Vietnam textile and apparel sector posted export revenue of only US$12.76 billion in the first six months, growing 4.72% year-on-year representing just 41% of the full-year target. Again, the growth was mainly driven by foreign direct investment (FDI) firms as the domestic peers struggled to find new orders in the period, said Vu Duc Giang, chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), at a press conference in Hanoi last week. According to VITAS, finding new orders would co

Shift of spinners from 100 percent cotton to polyester and viscose seen as they are unable to pass on the price rise of cotton to customers due to lackluster market. The shift to man made or blended fibres is likely to help them restore margins and profit and rule out the option for a production cut. Spinning units have been blending cotton with polyester and viscose after cotton prices rose steeply due to restricted supply and lower output. Suresh Maheshwari, president of a major textile

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu addressing an inaugural ceremony of the three-day apparel exposition arranged by the country`s fashion designer in the capital’s National Museum auditorium on Sunday said that Bangladesh will soon secure the top position in the world in Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector. The RMG sector is a very important sector in the economy of Bangladesh and now stands second position in exporting RMG. In the programme, he underscored the need for making skilled manpo

Indorama Ventures has blended Creora, a spandex fibre from Hyosung with its Coolvisions dyeable polypropylene filament to offer functional fabrics. The blending of the two raw materials has resulted in a new look and feel to performance fabrics, which can be used for activewear, competitive swimwear and intimate apparel. According to Indorama, Creora eco-soft brings a better hand feel, improved whiteness, and superior dimensional stability to stretch fabrics. “The low-heat settable span

China's crude oil imports hit a record high in the first half of 2016 despite an economic slowdown, and analysts largely attributed the surge to low prices, not strategic maneuvering. The country imported 186.5 million tons of crude oil in the first half of the year, 23.15 million tons more than the same period last year, although imports in June slowed to 30.62 million tons from a peak of 32 million tons per month in March, April and May. "Enterprises increased crude oil imports in the fi

China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) in July is likely to increase 1.9 percent year on year, staying flat with that in June, according to an industry report. The official CPI for July is due to be released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Aug 9. The Bank of Communications (BOC) said in a report that the slowing inflation is due to stable foods prices, which account for around one-third of the CPI calculation. Food prices will post an increase of between 4.4 and 5 percent year

Switzerland-based the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development said that the G20 Trade Minister Meeting will further improve countries' ability to promote investment policy cooperation and coordination, supporting the World Trade Organization and building global value chain. As leaders from the world's 20 largest economies prepare to meet in Hangzhou in September, ideas are emerging over how the world should respond to the global economic crisis, ICTSD said in a statement. I

The textile industry of Southern India in the last two months due to rise in cotton prices is having an impact on the competitiveness of the entire textile value chain. They have appealed to the Textile Minister Smriti Irani to introduce a system that will bring stability to cotton prices to which the Textile Minister has asked for a proposal, which the textile industry will send it shortly. Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) chairman M. Senthil Kumar said that the mills want the Indian

Chinese textile firms showing keen interest to establish joint ventures with Pakistani companies, as China’s labour intensive industries were becoming uncompetitive due to high production cost, which is why they were shifting manufacturing to other locations and focusing on research, according Ahsan Iqbal, federal minister for planning, development and reform. The minister at a meeting with the members of the textile value-added sector, said that if they are able to have joint ventures with t

Pakistan's textile industry is finding it difficult to operate in the country after the government increased the import duty on raw cotton, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has said. The Aptma's reaction came after government recently increased the duty on import of raw cotton from two per cent to three per cent with additional duty of one per cent, making total import duty of four per cent. “It is not possible for the textile industry to continue to operate in these cond