Sri Lanka’s Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa formally launched the Sri Lanka Apparel Brands Association (SLABA) in the presence of a large gathering of key apparel industry players in Colombo. Minister Rajapaksa also launched the Association’s new website on the occasion. Actually, the Domestic Garment Manufacturers Association (DGMA), founded by the late AYS Gnanam, has now been rebranded as SLABA with Indradatta Dharmawardane as its new chairman. SLABA’s objectives are

Textile exports in the current financial year are expected to grow 25 per cent to $50 billion, Union textiles minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said on Monday. He noted growth was sluggish last year, with exports registering $40 billion against a target of $43 billion. He said the industry is set to witness robust growth this year. After inaugurating the 59th National Garment Fair organised by the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India here on Monday, the minister acknowledged India’s labou

Powerloom weavers in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts have sought 50 per cent subsidy to go in for solar power. The association has appealed to the Union Government to increase the subsidy from the existing 30 per cent as the weavers do not have the financial resources to go in for renewable energy. They are hit by the power problems in the State for the last five years and are unable to run the units with diesel generators. A small-scale powerloom unit with 10 looms needs five kw energ

Global 2014/15 cotton mill use is forecast at 112.3 million bales, 2 percent above the previous season. Mill use in China is expected to rebound in 2014/15 to 37.0 million bales—up from an estimated 35.5 million bales this season and the highest in 3 years. During the last several seasons, China’s relatively high domestic cotton prices encouraged yarn imports and constrained domestic mill use. However, policy adjustments reducing price support levels are expected to boost cotton mill use in

The exports from Pakistan to European Union (EU) during the first two months of implementation of GSP Plus have showed northward trend, said the Minister for Commerce Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan in a statement while revealing the statistics of trade. According to sector-wise trade analysis of exports to EU during January-February 2014 there has been a substantial increase of 30.68pc in textile garments from last year's exports in January-February. The total exports of textile garments during t

Leather footwear and handbag exports are expected to top US$12 billion this year, achieving the target, the Viet Nam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso) said. They were worth $10.4 billion last year to rank third in the country's list of key exports, Diep Thanh Kiet, Lefaso's deputy chairman, said, adding, "The exports were very good in the first half of the year, with footwear exports going up by more than 14 per cent and handbags by over 18 per cent." But Kiet and others at a semin

Two large German distributors and three major Spanish retailers in Europe are exploring opportunities to source high-end garments and footwear supplies from the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry reported. A DTI report identified the two large German distributors in Europe as Ariston Nord West Ring Schuh for shoes and Katag AG for garments. “Garments and footwear – all types. This is one sector that may defy the slow prospects for the eurozone,” stated the DTI paper, which was app

China may cut down on cotton yarn purchases this fiscal, slowing the good run that Indian spinning mills had last year. Recovering from a rough patch in the previous few years, spinning mills across the country wove healthier balance sheets last fiscal with a surge in demand in the Chinese market. Industrial boost Idle mills sprang to life across the southern States, boosted by healthy cotton production and the government’s decision to make yarn export eligible for benefits under the In

Wages in Cambodia are about one-third the level of those paid in China. And that's part of why Cambodian Minister of Commerce Chanthol Sun hopes to win more connections between his country’s economy and that of Washington state. "We’re hoping by furthering the ties and relationships, we can build on those relationships and have further commerce between the state of Washington, and Cambodia,” he said during a visit to Seattle this week. Sun, accompanied by U.S. ambassador to Cambodia Willia

The exports of fabric and garments from the Southeast Asian nation of Vietnam jumped 18 percent year-on-year to US$ 7.505 billion in the first five months of 2014, according to the preliminary data released by the Customs IT & Statistics Department, General Department of Customs, Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance. With goods worth $3.685 billion, the United States was the largest importer of Vietnamese fabric and apparel during January-May 2014 period. Japan and South Korea were the other mai