Helping You Navigate Textile-Apparel Industry Data

TexPro serves as a comprehensive market intelligence tool covering textiles, apparel, footwear, leather goods, fashion accessories, home textiles, and technical textiles. It provides a centralized solution for sourcing and procurement intelligence, supply chain trend analysis, logistics planning, competitor and potential customer analysis, and business development planning, all conveniently consolidated in one platform.

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Sri Lanka's trade balance with ASEAN countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) has undergone notable fluctuations over the past decade. From a slight surplus of 0.18 USD Million in 2014, the trade balance shifted to a significant deficit, peaking at -16.53 USD Million in 2015. This negative trend persisted until 2020, though the deficit gradually decreased each year. A significant turnaround occurred in 2021, where Sri Lanka recorded a surplus of 7.35 USD Million, continuing to improve to 22.06 USD Million by 2023. This positive shift suggests improved trade dynamics and possibly stronger economic ties with ASEAN countries. Looking ahead, Sri Lanka aims to further strengthen its economic relations with ASEAN by signing free trade agreements (FTAs) after completing its debt restructuring. This strategic move is expected to bolster trade relations with ASEAN member states. Additionally, Sri Lanka is diversifying its export markets 8beyond its traditional partners—the USA, EU, and UK—to include South Asia, South East Asia, and East Asia. The success of current FTAs with Asia and Pacific regions, which have resulted in more exports than imports, underscores the potential benefits of these new agreements. The strategic focus on expanding trade relations within Asia aligns with Sri Lanka's broader goal of enhancing economic stability and growth. The impact of a trade surplus can vary depending on a country's specific economic context. For a developing country like Sri Lanka, a trade surplus is a positive trend as it indicates successful integration into global markets and economic improvement. However, it is essential for the country to balance its trade relations and ensure that its economy is not overly dependent on a few export markets or sectors.

Vietnam, USA, Japan & China are the top four cotton fabric importing destination from Indonesia. From 2014 the percentage share of Vietnam has increased from 9.45% to 22.31%, that of USA has almost doubled from 10.18% to 20.12% , Japan's share has increased from 17.64% to 19.21% and China's share has increased from 4.71% o 5.05%. Meanwhile the percentage share of Rest of the world(ROW) has decreased from 58% to 33.31% in the year 2023 as compared to year 2014.

Cotton cultivation remains unattractive to Indonesian farmers due to lower profit margins. The cotton production of the country is negligible and fulfils less than one per cent of the country’s demand. Hence, the country depends on cotton imports for all cotton-related business.?During the period of August to October 2023, Australia remained the largest supplier of cotton( raw material) to Indonesia with a total market share of 52.1 percent. Brazil and the United States followed with 21.1 percent and 16.5 percent? respectively.

Cotton Yarn has surged by 20.94%, reaching 872.38, showing strong demand. Polyester Fibre also grew by 29.03% to 365.6, reflecting its popularity and versatility. Polyester Yarn increased by 24.43% to 545.25, highlighting its expanding use. Viscose Fibre rose by 27.05% to 535.21, maintaining its market relevance. Leading the growth, Viscose Yarn jumped by 36.03% to 845.29, emphasizing its rising demand.

Even Cotton Fibre saw a modest growth of 1.32%, reaching 552.13, indicating steady demand and stability. These trends show the dynamic growth and resilience of the textile industry. However, cotton yarn prices in Pakistan's export market dropped due to reduced demand from China.

High energy and financial costs are challenging Pakistani yarn producers' international competitiveness. Despite this, domestic prices for 100% cotton yarns remained stable, with steady demand as the financial year ends on June 30th. Apparel manufacturers are increasingly using imported yarns, thanks to new duty-free import regulations for clothing production. Cotton fiber prices in Pakistan remained stable with low trading activity.

The Karachi Cotton Association's (KCA) domestic market indicator is steady at Rs. 19,700 per maund of 37.32 kilos. Cotton import offers from the USA slightly decreased. Polyester staple fiber prices stayed unchanged, with the benchmark 1.4 denier PSF at Rs. 367 per kilo. Import offers from China rose significantly due to higher international shipping charges.

In the first half of 2024, France's minimum wage saw an increase, rising by 10% compared to January 2023. Additionally, there was 1% increase in the minimum wage when compared to the second half of 2023.Among EU nations, France ranks as having the sixth highest minimum wage, trailing behind Luxembourg, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium.?

The domestic market prices of Caprolactam and Nylon 6 in China have followed a similar trend over the past 12 months due to several interconnected factors. A significant reason is the dwindling inventory levels at Caprolactam plants, particularly in April, which has allowed sellers to sharply increase their prices. As a key raw material for producing Nylon 6, the price movement of Caprolactam directly influences the cost structure of Nylon 6.

Moreover, the spread between Caprolactam and Nylon 6 Filament Yarn prices has fluctuated between 40% and 50% throughout the year, highlighting the close correlation between these two markets. The increase in Nylon 6 prices can be partly attributed to the rise in material costs, driven by the elevated prices of Caprolactam.

As the cost of raw materials escalates, producers of Nylon 6 are compelled to adjust their prices accordingly to maintain their profit margins. In summary, the parallel trends in the prices of Caprolactam and Nylon 6 in the Chinese domestic market over the last year are primarily due to the decreased inventory levels of Caprolactam and the resultant rise in its prices, which in turn has led to higher production costs and increased prices for Nylon 6.

In recent years, nonwoven fabrics have become a crucial segment of the textile industry. Advances in polymer technology, nonwoven processing, and fabric finishing have significantly enhanced the physical and mechanical properties of these fabrics. Improvements in handling and drapability, tensile strength, abrasion resistance, pilling resistance, washing stability, dyeing, and printing have expanded the potential applications for nonwoven fabrics. Classified as a technical textile, nonwoven fabric ranks third in the production of textile surface materials, following woven and knitted fabrics.

China has been the leading manufacturer and exporter of nonwoven products (HS Code 56) over the past decade, with an average export value of 63 USD billion from 2014 to 2023. The highest export value during this period was recorded in 2021 at 8.24 USD billion, driven by the increased demand for PPE products during the COVID-19 pandemic, which heavily relied on nonwoven fabrics as a primary raw material. From 2014 to 2023, China experienced an annual growth rate of 6%. Even in 2023, China remained significantly ahead of other major markets in terms of exports.

In contrast, major nonwoven manufacturing countries such as Germany, Italy, and Japan have maintained a steady export share over the last decade, with their exports following a relatively stable pattern. The compounded annual growth rates for these countries are -1%, 0%, and 2%, respectively. India's exports, although still at a relatively low value, have shown a growth rate of 5%, indicating a positive outlook for the country as an emerging market in the nonwoven fabric industry. It will be interesting to observe how India's role evolves in the future.