Yarn Expo Autumn 2014 saw over 18% more visitors passing through its doors compared to the last Autumn Edition, proving the fair remains an important platform for yarn suppliers to tap into the global market.
Altogether 7,098 visitors from 62 countries and regions came to source from nearly 150 yarn suppliers during the three-day event, at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. The top five visitor country and region were Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, the US and Taiwan. Commenting on the increase of the show’s internationality, Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager at Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, said: “Our exhibitors reported they were happy with the result as, other than a large number of Chinese buyers, they were also able to meet with buyers coming from all over the world.” The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) from India, one of the co-organisers of the Indian Pavilion, also agreed that, by exhibiting at this fair, Indian suppliers could extend their reach to overseas markets. Ravindranathan Narayanasamy, Joint Director at the trade promotion body, said: “Indian yarn suppliers are now exploring South American, European and Russian markets. We have met many buyers from these countries here, which is good for us.” Pakistan cotton yarn producer, Indus Dyeing & Mfg Co Ltd, was another company which appreciated the diverse buyer profile at the fair. Syed Abedin Ahmed Rizvi, the cotton yarn spinning mill’s Sales & Marketing Manager said: “The good thing about this fair is that we can meet not only customers from Mainland China, but also those from the US, Europe and Japan. Their feedbacks on our products are all positive.” Besides the overseas exhibitors, their Chinese counterparts also praised the fair as an effective channel to get in touch with overseas buyers. “The result is excellent this year as we saw customers from around the globe coming in. This fair draws international buyers together under one roof and we are satisfied with the outcome,” said Zhibo Bao, General Manager at Changle Shenzhou Textile Co Ltd in Mainland China.
Echoing Bao’s view was Sara Wang from Shanghai Lansheng Daewoo Corp, a subsidiary of Daewoo International Corp in Korea. “If not for this fair, we would not be able to meet so many customers, especially those from overseas. On average, we saw over 100 customers coming in to our booth during the first two show days,” said the representative from the Textile Department of the Sino-Korea joint venture, which owns a spinning mill in Uzbekistan. Exhibitors from Hong Kong were also satisfied with the number of Chinese visitors. Farooq Saeed, Director of Keywin Trading Ltd from the city said: “We mainly target the Chinese market and we have seen many buyers from the country coming this year.” Yarn Expo showcased a wide spectrum of natural and blended yarns including cotton, wool, flax / regenerated flax, and man-made fibres and yarns as well as specialty products including elastic, and fancy and blended yarns. Among them, cotton yarn was a big product category. “The cotton price in China has dropped a lot since the beginning of this year due to a change in the country’s stockpiling system, and hence the market was quiet at that time. But we have seen signs of stabilising and buyers have started to make orders again now,” said Wen from Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. Liangfeng He from Mainland China was one of the buyers who placed orders at the fair. “I have signed a seven-container contract for cotton yarns with a Thai supplier at the fair just now,” said He, Manager of Ningbo Yinzhou Tengfeng Textile Co Ltd, stating he mainly came to find new suppliers and was happy to have found this new Thai supplier’s products to be quite satisfactory. Overseas exhibitors were also optimistic about the cotton yarn market in China. “We are not concerned about the cotton price drop in China as it is dropping globally, also in Pakistan. This means our costs are now lower. Despite the price drop, demand and consumption of cotton yarn in China is the same, so it is not affecting our business,” said Rizvi from Indus Dyeing & Mfg Co Ltd. Farooq Saeed of Keywin Trading Ltd also shared the same opinion. “No matter the situation, everyone still needs to wear T-shirts and jeans. Price is not an issue; it is the relations with buyers that matters. That’s why I came to this fair because it can help me build up good relationships with buyers in the country,” he said. While the cotton yarn market is bottoming out from a consolidation, the high-end fibre market is still resilient. “We produce flax, wool and cashmere fibres and spun silk yarn, and we are focusing on the mid-range to high-end market. Our business keeps growing despite the recent cotton price tumbling. For example, this time, many new and existing customers visited our booth and asked about our products,” said Bao from Changle Shenzhou Textile Co Ltd.Synthetic fibre suppliers also saw large potential from the fair, according to Marc Wang, International Sales Manager at Zhejiang Kinglino Natural Fibre Co Ltd from Mainland China. “We use very little cotton in our synthetic fibres. That’s why we are not affected by the cotton price drop.
Actually, we saw many customers coming in this year to look at our products and we are happy about that,” he said. With many exhibitors here at the fair showcasing their latest specialty fibres, visitors were impressed by the product range. “I came to discover the latest synthetic yarn and I saw a wide range of these fibres at the fair. It’s also helpful for us to learn the new product trends here,” said Linda Zhou from Shanghai Speeko Garment Co Ltd. Other than for sourcing, Yarn Expo is also dedicated to providing the industry with the latest innovations. In the recent Autumn Edition, four members of the Knitwear Innovation and Design Society (KIDS) from Hong Kong demonstrated their products featuring the most cutting-edge technologies, ranging from computer software to high-end, hand-made knitting yarns.
