The following is a round-up of apparel and footwear news from the world’s local media.
- A fire at a textile factory in northeastern Moscow has killed 12 people, including three children and one baby. The 12 casualties are believed to have been “migrant” labourers from Central Asia – and their family members – who were living and working in the building. MOSCOW TIMES
- The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has demanded the government wave the customs duty on cotton imports while offering a 5% rebate on textile exports as a result of low cotton production. Currently, importers are paying 3% customs duty on cotton. DUNYA NEWS
- India’s government is in talks with Uttarakhand and a number of other states to set up 20 textile parks to boost the industry, Union Minister Santosh Gangwar has said. The proposed parks will eventually develop industrial hubs across the country. ECONOMIC TIMES INDIA
- The Malaysian Knitting Manufacturers Association (MKMA) has hit out at a doubling in the manufacturing sector’s foreign worker levy, saying the move came as a “shock, unexpected and without consultation and discussion with private sector”. The increase is expected to bring in an extra income of RM2.5bn to the country. THE EDGE MARKETS
- Textile manufacturers in Nigeria’s Zamafra region have asked the government to ban the import of foreign fabrics to revive the nation’s ailing textile mills. Sani Muhammad, Administrative Secretary of the Zamfara textile industry mill said it laid off over 2,500 workers in 2004. PREMIUM TIMES
just-style has not checked these stories so cannot guarantee their accuracy.
