SPANISH TEXTILE AND CLOTHING SECTOR FACES TOUGH FUTURE SAY MARKET EXPERTS

BY MARK ROWE

THE ADDED value created by Spain’s textile and clothing sector will fall by 8.8% in 2009, according to forecaster Business Monitor International (BMI). Currently, ranks Spain’s entire textile industry as 13^th in the world in terms of textile and clothing manufacturing value added, which BMI priced at US$12.45 billion in 2008.

The recession also appears to be casting a medium-term shadow over the sector, with textile and clothing value (T&C) added also falling by 3.3% in 2010, reflecting difficult international economic conditions, said BMI: “We see a recovery beginning to set in only from 2012, with growth of 0.2%,” said a spokesman. “The industry’s trade performance will also reflect the especially difficult international economic situation. This year [Spanish] T&C exports will fall 7.8% to US$9.74 billion, with imports down 3.2% to US$17.76 billion. As a result there will be a T&C trade deficit of US$8.01 billion. The reason is a fast shrinking domestic market: Euromonitor estimates that the resulting contraction in the Spanish textile and clothing industry will cause make it shed up to 30% of its workforce over the next five or six years.

ENDS