Tamil Nadu textile mills that make polyester or polyester cotton yarn having forced to stop production for two days a week for four weeks as prices for the yarn had dropped and the mills were find the price unviable and with export orders too declining have started exploring new markets and products, said Prabhu Dhamodharan, secretary of Indian Texpreneurs Federation. Further, some mills have taken sample orders from buyers in Ludhiana, Delhi and Tirupur. They plan to study the customer demand, explore new markets and products, he said. Some mills that found it difficult to stop production for two days a week went in for 30 percent cut in production. For instance, price of a specific variety of polyester cotton yarn was Rs. 185-a-kg four months back and it dropped to about Rs. 150-a-kg two months ago. There are positive enquiries now and mills are able to sell some of the stock with them. The prices have improved to Rs. 155 - Rs. 158 a kg. The demand is picking up slowly during the last one week to 10 days, he said. The mills have now decided that individual units will decide about the production based on their stock and order book position. The member mills of the federation have decided to have a pricing mechanism and announce a bench mark price twice a month. This will give an indication of the price levels in the market. The weaving units had reduced production for several reasons for the last few months and were reviving operations only now. The textile mills in Tamil Nadu are hopeful of orders going up in the coming days. Most of the mills sell the yarn to weaving units in Bhiwandi, Malegaon and Ichalkaranji.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
There is bad news for the country’s exporters. India’s exports during August 2015 were valued at $21266.31 million which was 20.66 per cent lower in dollar terms than the level of $26803.48 million during August 2014, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a statement. Cumulative value of exports for the period April-August 2015-16 was $111094.47 million as against $132529.64 million registering a negative growth of 16.17 per cent in dollar terms over the same period last year. Imports during August 2015 were valued at $33744.28 million which was 9.95 per cent lower in dollar terms over the level of imports valued at $37472.78 million in August 2014. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-August 2015-16 was $168610.56 million as against $190747.68 million registering a negative growth of 11.61 per cent in dollar terms over the same period last year, the statement said.
Oil imports during August 2015 were valued at $7357.47 million which was 42.59 per cent lower than oil imports of $12814.77 million in the corresponding period last year. Oil imports during April-August, 2015-16 were valued at $41502.37 million which was 38.79 per cent lower than the oil imports of $67805.81 million in the corresponding period last year. Non-oil imports during August 2015 were estimated at $26386.81 million which was 7.01 per cent higher than non-oil imports of $24658.01 million in August, 2014. Non-oil imports during April-August, 2015-16 were valued at $127108.19 million which was 3.39 per cent higher than the level of such imports valued at $122941.87 million in April-August, 2014-15. The trade deficit for April-August 2015-16 was estimated at $57516.09 million which was lower than the deficit of $58218.04 million during April-August 2014-15.
The latest export figures have rattled the Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA). In a press release, TEA President Dr. A Sakthivel said the all India readymade garments exports, including Tirupur knitwear exports has declined by 7.3 per cent in August compared to the corresponding month of last year 2014-15. He said there is an urgent need to implement pending measures like 3 per cent Interest Subvention on Packing Credit, reduction of bank interest rates, refund of Duty Drawback Rate without delay, improvement in the infrastructure of road and port, 24x7 operation in ports for all shipping bills, refund of TUFs Interest subsidy to arrest the downfall and restore the growth of exports. He appealed to the Central Government to expedite the measures on urgent basis. Dr.A.Sakthivel pointed out that India’s competitiveness in textile and clothing exports has come down further due to the devaluation of the Chinese currency. He said that the employment intensive RMG sector should be given thrust to increase exports and employment.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Murali L Jhunjhunwala, president of the Bhilwara based RSWM Limited, has been elected as chairman of the Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA) Governing Council, at the sixty-first annual general meeting of BTRA held recently. Narendra Dalmia, managing director, Strata India Limited, was elected as deputy chairman of the Governing Council. CK Thackersey, executive director, Hindoostan Spinning & Weaving Mills, and Anil Gupta, managing director, Wellknown Polyester Limited, were elected as members of the Council. Since it was established in April 1954, BTRA has grown leaps and bounds to meet the technological needs of the Indian textile industry as well as to achieve S&T objectives set at the national level. BTRA members include not only textile units (from mill sector as well as decentralised sector) but also manufacturers from man-made fibre, machinery, dyes and chemical auxiliaries industries. R&D activities at BTRA cover applied and basic research, process and product development, new and frontier areas of technology, engineering and microprocessor-based instrumentation, operational studies to improve and standardise mill working, testing and consultancy services, maintenance audit, energy conservation and additional energy sources, communication and training, post graduate research and appropriate technology for the decentralised sector. Assistance to the government and public sector institutions on matters related to technological aspects of the industry is also an integral part of its activities.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
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$ 46.29 per barrel (bbl) on 17.09.2015. This was higher than the price of US$ 45.50 per bbl on previous publishing day of 16.09.2015.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs 3078.12 per bbl on 17.09.2015 as compared to Rs 3025.69 per bbl on 16.09.2015. Rupee closed at Rs 66.50 per US$ on 16.09.2015. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on September 17, 2015 (Previous trading day i.e. 16.09.2015) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.09.2015 (Aug 28 to Sep 11, 2015) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
46.29 (45.50) |
47.42 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3078.12 (3025.69) |
3147.27 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
66.50* |
66.37 |
SOURCE: PIB
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through its incentive initiative in form of its Production Incentive Program (PIP) and Competitiveness Improvement Program (CIP) has supported hundreds of companies in the clothing and textile industry to maintain or create much needed jobs. The sector has lost thousands of jobs over several years mainly due cheap imports flooding the market. The department has since 2007 offered incentives for the industry. These programs have injected some much needed capital equipment funding into the industry and enabled K-Way to purchase some new state of the art machines and equipment, said Bobby Fairlamb, general manager of Cape Union Mart’s K-Way factory. As a result of the new equipment at K-Way, the business increased revenue by 102 percent, operational profit by 20 percent and its expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased from 10.1 percent to 9.7 percent. Machine downtime decreased from 2.1 percent to 1.6 percent, while absenteeism decreased from 4 percent to 3 percent. Fairlamb said that K-Way has since 2006 effectively created more than 200 jobs, including outsourcing through cut, make and trim operations which result in a growth in job creation of more than 130 percent.
Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies visited The Foshini Group’s (TFG) Prestige Clothing Factory in Maitland and local shipbuilding company Damen Shipyards Cape Town to assess the impact of the financial support some of the companies the DTI has funded. Davies also wanted to assess companies to measure potential for growth and to what extent they needed funds from the department. The visit also served as a platform for the sharing of information and ideas on the contribution of beneficiaries of incentives offered by the department’s objectives, including the creation of employment, industrialisation, economic growth and the creation of black industrialists. Group director Martin Mendelsohn said that TFG had been investing in the local supply chain through its Quick Response initiative for the last six years.
Mendelsohn said that the company established a cluster with key strategic partners and local manufacturing partners, jointly funded by the TFG and the DTI, through the department’s incentive initiative. One of the key partners was Prestige Clothing and together they had built a world class manufacturing facility with the help of the department’s initiative programme. Today they have a facility that supplies a significant portion of TFG’s apparel requirements. They are extremely appreciative of government’s investments in the apparel industry in South Africa and look forward to working with them to try and resolve the constraints within the fabric and textile industry. He said that the Maitland facility employed 560 people who were provided with “significant” training.
Camillo Torino, Prestige Clothing’s head of manufacturing, said that the company was assisting 22 beneficiaries with debt relief and had managed to bring down the number of garnishee orders from 62 to 29, while the factory also had the lowest rate of absenteeism in the industry. Andre Kriel, general secretary of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu), said that the national government’s incentive support programmes have been a significant and welcome contribution towards the stabilisation of their industry. Sactwu’s Etienne Vlok said that there was a convergence of negative factors that helped to push the local clothing and textile sectors into decline in the early to mid-2000s. However the primary reason was the unnecessary and unreasonable very rapid scaling down of import duties on clothing and textile products in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Presently there are a number of factors which are contributing towards the stabilisation of the clothing and textile manufacturing sectors. These factors made for a better environment for the sectors and government incentives were playing a crucial role. They are designed to assist manufactures to address some of the structural challenges around competitiveness and production. In other words they enable manufacturers to invest in modernising the machinery, production processes and other components of production. Vlok said that the latest employment numbers confirmed the positive impact on the industry and showed a small growth in clothing, textile, footwear and leather (CTFL) jobs. This is a small increase but important because during the same period, formal manufacturing jobs decreased by 1.3 percent. With government’s incentive supporting 400 plus companies, it is believed there will be even more stabilization in the employment. In 2003, Statistics SA showed 14 000 formal CTFL jobs lost and in 2005, 15 600.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Myanmar has agreed to study the possibility of lowering its tariffs on imported Taiwanese fabrics in what is seen as a goodwill gesture following an economic dialogue between Taiwan and Myanmar, a Taiwanese news agency has reported. Myanmar's decision to consider tariff cut came after a Taiwanese delegation led by Yang Jen-ni, head of the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Bureau of Foreign Trade, visited Yangon from September 9 to 12 and met economic authorities in the country. After their meeting, the two sides signed a joint statement pledging to facilitate trade and investment between the two countries. Importers of Taiwanese fabric in Myanmar are currently required to pay import duties of 5-15 per cent, according to the ministry. It did not say if fabrics made in other countries receive preferential tariff treatment from Myanmar. The ministry said fabrics are one of Taiwan's few important export items to Myanmar, accounting for 14 per cent of Taiwan's outbound sales to the country with exports worth $32 million.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
An integrated textile complex will come up in the North African country of Algeria, as an agreement has been recently signed by the country’s National public group with a Turkish company for the same, as per Algerian media reports. The textile complex is expected to go operational by November, 2016. It is expected to have 8 integrated plants focusing on the production of textiles and hosiery products. It will also have a business centre, a textile trade training school, and other facilities. The project is expected to generate over 20,000 jobs, with more than 50 per cent of the production expected to be exported while another 40 per cent will be for the domestic market. After the extension of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) for another ten-year period by the US government earlier this year, many companies are investing in African nations, especially for setting up textile and apparel manufacturing units.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
A 10-member German delegation, led by Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ), Thomas Silberhorn has visited the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) office to meet textile industry representatives. He inaugurated the newly established Sustainable Production Centre (SPC) for the textile industry of Pakistan at the association's premises. The main objective for establishing the centre is to provide technical and advisory services to the textile industry of Pakistan on sustainable consumption and production related aspects. All major associations and stakeholders of the textile industry were present on the occasion. In addition, topics such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, occupational health and safety, water management and social standards in the textile industry were discussed. The German government has been supporting the industry to help the association adapt sustainable practices in its supply chains.
APTMA Patron-in-Chief Gohar Ejaz and Chairman S M Tanveer earlier welcomed the delegation and thanked the delegates for their support for entire textile industry value chain of Pakistan. Gohar Ejaz said the association has been actively playing the role to sustain the textile industry in Pakistan and to save it from export related threats. "Globally, there are numerous campaigns and treaties emerging on sustainable products such as textile and clothing items. After granting the GSP Plus status to Pakistan, it is also very important to implement all social and environment related conventions that are conditional to sustain the status beyond 2017," he said.
Considering the importance and need, the association had already extended various services for its member mills on sustainable practices (energy efficiency, renewable energy, OHAS and water management) with the help of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme of German International Co-operation. In this regard Energy Cell was also established at APTMA in 2008. Through this platform, the association has achieved significant results on energy efficiency improvements and also on adoption of best practices including renewable technologies. Moreover, there is a huge potential within Pakistan's textile industry on energy conservation, efficiency improvement, water and waste management, labour productivity through implementation of social standards.
SOURCE: The Business Recorder
Economic recovery is progressing in the world's advanced economies, but stagnating world trade and deteriorating conditions in financial markets are curbing growth prospects in many of the major emerging economies, according to the OECD's latest Interim Economic Outlook. Rising employment and household consumption are driving solid growth in the US, but investment continues to disappoint. Growth in the euro area is improving, but not as fast as would be expected given the falls that have been seen in oil prices, long-term interest rates and the value of the euro. In Japan, growth is improving, but tightening labour markets have yet to feed into the wage increases that would underpin sustained consumption growth and facilitate the achievement of the Bank of Japan's inflation objective.
A key puzzle in the short-term outlook centres on China, where recorded growth has held up well, but some indicators point to a slower underlying pace of economic activity. The marked slowdown in Chinese import demand has important spillover effects on global growth, particularly in emerging economies with close trade links to China, and those that depend on commodities. India is expected to be the fastest-growing major economy over the coming two years, while the outlook is weaker for many commodity-exporting nations, with Brazil experiencing a deep recession. The impact of a larger-than-expected slowdown in Chinese demand through direct trade and investment links would be significant, especially for those countries most heavily exposed, but would not derail the global recovery unless combined with a large and widespread correction in global financial markets. “Global growth prospects have weakened slightly and the outlook is clouded by important uncertainties,” said OECD Chief Economist Catherine L. Mann. “Emerging economies have vulnerabilities that could be exposed by rising US interest rates and/or a sharper-than-expected slowdown in China, giving rise to financial and economic turbulence that could also exert a significant drag on advanced economies. Continued policy stimulus is warranted to support global demand, but the mix of policies will differ by country, and choices need to be consistent with financial stability and reviving long-run growth.”
The OECD projects that the US will grow by 2.4 per cent this year and by 2.6 per cent in 2016, while the UK is projected to grow at 2.4 per cent in 2015 and 2.3 per cent in 2016. Canadian growth is projected at 1.1 per cent this year and 2.1 per cent in 2016, while Japan is projected to grow by 0.6 per cent in 2015 and 1.2 per cent in 2016. The euro area is projected to grow at a 1.6 per cent rate in 2015 and a 1.9 per cent pace in 2016. Growth prospects differ widely among the major euro area economies. Germany is forecast to grow by 1.6 per cent in 2015 and 2 per cent in 2016, France by 1 per cent in 2015 and 1.4 per cent in 2016, while Italy will see a 0.7 per cent rate in 2015 and 1.3 per cent in 2016. China is expected to grow by 6.7 per cent in 2015 and 6.5 per cent in 2016. India will grow by 7.2 per cent in 2015 and 7.3 per cent in 2016. Brazil's economy is expected to shrink by 2.8 per cent in 2015 and then by an additional 0.7 per cent rate in 2016. The Interim Economic Outlook has called for global macroeconomic policy to remain supportive of demand. Advanced economies should continue accommodative monetary and fiscal policies to ensure that the recovery gains momentum, the report said.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Chinese commerce minister Gao Hucheng’s recent visit to Bangladesh has buoyed hopes among Bangladeshi businessmen and international relations experts that bilateral relations will be strengthened over the next few months. During the commerce minister’s visit, China granted Bangladesh nearly US$ 100 million to set up an exhibition center and also expressed interest to invest $ 300 million in the South Asian country’s textile sector. Also an MoU was signed on Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center’ project between Bangladesh Finance Minister AMA Muhith and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng. While textiles sector bigwigs in Dhaka are hopeful that the grant and proposed investment will prove to be a boon for Bangladesh, international relations experts have stressed that this is yet another example of Bangladesh’s growing geo-political and economic importance in the region.
A permanent Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Center will be set up in Purbachal area, in the outskirts of Dhaka. The center will be built on 33,000 sq ft land featuring 1500-car parking area and 800 exhibition booths. The total cost of the project is US $ 102.2 million, from which China will be providing $ 86.76 million to Bangladesh as grant. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith informed the media that the Chinese government wants to increase regional connectivity, mainly by constructing roads from Myanmar to Kunming through Bangladesh. Bangladesh would build 23 kilometers of the proposed international road from Myanmar to Kunming under Bangladesh-Myanmar friendship road project “as a friendship gesture by Bangladesh to China.” Muhith said that Chinese economic cooperation to Bangladesh has expanded more now than 10 years ago. Also, China has agreed to Bangladesh paying in instalment for development projects while interest rates on loans are lower compared with other development partners. Local investors are hopeful that the Chinese investment and aid will prove to be a great help for Bangladesh.
Mohammad Hatem, a former Vice-president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA), said that the grant and proposed investment are a sign of stronger Bangladesh-China ties.He elaborated on the proposed investment in textiles, this is extremely necessary for their [Bangladesh’s] woven textiles sector which needs to become as independent as the knitwear sector.But international relations experts felt that Bangladesh’s foreign policy should look to maintain balanced ties with both China and India in the long run.Dr. Delwar Hossain, Professor at the International Relations Department of Dhaka University, stressed that Bangladesh should “consider its own interests” while getting investments, grants and aids from countries like India, China, Russia etc. and “maintain a balance”. As for China, Bangladesh has been a long-term partner for the second largest economy in the world for four decades now. Besides the geo-political importance, Bangladesh’s economic importance has also been increasing over the years.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
As the two Asian majors attempt to grab world attention as the next growth destinations, Chinese leaders have called for joint cooperation to develop a 21st Century Maritime Silk Route that would strengthen global trade, with the two nations positioned as crucially.
Strategic location
“India stands at the intersection of the Silk Route on land and the Maritime Silk Road, along which Gujarat used to be an inevitable stop. Guangdong, for its part, is one of the starting points and strategic hub of the same,” said Zhu Xiaodan, Governor of Guangdong Province, addressing the China-India Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference 2015 here. He mentioned that Guangdong province has worked out the implementation plan for participation in the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, as part of the One Belt and One Road (OBAOR) development. Companies from India as well as China signed 15 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) worth $590 million (approx Rs. 3,900 crore) during the course of the conference. The deals cover sectors like infrastructure, energy, agriculture, IT, electronics and pharmaceuticals.
Boosting trade
The Governor further highlighted the need for stronger cooperation, to deepen trade and investment between Guangdong province and Gujarat. “Gujarat, traditionally India’s ‘State of commerce’, boasts of highly developed industries including petrochemical, engineering and automobile manufacturing, biopharmaceutical, and IT... In response to our respective advantages, we will increase the import of advantageous products from Gujarat, and India at large, to continuously expand bilateral trade. Meanwhile, Guangdong enterprises will be encouraged to play a part in the construction of special economic zones and industrial parks in India,” said Xiaodan. The Governor mentioned the need to enhance infrastructure cooperation in areas such as electricity and transportation, and expand cooperation in automobile, medical and pharmaceutical, and IT industries, apart from tourism. The Chinese delegation had 50 leading enterprises and industry associations engaged in areas including electronics, information communication, household appliances, new energy, pharmaceutical, agriculture, construction materials, smart city and infrastructure. These companies signed the MoUs on Wednesday, while business matching for industries such as pharmaceutical, ICT and infrastructure was scheduled to be held later.
Investment opportunities
Earlier on Tuesday, the Governor had met Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and discussed about potential areas for cooperation. This included investments by Chinese companies in Gujarat. The Chinese delegation will also visit GIFT City and Sanand GIDC to explore investment opportunities, apart from Sabarmati Riverfront, where the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is creating commercial and residential infrastructure.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
OPEC expects the average price of its crude oil to rise to $80 a barrel by 2020 as supply from non-members grows more slowly than expected. Production from nations outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will be 58.2 million barrels a day in 2017, 1 million lower than previously forecast, according to an internal research report from the group seen by Bloomberg News. While OPEC expects little stimulus to demand in the medium term as a result of cheaper oil, it estimated that the average price of its crude will increase by about $5 annually to 2020 from $55 this year. The impact of current low prices is "most apparent on tight oil, which is more price reactive than other liquids sources," according to the report. "Supply reductions in the US and Canada from 2014-2016 are clearly revealed." The price of oil has tumbled more than 50 per cent in the past year, triggering a cutback in drilling in the US and other non-OPEC nations. Crude collapsed as OPEC followed Saudi Arabia's strategy of defending its share of the global market against shale and other competitors.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
