Portugal:

Textile industry struggling hard to find its moorings

The Portuguese textile industry which had a peak turnover of Euro 8.33 billion in 2001 saw it drop to Euro 8.145 billion in 2004 and slump to Euro 6.925 billion in 2007. Production of textiles and related products which was Euro 8.15 billion in 2001 also slipped to Euro 6.38 billion in 2007. Corresponding figures of employment within the industry also reveal a similar trend. From a pinnacle of 243,264 in 2002, employment levels slipped to an estimated 187,326 in 2007. The share of textile in overall of baskets of exports from Portugal has also been dipping steadily. From a zenith of 18.7 percent in 2000, it touched 15.0 percent in 2004 and has now plummeted to 11.5 percent in 2007. The only silver lining noticeable, albeit marginal was the growth in textile and garment exports. Exports of the same rose from Euro 4.11 billion in 2006 to Euro 4.30 billion in 2007, an increase of 4.62 percent. Imports also kept pace with exports by registering a growth. Imports in 2006 amounted to Euro 3.085 billion which rose to 3.332 billion in 2007 an amplification of 10.82 percent. Among exports, textile products which include made-ups, sets, accessories, etc. accounted for the lions share among exports with shipments reporting 26.2 percent of all textile exports. Knitted apparels, man-made staple fibres and woven apparels account in that order registered percentages of 16.9, 16.2 and 11.0 respectively of all shipments made from the sector. The biggest share in loss came from knitted apparels which had a share of 40.2 percent in 2006 followed by woven apparels which had stood at 20.0 percent. The highest growth came from other textile products and man-made fibres which had shares of 14.7 percent and 5.9 percent respectively in 2006 among all shipments made from the textile and apparel industry. Within the ambit of imports, cotton came out topper with consignments reaching 46 percent of all textile related imports in 2007 against just 17.8 percent in 2006. The biggest dip in imports was witnessed by woven apparels. From 22.6 percent in 2006, it touched just 7.7 percent in 2007. Inward shipments of knitted apparels also fell to 9.0 percent in 2007 from 21.2 percent. Imports of man-made staple fibre reached 11.6 percent and other textile products with 6.9 percent made up for the major products of import in to Portugal. It can be safely said that the textile and apparel sector of Portugal is struggling hard to maintain the levels of the previous years with the only silver lining being the marginal growth in exports, but is negated by the corresponding growth rates in imports within the industry.

Italy:

Textile machinery manufacturing loosing its sheen

The versatility and flexibility of SME companies within Italy has gone a long way in making the textile machinery manufacturers a force to reckon with in the highly competitive global machinery markets. The involvement of a personal touch in each and every dealing, constant search for new technology solutions and professional skills among a few attributes have contributed to creating an international goodwill in the global textile markets. The major markets for the Italian machinery industry have been the continents of Asia and Europe which together import nearly 80 percent of all machinery output. Among nations, China is the biggest customer followed by other countries like Turkey, India and USA. But in the last few years the Italian textile machinery seems to be loosing its sheen, built carefully and relentlessly over the last few years. The industry seems to be on a downslide since the last few years. From a peak of Euro 2909 million in 2004, the production of plant and machinery slipped to 2547 million in 2005, but managed to regain lost ground in 2006 with figures of 2704 million and again went higher and closed 2007 with 2794 million. In real terms, growth in 2007 over 2006 is a miniscule 3 percent. Exports also followed the trend set by production. At its zenith in 2004, shipments totaled Euro 2211 million, slipped to 2012 million in 2005, rose to 2109 million in 2006 and completed 2007 with export figures of 2151 million, a marginal growth of just 2 percent in 2007 corresponding to 2006. Domestic sales kept pace with the declining numbers registered by production in recording a downslide from its high point in 2004 which had touched Euro 698 million in 2004. 2005 was the worst year as sales slipped by 14.75 percent to reach 535 million.