China's total cargo throughput increased by 3 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022, according to Fitch Ratings’ ‘China Ports Watch–4Q22’ report. The country’s foreign trade cargo in Q4 of 2022 declined by 1 per cent at eight major coastal ports compared to the previous year, primarily due to continued weakening overseas demand.Total container throughput increased 7 per cent YoY in Q4 of 2022, driven by newly opened shipping routes and sea-rail transportation routes along

The overall global buyer-supplier partnership index (BBPI) score for softgoods increased by one point from last year (40 in 2022, compared to 39 in 2021). The share of true partner, collaborator, and detractor ratings stayed roughly the same, as per the Better Buying Institute.Scores improved compared to 2021 in areas including buyers making efforts to reduce duplicative audit requirements (4.2 per cent); fairness of buyers’ financial practices (4.1 per cent); buyers’ efforts to improve working

Climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices based on nuclear and related techniques have enabled farmers and researchers in Azerbaijan to more than double cotton production in a project supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. The new variety called ‘cotton super’ combined with CSA practices has helped increase the country’s average of three tonnes per hectare to eight tonnes per hectare.Imple

China's cross-border e-commerce last year was worth 2.11 trillion yuan ($0.31 trillion), up by 9.8 per cent year on year, according to data from the country’s ministry of commerce. A recent joint announcement released by Chinese authorities said cross-border e-commerce enterprises will enjoy slashed shipment and return costs to support the development of emerging foreign trade business patterns.The country has introduced a slew of measures in recent years to support the development of cross-

Cotton Contamination Survey 2022 by the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) shows that the level of contamination of raw cotton by foreign matters and stickiness have decreased compared to 2019. At the same time the appearance of seed-coat fragments has remained the same. The survey reveals significant differences between cotton varieties.The Cotton Contamination Survey n°16/2022 covered 104 spinning mills located in 21 countries which evaluated 78 different cotton growths, ITM

Today, the European Commission has presented a Green Deal Industrial Plan to enhance the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and support the fast transition to climate neutrality. The Plan aims to provide a more supportive environment for the scaling up of the European Union’s (EU) manufacturing capacity for the net-zero technologies and products required to meet Europe's ambitious climate targets.The plan builds on previous initiatives and relies on the strengths of the EU Sin

In 2022, cargo throughput of China’s busiest port, Ningbo Zhoushan, exceeded 1.25 billion tonnes. As per the port, its cargo throughput ranked first globally for a 14th consecutive year. Ningbo Zhoushan, which is located in the eastern province of Zhejiang, had a total of 300 sea routes by the end of 2022, 13 routes more as compared to the previous year.The port’s container throughput ranked third globally, with the throughput reaching 33.35 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2022.Fu

A resilient Asia will drive global economic growth in 2023, despite the prevailing headwinds of monetary tightening and weak global growth, according to London-based think tank Asia House's Annual Outlook. The region’s economic momentum will come from strength in domestic demand. Asia House economic readiness indices for this year indicate improvements in green finance and digital transformation.Declines in Japan (for green finance) and in India (for both) were the exceptions.Inflation has m

Heimtextil 2023in Frankfurt am Main, Germany ended on a high note with 44,000 buyers that took advantage of the opportunity to participate in the global market for home and contract textiles and gain a bundled overview of global textile innovations—from fibres, yarns, upholstery and decorative fabrics, functional textiles, outdoor fabrics, artificial leather, and wallpapers to bed and bathroom textiles, mattresses, sleep systems, curtains, and decorative cushions.The top ten exhibiting countries

Europe and Central Asia’s (ECA) gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to remain virtually flat in 2023, with growth of only 0.1 per cent, according to the ‘Global Economic Prospects’ report by World Bank. The worsening of the near-term outlook mainly reflects the impact from Russia’s cut-off of energy supplies to the European Union (EU) and additional monetary policy tightening in the euro area.Although much of the projected weakness in regional growth this year emanates from a further outpu