IBTEX No. 48 of 2016 March 04, 2016 USD 67.29 | EUR 73.63 | GBP 95.26| JPY 0.59 Spot Prices of Overseas Ring Spun Yarn in Indicative Prices of Cotton Grey Fabrics in China Chinese Market Date: 3 Mar-2016 FOB Price Date:3 2-Mar-2016 Price (Post-Tax) (Pre-Tax) Description Prices Prices (USD/Kg.) (Domestic Production) (Yuan/Meter) Country C32Sx32S 130x70 63” 2/1 fine 20S 30S 7.20 Carded Carded twill India 2.10 2.30 C40Sx40S 133X72 63” 1/1 poplin 6.40 Indonesia 2.81 3.26 C40Sx40S 128X68 67” 2/1 twill 6.00-6.20 Pakistan 2.22 2.60 24Sx24S 72x60 54” 1/1 batik Turkey 2.60 2.80 4.60 Source CCF Group dyeing 20Sx20S 60x60 63” 1/1 plain cloth 6.20 Exhibit your company at www.texprocil.org at INR 990 per annum Please click here to register your Company’s name DISCLAIMER: The information in this message July be privileged. If you have received it by mistake please notify "the sender" by return e-mail and delete the message from "your system". 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Page 1 News Clippings NEWS CLIPPINGS INTERNATIONAL NEWS No Topics 1 Call to adopt BT cotton production 2 Pakistan: Govt importing 50 lac cotton bales to meet local demands 3 Hopes raised Turkey can save Nigeria textile industry 4 Cambodia Mulls Joining TPP to Boost Trade 5 Time to put the TPP out of its Misery? 6 Pakistan textile mills finally get 24-hr gas supply 7 Dhaka: Decision to import cotton, capital machineries via Pangaon terminal suspended 8 Bangladesh: Raw materials import-RMG export gap raises questions NATIONAL NEWS 1 Panel proposes 70% reduction in royalty on GM cotton seeds 2 Weaving Wonders… Her Way 3 Cotton futures edge lower on sluggish demand 4 From the fashion pool 5 Saris, gowns, textiles - A showcase of Banaras repertoire www.texprocil.org Page 2 News Clippings INTERNATIONAL NEWS Call to adopt BT cotton production As debate on production and consumption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) rages on, Zimbabwe needs to make a decision as other countries in Africa are either carrying out controlled trials or have already gone commercial.The cotton production sector in many countries, Zimbabwe included has suffered depressed yields due to unattractive buying prices, as well as higher production overheads. The sad reality saw countries extensively researching to find a panacea to resuscitate the planting of the white gold as farmers had shunned the crop opting for highly paying crops like tobacco and soya beans. Downstream effects caused by the low cotton yields were also felt in the oil production as well as the ginning and clothing manufacturing industries in most countries. Sudan suffered the same fate as other cotton producing countries in Africa but found option in planting genetically modified cotton also known as BT cotton to ameliorate the situation. To date the country’s hectarage of rain- fed and irrigated cotton fields have tremendously increased as farmers get higher yields per hectare increasing their income from the crop. This is an area on which Zimbabwe needs to carry extensive research to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the crop. Scientists state that BT, short for Bacillus Thuringesis, is a natural bacteria that is always present in the soil which has a gene that instructs the production of toxins that kills the catastrophic bollworm which feeds on cotton balls affecting negatively quantities farmers harvest. Monsanto is said to be the developer of the BT technology and has held the patent for a long time. The patent has since expired and now everyone is free to research and develop the BT gene. Dafulin Kaonga, the chief executive officer for the Cotton Board of Zambia said scientists identified the BT gene and inserted it in cotton seeds making the plants produced poisonous to bollworms. www.texprocil.org Page 3 News Clippings “The African bollworm can lay more than 200 eggs at one time which ends up its life cycle as a moth. Each level in the cycle is destructive as it will be feeding on the cotton balls. The BT is a natural bacteria common in the soil which was scientifically inserted in conventional cotton making it poisonous to bollworms protecting the crop from damage thereby increasing the cotton yields,” Kaonga said. Scientists mention that thuricide is a common pesticide usually used by organic farmers to protect their crops as it does not have negative side effects to human being and the environment. They say human beings have actually consumed the gene many times as research points out that sweet potatoes are a natural GMO. In an experience sharing visit to BT cotton fields in Sudan arranged by COMESA for member countries, farmers interviewed said BT cotton gives a better yield than conventional cotton as it is not affected by bollworms, which are a menace to cotton production across Africa. The farmers said since they embarked on BT Cotton, they had seen their yields double or even treble and this has changed positively their living standards. The Sudanese Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry put the yield of conventional cotton at slightly above 1,3 tonnes per hectare and BT cotton at 2,7 tonnes. Cotton experts from various COMESA countries called for COMESA countries’ governments to take on trials as well as research on the efficacy of BT cotton. COMESA biotechnology policy advisor Getachew Belay said there was need for countries to carry out research in BT cotton as this will assist them to understand the crop better. He said this will put to rest the current negative perception on BT cotton. “There is need for partnerships in research on BT cotton which includes farmers themselves, the government and regulatory authorities. www.texprocil.org Page 4 News Clippings “Countries like Swaziland and Malawi have already running BT cotton trials which is a positive step towards improving cotton production in their countries. “Zimbabwe and other COMESA countries can also carry out controlled field trials to ascertain the advantages and disadvantages of the crop before going commercial as countries have different climates. “For any country to move forward, there is need for political will as shown by the Sudanese government which has made a bold decision on the commercialisation of the crop and this has seen an increase in the production of BT cotton. Notably Sudan is the only country in COMESA planting BT cotton,” he said. Belay said there was also need to harmonise policies in COMESA countries as currently the GMO policy states that countries have a choice on whether to take on board production of GMO crops or not. “We intend to set up a panel of experts to deal with GMO crops and these will be advising COMESA countries to have a common understanding on the crops’ production. “There is need to see that GMO crops are not harmful to human beings and the environment. “Actually they preserve the environment as harmful chemicals are not released into the atmosphere by farmers during sprays to control pests and this saves a lot of human beings and animals as most farm chemicals tend to be poisonous,” he said. The Sudanese tour managed to address a major concern amongst ecologists on the fear of the bollworm developing resistance to the BT toxin. Experts said this may be addressed by the use of a refugia crop which has to be 5 percent of the total hectarage, that is a conventional cotton variety that does not have the BT gene. The refugia provide an alternative host to bollworms thus sustaining the other fraction of bollworms that are not exposed to BT toxin. www.texprocil.org Page 5 News Clippings Although conventional cotton is normally used as the refugia crop for BT cotton, in Sudan, farmers use sorghum which is a very attractive host to the bollworms in the process saving their cotton from attacks. In its global status of commercialized biotech crops the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications mentioned that GMO crops production has increased by 3 to 4 percent as a record 18 million farmers in 28 countries planted 181,5 million hectares of biotech crops in 2014 compared to 2013. Source: southernafrican.news– Mar 03, 2016 HOME ***************** Pakistan: Govt importing 50 lac cotton bales to meet local demands Government is reportedly spending around Rs 118 billion to purchase at least 50 lac cotton bales to meet local demands, Dunya News reported Thursday. According to the Cotton Ginner Association, yields in the current year were affected badly by weather shifts. Indigenous harvests amounted to around 97 lac cotton bales out of which textile mills have bought 85 lac bales. Textile sector has to import 50 lac bales to meet annual need of the country that is around 1.5 crore bales. Until today, Rs 43 billion have been spent on cotton import in the ongoing year. Source: dunyanews.tv– Mar 03, 2016 HOME ***************** www.texprocil.org Page 6 News Clippings Hopes raised Turkey can save Nigeria textile industry A Nigeria financial think-tank believes relations between Nigeria and Turkey could help revive the former’s textile and apparel industry. First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Capital noted the industry was currently underperforming amid the influx of cheaper fabrics from China and India. It has been reported there are about 30 operational textile mills which are running at an average of 40 percent of installed capacity.