One of the main factors affecting the Spanish cotton sector is the difficulty of access to credit and financing for cotton production in the country, and the lack of measures to support the industry in general, especially in terms of internationalization, this was revealed during the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Textile Industry and Cotton Processing (AITPA) of Spain.
According to a statement issued by the AITPA, during the meeting, the latest indicators of the cotton sector of Spain were discussed wherein it was revealed that the sector was severely affected in 2012 due to the economic crisis.
The negative trend that was prevailing in the sector during 2011, continued throughout in 2012, as the domestic demand for cotton suffered a clear setback despite trying to compensate for lack of orders through exports.
As per AITPA statistics, the production and turnover of the cotton sector decreased by 7 percent year-on-year in 2012, whereas as occupation in the sector also fell by 5 percent during the same year, compared to 2011.
During the meeting, the AITPA representatives were of the opinion that internationalization is essential for Spanish cotton sector as it is a unique factor that would help maintaining productivity in enterprises operating in the sector.
However, the AITPA expects 2013 to mark a positive trend in the sector, owing to the improvement in foreign trade during the first half of the year, with 3 percent year-on-year increase in cotton exports during the period.
The AITPA forecasts that the Spanish cotton industry would be ending the year 2013 with €900 million in trade, and this figure is excluding the significant volume of products exported by the enterprises operating in the apparel sector.
AITPA is the organization representing the cotton and textile companies of Spain, which consists of more than 100 enterprises in the country.
