A truck drives past piles of containers in the Chittagong Sea Port The country’s export earnings rose to US$12bn in July-November period of the current fiscal year, posting over 18% growth over the same period last year. Bangladesh fetched $2.22bn in November, which is over 5% higher than the previous month’s export earnings of $2.11bn, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data released yesterday. “The July-November exports stood at $12bn, which was $10bn in the same period last

China said it bought 417,200 tonnes of domestic cotton for state reserves last week that has taken total purchases in 2013 to more than 3 million tonnes, about 10 percent lower than volumes bought by the same time last year due to quality considerations. Stockpiling by the world's top cotton buyer, now in its third year, has hurt Chinese mills by pushing up domestic prices while benefiting overseas suppliers, whose prices are significantly cheaper. To address the mills' concerns, China has b

The Rs 13,000-crore knitwear industry at Tirupur in Tamil Nadu is faced with a peculiar problem. The export-based industry has been witnessing an uptick in enquiries and orders, but it is unable to accept all orders. Reason: unprecedented load-shedding of eight to 10 hours a day.With the industry reeling under the frequent power cuts, most of which is unscheduled, almost all units have been forced to run on gen-sets. This is a costly proposition for the units because gen-sets cost Rs 18-19 for a

Traffic was disrupted for a few hours here on Thursday when several powerloom weavers blocked traffic in protest against an inspection by officials. Annadurai and Dhavasiraj who were engaged in the business said that Aruppukottai was well known for operation of handloom and powerloom units. In the wake of acute shortage of manpower, even handloom units were gradually turning into powerloom units. Meanwhile, the State government had declared that yarns made by handloom units should not be u

Apparel exports are expected to grow by 20 percent to $16 billion during the present financial year on the back of growing demand in the new markets like Latin America and Africa. "We are seeing this fiscal better than the last year. We expect a 20 percent jump in 2012-13 from $13.4 billion in 2011-12," Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel said. He said the combined effort of the government and exporters to explore new markets would "give better fruits" this fiscal.

The labour unrest in the readymade garments sector in Bangladesh has put Indian apparel exporters in an advantageous position, reports Times of India. The US and EU are diverting orders from Bangladesh to India to meet their apparel requirements for the upcoming summer season. Indian apparel exporters are making most of the situation. They are scaling up operations and negotiating deals with foreign buyers so that they can enjoy a bigger pie of the overseas markets. Talking to the Economi

Cotton pickers are busy harvesting the crop in a field in Hami, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The Ministry of Agriculture is estimating that the nation's harvest will be about 6.3 million metric tons in 2013, down 540,000 tons from last year. [Photo / China Daily] Textile mills turn to buy cheaper Indian cotton yarn to cut costs Affected by adverse weather, a reduced planting area and lower Indian cotton prices, China's cotton output is expected to drop sharply this year compared wi

On Dec 2, Novozymes and China Knitting Industry Association (CKIA) signed a strategic partnership agreement in Beijing to jointly promote the sustainable development of biological solutions in the Chinese textile industry. In particular, the agreement addresses bio-innovative application and research in the knitting sector. Low carbon emissions, energy savings and environmental protection are among the goals of the agreement. The two sides will cooperate in many areas, including sewage treatm

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Wednesday stressed the need to ensure legal, safe working conditions after a fire killed seven Chinese workers at a factory in central Italy. While giving his condolences to the local Chinese community, Napolitano underlined the importance of "interventions to prevent illegal working conditions." The president said the goal was to combine economic development in the area, which is a major manufacturing district in Europe, with the protection of human

The external sector strengthened further with the trade deficit contracting sharply in October 2013,the Central Bank said yesterday. Earnings from exports increased to record levels, reflecting the ongoing recovery in the global economy, while expenditure on imports declined. The contraction of the trade deficit, higher inflows to the services account and an increase in private transfers contributed to reducing the current account deficit. The favourable developments in the external sector to