Textile mills in India have reiterated their demand to remove the import duty on cotton as prices of domestic cotton continue to increase.

Ravi Sam, Chairman, Southern India Mills’ Associations, notes, cotton prices have surged by 70 per cent higher than the Minimum Support Prices and Indian cotton prices have surged ahead of international prices.

Cotton prices have surged to Rs 77,000 a candy from Rs74,000 a candy on January 4. Cotton yarn price, for the variety used widely by the hosiery sector, stood at Rs331 a kg in April, 2021 and was currently Rs401 a kg.

Just about 140 lakh bales have come into the market so far this season (October 2021 to September 2022) though the usual arrivals by now will be almost 200 lakh bales. The textile industry is also staring at shortage in availability of quality cotton.

Apart from removing the import duty on cotton, the government should also bring in measures to monitor cotton trade on the MCX and NCDEX to avoid speculation, he added.

Ethiopia’s textile and garment sector has exceeded its target export revenues in the last five months. In particular, the leather business is expected to generate $90 million this year. The industry is expected to help the country’s overall economy by improving its performance.

Around 80 of the 400 textile and garment firms in Ethiopia export textile items. The textile and leather sectors in the country face a number of issues, including the availability of foreign money, input raw materials, and spare parts. Earnings in foreign currencies are given precedence in order to compensate for the existing lack of hard money. The country is exploring prospects to gain potential buyers in the worldwide market and establish effective market connections with reputable purchasers. To address the cotton deficit, a 15-year National Cotton Development Strategy has been developed. Ethiopia will harvest a large amount of cotton for export as well as to meet the needs of the domestic textile sector. Several big international corporations have made investments in Ethiopia’s textile and garment industries.

From January to September 2021, textile trade between Indonesia and South Korea rose by 29 per cent. Indonesia mostly exported textile raw materials such as spun yarn, which is then processed into fabric by the South Korean textile sector. Some finished items processed in South Korea are re-exported to the United States and Europe, while others are returned to Indonesia to suit domestic market demand. Despite the implementation of the Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA) next year, Indonesia’s textile trade balance with South Korea is likely to remain negative.

South Korea will reduce over 95 per cent of its tariff lines, while Indonesia will eliminate over 92 percent and provide favorable tariffs to promote Korean investment. CEPA will have an influence on technology as well as businesses like autos. CEPA will also promote professional exchanges in fields such as science, technology, software, and robotics, encouraging high-tech industry collaboration. The adoption of the IK-CEPA, on the other hand, will have little impact on Indonesia’s textile industry’s export performance. South Korea’s market structure has prompted Indonesia to export raw commodities.

With the goal of attracting local and foreign investment to modernize and reopen closed textile mills, the Bangladesh government has called for open international tenders for four out of 16 textile mills through public-private partnerships (PPP). The move comes after the Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC) initiated a process of handing over two textile mills through PPP.

The four mills are: RR Textile Mills, Dost Textile Mills, Rajshahi Textile Mills and Magura Textile Mill. The tender process has already entered its second phase.

The BTMC will be the major partner of the PPP. The project will be distributed as per the partnership agreement and the government will only issue the land for building infrastructure.

The private parties will implement the project, maintain the mills and market the textile products produced, the official said.

The expected bidders or bidding consortiums have been asked to submit their proposals by March 7. The tenure of the partnership may be up to 30 years but could be renewed further.

Removal of social distance regulations and speedy immunization is encouraging Japanese retailers to expand their business in Vietnam. As a Textile Focus report, Japanese casual clothing manufacturer and retailer, Uniqlo has launched its 11th shop in Vietnam. It opened an online store in the country November last year. Similarly, beauty products manufacturer ReFap plans to launch three stores by the end of this year,

Retail conglomerate Aeon aims to treble the number of shopping malls in the country in the near future. It also intends to offer shares on the Vietnamese stock exchange and make it easier for Vietnamese seafood, clothing, and other items to be exported to Japan.

Japanese companies also plan to step up investments in Vietnam’s textile and apparel industry. Overall goods retail sales and service revenues in Vietnam increased by 18.5 per cent in October 2021 over the previous month. Retailers expect more activities and a 20 per cent rise in profits with the increase in immunization and restarting of economic activities and festivals.

Netherlands’ Agency for Promoting Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) has signed an agreement with the Moroccan Association for Textile Manufacturing (AMITH) to assist 35 textile businesses and help them expand operations in Central and Northern Europe by increasing imports over a five-year period. The program aims to establish networking channels to connect Moroccan textile vendors with European textile shops. The 35 textile companies chosen for the program will go through a rigorous application procedure based on their competence and CSR efforts.

Morocco mainly imports clothing and textiles. Its textile and garment exports account for 15 per cent of the country’s industrial GDP. The North African country is now focusing on marketing efforts across the world to attract new investments and form new partnerships with major players in the automotive and aeronautical sectors. The country is working hard to establish itself as a regional leader and a gateway to African markets.

Morocco has built large industrial zones and legislated big infrastructural projects in recent years to boost the country’s appeal as an investment destination, in addition to its marketing activities. Several brands from the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States have signed agreements with Moroccan textile producers.

Declining value of yen, growing offshore labor expenses and shipment delays due to the pandemic is forcing Japan’s apparel manufacturers to shift production back to their homeland. As per a Textile Focus report, nearshoring trend is gaining ground in apparel production. Compared to other countries, Japan’s manufacturing costs are greater. However, its quick delivery times will balance the additional costs by reducing waste and missed opportunities, say apparel makers.

Japan’s apparel makers began to outsource production from 1970 onwards. However, rise in salaries in China and Vietnam has faded the cost benefits of outsourcing. Apparel firms in the country can easily shift their manufacturing in the country due to smaller size of their machines.

Japanese retailer World Co, which mostly sells in department stores and shopping malls, plans to produce the majority of its high-end clothes in Japan within three to five years. Similarly, distributor of Jill Stuart women’s apparel and Ping golf gear in Japan, TSI Holdings also plans to increase production at its domestic operations in Yamagata and Miyazaki.

Copenhagen Fashion Week will collaborate with Swedish Fashion Council for A/W ’22 edition. The collaboration will strengthen and further develop their joint dedication to the incubation and growth of emerging designer talent. This partnership will align Copenhagen Fashion Week with the Swedish Fashion Council's ambitious talent program, furthering both organizations' dedication to supporting young designers across the Nordics.

Swedish designer Jade Cropper says, February 2022 season will be the perfect opportunity to commence the mutual partnership between the two organizations, with the Swedish Fashion Council to be co-host of the official Talent dinner that will open the season on the first evening of AW22. Largest fashion week in the Nordic region, Copenhagen Fashion Week is held biannually in January/February and August. Each season, Copenhagen Fashion Week welcomes leading international press, buyers and industry leaders across its global network to three days of shows, presentations and events alongside the two trade shows CIFF and Revolver. In January 2020, Copenhagen Fashion Week unveiled an ambitious three-year Sustainability Action Plan, presenting an innovative system of minimum requirements for brands to be part of the official schedule as of 2023.

The Swedish Fashion Council aims to guide the fashion industry into the future, establishing Sweden as the global leader of the industry's new era. Through its thought leadership and continuous work, SFC accelerates the transformation of the global fashion industry. It works to promote, educate, and innovate the Swedish fashion industry in order for it to become competitive. Established in 1979, the core of the organisation's work consists of leading research projects, providing industry reports and supporting the next generation of fashion leaders through the incubator program Swedish Fashion Talents. SFC is owned by the Swedish Trade Federation.

Italian manufacturer of synthetic and elastomeric warp-knitted fabrics, circular fabrics and synthetic fabrics for the industrial and clothing sectors, Sitip launched Cosmopolitan Fashion-tech fabrics range at the 34th edition of Milano Unica this year. The collection includes man’s suits with high performance, great design and incomparable fit: bi-stretch, UV 50+ protection, breathability, comfort on the skin and easy care. For women, the company launched an athleisure range with no see through and breathable leggings for an absolute freedom of movement

Modern and comfortable, the Cosmopolitan Fashion-tech fabrics collection, modern is dedicated to contemporary urbanwear/sportswear styles and meets the new needs required by the market and by the final consumer: performance and design. The collection is further divided into an urban wear range comprising sartorial technical fabrics that are made with a new Techno Sartorial tailoring technique that combines flawless cuts with exceptional fabric performance. For contemporary urbanwear, Sitip showcased man’s suit and trousers in warp-knit Cosmopolitan Citylife fabric: bi-stretch nylon with UV protection, quick drying, easy care and skin comfort features.

Los Angeles-based fashion brand Forever 21 has named Winnie Park new chief executive officer. As per a Women’s Wear Daily report, Park will succeed Daniel Kulle, the H&M executive who resigned from the top spot in October after less than two years. She was earlier the CEO of Paper Source for six years. She was responsible for transforming the company from a brick-and-mortar retailer to a lifestyle brand with a strong digital platform and led the successful sale of the brand to an affiliate of Barnes & Noble.

At Forever 21, Park will report to Marc Miller, CEO of Sparc, the joint venture between Authentic Brands Group and Simon Property Group that bought Forever 21 out of bankruptcy in February of 2020 for $81.1 million. She will add fresh perspective and approaches in connecting with the Forever 21 customer, which will help drive Forever 21 from its current $2 billion sales level to new heights of success as a leading brand in SPARC’s Fashion and Lifestyle brand portfolio.

Park is currently on the board and audit committee of Dollar Tree, and is on the board for Women in Retail Leadership. She has also served as an independent director and member of the compensation and governance and audit committees for Express.