News

Extensive Profiles of Eight Textiles and Clothing Companies in Colombia

DUBLIN, Ireland-(Business Wire)-September 30, 2008 - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bce8c1/textiles_and_cloth) has announced the addition of the "Textiles and Clothing in Colombia: Profiles of Eight Companies" report to their offering.

Colombia’s textile and clothing sector accounted for 11.6% of the country’s manufacturing gross domestic product (GDP) and for 1.7% of its total GDP in 2007.

The range of manufacturing activities in the sector spans the entire supply chain, including cotton growing, man-made fibre production, textile processing and the manufacture of finished apparel. The sector comprises almost 500 textile mills and 10,000 apparel producers and provides over 600,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Examples of Colombia’s largest textile and clothing companies include jeans producers CI El Globo and CI Jeans, fabric producer Fabricato Tejicóndor, and vertically integrated knitwear manufacturers Crystal, Manufacturas Eliot, Modinco and Protela. All of these firms are heavily involved in exports and have established important partnerships with international brands, including Abercrombie &Fitch, Calvin Klein, Dockers, Gap, Levi Strauss, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger.

Almost all of Colombia’s textile and clothing exports are sold to customers in the USA and nearby Latin American countries. Very few firms have made the foray into markets further afield, such as those in the EU.

Notwithstanding this, Colombia’s exports of textiles and clothing rose by a noticeable 47% in 2007 to reach a value of US$2.05 bn. At this level, they accounted for 5.4% of Colombia’s total exports during the year.

Important characteristics of Colombia’s industry include: a low dependency by producers on imported yarns and fabrics, which is helped by the presence of a number of vertically integrated companies with large-scale modern manufacturing equipment; a large supply of inexpensive labour, albeit relatively unskilled; and a rapidly growing domestic market, supported by strong growth in the domestic economy.

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