The commerce ministry has called a high-level inter-ministerial meeting on January 17 to discuss the way forward on the trade front in the wake of ongoing problems in the Red Sea, a senior official said on Saturday. Senior officials from five ministries -- external affairs, defence, shipping and finance (department of financial services) and commerce -- will participate in the deliberations. The commerce ministry has also set up an internal strategic group, comprising additional secretaries of the ministry, to discuss global issues impacting the country's trade on a daily basis and prepare a strategy so that India's response can be quick and decisive."This Wednesday, we are holding an inter-ministerial consultation. We will be discussing the way forward," the official said. The situation around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping route connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, has escalated due to recent attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants. Due to these attacks, the shippers are taking consignments through the Cape of Good Hope, resulting in delays of almost 14 days and also higher freight and insurance costs. New trade routes are also being considered and "we will keep exploring our options if the problems at Red Sea escalate," the commerce ministry official added. The issues being faced by the stakeholders concerned were discussed at a high-level meeting in the commerce ministry on January 4. Stakeholders, including traders, shippers, container firms, and freight forwarders were present in the meeting. Exporters are apprehensive that the crisis may cause some trade disruption because the cost of moving it around becomes expensive. "We are watching the situation very closely. There is some cost implication for our exports, but since there are inventories for almost a month only, if it escalates for long then it will be a major problem. We are worried," the official added. The commerce ministry has also asked the ECGC not to increase the export credit interest rates.
Source: Business Standard
The Centre, state governments and industry representatives will meet on January 16 to discuss ways to boost the country's exports, an official said. Issues which are expected to figure in the meeting include rupee payment challenges, need of global shipping, and challenges being faced by traders on account of the Red Sea crisis, and uncertain global economic situation due to the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Hamas conflict. The meeting will be chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. They all are members of the Board of Trade (BoT). "There are over 135 members of BoT. It is meeting on January 16 at Bharat Mandapam," the official said. Headed by the minister, the board includes participants from various states, Union Territories, and senior officials from the public and private sectors.In the meeting, representatives of export promotion councils present their views on the export sector. The board provides an opportunity to have regular discussions and consultations with trade and industry and advise the government on policy measures on foreign trade. It also provides a platform for state governments and Union Territories to articulate their perspective on trade policy and also for the central government to apprise them about international developments affecting India's trade potential and opportunities. Cumulatively, the country's merchandise exports in April-November 2023-24 contracted by 6.51 per cent to USD 278.8 billion. Imports were also down by 8.67 per cent to USD 445.15 billion in the eight-month period due to a fall in oil imports. The trade deficit (difference between imports and exports) during the eight-month period was USD 166.35 billion against USD 189.21 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Source: Business Standard
he commerce ministry has called a meeting of all stakeholders, including government officials and trade sector experts, on January 20 to discuss issues which are likely to figure in the WTO meeting, an official said. The 13th Ministerial Conference (MC) of World Trade Organization (WTO) is scheduled from February 26-29 in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. MC is the highest decision-making body of the 164-member WTO, which monitors global exports and imports besides adjudicating disputes between member countries. India is the member of the organisation since 1995. The issues which would figure in the MC 13 include agriculture, food security, dispute settlement reform, e-commerce moratorium, and fisheries subsidies. "We are meeting all the stakeholders on January 20," the official said. On the food security issue, India has called for finding a permanent solution to the issue of public stockholding for food security in the ministerial-level meeting. It has dismissed arguments for alternative food security solutions beyond PSH (public stock holding) and SSM (special safeguard mechanism). On the e-commerce sector, the WTO members have agreed not to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions since 1998. India opposes the continuation.
Source: Business Standard
Ahead of the FY25 Interim Budget to be presented on February 1, India’s industrial production growth fell sharply to an eight-month low in November due to a moderation in manufacturing activity led by the consumer goods as well as a high base effect. Retail inflation in December, on the other hand, rose to a four-month high because of a seasonal spike in the prices of vegetables, fruits, and pulses that the Reserve Bank of India has already factored in. According to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday, the index of industrial production (IIP) grew by a meagre 2.4 per cent in November compared to 11.7 per cent in October, driven by moderation in growth of the manufacturing (1.2 per cent), electricity (5.8 per cent), and mining (6.8 per cent) sectors. In November 2022, IIP had registered 7.5 per cent growth. Separately, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation slightly rose to 5.69 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in December from 5.55 per cent in November. Rajani Sinha, chief economist at CARE Ratings, says while an unfavourable base resulted in a broad-based growth moderation, month-on-month contraction seen in the electricity and manufacturing sectors further constrained the overall IIP growth.
“Within the use-based components, the concerning aspect is the continued weakness seen in the consumer goods component and the sharp deceleration in the infra-related segment. Furthermore, the contraction witnessed in capital goods output also came as a negative,” she said. In the IIP, 17 of the 23 manufacturing industries which included food, textiles, leather, wood, computers and paper among others, witnessed contraction in November. In the use-based segment as well, only primary goods (8.4 per cent), intermediate goods (3.5 per cent), and infrastructure goods (1.5 per cent) saw positive growth, whereas output in capital goods (-1.1 per cent), consumer durable (-5.4 per cent) and consumer non- durable (-3.6 per cent) contracted, indicating a fall in both the urban and rural demand. “It remains to be seen if the pre-election spending can provide the much-needed impetus to rural demand. On the external front, though the global economy has remained largely resilient in the face of several headwinds, we maintain a cautious outlook amid weakness in exports. A durable recovery in domestic demand remains critical for the trajectory of industrial activity going ahead,” said Sinha. On the inflation front, food inflation in December rose to a four-month high of 9.53 per cent in December from 8.7 per cent in November, as vegetable prices accelerated sharply to 27.6 per cent. Prices of fruits (11.14 per cent), pulses (20.73 per cent) and sugar (7.14 per cent) also gained momentum during the month. Meanwhile, inflation in cereal prices moderated slightly to 9.93 per cent, its lowest levels in the past 16 months. Core inflation, which excludes the volatile food and fuel components, came in below 4 per cent in December, as prices of clothing and footwear (3.61 per cent), household goods (3.37 per cent), health (5.08 per cent), transportation (1.96 per cent), and education (4.77 per cent) saw deceleration during the month. Meanwhile, fuel prices (-0.99 per cent) contracted for the fourth consecutive month in December.
Source: Business Standard
India has asked the United States (US) to consider its request for a ‘treaty status’, which will enable easing visas for traders and investors. This will in turn also boost trade between both nations, a senior government official said on Saturday. “We had a good discussion on visas. There are E1 and E2 visas for traders and investors. The US has 87 treaty countries, including China. We have asked them to include India as well. (If India also becomes a treaty country), it will be easier to process these visas,” the official cited above said. The discussion comes against the backdrop of the challenges being faced by business visitors from India due to visa processing time periods. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal took up the matter with the US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai during the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) ministerial between both countries on Friday. Goyal also requested the US to augment processing. During the meeting, Goyal also conveyed India’s interest in being recognized as a Trade Agreements Act-designated country by the US. Goyal and Tai also highlighted the initiation in 2023 of discussions on issues related to bilateral government procurement, such as transparency and procedural fairness, and welcomed plans for further technical engagement between their officials. Being a part of the Trade Agreements Act will help India to participate in the US’s public procurement system. “Countries who are a part of TAA are eligible to be a part of the government procurement system. They have started discussions with us,” another government official said. According to the first person cited above, public procurement by the US government is huge, and it will eventually enhance India’s goods exports. However, it is reciprocal in nature. This means that India will also have to give concessions in its public procurement plan. India will also have to ensure that it doesn’t have an impact on its ambitious Make in India programme.
Source: Business Standard
New Delhi: Majority of the issues in the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK are either finalised or at an advanced stage of talks, a government official said on Monday. Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce L Satya Srinivas said that the 14th round of negotiations between the officials of the two countries is underway here. "The majority of the chapters are either closed or at an advanced stage of negotiation. Discussions are being held at the higher level as well as at the team level to iron out differences," he told reporters here. The talks for the pact began in January 2022. The current round of talks is expected to be the final one. Talks are also progressing on the proposed Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights. Issues from both goods and services are pending for conclusion. The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23 from USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22. On the progress on the proposed trade deal between India and the European Union (EU), he said the seventh round of talks will be held from February 19-23 here. The track and chief negotiator level discussions on modalities for the services and investments chapter are scheduled this week. Similarly, the sixth round of negotiations for a proposed trade agreement between India and the South American nation Peru is scheduled from February 12-15. The ministry has held stakeholder consultations with the line ministries, export promotion councils, and industry chambers on the pact. On the progress of talks for the India-Oman free trade agreement, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Amardeep Singh Bhatia said that substantial progress has been made on the deal and the next round of talks will start from January 16.
Source : Economic Times
The country's exports edged up 1 per cent to $38.45 billion in December 2023 while the trade deficit narrowed to a three-month low of $19.8 billion, official data released on Monday showed. Imports declined by 4.85 per cent to $58.25 billion in December last year due to a dip in crude oil shipments. The previous low in trade deficit - the difference between imports and exports - was recorded in September at $19.37 billion. In December 2022, it was $23.14 billion. Crude oil imports declined by 22.77 per cent to about $15 billion during the month under review. However, gold imports jumped 156 per cent in December 2023 to $3 billion. Crude oil imports in April-December 2023-24 declined by about 19 per cent to $128.6 billion while gold imports surged by 26.64 per cent to about $36 billion in April-December 2023. Exports during April-December this fiscal dipped by 5.7 per cent to $317.12 billion. Imports contracted by 7.93 per cent to $505.15 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $188.02 billion in the first three quarters as against $212.34 billion in April-December 2022. Briefing reporters on the data, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that despite a global slowdown, "we are in the positive zone and the trade deficit has also come down". The exports are struggling on account of demand slowdown in Western countries, besides geopolitical tensions. The Red Sea crisis will also hurt exports in the coming months as exporters are holding up consignments. India's merchandise exports have lingered in the last several months except for October."The whole globe is facing an adverse condition. Globally the picture is quite bad, but India is doing well. We hope to beat the global trends in the January-March quarter also. Yes, we are waiting and watching what is happening in the Red Sea," he told reporters here and expressed confidence that the country's goods and services exports would cross last year's figure of $776 billion.
Source: Business Standard
Synopsis Emphasising India's stature as a large and trusted economy, Goyal commended the global interest in investing, citing a meeting with a US investment house planning to double their $13-billion investment. Swarup Bose of Celcius Logistics Solutions was awarded Entrepreneur of The Year, Mohammad Hamza of Engineering & Environmental Solutions was recognised as Young Entrepreneur of The Year and Jayashree Nair of BDH Industries as Women Entrepreneur of The Year. There is great excitement about India globally and the country stands at a crucial juncture, ready to catapult into a $35-trillion economy in the next 24 years, marking an era of unprecedented growth, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said. "We are at the cusp of our nation's history that will catapult India into a high-growth economy," Goyal said at the ET NOW Leaders of Tomorrow Awards on Friday.
Source : Economic Times
India’s trade deficit in December narrowed to a three-month low of $19.8 billion amid an import slowdown due to falling commodity prices. Merchandise exports during the month grew 0.97 per cent over a year earlier to $38.45 billion, contrary to the trend of a slowdown so far this financial year, showed data released by the commerce department on Monday. Merchandise imports, meanwhile, grew 8.45 per cent to $58.25 billion, boosted by gold imports. Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel In what came as a surprise, however, disruption in cargo movement due to security concerns caused by Iranbacked Houthi rebels in the Red Sea region did not have a massive impact on outbound shipments from India. Higher demand for engineering goods, electronic products, and drugs & pharmaceutical products aided growth in outbound shipments from India, said government officials. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said India moved into a positive territory in terms of exports, ‘beating global trends’, though there was a need to see how the Red Sea situation would pan out. The region is vital for 30 per cent of global constrained traffic and 12 per cent of global trade. “There has been a major decline in trade deficit, but we are still facing adverse conditions. We are beating global trends and hope to do so in the fourth quarter as well. We are waiting and watching what is happening in the Red Sea (region). There will be some negative impact, which we will take stock of next month,” Barthwal said. In value terms, barring August and December, monthly outbound shipments from India have remained in the $33-34 billion range since April this year, significantly lower than those in the same period last year. India’s exports during April-December this financial year have contracted 5.7 per cent year-on-year to $317.12 billion, and imports have declined 7.9 per cent to $505.15 billion. I ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said India’s merchandise trade deficit in December printed lower than the agency’s estimate of $22.7 billion, thanks to better exports than expected. “Given this, we expect the current account deficit (CAD) to be Rs $16-18 billion in the December quarter of FY24, lower than our earlier estimate of over $20 billion, albeit nearly twice the reading seen in the September quarter,” Nayar said. Exports of non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery — also known as core exports — grew 5.4 per cent during the month to $28.67 billion, while core imports declined 0.2 per cent to $37.96 per cent.
India’s merchandise exports shrank in 13 of the 30 sectors in December. Key export items that saw a decline included petroleum products (17.61 per cent), readymade garments (12.56 per cent), and organic & inorganic chemicals (11.43 per cent).
Among key sectors that witnessed growth included gems & jewellery (11.97 per cent), drugs & pharmaceuticals (7.33 per cent), and electronics goods (1.04 per cent).
Merchandise imports contracted in 15 of the 30 items, including petroleum products (22.77 per cent), transport equipment (55.11), and precious stones (11.73 per cent).
Gold imports grew 156 per cent to $3.03 billion. Barthwal said: “The normal trend is between $3 billion and $4 billion. It came down to the $3 billion mark in December. There’s no pattern of a particular month here (of surge in gold imports), but we will definitely look into this. If you look at the overall trend, there is not much difference.”
Director General of Foreign Trade Santosh Sarangi said the increase in gold imports and gems & jewellery exports might be partly explained by the import of gold using the advance authorisation scheme and re-export of gold jewellery after value addition. “Gold is coming through the advance authorisation route, mostly gold bars. It is then going out after conversion into jewellery. In some cases these are done by taking advantage of the rupee Vostro account that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed in July 2022.” Most of these imports were from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he added, but clarified that such a rise in imports could have happened with or without a trade deal between India and the UAE. Services exports in December contracted 10 per cent to $27.88 billion, and services imports declined 16.1 per cent to $13.25 billion — leading to a surplus of $14.63 billion. The services trade data for the month, however, is an ‘estimation’, and will be revised based on the official numbers from the RBI.
Source: Business Standard
The rupee and government bonds gained on Monday after lower-than-expected headline inflation for December, said market participants. The benchmark 10-year bond yield dropped to a four-month low on Monday. The fall in US Treasury yields and foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflows further aided rupee and bonds. The US market was shut on Monday due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond settled 4 basis points (bps) lower at 7.14 per cent, whereas the rupee settled at 82.89 per US Dollar, against 82.92 per Dollar on Friday. The local currency touched the intra-day high of 82.78. “The rupee traded positively as the dollar index remained stable around $102. The Indian capital markets, with Nifty crossing 22,000 and Sensex reaching 73,000, experienced fund inflows that contributed to the ongoing rise in the rupee since it breached 83.10 last week," said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst, LKP Securities. In January, the rupee has appreciated by 0.4 per cent so far, whereas, the benchmark yield has softened by 3 bps. The 14-year government bond gained the most on Monday as foreign banks stepped up purchases of the specific security on the behalf of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), said market participants. Meanwhile, state-owned banks were speculated to be the net sellers during the day. “The December CPI was lower than market expectations. There was buying from the FPIs in the both overnight interest swap market and government bond market,” said a dealer from a state-owned bank. “The public sector banks were the natural sellers today (Monday),” he added.
The domestic headline inflation in December was at 6.69 per cent, against the expectations of 6.9%, said dealers.
“The US market rallied even though their CPI was on the negative side, and then our CPI was positive. Together, these two factors augmented the expectations of rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve in March,” a dealer at another state-owned bank said. The 5-year OIS rate fell by 6 bps to settle at 6.21 per cent, whereas the 1-year OIS rate fell by 4 bps on Monday. Market participants said that the five-year OIS rate did not fall further because traders paid fixed rates in the 5-year OIS segment and bought 10-year government bond when the spread between the 5-year OIS rate and the yield 10-year benchmark government bond touched 100 basis points.
Source: Business Standard
Ludhiana, Jan 15 (KNN) The Ludhiana Textile industry expresses deep concern over the influx of under-billed Chinese cloth, asserting that the government's inaction, despite incurring significant financial losses, jeopardises the local textile sector's existence. Tarun Jain Bawa, Chairman, Bahadurke Textile and Knitwear Association and Federation of Textile and Manufacturing Association of Ludhiana, voiced allegations against the government during discussions with The Tribune. Bawa highlighted the import of filament polyester cloth, subject to a 25 per cent import duty, arriving in bulk from China. He pointed out a blatant tax evasion practice wherein polyester, taxed at 25 per cent, was being declared as cotton fabric with a 5 per cent duty, resulting in a direct tax evasion of 20 per cent. Bawa questioned the plausibility of such actions without the involvement of customs officials and revealed multiple unsuccessful attempts to address the issue with the Government of India. Another Ludhiana-based textile manufacturer added weight to the claims, citing instances of cloth under-billing. According to this manufacturer, while polyester's actual cost was Rs 320 per kg, it was falsely declared as cotton fabric at Rs 80 per kg. Expressing dismay, the manufacturer emphasised the impracticality of obtaining any yarn at the claimed rate and disclosed that approximately 500 containers, each carrying around 22,000 kg of fabric, enter India on average. The manufacturer criticised the situation, describing certain unscrupulous entities in the industry who managed to acquire cloth at Rs 80 per kg. “We cannot survive when loads of under-billed polyester is reaching India and authorities fail to take any action”, added Bawa.
Source: KNN India
Amid surge of enthusiasm among the public for the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the Surat textile industry has initiated the production of distinctive caps adorned with the name of Ram. Surat: Amid surge of enthusiasm among the public for the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the Surat textile industry has initiated the production of distinctive caps adorned with the name of Ram. Preparations are in full swing across the country, for the grand inauguration of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. Notably, in the Surat textile market, amidst numerous arrangements, special attention is being given to organizing programs. The Surat textile industry, Laxmipati group is creating a total of two lakh caps and two lakh flags featuring the image of Lord Ram, intended to be distributed nationwide,
Source: Economic Times
Germany's economy shrank 0.3 per cent last year as Europe's former powerhouse struggled with more expensive energy, higher interest rates, lack of skilled labour and a homegrown budget crisis. Europe's largest economy has been mired in stagnation since the last months of 2022 amid those multiple challenges. The International Monetary Fund expected Germany to be the worst-performing major developed economy last year, a major turnaround from its place as a model for how to expand when other nations were struggling. German's economy likely also shrank 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter after stagnating in the third quarter, the Federal Statistical Office said on Monday in an initial rough estimate. Official figures for the last three months of 2023 are expected to be announced January 30. Meanwhile, there's an ongoing debate about why Germany has stalled. Energy intensive industries must pay higher natural gas prices after losing Russia's cheap supply following its invasion of Ukraine, and a burst of inflation deterred consumers from spending. Meanwhile, companies complain they can't fill highly skilled jobs, and a global slowdown in manufacturing has been felt in the country's large factory sector. Higher interest rates from the European Central Bank aimed at quelling inflation have crimped construction of new apartments and offices. The government also faced a budget crisis after Germany's constitutional court ruled that tens of billions of euros (dollars) originally meant to cushion the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic could not be repurposed for measures to help combat climate change and modernize the country. The 2023 and 2024 budgets had to be reworked.
Others point to a long-term lack of investment in infrastructure such as rail networks and high-speed internet as the government focused on balancing the budget under a 2009 constitutional amendment limiting deficit spending.
Source: Business Standard
EURATEX, along with 22 other industry associations, has issued a joint letter to the three EU Presidents, urging a swift conclusion to the trade negotiations between the EU and Mercosur on the remaining unresolved issues. Addressed to President Metsola of the European Parliament, President Michel of the European Council, and President von der Leyen of the European Commission, the letter represents the collective voice of 23 associations. These groups span a broad spectrum of European industries and businesses, including manufacturing and food-related sectors, all united in their call for action.
The associations stress the importance of the EU-Mercosur agreement in enhancing economic integration and diversifying value chains in both imports and exports. They highlight the agreement's critical role in bolstering the competitiveness of Europe's export-oriented sectors, which are responsible for tens of millions of jobs. The letter underlines the agreement's significance in contributing to the prosperity and standards of living of European citizens, particularly during a time of increasing economic security concerns.
The EU-Mercosur agreement presents a unique and timely opportunity for Europe to establish a first-mover advantage in partnering with one of the world's largest economie. The associations emphasise that the deal would significantly reduce both tariff and non-tariff barriers, thereby improving European companies' competitiveness in Mercosur's market, which boasts over 270 million consumers.
Furthermore, the letter acknowledges the potential of the agreement to maintain a robust industrial structure within the EU, including in rural areas, and to safeguard millions of European citizens' jobs and well-being. With the EU's lack of substantial reserves of key raw materials necessary for the green and digital transition and the expectation of substantial global growth coming from outside the EU in the next decade, the agreement is seen as crucial for European industries to access open export markets and procure raw materials competitively.
In their commitment to free, fair, and sustainable trade, the associations recognise the need to protect the unique ecosystems of the Mercosur region. They believe that the EU-Mercosur agreement offers strong incentives and the right tools for collaboration to uphold the region's sustainable development commitments, including halting illegal deforestation.
Source : Fibre2fashion
The export container shipping price index in China rose by 2.3 per cent month on month (MoM) in December last year, according to data from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange. The average China containerised freight index (CCFI) stood at 874.88 last month. The sub-reading for the Europe service led the increase, with a MoM growth of 6.8 per cent. It was followed by the Australia/New Zealand service, which climbed by 5.6 per cent from the previous month. The reading for the West Africa service, however, dropped by 6 per cent MoM, a state-controlled news agency reported.
Source : Fibre2fashion
New contacts with decision-makers, global business opportunities and worldwide streams of visitors: Heimtextil 2024 ended with 46,000 visitors from around 130 nations and 2,838 exhibitors from 60 nations with 25 per cent growth. With a plus in visitors, the show overcame difficult travel conditions due to nationwide rail strikes and regional demonstrations. The response from international buyers to the quality and variety of the new Carpets & Rugs product segment was overwhelming. In numerous talks, tours and workshops, Heimtextil as well focused on two of the most important key topics of the coming decades: sustainable production and action as well as artificial intelligence. At the leading trade fair for home and contract textiles, transformations could be experienced more intensively than ever before. With intercontinental strength, Heimtextil 2024 laid the foundation for a record year for Messe Frankfurt. 46,000 buyers from around 130 nations took the opportunity to participate in the global textile market - from upholstery and decorative fabrics, bed and bathroom textiles, mattresses, functional textiles and carpets to wallpapers, outdoor fabrics, artificial leather, curtains, fibres, yarns, sleeping systems and decorative cushions. Despite nationwide rail strikes, this edition recorded a plus in visitor numbers and, with 2,838 exhibitors from 60 nations, a 25 per cent increase in exhibitor numbers compared to the previous year's event: "Heimtextil ends with overwhelming participation. The increase in space, exhibitors and visitors in 2024 makes the following clear: the leading trade fair for home and contract textiles remains on course for growth - and sets new standards for a sustainable and AI-driven textile industry", says Detlef Braun, member of the executive board of Messe Frankfurt.
Outstanding intercontinentality: participation grows nationally and internationally
Heimtextil achieved an increase in the level of internationality on the exhibitor side to 95 per cent. The top ten exhibiting countries were China, India, Turkey, Pakistan, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Great Britain and the Netherlands. There was an increase in the exhibitor numbers from Belgium, Bulgaria, China, India, Japan, Poland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, the USA and Egypt. On the visitor side, more visitors came from China, Germany, India, Japan, Croatia, Macedonia, Pakistan, Slovakia and Cyprus. The number of German trade visitors increased by around ten per cent.
Significant increase in satisfaction and visitor quality
In 2024, visitor satisfaction rose to an average of 93 per cent both nationally and internationally - particularly with the breadth and depth of the offering. Among German trade visitors, overall satisfaction rose by seven percentage points to 88 per cent. Over 90 per cent of all visitors achieved their trade fair goals. Exhibitors were also impressed by the increased visitor quality and buying competence: the proportion of top decision-makers among buyers rose by six percentage points to 78 per cent. Around 80 per cent of exhibitors achieved their trade fair goals.
Brilliant start for new Carpets & Rugs product segment
The launch of the new Carpets & Rugs segment was a complete success. For the first time, the global carpet industry presented together in one hall, including numerous international market leaders who exhibited in Frankfurt for the first time or after a long time - with overwhelming satisfaction:
"For our debut here in Frankfurt, we deliberately presented our entire collection, which turned out to be the right strategy. The stand was well attended throughout and we made many new global contacts - from Europe to overseas, from Asia to Scandinavia," says Katrien Vandenbroucke, CEO of Ragolle Rugs, one of Belgium's leading brands.
"We came back because we saw potential in the new concept. And I have to say, we were more than pleasantly surprised," summarises Raghav Gupta, director of e-commerce at the Indian company The Rug Republic, which stands for high-quality handmade rugs.
The wish for a new joint appearance came from the industry - and Frankfurt was convincing. Exhibitors such as the Egyptian Oriental Weavers Group are looking to the future:
"We are completely convinced by the new concept. The hall has turned out beautifully from the very start, a perfect platform for our industry. Now it's time to take it forward together. In any case, we already know that we will be at Carpets & Rugs in 2025 - and with a significantly larger stand," says Ahmed El Gamal, export sales manager of OWG subsidiary Mac Carpet.
From AI in textile product design to scalable sustainable solutions
Never before have transformations such as artificial intelligence and sustainability been so intensively at the center of Heimtextil and presented effective levers for a future-oriented approach to key technology. For the first time in 2024, the trade fair provided fascinating insights into the textile application of artificial intelligence and the use of AI-controlled sorting to refine recycled textile waste into new yarns. In the trend space, visitors' textile design ideas were also brought to life at interactive stations using tools such as ChatGPT-4 and Midjourney.
In addition, Heimtextil once again made state-of-the-art sustainable production and action tangible. One of the main points of contact were the Heimtextil Trends with New Sensitivity: the concept focused on the ongoing transformation of the textile industry and presented numerous market-ready and scalable solutions. One example was the company Ever Dye, whose self-developed color pigments enable dyeing at room temperature. Variant 3D, on the other hand, offers AI-driven knitting software that can be used to produce even complex shapes such as lampshades without creating patterns.
The Econogy program offered further central content formats, with Finder, Talks, Tours and the Econogy Hub demonstrating all the versatility of circular approaches, the relevance of certificates and possible applications for textile materials. The exhibitors listed in the Finder contributed to the holistic experience of sustainability:
“We have met many customers and are very happy with Heimtextil 2024. Almost all of our important business partners are here. Sustainability is a topic that is noticeably changing. People used to talk about recycling, but today it is being taken up as a holistic approach that extends from renewable energies deep into the processes to the raw materials and processing methods”, said Mevlut Baydar, chief sales officer (CSO), Vanelli Tekstil San.
"At Heimtextil 2024, we were able to present our new collections in an eye-catching way as part of the DecoTeam. Sustainability plays an important role for the Alfred Apelt GmbH. We are delighted that we were listed in the Econogy Finder at Heimtextil as a supplier of sustainable products," said Sebastian Ihling, sales manager and business development at Alfred Apelt GmbH.
Strong response to textile range of bed, bathroom and sleep systems
From bedding, bed linen and bathroom textiles to mattresses and sleep systems - the broad Smart Bedding range for all forms of retail as well as the brands and private label excellence in the Bed & Bath segment met with a strong response:
“We are very satisfied and happy to be back at Heimtextil with the Herbert Neumeyer Group. Our concept of the three-sided open stand as a communicative concept has paid off. The exchange with our national and international customers is very important to us. We absolutely achieved this goal at Heimtextil and did so in a pleasant, informal, feel-good atmosphere on our stand. This enabled us to establish ourselves as a permanent focal point in the hall”, said Markus Ertel, managing director, Heinrich Häussling GmbH & Co.
“In a nutshell: Heimtextil has always been the guarantee of international strength and the global market for us”, said Roeland Smits, managing director, Essenza Home.
“We travelled here with many confirmed customer appointments and were also able to make new contacts. We were very pleasantly surprised by the numerous hospitality buyers who showed great interest in our high-quality products and manufacturing processes – Heimtextil gave us access to the right markets”, said Tânia Lima, marketing manager, Lameirinho - Indústria Têxtil.
In 2024, the focus was once again on high-quality knowledge for the bed retail and hotel industry: international experts shared best practices, e.g. on the design of bedrooms and hotel rooms or the use of artificial intelligence in sleep analysis.
Asian Selection & Excellence: impressive range of high-quality large volumes
In the Asian Excellence & Selection halls, trade buyers of medium and large volumes found export-experienced partners and a unique range of high-quality manufactured textiles. The suppliers were very satisfied with the quality of the visitors and were able to open up new markets and contacts:
"We have been taking part in Heimtextil for 16 years and are very satisfied. The quality of visitors has increased again this year. We were able to do more order business. Our strongest markets are the UK, USA and Europe," said Nishant Kumar Singh, export sales manager, GM Syntex.
"What is noticeable this year is that, in addition to Europe and the USA, more visitors from the Middle East are here. We see great potential for our products here and believe that this market could become very relevant in the future," says Muzzammil Kasumbi, senior general manager, Al-Karam Textile Mills.
International, innovative and sustainable: the offering for the contract business
The Interior.Architecture.Hospitality programme at Heimtextil was more extensive and international than ever and brought architects and hospitality experts together with suppliers for the contract business. Whether focusing on health and care, outdoor, new work or sustainability - international manufacturers presented their functional innovations for a wide range of applications.
"Heimtextil 2024 was a successful start to the new business year for us. The Trevira CS brand was able to present itself to an international audience together with 17 top customers on a large joint stand. The sustainability topics such as fibres, yarns and fabrics obtained in various recycling processes, including chemical recycling, met with great visitor interest," explained Anke Vollenbröker, director marketing & business development Trevira CS at Indorama Ventures Fibres Germany.
In the LIBRARY, visitors were inspired by selected functional textiles. Highlights included a flame-retardant wallpaper, dirt-repellent upholstery fabric and light-resistant leather. The contract range was complemented by the Fibres & Yarns area for decorative and upholstery fabrics. In 2024, the preliminary stage was larger than before.
Outlook for 2025: partnership with Studio Urquiola announced
For 2025, Heimtextil is announcing a partnership with one of the most important and influential international design studios: Studio Urquiola. A pioneering installation is planned for the upcoming Heimtextil 2025, which will enable an immersive and unique design experience. With this collaboration, the Milan-based design studio and the leading trade fair for home and contract textiles are emphasizing their joint commitment to innovation, sustainability and design in the entire textile industry.
Source: Fibre2fashion
