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 Business News | April 2008 
Mexico's Guayabera Shirt Fights for U.S. Market
 Noel Randewich - Reuters
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Merida, Mexico - Mexican makers of the guayabera shirt, elegant business wear across tropical areas of Latin America, are feeling the heat as Asian competitors grab more of the lucrative U.S. market.
A handful of factories have closed in recent years in the state of Yucatan, the home of Mexico's guayabera industry, as Asian producers copy the shirt and sell it at cut-rate prices in high-volume markets like Texas, California and Florida, business owners say.
"The arrival of guayaberas from Asian countries has lowered our production," said Lourdes Rodriguez, head of the clothing business chamber in Yucatan.
Characterized by front pockets, an open neck and rows of tiny pleats, the guayabera is everyday wear for businessmen and politicians in tropical areas of Latin America, from Mexico to Venezuela, where the heat makes business suits impractical.
Foreign sales of Yucatan's guayaberas, a small part of Mexico's $7 billion-a-year garment exports, have fallen about 20 percent in the past two years, the state government says, although reliable industry figures are unavailable.
Guayabera makers' difficulties mirror increased competition for all of Mexico's export manufacturers. In 2003, China overtook Mexico as the No. 2 exporter to the United States and replaced Canada in the top spot last year.
In the past decade, the guayabera, thought to have its origins in either Yucatan or Cuba, has become popular with Latin American grooms and guests at outdoor weddings. Loose-fitting and worn untucked, it is also a favorite for hiding bulging waistlines.
TRENDY WEAR
Guayaberas have become trendy in the United States, especially in Latino hotspots like Miami and Los Angeles.
But Mexican producers say most of that growth has gone to Asian manufacturers, who benefit from lower costs of labor, fabrics and other inputs.
"We don't have access to popular markets like Wal-Mart or Kmart," said Raul Maglioni, a guayabera manufacturer in Merida, the capital of Yucatan.
"They demand prices we can't afford. If they ask for five or six dollars, we can't do it," he said in his factory, where dozens of Mayan women sewed purple-colored guayaberas made of denim - an unusual order requested by a U.S. client.
Mexico was once seen as an oasis of cheap labor, but manufacturers there now fight to keep up with exporters in China and other Asian countries, where wages are even lower and governments often offer generous incentives to investors.
Mexico's clothing exports to the United States have fallen since peaking around 2000, while China's have steadily risen.
A recession this year in the United States, the destination of 80 percent of Mexico's exports, would put more pressure on the industry.
To avoid competing on price, some Mexican guayabera makers are selling through U.S. boutiques like the San Angel Folk Art store in San Antonio, Texas, where customers are willing to pay more for high quality shirts.
"We know people who have them made in China sometimes, but the owner loves Mexico and he has created a relationship with the people who make them for us. The quality is incredible," said store manager Leigh Anne Lester.
To give their guayaberas local character and help them stand out from versions made outside Mexico, Yucatan designers have added new touches to their garments, like elaborate embroidery or versions tailored for women.
This month, Mexico's Senate passed a motion calling on the government to protect Yucatan's guayabera industry. They want other countries to recognize distinctive characteristics of guayaberas, a sort of geographic trademark.
"It's important that we're recognized on the map as quality," the Yucatan clothing chamber's Rodriguez said.
(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Kieran Murray) |
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