Yarn Expo continued its evolution into the industry’s most comprehensive and effective business platform with its Spring Edition which concluded recently with a large increase in the buyer figure, as well as another year of growth in the exhibitor number. Strong demand was evident for recent growth areas of the fair such as synthetic, fancy and speciality yarns as well as chemical fibres, while exhibitors in the more traditional cotton product group also fared well. In total, 435 exhibitors from 10 countries & regions took part (2017: 393, 12 countries & regions), attracting 25,966 trade buyers from 88 countries & regions (2017: 22,579, 94 countries & regions).
“Once again, Yarn Expo proved itself as the ideal trade fair for the industry to benefit from changing demands and product trends, especially in the Chinese and wider Asian markets,” Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd explained. “The fair has evolved in recent editions to have a much bigger focus on synthetic, fancy & speciality yarns and chemical fibres, and based on the exhibitor feedback during the fair, there was an increase in buyers sourcing these products this year. What’s more, local buyers were showing strong interest in the offerings from Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia and Thailand, while Vietnamese cotton exhibitors reported increased orders from China due to the favourable trade policies between these countries.”
As one of the industry’s leading players, Birla Jingwei Fibres naturally plays a big role at Yarn Expo, with their Birla Planet pavilion proving highly successful for the company. Senior Vice President Sachin Malik, explained, “Yarn Expo is a very important platform for Birla, to be visible to our value chain, to connect with our customers, and our own clients’ customers. We value Yarn Expo as a long-term partner for showcasing our products and connecting with the value chain. Each edition we connect with more and more buyers, and more customers in the industry recognise the importance of this fair. It has developed into a premium event in the global textile industry calendar. Usually this edition is quieter than the autumn fair, but the results this year saw the spring edition reach the same level. Our booth was always packed with buyers, and we also received more high-quality and international buyers. Our pavilion members are also very satisfied with the buyers and their results this time.”The next Yarn Expo fair, the Autumn Edition, will be held at the earlier date of 27 – 29 September 2018, once again at the National Exhibition and Convention Center.
Exhibitor comments
Anupam Agrawal, Director Spun Yarn Business, PT. Indo-Rama Synthetics Tbk, Indonesia
“Yarn Expo is an ideal platform to meet not only Chinese but also global buyers. The fair attracts so many good-quality buyers, and compared to other fairs attracts more of our target buyers. The results this edition has been good. After four years of doing business in China, we’ve found many Chinese customers who are willing to pay for quality. The demand in the China market for high-quality products is growing, in particular because of the shortage of spinning capacity which is made up for by imports. We’ve seen more serious and meaningful buyers that have strong desire for further cooperation this 
time, and I think the potential of this market will continue to grow.”
N Sarawgi, Representative of Madhusudan Rayons Pvt. Ltd, India
“Yarn Expo is really helpful in that it has a diverse buyer profile and attracts buyers from around the world. We managed to talk to customers from Pakistan, India and Colombia, as well as potential Chinese buyers who are very interested in our products. The buyers have been genuine with specific sourcing needs, and some of them have already placed orders.”
Joo Son, International Sales Team, HJ Lite, Korea
“Our booth was so crowded throughout the fair. We had more than 300 buyers visit us, and I guess approximately 30 per cent of them will turn into business after the fair. Our target buyers are fabric and garment manufacturers, and we found a lot of good quality ones here. A wide range of worldwide buyers from different market sectors sourced at our booth, especially bigbrand sportswear manufacturers and sourcing offices. We’ve had visitors from China, Europe and many other countries. We are very satisfied with our first Yarn Expo experience, and we expect a very good outcome after the show.”
Mohammad Saad, Director of Abtex Intl Ltd, Pakistan
“Yarn Expo is the global meeting platform for all yarn industry players. You have buyers from all over the world here, so it is the best trade platform in Asia to connect with worldwide buyers. We’ve met people from Argentina, Columbia, Korea, Indonesia, the UK and the US. Around 40 per cent of them are new to us. We’ve noticed that everyone is looking for new products nowadays, so we always bring new items. Fancy yarn is getting more common in China, and demand is growing steadily. China is definitely a huge market for us to develop.”
Ahmad Bashir, Representative, Opulent Group of Companies
“We met a lot of buyers on the first two days of the show, and have already received orders from some of them. 80 per cent of our visitors were from China, while we also met buyers from Europe, Korea, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan. This time, 70 per cent of visitors to our booth were existing customers, while we could also connect with new buyers, so Yarn Expo is beneficial to us as every time we can make new contacts here. This is the best fair in Asia as it is the place to be for business and promotion.”
Buyer comments
Wang Gaofeng, Deputy General Manager, Jiaxing Jinqie Fashion Co Ltd, China
“We can find all ranges of cotton yarn, fancy yarn and chemical fibres at Yarn Expo. Most of the famous brands are here, and they bring the latest technologies and products, including debut products. Yarn Expo always catches the latest trends in the industry and presents them at the fair. This year the quantity and quality of fancy yarn exhibitors has increased, so I’ve found some products to source already.”
Linggar Jati Halim, Director, PT. Kartika Sinar Mulia, Indonesia
“We mainly came to source fancy yarn this time, and we found many new options. This international show greatly expands our sourcing options. Many of our existing suppliers, including from Indonesia, exhibit at this fair so that’s why we source here. We’re satisfied with the exhibitor quality, and intend to place orders afterwards. There have been a number of new technologies presented here that left a deep impression on us.”
Jiang Chang, Marketing Manager, Hangzhou Gaoxi Technology Co Ltd, China
“I like this fair as it gathers exhibitors from the entire industry supply chain. As the demand for functional fabrics continues to increase, we can also see this trend in Yarn Expo. Therefore, the fair helps us to learn about the industry’s developments”.
