Global news roundup

The following is a roundup of apparel and footwear news from the world’s local media. just-style has not checked these stories so cannot guarantee their accuracy.

• Soaring cotton prices in China, together with the rising value of the yuan, mean that many companies are now refusing to take long-term orders for fear of losing the profits to future increases, an analyst has said. In the international market, cotton prices surged by 28% to $4,927 per ton during the six-week period that ended 18 February. CHINA DAILY

• Bangladeshi exports have surged almost 40% in the past seven months, which could beat full-year targets. The growth is fuelled by gains in the knitwear and woven garment sectors. Knitwear exports rose 43% to $5.07bn in the seven months to January and woven garments were up 39% to $4.39bn. Total exports increased 39.9% to $12.18bn in the July 2010 to January 2011 period compared with the same months a year earlier. ASIA TIMES

• India’s Ministry of Company Affairs (MCA) has accepted a Parliamentary recommendation that businesses in India will have to set aside 2% of their profit for corporate social responsibility. The MCA is in the process of finalising the new bill. The government will leave it to companies to implement what is being prescribed in the law. THE ECONOMIC TIMES

• All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) fears massive job cuts if gas supplies to the textile industry in Punjab are suspended. Export orders are being diverted to Sindh province from Punjab where industries get uninterrupted gas supplies. APTMA chairman Gohar Ejaz believes that around a million textile workers would become jobless as the closed mills would not be able pay their salaries. DAILY TIMES

• The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China has increased Indonesia’s textile exports to that country by more than 30% in the last year according to the Indonesian Textile Association (API). Textile exports to China increased by 70%, fibres by 65% and yarn by 65% in 2010 according to API chairman Ade Sudrajat. ANTARA

• Customs authorities in the Philippines recently found smuggled rice and counterfeit shoes worth PHP15m at the Port of Manila. The fake shoes branded Adidas, Converse, Ecco Unlimited and Supra will be destroyed. There will be an investigation into who was behind the smuggling attempt. MANILA BULLETIN

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