The Indian textiles business has come to a virtual standstill in many parts of the country, following protests and strikes by small manufacturers and traders over various aspects of the recently-introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST) that are showing no signs of abating. From Surat to Erode and from Amritsar to Ichalakaranji, the protests have been widespread and brought manufacturing in these towns almost to a halt. The latest organisations to throw their lot with the ongoing agitation w

Mali produces long staple cotton and only 5 percent of it is processed in that country and the rest is exported. Recently about 20 percent of Mali’s cotton is consumed by India, said Niankoro Yeah Samake, Mali’s Ambassador in India. Mali, which produces eight lakh tonnes of cotton a year, is looking at direct exports of cotton to the Indian textile industry. However, most of the trade is through foreign companies. So, there are opportunities to trade directly. Currently, Europe and China are

Agriculture Ministry of Egypt Hamed Abdel-Dayem on Saturday said that production of their silky soft cotton once known as ‘white cotton’ should rise to 1.4 million qintar (160 kg) in the 2017-18 fiscal year that started in July from 700,000 qintar a year earlier. The government aims to increase the price of the long staple cotton to more than 3000 Egyptian pounds ($168.07) per qintar, which will all be exported. Production of the cotton, used in luxury bedding, has fallen sharply since 2011,

The textiles and clothing segments in Vietnam stand little chance for any meaningful economic growth in international sales over the near term without substantial reform, says the Textile Outlook International. For starters, domestic companies need to change their method of sales from outsourcing to selling direct to customer, says Textile Outlook. This suggestion is consistent with the global trend in textiles and clothing away from outsourcing. International brands are increasingly seein

Punjab Agriculture Department has decided to impart cotton-picking training to women, who work in cotton fields. A spokesman for the department said on Monday that women did not adopt proper methods of cotton-picking due to lack of training, which affects the quality of the produce. "Ultimately farmers suffer as the price of the commodity decreases at international level," he added. The first phase of the training would be completed in July while the second phase would continue in August and Sep

Ethiopia is to inaugurate two Chinese built industrial parks in September, as the East African nation strives to become the continent's manufacturing hub. The statement was made on Monday by Tadesse Haile, state minister of economic affairs at the office of the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. The two industrial parks are the Dire Dawa Industrial park 446 kilometers east of Ethiopia's capital city Addis Ababa and the Adama Industrial Park 99 km east of Addis Ababa. Dire

Versaperm has launched a system for testing of fabrics in performance textiles that slashes the testing time to as little as 30 minutes for many fabrics. Moreover, its latest range of equipment can test several fabrics at exactly the same time and to an accuracy in the parts per million (PPM) to parts per billion ranges. ISO testing takes several weeks. With the market for active wear riding on the crest of a 200 billion dollar wave, the demand for new high performance textiles puts textile

Leading economies and advocates of free trade, China and Germany are seeking to forge closer ties in trade and investment to help global economic recovery and encourage globalization. President Xi Jinping arrived in Berlin Tuesday for his second state visit to the country, and is scheduled to meet German leaders and sign a series of cooperation agreements. Bilateral cooperation has delivered real benefits to the two peoples and played a leading and exemplary role in boosting Europe's coope

Under the Angola’s production recovery programme its first cotton harvest in the provinces of Malanje and Kwanza Sul is scheduled for July with a symbolic result of 200 tonnes. Angola’s cotton production, following independence, in 1975 had virtually ceased due to the civil war, which ended in 2002. The Ministry of Agriculture staffer and coordinator of the cotton production recovery programme, Carlos Canza, said that an area of 242 hectares was planted, and each hectare will produce one ton

Ethiopian textile sector is a preferable gateway to step into industrialization because of the ease in entry and it is making all efforts to attract top international firms. The textile sector would benefit large number of people and paves the way for nation to join middle income status in the very near future. The country has launched a strategy to make the most of its potential in the textile sector. On top of the industry's innate behavior of marketability that would suffice to ensure spee