21 Countries Expected To Participate In Colombiatex Textiles Industry Event In Medellín

324 companies from 21 countries are expected to participate in this year’s Colombiatex trade show taking place in Medellín’s Plaza Mayor convention center. Invited by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, through ProColombia, the event, organized by Inexmoda, takes place from January 24 to 26, with nearly 500 exhibitors.

Inexmoda explains that 38 of the 285 Colombian exhibitors that will be at the fair are from municipalities with fewer than 200,000 inhabitants or Colombia’s special PDET development zones, equivalent to 13% of the Colombian participants in the fair. .

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, German Umaña Mendoza

The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Germán Umaña Mendoza, highlighted the importance of attracting international buyers and supporting national entrepreneurs from PDET municipalities, since it boosts “the promotion and encouragement of small and medium-sized companies in the country, as well as its integration into the world’s value chains”.

Umaña pointed out that one of the purposes of the public policy carried out by his portfolio is to “strengthen the domestic market and exports, to substitute imports and to generate income to advance in the reduction of inequality.”

Some buyers who participate in Colombiatex will be looking for innovations in textiles, technical or intelligent fabrics with benefits or properties such as antibacterial fabrics, sun protection, waterproof, fireproof, quick-drying, among others, as well as companies that have sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. environment, a component that is segmented at the fair with a badge in each exhibitor that complies with these good practices and that are part of the sustainability route.

“The mission of buyers from Latin America and the Caribbean represents 90% of the mission of buyers that we invite. It is a very important showcase for national businessmen to make themselves known to international buyers and show all the quality of the industry, along with their designs, flexible delivery volumes, sustainability, among other aspects,” said Carmen Caballero, president of ProColombia.

Caballero added that “coordinated work with Inexmoda is key to making business meetings as effective as possible. This undoubtedly brings development and better opportunities for the regions of the country, through the exports of SMEs from multiple departments. In fact, 85% of the exhibiting companies from Colombia at the fair correspond to MSMEs”.

40% of international companies (130) are linked to buyers who come to Colombiatex for the first time, mainly from Ecuador, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America.

Likewise, the main markets of the international delegation of buyers are from Ecuador (46.6%), Costa Rica (7.7%), Guatemala (6.5%), the United States (6.5%), the Dominican Republic (6.5%), Peru (5.6%) and Mexico (4.9%). Likewise, of 21 invited countries, 13 countries (62% of the mission) currently have a current trade agreement with Colombia.

Between January and November 2022, Colombian fashion exports registered $962.6 million USD, an increase of 6.5% compared to the same period in 2021. There, the main buyers were the United States, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica, Chile, Guatemala, Brazil, Panama and Venezuela.

Foreign sales of textiles increased 14.2% to $204.4 million USD, according to figures from DANE with analysis from ProColombia.

Fabrics, girdles and control clothing, jeans, underwear and pajamas, raw and prepared leather, and T-shirts were the goods most exported by Colombia. The leading textile exporting departments were Antioquia, Bogotá, Valle del Cauca, Atlántico, Cundinamarca, Santander, Risaralda, Caldas and Norte de Santander.

Headline photo: Liliana Padierna