Asia’s premier fair for the home textiles industry concluded recently, with new records set for exhibitor, visitor and exhibition space figures. Over 43,000 trade buyers (2014: 43,189) attended Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Autumn Edition 2015, which was held for the first time at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) across 170,520 sqm (2014: 150,400).

The predominantly cotton-based textile industry has become highly competent in terms of operational efficiency with the state-of-the-art technology, skilled manpower, high productivity, high quality, etc.

European polypropylene (PP) prices are going down by at least the ?80/tonne propylene monomer contract drop for August. Supply has eased from its former extreme tightness

Asia´s purified terephthalic acid (PTA) industry is expected to come under increasing pressure in 2016 as India adds 2.3 mt to its production capacity in the first half of 2016, industry sources said.

The devaluation of Chinese currency yuan will have an adverse impact on India´s textiles exports and clothing, which is facing sluggish growth due to recessionary conditions in global markets. The surprise move by China to devalue its currency is a threat to the pace of India´s exports, according to analysts.

Recycled polyethylene terephthalate (R-PET) prices in Asia fell to a record low and may continue trending down with importers in China opting to stay out of the market amid domestic economic weakness.

Crude oil futures fell to multi-month lows on both sides of the Atlantic in early August, while global oil demand growth is expected to increase by 90,000 bbl/day over previous estimates, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting countries (OPEC) said recently.

Cotton spinning mills in northern India are planning to shut down one day a week. According to Chandigarh-based Northern India Textile Mills´ Association (NITMA)

Known as the Missile Man of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India, played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in India´s Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.