. The State Bank of Pakistan will provide loans at the fixed mark-up rate for seven years to the exporters for the purchase of machinery under Technology Up-gradation Scheme launched by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

. The European Commission has expressed its willingness to initiate, without delay, a review of the 13.1% anti-dumping duty imposed by it on Pakistani bedlinen. Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan disclosed this while presiding over a meeting with representatives of the bedlinen industry.

. Syed Usman Ali, Chairman, Towel Manufacturers' Association of Pakistan (TMA), has criticized the Shipping Lines for raising the freight charges for Canada and South America.

. Sheikh Muhammad Amjad, Chairman, All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA), has hailed the decisions for the establishment of full-fledged ministry for textiles.

. Liaquat Ali Jatoi, the Federal Minister for industries and production, said the government is determined to make all out efforts to look after the interests of the local industry in the forthcoming federal budget 2004-05.

. Chairman, Export Promotion Bureau of Pakistan (EPB), Tariq Ikram - citing the increasing exports of the country since the last four years - has said the current momentum of growth of exports would help in achieving the target of US $12 billion set for the current year.

. All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has objected to the permission accorded by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan to the National Commodity Exchange Limited for initiating futures trading in cotton yarn.

. The SMEDA Board of Directors has, in principle, approved the establishment of JICA Cells in all the four provinces for the up-gradation of the textile sector for a period of two years.

. The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has prepared a draft of the Export Market Development Fund (EMDF) Act to regulate measures designed to boost the country's exports.

. The government has formed Pakistan Textile City Limited (PTCL) and got it listed with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) as a limited company to make its textile cities plan a reality before the end of the current fiscal year.

. Pakistan will get additional quantity of textile quota from the European Union after the induction of ten new member states on May 1, 2004. This quota will be enhanced on the basis of past performance of exporters to ten new states during the last three years from 2001 to 2003.

. The exporters are hammering out a three-pronged strategy to create new job opportunities for the educated unemployed youth, said Ahmed Kamal, chairman, All Pakistan Cloth Exporters Association (APCEA).

. China National Textile Industry Council (CNTIC) is interested in making investment in the proposed textile cities, to be set up at three different cities of Pakistan, said Wang Tian Kai, Vice Chairman CNTIC, during a visit to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

. The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) will grant 70% subsidy on cost of stand/stalls to the exporters of textiles attending the ASAP Global Sourcing Show being held in Las Vegas, USA, in August 2004.

. Romania has invited Pakistani exporters, investors, entrepreneurs and industrialists to visit Romanian markets and enhance trade and economic links between the two countries. It has also sought the participation of Pakistanis in the industrial exhibition in Romania in June 2004.

. Punjab Minister for Agriculture, Muhammad Arshad Khan Lodhi has said that Punjab Seed Council has approved four new varieties of cotton seed having better yield potential.

. Major increase in the PSF demand owing to the rise in cotton prices, causing a hike in PTA prices would push local producers to revise their prices in order to maintain their margins.

Textile Briefs - International

. Due to recent investments in new spinning units, Bangladesh now partly covers its need for cotton yarns. Production of quality woven fabrics remains relatively small, however, forcing apparel producers to import the larger part of their consumption.

. India is expected to register a 10% growth in the export of textiles and garments in 2003-04, with revenues crossing $13.5 billion -- from $11 billion in the previous year.

. After again jumping in the past year, US apparel imports from Sub-Saharan Africa could be rapidly depressed by the current delay in extending the so-called third-country fabric provision under the US duty-free treatment.

. Turkey is expected to remain the leading supplier to the EU's market for womens’ and girls' knitted shirts (HS number 6106). Poland and Lithuania also kept a large share of the market, due to their proximity with the European Union which they will join on May 1st.

. Central American countries and the Dominican Republic could benefit from a broader duty-free entry on the US market, due to a recently concluded agreement with Washington.

. Swaziland's flourishing textile industry is experiencing a crisis, caused by delays in US legislation that would extend a deadline in the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), and enable Swazi exports to continue entering the market duty-free.

. In sharp contrast with the fall in imports, Thailand's exports of denim fabrics rose 86% in US$ terms in 2003 at US$1.10 million. Sales to Cambodia surged, possibly reflecting the relocation of Thai apparel capacities to the neighbouring country and its low labour costs.

. In the past year, 65% of US apparel imports from the CBI countries were already duty-free under the preferential treatment previously granted by the United States known as CBTPA (Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act). US imports from China will continue being subject to US MFN tariffs. Washington could also re-impose quotas if imports from China surge in 2005.

. Thailand's imports of cotton denim fabrics declined in 2003 after surging in the prior year, reflecting lower global demand for denim apparel and higher costs met by Thai apparel producers. Denim exports sharply increased in 2003 with domestic producers shifting to foreign customers in order to offset the decline in the domestic market.

. In order to improve competitiveness, Bangladesh should try reducing port charges or lower interest rates, according to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). The government is apparently preparing an "action plan" for the post-quota era. Meanwhile, the domestic textile industry has requested for a US$1.5 billion fund to modernize its equipment.

. Wool prices further fell this week (April 20) in local currency terms in Australia and South Africa. Finer qualities resisted the decline however, while prices of broader fibers were depressed by a sharp rebound in the Australian dollar.

. US imports of cotton T-shirts further declined in March 2004 in sharp contrast with the surge experienced a year ago. Central American countries continue dominating the market, with US importers increasingly taking advantage of the duty-free facility. Although doubled in 2002, US duty-free quotas under the Carribean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) could again be saturated this year.

. Polyester prices continued rising in China in the past fifteen days although demand remains relatively depressed. Raw material costs are also increasing with oil prices now reaching 13-year highs in the United States ahead of a possible cut in production by OPEC members.

. US duty-free agreement with Central America received an official support from a series of textile and apparel associations, urging a fast approval by the US Congress before the removal of quotas on 1st January 2005.

. US apparel imports from Bangladesh again fell in the past three months as a first sign of a possible decline in Bangladeshi apparel exports in the post-quota period. In order to compete with China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam, Bangladesh urgently needs improving its infrastructure while investing in new textile facilities.