South African wool prices rose sharply at the final national sale before the Christmas break, Cape Wools said on Wednesday. Company spokeswoman Ona Viljoen said Cape Wools' Marino indicator reached an all-time high when it gained seven percent on the previous week to close at R109.91/kg (clean). "This was not only higher than last season's highest level, but it also represents a 25.8 percent increase on the opening sale and was up almost 12 percent on the corresponding sale last year." Vil

Farmers have until 14 December to subscribe to the farmer owned promotional company Wools of New Zealand (WONZ) capital raising venture. The company has just finished more than 40 farmer meetings around the country, asking farmers to invest up to $10 million to help market and sell strong wool, with the aim of improving the long term returns back to the farm. But Wools of New Zealand chair Mark Shadbolt says it won't be easing up on its campaign to get farmers to invest a minimum of $5 milli

Kisan Board Pakistan (KBP) Central President Sardar Zafar Hussein Khan has urged the federal government to immediately announce a cotton policy as growers are being exploited in absence of such a policy. In a statement issued here on Tuesday, he said that prices of agricultural inputs including fertiliser and petroleum products had increased manifold and cotton prices also needs upward revision in the light of increase in input cost. He demanded that the government should fix 'phutti' price at

U.S. growers aren’t the only ones who are expected to reduce cotton acreage in 2013, the International Cotton Advisory Committee reports. The ICAC Secretariat projects that global cotton production will decrease by 11 percent to 23.2 million tons (106.56 million bales) in 2013-14 due to lower cotton prices and increased attractiveness of competing crops. This would be the second consecutive season of decline in cotton production and the smallest output in four years. Production is expected

Gas prices for the industrial sector in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were lower than Pakistan. PHOTO: FILE Textile exporters rejected the proposed raise in gas prices by the government and termed it an unwise move, as it will further increase the cost of business, hamper production and affect exports. Earlier, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), in a summary to the petroleum ministry, recommended a hike in gas prices by 9.87% to Rs31.12 million British thermal units (mmbtu) for Sui N

Textile industry demanded reduction in interest rate by 250 bps to 7.5 percent in the monetary policy, likely to be announced shortly, as growth of Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) sector is stalemate due to short of investment. They said the industry off-take has reduced by Rs 100 billion since September 2010 to September 2012 that has arrested growth in the Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) of the industry. However, they added, it has a dire impact on the investment front, as all investment plans h

A massive number of suppliers from China’s textile and garment industry have gathered in Dubai as part of a Chinese exhibition in a bid to attract investment from regional distributors. The textiles display, at the China Homelife Fair, will span two pavilions and is the largest presentation of Chinese textiles to date anywhere in the world, organisers said in a statement. Pan Jianjun, general manager of the Meorient International Group, the event’s organiser, said: “Industry analysts have

The British Government announced today (Dec 5) that licences will be required for import of cotton yarn from Pakistan. The import controls, which take effect immediately, have been imposed because there was no voluntary limitations agreement with Pakistan and because of a sharp increase of Pakistani shipments of cotton yarn in recent weeks, the Board of Trade said in a statement. The quota is being fixed at 1,200,000 lbs for the two years; 1962 and 1963 taken together. Giving details of the l

Christine Kardashian, a Sydney-based entrepreneur-turned-designer, has recently introduced a unique women’s clothing line that aims to fill the gap between regular and plus sized apparel brands. The capsule collection, meant for the average mid-sized women from Australia and western countries, has been designed to flatter curvaceous and fuller figures. The smart, sexy and feminine clothing line’s seven interchangeable ensembles feature a range of jackets, tops and pants that can be easily

DC Fashion Week, the nation’s capital’s largest professional trade show is accepting registration for new designers, models, and vendors for its upcoming fashion week. The next fashion week in Washington is February 18 – 24, 2013 and will mark the 18th fashion week. DC Fashion Week has grown considerable since its inception in 2004. It attracts top fashion labels around the globe. It is now the 4th largest US fashion week behind New York, Los Angeles and Miami, edging out Atlanta, Boston, Cle