'Whatever is needed to ensure workers’ rights will be done in accordance with the country’s law' Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Saturday alleged that the global retailers of Bangladeshi garment products put new conditions once previous ones are met in the name of ensuring safety in the country’s largest export industry. “Buyers keep coming up with new demands and say ‘do these’ etc. Motive of these stuff is to create pressures on the manufacturers,” he said while addressing the inaug

The textile industry, especially the power loom segment, has hardly been comforted by a ministry clarification that only job workers or units with an annual turnover of Rs 20 lakh or more would need to register for the good and services tax (GST). Since the new indirect tax regime was rolled out on July 1, the textile sector has been demanding that the rates and rules be eased for it. In its latest notification, the textile ministry has not only eased the norms for job workers but has also warn

Apparel exports to Japan, Bangladesh's most promising export destination in Asia, dipped 3.88 percent in fiscal 2016-17, which exporters blame mainly on the terrorist attack in Gulshan last year that killed seven Japanese nationals. Exports of garment products to the far-eastern nation -- whose apparel market is worth about $40 billion a year -- raked in $744.47 million last fiscal year, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. “The slowdown in shipment growth to Japan is tempor

Bangladesh's exports of apparel items to the European Union remained sluggish in fiscal 2016-17 mainly due to Brexit, national elections in major European countries, depreciation of the euro against the dollar, prolonged labour unrest at home and poor port services. Exports to the EU grew only 3.49 percent year-on-year to $17.75 billion in fiscal 2016-17, while the growth was 11.66 percent in the year before, according to Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data. Against this backdrop

The biannual International conference on Functional Textile & Clothing will be held on 9-11 February 2018, in New Delhi, India. It is being organised by the Textile Department of IIT Delhi in partnership with World University of Design, Sonepat and PSG Tech, Coimbatore. An International Scientific Committee comprising of scientists from over 18 countries will oversee the content of the conference. The conference serves as an interdisciplinary platform for leading academic scientists, rese

Ethiopia aims to generate $30 bn in foreign exchange earnings from the textiles and clothing sector by 2030, according to Ethiopian state minister of industry Bogale Feleke. Ethiopia, one of the fastest growing economies of Africa, is on the constant effort to increase its cotton production. In a year, Ethiopia produces around one lakh tonnes of cotton. "We intend to increase our area of cotton production. At present, only 20 per cent of three million hectare is used for cotton production whi

Egypt has signed a €1.5 million ($1.74 million) cooperation agreement with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation to develop Egyptian cotton production. The agreement aims at enhancing the quality and quantity of Egyptian cotton for both domestic and export markets. The project titled ‘Cotton: from seeding to weaving’ aims to raise the capacity of cotton farms in terms of sustainable agricultural practices for growing

The first commercial rooftop solar PV projects that Sunlabob has completed is the Junction City shopping centre. Photo - Supplied On Monday, July 03, Laos-headquartered Sunlabob announced the completion and commissioning of a 92.6-kilowatt peak (kWp) rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installation at Austrian-owned garment factory Anita Asia, the second grid-connected commercial rooftop solar PV system ever built in Myanmar. The first system was installed in Junction City, Yangon, in late 2016.

The global apparel industry is always changing, and we at Micro-Pak like to keep an eye on developing markets and trends. Over the last few years, we’ve noted significant growth in Myanmar (formerly Burma), which is showing itself to be an up-and-coming force in the Southeast Asia textile manufacturing industry. The last five years have seen a whirlwind of political and economic changes, including the easing up on sanctions in 2012 by the United States. Since then, Myanmar’s role in the apparel

Myanmar’s garment sector is flourishing as the last low-cost production frontier for factory relocation and diversification in Southeast Asia. China has long been the world’s top garment exporter, thanks to the presence of an enormous industry cluster that is well integrated vertically and supported by a vast number of skilled workers. In recent years, however, production costs in China have soared along with the surge in wages, especially in the Pearl River Delta () region. This, together wit