Philippines eyes Indian market for indigenous fibres

Philippines is considering the Indian market for promoting its indigenous fibres like piña and abaca.

The East Asian country is planning to enter the Indian market with its embroidered textile and natural products like barong, according to Mr. Shashank R. Pareek, Director, Textile Producers Association of Philippines (TEXPAP).

India’s population of around 1.2 billion people consume nearly 4.8 billion kg of textiles every year. However young Indians, who form over 40 to 50 percent of the total population, are quite price cognisant. Hence, the country is a good market for them who can provide quality products at reasonable prices, Mr. Pareek said. 

Besides, the young educated professionals have a lot of purchasing power and are willing to try out new products, the Director of TEXPAP said.

Mr. Pareek suggested Filipino textile exporters to take part in Indian trade fairs, form alliances with leading Indian brands, hire local actors or even launch advertising campaigns to promote and develop a market for Philippines’ made products in the South Asian country.

For more details please visit: Philippines eyes Indian market for indigenous fibres @ fibre2fashion

Textile Overstocks - Global Marketplace for Excess Stocks

Fibre2fashion, which recently launched “Textile Overstocks”, an exclusive marketplace dedicated for liquidation of textile surplus stock and apparel overstocks, has received an overwhelming response from the global textile manufacturers, garment producers and textile trading community.
Fibre2fashion is a global B2B platform, which has been serving the worldwide textile, apparel & fashion industry since more than a decade through its various trade and knowledge services; has launched ‘Textile Overstocks’ in its continuing endeavour to provide niche and value-added services.
Textile Overstocks is a specialized global trading platform to clear textile and clothing inventories, in the form of wholesale lots, overstock, excess stock, liquidation stock, clearance stock, closeouts, refurbished, obsolete stock lots, bankrupt stocks, cancelled stocks or even surplus merchandise.
All featured stock offers and advertised clearance deals come from direct manufacturers, retailers, liquidators, wholesalers and merchants who are registered and approved to trade and sell on “Textile Overstocks”. It facilitates the sellers to sell their surplus stock quickly, securely and efficiently.
As a B2B platform for the sellers, “Textile Overstocks” offers the power of a niche marketplace, where buyers from across the globe regularly scout for regular and wholesale deals. This platform is backed up by the large repository of buyers exclusively for the textile stocks.
Services offered for sellers:
1) Lead based
2) Mandate based


For full details please visit us at ::: Textile Overstocks - Global marketplace for excess stocks   @ Fibre2Fashion.com

Indian Very own organic textile standard

India, the largest producer of organic cotton in the world is all set to have an Indian Standard for Organic Textiles (ISOT) of its own. The unique selling proposition (USP) of this standard is that it will cover the life cycle of the cotton fibre right from crop to clothing.

“The main objective of ISOT is to maintain credibility of organic cotton in India, create a sense of social responsibility and last but not the least the standard stretches right from the cotton crop to clothing”, reveals the Advisor to National Accreditation Body (NAB) for Organic Products – Dr PVSM Gouri. 

Speaking exclusively to fibre2fashion, she says, “GOTS starts from the stage of processing of cotton. This does not permit to maintain traceability and integrity of organic textiles. While in case of ISOT, it begins right from the first stage of cotton farming to end products in the whole textile value chain”.

ISOT has been included in the National Standards for Organic Production (NPOP) which includes norms for organic production and processing of agriculture crops and certification standards. Certification standards for organic textiles were not a part of the certification process under NPOP earlier.

Organic cotton is presently produced in 20 countries around the world in all the continents and especially in countries like India, Syria, Turkey, China, US and others.  India is currently the largest organic cotton producer among all organic cotton producing countries.

For more details please visit : Indian Very own organic textile standard @ fibre2fashion

Soft-tex: Virtual fair for IT solution providers goes live

One of the most awaited online global trade fairs pertaining to the IT Solutions offerings in the apparels, textiles, fashion and retail industry – ‘Soft-tex 2012’ is now live.
‘Soft-tex 2012’ - a 24x7 virtual information technology (IT) trade fair, has been launched by Fibre2fashion, the world’s largest global textile, apparel and fashion B2B portal.
For those dealing in textile related industries, looking for the right ERP solutions and latest in CAD/CAM, ‘Soft-tex 2012’ has it all.
This third successive edition of ‘Soft-Tex 2012’ has roped in WFX - the leader in ERP software solutions & cloud computing for the apparel, fashion, accessories and footwear industry, as Gold Sponsor for the event.
Click here to visit Soft-tex 2012.


Read More about  Soft-tex: Virtual fair for IT solution providers goes live @ Fibre2fashion

Faux Real launches humorous & outrageous apparel line

 Faux Real, the novelty shirt showcasing one-of-a kind 3D printing techniques launches a new line of entertaining apparel featuring t-shirts with images sure to garner a double take, this August at STREET/MAGIC in Las Vegas August 20 - 22.

Showcasing a line of both men’s and women’s styles, Faux Real T’s are the perfect combination of quirky, funny, and scandalous pictures for consumers who want to stand out from the everyday fashion crowd.

Adding to the current best selling, black and white "tuxedo shirt', and the “1970’s Hairy Chest”, a shirt printed with a peace sign necklace and aviator sunglasses over a suede vest, are shirts just in time for Halloween and Christmas. A few of the new additions include "Zombie", "Red Smoking Jacket", and assorted styles and colors of the classic "Ugly Christmas Sweater" are available in both men's and women's styles.

Faux Real photorealistic apparel is a novelty line that is sold Nationwide in gift shops, boutiques, and catalogues across the nation. Faux Real offers themed shirts for a wide variety of special occasions.

Read More about Faux Real launches humorous & outrageous apparel line @ Fibre2fashion

Qmilk – The new milk fibre from Germany

Qmilch GmbH, a German brand engaged in fibre production and known worldwide for quality and naturalness, has innovated Qmilk – the new generation fibre that uses milk as the raw material.

“Qmilk combines physical properties such as purity, softness and absorbency and is manufactured using an environment-friendly process with no waste, a production time of only one hour and using only a maximum of 2 litres of water,” Anke Domaske, Founder of Qmilch, told fibre2fashion.

“For the manufacturing of Qmilk, casein is produced from raw milk, which is no longer marketable and may not be used for consumption,” reveals Ms. Domaske.

“The excellent moisture management ability of Qmilk prevents the growth of bacteria in a natural way and is also suitable for allergy sufferers. Moisture is easily absorbed and gives the skin a pleasant freshness. Skin irritation can be reduced by the smooth surface,” she informs.

For more details please visit : Qmilk – The new milk fibre from Germany @ fibre2fashion

Zimbabwe Govt may buy cotton directly from farmers

The Zimbabwean government might intervene and buy cotton directly from the farmers, if the current impasse between cotton farmers and merchants is unresolved.

This was announced by Joseph Made – Agriculture Minister, who has been advised by the cabinet to intervene in the issue.

The Cabinet has advised me to mobilise resources to buy cotton from the farmers and sell it later in global markets, when prices move up, he said.

“We will have to reactivate the Cotton Marketing Board (CMB), which will purchase cotton on behalf of the government”, he added.

The bone of contention is the wide difference in prices offered by the merchants and the prices demanded by the cotton farmers.

Cotton merchants are offering between 36 and 50 US cents per kg, while farmers are demanding between 85 and 120 cents per kg

For more details please visit : Zimbabwe Govt may buy cotton directly from farmers @ Fibre2fashion

‘Change’ – new buzzword for NZ fine wool Industry

Changes are vital for the New Zealand wool industry to be able to meet the rising global demand for fine wool. It was echoed at a conference organized by the New Zealand Merino (NZM) Company in Christchurch.

The conference was attended by about 600 wool farmers and NZM partners from around the world.

Addressing the conference, John Brakenridge, Chief Executive of NZM, said the primary wool sector in New Zealand played a significant role in the country’s economic prosperity and it must change and find new ways in order to remain effective and meet the growing demand for more fine wool from global brands.

One example of growing demand is that total sales of woolen apparels in the US active outdoors markets have increased from US$ 80 million in 2003 to US$ 280 million in 2011. A large share of this wool has its origin in New Zealand.

Merino garments once had no market in active outdoors category and today it accounts for 15 percent share. With the rise in segments such as running, cycling and snow sports, the diversity of product offerings would boom creating still larger demand for wool, Gretchen Kane, NZM International Marketing Manager, said.


For more details please visit : ‘Change’ – new buzzword for NZ fine wool industry @ fibre2fashion

Cotton stakeholders to keep watch on Govt meeting outcome

Indian cotton growers and the cotton consuming textile industry will be keenly awaiting the decision of a meeting to be held today evening in New Delhi - India.

The others who will also keep an eye on developments on the Indian cotton export front will also include major cotton importers like China and Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister of India – Dr Manmohan Singh has convened today a meeting of the Finance Minister, Commerce Minister and the Agriculture Minister, to thrash out a solution to the vexed issue of cotton exports.

Mr Pawar had fired a salvo earlier this month when he wrote a letter to the Prime Minister discussing the demerits of imposing a ban on cotton exports.

The Commerce Ministry while imposing the ban on March 5 had said that cotton stocks were depleting and continuation of exports would require Indian textile industry to import cotton in the near future.

While the Agriculture Minister – Mr Sharad Pawar is in favour of lifting the ban completely, the Commerce cum Textiles Minister – Mr Anand Sharma, could favour exports of a few million bales.

For more details please visit : Cotton stakeholders to keep watch on Govt meeting outcome @ fibre2fashion

Use of Bt cotton has not increased yields in India: SAGE

The success story of Bt cotton in India over the last decade is more of a hype than reality, according to the Southern Action on Genetic Engineering (SAGE), an umbrella organization of intellectuals and non-governmental organizations that oppose introduction of genetic engineering in agriculture.

In 2009-10, when 85 percent of India’s cotton area was under Bt cotton cultivation, the yield was 474 kg of lint a hectare, which was just 4kg more than the yield in 2004-05, when only 5.70 percent of the total cotton area was under Bt cotton, Mr. PV Satheesh, National Convenor of SAGE, said.

For the 4 kg increase in yield, farmers had to incur 50 percent more expenses for inputs, he said.

Citing Cotton Advisory Board figures, he said, a decline in yield per hectare was observed during the last five years. In 2007-08, cotton yield was 524 kg a hectare, which fell to 474 kg a hectare in 2009-10, showing a 12 percent year-on-year dip, he stated.

He said the significant increase in India’s cotton production during 2004-05 to 2009-10 was mainly due to two factors - the 2.5 million acres of additional land being brought under cotton cultivation and an increase in cultivation of cotton under irrigated areas. He added that the use of Bt cotton seeds has little role in increasing cotton production in the country.

For more details please visit: Use of Bt cotton has not increased yields in India: SAGE @ FIBRE2FASHION

Radici reports good sales growth despite dip in Q4

RadiciGroup closed the year 2011 with positive results, including sales revenue 6.5% higher than in financial year 2010.

"All things considered, we are satisfied with our Group’s performance in 2011," stated Angelo Radici, chairman of RadiciGroup, "especially taking into account the unfavourable trend that hit all the major sectors of the world economy to a varying degree. The results achieved by our business areas were better than good, and I want to thank all the people who have worked to make this possible for our Group.

The best performance (+10%) was achieved by our Plastics Business Area, which closed the year 2011 with sales revenue of EUR 259 million. Sales were also on the rise in our Chemicals Business Area, where sales revenue totalled EUR 491 million. What's more, Chemicals celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. Positive results were also reported by Synthetic Fibres, which generated sales revenue of EUR 612 million.

As in the preceding years, we focused on strengthening the vertical integration of our Group production chain: on the one hand we made new acquisitions, invested in plant technology and focused on improving customer service and quality and, on the other hand, we shut down or sold companies that did not fit well with our core business strategy. Here I'm referring to Deufil GmbH in Germany and Caucasian PET Co. in Georgia."

"After the MDE acquisition in 2010, which strengthened our position in the US plastics market and allowed us to increase market share, mainly in the automotive sector," Mr. Radici continued, "last year we concluded the acquisition of the German company dorix GmbH, European leader in the manufacture of nylon 6 staple products, thus strengthening our presence in the polyamide sector.

For more details please visit : Radici reports good sales growth despite dip in Q4 @ fibre2fashion

Teijin links up with CCFA for more business prospects

Teijin Limited announced a partnership with the China Chemical Fibers Association (CCFA) to pursue business opportunities in the fields of chemical fibers and related industries in China. This is the first time for the CCFA to enter into a comprehensive alliance with a foreign private business.

Under the basic agreement, collaborations between Teijin group companies and major Chinese companies introduced by the CCFA will pursue various opportunities to:

- Enhance Chinese fiber products with added value, differentiation and greater production efficiency
- Develop high-performance fibers and related applications
- Nurture unique businesses
- Develop green solutions for greater sustainability, and
- Establish a closed-loop recycling system.

Teijin has already reached an agreement to set up a closed-loop system for recycling polyester with Zhejiang Jiabao New Fiber Group Co., Ltd., which is based in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province and is a group company of Jinggong Holding Group, a prominent company involved with environmental management.

The system will be created by leveraging Teijin’s leading-edge proprietary chemical recycling technology and business expertise cultivated through the global expansion of its Eco Circle closed-loop recycling system.

For more details please visit : Teijin links up with CCFA for more business prospects @ fibre2fashion

No effect of volatile market trends last year – Lenzing

The Lenzing Group continued its dynamic growth path of previous years by posting record results in 2011. Despite a significant weakening of the global fiber market in the second half of 2011, Lenzing once again achieved double-digit growth rates in sales and earnings, and surpassed the threshold of EUR 2 bn in consolidated sales for the first time in the company’s history. Operating margins also improved again from the already high level achieved in 2010 and set a new, absolute record.

Consolidated sales in the reporting year 2011 rose by 21.2% to EUR 2.14 bn, up from EUR 1.77 bn in the prior year. This dynamic sales growth can be attributed to higher average selling prices in its core fiber business, higher fiber shipment volumes, the first-time full-year consolidation of the pulp plant Biocel Paskov acquired in May 2010 as well as higher sales in all other business areas.

Consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) amounted to EUR 480.3 mn, a rise of 45.3% from the comparable figure of EUR 330.6 mn in the previous year. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) climbed by 56.9% to EUR 364.0 mn (2010: EUR 231.9 mn). The EBITDA and EBIT margins reached an all-time high in 2011 at 22.4% (2010: 18.7%) and 17.0% (2010: 13.1%) respectively.

“Our dynamic growth path and specialty strategy led by the fibers Lenzing Modal and TENCEL once again paid off in 2011. Whereas sales with standard viscose fibers increased by close to 20% year-on-year, we sold some 30% more TENCEL fibers and close to 40% more Lenzing Modal fibers than in the prior year”, explains Lenzing Chief Executive Officer Peter Untersperger.

for more details please visit : No effect of volatile market trends last year – Lenzing @ fibre2fashion

Indian textile sector grows 11% between 2007-12

The Indian textiles industry has witnessed a growth of 11% during the 11th Five-Year-Plan.

This was revealed by Minister of State for Textiles – Ms Panabaaka Lakshmi in the Rajya Sabha – the Upper House of Parliament.

The government has implemented several policy initiatives like Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFs), Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP), Integrated Skill Development Scheme and export promotion schemes for development of powerloom sector.

This will further boost rapid modernization of cotton textile industry, the Rajya Sabha was informed.

The Textiles Ministry has also conducted a study of benchmarking of apparel industry with reference to the sector in China and Bangladesh.

For more information please visit us at: Indian textile sector grows 11% between 2007-12 @ Fibre2fashion

Sappi’s Cloquet mill to make cellulose fibre for textiles

The 113-year-old mill in Cloquet city in Carlton County, Minnesota, will soon be making cellulose fibre that can then be used to make textiles, clothing and baby wipes.

Sappi Fine Paper, the company that currently makes pulp for use in paper mills at the Cloquet mill, has received approval from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for construction of its US$ 170 million project for converting wood pulp to chemical cellulose.

The project would be first of its kind in Minnesota and construction work for the same is likely to begin next month.

As part of the project, Sappi Fine would fully convert its existing mill from making pulp for paper to producing dissolved pulp or chemical cellulose, which is expected to be exported to textile manufacturing units in India, Indonesia and China by May next year.

The project would be carried out on an extremely fast track, according to Rick Dwyer, Managing Director of the Cloquet mill.

On completion of the project, he said, the Cloquet mill would be able to convert wood to a purer form of dissolved pulp that can be further processed into viscose staple fibre (vsf) to make rayon textiles.


For more info please visit : Sappi’s Cloquet mill to make cellulose fibre for textiles @ Fibre2fashion

PCGA rejects PSC-approved two new cotton varieties

The Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has rejected two of the 18 new cotton varieties recently approved by the Punjab Seed Council for cultivation.

PCGA Chairman Amanullah Qureshi said two newly evolved cotton varieties – FH-114 and BT-121 – have low micronaire value of 5.5 and 5.6 respectively, and these have a short staple length, while the global demand is for cotton of long staple length.

He said the PSC’s decision goes against the interests of the farmers and it would be harmful to the agricultural sector.

He warned the farmers that the ginners would be reluctant to purchase their cotton if they sow any of these two new varieties of cotton. Hence, he urged them not to cultivate those varieties and asked them to not succumb to forced marketing activities of those seed makers.

The PCGA chief said the ginners association had even earlier opposed the approval of those two varieties of cotton, including at a meeting chaired by Mr. Ahmed Ali Aulakh.

For more details please visit : PCGA rejects PSC-approved two new cotton varieties @ Fibre2fashion

Chinese cotton acreage may fall in new season

Nearly 40 percent of Chinese cotton farmers might reduce their cotton acreage in 2012, says a report released by a Chinese cotton body.

Despite the government making aggressive cotton purchases for the state reserves, it has not been able to arrest the downslide in prices.

Cotton prices dropped sharply in 2011 compared with the previous year. This coupled with rising costs of growing cotton, has led to an ebbing of enthusiasm among cotton farmers.

According to a survey of the China Cotton Association, around 40 percent of farmers might reduce their cotton acreage in 2012-13 season; the same percentage may maintain their acreage and rest have still not made up their mind.

Based on weighted average intention of surveyed farmers, farmers across China intend to decrease their cotton acreage by 10.5 percent on average in 2012-13.



For more info please visit : Chinese cotton acreage may fall in new season @ fibre2fashion

Types of Metallic Fibres and Their Production

ABSTRACT:

The hallmark of all Indian festivities is the golden glitter of the sarees and similarly-adorned dresses worn on such occasions. All that glitters may not be gold and the ‘zari’ (metallic yarn), responsible for this lustrous appearance, may or may not contain any gold. This paper reviews the different types of metallic fibres and their production.

INTRODUCTION:

Metallic yarns or threads, in general, have been known for more than 3000 years. Gold and silver were hammered into extremely thin sheets, then cut into ribbons and worked into fabrics. These were the first ‘man made’ fibres, which came thousands of years before nylon or rayon. The Persians made fabulous carpets with gold thread and the Indians, ornamental sarees with it. The metal threads were twisted, doubled or wrapped around some other thread such as cotton.

With the advancement of technology, metal/conductive textiles found extensive functional applications. These materials have high electrical conductivity and radar reflecting property, yet are lightweight and flexible. Various methods have been developed to coat fibers and textile materials by metals.

» sputter coating
» coating metal powder with binders
» electro less coating
» vacuum deposition

Many technical applications demand properties which cannot be obtained by simply processing common textile material into single textile fabric. However, combination of knitted structure, textile and metal yarn of wire make it possible to create innovative products for multipurpose technical application. Thus knitted fabrics are flexible and extensible and metal wire possess properties which are advantageous in technical textile with regard to their permanent antistatic behavior, known conductivity, shielding from electro magnetic field & resistance to cutting.

METALLIC FIBRE

The term metallic fibre, in its general sense, means simply a fibre that is made from metal. The generic term “metallic” was adopted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and is defined as: A manufactured fibre composed of metal, plastic-coated metal, metal-coated plastic, or a core completely covered by metal. Thus, metallic fibres are: fibres produced from metals, which may be alone or in conjunction with other substances.

These metal filaments were made by beating soft metals and alloys, such as gold, silver, copper and bronze, into thin sheets, and then cutting the sheets into narrow ribbon-like filaments. The filaments were used entirely for decorative purposes, providing a glitter and sparkle that could not be achieved by other means.

As textile fibres, these metal filaments had inherent short comings which restricted their use. They were expensive to produce; they tended to be inflexible and stiff, and the ribbon-like cross-section provided cutting edges that made for a harsh, rough handle; they were troublesome to knit or weave, and they had only a limited resistance to abrasion. Apart from gold, the metals would tend to tarnish, the sparkle being dimmed with the passage of time.

Burkina Faso firm secures US$ 151mn loan to buy cotton

Burkina Faso’s largest cotton firm, Societe Burkinabe des Fibres Textiles (Sofitex), has secured a loan of 77 billion CFA francs (US$ 151 million) to fund its cotton purchases for the 2011-12 season, Chief Executive Officer of the firm Jean Paul Sawadogo said.

Mr. Sawadogo said loan obtained from 10 local lenders would facilitate speedy payment to cotton growers.

The amount to be taken on credit this season by Sofitex is a seven percent rise over the loans secured during last season, Roger Dah-Achinanon, Managing Director of Ecobank Transnational Inc. (ETI)’s Burkinabe unit, which was also among the banks that extended the loan, said.

Burkina Faso Government had announced in April last year that it would procure cotton from farmers at a price of 245 CFA francs per kg.

Sofitex has started procuring the crop from December 2011. Mr. Sawadogo said the firm’s cotton-seed production for the 2011-12 season is expected to grow by five percent to 300,000 metric tons.

Mr. Dah-Achinanon revealed that Sofitex has already returned around 75 percent of its last season’s loan. Coris Bank International, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA)’s Banque Internationale du Burkina, Groupe Banque Atlantique, Banque Sahelo Saharienne pour l’Investissement et le Commerce, Bank of Africa Burkina Faso and Societe Generale SA’s unit are the other lending partners, he informed.

For more details please visit : Burkina Faso firm secures US$ 151mn loan to buy cotton @ Fibre2fashion

Fiber producer DAK promotes Young to President, CEO

DAK Americas LLC (DAK) announced that Jorge Young is promoted to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. Young assumes the position of President and C.E.O. with the retirement of Hector Camberos.

Upon retiring from Fiber producer DAK Americas' USA, Camberos (who has held the position of President since DAK's creation in 2001) will move and return home to Argentina and assume the leadership of DAK Americas' Argentina PET Business. Furthermore, he will be very active in the strategic growth initiatives and new business developments of Alfa, DAK's parent company, in South America.

Camberos stated, “I am pleased to hand over the leadership to Jorge Young to continue the growth of DAK Americas into its second decade and still be able to contribute and help further expand DAK and Alfa in South America.”

During Young's tenure with DAK Americas he oversaw the tremendous growth of the PET Resin Business to become the largest PET Resin producer in North America and the second largest worldwide, growing capacity to over 4.3 Billion lbs/yr.

Young has been with DAK Americas since it was established and has been serving as the Executive Vice President - PET Resins since 2007 and Vice President of Finance and Administration prior. Young will lead DAK Americas Executive Team which will also be expanded and included the following changes:..........

For more details please visit : Fiber producer DAK promotes Young to President, CEO @ Fibre2fashion

Chinese textile output skyrockets between Jan-Nov

Output of the Chinese textile sector, compromising of large and medium sized units, leaped 27.5 percent year-on-year to 4.95 billion Yuan in the first eleven months of 2011.

These textile units individually posted annual revenues of above 20 million Yuan, said the National Development and Reform Commission.

In the same period, industrial added value of China’s big-size textile enterprises rose 10.5 percent in the first eleven months of 2011. The growth rate was 0.6 percentage points faster than the first half.

China's yarn production registered 26.32 million tons in the period, up 12.4 percent year on year and cloth output stood at 56.8 billion meters, up 13.2 percent.

Chemical fiber production rose 14.9 percent to 30.74 million tons and apparel output grew by 8.5 percent year on year to 23 billion units.

For more details please visit : Chinese textile output skyrockets between Jan-Nov @ Fibre2fashion

India to invest Rs 1bn in advanced Bt cotton project

India’s Ministry of Agriculture has given its nod for developing an advanced version of Bt cotton that will be resistant to multiple pests and diseases.

The Rs. 1 billion project aims to not only provide the cotton crop with viral immunity, but also create genes that are resistant to jassids – a leaf hopping pest.

A portion of the fund would also be utilized to develop farm tools including cotton-picking machines.

Speaking to fibre2fashion, Dr. Swapan Kumar Datta, Deputy Director General (Crop Science) at Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) said, “There is a proposal for working on the latest technology of Bt cotton and combining it with the other genes of traits that are required for cotton improvement, in partnership with the private sector, agricultural research universities and ICAR.”

Elaborating further, he says, “It will be a national programme and this project will address all issues of advancements of biotechnology in organic cotton as well as indigenous cotton varieties. Many of our varieties that do not have Bt technology are not in demand owing to preference for Bt cotton that provides protection against several pests and diseases. As a result, many of our indigenous varieties are not being used by the farmers.”

Explaining the rationale for the new project, he says, “There is huge demand from Europe for organic cotton and they love to receive organic cotton from India. This issue needs to be addressed so that we can have an integrated approach for research in cotton and the value added product will always fetch higher price. Eventually, this will benefit farmers as they will get higher prices for their superior quality cotton.”

For more details please visit : India to invest Rs 1bn in advanced Bt cotton project @ Fibre2fashion

ICAC estimates global cotton use to decline by 2%

The International Cotton Advisory committee (ICAC) presented Global cotton production is forecast 8% higher in 2011/12, compared with 2010/11, at 26.8 million tons, whereas consumption could decline by 2% to 23.9 million tons.

As a result of the projected surplus of 2.9 million tons, global cotton stocks could rebound to 11.9 million tons by the end of 2011/12. This recovery follows two seasons of relatively tight global stocks.

Almost 40% of the gain in global stocks this season could take place in China, due to the rebuilding of the national reserve. Between October 8 and December 30, 2011, a total of 2.1 million tons of domestic cotton were purchased for the China national reserve. Daily purchases are continuing.

There is no limit to the amount of domestic cotton to be purchased by the national reserve this season. In addition, it is reported that about one million tons of non-Chinese cotton has been bought for the reserve; this cotton will be shipped to China over the next few months.

For more details please visit : ICAC estimates global cotton use to decline by 2% @ fibre2fashion

India to post record cotton output in 2011-12 season

India is poised to have a record cotton production of 34 million bales of 170 kg each in 2011-12 season, according to the apex cotton body of India.

Dhiren N Sheth, President of Cotton Association of India (CAI), said while the production is not expected to be below 34 million bales, the consumption may not cross 25 million bales, thus, there would be a huge carry-over stock left for next year.

He cited widespread rains in the cotton growing regions, increase in cotton acreage as farmers received good price last season, and higher usage of Bt cotton as the factors that have spurred the production of cotton in India this season.

He stated that the seasonal conditions that existed in 2010-11 were favourable for growth of cotton and it acted as a catalyst for farmers to increase the acreage of cultivation under cotton this year.

Farmers also cultivated cotton on additional area as cotton gives higher net returns compared to other crops that grow during the same season, he added.

In addition to higher yields, farmers also benefited owing to a decline in production costs after they started cultivating cotton with Bollgard II technology. Today, Bollgard I and Bollgard II technologies together account for nearly 90 percent of India’s total area under cotton cultivation.

Actually, the surge in India’s cotton production in the last few years can be traced to the rapid increase in area under GM cotton. The uptrend continued in 2010-11, when the country produced 32.5 million bales of cotton, Mr. Sheth said.


For more details please visit : India to post record cotton output in 2011-12 season @ Fibre2fashion