Development situation of textile industry in major Asian textile countries

Edited by Zhong Mengxia

In the past three years, because of COVID-19, increasingly complicated international politics, economic depression and many other reasons, economic growth has been an arduous task for any country in the world.In the highly competitive market, the textile industry is a time-tested industry.Today, let's take a look at the major textile countries in Asia, except China, to see how their textile import and export have changed in the past year and what their future development trend is.Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA),export revenue of ready-made garments dipped by 18% over the pre-covid year.The export value of a ready-made garment was USD 34.133 billion in 2019, which came to USD 27.949 billion in 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19.The speedy recovery in the export of ready-made garments was seen in 2021.The export revenue reached USD 31.456 billion.

Rapid industrialization, growing urbanization, and increasing demand for the export of ready-made garments contribute to the growth of the Bangladeshi textile manufacturing market.

Bangladesh textile manufacturing market

The Bangladesh Textile Manufacturing Market is segmented by Application Type (Clothing Application, Industrial Application, and Household Application), Material (Cotton,Jute, Silk, Synthetics, and Wool), and Process ( Woven and Non-woven).The following offers market size and forecasts for the Bangladeshi textile manufacturing market in value(USD billion) for all the above segments.

Market Overview

The Bangladeshi Textile Manufacturing market is expected to register a CAGR of over 7% during the forecast period of 2022-2027.COVID-19 had a severe impact on the textile manufacturing industry.In the first half of 2020 industry faced an issue with short labor supply and difficulty in logistics due to the lockdown in the country.The COVID-19 also impacted the sales of the textile as the closure of supermarkets and other physical retail stores due to the government's strict lockdown norms.However,the COVID-19 crisis accelerated e-commerce sales in the market studied.

A considerably good amount of revenue is generated by the export of ready-made garments.According to the

Increasing Demand for Natural Fibers

Natural fiber composites are relatively lighter and have more strength than conventional fibers and, therefore, find extensive application in the automotive industry for interior and exterior applications.Natural fibers obtained from plants and animals include cotton, silk, linen, wool, hemp,jute, and cashmere.These fibers are widely used to manufacture garments,apparel, construction materials, medical dressings, and interiors of automobiles, among others.Silk is used in upholstery and apparel, as it is available in both variations: fine and coarse.Wool and jute are used as textile materials for their resilience, elasticity, and softness.Despite lower production volume, the requirement for raw cotton for the textile industry is very high.The increasing consumption of natural fibers, such as cotton, silk, wool, and jute,will drive the Bangladesh textile market during the forecast period.

Clothing Application Dominates the Market during the Forecast Period

The clothing application segment accounted for the largest share of the Omani textile manufacturing market in 2021 and is estimated to continue its position during the forecast period from 2022 to 2027.According to the World Bank, there had been a 57% growth in per capita income in Bangladesh from 2015 to 2020.Growing income helps more spending on apparel and fashion.People are following more emerging fashion trends, which increases the sale of clothing.The adoption of ready-made garments has a positive impact on the Omani textile industry.The ready-made garment has a major share in the global export of Oman’s textile products.Rapid urbanization and growing population are boosting the demand for clothing, hence, contributing to the growth of Oman's textile manufacturing market.

Vietnam's Vinatex sets conservative goals in 2023 business plan

The Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), whose consolidated revenue and profit rose by 15 per cent and 14.6 per cent year-on-year respectively in 2022, recently announced its business plan for 2023 with many conservative goals.This year is anticipated to be a challenging year for export-oriented sectors,particularly textiles.

Since October 2022, the major export markets for Vietnam's textiles and apparel have shown signs of severe deterioration."In 2022,as the global economy swung in a complex manner, the textile and apparel business faced several obstacles in terms of consumer demand, and beginning in the third quarter, orders decreased precipitously," general director of Vinatex Cao Huu Hieu was quoted as saying by a Vietnamese media outlet."However, Vinatex still accomplished its goals with expected consolidated sales of $830 million, an increase of 15 per cent year-on-year.The anticipated consolidated profit reached $46 million, up 14.6 per cent," Hieu said.

The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) foresees two growth scenarios this year, with the optimistic scenario predicting a turnover of $47-48 billion and the pessimistic one anticipating $45-46 billion.In 2022, the entire industry had a total export turnover of more than $44 billion.

The industry's troubles include low demand for yarn and its low selling price, large yarn stocks, rising storage costs, congested working capital flows and and intense price competition for orders.In addition, most units are under-loaded by 35 to 50 per cent.A decline in global buying power is anticipated to lead to pressures on the country’s clothing sector to cut orders by an average of 25 to 27 per cent this year.

Since 2022 began, the total labour force of the industry has decreased by 5-7 per cent and that trend is anticipated to continue this year as the status of orders has not been restored along with intense competition from other industries.General solutions identified in Vinatex's 2023 business plan include forming a package knitting production chain by choosing the most suitable and essential items and completing the production chain progressively.It plans to invest in green growth, raise investments in innovative technologies, save energy, limit the usage of chemicals, reduce emissions,utilise renewable energy sources, raise manufacturing of recycled items and aim for a digital transformation for key tasks.

Demand for South India's cotton yarn improves; export orders up

South India’s cotton yarn market witnessed a positive trend today due to better demand and export orders.Gujarat mills received cotton yarn export orders which strengthened the market sentiments.Fine count yarn remained bearish,while cotton yarn of coarse counts saw a price rise in Mumbai.Prices in the Tiruppur market remained steady.

Mumbai market witnessed a mixed trend in cotton yarn prices.Coarse count cotton yarn prices improved by5-10 per kg, but fine count yarn eased by5-8 per kg as domestic demand was weak.A trader from Mumbai said, “There were more buyers for coarse count cotton yarn because of Chinese export orders.Coarse count of combed yarn is mostly exported.More buyers were enquiring after an increase in cotton yarn prices by spinning mills.”

In Mumbai, 60 count carded cotton yarn of warp and weft varieties were traded at1,520-1,550 and1,440-1,500 per 5 kg (GST extra) respectively.60 count combed warp was priced at340-345 per kg; 80 count carded(weft) cotton yarn was sold at1,450-1,470 per 4.5 kg;44/46 count carded cotton yarn (warp) was priced at290-295 per kg; 40/41 count carded cotton yarn (warp)was sold at282-285 per kg and 40/41 count combed yarn (warp) was priced at298-305 per kg, according to Indian media.

Buying of cotton yarn increased in the Tiruppur market, but prices remained stable.Traders said that buying was better at current prices and new export orders have improved buyers’ confidence.Southern mills had decreased yarn prices on the first day of this year.

In January, 30 count combed cotton yarn was traded at285-290 per kg (GST extra), 34 count combed at300-305 per kg and 40 count combed at310-315 per kg in the Tiruppur market.Cotton yarn of 30 count carded was sold at255-260 per kg, 34 count carded at265-270 per kg and 40 count carded at270-275 per kg.

In Gujarat, cotton was traded at61,500-62,000 per candy of 356 kg.The prices further increased by500 per candy in the last two days.According to the traders, farmers were not willing to sell seed cotton (narma) at low prices.Limited arrival and high demand from mills supported cotton prices.The higher prices of narma, which was traded at1,750-1,800 per 20 kg, left ginners in disparity.

Pakistan's cotton arrival down 37% in Aug-Dec 22, but up in December

Pakistan’s cotton arrival has declined by 37.22 per cent in the first five months of the current marketing year 2022-23 (August-July) compared to the same period in the last season.The drop is mainly due to the heavy rains and floods witnessed in the main cotton-producing states last year that spoiled the crop of the current marketing season.

Cotton arrival was 46,12,687 bales of 170 kg in August-December 2022,down 27,34,717 bales compared to 73,47,404 bales in the same period last year, according to a report on cotton arrival in factories of Pakistan as on January 1, 2023, released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA).

However, the arrival increased by 84.91 per cent year-on-year (YoY)in December 2022.The arrival went up from 179,285 bales in December 2021 to 332,187 bales in December 2022.December was the month of slower arrival in Pakistan.

The state-wise accumulated arrival also shows the impact of floods and heavy rains till December.Cotton arrival in the Sindh province-where floods affected the most-was noted at 18,50,400 bales during August-December 2022, down 47.26 per cent compared to 35,08,602 bales in the corresponding period of last season.

Cotton arrival was 28.04 per cent lower in Punjab, which had recorded an arrival of 27,62,287 bales in the first five months of the current season against 38,38,802 bales in the corresponding period of the previous season.The increase in arrival in December 2022 reduced fall in the total of last five months.

Turkey’s textile industry aims for top global export position

With a long history of textile manufacturing dating back to the Ottoman Empire, Turkey remains an important country in the global textile and apparel industry.In 2020, the country ranked as the fourth largest exporter of textiles worldwide, accounting for almost 3.3 percent of all exports.The industry is also still showing signs of growth, with the value of both textiles and clothing exported having more than doubled since 2000.A large proportion of the textile and apparel goods leaving Turkey arrive in locations inside Europe, with Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain ranking as the top five destinations.In 2020, these three countries together accounted for over 8.5 billion dollars’ worth of exports.

Turkey’s textile industry that has increased its share in global trade over past years aims to become one of the top three players in the world market.Turkish production and export of the industry have shifted from low value-added commodities to high value-added manufactured items and fashionable goods.The export value of Turkey textile industry has reached a value of USD 27.56 billion.Turkey is booming the textile and apparel industry with amazing design capacity, hi-tech solutions, dynamic and flexible production capacity, and concern about quality,health, and environment.

“We already reached our target, which we set out four years ago, of making Türkiye one of the top five textile exporting countries.We overtook countries like South Korea and Italy to claim the fifth spot.Now, we are aiming to become one of the top three,” said Ahmet ?ksüz, president of the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (?TH?B).The local industry has increased share in global textile exports to an all-time-high of 3.6%, according to ?ksüz.

Despite the challenges in the world economies, the Turkish textile sector managed to become the fifth largest supplier, he said, adding that investments in the local textile industry exceeded US$ 2 billion in the past three years.“Those investments will help Türkiye achieve its target of becoming one of the top three textile exporting countries in the world.” The Turkish textile companies are exporting their products to more than 200 countries, according to Mustafe Gültepe, president of the Turkish Exporters’Assembly (T?M).

“Textile and apparel exports amounted to US$ 24 billion in the first nine months of 2022,” said Gültepe, adding that he is confident that exports could exceed US$ 32 billion this year.They were speaking at a ceremony where top exporting textile companies received awards.The country’s textile industry has the potential to climb up in the global league and may become the top player in the market, said Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, who attended the event.