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The Cotton Development Trust (CDT) recently stated that there is a need for Government to expand irrigation facility to cotton growing areas to improve quality and increase crop productivity.
On this CDT director Lwisya Silwimba commented that the CDT irrigation facility covers 80 hectares and has 40 hectares, which are not covered by supplementary irrigation.
He further added that they would like an expansion to facilitate supplementary irrigation during dry spells and in times when there are late rains and this will improve the quality of cotton seed produced, thereby also increasing yields for smallholder farmers.
Silwimba said the estimated cost of the proposed irrigation extension component is US$520,000 and works will include procurement of main and lateral pipes and installation of other equipment. He also proposed that Government should upgrade and rehabilitate the existing old irrigation infrastructures including those for small-scale farmers in the country so that they become fully operational.
Silwimba says that research findings at CDT have revealed that irrigation significantly contributes to improvement of seed cotton yields by over double as compared to rain-fed cotton. The CDT stated that without irrigation, seed cotton yields of small-scale farmers range from 0.3 tonne to 0.6 tonne per hectare of seed cotton.
Major Chinese wool buyers will attend for the first time in Australia at the Ballarat district property of leading Chinese importer and processor Tianuy wool. The conference’s theme is ‘From Farm to Fashion’ and it is a major step in building a wool bridge between Australia and China.
The Chinese buyers, who have been estimated to purchase $2 bn of Australian wool each year, are among 130 delegates attending the internal wool conference.It is the first time the China Wool Industrial Association will be meeting outside China since it was formed more than 20 years ago.
Conference organizers stated that the delegates representing China’s 80 major wool processors will highlight their increasing demand for Australian fine Merino wool and the ability of Australian growers to supply.
Victoria’s Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford will attend the conference and shall discuss the potential of the Victorian wool industry with buyers before the conference begins.The 30th annual Wool Salon of the China Wool Industrial Association will be hosted by Tianyu Wool president Qingnan Wen at his 2000 hectare property LalLal Estate, 20 km south east of Ballarat.
The country's premier bourse has sought to extend the regular trading period by 30 minutes. The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has adopted the proposal in its board meeting and sent it to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) for its approval.
Shakil Rizvi, a DSE director says that most of the stock exchanges conduct daily share trading for more than four fours. In some exchanges the trading remains open until afternoon and the premier bourse sought to extend the trading period considering the increased number of companies and investors.
Presently, the DSE conducts share trading for four hours from 10:30am to 2:30pm.DSE managing director KAM Mazedur Rahman commented that the DSE would extend the trading period taking into account the practices in other countries. He further added that the extension of trading period will give flexibility to the investors.
According to the DSE managing director, the proposed 30 minutes will include two separate sessions, a pre-opening session and a post-closure session. The pre-opening and post-closure sessions will last 15 minutes each.
Investors would be allowed to place purchase and sales orders only during the pre-opening session and the orders would neither be executed nor be visible to the public, according to the DSE proposal.
During the post-closure session of 15 minutes, orders which would be placed only at close-price would be settled and the orders which were unsettled during the trading session could be settled adjusting prices, says the DSE managing director. Meanwhile, the premier bourse rescheduled the trading period for the holy month of Ramadan without cutting any time. During the Ramadan, the share trading will start at 10 am instead of 10.30am. The trading will end at 2pm instead of 2:30pm.
India’s Finance Ministry has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on 'Elastomeric Filament Yarn' (popularly known as Spandex or other brand names) imports from China, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) under the commerce ministry was investigating an alleged anti-dumping case against cheaper imports of spandex from the above countries after a complaint by Indorama Industries Ltd – the only manufacturer of the product in India.
Based on the recommendations of the DGAD, the revenue department has imposed anti-dumping duty that ranged from 'Nil' rate to USD 3.34 per kilogram depending on the producer and the country of origin of the product.
Spandex or Elastane have found wide application in apparels as it imparts comfort and perfect fit to the wearer. Hosiery, Denims, Swimsuits, Aerobic or exercise wear, Golf jackets, disposable diaper and waist bands among other garments uses spandex extensively. The imposition of anti-dumping duty might increase the cost of inputs to fabric and apparel manufacturers in Tirupur and other parts of the country.
Tizayuca Textil Vuva has installed a Monforts Montex 6500 stenter equipped with a heat recovery system.
Tizayuca Textil is a vertically integrated producer of textiles in Mexico. The company has been running a direct energy usage comparison with the Montex 5000 stenter installed a decade earlier, but which has no heat recovery system.
The heat recovery system is saving the company up to 20 per cent on gas consumption. Both of the machines are equipped with the Monforts Exxotherm indirect gas heating system, a heating technology that avoids any yellowing of the fabric.
The Monforts 6500 unit is also equipped with a Compactomat 6000 system for the control of over-feeding and cloth weight integrated within the machine. The Exxotherm indirect gas heating system incorporates a gas-fired heat exchanger that eliminates the negative effects of combustion gases on fabrics, and thereby, removes combustion related problems such as yellowing or color changes.
This is particularly the case in the treatment of polyamide and elastane based fabrics, which form a large part of Tizayuca Textil’s output.
The company is now giving serious consideration to the possibility of installing a heat recovery system on the first Monforts stenter.
Tizayuca Textil produces everything including knitting, nylon, cotton and poly cotton.
BGMEA's first vice-president Moinuddin Ahmed Mintu recently stated in a seminar held in the conference room of BGMEA regional office that there is no substitute for compliance in the garment industry if the current world market competition prevails. According to himalready 1,250 factories have been closed due to various reasons including inspection of the Accord, Alliance and ILO Rana Plaza. Maybe more factories will be closed in front. But the company wishes to turn around from this situation. Importance of compliance. He adds that they realize and it is impossible to survive this art without implementing it.
BGMEA and WRAP jointly organized 'Best Practice in the RMG Industry: Organized by the seminar on 'Social Compliance SN International Competitive Advantage'. Presenting the keynote paper at the seminar, WRAP President and CEO Avedes Sefariyan and Operation Manager of WRAP Bangladesh Kamrun Nahar Avdes Saferian said, WRAP has been working to improve the quality of Bangladesh's garment industry for a long time. In the current context, WRAP will continue to cooperate. BGMEA director Syed Mohammad Tanvir, Kazi Mahbub Uddin Jewel, Amjad Hossain Chowdhury, owners of garment factories, HR and compliance officials were present on the occasion.
Turkish investment in Serbia is expected to grow in the short term as the country offers the best conditions for foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Western Balkans. The Balkan country is offering financial incentives, such as government subsidies, as well as a prime strategic position as a link between southern and central Europe and the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, says Aleksandar Medjedovic the chairman of Turkey.
Currently, 12 or 13 Turkish companies operate factories in Serbia and their number is expected to double by the end of the year, as Turkish knitted fabric and knitwear manufacturers are being urged to set up manufacturing plants in Serbia.
Nis and the surrounding region has attracted a growing level of investment from foreign textile firms in recent years with manufacturers attracted by financial incentives, such as government subsidies, as well as its strategic position as a link between southern and central Europe and the emerging markets of Eastern Europe.
Turkish investors began looking at the Serbian market five years ago, when some companies opened factories in southern Serbia, mainly in the textile sector, and interest has been constantly growing, Medjedovic stated during the Vienna Economic Talks forum in Belgrade.
Most recently, Aster Textile, one of the largest and fast growing knitted jersey and woven womenswear, menswear and childrenswear producers in Turkey, invested €7.2 million on a new plant in the southern Serbian city of Nis. Of the total €7.2 million investment, €2 million was funded by State Aid. The site employs 250 people although this number is expected to rise to more than 2,000 over the next three years.
Aster stated that that within three yearsit would be producing garments worth around €60 million of women’s and menswear per year for some of the world's leading brands.
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is looking to provide same and next day deliveries to more than 600 million mainland Chinese consumers, with the opening of its own flagship online store on JD.com on Thursday.
That launch comes nearly a year after Walmart and JD.com, China’s biggest online retail service provider by revenue, formed a strategic alliance and more than a month since Walmart’s British supermarket chain Asda opened a store on the same platform.
Ben Hassing, the senior vice-president of e-commerce at Walmart China, stated thatWalmart is committed to providing the most trusted retail experience to consumers in China.
It assured mainland customers they would be buying only authentic, quality goods with categories including food, consumables, general merchandise, toys and apparel since all items are sourced through the same supply chain system that Walmart China’s network of stores use.
Walmart have made a US$50 million investment last October in New Dada, the joint venture between JD.com and delivery specialist Dada that operates the mainland’s largest on-demand logistics and online-to-offline grocery platform.
By the end of March, New Dada had partnered with 80 Walmart stores and 165 Yonghui Superstores to provide consumers with one-hour home delivery of groceries ordered through the JD Daojia Dada app. JD.com invested 4.3 billion yuan (US$624 million) to acquire a 10 per cent stake in Fuzhou-based Yonghui in 2015.
JD.com had 236.5 million active customer accounts at the end March. Orders placed through mobile accounted for 81 per cent of the total orders fulfilled by the company in the first quarter.
The deeper alliance between Walmart and JD.com could help bolster e-commerce spending on the mainland, already the world’s largest online retail market.
JD.com posted total revenue of US$28 billion last year, compared with rival Alibaba Group’s turnover. On the other hand according to Forrester research Mainland China is forecast to become the first market to reach US$1 trillion in total online retail sales by 2020, driven by a rise in mobile e-commerce transactions.
Collection of expanding fashion brands and retailer's locations across the U.S., is expanding its operations to include a new retail concept boutique in Minneapolis called Union 73. The new retail store opened at the Minneapolis City Centerat 40 South 7th Street, and is prepared to offer trendy, fast-fashion product at affordable prices. Union 73, the chic men's and women's retailer is the brainchild of entrepreneur, Marcus Lemonis, who is the star of CNBC's hit reality series, the profit in which he lends his expertise to assist struggling small businesses around the country.
Lemonisstated that the company is very excited to open the new Union 73 boutique in the beautiful and energetic Minneapolis City Center and its goal is to be the go-to trendy retailer in this community with our ever-changing collection of top quality men's and women's fashions, and we are offering over 1,500 pairs of jeans in all styles, washes and price points to start this new concept.
The 7,000-square foot boutique will feature an extensive selection of denim, jackets, tops, sweaters, dresses and bottoms, as well as a wide range of shoes, accessories and handbags, comprised of well-known national brands. The product base is finely crafted merchandise and the business model is focused on a strong commitment to one-on-one customer relationships.
Stephanie Menkin, president of the Marcus Lemonis Fashion pointed out saying that they are thrilled to introduce Union 73 to the fun, fashionable and diverse consumer base in the greater Minneapolis area, with affordably priced apparel for our transient consumer. The company is looking forward to offer monthly sales promotions for the customers and adding to overall growth as a company, with additional locations of Union 73 already in the works in Jacksonville, and Chicago.
Italian mill Berto is working to ensure that its manufacturing practices achieve sustainable products. With 130 years of business under its belt, Berto has proved to be a sustainable player in the denim market.
For autumn/winter 2018, Berto is offering bio eco denim, a collection of denim made with GOTS-certified organic cotton and GOTS-certified organic indigo dye.
The organic cotton is grown using methods with a low environmental impact. During the cultivation of organic cotton, neither pesticides nor chemical fertilizers are used. The cultivation process also requires a lower amount of water and helps prevent water contamination.
The organic indigo dye used in the collection stems from the processing of the leaves of the plant Indigofera Tinctoria. The cultivation of these plants occurs to the total exclusion of harmful chemicals. The indigo dye is extracted from the leaves through a process of bio-fermentation in water.
Berto is one of Italy’s premium fabric manufacturers. It operates a 100 per cent Made in Italy production chain.
Berto doesn’t use standard equipment. The machines are specially designed together with suppliers to ensure optimal performance. For selvedge denim, Berto even travelled back in time to find the perfect looms. All the blue selvedge fabrics are woven on Belgian Picanol shuttle looms from the 1950s. The looms were bought from a certified supplier and have been carefully restored and are constantly maintained to ensure the highest level of performance.
