The number of people employed by the textile sector in Brazil has declined to 7,808 during the first quarter of the current year. It shows a significant 61 percent decline in the number of people employed in the sector during the corresponding quarter of 2011.
The Brazilian Association of Textile and Clothing (ABIT) is concerned about the situation, which it attributes to the loss of competitiveness of the domestic industry and the rise in imports.
According to the statistics of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the output of textile industry declined by 7.76 percent from January to February 2012 period. During the same months, however, the retail sales dipped by only 0.89 percent.
The two trends – huge decline in domestic production and marginal dip in retail consumption – point to a strong growth of imported items in Brazil.
For example, the textile trade balance between Brazil and Spain during the first quarter of current year showed a deficit of €1,100 million, posting a year-on-year growth of 23.7 percent, as per the figures of the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in Brazil.
To enable the Brazilian textile sector to regain its competitiveness against imported products, the management of textile manufacturing units would have to introduce major changes in their production structures, according to experts.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India