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Trade volume growth is expected to be above trend in the third quarter of 2017.
The latest reading of 102.6 is higher than the previous reading of 102.2 issued in May this year, suggesting sustained momentum for trade growth. Strong performances in air freight, export orders and container shipping are balanced by weaker results in other indices.
Strong growth in export orders, air freight and container shipping is leading the upward trend in the indicator as economic activity picks up around the world.
Results for agricultural raw materials and electronic components trade have been weaker, but both indices have turned up recently.
Meanwhile, weak growth in automobile production and sales is a cause for concern as it may signal weakening consumer confidence. Global export orders also show signs of plateauing, which could mean that upward momentum in trade growth may have peaked. If this is the case, trade growth would be expected to moderate later this year.
The unpredictable direction of the global economy in the near term, and the lack of clarity about government action on monetary, fiscal and trade policies raises the risk that trade activity will be stifled.
Growth in the volume of world merchandise trade is expected to rebound this year from its tepid performance in 2016, but only if the global economy recovers as expected and governments pursue the right policy mix.
A LED summit will be held in the US, October 18 to 19, 2017 for brands and retailers. The event will explore new ways to achieve value while limiting risk when switching to LED lighting.
Industry experts from around the country will gather to light up the stage with instrumental information for working in harmony with LED lighting. There will be an analysis of the changes that LEDs bring to users in terms of color, controls, and integration.
There will be updates on international color and lighting standards and discussions of the basics of light and color and the impact of light source spectrum on product appearance and sales.
This year’s program is tailored to the individual needs of brands and retailers. Networking opportunities and panel discussions will be included to ensure that all participants have an opportunity to be part of the action.
Companies, regardless of how far they have transitioned to LED lighting, can obtain tremendous value in attending this conference.
The retail industry is moving rapidly to LED lighting. This change directly effects what consumers see and ultimately purchase and ensures that retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers are not left in the dark.
LED light bulbs are 80 per cent more energy efficient than other bulbs and produce far less heat than incandescent light bulbs.
India’s first special storage facility for handling raw cotton has opened at Thoothukudi port, Tamil Nadu.
The facility set up by the port estate can house around 500 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units of 40 feet containers. International traders can stock raw cotton at the facility for a period of 30 days free of cost.
There will be a world-class infrastructure for warehousing of raw cotton, state-of-the-art equipment, transportation and handling facilities, commercial office space, water, power, communications and connectivity, and one-stop clearance of import and export formalities.
The facility would help textile mills get cotton at international prices within a week, thereby increasing yarn production in Tamil Nadu. The facility would have a ripple effect by strengthening the textile value chain particularly knitting, weaving, garment, textile processing, apparel sector etc. The initiative will also help spinning mill owners buy cotton at competitive prices in the Indian market.
It is expected the warehouse will attract global raw cotton traders to Thoothukudi and boost the textile business in the southern peninsula as international cotton traders from Africa, Pakistan and other countries have been sending raw cotton to ports in Malaysia.
The aim is to have a free trade warehousing zone at Thoothukudi port.
About 1,500 industrial units and 30,000 employees are involved in Iran’s clothing sector which has a capacity for producing 3,40,000 tons of garments per year.
The country has taken measures aimed at renewing the country’s garment manufacturing industry, in a bid to enter international markets. Exporting apparel products to neighboring countries, including the CIS and, in particular, Azerbaijan, is on the agenda.
Iranian manufacturers have developed plans to export about 30 per cent of their total output.
Public interest in domestic products has dramatically surged over recent months.
Currently, 9,818 industrial units are active in Iran’s textile and apparel industries, constituting 11 per cent of all industrial entities in the country.
These units have created more than 2,90,000 direct jobs, accounting for 13 per cent of all industrial jobs in Iran.
With the aim of limiting imports, boosting domestic production and making the price of Iranian clothing more competitive, the country is now planning to set up a new apparel industrial town. Some 45 hectares of land have been bought for the new apparel industrial park. The hope is that such an apparel industrial park will be highly beneficial as it will lead to transfer of know-how, increase in quality and lowered production costs.
Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) certifies 30 per cent of cotton production in sub-Saharan Africa.
This is the largest label for sustainable cotton from Africa. Around 7,80,000 smallholder farmers, of which 18 per cent are female smallholder farmers, took part in 2016 and produced 3,20,000 tons of fiber cotton. About 50 million CmiA textile products were put on the market in 2016.
The sustainable cotton initiative increased its license revenues by 70 per cent in comparison to 2015.
Thanks to the boost in sales of CmiA certified cotton in the textile producing countries, CmiA could achieve a consolidated revenue of more than 47 per cent in 2016.
A total of 20 verification operations in 2016 ensured compliance with CmiA standards and offered helpful guidelines for improvements, alongside the ongoing trainings. The aggregated data from verification operations in 2016 proves that the implementation of CmiA standards was significantly improved in subsequent verifications. The reviews were carried out by the three independent audit companies.
Cotton made in Africa was founded in 2005. By training African smallholder farmers in sustainable and efficient growing methods, granting ginnery workers ethical working conditions and linking them to the international textile value chain, CmiA improves their living and working conditions and protects the environment.
Fespa Direct will help print service providers (PSPs) who are not located in one of Fespa’s 37 association countries to join Fespa as a direct member.
So far PSPs outside an existing Fespa association country have not been able to enjoy the benefits of being a member of Fespa.
By being a member of Fespa Direct, PSPs can benefit from insight, useful tools and networking opportunities to support and grow their businesses.
Fespa Direct members will be eligible to receive a range of member benefits such as access to a range of resources including Fespa technical guides, Fespa’s planet friendly guides and the Fespa print census report as well as discounted access to Fespa events and conferences, access to Club Fespa benefits at Fespa exhibitions and online networking opportunities.
The new Fespa Direct membership service is hosted on Fespa’s new website, which has been designed to improve the visitor experience for all Fespa stakeholders. The refreshed website includes improved navigation and search, and a members’ only area.
Fespa is the leading European exhibition for textile printing, where vendors offer new textile printing solutions. Printers and sign makers attend. Visitors have access to a comprehensive line-up of suppliers of technology, materials for printing and sign-making, consumables and accessories.
The expo is a forum for meeting customers face-to-face, making concrete sales and developing business pipelines. Printers from all parts of the world attend but particularly from Europe and the Middle East.
Australia’s shorn wool production for the 2017-18 season is estimated at 340 million kilograms greasy.
After the excellent seasonal conditions experienced across Australia for some or all of 2016-17, conditions have become more mixed. Seasonal conditions in some regions, including much of Victoria and the south-east of South Australia, are reported to be very good, but other areas, including parts of Western Australia, the Western Division of New South Wales and key wool growing regions in Queensland, have been dry.
While fleece weights in spring are likely to be good, there is likely to be a moderation in the average wool cuts per head in some areas as the season progresses. Overall, the season average wool cut per head is expected to slide by 1.2 per cent. This contrasts with the 3.4 per cent increase in average cut per head estimated for 2016-17.
There was a fall in the volume of 26 to 28 micron wool but an increase in 30.6 and broader wool. As a result of these changes, the mean fiber diameter for Australia in 2016-17 was steady at 21.0 microns, the same as in 2015-16.
The easing in average wool cut per head is likely to be almost entirely offset by a one per cent increase in the number of sheep shorn during the 2017-18 season.
Digital Textile Symposium, CNT (formerly known as Inkjet Forum India) will be held in Mumbai, November 16, 2017. The conference, currently in its seventh year, will delve deeper on the opportunities and market growth enabled by new high speed and high performance digital textile systems and consumables.
The focus will be on creating business opportunities for various stakeholders of the digital textile printing industry and charting out a sustainable growth part for this technology in India.
Digital Textile Symposium will cover multiple topics pertaining to the industry. These include high speed digital fabric printing solutions, digital fabric printing for increasing profits, pigment inkjet technology for textiles, software solutions enabling digital textile printing, latest technologies for textile sublimation printing, emergence of new business models driving digital textile printing, solutions for durable printing of home textile and direct disperse inkjet printing onto synthetic fabrics.
This exhibition should be of particular interest to ink manufacturers, OEMs, fashion designers, service providers, processing houses, textile mills, brands, print service providers, garment manufacturers, home textile manufacturers, fabric manufacturers, digital textile printers, apparel manufacturers, fabric printers, screen printers, investors and entrepreneurs, and technologists.
Concurrent to the symposium, and in Mumbai, an exhibition on textile processing will be held, November 17 to 18. This is dedicated to innovations in textile processing across various application sectors.
AEPC feels the minimum wage proposals for the garment industry are unrealistic. The plan is to fix the minimum wage at Rs 18,000 (US$280) a month.
AEPC says this will make garment manufacturing nonviable and unsustainable. This high minimum wage would not only adversely affect exports but also lead to a fall in employment generation in the sector.
The confusion over the issue of minimum wages, says AEPC, has impacted the booking of export orders and to restore the confidence of foreign buyers it’s necessary to clarify matters.
The cost of wages in India’s garment export sector is around 30 per cent of FOB. Around 70 per cent of the workforce in the readymade garment industry comprises women while other industries have a participation of women between three per cent and seven per cent.
India’s garment exports during July 2017 fell 11.86 per cent in dollar terms as against July 2016 and the growth trajectory of 31.72 per cent achieved during April 2017 has now been limited to 5.94 per cent in the period April to July 2017.
Incorporated in 1978, the Apparel Export Promotion Council is the official body of apparel exporters in India. It provides assistance to Indian exporters as well as importers and international buyers who choose India as their preferred sourcing destination for garments.
"North Korean apparel factories have been attracting Chinese textile firms owing to low labour cost. Interestingly, the tag says, ‘Made in China’ for the clothes produced in North Korea. Chinese suppliers send fabrics and other raw materials required for manufacturing clothing to North Korean factories across the border where garments are assembled and exported. Manufacturers can save up to 75 per cent by making clothes in North Korea. While they receive orders from all over the world but owing to the sensitivity of UN Sanctions, they need to route through clothing agents to hide their identity."
North Korean apparel factories have been attracting Chinese textile firms owing to low labour cost. Interestingly, the tag says, ‘Made in China’ for the clothes produced in North Korea. Chinese suppliers send fabrics and other raw materials required for manufacturing clothing to North Korean factories across the border where garments are assembled and exported. Manufacturers can save up to 75 per cent by making clothes in North Korea. While they receive orders from all over the world but owing to the sensitivity of UN Sanctions, they need to route through clothing agents to hide their identity. Dozens of clothing agents operate in Dandong, acting as go-betweens for Chinese clothing suppliers and buyers from the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Russia.
Statistics from Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) show, textiles have been North Korea’s second-biggest export after coal and other minerals in 2016, totaling $752 million. Total exports from North Korea in 2016 rose 4.6 percent to $2.82 billion. Chinese exports to North Korea grew almost 30 per cent to $1.67 billion in the first half of the year, largely driven by textile materials and other traditional labor-intensive goods not included on the United Nations embargo list.
A growing business proposition
North Korea has about 15 large garment exporting enterprises, each operating several factories spread around the country, and dozens of medium sized companies, according to Netherlands’ GPI Consultancy, which helps foreign companies do business in North Korea. Some North Korean factories are located in Siniuju city just across the border from Dandong. Other factories are located outside Pyongyang. Finished clothing is often directly shipped from North Korea to Chinese ports before being sent onto the rest of the world, as informed by some of the Chinese traders.
All factories in North Korea are state-owned and textile units are overbooked with work. North Korean workers can produce 30 per cent more clothes each day than a Chinese worker, say Korean-Chinese businessman. North Koreans don’t work for money; they believe they are working for their country, for their leader. Their daily wages are significantly lower than many other Asian countries. North Korean workers at the now closed Kaesong industrial zone just across the border from South Korea received wages ranging from a minimum of around $75 a month to an average of around $160, compared to average factory wages of $450-$750 a month in China.
UN Sanctions
The new UN sanctions imposed on North Korea recently ban countries from increasing the current numbers of North Korean laborers working abroad. China does not disclose official figures for the number of North Koreans working in factories and restaurants in China, although numbers are down from peak period two to three years ago, according to Cheng Xiaohe, a North Korea specialist at Beijing's Renmin University. North Korean factory workers in China earn about 2,000 yuan ($300.25), about half of the average for Chinese workers. They are allowed to keep around a third of their wages, with the rest going to their North Korean government handlers, according to a factory owner in China.
