Relocation to Africa, in terms of costs and market access, is one attractive option. With the average wage of the 23 million textile workers in China reaching $600 a month, garment factory owners are starting to greet each other with a variation of: "Have you moved the factory out of China yet?" As a labor-intensive industry, garment-making faces great pressure as labor costs soar in China. Wang Tiankai, director of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, says the minimum wage i

THE yuan yesterday closed at its weakest against the US dollar in nearly four months, causing speculation for further depreciation on potential easing of monetary policies. The yuan fell 0.3 percent to close at 6.1926 per dollar yesterday, capping a combined 0.9 percent drop for the past two days, the biggest two-day loss since 2007. The currency briefly weakened to above 6.20 level before stabilizing in afternoon trading, according to China Foreign Exchange Trade System prices. The wea

Government aims at 20% growth in technical textiles in the 12th five year plan. In the 11th five year plan, technical textile grew at a pace of 11%. According to government estimates, technical textiles is estimated at $260 billion. “Currently, our market share in world textiles stands at 4% and we plan to increase it substantially by laying emphasis on the infrastructure of domestic textiles,” said Santosh Kumar Gangwar, minister of state for textiles at a FICCI conference. Gangwar als

Locally, prices which are continuously on bottom side, may depict further softness as India eased export rules for cotton and yarn, dealers said on the cotton market on Monday. The official spot rate was unchanged at Rs 4,650, they added. In the ready session, about 14,000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 4500-4900, they said. In Sindh, prices were unchanged at Rs 1500 and Rs 2400, in Punjab prices were also inert at Rs 1600 and Rs 2500, they said. Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said t

Owners of readymade garments' shops at shopping centers, malls and Lunda bazaars are anxiously waiting for the cold wave of winter to hit the port city so that sale of winter garments can register increase. Winter garments are already in the shops, but warm weather is preventing many citizens from shopping for their winter wardrobes. Shopkeepers complain of persisting warm weather, which they say has a major impact on sale of winter garments. Other factors attributed by them for low sale is

The cotton market was easy on Monday as market remained devoid of much activity except short covering from some needy millers and exporters. Though phutti (seed cotton) arrivals are slowing down, lint prices continue to stay under pressure influenced by global factors and falling petroleum prices. The larger than expected official estimates of cotton production at 15 million bales are also having their impact on the market as already there as strong indications that by end of this month ar

The price index of issue 20141208 of “China • Keqiao Textile Index” closed at 104.07 points, 0.02% higher than that of last period, 1.47% down from the beginning of this year, and decreased by 1.86% YOY. According to statistics, the total turnover of textile in China Textile City in November is 706.26 million meters, increased by 18.47% MOM and 26.39% YOY; the total turnover from January to November is 4678.63 million meters, increased by 16.27% YOY. The textile transaction in China Textile C

The government has decided to open six more commercial counsellor offices abroad as part of efforts to earn $50bn from garment exports by 2021. The offices will be in Seoul, Geneva, Kunming, Istanbul, Singapore City and Pretoria to give advice on achieving export targets. “Of them, the government has already finalised the decisions to set up commercial counsellor offices in Seoul and Geneva,” Additional commerce secretary Shawkat Ali Waresi told Dhaka Tribune yesterday. He added four ot

Pakistan's textile export to European Union (EU) increased by around 21.4 % during January-August 2014 as compared to January-August 2013, after getting Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Plus Status. In written reply to a question of the National Assembly, Minister for Textile Industry Abbas Khan Afridi said that after getting the GSP plus status, the government is taking steps to increase textile export to the EU. He said that the Indian textile exports to EU increased by around 9.3%

The monthly report of the International Cotton Advisory Committee has pointed out a 6pc loss in cotton consumption because of persistent energy crisis in Pakistan, while persistent low cotton prices are forcing farmers to shift to other competing crops with better returns. Coupled with this cotton crisis is the problematic rice surplus, particularly of basmati, and the agri business picture worsens for everyone — from farmers to traders to industry. What makes the situation even more frus