Textile sector reports difficulties in obtaining raw material for production

About 65% of textile producers, clothing, suppliers or weaving of Brazil report some difficulty in supplying inputs and raw materials such as fabrics, artificial and synthetic fibers, or cotton.

According to the survey carried out by the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (Abit) the sector has suffered production cost pressures due to the logistics, transport and rising international prices.

At least 19% of manufacturers noticed a 21% to 30% variation in raw material prices in the last 12 months. In addition to the high cost to produce, some of the interviewees stated that there is even a lack of some important items for making them.

“We have seen an increase in cotton that was off our radar, 150% in the last two years. And there’s still shipping, which has gone up seven times since the beginning of the pandemic”, says president of Abit, Fernando Pimentel .

In the analysis of Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) published by Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) clothing was the second sector that had the biggest increase in prices in the last 12 months, behind only the transport group.

The last monthly variation of the IPCA pointed out that the clothes had a high of 1.97%, with emphasis on the warm clothes, which exceeded 3%. Only underwear registered retraction.

Since the beginning of the year, the subgroup has already accumulated more than 10% increase. In the accumulated analysis of the last 12 months, the increase in clothes is 18.33%.

For Pimentel, there is no risk of shortages of products, what has been verified is just an extension of the replacement deadlines. However, according to him, the cost has not yet fully reached the stores and has been partially absorbed by entrepreneurs.

“There is no way to pass on everything because otherwise the market does not rotate. And the producer researches, looks for the best options. Part we pass on, but that’s not all”, he emphasizes.