Textile Cotton Fabric Exporter

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.