That the knit industry has a great future can be assessed from the fact that in the first quarter of 2010, exports of men’s cotton T-shirts alone has grown 10.37% in
value and 32.16% in volume from India while total US import in the same category has grown by 11.13% in value and 13.85% in volumes. The potential for growth is
immense as casual wear dominates trends globally.
While Tirupur and Ludhiana remain the major hubs in India, Delhi-NCR, particularly Noida, is fast developing as a knitting hub with many players investing in circular
knitting technology. The white paper on Bangalore brought out by Apparel Online also indicates that many big players in the city are also looking to add knitting
capacities. Even the upcoming Apparel Park in the Special Economic Zone in Visakhapatnam by Brandix has knitwear thrust to it.
I was recently in China to attend the ITMA ASIA-CITME 2010 show and knitting technology was in focus. Very much on expected lines the visitors came in large numbers,
much better than the turnout of last show, but still there was not anything to excite the participants…maybe the Chinese companies are holding back due to
uncertainties brought on by increasing wages, shortage of labour and un-pegging of the currency valuation.
With time, these shows have also become more of a manufacturer and supplier or agent meeting ground where participants consolidate or renew contracts, renegotiate
supplier cuts and understand the new and existing markets from the feedback of their agents. Some innovative companies also take this opportunity to understand the
market needs for future R&D.
Not many companies brought in any new technology this time; maybe they are thinking and waiting for ITMA-Barcelona. The companies that impressed me the most were
CIXING and PAILUNG both presented new solutions with CIXING entering into seamless in a major way and PAILUNG introducing its new flat knit line.
value and 32.16% in volume from India while total US import in the same category has grown by 11.13% in value and 13.85% in volumes. The potential for growth is
immense as casual wear dominates trends globally.
While Tirupur and Ludhiana remain the major hubs in India, Delhi-NCR, particularly Noida, is fast developing as a knitting hub with many players investing in circular
knitting technology. The white paper on Bangalore brought out by Apparel Online also indicates that many big players in the city are also looking to add knitting
capacities. Even the upcoming Apparel Park in the Special Economic Zone in Visakhapatnam by Brandix has knitwear thrust to it.
I was recently in China to attend the ITMA ASIA-CITME 2010 show and knitting technology was in focus. Very much on expected lines the visitors came in large numbers,
much better than the turnout of last show, but still there was not anything to excite the participants…maybe the Chinese companies are holding back due to
uncertainties brought on by increasing wages, shortage of labour and un-pegging of the currency valuation.
With time, these shows have also become more of a manufacturer and supplier or agent meeting ground where participants consolidate or renew contracts, renegotiate
supplier cuts and understand the new and existing markets from the feedback of their agents. Some innovative companies also take this opportunity to understand the
market needs for future R&D.
Not many companies brought in any new technology this time; maybe they are thinking and waiting for ITMA-Barcelona. The companies that impressed me the most were
CIXING and PAILUNG both presented new solutions with CIXING entering into seamless in a major way and PAILUNG introducing its new flat knit line.
