Textile Cotton Fabric Exporter

28 November 2008 - EU's imports of women denim trousers rebounded in the first part of the year, thanks to a rise in the euro added to a removal of quotas and further relocation of Italian production. Chinese prices fell to nearly the Bangladeshi level while Italian imports from Tunisia or Egypt obviously surged. Markets in France and the Netherlands remained weak when UK and Germany recovered.

28 November 2008 - China: Bids for Quota Exports to the US. Abolition of Export Quota on Silk Products. - U.S. CITA: Adjustment of Limits on Imports from China. - U.S. ITA.: Insufficient Evidence To Self-Initiate Vietnam Apparel Dumping Case. - USTR: Plan to impose additional tariff on Viscose/Rayon Staple Fibers from EU. - U.S. President: Duty-free Treatment Under the Earned Import Allowance Program. - U.S. ITC: Sub-Saharan African Textile and Apparel Inputs. - Canada: Signature of the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia. - E.U. Commission: Poland's Reduced VAT Rate on Clothing for Children.

28 November 2008 - Wool prices slightly rose in US$ this week in Australia, reflecting continued demand from China and offer of superfine qualities in Newcastle. Prices fell in South Africa while rising in New Zealand.

27 November 2008 - Cotton prices are clearly rebounding on New York and physical markets, in line with a general recovery of equity and commodity markets triggered by the announcement of a huge spending plan in the United States. This "Obama Effect" may however be short-lived on the cotton market, given the high level in yarn stockpiles being currently accumulated in Asia while apparel retail sales are further falling in Western countries.

27 November 2008 - Polyester prices are not rebounding in line with other global markets. Although crude oil, paraxylene and PTA are clearly on the rise in Asia, polyester producers remained extremely prudent so far. The level in demand from China's textile industry is not expected to rebound. Cotton yarn prices are further falling in China, in addition, although cotton prices are now bottoming out.

27 November 2008 - US imports of men's and boys' woven trousers fell across the board this year, except from China. Shipments remained strong before quotas are eliminated at the end of the year, as a clear sign that China may gain new shares of the US import market in the next year. Competitors in Bangladesh, India and Mexico may find it difficult to compete, even with higher Chinese prices in the future.

26 November 2008 - EU's clothing imports started seriously falling in euro terms in August, according to latest official data. Imports from China continued however rising, thanks to a surge in shipments of knit clothing after quotas were removed at European borders. Other Asian origins heavily suffered from China's competitiveness, except Vietnam which enjoyed a solid rise in shipments in euro terms, as reflected by our statistical tables.

26 November 2008 - EU's imports of men's and boys' cotton denim trousers remained very strong over the first half of the year, thanks to the high level in the euro and surging demand from Germany. China took advantage of the removal in EU's quotas while Turkey partly resisted after a new shift to higher-priced products. Shipments from South Asia less significantly increased. Italian, French and UK's markets were already slowing down, as a clear sign of difficulties to come

25 November 2008 - China is increasingly dependent on US and EU clothing markets which still account for 64% of the gobal apparel trade, according to historical data from the WTO which are available for download. China's share of the global market surged since 2000 while although exports sharply increased from Vietnam, Turkey and Bangladesh. EU's clothing exports are far from negligible, by contrast with U.S. apparel exports, as reflected by our series of statistical tables.

25 November 2008 - Chinese apparel prices dramatically fell in the past seven years on the US import market. The limits reimposed in 2005 however resulted in a rebound in prices in most important categories, forcing Chinese exporters in shifting to quality products. In already "freed categories" by contrast, Chinese prices continued falling to lower levels in 2005-07, as reflected by our series of statistical tables, a trend which may now threaten China's competitiveness on the US market.

25 November 2008 - Polyester staple fiber prices stopped falling in the last seven days in China while filament prices continued however declining. The stabilization in PTA and MEG prices may explain that PSF prices were similarly unchanged. Lower demand from the textile industry continues affecting the polyester market, however.

24 November 2008 - Cotton prices may have reached a temporary bottom in New York, somewhere below 40 cents per pound, after the dramatic fall experienced in the last two months. Attention is now focusing on domestic markets in China and India where governments started officially supporting cotton prices. New Delhi would also be on the brink of subsidizing its textile industry by offering access to low-priced cotton and developing export rebates.

24 November 2008 - Polyester intermediate prices stabilized in the last seven days with PTA even slightly rising in Asia for the first time in weeks. Crude oil and paraxylene prices significantly fell in the past week, however. A drastic decrease in PTA and MEG output may explain the price stabilization, although producers may find it difficult to resist another round of declines in their raw material costs.

21 November 2008 -Spun yarn prices more sharply fell in the past two weeks in China, compared with the previous period. Viscose yarn prices even crashed, with a loss of about 6%. Cotton yarn prices heavily fell in line with the current drop in cotton prices. Polyester staple and yarn prices less dramatically declined. The cotton system pipeline is confronted with a wave of bankruptcies in the coastal provinces where plants are shutting down. Yarn production is slowing down as a result, although still rising.

21 November 2008 - China's Ministry of Commerce: Raising Textile Export Rebates. Third Round of Allocation of US Textile Quotas. Anti-dumping Investigation against Imports of Polyamide 6,6. - U.S. CITA: CAFTA-DR Commercial Availability Determination: Polyester Fabrics. ATPDEA Limits. - U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Certificates of Compliance: Final Rule. - U.S. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): Cotton Board Rules and Regulations: Adjusting Supplemental Assessment on Imports.

21 November 2008 - Wool prices again rose this week on major markets, mostly due to strong demand from China ahead of year-end deadline for tariff quotas. A low level in offer also helped, along with a decline in currencies. Although new sales of superfine wool will be next week held in Australia, the current wave may rapidly end with prices returning to their long-term downward trend.

20 November 2008 - Deflation is on its way on the US apparel market with a fall of 4% in retail sales reported at clothing stores in October. This is partly due to declining consumer prices, down 1% from the previous month and more significantly falling from a year earlier. Apparel chains announced a sharper drop in their October sales with a double-digit fall for a large number of them.

20 November 2008 - Global cotton consumption will decrease this season for the first time in ten years, the ICAC Wednesday predicted in Ouagadougou. Falling demand is depressing prices on the international market with a downward spiral resulting in lower use in the future. Prices further fell in the last three days, although less dramatically than in the past week, however.

20 November 2008 - Polyester prices stayed unchanged in the last three days in Asia, reflecting a stabilization in PTA and MEG prices. The drastic fall in Asian production may offer some support to prices. A new decline in crude oil and paraxylene prices since the start of the week could further depress the polyester market, however. Reflecting new trade tensions, Argentina launched two anti-dumping investigations on imports of polyester staple fibers and filament yarns from Asia.

20 November 2008 - Viscose fiber and yarn prices further fell in the last weeks in Pakistan, in line with a general decline on the global market. Prices of domestically produced staple fibers however stayed unchanged while the decrease in yarn prices stopped in the last days. Spinners try resisting a new drop in prices while energy costs are again being raised, our Pakistan Correspondent reports.

19 November 2008 - China's clothing industry is confronted with a severe crisis this year, resulting in an impressive wave of bankruptcies and layoffs. Higher labor costs, a lack of workers and the global economic crisis are weakening the global textile leader. Chinese companies are already adopting new strategies, however, including a shift to higher-priced products and a relocation of production facilities to inland provinces and foreign countries, our special envoy reports.

19 November 2008 - Spandex prices further fell in the past period in China, as a result of continued weakness in demand from the textile industry. Raw material costs were sharply down, including MDI and PTMEG prices on the international market. Spandex producers are significantly reducing operating rates in order to stabilize prices. Largest Chinese producer Yantai Spandex released falling financial results.

19 November 2008 - Spun yarn export prices dramatically fell in the last two months in India, as a result of lower raw material costs and also due to the sharp decline in the rupee against the US dollar. Viscose yarn prices less significantly fell on the international market, however, while acrylic yarns even rose, according to price tables and related comments released by our India Correspondent.

18 November 2008 - US apparel imports surprisingly rose in September. Shipments from Vietnam and Bangladesh were very strong over the third quarter as a clear sign of renewed interest for low-cost products. Apparel imports from China also increased, after falling in the first half this year. Imports from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka or Thailand clearly fell over the July-September period. The removal of US quotas on imports from China could further put pressure on all these origins.

18 November 2008 - Polyester prices further collapsed in the last seven days in China with average PSF price for 1.4D down below the symbolic and very low level of 7,000 yuan per metric ton. Demand for staple fibers continues slowing down in line with a reduction in spun yarn consumption. Filament prices are also in free fall as a clear sign that clothing production is not improving. With raw material costs having sharply decreased in the year-to-date, polyester prices may further fall in the near term.

18 November 2008 - Spun yarn prices fell across the board in the last two months in India. The decline was less strong however for cotton yarn prices than for polyester-viscose and polyester-cotton prices, as reflected by the series of statistical tables from our India Correspondent. Production of spun yarns is being reduced, partly due to power shortages in the Southern part of the country. Stocks are however piling up, reflecting the current textile crisis in India.

17 November 2008 - Raw material costs of polyester producers were mixed in the past seven days in Asia, with PTA again falling on spot markets while MEG was slightly increasing. Demand is expected further declining from China's polyester industry, potentially resulting in lower prices in the near term. PTA less dramatically decreased than Paraxylene since the start of the year in addition, leaving room for new price reductions.

17 November 2008 - Cotton prices further declined in the last week amid new signs of a severe slowdown in textile production this year in Asia. Global cotton consumption is expected being much lower than earlier anticipated. State intervention for supporting prices in China, India and Pakistan may also have serious consequences on prices levels on the international market.

14 November 2008 - Chinese prices progressively rose over the last years on EU's clothing import market. With quotas being this year removed in most sensitive categories, prices significantly fell, however, although not returning to their lower levels of 2005. Sharp differences are being observed between categories of products over the long term period, as clearly reflected by our series of tables covering 4-digit HS chapters in the 2000-08 period.

14 November 2008 - Canada Border Services Agency: The Outward Processing Remission Order (Textiles And Apparel) Program. - U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC): Andean Trade Preference Act/Impact on U.S. Industries and Consumers. - U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Textile Product Safety Essentials for the US market (for Vietnamese Exporters). - China's Ministry of Commerce: Third Round of Allocation of US Textile Quotas. Anti-dumping Investigation against Imports of Adipic Acid from the Republic of Korea, the European Union and the United States.

14 November 2008 - Wool prices sharply rebounded this week in Australia, mainly due to a fall in the Australian dollar while Chinese importers need urgently filling their annual quotas. The recovery should not last beyond the end of next week, with prices expected finally falling before the end of the month.

13 November 2008 - Cotton prices further crashed in the last three days on the international market. Prices lost more than 6% from last Friday in New York to a level not seen since 2002. In China, domestic prices are more sharply falling while now also sliding in Pakistan. Global use this season is seen at a much lower level than a few months ago.

13 November 2008 - Polyester prices further fell in the last three days in China, putting a definitive end to the short-lived recovery of the last week. In absence of any rebound in China's textile poduction, prices are expected further falling in the near term. A new decline in crude oil prices should put more downward pressure on the Asian market.

13 November 2008 - While the European Union and the United States are still predominant textile markets, imports by emerging countries are rapidly rising, as reflected by a series of statistical tables on the global textile trade which were just released by the WTO. China's textile exports were again very strong in the last year, by far exceeding EU or US exports. India, Pakistan and Turkey only have a small part of the gobal market when compared to China.

12 November 2008 - The US import market for cotton knit shirts may be further invaded by products from Vietnam and Indonesia in the coming period, although quotas will be removed on shipments from China, effective from January 1st. The rise in Chinese costs is clearly affecting sales to the US market and there is no sign of a possible surge in shipments in this category 338-339. Central American suppliers will however continue suffering from Asian competition.

12 November 2008 - Yarn export prices significantly fell in October in Pakistan, as reflected by the series of statistical tables from our Correspondent. Lower demand from Europe and the Far East explain the new price decline. The Pakistani yarn industry should take advantage of the governmental textile package announced in the last week. Power shortages may however affect the production this winter although the energy crisis was less acute in the past period.

11 November 2008 - Yarn prices are further falling on the international market amid sliding activity. Demand is progressively declining while everyone is now anticipating lower cotton, polyester or viscose prices. Former agreements are being renegociated with a new volatility on the currency markets adding to current uncertainties. Our statistical tables cover negotiated yarn prices on the cotton, polyester, viscose, cotton/polyester, polyester/viscose markets and for some special yarns like cotton/spandex or cotton/Modal.

11 November 2008 - The price offensive last week launched by China's polyester industry finally failed, as spun yarn producers were unable raising their prices at the same time. After surging, filament prices are also declining with no sign that demand could rebound in the short term or raw material costs could really bottom out. A new decline in crude oil prices below US$60 per barrel would put more pressure on the polyester market.

11 November 2008 - Polyester prices sharply fell in November in India after already sliding in the previous months, our India Correspondent reports. Staple fiber prices were down 7.4% to 9.6% in November in rupee terms while filament prices declined 3% to 10% depending on products, as reflected by our series of tables. Lower MEG and PTA prices in Asia and a weakening demand from textile and clothing producers are explaining the current fall.

11 November 2008 - EU's imports of textiles and clothing from China continued surging in formerly restricted categories in October. There is no sign yet of a slowdown in China's exports to the European Union where quotas have been imposed until January 1st, 2008. The monitoring system for tracking shipments will be eliminated at the end of the year, including the obligation for Chinese exporters to get licences.

10 November 2008 - Cotton prices further fell in the last week in New York, in line with prospects of a lower consumption this season with larger ending stocks than previously anticipated, as a result. Cotton futures last week crashed in China while the physical market was extremely depressed. While state intervention did not stop the decline in China, it resulted in a rebound in India. Prices are no more falling in Pakistan, for a similar reason.

10 November 2008 - Polyester intermediate prices started declining over the weekend in Asia, after more or less rebounding in the last week. A new rise in oil prices on Monday morning may however offer some support to PTA and MEG prices which are now clearly following the level in crude futures in New York. On the other hand, last week's attempt to raise prices may result in a long-term failure with prices further falling in the coming period. Volatility was extreme in the past twelve months, as reflected by our series of graphs.

7 November 2008 - A strong change in currency trends in October will seriously affect the global clothing market in the coming months. The euro and British pound dramatically fell against the US dollar, potentially limiting European imports in the next year. Wide differences were also observed between currencies of emerging countries, with Indian and Pakistani rupees further sliding and the Bangladeshi taka remaining at a relatively high level.

7 November 2008 - Spun yarn prices sharply declined in the last two weeks in China, in line with a fall in raw material costs. A series of yarn producing companies had to leave the business due to a lack of liquidity. Others reduced their production level. Spun polyester yarns lost about 12-14% over the two-week period while cotton yarn prices less strongly declined, as reflected by our tables about three major markets.

7 November 2008 - U.S. International Trade Commission: Statistical Reports on Textile and Apparel Imports from China. Viscose Fibers and U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement. - U.S. Customs: CBP Trade Strategy / Fiscal Years 2009-2013. - U.S. Federal Trade Commission: Various Textile and Clothing Regulations. - U.S. Department of Agriculture: Cotton Program Changes for Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments. - Brazil's Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade: Rejecting Lenzing's Appeal Regarding VSF Anti-Dumping Tariffs.

6 November 2008 - Polyester staple fiber prices bottomed out since the start of the week in China, following a rebound in glycol prices in Asia. Chip prices surged while filament prices also started recovering. The rebound in prices could rapidly end, however, given the low level in demand from the textile industry.

6 November 2008 - Cotton futures failed in recovering in the past days in New York, where Tuesday's rally was offset by Wednesday's fall in prices. Global cotton use would be down 3% this year, the ICAC just predicted, with imports from China sharply declining. State intervention could be massive in China, India and Pakistan in order to support cotton prices. The textile industry may not take advantage of significantly lower raw materials, as a result.

6 November 2008 - Viscose staple fiber prices continued sharply declining in the last two weeks in China, reflecting lower raw material costs and a continued weakness in demand from spun yarn producers. Filament prices less dramatically fell, however, even stabilizing in the last days as volume sales were recovering.This is mostly due to drastic reductions in operating rates of filament makers. The staple fiber industry may follow the same path. In India, global viscose leader Grasim announced a 30% reduction in its production.

5 November 2008 - The election of Barak Obama and a wider majority for Democrats in the US Congress could result in less "free textile trade" and more "fair textile trade" in the coming years, with the United States showing some tougher attitude towards China. With textile quotas expiring at the end of the year, apparel imports from China could be subject to new restrictions under the product-specific safeguard, as already announced by Barak Obama. On the other hand, the new president could find it difficult combating what he calls "China's currency manipulation".

5 November 2008 - Cotton yarn prices started significantly declining in the past month on Pakistan's domestic market, our Correspondent reports. This is mostly due to the fall in cotton prices while demand also weakened, at the same time. Yarn prices declined between 11% and 17% on Karachi and Faisalabad markets, as reflected by our series of statistical tables.

4 November 2008 - Polyester prices further fell in the last seven days in China. Prices lost about 25% on the international market in October. Signs are however emerging since the start of the week in China of a recovery in demand for PTA and MEG which could announce an expected rebound in prices. The polyester pipeline may also suffer from general deflation in the coming period with production being further reduced in line with a new fall in prices.

4 November 2008 - US cotton trouser imports from China should be boosted by the removal of quotas effective from January 1st. Mexico-located plants could be the main victims of the end of quantitative restrictions after Chinese suppliers shifted to the higher end of the US import market in the last three years. Exporters from Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia would not be seriously affected by the definitive end of quotas, after successfully reducing their prices and therefore gaining shares in the past years, as reflected by our statistical report.

3 November 2008 - Cotton prices further fell in the past week in New York, as the dollar's rebound triggered a new decline on commodity markets. US futures are now nearing four-year lows. There is still room for a further fall in physical prices if considering our 10-year graph. Prices plummeted in the last week in China while rebounding in Pakistan and staying unchanged in India.

3 November 2008 - Polyester intermediate prices further plunged in the last seven days in Asia, reflecting a lack of demand and falling raw material costs. A rebound in crude oil futures in New York however resulted in some pause in the decline of PTA and MEG prices by the end of last week. Major suppliers were forced announcing downward revisions for November contract prices. Spot market prices already decreased to much lower levels, however.

31 October 2008 - Pakistan's textile and clothing exporters surprisingly rose in September thanks to strong sales of cotton fabrics, knit apparel and towels. Exports of cotton yarns, woven clothing and bed linen remained relatively weak, however. The country is confronted with a severe energy crisis resulting in power shortages and surging production costs. The sharp decline in the rupee is however offering some more price competitiveness to domestic exporters, at least in the short term.