Search Results for: japan

Speaking at the event on Friday (Feb 17), Mark Carney, UN special envoy for climate action and finance, and former central bank governor for the UK and Canada, said of the baseline: “It’s critical. You need compatible information.”  

Mr Carney stressed ongoing discussions between the ISSB and major jurisdictions, such as the EU (European Union), the USA and Japan, about the need for regulatory harmony.…

This increase in demand is linked to the construction of venues and facilities for the Games, as well as for connected infrastructure, such as new hotels and transport facilities.

And with the final touches added to the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in early March, the preparations for sporting venues were completed – well ahead of schedule, a bright contrast to the last-minute construction that bedevilled the 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro.…

The investment to build the interconnector will amount to EUR2.8 billion, with the EIB set to contribute up to EUR400 million for the financing construction of the section within the European Union (EU).  Other financiers include the UK Infrastructure Bank, which will focus on the stretch within UK maritime and land territory, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).…

INTRODUCTION

The Covid-19 pandemic has sparked a reassessment of the model of relying on one or two outsourcing locations. It has demonstrated that when there is a major disruption caused by an emergency as serious as a pandemic, shipping and industrial processing can be disrupted.…

Japan may become a significant market for the halal food sector in future, predicts the Japan Halal Association, whose members are looking ahead to sustained growth once the Covid-19 pandemic ebbs. Faslin Mohammed Lafir, head of halal certification and international relations, of the Japan Halal Association, stressed that the country’s Muslim population is around 120,000 individuals at present, with an estimated 10,000 Japanese converting to the religion every year, boosting potential halal sales.…

The second-largest garment exporting country in the world, Bangladesh has grown its position as a key outsourcing hub since the 1980s.  

With a global market share of 6.26%, according to the World Trade Statistical Review 2021 (1), “The industry has come a long way,” said Md. …

South Korea’s pharmaceutical industry, a global player with exports reaching South Korean Won KRW7.93 trillion (USD6.8 billion) in 2020, has been expanding its foothold in the world’s Muslim markets, offering guarantees that manufacturers avoid inputs that are offensive to Muslims.…

Indonesia’s drive to require pharmaceutical products to be halal-certified is gathering pace, but the country’s pharma industry’s reliance on imported raw materials for medicines is impeding progress, officials and industry players say.  

In October, Indonesia issued a government regulation requiring pharmaceutical products to be certified halal by 2029 for over-the-counter drugs and 2034 for prescription medicines.…

The Bangladesh food industry is increasing its efforts to export halal foods to Muslim majority population countries. A senior government delegation is planning to visit Turkey and Indonesia this year to gather facts and advice on improving Bangladesh sales in these countries of halal food.…

Britain’s open register of beneficial ownership was groundbreaking worldwide but its effectiveness as a bulwark against money laundering is being debated, even as both the European Union (EU) and the US move ahead at varying pace to replicate the system. The question of whether BO registers should be open or closed is one that is being discussed in countries around the world.…

Growth in demand for and production of renewable diesel is set to disrupt the global liquid fuels sector, with major increases in refining capacity being developed now. Renewable diesel has major potential as a transitional alternative energy source, because, unlike standard biofuels, in its highest quality form, it is chemically identical to fossil fuel diesel. …

The Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has initiated a revision of the island’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Law, partly to help paint and coatings manufacturers maintain access to the European Union (EU) market. The reform will take account of the EU’s planned Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which may levy duties on products the EU deems have been made with excess carbon emissions.…

The lorry driver shortage in the UK has grabbed headlines, with concerns raised that Britain’s Brexit from the European Union has worsened the problem. And while that is almost certainly true, the shortage of drivers willing and able to take on commercial haulage jobs is far from being a Britain-only challenge.…

The increasing decriminalisation and legalisation of cannabis as a recreational and medicinal substance has encouraged the liberalisation of hemp as a fibre crop, whose use in some jurisdictions had been restricted because of laws against the plant’s chemically-active ingredients.

This is starting to change, most notably in the USA, which used to have severe anti-marijuana laws, but which now has 18 states that have legalised recreational cannabis use.…

The relationship between the USA textile industry and its counterparts in Latin America has never been straightforward, given the US exports fabrics and fibre to its neighbours as well as importing apparel, but the Covid-19 pandemic has increased complexity in this relationship.…

A key political question emerging from the Coronavirus pandemic has been how the disease might readjust relations between this world’s two largest powers – the United States and China. The two countries have had two very different experiences of Covid-19, which reflect their contrasting social and political systems.…

The Bangladesh innerwear industry has been witnessing robust growth in the past decade and this outsourcing hub is now competing effectively with its major rival China. The production value of the country’s intimate wear jumped from US216 million in 2012 to US1.078 billion in 2021, according to a report from data service Statista (1).…

The Covid-19 pandemic, as a global crisis, will have worldwide long and short-term effects, although – of course – some counties have been, and will be, hit much harder than others.

Indeed, some countries, with fragile economies and weaker social systems, have been brought close to collapse by the coronavirus.…

INTRODUCTION

While debates continue over whether Aristotle actually said ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’, the concept that a system can deliver more impact than each element of its technology acting alone is well established in the textile sector.…

The European Union (EU) is currently considering reforming its excise duty rules for tobacco products, with the tobacco industry and commentators seeing the negotiation on the integration of e-cigarettes being one of the hottest topics. Today, e-cigarettes in the EU are treated just like any other product, falling under EU VAT rules, and are not subject to EU-excise laws that apply for conventional tobacco products or spirits for instance.…

Malawi, one the world’s largest producer of burley leaf tobacco, is making significant efforts to reduce child labour within its tobacco left sector, but the problem is still endemic.

A key sensitivity is that Malawi’s economy heavily relies on tobacco leaf, which contributes to 52% of the total export value for the country, according to the Malawi ministry of finance 2020 annual economic report.…

WHILE the imposition of age limits on the consumption of tobacco and other nicotine products remains very much a national, and in some cases sub-national jurisdiction decision, there is no doubt that the general trend worldwide is for tighter restrictions on younger consumers, even if they are often tough to enforce.…

INTRODUCTION

Financial crime is a minefield for the international textile and clothing industry. With extended international supply chains extending into jurisdictions where the rule of law and a reliable independent judiciary may have a weak hold, if they exist at all, textile and clothing brands and manufacturers must take care.…

INTRODUCTION

Without doubt, the world’s clothing and textile sector is undertaking a technical upgrade that is unprecedented in decades, with new digital systems offering automation and efficient internal controls. As these are worked into the businesses of brands, manufacturers and their suppliers, a new potential emerges, and that is linking these digital systems in a way that could revolutionise efficiencies within the supply chain.…

Demand for paints and coatings in Kenya is set to recover this year from the impact of Covid-19 epidemic, being driven by the rebound of building construction and other civil engineering works that require use of paints, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics has predicted.…

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted Indonesia’s efforts to digitalise its textile and clothing sector, with only a few large companies adopting new industrial revolution 4.0 technologies amid a slump in exports, government officials and industry executives have warned.

Three years ago (2018), Indonesia’s industry ministry unveiled an ambitious ‘Making Indonesia 4.0’ plan to encourage manufacturers to adopt virtual reality, 3D design, automation and internet of things technologies.…

WITH an estimated annual growth of 15% regarding Pakistan’s future digital textile printing business, according to (WHO?), the sector’s outlook is positive, notably because of increasing digitally printed textile exports.

This growth has continued in the past 18 months, despite Covid-19, with more than a million cases as of July, albeit with a low confirmed death rate of 23,500 from its 225 million population.…

Japanese paint companies have felt the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their bottom lines over the last 18 months, although their fortunes appear to have diverged in the first half of this calendar year. Firms that have a strong presence in China, where the economy has already bounced back strongly, are faring better than those that are primarily focused on domestic sales or export markets still struggling to shake off the lingering effects of the global health crisis.…

JAPAN should be more proactive in investigating complex money laundering involving local organised criminal networks – the Yakuza, or Boryokudan – the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has concluded.

In its latest mutual evaluation report, FATF concluded: “Japan regularly uses financial intelligence to investigate money laundering.…

INTRODUCTION

In a highly technical textile sector segment such as the manufacture of compressed garments, the use of detailed standards to guide production is not just useful in guaranteeing quality output, it can help manufacturers and brands’ marketing. Where products are associated with international, regional, national and private standards, this builds confidence in consumers, promoting sales.…

With a large and mature technical textiles market that includes global players such as Asahi Kasei, Mitsui Chemicals and Toyobo, Japan has long benefited from solid research and development capabilities to drive innovation in high-tech fibre use. Now, as industries ranging from civil engineering to aerospace increasingly seek fibres delivering tough performance goals, knitting manufacturers are advancing further in high-tech fibre usage to meet their needs.…

Alternative meat items are gaining a stronger foothold in Japan on the back of product development by mainstream meat producers, growing demand for healthy products and government support for the fledgling industry.

Although soy-based meat is not new to the Japanese market, with items such as tofu hamburgers and soy meat crumbles long holding an established place on supermarket shelves, the market is rapidly expanding and diversifying in response to changing needs.…

TEXTILE and clothing products sold in Canada may have significant proportions of imports, but the country does retain an important digital textile printing capacity.

Covid-19, however, has changed the market according to researchers and companies working in the sector.

“Daily, I hear comments from clients that they want to keep their business local, and that they do not want to go offshore,” said Joe Scout, sales executive at Toronto-based Club Ink, manufacturers of film industry wardrobe costumes and digitally-printed (largely non-textile) display solutions and.…

For evidence that China’s nationalistic ‘guochao’ consumer trend is gathering pace in the personal care product sector, look at the country’s powerful e-commerce sector. In February 2021, the turnover of cosmetics on China’s Taobao platform was Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY14.7 billion (USD2.3 billion), a year-on-year increase of 11%, with the top brand in sales being the guochao-oriented personal care product brand Hangzhou-based Florasis Hua Xizi.…

INTRODUCTION

THE MANUFACTURE of protective masks has been maybe the largest growth area in the international textile and non-wovens industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. Billions of people have donned masks as they seek to avoid catching a disease that by June 11 (2021) had killed 3.7 million people and infected 175 million [1].…

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic has had many profound social and economic impacts, but maybe one of the most important for the clothing and textile sector has been how it encouraged the meshing of design and function in products.

With consumers staying at home, they have looked for apparel to provide comfort as much as formal elegance, of more importance when working in an office or attending public evening events.…

AMERICA has long been the global policeman of international sanctions, including breaches of AML rules, but evidence suggests that the US dollar’s use in international transactions could be weakening and is having to compete with the rising power of crypto currencies.…

COVID-19 has been a challenge for many industries and the tobacco sector has been no exception, with the disease disrupting consumption and purchasing patterns that underpin profitability and turnover.

Countries where smoking is associated with socialising have been particularly vulnerable and a good example is Bangladesh, where the disease has depressed consumption, temporarily.…

Covid-19 made 2020 an incredibly disruptive year for the global manufacturing sector and Vietnam’s paint and coatings sector did not escape the pandemic impact. This was despite that this south-east Asian country had an apparently low impact from the disease, with just 9,565 cases (as of June 9, 2021) and just 55 deaths from a 98 million population, albeit with a rash of new cases last month (June).…

Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced amendments to the island’s Registration Procedures for New Chemical Substances and Existing Chemical Substances. In addition to delaying a registration period for the standard registration of existing chemical substances in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has added a number of simplified administrative and convenient measures to optimise registration applications, review and reporting requirements.…

INTRODUCTION

Graphene has been hailed as a wonder material by its promoters – and for once in the tarnished history of scientific hyperbole – these claims seem to have significant merit. The reality is that graphene does not only offer textile manufacturers the ability to improve the functionality of their products, it helps them achieve this in an environmentally sustainable way.…

GLOBAL ratings agency Fitch has warned that the current global shortage in semiconductor supplies is expected to continue – a major worry for automotive manufacturers and traders seeking to ramp up production as Covid-19 declines, especially as vehicles become ever more reliant on micro-chips.…

Obliged entities following the risk-based approach of calibrating AML/CFT controls lodging suspicious transaction reports must rely on solid knowledge about their customers and partners. But to be comprehensive in assessing risk, obliged entities must know something about their customers’ customers.

That is the underpinning of ‘know your customers’ customers’ (KYCC) systems that are increasingly being touted by vendors.…

INTRODUCTION

ROBOTICS are not new to the textile and clothing sector, and have driven productivity improvements for more than a decade. But these technologies are becoming increasingly more adaptable and more autonomous, offering the many stages in the textile and clothing and distribution chain the potential to increase margin.…

The Covid-19 pandemic has depressed demand in some segments of Japan’s ice cream market, but manufacturers are weathering the storm and poised for continued improvement, according to industry experts.

The country’s second-largest confectionery segment has enjoyed continuous growth in the past 10 years.…

INTRODUCTION

The textile industry is one of the world’s oldest manufacturing sector, yet it is also one of the most dynamic, constantly reinventing itself. Today, the development of micro-factories might herald root-and-branch change in how the textile and clothing industry operates, a transformation driven by advances in digital textile printing.…

The test remains the same. French tech multinational Thales stressed in a paper that they “allow a person to be identified and authenticated based on recognisable and verifiable data, which are unique and specific…” compared to a person’s biometric template.…

Amos Sweets, a veteran global confectionery supplier based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, aims to be the face of China’s new generation of candy maker through offering novel, nourishing, high quality sweets.

Investors have bought into the idea. In early 2021, the company received an investment of nearly Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY100 million (USD15.6 million) through a series A funding round.…

CANADIAN auto dealers, whose sales of high-tech vehicles maybe hampered by safety concerns linked to hacking and computer viruses, are being assisted by a new university cyber-protection unit allied to parts-makers.

The SHIELD Automotive Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence is based at the University of Windsor, just over the Detroit River, and will work with Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association (APMA), with whom it has signed a memorandum of understanding.…

Demand for knitting machines in China has been recovering remarkably fast from the Covid-19 crisis, with Chinese textile factory owners growing bolder in investment decisions, and exports to south Asia growing too.

Chinese knitting machine-makers Suzhou ReHow Machinery Manufacturing and Fujian Taifan Industrial, which supply mainly T-shirt fabrics single jersey circular knitting machines, saw their sales dip in 2020 but not to a dramatically low level.…

Covid-19 has reshaped commercial crime, and one lucrative offence taking a real turn for the worse is tobacco smuggling and counterfeiting. Keith Nuthall reports.

The Covid-19 pandemic has depressed incomes worldwide and forced lower income smokers to look for cheap smokes, which has included counterfeits or smuggled goods.…

The coatings sector is increasingly paying attention to the needs of the textile industry, with its products being used in innovative ways to adapt the surfaces of fabrics to new technical requirements and changes in consumer preferences.

It is an innovative field and information on recent research and development was highlighted last month at a World Congress on Textile Coating (WCTC), held virtually between February 11-12 and 18-19 with dozens of presenters.…

Oil companies decarbonising their portfolios are getting out their cheque books for floating offshore wind projects.

Bottom-fixed offshore wind farms familiar in some places worldwide are generally limited to water no more than about 60 metres deep. Beyond that, it becomes economically unfeasible to connect the increasingly large turbine assemblies to the seafloor by either monopile or jacket foundations.…

There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has fuelled the black-market trade in illicit and smuggled licit tobacco products. The disease has depressed income and forced lower income smokers to look for cheap smokes, which has included counterfeits or smuggled goods.…

The increasing violence meted out by Myanmar security forces against protestors opposing military rule looks set to deepen disruption that has been suffered by the country’s clothing and textile industry since the February 1 coup.

According to local news reports, almost 60 people have been killed and 100s arrested during mass demonstrations and protests that have been continuous, with wood and corrugated iron forming barricades around neighbourhoods.…

EMPLOYERS who fear they are being fleeced by a corrupt employee or being hacked externally do not just need to find the attacker, they must comply with data protection and privacy protections while they conduct their investigations. Breaching such laws can undermine any criminal or civil case brought against a fraudster or hacker or can weaken inside dismissal and disciplinary negotiations with the offender.…

PEACE appears to be breaking out between the European Union (EU) and the UK on one side the USA over an aircraft subsidy-prompted trade war that had led to billions of dollars of duties being levied on food and drink exported between these countries.…

FASHION brands and clothing retailers have seen their supply chains struggle under lockdown measures imposed by governments trying to contain Covid-19. The shutdowns, of course, began just in time for 2020’s spring season, causing maximum disruption. 

According to consulting firm McKinsey, 2020 was the fashion industry’s worst year on record, with a 90% decline in overall profits and almost three-quarters of registered firms globally making a loss.[1]…

INTRODUCTION

NEW technology can deliver effective maintenance strategies to clothing and textile manufacturers, helping them go beyond reactive and proactive maintenance, moving into the more sophisticated world of prediction. The goal is to deliver an optimum maintenance strategy that enables manufacturers to get the most value out of their plant and equipment by spending the least amount of time, resources and money to deliver effective performance.…

Brief:

This article provides an analysis of why the world’s largest regional trade deal (in population terms) – the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – was signed last November (2020). It assesses China’s role in this important political and economic event, and how it reflects its relations with other signatory countries.…

Clothing industry executives and experts within Myanmar have warned that the country’s apparel sector is already suffering because of the February 1 coup, when the military seized power and detained Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected leaders.

Despite the imposition of a one-year state of emergency, healthcare workers, civil servants and others have launched a civil disobedience movement, with demonstrations being staged nationwide.…

The paint and coatings industry in Indonesia still has ample room for growth amid booming infrastructure development, although it has had to struggle with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, say officials and industry experts. 

With the property sector being the primary growth driver Indonesian paint and coating sales, the high demand for new housing and the repainting cycle assures the steady demand for paint and coating products, said Mahendra Chahar, senior consultant at Frost & Sullivan.…

The paint and coatings industry in Indonesia still has ample room for growth amid booming infrastructure development, although it has had to struggle with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, say officials and industry experts. 

With the property sector being the primary growth driver Indonesian paint and coating sales, the high demand for new housing and the repainting cycle assures the steady demand for paint and coating products, said Mahendra Chahar, senior consultant at Frost & Sullivan.…

THE UNITED Kingdom’s definitive exit from the European Union (EU) on December 31, 2020, after an 11-month transition period, will severely disrupt the UK and European can manufacturing industry, experts have told CanTech International. That said, industry figures acknowledge however that, by avoiding blanket tariffs and a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, the UK/EU Trade & Cooperation Agreement (TCA) (1) signed on Christmas Eve did head off economic disaster. …

REGULATIONS affecting what information can, should and cannot be placed on personal care product packaging are among the most demanding of compliance issues facing beauty manufacturers.

One reason is that this is both a very international field and a dynamic one – rules change all the time and vary widely from market to market.…

THE 11TH-HOUR trade deal UK and European Union (EU) negotiators struck last Christmas Eve reassured many dairy traders, but British cheesemakers now face major challenges. New expensive and complicated bureaucracy for UK-EU trades is fouling-up overseas dairy sales, and even pricing smaller companies out of the EU market.…

THE ONSET of Covid-19 has caused many fraud problems, but a particular difficulty has been fraudsters exploiting the unprecedented government largesse released designed to prevent economic collapse at the hands of the pandemic. In the UK, for instance, the House of Commons public accounts committee issued a report in October (2020), saying that Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) had reported 8,000 allegations from employees that their employers – supposed to pay a lower level of wages to staff to receive furlough payments under the UK Job Retention Scheme – had not actually made these payments, or paid less than they should.…

WHILE investment into nuclear energy continues, especially in emerging market countries such as China, in Europe, this sector continues to dwindle in size, with some key countries sticking to plans to phase out the technology.

Concerns about safety and the environmental cost of its waste have encouraged Belgium, for example, to stick to its goal, as laid down in a January 2003 law (1), of stopping any nuclear energy production within the country by 2025, experts have told Energy World.…

THE STRIKING of a trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and a UK to pave Britain’s final and full exit from the EU from January 1 has offered US auto exporters opportunities to boost sales to the UK, but with some significant challenges, say experts.…

THE TOBACCO industry will be keeping a close eye on the latest set of reforms to the European Union’s (EU) chemical control legislation, which will impose new controls on accidental chemical mixtures, products incorporated chemicals and will change the tobacco products directive (TPD).…

The medieval scholar Abd al-Rahman Ibn Khaldun, a famous Tunisian historian of the 14^th and 15^th centuries, created a model for the history of states, which he said had a natural life of birth, maturity and death.

His Muqaddimah, published in Arabic in 1377, written as a prelude to an ambitious survey of global history, said states went through three stages, always ending – as the adage about politics says – in failure.…

Russian food retailers are expanding their offerings of ready-to-heat food in response to growing demand from consumers. The Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged sales, as an alternative to eating out, but it is building in longer-term trends among Russian consumers, particularly in large cities, to seek out convenient food product options.…

NEW integrated paint manufacturing units in India with an annual production capacity of less than Indian Rupees INR500 million (USD6.6 million) will soon be exempt from securing prior environment clearance by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF). This rule, covering plants with production facilities for resins and pigments, is expected to come into force early next year (2021) once the central government formalises and gazettes a new Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification.…

A new Transparency International (TI) survey has reported significant concern in 17 Asian countries (1) that corruption continues to be a problem or is getting worse, undermining equitable access to public services and trust in government. TI’s ‘Global Corruption Barometer – Asia’ (2) found 74% of the 20,000 people surveyed believe that government corruption is a major problem in their country, with 19% of citizens surveyed admitting to paying a bribe and 22% using personal connections when accessing public services in the previous year.…

A Shanghai-based startup confectioner LANDBASE (NOTE TO EDITOR – UPPER CASE SPELLING FOR COMPANY NAME IS CORRECT) has tapped China’s competitive chocolate market though selling sugar-free chocolate, sweetened with alternative flavouring inulin, targeted at health-focused consumers.

The two-year-old company’s brand CHOCDAY and product lines ‘Dark Milk’ and ‘Dark Premium’, have been developed in China, but manufactured in Switzerland for the Chinese market, a first in China.…

IT is maybe not a common occurrence for the tobacco industry to find itself on the right side of judicial rulings, but in December, South Africa’s Western Cape High Court ruled that a four-and-a-half month national ban on sales of tobacco products, justified to prevent the spread of Covid-19, had been unconstitutional.…

Traditionally a society of meat lovers, Russians are now developing a taste for vegetable and cereal-based products that reflect the taste and texture of meat – food manufacturers are eager to cater to this trend.

International companies have been entering this segment in Russia, while ambitious local startups are rapidly expanding their production capacities.…

AUSTRALIA has chosen an unorthodox path in transitioning to a low carbon economy. Its centre-right government has advised the country’s clean energy agencies to decrease investment in renewables such as solar and wind and instead increase investment in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, microgrids and energy efficiency.…

The Covid-19 pandemic is set to drive a near threefold surge in the antiviral coatings market as researchers and developers say they now realise how little they know about effective materials combatting such threats.

The search for more universal antiviral materials “should be continued with even higher intensity”, said Professors Ken Ostrikov and Ziqi Sun from Queensland University of Technology, in Australia, in their September (2020) report, ‘Future antiviral surfaces: Lessons from COVID-19 pandemic’, featured in the publication ‘Sustainable Materials and Technologies’.…

Taiwan’s government seems determined to push ahead with an aggressive stance against tobacco and nicotine products, pushing a control law that would, for instance, ban e-cigarettes, which have never been formally authorised for sale on the island.

The ministry of health and welfare’s Health Promotion Administration (HPA) is pushing amendments to Taiwan’s Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (THPA), which would also ban flavoured tobacco products, enlarge pictorial warnings to 85% of packaging area and raise the legal age to buy tobacco from 18 to 20.…

A RESEARCH consortium in Canada is developing an open source model to create data-rich digital maps that can improve the operations of autonomous vehicles (AVs). The inspiration behind ‘Open HD Maps’ is to enable the holders of mapping data outside existing proprietary mapping services to contribute their information to a collaborative platform on a profit-sharing basis.…

Countries exporting the most goods and services are also the worst at foreign bribery enforcement, according to the latest report from anti-graft group Transparency International. ‘Exporting Corruption Progress Report 2020: Assessing Enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention’ finds that most countries assessed (34 out of 47), conducted weak or no enforcement of their foreign bribery laws, in part hindered by a lack of public information on beneficial ownership. …

IT goes without saying that can manufacturers and fillers have to comply with regulatory controls specifying how they make and fill cans, but maybe the biggest compliance challenge for the industry is following the world’s multifarious rules on food labelling. 

Canners and fillers with contracts to supply labelled cans have to take special care given these labelling rules do not just vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, (or even within jurisdictions), these regulations are a very dynamic topic – they change, often. …

THE CHINA Coatings Industry Association on September 14 published a draft standard for the manufacture and sale of antibacterial and anti-viral coatings – a key growth segment during the Covid-19 pandemic. The draft specifies the terms, definitions, requirements, test methods, inspection rules, labelling, marking, packaging and storage of coating products with antibacterial and antiviral properties.…

The Covid-19 crisis has had many negative impacts, and one has been the undermining of legitimate businesses. In countries with strong organised crime traditions, this has meant more opportunities for money launderers to subvert hard-pressed entrepreneurs or take them over, to use their businesses as fronts for cleaning criminal proceeds.  …

LATIN America has been hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic – with Chile, Peru, Brazil and Colombia in the top-20 of countries regarding cases per million people – and its paint and coatings market and industry has faced a similarly rough ride.…

International efforts are stepping up to scope and map what it will take to wean chemical manufacturing off its high dependence on oil and gas feedstock for chemicals that are then used to make plastics, fertilisers and other important products.

Options include using building-block raw materials from biomass instead of fossil-fuel feedstock; boosting the yield of chemicals for a given quantity of feedstock; and, applying advanced recovery and recycling technologies in circular economy approaches.…

A WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel will assess whether import restrictions created by the European Union (EU) to reduce the use of carbon-intensive biofuels comply with global trading rules.

The Indonesian government is challenging portions of the EU’s renewable energy directive (RED) linked to EU guidance limiting the indirect land use change (ILUC) of biofuel feedstock cultivation.…

The Internet has hardly developed a reputation for honesty, but blockchain technologies where different computers log transactions in separate units, connected to a web of entries (blocks), are tough to falsify.

Of course, blockchain’s most high-profile use has been to underpin the reliability of cryptocurrencies, but the principle of this unchangeable and autonomous web of ledgers has so many potential uses – the tobacco sector has been exploring them.…

Textile industry innovators are seeking to create and improve naturally coloured cotton, that can reduce or even remove the need for manufacturers to add dyes that can be expensive and generate significant levels of pollution.

Natural coloured cotton is not new, with Liv Severino, head of Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, a state-owned research corporation affiliated with Brazil’s ministry of agriculture, livestock and food supply, noting evidence that human clothes were made from such fibres in the Andes 5,000 years ago.…

Growing Asian dairy markets are increasingly regulating the health claims that could be made on packs of food, a trend that is impacting international dairy exporters from Europe as much as local dairy producers.

A key example is Taiwan, that will in 2022 forbid the word ‘healthy’ on food items except foods that have received special health food permits.…

BOTH the Australian as well as the New Zealand cosmetics and personal care market have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, trends towards increasing purchases of health conscious and natural products have continued, with local brands gaining momentum, indicating how the Australasian personal care product market will develop once the coronavirus has lost its bite.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released detailed proposals to create a new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), working alongside the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) but operationally independent under the IFRS Foundation. The goal would be integrating standards created by a wide range of existing sustainability initiatives, such as from the CDP (https://www.cdp.net/en…

Innovation is a key to success in the knitwear sector, but when a manufacturing hub combines centuries-old traditions of knitted product production with new technology and ideas, that is a winning combination. This is the strength of Japan’s Wakayama knitwear manufacturing centre, located south of Osaka, on the western coast of the Kii Peninsula.…

Scientists in Japan have succeeded in developing an artificial spider silk that could have major implications for the apparel industry. The research team at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS), developed the spider silk from photosynthetic bacteria, paving the way for a new era of photosynthetic bio-factories delivering stable output.…

Few countries could claim to have weathered Covid-19 well but Singapore, micro-managed and highly-educated, is high on the shortlist. Even so, Covid-19 has had a detrimental effect on the southeast Asian city state’s paints and coatings sector and its impacts continue to linger.…

The China National Coatings Industry Association (NCIA) on July 31 informed members that it has been told by the ministry of ecology and environment to investigate the production, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste in the coating industry and compile a management guide based on the investigation’s findings.…

Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal is one of the largest ever embezzlement and money laundering cases, with Malaysian courts considering how at least USD4.5 billion was stolen and then spent or laundered from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Former Prime Minister Najib Razak has now been convicted of charges associated with the scandal.…

Japan is set to surpass its renewable energy targets well before its 2030 deadline, aided by a booming biomass sector benefiting from favourable government programmes and private sector investment.

Of Japan’s total 1.065 trillion kWH generated electric power expected in 2030, the Japanese government pledged that 22–24% of it would be sourced from renewable energy, of which 3.7% to 4.6% would come from biomass.…

UNPRECEDENTED demand for aluminium cans caused by consumers drinking at home during lockdowns and associated restaurant and café closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will not cause long term disruption to this key canning market, say industry experts. Instead, manufacturers will work closely with customers to maintain supplies, European and United States (US) industry organisations have told CanTech International.…

THE INTERNATIONAL trade in tobacco products and inputs contains significant variations in prices that might indicate the presence of trade-based money laundering – of TBML – a specialist database indicates. Certain trade flows are exploited by money launderers seeking to move criminal proceeds from one country to another through artificial pricing – deliberate over- and under- invoicing.…

The Syrian tobacco sector has been hard hit by the civil war and associated social conflicts, now stretching into their tenth year. Tobacco leaf volumes and planted areas have dropped by around a third since the start of these troubles, factories have been destroyed, and sanctions have forced international brands from formal trading channels in Syria.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is funding an international research project that is developing new fast ways of making colloids – mixtures of one substance comprising insoluble microscopic particles suspended in another substance – the building blocks of most coatings. It is the nature of paints and coatings are that they are colloids – liquids that contain ingredients that give paints and coatings their colours, textures and functional abilities.…

THE ASIA-Pacific region, even one-party states such as China, have developed legal protections for whistleblowers, although the comprehensive protection more commonly found in Europe is still usually absent.

South Korea is one jurisdiction leading the pack on developing robust whistleblower protections.…

THE ASIA nonwovens sector has been reaping the benefits of booming demand for protective medical materials during the Covid-19 crisis. But like the pandemic, this roaring demand will end, and nonwovens producers need to ready to a post-Covid-19 market.

This will mean reining in growth, but as David Price, founding partner of US-based management consultancy specialising in nonwovens Price Hanna Consultants, said, with regional nonwovens sales per person still low in global terms, the “market penetration for disposable and durable nonwovens in southeast Asia and China” is likely to grow regardless.…

Enormous forces act on renewable energy system’s mechanical parts when generating power from wind and water. Between the smooth operation and potential loss of multi-million-dollar investments stand gear lubricants. Lubricants are also needed for the hydraulics that pitch the blades a few degrees every time the wind, or the water current, changes. …

THE NEED to actively recharge electric vehicles makes them less attractive to consumers, especially when batteries can take eight hours to charge. So, the development of ambient technologies that enable EVs to charge themselves as they operate has been a key focus of automotive R&D.…

COVID-19 has taken its toll on Sri Lanka’s textile and clothing sector, with exports forecast to plummet for 2021 (the financial year ending March) from a target of USD5.6 billion, by USD1.7 billion to USD3.9 billion, falling 30% year-on-year for April 2020 to March 2021, the country’s national clothing industry told just-style.…

Representatives of international food brands and analysts have told just-food that China’s State Council’s approval of 46 new pilot zones for companies conducting cross-border e-commerce, a move designed to help the country’s economy withstand the blows landed by the Covid-19 epidemic, also present opportunities to foreign food brands selling to Chinese consumers. …

Moscow’s action on 90% demineralized whey powder followed up an announcement made in March 19 by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin that from March 20 “for one month, all restrictions on the supply of essential goods, including customs, are cancelled”. This was followed up by a government plan allowing for the easing of sanctions-related restrictions – see http://static.government.ru/media/files/vBHd4YRxpULCaUNNTFLVpPSZbMCIA2Zq.pdf…

HUNGARY continues to be an attractive market for tobacco majors, with its populist government seemingly determined to fight the European Union (EU) for the right to keep excise duties below EU mandated  minimums, and the fact that, according to the OECD Country Health Profile 2019 official data (https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/hungary-country-health-profile-2019_4b7ba48c-en#page1…

EAST Asia’s auto-making hubs may have been making a better fist of dealing with the Covid-19 crisis than manufacturing centres in Europe and north America, but the pandemic has been harming the industry in the region.

Government responses have varied, however, with no major scrappage packages being announced.…

AUSTRALIA’S existing regulatory framework for importing and manufacturing industrial chemicals, the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) will be replaced by a new system called the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme (AICIS), starting July 1. The AICIS covers a broad range of chemicals and polymers used in adhesives, paints and solvents among many others. …

New aspiring entrants to the AML/CFT and other compliance sectors will be hard hit regarding available jobs and related pay and conditions by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to international recruitment agency Randstad. Its Hong Kong director banking and financial services Rick Chung warned: “Similar to what we have witnessed during the global financial crisis, it will be challenging for fresh graduates to secure jobs during these extraordinary times.”…

WHEN a crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic hits a supply chain as complex as the clothing sector, financing problems can gum up commercial relationships, so in the short term, governments, along with regional and international organisations, need to step in.…

IF there was a sub-Saharan African country expected to steer a middle course between World Health Organisation (WHO) demands on smoking and protecting a stable and prosperous tobacco industry and market, it would surely be relatively wealthy Botswana – with an average per capital income in 2018 USD7,750.…

In the seven years since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Tokyo would be the host city of the summer Olympic Games and the Paralympics in the summer of 2020, companies in the paint and coatings sector have enjoyed a steady uptick in demand for products linked to the construction of venues and facilities for the Games, as well as for connected infrastructure, such as new hotels and transport facilities. …

QUANTUM computers are now being developed that may offer accounting practices computing power to strengthen audits, but which also pose some serious cybersecurity concerns.

After decades of theorising, quantum computing is here. Google last October (2019) announced it had developed a device which it claimed took 200 seconds to sample data showing how a quantum computer works one million times (1), a task it claimed would take a standard digital super-computer 10,000 years.…

With low labour costs and stable local demand, Ukraine has long been one of the favoured bases for major tobacco companies. However, even without taking into account before the disruption caused by the Covid-19 crisis, the market has been in flux in recent months as the new Ukrainian government has made efforts to change tobacco taxation while ramping up its fight against tobacco smuggling.…

• 1MDB SCANDAL IN MALAYSIA SEES USD BILLIONS STOLEN AND HIDDEN

Malaysia 1MDB scandal is one of the largest money laundering cases ever, worldwide, with Malaysian courts considering charges over how at least USD4.5 billion was stolen and then spent or laundered from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad by former Prime Minister Najib Razak and his associates.…

SLOWLY, but steadily, the world’s energy policies are turning green, towards promoting a sustainable future, targeting an increasingly universal goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. With evidence mounting not only that climate change is accelerating, but potentially wreaking serious damage on the world’s economies and peoples, the Paris Agreement goal of holding the rise in global temperatures to well below 2C trying to limit it to 1.5C is being reflected in the plans of governments, regional and international organisations.…

Nicotine consumption is declining worldwide, with smokers are consuming less, as well as e-cigarette and heated tobacco users, according to market research provider Euromonitor International’s ‘Nicotine Survey, Exploring the Modern Nicotine Landscape’.

“Overall [the study] shows nicotine prevalence is declining not growing, and it is clear to see there isn’t much evidence that greater availability of nicotine formats is increasing smoking prevalence among adults,” said Shane MacGuill, head of tobacco research at Euromonitor International, in a webinar attended by TJI.…

Ecommerce is becoming an increasingly popular way to order tobacco-related products, especially e-cigarettes and vapes, but are such single-item shipments contributing to more carbon emissions and packaging waste than buying in-store or kiosk? E-commerce accounts for an increasingly large slice of the global retail market, growing 28% in 2017, 22.9% in 2018 and by 20.7% in 2019, to USD3.535 trillion, and forecast to reach USD4.2 trillion in 2020, according to eMarketer’s Global Ecommerce Forecast 2019.…

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted efforts by South Sudan tertiary education leaders and ministers within the newly formed South Sudan unity government to restore the country’s universities, many of which were devastated by the years of civil war that may now have ended.…

INTRODUCTION – SERIES

A series of reports from WTiN is exploring the need for the textile and clothing sector to protect itself against attacks from cybercriminals as it invests in new transformative Industry 4.0 technologies – extended reality, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.…

Mexico’s digital textile printing industry is poised for growth as the country’s textile manufacturers bet on the technology to cut costs, meet orders faster and widen exports to Canada and the United States, efforts that have gained in importance this year as the global economy reels from the spread of the coronavirus.…

As with every business sector in every country around the world, Japan’s paint and coatings industry has been thrown into uncertainty over the full impact and longer-term implications of the coronavirus Covid-19 that has swept the globe since first emerging in China in December 2019. …

With the Korea Cosmetic Industry Institute (KCII) estimating there were USD11.7 billion’s worth of South Korean-made personal care products (‘K-beauty’) sales in 2019, including nearly USD6.49 billion in exports, and more than 16,000 individuals and businesses officially licensed to provide cosmetic products and services, South Korea’s cosmetic industry has the innate strength it will need to cope with the Covid-19 crisis.…

Indonesia’s industry ministry launched an initiative in February (2020) aimed at eliminating lead used in paint made and sold in the country. It involves the Indonesian paint industry, is part of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) project and is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), an international investment body.…

Global production of fibreglass is predicted to soar over the coming decade, as appreciation grows of its utility and cost effectiveness in expanding materials manufacturing sectors.

Driven by a push to increase reliance on renewable energy sources to help tackle the climate crisis, manufacturers of wind turbines are increasingly reliant on glass – and carbon – fibres to produce rotor blades, for instance.…

China based analysts are raising concerns that the coronavirus (2019-nCo) outbreak will disrupt supplies of apparel to major international fashion brands. of key concern is the fact that government movement restrictions have impeded operations of clothing and textile manufacturers in provinces that are a key part of Chinese output: Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Shaoxing.…

Unterweser Nuclear Plant (KKU) in Northern Germany went into service in 1978 and with 1,425MW gross electricity output, the pressurised water reactor (PWR) plant was once world champion in terms of generated electricity.

Having booked an impressive lifetime total of 305 billion KWh, KKU went out of service in 2011 after the political leadership in Berlin reacted to Japan’s Fukushima disaster that year by ordering a nuclear phase-out before plants were due to end operations.…

IN southeast Asia’s humid and hot climate, the need for coatings to protect homes, businesses and public service buildings from mould is significant – expanding demand for anti-microbial coatings, especially as strong economic growth fuels construction.

The regional economic powerhouse that today’ Vietnam recorded slightly above 7% gross domestic product (GDP) growth for a second consecutive year, making it one of the best performers globally.…

CONSULTATIONS are being assessed in Australia to develop a National Standard for Environmental Risk Management of Industrial Chemicals, which will include coatings and their chemical ingredients, Australia’s department of agriculture, water and the environment has said in a note. The national standard, for which consultations were to end in February, is being designed to ensure that potentially harmful high-risk chemicals are subject to appropriate and consistent environmental controls across the nation.…

As paint company conferences go, the Sankeshu Paint Co’s annual Chinese New Year gathering was special. A room of sales executives wearing matching blue suits and red ties were serenaded with ‘Zui Mei de Shen Hu’ – ‘The Most Beautiful Shenzhou My Home’),” sung by a soprano before chairman Hong Jie strode on stage to rally his assembled ranks to shout in unison company slogans, such as “Full product range!…

Indonesia’s paint and coatings sector is expected to continue to grow, driven by an expanding middle-class population, the fast-growing construction sector and ambitious government infrastructure projects, encompassing transport networks, energy and utilities.

The south-east Asian country’s paint and coatings market has grown to almost USD2.5 billion in sales revenue in the past year and sales are expected to expand at a fair clip of between 6% and 7% annually in the next five years, according to industry analysts Frost & Sullivan. …

Airbus is to pay out EUR3.6 billion (USD4 billion) under a trio of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) with British, French and United States authorities that were simultaneously agreed by national courts January 31 as part of a global resolution over bribes to clinch civil and military aircraft sales.…

ITALY’S cosmetic and personal care product market remained strong through 2019, with major players in the industry focused on strengthening digital retail and production strategies to further connect with consumers, while deepening their presence in foreign markets, particularly in Asia. 

The year 2019 was also dynamic in terms of acquisitions, with a handful of Italian BPC (beauty and personal care) companies buying businesses that specialise in new and different products to extend their reach in new product categories, both domestically and abroad.…

THE DEVELOPMENT of life-like 3D models of human skin, so close to real life that they can accurately test the impact of personal care products, maybe better than by using live animals, is something of a holy grail for the cosmetics industry.…

BEAUTY consumers worldwide are demanding more transparency in manufacturing processes and ingredients, less environmental impact, and simple and clean ingredients. So goes the product, so goes the packaging. The beauty industry is responding with brand packaging and labelling that transmits a marketing message that the beauty product inside may be healthy and full of goodness.…

IMPORTERS of paints into Japan have been given four time-windows in 2020 to secure ‘small volume permits’ under which coatings can be brought into Japan without any new chemical components being declared to regulators. This special exemption applies to imports of a product into Japan under one tonne per year, says the Japanese Chemical Substances Control Law.…

A series of reports published in recent weeks have highlighted the need for increased collaboration across the shipping industry to develop and share best practice to significantly reduce the sector’s carbon footprint. Between 2000 and 2017, the CO2 emissions associated with the shipping sector grew at an average annual rate of 1.87% between 2000 and 2017, according to a report published in September by the Bonn-based International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), ‘Navigating the way to a renewable future: solutions to decarbonise shipping’, resulting in emissions of  677 megatonnes (Mt) of CO2 in 2017.…

Data by the Asia Nonwoven Fabrics Association (ANFA) shows that nonwovens production in Asia increased by a robust 6.5% year-on-year in 2018, to 5.6 million tonnes. China-based manufacturers were responsible for the bulk of this output, producing 4 million tonnes. However, but India-based production increased at faster pace, at 15.9% up, year-on-year.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission will early next year (2020) consider whether to add cadmium to the European Union (EU) critical raw material list, with the aim of encouraging production and recycling of this mineral that widely used in batteries, potentially helping the EU economy away from fossil fuels.…

In every industry, including the clothing and textile sector, sustainability often means huge amount of long-term investment – be it new sewage processing systems or recycling technology. But how to get rewards from these investments? At the Integral Conversation conference held by Hong Kong-based shirt manufacturer, Esquel, in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on November 8, companies in the fashion industry were exploring solutions.…

With Pakistan’s digital textile printing industry production growing at an average of at least 5% annually in recent years, according to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), with the country’s digital textile printing industry being an important focus of investment in a sometimes-troubled textile sector.…

A free trade deal between Europe and Australia is in the making but European Union (EU) trade negotiators have managed to generate some serious concerns among Australian dairy industry in the process. The EU wants Australia to recognise the exclusive rights of EU cheesemakers to the traditional names of almost 60 different types of cheeses through Australia recognising EU geographical indications (GI) within any agreement.…

As national, regional and international legislation nudges the world away from its reliance on fossil fuels, corporations are increasingly sourcing renewable energy through the mechanism of green power purchase agreements (PPAs), whereby companies (and also utilities) act as an off-taker, making commitments for future renewable energy payments.…

JAPAN’S Kao Corp has unveiled the first cosmetics product that makes use of its cutting-edge Fine Fibre Technology to moisturise and protect the skin. A Biomimesis Veil product will be added to the cosmetics giant’s Sensai prestige brand in Japan from December 4, with launches in other markets to follow.…

Robust international enforcement of revised AML guidance will improve current weaknesses in cryptocurrency compliance, according to financial services analysts.

Current figures indicate about 3,000 separate cryptocurrencies being traded with a value of USD221 billion, according to Yahoo Finance on October 8^.…

WITH Canadian auto exports to the USA falling in 2018 and the new USMCA trade agreement between the USA, Mexico and Canada still unratified (only Mexico has done so), the Canadian auto sector has been eyeing Europe for overseas sales.

A report from the Canadian government’s chief economist released in June (2019) gave grounds for optimism as regards future EU sales.…

UNDER the current Chinese presidency, global anti-money laundering body FATF has had strong support for its desire to boost the implementation of the AML/CFT policies and laws included in its recommendations. Money Laundering Bulletin interviewed FATF’s executive secretary David Lewis to explore how his organisation and been pushing improvements to supervision of AML/CFT to ensure its expert advice delivers on stemming dirty and terror money flows.…

SALES of Indian apparel exports continue to be sluggish even after registering a 11% growth in July compared to June this year, after three months of continuous decline. According to a monthly newsletter issued by the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India on October 5, India exported USD1.36 billion’s worth of apparel in July, which was also 7% more than July 2018.…

Germany’s Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL – Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft) has summoned its state-level (länder) counterparts for crisis talks following revelations that listeria-infested meat products have killed three people and made another 37 sick. These were made by from Twistetal, Hesse-based Wilke Waldecker Fleisch- und Wurstwaren.…

THE NEW European Commission, which is now expected to assume office on December 1, is expected to push the further harmonisation of European Union (EU) food labelling rules regarding nutrition. Incoming EU health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, of Cyprus, said she wanted to see the Commission act against pack claims declaring that products were healthy when they contained “a high level of sugar, fat or salt”.…

DISTRICT heating is an efficient way to provide heat, that can reduce carbon emissions compared to individual property-based heating. So, it is maybe heartening to learn that the Chinese central government and its municipalities are both growing district heating and encouraging the use of cleaner energies to power them.…

THE INCOMING European Commission may seek to further harmonise European Union (EU) food labelling rules on sugar content. This pledge comes from the nominee for new EU health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, a Cypriot parliamentarian, whose EU role includes being responsible for food safety and standards.…

Japan’s sluggish paint and coatings industry is showing little indication of a dramatic up-tick in its fortunes, despite domestic giants looking to innovative new products and acquiring some major players in overseas markets to drive future growth.

And with a worsening trade war between China and the United States threatening to tip the global economy into recession, on top of a deepening bilateral dispute with South Korea, a major market for Japanese paint, analysts suggest the next few years may be challenging for the sector. …

OUTSOURCING centres in Asia for the international textile sector are increasingly adopting digital technologies to improve the efficiency of their weaving, as they compete for business from clothing manufacturers and brands.

Bangladesh weavers are becoming increasingly tech-savvy to improve efficiency while driving down costs.…

THE DEVELOPMENT of uniform safety standards to help reduce the number of reputation-damaging accidents occurring as automated vehicles are rolled out commercially is of key importance, a CAV Canada conference (connected and autonomous vehicles) in Canada has been told.

Sasha Ostojic, a board member of California-based autonomous vehicle company Zoox, and a former senior vice president engineering at GM’s Cruise Automation, said of the current American system, where manufacturers are protecting their CAV IP and not sharing safety information: “I truly think this is a problem.…

THE PHILIPPINES and Thailand cigarette industries are still fighting a long trade dispute that has seen litigation rumble through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since 2008. That year, the Philippines government lodged a series of complaints with the WTO’s disputes settlement body (DSB) that the Thai Customs Department had imposed unjust restrictions on imports of cigarettes from the Philippines.…

While the USA-China trade war currently dominates headlines, nonwovens analysts predict it will be a “relatively short-term” issue and not harm north America’s growing nonwovens market in the longer term.

With smart applications and sustainability driving the sector worldwide, the north American nonwovens market looks set to capitalise on these growth areas, aiding recovery from a past 10 years marred by economic weakness and volatile crude oil prices.…

THE APPOINTMENT of a Chief Trade Enforcement Officer should ease trade problems in the steel and aluminium sector and help tackle Chinese excess capacity, industry experts have told a meeting of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade (INTA) on September 25 in Brussels.…

Peruvian clothing manufacturers are betting on a local fibre with international renown to grow exports: alpaca. “Instead of exporting the raw materials, we want to export more value-added products,” Raúl Rivera, marketing manager of Michell & Cia, an Arequipa, Peru-based maker of alpaca fibre, yarns and garments, told just-style. …

Japanese firm ITOCHU has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop Ethiopia’s textile and garment sectors, an Ethiopian official said on September 13.

Communications Affairs Director at the Ethiopia Textile Industry Development Institute (TIDI), Gessesse Bantiyihun, said the agreement signed in August 2019 would help dozens of textile and garment factories boost their productivity and improve textile quality.…

Japan’s Itochu Corporation has signed an agreement with the Ethiopian Textile Industry Development Institute and the Ethiopian Investment Commission to further develop the Horn of Africa nation’s growing textile industry. 

The Tokyo-based company declined to comment on the scale of the financial investment in the project but did confirm that it is part of the firm’s global expansion plans. …

AN INCREASING number of so-called ‘digital doppelgangers’, faked digital identities, designed to bypass financial anti-fraud systems, are being traded online via the darknet and even the open internet, according to David Décary-Hétu, Assistant Professor at the School of Criminology at the University of Montréal, Canada.…

THE TURKISH plastics manufacturing sector has grown exponentially over the past decade, but growth has spluttered over the past year due to the country’s economic downturn and currency depreciation raising the cost of raw materials. Investment has also slowed, but manufacturers are optimistic the sector will rebound, with exports remaining strong.…

Described by environmental campaigners as “the elephant in the COP21 negotiations room” when climate change proposals were agreed in Paris during 2015, today – the electrification of shipping is moving ahead apace.

From inland ferries to cargo barges and cruise ships, vessels are being built or retrofitted with renewable power propulsion sources, curbing the shipping industry’s major emissions.…

INTELLIGENT materials make for packaging with better functionality and security, and innovative producers worldwide are developing better protection for personal care products.

Market researcher Smithers Pira, in a January 2018 report The Future of Active & Intelligent Packaging to 2023, notes potential uses for cosmetics manufacturers includes greater levels of engagement with customers, more personalised products and enhanced security and tracking features.…

VIETNAM has been a major textile production hub for years and, as the country’s government pushes sectors to embrace technology associated with the Industry 4.0 movement, some companies are adapting advanced methods such as digital textile printing.

According to statistics from India-based Mordor Intelligence, Vietnam is the third-largest garment exporter in the world, with the United States, the European Union, Japan and South Korea serving as major destination markets. …

IRISH accounting executives are busy advising clients on how to benefit from a new wave of Chinese investment that is moving into Ireland. At a party staged at the Convention Centre Dublin this September to mark 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Ambassador He Xiangdong said Chinese investors “are in a good mood” about Ireland, with Chinese foreign direct investment into the Republic exceeding EUR128 million from this January-June, up 75% year-on-year.…

THE CHINESE government has from September 1 imposed 5% additional retaliatory duties on US exports of paint to China, in the latest round of the trade war between the two countries. The new tariffs cover products such as polyester, acrylic, ethylene and polyeurathane powdered paints; acrylic, polymer and vinyl liquid paints; and more – see http://gss.mof.gov.cn/zhengwuxinxi/zhengcefabu/201908/P020190823604938915640.pdf…

THE GROWING variety of ready-to-drink (RTD), capsule, and home-brewing ground coffee products being made available in China is a testimony to how this market has matured since Nestlé started pushing instant coffee on consumers from 1990.

Market researcher Euromonitor International estimates that China’s RTD coffee market size is burgeoning, predicting it will grow 32.9% to Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY10.9 billion (USD1.54 billion) in 2023, up from CNY8.2 billion in 2018.…

FAR from being the zone of volatility of the 1990s, eastern and central Europe’s economies and hence their paint and coatings markets, are enjoying stability and steady growth. In Croatia, for instance, according to market researcher Euromonitor International data, the paint and coating industry posted revenues of USD147 million, USD 2 million more than in 2017.…

THE DIGITAL textile printing industry and market in Colombia is growing at steadfast pace, with local demand propelled by boutique fashion brands and publicity. However, the increased costs and upfront investment involved in creating digital printing means that traditional finishing techniques are still common in this South American manufacturing hub.…

THE EUROPEAN metal packaging sector will be hoping that the newly negotiated European Union (EU)-Mercosur trade deal is ratified quickly, given it scraps import duties imposed by Brazil and Argentina on such exports of between 12% and 35%. These are the key markets in the South American trade bloc, that also includes comparative minnows Uruguay and Paraguay, whose protective duties shadow their larger Mercosur neighbours.…

TEXTILE and garment-makers in Vietnam need to continue investing in new technology to remain competitive and make their ability to meet growing demand sustainable, exports say. And there is concern that the capital required may be tough for small-and-medium-sized manufacturers to source.…

THE EUROPEAN automobile manufacturing sector will be hoping that the newly negotiated European Union (EU)-Mercosur trade deal is ratified quickly, given it scraps import duties imposed by Brazil and Argentina on EU automobile exports of 35%.

This agreement has been welcomed by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), which noted that the South American trade bloc, which also includes Uruguay and Paraguay, is home to around 270 million people, where 3.3 million new cars were sold during 2018.…

A GROUNDBREAKING collaborative international educational programme, staged at the University of Oregon (UO), Eugene, USA, has pushed the participating 52 students to ally their intellectual research skills with empathy and practicality to deliver effective solutions to global problems.

They have now entered the second week of an Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Undergraduate Leaders Program designed to foster innovative thinking and problem solving.…

THE EMPATHY, connectedness and flexibility skills taught to students during an innovative international problem solving programme at the USA’s University of Oregon (UO) have manifested themselves in three prize-winning solutions to community problems.

These focused on environmental degradation, social inequality and public health, with students having 10 days this month to develop groundbreaking ideas for action at an Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Undergraduate Leaders Program.…

STUDENTS from top Pacific Rim research universities have embarked on an innovative programme of problem solving, designed to create fresh solutions on pressing socio-economic problems that leverage leadership skills and community contacts.

The University of Oregon (UO), in Eugene, Oregon, welcomed 50 undergraduate students from 30 universities based in the Pacific Rim region, including from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Japan, Australia, and more.…

THE NONWOVENS industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is still struggling with over-capacity, while declining purchasing power has hit the mid- and higher-tier segments, prompting global players to reconsider product offerings.

MENA economies have been impacted by low oil prices and regional instability, with growth forecast at 1.5% this year, down from 1.7% in 2018, according to investment bank JP Morgan.…

JAPAN and South Korea have many similarities in AML/CFT terms, being the only countries in north-east Asia with democratic, open societies, who also run their economies according to standard free market principles. They are also both developed industrial economies in which the rule of law is applied consistently and transparently.…

Japan is financing a United Nations (UN)-led project to bolster employment and garment design in the West Bank of Palestine. The project was officially launched this month (July), with Japan’s ministry of economy, trade and industry (METI) providing USD446,428 for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to spend on promoting “employability for women and youth in the State of Palestine through supporting the garment and textile value chain”.…

Brazilian beef exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) saw an increase of 439.84% year-on-year in the first half of 2019, according to figures issued by the Dubai-based Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Brazilian beef sales to all Arab countries were up 47.62%.…

GLOBAL food and beverage company Nestlé’s restructure in the EMENA (Europe, Middle East and North Africa) region, which began in 2017, has delivered improved efficiencies and performance, according to Marco Settembri, Nestlé’s executive vice-president and EMENA zone CEO.

“It’s always a question of evolution,” Mr Settembri told just-food before the opening session of the July 4-5 2^nd European Entrepreneurship Education summit in Lille, northern France,* in which he was to speak.…

INTERNATIONAL, regional and national regulators are cooperating more widely as they create strategies and operations to fight fraud that is often conducted on a trans-national basis.

For instance, European Union (EU) police agency Europol has worked with financial intelligence units (FIUs), such as the USA’s FinCEN, and FIU umbrella organisation the Egmont Group to raise concern about business email compromise fraud (BEC).…

Japan must urgently address long-standing concerns over foreign bribery enforcement, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development’s (OECD’s) working group on bribery. The working group findings follow a ‘Phase 4’ assessment under the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, in which it examines an individual country assessing detection, enforcement, corporate liability, and international cooperation, plus unresolved issues from earlier reports. …

EVERY manufacturing and agricultural industry has an impact on climate change – and the tobacco sector is no different. Faced with long-standing criticism of the health impact of its products, the tobacco industry is now facing attacks that its work generates carbon emissions and hence climate change.…

WOLLASTONITE has been described by a Canadian producer as “a white mineral for a greener world,” and it seems governments, businesses and industries agree – with wollastonite is set to see increased market growth in its traditional uses plus a new focus on its powerful qualities to help tackle climate change.…

WOLLASTONITE has been described by a Canadian producer as “a white mineral for a greener world,” and it seems governments, businesses and industries agree – with wollastonite is set to see increased market growth in its traditional uses plus a new focus on its powerful qualities to help tackle climate change.…

JAPAN clothing brands have protected themselves in advance against exposure from the US-China trade war by decreasing their reliance on China-based manufacturing outposts in recent years. This sourcing diversification has occurred initially because of rising costs in China.

According to the Japan Apparel Fashion Industry Council (JAFIC), this movement away from Japan means the impact on Japanese textile and apparel companies from US tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on China-made exports would be “slight”.…

India’s new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, that took office on May 30 following its April and May election victory, is planning to increase the country’s minimum wage rates, which could damage the current cost advantages enjoyed of Indian apparel exporters, warned an industry body.…

Japan’s meat producers are struggling to meet growing demand amidst falling production, new data has underlined, prompting rising imports, concerns on food security and government action to support cattle farming.

Consumption of beef, pork, chicken and lamb has been long on the rise, reaching 89.7g per person per day in the fiscal year to March 2018.…

ANTI-fraud experts understand that managers always need to be aware of the potential for their organisations to lose money to fraud and corruption. But the fact that the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/acfepublic/2018-report-to-the-nations.pdf

estimates an average 5% of public and private revenues are lost to fraud indicates that more awareness is needed.…

Japan’s meat producers are struggling to meet growing demand amidst falling production, new data has underlined, prompting rising imports, concerns on food security and government action to support cattle farming.

Consumption of beef, pork, chicken and lamb has been long on the rise, reaching 89.7g per person per day in the fiscal year to March 2018.…

ANTI-fraud experts understand that managers always need to be aware of the potential for their organisations to lose money to fraud and corruption. But the fact that the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/acfepublic/2018-report-to-the-nations.pdf

estimates an average 5% of public and private revenues are lost to fraud indicates that more awareness is needed.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Organization for Standardization (ISO) has launched a series of standards designed to help the cocoa industry ensure its products are both sustainably harvested and processed, but also traceable across their supply chains. Its ISO 34101 series is designed to promote good environmental and labour practices in a sector that involves sophisticated confectionery companies, global commodity traders and small farmers, often in poor countries, notably in west Africa.…

THE AUSTRALIAN coating and paint market has experienced volatility over the past five years, with mergers and acquisitions consolidating the industry, whilst consumer demand and legislation have boosted the sale of more environment-friendly products. Across the Tasman Sea, meanwhile, New Zealand has seen growth due to innovation in high-performance and green coatings.…

THE PERSONAL care product sector has an increasingly complex and global supply chain and as a result, international technical standards are growing in utility and importance. Where suppliers and retailers follow and require the use of international standards to guide their operations and products, there will be fewer nasty surprises, in orders and purchases.…

RUSSIA’S paint industry is slowly growing but upcoming chemical regulations could limit the output of some potentially hazardous products. There are two such laws in the pipeline. One is a technical regulation ‘On the safety of chemical products’. This was adopted and ratified by the Russian government in 2016, and will come into force in 2021 (on July 1), and bans the use of a range of hazardous chemicals, some used by Russian coatings manufacturers. …

THE INDUSTRIAL minerals mining and processing sector and its customers has an increasingly complex and global supply chain and as a result, international technical standards are growing in utility and importance. Where suppliers and retailers follow and require the use of international standards to guide their operations and products, there will be fewer nasty surprises, in orders and purchases.…

Russia has criticised Mexico at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for maintaining anti-dumping duties on Russian steel exports, which it claims are outdated, being based on pricing assessments using data from a different country.

The Mexican government used this method for past dumping calculations on Russian steel because it is permitted under WTO rules where a government dominates an economy that does not operate as a free market.…

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) took effect in December 2018, incrementally bringing down import tariffs for Vietnamese garments in a market with 495 million consumers across 11 countries.

But Vietnamese garment-makers are struggling to reduce costs to deliver pricing that is competitive enough to make the most of CPTPP.…

PAKISTAN’s apparel and garment exporters have called on the country’s new government to simplify what it regards as overly complex trading red-tape impeding the import of key inputs, vital for diversifying export-oriented production.

“To increase our exports, we will have to enhance our product lines and relax the existing import policy for import of raw materials,” Muhammad Ijaz Khokhar, coordinator of the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA) told just-style.…

WITH decent working conditions eluding Bangladesh’s booming leather industry, an advocacy group has suggested forming a tripartite body involving the government, manufacturers and unions to help improve the sector’s health and environmental safety standards. Modelled after the efforts that have been made in the country’s textile and fabric-based garment industry, such a tri-party consultation committee would discuss the development of a leather sector whose safety and environmental records remain patchy, except for export-oriented units.…

Trade negotiators from the United States and China will meet for the second week in a row this Wednesday or Thursday, in what the American clothing sector hopes could be the final round of talks to resolve the trade war.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Fox Business last week they hope to get to “the point where we can either recommend to the president we have a deal, or make a recommendation that we don’t,” emphasising the United States wants to “rebalance” the trade relationship.…

AFRICA is without doubt the continent to watch for airport and air traffic control investment in the future. It is the world’s second most populous continent (home to more than 1.2 billion people), and according to Airports Council International (World) – ACI World – Africa was the fastest growing region for air passenger traffic in 2017 and 2018, which rose 6.3% in 2017 year-on-year and 10.8% in 2018 to June year-to-date, year-on-year.…

THE RUSSIAN government has in the past decade has a policy priority of re-establishing it country’s industrial base, and reducing its reliance on imports, paid for by Russia’s energy exports.

These goals cover its paints and coatings sector, and by 2021 Sibur, a Russian petrochemical company, plans to launch production of key ingredient maleic anhydride, with a plant in Tobolsk, Siberia, producing up to 45,000 tonnes a year.…

VIETNAMESE cotton yarn-makers face a period of uncertainty due to raw material price volatility and the ongoing trade war between the US and China which threatens demand stability from Chinese textile and clothing manufacturers. China is the largest importer of Vietnamese yarn and accounts for more than 60% of Vietnam’s total yarn exports. …

MOTOR vehicles and their parts were the second most common category of goods reported in safety warnings by consumer regulators in the European Union (EU) last year, according to a new annual report from the EU Safety Gate system. This involves European consumer regulators receiving safety warnings about products, including from auto manufacturers, and circulating these alerts via this central European portal.…

ON the face of it, Japan and Russia are perfect partners for growing trade in liquified natural gas (LNG). Japan has always had few fossil fuel resources for powering its sophisticated industrial economy, and Russia has plenty of gas to export.…

With a growing population of guanacos, a llama-like animal that runs wild in Patagonia, the Argentine government is analysing how best to produce and export the natural fibre it yields, at prices like those commanded by vicuña wool. But hurdles stand in the way of getting it right and there are concerns that the approach could backfire if sustainable practices are not

 in place. …

THE INTERNATIONAL paint and coatings sector is not just under increasing regulatory pressure to reduce the amount of toxins in its products, but it continues to actively remove such potentially harmful elements – it is good for consumers and hence, business.…

Argentine beef exporters have been encouraged by feedback at Japan’s largest food fair that they will receive regular and large orders for the products following the re-opening of this potentially important market last July 2018.

Exhibitors from Argentina said they received a positive reception at the Foodex show in March, where importers, restaurateurs and consumers visited the country’s first beef showcase at Asia’s largest food and drink exhibition, held near Tokyo.…

Japan is presenting opportunities for international dairy exporters, amidst a rising demand for dairy, an ailing domestic industry and improved market access.

Globally a relative newcomer to widespread dairy consumption, Japanese consumers did not make milk a household staple until the 1950s, but since then, consumption has risen sharply and has now diversified to include all kinds of dairy items, including butter, cheese, yoghurt, cream and ice-cream.…

China has witnessed a wave of changes in colour cosmetics sold on this key market to woo young Chinese women aged 20 to 29, or the so-called generation Z, according to the London-based research firm Mintel.

Growing up with dynamic advances in technology advancement, one big difference between Gen Z and earlier generations before is that this smartphone-glued generation is highly receptive to mobile technology-based marketing.…

GROWING consumer and regulatory demand for more sustainability in consumer markets is redefining the packaging sector, and beauty segment is no exception. As a result, airless packaging – while sometimes expensive – offers virtues such as the ability to preserve product freshness, minimal oxidisation, low wastage and efficient dispensing, that can dovetail with greening market trends.…

EAST Asia’s two personal care product industry giants – Japan and South Korea – have long been competing for major slices of the regional and global beauty market. At present, however, Japan’s industry seems to be performing more solidly than its rival, which is struggling with the fall-out of diplomatic problems with Asia’s largest market – China.…

JAPAN’S traditional confectionery market and production is imbued with the visual beauty and attention to detail that runs through so much Japanese culture, and exporters have started to explore their appeal to overseas markets.

These assessments have been partly driven by Japan’s ongoing international tourist boom, with foreign shoppers snapping up tasty treats that have been honed for domestic consumers for centuries.…

THE MANUFACTURE, distribution and use of leaded paints in projects funded by Japan’s public sector has been banned from March (2019), at the end of the 2018-19 fiscal year. For instance, Japan’s ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology revised its building construction standards for educational facilities in April (2019), requiring manufacturers to use a non-leaded primer or sealer before applying antibacterial paint on surfaces such as gypsum board.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) chocolate, biscuit and confectionery industry association CAOBISCO has raised concerns that EU exporters will be unable to exploit the reduction of Japanese tariffs under the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), in force since February 1. CAOBISCO is concerned about how the deal includes rules of origin forcing its members to demonstrate how they source specific volumes of ingredients from the EU, rather than their value, which would be easier to demonstrate.…

THE LATEST data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs shows that the country’s garment and textile exports grew by 19% in the first two months of the year from January-February 2018, outpacing 2018’s full-year growth of 16% and serving as an early indicator that official export targets for 2019 may easily be met.…

ON the back of Israel’s innovation-embedded work culture, the Middle East country is making headway in the 3D-printed garment sector. The country is the joint-headquarters of 3D-printer manufacturer Stratasys, which has a key base in Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv. Stratasys offers a wide range of 3D printers – https://www.stratasys.com/3d-printers…

THE EUROPEAN Commission today (March 18) gave competition law approval for France’s VINCI Airports to take over control of London Gatwick Airport from current owner Ivy Topco Ltd, a Cayman Islands registered company.

The European Union (EU) executive, acting as the EU’s senior competition authority, approved the deal which would see VINCI acquiring 50.01% of the issued share capital of Ivy Topco.…

British beef and lamb producers this week eyed the Japan market following the lifting of a 23-year import ban in January 2019, with a presence at Japan’s Foodex, Asia’s largest food and drink exhibition.

Producers from across the UK met Japanese importers, distributors, buyers and consumers at the Makuhari Messe conference centre, near Tokyo, on March 5–8.…

INDIA’S large military forces are to start sourcing a significant volumes of technical textile products from private companies from next year (2020), opening up a new market for local and international manufacturers, delegates at a recent conference were told in New Delhi.…

AGREEMENT has been reached between European Union (EU) institutions on reforms to the EU general food law regulation ensuring that studies behind European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommendations are made public. This would include data supporting a request for EFSA scientific advice.…

THE JAPANESE nuclear sector may have the backing of its government, but a combination of technical challenges and public unpopularity is impeding plans to restore the country’s nuclear capacity towards its generation before the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

During a news conference on January 1, Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, was pessimistic about the industry’s future.…

While the confectionery industry is traditionally associated with high sugar levels and unhealthy indulgence, market research indicates that efforts to also appeal to consumers with a growing interest in health and wellness trends are paying off. According to UK-based market researcher GlobalData, in 2016 alone USD3.7 billion worth of confectionery with functional or fortified attributes was sold globally.…

THE GROWTH in fast fashion contracts struck between brands and Vietnam’s burgeoning outsourcing will boost demand for machinery and equipment in the Vietnamese textile sector as much as the new trade deals that have been struck by Hanoi, according to industry insiders.…

THE SUBMISSION to the White House by the US Department of Commerce of a report recommending whether and how the USA should impose tariffs on automotive and related parts on national security grounds has provoked significant concern worldwide.

President Donald Trump has 90 days from February 17 (to mid-May) to decide on whether to impose the tariffs under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.…

WITH Kenya’s economy still growing fast – its GDP is projected to increase by 5.8% this year (2019) east Africa’s economic hub is expected to provide the paint and coatings sector plenty of extra sales. Such growth in the construction industry is reflected in its neighbouring countries, notably Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, offering additional sales for companies with the scale to score regional sales.…

During a news conference on January 1, Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, hinted at a bleak future for Japan’s nuclear energy industry – it is a gloomy view that is hard to contest, when examining the facts, despite the Japanese government’s continued backing for the sector.…

The coatings market of South Korea looks on track to achieve modest growth this year, with gains in architectural coating sales and a mild revival of marine coatings projected to offset a deteriorating outlook for automotive coatings. The overall South Korea paint and coatings market in 2018 has been estimated by market researchers Frost & Sullivan at USD4.5 billion in sales and 1 million tonnes in 2018, making it the fourth largest coatings market in Asia, in both value and volume terms – behind China, Japan and India.…

The production line at UD Trucks headquarters in Ageo, just north of Tokyo, is – at first sight – much like any other auto-making plant but look closer and the company’s original and vibrant coatings system sets this company apart.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has approved establishing disputes settlement panels ruling on whether retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union (EU), on US knitwear exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

JAPAN’S meat consumption rose in 2018, but only because of a rising appetite for chicken, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).

Poultry consumption was up from 16.9kg per capita in 2017 to 17.2kg in 2018, making it the only meat that experienced consumption growth in the country last year.…

NORTH Africa offers personal care product majors populous markets, close to European manufacturing centres, with large and growing middle classes (outside troubled Libya) – but trading in these countries is not without complication. Regulatory shifts, counterfeiting and some security concerns make these useful markets a challenge for brands to tap.…

Digital textile printing is a niche sector in Egypt but is expected to grow as demand for sports and active wear increases within its clothing sector, bolstered by government-supported initiatives to treble garment and textile exports by 2025.

Egypt has a long history of garment and textile manufacturing, but the sector’s strength has been in ‘cut and sew’ due to the country’s low labour costs, at between USD60 to USD100 a month.…

WITH the Asia-Pacific coatings market and industry being one of the most dynamic worldwide, experiencing continuous robust growth, the potential for additives to give brands an edge in seizing market share is increasingly important.

Backed by buoyant construction, automotive and marine industries across the Asia Pacific, the region’s paint and coatings additives market is showing promising growth, analysts say.…

A ROADMAP to improve the future of the Philippines textile industry is set to be published next month (March 2018) by government officials aiming to return the archipelago’s sector to international prominence.

Focus will be given to arranging new free trade agreements and securing market access to the key areas of Europe, the US and Japan.…

A ROADMAP to improve the future of the Philippines textile industry is set to be published next month (March 2018) by government officials aiming to return the archipelago’s sector to international prominence.

Focus will be given to arranging new free trade agreements and securing market access to the key areas of Europe, the US and Japan.…

WITH Malawi’s persistent cycle of poverty where half of its 18 million population (2017 World Bank data) live under the poverty line and nearly 1.5 million children employed as labourers, according to International Labour Organisation (ILO) data, including on tobacco farms – meaningful reforms to prevent these abuses have progressed slowly, experts say.…

TAIWAN’S nuclear power sector is looking to the future with increased optimism, since a referendum rejected plans from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to phase out nuclear power on the archipelago by 2025. The DPP has since the 1980s campaigned for a nuclear-free Taiwan and press ahead with this policy after its election win in 2016.…

It is hard to avoid either a cosmetics store or an advertisement for one in Chinese cities today. A mind-boggling wave of new retailers set up by investment firms to cash in on the cosmetics and personal care boom are eagerly seeking franchisees around the country.…

THE VIETNAM Chemicals Agency us ramping up efforts to remove lead from paints in Vietnam – officially requesting to be considered a partner in the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead in Paint, a voluntary partnership formed by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).…

Already a world-leader in terms of knitted products for the sports clothing and outdoors-wear sectors, Japan’s Descente Ltd this July opened a state-of-the-art research and development centre that the company anticipates will help it create “the world’s fastest high-performance wear”.

According to the Osaka-based company, the new initiative is built on the concept of being “fast”.…

A BUDDY training system has been launched by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), enabling countries with significant regulatory capacity to help other states prepare for the upcoming CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) scheme. ICAO has been training national officials to advise on ensuring CORSIA’s legal requirements are written into local laws and also on building the emissions data monitoring, reporting and verification systems they need to measure their airlines’ carbon footprint.…

MEAT industry professionals in the USA are gearing up to re-enter Japan’s lucrative lamb market, following the Japanese government in July (2018) lifting a ban to import American lamb into Japan. US exporters are looking to persuade Japanese consumers that American lamb is a quality, even niche, product, as they look to compete with Australian and New Zealand rivals.…

MPs in Canada have returned to their House of Commons after the traditional summer break, when they are expected to vote on a draft law, the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act, that would ban the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients on annals in Canada and block the sale of personal care products that have been assessed using such techniques.…

THE EUROPEAN car industry has slammed the “excessively aggressive CO2 reduction targets” for new heavy-duty vehicles – trucks and lorries – backed by the European Parliament – the European Union (EU)’s directly-elected legislative body – on November 14 in at the Strasbourg plenary session.…

A SYNDICATED loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is enabling Turkish company Aksa Akrilik, already one of the world’s largest manufacturers of acrylic and acrylic fibres, to significantly expand its operations.
The EBRD loan agreement, signed in July and covering seven years, was the fourth the bank has provided to Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayi A.S.,…

As he took in the fourth Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week (ASFW) in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa last week, Kenneth K Han, managing director of Shints ETP Garment Plc, said he is optimistic over the country’s potential in the textile and apparel sector, despite many challenges.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has backed a European Commission proposal to exempt Japan from European Union (EU) bottle size rules when selling the spirit shochu. The special shochu ruling was made because the Japan-EU free trade agreement (JEFTA) – scheduled to enter into force by next November (2019) – commits Japanese exporters to selling drinks in the EU confirming to EU legislation on nominal quantities of prepacked products (directive 2007/45/EC). …

THE GOVERNOR of New York has announced a USD13 billion plan to upgrade John F. Kennedy International Airport, building two international terminal complexes on the airport’s north and south sides, and associated land transport links. The investment will draw on USD12 billion in private funding, said Gov Andrew Cuomo.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed a draft regulation that would insist that food sold to European Union (EU) consumers contain a maximum 2 grams of trans fat (other than that naturally occurring in animal fat) for every 100 grams of fat.…

UNTIL the past two years, scalp care products have been regarded as an elite product in China, with sales generally restricted to expensive lines sold at high-end hair salons. But recently, this specialist hair care products have been increasingly available on the mass market and are proving especially popular with young women commanding higher incomes, according to the London-based research firm Mintel.…

Indonesia is seeking to open new markets for its textile and garment products – not only are free trade agreements with Australia and fellow Asian countries are on the cards, the industry’s association and the government has announced, but the industry is also targeting African export sales.…

TURKISH fabric producer Söktaş is significantly expanding its range of sustainable textiles as it looks to meet growing demand for fabrics with eco attributes.

The company – which had expanded its premium shirting fabrics range to fabrics for jackets and trousers – has now introduced organic cotton fabrics into its stock-supported ranges.…

Japan’s traditional tobacco market continues to contract, with fewer people smoking and more smokers expressing a desire to stop, but sales in the heated tobacco sector remain positive and are growing.

Less than 30% of Japanese adults now smoke, according to statistics released by the health, labour and welfare ministry in early September, the first time the figure has fallen beneath that threshold since statistics were first collated in 1986.…

Cryptocurrencies have made a big splash across Asia, and governments have taken very different regulatory approaches to curb associated financial scams and money laundering.

While there is one group of countries that has banned the operation and use of cryptocurrencies entirely, including China, India and Vietnam, a second category spans countries that see cryptocurrencies as potentially boosting their own financial sectors.…

THE UNITED States Trade Representative (USTR) today branded the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity a failure, claiming its efforts have not delivered the production cuts that markets need to stabilise prices.

In a strongly worded statement released after a forum ministerial meeting was staged today (Sept 20) at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), in Paris, the USTR argued that the group’s results to date “leaves us questioning whether the Forum is capable of delivering on these objectives”. …

THE COLOSSAL potential of Myanmar’s tourism industry combined with a severe lack of transport infrastructure has prompted the government to undertake a countrywide overhaul of its airport network.

Plans range from connecting remote regions using single runway sites to a new international airport for the commercial capital Yangon, but progress on all fronts has been slow and the future of key projects is highly uncertain.…

Japan’s Kansai International Airport was closed for three days after being struck by Typhoon Jebi on Tuesday, September 4, with a reduced roster of 19 flights scheduled to take off on the following Friday (today).

Peach Aviation, a local low-cost carrier, operated 17 flights throughout the day, while Japan Airlines had two take-offs.…

Taiwan has become the top importer of Japanese beef, less than one year since lifting a ban on the product. The 16-year ban was put in place following outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in Japan in 2001 but was lifted in September 2017.…

Japan’s wagyu producers are penetrating the Australian market following the lifting of an import ban on Japanese beef in May, but sales may be limited to the high-end market.

The ban had been in place for 17 years due to outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in Japan.…

WITH the old certainties that the world would move steadily towards ever freer trade now crumbling, the technical textile sector is closely monitoring shifts in trade policy by key governments and international organisations.

This industry depends on the free flow of materials and finished goods – and unlike many textile segments – still has a significant manufacturing presence in mature markets, making the impact of trade policy changes complex and hard to predict.…

A new report from Transparency International has found that only 11 major exporting countries in the world significantly punish companies that pay bribes abroad. The report, called ‘Exporting Corruption’, also found that more than half of world exports come from at least 33 jurisdictions, including several European Union (EU) member states, where companies that export corruption along with their goods and services face weak consequences. …

The UK and Australia are poles apart geographically but share the aim of becoming leaders in using or selling hydrogen for energy. The scheduled unveiling in November (2018) of a conceptual design to convert an eighth (8.3 million) of the UK’s population to 100% low-carbon hydrogen gas between 2028 and 2035 matters.…

Japan’s milk industry has welcomed the government’s decision to revise an ordinance that prohibited the production and sale of liquid baby formula – reversing a ban that has permitted powdered product only.

The ministry of health, labour and welfare has announced new standards for ready-made liquid baby formula that can be stored outside refrigerators.…

AUSTRALIA and New Zealand might be saturated markets for the cosmetic and toiletry retailing industry but the consumers’ willingness to buy a variety of complex formulated and premium green products is continually expanding revenue. Millennial consumers especially are contributing to rising demand for independent and green brands.…

THE CHINESE government has directly targeted the American confectionery and related ingredients sector in its latest tit-for-tat response in the trade wars launched by US President Donald Trump. Beijing has highlighted these goods as products that may become subject to retaliatory tariffs, should the USA impose a threatened third list of duties on Chinese tech, drafted over alleged thefts of American IP.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has released a new standard on reporting financial instruments – IPSAS 41 – to improve the relevance of financial assets and liabilities data. It replaces financial instruments reporting rules in IPSAS 29, introducing a single classification and measurement model for financial assets, considering an asset’s objective and cash flows.…

Spanish pork producers are preparing to increase their exports to Japan as their high-quality products find niche orders amidst growing demand among Japanese consumers for unique meats.

At Foodex, Asia’s largest food and drink exhibition, in Tokyo, last month (March), Spanish sausage and cured ham producers secured orders after showing previously interested parties their updated products.…

THE INDIAN government has been sending out conflicting signals about its trading policy for its important knitwear sector. While it last month (July 18) announced it was increasing import duties for some key knitted apparel and knitwear inputs, talks are moving ahead to forge a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with 16 Asian counties.…

Seeing strong growth in China’s adult-targeted, ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals sector, global cereals manufacturers are speeding up new product launches in China to stay competitive. Nestlé, for example, introduced Fitness Granola into China last May (2017), initially via its online stores.…

THE CHINESE market for breakfast foods, long dominated by its varied traditional meals, is starting to open to international options – and branded food manufacturers are taking note.

China has long seen a rich variety of foods being consumed at breakfast – congee and dumplings are favored by people in the south, while people in the north enjoy buns and noodles.…

Australian beef and lamb producers are to receive a sales and marketing boost in Japan as non-profit organisations (NPO) use the anticipation of the country’s staging of the Rugby World Cup in 2019 to help their meat products gain a stronger foothold in the market.…

With a historic heat wave plaguing the Korean peninsula since the middle of July, killing at least 29 people and hospitalizing 2,300 others with heat-related illnesses, it is little surprising that suncare product sales have been booming in South Korea.

And while traditional sun protection products such as parasols and straw hats have sold well – July sales up 83% and 37% year-on-year respectively, according to local e-commerce website Auction, (www.auction.co.kr),…

BEAUTY product labelling and decoration might not be the most obvious way for a brand to boost sustainability, but such is the pressure to green-up, such considerations are being woven into product appearance.

Edinburgh, Scotland-based UWI Technology Ltd is a case in point.…

INDIA’S paint industry has been exempted from a mandatory biocide registration requirement under the national Insecticides Act (1968) if the biocides are used as a dry film preservative. However, new guidelines issued by Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC) in June have told the Indian paint industry that they must use registered biocide products at recommended dosages, or protective labelling rules will kick in.…

Japan’s personal care sector experienced continued growth in 2017, with shipments surpassing Japanese Yen JPY1.6 trillion (USD14.34 billion) during the year to record a new record high. Virtually every sector recording an increase in sales on the previous year. Figures for the January-April period of 2018 suggest that this positivity is being carried over into this year, boding well for Japanese personal care product companies.…

ENVIRONMENTAL enforcement and product safety improvements were top priorities for China National Coatings Industrial Association, president Sun Lian Ying, when addressing her organisation’s annual summit, held in March (2018) in Jiangsu province. The meeting launched a ‘Green Development – Six Actions of China’s Coatings Industry Plan’ for the industry, which included pledges to pledges to reduce pollution in production plants while increasing the industry’s range of environmentally-friendly, highly innovative products.…

THE ASIA-Pacific region has many of the elements needed to create a burgeoning nonwovens market and industry. It has growing middle class consumption of basis personal products and continued manufacturing and infrastructural expansion for industrial nonwovens. These items can be supplied my new mass-production in emerging market countries and niche lines from the region’s richer developed industrial economies.…

Looking to tap into Europe’s growing hunger for Japanese cuisine – and ramen noodles especially – noodle-maker Takara Sangyo Co Ltd, has announced plans to open its first European production facility in France.

The company, which is headquartered in Kyoto, is to invest EUR2.6 million in establishing a new plant in the town of Amblainville, Hauts-de-France region, in northern France, although no date has yet been set for production to commence, an official told just-food.com.…

UK and remaining European Union (EU) food producers are becoming increasingly anxious about the prospect of Britain crashing out of the EU single market without a replacement trade deal. It is a scenario that could leave British manufacturers facing crippling tariffs, border delays and reams of red tape.…

JAPANESE eateries are expanding in Indonesia as the appetite for beef rises among south-east Asia’s most populous country’s growing middle class.

In 2016, Indonesia’s beef consumption was 1.84 kg per capita (its population is 261 million), up from 1.45 kg a decade earlier, according to business researcher Statista.…

FIRST coined in Germany in 2010, Industry 4.0 – the term for automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies – has been adopted by many countries as an industrial goal. And, with innovation in cyber physical systems, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and cognitive computing continuing at a rapid pace, the potential of this fourth industrial revolution is capturing the imagination of Japan’s academia, commerce and government.…

THE ASIA-Pacific technical textiles sector is still robust – with China’s industry continuing to grow, with bulk products still a focus. Meanwhile, more developed economies such as South Korea and Japan keep honing their output, looking for specialist niches and edges created by innovation.…

THE OUTLOOK for European Union (EU) beef, sheep and goat meat imports looks bleak, with sales tumbling, according to an EU agricultural markets 2018 and 2019 forecast released by the European Commission.

Beef exports started falling by December 2017, and this has continued into this year, with exports almost 15% lower in the first four months of 2018 year-on-year.…

SOUTH-EAST Asia maybe a diverse and hence complicated region in which to market personal care products, but the growth in sales in all its countries make it an attractive target for beauty brands.

The Philippines is a case in point. The gross domestic product (GDP) of this 103 million people archipelago recorded 6.7% GDP growth in 2017, and the World Bank projects it to grow further at an annual rate of 6.7% in both 2018 and 2019, before settling at 6.6% in 2020.…

IN the USA alone, USD1.4 billion in counterfeit consumer products were seized in 2016 by the United States Customs and Border Protection, including 2,000 shipments of counterfeit cosmetics products. This, according to a note from USA-based Clarkston Consulting, cost the beauty industry at least USD75 million, which said: “Counterfeiting of consumer products remains on the rise” – see https://clarkstonconsulting.com/insights/counterfeit-cosmetics/counterfeit.…

THE NEWLY signed 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) could help Vietnam boost garment and textile exports to the lucrative Australian market significantly. But the Asian clothing makers may still face big challenges in taking market share in this mature market away from China, experts warn. …

THE NONWOVENS sector has always been at the cutting edge of materials production, and so established developed economy manufacturers have often had the edge. But with global markets integrating, and emerging economies becoming increasingly sophisticated, new nonwovens manufacturing bases are growing all the time.…

THE ECONOMIES of the Asia Pacific region are impressively dynamic, but HR experts agree much more could be gained if the region were to succeed in improving women’s skills and providing them with equal opportunities at work.

Illustrating just how much potential there is, the latest report from the McKinsey Global Institute published in April, ‘The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in Asia Pacific’, has found that advancing women’s equality in the region could add USD4.5 trillion to their collective GDP annually in 2025 – a 12% increase over the “business-as-usual trajectory”.…

THE ALUMINIUM industry associations of the United States, the European Union (EU), Canada and Japan have this afternoon called for the creation of a Global Multilateral and Governmental Forum on Aluminium Overcapacity to drive the development of an international plan to shrink world production.…

A GLOBAL meeting of senior aluminium executives worldwide has heard calls for a multilateral solution for the problem of overcapacity. The goal would be integrating China and its state-owned enterprises into the world trading system in a way that is acceptable to major market economy regulators.…

CLIMATE change does not just warm up the planet, it appears to be crating or extreme weather events that can cause major operational and safety problems for airports and air traffic controllers, who need to be prepared for such events with good practice and technology.…

Japan’s halal wagyu industry is poised for rapid growth thanks to demand from an increasing number of Muslim tourists and the opening of new export markets.

Relaxed visa requirements, a growing middle class with a large disposable income and the expansion of low-cost carriers has yielded a boom in visitors from Moslem south-east Asian citizens, from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.…

MALAYSIA has long positioned itself as a higher-tech source of textile manufacturing and so it is maybe no surprise that it has been growing its digital textile printing segment.

That has been to the benefit of key Japan-based digital imaging and printing solution supplier Epson, which currently claims a Malaysian market share of 87% – based on data harvested last year (2017).…

ACHIEVING regulatory convergence in the USD465 billion global cosmetics industry (Euromonitor 2017 figures) is an important long-term goal, industry experts agreed at European personal care product association Cosmetics Europe’s June 13-14 annual conference 2018 in Brussels. Europe is a key market for this industry – providing EUR77.6 billion’s worth of personal care product sales last year, and supporting more than two million jobs, said Cosmetics Europe president Loïc Armand, also president of L’Oréal France.…

THE LATIN American personal care product market, buffeted in recent years by economic and political instability, looks back on track, with trouble-spots such as Venezuela being very much an exception to overall progress.

Data released by market researcher Euromonitor International has said that the region’s beauty and personal care product sales in 2017 topped USD65 billion in 2017, growing by 42.5% between 2012 and last year.…

OFFICIAL projections for Vietnam’s garment and textile exports in 2018 are bright but input imports for garment and textile production were more than half of the value of garment and textile exports in 2017, highlighting the need for increased domestic sourcing, industry analysts say.…

AN UPCOMING European Union (EU) ‘Counterfeit and Piracy Watch-List’, being developed by the European Commission to identify physical and digital marketplaces outside the EU where counterfeit tobacco and other consumer product are traded widely.

Intellectual property abuse is a key concern to the EU tobacco sector.…

NEW flexible dress code policies introduced across Asia are facing something of a backlash as employers and employees wrestle with matching cultural and corporate identities to assess the appropriate level of work attire.

While heat and humidity, as well as the needs of the growing number of working mothers, do provide some rationale for more flexibility in east and southeast Asian workforces, cultural forces and the fear of missing out on business opportunities seem to be leading some companies to hold on to traditional rules, either real or implicit, for business wear.…

AS China’s retreat from mass market clothing production continues, Bangladesh knitters are eyeing another added value knitwear niche – sportswear. Following the industry’s success in boosting sales within the profitable lingerie segment, Bangladesh manufacturers are ramping up production in sports apparels, although some experts say that work is needed on boosting its supply chain, particularly of manmade fibres.…

Wagyu beef produced from olive-fed cattle on a remote island in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea is experiencing exponential demand at home and abroad thanks to its healthy fats and ‘umami’ (savoury) flavour.

The meat, which was first produced in 2016, gained national recognition last year (2017) at the Wagyu Olympics, Japan’s premier beef show, where it received a ‘fat quality award’.…

Unlike the limited range of minerals used in fossil fuel production, many minerals, metallic and nonmetallic, are used in renewable energy technologies. However, production is often low and concentrated in a limited number of countries – creating potential strategic supply problems.…

HIGH textile industry production costs in Argentina are encouraging manufacturers to look at investments in digital fabric printing to give them the flexibility they need to compete against imports and in export markets.

At a recent textile trade fair this month (April) in Buenos Aires, digital technology was all the buzz. …

EXPERTS have expressed mixed reactions on how a proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), now years in the making, could help revive the garment and textile sector in South East Asia.

The 16-member bloc that includes the 10 ASEAN member countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and six other countries – Australia New Zealand, China, India, Japan and South Korea – have been negotiating the deal since November 2012.…

THE ORGANISERS of Italy’s premier beauty trade fair, Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, are claiming a record number of visitors and international buyers attending this year’s 51st edition of the event from March 15-19. Exceeding the 250,000 visitors from last year’s Cosmoprof, attending foreign buyers, distributors and retail representatives grew 11% in 2018, year-on-year.…

VIETNAMESE textile manufacturers should invest in new machinery so they can take advantage of the incoming free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) say German trade and industry representatives.

Germany’s Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (Verband Deutscher Maschinen-und Anlagenbau (VDMA) expects the forthcoming EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA) to lift Vietnamese garment exports to the EU with the help of more imported machinery to boost textile production.…

Word from US President Donald Trump that he may reverse a longstanding position and explore the possibility that the country may join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after all, has left the fashion industry – along with much of the American business community – somewhat sceptical, while being supportive.…

The INDO Intertex textile machinery exhibition will be staged in the Indonesian capital Jakarta next month to boost investment in a textile and clothing sector that is growing, the show’s project manager Paul Kingsen said. 

“The theme for this year INDO Intertex is investment growth acceleration.…

International activity to understand and potentially extract natural gas from methane hydrates has intensified since 2010 with the continuation and launch of new research and development (R&D) projects and field production tests offshore and onshore, as shown in a new overview by Carolyn D Ruppel, chief of the gas hydrates project at the United States Geological Survey (USGS).(1)…

FACED with its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) backlisting and a big USA fine of a major Taiwan bank, this island country has introduced AML/CFT reforms. Whether it has done enough will be assessed later this year when the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), of which the island is a member – as Chinese Taipei, a nod to China’s insistence that Taiwan not be treated as an independent country – undertakes a third round of APG mutual evaluations.…

INVESTORS at this year’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention have been voicing concerns that the supply of key minerals used to make batteries may not be able to keep pace with demand.

At an investors forum dealing with energy materials and technologies, a series of graphite, cobalt and manganese miners highlighted the increasing demand for the minerals, and the lack of sufficient supplies to meet future expectations.…

THE PROSPECT of a grand bargain between the European Union (EU), the USA and Japan, involving action to reduce steel and aluminium overproduction, but abiding by global trading laws, has been raised.

An unusual Brussels meeting on Saturday (March 10) between EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Japan’s minister for economy and industry, Hiroshige Seko, debated such a plan, and agreed to continue discussions.…

A HOTEL and farm in Tokyo, Japan, have teamed up to raise wagyu cattle on superfoods in response to rising demand for low-fat, locally-sourced wagyu amidst a shortage of wagyu producers.

The project, which is currently in a six-month testing period, has surprised Japan’s wagyu industry, with experts noting the uniqueness of not only the farmer-chef partnership but also of the feed.…

A HOTEL and farm in Tokyo, Japan, have teamed up to raise wagyu cattle on superfoods in response to rising demand for low-fat, locally-sourced wagyu amidst a shortage of wagyu producers.

The project, which is currently in a six-month testing period, has surprised Japan’s wagyu industry, with experts noting the uniqueness of not only the farmer-chef partnership but also of the feed.…

Sales of US beef in Japan continue to rise, bolstered by a new campaign to promote one-pound (16oz) steaks, according to the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

While beef is typically served and sold in thin strips in Japan, to be eaten with chopsticks after being boiled in stock, stir-fried or cooked on a hot plate, sales of thick cut US beef have risen as Japanese consumers embrace the idea.…

A HOTEL and farm in Tokyo, Japan, have teamed up to raise wagyu cattle on superfoods in response to rising demand for low-fat, locally-sourced wagyu amidst a shortage of wagyu producers.

The project, which is currently in a six-month testing period, has surprised Japan’s wagyu industry, with experts noting the uniqueness of not only the farmer-chef partnership but also of the feed.…

A HOTEL and farm in Tokyo, Japan, have teamed up to raise wagyu cattle on superfoods in response to rising demand for low-fat, locally-sourced wagyu amidst a shortage of wagyu producers.

The project, which is currently in a six-month testing period, has surprised Japan’s wagyu industry, with experts noting the uniqueness of not only the farmer-chef partnership but also of the feed.…

Japan is now the United States’ leading export market for beef, in value and volume, and largest market for pork exports in value, according to 2017 trade data released by the US department of agriculture (USDA).

In the past calendar year, Japan imported 307,559 metric tonnes of US beef, an increase of 19% year-on-year, worth USD1.89 billion, which marks a 25% increase in value year-on-year from 2016.…

WITH boasts of being the strongest, thinnest, most flexible material that is also super-lightweight and an excellent thermal and electronic conductor, the ‘wonder material’ graphene is finding its properties a game changer in the sporting arena – including at last month’s Winter Olympics (February).…

THE UK may have a formal relationship with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) after its planned March 29, (2019) departure from the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May has signalled in a detailed policy speech. Speaking in the City of London, she said: “We will also want to explore with the EU, the terms on which the UK could remain part of EU agencies…” And while not naming EFSA, she said – in theory – she was prepared to allow the UK to be bound by the rules of EU agencies, post-Brexit. …

SOUTH Korean companies in the digital textile print supply chain are aware that Asian rivals beat them on price, but are managing to stay afloat through better quality, company managers have told Digital Textile.

“Chinese products are very competitive with their prices, but their quality is still not good enough to satisfy global standards,” said Hani Kim, a manager at the overseas sales department of Unitrade, a Seoul-based manufacturer of heat transfer film for digital textile printing.…

THE MALAYSIAN textile industry is pinning hopes on a government decision to reintroduce an export-targeted grant to revive the sector’s declining overseas business.  

The decision to reintroduce the Market Development Grant, offered to SMEs, was announced during the 2018 national budget unveiled in October 2017.…

BRITISH automakers who may be eying lucrative American markets as an alternative to sales that could be lost if the UK quits the European Union (EU) as planned next March (2019) could be disappointed, say experts.

This is despite data released by the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) at the end of January indicating exports of UK-made cars to the US rose by 7% year-on-year in 2017 to almost 210,000 units.…

SOUTH Africa’s paints and coatings market will grow a cumulative 40% to South African rand ZAR9.77 billion (USD823 million) between 2016 and 2021, driven by continued construction and urbanisation, according to new figures.

Statistics supplied by market researcher Euromonitor International have forecasted that the country’s home paints market will grow from ZAR3.48 billion (USD293.3 million) to ZAR4.88 billion (USD411.5 million) during this five-year period.…

JAPAN’S long-standing exposure to organised crime groups such as the Yakuza means that however effective the country’s anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) systems maybe, they will continue to face sophisticated challenges.

Despite enhanced criminal and civil legislation targeting Japan’s underworld groups, such as the February 2000 Act on the Punishment of Organised Crimes and the March 2007 Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds (See part 4 at https://www.npa.go.jp/sosikihanzai/jafic/en/maneron_e/manetop_e.htm),…

KNITTED medical products are a specialist niche requiring finely calibrated production and a skilled work force, playing to the strengths of Asian technology leaders Japan and Taiwan in building a reputation in this segment. With the third-largest healthcare market in the world, Japan is poised for growth in its medtech industry, noted a November 2017 report by McKinsey & Co.…

With China losing its sheen as a low-cost manufacturing heartland, Bangladesh’s clothing exporters are tapping into this opportunity by diversifying into another new higher margin segment — suits.

Senior executives and analysts told just-style how potential larger profits are drawing in major manufacturers, who are now confronting the challenges of building technical knowhow, recruiting skilled labour and attracting global buyers available. …

JAPANESE wagyu beef exports to Taiwan are set to soar as meat producers tap into demand following the lifting of a 16-year ban on the product, while riding on the tailwind of a Japanese government promotional campaign.

The ban on imports of Japanese wagyu, imposed after an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in Japan in 2001, was lifted by the Taiwan government last September (2017).…

BEET and cane sugar exports from the European Union (EU) boomed in 2017, the year production quotas were scrapped (on September 30), according to figures released by the European Commission. They rose by 42.9% year-on-year, up from EUR631 million in 2016 to EUR902 million in 2017.…

Vietnamese textile and garment industry officials have capped a bumper 2017 with forecasts for further robust export growth this year if it can overcome challenges from neighbouring country textile sectors by investing in skills, equipment and automation. 

Le Tien Truong, general director of the Vietnam National Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex), predicting a year-on-year increase of 10% in export value, to USD34 billion, from 10.23% annual growth in 2017 when exports totalled USD31 billion.…

WITH tobacco being a key driver of Zambia’s agriculture sector and a past reliable source of export earnings, a recent decline in leaf production has taken a heavy toll on this southern African country’s economy. Indeed, Zambia saw its agricultural foreign exchange earnings (of all farm-based products) fall by USD100 million in 2017, according to Zambia’s agriculture ministry.…

THE GLOBAL speciality chemical market has been showing steady gains over the past few years and is set to continue in its growth trajectory, according to latest data. According to data from Pune, India-based global research company Allied Market Research, the global industry was worth USD175.4 billion in 2014 and has since shown promising growth to USD184 billion in 2015, USD193 billion in 2016 and USD202.5 billion in 2017.…

THE AUTOMOTIVE sector is a hotbed of growth for industrial performance materials like nonwovens. And the global market for such materials have the potential to cross the EUR2 billion mark soon, according to Germany-based Freudenberg Performance Materials Holding SE & Co KG.…

WITH full supply chains and innovative products, Thailand’s knitwear industry is thriving, making the country a nucleus for fashion manufacturing in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. Thai Garment Manufacturers Association (TGMA) executive director Chartchai Singhadeja said: “Thailand’s strength lies in our full-value supply chains, starting from fibres to yarns and fabrics, then apparel and clothing within the fashion industry.”…

Retail sales of lamb and mutton are on the rise in Japan, boosting domestic production as well as imports from Australia and New Zealand.

While sheep meat consumption remains minimal in the country, at only 0.1kg per capita in 2017, compared to pork (15.4kg) and beef and veal (6.6kg), according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), 2017 marks its second consecutive year of this market’s growth.…

JAPAN’S ban on British beef exports is likely to be lifted within 2018, with only “largely procedural” steps to be completed, according to the British Embassy Tokyo.

The announcement follows the successful visit by a Japanese delegation to production sites in the UK in 2017, more than 20 years after the ban was implemented over Britain’s bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak.…

China will boast the world’s number one cosmetics market in 2018 according to global financial services firm Morgan Stanley: it will account for 20% of total sales, compared to 17% for the second-placed USA and 10% for third placed Japan – overtaking America for the first time, it said.…

NEW Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) signal a promising outlook for the Vietnamese textile industry with tariff concessions providing the biggest stimulus to figures, according to the country’s trade officials.

Attendees at the 17^th Vietnam International Textile & Garment Industry Exhibition, held late last month (November 22-25th) in Ho Chi Minh City, heard the deals will impact significantly on the national textile sector.…

THE HUMAN resources sector has been urged to put pressure on governments and investment fund managers in Asia to strengthen pension provisions as they deal with the consequences of rapidly aging populations.

And HR and economics experts have warned that corporate HR teams have a critical role to play in educating the workforce about the extent, however limited, of their pension provision and working with company bosses to strengthen policies within their organisations to compensate for the lack of robust schemes in existence.…

PERSONAL care product packagers are taking increasing care over the design and development of secondary packaging, noting that this can impart brand value, just in the same way as the elegant primary packaging that has always been part of the personal care product experience.…

OECD SAYS 49 JURISDICTIONS WILL AUTOMATICALLY EXCHANGE TAX INFORMATION THIS YEAR

THE IDENTITY of 49 jurisdictions that will automatically exchange tax information in 2017 under a global standard has been revealed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).…

With its history of currency counterfeiting, drug trafficking, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the laundering of related proceeds and payments, there is surely no state worldwide that has a worse money laundering track record than that of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea).…

INNOVATIVE schemes are required to beat workplace stress and challenge organisational culture if HR bosses are to prevent Singapore’s productivity levels being damaged by increasingly worrying wellbeing issues, experts have warned.

Singapore-based Centre for Effective Living (CEL), a company promoting the psychological wellness of organisations, said they have seen a 10%-20% rise in the number of clients from the public as well as private sector seeking their help.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission is coming under intense pressure from the tobacco sector to push back a planned May 2019 deadline for introducing a track-and-trace system monitoring legal cigarette and rolling tobacco sales.

The European Union (EU) executive has published delegated legislation – authorised by the 2014 tobacco products directive (TPD) – saying how this system – designed to enable regulators crack down on black market tobacco trades – will work – see  https://ec.europa.eu/health/tobacco/2017_publicfeedback_products_en.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) appellate body is considering an appeal by Brazil against a WTO disputes panel ruling that a wide range of Brazilian tax systems, designed to promote domestic production and exports, breach global trading agreements. The WTO backed Japan and European Union (EU) complaints that these discriminate unfairly against non-Brazilian competitors.…

Work is underway to promote Japan’s quality wagyu beef to athletes and tourists visiting Tokyo for the 2020 summer Olympic Games to boost exports in the long term. While details have yet to be confirmed, marketers are developing plans to operate Olympics-related promotional events and special dedicated marketing spaces, maybe near the Olympic village for athletes.…

AFTER introducing digital printing and leading Bangladesh’s knitwear sector by example, the country’s knitting major, the Knit Concern Group, has said it will ramp up its capacity to digitally print 1 million metres of fabric monthly by 2022. Presently, the knitter, based in Narayanganj, near Dhaka, can digitally print 260,000 metres of fabric a month.…

Multinationals and suppliers in the personal care product sector are unilaterally implementing measures to reduce their carbon footprint in the wake of the 2015 Paris climate treaty, taking steps to reduce energy use, their impact on forests and cutting water use and pollution.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) planned trade deal with Japan – its sixth most important trading partner – struck in principle at the July 6 EU-Japan Summit in Brussels and set to be operational in 2019, will benefit the EU dairy industry greatly, experts say.…

*Gender differences in east and southeast Asia for personal care products sales have always been narrower than in much of the world and they are closing fast. Selling personal care products to men, including colour cosmetics, is big business and getting bigger.…

INDONESIA is an important market – it does not just have 261 million people, but its female consumers especially are becoming more assertive and shaping colour cosmetic trends that brands should follow if they want to boost revenue. Last year, market observers have said, women consumers in Indonesia decided they wanted to buy matte lipstick, and this demand has mushroomed.…

THE PRODUCTION of Thai silk is rising fast as demand for this luxury fabric increases worldwide. Thailand is the fourth largest producer of silk in the world, having produced 202,073 tonnes in 2015, as reported by the International Sericultural Commission. Thai silk output has increased from 2011’s 130, 286 tonnes; rising to 2012’s 152,910 tonnes; 159,737 tonnes in 2013; and 178,058 tonnes in 2014.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission is gearing up to adopt ‘polyacrylate’ from Japan’s Toyobo as an official new textile name and label within the European Union (EU), to be listed in annexes to a 2011 regulation. The EU executive has sent the EU Council of Ministers and European Parliament a draft Commission ‘delegated regulation’ for their scrutiny, acting under the EU’s 2011 regulation on textile fibre names and related labelling and marking of the fibre composition of textile products (1007/2011).…

CONCERN is growing over the ability of Hong Kong’s education system to produce graduates with the skills needed by the Special Administrative Region’s (SAR) economy.

Hong Kong children start school early. While there’s a well-established government-run education system, every parent who can afford the fees wants to send their children to a private school.…

Training middle managers is a priority for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the key emerging market of Myanmar, if this economic development organisation is to effectively support the country’s economic growth, according to JICA officials.

The agency’s work in Myanmar has traditionally focused on preventing major infectious diseases, creating infrastructure and growing economic capacity but, with the country being restricted by a dearth of professional and experienced talent, more aid is being channelled into nurturing human resources.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU)-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA), on which negotiations concluded December 2, 2015, will open up “huge business opportunities” for Vietnamese garment companies, business experts agreed last month (September). They were speaking at an event jointly organised by EU business federation BusinessEurope, EuroCham [European Chamber of Commerce] Vietnam and the EU-Vietnam Business Network.…

VIETNAM’S textile and clothing and textile sector is looking to sell more product into Asian markets such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan, while solidifying its traditional export bases like the US and EU, the latest trade data indicates. 

Last year, Vietnam exported USD2.28 billion’s worth of clothing and textiles to South Korea – a 7.45% gain compared with 2015, according to Vietnam customs data analysed by the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). …

WHILE there is little doubt that the Asian fire resistant coating market is large – indeed New Jersey-based chemical consultancy Growney Kusumgar, Nerfli & Growny has argued that it is several times larger than that of the USA’s USD100 million-market – marketers can struggle to make sales. …

HONG Kong continues to be a thriving cosmetics and personal care market, with its local consumer base enjoying ample spending power and with traders benefiting from its strategic location as an import gateway to mainland China.  

GlobalData, a provider of business information and analytics, valued Hong Kong’s cosmetics and market at Hong Kong dollars HKD18.1 billion (USD2.3 billion) in 2016, largely dominated by imports.…

THE AUSTRALIAN cosmetic and toiletry retailing market has experienced modest growth amidst fierce competition over the past decade, figures reveal, with a constant stream of new products, many environmentally conscious, maintaining consumer interest in an otherwise saturated market.

According to California-based market research company IBISWorld, more than 18,000 people work in almost 4,000 businesses in the cosmetics industry in Australia, a country of more than 24 million people.…

IT is a constant truth within the personal care product industry that brands prosper when they understand markets that they are targeting. In New Zealand, one key and increasingly important factor is that the country’s 4.7 million people society is ageing.…

THE UNITED Arab Emirates (UAE) may hold an enviable portion of the world’s oil and gas reserves, at 4% and 3.5% respectively. But this has not stopped the country diversifying its long-term energy sources through developing nuclear power. With generation imminent, nuclear energy regulators and companies are watching closely how this rare event – a country embarking on a new civilian nuclear programme – rolls out.…

MULTINATIONAL companies are failing to prioritise anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) measures with more than half appearing to put profits ahead of prevention and a significant minority of CEOS not prepared to turn their backs on high risk contracts due to commercial pressure, according to a new survey.…

IN a cutting-edge area of the textile sector such as digital manufacturing, planning and distribution, it is always helpful to know what the gold standard is for performance. But with technologies still developing and innovation taking hardware and software in directions that are untested – with implications that are as yet unknown – companies may not want to follow the crowd.…

The European Union (EU) has become the largest importer of Myanmar garments, purchasing almost as much from the country in 2016 as the next two largest destinations combined, according to United Nations trade data.

“It’s been quite a swift development, but we had to work hard to earn it,” said Khine Khine Nwe, general secretary of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, noting that the EU was the third largest buyer in 2014 and second in 2015.…

BANGLADESH’S government is considering proposals to establish a new national workplace health and safety system to replace the international Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which are due to be wound up next June (2018).…

With almost 900 million people around the globe lacking access to safe drinking water and predictions that within less than 10 years, half the world’s population will live in ‘water-stressed’ conditions, the need for cost-effective efficient nonwovens-based filtration has never been greater.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU)-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA), on which negotiations concluded December 2, 2015, will open up “huge business opportunities” for Vietnamese garment companies, business experts agreed earlier this month at an event jointly organised by EU business federation BusinessEurope, EuroCham [European Chamber of Commerce] Vietnam and the EU-Vietnam Business Network.…

A MAJOR international anti-counterfeiting action ‘Operation Renegade’ did not just seize more than 70,000 counterfeit auto spare parts, oil and air filters, grills, and fuel pumps, and nearly 600 cylinders of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants, it yielded valuable anti-smuggling and counterfeiting information.…

JAPAN’S paint and coatings sector is putting on a positive face and playing up overseas expansion efforts, as well as its traditional strength in innovation, but analysts are concerned about the longer-term outlook for domestic companies.

Sales of paint in Japan came to Japanese Yen JPY 675 billion (USD6.10 billion) in 2016, a marginal increase of around 1% on the previous year’s figure, according to the Japan Paint Manufacturers Association.…

CONFECTIONARY manufacturers in India are having to grapple with their products and ingredients attracting a wide range of tax rates under the country’s new goods and services tax (GST), which started to be levied from July 1.

India’s GST Council, a body representing the central and state governments, has been deciding which goods will be covered by the zero, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% tax rates allowed under India’s GST legislation. …

LIKE its neighbour Japan, South Korea has a tradition of using public baths and spas, notably their 24-hour jimjilbangs, with hot and cold soaking pools, bathing and massage areas, saunas, entertainment lounges and communal sleeping.

As a result, the country’s spa and beauty salon sectors seem largely unaffected by the drastic decline in Chinese tourist arrivals amid retaliatory measures by Beijing over Seoul last year allowing US forces to deploy THAAD defence missiles on South Korean soil.…

JAPAN’S spa and beauty salon markets are well developed and established, undoubtedly a reflection of the country’s well-known traditions of cleanliness and looking good. Being well-established has arguably made further expansion and growth in the sectors more challenging, while Japan’s shrinking birth rate and population do not bode well for longer-term expansion.…

THE COSMETICS and personal care industry bases its wealth on personal consumption, targeting its products at the needs and desires of consumers writ large. This is as true in Japan as anywhere else – but in Japan, the industry faces a special problem – plummeting population levels, and a dramatic ageing of local consumers.…

SOUTH east Asia’s countries are as culturally diverse as those in Europe, and far more contrasting in economic development, so it is no surprise that their personal care product markets differ in their tastes and priorities. Fortunately, with the region’s largely emerging market economies still on a robust growth trajectory, and its more developed economies solidifying their wealth, the usual personal care product sale trend is one of expansion, albeit unevenly and sometimes with set-backs.…

TAIWAN, a now a high-income economy with a population of 23.6 million and a per capita income of USD22,453 in 2016, (International Monetary Fund figures), has been witnessing robust growth in its cosmetics and personal care products manufacturing. In 2016, this grew by 5.99% year-on-year to Taiwan dollars TWD21.1 billion (USD700 million), according to an estimate by the Industrial Economics & Knowledge Center (IEK), a Hsinchu-based public-initiated think tank.…

BEEF producers in the European Union (EU) could face restrictions on using famous beef names such as Kobe and Tajima to market their home-grown beef once an agreed-in-principle EU-Japan free trade agreement is implemented. The restrictions would come through reciprocally agreed rules within the deal to protect both jurisdictions’ registered geographical indication (GI) products.…

THE GLOBAL increase in commodity prices for beef and veal has dampened demand in Russia for imports of these meat products. The country’s agriculture ministry has said imports fell 18.6% this January-May compared to the same period in 2016, That was mainly due to a rise in import prices, which since the beginning of the current year have grown by almost 25%, said ministry officials.…

MONGOLIA’S New Ulaanbaatar International Airport, funded primarily with an official development assistance loan from Japan, is expected to open to passengers in the first half of 2018.

The key components of the project, including two runways, a terminal building and airport control tower, have been completed and were handed over to the government of Mongolia in a ceremony in January.…

BANGLADESH’S apparel makers are pressing ahead with establishing a separate factory inspection and remediation body, which would operate after the 2018 expiry of existing international health and safety initiatives. However, experts have warned that there could be political motivation behind the proposal, questioning its rationale and potential effectiveness.…

SINGAPORE has been rated the best city in the world to live for professionals wanting to work in start-ups, according to a survey by furnished apartment web-rental platform Nestpick. The website’s researchers assessed 85 cities, looking at their start-up ecosystems. It assessed average salaries for entry level and experienced positions regarding project management, technology and marketing roles.…

CHINESE customers bought 28 million vehicles in 2016, up 7.3% from 2015, which saw a year-on-year growth of 4.7%, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. However, such sales were largely stimulated by tax incentives released by the Chinese government in 2015 to encourage the sales of low-emission cars.…

Japan’s top cattle and meat producers are gearing up to compete in the country’s next ‘Wagyu Olympics’, the country’s premier beef cattle show, to be held in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, on September 7–11. Delegations of wagyu experts, industry insiders and farmers from each prefecture as well as overseas groups are expected to attend for competitions as well as wagyu taste challenges and opportunities to exchange information and good practice.…

A MAJOR Japanese corporation with significant meat trading interests – Mitsui & Co Ltd – is undergoing talks on potential business opportunities with the Rusagro Group, one of Russia’s largest vertically integrated livestock and agricultural holding companies.

Hiroo Yoshida, of Mitsui’s corporate communications division has confirmed that Mitsui has acquires a token amount – 0.005% – of Rusagro’s capital and the companies are “exploring the possibility of co-operation”.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) meat industry has expressed disappointment over the decision by Russia to extend by 18 months its ban on EU exports of meat and meat products, but is optimistic that producers will continue finding alternative markets.

Leaders of EU farm industry association Copa-Cogeca and the European Livestock & Meat Trading Union (UECBV) stressed to GlobalMeatNews that the European Commission, food industry companies and EU member states had successfully adapted to Russia’s actions.…

THE CHAIRMAN of the Cherkizovo Group, one of Russia’s largest meat producers and processors, is to consolidate his stake in the company through the acquisition of 21.3% of its shares, which are currently owned by Prosperity Capital Management, one of Russia’s largest investment funds.…

Japan and Russia are to start trading meat products in earnest during the second half of this year, following an agreement between Tokyo and Moscow.

According to Japan’s ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, imports to Japan will be limited to beef that has undergone heat treatment in Japanese government-approved Russian factories.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) economic partnership agreement with Japan – its sixth most important trading partner – struck yesterday (July 6) at an EU-Japan Summit in Brussels, will benefit the EU meat industry greatly, experts say.

EU agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan has hailed it as “the most significant and far-reaching agreement ever concluded in agriculture.”…

WITHOUT European Union (EU) supervision, the fight against fraud, in the UK at least, will become more difficult after ‘Brexit’, European fraud experts claim.

“London is already known to be a major money laundering centre, so that can only get worse once the EU ‘strings’ have been severed,” predicted Hugh Penri-Williams, fraud consultant and vice president of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) France.…

INNOVATIONS in boosting sustainability in the textile and clothing sector and beyond were highlighted at this year’s annual Integral Conversation conference, hosted again by Hong Kong shirt specialist Esquel in Guilin, between November 9 and 11.

Staged under the theme ‘Reimagining Health: Fostering the Health of the Planet and People’, its discussions focused on environmental and human health themes of critical importance to clothing manufacturers, with hundreds of globally prominent business leaders, influential scholars and policymakers present.…

OIL and gas companies trading between the European Union (EU) and Japan are likely to benefit from a new economic partnership agreement, which will fully liberalise trade in all industrial goods, including downstream products such as chemicals and plastics. The comprehensive deal – agreed in principle – also includes a chapter on international maritime transport services.…

STRUGGLING for years to find ways of bringing down the nation’s stubbornly high figures for ‘karoshi’ – the Japanese term for death by overwork – the government has finally taken drastic measures against some of Japan’s biggest companies.

Analysts warn, however, that it may take many years for companies here to “culturally implant” new regulations designed to force firms to honour the law.…

WITH the Asia-Pacific continuing to be the hub of global industrial growth and also a nexus of technological innovation, the region’s non-wovens sector has been making the most of these benefits, increasing both output and quality.

The Chinese nonwoven fabric sector, for instance, has been growing steadily, with 8-10% year-on-year growth in recent years, surpassing the average growth rate of the country’s entire textile industry.…

THE EUROPEAN Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has launched a new online database containing detailed materials on nanomaterials, an increasingly important input for the paint and coatings sector – the first phase of the creation of a European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON).…

MONGOLIA remains one of the world’s key global production centres for cashmere, and its importance seems to be growing, with its cashmere garment exports increasing – total 2016 overseas receipts were USD9.6 million, up 196% since 2009.

Demand is driven by Mongolian goat fibres’ unique characteristics, most importantly of which its length of 38-45cm and thin microns facilitating the manufacturing of garments with higher quality than those made from Chinese and Afghan goat fibres. …

THE TRADE deal announced by the European Union (EU) and Japanese on July 6 that would cut tariffs and harmonise technical regulations has been welcomed by Japan and EU auto-makers – although the Europeans are expressing caution.

Brussels and Tokyo said they had stuck a “political agreement in principle” for an economic partnership agreement, that would phase out vehicle tariffs over seven years and bring regulatory convergence through a special auto annex. …

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) textile sector has welcomed the striking of an economic partnership agreement between the EU and Japan,

“It will really provide a huge opportunity to both partners to help companies to enhance their bilateral trade, investment and cooperation.…

Greater collaboration between private sector organisations is the key to even greater use – and success – of artificial intelligence (AI) in combating money laundering, cross-sector experts believe.

Specialists from banking and finance, compliance, the legal profession, law enforcement and AI developers all concur that the most effective way forward in the ongoing anti-money laundering (AML) battle is to increase the amount of shared data.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) projected comprehensive trade deal with Japan, agreed in principle at a July 6 EU-Japan summit in Brussels, will benefit exporters of Europe-produced non-ferrous metals, experts have told Metal Bulletin. Japanese non-ferrous metal exporters are more cautious about the potential benefits for their industry, however.…

It is rare when the non-wovens sector can identify a government policy that has a real and direct major impact on its sales – but such is certainly the case with China’s new two-child policy – expected to create a major boost in Chinese sales of wipes and disposable nappies. …

IN HONG KONG, the average expatriate pay package for a middle manager has hit a five-year low – having fallen to USD 265,487 in 2016, from USD 270,618 in 2012. And this follows a dramatic increase in the number of workers (including expats) seeking to change jobs this year blaming low pay, industry experts warned quoting two separate surveys.…

It is rare when the non-wovens sector can identify a government policy that has a real and direct major impact on its sales – but such is certainly the case with China’s new two-child policy – expected to create a major boost in Chinese sales of wipes and disposable nappies. …

JAPAN’S airport sector has been installing technology designed to ensure it can handle the planned 40 million arrivals in 2020, the year in which Tokyo will host the Olympic Games. This is a significant increase from the 24 million visitors that arrived in Japan in 2016 – the vast majority arriving by air.…

JAPANESE consumers are embracing dry-aged meat as awareness rises of its quality and healthy eating becomes increasingly important. More restaurants are offering the high-end product and urban areas in particular are seeing a surge in dry-aged meat speciality eateries. Many are taking advantage of consumers’ interest by incorporating a display case into their restaurant design.…

BRAZIL’S beauty and personal care market took a hit in 2016, as the world’s fourth-biggest beauty market struggled to emerge from its worst-ever recession amid political corruption scandals. 

The outlook is for a slow recovery this year, as high unemployment keeps a lid on purchasing power in this market of 207 million people.…

Singapore will review its 80 bilateral agreements on avoiding double taxation to ensure they do not help companies avoid paying tax where relevant business activity took place. This follows its signing the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD)-sponsored Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.…

THE HUMAN resources sector has been urged to put pressure on governments and investment fund managers in Asia to strengthen pension provisions as they deal with the consequences of rapidly aging populations.

And HR and economics experts have warned that corporate HR teams have a critical role to play in educating the workforce about the extent, however limited, of their pension provision and working with company bosses to strengthen policies within their organisations to compensate for the lack of robust schemes in existence.…

Major Japanese snack company Calbee, which is known for potato chips and granola, will start to manufacture the ‘Frugura’ branded granola in Japan for the Chinese market, the company CEO Akira Matsumoto has told journalists in Tokyo today (May 10).

Frugura is currently manufactured for the Japanese market at a Calbee plant in Utsunomiya city, north of Tokyo.…

The US Meat Export Federation ((USMEF) is partnering with supermarket chains and event organisers in Japan’s regions to strengthen already high US red meat sales by localising marketing, public relations and consumer interaction campaigns.

In April, USMEF representatives offered tasting samples of thick-cut pork and beef at a supermarket trade show in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo.…

AN increasing number of Japanese consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious in their purchases and adhering to what is commonly referred to as a ‘LOHAS’ (lifestyles of health and sustainability) way of life. In the Japan cosmetics and personal care market, this initially manifested itself in the rising popularity of imported brands that prided themselves on their use of organic and natural ingredients.…

An increasing and unprecedented desire to smell good at all times is driving an increase in deodorant sales within Indonesia, an emerging market of more than 260 million people, whose tropical climate sees average daily highs generally exceed 28C.

The affordability of deodorants and their widespread availability at supermarkets have been boosting sales, especially among the country’s growing middle class, although there has not been a constant increase in sales in recent years, with a fall in the value of the Indonesian Rupiah in 2013 and 2014 depressing imports, which are of key importance for supplies of this consumer product in Indonesia.…

AUSTRALIA is witnessing something of a sea change when it comes to natural and organic cosmetics.

Jill Chambers, founder of a natural and vegan cosmetics company The Makeup Factory, based in Perth, told Cosmetics Business Markets “Just a few years ago there was a huge misconception that if a brand was natural it wasn’t effective.”…

Traditionally, Japanese people bathe on a daily basis and there was in the past comparatively little historical demand for the scents that were developed in Europe in previous centuries to mask lingering body odour. And while perfumes still remain a strictly niche market in Japan, deodorants have more recently become a significant part of the overall personal care sector.…

THE PLANNED introduction of mandatory audit firm rotation (MAFR) by the South African Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) has sparked widespread dissention within the country’s business and accounting communities This is despite that the reform’s goal is to strengthen auditor independence and audit quality and that there are some calls for the move to be brought forward from the current introduction date of April 1, 2023.…

Japanese and international accounting regulators have released a joint-statement committing themselves to working together on improving global accounting standards, especially on improving how these help companies communicate their financial position to investors.

The Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) said that it would actively help develop international standards, working with the Financial Accounting Standards Foundation (FASF), the IFRS Foundation Trustees and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).…

Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has released a new Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG). This revised guidance encourages the development of corporate governance culture, not just within listed companies, but also state-owned enterprises, small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and licensed intermediaries. This code includes 36 practices to support strong board leadership; effective audit, risk management, and internal controls; and solid corporate reporting.…

Slowly, a central government is re-establishing itself in Somalia. But it is far from being a safe place in which to do business. Even though other sectors (such as livestock) are establishing themselves, the tobacco sector still lacks a functional regulator and effective regulation.…

GOVERNMENTS in east Africa may have been passing legislation and regulation to control the tobacco sector, but these laws’ effectiveness is being weakened by lax implementation.

Kenya has been leading the local pack with controls, in 2007 enacted its first Tobacco Control Act, and in 2014 ratifying the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC).…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) pig meat producers were big winners in boosting export sales over between last March (2016) and February (2017), according to the European Commission, with receipts rising by more than 33% compared to the same period last year. The EU pigmeat sector earned EUR5.4 billion in export earnings from March 2016 to February 2017, EUR1.35 billion more than the same period in the previous year, leading the United States and Canada as the second and third most important pigmeat exporters, reported EU statistical agency Eurostat.…

Japanese food giant Nissin Food Holdings is to start manufacturing potato crisps at its China factory, aiming to leverage the popularity of its instant noodles range to score sales in this snacks segment.

The Osaka-based company already operates an instant noodles production facility in the southern province of Guangdong and is installing a new potato crisp line.…

Japan’s NH Foods Ltd is to buy Uruguayan major meat processing company Breeders & Packers Uruguay SA (BPU) to increase its meat supply capacity in emerging markets, notably in Asia, and to tap the major mature beef consumption markets in North America and Europe.…

The largest logistics facility in Japan employs around 2,000 people – but that is one-quarter of the manpower that would be required if Haneda Chronogate had not incorporated so much advanced technology into its design.

Located alongside the perimeter fence of Haneda International Airport, the busiest serving Tokyo, Chronogate has a total floor area of nearly 200,000 square metres and serves as the hub for mail for the metropolitan area and the surrounding Kanto region.…

Japan’s cosmetics and personal care market is holding steady, although there are concerns that stability is being supported by strong consumption by the burgeoning number of tourists visiting the country combined with a weak yen. USD1 bought Japanese Yen JPY117 in December compared JPY100 in July, although it has since recovered to JPY110 (April).…

A STAGGERING 62% of Asia-Pacific consumers (including China and India) buy natural and organic cosmetics and another promising 32% are keen to buy them – making the region a hotspot for manufacturers of such lines. But this impressive growth also has made the region a perfect breeding ground for greenwashing, experts warned.…

SALES of personal fragrance products maybe on the rise among the 1.4 billion people market of mainland China, but thus far, growth is still almost solely attributable to millennials residing in the big cities, market researchers say.

Retail sales of personal perfume products grew by 8.9% in the whole of 2016 from the previous year to just Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY6.1 billion (USD885 million), with the competitive landscape remaining firmly in the hand of foreign players, according to market researcher Euromonitor International.…

China’s may have announced the launch of a second major national oil and gas trading centre – in the country’s south-western metropolis of Chongqing – but this new entrepot may take time to be operational. Indeed, while the Chongqing Oil and Gas Trading Centre was formally established in January, it may take until 2018 before it is operational.…

With the value of Bitcoin skyrocketing over the past year, up from USD525 per Bitcoin last August to USD1,200 in mid-April, with one unit now being able to buy an ounce of gold, finding ways to efficiently regulate decentralised and independent virtual currencies (VCs) has become a top priority among governments and regulators worldwide.…

ANTI-CORRUPTION organisation Transparency International (TI) has called for a comprehensive tightening of regulatory and commercial action to restrict how luxury goods are abused as money laundering vehicles and to promote graft.

A new TI report ‘Tainted Treasures: Money laundering risks in luxury markets’ concludes that too little due diligence focuses on luxury goods buyers and where there are luxury goods laws, enforcement is weak.…

AMERICAN suppliers are expanding into Japan’s competitive high-end beef market to build on Japanese consumers’ growing demand for US beef.

In 2016, Japan overtook Mexico to become the leading US export market for beef, reaching almost 260,000 tonnes, worth USD1.51 billion, according to the US government.…

Japanese food labelling and weighing specialist Ishida Co Ltd is eyeing new ways to develop packaging so that products can be sold in shops without their barcodes being scanned. The new technology involves printing readable content on the entire package, allowing any point of it to be scanned to give a price, but using unobtrusive images that do impair the packaging design or visibility of the product.…

AMERICA may have scrapped its major sanctions against emerging outsourcing centre Myanmar, and brought back the southeast Asian country’s GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) access to USA markets, but the impact on the clothing trade has so far been underwhelming.

Apparel factory owners in Myanmar say American buyers have simply not materialised in the numbers that some expected.…

Cambodia’s garment industry is in a curious situation, with statistics indicating that export earnings from this key Asian fabric and yarn buyer are on the rise, despite evidence that overseas sales should actually be falling. According to one industry insider, this makes it difficult to project how the Cambodian clothing sector will perform in 2017 and hence how much it will spend on supplies.…

AUTOMOTIVE parts and vehicles have become the second most dangerous category of goods in the European Union (EU) in 2016, according to the most recent annual report of the EU’s ‘Rapid Alert System for non-food dangerous products’, or RAPEX.

The system routes safety alerts about consumer products within the 28 member states of the EU.…

THE MARKET for nonwovens for the automotive industry is forecast to continue to grow with China being the driving force, but clever producers will diversify their product lines to include filters, experts at a Nonwovens for High-performance Applications conference in Prague, have heard.…

A MALAYSIAN government scheme encouraging foreign investors to buy property in Malaysia may have led to thousands of Bangladeshis breaching their country’s strict capital control restrictions.

A total of 3,493 Bangladeshis has participated in the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) long-term residency programme since 2003, according to statistics updated in December (2016) – 10.7% of all investors taking part worldwide.…

AN APPRECIATION of interior design along with environmental concerns appear to be driving innovation when it comes to the colouring of nonwovens.

Often used in functional or ‘behind the scenes’ capacities in industrial applications, colour is not always top of the list when consideration is given to nonwovens finishing processes.…

European dried, cured and smoked meat producers are poised for a rapid expansion of export sales to Japan, with growing demand for such products that cannot be satisfied by Japanese specialist producers.

According to the Japan Retailers Association, an increasing supply of dried, cured and smoked meat from Europe is whetting consumers’ appetites and fuelling additional demand, both for food service and home market segments.…

Brazilian overseas beef meat sales are set to grow in 2017, according to projections from the Associação Brasileira das Indústrias Exportadoras de Carne (ABIEC). “Our export forecasts for 2017 are USD5.5 to USD6 billion, said Antônio Jorge Camardelli, the ABIEC president.…

PAKISTAN knitwear manufacturers and exporters say the country’s knitwear industry is passing through difficult times, with export sales becoming tougher to secure through growing input costs and a continued failure of the government to implement a much-vaunted and recently-announced bailout package.…

IMPROVING airport management is often a matter of examining good practice overseas and for airports wanting to improve the time taken to move transfer passengers from one flight to another, their executives might learn from Helsinki Airport.

Finland’s key international airport has the fastest passenger flow in Europe for transfer passengers going on to other European destinations, with a minimum connecting time between flights of just 35 minutes, according to Finavia, the state company that operates Finland’s 21 commercial civilian airports.…

JAPAN’S flair in developing effective cutting edge technology is of course well-known, and with an ageing population and still restricted immigration, the potential domestic market for medical and health-focused technical textiles is significant. Amidst shortages of construction, manufacturing and other manual workers, many Japanese industries are purchasing and even developing wearable products that companies can use to monitor or maintain the health of their increasingly stretched and ageing staff, as well as those working from remote locations.…

Around one-in-four people in Asia-Pacific countries are estimated to have paid bribes to access public services, according to the latest survey of 22,000 people across the region from Transparency International. Published March 7 ‘People and Corruption: Asia Pacific Survey 2017’ reveals approximately 900 million people living in 16 countries in Asia Pacific have paid these bribes, with the poorest being hardest hit – some 38% of this group admitted to paying a bribe, rising to 73% in India.…

ASIA’S technical textiles sectors continue to grow, fuelled by ready buyers in domestic and overseas markets, but governments can and do help too – keen to promote these sustainable high tech industries.

China is a case in point. Its industry and information technology ministry plus the National Development and Reform Commission in January (2017) jointly issued development guidance for technical textiles as part of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan, which runs from 2016-20.…

THE cosmetics sector of South Korea, evaluated at USD12 billion in sales during 2016 by market researcher Frost & Sullivan, has been enduring a tough crash course in political risk since its government agreed to host the US missile-defence system Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD).…

Italy’s premier beauty trade fair celebrated half a century this year in Bologna with a host of special events that ranged from an opening cocktail party on the fair grounds to a special dance performance held in the Bologna city centre.…

THE USE of airless technology in packaging is largely about zero product waste, preserving product integrity and less packaging material – and it obviously gels well with the growing trend towards sustainability. That explains the uptake in this technology led by cosmetics packaging, industry experts argue.…

THE CHINESE coatings market has been dominated by foreign suppliers, especially in higher end and high-tech market segments, but this might well be changing gradually, as the country steps up its coatings research and development (R&D) efforts.

This new push reflects the national government’s shift in economic policy away from focusing on exports and wanting to generate an economy more based on domestic consumption.…

Deutsche Leasing Vostok, a member of German company Deutsche Leasing Group, has encouraged Russian textile manufacturers attending Russian Textile Week events, staged February 20-24 in Moscow, to lease rather than buy manufacturing equipment.

Deutsche Leasing Vostok representative Yulia Grukhanova told WTiN.com…

The chairman of the Indonesian Textiles Association (API) has expressed cautious optimism about President Donald Trump’s rejection of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact and re-confirmed the need to boost Indonesia’s competitiveness.

Trump pulled the USA out of the agreement on January 23, and while that could be bad news for the other 11 TPP partners, including regional textile sector competitors Malaysia and clothing hub Vietnam, the deal had yet to include Indonesia.…

South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho has confirmed that his government has begun drafting a talent-based immigration system to serve as a key driver of economic competitiveness in the future. According to Yoo, the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) has created a task force to counter the country’s demographic changes and plans to produce mid and long-term immigration policies in the first half of the year.…

Wool represents luxury in China, with most Chinese seeing wool as a superior fibre, so investment into wool research and development is a sensible approach for companies such as the Sunshine Group, headquartered in Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province.

The company, one of the world’s largest wool production enterprises, aims to bring wool to perfection from its location north of Shanghai.…

THE BANK of Thailand is pushing for Thailand to better educate its workforce to cope with digital development, with a lack of research and development (R&D) investment being blamed economic stagnation within this southeast Asian country. The call comes as Thailand’s GDP per capita was just USD5,814.77 (World Bank figures for 2015) when China’s was USD8,027.68.…

THE EUROPEAN beef sector must keep its direct payments at a time when the European Union (EU)’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is under review, according to new research highlighted by the European Parliament.

‘The EU cattle sector: challenges and opportunities – milk and meat’ report, published February 27 by the parliament’s agriculture and rural development committee, says these payments play an important part in farm-household income.…

Butchers, supermarkets and barbeque restaurants in Japan are gearing up for the national meat trade’s busiest day of the year, dubbed ‘Meat Day’ – on February 9. The auspicious date has been identified thanks to Japanese people’s love of play on words: both the ninth day of the second month and meat can be pronounced ‘niku’ (‘ni-kyuu’ for the numbers and ‘niku’ for meat).…

One month after staunch free-trade opponent Donald Trump became US President there are many policy decisions still to be confirmed and clarified to get a full idea of the impact his presidency will have on the trade in technical textiles. His accession comes during an unstable time for international trade – it is arguably even less clear how the UK’s planned exit from the EU will work out for the sector.…

THE CONTINUED success of Europe’ major technical textile fair, Techtextil, Frankfurt, (the next event runs from May 9 to 12) illustrates how the continent’s technical textile sector is thriving on its innovation.

“We don’t know what the future brings. We only know where it will be exhibited.…

KEY MESSAGES

*The nuclear industry has an ageing staff and needs to recruit new professionals as they retire

*Its strong health and retirement benefits packages could help it attract the new staff it needs

*The nuclear industry outside north America has a strong expat component, making it easier for recruit staff from abroad

INTRODUCTION

The nuclear industry sector is facing some significant human resources challenges, but new research carried out by Airswift and Energy Jobline indicates that the nuclear sector can still compete for talent.…

AS Bangladesh aims to double its apparel exports in the next five years, industry executives and experts agree on one thing: value addition is the key and the development of digital printing services is a key strand of this strategy.
As a result, the launch of operations by Indian textile printing manufacturer and distributor DCC (Dhaval Colour Chem) in Dhaka last December was an important step towards creating such an integrated supply chain in Bangladesh.…

Natural gas, including its liquefied form LNG, can be the long-term growth story among fossil fuels but needs to withstand stiff challenges

The naming ceremony in February 2017 for offshore facilities for the Ichthys liquefied natural gas project in Australia was another milestone in the huge wave of investment in LNG production capacity globally in recent years.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) food exporters will in 2017 be offered an increased amount of money by the European Commission to better promote their products, especially in non-EU markets. The Commission has said that EUR133 million will be available this year to co-finance at 70%-85% such marketing campaigns, compared to EUR111 million in 2016.…

As US President Donald Trump on January 23 pulled America out from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with an executive order, he signalled he will instead ask Asian TPP members for bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs). This includes countries such as Vietnam that rely on apparel and textile exports.…

Japanese car companies are watching US trade policy closely, following President Donald Trump’s decision to scrap the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“It is a bit early to gain a full understanding of the impact of this decision, although we are obviously monitoring the situation closely,” a spokesman for Toyota Motor Corp told wardsauto.…

AS many leading fashion brands are stepping up use of Australian Merino wool, Chinese fabric makers with a long track record of in-house research and development (R&D) into wool are finding themselves better positioned than latecomers to reap the fruits of this trend.…

Even as the official withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been greeted by enthusiasm by American automakers, the focus is shifting to the bilateral trade deals that President Donald Trump has promised will take its place.…

THE OLIVE oil industry has traditionally been dominated by some key major European players, notably Spain, Italy and Greece, but with global consumption rising, production is emerging in countries which have previously relied on imports.

International Oil Council statistics show how new production centres are being created.…

THE NORTH American Meat Institute has called on the new US administration of President Donald Trump to work hard to negotiate new bilateral trade deal with Asian markets now he has formally pulled American out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.…

A new scheme by Miyazaki Prefecture in southern Japan that offers local wagyu and other products in return for local tax payments to its municipalities from residents in other parts of the country is helping to support livestock farmers and meat producers in the area.…

AFTER culling more than 500,000 chickens in late November and early December 2016 due to a bird flu outbreak, poultry farmers in Japan have been encouraged by Japanese consumers’ loyalty to a long-held Christmas tradition: eating fried chicken. Data released by Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), which has strong market share in Japan, has shown that sales continued to rise this past festive season, with the firm achieving 7.9% sales growth over December 23–25 year-on-year, with sales of Japanese Yen JPY5.92 billion (USD51.4 million).…

THE US Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) has called on the new American administration of President Donald Trump to work hard to negotiate new bilateral trade deals with Asian markets now he has formally pulled his country from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.…

As US President Donald Trump has been wasting no time carrying out his campaign pledges to undo long-standing American trade ties, the Asian apparel industry and the US retailers it supplies have ample reasons to be on edge.

Signs are particularly worrisome for apparel players sourcing from Vietnam, a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the unratified 12-nation deal that will now not include the USA after Trump extracted America from its commitments via a January 23 presidential memorandum.…

ELECTRONICS and gadgets such as smart watches may have reached their technological and popularity limits, but smart textiles – materials, for example anti-bacterial, that react to environmental or physical stimuli – are here to stay, industry experts argue.

Speakers at this year’s FUTEX – the 7^th Innovative Textile European Convention on ‘interactive textiles for health, sport and the home’ emphasised the bright future for ‘wearable’ technology.…

UNITED States (US) President Donald Trump’s decision on January 26 to sign an executive order to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) should provide opportunities for European Union (EU) dairy exporters, according to European dairy experts.

“From an EU dairy perspective, we would hope that the European Commission will continue to make an effort in our European trade negotiations, especially with Japan,” Alexander Anton, secretary general of the European Dairy Association, told Food & Drink Technology News.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) food exporters will in 2017 be offered an increased amount of money by the European Commission to better promote their products, especially in non-EU markets. The Commission has said that EUR133 million will be available this year to co-finance at 70%-85% such marketing campaigns, compared to EUR111 million in 2016.…

The January 23 presidential memorandum from President Donald Trump, puling the USA from participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal has disappointed the American cosmetics and personal care products sector. This is not only because of the tariff barriers it would have eliminated but also because the TPP would have pushed regulatory controls in all TPP countries in the same direction.…

SHIPPING container manufacturers in China have been struggling to deal with the country’s new string of environmental regulations aiming to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions – effectively forcing them to switch from solvent-based to water-based paints.

The changeover, proposed by the China Container Industry Association and endorsed by the government is occurring in two stages, with container factories located in southern China required to only use water-based products for all containers, other than certain specialised containers, since July 1, 2016; this to be followed by factories in the rest of China from April 1 this year.…

CHINA’S central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBC), has issued a new anti-money laundering and terror finance reporting requirements for all financial institutions inside the country. The rules come into force July 1. They cover banks, brokers, foreign exchange, online and mobile payment systems and insurance companies, who will have to file reports to the central bank, via their headquarters or via representative institutions, if a client requires daily cash transactions exceeding Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY50,000 (USD7,261) or a larger amount of USD10,000’s worth in foreign currency.…

THE HONG Kong and Pakistan government have signed a comprehensive agreement on avoiding double taxation. Pakistani tax paid by Hong Kong companies will be credited against Hong Kong taxes on the same profits, with the reverse applying for Pakistan companies. Pakistan’s withholding tax rates for Hong Kong residents on royalties and fees for technical services (both currently 15%) will be capped at 10% and 12.5% respectively.…

Hacking and data breaches keep Asian IT departments awake at night, but many of the most serious cyber security incidents can be prevented with greater vigilance from HR professionals. Of course, there are a wide variety of risks being posed to companies from online environments, from denial-of-service attacks, to Trojan programmes that monitor computer use, and theft of identities and intellectual property.…

Haneda Chronogate, the largest logistics complex in Japan, with just under 200,000 square metres floor space, is one of the most technologically advanced facilities of its kind, claims its operator Yamato Holdings Co Ltd.

Speaking to Jane’s Airport Review, Hiromitsu Aikawa, executive officer for Yamato’s global marketing and development division said: “The facility uses the latest logistics technologies and incorporates systems that have been introduced, tested and improved at other centres.”…

A long-held ambition by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) to create an aerotropolis, or airport city, anchored around Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is taking key steps forward with a newly finalised master plan and a number of strategic partnerships.

The project, called KLIA Aeropolis, was announced in May (2016).…

WHILE Japan has freed up its electricity market, in 2015, end-user price regulation was still applied to household electricity markets in 12 European Union (EU) member states (46% of electricity and 54% of gas price offers from different service providers), Europe’s electricity industry association Eurelectric spokesperson Anamaria Olaru told Energy World.…

PHOTOS posted on the Chinese microblog platform Weixin (commonly known in English as WeChat) from the Indonesian holiday island of Bali recently are emblematic of key trends in China’s cosmetics and personal care markets, notably booming ecommerce sales. Over 100 Chinese sales managers – technically self-employed and operating on commission – flew to Bali as guests of USANA Health Sciences Inc, which in 2010 acquired BabyCare Ltd, a China-based direct selling company that develops, manufactures and sells nutritional products.…

OPPORTUNITIES may abound for suppliers in Japan’s newly liberalised household electricity market, but for the time being, a handful of regional utility giants still retain the lion’s share of sales.

Analysts had predicted the Japanese government’s granting of consumer choice over the source of their energy purchases would stimulate growth in innovative and renewable energy, and undermine sales in power generated from fossil fuels and nuclear.…

A drone designed to make life easier for livestock farmers has been launched in Japan, with developers eyeing global sales in the future. Created in partnership with Tokyo-based IT company OPTiM and agriculture faculty at Saga University, AgriDrone is an initiative also supported by the prefecture and city of Saga, on Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island.…

Large meat producers in Japan are eyeing the ready-made meal sector as a key income stream following increased demand for such products. A November report by market researcher Euromonitor International has predicted that ready-made meal sales in Japan will grow 4% year-on-year during 2016, “driven by continuous lifestyle changes among Japanese consumers who are increasingly busy and seeking convenience.”…

ONE of the wealthiest countries in the world, Qatar’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was estimated at USD73,653 in 2015, according to the World Bank. Close to 85% of the country’s 2.5 million population are expatriates and this has influenced the skincare products on offer, while high levels of disposable income continue to drive consumption.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Confederation of European Beet Growers (CIBE) and the European Association of Sugar Producers (CEFS-Comité Européen des Fabricants de Sucre) have jointly called on the European Union (EU) to continue protecting producers with import tariffs, even as the EU negotiates 12 trade deals affecting the food industry.…

While the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) had made the future of textile manufacturing in Vietnam look rosy in much of 2016, Japanese businesses eyeing investments in this south-east Asian emerging market do not seem to fear the trade deal’s likely demise under United States President-elect Donald Trump.…

THE PROMISE from US President-elect Donald Trump to withdraw the USA from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement on his first day of office has prompted widespread nervousness in auto-sectors around the world.

His rejection of the deal could scupper an agreement negotiated over five years by the United States; Australia; Brunei; Canada; Chile; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Peru; Singapore and Vietnam.…

HUMAN resources experts in the Asia-Pacific region are mulling the potential impact of US President-elect Donald Trump abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. He has promised to withdraw the US from the agreement on his first day in office.

And without American participation, the pact seems dead in the water: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently said it would be “meaningless,” while Vietnam, whose export-driven economy was expected to be one of the major beneficiaries of the TPP, has withdrawn the proposal for ratification in its National Assembly.…

LEADING French automaker Renault could soon start producing vehicles in Pakistan, the chairman of the south Asian country’s Board of Investment (BOI) has predicted to wardsauto. Miftah Ismail said that the manufacturer had submitted an application to the government of Pakistan seeking permission to produce cars locally, initially in a joint venture with Ghandhara Nissan, which is Renault’s global partner.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has approved the creation of a significant holding by Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and Toho Gas Co Ltd in the Portugal gas distribution sector, green-lighting their acquisition of shares in Portugal’s Galp Gás Natural Distribuição. Henceforth, the Japanese companies will share control with Portugal’s Galp Energia SGPS, a key oil, gas and power generation company.…

A senior Canada metal industry association has called on its government to continue ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), despite US President-elect Donald Trump’s commitment to withdraw the US from the trade deal on his first day of office.

“We definitely still support Canada moving forward with the TPP, even without the US.…

JAPAN has confirmed a third outbreak of avian flu in as many days, prompting the cull of thousands of farmed birds in the north of the country. The highly pathogenic H5 strain was detected in ducks found dead at a farm in Aomori Prefecture, northern Honshu, on November 28 while, some 450km away in Niigata Prefecture, western Honshu, dead chickens at a poultry farm tested positive at two separate sites on November 28 and 30.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s pledge to put meat and livestock produce second in its 2017 European Union (EU) agri-food promotion campaign (making up 15% of the programmes) has been welcomed by the industry. The announcement came during the release of a EUR133 million marketing budget for EU agri-food producers for 2017, up from EUR111 million in 2016.…

SINGAPORE, Japan and South Korea have stopped poultry imports from Denmark after an Avian Influenza virus (H5N8) outbreak affected the country’s entire poultry sector. This is the first outbreak of the virus in Denmark since 2006, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, (Fødevarestyrelsen – FVST) told GlobalMeatNews.…

Vietnam’ clothing and textile industry has been assessing the impact of losing an anticipated huge garment export boost under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) now that US president-elect Donald Trump has promised to sign an executive order pulling out of the 12-nation trade deal.…

IVORY Coast has imported more than double the value of cosmetic products in 2015 when compared with 2009, from the European Union (EU) alone, signaling the creation of a booming domestic beauty market as the country emerges from a civil war that ended in 2011.…

THE MALAYSIAN government has released its 2017 budget with a pledge to reduce corporation tax by between 1% and 4% for companies with significant increases in taxable income during 2017 and 2018. The budget will also mandate a cut in income tax from 19% to 18% for small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).…

UNITED States President-elect Donald Trump’s commitment to withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, condemning the deal as a “potential disaster for our country”, has received the thumbs-down from the cosmetics industry.

“TPP represents an important step forward for the cosmetics industry in the signatory countries, containing as it does a specific annex for cosmetics and personal care,” Cosmetics Europe director general John Chave told Soap Perfumery & Cosmetics.…

SINCE the bulk of textile and apparel and production moved offshore from the wealthy city state of Singapore – seeking lower costs labour elsewhere – the country has become an industry innovator, and experts say this trend will continue.

The United States department of commerce (DoC) said in a report issued in May (2016): “Manufacturing has moved offshore to mainly other countries in the region, forcing the textile and apparel sector to reinvent itself and focus on research and development.”…

PAKISTAN’S denim export industry hopes that help for the textile announced by the government in February (exemption from paying sales tax and payment of long overdue tax refunds) and in a meeting with industry leaders in September (a promised reduction in energy costs) will boost this promising segment.…

THE SHORTAGE of skilled labour is the “second most pressing issue next to political instability” that is hindering growth in Thailand manufacturing firms, a Bangkok-based World Bank expert has told People Management.

Indeed, the south-east Asian country’s skilled labour shortage has been getting worse: for example, the number of weeks it takes to fill a vacancy for a skilled worker in Thailand has increased from about five weeks on average in 2007 to about eight weeks in 2015, said the World Bank’s east Asia and Pacific programme leader for poverty and human development Lars Sondergaard.…

Non-wovens textile manufacturers are likely to benefit from a soaring Chinese market for their products, thanks to a fast ageing population, the government’s recently launched two-child policy, and demand created by air pollution that continues to plague the country, and international conference in Shanghai has head.…

A severe shortage of ‘wagyu’ calves in Japan is putting pressure on producers of this special native beef livestock, as calf prices soar and breeders risk a fall in turnover. At wagyu auctions nationwide, a beef cattle calf is being sold for Japanese Yen JPY800,000 yen (USD7,705) on average in 2016, up from about JPY550,000 (USD5,300) in 2014, according to the Nikkei Asian Review financial newspaper.…

Vietnam’s National Salary Council may have increased the country-wide minimum wage by the smallest proportion in a decade of such rises (7.3% for 2017), but the country’s clothing manufacturers are still warning this is a hike too far.

The Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (VITAS) has opposed the increase.…

Fast fashion is all about getting product to market quickly without over-spending. And while new technologies such as digital printing machinery can speed up the process, they can also add cost.

Guido Schlossmann, president and chief executive officer of Thailand-based consultants Synergies Worldwide, stressed to just-style that the key issue is getting the balance right.…

Japan’s Kewpie Corp is acquiring Polish food maker Mosso Kwasniewscy Sp.J as part of its overseas expansion efforts, the company confirmed to just-food.com.

Mosso will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Tokyo company, renowned for its mayonnaise products, and will be known as Mosso Kewpie Poland Sp.…

Japan’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries ministry and government’s Consumer Affairs Agency have proposed new rules on country of origin labelling for all food processed in Japan.

A spokesman for the agency said the new rules have been partly inspired by concerns over food safety once the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement goes into effect.…

Sun protective clothing is continuing to move from its health-focused niche origins to become a general and versatile product, protecting consumers of all ages from the harm of prolonged sun exposure. What first began as products for children or for people with varying skin ailments, such as melanoma or xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), a rare disease where the body is unable to repair damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) light, the market has been expanding robustly.…

THE ASIA-PACIFIC region has been regarded as the workshop of the world for most of the 21^st century, and this is especially true for the technical textile sector, where output has continued to grow, partly fuelled by growing regional demand.…

PERSONAL care product and cosmetics manufacturers are continuing to invest in sustainable materials – such as responsibly-sourced cardboard and bio-plastics. Indeed, such green alternatives can boost sales in markets where consumers are increasingly concerned with the environmental impact of products. But packagers still face challenges in ensuring these meet the standards of their clients, particularly in premium sectors.…

A slowdown in liberalising Myanmar’s construction industry so far this year has not soured the positive outlook of paints and coatings companies on this emerging market’s potential, according to industry experts.

Few new construction projects have come online in 2016, as the market works to digest the surplus of units begun during a boom following the 2011 transition to civilian rule, which was finally completed in March (2016).…

Japan’s automobile manufacturers are increasingly looking to set up plants in – or, at least, very close to – their target markets, and paint companies with expertise in the auto coatings sector are following their lead.

“In 2015, the overall Japanese paints and varnishes market recorded 0.3 per cent growth, with producers struggling to remain competitive because production in Japan is pricier due to environmental requirements and higher labour costs,” said Andrius Balsys, a research analyst who monitors the paints sector for London-based market researcher, Euromonitor International.…

The most current pressing issue for Taiwanese human resources executives is arguably the failure of the island’s enterprises to timely craft leadership succession plans. There are the headline-grapping stories such as that of Morris Chang, 85, founder of the world’s largest semiconductor maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (TSMC), who has held on as chairman and returned as chief executive officer (CEO) in 2009 after having temporarily passed on the position.…

THE PAINT mixing segment is a competitive world with companies constantly seeking a technological edge to generate additional sales. Of course, the segment is diverse – spanning the development of mixers helping paint and coating companies make their products, and aiding users to apply these lines.…

JAPAN’S more stringent anti-money laundering rules will come into effect on October 1, following international criticism that Tokyo has dragged its feet on fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism. With the amendment of the ‘Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds’ enacted by the ‘Diet’ — Japan’s parliament — last year, the onus is now on financial institutions to be ready for implementation of the anti-money laundering rules next month.…

THE OILS and fats business has always been international, with its commodities and the products made from them, being traded worldwide. And as a result, the companies involved have always had to pay attention not just to the regulations of the country were they manufacture or source, but those of importing and transit countries.…

JAPANESE consumers’ preference for meat is growing so strongly, it has pushed domestic per capita fish consumption to its lowest level since the 1960s, according to 2015 figures from Japan’s ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The gap between levels of meat and fish consumption is increasing; meat consumption overtook that of fish about six years ago but the gap is widening; fish consumption is now 30% less than it was at its peak, in 2001. …

Sri Lanka’s cosmetic and beauty product manufacturers are becoming increasingly anxious over the lack of sales regulations, promoting significant volumes of lower grade cosmetic imports, putting local manufacturers at risk. 

Until July 2015, there was a specific authority to oversee cosmetic products being imported as well as distributed in the country.…

India’s digital printing industry is successfully challenging the country’s traditional finishing sector, expanding rapidly thanks to reduced costs, support from country’s large textile export sector and an ability to respond to changing fashion trends. “The share of digital textile printing will increase from five to 15 percent in next six to seven years,” said Siddharrthha A Jain, partner at Printtech, a digital textile printing company based in Gurgaon, near New Delhi, noting that currently there are 250 to 300 such companies in India.…

EUROPEAN COMMISSION LAUNCHES GLOBAL TAX AVOIDANCE BLACKLIST ASSESSMENT

THE EUROPEAN Commission has completed the first phase of an assessment designed to help the European Union (EU) frame its own blacklist of jurisdictions deemed un-cooperative over tax avoidance and evasion. Brussels has released a ‘scoreboard’ of non-EU jurisdictions judging whether they exchange information with foreign tax authorities, have preferential or low tax regimes, have close and important economic and financial links with the EU and are politically stable (and hence more attractive as a tax haven).…

South America’s cosmetics and personal care sector is looking to bounce back from a slowdown caused by the region’s macroeconomic troubles, but political pressures and regional trade alliances are driving individual country markets down divergent paths.

Over the last year, countries across the region have been buffeted by economic turmoil that has had a knock-on impact on the cosmetics sector.…

THE ASIA-Pacific coatings additives market is big business, and is getting bigger. According to Pune, India-based market research organisation Markets and Markets, the coatings additives market in the Asia-Pacific region will be worth USD2.81 billion in 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 7.2% until 2021.…

Oil and gas owners and operators working offshore in the Middle East face looming corrosion and erosion detection and prevention challenges to continue operating their ageing assets efficiently, safely and within regulatory requirements in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states.…

WORKFORCE DEMOGRAPHICS

East Asia is a very varied region in terms of economic development. Take the 10 members of trade bloc ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations): with 632 million people, demographics greatly vary, from aging Singapore and Thailand, to the younger and emerging economies of Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.…

The Indonesian Textiles Association (API – Asosiasi Pertekstilan Indonesia) has told WTiN.com that it enthusiastically endorses the opening of negotiations between the European Union (EU) and Indonesia to forge a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) free trade deal.

The goal of the talks announced in July will be to create an agreement that goes beyond traditional agreements that focus on duty and quota abolition, to include removing non-tariff barriers through regulatory mutual recognition and harmonisation.…

Myanmar has launched an association for textile manufacturers aiming to build a vibrant industry from its current small base of factories and traditional manufacturing.

The Myanmar Textile Manufacturers Association (MTMA) was launched in July, with support from the country’s ministry of industry.…

A wealth of experience in creating natural fibres – from cotton, hemp and silk to bamboo, banana and paper – combined with cutting-edge technology is giving Japanese companies an international edge in making eco-friendly fabrics. Scientists are bringing together old and new as they re-examine ancient practices and consider innovative techniques to bring new products to market.…

THE ASIA Pacific region remains the workshop of the world in terms of nonwovens production, and it is not only China’s producers who are growing, local suppliers are feeding growing domestic markets for nonwovens products elsewhere in east and southeast Asia.…

INVESTIGATIONS into the health of pigs being exported from Jiangxi, eastern China to Hong Kong, is under investigation after Chinese authorities blocked the trade following a warning from Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD).

Pigs from Jiangxi make up around 20% of hogs imported into the special administrative region from the Chinese mainland, which supplies the vast majority of pigs slaughtered in Hong Kong.…

Brazil will continue to challenge the USA for the position of being the world’s biggest meat producer and exporter over the next 10 years, with chicken leading the way, Brazilian government forecasts indicate. It says that Brazilian meat production in 2025/26 will be 29.8% higher than in 2015/6 – amounting to 7.8 million tonnes in additional production – resulting in 23.6 million tonnes of output.…

A Myanmar Textiles Manufacturers Association has finally been launched, following years of discussion about creating an upstream textile-specific body in this fast developing south-east Asian country.

Finished garment exports from Myanmar have more than doubled from 2011-12 to 2014-15, from USD497 million to USD1.02 billion according to statistics from the country’s Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).…

The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) has welcomed proposals from Vietnam’s ministry of industry and trade to develop large textile and garment industrial zones to attract investment for dyeing and fabric and yarn production. The aim of the proposed zones, which would be 500 to 1,000 hectares in size, is to bring in investment from both local and foreign garment companies.…

THE ENERGY market in Asia is one of the most dynamic sectors in the region, and so government policy and regulation is having to be nimble and flexible, trying to coax production in a sustainable direction.

Take the deregulation of Japan’s household electricity market, which went into effect on April 1.…

THE PERSONAL care product sectors of the European Union (EU) and Japan have welcomed the agreement in principle of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the two jurisdictions, saying it will promote and ease trade.

Dubbed by the European Commission as “the most important bilateral trade agreement ever concluded by the EU”, the deal will fully eliminate mutual duties on all cosmetic products, an industrial sector the Commission notes as “very competitive”.…

Vigorous expansion of export-oriented manufacturing and construction in 2015 spurred the fastest GDP growth in Vietnam in seven years, at 6.7% year-on-year, according to the Asian Development Bank. And although coatings consumption correlates generally well with economic growth, in Vietnam the 2015 year-on-year coatings production increase outpaced general economic expansion – it rose 11.1% year-on -year in 2015, to Vietnamese dong VND13 trillion (USD587 million), according to market researcher Euromonitor International.…

Paint and varnish manufacturers in Japan experienced a disappointing 2015, with sluggish purchasing from the construction and automotive sectors translating into meagre 0.3% growth over the fiscal year. Analysts predict that growth will pick up in the short term, in part as a result of a spike in demand from the construction sector ahead of Tokyo hosting the 2020 Olympic Games – although industry players are concerned about the longer-term outlook for the sector.…

BUILDING a career in auditing in what is often regarded as the most corrupt country in the European Union (EU) is not for the faint-hearted, but that is what Nikolay Garnev, EY manging partner for Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo, has done.…

Thailand-based automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are set to benefit from the expansion of an existing auto tariff-free zone to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam in 2018. These would then join this ASEAN-linked trading zone’s member countries Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to forge an ASEAN-wide automotive market bloc.…

Europe’s automakers have lashed out at new European Union (EU) proposals designed to decarbonize the economy and encourage a shift to low- or no-emission options as being too focused on technology. They have also claimed it is and discriminatory because it only deals with road transport. …

The European Union (EU) needs as free hand as possible to prevent the Chinese steel industry seizing more market share with the support of the Beijing government, according to leaders of AEGIS Europe, an alliance of 30 manufacturing associations. In its strongest warning yet about Chinese dumping, overcapacity and illegal subsidies, AEGIS spokesman Milan Nitzschke told a Brussels press conference yesterday (July 11): “China is not a market economy and therefore cannot be granted Market Economy Status (MES) by the European Union” (EU) in its anti-dumping calculations.…

THE UK’s vote on June 23 to quit the European Union (EU) creates deep uncertainty over the shape of future electricity industry regulations in Britain, and the UK’s regulatory relationship regarding power supplies with countries remaining in the EU.

Victory by the ‘Leave’ side in Britain’s in-out referendum enables the UK government to kick off an exit process by invoking Article 50 in the Treaty on European Union, which gives notice that member state wishes to leave.…

Liberalising Myanmar’s cosmetics market is expected to grow significantly in coming years as it has one of south-east Asia’s largest populations (53 million people) and a growing middle class. However, however consumer sophistication and spending power remains low compared with many countries in the region – its 2014 gross national income per head was USD1,280, according to the World Bank.…

COSMETICS and skincare brands are expecting more functionalities and innovations from applicators to help boost market share. Packaging companies are responding by developing applicators that do not just deliver product, they add to user experience, such as with rolling and massaging functions reminiscent of spa-type applications; applicators with different benefits based on its temperature; and those that ensure the hygiene of the product.…

Finland is always different from its neighbours across the Baltic. Not Scandinavian, but still Nordic, Finland’s personal care product market has been experiencing hard times, as the country of 5.5 million people sees its economy seesaw between contraction and mild grow (-0.7% – +0.5%) in the last three years.…

SINGAPORE has promised that it will implement the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project developed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has said it accepts profits should be taxed where real economic activities generating them are performed and where value is created.…

JAPAN’S non-executive board members are facing tough times – globalisation and reforms to Japanese company law are pushing major corporations to admit mistakes that have been swept under the carpet in the past.

Scandals keep on coming. The news for Mitsubishi Motors, for instance, over the last two months has been uniformly bad.…

The US deodorant and antiperspirant market is in good shape, experiencing and projecting steady growth year after year in a largely saturated market where innovation is key to driving sales. Euromonitor International, the London-based market research firm, released a report in April 2016, which says the US deodorants market tends to grow “solidly” but “rarely dramatically”. …

COSMETICS and personal care product labelling and decoration continues to play a key role in differentiating brands on the shelf and creating an experience for the consumer. While many companies are moving towards more simple, clean looks, other higher-end brands still prefer eye-catching, metallic designs.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) dairy producers are suffering a prolonged crisis because of the April 2015 elimination of milk quotas; Russia’s food import ban – now extended until December 31, 2017 – and worldwide overproduction, the European Parliament has heard. Moreover, MEPs at a ‘New exceptional market measures limiting milk production’ hearing hosted by the European Parliament’s agriculture and rural development committee in Brussels on May 25 were not convinced the EU’s EUR500 million aid package agreed in September 2015 would give producers the help they need.…

The global meditech textiles market is expected to witness the highest growth – 4.6% from 2015 to 2022 – within the general technical textiles industry, according to an October 2015 report from US-based market research firm Grand View Research (GVR).

With the overall global technical textiles market valued at USD148.5 billion in 2014, and growing at a rate of more than 4% annually, this meditech segment is expected to be worth USD16.4 billion in 2016 and USD19.2 billion in revenues by 2020, according to India-based Future Market Insights (FMI), another market research company.…

A consortium headed by France’s Vinci Airports and Orix Corp, a financial services company based in Tokyo, took over the operation of Kansai International Airport and Osaka International Airport on April 1. The Japanese government is hoping that the deal will be the first of a series of privatisations of the nation’s often under-utilised airports.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s trade directorate general and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office have said that they will be assessing the impact of Britain’s anticipated exit from the European Union (EU) on the planned EU-US Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP).…

Liberalising Myanmar’s potential market for new cars is significant, but growth is currently hampered by regulatory uncertainty. Although it has a population of 51 million, only 5,000 new passenger cars were sold in the country during the last financial year.

“The future is very good, potentially.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s trade directorate general and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office have said that they will be assessing the impact of Britain’s anticipated exit from the European Union (EU) on the planned EU-US Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP).…

COUNTERFEIT products remain a major potential headache for wholesalers in the UK, indeed around the world, with clever fake product operations continuing to supply sophisticated copies that can fool even wary distributors.

And the risks of a fake slipping through the net and ending up on a retailer’s shelf can be very serious.…

Japanese engagement in Vietnam’s textile and garment sectors continues to strengthen discernibly, as the southeast Asian manufacturing centre is set to become a global clothing exporting powerhouse under the newly concluded free trade agreements. These include the Vietnam-European Union free trade deal (EVFTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which will give Vietnamese exporters better access to American markets.…

BRAZIL’S textile sector needs to look to boost exports by producing quality products to survive the current recession, a major industry conference has been told. Brazilian textile and yarns makers must invest, innovate and globalise if they want to ride out the recession, said the majority of speakers addressing the International ABIT Congress, organised by the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (ABIT – Associação Brasileira da Indústria Têxtil e de Confecção), staged in São Paulo on June 1 and 2.…

THE CHINESE government is upset that the USA has demanded that a World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel probes whether it has complied with an earlier 2013 order to reform China’s anti-dumping and countervailing duties on American broiler chicken product exports.…

THE UK’s vote last Thursday (June 23) to quit the European Union (EU) creates deep uncertainty over the shape of future nuclear industry regulations in Britain. The same applies to EU market access for British nuclear fuel and component companies or exporters from the rest of the EU wanting to target British nuclear operators.…

JAPAN’S probiotic product specialist Yakult Honsha Co Ltd has told just-food that it plans to launch a production facility by 2017 on the outskirts of Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon.

The company has already set up a subsidiary to operate Myanmar work (in 2015), where it wants to tap into growing local demand for dairy products.…

Japanese international trading house Marubeni Corp has teamed up with clothing and textile management consultants Werner International, of the USA, in rehabilitating a textiles factory in Angola to produce denim and knitwear products. The move is part of a long term plan by the Angolan government to restore its clothing and textile sector, which was severely damaged by the country’s civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 2002.…

THE PRINCIPLES of preventing multinationals shifting profits to low tax jurisdictions and hiding revenues through opaque and complex company structures have been welcomed, and have grabbed big headlines.

But the ability of tax administrations to achieve these goals, in cooperation with accountants and auditors, will depend on detailed and transparent reporting systems, that enable tax offices to swap reports on multiple revenue flows that cross national borders.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament is calling on the European Union (EU) to set up a watchdog to oversee transactions with virtual currencies such as Bitcoin to prevent their use to fund terrorism. The call, in a May 26 resolution, comes as the bloc goes all out to close off funding sources for terrorists, notably Islamic State (IS), following the Paris and Brussels terror attacks:

*A draft EU directive on combating terrorism – currently on the negotiating table – would make it a crime across the EU to fund terrorism directly or indirectly, including paying for fighters to travel;

*A November 2015 decision at the EU Council of Ministers for justice and home affairs ordered the establishment of a European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC) at Europol on January 1, to be “an enhanced central information hub” where member states car share information for operational coordination.…

In 2015, North America’s manufacturing capacity for nonwovens (regarding the United States, Canada and Mexico) grew from 2014 by 2.4% to reach about 2.77 million tonnes, according to a spokesperson for the US-based Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA). The United States dominates supplies in the region, making up 91% of capacity.…

INDONESIAN consumers are becoming increasingly brand-savvy as their incomes surge, driving up the country’s body care product market. As of 2015, this retail segment generated USD169.41 million in sales, and is expected to reach USD245.09 million by 2020, according to Ghina Romani, a researcher with the London-based market intelligence company Canadean.…

Seizures of contraband cosmetics have become an increasingly common sight on local TV in China. A recent case in point (this March – 2016) saw 1,488 boxes of South Korean cosmetics seized from a forty-foot container in the east coast port city of Qinhuangdao, about 300km east of Beijing.…

Indonesia’s mosquito net industry is facing high demand due to the growing number of middle class consumers in the country and their increasing desire to live a more natural lifestyle, according to Citra Maya, an Indonesian mosquito net supplier.

Arif Novianto, a marketing manager at Citra Maya, told WTiN.com…

Russia and Turkmenistan have discussed selling an increased level of textile and cotton products from this central Asian country on the Russian market, according to a report from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.

At a high-level meeting in March between the chamber’s vice-president Alexander Rybakov, and the Turkmen ambassador to Russia, Berdymurad Redzhepov, the two countries raised the prospect of greater cotton exports.…

As the European Union (EU) dairy industry continues to face challenges, it is calling for EU institutions and member governments to have a greater focus on resolving Russia’s ban on EU agricultural goods, while continuing to open up new markets. In the meantime, the Russian ban has not helped an oversupply problem that is depressing prices.…

INDONESIAN consumers are becoming increasingly brand-savvy as their incomes surge, driving up the country’s body care product market. As of 2015, this retail segment generated USD169.41 million in sales, and is expected to reach USD245.09 million by 2020, according to Ghina Romani, a researcher with the London-based market intelligence company Canadean.…

ITALY’s parallel Cosmoprof and Cosmopack shows always push quality in key aspects of the personal care product industry and its 2016 edition was all about precision, personalisation, portable beauty and high-tech beauty solutions

An innovative new beauty product presented at this year’s 49^th edition of the international beauty trade show, Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna [March 18-21, 2016] proves that, like smart-fashion, the cosmetics and personal care sector is ready for portable technology.…

Japan’s struggles with an ageing and declining population have been a frequent sources of angst for many sectors of the national economy in recent years, not least the cosmetics and personal care products industry. And while its domestic sales maintained moderate growth in the three years from 2012, there has been concern about the plateau that Japanese consumers would inevitably reach and the decline that would follow.…

Japan’s struggles with an ageing and declining population have been a frequent sources of angst for many sectors of the national economy in recent years, not least the cosmetics and personal care products industry. And while its domestic sales maintained moderate growth in the three years from 2012, there has been concern about the plateau that Japanese consumers would inevitably reach and the decline that would follow.…

INNOVATIVE ways of powering trains are poised for mainstream use in the global transport industry. Today, the most common trains are still those powered by diesel engines, but there is a continuing shift towards electricity and alternative power sources.

“With rail expected to play an increasingly important role in future transport systems…there is a lot of focus on how it should be more energy efficient,” said Andrew Foulkes, a communications manager at Ricardo Rail, a UK-based railway engineering and consultancy firm.…

How to remain competitive in the face of falling meat consumption is the main challenge facing the meat and livestock industry today, Pekka Pesonen, secretary general of European Union (EU) farmers’ organisation Copa-Cogeca, has told GlobalMeatNews.

In an exclusive interview held as the EU body launched its #livestockcounts #enjoyagrifood campaign, promoting quality European meat consumption, Pesonen said: “We must ensure the added value of eating high quality meat as part of a balanced diet is communicated effectively to the consumer.”…

New Zealand’s butter producers may be a global force in this key dairy segment, but they have regarded the groundbreaking Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement with scepticism. Negotiations for the TPP produced a deal last October (2015), and although New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra and the DairyNZ producers association declared they had secured increased access to some key markets – Japan, Canada and the United States all increased butter quotas to varying degrees – there was general agreement that the gains had been modest.…

Bangladesh’s GPH Ispat Ltd has announced it is building a major integrated steel plant in south-eastern Chittagong city, as the country’s steel sector continues to develop its billet production capacity. The company says is expecting robust demand for long products and billets enabling their production as the Bangladesh government responds to continuing economic growth by financing public infrastructure projects.  …

THE VIETNAMESE textile industry and government is planning to overcome poor productivity and a serious shortage of textile and dyeing materials to better leverage Vietnam’s inclusion in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.

According to an estimation by the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), Vietnam will need up to USD15 billion’s investment to bring its mills and dyeing houses to a point where local textile sourcing can facilitate compliance with the TPP’s rules of origins, as regards domestic sourcing.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced that it will negotiate new bilateral aviation safety agreements for European Union (EU), with China and Japan. The EU already has struck such deals with the USA, Canada and Brazil. They involve cooperation over airport and air traffic management safety, plus testing and maintenance of aeronautical components, ensuring safe air operations and flight crew licensing.…

Airless packaging producers around the world are increasingly giving brands a cutting edge in market competitiveness – the technology is spreading in North America, Asia and Europe, although it is struggling to find footholds in Latin America.

In the most mature airless packaging markets within north America and Europe, companies have introduced innovations combining airless technology’s protection of product with extra features that allow, for example, more precise application and help brands with customisation.…

With the desire for packaging beauty being an integral part of north-east Asian consumer culture, it is perhaps no surprise that Japanese and South Korean cosmetics companies have led the way with compacts – whose popularity is spreading worldwide.

The ultimate combination of utility and design, when Japanese cosmetics companies start developing a new compact product, its packaging needs to meet two basic requirements: it has to delight the user with the way it looks, and it must be easy and convenient to use.…

Rising affluence, together with growth across feeder industries are translating into solid results for the Indonesian coatings sector. The paints and varnishes market in the country generated sales of Indonesian Rupiah IDR24,733 billion (USD1.9 billion) in 2014 according to the latest data available from market researcher Euromonitor International.…

Almost certainly the vast majority of UK-based Japanese-owned businesses want Britain to stay in the European Union (EU) after the in-out EU membership referendum planned for June 23.

However, few companies have stated this publicly and no Japanese company has yet said it would move elsewhere if there was a vote to leave.…

The 2016 outlook for the US paints and coatings industry remains positive, with experts predicting growth thanks to a resilient US economy, a strong performance by the manufacturing industry, and notable new trade agreements.

According to IBISWorld, a global market research company, the US paints and coatings industry bounced back quickly from the financial economic crisis beginning in 2008.…

THE UNITED Arab Emirates’ (UAE) fragrance retail market (unisex and those targeted at female and male consumers) experienced healthy growth in 2015 compared to 2014, increasing 8% in value terms to reach Emirati Dirham AED2.23 billion (USD607.2 million), according to market researchers Euromonitor International.…

ONCE clothing sourcing was all about China. No longer. Recent years have seen a continuous decline in China’s export industry, especially in labour-intensive sectors such as clothing and shoe manufacturing, because of rising labour costs and an appreciating Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY or RMB).…

SPECIAL trade access to developed countries is always a boon to emerging market suppliers, and the European Union’s (EU) GSP+ system is especially sought after, and – noted a recent European Commission report – widely utilised.

GSP+ suspends EU duties on 66% of EU tariff lines, while for standard GSP, these same duties are merely reduced.…

THE INDIAN government’s decision to increase its available subsidies to help companies purchase new textile machinery from 10% to 15% will boost the investment in the country’s technical textile sector, which has been struggling to build big capacities.

Under the ‘Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS)’, from January 14 (2016), a producer of technical textiles can avail itself of up to USD4.5 million as capital investment subsidy.…

Boxes are not known for their excitement, but personal care product companies are making secondary packaging more alluring by designing them to give consumers an enticing glimpse of the goods inside. They are also using their collective imaginations to create aesthetically desirable mixes of different materials and textures, maybe combining these with visually arresting spatial design.…

Chinese tourism is changing the locations where cosmetics are sold internationally – and also changing how corporations are marketing to a savvier and better travelled breed of Chinese consumers, according to a detailed research report by a Hong Kong investment bank.…

Australian and New Zealand confectionery and ice cream manufacturers have been broadly supportive of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that was finalised towards the end of 2015, recognising the potential for securing export sales in lucrative Asian markets. That said, there is some caution, given the TPP delivers more potential for America’s juggernaut of a confectionery sector to roll into local stores.…

MANUFACTURERS of powder coatings in Asia are creating multiple applications products, such as combined fire retardants and anti-bacterial materials, whilst looking to maximise the use of sustainable ingredients. Producers in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea especially continue to produce innovative solutions.…

Changing management styles is key the success of corporate gender diversity initiatives in the Gulf region and elsewhere, participants of a recent networking breakfast hosted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) have concurred.

Entitled ‘Lead the Change: increasing gender diversity to boost performance’, the event was held on February 7 at the Shangri-La Dubai hotel and was attended by more than 60 CFOs and senior finance professionals.…

Automotive industry experts seem to agree – past concerns that tough environmental laws could force auto-manufacturing from a green jurisdiction to a country or region with laxer controls, no longer see to apply.

In doing so, industry specialists are backing the conclusions of a new report from the world’s largest think-tank, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD), which said following tighter environmental rules can be good business.…

THE PAKISTAN government has unveiled a new five-year industrial plan aimed at growing the country’s automotive manufacturing sector. The government says it will waive import duties on materials and technology needed to establish new auto plants in Pakistan and also reduce import duties charged on auto parts once these factories are operational.…

Free trade agreements with the United States and Europe are essential if the Indonesian textile market is to flourish and compete with strong regional rivals, according to analysts and sector leaders.

The Indonesian government has said it wants to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement agreed by 12 Pacific Rim countries last October (2015).…

THE MYANMAR government is pushing ahead with developing a textile and clothing industry hub at Myawaddy, just over the border from key Thailand manufacturing zone Mae Sot, which has prospered from access to cheap Burmese labour and Thai tax breaks.

This has long annoyed Myanmar government officials, who decided they wanted to build an industrial zone on their side of the border.…

A report released yesterday (Mar 10) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) has advised textile manufacturers to support government efforts to tighten environmental rules, saying they are unlikely to cause a loss of business.

The report is an attempt to dispel the widely-held view that tighter environmental rules increase costs and damages business – especially in emerging market manufacturing hubs.…

A new bid by the European Union (EU) to open up public procurement contracts in world markets to all competitors has run into immediate trouble in the textiles sector where the US industry has launched a swift and forceful (though hardly unexpected) rejection of the idea.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission is incorporating the latest guidance from the European auto industry into its plan for rolling-out connected cars across the European Union (EU), drawing on advice from manufacturers favouring swift, coordinated deployment. A key, stressed a report published in January by the Commission, the EU’s executive, is for the installation of ‘cooperative intelligent transport systems’ (C-ITS) allowing vehicles to communicate with other vehicles, other road users, traffic signals and roadside infrastructure.…

Bangladesh’s imports of scrap metal has risen sharply as local steel millers turn to billet production, bolstering supplies encouraged by growing demand for finished products, Steel First has learnt.

Industry insiders said the south Asian nation imported around 1.5 million tonnes of steel and iron scrap in 2015 and estimates suggest that annual imports could surge to around 2.5 million tonnes by the end of this year.…

JAPANESE development agencies are working to increase the level of textile imports sourced from Pakistan. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), based in Yokohama, is presently in discussions with the government of Pakistan about ways in which Japanese overseas development aid might be best put to use to assist this sector – of critical importance to the overall Pakistani economy.…

CHINA’S central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBC), has issued a new anti-money laundering and terror finance reporting requirements for all financial institutions inside the country. The rules come into force July 1. They cover banks, brokers, foreign exchange, online and mobile payment systems and insurance companies, who will have to file reports to the central bank, via their headquarters or via representative institutions, if a client requires daily cash transactions exceeding Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY50,000 (USD7,261) or a larger amount of USD10,000’s worth in foreign currency.…

MILLENNIAL CONSUMERS ARE SHAKING UP INDIAN MARKET

The emergence of the millennial generation – those born between 1980 and the early 2000’s – is going to drive how consumption, including that of food, takes place in India, according to retail and manufacturing heads at the India Food Forum, which was held in Mumbai between January 19 and 21.…

THE NUMBER of mainland Chinese tourists visiting Hong Kong and Macao is set to fall sharply, and while Chinese travellers are becoming more enamoured with longer-haul destinations such as Australia and the US, worries over safety is weakening demand for visiting France.…

A MINIATURE schnauzer embarrassed baggage screeners at Hong Kong International Airport and New Chitose Airport, Sapporo, Japan, passing undetected on and off an international flight, hidden in a suitcase. The dog’s Hong Kong owner claimed that his pet had hopped covertly into unattended baggage at home, covering itself with clothes.…

Bangladesh’s top textiles makers are racing against time to alter the way they print fabric. The reason is simple: go digital or risk losing a competitive edge.

Vertically integrated textile manufacturing major Noman Group told Digital Textile that it is carefully considering digital textile investments.…

Five years since the start of the Arab uprisings in 2011, instability is still impacting cosmetics sales in the Levant and north Africa. Last year saw a slight improvement on overall sales in 2014, the year the Islamic State spread through northern Iraq and Syria, but figures are down on 2013, and the growth projected in 2010, according to figures from market researcher Euromonitor International and estimates from cosmetics companies.…

PRIVATE label brands for cosmetics and personal care products are attracting consumers with an increasingly wide range of offerings that stress their value-added nature, as well as affordable prices. Reflecting private labels’ innate reliance on quality and function rather than image, manufacturers supplying these products have been especially focusing on using scents to add value, from traditional florals to more adventurous notes.…

European cosmetics companies have applauded the decision by the Japanese government to abolish from January 1 import notifications on cosmetics and quasi-drugs as “great progress.”

The changes announced by Japan’s ministry of health labour and welfare have come after many years of pressure for change, notably by the European Business Council in Japan (EBC),, whose member companies say the new rules will “significantly simplify import procedures”.…

WHILE Russia has signed an agreement deal to build a nuclear power plant (NPP) in Egypt, a move that would give the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region its only NPP with third generation plus technology, significant obstacles remain before operations could be launched.…

Many eyes are trained on the Jiading district people’s court in Shanghai this week, which is due to deliver a verdict in the trial of staff from two subsidiaries of the OSI Group LLC, the Illinois-based US meat firm that is a major meat supplier in China.…

Japan’s Consumer Safety Investigation Commission has called on the government to require medicine manufacturers to introduce child-resistant packaging. In a report to the country’s ministry of health, labour and welfare, the commission stressed the risks posed by young children’s tendency to put things into their mouths.…

Innovative protective coatings have always been marked on their ability to deliver a function with excellence. However, there is real marketing gold where companies can demonstrate that coatings deliver a range of protective functions at the same time, such as waterproofing, insulating, and protecting aesthetics.…

MANY garment manufacturers in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) block will have to cope with raises to the minimum wages in 2016. The move comes as ASEAN launches its Economic Community (ASEAN EC) on December 31, easing labour movement across the region.…

If the 2013 and 2014 were all about the rise of South Korean personal care product brands in China, then 2015 was the year that regional currency wars and weaker economic sentiment at home dictated how Chinese consumers spent on cosmetics and toiletries.…

IT has been a tough year for China’s growing economy, which has experienced some unexpected faltering in 2015, but facial care product sales have continued to surge ahead.

Retailers of these products have posted strong and sustained growth rates, increasing by 8% in the whole of 2014 to Chinese Yuan Renminbi – CNY142 billion (USD22.1 billion) and are estimated to have grown by another 10.2% in 2015, to CNY (also known as RMB) 156.4 billion, according to market researcher Euromonitor International.…

The rise of hipsters and the appeal of the bearded lumberjack look, dubbed ‘lumbersexual’, in recent years has led to a rapid growth in beard and moustache care products sector worldwide. Specialty products such as beard oil and conditioners, as well as tools such as beard brushes, have become necessities for many men with facial hair.…

NANOTECHNOLOGY can deliver impressive new functionality to personal care products, but with health risks still unclear, regulators and researchers are developing new testing methods to underpin monitoring and controls.

The European Union (EU) especially is seeking alternatives methods to animal testing to determine the safety of nanomaterials in cosmetics products.…

THE CHINESE government has told a meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body that it has complied with WTO rulings last August (2014) telling it to remove export duties and export quotas of rare earths. However, US diplomats told the meeting Washington was sceptical that China had properly liberalised trade in these critically important industrial minerals.…

Japan’s Kobe Steel’s (Kobelco) has entered the Bangladesh market as it aims to gain a toehold in the south Asian nation’s growing shipbuilding sector, focusing on high titanium oxide-based welding rods designed to connect mild steel sheets. The third-largest steel maker in Japan, annual revenues of USD16 billion has already delivered 100 tonnes of welding electrodes, which will be marketed among shipbuilders by its local partner TSI Marine Ltd.…

Uruguay’s meat exports are rising, with growing production, aggressive promotions and wide access to global markets boosting sales despite a slump in Russian sales. Exports of offal, meat and byproducts increased 8.2% to USD659 million in the year through May 9, compared with USD609 million year-on-year and rose 16% in volume terms to 171,401 tonnes from 147,868 tonnes over the same period, according to the country’s National Institute of Meat (INAC – Instituto Nacional de Carnes).…

Although the final details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement have yet to be agreed, it is all but certain that the TPP’s free-tariff treatment for Vietnamese garments will see substantial amounts of yarn being shipped from US textile mills to garment factories in Vietnam, with the resulting clothing returning to the USA as finished ‘Made in Vietnam’ products.…

European Union (EU) beef farmers have called for help finding new markets to make up for the loss of exports to Russia in the wake of the crisis over Ukraine.
Jean Pierre Fleury, chairman of EU farm and livestock producer association Copa-Cogeca’s beef working party, has issued a plea to the European Commission, calling on it “to take urgent action to improve the EU beef market situation.”…

Myanmar has set a target for garment export earnings at USD2 billion for the 2015-16 fiscal year. “Myanmar’s export volume last year was USD1.46 billion – however we are yet to receive data from Germany and Latin America. Our expectation is that when we do, it will stand at USD1.5 billion,” said U Myint Soe, chairman of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA).…

Sustainability improvements in the Asian outsourced clothing and textile sector are far from being the sole preserve of China. In Cambodia, Tonlé, a sustainable garment-making firm based in Phnom Penh, obtains 90% of its fabric from factory cut-out and 10% through sustainable suppliers to make a zero-waste clothing line.…

THE INDIAN hair care market – estimated at being worth Indian Rupees INR152 billion (USD 2.3 billion) in 2013-14 (Source: Madras Consultancy Group) is growing, through the young and thriving Indian middle class, a general retail boom and cosmetics and personal care product marketers targeting smaller towns and rural areas.…

Following a period of recession-induced stagnation, business in the US body care product industry is back with a vengeance. Driven by a combination of seasonal and demographic factors, Americans spent just over USD2.9 billion, USD9.23 per person, on body care products in 2014.…

A WIDE range of flavouring innovations continue to emerge in the global confectionery and sweet bakery industry as brands look to differentiate themselves with new formulations, unusual concepts, and novel natural products. Speaking to Confectionery Production, Lindsey Bagley, a UK-based technical consultant to the global food industry, observed that extensive research is taking place in the flavouring industry.…

THE MONETARY Authority of Singapore (MAS) has published a system for identifying and supervising domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs) in Singapore. The authority has also released an inaugural list, including the DBS Bank; the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation; the United Overseas Bank; Citibank; the Malayan Banking Berhad; the Standard Chartered Bank; and the HSBC.…

Vietnam held its annual Vietnam Saigon Textile & Industry Expo in combination with the Vietnam Saigon Garment & Accessories Machinery Expo from April 9-12, the double event serving as a barometer for the sectors’ high expectations about the country joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.…

A SPECIALIST silk organisation is working to keep alive the traditional process of Cambodia Ikat silk dyeing. It involves yarns being tied into segments and dyed separately – using all natural dyes before hand-weaving these into patterned fabric. The process, said Seila Polham, the founder of Khmer Artisanry, is “complicated and time consuming” – but it is what sets this traditional segment of textiles in Cambodia apart from machine-produced chemical dyed silk widely available in the market.…

MYANMAR will soon be importing more high quality pork and beef products following discussions in March between Myanmar’s Meat Industry Board and representatives of meat producers from the United States, Japan and Brazil, the Meat Industry Board (MIB) told globalmeatnews.com.
High quality meats have been imported to Myanmar in low quantities in the past, said U Win Sein, vice-chairperson of the Myanmar Livestock Federation.…

THE POLISH, Scottish, Austrian and Belgian meat sectors are significant winners in the latest announcement of European Union (EU) marketing financing designed to help food companies seize more sales within and outside the EU.
They will benefit from multi-million Euro sales and marketing programmes, 50% funded by the EU, announced yesterday (Tues April 21).…

AUSTRALIA’s push to re-define its agricultural produce under a unified name -‘True Aussie’ that signifies products are clean, green and safe – is helping the countries meat exporters, claim industry leaders.
In Japan alone 50% of Australian beef packs sold at retail now carry this logo, Meat and Livestock Australia International Business Manager in Japan, Andrew Cox told GlobalMeatNews.…

After years of strong economic growth, salaries of Chinese clothing makers have increased, resulting in more expensive Chinese textiles and clothing manufacturing. But while cheaper outsourcing locations such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and India have picked up the slack, experts both in China and abroad have yet to buy into the notion that garment production is dramatically shifting out of China.…

Changing textile and other input suppliers may be fraught with difficulties, but it is key to the role of any clothing buyer.
“It can be extremely difficult,” said Emma Wilson, buyer for UK-based specialist sourcing agency Smartway. “There are issues such as quality, lead-times and monitoring the supplier.”…

TOWNS of the future – efficient, energy-neutral, safe and truly communal – may look a lot like the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (SST), in Japan. Energy World had the opportunity to tour this pioneering project, located 30 miles (48 kilometres) south of central Tokyo.…

EXPORTERS of liquid milk and associated products to the European Union (EU) will have to work harder to secure sales in future from April 1, with the EU finally scrapping its production quotas from that date. They may also have to fend off new tough competition from EU exporters in their domestic markets.…

THE PERSONAL care product sector in the European Union (EU) has had to work hard to comply with the 2012 biocidal products regulation, which will have significant implications for the use of preservatives in cosmetics. Manufacturers of biocidal products need to be have their active ingredients registered for assessment by September 1 (2015) for them to be used in the EU.…

In the highly competitive global lollipops market, manufacturers are creating innovative additions to this traditional confectionery to attract consumers with innovative designs attempting to generate an emotional response to these products. Around the world, lollipop manufacturers are tailoring shapes and designs to match seasonal holiday images; incorporating glow-in-the-dark features; and combining confectionery items such as lollipops and gum.…

China’s approval of meat imports from eight Mexican production plants has been welcomed by the Mexican and Chinese meat sectors. According to reports from China’s ministry of commerce, six exporters given the green light produce pork meat: Sonora Agropecuaria, Frigorifico Agropecuaria Sonorense (slaughter facility), Frigorifico Agropecuaria Sonorense (packhouse), Frigorifico Kowi, Alimentos Grole, and Grupo Porcicola Mexicano.…

Tokyo-based Mayekawa Manufacturing Co is in talks with officials of India’s Andhra Pradesh state government to bring Japanese technology to the state’s large poultry industry. N. Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, visited Japan in November and met with representatives of Japan’s largest poultry processing machinery manufacturer.…

EUROPEAN cigarette smuggling has evolved and diversified over the past ten years, and international cooperation is often the best way to counter them, argue European Union (EU) anti-fraud officials. Meanwhile, the tobacco industry has accepted that liaising with these initiatives does bring benefits.…

User-friendly, energy-neutral, efficient and truly communal with innovative transport systems, towns of the future may look a lot like the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (SST).
The pioneering project, located 30 miles south of central Tokyo, next to the established town of Fujisawa is the brainchild of the Panasonic Corporation and 17 companies keen to test their cutting-edge technologies in transportation, energy, construction, security and utilities.…

GERMAN-made automobiles were the largest source of reports regarding potentially dangerous motor vehicles made to the European Union’s (EU) RAPEX consumer alert network in 2014, analysis of its data shows.
There were 194 notifications to the system relating to automobiles and parts last year, the fourth largest category following toys (650), clothing and textiles (530) and electrical appliances (217).…

A leading industry figure in a Turkish province that specialises in home textiles claims that its manufacturers are shaking off the challenge posed by foreign competitors and are ready to seize export sales.
Speaking to WTiN.com, İsa Dal, chairman of the Denizli Textile and Clothing Manufacturers Association (DETGIS), said that his sector in Denizli, western Anatolia, has been expanding.…

CAMBODIA’S paint and coating sector is experiencing robust growth according to leading companies, making strong sales to a booming construction industry, which flourished in 2014. Rising urban incomes, a flourishing tourism industry, foreign investment in condominiums, and Chinese and Japanese inward investment in light manufacturing have all contributed to this growth.…

SOUTH Korea’s personal care product industry is credited with developing the sheet mask, a facial covering made from microfiber, paper or hydrogel, impregnated with skincare products – and this delivery method is still popular with Korean consumers.
Indeed, in South Korea, spending on sheet masks grew 11.6% in 2014 to South Korean Won KRW80 billion (USD72.34 million), following a 9.3% decrease in spending in 2013.…

COSMETICS and personal care product packagers are creating innovative designs to attract consumers, using labelling and decoration that appeals to multiple senses. Packagers have also faced challenges related to selling products online, developing new strategies to convey the same appeal and information to consumers from a web page as on the shelf.…

Right in the middle of Taiwan’s sprawling capital Taipei lies Taipei Songshan Airport, a 400-hectare facility launched by Taiwan’s erstwhile colonial master Japan in the 1930s. The airport is comprised of a civilian sector and an air force base, the civilian sector serving domestic flights, including to Taiwan’s outlying islands, as well as airports on several mainland Chinese cities, including Shanghai’s Pudong, in addition to Tokyo’s Haneda, Seoul’s Gimpo and Vietnam’s Tân Sơn Nhất airport, in Ho Chi Minh City.…

For more than a decade, smart coatings have been on the cusp of revolutionising much of the way in which paint industry goes about its business. The number of products that have made it from the lab to the open market remains relatively few, but growing.…

AN INTERNATIONAL regulatory cooperation pilot involving medicine regulators sharing real time assessments about generic medicines is now in full flow. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is leading the initiative, building on the European Union’s (EU) experience of cooperation between national regulators.…

IN the highly competitive cosmetics and personal care market, producers of secondary packaging are creating ever more advanced, innovative shapes and decorations to attract consumers. Whether it conveys a message of sustainability, luxury, or simplicity – secondary packaging continues to play a crucial role, often communicating multiple ideas and emotions to consumers in an instant.…

TOILETRIES sales in the Arab Gulf countries remain robust, an oasis of economic and political stability in a turbulent Middle East. Elsewhere in the region, the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and the rise of the Islamic State, has seen toiletries sales plummet.…

Japan’s confectionery manufacturers have a reputation for being creative when it comes to new product lines, and when it comes to bubble gum and chewing gums, companies will need all the innovation they can manage. Domestic sales in the segment have been falling sharply.…

With 685 million wet pounds of coatings sold for USD730 million in 2013, the Vietnam market consumed only a tiny fraction of Asia-Pacific region’s total of 36 billion wet pounds sold for USD50 billion that year, according to Kusumgar, Nerlfi & Growney, Inc, a New Jersey, USA-based consulting firm for the polymer and chemical industries.…

The Chinese government is tightening its controls on the movement of money abroad as the liberalisation of the Chinese Yuan Renminbi is expected to trigger a rush of money from the country, especially from China’s wealthy.

Some of China’s big spenders are reverting to big ticket purchases to get money out of the country.…

Japan’s pork industry remains resolutely opposed to its national government watering down tariffs in discussions with the United States on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal, warning that revising the existing system will “destroy” the domestic industry.

A spokesman for the Japan Pork Producers’ Association confirmed that the industry will continue to lobby the government to retain the protective tariffs that domestically raised pork enjoys at present.…

STAGNATION in international air freight traffic is not good news for the world economy, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development’s (OECD) International Transport Forum.

This ‘ITF Transport Outlook 2015’ noted that air freight tonnes transported to and from the EU and the United States declined strongly after the shock of 2008, then rebounded quickly reaching pre-crisis peak by early 2010.…

JAPAN’S textile sector, including technical textiles, has long enjoyed a reputation for producing innovative and high-quality products that meet – and surpass – consumers’ needs. Over the years, companies from across the industry, ranging from low-tech spinning operations to the manufacturers of cutting-edge technical textiles, have invested heavily in their research and development divisions and their personnel to stay ahead of the competition.…

AS concerns continue to emerge about the extent to which common security measures such as passwords can be breached, biometrics are gaining attention across a range of services and law enforcement teams preventing fraud.

Isabelle Moeller, CEO of the London and Sydney-based Biometrics Institute, stressed to Fraud Intelligence that “biometric authentication has the potential to ease the burden of security given its simplicity and usability, particularly when compared to username and password.…

THE SOUTH Korean cosmetics sector is hoping that a new bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) struck between its country and China in November will ease sales of their products into the world’s largest market.

This is despite the fact that the deal did not make much headway in reducing Chinese duties, given the FTA leaves cosmetics in a ‘hyper-sensitive goods’ category for Beijing.…

IF there is one market where extra Christmas and New Year book sales are really needed, yet are never made in large numbers, it is Japan. An estimated 700 million books were sold in Japan in 2014, a decline of around 4% on the previous year, continuing a gradual decline in sales.…

ASIAN domestic coatings markets are sharply diverse, in terms of economic development, climate and cultural preferences, but if there is one trend that unites them at present, it is the growing demand for waterborne paints.

In Japan, sales of waterborne paints have risen, while total shipments of paints from Japanese manufacturers has fallen: down from nearly 2.4 million tonnes in the early 1990s, Japanese paint producers shipped 1.53 million tonnes in 2013 –  the most recent full year for which figures are available, according to the Japan Paint Manufacturers Association (JPMA).…

Malaysia’s finance ministry has released a comprehensive plan to boost the strength of the accountancy profession in the country. Drafted by a special committee to strengthen the accountancy profession (CSAP), the policy is designed to ensure Malaysia has sufficient numbers of professional accountants and reform the profession’s governance.…

BEEF producers in Uruguay are emerging as the most progressive and successful in Latin America with a universal system for electronically tracking cattle and a continued surge in exports.

The country’s accumulated exports of beef products for 2014 (up to December 6) reached 229,907 tonnes – an increase of 5,750 tonnes compared to the same period in 2013, according to the National Meat Institute (Instituto Nacional de Carnes – INAC), which monitors and promotes the meat industry.…

US meat exporters are to launch inexpensive cuts of American corn-fed beef in the Taiwanese market, with demand for premium products being depressed by soaring prices for American beef, accompanied by lacklustre consumer spending power on the island. The US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) recently partnered with a Taipei five-star hotel to promote plate fingers, petite tenders, and clod hearts, which with prices between Taiwan New Dollars TWD250 (USD7.91) to TWD550 (USD17.41) per kilogramme would roughly cost half the price of the currently popular rib eye, fillet, and boneless ribs.…

CHINA’S huge cosmetics market remains a battleground for the world’s multinational personal care product players and they are still more than holding their own against local manufacturers and brands, especially in higher end segments.

The country’s overall cosmetics and personal care product market was worth Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY274 billion (USD44 billion) in 2013, according to data provided by market analysts Euromonitor International.…

The Japan Dairy Association has welcomed a combined Japan government and dairy industry move to tackle a national butter shortage ahead of the Christmas and New Year holiday period. Megmilk Snow Brand Co, Meiji C, Morinaga Milk Industry Co, and Yotsuba Milk Products Co – Japan’s four major domestic dairy companies – are cutting back on drinking milk and cream production to make more butter.…

ADAPTIVE licensing methods such as that proposed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are indeed useful in the development of medicines for rare diseases, Martin Andrews, the senior vice-president at GSK Rare Diseases, has told the World Orphan Drugs Congress 2014.…

The Middle East and North African nonwovens sector is in flux. At the same time as extra capacity has come online, regional demand has been affected by political instability, forcing manufacturers to focus on exports and diversify their offerings.

“It is showing clearly now that the Arab Spring and political consequences have definitely delayed investment decisions by potential customers.…

The mainland Chinese bathroom product market has in 2013 grown in value and volume at healthy year-on-year rates of 12.8% and 8.6% to USD2.7 billion and 3.06 billion units respectively. Canadean, the market research company producing these figures, attributes growing per capita consumption to rising incomes as well as the increased availability of products.…

Consumers in Japan are notoriously fickle and constantly in search of the next greatest product – and in a nation that takes its food very seriously, that applies doubly to the confectionery sector.

Sales of ice cream have been strong in recent years and continue to grow, although chocolate confectionery sales came to Japanese Yen JPY342 billion (USD2.95 billion) in the calendar year 2013, a minor contraction on the previous year – blamed on poor weather during the traditionally busy summer months.…

DOCUMENTS obtained by Confectionery Production from the European Union (EU) indicate that Ukraine has lost up to USD126 million’s worth of confectionery export sales to Russia this year, because of Russian trade restrictions.
EU briefing papers note that Ukraine has been complaining to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since October 2013 about alleged “unjustified barriers to trade caused by the measures of the Russian Federation, in particular, on Ukrainian confectionery products.”…

AS companies and government organisations implement more stringent fraud detection programmes, they are recruiting the best and brightest anti-fraud experts. Universities in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia are responding to demand for anti-fraud expertise by offering fraud prevention classes in accounting, criminology, and business degrees.…

The all-electric version of Nissan Motor Co’s NV200 mid-size van has been launched in the Japanese market, with executives expressing optimism about sales, even though manufacturing will be based at Nissan’s Barcelona, Spain, plant.  

This is to bring supplies close to the large European market, but Takao Katagiri, the company’s executive vice president, has said he is confident that the e-NV200 will quickly command niche sales in Japan.…

GUIDANCE has been released to European Union (EU) pharma companies to help them assess and control the emergence of mutagenic impurities in medicines that could help cause cancer.

This advice was original developed by the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH), which also advises regulators in Japan and the USA, and has been assessed and released in the EU by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).  …

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to work with the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to help south Asian nations slow the spread of livestock diseases.

In India, livestock sector losses from foot-and-mouth disease alone are estimated at around USD4.5 billion a year, according to the ADB.…

AMERICAN pigmeat analysts have conformed to globalmeatnews.com that the recovery in US pork production will be sustained, with the pigmeat industry recovering strongly from the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) outbreak.

The comments come after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasted earlier this month that American commercial pork production was set to reach 23.9 billion pounds for the year ending September 2015, exceeding the country’s beef output for the first time after 62 years.…

THE AMERICAN government has complained of delays by the outgoing European Commission that leaves office on November 1 regarding the authorisation of new bio-tech food products and ingredients for use in the European Union (EU). In a strongly worded message to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) disputes settlement body, the US said that the EU had failed to leave decisions to regulatory committees acting on European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) advice.…

LIGNITE power station units are still being built and modernised in the European Union (EU), raising warnings from environmentalists that this could negate EU emissions controls. There are lignite projects in various stages of approval, planning or construction in Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Greece, and Slovenia, for instance.…

THE CONFECTIONERY and sweet bakery sector worldwide has benefited from technological development regarding sweeteners, but these new food technologies have had to undergo rigorous safety tests by food regulators.‏

Both the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) for the European Union (EU) and the USA’s Food & Drug Administration (FDA) have undertaken detailed assessments, amidst some public concern about their safety.‏…

Thailand’s paint and coating industry is facing a challenging time as its country grapples with economic and political difficulties. Thailand’s economic growth has slowed significantly over the last two years. GDP expanded by 6.6% in 2012, as the country recovered from the devastating floods of 2011, which hit northern, north-eastern and central Thailand, as well as parts of Bangkok.…

GROWTH in Sri Lanka’s paints and coatings sector is slowing down after years of rapid growth following the end of the civil war in May 2009. Producers are now facing greater competition and introducing innovations to attract new consumers.

Ruwan Weerasinghe, the secretary of the Paint Manufacturers Association of Sri Lanka, and director of Lankem Ceylon, which sells the popular paint brand Robbialac, said his company registered a 20% year-on-year growth after the war.…

The US, Germany, Britain and Switzerland are the only countries among 41 signatories to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development’s (OECD) 1997 Anti-Bribery Convention to vigorously investigate and prosecute firms that bribe foreign officials.

So says anti-corruption organisation Transparency International in the latest update of Exporting Corruption, its tenth such annual report, covering the years 2010 through 2013.…

WORKWEAR producers know that their products must be reliable. And one excellent way to demonstrate that is ensuring and declaring that their production and materials are in line with those recommended by national and international standards organisations.

In the competitive American market, development organisations such as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colourists (AATCC) constantly update workwear-related safety and testing standards. …

THE CLOSE relationship between the textile sectors of Vietnam and South Korea could be intensified by the end of the year, with the two countries’ governments saying they want to conclude a bilateral trade deal this year.

Talks have been ongoing since September 2012.…

Russia may ban imports of cars from the European Union (EU), the United States and maybe Japan if Brussels and Washington impose additional sanctions because of Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis.

An aide to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin told wardsauto that the Russian government would be especially monitoring a meeting of the EU Council of Ministers for foreign affairs on October 20.…

CHANGING demographic patterns in the domestic market are driving innovation at Japan’s largest producer of soy sauce and seasonings, while growing overseas demand means that the Kikkoman Corporation is actively looking to raise its international profile, according to Noriaki Horikiri, president and chief executive officer of the company.…

A second major food safety scandal in Taiwan within the past two months has prompted a call for the reform of existing certification systems. These involve food products and manufacturing being assessed for good manufacturing practice (GMP) and certified Taiwanese agricultural standards (CAS).…

THE STRENGTH and diversity of Bangladesh knitwear producers’ supply chains is one reason why this key outsourcing location is so popular with international brands. And indeed, attention to the supply chain is the mantra of Bangladesh knitwear boss Mohammed Abdul Jabbar.…

THE CATTLEMEN’S Beef Promotion and Research Board in the USA will spend USD10.5 million of its USD39 million investments planned for the fiscal year of October 1, 2014-2015 to promote beef sales in its domestic market.

The goal of this consumer information campaign is to “improve domestic preference for beef by educating consumers about things like beef safety, nutrition and health, convenience, taste and value,” the board’s communications manager Diane Henderson told globalmeatnews.com.…

THE TOBACCO sector and trade in the countries neighbouring Syria have been impacted by the flight of more than 3 million (some reports say 5 million) from its civil war. Due to the Syrian conflict, smuggling has increased to supply the Syrian market (still at least 17 million people), while the lack of governmental controls has promoted illicit sales in Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, while the influx of refugees has led to growth in lower priced legitimate cigarettes.…

Fast Retailing Co. has described media reports that it has committed to opening 100 Uniqlo stores across India as “premature and optimistic”.

In a statement released to just-style, the company said: “Uniqlo has no concrete plans for India, although we can confirm that our CEO met with the prime minister of India, both in India and during his visit to Japan.”…

JAPANESE electronics giant Hitachi is partnering Barclays Bank to trial finger vein pattern scanning for Barclays’ UK business customers to access online accounts starting 2015.

The Barclays Biometric Reader, incorporating Hitachi VeinID technology, lets customers scan a finger to access accounts and authorise payments without needing a personal identification number (PINs), password or authentication code.…

THE EUROPEAN meat market is not in crisis following the embargo imposed by Russia on meat from the European Union (EU), a European Commission expert has told globalmeatnews.com.

Looking at price levels and producers’ margins, Dr Kai-Uwe Sprenger, market officer for animal products at the European Commission’s directorate general (DG) for agriculture, said that there are no significant variations in these two areas so far.…

Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation has commenced test production of rare earth elements in its joint venture with Kazatomprom, the national atomic energy company of Kazakhstan.

In a statement sent to Industrial Minerals, a spokesperson for Sumitomo Corp, in Tokyo confirmed: “Currently, we are producing a small amount of rare earth materials on a trial basis since this June, and we are now making preparations to go into commercial production.”…

THE UNITED States is trying to come up with a tailor-made international marketing strategy to tap a bigger share of pork sales, now growing at an estimated 12% between 2013- 2018 globally, the country’s National Pork Board (NPB) vice president for strategic communication Kevin Waetke said.…

South Korea is a society that values image and status. It is said that looking good is a sign of your respect towards others. Men and women of all ages in the country typically place great emphasis upon looks; personal grooming and beauty routines are of utmost importance. …

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) scientific committee on consumer safety has concluded that the use of hydrolysed wheat proteins to make soaps and liquid soaps can be unsafe for consumers – causing sensitisation. However, following an extensive review of the problem, the committee has said it is safe to use hydrolysed wheat proteins as an ingredient for other personal care products.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) trade commissioner, Karel de Gucht, has welcomed the ruling by the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) appeal body against China’s restrictions of rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum exports.

This is “another milestone in the EU’s efforts to ensure fair access to much-needed raw materials for its industries,” he said in an Aug 7 statement of the European Commission.…

THE PRESIDENT of the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (TCMA) has said plans by the Japanese fashion giant Uniqlo to open a production office in Turkey later this year are another indication of Turkey’s popularity as a textiles and clothing sourcing hub.…

Two new textile machinery exhibitions due to be held in Turkey in October are expected to provide a significant boost to the country’s textile industry as it seeks to expand its range of machinery across its long textile and clothing supply chain.…

EXHIBITORS at this week’s trade show in Phnom Penh, the Cambodia International Textile & Garment Industry Exhibition, called on the country to diversify into textile manufacturing, knitwear, finishing and other supporting industries.

Cambodia’s USD5.5 billion garment industry is a mainstay of the country’s economy, accounting for some 80% of exports.…

Taiwan’s main airport, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, is to undergo a major expansion, increasing its annual passenger capacity from 32 million to 60 million by 2030. Located halfway between the capital Taipei and the island’s industrial heartland along its western coast, the airport is planned to become the centerpiece of the government’s highly ambitious Taoyuan Aerotropolis project, which with an estimated investment of Taiwan New Dollar TWD600 billion (USD20 billion).…

A potential bonanza of new projects may be offered to Chinese construction companies following the set-up of a new development bank with lots of cash for infrastructure projects. This July marked the launch of the so-called ‘BRICS Bank’, a new multilateral development bank, operated by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.…

SKIN whitening and anti-ageing products represent key growth segments for cosmetic manufacturers targeting expanding and increasingly integrated markets in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. Indeed, producers of these products are set to benefit from a single ASEAN port of entry when the fully integrated ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is launched next year (2015).…

Caribbean jurisdictions may be increasingly signing up to the requirements of America’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) but there is no great enthusiasm about it. Indeed, some bankers fear it could lead to a sharp fall in the region’s charms for investors.…

One consequence of the ageing population in many parts of the world is a significant increase in demand for nonwoven adult incontinence products, notably adult nappies. Indeed, in Japan, which has one of the most rapidly ageing populations, there have been reports of adult diaper sales exceeding those of babies for some manufacturers.…

VIETNAM’S production of powder coatings and liquid protective coatings has in the past been a small part of the country’s paint and coatings output – but foreign investment maybe about to change that. The country has around 80 coatings manufacturers, who have together manufactured a relatively meagre 30,870 tonnes of these specialist products, generating USD91 million’s worth of revenue in 2012, according to the most recent data made available by market researcher Frost & Sullivan.…

European Union (EU) meat production is projected to start growing in 2014, according to the European Commission, as Europe’s economic recovery solidifies. This could be up 0.7% year-on-year for beef, veal, pigmeat, poultry, sheep and goat meat. However, exports might fall for pigmeat and poultry, with Russian import bans especially causing problems for pigmeat.…

THE USA is a key market for Australian beef and lamb exports and its importance is growing: Australia’s beef exports by volume to America shooting up by 53% in the first half of 2014, [calendar year] compared with the same period in 2013” making America its largest beef export destination so far, Meat & Livestock Australia chief economist Tim McRae told globalmeatnews.com.…

Market dynamics are shifting east to west for the Canadian steel industry as demand from the country’s flourishing oil and gas industry outstrips traditional manufacturing.

Requiring CAD4 billion’s (USD3.76 billion) worth of steel annually, the country’s energy industry, overwhelmingly based in western Canada, currently represents more than a quarter of country’s demand for steel, which totals CAD14 billion (USD13.17 billion) annually, according to the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CPSA).…

The manufacture of nonwovens surgical gowns are offering Cambodia’s nascent non-wovens sector hope for growth,  in one of the world’s toughest garment and fabric export businesses. The problem for smaller emerging market countries such as Cambodia, experts from international non-wovens industry associations told WTiN.com…

EXHIBITORS at two key international textile and shoe exhibitions in Vietnam have spoken personally to WTiN.com on the value of investing time and money appearing at such shows.

The Vietnam International Exhibition on Garment Manufacturing Equipment and Fabric 2014 was organised concurrently with the International Shoes and Leather Exhibition 2014 in Ho Chi Minh City from July 16 to 18.…

INDIAN knitwear manufacturers are hoping for a major growth impetus because of industry-friendly policies being rolled out by the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government. “We are very optimistic about the new government,” Naval Saraf, proprietor of Super Knit Industries, a sock manufacturing company in Mumbai told Knitting International.…

COSMETICS and personal care product companies are increasingly looking to eco-friendly packaging to deliver green marketing as well as practical cost-saving advantages. Producers are seeking to raise consumers’ awareness of environmentally-sensitive products by using packaging materials such as wood and decoration such as reusable ribbons and scarves; encouraging thrift by offering refillable fragrance bottles; and saving costs by using lighter packaging materials, that can also be flagged as sustainable on labelling.…

THE MIDDLE East cosmetics market is weathering the region’s current political and economic instability in the region. While the markets in the Levant are experiencing tough times, Gulf sales continue to grow. Retailers and manufacturers are also offsetting the losses incurred in depressed and unstable countries by exporting to burgeoning African markets.…

THE EUROPEAN cosmetics industry should steer away from claiming its products are ‘free-of’ preservatives and other similar ingredients, which could give consumers the wrong impression, the annual conference organised by Cosmetics Europe in Brussels on 10-11 June heard.

“All that preservatives-free claims do in the long term is to reinforce the stigmatisation of preservatives, since consumers believe they are wrong,” said Martin Seychell, deputy director-general for health and consumers at the European Commission.…

Regulators participating in the International Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation (ICCR) met in Ottawa, Canada for their annual meeting (July 8 – 10) to discuss how member countries could better harmonise regulatory requirements and standards, promoting trade, among their cosmetics and personal care industries.…

THE MARKET for perfume and other scents in Asia is developing fast in most of the continent, especially in emerging markets, where consumers are using their new purchasing power to explore new tastes and brands.
To some extent, perfume has been lagging behind colour cosmetics and skincare, which have been targeted by the bigger brands as products likely to be regarded as affordable luxuries in the masstige market segments.…

AN INFLUX of big-brand café and convenience retail chains is whetting China’s appetite for sweet bakery, including in smaller cities. Brands are diversifying and moving upmarket, offering coffee and seating.

Take Beijing’s Beixinqiao, in the city’s older quarter, a busy intersection of residential blocks and a hub for restaurants and youth-focused fashion stores.…

JAPAN’S paint and coatings industry is continuing its steady recovery after a trying five years in the aftermath of the global economic crisis, although companies and analysts believe that the sector will see some gradual shifts in focus in the years ahead.…

Energy production and distribution is often the bedrock of sustainable economic development, and for an archipelago such as Indonesia, onsite power and small grids will always be the most sensible option. The government of south-east Asia’s most populous country has released a Masterplan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia’s Economic Development (MP3EI) whose goal is developed economy status by 2025.…

INDIAN cosmetics companies are widening their manufacturing base in Bangladesh to meet surging demand in this key emerging market of 154 million people, while skirting higher import tariffs for products made in India. But the move of India-owned beauty and personal care products makers into Bangladesh has sparked concern amongst their Bangladeshi counterparts, who fear their domestic market share being grabbed by Indian companies commanding stronger financial firepower. …

Latin America’s cosmetics and personal care products sector has boomed as consumers take advantage of their rising disposable incomes. The region (including Mexico) accounted for 17% of global sales in the beauty and personal care industry, according to market analysts Euromonitor International in 2013. …

The value of European Union (EU) exports of spirits and liqueurs dropped 1.6% in value last year after being the fastest-growing product group in 2012, according to the European Commission’s ‘Agricultural trade in 2013: EU Gains in Commodity Exports’ report. Whisky exports in particular dropped steeply – by EUR131 million.…

When India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept the just-concluded general elections riding on the slogan in Hindi ‘achche din aane wale hain’ – which means good days are coming soon – Indian garment exporters agreed.

With Modi’s BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government assuming power on May 26, the new textile minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar’s statement that he wants to project ‘Brand India’ abroad and boost garment exports has given exporters confidence that government help will be offered.…

Nonwovens are taking on an increasingly important role in creating more sustainable vehicles, particularly in interiors, offering lightweight materials reducing fuel usage, recyclability, and the use of green feedstocks such as plant and waste food material.

The US-based global Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA) estimates there was about 560,000 tonnes of nonwovens in global automotive usage in 2013, said Dave Rousse, INDA’s president.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) and Japanese nonwovens industries are backing a successful conclusion of negotiations between the EU and Japan on a free trade agreement (FTA). The talks, which began in March 2013, have entered a scheduled review phase after what seems to have been a testing  first year though “work and consultation with the EU member states is ongoing and the talks have not broken down, that’s clear,” said John Clancy, the Commission’s trade spokesman.…

The Indian steel industry has welcomed the initial steps taken by the new government to boost domestic manufacturing by expediting statutory clearances for new projects; removing hindrances to raw material supplies; and promising more clarity in future decision making.

“The government is giving us hope that lot of projects which have been held up due to environmental regulations are [already] being cleared,” said Sushim Banerjee, director general Institute for Steel Development & Growth, in Kolkata. …

Concern about global excess steel-making capacity has intensified at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) steel committee, whose Paris meeting today and yesterday (June 5-6) has wrapped up this afternoon. Members were concerned especially that steel demand worldwide fell in the first quarter of 2014.…

A LACK of technological know-how, the difficulty of obtaining good species of cotton seeds, plus poor morale amongst farmers, has brought cotton cultivation in Cambodia to a trickle, a former cotton company executive has told WTiN.com.

Samnang Seima, the director of Seladamex Co Ltd, recalled that his company started cultivating cotton in 2007, but by 2012 switched to other crops such as rubber.…

Switzerland-based Nestlé is to further develop its personal care products following its planned acquisition of sole ownership over Galderma, its joint venture with L’Oréal. The European Commission cleared Nestlé to acquire sole control of Galderma on May 5. Galderma manufactures, markets and sells products including shampoos, soaps, bath, shower and skin care lines, noted a Commission statement. …

WHEN it comes to subsidies in the European Union (EU), the representatives of the fossil fuels industries and those of the renewable energy sources have long pointed the finger at each other about who receives more support from the public purse.…

JAPANESE food manufacturers are targeting south-east Asia as key export markets, leveraging their products’ sophisticated, fashionable and healthy image. Indeed, with a significant proportion of south-east Asian consumers becoming richer, the perception that Japanese brands can be relatively expensive can help marketing and certainly not harm sales, they say.…

Increasing power tariffs in Indonesia could force textile and garment manufacturers to double their raw material imports, according to Ade Sudrajat Usman, chairman of the Indonesian Textiles Association (API).

The API chair told just-style that electricity consumption already constitutes 15% to 20% of production costs for textile manufacturers in the country.…

A 15% year-on-year growth in the exports of Indian apparel in the financial year ending March 2014 has been caused by the diversification of export markets and stricter compliance standards by Indian factories, just-style has been told. “We are diversifying into the markets like Japan, Australia and Latin American countries,” Chandrima Chatterjee, director (economic and consultancy) of the Apparel Export Promotion Council of India told just-style.…

DANISH companies are gearing up to export sausages, salami and other heat-treated pork products to China after the two countries struck a bilateral agreement on access to Chinese markets. Denmark, Germany, Canada and the US are China’s biggest pork trade partners but currently can export only live pigs, frozen and fresh pork to one of the world’s fastest growing consumer markets for meat and meat products.…

THE NEW Japan-Australia Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) agreed on April 8 allows unprecedented access to Japanese markets, but it’s not necessarily only the Australian meat producers who will profit.

This deal lowers the tariffs for frozen beef to 19.5 per cent (a cut of 19 percentage points) over an 18 year period, and for chilled beef to 23.5 per cent over 15 years (down 15 percentage points).…