|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
|
PSF |
1083.02 |
USD/Ton |
-1% |
|
VSF |
2066.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
ASF |
2402.81 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Polyester POY |
1068.17 |
USD/Ton |
-0.22% |
|
Nylon FDY |
2594.25 |
USD/Ton |
-1.78% |
|
40D Spandex |
5704.22 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Nylon DTY |
2590.34 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1234.61 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Polyester DTY |
2844.30 |
USD/Ton |
-0.55% |
|
Nylon POY |
5774.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1328.38 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Polyester FDY |
2422.34 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2688.02 |
USD/Ton |
0.58% |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1734.71 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2797.41 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1922.24 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2344.20 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2859.92 |
USD/Ton |
0.55% |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2547.36 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.09 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.92 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.02 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.74 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.75 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15628 USD dtd. 24/08/2015)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The VAT department of state government swooped down on eight textile dyeing and printing mills in the city's Sachin and Pandesara GIDC for claiming input tax credit (ITC) on fake tax invoices and thereby reducing their liability to pay VAT. Sources said the dyeing and printing mill owners have been purchasing raw materials like lignite, oil, chemicals and dyes, fabrics, etc, for manufacturing printed and dyed fabrics. These mill owners produced fake tax invoices to claim ITC. Under the VAT system, bogus dealers (dealers who take registration on wrong credentials and then disappear) issue fake tax invoices on the strength of which genuine dealers claim input tax credit and reduce their VAT liability. Now, the VAT department has tightened the noose on such mill owners. Official sources said VAT officials have seized documents that had fake entries and invoices during the raid. A huge ITC racket is likely to be unearthed.
SOURCE: The Times of India
Over eight lakh powerlooms in Bhiwandi - the largest textile Centre in India some 50 kms from Mumbai, are shut consecutively for the seventh day. The shutdown, started on August 16 following the market slowdown and to protest exploitation of weavers by yarn and gray cloth merchants, has so far caused an estimated loss of about 3,500 crore rupees to the industry, the local industrialists claimed. Elsewhere in the state, about 2.5 lakh powerlooms in Malegaon in North Maharashtra are running only 2-3 days in a week since July when the markets opened after a week long Eid break. "The textile industry is incurring a huge loss due to import/export policy of the union government. The govt has imposed anti-dumping duty on synthetic and man-made fiber yarn. This might be helping a few industrialists. But, it is inflicting a major blow to textiles and related industries", former MLA and member of Powerloom Sangharsh Samiti Rasheed Tahir Momin said.
Rashid Tahir said in the last eight months country's export has declined by about 21%, and the worst affected sector due to this decline is the textiles. "We have sent memorandum to Prime Minister Modi, Textile Ministers in News Delhi and the state and also to the Textile Commissioner office in Mumbai. But, no one has responded to our pleas despite seven days of closure." The shutdown followed heavy decline in gray cloth cost and soaring yarn prices. The powerloom owners allege that the reasons behind this is "manipulation" by yarn and gray cloth merchants, and government's unfavorable policies. “The recession of over one and half years has hit the Bhiwandi textile industry hard…. illegal hoarding of yarn and its ever increasing prices have only added to our worries. On the other hand, the prices of grey cloth remain the same, in fact declined in some qualities,” Shoaib Guddu of the Sangharsh Samiti said. The shutdown has left hundreds of thousands of labourers jobless. A majority of the labourers who migrated from the states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Bhiwandi for work have left the city. "Without any job to feed their kin, more than 50% of labourers have already left the city. This is bound to create labour shortage if powerlooms decide to run again", Faizan Azmi, President of Powerloom Federation said.
The textile industry in Malegaon, another major textile cluster in India, is also facing similar problems. Tired by the prolonged recession, the powerloom units in this North Maharashtra city are running only 2-3 days, that too just to take care of the laborers. “Like Bhiwandi, powerloom weavers in Malegaon too have almost broken ue to the prolonged slowdown. Our entire labour force comes from Malegaon, and therefore, we are operating the looms for three to four days a week only to support them,” a powerloom weaver from Malegaon said. The textile industry in Malegaon began facing problems when textile processing units in Rajasthan's Pali and Balotra were axed by the respective pollution control boards in February this year. Observing that majority of the textile processing units in the two cities are not following the needed norms and running without the necessary effluent treatment plants (ETP), the pollution control board cancelled their permissions. Meanwhile, Malegaon MLA Shaikh Asif led a delegation to Pali and Balotra, and promising to extend all supports, invited the processing unit owners to Malegaon and setup their units in the city.
Ironically, the crisis hit the two major textile clusters in India at the time when after years of efforts modernisation of the textile industry witnessed rapid pace. "After efforts of a decade, we were able to install modern and shuttle-less looms in Malegaon. The city which did not have a modern loom, despite years of efforts, today has about hundred looms installed in just three months while project to install about 500 more is already underway", Aleem Faizee, General Secretary of Malegaon Industries and Manufacturers Association (MIMA). He also said that installations of In-Setu Powerloom Upgradation kits - aimed at converting the plain looms to semi-automatic, are also underway on war footage. "When the mood in Malegaon is so favorable for modernisation, the industry is hit by recession. It will damage the modernisation efforts if the situation is not controlled soon", Aleem Faizee said. According to the Textile Commissioner Office in Mumbai, India has about 23 lakh powerlooms runing at different clusters. Of them, only about 02 lakhs are modern machines, rest all are plain and discarded powerlooms.
SOURCE: The Ummid
Foundation stone was laid for the construction of a hi-tech textile training centre at Bandalli village in Yadgir district identified as one of the backward districts of the state by the Nanjundappa Committee. The stone laying ceremony was done by the Textiles and Ports Minister as well as district in-charge Baburao Chinchansur on Saturday. On this occasion, Mr. Chinchansur said that it was because of former Union Minister Mallikarjun Kharge’s efforts that the textile training centre was coming up here. The training centre would be come up on five acres of land in the village which will involve an investment to the tune of Rs. 13 crore. The proposed project would be completed within one year. The training would be provided to eligible candidates to enable them to get jobs in the proposed textile park which would be established in 1,000 acres of land in the Kadechur-Badiyal industrial hub in the district shortly. The state government is already in the process of establishing textile park which is expected to improve condition of cotton farmers and weavers, and also create employment for a large number of people. In addition, the government is also planning to develop smaller textile parks at different places in Ballari, Chamarajanagar and Vijayapura districts.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Imran Matin, Bharat Shah, Hafeez Ahmed are names unlikely to ring a bell but their intricate warp and wefts have often been the showstopper on fashion ramps. On Friday, these names who really are master weavers from different pockets of Varanasi stepped out of obscurity to find pride of place next to some of the country's top designers. Or perhaps it was the other way round. "They're far too skilled and we're only a catalyst," pointed out designer Ritu Kumar as she stood before her Benarasi installation for the month-long exhibition called 'Woven Wonders of Varanasi' hosted by the Bhau Daji Lad Museum in trying to revive the traditional weaves of Varanasi and support the weavers' community there.
Desperate times need desperate measures and Varanasi's shrinking community of weavers that has dwindled from three lakh weavers to 40,000 became designer and BJP treasurer Shaina NC's mandate a year ago. "If older ones have turned to construction work, the younger lot is moving to call centres when they find weaving no longer profitable," explained Shaina who made her way to the ministry of textiles with the idea of showcasing Varanasi's textile tradition to a national and global audience. It was a proposal hard for the office to ignore given "Handlooms of Varanasi" topping the list of priorities in Prime Minister's Make in India campaign.
The exhibit with a social overtone brings together weavers and eminent designers trying to inject fresh life into textile traditions of Varanasi. Trips to the ghats aren't new on a designer's itinerary but this year was about deepening exchange and engagement over multiple tours around the weaver clusters. Rina Dhaka for example refuses to let any of her research go waste. "I don't want to lose my connect with Varanasi and its aesthetics," she said promising to "reinvent Benarasi every season". "Business deteriorated 2000 onwards when powerlooms entered. With Modiji's interest in weavers' empowerment and designers' engagement, our karigars are enthused," said Ashok Dhawan of Benarasi Vastu Udyog Sangh. If the only way to revive this time and labour intensive craft is through increased demand, Woven Wonders which moves to Delhi and London next makes Ashok hopeful. "Jo dikhta hai wohi bikhta hai," he smiled keeping his fingers crossed.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
In a move aimed at boosting country's exports, the Commerce Ministry has started discussions with state governments to resolve the issues related to trade facilitation and ease of doing business, a top official said. This is part of the Commerce Ministry's initiative to engage with states to promote India's overseas shipments. "We are reaching to the state governments, sitting with them and their exporters to understand what are the main issues (they are facing). We recently had a meeting in Madhya Pradesh," Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia told PTI. She said the main objective was to understand the issues of the land-locked states in terms of their trade facilitation requirements. Teaotia said states have to play a major role in increasing India's exports. "We have also put a tool in the hands of state governments. We have given them access to Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics data. It is a great tool for them to recognise what are there key exports and what are the trends," she added.
In a meeting with states representatives in July, the Commerce Ministry had discussed issues such as problems related with infrastructure and governance; local tax matters and its refund; and states' regulatory environment. The Secretary said states are now keen to enhance exports that would boost employment opportunities besides it can help in earing foreign exchange and improve standard of living of people. "It was overall development. So states are now very conscious about this (exports). They are also preparing their export policy," she added. Further, she said the ministry is also looking at different clusters in the country. “Wherever there is a cluster of economic activity, what is that which we can provide in terms of common infrastructure like labs for testing," she said.
As part of efforts to improve its ranking on 'ease of doing business', India has reduced the number of mandatory documents required for import and export of goods to three in each case. India ranked 126th in 'Trading Across Borders' component of 'ease of doing business', out of 189 countries ranked by the World Bank in its 2015 Report. Contracting for the eighth month in a row, India's exports were down 10.3 per cent in July to USD 23.13 billion, hit by global slowdown and dip in crude oil prices which impacted the value of petroleum products.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
With merchandise exports shrinking for the eighth consecutive month in July, the government is looking to provide an additional Rs 5,000 crore towards covering more sectors and markets under the reward programme, the Merchandise Exports From India Scheme (MEIS), reports Arun S in New Delhi. Also, the government could expand the scope of this 3% interest subsidy scheme for exporters by extending it to more sectors. According to commerce ministry sources, sectors such as chemicals, pharma and electronics, which are excluded from the scheme, would be brought under the purview of the scheme, for which R1,650 crore was allocated in the FY16 Budget. They added that items which are now excluded in sectors such as engineering and textiles as well as merchant exporters could be given the benefit of interest subvention.Though the rates of duty credit scrips issued under MEIS (currently ranging from 2% to 5%) may not be tinkered with, the ministry is considering including more items under different sectors and matching them to new markets in Latin America, Africa and Asia. This is also with an aim to further boost the ‘Make In India’ initiative.
The sources said the finance ministry has agreed in principle to provide additional funds to support the exports sector through a package. The benefits under the foreign trade policy (FTP) given this fiscal, if fully utilised by exporters, is expected to result in a revenue outgo of around Rs 15,000 crore, although the incremental exports to be achieved as a result could offset this. Though the government had committed only to a mid-term review of the FTP 2015-20 — which would have been in September-October 2017 as the new FTP came into effect this April — the prevailing exceptional circumstances has warranted a re-look.
“Cost of credit has assumed greater significance as the cycle of exports from the shipment till realisation of exports proceeds has enlarged with liquidity problems globally. In many cases, buyers are placing orders with clear understanding that payment will be made only after selling the goods. Exporters have to therefore take credit for longer periods and interest differential (which India has with other competing countries) blunts your competitive edge”, said Ajay Sahai, DG & CEO of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. Rate of export credit in India is 11-12% compared with 5.5% in China, 6.2% in Malaysia, 4.6% in Thailand, 2.6% in Taiwan and 2-3% in the euro area (except Greece).
Some sectors (poultry meat, sesame oil and soya protein) have demanded that they be included in the MEIS. Others (tobacco, cashew nuts, chemicals such as PVC, polyester chips, jute, carpets, silk, footwear, coffee, black pepper, chilli powder and lac products) whose duty scrip rates were reduced/withdrawn in this FTP have sought restoration of the duty benefit. Some other sectors (engineering goods, some machinery, bulk drugs/APIs, siddha medicines, leather items, ready made garments, sports goods, rayons, spirits, groundnut and forest produce) want to be included in MEIS and/or the coverage of the duty benefits expanded for exports to more countries.
The fall in India’s exports have been attributed to slowdown in overseas markets, lower crude oil prices (with petroleum products being a major export item for India, the fall in oil prices have resulted in lower value realisation), and the depreciation of the euro. Besides, the fall in prices of commodities such as farm products and metals (gold, copper, etc) have also adversely impacted India’s exports.
Adding to these factors is the recent move by China to devalue the yuan by around 3.5%. Exporters had said the yuan devaluation will affect the realisation of Indian companies’ exports to China, besides enhancing the competitiveness of Chinese items when compared to Indian products such as gems and jewellery, man-made fibres, garments, steel and organic chemicals in overseas markets.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
Bilateral trade between India and Taiwan stood at $2.1 billion in the first five months of 2015, with Taiwan's machine tool exports to India growing 11.6 per cent in the first six months of 2015. "Taiwanese exports to India contributed $1.28 billion while imports from India touched $828 million," Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said. Bilateral trade between India and Taiwan stood at $6 billion in 2014 and over 70 Taiwanese companies have invested in India since 2013. Taiwan, with its expertise in the machine tool industry, is keen to contribute to India's manufacturing sector. "There is a clear-cut synergy between needs of the Indian manufacturing sector and the special characteristics of the Taiwanese machine tool industry. As the world's fourth-largest exporter of machine tools and components, Taiwan can offer products to a broad range of industries. "In future, we truly expect Taiwanese products to help speed up India's manufacturing energy and make a significant contribution to the Make in India initiative," said Lee Guann-Jyh, Director (Economic Division) of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India. He was speaking at the Delhi Machine Tools Expo 2015 organised by the Bureau of Foreign Trade. "We are optimistic that India's future economic growth will be stronger, given its 1.2 billion population and the demand driven by its young and aspirational middle class. "The huge, upcoming public-private sector infrastructure projects are expected to drive growth further. No doubt, the Indian market holds enormous potential for Taiwanese companies," Lee added.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
A free trade agreement between India and Eurasian customs union - Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan - would help boost trade and economic ties between the two regions, a study says. India and the three-member Eurasian customs union have recently set up a joint study group to explore the feasibility of a free trade agreement. A free trade agreement "will benefit the people of both regions in short and long-term. It will strengthen and enhance economic, trade and investment cooperation and promote trade in goods and services," the study by think tank Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) said. While India has the opportunity to gain from trade in strategic products, such as uranium, gas, oil, and fertiliser inputs, Russia can gain a new partner in trade, it said.
Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia are enormously endowed with natural resources such as hydrocarbon, potassium, and uranium, which India imports substantially. The pact would open doors for greater collaboration in regional and multilateral institutions as well as in areas such as trade and economic cooperation, defence, education, space science, technology transfer, and other areas of strategic interest for India, it added. Due to sanctions from the US, Russia is keen to find alternatives in trade and investment and India can strongly provide that alternative, it added. The agreement would help facilitate investments by Indian entrepreneurs in these three countries, it added. "India is losing its market share in this customs union. The share of India's exports to these countries as compared to India's total exports in 2001 was 2.04 per cent which has declined to 0.82 per cent in 2013," it added.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today expressed the need for north eastern states to trade with neighbouring countries to rejuvenate the economy of the people in the region. "98 per cent of the region is connected with the neighbouring countries and only 2 per cent is connected with the main land through the Siliguri corridor and it is imperative that the region has trade relations with these countries," Union Minister of State for Home Rijiju told the Cooperative Summit organized by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). The minister said he had already taken up with other stakeholders like the Customs and Ministry of Trade and Commerce in this regard. He also laid emphasis to have at least two ports in every state in order to trade with the neighbouring countries. He said cooperative movement should be able to empower the people of the region economically by exchanging goods and services within the region. The minister also said that he would study the reports of the Summit and take corrective measures to take the cooperative movement forward across the country. Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Cooperation, Mohanbhai Kalaynjibhai Kundaria said that there was huge potential for development of cooperatives in the North East.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Despite the recent weakness in the rupee by three per cent since the time China announced devaluation of the yuan, the depreciation has been less than ones witnessed by Russian ruble, Malaysian ringgit, Turkish lira and Taiwan dollar since August 10. On Friday the rupee ended at 65.83 compared with the closing of 63.87 on August 10, a day before the Chinese yuan devaluation happened. “I believe the rupee will emerge as an outperformer in Asian currencies despite the temporary weakness that we have seen in recent times. Our current account deficit is pretty low, the fiscal deficit is under control, inflation is well managed and on top of that sufficient foreign exchange reserves have been built in the last 10-12 months,” said N S Venkatesh, executive director and head of treasury at IDBI Bank. So far this month the rupee has depreciated by 2.63 per cent and since the start of 2015 the weakness has been 4.43 per cent. The rupee was trading near a level earlier seen two years ago on September, 5, 2013. The currency had ended at 66.12 on September 5, 2013, due to concerns on the US Federal Reserve policy resorting to tapering. According to Venkatesh if in September 2015 the US Fed does not resort to rate hike automatically more money will start flowing into India.
The minutes of the US Fed meeting held in July shows they were almost ready to raise interest rates from near zero, where they have been at since late-2008. However, the US Fed added that inflation continues to resist those expectations. “India’s Real Effective Exchange Rate or REER had appreciated in the recent past and thus needed to correct itself to maintain the competitiveness. Thus, RBI is unlikely to intervene in the currency market so long as to prevent a gradual and orderly depreciation bias of the rupee and unless the rupee witnesses sharp intra-day volatility,” said Indranil Pan, chief economist, IDFC in a note last week. Meanwhile, there is some more weakness for the rupee in store as dollar demand from importers intensifies this week amid amid concerns that China may resort to further devaluation of the yuan. During the last week rupee weakened by 82 paise or 1.26 per cent to close at 65.83 per dollar on Friday. “This week the rupee may hit 66.25 per dollar as dollar demand from importers will be strong and China may decide to devalue their currency further,” said the head of treasury of a state-run bank. In fact currency dealers are of the view that the rupee would have touched 66 last week itself if RBI would not have intervened. RBI had been selling dollars through state-run banks in a bid to arrest the volatility. RBI’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $ 1.09 billion for the week ending August 14 to $ 354.43 billion, shows data.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
E-commerce logistics firm Connect India has announced the launch its service across the country. The firm said it is in talks with e-tailers, including Flipkart, to enhance its delivery and distribution. At the launch in Bengaluru, Connect India founder L R Sridhar told the media, “"We have done a pilot project with e-commerce giant Amazon in Punjab, but most of the top line and small e-commerce companies are interested to work with us. We are talking to all big players including Flipkart." Sridhar has an ambitious plan to create a robust pan India last mile delivery network, covering over 25000 pin codes connecting all the metro, million plus population cities, 8000 plus small towns and create outreach to 500,000 villages. He said e-commerce delivery capabilities and access to e-commerce platforms are available to a marginal 5,000-6,000 pin codes by private players, while Indian post provides access to over 19,000 pin codes.
"Connect India's robust platform will have the capacity to create hyperlocal distribution centres of 1x1 Sq Km and will connect rural India with urban India. This is where Connect India will be a game changer in the logistics sector," he said. Social impact venture capital firm Aavishkaar has invested Rs 32 crore in the company. Sridhar said the company targets to appoint over 50,000 last mile delivery entrepreneurs as Connect India Centers (CICs), who in turn will provide employment to more than 200,000 delivery associates or 'Customer Connect Associates' from their local communities in the next three years.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The crash in crude oil prices is making it harder for India to cut its dependence on imports. Cheaper imports not only boost local consumption but also dissuade oil companies from investing in raising domestic production. In March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid a road map for the local industry to cut the country's import dependence by 10% in seven years from 78% at the time. In the four months since then, the import dependence has risen to nearly 80%. During April-July, India's crude oil production marginally dipped to 12.4 million metric tonnes (MMT) from 12.5 MMT in the corresponding period a year ago. In the same period, crude oil import jumped 6% to 66.3 MMT and petroleum products import climbed 40% to 9.2 MMT. India's self-sufficiency in petroleum products fell to 20.1% from 21.3%. Lower prices have encouraged higher consumption of petroleum products, with increased sales seen in petrol, diesel and cooking gas. Consumption of petroleum products rose 6% in April-July. But a simultaneous decline in local oil and gas output is raising risk for India's energy security ambition. State-run firms — Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India — are facing ageing fields and are unable to ex explore and put to production new fields, resulting in sluggish output year after year.
For private explorers, a lower crude oil price can be a big deterrent, an oil industry executive said. "Who would want to invest when the realisation is so low?" Billionaire Anil Agarwal's Cairn India, which controls nearly a quarter of India's crude oil output, has slashed its capital expenditure for 2015-16 by 60%. A senior Cairn executive said in April that the company would produce only from wells that were economically viable at $55 a barrel. The crude oil prices have since fallen to about $45 a barrel. Shelving projects is a phenomenon sweeping the globe, with big oil firms hesitant in allocating capital to projects economically viable only at higher crude prices. In India, however, ONGC has been going ahead with many of its projects under pressure from the government. "This is a good time for ONGC to invest in projects as the oilfield services have become cheaper," said Gaurav Moda, head (oil and gas practice) at financial services firm KPMG India. The rates for oilfield services have fallen by about half and the sophisticated technologies needed for difficult fields are easily available today. Despite efforts from state run companies, everyone recognizes that achieving a 10% reduction in import dependence is difficult. In the short to medium term, production can be boosted by untangling bureaucracy and expediting the regulatory processes, said Deepak Mahurkar, who leads the oil and gas industry practice at consultancy PwC India.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 45.21 per barrel (bbl) on 21.08.2015. This was lower than the price of US$ 46.36 per bbl on previous publishing day of 20.08.2015.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs 2976.17 per bbl on 21.08.2015 as compared to Rs 3024.53 per bbl on 20.08.2015. Rupee closed weaker at Rs 65.83 per US$ on 21.08.2015 as against Rs 65.24 per US$ on 20.08.2015. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on August 21, 2015 (Previous trading day i.e. 20.08.2015) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.08.2015 (July 30 to Aug 12, 2015) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
45.21 (46.36) |
50.68 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
2976.17 (3024.53) |
3243.52 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
65.83 (65.24) |
64.00 |
SOURCE: PIB
The country’s trade numbers depict 34.6 percent annual and 25.4 percent monthly increase in trade deficit to $1.8 billion in July 2015. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has reported that imports have increased by 4 percent annually to $3.4 billion, attributing the rise to the 4.8% more food (especially tea and pulses) and 17.7% higher agriculture input (fertilizers and insecticide) imports.On the other side, exports proceeds fell by 17% YoY (21% MoM) to USD1.6bn. The decline is mainly led by 12% YoY drop in textile exports to USD1.0bn and 20.5% lower food segment (lower rice exports). However, downturn in textile exports (both Value Added textile and Basic textile segments) is attributable to the stable rupee despite depreciating regional currencies. On a cumulative basis , textile exports have dipped to USD7.6bn as compared to $8 billion. Major decline was witnessed in Basic textiles that dropped by 11% YoY whereas, Value Added textiles remained stagnant. The past few months have been quite tough for Pakistan exports, especially textile, due to a host of reasons, including lower Chinese demand, Euro depreciation, stiff competition from India, sharp drop in textile goods prices. Now, continued strength of rupee against US Dollar compared to depreciating regional currencies (Chinese Yuan, Vietnamese Dong, and Bangladeshi Taka) poses another threat to the Pakistan exports, especially textiles.
SOURCE: The Nation
Enterprises from Ha Noi hope to find more business opportunities in the textile, garment and footwear industries in Eastern European countries in the future. At a seminar on encouraging trade between Ha Noi and the Czech Republic held in Prague last Thursday, Le Hong Thang, director of the Ha Noi Industry and Trade Department, said last year Ha Noi's garment and textile export values reached US$1.6 billion, including $436 million from the European Union market. As a result, Ha Noi's textile and garment enterprises joined an international fashion fair in Brno, the Czech Republic, starting on Saturday and continuing until today, as well as a seminar held by the Ha Noi Industry and Trade Department and Industry Czech Republic before the fair, Thang said.A delegation of Ha Noi's textile, garment, leather and footwear enterprises expected to find more importers for their products at the European market, including the Eastern European region, and also partners providing materials for the textile, garment, leather and footwear sectors of Ha Noi, he said.
Last year, Ha Noi's enterprises spent $662.5 million to import cloth, $125.6 million for fibre imports and $196 million for sub-materials. Chairman of the Czech-Viet Nam Friendship Association, Marcel Winter, said Czech enterprises lacked information about Viet Nam's economy as well as enterprises, reported Vietnam News Agency. "In fact, Viet Nam's economy has gained strong growth in recent years and now has great potential in developing further," Winter said. "Vietnamese enterprises have products with good quality for Czech customers, while they need imports of high-quality equipment and machines from Czech Republic."
At the seminar, which brought together 70 companies from the two countries, Pham Ngoc Diep, deputy general director of the Dong Xuan Knitting Company, said that in the past the Eastern European market had provided key export markets for her company, but later the company faced difficulties in exporting its products. So Dong Xuan must change to develop export activities to Japan and to be successful in the new market, said Diep, adding that now the company plans to return to the Eastern European market for its sustainable development in the future. Livse Safrankova, director of Libka Safr Fashion Company, one of 50 Czech enterprises at the seminar, said her company had cooperated with Elise Fashion Company of Ha Noi. The cooperation with Vietnamese partners was expected to bring profits and advantages in competitiveness to the company, Safrankova said. The return to traditional export markets in the Eastern European region for Viet Nam enterprises would bring interest in development and business for the companies of the two countries, Thang added.
According to Viet Nam's General Department of Customs, Vietnam gained a year-on-year growth in export values of textile and garments of 10.4 per cent, reaching $12.6 billion in the first seven months of this year. Meanwhile, Viet Nam achieved a year-on-year increase in the export value of footwear at 20.9 per cent to $6.97 billion in the first seven months of this year.
SOURCE: The VietnamNews
The SAARC countries can collectively work towards making the region a hub for international commercial arbitration, an Indian official said. Speaking at a seminar organized by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry ( FICCI) in association with Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) and SAARC Arbitration Council (SARCO), Suresh Chandra, joint secretary, law and justice, also noted that institutionalizing of arbitration in SAARC is the key instrument to make arbitration a success story. He emphasized that stability, certainty and predictability of the arbitration system in this region can be introduced through adoption of best practices in the world. L. Savithri, director at the SAARC secretariat in Kathmandu, said that as the SAARC region fast tracks movement towards South Asian Economic Union, free trade area in both goods and services will be the first building block. Arbitration is the best dispute resolution mechanism for businesses of the SAARC region since majority of the countries are members of the New York Convention, 1958, and hence there is easy enforceability of awards, said ICA advisor and FICCI's assistant secretary general Arun Chawla.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Delays in finalising a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between India and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) have been largely caused by different processes in Indian states and resistance to New Delhi's wide-ranging goods list, a senior official said. "It is very difficult to penetrate the Indian market as each of the different regions have different processes in place," Niki Kruger, the chief director of trade negotiations in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, told members of South Africa's parliamentary economic development committee at a briefing requested by them. "It is (therefore) not easy for some products to move across (India) because the different provinces have their own regulations," Kruger said.
Kruger also said that sensitivities in the South African business sector about some of the products proposed by India for preferential treatment were hindering the conclusion of the PTA, which has been in negotiation for more than two years now. Business and labour in South Africa have previously raised concerns about the impact that preferential tariffs would have on the clothing and textiles, chemicals, plastics and agricultural sector due to India's much greater advantage in these areas. This had also led to delaying the finalisation of the PTA. Kruger was hopeful that the PTA would be finalised soon, but cautioned that it was likely to be much less ambitious than originally planned.
India had requested the inclusion of a wide range of products, but a number of these are now expected to be excluded from the PTA. Analysts have said that the reduced PTA agreement would go against the grain of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) alignment objective of bolstering south-south trade, especially since most of the other partners in BRICS are more competitive than South Africa. Discussions around the PTA were originally intended to give India easier access to the member countries of SACU, most of whom are dependent on South Africa as a port of entry for their imports. India is currently South Africa's sixth-largest trading partner, with a large number of major Indian companies having a presence in the country. Bilateral trade between India and South Africa during 2014-15 touched $11.79 billion.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
