Apparel Sourcing Intelligence - Worldwide

8th June 2015

Is India really going to increase textile job creation twentyfold?

India constantly comes out with predictions for extraordinary growth in garment exports and the jobs that growth will create. In a June 8 Souring Journal article, I looked at what grounds...

Read Story

3rd June 2015

Indian government faces growing opposition on its two major apparel-related policies

Two key Indian government projects for rapid growth in India's textile manufacture and apparel exports are threatened by mounting opposition, both in the country's Parliament and in threatened mass action. India's...

Read Story

14th May 2015

Rajasthan court orders 893 textile plants to close

In apparently India's largest ever mass-closure order, the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) served mid-May closure notices on all the state's textile plants By High Court order, 893 textile units must...

Read Story

6th May 2015

US apparel imports return to normal growth in first quarter

US apparel imports (measured in square metres of apparel) appeared to soar 20% in March over March 2014 after erratic movements earlier in the year. For the first three months...

Read Story

3rd April 2015

Port delays cut US February imports less than predicted. But Asians hit.

US apparel imports in February grew 0.2% on February 2014, in spite of West Coast port delays. Imports from Asia remained depressed - but  far less than widely-quoted indicators were...

Read Story

11th March 2015

China gets excited about free trade agreements

China will accelerate talks over free trade areas, said its Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng on March 8. The country will "will accelerate talks over free trade areas with Japan and...

Read Story

7th March 2015

Should India really subsidise its textile companies building factories in Cambodia?

The March FlanaRant covers the Indian garment and textile industry's disappointment with India's annual budget. Most of the complaints come down to the perceived inadequacy of the subsidies India's government...

Read Story

6th March 2015

India pledges $16.1 mn for Cambodian garment factories – but slashes subsidies on factories at home

In a little-publicised part of his annual government budget, India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced on February 28 a $16 mn programme for building  garment factories in Cambodia - while cutting subsidies...

Read Story

27th February 2015

Indian-owned factory “to start making denim in Ethiopia by May”

Kanoria Africa Textile, the Ethiopian subsidiary of Kanoria Chemicals & Industries, an Indian chemicals conglomerate, reportedly started yarn production in mid-February in preparation for producing denim by May in what our records indicate...

Read Story

23rd February 2015

EU-India free trade:”ball in India’s court” says EU ambassador

The EU is "looking for the Indian authorities to define their position" on further negotiations about and EU-India free trade deal, and "the ball is in India’s court" to signal...

Read Story

18th February 2015

India concedes requirement to abolish apparel export subsidies

The Indian government announced on February 16 it will stop export subsidies to its apparel or textile manufacturers after mid - 2018 and possibly sooner. It presented this decision as...

Read Story

14th February 2015

Indian report claims Gurgaon garment riot “plot to destabilise industry”

A report by the district administration in Gurgaon, near Delhi, claims that a February 12 garment factory riot was "orchestrated by vested interests" to create "widespread labour unrest" in the area....

Read Story