It’s a buyer’s market in the textiles and clothing industry. In today’s post-quota world, let the seller beware! The industry has gone through fast and wrenching changes, especially in the last year.

Under pressure from buyers, clothing suppliers are becoming service providers. With buyers focused on their core business of retailing, the most competitive suppliers offer services that go far beyond sewing garments. Alliances with fabric and trim producers give manufacturers an edge. They brings manufacturers in at an early stage in providing an important service (sourcing) for buyers.

Another “must” is related to information and communications technology. Big buyers now insist on technology applications that handle everything from stock management to design to bidding for orders. The articles below give you a flavour of trends and concerns from the perspective of developing and transition economies.

The abolition on 1 January 2005 of the 42-year-old system of quotas for exports of textiles and clothing has led to the biggest buyer’s market in history.

For developing country suppliers, no other service may be more important than sourcing to compete in the post-2005 era.

When quotas restricted Chinese clothing exports, manufacturers had to find new ways to compete. They diversified into producing every kind of garment, not just low-value products.

The levels of skill and service they acquired in the process set new standards in the industry, which they could fully exploit once quotas ended.

Buyers are pushing clothing manufacturers to use information technology to speed up delivery, lower costs and improve services.

Before rushing to invest in technology solutions, manufacturers should piece together the value chain "puzzle", from fabric mill to retailer.

When big buyers and their suppliers use information technology in the clothing business, it is more than just adding computers to conventional commerce. It usually means suppliers take on new responsibilities.

Reverse Internet auctions put clothing manufacturers in competition with one another to offer buyers low prices. By teaming up with textile mills and trim suppliers, manufacturers can bid prices that won’t wipe out their profit margins.

An ITC project manager’s enthusiasm for cycling led to a historic link between ASSOS, one of the biggest names in cyclists’ clothing, and Textiline, a small, service-oriented Kazakh company. Together, they established the world’s first line of “after-bike” wear.

As the second stage of the World Summit on the Information Society gets underway (Tunis, November 2005), businesses in rich and poor countries are asking: "How can 'e' help me compete?"

Internet auctions for high-quality coffee help raise incomes for coffee producers and provide efficiency gains to buyers and sellers.

Trade Forum has been reporting on e-issues for years. From e-trade development strategies to market surveys of promising export sectors and success stories, we've put together a complete list of Trade Forum articles about e-trade for developing countries.

Building on its experience during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2003 in Geneva, ITC is organizing three events on "e@Work", bringing the voice of the business sector in developing countries to WSIS 2005 in Tunis.

Many people now agree that there are clear links between trade and development. Yet the debate continues between those leaning towards a structured approach and those seeking a free rein for creativity in trade development.

While there are advantages and disadvantages for developing countries in the Doha round of trade talks, many are trying to make the global trading system work for them.

ITC encourages LDCs that are members of the WTO to tap into Market

Access Map, its market analysis tool, free until September 2006.

Pakistani officials took part in training and networking events, organized by ITC, to help them in the ongoing Doha round of trade negotiations.

Standards experts recommended measures to help developing countries, so that standards on goods don’t act as trade barriers.

With trade accounting for about 17% of its gross domestic product, Dubai plans to work with ITC to set up an Export Development Centre to ensure the smooth development of its growing export sector.

Exporters shipping coffee to New Orleans consulted ITC’s Coffee Guide web site when the port was closed.

Addressing the “use divide” is the focus of ITC’s E-trade Bridge Programme during its second cycle, which began with representatives from China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Pakistan and Thailand unveiling their national action plans. The use divide denotes the relatively low application of information and communications technologies (ICTs) by companies, even in cases where there is no significant “digital divide” or “access divide”.

Mr Sok Siphana, a Cambodian national, joined ITC in October this year as Director of the Division of Technical Cooperation Coordination, which manages ITC’s national and regional programmes. Mr Sok replaces Hendrik Roelofsen, who retired in October.

ITC organized the fourth buyers–sellers meeting for LatinPharma, the Latin American pharmaceutical industry, in Santiago, Chile in September. Immediately after the meeting, participating firms reported they had concluded deals worth between US$ 8 million and US$ 18 million. The figure is likely to rise as more companies report deals. ITC arranged for over 1,000 appointments between firms, arising from more than 3,750 business opportunities.

To mark the United Nations’ 60th anniversary this year, the UN office at Geneva and the city authorities are organizing events and activities for the general public. The initiatives help raise awareness among Geneva’s population about the various UN funds, programmes and specialized agencies — including ITC — in the city, and how they work towards the Millennium Development Goals.

Trade Forum online passed the "200,000 visits per month" mark in October, when more than 203,000 people from 180 countries visited the magazine's site.

ITC produces a variety of international trade bulletins which complement its books and technical papers. To subscribe, contact the relevant sections of ITC.

Get Connected: E-applications in the textile and clothing sector 166 pages. Study focusing on how developing country producers could successfully apply new e-applications and secure post-quota exports in light of changing nature of textile and clothing business after January 2005 (when quotas were phased out). Elaborates principles to guide exporters in adopting e-applications so as to develop fruitful long-term relationships with major buyers; deals with e-applications in the European Union and the United States; presents examples of exporters in developing countries that have successfully found approaches to integrate their systems with those of customers/suppliers; includes case studies from Hong Kong (China) buying, sourcing and trading offices, and e-applications used by Singapore trading houses and manufacturers. To order online, visit ITC's e-shop at http://www.intracen.org/eshop