At the end of the first half of the year maquila textile exports to the United States grew by 13% compared to the same period in 2015.
Figures from the biannual report by the US Office of Textiles and Clothing (OTEXA) show that between January and June Nicaragua sold 255 million square meter equivalents (SME) to the United States generating revenues of $708 million.
A bill that is being analyzed by the U.S. Congress aims to reduce the level of tariff preference to only 6% of imports from Nicaraguan textile factories.
Although the possibility exists of an extension of the current Tariff Preference Level (TPL) until 2015, American congressmen have proposed that the benefit be granted only on cotton pants, which represent the lowest proportion of Nicaraguan textile exports to the United States.
With a record $2.207 billion in exports last year in 2012, the nation aims to continue growing its free zone regime, both in terms of the number of companies and volume of exports.
Beyond having obtained these successful figures, the aim is to attract more businesses and diversify economic activities. Within these objectives, the installation of the U.S.
The U.S. company Millknit Industries is to produce fabrics for the maquiladora industry, beginning operations in the first quarter of 2013.
Operating in the industrial park Las Mercedes, the textile company will begin operations between January and February 2013, informed the technical secretary of the National Commission of Free Zones (CNZF), Alvaro Baltodano.
Millknit Industries will begin operations in early 2013, producing fabrics for clothing companies established in the free zones.
Following the closure of Core Denim in 2009, Nicaragua has had no cloth production, which is a disadvantage for the clothing sector, which has to import its raw materials.
Laprensa.com reports that "Millknit will operate in the industrial park Las Mercedes, Managua, it is funded with North American capital and the initial investment is for $25 million, according to the National Free Zone Commission (CNZF). The initial projections for jobs is 270 positions."
European investors are to acquire the Cone Denim Plant in Nicaragua, which has been closed for 3 years and could reopen in late 2012.
"It is a fact that this year the Cone Denim plant will be reopened. We're just waiting for the (purchase) negotiations to be completed," confirmed Dean Garcia, executive director of the Nicaraguan Association of Textile and Apparel Companies (Anitec), according to Laprensa.com.ni.
The textile company, a subsidiary of International Textile Group, which invested $100 million in its plant in Nicaragua, now has three interested parties; meanwhile there are still plans to reopen its operations.
The U.S. textile company Core Denim, belonging to the International Textile Group (ITG), could resume operations in Nicaragua which were suspended in March 2009, informed the government, although there is still a chance that the company will be sold, which would imply a reassessment of these plans.
During the course of the year, the U.S. textile company will restart operations in the country.
The start-up would initially create 700 new jobs.
"The secretary of the National Free Zone Commission (CNZF), Alvaro Baltodano, and executive director of the Nicaraguan Association of Textiles and Apparel (Anitec), Dean Garcia, confirmed to the press that the reopening of the company is underway and will become official in the coming weeks,” according to an article at Laprensa.com.ni.
The arrival of new textile plants, the expansion of three plants and the reopening of another were announced by the textile sector.
With an investment of $ 50 to $ 60 million, the National Commission of Free Zones (CNZF) is negotiating the installation of a new textile factory with a foreign capital group.
Dean García Foster, executive director of the Nicaraguan Association of Textiles and Apparel (Anitec), said three textile companies have confirmed their expansion plans, which involves an estimated investment of $ 20 million.
Istmo Textil Nicaragua has launched a new textile manufacturing facility where it expects to employ 2,500 people.
The investment means that the company, backed by Korean capital, will look to achieve exports worth $120 million in 2010 and will employ a total of 5,000 workers.
Álvaro Baltodano, technical secretary for Nicaragua's free trade zone committee said that, "the South Korean investors expect to be able to increase the number of people employed to 7,000 next year and export $150 million worth of textiles," according to Laprensa.com.
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