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Cotton growers and researchers from the Darling Downs are among the finalists for this year’s Australian Cotton Industry Awards.
Growers Greg and Maryann Bender from Chinchilla, along with researchers Joseph Foley, Malcolm Gillies and Alison McCarthy from the University of Southern Queensland and Kristen Knight from Toowoomba, have all been nominated for awards.
Cotton Australia chief executive Adam Kay said the finalists were selected based on their contribution to the cotton industry across a wide range of areas, including farming best practice, research and development, innovation, leadership and industry advocacy.
Kay says each of the finalists had made outstanding contributions to the industry and deserved recognition and the nominees for this year’s awards program was of a very high standard.
The group of people represent the strengths of industry, innovation, dedication, the sharing of ideas and the drive to figure out a way to do things better.
The annual awards program is important to our industry because it allows us to recognise excellence and hard work, foster future growth and improvement across the industry.
The judging panel travels to the finalists’ home regions to meet and assess each of the candidates.
Cash prizes are on offer for the winners across all categories, with an additional research bursary for Researcher of the Year.
The recipients of the Australian Cotton Industry Awards will be announced at the 2018 Australian Cotton Conference.
Belgian billionaire Albert Frere is planning to sell his entire £520m stake in Burberry just over a year after first disclosing his interest in the company.
Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, Frere's holding company, stated that it was selling up to 27.6 million shares, or a 6.6pc stake, in a private placement.
It said the transaction represents the disposal of GBL's entire stake in Burberry and part of the implementation of the group's portfolio rotation strategy. GBL added it would be using the proceeds of the stake sale for future investments.
Burberry, famed for its trench coats and trademark check in camel, red and black, recently parted company with Christopher Bailey, the designer who turned it into a global brand and later became CEO, and last year appointed Marco Gobbetti as its new CEO as the group seeks to kick-start sales growth.
Frere, Belgium's richest man who made his name buying up steelmakers in the fifties and sixties, first declared his 3pc stake in Burberry in February 2017, increasing that to 4pc over the summer and then to 6pc in November.
Groupe Bruxelles Lambert also has a 7.5pc stake in Adidas, and holdings in wine and spirits group Pernod Ricard and oil and gas firm Total.
The decline of the US vis a vis India and China has been a bit exaggerated.The United States still has a lot to offer the world. It can apply its relatively limited labor supply to best advantage by concentrating on high-value products that depend on what this country has in abundance, a high level of training and lots of physical capital as well as technology.
It is popular these days to highlight American inadequacies compared to developing economies. Those who do this point out, for instance, the number of engineers China educates each year or the impressive computer talent in India. However the statistics nonetheless still heavily favor the United States as the venue for high-value production, with China or India or other emerging economies better suited to concentrates on simpler, labor-intensive output. The average Chinese worker, for instance, has only one-twentieth the equipment and technology at his or her disposal that American workers have.
In pure volume terms China produces about as much as the United States, but only half as much when it comes to value added.
Research and development spending in the United States, relative to GDP, exceeds that of China by a factor greater than two.
Bangladesh can’t build as many eco-friendly or green factories as it wants to.The reason is lack of appropriately qualified middle-level technicians and local technical knowhow.
Most companies in Bangladesh that have opted for green factories are forced to recruit technical experts from abroad, paying them a high sum for retainership. In many industries, businesses have achieved international certification using solar power and various green technologies. But there are no mid-level Bangladeshi technicians and consultants to build these factories.
It takes 20 per cent to 30 per cent additional investment for setting up green plants but there is no financing source to undertake this endeavor. Consequently, very few manufacturers take interest in setting up green factories.
Since 2016, Bangladesh has set up 67 LEED certified green factories in the readymade garment sector. This happens to be the highest in the world. The world’s highest rated LEED platinum denim factory, knit factory, washing plant and textile mill all are situated in Bangladesh.
In all, the world over, there are 280 factories that are registered with the US GBC as green factories. Indonesia has 40 green factories, followed by India with 30 and Sri Lanka with ten.
Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector is a 28 billion dollar industry.
China is investing in Myanmar.
Myanmar has been one of the largest destinations for Chinese infrastructure investment over the past decade, particularly in hydropower. In fact, 40 per cent of Chinese-funded dams built since 2000 are located in Southeast Asia, and 30 per cent in Myanmar alone.
Since 2011, western countries have lifted sanctions on Myanmar and begun to ramp up investment. As a result, Myanmar has diversified its sources of foreign investment, but China remains the biggest source of FDI in terms of stock.
To boost infrastructure investment, Myanmar is looking to kickstart a number of projects with China, its largest investor.
China is also Myanmar’s largest trading partner, making up one-third of its total trade volume.
Foreign direct investment is conducive for growth and poverty alleviation. FDI and international market integration promote democratisation and reduce the incidence of armed conflicts in the long run. Such findings hold important implications for an increasingly open Myanmar economy.
Myanmar already has several garment factories in joint venture with entrepreneurs from Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea.
The garment industry in Myanmar mainly caters to the cut-make-pack system. The industry employs over 3,50,000 people with women constituting 90 per cent of the workforce.
The garment industry in Myanmar is rapidly growing due to demand from the EU and Asian countries.
The rise in the Chinese cotton futures market is mainly dominated by the mood.
Speculators pay more attention to the ZCE cotton futures.
The state cotton auction is going on, registered warehouse receipts hit a new high and the market is oversupplied.
Buyers on the spot market procured the on-call cotton sources, pushing up ZCE cotton futures. On April 4, China announced adding an additional 25 per cent tariff on cotton originating from the US. Though the market was quiet, market mindset has changed somewhat, and players are concerned about the supply of 2018/19 US cotton.
In late April, the downstream yarn and fabric market rebounded slightly, and orders increased. An upward tendency was seen, but the strength was weak.
The quantity of on-call cotton contracts on ICE July contract has hit a historical high, and US cotton is oversold, while registered warehouse receipts are very limited.
The relationship between ICE and ZCE cotton futures became closer due to the trade dispute.
With on-going de-stocking in China, whether the state cotton auction will continue next season remains uncertain, so forward contracts are relatively sensitive towards the bullish factors.
After the rise on forward contracts, nearby contracts climbed up as well.
Apparel Textile Sourcing will be held in Miami, May 21 to 23, 2018. This is an apparel and textile sourcing trade show. It will host over 200 international and domestic manufacturing firms who will present a range of products and process solutions in the field of manufacturing and sourcing services.
The show brings together inspirational leaders, and respected industry experts from the apparel, manufacturing, retail, and affiliated business industries to educate, network, share market intelligence, discuss pressing topics and engage in conversations that energize the flow of global commerce.
The show will welcome top apparel and textile manufacturers from over 15 regions with top brands, retailers, designers and sourcing professionals from China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, the US.
Product categories cover the whole world of apparel and textiles from fashion to function, from leather to lace. Categories will include finished apparel for men, women, and children that range from leisure, formal, denim, active, swim, intimates, and performance. There will also be homeware and linens, hardware, and textiles that include cotton, knits, yarns, leather, synthetic, and blends.
Seminars will cover topics including sustainability, global sourcing, supply chain, social compliance, influencer marketing, and branding strategies. Sessions will be presented by industry experts, top educators, respected designers, influential bloggers and economists.
For the first quarter Kornit Digital’s revenues rose 14.8 per cent compared to the prior year period. The higher revenue was attributable to growth in both products and services.
Kornit Digital is a leading provider of digital printing solutions for the global printing textile industry.
Growth in the quarter was broad based and included a diversity of customer and product categories, led by faster-than-expected customer adoption of Avalanche HD systems and upgrades.
Non-GAAP gross profit in the first quarter 50 per cent of revenues compared with a 44.5 per cent gross margin in the first quarter of 2017. Higher gross margins primarily reflected a favorable product mix compares to the first quarter of 2017 and an increase in the system's upgrade revenues.
Non-GAAP operating expenses in the first quarter were 44.5 per cent of revenues compared with 44.2 per cent of revenues in the prior year period.
First quarter non-GAAP research and development expenses were 16.4 per cent of revenues compared with 17.2 per cent of revenues in the prior-year period. Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses were 10.8 per cent of revenues compared with 8.8 per cent of revenues in the prior-year period.
For the balance of the year, the company is poised for the momentum to continue.
Kenya’s exports of goods to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) declined by 4.65 per cent in 2017.The exports were mainly of textile items.
Capital investment too dropped last year by 14.1 per cent. The value of exports reduced for a second consecutive year in 2017.
AGOA exports constituted 60 per cent of all Kenyan goods shipped to the US in 2017. Textile and apparel products continue to dominate Kenyan exports under AGOA since it was enacted in 2000.
AGOA was last extended in June 2015 for ten years till 2025, including third-country fabric provisions.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act allows US buyers to import goods from sub-Saharan Africa without paying duties or facing quota restrictions.
The US is Kenya’s largest apparel export destination. Textiles and apparel account for about 80 per cent of Kenya’s total exports to the US under the pact.
Kenya is looking to expand the list of products it exports. With the country becoming more visible on the global map, local traders are increasingly opening more supply channels to the US, helped by increased interactions with American investors.
Kenya’s volume of international trade in 2017 expanded by 15.4 per cent.
The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has completed four seasons of operation in the United States.
BCI was launched in the United States in 2014, in response to its retailer and brand members, who wanted to source US grown cotton that meets the Better Cotton Standard for social and environmental performance. Since then, along with its industry partners, BCI has now grown to include 366 farmers in 14 states, who now grow five per cent of US cotton.
Key to BCI’s rapid growth in the US has been an innovative group assurance approach to managing the requirements for participating farms. Growers participate as a part of a grower group, joining together with other growers in their area.
Global non-profit BCI promotes sustainable cotton production. Its program now covers about 15 per cent of the world’s production.
Nearly all US farms meet the core requirements for licensing. But unlike many other certification programs, which merely emphasize compliance, Better Cotton Standard also measures and encourages ongoing improvements, in things like water stewardship, soil health, and worker well-being.
In 2017 more than a million bales of cotton were produced by American farms participating in the Better Cotton licensing program.
US brands that are part of BCI include Target, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Guess and Nike.
