NATIONAL

• Textile processors in Tiruppur hit by hike in prices of dyes and chemicals
• Garment manufacturers sourcing fabric locally: TAI
• Rupee closes above 73, experts see more pain

INTERNATIONAL

• Global Textile Raw Material Price 04-03-2020
• Decline in China’s exports: Opportunity for Pakistan’s textile sector
• The coronavirus lifts the ‘made in Mexico’: orders pick up amid crisis in China
• EPS of 35 out of 48 listed RMG sector cos fall
• Government to ease import procedures as manufacturers look beyond China for sources of raw materials
• UK, EU start talks on post-Brexit ties
• Import stands at $31.2 billion, export at $15.6 billion so far: Senate body told
• Swedish embassy brings textiles exhibit to USC
• Vietnam, Cambodia cross US $ 1 billion mark in RMG exports to Canada for the first time

Textile processors in Tiruppur hit by hike in prices of dyes and chemicals

With China hit by COVID-19, the textile industry in Tiruppur has started feeling the impact. The textile processors in the knitwear town are facing a shortage of dyes and chemicals and the prices are said to be going up. According to a press release from the Dyers Association of Tiruppur, the segment faces shortage of raw materials for production of reactive dyes and chemicals. Most of the raw materials needed are purchased from China. There has been no export from that country for the last 40 days because of the virus. The manufacturers of the dyes and chemicals have the raw materials only for the needs of maximum one month. So there is a shortage of dyes and chemicals and prices of these are up by 10 % to 20 %. The Association pointed out that only cash transactions are happening. It urged the processors to revise their rate cards accordingly. The dyers should carry out job works in the cash and carry system, collect dues, and have stocks of dyes and chemicals, the Association said.

Source: The Hindu

Back to top

Garment manufacturers sourcing fabric locally: TAI

The outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the subsequent closure of production and ports in China is impacting businesses globally, and the Indian textile industry is not an exception. As a result, garment makers in India are approaching suppliers from Ahmedabad and Surat to source fabrics, thus creating additional business opportunity for them. "China being the largest exporter as well as leading importer of all products—finished as well as raw material, the virus outbreak there has crippled the entire supply chain of the world. The impact was grave as it coincided with the Chinese New Year," Ashok Kumar, president, The Textile Association of India (TAI) said in an exclusive conversation with Fibre2Fashion. In global textiles and clothing business, China has approximately 35-40 per cent share, which is huge, according to Kumar. "China is the largest supplier of finished goods, specially to the West and all advanced economies. China is also the largest supplier of textile raw materials like fibres, yarns, fabrics, and dyes, practically to all the garment manufacturing countries." Talking about the impact on the Indian textile industry, Kumar said "We export a lot of cotton yarn and raw cotton to China. Our share of yarn export to China is around 40 per cent of total cotton yarn export. As shipment was stuck, and LC against the order was pending, traders anticipated a curtailed demand from China. This resulted in the price dropping by nearly 5 per cent due to excess availability in domestic market. The domestic price of Ne 30s combed yarn dropped to ₹205 per kg from ₹215 per kg before the virus outbreak. Likewise, price of raw cotton fell to ₹38,500 per candy of 356 kg compared to ₹40,500 per candy earlier." However, there are indications of improvement since last one week as shipments to various Chinese ports, except some ports that are in affected area, have started. "Prices have improved by 2-3 per cent in last few days," said Kumar. The situation has also impacted India's garment sector, as most accessories are imported from China, which are in short supply now. In addition, "India imports synthetic yarn of around $450 million and synthetics fabrics of $360 million annually from China. India does not have domestic base to cater to this huge need arising due to operation pause in Chinese factories. So, Indian garment manufacturers need to look for other alternatives and the present situation may result in increase in finished goods' cost by 3-5 per cent," Kumar added. Indian textile industry also imports majority of pigments and colours from China. According to Kumar, shortages are already being felt and it has resulted in increase in prices of dyes by approximately 10 per cent. "It may increase cost of processing for grey fabrics to finish fabrics," feels Kumar. Fabrics, mainly synthetics, that garment exporters usually import from China, are also currently in short supply. "So, garment manufacturers are approaching local suppliers from Ahmedabad and Surat to source fabrics to ship their orders on time. There is an additional business opportunity here for domestic fabric manufacturers, but at an extra cost to garment manufacturers. Another opportunity that looks promising is that some global orders of finished goods, i.e. for garments, are shifting from China to India as well as other countries. India is expected to be a preferred market for sourcing of apparel products by buyers from the US, Europe, UK and Canada. It is up to garment manufacturers to utilise the opportunity based on their capabilities and respond quickly. It may be a short-term gain but can be converted to long-term benefit by making the best use of prevailing opportunity. "There are also many opportunities already arising for exporting raw materials like yarns, fabrics, and dyes to all garment manufacturing countries in Asia like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, etc that are largely dependent on China for all their raw materials. For example, Bangladesh depends on China for 50 per cent of its raw material requirement for garment manufacturing and exports, which is very big, whereas India has just 20 per cent share in its imports. So, as of now, there is a huge demand from Bangladesh for all kinds of raw material including yarns and fabrics." According to a survey done on China manufacturing, during the first half of 2020, even if the current COVID-19 epidemic doesn’t further spread, China’s manufacturing business would be impacted by around 20 per cent during the first half. "Considering the manufacturing volume China has, 20 per cent is huge and no country in the world can immediately substitute the quantity. Hence, the demand would further go up," Kumar said. However, there is a cause of worry too, according to Kumar. "Slowly, the manufacturing activity has already started in China. The country has more technology driven manufacturing and huge capacities for upstream manufacturing like fibres, yarns, etc, and they have already started catching up with their production capacities. Hence, fibre and yarn producers are worried that the over-production might be dumped in India at lower prices, once the epidemic is over."

Source: Fibre2fashion

Back to top

Rupee closes above 73, experts see more pain

The rupee fell again on Tuesday, crossing 73 level to close at 73.30 a dollar level, as coronavirus positive cases increased to six in India. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did not intervene in the market, even as the offshore markets showed rupee to be weaker by 10-11 paise against the dollar till the market close in India. However, after a 50 basis points rate cut by the US Fed, the offshore rates fell to 72.92 a dollar. At 8.50 pm IST, the rupee was trading at 73.09-10 a dollar in the offshore markets. For most part of the day, the rupee was at 73.40 level in the offshore markets.  “Ideally, the rupee should open a little stronger against the dollar. After the Fed rate cut the yuan has strengthened, gold spiked, equities rose, and the rupee-dollar offshore rates have fallen,” said Abhishek Goenka, managing director at IFA Global. The partially convertible currency had closed at 72.73 a dollar on Monday. On Monday also, rupee slid rapidly as equities fell on confirmed coronavirus cases in India. However, on Tuesday, the equities gained, but rupee loss continued. According to a senior currency trader, the arbitrage opportunity offered between the offshore and onshore markets was too attractive for speculators, who pulled the spot rupee down onshore. “It looks like rupee will continue to remain volatile in this month. If the virus is contained in India, the equity flow will be strong, but if the threat perception is as high as other countries, then rupee should depreciate steadily,” said a senior currency dealer with a foreign bank. Technical chartists pointed out that the rupee has breached the seven–month long range of 70.70-72.46. Whenever such range gets broken, the rupee depreciates by Rs 1.5 to Rs 2.5 against the dollar. “All the factors that we typically associate with a panic move in USDINR are evident at this point. One month offshore forward points are much higher than onshore indicating desperation to exit rupee assets. The volatility curve has inverted. Risk reversals have spiked. We are seeing correlations that have held well in recent times breakdown,” Goenka of IFA Global had said before the Fed rate cut. The immediate next level could be easily 73.5- 74 a dollar, according to Ritesh Bhansali, vice-president, Mecklai Financials. The Fed rate cut could give some temporary respite though. “Indian economy is run by financial and services industries; both can be hit badly by the coronavirus scare. And if the virus spreads here, the effect could be serious. Rupee, no doubt, will remain under pressure in the coming days,” Bhansali said. Amidst the crisis, however, the RBI assured the markets that it was closely following the situation and will step in if needed. The G7 finance and central bank chiefs issued a statement assuring that they would use appropriate tools to achieve strong sustainable growth and to safeguard against slowdown. They will also co-operate timely and effective measures to counter a slowdown.

Source: Business Standard

Back to top

Global Textile Raw Material Price 04-03-2020

Source: Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14342 USD dtd. 04/03/2020). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com.  SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.

Back to top

Decline in China’s exports: Opportunity for Pakistan’s textile sector

Coronavirus cases continue to climb as the world watches. Today, China's economic relevancy in international economic footprint is much larger than before. According to UN Conference on Trade and Development by 2018, China is the exporter of 19% of total manufacturing goods traded globally, while in 2002-03, its share was 8%. The world growth has become increasingly dependent on China's performance in the last two decades, on the contrast, China has become more independent of the world economy. There are limited supply chains that may stand across the globe without any dependence on China for sourcing. Consequently, disruption in businesses due to the outbreak of Coronavirus is beginning to be felt globally. China, which is the hub of manufacturing and the epicenter of global production, has put a hold on its production activities. It is estimated that China's GDP growth will slow down to 5% this year. Dun & Bradstreet, a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics, says that at least 51,000 (163 Fortune 1000) companies around the world have one or more direct or Tier 1 suppliers in the impacted region Wuhan, Hubei province, and at least five million companies (938 Fortune 1000) around the world have one or more Tier 2 suppliers in the impacted region. Supply shortage of inputs that go into the manufacturing of a wide range of products will likely be the first indicator of the disruption. This would also translate into shortages of finished products, a steep fall in production but also contraction in product demand resulting in falling future product prices, hence, a global economic crunch. In the last two weeks, international prices of major commodities have evidently declined except for gold which proves to be a safe investment tool in the time of uncertainty. Nevertheless, this is the time to capture market share because the trade value will endure once the falling international markets pick up again. A huge vacuum has been created in global trade due to limited supply of manufactured goods, raw materials and intermediate goods from China which is also expected to create colossal domino effects. However, looking at the other side, this crisis-like situation has created business opportunities for developing countries like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam especially in the textile trade. The viral outbreak comes at a difficult time for Pakistan and could make the economic slowdown even worse for the struggling economy. McKinsey & Company report “Coronavirus COVID-19 Crisis Response" analyzes the potential evolution of the macroeconomic situation if virus outbreak triggers for global economic recession. It says that this may lead to companies making irreversible decisions such as wholesale shifts in supply chain, distribution channels – supply chain broken, especially in certain sectors. Impediments to the Pakistani manufacturing environment and capacity limitations make it difficult for Pakistan to quickly take advantage of the space in global trade, although Pakistani exports have increased recently in contrast to the downward trend in the several regional countries. Our 4.5 percent growth in exports during the first half of current fiscal year is an indicator of rising economic output, at a time when India's exports declined by 2.3 percent, Thailand's 2.5 percent, Sri Lanka's 3.6 percent, Indonesia's 5 percent, Malaysia's 6 percent and Bangladesh's 7 percent. This calamity has also revealed cracks in the Asian economies. Chinese neighbors are inclined too heavily on China-centric supply chains even for their own domestic growth and production. Vietnam's textile sector is assessed to be adversely impacted the most due to its high dependence on Chinese supply chains for production, but its high growth rate of 7 percent provides an economic buffer. Similarly, Bangladeshi textile sector is heavily dependent on China for textile inputs like cotton and Man-Made Fibers (MMF). A deeper analysis suggests that it will come down to India and Pakistan competing for shifting business from China, as both countries have entire textile supply chains operating in the county. India is calling meetings on the highest level to draft a strategy to gear up their whole supply chain to take full advantage of this situation. Even though India's textile and apparel exports fell by 8 percent in the first eight months (April-November) of the current fiscal year, they are designing a revival policy. Pakistan on similar footings must devise a plan to grab this opportunity and find alternate sources for raw-materials imported from China. Pakistani textile sector has both the potential and capability to enhance their exports and attract business orders diverting from China. This will require immediate government's support to enhance production capacity. Pakistani textile export books are already full to their capacity, easy financing facilities, competitive energy tariffs and urgent refunds of stuck exporter's credit with FBR and State Bank can expedite investment in capacity enhancement. In the world textile trade China has 32% share amounting to USD 266 billion. China exports approximately US $ 145 billion of articles of apparel and clothing accessories to the world. While, Pakistan's share in world textile trade has declined to 1.6 percent from 3 percent.

Source: B Recorder

Back to top

The coronavirus lifts the ‘made in Mexico’: orders pick up amid crisis in China

Industrial activity recovers in Mexico due to the coronavirus. Mexican fashion and textile manufacturers report a slight increase in orders and quotes from US companies because of the increasing closure of factories in China, the main sourcing country for international fashion companies. US retailers seek to quickly stock up in the face of the health crisis that threatens the spring-summer collections and puts the fall-winter season at risk, the biggest season of the year. Mexico, the main hub in the vicinity for the industry in the United States, begins to gain prominence on the sourcing map of international fashion. So far, the country has confirmed five cases of the virus. China currently exports $157.8 billion in clothing each year. However, Mexico remains the third-largest fashion supplier in the United States behind China and Canada. According to information published by the National Chamber of the Mexican Textile Industry (Canaintex), in 2019, 60% of the country’s total textile exports went to the United States, where 91.8% accounted for clothing. According to Jorge Plata, CEO of Argentum Textil, a company specialized in textile spinning and manufacturing and former president of the Mexican National Textile Industry Chamber, the interest of international companies is can already be noticed. The executive says that “they have received emails and calls from several customers who would like to resubmit their production in Mexico, specifically from distribution companies of denim, and sportswear, a sector that is going through a boom in the United States,” says Plata. In contrast, Kaltex, a Mexican company specializing in the production of yarn, cloth, synthetic fibers, states that only 10% of its sales come from the United States. The company, which mainly sells T-shirts to the North American country, affirms that in the last months the number of orders from the North country has remained constant and that few North American companies have called for information about the productive capacity. Grupo Miró, a company specialized in the distribution of knitted fabrics, says that although the volume of orders from the North American country has remained stable, there is an increase in calls for quotes and search for suppliers by potential North American customers.

Source: Global Textiles

Back to top

EPS of 35 out of 48 listed RMG sector cos fall

Earnings per share of 35 out of 48 export-oriented publicly traded textile and apparel companies at Dhaka Stock Exchange have registered fall in the first half of the current fiscal as export earnings have been on the decline. There are 56 export oriented textile, garment and accessories companies listed with the country’s premier bourse Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchanges. Of the total  traded companies, 48 manufacturers disclosed earnings for the first half of current fiscal year, of which 35 or 72.93% registered negative growth in EPS compared to same period a year ago, DSE data show.   Sluggish exports coupled with high utility charges have brought down the companies' EPS, industry people say. According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, during July-January period of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh’s exports earnings from the apparel sector witnessed a 5.71% decline to $19.06 billion.    Apparels had earned $20.22 billion during the same period last year. Stock market analysts and economists also raise questions about the transparency of financial reports of the companies.   If the EPS of textile and apparel companies continue to decline, investors will lose interest in the sector and feel reluctant to invest in the upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO) companies fearing losses.  

What sector people say

“International trade and commerce is passing a critical time. In the last couple of years, the country's apparel sector witnessed hike in production cost due to rise in tariff of utility services but buyers did not increase prices of goods,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, managing director of publicly traded Envoy Textile, told Dhaka Tribune.  According to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), apparel sector production costs went up by almost 29.40% in the last four years. Industry people have long been seeking devaluation of currency to improve competitive edge. “Despite lots of incentives and policy support, the sector is failing to overcome the dullness. This is due to appreciation of taka against US dollar, which eating up our competitiveness in the global market,” Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) first vice president Mohammed Hatem said. The government should rethink the exchange rate and offer a special rate on the amount of value addition, added the business leader.  Misuse of bonded warehouse facilities is another reason, which dents the demands for local yarn and fabrics.   "Some of the export-oriented apparel makers sell fabric and yarn in the local market illegally, which is imported duty free under bonded warehouse facility,” Khorshed Alam, owner of Little Star Spinning Mill, said."Local millers, as a result, have to sell at lower price, while there is unsold stock," he mentioned.  

Internal factors

Some internal factors may have played a role in the negative EPS. “Slower exports earnings have an effect on negative EPS but some external factors should be taken into consideration such transparency of financial report,” Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Research Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem told Dhaka Tribune. 

Situation may worsen 

Sector people fear further deterioration in the apparel sector, adversely impacting the EPS of the listed companies. “Amid a gloomy outlook for the country’s apparel sector, the government has increased the prices of electricity, another blow to the production cost, which already increased manifold,” said Anwar-Ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, chairman director of Argon Denims Limited. On Thursday, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) again increased the prices of electricity for retail consumers by 5.3% to Tk7.13 per unit and bulk consumers by 8.4% to Tk5.17 a unit, effective from March 1.

Source: Dhaka Tribune

Back to top

Government to ease import procedures as manufacturers look beyond China for sources of raw materials

The government plans to ease licensing procedures for importing raw materials as the country’s manufacturing industry begins to feel the impact of the disruption to the supply chain from China caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in Jakarta on Monday that simplifying import procedures for raw materials would be one of the strategic measures taken to cope with the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the manufacturing sector. The minister said 500 companies were being considered to receive special permits to allow them to import raw materials from sources other than China. According to data from the state treasurer, the raw materials imported by the 500 companies accounted for 40 percent of the country’s total raw material imports. The coronavirus outbreak in China has hit global supply chains hard and has spurred countries to look for other sources of raw materials. The disruption to the supply of raw materials from China has also severely hurt Indonesian manufacturing companies, especially those involved in plastics, textiles and chemical production. “The disruption to the supply of raw materials from China, especially for plastic, textile, footwear, steel and chemical products, has severely hurt local industries.” Sri Mulyani said, adding that for many companies, between 20 to 50 percent of their raw materials were imported from China.

Source: The Jakarta

Back to top

UK, EU start talks on post-Brexit ties

Negotiators from the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) recently started talks in Brussels aimed at forging a future relationship. The discussions cover trade and trading standards, agriculture, security, transport, energy and fisheries and are being led by Frenchman Michel Barnier for the EU and UK governmental advisor David Frost. The discussions are expected to wrap up by the end of this year, according to global newswires. The UK's current transition period, during which it trades like an EU member with no tariffs or other barriers, ends on December 31. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled out extending it, though he has the option to do so. Each side has accused the other of shifting away from goals set out in a non-binding political declaration struck late last year. While the UK is insisting on setting its own rules in the name of ‘economic and political independence’, the EU aims to secure a ‘level-playing field’ to prevent the former from undercutting costly European standards on labour, tax, environment and state subsidies. Barnier has told the United Kingdom to fully respect the binding Brexit withdrawal treaty. Both sides will witness economic trouble if no deal is reached, but the United Kingdom and Ireland, the EU member most dependent on trade with the UK, will especially feel the pain. UN economists calculate the trade hit would see the United Kingdom annually lose export revenues of up to $32 billion in that case. The EU buys nearly half of all British exports.

Source: Fibre2fashion

Back to top

Import stands at $31.2 billion, export at $15.6 billion so far: Senate body told

The Senate Functional Committee on Problems of Less Developed Areas was informed that the total import of the country was $31.2 billion and export $15.6 billion in the ongoing financial year, which was the best performance in the last six years. The committee met with Senator Muhammad Usman Khan Kakar in the chair at Parliament House on Tuesday. The committee discussed the import and export of the country carried out during the last five years, opening Chaman Customs Gateway and opening branch of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at Badini Custom Gateway, and then issues relating to less developed areas. The committee was told that in 2017-2018, the volume of import was $61.3 billion and export was $23.2 billion, while the import was $54.9 billion and export $23 billion in the financial year 2018-2019. According to documents laid by the Ministry of Commerce in the committee meeting, the total imports of the country was Rs 7.45 trillion in financial year 2018-2019, Rs 6.694 trillion in 2017-2018, and Rs 5.54 trillion in 2016-2017. A total import was in the financial year 2018-2019 in various items as; in food group was Rs 769.885 billion, Rs 1.212 trillion in machinery, Rs 421.2 billion in transport, Rs 1.962 trillion in petroleum, Rs 442.163 billion in textile, Rs 1.188 trillion in chemical, Rs 675.8 billion in metal, Rs 138.53 billion in miscellaneous, and Rs 638.41 billion in other items. According to the document, a total export in 2018-2019 was Rs 3.131 trillion as compared to the previous financial year 2017-2018 was Rs 2.555 trillion. A total export in various items in financial year 2018-2019 as; in food group was Rs 632.274 billion, Rs 1.813 trillion in textile, Rs 64.33 billion in petroleum and coal, Rs 457.12 billion in manufactures, and Rs 164.192 billion in other items. The Ministry of Commerce additional secretary told the committee that the present government had also provided some subsidies to exporters, which has led to improvement. He said that the export could be increased by promoting industries in the country. The functional committee was informed that there were 224 employees in Ministry of Commerce in which 29 belong to less developed areas. The chairman of the committee, Senator Mohammad Usman Khan Kakar, directed that the ministry and its subsidiaries should provide identification cards, domiciles and other information of employees belonging to Balochistan. Additional Secretary Commerce and DG Trade briefed the Functional Committee about the registration of Chamber of Commerce in the less developed areas of Balochistan and the current situation of Chamber of Commerce of Qila Saifullah. They said that same policy had been adopted for registration however there was some concession for Women Chamber of Commerce. Usman Kakar said that there were many reserves of Chromite in Fort Saifullah, Musa Khel, Muslim Bagh and other related areas. He said that local people were linked to the import and export business, and they should be given license as soon as possible. He said that the high court had also directed that the issue be resolved through dialogue. He said that the Afghan Transit Trade at Chaman Border was stopped for many years and it was very important to promote export to the country and for this purpose the Chaman Customs Gateway should be opened 24 hours as soon as possible. He said that for this purpose, Senate unanimously approved a resolution. Regarding Badini Customs Gateway, the committee was informed that there were some issues that were being addressed and efforts would be made to begin on March 23.

Source: B Recorder

Back to top

Swedish embassy brings textiles exhibit to USC

After its successful exhibition at Cebu Design Week, SM City Cebu, and SM Seaside Cebu, The Embassy of Sweden in Manila, led by Ambassador Harald Fries, has launched the Fashion Revolution: The Future of Textiles at the University of San Carlos.  Swedish embassy brings textiles exhibit to USC. The Fashion Revolution: The Future of Textiles exhibit, currently at University of San Carlos in Cebu City, showcases Swedish solutions to contributing to a more sustainable fashion industry. Curated and produced by the Swedish Institute with the help of researchers and sustainable fashion experts, the exhibition highlights the fashion industry’s major environmental challenges, showcases Swedish solutions, and guides consumers to contribute effectively to a more sustainable world. The exhibition, which runs until March 18 at the School of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design - USC, is supported by major Swedish brands H&M, IKEA, and BabyBjorn. H&M highlights key pieces made of sustainable textiles from its Conscious Collection while BabyBjorn exhibits baby carriers that are created from recycled and upcycled products. Meanwhile, social enterprise and textile designer Anthill Fabric Gallery showcases a Filipino example of circular business model and the role of local fabrics in fashion sustainability. During a panel discussion at the launch event, speakers from IKEA shared the company’s sustainability efforts while USC alumna Barbara Page Uy-Tiu presented upcycled flour sacks transformed into an outerwear collection.  At the launch of the Fashion Revolution, Ambassador Fries expressed hope for consumers to become more conscious and mindful of their consumption of fashion. Globally, the world’s population consume about 62 million tons of clothing per year, or about a small suitcase full of clothes per person, and only 20 percent is re-used or recycled. Since 2000, global clothes production has more than doubled, and the average person now buys 60 percent more items of clothing every year and keeps them for about half as long as they did 15 years ago.

Swedish embassy brings textiles exhibit to USC

Further, it takes 10,000 to 30,000 liters of water and two to four kilos of chemicals to produce one kilo of treated cotton. Fifteen to 30 percent of the plastic pollutants in the oceans consist of microplastics and 35 percent of which come from laundering synthetic textiles.

Source: Manila Standard

Back to top

Vietnam, Cambodia cross US $ 1 billion mark in RMG exports to Canada for the first time

Canada grew by 4.62 per cent in its apparel imports in 2019, according to Statistics Canada which is country’s national statistics agency. The North American country imported US $ 10.11 billion worth of garments in 2019 as against US $ 9.66 billion of garments in 2018. Out of all major exporting countries, China remained at the top despite falling by 4.79 per cent in its RMG exports to Canada. China shipped apparels worth US $ 3.54 billion to Canada, which constitutes about 35 per cent of overall Canadian apparel imports. Bangladesh grabbed the 2nd position and is seeing some stiff competition from Vietnam which is placed at 3rd spot in RMG exports to Canada. Both the countries grew in double digits in their exports to Canada in 2019. The North American country is already more than US $ 1 billion market for Bangladesh, while Vietnam also crossed this figure in 2019 and is causing mighty competition between them. Bangladesh’s RMG exports to Canada valued at US $ 1.29 billion (up 15.51 per cent), while Vietnam stood at US $ 1.06 billion marking 22.16 per cent in its respective exports to Canada. As China is falling, Cambodia seems to be a beneficiary as the South-East Asian country also crossed US $ 1 billion mark in its exports to Canada for the first time ever. Cambodia noted 12.3 per cent growth to ship US $ 1.01 billion worth of apparels to Canada. India, on the other hand, is losing grounds in the Canadian apparel market which was a positive market for India till 2018. India has not been able to grab the shift coming from China and the same is being captured by Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia. India’s apparel exports to Canada stood at US $ 317.78 million in 2019 which was down by 0.35 per cent from what it exported in 2018. Seeing the data, one thing is also clear that there is a big gap between the export values of 4th top exporter to Canada (Cambodia) and 5th top exporter (India). And this indicates that if any of the top 4 exporters starts losing market value, there will be a great shift for rest of the countries to capture.

Source: Apparel Resources

Back to top