India : High level meeting under PM to boost textile & garment sectors The Minister of State for Textiles, Shri E.V.K.S. Elangovan, informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question by Dr. K. Malaisamy that the Action Plan for the growth of the Textiles & Garments was recently considered by the High Level Committee on Manufacturing (HLCM) under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister. The HLCM, inter alia, deliberated over the following issues: On the issue of availability of textiles machinery, it has been decided to visit few countries having major textile machinery manufacturers to explain them about the opportunities of investment in India. As there are only six major textile machine manufacturers in the world, they can be easily targeted to attract Foreign Direct Investment. Regarding the issue of rupee appreciation along with high interest rates that has led to a deceleration in the garment exports, it has been decided to form a small group to look into the causes for recent deceleration in exports including rupee appreciation and other macro economic policies on the competitiveness of the industry and suggest measures to address the issue expeditiously. In addition, the Employment-linked Skill Development Scheme, known as “NATIJA”, prepared by the Ministry of Textiles has been decided to be finalized soon for expeditious implementation. The flagship Schemes of the Ministry, namely Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) and the Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks (SITP) have been decided to be continued with adequate funds in the Eleventh Plan. Fiji : Garment sector may loose duty-free access to Oz market James Batley, Australian High Commissioner to Fiji, recently warned textile industry that the preferential entry for garments would be eliminated if Fijian exporters do not strictly comply with the conditions imposed by Canberra. He claimed that the Fijian enterprises were not transparent and withheld statistical information. Commissioner said that if this continued, Fiji might just lose duty-free access to Australia. Responding to these allegations Managing Director at Ranjit Garments Kalpesh Solanki said that traders should be provided with complete detailed information regarding the preferential agreement. He further explained that companies not disclosing data may not be doing so deliberately. These enterprises may just be unaware of the conditions. Solanki said, “The delay could be owed to a lack of understanding and this is where more instructions are needed. It works both ways and needs the assistance of the Australian side and locals here. Not one single action can overcome this. The issues that form this package were made known. Something like a refresher course might help to re-emphasize it.” Vietnam : Textile & footwear enjoy Govt’s supports Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has recently approved list of 10 industries, recognizing them as key driving factors of economy. Textile, apparel and footwear are named in the list which lasts from 2007 to 2010. This is Government’s attempt to provide a fresh thrust to textile industry. As part of the efforts, Government recently reduced import tax on sewing machines. According to the latest scheme, listed industries shall enjoy priority in investment, trade promotion, labor and so on. India : ATIRA to innovate unique medical textile Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA) is currently working on new project that will benefit the military tremendously! Researchers, here, are bringing their minds together to develop a ‘medical textile’ that will speed up blood-clotting. Making this unique product involves shrimp shells as its key material, which is similar to the dressing bandages used by US Army in Iraq. Experts say that shrimp shells are chief source of chitin. When chitin is purified it turns into chitosan that is used for several medical purposes. Shrimp shells are waste products of seafood and since India has long coastline it is available in abundance. Hence, using this will not only be useful but also profitable. Sources say that ATIRA plans for commercial production of this innovation and move on to create other such smart textiles. Belgium : Balta Carpet Couture contains 4 different sub brands Balta Broadloom expands the successful “Carpet Couture” collection. Balta’s Turkish wool spinning mill is running at full speed. Balta Broadloom, the wall-to-wall carpet division of the Balta Group, recently added new ranges to the exciting new semi-worsted wool broadloom collection under the brand name ‘CARPET COUTURE’. The collection now contains 4 different sub brands: Gianni, Donatella, Wool Supreme and Wool Velvet. These carpets are exclusive and unique thanks to the use of the finest types of wool and the special spinning technology. The yarn is very strong and elastic, though much softer than most wool twist ranges. Thanks to the success of this new collection, the Turkish factory, Balta Orient, has extended its work force to keep up with demand. Balta’s mission is to offer its clients new, original, high-quality products at an affordable price through constant investments in product innovation and development. With this in mind, the company opened a brand-new woolspinning mill in 1998 in UªAK, by far the most famous textile region in Turkey with well-trained workers and a great deal of of textile know-how. This mill produces high quality worsted wool yarns for weaving and tufting carpets and uses the finest wool for this 120 employees produce fine 2-, 3- and even 4-ply yarns with exceptional features combining softness with superior durability. These yarns are referred to by all market players as the best quality product on the market. China : Nonwoven fabric output on the rise China's nonwoven output totalled 288,400 tons in the first half of 2007, up 34.20 percent over the same time last year, latest statistics from China Textile Industry Association state. Among Asian countries, China has the highest output of nonwoven fabrics. Among nonwoven fabric-manufacturing provinces, in the first half of this year, Zhejiang produced 70,773 tons, a rise of 24.18 percent; Guangdong made 40,324 tons, up 39.54 percent; Jiangsu accumulated 29,793 tons, a rise of more than 24 percent; Henan completed 27,688 tons, a leap of 1161.13 percent; Fujian achieved 25,716 tons, an increase of 28.75 percent. In 2006, China produced a total output of 2,22,000 tons of acupuncture products and 41,000 tons of other dry products, 443,000 tons of spunbond and meltblown products, representing the largest production in Asia. Although the market share of acupuncture products was slightly reduced, their output increased by 24,800 tons. Wet fabric products manufacturing touched 11,000 tons; though relatively small, their market share increased day by day. Hong Kong : PolyU workshops explore multi-facets of science & textiles Five hundred students (form four to seven) and teachers from more than 150 Hong Kong and overseas secondary schools took part in a summer camp and a series of workshops organized by the Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles of PolyU, exploring the multi-facets of science and textiles, while experiencing campus life at the University. The summer camp "A touch of Science & Textiles" was held from 18 to 20 July and various workshops were held from 24 to 27 July. Through participating in the camp, students spent three days and two nights at the Student Halls of Residence to have a taste of the vibrant campus life. They also learnt more about the academic programmes offered by the Faculty and the disciplines that they are interested in. The summer camp, with themes on “A Date with DNA”, “ChemTech Viva”, “The Science of Investment”, “Physics and Environment” and “Fashion & Textiles”, integrated educational activities such hands-on laboratory experiments, lectures, seminars, visits, guest talks, games and competitions, and recreational activities such as jazz, yoga, bakery, magic, treasure hunt and sports. It filled students’ summer vacation with interesting learning experience. This is the fourth year the Faculty and its four constituent departments host summer camp and workshops for secondary school students and teachers. The events are among the many fun-filled and educational summer activities that the University organized for secondary school students. These activities enhance their understanding of PolyU and its programmes, and provide insights on their future studies and careers. Germany : Poison toys & textiles trouble consumers The media outcry resulting from the product recall action by the toy producer, Mattel, and the discovery of harmful substances in babies’ bibs from China, has once again sparked a debate about cheap goods from Asia, causing deep disquiet among consumers. The fact is that responsible manufacturers in China do not inevitably supply poor quality goods if they consistently make quality a high priority and, for example, have their goods tested by recognised institutions. For textiles, the Hohenstein Institutes offer a wide range of independent quality assessments and certification processes on which European importers have successfully relied for years when purchasing goods from countries such as China, India, Bangladesh and Turkey. These include, for example, certification under Oeko-Tex Standard 100, checking for compliance with legal requirements in the target markets and analysing other quality criteria such as the finish, fit or comfort characteristics. All laboratory testing and certification procedures are carried out without exception at the headquarters of the Hohenstein Institutes in Bönnigheim, in order to ensure a consistent quality standard for customers. However, 16 agencies in 15 countries around the world also help ensure that expert support is available for interested companies actually in the production countries themselves. Effective protection against possible harmful substances in textiles is provided by the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 which the Hohenstein Institutes helped to develop 15 years ago – this is a voluntary test and certification system for textile fibres, yarns, fabrics and manufactured end products of all kinds. United States Of America : Australian cotton production forecast at 0.5 mn bales Cotton Production: Australian cotton production for the 2007/08 season is forecast at 500,000 (0.5 million) bales, or approximately 113.5 TMT. This forecast represents a significant fall from previous estimates and reflects the lack of rainfall since early July. Post estimates that about 60,000 hectares will be planted to cotton in 2007/08 and has assumed a yield of around 8.32 bales per hectare (1.89 MT/hectare). According to historical ABARE data, a planted area of 60,000 hectares if achieved would represent the smallest cotton planted area in Australia since 1978/79. Estimated production for 2006/07 remains unchanged at 1,100 bales, or 250 TMT. General: At the time of writing this report, harvest for the 2006/07 cotton crop is complete and planting of the 2007/08 crop will likely occur from mid-September to mid-October. Cotton planted after mid-September is typically lower yielding. Sources advise that growers are now in the process of preparing for planting and purchasing seed. As the vast majority of Australia cotton is grown under irrigation, the primary driver of production remains the availability of irrigation water. Rainfall in the catchment areas and to a lesser extent the growing areas, during September and October will be critical to improving cotton production prospects. Post has assumed average rainfall for September and October. Key industry sources believe the opportunity for the Australian cotton industry to recover from drought in 2007/08 has already passed. Typically, the months of September and October are not likely to provide the type of weather conditions (drought breaking) which would see production prospects greatly improve. United States Of America : ICAC Secretariat presents 2007 cotton price model A statistical model to forecast season averages of international cotton prices has been identified by the ICAC Secretariat. The 2007 model explains 88% of the annual variation since 1975 in the Cotlook A Index, an indicator of international prices. The 2007 model succeeds an earlier model first developed in 1988 and revised several times. The 2007 model will assist the Secretariat in developing improved forecasts of cotton prices. A report detailing the econometric work and data used in developing the ICAC 2007 Price Model is available at ICAC website and is being published in the July/August issue of COTTON: Review of the World Situation. Net trade in cotton by China (Mainland) was used as an explanatory variable in the 1988 ICAC model, and as imports by China (Mainland) rose in recent seasons, the prices indicated by the model were substantially above realistic levels in 2005/06 and 2006/07. The 2007 model relates changes in the Cotlook A Index to changes in the stocks-to-mill use ratio in the “World-less-China” and to past changes in the stocks-to-mill use ratio in the “World-less-China” and “China”. Splitting the world into two regions (“China” and “World-less-China”) provides better explanatory power than considering the world as one region. According to the 2007 model, a 5% increase in the stocks-to-mill use ratio in the World-less-China results in a decrease of 4.9% in the season-average Cotlook A Index during the same season.