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The proposed merger of Bayer and Monsanto may benefit India. China and Brazil have given the go-ahead, the European Union appears to be moving towards a favorable opinion.
It will encourage greater entrepreneurial energy in the area of crop protection, development of new traits and greater productivity in farming, place a premium on the increasing role of technology and innovation, and make farming in India globally competitive and a profitable economic activity.
The claim that royalty fees on cotton seeds have led to farmer suicides is irrational: thanks to pest-resistant strains of cotton, Indian farmers took to the crop in large numbers and India became the top exporter of cotton.
Agronomic practices play a decisive role in a crop’s profitability. Gujarat farmers thrived on irrigated land, while Maharashtra farmers sowing the same seed in rain-fed areas struggled.
Farmers must be helped to adapt to higher levels of technology. India is on the threshold of an agro-processing revolution: once stable power supply in rural areas moves from rhetoric to reality, it would push up demand for farm produce on an unprecedented scale. India needs new farm knowhow to be available, not aborted.
Strong players need competitors with size and scale to challenge them. India also needs the startup ecosystem to move into crop sciences.
Shenzhen International Underwear Fair (SIUF) will be held in China, April 19 to 21.
The show will have a continuous focus on offering the whole supply and distribution chain of the intimate apparel industry in terms of brands, fabrics, accessories, manufacturing, and solutions for intimate apparel. Visitors will explore trends and trades. International manufacturers, retailers and designers will present their underwear and lingerie products to trade visitors.
As Asia’s most influential underwear trade fair, SIUF will set benchmarks for branding and sourcing of the intimate apparel industry. The event will again prove to be a premier platform for the entire supply chain of the lingerie business.
SIUF is organised by Tarsus. Based in the UK, Tarsus is an international business-to-business media group with interests in exhibitions, conferences, education, publishing, and online media. With a strong foothold as the owners of a portfolio of world-class products in the emerging markets of China, the Middle East, Turkey, India, Southeast Asia and Mexico, in addition to the US, Tarsus is well-positioned to leverage these assets as a platform for growth.
The 2017 edition saw a tremendous success with 825 exhibitors from over 25 countries and regions, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Germany, France, Italy, Israel, and Columbia.
Power loom weavers in Gujarat, specifically Surat, want a textile promotion scheme similar to that launched by Maharashtra.
They have asked for an impetus package, lowered electricity tariffs and modernized weaving units. Otherwise, they say, entrepreneurs from Surat will be encouraged to set up units in Maharashtra as the fabric manufactured there will be 40 per cent cheaper than in Surat.
In Maharashtra textile units have been given an impetus package to the tune of Rs 4,600 crores. Electricity tariff has been reduced by Rs 2 per unit. There is a 25 per cent capital subsidy and there is no cap on investment made in the textile sector.
All this has made production costs of units in Maharashtra 40 per cent lower compared to costs in Surat.
GST and demonetisation dealt a blow to the power loom sector in Surat, the country’s largest man-made fabric hub. The withdrawal of high-value banknotes put sudden brakes on the disposable income of consumers. Many power loom weavers shut down their units and more than a lakh conventional power loom machines were sold in scrap.
Where a year ago Surat produced 40 million meters of polyester a day, the figure now stands at only 25 million meters.
China Interdyre 2018, a UFI approved event is the largest specialized exhibition in dye-chemical industry in the World.
The 18th China International Dye Industry, Pigments and Textile Chemicals Exhibition (China Interdye) and China International Digital Textile Printing, Printing and Dyeing Automatics Exhibition (China Textile Printing), is scheduled to take place from April 11 to 13, 2018 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center. It will exhibit different kinds of dyestuffs, textile chemicals, intermediates, pretreating auxiliary, dye fixing agent, dispersant agent, softening agent, leveling agent, penetrating agent, stabilizing agent, thickening agent, adhesives, different kinds of pigments and related products, new technology, new equipment, new materials used in the textile and chemical industries etc.
There will be technical seminars and activities, covering a 360 overview of the significance of technology in the production of dyestuff and intermediates. Experts will also discuss their research works and enlighten all on the latest trends on forbidden textile chemicals.
Both the exhibitions, one with a focus on Science and Technological Innovation and the other on Green Development, will be hosted by China Dyestuff Industry Association.
The China and Asia Textile Forum was held on March 12 and 13.
This event brought together Chinese government organizations, industry associations, international textile and apparel enterprises, textile manufacturers and leading apparel retailers. They shared opinions on the current development of the global textile and apparel industry, the new opportunities and challenges facing China’s textile industry, the digital supply chain, the new changes of China’s procurement market as well as the new technology challenges and industrial upgrading of textile and apparel production.
It highlighted major developments in the Chinese apparel supply chain like the creation of smart apparel factories, the One Belt, One Road initiative, where China invests heavily in apparel industries in surrounding Asian countries and the rapid development of the Chinese domestic market leading to sophisticated retail concepts and the rise of apparel imports.
As a major player, China still maintains an upward trend of industrial growth despite the somewhat slower growth of the overall textile industry. As the largest player of the global textile industry, China has the most complete industrial chain with the most complete categories. However, there are challenges. Facing fiercer competition along with trade globalization, textile manufacturers have to figure out new approaches to closely cooperate with foreign suppliers and allocate production resources in the global market.
The Cotton Council International (CCI) is set to host a Cotton USA event, an industry gathering for the cotton textile supply chain as a platform to exchange business updates and views on global sourcing patterns. It has returned to London Fashion Week AW18 with Marques’Almeida – one of the industry’s most exciting womenswear brands.
The Marques’Almeida runway show was one of London Fashion Week’s most celebrated additions, and it hit the headlines across trade publications reaching more than 1.3 million iindustry people.
Cotton Council International (CCI) held an industry gathering in Hong Kong which attracted nearly 50 Cotton USA licensees, potential licensees and industry associates from across the textile supply chain. The signature event has become a popular platform for discussion and exchange, industry information sharing and B2B discussions, attracting companies such as GAP, Esquel, Cone Denim, Huafu, Cabela's, New Jersey Enterprises and Destination XL.
The event was also an effective method for recruiting companies for the upcoming Cotton USA Sourcing Fair in April.
Once considered a dying apparel brand, Abercrombie & Fitch has staged a remarkable resurgence over the past 12 months as its stock rallied 85 per cent.
That rebound was fueled by two straight quarters of annual revenue growth, breaking a multiyear streak of top-line declines. Its profit growth, which was previously threatened by markdowns, also stabilized.
Comparable-store sales bounced back sharply over the past two quarters, thanks to an impressive turnaround in its Hollister brand. Hollister is Abercrombie's largest brand. The company attributes its renewed strength to a strategic focus on young adult shoppers, marketing activities across the music, video, and gaming industries, and the use of social media influencers.
In addition, Abercrombie remodeled Hollister store interiors and launched new A&F prototype stores to reinvigorate consumer interest in both brands. It reported record digital sales across all brands last quarter and expanded its e-commerce footprint in China.
As Abercrombie slims down its brick-and-mortar presence and refines its brands, its earnings are improving. Its adjusted non-GAAP net income rose 91 per cent annually as its adjusted earnings per share shot up 94 per cent. Its revenue and earnings are expected to climb two per cent and 19 per cent respectively this year.
United Colors of Benetton, the Italian brand, unveiled a new, hi-tech flagship store on London’s Oxford Street.
Located close to the new Tottenham Court Road station on the Elizabeth Line, the store includes a lounge area where customers can relax while reading books and design magazines, a ‘knitwear theatre’ and several touchscreen displays.
According to the brand the opening marks a “significant change of pace”, with technological features at the centre of the proposition to create “the ultimate brand experience”.
The façade is decorated with 12-metre-high arches, covered in innovated LED screens showing colour, textures, images and illustrations curated by Fabric.
Inside, the store spreads over 1,500 sqft over three floors, dedicated to the brand’s men’s, women’s and children’s collection. A series of scattered stations replace traditional checkouts, reimagining the traditional idea of a shop.
United Colors of Benetton has 55 stores in the UK, and now plans to expand its activity further.
Walmart may soon be the largest investor in Flipkart. The deal may push the valuation of Flipkart to about 20 billion dollars.
If completed, the deal would give Walmart a major stake in an emerging e-commerce market of 1.3 billion people. The US Company is the world’s largest retailer but has struggled against Amazon as consumers increasingly migrate to online commerce.
Tiger and SoftBank are currently the startup’s largest shareholders. If the deal goes through, it would be the biggest in the nascent history of Indian e-commerce. Walmart plans to buy about a third of Flipkart Online Services in part by purchasing stakes from Tiger Global Management and SoftBank. Walmart is still working through the negotiations of its stock purchase. SoftBank, which has made more than 100 billion dollars off of its investment in Alibaba, wants to retain a substantial stake in Flipkart and avoid giving up too much of its existing shares. Tiger Global would like to hold onto at least a small Flipkart stake after Walmart comes in.
Walmart’s backing would fortify Flipkart as it faces its own challenge from Amazon.
India is one of the most promising online retail markets. India is the next big potential prize after the US and China.
The value of shipments for US textiles and apparel has increased 16 per cent since 2009.Exports of fabric and yarn increased 6.7 per cent in January compared to December and were up 4.8 per cent year-to-year.
Smart textiles are revolutionizing the industry, opening doors for applications beyond fashion, insulation or covering material. In addition, the US textile industry is embracing greater efforts in sustainability. Many companies have set the goal of waste-free or near waste-free manufacturing, and more and more textile products are being designed with a circular lifecycle in mind.
The US now has trade in the crosshairs, with tariffs being imposed and trade deals being renegotiated. The timing coincides with what has been a Made in America resurgence of sorts, driven largely by rising costs in China. Reshoring of manufacturing is being given priority. Growing e-commerce is reconfiguring the retail sector, a trend that encourages a buy it, make it, ship it production model.
Combined with low US energy costs and advances in automating garment and sewn product assembly, possibilities for shifting some textile-related supply chains back to the United States and the Western Hemisphere from Asia are becoming increasingly promising.
Textiles in the News is a new website set to promote the US textile industry.
