Researchers in India Advise Farmers Not to Stock Cotton

Researchers working on the National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) in India have advised farmers not to stock their production and sell cotton at current prices.

NAIP has eleven partner institutes which work on the project for establishing and networking of agricultural commodity prices with market intelligence in India. The aim of NAIP is to increase the income of the farmers and creating awareness among them regarding the market scenario.

Researchers working on the project advise the farmers when to sow a certain crop and when to preserve or store the crop, keeping in mind the prices of the commodity likely to be available at the time of harvest.

Fibre2fashion spoke to Dr. RL Shiyani, Professor & Head and Prof. MG Dhandhalya, Assistant Research Scientist, at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Junagadh Agricultural University (JAU), which is one of the 11 NAIP partner institutions.

The researchers stated, “Our advice to farmers is to sell their cotton at current prices and not to stock their production, because there is no chance of increase in cotton prices in the next few months.”

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Octa Fibre From Teijin Offers Unique Properties

Teijin Fibers Limited, the core company of the Teijin Group's polyester fibers business, has developed an unprecedented polyester fiber with a unique, highly modified cross-section with eight projections aligned in a radial pattern around a hollow fiber.

The new fiber, named Octa after its octopus-like appearance, offers rapid sweat absorption and drying, low weight, heat shielding/insulation and useful bulkiness. Octa will be marketed from April 2012 for innerwear, fashion apparel and many other uses.

The voids between the eight projections result in a highly functional fiber for sweat absorption, rapid drying and bulkiness. The voids also improve heat shielding and insulation properties, as well as create the lightweight feel of hollow yarn at roughly half the weight of yarn of similar thickness. Octa can also be used in combination with other fibers through false twisting, combined filament processing and two-strand yarn spinning.

Modified cross-section fibers enable new functions to be added and the appearance and texture of original fibers to be altered. Teijin Fibers' lineup includes a polyester fiber with a triangular cross-section offering a glossy appearance, a hollow, thin-walled polyester fiber that traps large quantities of non-flowing air for thermal insulation, a polyester fiber with a cross-section of four flat peaks for superior sweat absorption and quick drying, and a false-twisted polyester fiber with an irregular cross-section.

For more info please visit : Octa Fibre From Teijin Offers Unique Properties @ Fibre2fashion

Cornell’s Scientists Fashioning Electronic Future for Cotton Fiber

The latest breakthrough in cotton fiber research has scientists envisioning hospital gowns that monitor medical patients and jerseys that test athletic performance, according to Cornell University fiber scientist Juan Hinestroza, co-author of a new study that reveals how everyday cotton can be turned into high-tech fabric.

Hinestroza, professor of fiber science in Cornell’s College of Human Ecology, is part of an international team that developed transistors using natural cotton fibers, gold nanoparticles and polymers. The research builds on his previous work indicating such technology is possible, and will be published in the December 2011 issue of the journal Organic Electronics.

The innovation represents a significant step forward because it lays the groundwork for creating even more complex devices, such as cotton-based circuits, Hinestroza said. This would allow fabrics to sense body temperature, automatically heat up or cool down, track heart rate and blood pressure in high-risk patients, and monitor the physical effort of high-performance athletes.


For more information please visit : Cornell’s Scientists Fashioning Electronic Future for Cotton Fiber @ FIbre2fashion

Giulio Bonazzi succeeds Andreas Eule as CIRFS President

Giulio BONAZZI, CEO of Aquafil, has been unanimously elected by the European Man-Made Fibres Association (CIRFS) members to take on the role of President.

He succeeds Andreas EULE, CEO of Cordenka, whose mandate has expired but who will remain a member of the Board as past-President.

Andreas EULE comments:
“I am delighted that Giulio BONAZZI has been elected to follow me as CIRFS President.

“He has been actively involved in CIRFS for several years, most recently as its Vice-President. He has a very successful record in the man-made fibres industry, leading a successful company which is the global leader in its products. Giulio BONAZZI understands the positive contribution that CIRFS makes to the industry’s development and how CIRFS can help the industry meet its current and future challenges.”

Giulio BONAZZI adds:
“Andreas EULE has given a strong lead to CIRFS in his period as President, in showing how it can continue to play a key industry role by constantly adjusting to changing needs. I look forward to carrying on this mission over the next three years.


More at : Giulio Bonazzi succeeds Andreas Eule as CIRFS President @ Fibre2fashion

‘Bhilwara textile industry needs to adopt sustainable means’– Mr Sharma, RSWM

Another interesting presentation at the recently concluded ‘International Conference on Manmade Fibre Textiles’ came from Mr Ajay Sharma who is GM (New Product Development) - RSWM Ltd, a division of the LNJ Bhilwara Group.

It is said that the very first manufacturing of blended polyester/viscose yarn in India was begun by the erstwhile Rajasthan Spinning and Weaving Mills Ltd (RSWM Ltd) in the renowned manmade fibre textile hub of Bhilwara.

He put up a strong presentation on the challenges faced by the cotton fibre textile industry and as to why synthetic textiles have better growth opportunity over cotton textiles.

He said, “India is the third-largest cotton producer in the world. Area of cotton cultivation is significantly larger than any other country in the world accounting for about 25 percent of global cotton area, but average yields are the lowest among the top-10 global cotton producers.

For more details please visit : ‘Bhilwara textile industry needs to adopt sustainable means’– Mr Sharma, RSWM @ Fibre2fashion

Battle For Zimbabwean Cotton Intensifies

The fight for Zimbabwe’s cotton continues to get acute as newer firms join the race to serve as contractors for seed cotton for the ongoing season.

In all 14 companies – Cargil, Sino Zimbabwe, Cotton Company of Zimbabwe, Olam, Alliance, Parrogate, Viridis, Romsdal, Insing, Grafax, CottZim, Fahad, Jimmac Zimbabwe Cotton and Southern Cotton Company – have registered themselves to serve as seed cotton contractors for 2011-12 season.

Serving as contractors, these firms would distribute seeds required by farmers for undertaking cotton cultivation, by setting up distribution points across the country, the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) said.

As stated by AMA, Zimbabwe’s cotton consumption till October 31 this year came to be 249.904 million kg as against the consumption of 93.44 million kg during the corresponding period of last year.

Zimbabwe’s cotton exports are expected to grow by 20 percent from last year’s 326,400 bales to 408,000 bales during this fiscal. The rise in exports is greatly supported by a rise in production which is attributable to legislative reforms that have brought stability to the sector.....

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Synthetic Fibre Industry Pleads for Uniform Cenvat in India

The synthetic fibre industry has requested the Government for a 4 percent common Cenvat (Central Value Added Tax) rate on all types of textile fibres, with an alternative to stay in the Cenvat chain or not.

The synthetic fibre and fibre intermediates stated that industry's pre-budget memorandum for the Union Budget 2006-07, the mandatory 16 percent duty at the fibre and filament yarn stage imposed on the synthetic textile sector has created the problem of Cenvat accumulation at the blended yarn stage.

According to the memorandum, this has removed the profitability and working capital of the spinning industry and removed its strength to generate reinvestable surplus for further growth.

As per the Memorandum, the National Textile Policy of 1985 and New Textile Policy in 2001 had zoomed in "fuller fibre flexibility," which denoted that there should be no limit for use of any fibre by any section of the industry.

For more details please visit: Synthetic Fibre Industry Pleads for Uniform Cenvat in India at fibre2fashion

Cotton Traders: Cotton Trading Resumes in Karnataka

Cotton trading has resumed in the south Indian State of Karnataka, as the Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCC&I) and the Karnataka Cotton Traders’ Association (KCTA) have withdrawn their strike.

The two organizations have called-off their strike following an assurance from the State government to address the issues raised by the two bodies.

Earlier on November 10, the two organizations had given a call to suspend cotton trading demanding simplification of the process of refunding the VAT collected on purchase of cotton. The two organizations had also demanded reduction of VAT on buying of cotton from the present 5 percent to 2 percent and decrease in the levy of additional cess from the present 1.5 percent to 1 percent.

The State government has sought a month’s time to resolve the issues raised by the two organizations. KCC&I has, however, said that the organization would again agitate if the demands are not met by December 10, 2011.


Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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Lenzing Sees Good Development In First Nine Months

In the first nine months of 2011, the Lenzing Group succeeded in significantly improving all relevant indicators in comparison to the previous year, and is thus performing in line with the expectations defined in the half-yearly report.

Consolidated sales in the first nine months of 2011 climbed 23.9% year-on-year, from EUR 1,285.5 mill. to EUR 1,592.2 mill. A total of 3.5 percentage points of this increase can be attributed to the higher fiber shipment volumes, whereas 13.6 percentage points are the result of the higher average fiber selling prices. Growth in other business areas as well as the full consolidation of the Paskov pulp plant over three quarters also contributed to the rise in consolidated sales.

EBITDA in the first three quarters of 2011 improved by 55.3% to EUR 362.9 mill. from the prior-year level of EUR 233.6 mill. This corresponds to an EBITDA margin of 22.8% (Q1-3 2010: 18.2%). The operating profit (EBIT) in the first nine months of 2011 was up 71.6% to EUR 289.7 milll. (Q1-3 2010: EUR 168.8 mill.), equivalent to an EBIT margin of 18.2% (Q1-3 2010: 13.1%). The profit for the period climbed to EUR 217.9 mill. from EUR 122.8 mill. in the previous year, an increase of 77.5%.

“Following the outstanding second quarter, the market for standard viscose fibers weakened as expected in the third quarter. Nevertheless, we were able to post third-quarter earnings which matched the very good first quarter of 2011“, says Lenzing CEO Peter Untersperger. “This was primarily due to the quantitatively higher share of the specialty fibers Lenzing Modal and TENCEL along with their stable price development. New record shipment volumes were achieved with Lenzing Modal“.

For more deetails please visit : Lenzing Sees Good Development In First Nine Months @ Fibre2Fashion