The economic research service of the USDA , in its latest ‘Cotton and Wool Outlook’ report, revealed India will regain the top-producer status in 2019-20 season, surpassing China, which became the leading cotton producer in 2018-19. India’s cotton production during the season is forecast to increase by 3-million-bales to 28.5 million bales, while China is likely to produce 27.75 million bales.

For 2019-20, India’s cotton area is forecast to rise slightly to 12.35 million hectares (30.5 million acres), as price expectations remain favourable for cotton. The national yield is also projected to rebound from last season’s below-average level, supporting the 3-million-bale increase in cotton production to 28.5 million bales in 2019-20.

China, on the other hand, is forecasted to produce 27.75 million bales of cotton in 2019-20, equal to the previous season, as slightly lower area is offset by a higher yield expectation. Harvested area in China is projected at 3.45 million hectares (8.5 million acres), as Government policies keep area nearly unchanged. However, with area further concentrated in the high-yielding Xinjiang region, the 2019 national yield is forecast to rise to 1,751 kilograms per hectare (1,561 pounds per acre), the report added

Over 100 brands, retailers, NGOs, cotton scientists, farmers and industry attended the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) Forum in Sydney recently. The event was presided by global sustainability leader Michael Kobori from Levi Strauss & Co., who addressed the group about his company’s sustainability journey and its involvement with BCI, a sustainability initiative improving cotton production practices in 21 countries including Australia.

The forum also heard from leading Australian cotton scientists about the work that underpins the Better Cotton principles around climate change, soil health, water and biodiversity. It also interacted with panel of cotton farmers who despite current conditions have all reached full certification in the Better Cotton standard.

The impressive turn out of brands representing more than 20 companies at the Forum was a great sign that sustainability is becoming more a part of the way business is done here in Australia.

Claudio Taiana has been appointed as the new President of MarediModa. He will succeed Marco Borioli and will be in charge of three mandates. Taiana, one of MarediModa founders, has previously held this office. He has always pursued the spirit of our mission: the enhancement and promotion of Made in Europe trims and fabrics. The next edition of MarediModa will be held at the Palais des Festival in Cannes from November 05-07, 2019.

The recently concluded 46th India International Knit Fair (IIKF), Tirupur witnessed fewer overseas buyers than last year. The fair, held from May 15 to 17, 2019, was organised by India Knit Fair Association (ITKF) and witnessed participation from around 27 garment manufacturers. Most of them, however, were not happy with the buyer visitation.

According to a ITKF spokesperson, 24 overseas buyers and around 127 Indian buying agents visited the show. The participants reported good business enquiries from the buying agents and overseas buyers with the expected business deal being around Rs. 300 crore. Some of the top apparel manufacturers of Tirupur, who displayed their latest collections in the event, were Eastman Export Global Clothing, Meridian Global Ventures, SCM Garments, KG Denim - Apparel Division, etc.

Irrespective of the event, some of the exhibitors shared that despite challenging market conditions they are geared up for growth and are taking necessary steps in this direction. For instance, Clifton Exports is adding new buyers in US market and increasing its focus on sustainability initiatives, interesting packaging, etc to get more orders. The company offers a wide range of products including kidswear, womenwear and undergarments.

"EURATEX (European Apparel and Textile Confederation), Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI), Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), International Apparel Federation (IAF) and Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) have collaborated to release a new policy for circular economy in textiles. The manifesto urges policymakers to think beyond existing policy tools rooted in a linear economy to resolve the most significant circularity issues for the fashion and textile industries."

EURATEX (European Apparel and Textile Confederation), Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI), Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), International Apparel Federation (IAF) and Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) have collaborated to release a new policy for circular economy in textiles. The manifesto urges policymakers to think beyond existing policy tools rooted in a linear economy to resolve the most significant circularity issues for the fashion and textile industries.

Developing a European vision for textiles

The manifesto aims to accelerate the collaboration of fashion and textiles industries with policymakers. It tackles circularity in three ways. First, it emphasises on circularity of business models. Second, it recommends a new approach by adopting technological innovations such as separating fibres for reuse and upcycling. Third, the manifesto demands more groundbreaking policies customised to the needs of a diverse range of businesses.

The organisationsresponsible for launching this manifesto are committed to developing a European vision for textiles in a circular economy. They will expand on the points outlined in the manifesto over coming months. This initiative will be led by the Central EU institutions. For the first time so many influential organisations in the fashion industry have come together to work with policymakers on a unified approach to circularity. This is the right time to act on this issue as the consumption is only going to grow, and if we do not act now to find a solution to the take-make-dispose model, the strain on our planet will get much worse.

A global approach to tackle issues

Though circularity has become a key issue in all aspects of daily life, the current policies do not sufficiently support a scaled circular economy system. To drive change, it is essential for all policy makers to come together to implement this law. The International Apparel Federation (IAF) also recognises the importance of a global approach to circularity. It recommends a new consortium to connect the European countries with the rest of the world.Through this European collaboration industry leaders can support laws that promote lasting improvements on a global scale. To improve the industry's performance, brands, retailers and manufacturers need to find a common ground on which they can build a sustainable future for them.

Driven by electrical and electronics sector, high-end display screens (OLED) and photovoltic cells, the global demand for polyester film, known as BOPET film, is likely to increase by 5.6 percent in the next five years.

Growth in Asia is expected to be significantly higher, particularly in China and India, which are expected to grow by 6.6 percent and nearly 10 percent respectively. The global market is currently balanced but supplies from China and the growing influence of Indian-owned producers, as they continue to expand their operations globally, will continue to dominate.

The industry has announced a significant new capacity to be installed in the market over the next five years. Despite this investment, new capacity will be required to meet the forecast demand growth rate. With China and India set to remain central in driving the next investment cycle, further new capacity from these two global powerhouses will impact production utilisation of local producers.

The electrical and electronics sector will offer growth opportunities and will continue to offer avenues for growth, with healthy demand for high-end display screens (OLED) and photovoltaic (PV) cells to remain.

According to the initial projections by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), world cotton consumption is expected to increase by 2.6 per cent to reach 125.9 million bales in 2019-20 as against the previous year.

World cotton production is forecast to reach nearly 125.5 million bales in 2019-20, a 6 per cent increase from 2018-19’s global crop that had weather-related reductions in some of the major producing countries

The moderate production growth forecast for 2019-20 is largely the result of increased crop expectations for the US and India. Based on USDA’s initial projections, India, China, and the US—the leading producing countries—are forecast to account for a combined 62 per cent of global cotton production in 2019-20, slightly above 2018-19.

SPG Prints will have a stand at Itma, Spain, June 20 to 26, 2019. For printing companies who are ready to embark on a digital textile printing journey, a visit to Itma will definitely be worthwhile. In terms of conventional printing systems, SPG Prints will take the opportunity to showcase its latest generation of the nine color Pegasus EVO rotary screen printing machine. SPG will give live demonstrations of its second generation Pike single-pass digital textile printing machine printing on viscose fabric with reactive inks. Pike combines the industry’s highest resolution of 1200 dpi with the smallest droplets and lowest ink consumption, while producing the best deep black blotches ever created in the industry.

Also, from the established Javelin multi-pass printing machine, a second generation will be showcased at Itma. Besides the extension with an acid and a direct sublimation application, this new Javelin will have additional functionality that boosts both the top printing speed as well as the average speed to print every design, resulting in a higher print capacity per day or month. The BestLEN direct laser engraving machine helps printing companies worldwide produce a consistent level of high-quality screens with minimum interference of their operators. Since the BestLEN has a dry process, a minimum amount of water is used and the engraving process is very short, while human interference is brought to a minimum.

Monforts Textilmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG will demonstrate a range of new innovations in Industry 4.0 techniques at ITMA 2019 in Barcelona, Spain, from June 20-26, 2019. These innovations will include ‘digital twin’ capability, which is now being made available for all Monforts machine systems and the latest advanced sensor technology through which comprehensive technical machine data can be virtually mapped in the cloud in real time.

The data can be easily accessed using the new Monforts Smart Support and Smart Check apps for an instantaneous status overview. All specifications related to the machine’s performance and the production process can be mapped, to enable vastly simplified and targeted analysis for controlled planning and production. Insights harnessed from such analysis can be used to optimise the actual production process. At the same time, potential sources of error can be anticipated and eliminated, enabling improved machine availability while considerably minimising downtime.

In addition, the digital twin system provides information on the individual wear parts of a system, such as converters or gears. Operators and mill managers are informed by Smart Check sensors when maintenance or the replacement of key components will be required, well ahead of time.

On request, Monforts can also virtually monitor machine performance and pro-actively alert customers to the need for preventative action. In such cases, however, data is only ever called from the cloud by Monforts when customers have given their full consent, in the interests of data security. Data from Smart Check, for example, can even be used to analyse a system’s energy requirements, allowing machine operation to be optimised by tailoring production runs to the peaks and troughs of electricity costs.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement may hurt India’s export competitiveness. The free trade agreement could lead to flooding of goods from member countries into the Indian market. India’s imports may increase during the post-RCEP period, implying a revenue loss by as much as 1.3 per cent of GDP. For India, issues of tariff rate are as important as other areas under negotiations, mainly because India does not have trade agreements with all the countries involved in RCEP. For instance, India does not have a trade agreement with China, and the negotiations with Australia and New Zealand have not come into effect. RCEP could have a negative impact on sectors like steel, pharma, e-commerce, and food processing. India is already facing challenges from Singapore, Australia and New Zealand in the agriculture and dairy sectors. On the services front, India may have to negotiate its proposals such as greater mobility for professionals through measures like visa fee waivers. India had registered a trade deficit in 2018-19 with as many as 11 RCEP member countries.

RCEP comprises 10 Asean members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six free trade agreement partners - India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.