If Cambodia is anything to go by, physical size and a population of just 15m are immaterial when it comes to building a successful garment industry. But as a series of strikes were brought to a close on Friday with a rise in the minimum wage for the sector of 20 per cent, globally recognised brands such as Levi Strauss, Gap and H&M will have to decide whether Cambodia is likely to remain their most cost-effective option. The minimum wage for workers in garment factories will rise from $61

A woman passes an illuminated logo in the window of a Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) store in Stockholm, Sweden, in January 2013. Photograph: Bloomberg About a quarter of the garment factories in Cambodia that supply Swedish clothing giant H&M have been the scene of mass faintings or large-scale strikes since 2010, based on a suppliers list the clothing giant released late last week. Along with its 2012 sustainability report, the Swedish retailer, which has 2,800 stores worldwide, rel

Turkmenpagt signed a contract with Engin Group (Turkey) to build cotton factories in the Altyn Asyr District of the Akhal Region and the Sakarchagi District in the Mary Region. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov ordered provisions of high-quality cotton seeds and modernization of cotton industry. Each factory will process 40,000 tons of cotton annually. A new facility for cotton will be built at the Akdepi District of the Dashoguz Region. Construction will start in April 2013 and

Ethylene prices rose in Asian markets amid tightening supply as crackers lowered operating rates on poor margins. In Europe, cutbacks in operating rates by polyethylene producers contributed to the length in the market. In US, spot ethylene slipped as production facilities were returning back to normal operation. Asian paraxylene prices tanked below the psychologically important US$1,500 a ton mark for the first time in six months, hit by bearish downstream PTA market. Market players were sittin

Benzene prices declined in Asian markets unable to sustain a rebound that began early in the week. In Europe, benzene sentiments were bearish ahead of the second quarter while US market dropped to its lowest point since September 2012 earlier in the week. European benzene availability was looking ample. Asian caprolactum markets softened as demand weakened due to high inventory in the downstream segment. Prices also eased due to weak raw material while sellers were more active in selling. The

Asian propylene prices rose reflecting the effect of production cuts of producers in previous weeks. However, the rise differed from market to market. In Europe, the weakness in the upstream energy complex continued to drag the spot propylene market. While March business was done the attention now was focused on the April contract price settlement. US spot propylene was stable, amid thinly traded markets. Acrylonitrile market sentiments headed south, considering cost, supply and downstream dem

Cotton was cheaper across markets with US cotton Futures posting its biggest weekly slide in nine months. The most-active May cotton contract on ICE Futures US dropped US cents 5.21 for the week. The Cotlook A index also lost US cents 2.35 week on week. The China Cotton Index inched up 11 Yuan a ton. In India, cotton prices too dropped as buying by domestic mills declined and export demand weakening. Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton price declined Rs 400 per candy. In Pakistan, persistent demand by mil

Pure % cotton yarn prices were generally stable, with only few producers adjusting offers in line with the quality of products. Trade volumes were basically flat to the previous week, with deals mostly done for high-quality carded cotton yarns. Indian cotton yarn export prices soared 2-5% in line with a surge of cotton prices. Spun polyester yarn prices headed south as polyester staple fibre weakened further, and those for a few specs stayed on downward path. With poor offtake from mills, poly

Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has opened 24 new procurement centres across the country since October last year, government said on Wednesday. The corporation responds to requests for opening of additional purchase centres based on the existing market situation of that particular area and the pace of arrivals of cotton, Minister of State for Textiles Panabaaka Lakshmi informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. "The number of procurement centres has been increased from 301 in 2011-12 to 32

A stated goal to reduce exposure to other markets will drive an enormous increase in propylene and propylene derivatives capacity in China by 2020, an executive with IHS Chemical said Thursday. Matthew Thoelke, director for olefins and derivatives in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, says China holds the key to the future propylene market because of its status as the world’s largest importer. “The Northeast Asian, Taiwanese, South Korean and Japanese petrochemical industries have grown up on