Textile exports totaled 1,150 million 800,000 dollars between January and September, which means 67.7% more than the amount registered in the same period of 2020, and which shows the return to the growth path experienced by the item since 2017 reported the Peruvian Foreign Trade Society (ComexPerú), based on figures from Sunat.
Only in the third quarter of this year, shipments from the non-traditional textile sector reported a value of 449 million 900,000 dollars, an increase of 51.3% compared to the same period of 2020. This figure was higher than that registered between 2015 and 2019.
“These results mean that non-traditional production -the one that has greater added value, generates more quality employment and attracts more private investment-, once again stands out for the Peruvian economy abroad. However, the textile sector suffers from shortcomings in terms of competitiveness throughout the production chain that limit its potential ”, warned ComexPerú.
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI), since 2015, the production of the sector has been at levels below the average, and in 2019 it was equal to 5,499 million soles, which meant a fall 4.6% compared to 2018.
In addition, textile activity has lost its share in manufacturing production. In 2019, the former moved to position 7, a drop in its share from 7.2% to 4.9% of manufacturing GDP. While, the second left the top ten and was located in position 16, with a participation of 3%.
Context and needs of the sector
According to ComexPerú, under these circumstances, and despite the fact that foreign textile trade shows an auspicious outlook, the pandemic has generated a strong impact on the sector that still leaves consequences that must be addressed to resume the work of closing the competitiveness gaps in its productive chain.
Thus, as a result of the various measures against COVID-19, which led to the closure of productive activities in 2020, the production of textiles and clothing fell by 31.9% compared to the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of the production.
Similarly, employment experienced a reduction, so that the employed EAP was 312,151 people, 21.6% less compared to 2019.
“The data show that the problems of the textile and clothing sector lie in structural factors that have led it to lose competitiveness and productivity in recent years. These factors include high atomization, which affects the scale of production; highly informal employment, and lack of innovation, “said the union.
Likewise, he considered that the productivity of Peruvian cotton crops should be increased through the greater adoption of certified seeds and the implementation of the National Cotton Plan. While, on the side of the manufacturing industry, investment in innovation and technology purchase should be promoted, as well as increasing the coverage of training programs for formal textile producing and exporting companies.
“These proposals will help directly to increase labor productivity in the textile and clothing sector, the use of certified seeds and living modified organisms of cotton, the number of exporting companies certified with international quality standards, as well as the utilization rate. of installed capacity in the sector. Let’s not turn our back on the textile sector and let’s resume investing in its productivity ”, ComexPerú concluded.
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