In recent years, the sector in Guatemala has lost nearly 30,000 jobs, because the high costs resulting from having one of the highest minimum wages in the region, makes it more profitable only to export raw materials, rather than making them in the country.
Vestex figures show that in recent years several jobs have been lost in the sector, given that between 2006 and 2018 the industry lost a considerable number of jobs, going from 82,109 to 53,636 places, equivalent to a 35% decrease.
The use of nanotechnology in production processes is one of the investments that companies in the textile industry will have to make to compete at a global level.
According to specialists in nanotechnology, an area focused on the design and manipulation of matter at the level of atoms or molecules for industrial purposes, in the production processes several advanced techniques exist that give industry the opportunity to innovate and access new markets.
During the first six months of the year, imports of yarns and textile supplies in Central America totaled $264 million, registering a 3% decrease over the same period in 2017.
Figures from the information system on the Central American Market for Yarns and Textiles materials, compiled by the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
In the first quarter of the year, imports of yarns and textile supplies in Central America totaled $127 million, registering a 10% drop compared to the same period in 2017.
Figures from the Information System on the Textiles and Textile Supplies Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with graph"]
In 2016, the value of imported yarns and textile raw materials in the region amounted to $328 million, equivalent to 89 thousand tons, 6% more than the volume purchased in 2015.
Figures from the information system on the Central American Market for Yarns and Textiles materials, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Clic para interactuar con la gráfica"]
A report by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData.com notes that in 2015 Central American countries imported $318 million worth of yarns, filaments and textiles, led by El Salvador with $157 million.
El Salvador was the main importer of synthetic filaments, strips and materials similar to synthetic textiles last year, according to data on the Textiles and Raw Materials Market compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData.com.
A meeting is being convened for the textile and clothing industry on March 16 in El Salvador, where the overall situation in the sector will be discussed.
From a statement issued by Proesa:
El Salvador is preparing for the third edition of the Forum of Textiles and Apparel (FOROTEX) 2016, a space where high-level international speakers present trends and strategies for competing in international markets.
Despite the challenges facing the Central American textile industry with the coming into force of the TPP and Asian competition, projections are that there will be growth of 8% in 2016.
The main reason is the decision of the US government to extend for ten years the tariff advantages enjoyed by Nicaraguan exports to the northern country, supporting them against the entry into force of the Trans-Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP).
Efforts are growing to minimize the impact of the possible signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and a tariff reduction program with long deadlines for sensitive products has been proposed.
As negotiations proceed to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), the textile industry in El Salvador is stepping up its efforts to maintain the conditions of the CAFTA treaty and minimize the impact that the TPP will have on the sector in the long term. One of the main risks is that "... Vietnam could introduce products from China and then export them tariff-free to the United States, which would give them a huge competitive advantage. "
The implementation of lean manufacturing systems reduces from two hours to five minutes the time it takes to make a garment.
This system, introduced in the textile fair Apparel Sourcing Show 2014, in Guatemala, unifies in a set sequence the "value" steps of the manufacturing process, completely eliminating "waste" steps resulting in higher productivity and resource optimization so that the number of operators needed to make a garment is only nine instead of fifty.
Guatemala is losing attractiveness as a destination for investment by Koreans in the textile sector, because of the rise in the cost of labor, decreases in tax benefits, and falling demand from the United States.
An article on Koreatimes.co.kr reports that for a long time Guatemala has been seen by Korean investors as one of the best countries in which to operate a textile business due to its geographic proximity to the U.S. market and its cheap labor.
In 2011 the country imported $251 million worth of clothes, an increase of 12% compared to the previous year.
Examples of some of the data in the report:
Imports of men and childrens shirts increased by 46% between 2010 and 2011, going from $18.1 million to $26.5 million imported in 2011.
Meanwhile, imports of suits, ensembles, jackets (coats), dresses, skirts, skirt-shorts,trousers, breeches, and shorts, and shorts for women and girls increased by 13% between 2010 and 2011, and represented the largest increase in monetary level, going from $66 million to $74.7 million imported in 2011.
The president of the Dominican Republic has warned the U.S. government about the impact the Trans- Pacific treaty in the textile sector in the region.
From a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic:
On November 27, President Danilo Medina sent a communication to the President of the United States, Barack Obama, in which it reiterated its concern expressed during the meeting held in San José, Costa Rica, in May, in connection with the negative impact which could come from the Trans- Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) on the textile and clothing industry in the signatory countries of the DR -CAFTA and the region, if certain special concessions that could cause changes in the management and values of hemispheric trade, and on a worldwide level.
The company Gildan Activewear expects that its plant in Honduras will allow it to attract brands concerned about working conditions in Asia.
The company explained that its growth in Honduras could attract large companies seeking to repatriate their production to the American continent, in light of poor working conditions in Bangladesh exposed by the collapse that killed 400 workers.
Aggressive measures must be taken in marketing and attracting investment in order to exploit the possibilities opened by the DR-CAFTA and changes in the global market.
From Diario de Centro América:
The CAFTA-DR region has opportunities for growth
The clothing and textile sector of the country is ready to compete globally.
Opportunities in the region provided by the Free Trade Agreement between Central America, Dominican Republic and the U.S.
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