Bangladesh Bangladesh's exports surged nearly 41 percent in March from a year earlier to a record $2.14 billion as apparel sales rose sharply, led by a continuing shift in production from China to the lower-cost South Asian country. (Yarns and Fibers Exchange)

The High Court has ordered demolition of the the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Bhaban at Karwan Bazar as it was constructed in violation of the Wetlands Protection Act. The court also asked BGMEA to vacate the high-rise building within 90 days after getting the copy of judgment and then start pulling it down at their own cost. (bdnews24.com)

Brazil Brazil said on Tuesday (April 5) that it will apply import tariffs on specific goods from China and the United States, the latest measures to help stem a flood of cheap imports that is eroding the country's trade balance. (Reuters)

Cambodia Domestic garment factories have added workers as the sector rebounds from the global financial crisis. Rising wages for Chinese, Vietnamese and Bangladeshi workers meant foreign producers could continue to diversify supply chains, while the European Union’s Everything But Arms initiative also makes exporting from Least Developed Countries more attractive. (Phnom Penh Post)

China The Chinese government announced that it will initiate a cotton purchasing and reserve program starting this fall to boost domestic cotton production. According to the program jointly established by eight ministries and institutions, China National Cotton Reserves Corporation will be responsible for purchasing standard cotton at 19,800 yuan ($3,018) per ton from Sept 1 this year to March 31 next year. (China Daily)

Colombia Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said the government is willing to take steps to expand labor protections, an action the Obama administration has requested before sending a free-trade agreement to Congress. Santos said he hoped to reach an agreement with the U.S. to strengthen Colombia’s labor rules “very soon” and that “things are moving” to get the trade accord approved this year. The agreement would boost American shipments to Colombia by $1.1 billion a year from $12 billion in 2010. (Bloomberg)

Honduras The Honduran maquila industry, which is mainly made up of textile and apparel manufacturers, is facing higher salaries for its workers after the government raised the sector's minimum wage by 10%. (Just-Style)

Hong Kong Hong Kong's travel sector and shopping malls said on Friday they were expecting a windfall this Easter with tourists avoiding quake-hit Japan as it battles a nuclear crisis. (AFP)

India India’s government owned National Textiles Corporation (NTC) has announced it will invest Rupees 4.25 billion in a technical textiles joint venture to meet the fast growing demand in healthcare and infrastructure sectors. (Innovation in Textiles)

Indonesia Indonesian businessmen have called on visiting Turkish President Abdullah Gul to lift trade barriers imposed on a number of Indonesian products exported to his country. According to the Indonesian Trade Ministry, Turkey has imposed antidumping and safeguard duties ranging from 5 to 33 percent on 58 Indonesian products, including woven fabrics, apparel, foot wear, bicycle and motorcycle tires, pipe fittings, hinges and furniture components. (The Jakarta Post)

Mauritius The industry Minister Showkutally Soodhun said Mauritius sees exports rising steadily over the next two years as the Indian Ocean island diversifies into new products and foreign markets. Textile groups dominate Mauritius' export businesses, accounting for 65 percent of the sector's total sales. (Reuters)

Mexico The International Apparel Federation (IAF) is to hold the 27^th edition of World Apparel Convention in Mexico in combination with the 35th congress of the Mexican apparel association, the Camara Nacional Industria Vestido (CANAIVE), October 13 -16, 2011. (Just-Style)

 
Pakistan The ever rising poverty and food inflation is making life difficult for millions of Pakistanis. In Pakistan the minimum wages level is just Rs7,000 per month and majority of factory owners and employers even do not give this meager wages to their labor. In many families all members including children have to work in order to survive. Male members work in factories and shops, females work as house maids and children also work in eateries, stalls, garages and workshops, or simply beg on streets. (The News)

Peru The President of Peru announced that the country will be handing out their one millionth XO laptop by the end of this year and will soon be building manufacturing facilities to build the laptops locally. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program created the XO laptop as an inexpensive tool for children around the world to learn with. The OLPC program in Peru has a goal to have laptops in 100% of the country’s public primary schools by the end of 2011. (Inhabitat)

Philippines The International Labor Organization ILO announced data from the Philippine Labor Force survey that revealed that as of April 2010, there were 2.4 million working children in the country. On April 5^th, the ILO and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced their plan to embark on a five-year program to end child labor in the country by 2016. (The PhilStar)

Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka women employed in the textile sector continue to be underpaid, exploited and are often victims of violence, although the government has asked the industry five yearly wage increases and better working conditions. (Spero News)

Thailand The shortage of construction workers for public infrastructure projects is likely to get worse this year amid huge demand to reconstruct devastated towns in Japan and unattractive wages comparing to projects of the private sector. The Thai construction industry needs four million workers but is now one million short even during the slow period of the industry. (Bangkok Post)

Vietnam Vietnam's exports of textiles, apparel and footwear were all up by around a third during the first quarter of 2011, according to Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas). The country earned around US$2.8bn from textile and garment exports during the period, an increase of 27.9% over the same quarter last year. (Just-Style)

The recent lifting of the European Union (EU) anti-dumping tariff on Vietnamese leather-capped shoes from April 1 will certainly boost the Vietnamese shoe export industry. The EU remains Vietnam’s biggest shoe export market, holding 50 percent of the sector’s export market share. (Saigon)