São Paulo – The textiles and clothing industry in Brazil posted revenues of US$ 43 billion last year, growth of 4% over 2007. The figures were disclosed yesterday (14) by the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (Abit).
According to the organisation, there was a record-high trade deficit of US$ 1.4 billion last year. Considering manufactured goods only, not including cotton fibre, then the negative result goes up to approximately US$ 2 billion, as against little over US$ 1 billion in 2007.
Brazilian exports of textiles and clothing, not counting cotton fibre, according to the Abit, generated revenues of US$ 1.725 billion in 2008, a decrease of 7% in comparison with the previous year. Imports, in turn, totalled to US$ 3.776 billion, growth of 31% compared with 2007.
According to an article by Agência Brasil, the president at the Abit, Agnaldo Diniz Filho, said in Rio de Janeiro that the doubling of the trade deficit was caused by the appreciation of the dollar against the real (the Brazilian currency) beginning in August 2008, as well as by greater aggressiveness from other producer countries, financial costs and tax burden, among other factors. “All of this leads to a reduction in competitiveness. And that leads us to export less," he asserted.
He underscored, however, according to Agência Brasil, that there is potential for expansion of exports by the industry. According to the executive, Brazil sells to foreign countries only 0.5% of the global consumption of textiles and clothing, despite already having consolidated markets such as South America, Europe and the United States.
The leading markets for Brazil were Argentina (28%), the United States (21%), Mexico (5%), Paraguay (3.75%) and Chile (3.72%). The main products shipped were technical textiles (26%), textiles (22%), household textiles (18.4%), clothing (14%) and manufactured fibres (9.3%).
North Africa
According to the news report by Agência Brasil, the industry is going to invest on seeking new markets, such as the Arab, Eastern European and African countries. With that in mind, representatives of the Abit are going to participate in the trade mission to North Africa headed by the Brazilian minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Miguel Jorge. The trip should take place from January 24 to 30 and the mission should go to Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
In the domestic field, according to the Abit, clothing industry production grew 4.07% from January to November 2008. The textile industry, in turn, recorded a reduction of 0.27%. The association calls attention to the fact, however, that from January to October, retail trade of textiles and clothing rose by 10.29%, which indicates that imported products hold an important share of the domestic market.
The leading international suppliers of Brazil are China (36%), India (12%), Indonesia (7%), the United States (5%) and Argentina (5%). The main goods imported are textiles (25%), clothing (18%), filaments (17%), threads (16%) and technical textiles (15%).
Investment by the sector totalled US$ 1.5 billion last year, above the annual average of US$ 1 billion recorded in previous years. The Brazilian textiles and clothing industry is the sixth largest in the world and employs 1.7 million people, according to the Abit.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
