3 to 4 years Asian apparel industry will be further subdivided

At present, most of the clothes in the world are produced in Asia. The reason for this is that there is less start-up capital in the clothing industry; second, there is a large amount of cheap labor in Asia. However, some experts pointed out that some Asian countries’ economic dependence on the garment industry is too high, and Asian countries’ clothing prices exported to Europe and the United States are still low, and Europe and the United States have more pricing power in the global supply chain. Even within Asia, the development of the textile and clothing industry is showing an increasingly fierce competition. In the next 3 to 4 years, the Asian market will be further subdivided: China, Thailand, and Vietnam will mainly produce high-end multi-functional clothing, and Bangladesh, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia will mainly produce low-end clothing.

According to data provided by the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, Vietnam’s garment exports increased by 32% from 2005 to 2011, China’s growth rate was 15% over the same period, and garment exports from India, Turkey, Malaysia and Thailand all increased by 7 %about. In addition, the data provided by the Thai Garment Manufacturers Association shows that China's garment exports account for 35% of the world's garment exports. Followed by countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, these countries together account for 16% to 18% of the garment export market in the world. The share of Southeast Asian countries is 10% to 12%, of which 4% in Vietnam, 3% in Indonesia, 2% to 3% in Cambodia, and 1.8% in Thailand.

The textile and apparel industries are related to the national economy and people's livelihood in many Asian countries. Lu Qijian, secretary general of the Cambodian Garment Manufacturers’ Association, told this reporter that Cambodia’s garment and textile exports accounted for more than 80% of the country’s total exports, and contributed 15% to 18% of its GDP. According to a report released by the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce in January, in 2012, Cambodia’s total export of apparel and textiles was US$4.6 billion. According to statistics of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, garment export revenue accounts for approximately 78% of Bangladesh's annual income.

“The garment industry has a small start-up capital and can start work only with a sewing machine. More importantly, Asia has a wealth of labor resources,” said Rattana Simpang, executive director of the Thai Apparel Manufacturers Association, told this reporter.

The development of the industry suffers from short board constraints The low labor cost is one of the traditional advantages of the Asian textile and clothing industry. This is more evident in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Currently, Bangladeshi garment workers earn less than 40 US dollars per month, Cambodian garment and footwear workers have a minimum wage of 80 US dollars, Malaysia's minimum wage is 900 ringgit (about 283 US dollars).

It is to look at the huge profit space of Asian garment manufacturing industry. Many investors in many countries have entered the Asian apparel industry. However, in recent years, when foreign companies came to Cambodia, it was found that recruiting employees was harder than renting a factory. In the advertisement version of Cambodian newspapers, almost all of the employees were hired by the apparel companies, and the Thai clothing industry also experienced a "labor shortage." According to predictions, Vietnamese companies will experience "recruitment difficulties" in succession within three years.

Correspondingly, labor costs in many Asian countries have been rising. Uttana told this reporter that since the beginning of this year, Vietnam’s minimum wage has risen by 20%, and Indonesia and Laos have risen by 20% to 22% respectively. The monthly salary per capita in Cambodia has increased from 50 US dollars in 2008 to 80 US dollars, including food, transportation and expenses. The monthly salary of each worker has actually approached 100 US dollars. The Thai National Textile and Apparel Federation **Songsa Sri Supanwinet told the reporter that due to the Thai government’s policy of a minimum daily wage of 300 baht (about US$10), there are currently six Thai apparel textiles The company transferred the factory to Laos. In spite of this, the overall wage level of Asian textile and garment workers is still relatively low.

Filtered advertisements There are many shortcomings in the textile and apparel industries in Southeast Asia and South Asia. First of all, lower labor productivity makes investors feel a headache. Second, some companies, especially infant and Baby products manufacturing companies, face greater pressure on product quality. In addition, raw materials and accessories are heavily dependent on imports, making it difficult to increase the net added value of the apparel industry in Southeast Asia.

Many experts expressed concern about the development of the Asian textile and clothing industry. Some people worry that the economy of Cambodia and Bangladesh is too dependent on the garment industry and the industrial chain of the clothing and textile industry is not balanced. Bundi Punsagaranavi, general manager of Thailand Shunheli Textiles Co., Ltd., told the reporter that at present, only Thai garment and textile industries can carry out all upstream and downstream production in Southeast Asia. Countries such as Cambodia and Bangladesh lack the raw materials needed to develop other industries and can only engage in the garment industry. Foreign investors also lack the incentive to develop other industries in these countries. In addition, many scholars have pointed out that Asian garments exported to Europe and the United States still have low prices. Bondi told this reporter that this is because the global textile industry still belongs to the buyer's market as a whole, and European and American countries have strong purchasing power and have more pricing power in the global supply chain.

Key to Optimizing and Upgrading Industrial Structure Even within Asia, the development of the textile and clothing industry has also witnessed increasingly fierce competition.

According to Vietnamese media reports, the self-sufficiency rate of fabrics needed by Vietnam's garment export processing industry is only 11.8%, and most of them are ordinary fabrics. Most of the high-end fabrics are still imported. According to a report issued by the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce earlier this year, in 2012, the total amount of raw materials for garments and textiles imported from Cambodia was 3.12 billion U.S. dollars, mainly from China, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea. According to the analysis, the gap in the demand for fabrics and accessories in Vietnam and other countries will provide opportunities for the Chinese textile and clothing industry.

Compared with the Chinese clothing industry, the labor force in Southeast Asia and South Asia has a more price advantage. As a result, some of China's low-end garment manufacturing industries are turning to Southeast Asia and South Asia. Lu Qijian commented on this: “China's low-value-added garments that have been lost to other countries account for only about one-third, and the sophisticated high-end clothing industry still remains in China. China’s technological level, machinery manufacturing and labor technology Absolute advantage!"

Uttana believes that in the next 3-4 years, Asia will have a clearer market segment. Thailand, Vietnam and China mainly produce high-end multi-functional clothing, while Bangladesh, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia mainly produce low-end clothing.

Yang Mu, a senior researcher at the National Institute of East Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore and a number of interviewed experts all told this reporter that Southeast Asian countries must make adjustments to the industrial planning of the existing garment industry and promote the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure. Otherwise, “low labor Once the cost advantage has weakened and the level of technology has not been improved, the garment industry may become an insurmountable bottleneck."