FW
The readymade garment industry is exposed to risks of losing orders as buyers are staying away from visiting the country due to the ongoing political unrest, including frequent hartals, vandalism and arson. Orders particularly for the summer season, one of the major seasons for apparel exporters, would face a setback as apprehended by the manufacturers and exporters. “It’s high time for placing orders,” Salim Osman, President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) told media. “If we fail to grab orders now for lack of security for the buyers, we would lose orders for the next season.”
He said buyers would hesitate to come to Bangladesh if they see the recent attack on a buyer, who immediately left the country without placing orders. The Spanish buyer of knitwear products left Bangladesh without placing any order as he was assaulted by Jamaat-Shibir activists in the city. He came under attack on his way to Fatullah in Narayanganj to place order at a factory owned by BKMEA President Selim Osman, who urged the government to arrange special security measures for foreign buyers.
“A group of buyers, who generally place orders in Bangladesh through negotiation cancelled their Bangladesh visit recently as they felt insecure due to the political turmoil,” said Md Abdul Hamid, a negotiator between garment owners and buyers. “Last year I had lots of foreign buyers. But this year, it witnessed drastic fall only for security reasons,” he said. “If the buyers cannot come to Bangladesh to place orders, it will cast shadow over summer season orders,” said Reaz Bin Mahmood, vice president of BGMEA.
North America’s largest apparel fabrics show Texworld USA will have a complimentary three-day seminar presented by Lenzing Innovation. It will offer presentations ranging from sourcing, trends to sustainability and fibres. The event will be taking place at the Javits Center, in New York, from January 21 to 23, 2014.
The seminar will kick start on January 21st with ‘Navigating Texworld USA’ that will allow attendees to make the most of the show using skill and insight learned in this seminar. The highlights of the second day of the seminar programme include ‘Breaking News - The Top Textile and Apparel Stories’, with Edward Hertzman, Founder and Publisher of Sourcing Journal Online, reviewing the most pressing apparel and textile stories of the year.
There would be many other interesting presentations and seminars like the Stylesight’s Megatrends Spring/Summer 2015, the ‘Denim Innovation, the Speed and Movement of Color for Spring/Summer 2015, What’s in Your Clothes, and a seminar on Global Sourcing that will provide recommendations on how to successfully source worldwide.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) chairman Yasin Siddique has sought removal of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to boost bilateral trade with India. “We are in favour of promotion of trade with regional countries, especially with our neighbours to ensure peace, prosperity and economic revival,” Siddique said while speaking to visiting Indian journalists at the APTMA house.
He urged that India should open its market to Pakistani goods to normalise bilateral trade and capitalise on the potential for joint business strategies, particularly in the textile sector. Pakistan's business community had always supported granting of MFN status to India, however, the existing non-tariff barriers were hindering smooth flow of trade between the two countries. He urged India to remove NTBs to make MFN status a success.
The APTMA chairman suggested that Pakistan and India should harmonise their customs procedures for assessing in compliance with safety and quarantine standards. In this regard, special quarantine centres and laboratories should be established at border crossings, he added. He also asked Pakistani policymakers to take up the issue of non-tariff barriers with their Indian counterparts to ensure a level playing field for both sides.
www.aptma.org.pk
The exports of apparel and textiles from Vietnam to South Korea increased by a sharp 49.2 per cent year-on-year to $1.37 billion, during the first 10 months of the current year, according to the data from the General Department of Customs. The South Korean market accounted for 9.2 per cent of all textiles and clothing exported by Vietnam during January-October 2013 period.
The US continued to be the largest market for Vietnamese clothing, accounting for $7.17 billion, registering a growth of 14.6 per cent year-on-year. The EU and Japan were the second and third largest importers of Vietnamese garments and textiles, during the 10-month period.
Vietnam’s clothing and textile exports to the EU rose by 10.5 per cent year-on-year, while its exports to Japan jumped 21.7 per cent, during the period under review. Brazil, Canada and Mexico were among the other countries, which imported more clothing and textiles from Vietnam during the period. From January to October 2013, Vietnam’s total apparel and textile exports shot up by 18.7 per cent year-on-year to $14.8 billion, according to the data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Moit.gov.vn
Customs.gov.vn
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) has come out in support of the reintroduction of the Textile Enforcement and Security Act (TESA) in the 113th Congress. Congressmen Tom Graves and Mike McIntyre reintroduced the bill in the House of Representatives on November 20. The bill seeks to increase US Customs and Border Protection enforcement activities as well as improve trade facilitation through enhanced targeting, increased resources and greater authority.
Due to the high-risk nature and the prevalence of fraud in textile and apparel imports, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) designated the textile industry as a Priority Trade Issue — yet the industry continues to experience serious fraud, particularly in the CAFTA and NAFTA regions. As the third largest exporter of textile products in the world, the US textile industry depends on strong customs enforcement for its livelihood.
The TESA legislation addresses many of the industry’s key concerns by providing CBP with expanded authority to better target fraudulent textile and apparel goods coming into the US, while also implementing additional tools and resources to increase the agency’s commercial enforcement efforts and reduce the prevalence of fraud that creates an uneven playing field for the US textile industry.
CNITA, The China Nonwovens and Industrial Textile Association and EDANA have signed a partnership agreement following a meeting of the Sino-Euro Nonwoven Industry Cooperation, in the presence of representatives from the CNTAC China National Textile and Apparel Council, the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT TEX).
The agreement promotes equal and mutual benefit relationship between the two associations, and will involve discussions of jointly relevant issues and detail before the implementation of cooperation projects. The agreement shall be valid for three years, with the option for the two associations to modify or extend the agreement.
The strategic agreement will be focused on a mutual agreement and sharing in the field of product testing and standards, of statistical methods and data, and it will explore ways to facilitate nonwovens related trade between the two regions, as well as cooperation in effective exhibition opportunities, information and data sharing and the potential of co-organising international professional meetings.
Cnita.org
www.edana.org
German machine manufacturer Karl Mayer has acquired majority stake in Liba. Both Karl Mayer and Liba are family-owned companies. For decades, Karl Mayer and Liba have been world leaders in the development, manufacturing and distribution of warp knitting machines and machines for the production of technical textiles.
The merger is expected to enhance the market prospects in Germany of these giants in warp knitting machine manufacturing. Liba was founded in 1945. The company invests continuously in state-of-the art designing and manufacturing equipment. It cares for its customers, from project planning through specification and project management to installed machinery and offers extensive after sales services. The fast implementation of customers’ specific demands and state-of-the art production methods secure short delivery times.
Karl Mayer is a leading global manufacturer of warp knitting machines and warp preparation machines for knitting and weaving. Applications include garment textiles, sports textiles, underwear, lace, home textiles, technical textiles. It has been operating in India since 2009. The technical support centres are in Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad. Karl Mayer has expanded its service activities in India and supports all its own warp preparation machines as well as the machines that had previously been installed by Benninger, Sucker and Griffin.
Workplace violence against women garment workers in India and Bangladesh is being increasingly acknowledged as a serious problem. The Fair Wear Foundation has launched a program to tackle this. It combats harassment and violence against female workers with a three-prong strategy: training courses for managers and workers; anti-harassment policies and committees; and worker help lines. The project involves garment factories, European clothing brands, governments, civil society organisations and trade unions, both in Europe and in Asia. It’s providing rare insight and solid documentation of a problem which is rarely spoken about.
It’s estimated about 60 per cent of factory workers in the two countries have experienced some form of harassment – verbal or physical – while at work. Hostile working conditions lead to low productivity and high worker turnover. It also limits the potential contributions of millions of women workers to the broader society and economy.
Things are slowly changing. Factories are allowing training for workers and managers on the importance and benefits of treating women better; several anti-harassment committees and telephone help lines have been established; workers are speaking up about problems; and factories and clothing brands are working together to remedy those problems.
www.fairwear.org
The Techtextil fair will be held at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from January 19 to 21, 2014. Over 1,000 exhibitors and more than 22,000 visitors are expected to take part in the 16th edition. Messe Frankfurt is expanding its Techtextil brand to the growing technical textile markets in the Middle East. Techtextil is the international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens.
UK-based Technical Absorbents Limited (TAL), a leader in superabsorbent product technologies, will be one of the prominent participants at the fair. TAL will be displaying its Super Absorbent Fiber (SAF) technologies and SAF-based converted product portfolio – nonwovens, wovens, yarns and tapes. These are suitable for a wide range of markets and applications, including advanced wound care, filtration, water-blocking geo textiles and water-blocking yarns and tapes for the cable market, water management agrotextiles, and fabric technology for coolant apparel garments.
One of the main products on display will be TAL’s durable KoolSorb technology – a washable fabric created to provide sweat absorption and comfort functionality when worn under heavy clothing.
Intersec 2014, the leading international trade fair for safety and security, will be held concurrently. With Intersec visitors in mind, TAL will also be available to discuss how its technology can be applied within flame-retardant applications.
www.messefrankfurt.com/.../techtextil/.../techtextil--techtextil-middle-eas..
Textile firms from over 20 countries participated at the recently concluded Third International Fair of Cotton Products, at Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. Some of the countries that participated at the two day fair (November 23 to 24) are Russia, US, UK, Japan, Italy, Singapore, India, Bangladesh, Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan. Special attention was paid to the marketing of products manufactured with cotton produced in Turkmenistan.
The objective of the fair was to provide opportunities to establish mutually beneficial contacts and strengthen long-term partnership between local cotton producers and foreign customers. The two-day fair saw participation from major agricultural departments, cotton enterprises and textile industries of Turkmenistan as well as other countries.
The aim of the event was to develop the agricultural sector and the cotton industry, expand research in cotton growing and promote cooperation with international organizations in this sector. The fair gave guests and participants information about the latest specimen products, advanced manufacturing technologies, technical and crop varieties, seed stock and recycled materials.
Turkmenistan is interested in development of cotton processing and textile manufacturing in the country. Cotton is considered white gold. It is the basis of the financial prosperity of the country’s agriculture.
www.cottonexhibition.gov.tm
