The average losses incurred by a garment factory due to the most recent spell of shutdowns and blockades would cross $600,000, the Centre for Policy Dialogue said yesterday. The think-tank came to the inference based on the findings of an impact assessment survey conducted by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association on 42 units between December 1 last year and January 11. “Whilst no comprehensive damage assessment is available, it is highly conceivable that the sector

Vietnam’s garment sector is too dependent on foreign imports according to Pham Xuan Hong, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). Vietnam’s garment exports spiked 16.3% to a record high US$20 billion in 2013,which included garment and textile sales of US$17.9 billion,with the balance coming from ancillary products. However, major input materials, currently estimated at more than 70%, such as fabrics, labels, zipper pullers, and strings are imported from overse

China has moved to the world top spot in trade competitiveness in terms of the number of export items, according a report from South Korea’s International Trade Association Thursday. The report said China secured the spot as its number of export items reached as many as 1,485 in 2012. The next spot was taken by Germany (703 items), followed by the U.S. (603) and Japan (231). The Chinese manufacturers have overtaken South Korea by exporting 440 out of 779 in the textile products categ

MNS Manufacturing P.L.C, a Turkey-based textile company, has begun production of carpets, towels, polyester, and home textiles with an investment of more than 1.2 billion birr, The Ethiopian Herald reported. The Turkish company is setting up textile production in three phases in Laga Tafo in the Oromia state, according to the report. The first phase of the construction is completed and production has started, while the company is soon going to start construction of the remaining two phases

Around 150 textile and chemical units in the Indian textile hub of Surat have stopped operating as the Gujarat Gas Company Ltd. (GGCL), a subsidiary of the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd., has stopped supplying industrial gas to these units, IBN Live reported quoting PTI. GGCL served a notice to the textile and chemical processing units on January 14, 2014, informing about the industrial gas supply cut for a ten-day period from January 21 to 31, due to supply issues from the internat

Nearly 40 percent of the garment factories in Dhaka and its adjacent areas could not implement the new wage structure from December 1 last year as agreed, a BGMEA survey found. “It will take another two to three months for full implementation of the wage structure as the garment sector is passing through testing times,” said Shahidullah Azim, vice-president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. The survey conducted between January 10-22 covered 596 factories in Dha

The Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso) is forecasting high export growth of Made-in-Vietnam handbags, suitcases and briefcases for the leather and footwear industry in 2014. Footwear exports hit US$7.9 billion Footwear, handbag production jumps on strong Japanese orders Vietnam sees bright prospects for handbag exports Handbag exports jumped up 26% to US$1.92 billion in 2013, which far outpaced expectations of US$1.7 billion, according to Lefaso. This year, it is ant

Vietnam’s garment sector is too dependent on foreign imports according to Pham Xuan Hong, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). Garment accessories exported for first time Garment sector aims for 12% export growth in 2014 Vietnam’s garment exports spiked 16.3% to a record high US$20 billion in 2013,which included garment and textile sales of US$17.9 billion,with the balance coming from ancillary products. However, major input materials, currently estim

As self-appointed global leaders gather at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and discuss ‘The Reshaping of the World,” a stone’s throw away non-governmental organizations named this year’s winners for their dreaded Public Eye Awards. The jury chose the American textile giant Gap, while 95,000 online voters honored the Russian energy company Gazprom. “Sadly, there’s still a need for campaigns like ours that demand corporate accountability,” Silvie Lang said on behalf of the organizers

The exports of fabric and garments from Vietnam rose by a sharp 18.9 percent year-on-year to US$ 17.946 billion in 2013, according to the data released by the General Department of Customs, Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance. With $8.611 billion worth of goods, the US turned out to be the largest importer of fabric and clothing items from Vietnam during the year, followed by Japan and South Korea with imports of $2.382 billion and $1.64 billion, respectively. Among the European countries, Germa