Leading economists have forecast a healthy 10% increase in Vietnam’s garment and textile exports for 2014 to 23 billion USD. However, according to radio The Voice of Vietnam (VOV), the National Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex) cautions that a number of thorny problems, particularly those dealing with the procurement of raw materials, must be overcome if such an optimistic outlook is to be achieved. The sector is overly dependent on the importation of raw materials to meet its production

North Korea is demanding talks toward a 10% hike in wages for its workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The 10% total includes two regular annual 5% rises, one for 2014 and one for last year, when wages were not raised because of a long-term shutdown at the complex. South Korea’s Ministry of Unification is now indicating that it will not agree to the hike as a matter of principle. Ministry spokesman Kim Ui-do reported on Mar. 14 that North Korea’s Central General Bureau for the Cent

India is ready to remove restrictions on Pakistani textiles products, a move which will increase Pakistani exports to New Delhi three folds, said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Assistant Maftah Ismael on Saturday. He said that India will ease ban on 160 Pakistani products and it had agreed to grant access to Pakistani items to local market. Maftah said that Pakistan had demanded of India no to impose duty on 160 items. Source: The News, PK.

The former Angolan model Karina Barbosa Monday in Luanda said that the lack of textile industry is the main reason for high prices of products practiced by fashion creators and agents. She also said that the lack of this industry makes the agents and fashion creators to spend more money on the process of importing raw material so the rates in the country are very high. "The lack of textile industry should have reason for reduce the custom rates on fashion products due to the fact of not be

Turkey’s apparel exports during the month of February touched US$ 1.48 billion, indicating a rise of 7.2 percent, compared to the same month last year, as per the data released by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly. According to the February 2014 Export Data of TIM, Turkey exported apparel worth $1.48 billion during the month of February, compared to the $1.38 billion apparel exported during the same month last year. Apparel exports from Turkey during the month of February accounted for 12.3

The cotton textile industry in Zambia, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, has the huge potential to contribute a much bigger share to the country’s economy, says a Times of Zambia article. In Zambia, four provinces—Eastern, Central, Southern and Lusaka—account for majority of the cotton grown in the country. These provinces harvest an average of 500 kg of cotton per hectare. Last year, the country harvested 100,000 tons of cotton, but the production is expected to increase to 168,000

Pakistani textiles posted earnings growth of 26 percent in the six-month period ended December 31, 2013, an analyst said on Thursday. “This was due to improved demand and stable yarn margins. Further boost to the profits was provided by depreciating rupee and declining finance cost,” Tahir Saeed at Topline Securities said. The profits of the listed textile firms increased by 26 percent to reach Rs17.5 billion, while gross profits posted a growth of 14 percent to Rs39 billion in the first h

Pakistan's import of jute declined by over six percent to $25.756 million during July-January 2013-14, official statistics say. Jute import fell by $1.748 million from $27.504 million during the same period last fiscal year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said. In term of volume: jute import reduced by six percent to 50,025 metric tons in July-January 2013-14 from 53,214 metric tons in the same period last fiscal year, the PBS suggests. In January 2014, jute import, however, posted an i

India is still the largest producer of organic cotton in the world, accounting for two-third of the global organic cotton production. But, the total organic fibre production of the country has fallen by close to 50% as global brands shift to Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). A marketing-driven green alternative to conventional cotton grown using chemicals, BCI is growing rapidly and getting premium over the conventional cotton. From 1,95,797 metric tonne, its peak in 2009-10, to 1,03,004 metric

The relaxation of standards for organic clothing has opened up new avenues for the country's embattled garment sector. Organic clothing, a niche but lucrative market, requires strict adherence to organic farming and environmentally and socially responsible textile processing methods, which have so far been very restricting for the country's 5,000 garment producers. But on March 1, the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) International Working Group has modified a host of rules, giving te