In Guatemala, a Korean business group plans to invest in the start-up of a fabric factory in the municipality of Villa Nueva.
The fabrics that will be manufactured in the new industrial plant will be specialized and will supply other factories in the region, informed authorities and businessmen of the sector.
After 20 years of operation, Modas B.I. Apparel, a company specialized in the manufacture of clothing, decided to close its doors due to the economic crisis caused by the outbreak of covid-19.
The company operated an industrial plant that employed 800 workers and was located at Kilometer 8 of the Atlantic Highway, in the jurisdiction of the Department of Guatemala.
Before the process of reopening the economy, the garment and textile export sector operated with 15 thousand workers, but with the elimination of some restrictions, the activity of the companies increased and now employs 45 thousand people.
According to businessmen in the country's textile sector, as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, a reduction in work orders is expected during the second half of the year.
Representatives of the Nicaraguan Association of the Textile and Clothing Industry (Anitec), predict that with the closure of the stores of several of their clients, sales will be reduced considerably and inventory levels will increase.
With a $41 million investment, a Nike sportswear manufacturing plant will be built in San Pedro Sula.
Businessmen from Grupo Kattán and Corporación Tegra Global, informed that the new industrial site will have an area of 63 thousand square meters and will be located in the free zone of Inmobiliaria Hondurena del Valle S.A. (Inhdelva).
Businessmen from the textile sector of El Salvador foresee that the entry into force of the agreement will increase opportunities to attract new investment from the Asian country.
The textile workers believe that the opportunities will not only be to export to the Asian country, since it is also possible to attract investment for the sector, because Korean companies have a large amount of raw material.
In the first four months of the year, Dominican exports of ready-made fabrics to the United States totaled nearly $240 million, 9% more than the same period in 2018.
This economic growth in the textile sector was influenced by exports of cotton T-shirts for men and boys, with a 29.7% increase, coats for women with 115% and synthetic fiber pants with 22.05%, reported the National Council of Export Processing Zones (CNZFE).
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.
The German company, Amoena, reported that it will close its operations in the country, arguing that its main textile suppliers moved their operations to Asia and need to get closer to that market.
The company is a producer of bras, bathing suits and other products for women who have suffered from breast cancer and underwent mastectomies.
The growth in demand for sportswear, which has been a trend in several international markets, is forcing companies in El Salvador to modify their production processes.
Local manufacturers have identified that pants, leggings, biker shorts and other sportswear have become an urban fashion in different countries, which has led them to adapt their production processes to meet the growing demand.
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"]
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"]
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