Bangladesh earned $2.52bn from exports in July with a decline of over 15% from the same month in last fiscal year as the country’s largest RMG sector earnings suffered a sharp fall. The provisional data released by Export Promotion Bureau revealed the figures for the first month of the fiscal year. The total figure was $2.98bn in July 2014. The data showed the earning was $2.52bn in July 2015, which was 15.29% less than one year ago. The woven sector earnings dropped by nearly 10%, whil

Both the BGMEA and the BTMA leaders demand gas connections for the country's largest foreign currency earner on a priority basis as the readymade garment factory owners, especially those who want to shift their non-compliant units from the capital city and adjacent to it, are facing difficulties due to non-availability of gas for the last couple of years. Some 64 non-compliant readymade garment factories, mostly located in shared or rented buildings, failed to relocate their units only becaus

China devalued its currency on Tuesday after a run of poor economic data, a move it billed as a free-market reform but which some suspect could be the beginning of a longer-term slide in the exchange rate. The central bank set its official guidance rate down nearly 2 per cent to 6.2298 yuan per dollar – its lowest point in almost three years – in what it said was a change in methodology to make it more responsive to market forces. It was the biggest one-day fall since a massive devaluati

The National Tripartite Committee on Tuesday extended the timeframe for three months to complete the safety inspection in the readymade garments factories under the government-ILO joint initiative as the previous deadline ended on July 31 with more than 300 units yet to be inspected. After the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garments workers, in April 2013, the European and North American buyers and brands launched safety inspection in the garment fact

The textile testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) market is expected to reach $7,221.01 million by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 4.6 per cent between 2015 and 2020, according to a leading research agency. Textile Testing Market players such as SGS Group (Switzerland), Intertek Group plc (UK), and TUV SUD (Germany) have been focusing on geographical expansion to broaden their portfolio and geographical presence. For Instance in February 2015, the SGS Group opened a new softlines testing la

Fiji garment industry is not the backbone of the manufacturing sector in terms of consistency, organisation and structure, but the industry is of particular significance and importance due to its rapid ascent in becoming the country's number one key export It remains a critical industry for the economy and a source of employment for the poor, according to Fiji Export Council CEO Jone Cavubati. He said that the industry employed a large number of people, the sector provided employment for more

A visiting delegation from the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, which handles tens of billions of dollars in regional investment, says it raised concerns about the low threshold for forming unions in a pending new law during meetings with government officials Monday. Chamber president Richard Vuylsteke said Cambodia was the fourth stop for the group of delegates—after visits to Bangladesh, Burma and Vietnam—to gauge the “state of play” in the markets and their “attractiveness for in

Planning minister AHM Mostafa Kamal on Friday said the government would establish a specialised bank for the readymade garment sector to ensure low-cost financing and to encourage entrepreneurs to invest more in the sector. ‘I will try my best to have a designated bank that will serve the purposes of the garment sector. Now we have some other specialised banks like Karmashangsthan Bank and Krishi Bank,’ Kamal said at a seminar on financing apparel growth at the Radisson Hotel in Chittagong.

China’s foreign trade performance worsened in July with both exports and imports falling on an annual basis, customs said on Saturday, spelling more worry for the world’s second largest economy. Exports plunged 8.3 per cent year-on-year to $195.10 billion while imports dropped 8.1 per cent to $152.07 billion, it said in a statement on its website. The country still recorded a trade surplus of $43.03 billion, customs said, but gave no comparative figure. Separately, the agency said the tr

Pendleton Woolen Mills headquartered in Portland, Oregon, a globally celebrated American lifestyle brand, has added new jacquard looms to operations at the company's original mill in Pendleton, Oregon. The Italian looms from Itema and Swiss jacquard machines from Staubli are equipped with the latest technology and provide high-speed performance.Jacquard looms weave complex designs, angles and shapes, brocades, damask, matelasse, and three-dimensional fabrics.Jacquard blankets were the first i