The year 2016 saw the first year ever that China became Cuba's largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching $2.585 billion, according to a newly released report by the island's statistics, ONEI. The commercial exchanges between Havana and Beijing saw Cuba import $2.328 billion of goods from China and export goods worth $257 million. Cuban daily Juventud Rebelde wrote that "for the first time in history, in bilateral relations and in this century so far, the People's Republic of

Any US trade protectionism move against China will surely damage bilateral economic and trade ties, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday. China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Tuesday expressed "grave concerns" about a memorandum signed by US President Donald Trump to direct US trade representative Robert Lighthizer to examine China's intellectual property practices. In response, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing that the MOC had released a

Foreign direct investments (FDI) in labour-intensive activities such as garment exports should be actively promoted from China and elsewhere in order to facilitate Myanmar’s economic transformation, according to the latest briefing paper published by a UK-based think tank. Data provided by the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, as of mid-2015. Thompson Chau/The Myanmar Times The study called for an expansion of training in the garments sector to tackle shortages of high-l

Cotton is cultivated twice a year across two seasons. However, cultivation has become expensive since farmers must now buy seeds from private agriculture companies due to insufficient government supplies. “The cost to sow the seeds per acre is now about K30,000.When we try to access the seeds from the private [companies], the seeds are not of good quality even [when] they said the seeds are from reputable government farms like Shwe Tung. That could pose problems for future plantation yields.

The Russian government has approved the allocation of up to 20 grants for conducting R&D activities in the field of technical textiles and industrial fabrics during 2017-2019, according to recent statements by the press office of the Russian Presidential Administration. The amount of the grants varies from US$1 million to US$10 million and in some cases, is even higher. One of the biggest grants of US$5 million will be given to a group of scientists at the St. Petersburg State Technical U

Egypt plans to scale its cotton cultivation back. Nabil al-Santaricy, head of the Alexandria Cotton Exporters Association, referring to long-staple American cotton, Egypt's primary competitor said that the area under cultivation is growing and exports are also going to grow and they can now sell at a price that’s less than California Prima. This year the area planted rose to about 220,000 acres and is expected to hit up to 500,000 acres in the next two to three years, according to cotton trad

The clothes made in North Korea are labelled "Made in China" and exported across the world as Chinese textile firms are increasingly making use of North Korean factories even as they relocate their own factories offshore, including to Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia to take advantage of cheaper labour across the border. This helps the manufacturers to save up to 75 percent by making their clothes in North Korea, stated traders and businesses in the border city of Dandong. They take orders fr

India's garment exports to US in the category Men/Boys cotton knit shirts has clocked number one position in terms of market share, it is for the first time in the history due to the slowdown in China. According to the data released by Office of Textile and Apparel, US department of commerce, India exported 8.5 million dozens of men/boys cotton shirts to US. India's share in total men/boys knitwear shirts import in US stood at 8.7 percent in June. After a dip in 2014, India's market share has

Turkish and Pakistani textile executives are divided in their opinion about the likely benefits of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) under discussion between Pakistan and Turkey, with Pakistan opinion in favour, but less enthusiasm in Turkey. Seven rounds of talks between the two sides have taken place, and further talks may be staged in August. Asad Hayauddin, spokesperson for Pakistan’s ministry of commerce, says: “Pakistan’s trade balance with Turkey turned negative from positive in the ye

“This is the most favourable time for us to join the Vietnamese market, H&M’s 68th market with great potential in the retail sector. With various diversified fashion products, we hope to meet our customers’ expectations and inspire them to explore and create their own style,” Fredrik Famm, H&M Southeast Asia country manager, said. Vietnam is one of H&M’s five newest markets in 2017. Also, this year marks H&M’s 70th year of continuously providing trendy and fashionable clothing