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Around the World CHINA EXPORTS OF TEXTILE GOODS GROWING SHARPLY China has optimistic view for its exports of textile goods last year thanks to a recovery of the purchasing desire in Southeast Asian countries. Exports to ASEAN countries increased by 60% during the first quarter of this year compared to the year before. China expects that its participation in WTO and the abolition of quotas from 2005 will further increase its exports to the U.S. and EU markets. China has succeeded in restructuring state-run textile enterprises during the last two year. The government also increasedthe rates of tax refunds from 13% to 15% for textile goods and to 17% for apparel, which is encouraging exports of textile goods. However, a crucial problem for China is declining exports to the American
market. U.S. textile trade is expanding with NAFTA partners and Caribbean countries. In
addition, the EU seems to be shifting its supply sources from Asian countries to Turkey,
Eastern Europe and Africa. Under such circumstances, the Ministry of Textile Industry is
instructing textile manufacturers to develop value-added products and to strengthen their
non-cost competitiveness (good service). 10th FIVE-YEAR PLAN STARTING FROM 2001 The Ministry of Textile Industry in China is preparing to start the 10th Five-Year Plan from 2001. The basic concept of this plan is: (I) increasing the value the textile industry from the current 800 billion yuan to 1,100 billion yuan, (2) raising per-capita consumption from 5.5 kg to 6.6 kg, (3) enlarging exports from US$ 48 billion to US$ 65 billion, and (4) increasing the self sufficient rate of materials for export goods from 50% to over 80%. RAPID GROWTH OF MMF The target set for the 9th Five-Year Plan (1996-2000) was achieved in one
and a half years. As a result of the rapid development of the MMF industry, MMF has become
a major material for textile production. The share of MMF in textile materials has
increased to 55% from only 20% at the beginning of the 1980s. MTI considers that China can
compete with other countries in the sector of PSF and PFY. The production capacity of
polyester fibre exceeds 100,000 ton/month, and China has the world's largest domestic
market. In 1999, 1.42 million tonnes of MMF were imported to fully meet domestic
consumption. WORLD TCF EMPLOYMENT During 1995-98, Asian share of textile, clothing and footwear (TCF) jobs
rose from 69% to 72%. China's share alone was 20% followed by India (below 10%) TCF
employment more than doubled in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri-Lanka, Lesotho,
Botswana, Jordan, Kuwait, Tunisia, Mauritius also recorded higher job numbers, albeit from
low bases. Global TCF employment remained staple throughout the 90s at around 30 million
Jobs, compared with 16% decline in the 80s. FORECAST OF COTTON SHORTAGE 1.2 MILLION TONNES China will have a domestic cotton shortage of 1.2 million tonnes in the year from Sept. 2000 to next August, the official China Daily has reported. The textile industry and other sectors are likely to drive total cotton demand to 4.8 million tonnes between September and August creating a shortage of 1.2 million tonnes, the newspaper quoted Zhu Dongfang, division director at the State Development Planning Commission, as saying. China's textile industry, which grew strongly this year, is expected to use 4.4 million tonnes of cotton during that period, it said. The newspaper quoted Zhu as saying China's cotton reserves and commercial stocks would be sufficient to satisfy the needs of textile companies for quite some time. Industry officials states reserves that excluding commercial stocks, were more than one million tonnes. That meant China would not need to import large amounts of cotton, they say. China's cotton output in 2000 was likely to fall by 250,000 tonnes from last year's 3.83 million tonnes due to rainy weather and overcast skies in the major cotton producing regions over the last two months, the newspaper said.
MAN-MADE FIBRES INDUSTRY EXPANDS Continued massive expansion of the Chinese man-made fibres industry is
reported for the first half of 2000 when output, compared with the matching period in
1999, rose by 16.9%. EGYPT NO CHANGE IN COTTON PRICES The Alexandria Cotton Exporters Association said on Jan 1 that it had made no change in its weekly price range for cotton exports. Alcotexa had issued a new price range on September 1, 2000 on the basic (G+3/8) grade for all varieties except Giza 45 and Giza 76 (G+1/4). Bids are valid from Monday to 0900 GMT on Saturday every week and will be judged on price and availability, Alcotexa said. Prices will be revised periodically in line with world prices, as well as availability of cotton for export and bids received, it said. Total sales since the September 9 start of the season stood at 1,616,930 qantars (80,846.5 tonnes), valued at $194.59 million. GERMANY THIRD EXHIBITION FROM FEBRUARY 5 5 and 6 February will see the third CPD Fabrics Dusseldorf held on the 2nd floor of Hall 8. 120 companies from 14 nations will be show-casing the 2002 summer fashion trends, exhibiting approximately 160 fabric collection for women's, men's and children's wear, sports and active wear. For the third time now, this fabric fair will run concurrently with CPD Dusseldorf and immediately after the Cologne's Men's Fashion Week/Interjeans. After just two events, this early information fair for fabrics and fashion accessories has become an indispensable information and communication platform for the textile and clothing industry, reaching out far beyond just Germany. This standing is confirmed by both the 38% increase in visitors and the 42% increase in the proportion of foreign visitors. A survey commissioned by the Igedo polling visitors shows that apparel manufacturers, designers and major vertical retail operations rank this fabric event highly. According to this survey, 93.3% of visitors to the fair in August 2000 said that their visit to the third CPD Fabrics Dusseldorf had already become a firm fixture in their agenda. INDIA IMPORT DEMAND 450,000 BALES OF COTTON Textile mills in India have so far made commitments to buy 450,000 bales of cotton mainly from West Africa, Australia and the United States in 2000/2001 (Oct-Sept.). A majority of the imports, about 50% to 60% are coming from West Africa
and the rest from Australia and the US. India almost doubled its imports to around 1.8 million to 1.9 million bales in 1999/2000, from one million bales in 1998/99. Traders said India imported cotton last year when the rupee was around 43.5 rupees against the dollar and now the Indian currency had depreciated to around 46.60 making imports expensive. They said due to high prices Indian mills were not likely to make import commitments from Egypt, that grows top quality cotton. "The price of long staple cotton is around 28,000 to 32,000 rupees in Egypt which is 40 to 50% higher than last year. Our mills are not in a position pay that", Gala said. India imported around 150,000 bales from Egypt last year. Dealers said they had further lowered India's 2000/2001 cotton crop with adverse weather hitting output in Gujarat and Maharashtra . The country's output could fall to 13.3 million bales in 2000/2001 from 15.4 million in the previous year, they said. Traders had earlier estimated an output of 14.2 to 14.5 million bales. IRAN WORLD'S LARGEST HAND-MADE CARPET A team of 500 Iranian weavers has created what is reportedly the world's largest hand-made carpet, a 22-ton masterwork valued at $ 5.3 million, a newspaper said. The weavers took three years to fashion the gigantic work, which measures more than 53,800 sq. ft --- the equivalent of 25 tennis courts - and is comprised of more than 1.7 billion knots, the Iran Daily said. The carpet was sent to Oman, where it is destined for the Azam mosque in
the capital of Muscat, the paper said. IVORY COAST LARGEST COTTON GINNING UNIT IN WEST AFRICA The largest cotton ginning unit in West Africa has been completed in Côte d'Ivoire and will be operational in time for the 2000-2001 season crop. It is being operated by LCCI in M'Bengue and will process up to 100,000 tonnes of lint per year, yielding 45,000 tonnes of ginned cotton. The development represents an investment of CFA francs 9.8 bn ($13.5 m) and has been undertaken by La Compagnie Cotonnihre Ivoirrienne - LCCI, a subsidiary of Geneva-based Aiglon group, which also has interests in Benin, Togo, Senegal and Niger. It has a 70% interest in the new project, 20% being held by Bollore,
France and the remaining 10% by local investors. MALAYSIA PENFABRIC EXPANDS DYEING
Malaysia has extended a concession allowing full foreign ownership of most new manufacturing ventures. Curbs on foreign investment in manufacturing were first relaxed in July
1998 when the country was gripped by recession. "We hope that this extension of flexibility will provide further impetus for investors to continue investing in the manufacturing industry", Bernama news agency quoted her as saying. Some low-tech sectors have been excluded from the 100% foreign ownership concession. These are paper packaging plastic packaging, plastic injection moulded components, metal stamping, metal fabrication and electroplating, wire harness, printing and steel service centre. Malaysia has recovered strongly from its 1998 recession, with the official growth forecast for this year at 7.5%. But analysis say it faces increasingly tough regional competition for foreign investment Rafidah said the US Federal Reserve's rate cut showed that authorities were aware of the need to combat an expected economic downturn. The move would help stabilise demand for Malaysian exports, she said. Rafidah said export strategy would focus on strengthening Malaysia share in existing markets and exploring new opportunities. The government would help exporters make inroads into emerging markets. PERU NEW DENIM PLANT A new denim plant costing some $13m is to be built in Peru by Nuevo Mundo.
RAYON PRODUCTION FALLS BY 15% In Russia all viscose rayon is coming under the control of monopolist
Mezhregionalgaz, a subsidiary of Gazprom. Production in 1999 fell by 15% compared with the previous year reaching only 38,000 tonnes. In the current year the two operations in Ryazan and Balakovo are
scheduled to produce 40,000 tonnes. THAILAND STRONG GROWTH FOR THAI TEXTILE PRODUCTS With the exception of cotton yarn export and apparel exports to Japan,
exports of Thai textile products and garments have risen across the board between
Jan-August this year, compared with same period in '99. Main reasons for the 14% increase
in Thai textile products were firm demand in EU and U.S., weakening baht as well as
on-going recovery in Asia. Woven fabric exports were up 8.94% - growth is largely concentrated in the U.S. market (up 10.5%), U.A.E. ( up 2.4%), Hong Kong ( up 17%. The meteoric rise in fabric export to Indonesia by 279% reflects higher demand for polyester/cotton blended woven fabrics. Jerseys, cardigans and other knitwear exports were also up 21%, synthetic filament yarn up 26%. Yarn exports have been in decline since 1998. CAUTION OVER TRADE UNDER WTO Thailand suspects that by the time free trade world-wide is introduced in 2005, the United States and the Common Market will effectively close out Thai textiles and garment trade while establishing favourable situations in various regions of their own markets. Thai exports to Europe and the former Soviet Union in the period 1990 - 1998 showed the highest growth of 16%, followed by a rise of 13% in North American trade. This compares with a rise of 8% in Asian shipment to the USA and 8.7% to Western Europe. Commenting on the changing situation Ms Boontipa Simasakul, inspector-general at the Ministry of Commerce haswarned that Thailand's major competitors in future would be China, Indonesia and Vietnam and she warned that China would become a major player in the WTO as the country's 'Most favoured nation' trade links with the United States had been renewed. In her view Thai manufacturers will be unable to compete with China in terms of mass-produced goods. TGMA DEMANDS “TEXTILE FUND” The Thai Garment Manufacturers Association has proposed the setting up of a "Textile Fund" to support upgrading of machinery, technology and manufacturing efficiency from upstream through downstream production. Bt. 400-500 million. Is generated annually by bidding for export quotas left over from the main allocation system. Thai textile industry can compete in terms of experienced manpower, technology, marketing and management but lack financial support. U.S.A PIMA COTTON SHORTER BY 30% American production of Pima ELSC acreage in 2000-2001 is likely to be down by some 30%. However despite smaller production it is reported that the crop is above average condition with above average yields expected. This follows a season when American Pima cotton growers produced a record crop of 674,000 bales. The latest estimate is suggesting a production of 400,000 - 450,000 bales (480 lb). Higher quality cottons are generating better markets and fine count yarns are gaining in popularity according to Supima News. It is pointed out that there is competition between Pima and upland cottons and production of fine count yarns is riskier and more costly than medium count yarns, but the rewards can be high. Supima has been very active in licensing and even more mills, knitters, weavers, apparel and garment makers have adopted the Supima brand which is granted to those using 100% American Pima cotton. US PLANS TO APPEAL AGAINST WTO RULING The United States plans to appeal a WTO ruling that its restrictions on Australian and New Zealand lamb imports violate global trade regulations, a spokeswoman for the US trade representative said recently. The spokeswomen confirmed press reports that a World Trade Organisation dispute settlement panel in Geneva has found certain aspects of the US safeguard measures to be inconsistent with WTO rules. The ruling was quickly hailed by officials in Australia and New Zealand, where US tariff and quota restrictions on imported lamb imposed in July 1999 had been bitterly denounced as outright protectionism. The two countries, which account for 95% of US lamb imports, quickly
challenged the US measures at the WTO. In Wellington, New Zealand Trade Negotiations minister James Sutton hailed the WTO finding as a significant victory that demonstrated the benefits of a rule-based world trading system. There is no other way a country the size of ours could force the United States to change its policy. Under a three-year programme approved by President Bill Clinton in July
1999 lamb imports in the first year were to be limited to 31,851 tons and subject to a 9%
tariff. Imports in excess of the quota faced a 40% tariff. Before the restrictions, according to New Zealand officials, the US466.5 million the country earned each year from lamb exports to the United States had been expected to double by 2002. Clinton endorsed the measures after a US trade body, the US International Trade Commission, determined that the domestic US lamb industry was threatened with "serious injury" by a surge in imports. The USTR spokeswoman said the WTO panel in its ruling had affirmed the analytical approach used by the ITC in determining the existence of a threat of serious injury to the domestic industry. At the time restrictions were adopted, the American Sheep Industry Association said lamb imports, principally from Australia and New Zealand, had risen 50% from 1993 to 1997, with 1998 levels 30% higher than the previous year and 1999 imports on track for a new record. INTERNATIONAL HOSIERY SHOWS EVERY FOURTH YEAR The Hosiery Association (USA) recently announced that is leadership has approved changing the frequency of its trade show, the International Hosiery Exposition (IHE) from every two years to four years. THA President and CEO Sid Smith said, "With the advent of the FAST show in Europe and the need to provide equipment manufacturers time to develop new technologies, this move makes sense. While it does extend the period of time before our technicians can see new technology, the cost of trade shows on exhibitors is no small matter, and we want to help control those costs for all our members". Initially, a three-year show cycle was proposed; however, the two shows decided that a four-year cycle for each show, with two years between shows in Europe and the Americas, was in the best interests of hosiery manufacturers and suppliers world-wide. Dr. Luigi Ciocca, President of Calzificio Milanese Luigi Ciocca, S.P.A. Hosiery Company and President of FAST said, "The co-operation between FAST and IHE to resolve this situation has been tremendous. The organisers of both shows have been very supportive of each other and have co-operated in every way for the benefit of our members and exhibitors. In the end, we feel that this is the best solution, and it will be undoubtedly make both shows even larger and stronger". The next FAST show is scheduled for March 21-2, 2001 in Verona, Italy and the new cycle begins after that show. The next IHE and Conference will be held May 3-6, 2003 and space has already been reserved at the Charlotte Convention centre where the show has been held since it was started in 1980. FAST organisers report that the exact dates for 2005 have not yet been determined. Organisers of both show claim that they plan on continuing their high degree of co-operation and support of each other. VIETNAM COTTON IMPORTS INCREASE BY 25.5% Vietnam is expected to import 320,000 tonnes of cotton and yarns this year, a rise of 25.5% from last year, official media reported. The Dau Tu (Investment) news-paper said the imports would be feasible if the export turnover generated by textiles and garments this year increased 27.7% to $ 2.3 billion. This growth would be possible if a trade agreement signed last July with the United States was ratified this year, paving the way for Vietnamese garments to break into the US market as well as key European destinations. Dau Tu said Vietnam produced 19, 100 tonnes of raw cotton last year from 18,900 hectares ( 46,702 acres) under plantation, a drop of 14% in yields and 10.8% in planted area. Imported cotton from the United States, Australia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, India and Egypt accounts for the majority of natural cotton fibre used in Vietnam's textile industry. The majority of domestic cotton is grown in the central highland Daklak province which is Vietnam's coffee haven. Cotton is also planted in south-eastern provinces where bad weather last year affected agricultural production. YUGOSLAVIA RAYON PRODUCTION INCREASED The largest celluloisic fibre producer in the Balkans, Viscoza, Loznica has come back on stream and three plants are now producing cellulosic materials and rayon staple. The company is making about 15 tons/month of staple, most of which is
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