According to Quanzhou Customs， from January to April this year， Quanzhou city saw a total textile and apparel exports of 13.431 billion yuan， an increase of 20.38% year on year， accounting for 30.78% of Fujian Provinces textile and garment export value over the same period. Among them， the total exports in April was 3.617 billion yuan， an increase of 39.1%. Quanzhou textile and garments were mainly exported to the markets in ASEAN， the Middle East and the EU， while the exports to the above markets respectively were 3.353 billion yuan， 2.851 billion yuan and 2.589 billion yuan， an increase of 47.26%， 30.63% and 7.96% respectively.

ANTA： Single-digit revenue growth in Q1 this year

Recently， ANTA Sports announced that its meeting for the placement of orders in the fourth quarter of 2016 have been completed.According to the wholesale prices， the amount of orders in the fourth quarter increased by double digits； according to the retail value，the first quarter of 2016 saw a single-digit revenue growth over the same period in 2015.

It is reported that ANTA saw a turnover of 11.126 billion yuan in 2015， an increase of 24.7% year on year， while the net profit attributable to parent company was 2.041 billion yuan.

It is estimated that by the end of 2016， the total number of domestic stores of ANTA and ANTA KIDS sportswear will have ranged from 7，000 to 7，100， while ANTA FILA and ANTA FILA KIDS stores will have been respectively 1，700 - 1，800 and 650 - 700， which also means that， till the end of the year， the total number of all ANTA offline stores will have been about 9，350- 9，600.

First mandatory national standards on textile products for infants and children was officially implemented

First mandatory national standards on textile products （childrens wear） for infants and children， Safety Technical Code for Infants and Children Textile Products： GB 31701-2015， jointly released by the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision， Inspection and Quarantine （AQSIQ） and the Standardization Administration of the Peoples Republic of China（SAC） on May 26th， 2015， has taken into effect since June 1st， 2016 in China. To ensure a smooth transition of the market， the standard sets a twoyear implementation transition period -from June 1st， 2016 to May 31st， 2018. During the transition period， products produced before June 1st， 2016 and meet the relevant standards are allowed to be sold in the market.

The objective of this standard is to standardize the safety performance on childrens wear which helps to guide the manufacturers to improve the safety and quality standard on childrens clothing， and ensures infants and childrens health and safety.

For details， please refer to the article titled on “Official implementation of first mandatory national standards on textile products for infants and children” in Infocus this issue.

Global high performance materials leader Low & Bonar starts production at its Changzhou plant

UK-based Low & Bonar， a leading global high performance materials manufacturer， started production at its new facility Bonar High Performance Materials （Changzhou） in Changzhou National Hi-Tech District （CND）， Changzhou， Jiangsu province， China in April 19， 2016. Nearly US$50 million was invested in the build out of the first phase of the new facility.

Changzhou mayor Mr. Fei Gaoyun indicated that the launch of Low & Bonars plant in Changzhou is expected to boost the development of the automotive and new materials industries in the city. He said， “2016 is a milestone year for Changzhou in the acceleration of the number of key projects being planned or entering the construction phase. We are targeting partnerships with Fortune Global 500 companies， leading multinational companies and industry leaders across ten industry chains， including motor vehicles and automotive parts as well as new materials and intelligent manufacturing. We aim to bring in several significantly invested and promising hi-tech projects which will serve as a new driver behind Changzhous rapidly growing economy.”

Low & Bonar Changzhou plant， with a total planned investment exceeding US$100 million， is primarily engaged in the production of nonwovens for interior and transportationrelated applications. The first ultramodern manufacturing facility， once completed and put into full production， will be able to produce 60 million square meter non-woven textile product annually with unique technology.

Low & Bonar chief executive officer Mr. Brett Simpson commented，“The formal launch of production at our new plant in Changzhou brings us closer to our customers. We have full confidence in the future of the plant.”

The national reserve cotton saw a turnover rate of 100%

The national reserve cotton enjoyed a turnover rate of 100% from May 16th - 18th，2016， which once again ignited the market enthusiasm. Recently， the traders have witnessed an increasing turnover rate in the national reserve cotton auction， while the average transaction price has been in a declining trend. Many traders and textile enterprises stated that they had been always concerned about the high-quality cotton resources in the auction.

A trader from Shandong Province said： “The 2128 grade - 3128 grade cotton prices are at 13，300 - 13，600 yuan/ton， which is also very costeffective and will certainly be able to make money in the future.” Moreover， there will be no any other quotas in addition to 894，000-ton quotas with 1% tariff this year. The imported cotton round out in this program is about 300，000 tons. The scarce high-quality imported cotton has left little suspense about rising prices.

TPU will promote the rapid development of Chinas chemical fiber industry

TPU is widely used in the textile industry and one important application of TPU chips is for the manufacture of spandex， in addition to the application in shoe materials， synthetic leather and TPU film composite fabric.

TPU is endowed with many excellent mechanical properties such as high strength， high flexibility， high wear resistance， oil resistance， solvent resistance and the resistance of general chemicals， which determines the versatile properties of TPU.

Based on the growing TPU technology in China， the localization of TPU chips will be achieved. It is projected in the next few years， Chinas TPU chip market demand will reach 50，000 t/a.