Over the years, Maharashtra has emerged as one of India’s major textiles powerhouse with 10.4 per cent of the country’s total textile and apparel production. As per an Outlook India report, the state accounts for 12 per cent of India’s total yarn production. It also holds India’s 17 per cent spindles capacity with around 1.66 million spindles in total.

Easy availability of raw materials, skilled manpower and lower production costs has helped Maharashtra emerge a key stakeholder and growth driver of India’s textile industry. Besides having largest area under cotton acreage, the state also has the largest number of skilled workers in the country. Equipped with required infrastructure and skills, leading textile clusters in the state including Mumbai have emerged major export hubs. The state’s robust textile policies also enhance its climatic, demographic, and geographic advantages.

New policy to focus on sustainable textile production

Attracting investments worth Rs 20 crore, Maharashtra Textile Policy 2011-17 made the concept of fiber to fashion a reality. The policy helped generate 3 lakh new employment opportunities. The new textile policy 2018-23 has set a more ambitious target of creating employment for 10 lakh new workers in the next 5 years and attracting investments worth Rs 36,000 crore.

The aim is to strengthen India’s cotton, silk and wool production and also production of non-conventional yarns in the country. It will also promote skill development and research in the sector besides emphasizing on sustainable production techniques and green energy use. Another of the policy’s focus will be filling the gap between the theoretical and practical aspects of textile education by setting up a textile-focused university for innovation and research and developing projects in agricultural universities.

Capital subsidies for minorities

The new textile policy will also provide power tariffs and capital subsidies for minority categories. It will grant various benefits to women through programs dedicated to developing and supporting women entrepreneurs. The policy also makes a provision for setting up a Textile Development Fund to counteract hassles in funding. The fund will be collected from government equities, selling lands belonging to the textile department, and textile enterprises benefitting from government schemes and subsidies. The textile ministry will also form a vigilance and controlling committee for verifying textile projects to complement the scheme. All these measures are expected to make the state’s textile industry more comprehensive and inclusive and enable it compete globally.

New schemes to boost market position

Maharashtra has great capacity to manufacture fashion and garment products for the foreign markets. The state has set up several textile parks in Nagpur, Dhule, Ambernath and Amravati to boost production and encourage exports. The Amravati textile has emerged one of Maharashtra key textile clusters and a focal point for realization of the state's goals. The city boasts of 24 textile parks being developed by major units. The state government also plans to offer plug-and-play infrastructure in 4,000 acres across Amravati and Nagpur. The facilities will be granted under the Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 Initiatives launched by the state. They will also include irrigation facilities and setting up cotton processing units in these areas.

For long, Maharashtra has served as a major incubator for India’s textile culture and industries. The state is now geared up to boost its position through the new schemes and policies introduced by the government. It aims to emerge as an ideal location for textile players by combing natural advantages with forward-looking regulatory support.

As pandemic subsides in the US and consumers go for the much-needed travelling break, swimwear has gained immense attention

According to the latest official custom data of US, the country imported $1.09 billion worth of swimwear products in 2021, growing by 33.28 per cent on Y-o-Y basis.

US has also recorded a 1.87 per cent rise in swimwear imports during the year with China topping the tally with an export turnover of $ 338.56 million in the US market, noting 33 per cent Y-o-Y growth. However, China lost big share as compared to 2019 when it exported US $ 461.28 million worth of swimwear to the USA.

On one hand, China declined big time, while Vietnam, on the other hand, seemed to have grabbed China’s share…The South East Asian country clocked $300.86 million in its swimwear exports to the US in 2021, as compared to just $ 227.77 million export values earned during 2019.

Bangladesh too impressed the export fraternity with its sturdy performance in swimwear category. The country shipped swimwear worth $40.86 million to the US in 2021, growing by 48.61 per cent on yearly note and by 146 per cent over 2019.

Pakistan’s exports of textile products witnessed sharp increase of 25 per cent to $11 billion during first seven months (July – January) 2021/2022 7MFY22, according to data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) released on Wednesday.

The exports of textile products were $8.76 billion in the same months of the last fiscal year.

In Pak Rupee (PKR) terms, the same has clocked in at Rs1,861 billion, up 30 per cent YoY due to 4 per cent currency devaluation, analysts at Topline Securities said.

During 7MFY22, key export driver was increase in value-added exports where knitwear segment contributed the most as it increased by 33 per cent YoY to $2.9 billion followed by Ready-made garments (+22 per cent YoY to $2.2 billion) and Bedwear (+19 per cent YoY to $1.9 billion) exports, respectively.

On MoM basis, Pakistan textile exports is down 4 per cent to $1.5 billion in Jan-2022, led by lower value-added exports segments mainly in Knitwear (down 12 per cent MoM) and Ready-made garments (down 4 per cent MoM) respectively.

Compared to last year, Pakistan textile exports are up by 17 per cent YoY (29 per cent YoY up in PKR terms) in Jan-22 led by significant recovery witnessed in value-added segments, largely in knitwear (up 19 per cent YoY), Ready-made (up 17 per cent YoY) and Bedwear (up 21 per cent YoY).

Increased volumetric growth and improved pricing were the key drivers resulting in higher exports.

The prices of Cotton, PSF and VSF prices have increased after the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday. However, as per a CCF Group report, these prices vary greatly as there are no big differences in cotton and rayon grey fabric sales after the holiday.

The mainstream price of VSF has gained by more than 1,000yuan/mt to 13,000yuan/mt since New Year's Day while that of cotton 3128 has also risen from 22,300yuan/mt to 23,000yuan/mt. The prices of cotton yarn have also increased by 1,000yuan/mt after the holiday, while the latter is just quoted up by 300-500yuan/mt and there is even smaller growth of trading price. The prices of C32S has risen from 28,500yuan/mt to 29,700yuan/mt, while that of R32S have surged from 18,000yuan/mt to 18,300yuan/mt.

To conclude, the prices of grey fabrics have not thoroughly recovered as trades of the commodity remain limited. The prices of cotton yarns have surged higher due to a rise in demand,