European Union has led nearly half of big companies from the rest of the bloc to cut investment in the country. German companies, especially, think Brexit is bad for business. Aircraft maker Airbus plans to reconsider its long-term position. This spells uncertainty for thousands of British jobs.
A disorderly Brexit could have disastrous consequences for Britain. Britons voted on June 23, 2016, to leave the EU. Most companies in France, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands want a better trading relationship with Britain after it leaves the EU in early 2019. They feel trade is more important than teaching Britain a lesson for leaving the EU. Two thirds want a free trade deal while 45 per cent are in favor of a customs union.
Business leaders feel they were not properly consulted, or their views taken into account, by the EU negotiating team as it tries to hammer out a post-Brexit trade deal. However, Britain is confident of getting a good deal ensuring trade is as free and frictionless as possible. Brexit could be a sort of blessing in disguise for the British textile industry. The exit of UK from the European Union has resulted in a depreciation of the value of the sterling. This in turn has rendered UK’s textile and garment exports much more competitive for the export market.
Low-cost manufacturing made China the second largest economy in the world. But rising labor costs, rapid socio-economic progress, and improvement in living standards have led the country to shift from apparel manufacturing to capital-intensive industries. Made in China 2025 is a plan to transform the country into a high-tech powerhouse that dominates industries like robotics, advanced information technology, aviation, and new energy vehicles.
Moreover, the One Belt One Road initiative -- which involves infrastructure investments worth $2 trillion -- will give Chinese garment manufacturers fresh relevance. For example, new rail links will shorten transport times to Europe, and the initiative will increase China’s access to Africa’s growing consumer markets.
As Chinese apparel manufacturers ramp up their outbound investment in countries such as Vietnam and Ethiopia, they may enhance their roles in global apparel sourcing, producing on a larger scale beyond their home market. Finally, the Chinese garment sector is leading the push for greater efficiency with the adoption of digitization and automation.
Digitization can unlock progress that go beyond replacing manual processes. For example, advanced analytics -- whether applied in capacity planning, country and supplier selection, or intelligence -- will help achieve the right balance between speed, agility, and cost.
Bombay Dyeing will increase its shareholding in Indonesia textile company PT Five Star (PTFS) from 33.89 per cent to 86 per cent. This means Bombay Dyeing will exit the joint venture partnership with PT Five Star and the latter will become a subsidiary of Bombay Dyeing.
PTFS was incorporated in Indonesia in 1979 with an objective of manufacturing and selling of yarn, cloth and other textile products. It registered a turnover of $1.84 million and a net loss of $1.54 million in December 2017. The company has been incurring losses for many years hence it has been decided to wind up operations. With closures like these Bombay Dyeing is looking to cut down losses across all verticals as it prepares itself to enter the lucrative apparel segment with heavy investment.
Bombay Dyeing, the textile arm of the Wadia group, had earlier announced that it will be re-entering the readymade apparel market with menswear garments and planning to open close to 100 franchise stores in Tier II and III cities before the end of this year.
Bombay Dyeing currently has 27 company-owned stores, 3000 multi-brand stores and over 200 franchise stores across India.
The 4th sustainability compact review, in Brussels assessed the progress of occupational safety, building safety, workers rights and trade environment in RMG industry of Bangladesh. The meeting adopted the recommendations for ensuring due prices of Bangladeshi apparels. It also took initiatives to remove the hurdles in the way of supply chain of Bangladeshi RMG products to the world market.
Out of a total of 17 guidelines of the sustainability compact, the most important included establishing respect for labour rights, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, structural integrity of the buildings and occupational safety and health, and responsible business conduct by all stakeholders engaged in the RMG and knitwear industry in Bangladesh.
Representatives from EU, US, Canada, ILO Donor Agencies, manufacturers, buyers, trade union leaders and civil society representatives participated in the meeting. The Bangladeshi delegation members included State Minister for Labour and Employment, Md. Mojibul haque Chunnu, Commerce Secretary and other officials.
Bangladesh’s garment exports to India, China and Japan grew 17.79 per cent year-on-year in the July-May period of the current fiscal year. Japan is the largest export destination for Bangladesh among Asian nations. In the July-May period, Bangladesh’s garment exports to Japan rose 13.04 per cent year-on-year. Major Japanese retailers are increasing their footprint in Bangladesh for formal garments like woven shirts and T-shirts and bed sheets.
Garment shipments to India from Bangladesh more than doubled year-on-year in the first 11 months of the fiscal year. The reason for the exponential rise is bulk purchase by western brands with operations in India and Indian clothing chains, which are finding Bangladesh’s garments to be more competitively priced for India's middle-class demographic.
Overall exports to India increased 24.67 per cent year-on-year in the July-May period. The demand for formal wear in India is high due to the growing middle-income office-going population. The three per cent stimulus given to Bangladesh’s exporters also acts positively for higher growth to India and other new destinations.
China itself is becoming a major garment export destination for Bangladesh. Moreover, China is a densely populated country. So, having a large consumer base, China is turning into a major garment export market for Bangladesh.
The trade war triggered by the US will inevitably have a wider psychological impact, causing uncertainty in Asian monetary and trade policies. In the era of globalization, if China suffers severe economic damage because of the US, India can hardly escape being shortchanged.
In 2017, China-India bilateral trade was up by 20.3 per cent year-on-year. China has become India's largest trading partner and India is China's largest trading partner in South Asia. The world's two largest emerging economies have reached a new high in economic and trade cooperation. India has remarkable advantages in IT, service and pharmaceutical sectors. China leads in manufacturing as a world factory.
Now when the US’ unilateralism undermines the interests of all countries and jeopardizes the free trade system, China and India should join hands to shield free trade. In 2017, the US was China’s largest export market and China was also the US’ largest import market. In addition, the US is India’s largest export destination and the second largest source of imports. The rising trade dependence of China and India with the US proves that bilateral free trade is a positive game. If the US launches a trade war on the pretext of the so-called trade deficit, all three parties will suffer.
The Istanbul Fashion Conference, which was first held in 2008, is an international project aimed at bringing together supply chain rings like supply, manufacturing, export, import, economy, fashion design, brand, retail, and logistics of apparel and textile sector. TGSD is organizing the 11th TGSD Istanbul Fashion Conference under the theme ‘Responsible Fashion’ on October 3 and 4, 2018 at Çıragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul. The conference will underline the strength of the clothing industry in Turkey, its sustainability and its capabilities as an unequalled business partner in the region. The first day of the conference will feature a world class speakers program. The second day will be a B2B meetings between buyers and the suppliers.
Istanbul Fashion Conference, which is included in the international event calendars, shares information on the following issues and creates new export opportunities thanks to B2B Business Meeting Platform which is organized with buying offices from foreign countries, and local brands. Istanbul Fashion Conference also provides business opportunities for our manufacturers who have participated in the conference from almost every region of Turkey.
With the ongoing tariff war between the US and China, it’s the US cotton industry which is expected to get directly hit as China piles on an additional 25 per cent tariff on US uncombed cotton imports. This will affect the US cotton industry rather significantly as China has traditionally been a large buyer of US cotton and a massive supplier of products back to the US market.
About 95 per cent of the American Pima crop is exported every year and typically China imports about 40 per cent of that crop. The highly prized long-staple American Pima cotton is soft to the touch and durable. Most of the crop is exported to China and India. For the crop year that runs through July 31, China has purchased 2,39,200 bales or approximately 120 million pounds of the fiber.
Already some 2,05,000 bales have been shipped, leaving a balance of about 34,000 bales for this year in addition to some 34,000 bales of forward contracted cotton sales for the next crop year. These existing sales along with the entire new crop are at risk relative to the proposed Chinese tariffs.
China is one of the principal buyers of US cotton as is Vietnam. The United States is the second largest exporter of cotton, having shipped around 15 million bales of cotton overseas last year.
