Texbrasil – Junho – Australia-Brazil Business Council (Austrália)
Australia-Brazil Business Council
Discover the strength of the Brazilian textile & clothing industry and the bilateral business with Australia
In the global imagination, the Brazilian textile and clothing industry can be represented by iconic bikini styles paraded on catwalks around the world. The objects of desire of consumers of all ages are always linked to the idea of being Brazilian – colorful prints and innovative shapes. The Brazilian industry, however, goes beyond that.
Today, the Brazilian textile sector stands out on the world stage not only for its professionalism, creativity and technology, but also for its wide range of textiles.
Brazil has the fifth largest textile industry in the world and is the fourth-largest producer of denim, according to the Brazilian Association of the Textile and Clothing Industry (Abit), an entity founded in 1957 that represents the productive force of 25.2 thousand companies of all sizes in Brazil. These companies employed more than 1.5 million workers in 2019.
One of the highlights of the Brazilian textile industry is its self-sufficiency in cotton.
There is, however, relevance in production far beyond denim and natural fibers, including artificial and synthetic fibers, spinning, processing and weaving to garments. Companies in the Brazilian sector contemplate all the links in the chain and reached together a total turnover of USD 48.3 billion in 2019.
International activity is also greatly valued through partnerships with private sectors and government agencies. An example of this is the Brazilian Textile and Fashion Industry
Internationalization Program (Texbrasil), which is an initiative of Abit in partnership with Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency). The program assists Brazilian companies in the textile and clothing industry to develop strategies to expand into global markets.
Texbrasil provides support in the areas of commercial promotion, image, customer acquisition and defence of interest. In the last 20 years, the program has already helped nearly 1,600 brands to enter the export market and has led participants to close more than USD 3.6 billion in deals.
In 2019, companies supported by the program represented more than 60% of clothing exports from Brazil to Australia. The commercial relationship between these nations has become closer and stronger each year. In 2019, for example, the total volume of Brazilian clothing exports to Australia grew by 39%. This figure represents an increase of about 7% in the export value with a total of 1.42 million US dollars.
Among the Brazilian garments in the racks of Australian stores today, the most popular are casual and fitness wear, which represents 67% of the total Brazilian textile and clothing exports to Australia. Underwear represents 10% and beachwear 7%.
There are several trade opportunities for both nations as Brazil’s performance in this industry includes all the links in the chain, including the clothing segments, textiles, technical and non-woven textiles and bed and bath.
Rafael Cervone Netto
Executive Director of the Texbrasil Program, managed by Abit (Brazilian Association of the Textile and Clothing Industry) in partnership with Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency)