China, Pak top exporters of made-ups to US

Coimbatore: India has made impressive growth in cotton made-ups export to the US this year, but Pakistan and China continue to dominate in the America's overall imports of made-ups, which rose to 47.25 per cent between January and July.

In the three key made-ups components of pillowcase, sheets and bedspreads/quilts, imports from India into the US during January-July 2006 stood higher at 93.98 million sq.m equivalent (MSME) compared with 73.45 MSME shipped by India to the US for the same period in 1995.

India's shipments this year constitute 9.5 per cent of the share in the total US imports of 988 MSME made during the first seven months period., according to the data on imports of textiles into the US compiled by the Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council (Texprocil).

Compared to this, China's made-ups' shipment during January-July 2006 more than doubled to 226 MSME as against its export of 109 MSME constituting a growth of 106 per cent or so.

Equally vibrant has been the Pakistan's made-ups shipments this year to the US, which at 450 MSME has risen by 56 per cent compared to 287 MSME exported during the January-July 2005.

The conversion factor for one piece of cotton pillowcase is taken as equal to .90 square metre equivalent.