According to statistics released by Syndicate of Textile Industries, exports from the Brazilian textile and garment industry in January amounted to US $19.8 million. Imports from the sector on the other hand totaled to $66.9 million, which means a negative trade balance of $47.2 million, for the sector in the very first month of 2009.
In the month of January again, exports from the province of Sao Paulo, the biggest textile and clothing base in the country witnessed a fall of 49.03 percent in value and 49.01 percent in volume, while imports from the sector witnessed a drop of only 11.36 and 29.76 percent in value and volume respectively.
The reasons for the slowdown in exports according to experts is the deceleration in its key markets of the US and protectionist measures undertaken by countries like Argentina which has stopped issuing import licenses for a period of 60 days, in a bid to protect its domestic enterprises against unprecedented imports.
But surprisingly, China, the biggest importer for textiles and clothing to Brazil, saw its shipments zooming by 48.6 percent in January, when compared with the same month in 2008. Experts attribute the growth to the lowering of prices by Chinese manufacturers in a bid to retain and expand their market shares.
Exports from the chemical industry also fell alarmingly by 19 percent to 681,400 tons, in the first month of 2009, compared to January 2007. Imports of chemicals also maintained the trend in dropping to 1.2 million tons, an astounding drop of 55.7 percent, according to figures released by Brazilian Chemical Industry Association.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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