MAROC IN MODE & MAROC SOURCING Marrakech, October 17 and 18, 2019

• Larger exhibitor offer at the Maroc in Mode & Maroc Sourcing 2019

• Fast fashion and sustainability: Top topics at the fair

• Further internationalization: Partnership agreement signed with France

• Morocco's textile industry: development into an all-round solution provider

• AMITH: new federation structures drive innovation

With 140 Moroccan and international exhibitors, an even larger number of production specialists presented themselves at this year's Maroc in Mode - Maroc Sourcing to over 1,000 trade visitors at the Moulay Hassan racetrack in Marrakech. Visitors from 16 countries, such as Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, UK, Germany, etc., including high profile companies and vertical top providers, used the show as a platform to expand their production portfolio, intensify existing contacts and finalize production projects. In total, more than 700 came from Morocco, over 300 from European countries (Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Germany, UK) and further countries like Japan. Visitors were particularly interested in the current topics of fast fashion and sustainability.

The 17th edition of Maroc in Mode - Maroc Sourcing became more international:

Producers from 6 countries presented their extensive production offer in the fields of fast fashion, denim, knitwear, tailoring and corporate fashion, among them exhibitors from Morocco, China, Pakistan, Portugal flagged with more than 20 companies in the area of Maroc Sourcing, Turkey was represented here by 19 specialists in fabrics, ingredients, accessories and services. The expansion into further markets is to be continued.

Fast fashion and sustainability are top themes

In line with visitor interest, the fair focused on sustainable aspects and fast fashion. Increasingly more exhibitors are sustainably certified, i.a. from Oekotex, BSCI, GOTS, ISO, through individual customer audits, etc. Exhibitors and visitors unanimously confirmed that sustainable production is the textile future: "There is a growing demand for sustainable production. We assume that from 2020 almost every company will demand sustainable production. That's why we're investing in new machines and changing all our processes from chemical use to laser technology," said Hind Raki, Commercial Manager of Crossing.

Against this background, sustainable production is strongly promoted. Investments are made not only in the denim sector with the application of new technologies such as ozone, eFlow, laser but through out the industry. There are plans for projects that will establish a comprehensive ecosystem of circulation in Morocco.

The comprehensive seminar program on both days of the fair gathered experts from the fashion industry and reflected here also the developments of the market, ia. With a view to the fundamentals of Oekotex certification, the opportunities and challenges of sustainable fashion for the sector, energy efficiency and circular economy in the textile and clothing sector, as well as the different conditions in the European and American fashion markets.

Another focus was on digitalization and how to further enhance the added value of Moroccan textiles and clothing, e.g. with expert lectures on the change from CMT to FOB and new technologies from Lectra, etc.

Moroccan textile industry has weight

The visit of the Moroccan Minister of Industry Moulay Hafid Elalamy on the second day of the fair underlines the importance attached to the textile sector by the state. The minister was shown the fair and had talks with organizers and exhibitors. After renaming, the Ministry of Industry, Trade, Green and Digital Economy now officially bears sustainability in its name.

The textile and clothing industry is one of the country's most strategic sectors. With more than 185,000 employees, it is the largest industrial employer in Morocco. The textile industry accounts for a quarter of national exports, and in 2018 Morocco exported goods worth € 3.6 billion. Among the Mediterranean countries, it is the number two in terms of exports to the EU, ranks seventh over all among the major suppliers of textiles and clothing to the EU. The more than 1,600 companies have an annual production capacity of 1 billion parts.

The political and social stability in the country, the favorable geostrategic and proximity to Europe, the developed infrastructure and a minimum wage that is well below those in other producing countries, such as Turkey and China, form a positive economic environment, including foreign investment from e.g. Spain, Turkey, Portugal and China.

Morocco develops into an "all-round solution provider"

Since 2015, AMITH and the Ministry of Industry have been pursuing a common, ambitious strategy to increase the value of the sector with the Acceleration Plan. The advancement of enterprises, which work after CMT model, to FOB offer is driven forward. Morocco is thus developing from pure sewing room to professional solution provider. For this purpose, significant investments in i.a. technology and sustainability.

The new focus is to strengthen the upstream value chain in order to boost the competitiveness of Moroccan producers and further expand their ability to respond to the market quickly.

Internationalization and innovation determine the strategic development Strategically , the fair is even more international. At the fair, AMITH solemnly signed two partnership agreements with UIT - Union of Industries Textiles and UFIMH – Union Française Mode & Habillement on the first day of the fair. The aim is to further consolidate cooperation between the Moroccan and French textile and clothing industries. Already in 2017, the partnership with the Portuguese association ATP was sealed. While Spain and France are traditionally strong partners, in future the focus will increasingly be on new markets, especially Northern Europe. Scandinavia and Germany are seen as strategic markets in which the activity is to be increased significantly, measures are intensified.

New association structure drives innovation

The project gets further impetus with the recently implemented new association structure. With Mohammed Boubouh as the newly elected President of AMITH and Fatima Zohra Alaoui as the new Managing Director, the sector will be strategically innovated and further adapted to the challenges of the modern textile industry. An extensive program of transformation measures is intended to further boost Morocco's competitiveness. As a first step, the digital platform www.gosourcing-morocco.com was launched during the show, which provides detailed information on producers, provides transparency and enables direct networking. Also current company news are published here.

Maroc in Mode – Maroc Sourcing

Next edition: October 2020

 www.marocinmode.ma