The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), with its headquarters in Zurich,
Switzerland, is one of the oldest nongovernmental organizations. It was founded in 1904 at a
meeting held in Zurich and convened on the initiative of the British cotton-spinning industry.
That’s why it still has a very close relationship with the whole cotton industry. ITMF is probably
the most important and high-ranking textile association around the world. Members are associations
and other constituted organizations of textile manufacturers.
Textile World
and its sister magazines have reported on various occasions about ITMF.
The next big event will be in June 2009 on the occasion of the International Year of Natural
Fibres, declared by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly at the request of the UN’s Food and
Agriculture Organization.
Important Statistics
ITMF is dedicated to keeping its worldwide membership constantly informed through surveys,
studies and publications; and through the organization of annual conferences, participation in the
evolution of the industry’s value chain and publication of considered opinions on future trends and
international developments.
Recently, it released the 2008 edition of its biennial International Production Cost
Comparison. It is said to be the only consolidated source for benchmarking yarn and fabric
production costs prevailing in eight of the world’s most important textile manufacturing countries
– Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Italy, Korea, Turkey and the United States.
Different Cost Factors For Different Sectors
The textile industry segments analyzed are spinning, texturing, weaving and knitting.
Individual results are supplied for ring-spun, open-end (OE) and textured yarns, and for fabrics
woven and knitted from each of these yarn types.
In the different segments analyzed, the lowest production costs are achieved in different
countries. Total costs in ring-spinning are the lowest in India, closely followed by Turkey. In
rotor-spinning, the lowest total costs are recorded in the United States, followed by Turkey and
India.
In texturing, Korea realizes the lowest total costs, followed by India. For weaving, the
total costs of fabrics made of ring-spun yarn are similarly low in India, China, Egypt, Brazil,
Turkey and Korea. Fabrics made of rotor yarns can be produced at the lowest costs in Brazil, India
and Turkey. The production of fabrics knitted using ring-spun yarn can be realized at lowest costs
in India, followed by Turkey, whereas the lowest total costs of fabrics knitted using rotor or OE
yarn can be achieved in the United States, followed by Turkey.
The report highlights the changing cost structure in the primary textile industry by tracing
the impact of cost factors borne by manufacturers and presenting them on a standardized basis. This
allows the reader to readily compare elements of total manufacturing costs across representative
production facilities.
Detailed Breakdown
The presentation of manufacturing and total yarn and fabric costs incorporates a detailed
breakdown into the various cost components per kilogram of yarn and per meter of fabric, presenting
their relative importance in the countries under review.
The study incorporates a wide range of influences on the cost picture, from externally
determined factors like raw material and machinery prices to the local costs of labor, capital,
energy and other inputs to production.
For more information, visit
www.itmf.org.
February 10, 2009
