Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday assured exporters of taking up the issue of Goods and Service Tax (GST) refund with the finance ministry and said he plans to call a ministerial meeting to discuss export related issues. As exports dipped in March after a gap of four months, Prabhu sought a detailed action plan from exporters of all sectors in an interaction with them here. “I have asked exporters to give me the details of the pending refund. GST refund is a major issue for exports. I will take it up with the finance ministry,” he said. Exporters have claimed that over 60% of their refunds are stuck with the government complaining that delay in GST refund has blocked their working capital. Prabhu also said the government is taking all steps to further boost the country's exports. Speaking to members of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations here, the minister asked them to prepare a detailed action plan of all sectors and sub-sectors suggesting ways to promote their exports. Exporters raised issues related with GST refund, increasing logistics costs and inadequate infrastructure at ports. The government has sanctioned GST refunds to exporters to the tune of Rs 17,616 crore till March of which Rs 9,604 crore is on account of integrated GST refund and another Rs 5,510 crore on account of refund on input credit by the centre. “We need a concrete plan to work on that,” Prabhu said and added that he would call a ministerial meeting to discuss issues pertaining to outbound shipments. India's exports dipped after a gap of four months in March but finished 2017-18 with a rise of 9.78% to $302.84 billion.
Source: The Economic Times
AHMEDABAD, APR 18 : Noted fashion designer Gavin Rajah to choreograph a 20-minute textile event, aimed at projecting Khadi in a modern and trendy style, at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on April 30, during the concluding session of the two-day India-South Africa Business Summit, as a ‘The Tribute to the Mahatma and Madiba (Nelson Mandela)’. The program is being held in memory of 125 years of the Pietermaritzburg incident where Gandhi was thrown out of a train by White supremacists, along with Mandela’s birth centenary. The Summit will be also be attended by Union Minister for Commerce, Industries and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu. The event seeks to showcase New India in South Africa, with the intent to double two-way bilateral trade and investment within a five-year period. Saxena said on Wednesday that the KVIC had dispatched more than double the length of the desired fabric. In March, Ruchira Kamboj, Indian High Commissioner in Pretoria, requested Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena, to provide different Khadi fabrics, including silk and muslin, in both embroidered and printed forms reflected by Gavin Rajah, who had played an active role as UNICEF’s goodwill ambassador. Saxena said when Gandhiji reached South Africa, a war against apartheid and British rule was started. Now, Khadi is all set to bring economic freedom as the ‘Ahimsa Silk’ would showcase its piousness and economic feasibility in the land of Madiba, the clan name of Mandela. As part of the Centenary Year celebrations of Gandhiji’s Swadeshi Movement, the High Commission of India in Uganda unveiled the Gandhi Charkha – gifted by KVIC – at the Gandhi Heritage Site at Jinja in Uganda on October 2, 2017, which is also the International Day of Non-Violence. The 25-kg Charkha was made of high-quality teak wood and is 3.6 feet long, 1 foot 11 inch tall and 1.5 feet wide, made in Ahmedabad by a Khadi institution. It was the first testimony that a Charkha had gone to the foreign soil.
Source: Business Line
New Delhi: The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and industry in association with Maskati Cloth Market Mahajan (MCMM) is going to organize Farm to Fashion: Indian Textile Global Summit 2018 from May 4-6, 2018. With this summit, entire value chain of textiles will get a common platform to develop a vision for the industry for 2030. All the participants of this event will get an opportunity to build a web of network with exhibitors, delegates, government officials and various representatives of the textile industries from various parts of the country. The event will also shed light on various issues related to women empowerment, youth employment, challenges faced by cotton farmers and positioning of Indian textile industry as the pioneer in environment-friendly industry practices. This global textile summit will have 17 technical sessions by global speakers and 150 exhibitors from India will exhibit best of Indian Fabrics. Apart from that, other attraction points of the event are café corners, fashion show and industrial visit. Experts and scholars will offer information and unveil insights about latest research, trends, innovations, best practices along with the solutions to the challenges at hand. As the title suggest, Farm to Fashion, this summit will showcase exclusive ranges of clothing lines with an iconic fashion show by few of country's distinguished fashion designers, apparitional stylists and leading fabric companies of the world. The farm to fashion global summit is an initiative taken by Gujarat government to fill the production and-manufacturing gap. Being a highest cotton growing state, Gujarat falls behind in manufacturing and thus in this direction Gujarat government is following PM Modi 5F formula - farm to fibre, fibre to factory, factory to fashion, fashion to foreign," said Mr. Shailesh Patwari, President, GCCI. He added that the summit will deliberate upon the opportunity and challenges in various areas such as cotton, ginning, spinning, weaving, processing, garmenting, technical textiles, environment management, and skill development in detail.
Source: KNN
The Cotton Association of India (CAI) recently cleared a proposal to set up an All India Training Centre for Farmers in the Cotton Green commercial area in Mumbai, CAI president Atul S Ganatra announced at the inaugural session of Cotton India 2018 conference. With over 122 lakh hectare acreage, India has the largest acreage under cotton in the world. Land holdings in India are relatively smaller and about three-fifths of the total acreage under cotton in the countryis rain-fed and dependent on the vagaries of nature, Ganatra said. The country’s annual consumption of cotton is expected to touch about 330 lakh bales during the ongoing crop year as several new textile mills in Gujarat and other states have started operations resulting in about 35 lakh new spindles this year, a newspaper report quoted him as saying. But against the world average productivity figure of 779 kilograms per hectare, cotton productivity in India is still around 500 kg per hectare, he added. (DS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
On April 11, 2018, a division bench of the Delhi High Court pronounced a judgment overturning the decision of a single-judge bench regarding the interpretation of Section 3(j) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970, holding that transgenic plants, seeds and varieties cannot be patented. On April 11, 2018, a division bench of the Delhi High Court pronounced a judgment overturning the decision of a single-judge bench regarding the interpretation of Section 3(j) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970, holding that transgenic plants, seeds and varieties cannot be patented. This is a path breaking judgment, the full import of which is yet to be assessed. The case arose over a dispute between several seed companies and Monsanto regarding Bt cotton trait fee payments. This genetically modified seed was introduced in India in 2002 amidst a raging controversy. Many “activists” were alarmed at the government’s decision to permit GM crops in India, and there were widespread agitations. Perhaps, because of that past history, Bt cotton continues to be the only genetically modified crop permitted in India, and has captured about 95% of the crop area under cotton. However, the increase in productivity has not been commensurate. The average yield was 472 kg per hectare in 2005-06 (when only about 15% of the cotton crop was covered by Bt cotton.) The yield rose marginally to 484 kg per hectare in 2015-16. Initially, the crux of the dispute between Monsanto and the seed companies was the quantum of royalties or trait value to be paid by the latter. In 2010, some state governments fixed the maximum retail prices of cotton seeds, which included the trait values as a component. The governments did this so as to ensure that seeds were available to the farmers at reasonable prices. However, Monsanto put pressure on the seed companies to pay the trait values as determined by them on the ground that they had a patent on Bt cotton seeds. The seed companies had no alternative but to pay under protest. In June 2015, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court upheld the right and, therefore, the action of the government of Maharashtra in fixing the maximum retail price of seeds, including the trait value. Subsequently, in July 2015, the seed companies wrote to Monsanto that they cannot pay a higher trait value. Interestingly, it was not only the seed companies of Andhra Pradesh, but almost all others, along with the National Seeds Association of India, that backed this action. Since different state governments were fixing different retail prices and trait values, the Centre decided that in the best interest of all stakeholders, it would be advisable to have a uniform price and trait value for the entire country. In pursuance thereof, it issued orders in December 2015, fixing uniform prices for the entire country, with effect from April 1, 2016. Predictably, Monsanto challenged this diktat. It was during the course of meeting this challenge that the fundamental question arose as to whether Monsanto had a valid patent in conformity with the Indian Patents Act, 1970. The main issue before the division bench of the Delhi High Court was whether Section 3 (j) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970, excludes from patentability plants and animals in whole or any part thereof, other than microorganisms but including seeds, varieties and species and essentially biological processes for production or propagation of plants and animals. The division bench has ruled that Monsanto does not have a valid patent and, therefore, at best, it can seek compensation under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001. The judgment has been criticised on various grounds; one of them being that the patent had been granted by the Patent Office of the government. This is a tangential argument. Many patents granted by the Patent Office in the past have been challenged, some successfully. All actions of the government bodies are open to scrutiny and challenge at any point in time. The entire issue has grave implications for security of agriculture in the country as nearly half the population is financially dependent on it. The Parliament was conscious of the dangers of monopoly in the supply of agricultural inputs, including seeds. That is why it excluded from patentability “a method of agriculture or horticulture” under section 3(h) and “plants and animals in whole or any part thereof… including seeds…” under section 3(j). Having excluded seeds, etc, from the ambit of patents to give due protection and encouragement to research, the Centre enacted a sui generis law, viz, the Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers Rights Act 2001, to protect the intellectual property rights of breeders of plant varieties. In terms of acreage, India is ranked fourth after the US, Brazil and Argentina in adopting GM crops, but while the top three grow more than one GM crop, we have only cotton. Brinjal was cleared for introduction by the Genetic Engineering Approvals Committee in 2010, but it has been put on an indefinite hold. It has been argued by some that this judgment of the Delhi High Court will discourage research and development in agriculture. On the contrary, others anticipate that with the clarity flowing out of the judgment, research will get a shot in the arm. Only time will tell which way research in agriculture will be impacted. But, it is abundantly clear that in a country where farming is largely of the subsistence variety, the state governments and the Centre will not let monopolists dictate prices of essential inputs.
Source: Financial Express
CHENNAI : Matkatus is derived from a combination of ‘matka’ and ‘tussar’, two types of silk. The two-year old online brand offers a combination of different handloom and handmade textiles. The brand is owned by the techie couple Saiganesh Chidambaram and Vidya Saiganesh. They recently had a four-day exhibition at the CP Art Centre showcasing a wide range of dress materials, dupattas, saris and pouches. “This is our third edition and first one this year. We organise exhibition once in six months for consumers to have a touch and feel of the fabric. We mostly offer materials because we believe that custom-made clothes are trending and people can stitch according to their style preference,” said Saiganesh. The four-day event offered options like ikat, kalamkari, chanderi and khadi. Artisan works like embroidery, hand-picked, hand-crafted and tie-and-dye materials were displayed. “We are involved directly with the artisans. And we also curate some products from different parts of the country. Every state has its speciality,” explained Vidya who has customers around the world. The availability of various prints depends on the season when they are made. “Sometimes we might not have a particular work because of the seasonal impact. For instance, kalamkari handpaints cannot be done during rainy season. So we stock our clothes whenever it’s available,” she added. They plan to organise more exhibitions in other states and bring in more variety of prints. “We want to highlight the richness of craftsmen and crafts that our country can offer. Handloom is back in trend and there is constant revival. A lot of people have better knowledge of how things work. But the future of these artisans is uncertain. We want to preserve the maximum of their work, “she said.
Source: The New Indian Express
Vietnam needs clean, green, energy-saving production technology in the textile and garment sector to improve competitiveness, discussed a recent workshop in Ho Chi Minh City. The sector is under pressure related to price, production costs, environmental safety and workers’ health, according to Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association chairman Vu Duc Giang. The sector spends up to $3 billion on energy needs for production every year, a Vietnamese news agency quoted DucGiang as saying. Tal Apparel Limited’s dyeing factory has applied energy-saving solutions since 2009, cutting 26 per cent of emissions and 36 per cent of water used in production, company general director Joerg Bauersachs said. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has partnered with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to improve garment and textile firms’ energy-saving capacity, helping them access loans to carry out energy-saving projects, said USAID representative Nguyen Thanh Ha, who also underlined the need for enterprises to revamp their production processes towards international standards for emissions and waste administration.
Source: Fibre2fashion
Cotton prices continued to rise in Brazil in the first fortnight of April. The boost came from both higher demand and sellers’ retraction. Between March 29 and April 13, the Center for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics/Department of Economy, Administration and Sociology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (CEPEA/ESALQ) cotton Index rose 4.9 per cent. “Brazilian processors were active in the spot market during the fortnight, mainly searching for high-quality batches (41-4 and above). In order to close trades, these purchasers needed to increase bidding prices, even for lower-quality batches. Some processors, however, were unwilling to pay more for the product, claiming quality is mixed, as well as difficulty to pass on cotton price rises to by-products, mainly thread. In these cases, they worked with the cotton previously purchased,” CEPEA said in its latest fortnightly report on Brazilian cotton market. As for sellers, some cotton farmers were away from the market, waiting for prices to increase, while others claimed not to have batches from this season (2016-17) to offer. Trading companies and merchants, in turn, were not very active in the spot market. Meanwhile data released by Conab (National Company for Food Supply) on April 10 estimated 2017-18 Brazilian cotton output at 1.862 million tons, almost 22 per cent up compared to that in the previous season. Area was estimated at 1.144 million hectares (+21.9 per cent), while productivity is expected to remain stable at 1,627 kilos per hectare (-0.1 per cent). In Mato Grosso, the main cotton producing province in Brazil, crop conditions are good, with productivity forecasts within the historical average for cotton. Thus, even if productivity increases by 1.8 per cent, larger area (18.9 per cent) may lead to an output at 1.224 million tons in the 2017-18 season, which would be 21.1 per cent higher than the 1.011 million tons in the previous season. In Bahia, another cotton growing region in Brazil, Conab forecasts productivity at 1,600 kilos per hectare, down 6.8 per cent. Thus, the output from Bahia is estimated to total 424,200 tons in the 2017-18 season (+22.5 per cent), with area forecast at 265,100 hectares.
Source : Fibre2fashion
CAIRO – Egypt’s exports of readymade clothes increased 16 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2018, recording $382 million (LE 6.75 billion), compared to $330 million during the same period of 2017, according to Sherin Hosny, executive director of the Ready Made Garments Export Council.
Exports to African Countries
Hosny added that the sector’s exports to African countries do not exceed 2 percent, but activating trade agreements, especially the African Continental Free Trade Area, will increase the export of Egyptian products to specific markets such as South Africa, stating that South Africa’s demands for readymade clothes are increasing. She clarified that not having a specific trade agreement with South Africa, in addition to the high tariffs, are considered to be obstacles in the way of exporting to South Africa, hoping that these obstacles are solved by the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement. Through this agreement, Egypt can import accessories used in manufacturing ready-made garments from African countries, and African countries can rely on Egypt’s textile sector, Hosny said. She added that such an agreement creates opportunities for cooperation between Egypt and African countries in the field. 2018 The export council aims at increasing readymade clothes’ exports 20 percent by the end of 2018 to record $1.8 billion, according to Hosny.
She anticipated that the sector’s exports will exceed $1.8 billion in case the rate of exports continues on the same trajectory as the first quarter of the current year. Hosny said that the export support fund worked on overcoming the burdens of exporters in light of high shipping costs, adding that the fund is also targeting to have Egyptian products that can compete globally and to provide foreign currencies to the Egyptian treasury. Generally, Egypt has an export support fund that helps companies introduce Egyptian products to international markets. Hosny said that the exporters of ready-made garments have arrears to the fund reaching 18 months.
QIZ Agreement
Hosny said that the QIZ agreement has had a significant role in the rise of Egypt’s exports of readymade clothes since the fourth quarter of 2018. Egypt signed the Qualified Industrial Zone (QIZ) agreement with Israel and the United States in December 2004, allowing Egyptian products to enter American markets with no tariffs, provided that Israeli components represent 11.7 percent of these products. In October 2017, Egypt signed a new agreement with Israel, including a modification of the QIZ deal, reducing the percentage of Israeli components in Egyptian products to 10.5 percent.
Destination Africa Exhibition
Regarding the third edition of the "Destination Africa" exhibition, Hosny said that the exhibition targets more Egyptian exhibitors for the ready-made garments sector and brings 400 foreign buyers – 200 buyers of ready-made garments and 200 buyers of furniture and textiles. The exhibition spans an area of more than 3,000 square meters. Hosny said that the export council contacted all the embassies and commercial offices in Egypt to participate in the exhibition, seeking to achieve the exhibition’s goal of integrating the garment baskets in Africa, with Egypt turning into the main center for garment production on the continent. She clarified that Destination Africa doesn’t target increasing exports to Africa, but creating integration between garment and furniture manufacturers in Africa to export to the rest of the world. Destination Africa is an international, specialized, pan-African B2B sourcing event for the readymade garment, textiles and home textiles industries in Africa. The exhibition aims to have Africa as the sourcing destination in these industries. It is organized by the Egyptian Exporters Association (ExpoLink), the Readymade Garments Export Council, the Textile Export Council and the Home Textiles Export Council.
Source: Egypt Today
Two government agencies got together to sign an agreement to boost and develop the silk sector in Cambodia. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed this month by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT) seeks to boost local raw silk. This would be done by growing mulberry trees, raising silkworms, equipping the labour force with the skills to produce silk, reduce the reliance on raw silk from foreign countries, and reduce rural poverty. Mao Thora, secretary of state for the Ministry of Commerce and chairman of the Cambodia Silk Sector Development and Promotion Commission, said that based on the MoU, the Ministry of Commerce would seek markets, promote Cambodian silk, and offer training and funds to develop Cambodian silk production. Mr Thora added that the Labour Ministry would be responsible for human resources, sites for growing mulberry trees, and raise the silkworms. “We (Ministry of Commerce) will seek the markets, promote the Cambodian silk in domestic and international markets, and offer training and funds to the MLVT,” Mr Thora said. “We acknowledged that the silk sector in Cambodia has been down recently due to the lack of labour in this sector as most of them migrated to work in neighbouring countries and some of them shifted from this sector to the manufacturing and industry sector. “Therefore, we are cooperating with MLVT to boost this sector and increase human resources for silk production.” Men Sinoeun, executive director of the Artisans Association of Cambodia, said stakeholders were working hard to boost and promote silk production in Cambodia. He added that the high season for raw silk was from August to February. March to July was the lean season which meant that demand for raw silk decreased while the price of raw silk was high. “In recent years, the import of raw silk from abroad has decreased about 35 percent,” Mr Sinoeun said. Mr Thora said collaboration with MLVT was the second step to jointly develop and promote the Cambodian silk based on science. The MLVT and the Cambodia Silk Sector Development and Promotion Commission were trying to make a strong effort to find partners to push Cambodian silk to make it strong like other sectors by promoting Cambodian silk products to the international market to build trust from consumers locally and internationally. MLVT secretary of state Pich Sophoan said the ministry would select the National Polytechnic Institute of Angkor to be the place for research, growing mulberry trees and raise silkworms. “We will choose the National Sericulture Centre of the National Polytechnic Institute of Angkor in Siem Reap province to develop local raw silk. This centre will be the home for displaying modern Khmer silk to boost the silk sector in Cambodia and will make this centre more famous in locally and internationally,” Mr Sophoan said. Mulberry trees are now a rarity in Cambodia. Most were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era. Silk weavers in Banteay Meanchey, Kandal, Takeo and Phnom Penh’s main silk producing area of Koh Dach have no choice but to import raw silk from Vietnam or Thailand. From 2008 to 2013, the demand for raw silk in the country’s cottage silk weaving industry was 300 to 400 tonnes from neighbouring countries while local production was only at a miniscule one metric tonne a year to supply the production, Mr Sinoeun said.
Source: Khmer Times
The export target of US$34-34.5 billion for 2018 is an achievable goal, said VITAS
NDO - Vietnam's target of exporting US$34-34.5 billion worth of garments and textiles for 2018 is within reach as the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) said that many companies have received orders until the end of the third quarter of 2018. According to VITAS statistics, the total export revenue of textile and garment products was estimated at US$7.62 billion in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 13.35% over the same period last year, and equivalent to 22.4% of the year's target.
First quarter exports soared sharply
Vice President and General Secretary of VITAS Truong Van Cam said that in the first quarter, the export revenue of garment products alone posted at US$5.98 billion, up 12.49% compared to the first quarter of 2017. Besides traditional garment and textile products, goods with a high value-added such as fabrics, fiber, geotextiles, and textile and garment accessories have also grown very well. In terms of export markets, Vietnam enjoyed stronger growth in export revenue with its key export markets including the US, member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EU, the Republic of Korea, China, and ASEAN. T-shirts, jackets, and shirts were among the top export products in the first two months of this year. According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam’s textile and garment exports to the US were reported to be around US$3.14 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 13.2% over the corresponding period in 2017, the highest pace of growth in the last three years. Vitas predicted that Vietnam’s garment and textile export revenue to the US would reach nearly US$13.8 billion in 2018, up 11% compared to 2017. Truong Van Cam said that many garment and textile enterprises have received orders until the end of the third quarter, which, in combination with favourable prospects for the world and domestic economy in 2018, makes the export target of US$34-34.5 billion for 2018 an achievable goal. CPTPP to be Vietnam's second largest textile and garment export market. Vietnam's textile and garment exports to CPTPP member countries grew at an average rate of 8% per year in the 2013-2017 period, accounting for about 15% of Vietnam's total textile and garment export revenue. Within CPTPP, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore often import Chinese textiles and garments. When CPTPP becomes effective, it will create advantages for Vietnamese textile and garment products to enter these markets thanks to preferential treatment under tariff reductions. For instance, Canada commits to immediately eliminate 42 tariff lines for Vietnamese textile and apparel products upon the effectiveness of the trade deal. It is expected that Vietnam's textile and garment exports to CPTPP countries will reach US$4.8 billion in 2018, an increase of about 10.5% compared to 2017. Thus, the bloc of CPTPP countries will be the second largest export market for Vietnam after the US market, which accounts for 47% of Vietnam's total garment and textile export turnover. However, in order to enjoy tariff incentives when the CPTPP comes into effect, Vietnam's textiles and garments must meet the “yarn forward rule of origin,” which means that all items in a garment from the yarn stage to the weaving, dyeing, and sewing stages must be made in member countries of the CPTPP deal. Regarding the level of development of textiles and garments, the technical standards of the CPTPP are not a big problem for Vietnamese enterprises. The matter is to meet the ratio of textile and garment accessories produced within CPTPP countries for the total value of the finished product.
Source: Nhan Dan
The Association of Fashion Designers and Tailors in Senegal (CCAS), are up in arms against a government plan to facilitate the creation of a Chinese textile factory in the satellite town of Diamniadio, near Dakar.During an interactive session with journalists in Dakar on Wednesday, CCSA’s Regional Coordinator, Talla Mbow warned that President Macky Sall’s plan to set up the plant, ostensibly to create 1,500 to 3,000 jobs, “is likely to become an illusion because, there are millions of Senegalese, fathers and mothers who will end up in the street and increase the number of the unemployed.” Since this became known people involved in the textile industry in Senegal have lashed out at the supposed attitudes of officials of the Ministry of Vocational Training, Apprenticeship and Handicrafts, who expelled them from a series of the various meetings organized over the creation of the Chinese factory. They are refusing to recognize those chosen to represent them on the project. CCAS, which boasts over 300,000 members in all districts and regions of Senegal, said the Chinese are stealing their indigenous models. They also decried “a real problem of public health with the bad quality of Chinese printed materials, which are already on the national market”. Mr. Mbow vowed that setting up a Chinese textile factory in Diamniadio will be the last thing the Senegalese government will sanction to help the Chinese “in their vast counterfeiting and piracy of our models, of which, we have already been victims for a long time”. Their association stressed that it would not accept the future of its members being threatened or ruined by the advent of such a plant.
Source: Journalducameroun.com
The Council for the Development of Cambodia granted permission for three more companies this month to build garment factories in Phnom Penh and in Takeo and Kampong Speu provinces.
The three investment projects are worth about $10 million and will create about 3000 jobs. The CDC said its investment board had issued certificates of registration to Newest Garment (CAMBODIA) Co, Hua Cheng Yi Wen Garment Co, and Run Yi (CAMBODIA) Co. Newest Garment invested $4.22 million to set up a garment factory in Trapeang Tea village, Por Senchey district, Phnom Penh, and will create 1,225 jobs. Hua Cheng Yi Wen was investing $2.57 million to build a garment factory in Kondeng Thom village, Bati district of Takeo province, and would create 653 jobs. Run Yi would set up a factory worth $2.73 million in Bosta village, Samrong Tong district of Kampong Speu, and would create 1,058 jobs. In the first quarter of 2018, the CDC has approved the opening of 39 factories with a total investment of nearly $500 million. In January, ten new factories were approved by the CDC, with a capital about $73 million and the creation of nearly 9,000 jobs. In February, 15 new factories were licensed, with investment totaling about $180 million, and generating 7,458 jobs. Last month 14 new factories and commercial centres were licensed, with a total investment of about $240 million, generating more than 10,000 jobs.
Source: Khmer Times
BRUSSELS & SINGAPORE — Held every four years since 1951, ITMA has reinforced its reputation as the world’s leading textile and garment technology exhibition. Exhibition space for its 18th showcase to be held in Barcelona has been fully booked by the application deadline of 6 April 2018. According to CEMATEX, the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers, owner of the ITMA exhibition, over 1,500 companies from 45 countries have applied to take part in ITMA 2019. The space booked already totals more than 110,000 square metres net. As applications continue to stream in, plans are underway to expand the exhibition to the entire Barcelona Gran Via venue. Mr Fritz P. Mayer, President of CEMATEX, said: “We are grateful for the vote of confidence from the industry. It shows that ITMA is the launch pad of choice for the latest technologies from around the world. “Interest in ITMA 2019 is extremely strong, and we have received more applications at an earlier date compared with previous editions. We continue to welcome new applicants, especially manufacturers who are launching new products, as they will help to make ITMA 2019 an even more vibrant sourcing platform for our visitors.” Applicants from CEMATEX countries have booked 65 per cent of the space; the top countries are Italy, Germany and Spain. Highlighting the positive market sentiments of textile machinery manufacturers from the rest of the world, applicants from Turkey, India and China take the top spots in terms of space applied. The top sectors are finishing (25 per cent), spinning (14 per cent), printing and weaving (12 per cent) and knitting (11 per cent). With the strong demand for space, ITMA 2019 is expected to feature a showcase of more than 115,000 square metres net, with the participation of some 1,600 exhibitors when the exhibition opens. ITMA 2019 will be held from 20 to 26 June at Fira de Barcelona, Gran Via venue. The exhibition, themed ‘Innovating the World of Textiles’, will showcase the latest technologies and sustainable solutions for the entire textile and garment manufacturing value chain, as well as fibres, yarns and fabrics.
Source: Textile World
