A Chinese mission is currently visiting Benin to help the country's cotton farmers increase their productivity, an official source in Cotonou told Xinhua on Tuesday. "Our objective is to improve Benin's cotton yield by introducing a Chinese cotton variety that gives 6 tons of cotton per hectare against a Beninese variety that produces less than 2 tons per hectare," head of the mission told Xinhua. He said besides introducing the Chinese cotton variety in Benin, the mission he leads will al

Nghi, speaking at a conference entitled "Garment and Textile – Opportunities and Challenges", focusing on integration and held in Ha Noi yesterday, Sept 30, that a shortage of capital and backwards technology, along with weak management capacities, had created difficulties for the businesses. He added that the development of Viet Nam's garment and textile industry was behind other countries. ‘This caused considerable competitive pressures in the local garment and textile industry after Vie

Cambodia agreed on Thursday to raise the monthly minimum wage for its crucial textiles sector to $140 from next year, short of demands by trade unions long at odds with the government over pay. The decision was made in a vote by representatives of the government, factories and unions, with the majority supporting an increase to $135 a month from $128. The government then raised that to $140. Pay for the 600,000 people who work in mostly Asian-owned factories, churning out clothes and shoes

The dollar's strength has meant bad news for America's apparel and footwear industry. According to Moody's Investors Service, the outlook for the US apparel and footwear industry has changed to stable from positive as sales and earnings took a hit from the stronger dollar. "While the hedges taken this year will partially protect margins, the strong US dollar will continue to have negative foreign currency translation effects on the industry's gross profits for the rest of this year," said Sco

With continuous depreciation of Zambian currency, textile makers are finding it too costly to import raw materials in Zambia as it would increase the cost of production, said Ajit Desai, managing director of Kariba Textiles. The blankets are manufactured by using materials like acrylic yarn and fibre, which are not produced in the local market thereby making it costly to manufacture blankets in Zambia, he said. Desai opined other investors to help in reducing the cost of producing blankets

Indian textiles and craft are the buzzwords at the ongoing fashion week in Delhi. The opening show on Wednesday was dedicated to weaves and textiles of Banaras, the ending will be similar in tone when 16 designers will come together for the finale to showcase Banarasi weaves. Designers are giving Indian fabrics a modern makeover to make them attractive to international buyers as Indian crafts are increasingly given more focus at such events. Fashion weeks are serious business events, promotin

In the past, the Saigon Garment & Trade Company (GMC) needed 50 workers for cloth cutting and spreading, because the work was done manually. But since it began using cutting machines from Nhat Tin Technology JSC, productivity has improved significantly and the number of workers needed has been cut to eight. GMC managers believe they made the right decision to buy new cutting machines. Other textile and garment companies also tend to spend more money on upgrading technologies. This is w

According to a CEPEA report, cotton closed with high prices in the Brazilian market in September, while at the same time, trades in the spot market reduced. The CEPEA/ESALQ Index, with payment in 8 days, for cotton type 41-4, which includes freight to São Paulo city, rose 4.32 per cent over August last month. “In late September, with harvesting almost finished and grinning advancing, processors were receiving already traded cotton, which decreased demand in the Brazilian spot market,” the

Pakistani ginneries across Pakistan have received seed cotton (Phutti) equivalent to over 30,73,325 bales as of October 1, showing a decrease of 25.68 percent compared to corresponding period last year when ginneries received 41,35,096 bales, according to figures issued by Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA). According to the third fortnightly report of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) issued on Sunday, out of the total arrivals, 3.07 million bales of cotton have been conver

Cambodian garment export shipment to the European Union led the way in making up for a decrease in exports to the United States. In the first six month of the year, it witnessed nearly 20 percent increase, according to a new Ministry of Commerce report. As per report, outbound shipments from Cambodia brought in $3.9 billion for the first six months, as compared to the $3.28 billion for the same period in 2014. The rise was buoyed by a 32 percent increase in garments to the European Union, not