Textile and apparel industry: increasing imports and decreasing exports
In the Colombian imagination, departments such as Antioquia and Santander are the powerhouses of the Colombian textile and apparel industry. There are also those who long for Coltejer, but how much splendor does the sector have today?
The textile and apparel industry in Colombia is not at its best. It was expected to take advantage of free trade and trade agreements to export and strengthen the sector, but instead, imports are monopolizing the domestic market.
You may read: Women would have work permits for menstruation, cramps or incapacitating endometriosis with labor reform
The textile industry has to compete with cheap wages from other countries
The textile industry has not been able to compete with imports, which are much cheaper. This is due to the maquilas in Asia and Central America, which reduce production costs at the expense of the labor rights of thousands of workers, especially poor women and girls.
According to OXFAM, 263,000 women textile workers in Central America are exploited in the free trade zones or maquilas, with working hours of up to 24 hours uninterrupted, precarious wages and lack of hygiene in the factories. The NGO points out that they represent 58% of the total workforce in the sector.
In the case of Asia, Bangladesh has stood out for having one of the cheapest workforces in the region. Thanks to this, it has gained an advantageous position over other areas in the global textile market, and its textile industry has experienced spectacular growth in recent decades, explains the NGO Clean Clothes.
Given the great competitiveness of the Asian industry, the balance of trade deficit in the textile and apparel industry with that continent went from USD $100 million at the beginning of the 21st century to USD $1.8 billion in 2022, according to DANE figures.
Textile and apparel industry consumption is growing, but imports are being purchased
Inexmoda data reveal that fashion consumption in the country reached $27.7 billion in 2021, 21% more than in 2020 and 5% more than in 2019.
During the period between February 2022 and 2023, a notable increase -of 8.8%- in monthly per capita spending on textile industry products stands out. This went from $46,320 to $50,405, according to Inexmoda.
However, this increase has not benefited the domestic industry as desired. In fact, imports of textile and apparel industry products increased from 200 thousand tons in 2004 to more than 430 thousand tons in 2022, according to DANE.
Between 2012 and 2022, most of Colombia’s textile and apparel imports came from China (49%), India (8%), Vietnam (5%) and the United States (4%), as can be calculated from that entity’s figures.
What does the textile and apparel industry export?
DANE recorded that, in 2022, 53% of Colombian exports of the textile and apparel industry corresponded to garment manufacturing, among which women’s underwear, jeans and T-shirts stand out.
Another 30% corresponded to textile products such as yarns, fabrics, fibers and other raw materials for apparel. Leather and footwear products accounted for the remaining 17%.
One of the most exported garments from Colombia are jeans. According to the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, in 2018 the country positioned itself as the main exporter of jeans in South America and the third in Latin America.
According to DANE, in the period from 2012 to 2022 the main destinations for textile and apparel industry products were the United States (30% of all exports), Ecuador (15%), Mexico (9%), Venezuela (7%) and Peru (6%).
Textile and apparel industry exports are in decline
Textile and apparel exports have been declining. In 2008 they reached their highest point with USD $2.7 billion, while in 2020 they reached their lowest point, when only USD $630 million of this industry’s products were exported, according to DANE figures. This represents a drop of 77%.
However, it should be noted that the decline had been coming since before the pandemic, as in 2019 USD $834 million were exported.
From January to February 2023, a significant decrease has been observed in textile and apparel exports, both in terms of value and volume, Inexmoda points out.
In the first two months of this year, textile exports experienced a 16.9% reduction in terms of value, while apparel exports have seen a decrease of 11.9%.
In terms of volume, there has been a drop of 24.2% in apparel and 12.3% in textile products.
Colombia could be a major supplier for the global energy transition
