The European textiles industry has expressed its concern regarding the drastic loss of Europe’s competitiveness and demanded urgent action to save the industry as well as tackle the energy crisis at the recent European Council (EUCO) summit. Recent trade data indicates that imports to the European Union (EU) have grown tremendously in 2022 (+35 per cent year-to-date).The chain of factors determining the sharp decline in Europe’s competitiveness is twofold. First, the energy cost in Europe is mor

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecast 4.2 per cent economic growth in 2022 and 4.6 per cent next year for developing Asia and the Pacific regions. This forecast is lower than ADB’s previous estimates that were released in September, 4.3 per cent for 2022 and 4.9 per cent for 2023. ADB updated this data in December due to worsened global outlook.Monetary policy tightening by central banks globally and in the region, the protracted Russian invasion of Ukraine, and recurring lockdowns in th

China was the largest market for South Africa’s fibre exports during January-September 2022 with a share of 36.32 per cent. It exported fibre worth $103.848 million out of its total shipment of $285.924 million in the period. Africa is developing its domestic textile industry, but China is a vast market to sell extra fibre, specifically cotton stocks.Despite being the largest market, African exports to China has witnessed high volatility. South Africa’s exports to China fell by 45.69 per cent ye

For 2022, maritime trade growth is projected to moderate to 1.4 per cent, and for the period 2023–2027 to expand at an annual average of 2.1 per cent, a slower rate than the previous three-decade average of 3.3 per cent, as per the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).For many years the fastest growing segment was containerised trade, for which growth in 2022 is projected to be a tepid 1.2 per cent, before marginally picking up to 1.9 per cent in 2023, according to a repor

Trading activity in the cotton industry has shifted from the December NY/ICE contract to March. Prices for the March NY/ICE contract have been volatile, routinely changing two per cent or more on a daily basis. However, values were rangebound over the past month, moving higher and lower within a band between 80 and 87 cents/lb, as per Cotton Incorporated.In early November, values were at the upper end of the range. More recently, values shifted towards the lower end and have traded near 82 cents

China’s chemical fibre industry’s operating revenue surged 6.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the January–October, 2022 period. Enterprises with annual revenues of a minimum of 20 million yuan (around $2.87 million) earned up to 903.8 billion yuan during the period, as per government data.The total profits of the East Asian country’s chemical fibre industry dropped 65.5 per cent from 2021 to 19 billion yuan, said several media reports quoting China’s ministry of industry and information technolo

Global cotton consumption is estimated to decline by 3.3 million bales to 111.7 million in December 2022, as per the data by US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Factors like declining supplies, falling yarn orders from fabric and apparel companies, lower profit margins for spinning mills, and higher inflation levels are all pressuring consumption.Significant challenges for the three largest consumers — China, India, and Pakistan — are expected to lower global consumption significantly below the

Around 687,100 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods were transported via freight train service along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor during January–November, 2022, which is an increase of 18.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY), as per the China Railway Nanning Group Co, Ltd. The trade corridor was built by western Chinese provinces and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).The land-sea trade corridor, which was inaugurated in 2017, joins 17 Chinese provincial-level regio

Asia Pacific is likely to remain the dominant supplier of industrial textiles for the US. The imports from the region remained steady during the last 2 quarters, but imports from Europe witnessed fluctuations as the continent is facing an upheaval on the economic front due to the Ukraine war. US imported industrial textiles worth $158.742 million in Q3 2022.The US’ imports of industrial textiles were almost stable in the last two quarters. Trade stood at $408.493 million in Q3 2022 and $408.712

India’s apparel imports from China almost doubled quarter on quarter (QoQ) to $126.202 million in July-September 2022 due to price dynamics. Domestic demand is getting affected due to rising imports from China, according to trade sources. Both countries compete mutually in the global market, but India imports more apparel from China than it exports.India’s apparel imports increased to $126.202 million in Q3 2022 from $67.442 million in Q2 2022. The inbound trade stood at $70.687 million in Q1 20