KARACHI: The IGATEX exhibition opened at Karachi Expo Centre on Wednesday with the participation of over 500 exhibitors from 30 countries. A large number of trade delegates from all parts of the world converged on the largest exhibition of textile and garment machinery exhibition in Pakistan.Federal Minister for Textile Mushtaq Cheema was pleased to see IGATEX Pakistan 2006 serving as an interactive platform for both the local and international exhibitors. He praised the participation of all cou

The road to US duy-free access could be longer than expected for a series of emerging countries. While Pakistan was recently refused that textiles and apparel benefit from preferential treatment, chances of duty-free access for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or Cambodia are progressively fading. With US mid-term elections looming and a new top trade negotiator in Washington, ongoing negotiations may be further delayed while implementation of already signed deals could also be longer than expected. Hop

ISLAMABAD: The ministry of textile is organizing a workshop on ?reation of Business-to-Business Textile portal for E-Commerce?in Lahore on Tuesday at 3pm. The workshop has been designed to explore the possibilities of identifying and reaching new markets, which are now open for exports after the end of quota regime. Secretary Textile Syed Masood Alam Rizvi will inaugurate the workshop.The ministry of textile being aware of the challenges and potential benefits created by the information technolo

LAHORE: The ministry of textile is prepared to launch garments workers?training programme within garment factories. The ministry of textile has selected about 20 factories throughout the country where technical training institutes will be developed for training of female workers to meet the growing need of trained workers in the garment industry. An amount of Rs 96 million has been approved for the scheme from the Export Development Fund and necessary infrastructure facilities have been managed

Taiwan's export orders grew at the slowest pace in eight months last month as textile orders fell and demand from China cooled. Orders, which are indicative of shipments in one to three months, gained 19.3 percent from a year earlier to US$24.94 billion after climbing 25.1 percent in February, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. That compares with the median 20 percent growth forecast in a survey of 18 economists. "Textile makers couldn't raise prices because of competition from China,"

NEW YORK ?Instead of reaching a compromise on trade issues between the U.S. and China, last week? meeting with Chinese president Hu Jintao by President Bush seemed to reveal just how wide the trade discrepancies are between the countries.Previous to Jintao? visit, Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow for the Institute for International Economics predicted, ?n currency, on intellectual property, on the trade imbalance, I think the body language from the Chinese in advance of the visit is: ?on? expect

In the past year, the trade of textiles has evolved in some low-income Asian countries, erasing fears that it might crash following the removal of textile quotas in Jan.1, 2005, said a report released on Friday during the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) meeting. The report, conducted by the Institute of BFA, a regional non-governmental organization in Asia, is the second of its kind since 2005. It found that despite the removal of textile quotas, some smaller low-income countries have managed to e

Suppliers of gift-wrapping paper in India are adopting textile printing and embroidery techniques to enhance the appearance and colorfastness of designs. This also accelerates the production cycle to support large-scale manufacturing. The latest models, mostly with a base material of handmade paper, feature sharply defined colors and patterns from treatments that were once unique to fabric. Prints are now mostly produced using textile and wood block prints. To achieve a richer look and texture,

Low quality smuggled Indian jute seeds have flooded the markets of Jessore district during peak sowing season of jute seeds, it is alleged.A section of dishonest seed traders from the district are cheating innocent farmers which may result into causing jute production to fall.According to sources, some people in bordering areas of district have been engaged in smuggling low quality Indian jute seeds during last one-month.These seeds are being marketed through the small seed traders. The smuggled

EDINBURGH is set to give Glasgow a run for its money in the style stakes. Organisers of the inaugural Edinburgh International Fashion Festival have revealed plans to vastly extend the event in 2007. The EIFF begins on Wednesday, with catwalk shows from Vivienne Westwood, Matthew Williamson and Scottish designer Jonathan Saunders, as well as shows from recent fashion graduates and big retailers in the capital. David McGrain from the Edinburgh City Centre Management Company, which is helpi