Apparel Online India Magazine July 1st Issue 2018 | Page 44

BEYOND INDIA HAVE YOUR SAY BREAKING NEWS Tell us your news by emailing at [email protected] To read the latest sustainability news, go to https://apparelresources.com/business-news/sustainability/  FIFA World Cup jerseys fetch Bangladesh business worth US $ 1 billion Bangladesh had been eyeing big orders of fan jerseys ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Russia (June 14-July 15); and the results have not been disappointing either. Up until now, jerseys have fetched an overwhelming US $ 1 billion in revenue. According to the latest figures released from Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau, the country earned a net worth of US $ 2.6 billion from the export of jerseys, pullovers and similar items made of cotton and man-made fibres. This is being viewed as an exciting new window of opportunity in the production of sportswear. However, the one factor that still lacks is that the country is about 85 per cent reliant on natural fibre cotton and produces very little man-made textile fibre. According to Mohammad Hatem, first Vice President of Exporters Association of Bangladesh, about 100 factories were involved in the manufacturing of these jerseys. Insiders say this was one of the main reasons behind a surge in export of knitwear items and apparel items overall during the last month. In July-May period, knitwear exports rose 11.48 per cent to US $ 13.94 billion and woven garments rose 8.15 per cent to US $ 14.18 billion. “Compared to last year, we have seen US $ 1.5 billion growth in knitwear export. My assumption is that this was due to the World Cup. This was about an overwhelming 12 per cent gain on a year-to-year basis,” he says. Hatem, who is also a former Vice President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and owns MB Knit Fashion, says he exported 25,000 pieces of Spain’s fan jerseys, made of man- made fibre, at US $ 2.55 per item. Turkey eyes to stiffen textile imports from China for country's firms Turkey is eyeing to enforce new requirements on textile firms which are importing material from China. The said discussion took place in a recently held meeting at Ankara between economy ministry officials and textile companies’ representatives. It is pertinent 44 Apparel Online India | JULY 1-15, 2018 | www.apparelresources.com to mention here that Turkey’s textile sector is one of the pillars of the country’s economy. Reportedly, RMG (readymade garments) clothing accounted for around 18 per cent of the total US $ 157 billion exports last year. Cuneyt Yavuz, CEO, Mavi (a jeans retailer) elucidated that the Government’s vision was to partly tackle the country growing account deficit that soared up to US $ 5.43 billion, recording an increase of US $ 1.7 billion on Y-o-Y basis as revealed by Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. The business leaders told the ministry about the material being imported from China and being sold to other countries which eventually benefits Turkey. Reportedly, the country imported a one-fourth of its US $ 10.1 billion of textile imports from China last year and more than 50 per cent of them were cotton fabrics and partly finished products. A CEO who runs over 150 stores in Turkey also said that the Government has been asking for extra documents for imports from China and that is why most of the textile companies wanted to meet the ministry to put forth their problems in front of the Government. Additionally, the ministry listened to all the problems in the meet and said that they will look into their decision and even consider postponing the enforcement till next year.