in many countries of the world, particularly the USA, the world's largest market for textiles and apparel, this year's Heimtextil show in Frankfurt from January 12 to 16 provided for many exhibitors a ray of hope and, as some contended, the proverbial "light at the end of the dark tunnel".
 
Nevertheless, one cannot ignore the fact that the gloom of the economic downturn, while it has slowed down, has been completely stopped. Take the case of Germany's textile industry. According to a December survey on the business climate conducted by the Confederation of the German Textile and Fashion Industry, textile sales had fallen by 20.6% on a year-on-year as of October 2009. Domestic textile production had dropped by 22% compared to the January-October 2008 period. Exports also fell by 14%.
 
Similarly, Italy and Spain also had their cup of misery full. However, in Turkey, whose textiles have traditionally been a main export driver, the effects of the crisis were less severe, according to the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporter Associations. The textile sector was hit hard by weak exports, recording a 22% decline during the first eleven months of 2009.
 
Although China's textile and clothing production increased by 7.5% in the first eight months of 2009, this growth rate is low by Chinese standards. China 's textile and clothing exports fell by 11.4% during the first three months of 2009 over the year-earlier period, although the sector recovered during the four quarter of 2009 following government economic stimulus programs. 
 
The situation in India is similar to China. The export-driven textile industry suffered from the lack of demand in the USA and Europe, which together account for some 60% of India's textile exports. But there were signs of recovery in the final quarter of 2009.  Indian Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran has been speaking about investing $ 22bn for product innovations and securing new market segments in order to boost the country's boosts.
 
The "light at the end of the dark tunnel" will, probably, appear much earlier in Asia than in the USA and Europe, as many exhibitors at the Heimtextil fair were saying.
 
The buoyancy in Asia was also reflected in the large turnout of Asian exhibitors at the show, with China and India clearly dominating this year's event (see attached table of top 20 exhibiting countries). 
 
"China and India are extremely strong forces. China is booming and India is also on the rise. Production and exports of both countries are surging. I believe we will see a recovery in 2010 in the global textile sector. Of course, it is still going to be a tough process before the textile sector returns to its former glory though I do see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are realistic but positive as well. Many of the exhibitors we talked to said that they had received more orders at this show than at the 2009 event," Detlef Braun, the managing director of the show organizing Messe Frankfurt GmbH, said in an interview with this correspondent at the show.

Braun's advice to textile manufacturers is that one can fight recession best by producing innovative designs and better quality and, generally, offering a better customer service. "That's a good way to assert your position even in times of crisis," he added.
 
Indian exhibitor Abishek Industries Ltd., of Ludhiana , Punjab , a US$500mn turnover vertical company manufacturing terry towels, yarn, etc. appeared upbeat at the event. "We did lose some business in 2009 as a result of the economic crisis but that was expected. However, our business bounced back and we see here that the market is regaining its momentum. Our customers have given us a positive response in terms of business enquiries. Some of our customers are, in fact, buying more after the recession gloom. But we are also increasingly going to concentrate on India's huge domestic market which is very promising for us," maintained Sandeep Mittal, the head of marketing at Abishek Industries.

Design 2100 Inc. of Noida, India, which manufactures home-furnishing products at its plant in Karoor, did not feel the "full impact" of the downturn. A 100% export-oriented company, whose main markets are Germany and the United States, lost business "only slightly" in these two markets.
 
"I had good business and received orders on the spot at Heimtextil this year. Besides renewing contacts with our old customers, we also received a lot of new enquiries which now need to be processed into business. We will have to see how the new business develops but we are satisfied with our participation," explained M. Salman Malik, a partner at Design 2100 Inc., drawing nuances between the "very price-conscious" customers from Greece and Italy and the "more realistic" German buyers who are not disinclined to pay more for good quality.
 
Textile is India's main export item, according to Indian consul general in Frankfurt, Ajit Kumar, who said that Germany is India's leading market in the European Union. India's textile exports to Germany in the first ten months of 2009 amounted to EUR1.1178bn. "There is huge growth potential inherent in our textile exports to Germany," Kumar said.
 
P.T. Paberik Tekstil Kasrie Hendro Subekti, an Indonesian company manufacturing plain and jacquard textiles, has automated its production tools at its factory in Surabaya, Indonesia. The company, whose annual turnover ranges between US$12 and 15mn, with Scandinavia, Hungary, Russia, etc., being the main markets, admitted that its business had declined by 7% in 2009. "We cannot say that full recovery has taken place or is on the way. This remains to be seen. But we do feel that the decline has slowed down or even stopped in some product segments," said Antonius S. Ayunguga, the company's export manager.
 
Indonesia which is part of the ASEAN Free Trade Association (AFTA), is not happy about China becoming a member of the AFTA. "China's membership in AFTA would open up a vast market where it can capture a sizable market share with its cheap textile products," Ayunguga said.
 
Vietnam's small-scale textile industry also participated in the Heimtextil. Vu Thi Tue, general director of Phu An Loc Co. Ltd., a Hanoi based manufacturer of embroidered home linens, discerned a decline in number of visitors to her stand but added that she had, in fact, expected a drop in view of the economic crisis. But she revealed that she had received an order at the fair for a value of US$ 10,000 for her products.

Pakistan, which traditionally presents a large contingent of exhibitors, also received many visitors. But Pakistani exhibitors privately expressed concern that the new travel restrictions imposed on travel on people visiting Pakistan would preclude buyers from visiting Pakistani suppliers, a development that is already taking place.
 
Nonetheless, many Pakistani exhibitors seemed happy with this year's Heimtextil performance. Faiza Jabeen, director (marketing) of Lahore based Nishat Chunian Ltd., which manufactures a wide range of upper-end home textile products, claimed that her company is Pakistan's "fourth largest listed textile company". Nishat Chunian, according to Jabeen, achieved a US$140mn turnover, with 80% of this turnover coming from exports. She discerned the different tastes of buyers in different markets.
 
"For example, buyers in the US prefer softness, functionality of the products while Europeans demand innovative designs and colors," she said in an interview.
 
However, Jabeen acknowledged that her company's exports had declined by 20% in 2009. "But the key to maintaining our high exports is to provide innovative products, good designs and colors for both US and European buyers. I discern a rise in demand since April 2009 after going through initial uncertainties," she said, adding that 2010 had turned out to be better than 2009.
 
Another leading Pakistani company called Gul Ahmed of Karachi, which manufacturers bed-sheets, reactive printed products, yarn-dyed, embroidery, etc., had placed "great emphasis" on innovation, according to Zaki Bashir, the company's director. "We had some serious buyers this time. Buyers still keep coming though they do not come in large numbers. If a company is sending representatives, then their number is considerably reduced. Also, the duration of such buyers is limited to one or two days and not spread out for the entire five-day duration of the show," Bashir said.

He predicted a "volatile time" ahead because of exploding costs of raw materials, energy, dyes and chemicals, etc. needed for textile manufacture. "I anticipate shortages of yarn and fabric. This will be a problem for some companies though not for us because we are a vertical manufacturing company," he said. Gul Ahmed is also eyeing new emerging markets in South America , China and Russia. China , Bashir said, buys large quantities of yarn from Pakistan , including from Gul Ahmad.

Some Pakistani companies complained that European Union was not granting Pakistan the general scheme of preference (GSP) status, waiving duty on imports from that country. This facility had been granted to Bangladesh, after all, they said. "Why not Pakistan?" argued Bashir who said that many buyers were not visiting Pakistan and now "we have to go out and affressively canvass for business".
 
Innovation was also the buzzword at the Heimtextil. Lenzing, the Austrian manufacturer of fiber in the bed-linen category (TENCEL®), used in mattresses, mattress pads, bed spreads, comforters, sheets and pillow cases, presented what it described as a "dream-come-true" natural botanic bed. 
 
Susanne Jary, Lenzing's marketing head (home textiles), made a strong pitch for the "botanic carpet" made from natural fiber and cellulose, reducing the size of the fiber to smaller and finer variety "from the size of a basketball to tennis ball and now to pingpong-size ball", she said.

While the first quarter of 2009 had not been "so good", Jary said that the second quarter had improved. Indeed, the third and fourth quarters had been "very well booked".
 
"Our company's main growth was in Europe but Asia is proving to be equally attractive for us, particularly the markets of China, India, Pakistan, Korea, and Japan ," she said.

Meanwhile, Messe Frankfurt's Atlanta office is launching a new show called Home Textiles FabricSourcing Expo in New York's Javits Convention Center from July 13 to 15, 2010 .
 
David Audrain, the president of Messe Frankfurt in Atlanta, said in an interview with this correspondent that this new show would be "ideally suitable" for those wanting to sell to buyers in the USA who source their requirements from overseas suppliers. "There will be a large Asian representation at this show," Audrain said.

Audrain maintained that many importing companies had cut back on spending and this had exerted pressure on pricing. "Consumers have become more price conscious. The retail market has gone through a lot of price manipulation," he added.
 
Home Textiles FabricSourcing Expo, which will feature cotton, knits, leather, linen, pile fabrics, prints, silk, etc. will be co-located with Texworld USA where the overwhelming participants will be from Asia.

Leading 20 exhibiting countries at the Heimtextil 2010 Frankfurt:
Germany            414
China                  361
India                   357
Pakistan             181
Turkey                161
Italy                   138
France                  92
Spain                    79
UK                         69
Portugal               68
Belgium                65
Netherlands         52
Taiwan                 47
USA                      39
Hong Kong           34
Austria                33
Egypt                   31
Japan                   31
South Korea        30
Switzerland         23

Source : Photo: Messe Frankfurt