Purchases of yarns and textile inputs as of September 2021 in the Central American region represented a 38% increase in volume, reaching 67,548 tons with a value of $245 million, with Salvadoran companies being the main importer.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
In Guatemala, a textile company with 53,000 m2 under construction is planned to be built.
CentralAmericaData's "Commercial Feasibility Studies" includes an up-to-date list of public and private construction projects that have submitted Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) to the respective institutions in each country.
In the first half of the year in Nicaragua, textile companies reported a slight increase in the volume exported, mainly because of an improvement in prices paid internationally.
According to data from the U.S. Office of Textiles and Clothing (Otexa), between the first half of 2018 and the same period in 2019 the volume of textile and apparel exports from Nicaragua to the U.S. grew slightly by 1.2%, from 270 million to 273 million square meters.
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.
Because of the demands of the brands, companies producing synthetic yarns in El Salvador have been replacing virgin polyester by recycled plastic in the manufacture of their products.
Representatives of Unifi Central America, one of the companies producing synthetic yarns in the country, assure that 40% of recycled raw material and 60% of virgin plastic resin are currently used.
In the first nine months of the year, imports of yarns and textile inputs in Central America totaled $349 million, registering a 14% drop over the same period in 2017.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics]
Exports from the Costa Rican textile sector increased from $126 million in 2017 to $136 million last year, a behavior explained by sales of yarns and vinyl.
According to data from the Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer) of textile and apparel exports, the year-on-year increase of 8% recorded in 2018 represents a slight recovery, since between 2014 and 2017 a downward trend was reported.
The Korean company Sae-A Trading Co. Ltd., would build in Guatemala a high-tech industrial complex of chemical fiber, weaving and dyeing for the production of polyester yarns.
The Guatemalan Ministry of Economy (Mineco) reported that the project will be fully operational in three years and would be the only national supplier to sew, weave and dye within a single operation.
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"]
Difficulty in stocking up on raw materials and high prices are some of the most frequent obstacles facing industrial entrepreneurs in El Salvador.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Salvadoran Association of Industrialists (ASI) are carrying out an investigation in which conclusions have been reached that 70% of the industrial sector buys its raw materials in the country, but they stated that there is often lack of availability of inputs.
In the first quarter of the year, companies in the country imported $5 million worth of yarns and textile supplies, 15% more than what was purchased in the same period in 2017.
Figures from the Information System on the Textile and Textile Supplies Market in Honduras, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with the graph"]
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"]
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