Reports indicate that last year Tanzania generated close to $81.52m from cotton exports. Of the harvest, 80% of is exported to Asia. The Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB)'s Ag Director General, Mr. Gabriel Mwalo told East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam that cotton production has also shot up by 100,000 tons a year. He explained that 355,000 tons of cotton were produced in the season year 2012/13 compared to 255,000 tons that were recorded for the 2011/12. "The increase in cotton farming

LyondellBasell Industries NV (LYB), the largest producer of polypropylene, may spend as much as $1 billion through 2016 to boost output of chemicals and plastics to take better advantage of low-cost U.S. natural gas. New projects costing $900 million to $1 billion will increase annual pretax earnings by $500 million to $600 million, the Rotterdam-based company said today in a webcast presentation from New York. The projects are in addition to previously announced expansions that will add as mu

Vietnam will host the 4 th ASEAN Traditional Textile Symposium, which is expected to see the participation of more than 200 international and domestic guests and 100 traditional weavers from 10 ASEAN nations, Canada, Japan, India and the US from March 15-18. The event, themed “Traditions, Innovations and Interactions: Paving a Creative Path for Traditional Textiles of Southeast Asia”, will be held in the northern province of Thai Nguyen . Vietnam will be represented by members of the Vietnam

The market is witnessing shortage of raw materials for the value-added textile sector, particularly polyester yarn, as importers have stopped clearing their shipments because of the uncertainty regarding new taxes. Javed Bilwani of Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA) said that around 1,200 containers of raw materials were stuck at the port and importers failed to get them cleared, as there had been no notification of reducing five percent withholding tax on raw material imports a

Textile mills in China, the world's largest consumer of cotton, will buy more fibre from bulging state reserves over the next five months, after a state stockpiling drive cut back domestic supplies, analysts said. A large sale of state cotton would further slow imports by China, the world's top buyer, particularly after U.S. cotton prices touched a 10-month high. State reserves are at a record high of 10 million tonnes, or more than 60 percent of global stocks, after the stockpiling effort p

Profitability of textile units has reached Rs13.2 billion in first half of fiscal year 2012-13 as compared to Rs1.1 billion in the same period last year as China continues to stock more and more yarn. Industry experts said that the multifold increase in profitability is primarily on the back of higher regional demand and absence of inventory losses that turned many loss-making companies into profits. On quarterly basis, profitability of 70 listed textile mills, representing 97 per cent of th

The Central Silk Board, upbeat about the recent increase in customs duty on raw silk import, says it wants to wipe out imports by 2022 with a string of pro-grower measures. It has begun, according to silk board member-secretary Ishita Roy. “Just five years ago our dependence on [silk from] China was around 10,000 tonnes. It has now reduced to 5,700 tonnes. We hope exports will start picking up,” she said. Exports in 2011-12 were worth Rs. 2,523 crore. Days after the Finance Minister raised

U.S. net textile and apparel fiber imports decreased once again in calendar year 2012 as a result of the continued sluggish U.S. economy. Total fiber product imports approached 16.9 billion raw-fiber-equivalent pounds in 2012, 2 percent below imports in 2011 and the second lowest since 2003. Meanwhile, total fiber product exports reached 3.5 billion pounds in 2012, nearly 5 percent below the previous year and the second lowest since 1995. As a result, U.S. net textile and apparel product imports

It’s easy to get the festival look this season at H&M. Starting this spring, H&M presents collections for every music occasion, whether for the heat of a dessert festival such as Coachella, the unpredictable weather of festivals like Glastonbury, or the summer-long party of Ibiza. As the season develops that means for women kaftans and cut-offs, uniform jackets, jeans and wellington boots, and then bikini’s and bohemian tops. For men, there are denim shirts and shorts, biker jacket