The Alexandria Cotton Exporters Association (Alcotexa) said last week that it was keeping prices of its good/fully good (G/FG) cotton grade unchanged. Alcotexa, a grouping of major private and public sector cotton exporters, said it would only publish prices for the benchmark G/FG grade.

China cotton output to fall:

China's cotton output is expected to fall in 1998 due to devastating floods in growing regions this summer, officials and state media said. In addition, the government had decided not to adjust the state purchase price this year. Cotton output was expected to fall from the 4.3 million tonnes harvested last year, said an official of the All-China Association of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives. The official declined to give detailed figures. State media have reported cotton output would drop by 600,000 tonnes this year because bad weather had delayed the normal maturity of cotton. Reports have said weeks of flooding had hit nearly666,000 hectares of farmland under cotton. Acreage under cotton was estimated at 4.43 million hectares this year, down 133,333 hectares from last year, the People's Daily said.

Pakistani cotton prices rise:

Pakistani cotton prices rose sharply last week as supplies from the new (July-June) 1998/99 crop was disrupted due to rains in cotton-growing areas, dealers said. "Showers in cotton-growing areas of Sindh (province) have forced cotton ginning factories to stop functioning for two days," dealer Aziz Abdullah said. He said high mill demand was likely to push prices up because of delays in supplies. The country's cotton production is officially projected at 10.8 million bales in 1998/99 compared to 8.35 million bales last year. In the kerb market new crop variety of NIAB-78 was traded between 2,675 rupees ($58.01) and 2,700 rupees per maund (37.32 kg). Official spot rates issued by the Karachi Cotton Association in rupees per maund, including a 12.5 per cent sales tax.

Uzbeks cotton harvesthigh:

Uzbekistan has gathered 915,000 tonnes of raw cotton so far in 1998, one third below last year's equivalent figure of 1.362 million tonnes, an agriculture ministry spokesman said. This year's harvesting campaign, which is in full swing in the former Soviet republic, has been delayed by about 10 days due to cold weather during the growing season. The harvest is expected to end in early November. Unseasonal rains in spring and summer had also meant 200,000 hectares of cotton had to be resown. In total 1.53 million hectares of land were sown to the crop in 1998 versus 1.50 million in 1997. Cotton accounted for more than one third of the Central Asian state's foreign export earnings in 1997, and output this year was targeted at 4.0 million tonnes, the same as in 1997. Actual output fell short of the Soviet-style state plan last year, when 3.7 million tonnes of raw cotton were produced. Output this year has been officially forecast at 4.16 million tonnes, which independent analysts say isunrealistically high.

Bangla jute output to drop:

Jute production in Bangladesh is likely to fall short of target by at least five lakh bales due to the devastating floods that has damaged crop and machinery worth 356 crore taka (about Rs 325 crore) in the country. Output is likely to be around 35 lakh bales this year but the losses on account of flood havoc could increase rapidly as the government assessment is yet to be completed, Bangladeshi jute minsiter AK Faizul Haq has said. "The true picture would emerge only after the waters recede," Haq said. Officials in the agriculture ministry put the losses at around 356 crore taka due to damage of standing crop, machines and infrastructure. Bangladesh, which is the leading jute exporter worldwide, earned about Rs 1,250 crore last year through export of jute and jute products. The minister estimated the country's trade loss due to the damage to crops, raw jute and finished goods at about rs 95 crore and said governmental efforts were on to restorethe top place for the country in the world jute market. ``We are considering assistance to jute goods manufacturers and spinners besides special steps for exporters in a bid to normalise activities in the sector and maintain our hold over the world markets, Haq told reporters.

Specific duty rates for garment imports likely:

In a bid to curb the recent surge in the imports of cheaper garments into the country, the Union commerce ministry may soon impose specific import duties on 14 items of garments, it is learnt. The items falling under the SIDC classification schedule (Chapter 61 and 62)include among others, shirts, trousers, T-shirts, jackets, skirts, underpants, dresses, etc. The specific import duty rates are expected to vary from Rs 30 per piece to Rs 285 per piece. The commerce ministry is considering this move on the recommendations made by the Union textiles ministry following repeated representations from the garment industry led by the Clothing Manufacturers' Association of India (CMAI).The specific duty rates will be an alternative to the 40 per cent ad valorem duty prevailing currently and the imported garments will attract either of the two depending upon whichever is higher. The specific duty rates have been arrived at taking into account factors like local taxes being born by the domestic manufacturers and the prices these items are fetching in the export markets.

Dumping duty on acrylic fibre soon:

The government may impose a provisional anti dumping duty on acrylic fibre imports originating from Japan, Italy, Spain and Portugal towards the end of this month, it is learnt. The Anti Dumping Authority had initiated and completed the investigations on dumping of acrylic fibre on January 7, 1998 after the individual petitions made by Pasupati Acrylon, Consolidated Fibres,IPCL and Indian Acrylics to the commerce ministry. According to Anil Rajvanshi, executive director, Forum of Acrylic Fibre Manufacturers, the investigating teams of anti dumping have already returned from Japanand Europe.

State urged to allow NTC mill land sale:

The union textiles ministry has appealed to the state government that the 25 National Textile Corporation mills in Mumbai should be allowed to surrender only 25 per cent of their surplus land for the welfare of workers and sell the balance. The ministry has also requested that these mills be allowed to use 100 per cent floor space index (FSI), including FSI available on the 25 per cent land to be reserved for workers, on the 75 per cent land to be sold or developed. According to sources, the ministry's proposal is contrary to the revised policy of sale of land mooted by the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP government. As per the modified policy, the surplus land will have to be divided into four parts of 25 per cent each for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority for the welfare of workers and the balance for commercial exploitation by the textilemills.

WNZ adopts new focussed marketing strategy:

Wools of New Zealand (WNZ) has adopted a very focussed marketing strategy for India. Fundamentally, it involves understanding the industry's capabilities and future potential, providing information and services to assist significant lift in quality standards and establishing cost effective and responsive linkages in the entire production and marketing pipeline. According to press release, Wools of New Zealand's branding programme comes to India with a host of services for Indian spinners, knitters and weavers. Success of any brand depends on product innovation, position, presentation and most importantly its performance. Wools of New Zealand's licensees in India have exclusive access to Wools of New Zealand's colour style and trend forecasting and market information, R&D support from WRONZ, new developments from the likely centre, technical support, preferential access to new technologies and when they become available.

Garment exporters inMEPZ hit by economic turmoil:

Devaluation of south east Asian currencies, increasing competition from Pakistan and Bangladesh, and cumbersome procedures have pushed garment exporters in the Madras Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) into a tight spot. About 35 per cent of the total turnover of MEPZ is from the garment sector, servicing mostly the markets of the US and Europe and accounts for an employment of nearly five thousand. To overcome the crisis, a memorandum was submitted to the parliamentary standing committee on commerce, headed by Vayalar Ravi, MP, calling for converting the export processing zones into corporate bodies. This would enable the government to recover the huge investments incurred by it in the export processing zones, as also to bring about greater professionalism and accountability.