INTERNATIONAL
Textile Raw Material Price 2016-06-07
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1005.9 |
USD/Ton |
0.46% |
6/7/2016 |
|
VSF |
2054.4 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
ASF |
1917.5 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
981.56 |
USD/Ton |
1.18% |
6/7/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2221.8 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4337.1 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2450.1 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
5674.8 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1232.7 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
2062 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2092.5 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1106.3 |
USD/Ton |
0.28% |
6/7/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2769.7 |
USD/Ton |
-0.55% |
6/7/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1674 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2434.9 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1810.9 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2130.5 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2921.9 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2206.6 |
USD/Ton |
-0.68% |
6/7/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.3498 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.8142 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.1581 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.6818 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.6757 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/7/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15218 USD dtd. 07/06/2016)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
From a developing country’s point of view, technology upgrading depends on the extent of assimilation of foreign technologies, the availability of skilled labour, and government policies that encourage investments in skills and technology, highlights a study conducted by Asian Development Bank (ADB). Export promotion strategies of the government tend to overlook this aspect, and a more nuanced approach to global value chain activity may help the industry more, the working paper series of ADB South Asia on Upgrading in the Indian Garment Industry added. The Indian textile industry is one of the most important industries of India as it accounts for about 14% of the country’s total industrial production, 4% of GDP, and 13% of total export earnings. It is the second most essential sector in terms of employment, after agriculture. It provides direct employment to about 45 million and indirect employment to 60 million people (Technopak 2012). India is amongst the top 15 exporters of textiles and clothing in the world. In 2013, India’s textile and apparel exports amounted to $40.2 billion (57% textiles and 43% apparel).
Focussing on the apparel industry, it has been noted that several chains in the garment industry in India are at work. There are firms that have been catering to global value chains, as well as selling to the domestic market. Firms in the Mumbai cluster have been selling half of their output to the domestic market and half to the global market. As per the study, the global value chain has been mentioned as of two types: supplying to the European Union (EU) and the United States (US), and supplying to the Middle East market (or countries in South America). Most of the medium-sized and large firms in Delhi-NCR cater to the global value chains that are being sold in the EU and the US, while firms in Tirupur cater to both EU-US and Middle East. Other newer markets that were being explored by the Indian firms include Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Latin America, South America, and East, highlights the study.
Various differences in organising global trade chain were given in the study but the differences in domestic value chain were more interesting. The domestic value chain in India is organized in a different manner from the global value chains, and has two segments, first catering to lower and middle income market in the country; the other is pertaining to export market quite similar to the global trade chains, as per the paper. The recent emergence of Regional Value Chain was also highlighted to show increasing integration of economies as a single world market. Some firms were reported to have production linkages with Bangladesh and the products being sold to Bangladesh include traditional clothing (sherwani, jodhpuri,etc.) as well as ladies’ T-shirts. Some of the advantages cited in the case of the regional value chain included lower labor costs; lower costs for sourcing inputs; lower energy costs; ease of availability of labor.
A Survey of 97 firms(There are 34 firms in the sample from Tirupur, 37 from Mumbai, 1 from Surat, and the balance 25 from the Delhi NCR) was also carried out to point out several observations with respect to product, process and functional upgrading. Product upgrading that involves steps taken to upgrade product quality, introduction of new fabrics and raw materials, and reduction in reworking rates was the least commonly reported type, followed by functional and process. Product upgrading was highest within the domestic category, in Delhi NCR, and in the large firms. Functional upgrading, involving upgradation through design, marketing, and branding was highest in exporters, firms in Delhi NCR, and the largest firms but still 5 firms out of these 97 firms(approximately 5%) did not undertake any such functional upgrading. Process upgrading taking place through the use of new production machinery, worker training, reduction in delivery time, total quality programs, introduction of new organizational approaches, improvements in the production process, and increased use of computer programs for business purposes was highest among firms that both export and sell domestically, in Tirupur, and among the medium-sized firms. The paper also highlighted the differences within the clusters with respect to upgradation. Out of the 34 firms in the sample from Tirupur, 37 from Mumbai, 1 from Surat, and the balance 25 from the Delhi NCR the highest average score was recorded by firms in the Mumbai cluster, followed by Delhi and Tirupur. The highest score for the Mumbai cluster reflected improvements in the production process, while the lowest was in marketing and branding. The highest score for the Delhi cluster was in reduction in delivery time, which was not surprising given that all the firms in the Delhi cluster were exporters. The lowest score was in steps taken to increase product quality. In Tirupur, the highest score was in increased use of computer for business purposes, while the lowest was in reduction in reworking rates and branding. This skewed pattern of development reflected that certainly some challenges and problems are being faced by the industry. The majority of the firms reported lack of skilled labour, access to technology, and finance as the major obstacles to upgrading. Some firms observed that the duty drawback system needs to be more streamlined to reduce delays in receiving payments. Lack of logistics systems and inadequate infrastructure were cited as major reasons for delays in exporting.
Although little or no upgrading is most common in domestic firms, firms in Delhi NCR, and large firms but this could be because all the firms in Delhi NCR sample are exporters and the market to which the firm supplies is important, too, since a low level of upgrading was reported in firms with quasi-hierarchical structures. From a developing country’s point of view, technology upgrading depends on the extent of assimilation of foreign technologies, the availability of skilled labour, and government policies that encourage investments in skills and technology. Export promotion strategies of the government tend to overlook this aspect, and a more nuanced approach to global value chain activity may help the industry more.
SOURCE: The KNN India
The commerce ministry has taken up with the Prime Minister’s Office and the home ministry a proposal to liberalise visa rules for easier movement of professionals so that services trade gets a leg-up, a senior government official said on Tuesday. The proposal seems aimed at not just boosting services trade, but also conveying India’s seriousness in walking the talk should other countries endorse its views on greater liberalisation in services trade. Moreover, such a step would boost programmes like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’. The commerce ministry is seeking easier visa rules in areas, including tourism, business visits, healthcare, and people wishing to come to the country to attend seminars and conferences. Commerce secretary Rita Teaotia is learnt to have held discussion on the issue at the PMO on Tuesday. The ministry isn’t advocating a liberalised visa regime with some other nations on a strictly reciprocal basis, but as a step to usher in the era of freer movement of professionals to boost trade.
Trade analysts feel such a move could also put pressure on countries like the US, which have resorted to protectionist measures that are hurting the Indian industry. Already, India and the US are engaged in a bilateral consultation process at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the US move to drastically hike the H-1B and L-1 visa charges, which is estimated to quadruple the Indian IT industry’s annual visa costs to $400 million. The services sector has assumed importance in India’s trade talks with other nations in recent years, as it accounts for more than a half of the country’s gross domestic product, 28% of its jobs, 35% of its total exports and 20% of its imports, showed the official data. Still, the country’s services exports make up for just over 3% of the global services exports, suggesting that the sector’s vast potential is yet to be properly tapped.
Segregated data on services soon
The government could provide segregated data on the country’s services trade in the next nine months, which will help officials negotiate better under various trade talks, including RCEP, Arvind Mehta, additional secretary in the commerce ministry, said on Tuesday at an event organised by ICRIER. The country’s chief statistician, TCA Anant, too, echoed the sentiments, saying that the non-availability of segregated data on services potentially affects the quality of trade negotiations. ICRIER study moots panel on services statistics A new report by ICRIER, released by Mehta on Tuesday, has called for the setting up of a panel, to be headed by the commerce secretary, to oversee the collection of data on services trade. This panel should have representation from different ministries and departments, industry associations, regulatory and professional bodies and trade promotion bodies, said the report, titled “Institutional framework for collection of statistics on trade in services: four pilot surveys on trade in audio-visual, logistics, professional and telecommunication services”. The report called for a new approach in entrusting the responsibility on a service provider to submit or file information and data within a prescribed time period in line with those followed under the Companies Act 2013 or the Income Tax Act, 1961.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
In what comes as good news, volumes at India’s major ports rose a sharp 9.7% y-o-y in April, as against a growth rate of 4% in the past 12-odd months. This came partially on the back of a pick-up in iron ore exports resulting from favourable government policy and a revival in ore prices. Edelweiss reports that trade flows in the first two months of FY17 seem to have been better than in the preceding quarter. While the feedback received was promising, it is still early days to spot in these figures a revival, it says.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
India will renegotiate existing bilateral investment treaties with other nations on the basis of the new model investment text that was cleared by the Cabinet in December last year, despite reservations by a few, commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. Her statement came amid concerns expressed by the EU recently on the fate of investment treaties between some of its members and India after the finance ministry had written to various countries, seeking a review of all such pacts within a year using the new investment text. In a meeting with Sitharaman in Paris last week, EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström is learnt to have said individual members of the EU were not supposed to negotiate investment pacts with India, and any such negotiations should have to be between the European Commission (EC) and India. However, Sitharaman said she told Malmstrom that India’s current FTA talks with the EU, which also includes the investment pillar, could address such concerns. And even within the the EC framework of law, there is a clause which enables individual member to negotiate and agree to changes in any agreement, Sitharaman told her EU counterpart.
Germany, Finland and Latvia (which is not strictly a part of the EU) have approached India on the way forward on such bilateral investment pacts. India had signed a total of 83 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) since 1994, including those with some of the EU members. “Let them understand India will stick to the model investment treaty. The number of cases (or disputes) arising out of earlier investment treaties based on old text is shocking,” Sitharaman said. According to the finance ministry, the text of the revised model BITs will be used for re-negotiation of existing BITs and negotiation of future BITs and investment chapters in Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements/ Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements or Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). The government had earlier said the new Indian Model BIT text will “provide appropriate protection to foreign investors in India and Indian investors in the foreign country, in the light of relevant international precedents and practices, while maintaining a balance between the investor’s rights and the Government obligations”.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
Expressing optimism over the export sector, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said turnaround is slowly happening and demand is gradually picking up. She said that exports are declining in value terms due to reasons like currency devaluation in many parts of the world and certain African countries refusing to pay in dollars. “I think the turnaround is slowly happening in exports. There is a definitely a change, I think demand is slowly picking up,” she told reporters when asked about the outlook of exports. Declining for 17th straight month in April, exports dipped by 6.74 per cent to $ 20.5 billion due to sharp fall in shipments of petroleum and engineering products amid tepid global demand. When asked whether any date has been finalised for resuming the negotiations from the proposed free trade agreement with European Union, the minister said the EU has to give the dates. The negotiations for the Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) have been held up since May 2013 as both the sides are yet to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including data security status for the IT sector. Launched in June 2007, the negotiations for the proposed BTIA have witnessed many hurdles with both sides having major differences on crucial issues like intellectual property rights, duty cut in automobile and spirits, and liberal visa regime.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
Pointing to sluggish corporate lending despite five policy rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India since 2015, the World Bank on Tuesday cut growth projections for India by up to three percentage points to 7.6-7.7 per cent for 2016-17 and 2017-18. Even then, India will continue to be the fastest growing major economy in the world. "India will continue to grow faster than its large emerging market peers, with growth rates of 7.6-7.7 per cent from Fiscal Year 2016/17 to Fiscal Year 2018/19," the Bank said in its Global Economic Prospects. In its January update, the multi-lateral agency had pegged India's growth at 7.9 per cent in both these fiscal years. India's economy grew 7.6 per cent in 2015-16, two percentage points lower than predicted by the Bank in January. The Bank cautioned India against "notable headwinds." It said rural consumption has been hard-hit by two years of poor monsoons (rainfall in 2015/16 was 14 per cent below the historical average).
Despite five interest rate cuts since 2015, credit growth to the corporate sector remains sluggish because of stressed asset quality in the banking sector (especially for claims on the aviation, infrastructure, iron, and steel sectors), it said, adding that weak exports weigh on growth and February marked the 15th consecutive month of decline. However, it also said rural incomes and spending should improve with the return to normal monsoons, as the benefits of direct transfers through the rolling out of the mobile banking initiative (Jan Dhan Aadhaar Mobile) are realised and improvements in agricultural productivity improve. The bank said that growth in India picked up to 7.6 per cent in 2015-16, a 0.4 percentage point increase over that in 2014/15, driven largely by domestic demand. The economy rose 7.2 per cent in 2014-15. "Partly thanks to the ongoing liberalisation of India's foreign direct investment (FDI) regime, FDI to India surged 37 per cent from the launch of the 'Make in India' campaign in October 2014 to February 2016, with the computer software and automotive sectors attracting the bulk of this investment," the report said. "Manufacturing activity, though dampened by weak external demand, accelerated 9.3 per cent in the final quarter of Fiscal Year 15/16. Relative to other large emerging economies, purchasing manager indices for India reflect more buoyant sentiment. Business start-ups are on the rise, particularly in the e-commerce and financial services sector," it said. The ensuing job creation from strengthening economic activity and boost to real income from low inflation and increase in wages are lifting urban consumption.
Furthermore, increased public investment in power generation, roads, railways and urban infrastructure is contributing to an improved business environment and reduced supply-side constraints, the report said. New sectors will continue to attract FDI. As of December 2015 some USD 45.7 billion (2.2 per cent of GDP) had been pledged under the 'Make in India' campaign. Private domestic investment is expected to benefit from an accommodative monetary policy, it said. In addition, the government's planned investment in infrastructure, and the streamlining of business procedures and of the tax regime, are expected to alleviate some constraints, and crowd in private investment, it said. Nonetheless, private investment will still be held back by infrastructure bottlenecks, a challenging regulatory environment, and by tight credit amidst the ongoing resolution of stressed assets in the banking sector. If implemented as planned, continued fiscal consolidation from 2016 onwards should support investor confidence in India through future bouts of turmoil in global financial markets, the report said. The Bank downgraded its 2016 global growth forecast to 2.4 per cent from the 2.9 per cent pace projected in January.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 47.80 per barrel (bbl) on 07.06.2016. This was higher than the price of US$ 47.11 per bbl on previous publishing day of 06.06.2016.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs. 3194.40 per bbl on 07.06.2016 as compared to Rs. 3154.49 per bbl on 06.06.2016. Rupee closed stronger at Rs 66.83 per US$ on 07.06.2016 as against Rs 66.96 per US$ on 06.06.2016. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on June 7, 2016 (Previous trading day i.e. 06.06.2016) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.06.2016 |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
47.80 (47.11) |
46.99 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3194.40 (3154.49) |
3156.32 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
66.83 (67.96) |
67.17 |
SOURCE: PIB
LOCAL textile companies have suspended exports to South Africa due to the depreciation of the rand, the Zimbabwe Textile Manufacturers’ Association has said. The South African rand has been on a steady slide against the United States dollar in the wake of internal and external economic pressures that have weighed down on the neighbouring country’s economy. ZITMA vice chairman Freedom Dube told Business Chronicle that as a result of suspension of exports, some of their members have introduced shorttime working periods. “Some of our members have suspended exports due to the depreciation of the rand against the United States dollar and most of our customers still insist that we should charge old prices,” he said. “As a result, shorttime working arrangements have become a tool for local textile firms to remain operational with capacity utilisation going down to around 30 percent.” The rand has retreated from a 1:10 ratio in the last few years to the greenback to 1:15 as of yesterday.
Since Zimbabwe is using a strong currency, the weakening of the rand and other regional currencies means that exports have become more expensive compared to cheap imports. The situation has been compounded by high production costs locally, which further erode earnings in a squeezed domestic market. Dube said South Africa has been a strong market for the local textile industry as exports were constantly on demand. “Currently, the local textile industry employs less than 5,000 people and we’re afraid that the figure might shrink further due to low production levels,” he said. At its peak the textile industry employed about 30,000 workers. Since the liberalisation of the economy in February 2009, the textile industry has not been spared from the challenges that have been affecting the local manufacturing sector at large. The challenges facing the textile industry are mainly working capital and subdued aggregate demand due to issues of liquidity, stiff competition, and obsolete equipment, said Dube.
Over the years, players in the clothing and textile industry have complained about the influx of cheap imported products from South Africa and the Far East. According to the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector has been on the lower side due to operational constraints such as lack of access to financing, obsolete equipment and stiff competition from imported products. Against this background, capacity utilisation in industry last year declined to 34,3 percent from 36.5 percent in 2014.
SOURCE: The Chronicle
The ogre that swallowed many of the Arusha-based textile factories in the late nineties has returned for another chew onto the remaining two plants, threatening to send these struggling mass employing industrial units into early grave. A-to-Z and Sun-Flag Textile Mills have so far sent home more than 2,500 workers due to recently emerged cases of cheap, imported bed nets that have started to flood the local market at the expense of the two tax-paying entities of Arusha. With second-hand garments (mitumba) dictating the country's clothing fashion trends, local fabric manufacturers rely on alternative products such as mosquito nets and bed sheets, the latter command better sales though. The Vice-President of Textile and Garment Manufacturers Association of Tanzania (TEGAMAT), Mr Sylvester Kazi, said here that two of the leading factories, the A-to-Z Textiles Mills of Kisongo as well as the Sun-Flag (Tanzania) Limited of Njiro are the victims of the sub-standard mosquito nets sold cheaply in the streets. Right now, consignments of alleged, 'Insecticide Treated Nets,' labelled as produced by HM Textile Net are flooding the local markets especially Kariakoo section of Dar es Salaam with some infiltrating into Arusha and other major cities of the country, being sold cheaply at 3,000/- per piece while those manufactured by local firms here retail at 10,000/-. On their yellow coloured packaging there are words 'Made in China' though in reality, the HM Textiles is a factory operating from Pakistan and Bangladesh, which raises concern that the nets could be counterfeits. As for the alleged 'Insecticide Treated Net' claims, the Tropical Pesticide Research Institute (TPRI) based here and which is the state facility responsible for regulating all chemicals used in the country have disowned those nets saying if they were impregnated by insecticides, then they have not been approved by them. Dr Elikana Lekei , the Registrar of Pesticides at the TPRI, stated; "We need to run samples of the nets into testing laboratories to see if they contain insecticide as claimed," he said.
According to Dr Lekei, the nets in question do not contain any seal of approval from either TPRI or the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) which means, Tanzanians are using them at their own risk. "Tanzania has approved Parathyroid based Chemicals for ITNs," he said. The A-to-Z Textiles Mills' Chief Executive Officer, Mr Anuj Shah, said of late sales of bed nets have plummeted such that his company was compelled to lay off 2,000 workers; "We had 10,000 employees but we are now left with 8,000 but this figure may drop even further if the situation does not stabilise," he said. A-to-Z through its Joint Venture with Japan's Sumitomo Chemicals, produces the famed 'Olyset' branded Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLIN) approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Global Fund for Malaria. The other firm, Sun-Flag (T) Limited operating from Njiro, was recently forced to cut down its employment force by 10 per cent after dropping off 300 workers out of its 3,000 employees, due to stagnant sales of bed nets. According to the Sun- Flag Executive Director, Mr Ajay Shah, the factory has a stock of 90,000 unsold bed nets valued at over 600 million/- and they have no idea how to recover the production costs if the consignment remains stagnant. Mr Anuj Shah the Company Executive Director of Arusha-Based, A-to-Z Textiles Mills said while his company applies the World Health Organization (WHO) approved standards in manufacturing their 'Olyset,' nets using 'Japanese Technology,' pricing them competitively is what will attract Global Fund to place orders and right now taxes are hurting their heads. Mr Shah pointed out that from last year; the nets were classified as 'Exempt Supply,' which means prices had to escalate due to taxation of raw material. "With bed nets manufacturing every input need to be imported; materials, chemicals and equipment, and when these get taxed, we are compelled to market our products at higher prices than competitors," he maintained. The A-to-Z Textiles of Arusha is among the 14 internationally approved suppliers of bed nets as per WHO requirements and this year, the Global Fund has pledge 1.6 million nets for Tanzania. "If our prices were lower, then Arusha could have been given the tender to produce and supply the million bed nets for Global Fund, but GF always float tender to all manufacturers and pick those with cheaper pricing and taxes here may cause us to lose the tender," lamented Mr Shah. When the former President Jakaya Kikwete chaired the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), he had proposed all mosquito nets to be Zero rated, something which helped the local textiles industry to get their tax refunds from imported raw materials thus making them to be priced lower and competitively in global markets. And when Mosquito nets were Zero Rated, the Arusha based textile firm attracted a global order of 24 million Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets but when the country later on classified them as 'Exempt Supplies,' thus rising production costs, Global Fund started looking elsewhere, diverting orders to Vietnamese suppliers.
SOURCE: The All Africa
One of the most prioritized industrial sectors of Ethiopia - the ready-made garment sector will receive a boost with the establishment of a textile factory in the country by the development financier Swedfund and the industry group DBL. Anna Ryott, Managing Director at Swedfund said that they have managed to form a unique partnership in Ethiopia with deep professional knowledge in every part of the process in order to fulfill the high sustainability requirements. The project will provide job opportunities for 4,000 people. H&M supports with expert knowledge from sustainable textile production and also by buying products from this factory. Anna added that the project is a great example of how to work to achieve efficient job creation, and in this project it is particularly focused on women. Job creation is crucial to help people find their way out of poverty and the cooperation with such a great partners like H&M and DBL will make this a role model for other similar projects.
Helena Helmersson, Global Head of Production at H&M said that H&M is pleased that Swedfund is co-financing a project with DBL Group. H&M wants to contribute to a long-term sustainable textile industry in Ethiopia taking social as well as environmental dimensions into consideration. It is important to them that both DBL and Swedfund are putting such questions on top of their agenda when doing investments.
Decent working conditions, job creation for women and environmental considerations are some of the most important goals with the collaboration project, pushing one of Ethiopia’s prioritized industry sectors forward. The requirements on this individual factory are in line with the strict standard requirements H&M’s suppliers always have to follow. Local and international partners will also be involved in the collaboration in order to enhance the know-how around sustainable production of ready-made garments in Ethiopia.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
A team of South Korean scientists have developed an electronic device that can stick to clothing, paving the way for wearable displays and monitoring censors, the science ministry said Tuesday. An electronic device attached to fabric via artificial cilia on its edges is called an electronic textile, said Ko Heung-cho, an associate professor at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology. "We are ultimately targeting the development of an electronic device that can be used for a wearable computer though it will take some time. In coming years, we aim to make the electronic textile usable for wearable displays as well as health and pollution monitoring censors," Ko said by telephone. The technological achievement by Ko and two other scientists was introduced in the science journal of Nature Communications on June 1, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said in a statement. As the electronic device can be attached to a variety of products, plants and animals using its artificial cilia, it will become a core technology that can promote the "hyperconnected society," the statement said.
SOURCE: The Korea Herald
Canada will be providing an unprecedented platform for apparel and textile manufacturers across the globe by hosting the Apparel Textile Sourcing Show (ATSC) – a first-of-its-kind event for the nation. Jason Prescott, CEO of JP Communications, parent-company to TopTenWholesale.com and Manufacturer.com and organizer of the event said that the introduction of ATSC is a direct response to market demand and fills a significant gap in the Canadian market. He added that ATSC provides an unparalleled opportunity for Canadian apparel and textile importers and retailers to access the most current importing information from industry insiders and connect with the world’s major apparel and textile manufacturers all under one roof, without having to incur the time or expense of travelling abroad. In addition to the 200 international exhibits to be displayed at the show, ATSC will also feature three days of conference sessions lead by acclaimed industry and government experts, covering topics from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other trade agreements, to best practices and the changing Canadian market, to tips on how to choose overseas producers and new approaches for Canadians looking to enter the U.S. market. A panel on ethical manufacturing of apparel and textiles, featuring executives from quality control organizations Wrap and TesTex, will also be presented. A “Made in Canada” section, showcasing Canadian manufacturers who source apparel and textiles from abroad for their finished goods, as well as Canadian designers who have their designs produced into finished products overseas. A 2017 Apparel and Textile Trends display, providing a first-hand look at the colours, patterns and textures that will be all the rage for the coming year. Presented in coordination with the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textile and Apparel (CCCT), the event is supported by the Ottawa-based Canadian Apparel Federation (CAF), the Consulate General of the P. R. China in Toronto, the Trade Office of Peru, and exporting agencies ProMexico and ProColombia. Bob Kirke, CAF Executive Director said that Canada has long needed a venue where apparel and textile importers and retailers can learn about sourcing best practices while meeting producers from around the world. ATSC offers an important new resource for our domestic market and the Canadian Apparel Federation is excited to support this endeavor..
According to Jian Wei Yu, Commercial Counsellor of the Consulate General of the P. R. China in Toronto, Canadian business owners and importers will have the opportunity to secure new partners among the more than 125 apparel suppliers from China represented at the event. He said that Chinese suppliers are eager to do business with Canadian partners and work together to make the importing process smooth and efficient. Canadians are looking for simpler access to quality, competitive goods and an international sourcing event for the apparel sector is long overdue in this country. The comprehensive trade show and conference, ATSC will take place August 22-24, 2016, at the International Centre in Toronto. The event will bring to Canada hundreds of apparel and textile manufacturers from around the world, including China, India, Bangladesh, Mexico, the U.S., Honduras, Peru and other countries. Canadians import more than $14 billion in apparel and textiles annually, up 20 per cent from 2012.Small businesses, retailers, manufacturers and designers across Canada will get a boost because of ATSC. It will not only help in making global industry connections but will also provide attendees with new insights and up-to-date information needed to more easily and effectively navigate through the sourcing process.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
China’s exports fell more than expected in May as global demand remained stubbornly weak, but imports beat forecasts, adding to hopes that the economy may be stabilising. Exports fell 4.1 percent from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs reported, saying the foreign trade environment remains a challenge. Imports dropped 0.4 percent from a year earlier, the smallest decline since they turned negative in November 2014, likely reflecting higher commodities prices but also suggesting that domestic demand has picked up as Beijing increases spending on big infrastructure projects to support growth. That resulted in a trade surplus of $49.98 billion in May, versus forecasts of $58 billion and April’s $45.6 billion.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected May exports to fall 3.6 percent, after a 1.8 percent decline in April, and expected imports to fall 6 percent, following April’s 10.9 percent decline. China’s official manufacturing activity survey last week showed signs of steadying in May but remained weak amid soft demand at home and abroad, with new orders expanding more slowly and growth in export orders stalling. The trade data is the first to be released by China for May. March indicators were upbeat, sparking hopes that the economy was perking up, but April was less rosy, raising concerns that the spring bounce may be short-lived.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
