Sustainable Development

INTERNATIONAL SILK FORUM Speech of Mr. Guido Tetta

Time:2015-10-26 Source:worldsilk

Dear readers:

INTERNATIONAL SILK FORUM held in Hangzhou on October 22 2015 and many representatives made speeches during the meeting. The speech on the meeting will continuously be published.Please follow our WORLDSILK to hear the worldsilkers call. 

 

 

 

INTERNATIONAL SILK FORUM Speech of Mr. Guido Tettamanti

(Italian Silk Office)

 

Ladies and Gentlemen good morning to you all.

 

I am glad to have the opportunity of meeting the representatives of Chinese sericulture and Chinese silk industry and their international guests, who are attending Silk Forum today. I have the honor of representing the Italian silk industry, which is the hub of the silk industry in Europe, as you well know.

 

The majority of European Silk weaving and finishing takes place in Italy. 90% of European exports of silk fabrics towards U.S.A., China, Japan comes from Italy. Italian supplies of silk fabrics are fundamental for European garment makers and fashion designers. They play a substantial role in promoting silk consumption for fashion products and in keeping the luxury image of the fiber all over the world. As you well know, the Italian economy is suffering a very deep crisis since a long period. In our country apparel consumption was down 10% in 2012 and 5,8% in 2013, showing a slight recovery last year, just 2,5%. In spite of this dramatic situation, silk industry in Italy has been able of performing better than other local industries that deal only with internal market. We are very strongly export oriented, in fact.

 

 

 

75% of our turnover is made abroad and this has been very helpful for us. In 2014 the value of Italian exports for silk products reached 861 million euro, almost the same value of previous year. The main market was France, for luxury products, as well as Switzerland. We have recorded a good increase in the United States (+10,6%), Middle East (+5,9%), Spain (+8%). We have improved a little bit in United Kingdom and also in China, which has become a very important customer for us. It ranks after France, United States, Switzerland, Germany and U.K. Our exports regard mainly silk fabrics, in 2014 it was 231 million euro, decreasing 8%. Silk ties reached 160 million euro, also in this case with a reduction in comparison with 2013, 4,6% less. Silk dresses amounted to 149 million euro, the same value of previous year. Silk shirts and blouses jumped from 117 to 138 million euro, 18% more. Silk scarves exceeded 134 million euro, a slight increase. This year we are on the wake of 2014, but with some slowing down especially for quantities During the first half of 2015, exports reached 438 million euro, 1,2% less than twelve months ago. Quantities were down 7,5%.

 

Garments are performing well, fabrics are similar to last year, scarves are showing a significant decreasing after several years of continuous development. If we look at quantities, in 2014 net imports of yarns amounted to 2.200 tons. In the same year, imports of fabrics reached 1.965 tons, they are mainly loomstate or boiled off which are dyed or printed in Italy. India is by far the most important buyer of Chinese silk materials and piece goods, but even Italy is a very good user for Chinese supplies, coming also through Romania. Italian silk industry suffered dramatic losses in 2009, when silk consumption collapsed 40% in weaving and approximately 30% in dyeing and printing. We lost important quantities especially for ties, a product which suffered a reduction that we have never been able to recover.In the meanwhile, the structure of our exports has substantially changed. For example, the exports of madeup goods made in Italy have recorded a very important growth. Today quantities of silk shirts exported from Italy are 70% higher than 2008. Both silk dresses and silk scarves increased 35%. New markets have emerged and have become more and more important during these latest years. Our products today have a very good demand not only in traditional countries, but also in China, Russia, Middle East.

 

This year imports in Italy are declining 5,6% for yarns, 14,1% for fabrics. Silk luxury products are still in good demand. On the contrary we acknowledge some shift from silk to other continuous filament fibers, similar to silk, for products more sensitive to price fluctuations. Silk mixed fabrics are developing more than pure silk fabrics.

We are not making business only with silk, but silk is our flag and we continue to be deeply committed with it, as always. As it happens every two years, we want to exploit the opportunity of the meeting of today in order to give you our opinions about some basic points which are affecting silk developments.

 

The first point is environmental sustainability. It is a word that is becoming a dogma for the consumers and it has a tremendous impact on the marketing approach of our customers, the brand names. Italian industry is taking care of the effects of this trend on the perspectives of the demand for silk, but we face challenges that we shall meet successfully only if all silk players cooperate worldwide. I give you two examples. The first one is the fact that, for many fibres, studies have been made on the environmental impact of the textile chain.

 

But this is not the case for silk and, as a consequence, the European Union has decided to set our fibre out of Ecolabel regulation. This may be dangerous for silk. Stazione Sperimentale per la Seta, in Italy, is making a study on the environmental impact of the silk chain, but the silk chain is international. A second example is even more significant. Consumers and customers claim the elimination of certain chemicals from the various phases of industrial processing. This is the case with nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylate. Greenpeace wants the total elimination of these substances by the end of 2020. Also European Union is going to reduce soon the limit value of concentration of nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylate in textile articles, in the framework of Reach regulation. We cannot prevent European Union from adopting this rule. Meanwhile we know that some NPs and NPEs are still in use in Asia. It is necessary to ban totally the use of NPs and NPEs from the silk chain. Our European Association, A.I.U.F.F.A.S.S., has asked the EEC Commission to foresee 60 months of transitional period, after entry in force of the stricter limits on NPs and NPEs It may be a reasonable period if the silk community acts on this.

This is a top priority, if we want to avoid future turbulence for the silk market, not only in Europe.

 

The second point is fair trade. As silk people we cannot ignore the damage done by illogical barriers to trade flows and the importance of removing them. I think we can work a lot and we can especially obtain a lot, all together. I shall give you a couple of examples, again. In Europe we are promoting the reform of preferential rules of origin for trade flows inside the so called Pan Euro Mediterranean area. This is a matter that is substantially affecting the consumption of extra EU silk twisted yarns and spun silk yarns and we are trying to obtain a favorable solution. Another example, it is completely different. In China European exporters must respect requirements provided by G.B. standard. We cannot avoid, of course, to make tests in Europe, in order to check the compliance before shipping the goods. But when the goods enter China, they have to be tested again. In Europe, as well as in China, we have reliable laboratories which are accredited internationally under very strict and purely technical rules. We can understand the willingness of Chinese policy makers to control the features of the good that China is importing. On the contrary we cannot understand why we have to submit our goods totesting twice, in Europe and in China. It is just a tax without any real significance.

 

I have quoted two examples of obstacles to trade still existing. I must say that today the situation is better than 15 years ago, at least between Europe and China. But if we look at other countries, we see much, much bigger problems and unacceptable barriers. Protectionism in the long term is counter productive also for its supporters, because it prevents the modernization and the adaptation to international patterns. Improvement in trade conditions is a way beneficial to everybody, especially in the case of silk, which is the most international existing fiber.

 

My third point is quality. The quality requests of the European high end garment companies - and, for that matter, also of our fabrics customers in China - are setting the bar higher and higher. Our silk textile industry and our yarn suppliers in Europe and third countries are constantly upgrading their equipment and processing methods in order to cope with such market expectations. China timely promoted a modern electronic testing equipment as ISO standard for raw silk testing and we fully supported the proposal, which was successfully adopted. Now it is time to take advantage of the analytical possibilities of that instrument in order to assess more deeply and classify more carefully the raw silk lots, in order to help the textile industry selection and to offer a premium to the reeling mills willing to improve in order to follow market demand; in order moreover to indicate a commonly agreed target to the reeling machine producers endeavouring to upgrade quality and productivity. China Silk Association is already discussing steps in that direction; Hangzhou CIQ and Centro Tessile Serico are in constant information exchange about the matter: meanwhile Italian UNI s already discussing what could become an Italian Standard.

 

All such efforts should be encouraged but hopefully unified in order to achieve as soon as possible a commonly agreed classification standard for the mutual benefit of producers and consumers.

 

Last point, but not least, is the importance of strengthening cooperation among silk players at international level. We have a good experience in Europe, where entrepreneurs coming from France, Italy, Switzerland meet in their association, A.I.U.F.F.A.S.S. They discuss problems and solutions, they look for a common voice of the silk industry in front of the European Union. We believe there is space for a platform of contacts also at an international level, based in China, but strongly involving silk players worldwide. In order to emphasize the importance of this platform, I shall give you my last example.

 

As you well know, some years ago United States introduced new rules on consumer safety which are an obstacle to sales of light weight silk fabrics. Silk is under flammability provision, as well as viscose or cotton, whereas polyester is exempted. This does not have any sense at all. A.I.U.F.F.A.S.S. has worked a lot about this and it has introduced a technical petition to U.S. administration, in order to obtain more realistic testing of the goods. This is not a problem just for the European silk industry, it is a problem for the silk industry itself, in Europe and in Asia. The petition was open to public remarks for a couple of months. A better exchange of views and coordination among silk players worldwide would have made the attempt more effective. Relationship among silk players in the world is already a reality. Contacts and mutual understanding may be very fruitful in the sake of the entire silk world, and deserve to be cultivated. Today meeting is a chance to promote dialogue and to pursue positive developments for silk market. We thank China Silk Association and Hangzhou municipal Government for arranging 2013 International Silk Forum. We are interested in considering a proper institutional platform for international relations among silk players in the world.

 

We are ready to share ideas and programs about such framework.

 

Thanks everybody for your kind attention.

Guido Tettamanti