In some countries of the region, local factors have had an equal or greater impact than that of the world crisis..Brazil’s
strong domestic market, about 80 percent of total sales, helped lessen
the effect of global crisis; however, the country was still hurt by
falling exports…In 2009, exports, excluding cotton fiber,
dropped by some 40 percent, said Texbrasil, which helps Brazilian
companies to promote their products in export markets…Colombia’s
textile and apparel industry is the third pillar of the national
economy. In the last two years the sector has had difficulties
exporting to Venezuela, a situation that worsened in 2009 because of
the state of political relations between the countries…The
problem is particularly troubling for Colombia as its neighbor accounts
for some 65 percent of Colombia’s exports, said the Instituto para la
Exportacion y la Moda (InexModa)…In Argentina, facing ridiculous
product prices due to the drop in global consumption, applications for
non automatic import licenses (LNA) have risen from 10 to 160, said
representatives of the Fundacion Pro-Tejer, whose goal is to develop,
integrate and promote the textile and apparel industry…In
addition, given that Argentina consumes fashion against season, unsold
stocks in the northern hemisphere are exported to the South American
country at a low cost that undermines the competitiveness of the local
product. According to Marco Meloni, secretary of the Fundacion
Pro-Tejer, in the second semester of 2009 when the rise in LNA
applications began to have an effect, imports dropped and local
producers increasingly began to fill the gap with locally manufactured
apparel…Sixty percent of manufacturers anticipate a six to 13
percent increase in sales this year, says the 2010 qualitative survey
done in 100 Argentinean companies by Pro-Tejer. Meloni expects greater
activity in the industry although it will not be large nor immediate..
Date:3/16/2010
Source:www.textileworld.com