Union Minister of Textiles and Women & Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani inaugurated the 2nd edition of Global Textiles Conclave 2021 (CITI GTC2021) organised by Confederation of Indian Textile Industry on Wednesday, 24th February 2021 through a Virtual Platform. CITI GTC2021 hosts nine important business sessions and quality renowned international speakers, experts, industry players and policy makers from the globe to deliberate on India's role as an emerging sourcing partner for the global textiles and apparel trade in the aftermath of COVID-19 Irani praised Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) and International Apparel Federation (IAF) – Co-Partners and Gherzi Textil Organisation – Knowledge Partner for conceptualising such a meaningful Conclave wherein the detailed deliberations was held to explore the possibilities to tap emerging opportunities which have been thrown up in front of the industry players.
Smriti Zubin Irani thanked the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on behalf of the entire textile industry for extending Rs 6000 crores package dedicated only to the garment and made-ups sector which gave much needed impetus for the growth in the vital segments of the textile sector.
The recent announcement of Rs 10,683 crores under Product Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme specially to bring to fore the robustness of MMF Industry and to complement the growth of Technical Textiles in India was a cause for celebrations amongst many. She also added it was only due to the visionary leadership of our Prime Minister that government announced first-ever National Technical Textiles Mission with an outlay of Rs 1,480 crore with a target to enhance research innovation and development, enhance promotion & market development, enhance education, training and skilling and enhance export of technical textiles goods by increasing manufacturing capacities.
Irani also pointed out that India is going to be one of the major consumers of technical textiles especially in the segments of Buildtech, Meditech and Oekotech in the coming years and can facilitate growth in this particular sector. The recent budget announcements for the infrastructure development in Railways and Roads, Aatmanirbhar Swastha Bharata and Jal Jeevan Mission will complement India's consumption of technical textiles in the coming years.
Source: Millennium post
As part of the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) intensive training courses on improving sewing performance for professionals from clothing companies and universities in Tajikistan, a five-day course was launched on February 22 in Dushanbe, and similar training courses will be launched in Khujand, the capital of Sughd province, on March 1.
Under ITC’s Global Textiles and Clothing Program (GTEX) Tajikistan team’s supervision, the experts from Skilift Consulting, an Indian management-consulting firm, are delivering the sessions for the two groups.
According to ITC Tajikistan, the training courses aim to cover the latest trends in sewing techniques. Participants will learn to improve their skill and sewing process and reorganise production to achieve the best results, among other activities proposed. Besides theory, the group will also have practical exercises on team management and training methodology for future operators, according to an official press release.
In addition to the courses, the experts from Skilift Consulting will visit selected companies in Dushanbe, Khatlon and Sughd during March to analyse sewing process, provide inputs on management and assist in measuring improvements in production.
GTEX is a four-year programme funded by the government of Switzerland. It provides support to textile and clothing companies in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) and the Middle East and North Africa (Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia).
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
The corporate affairs ministry on Thursday said it has signed a pact with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), under the finance ministry, for data exchange between the two organisations.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) will facilitate the sharing of data and information between MCA and CBIC on an automatic and regular basis, according to a statement by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)
"The MoU is in line with the vision of MCA and CBIC to harness data capabilities to ensure effective enforcement," according to the statement said.
Their databases include details of import-export transactions and consolidated financial statements of companies registered in the country.
In addition to regular exchange of data, MCA and CBIC will also exchange with each other, on request, any information available in their respective databases, for the purpose of carrying out scrutiny, inspection, investigation and prosecution, it added.
"The MoU comes into force from the date it was signed and is an ongoing initiative of MCA and CBIC, who are already collaborating through various existing mechanisms," the statement said.
A data exchange steering group has also been constituted for the initiative, which will meet periodically to review the data exchange status and take steps to further improve the effectiveness of the data-sharing mechanism, it added.
Source: The Economic Times
The core sector index, which measures output of eight infrastructure industries, rose marginally by 0.1 per cent in January, indicating a wobbly recovery from the pandemic shock. Output in five of the eight crucial sectors fell on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, according to data released by the Ministry for Commerce and Industry on Friday.
Growth in core sector output in January was lower than the 0.2 per cent expansion seen in December. In fact, the number for December was revised upwards from a 0.3 per cent contraction estimated earlier.
This index has a 40.27 per cent weighting in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and captures output in eight infrastructure industries — coal, electricity, crude oil, natural gas, steel, cement, fertilizers, and refinery products.
“Based on the available data for the core sector, merchandise exports and auto output, we project the growth in IIP to remain subdued at 0.5-1.5 per cent in January 2021,” said Aditi Nayar, principal economist, ICRA Ratings.
The core sector index benefitted from the performances of fertilizer, steel, and electricity sectors, which posted an expansion in output of 2.7 per cent, 2.6 per cent, and 5.1 per cent, respectively.
However, output contracted in the coal sector by 1.8 per cent, crude oil by 4.6 per cent, natural gas by 2 per cent, refinery products by 2.6 per cent, and cement by 5.9 per cent.
Decline in coal output could be attributed to the high base of last year, when output expanded by 8 per cent.
“While the growth in electricity generation remained steady, the data released by POSOCO reveals a modest decline in demand growth to 4.8 per cent in January from 5 per cent in December,” said Nayar. She added that between February 1 and 25, growth in electricity demand eased further to a modest 3.2 per cent YoY.
In the April to January period, the index of eight core sectors declined by 8.8 per cent, compared with a 0.8 per cent expansion in the corresponding period last year.
“Weakness in core infrastructure industries has a bearing on the overall industrial output. If core infrastructure industries growth is an indication, then IIP growth in January would barely manage to slip into positive territory,” said Sunil Sinha, principal economist, India Ratings and Research.
In FY21, core infrastructure industries have posted growth in only three months — September, December, and January.
IIP grew by just 1 per cent in December, indicating weak growth amid inflationary pressure in non-food articles.
This may force the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India to remain accommodative going forward.
Source: The Business Standard
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked lenders to boost credit flow to critical as well as new sectors to satiate the growing appetite of a fast-recuperating economy, with an assurance that public-sector bankers won’t be harassed for honest business mistakes. He also promised further reforms in the financial services space.
Modi said the government recognises the cycle of ups and downs faced by businesses. So, it doesn’t harbour the thinking that all transactional decisions by bankers are done with mala-fide intent and amount to malfeasance.
“The government’s responsibility is to stand with all such business decisions taken with good intent and I want to say this to all those in the financial sector that I will stand by you for all decisions taken with honest intent,” Modi added.
The economy is recovering from the Covid-induced shocks and is expected to reverse a slide next fiscal to grow in the range of 10% to 13.7%. A massive credit push is thus required for businesses to resume operations without hiccups.
Modi was speaking at a webinar, attended by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, principal secretary to the Prime Minister PK Mishra, minister of state for finance Anurag Thakur, financial services secretary Debasish Panda and other stakeholders.
The statement comes at a time when non-food credit growth has slowed even as businesses are going through a reset phase following a substantial easing of lockdown curbs. Growth in non-food dropped 5.92% year-on-year in the fortnight through January 29 from 6.35% in the previous fortnight.
The financial sector, the Prime Minister said, was hurt 10-12 years ago due to “aggressive lending”. Steps have been taken to take the country out of this non-transparent credit culture. “Today instead of brushing NPAs under the carpet, we have made it mandatory to report default on day one,” he said.
The RBI data released last month showed credit to industry shrank by 1.2% in December 2020, against a 1.6% rise a year before, mainly due to a contraction in loans to large industries by 2.4%. This is way below the 5.9% non-food bank credit growth recorded in December, even though this growth rate, too, was lower than the December 2019 level of 7%.
However, credit to medium industries registered a robust growth of 15.3% in December, mainly due to the government’s guarantee on loans to them under a `3-lakh-crore scheme announced after the pandemic. Modi said as many as 90 lakh micro, small and medium enterprises were given credit worth `2.4 lakh crore in the aftermath of the pandemic.
As for reforms, Modi highlighted the Budget commitment to privatise two state-run banks and raise foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance to 74% from 49%. The proposed development finance institution will help bolster infrastructure creation.
The Prime Minister said the public sector needs to further entrench their presence in banking and insurance to support the poor, even though the government is stepping up efforts to promote the private sector as well.
“As our economy is growing, and growing fast, credit flow has also become equally important. You have to see how credit reaches new sectors, new entrepreneurs. Now you will have to focus on creation of new and better financial products for start-ups and Fintech,” Modi said.
Stressing that millions of small farmers came out of the clutch of informal lending channels due to the introduction of the Kisan credit cards, the Prime Minister asked lenders to focus on similar innovative financial products to help the poor and the vulnerable.
As many as 130 crore people have Aadhaar cards now and 41 crore have Jan Dhan accounts, of which 55% are women.
Highlighting the need to further bolster financial inclusion through the use of technology, he said on an average Rs 4 lakh crore worth transactions are being undertaken through UPI platform every month and there are 60 crore RuPay card holders.
Loans worth as much as `15 lakh crore have been extended through the MUDRA scheme. Around Rs 1.15 lakh crore have been deposited in 11 crore farmer families through the PM Kisan scheme, he said.
Source: The Financial Express
Medallia, a leader in experience management, has announced that Italian luxury brand, Salvatore Ferragamo has chosen Medallia Experience Cloud to improve the customer experience throughout its international network, both in physical stores and e-commerce sites. Salvatore Ferragamo is a leader in production of shoes, leather goods, apparel, and accessories.
Thanks to Medallia’s technology solutions, Ferragamo has opened conversations with its customers to bring their sentiment and voice into the organisation and to give relevant customer information to front-end teams, so that they can identify effective solutions to revenue-impacting issues and strengthen the bond of trust with customers, according to Medallia.
The original project roadmap coincided with the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ferragamo team quickly rethought the plan adapting it to the situation, anticipating the pilot on the US e-commerce channel and subsequently implementing the project in brick-and-mortar stores. The goal is to amplify the understanding of what touches customers’ emotions and to establish a direct personal connection through closing the loop with customers, Medallia said.
“An authentic dialogue with customers is essential for building lasting relationships and for enriching the brand. By listening to their requests, transforming criticisms into opportunities, flexibly and promptly finding solutions, helps strengthen the bond of trust and is the basis of a lasting relationship.
Through the Medallia platform, we have opened an additional channel of listening and understanding with our customers, with the aim of transforming areas for improvement into opportunities and strengthening the bond that the Salvatore Ferragamo brand wants to have with its customers,” Micaela le Divelec Lemmi, CEO of Salvatore Ferragamo said in a press release.
“We are absolutely delighted to be working with Salvatore Ferragamo on their mission to strengthen their bond with customers. This famous Italian Icon delivers fabulous experiences around the world. Their dedication to delighting all their clients and fans is backed up by their investment in technology and talent, truly driving 21st century customer experience,” Leslie Stretch, CEO of Medallia said.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
India’s economy regained quite a lot of lost steam in the December quarter, to register a flat growth of 0.4% after two consecutive quarters of deep contraction caused by the pandemic, but might slip a bit in the current quarter, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday. In the financial year 2020-21, the gross domestic product (GDP) would contract by 8%, the sharpest drop in recorded history, as per the second advance estimate; the contraction was previously seen at 7.7%.
A pick-up in private consumption, largely driven by release of pent-up demand by affluent households and sections of the middle class, government investments, solid performance by the agriculture sector and revival of manufacturing, construction, banking and real estate activities aided the recovery from the abyss (see chart). The recovery is, however, still not broad-based. Also, its sustainability is not proven beyond doubt, although a very favourable base would boost the numbers in Q1 and Q2 of the next financial year.
Of course, NSO, which has faced graver data challenges due to the pandemic, resorted in a more than usual degree to extrapolations to compute the GDP, and admitted that the latest set of numbers were therefore likely to undergo sharp revisions in due course (the NSO has already revised GDP growth rates for Q1 and Q2, both released after the onset of the pandemic, to -24.4% and -7.3%, respectively, from -23.9% and -7.5% estimated earlier).
It is also being noted that since the NSO relied on the financial performance of large listed companies, which have cornered market share from the smaller firms in recent months, to gauge the gross value added (GVA) by industry, its conclusions could be less reflective of the grimmer realities in the SME sector, among small traders and in the informal sector. At the broader level, the economic activities are lingering below the Pre-Covid level.
The second advance estimate for FY21 indicates an improvement in GVA growth to 2.5% in the fourth quarter. But it projected the GDP to slip back into a 1.1% contraction in the March quarter, due to back-ended release of subsidies by the government.
Given that demand is still somewhat muted and the pricing power gained by large companies may not be all that sustainable, government expenditure has to be stepped to achieve the estimated growth rate in Q4. In recent months, the Centre has indeed stepped up spending to support the economy and also successfully roped in CPSEs in the venture, but the revenue-starved state governments have been forced to slow their capex.
The central government’s budget capex grew a steep 335% on year in January, up from 63% December and 249% in November; its overall budget spending grew 49% in January, versus 29% in December and 48% in November.
In fact, if the Centre were to meet the revised budgetary expenditure estimate (RE) for FY21, it would have to more than double the spend in Q4 from the year-ago level. A good part of this extra spending would propel growth, although large lumpy items like clearance of fertiliser subsidy arrears to industry and release of dues to FCI would have only minimal impact.
Private final consumption expenditure, the largest pillar of the economy, suffered a much lower contraction (-2.4%) in Q3FY21 compared with -11.3% in Q2 and -26.3% in Q1, enabling it to up its share in GDP to 60.2% in Q3 from 56.7% in Q1. Gross fixed capital formation also improved from -46.4% growth in Q1 to -6.8% in Q2 and, further, to 2.6% in Q3, reflecting government capex, rather than private investments.
As far as the immediate prospects are concerned, the finance ministry earlier this month said high-frequency indicators, including power consumption, inter-and-intra-state mobility, manufacturing capacity utilisation, business expectations and consumer confidence, in January point at a “sustained and strengthening economic recovery”. Manufacturing PMI hit a three-month high in January, while services PMI rose to 52.8 last month from 52.3 in December, staying above the 50-level mark that separates growth from contraction for a fourth straight month.Merchandise exports rose 6.2% in January from a year before, the highest in 22 months and compared with a 0.1% rise in December, signalling a nascent recovery following the Covid shocks.
However, the output of eight infrastructures, with a near 40% share in the index of industrial production, remains subdued. In fact, after a 0.6% rise in September, it slid at a faster pace of 0.9% in October and 2.6% in November before inching up marginally by 0.2% in December and 0.1% in January.
Icra principal economist Aditi Nayar said: “Various lead indicators have recorded a loss of momentum so far in the fourth quarter, in contrast to the improvement in sentiment brought on by the vaccine rollout. We expect consumption growth to strengthen only modestly in the near term, as a part of the healthier income generation is used to rebuild the savings buffers that were drained during the lockdown by those in the informal sector, contact intensive industries and the self-employed.”
Nominal GDP on which key budget numbers are benchmarked, is estimated to contract by 3.8% in FY21, against a 4.2% fall estimated earlier. This will reduce FY21 fiscal deficit marginally from 9.5% (as per the revised Budget estimate) to 9.4%.
With the easing of external headwinds, exports have begun to recover, so have imports. So, the pulldown impact of net exports could exacerbate again in Q4, with a stronger rebound in imports, as domestic demand is showing signs of a revival. The share of exports in GDP (in real term) is expected to remain unchanged at 19.4% in FY21.
Reacting to the GDP data, the finance ministry said the growth in Q3 reflects “further strengthening of V-shaped recovery” that began in Q2. The resurgence of the gross fixed capital formation was also triggered by strong capex by the Centre. The fiscal multipliers associated with capex are at least 3-4 times larger than government final consumption expenditure, it said.
Kunal Kundu, India economist at Societe Generale, said a pick-up in investment enabled the economy to record a marginally positive growth, as did a lower trade deficit on account of less-than-robust economic activity. “Going forward, we believe that investment and not consumption will be India’s growth driver,” he said.
Source: The Financial Express
The central government’s fiscal deficit soared to Rs 12.34 trillion, or 66.8 per cent, of the Revised Budget Estimates at the end of January of the current fiscal year, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
The fiscal deficit at the end of January in the previous financial year was 128.5 per cent of the Revised Estimates (RE). In the current fiscal ending March 31, the fiscal deficit is likely to touch Rs 18.48 trillion, or 9.5 per cent, of the gross domestic product (GDP). The lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus infections had significantly impacted business activities and in turn, contributed to sluggish revenue realisation.
The fiscal deficit, or gap between the expenditure and revenue, had breached the annual target in the month of July during this financial year. The government received Rs 12.83 trillion — 80 per cent of the RE 2020-21 — up to January, 2021. This included Rs 11.01 trillion of tax revenue.
The tax revenue collection was 82 per cent of the RE of 2020-21, as compared to 66.3 per cent of the RE (2019-20) during the same period last fiscal. Non-tax revenue was 67 per cent of the RE. During the corresponding period of the last fiscal, it was 73 per cent.
According to the CGA data, total expenditure incurred stood at Rs 25.17 trillion, or 73 per cent of the RE in the current fiscal year.
Last fiscal, it was 84.1 per cent of the RE during the same period.
For this financial year, the government had initially pegged the fiscal deficit at Rs 7.96 trillion, or 3.5 per cent of the GDP, in the Budget presented in February 2020.
However, according to Eevised Estimates in Budget 2021-22, the fiscal deficit in the year ending March is estimated to soar up to 9.5 per cent of the GDP, or Rs 1,848,655 crore. This will be because of rise in expenditure on account of the outbreak of Covid-19 and moderation in revenue.
Fiscal deficit had soared to a seven-year high of 4.6 per cent of the GDP in 2019-20, mainly because of poor revenue realisation.
Source: The Business Standard
Minister of external affairs S Jaishankar called for support to domestic businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) on Friday. “This realisation is very sharp in India. We need to stand up for our business and that doesn't mean just big business, it means MSMEs,” Jaishankar said, according to news agency ANI.
The minister asserted that it is the government’s responsibility to support domestic businesses and that India has so far not done enough in this regard. “People today expect the government to bat for them. It's not just the business of Indian diplomacy to do business, it's the business of the government to support businesses. Every government in the world does that, we in India haven't done that enough and I think that is changing,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
Jaishankar was addressing the fifth Asia Economic Dialogue (AED) 2021, the theme for which this year is 'Post Covid-19 Global Trade and Finance Dynamics'. The conference saw international participation from foreign ministers of a number of countries, senior bureaucrats, industry leaders and global financial experts, according to ANI.
In a separate virtual event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke about the schemes meant to uplift small businesses in the country. “Self-reliant India will be made of our MSMEs, will be made of our startups. That is why special schemes were formulated for MSMEs during the Covid-19 pandemic under which around 90 lakh enterprises have been given credit worth ₹2.4 trillion,” he said while addressing a webinar on aspects relating to financial services in this year’s budget, presented by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier this month.
“Self-reliant India will not be made up of just big industries or big cities. In a self-reliant India village, small entrepreneurs in small towns will be made up of the hard work of ordinary Indians. It will be made up of farmers, units making agricultural products better,” Modi added.
Source: The Hindustan Times
The Group of 20 nations on Friday moved closer to an agreement on boosting International Monetary Fund reserves to help poor nations devastated by the global pandemic, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
Talks focused on a proposal for a $500 billion allocation of the IMF’s special drawing rights, but the final decision likely will come closer to the lender’s spring meetings in April, the officials said, asking not to be identified before a public statement.
Friday’s virtual meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors was hosted by Italy.
The breakthrough came after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen leaned toward supporting the action, reversing opposition last year under President Donald Trump. Her predecessor, Steven Mnuchin, blocked the move in 2020, saying that because reserves are allocated to all 190 members of the IMF in proportion to their quota, some 70 per cent would go to the G-20, with just 3 per cent for the poorest developing nations.
Yellen on Thursday endorsed strengthening support for developing nations, saying that “without further international action to support low-income countries, we risk a dangerous and permanent divergence in the global economy.” The IMF and World Bank “must continue to play a role in financing the global health response,” she said. While an expansion in the IMF’s resources could help low-income nations in the fight against the coronavirus, the G-20 and others need to work toward “greater transparency and accountability” in the use of the fund’s firepower.
More than 200 groups, including the Jubilee USA Network, had called on the G-20 to support the creation of $3 trillion in SDRs. They say the funds are needed to provide debt relief in developing nations and help free up resources for health care and social spending. Some Democrats in Congress have pledged support for a similar-sized move.
There’s a practical reason to focus on the smaller package. Yellen is unlikely to need congressional approval to vote in favour of the increase if the it remains at around $500 billion. However, Republicans have already voiced opposition because the issuance would send billions of dollars to Iran, Russia and China, countries that the US sees as violating human rights.
Source: The Business Standard
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said this year's budget has negated the notion that welfare state is a socialist prerogative, and added that it has given a directional change to the Indian economy, wherein the government trusts wealth creators and citizens.
She lauded the reform of faceless assessment for direct and indirect taxes, saying that tax terrorism will be a thing of the past, but also warned that "technology terrorism" will now gain ground.
"This is a budget for new decade. This budget clearly says- private sector we trust you and you are welcome to participate in the development of the country. It's a budget in which we are recognising what a government can do or how far it can do...So it's a budget that gives directional change to the Indian economy," Sitharaman said while addressing a meeting of intellectuals organised by the BJP.
"We inherited a system from the USSR, where glories of socialism were spoken about... That only socialism can take care of the welfare of the entire population. They say welfare state is a socialist prerogative," she said.
"So we went for socialism, which could not fit into the Indian ethos. We have lived through this...We have lived through some of the dirty times of the license-quota raj," the minister added.
The directional change that we are talking about is we have gone through those things (socialism and license-quota raj for industries). Now, we are not suspecting you (citizens and wealth creators) that you are always upto something. We trust you and invite you to participate in the development of the country, she said.
Narendra Modi, after becoming the prime minister in 2014, discarded the system of notary saying that citizens can self attest their documents, she said, adding that the system of boiler inspector, who would certify that the boiler in a factory is ok, was also abolished.
When you have invested money and are working hard to create wealth by manufacturing goods, then what is the requirement of a third party inspection to give a certificate, she asked.
"In the same way, we have changed the tax system, be it direct taxes or indirect taxes. Earlier, we used to hear complaints that we cannot put up with this tax terrorism. Such were the words used. Now technology has been brought in a big way and we hope that no official will call you up and say come and meet me and bring something (bribe) with you," she said.
Such a thing will not happen in the future as the government has gone for faceless assessment. Technology, in a large sweeping way, will look at all the transactions taking place, Sitharaman said.
Success in identifying the loopholes is better with technology as compared to the past when officers used to interact one-on-one, she said.
"Technology can identify where loopholes exist, where people are misusing the system, where people are using it for their own advantage and all this is coming out without one to one interaction," she said.
"So technology terrorism will happen next," the finance minister said.
She said that corporate taxes are the lowest in India and that is one of the reasons why foreign companies want to set up their base in the country.
Speaking about disinvestment, she said, "It is time to take a call till when we will put taxpayers' money in running public sectors, when private sectors can do it. We do not want them to close, but we will invite private sectors to run a better enterprise."
She said that the IMF has predicted 11.5 per cent growth in Indian economy this year.
"The sentiments on the ground match these predictions as the industrialists I meet are saying that they have sustained demands and their manufacturing units are running at full capacity now," she said.
Sustained increase in GST collections also speaks about the revival of the economy, she said.
Source: The Economic Times
Browzwear, a pioneer of 3D technology for the fashion industry, has announced the launch of its 2021.1 product update. The new release includes significant enhancements to Browzwear’s 3D visualisation and dynamic animation capabilities, honouring the brand’s commitment to bring true-to-life representation of garments to apparel professionals and businesses.
With the new product features being released in this edition, Browzwear is enabling a more seamless production of garments from concept to commerce and, as a result, empowering more designers to bring their creations to life in 3D, affecting both their bottom line and the planet positively, according to Browzwear.
The new release features additional enhancements to Browzwear’s solutions, created specifically to ease the workflow of both fashion designers and pattern makers. The Animation Workspace gives all VStitcher and Lotta users the ability to bring their avatars to life and create engaging animations without needing any prior skills. The workspace offers capabilities such as slow motion, importing animation sequences, animated camera presets, and export formats such as obj+MDD, fbx+mc, and Alembic, Browzwear said.
The 2021.1 update introduces Oliver, a new ultra-realistic parametric avatar whose measurements can be adjusted as and when needed. By working with parametric avatars, users can enjoy enhanced visuals with each garment simulation. The new Dart Tool stands out from others in the industry because it is a live object that provides the flexibility to continuously develop and adjust patterns. With this new powerful tool, users can perform actions on the dart that mimic real-life pattern-making techniques, including rotating, splitting darts into multiple darts, and curving the darts, the company said in a media statement.
The Walk Tool is the digital version of a frequently used real-world pattern making technique. This feature allows users to inspect and adjust their pattern pieces in the 2D window in real-time while walking to assure they are designed correctly to avoid any errors further down the line. This includes functions such as sliding, inserting notches, mirroring, cloning, snapping, and more, Browzwear said.
”We’re proud to remain at the forefront of solution development for the apparel industry and will continue developing our technology so apparel professionals can make incredible garments while reducing fashion’s environmental footprint. Our commitment to being true-to-life goes hand in hand with our obligations to make our users’ workflows easier and smarter as they bring their creativity to life, without limitations,” Avihay Feld, co-founder, and CEO of Browzwear said in a press release by the company.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
Top fashion and personal care companies such as Pepe Jeans, Ritu Kumar and Health & Glow, which have predominantly operated in the offline space, are aggressively investing to upgrade their websites, apps and social media handles to stay one-up in the crowded online ecosystem and woo the post-pandemic shopper. Over a virtual panel discussion organised at the Retail Leadership Summit 2021, the head honchos of the companies said merely having an online connect with the consumer cannot propel a business anymore.
“Experience on the website has become paramount. You cannot have simple e-commerce shots to sell your product now. Photoshoots need to be expressive to convey the brand message as executed in our physical stores,” said Ritu Kumar’s managing director Amrish Kumar.
The apparel brand, known for its India-inspired designs, is currently focussed on its own website sales as the company taps the premium side of the market unlike marketplaces dominated by value-focussed brands offering deep discounts.
“Online is a different paradigm that needs different curation of experiences but brings with it cost challenges too. Even though we don’t need to pay rent for physical stores, we have to pay a pseudo rent to be visible online which translates into digital marketing,” added Kumar.
Digital-first brands such as skin care company The Moms Co, which had an edge over others amid the pandemic due to its established online presence, noted that communication will be the key differentiator in the ecosystem as ecommerce saw a jump in the new wave of direct-to-consumer brands over the last six months.
“In the skin care industry, consumers are becoming extremely aware about products and ingredients which accelerated during the pandemic. It is thus important for brands to over-communicate now. Digital space allows you to do that effectively,” said Malika Sadani, founder of The Moms Co, adding, “From the cost perspective, risk is also lower online than offline as we can freely experiment and test the market before executing a plan.”
According to a recent global survey on consumer shopping behaviour by EY India - over the next 4-5 years - 94% of online shoppers will use smart phones, 70% will spend more on experiences, 67% will do more shopping online and only visit stores that provide experiences, and 56% consumers will use voice-activated devices frequently to make purchase decisions.
“It is clear that there is an increase in online shopping but there is also a need for experience,” said Pinakiranjan Mishra, sector leader - consumer products and retail at EY India, who also moderated the panel discussion.
While ecommerce surged amid the pandemic, companies stated that omnichannel will be part and parcel of future retail and attract investment from a technological standpoint. According to Avery Dennison, the manufacturer of apparel branding, labels and tags such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) inlays, India will see a lot more premium legacy stores in the next five years with faster adoption of RFID technology. Big fashion brands such as Zara, Marks & Spencer, Uniqlo, Mango and Roadster are already investing in RFID inlays for tracking and managing inventory at their stores.
“The future is about experiences whether you deliver it through technology or human interface. Our December-January sales show that we had some consumers who shopped at the store and some who shopped online,” said Manish Kapoor, CEO of denim player Pepe Jeans London.
Comparing omnichannel retail to OTT platforms such as Netflix and Hotstar that stream content on a variety of channels such as mobile apps, laptops or television sets, K. Venkataramani, managing director of Health & Glow said, “The features that we put out pre-pandemic such as an app with self-checkout scanner, click and collect and express delivery saw significant contribution to the business during unlockdown phase.”
Health & Glow played in the pure offline space for 22 years but is aggressively investing in technology and digitization to stay relevant. For instance, the beauty and wellness retailer recently switched from skin analysers to generate skin reports for consumers at stores to touchless selfie-based solutions for the same post-pandemic.
“These solutions are not necessarily expensive but make for better front-end experiences,” added Venkataramani.
Source: The Economic Times
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed on increasing credit flow to businesses to meet the needs of a fast reflating economy and said financial products will have to be tailor-made for fintech and startups.
He said that although the government’s endeavour is to promote the private sector, public sector presence in banking and insurance is also required.
“As our economy is growing, and growing fast, credit flow has also become equally important. You have to see how credit reaches new sectors, new entrepreneurs. Now you will have to focus on creation of new and better financial products for Startups and Fintech,” Modi said, addressing a webinar on Budget proposals relating to the financial sector.
Modi further said “the government is taking steps to make the financial services sector vibrant, proactive and strong”. He added that the government would stand by all business decisions taken with the right intent
Source: The Financial Express
The Biden administration has indicated that the issue of restoring the GSP status to India is on top of its radar, as several lawmakers have raised the issue of retaliatory tariffs imposed by New Delhi on American agricultural products after the previous Trump regime terminated it.
In 2019, former president Donald Trump terminated India’s designation as a beneficiary developing nation under the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) trade programme after determining that New Delhi has not assured the US that it will provide “equitable and reasonable access” to its markets.
The GSP is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme and is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries.
The issue was raised by several members of the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday during the confirmation hearing of Katherine C Tai or the position of United States Trade Representative. ”On your question on GSP in India, let me just say that if confirmed, this is very high on my radar,” Tai said, responding to a question from Senator Maria Cantwell who raised the issue of high retaliatory tariffs imposed by India on several American products after US terminated GSP privileges of India.
”What can we do to open up the Indian market to US apples and reduce the horrific tariffs that are on those apples, particularly with the Trump administration terminating the GSP programme? When would the Biden administration restore India’s GSP status and help us with apple exports” Senator Cantwell asked.
India was the largest beneficiary of the GSP programme in 2017 when it exported USD 5.7 billion worth of goods to the US under this scheme. India imposed retaliatory tariffs on 28 American products, including walnuts, almonds and apples from June 5, 2019, after the Trump administration revoked its preferential trade privileges. ”Coming from the Hill as I will be, to USTR, I don’t have a good answer for you right now for lack of having good briefing, just by virtue of being on the outside but it’s something that I look forward to engaging with you on robustly,” Tai said in response to the question from Cantwell.
Cantwell asked Tai about a number of Washington trade priorities including opening the Indian market for apples, increasing wheat exports, and resolving the dispute with the European Union on commercial aircraft subsidies for Airbus.
The market for Washington apples has fallen to USD 4.9 million from USD 120 million after India imposed retaliatory tariffs following the Trump administration’s unilateral steel tariffs in 2018.
India will now be requiring certification that export shipments are free of genetically engineered crops.
Apples are included under this requirement, and no genetically engineered apples are exported from the United States. Furthermore, there are no genetically engineered red delicious ? the variety that accounts for most of all the apple exports to India. India may close its market to US apples in March 2021 if no agreement is reached with the United States, she said.
Cantwell asked Tai what she would do to ensure that India keeps its market open to US apples and reduces its tariffs. She also asked when the Biden administration would consider restoring India’s GSP status and whether access for apples and other US exports would be a factor. During the hearing Senator Bill Cassidy, raised the issue of export of shrimp to India which are heavily subsidised. ”India is sending a lot of shrimp here.
They heavily subsidise ”I’m told ” they’re shrimpers and then the EU is refusing to accept it over phytosanitary concerns,? he said. ”So we’re getting subsidised shrimp refused elsewhere because of phytosanitary concerns putting my folks out of business. If they want to compete on price, that’s fine, but make sure it’s clean, doesn’t have antibiotics, etc. but also that it’s not unfairly subsidised,”Cassidy said. Under the GSP programme, nearly 2,000 products including auto components and textile materials can enter the US duty-free if the beneficiary developing countries meet the eligibility criteria established by Congress.
Source: The Financial Express
The GDP growth of 0.4 per cent in the December quarter shows that the economy has returned to pre-pandemic times and reflects further strengthening of a V-shaped recovery, the finance ministry said on Friday. After contracting for two quarters in a row, the Indian economy recorded a 0.4 per cent growth in the October-December quarter, mainly due to good show by farm, manufacturing, services and construction sectors.
The National Statistical Office (NSO) estimated the economy to contract 8 per cent during the full fiscal.
The economy had shrunk by an unprecedented 24.4 per cent in the April-June quarter bearing the burnt of the lockdowns imposed due to coronavirus pandemic. Economic activity recovered somewhat in the July-September period and the contraction was 7.3 per cent.
"Real GDP growth of 0.4 per cent in Q3 of 2020-21 has returned the economy to the pre-pandemic times of positive growth rates. It is also a reflection of a further strengthening of V-shaped recovery that began in Q2 of 2020-21, after a large GDP contraction in Q1 followed one of the most stringent lockdown imposed by government relative to other countries," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said the initial policy choice of "lives over livelihoods" succeeded by "lives as well as livelihoods" is now bearing positive results converging with the foresight the government had about an imminent V-shaped recovery.
The recovery has been driven by rebounds in both Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) and Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) as a combination of astute handling of the lockdown and a calibrated fiscal stimulus has allowed strong economic fundamentals to trigger quick resumption of high activity levels in the economy, it added.
While GFCF has improved from a contraction of 46.4 per cent in the June quarter to a positive growth of 2.6 per cent in the December quarter, PFCE has recovered from a contraction of 26.2 per cent in the June quarter to a much smaller contraction of 2.4 per cent in the December quarter
"Besides the overall uptick in the economy, the resurgence of GFCF in Q3 was also triggered by capex in central government that increased year-on-year by 129 per cent in October, 249 per cent in November and 62 per cent in December, 2020," the ministry added.
It said significant recovery in manufacturing and construction augurs well for the support these sectors are expected to provide to growth in FY 2021-22.
Real Gross Value Added (GVA) in manufacturing has improved from a contraction of 35.9 per cent in Q1 to a positive growth of 1.6 per cent in Q3 while in construction the recovery has been from a contraction of 49.4 per cent in Q1 to a positive growth of 6.2 per cent in Q3.
"These sectors are vital to the economy to achieve a growth of 11 per cent or more in 2021-22 as they will be impacted most by the counter cyclical fiscal policy that budgets fiscal deficit at 6.8 per cent of GDP," the ministry said.
The much lower contraction of GVA in the services sector is welcome as activity levels in contact-based services appears to have risen with the decline in the pandemic curve. A continuous decline in the pandemic curve and a step-up in vaccination drive, as recently announced will support further revival of contact-based services, it added.
Source: The Economic Times
Indian rupee weakened to close at two month low against the US dollar on Friday tracking the slump in domestic equities and a global selloff in risk assets sparked by the surging U.S yields.
The Domestic currency closed at 73.47 a level seen on 28 December 2020, losing 1.42% from its previous close of 72.42.
10-year yields climbed 33 basis points this month, the biggest advance for the benchmark notes since April 2018; it rose 5 basis points on Friday to 6.24%.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.59% to 90.665.
"The volatility in spot is picking up and there are doubts how long are the Fed going to keep interest rates low. Dollar is holding on to gains as rising inflation expectations in the US are keeping the yields higher and pressuring the rupee. The overall picture can be dire for rupee, as fresh concerns about a potential escalation in US-China trade tensions may come roaring back. But the rupee spot will continue to be under the bear grip until prices recover and trade above 73.25 levels, with 72.50 being the crucial support." said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research-Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.
Among Asian currencies, Indian Rupee was the biggest loser followed by South Korean Won losing 1.39%, Indonesian Rupiah declined 1.07% and Singapore Dollar fell 0.27%. However, China Offshore gained 0.17%, and Philippines Peso advanced 0.11%.
After contracting for two quarters in a row, the Indian economy grew by 0.4% in the October-December quarter amid coronavirus pandemic, official data showed on Friday. The gross domestic product (GDP) had expanded by 3.3% in the corresponding period of 2019-20, according to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex closed at 1939.32 points lower to close at 49,099.99, and the broader NSE Nifty was down 568.20 points to close at 14,529.15.
Foreign institutional investors have net bought $35.34 billion in equity and net sold $5.56 billion in debt since the beginning fiscal year, while domestic institutional investors have net sold Rs1.41 trillion worth of stocks, according to data on the exchanges.
Source: The Mint
Global retailer Walmart on Thursday expanded its MSME-focused Vriddhi e-institute to Uttar Pradesh, starting with Agra.
The platform will provide small businesses access to skills and competencies to grow in a post-pandemic environment through online and offline channels such as Flipkart’s marketplace and Walmart’s international supply chain.
The platform aims to empower 50,000 MSMEs across the country by providing them with specific training to leverage modern commerce.
Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister for MSME, investment & export Sidharth Nath Singh said UP has around 90 lakh MSMEs, the highest in the country. The platform aims to reach 50,000 MSMEs to join global and local supply chains over the next five years, and I’m sure MSMEs from Uttar Pradesh itself will contribute greatly to this goal.”
He said that the programme will not only boost the make-in-India effort, but will also provide further impetus to UP’s flagship ODOP (One District One Product) programme.
“This is a great opportunity for Agra’s MSMEs to take advantage of this programme and expand their markets in India and abroad. Our idea is to make Walmart the forward linkage for our ODOP and other products. This will give our artisans a global marketing platform,” he said, adding that the state government’s target is to achieve a sale target of $1 billion in next five years through the platform.
Walmart said Uttar Pradesh-based businesses can join the Vriddhi training programme to pursue opportunities to sell on Flipkart’s online consumer marketplace and through the nationwide Flipkart wholesale ecosystem. “As Walmart triples its exports from India to $10 billion annually by 2027, businesses with export ambitions can learn how to qualify as a Walmart Global Sourcing supplier, taking “make-in-India” products to the world,” the statement said.
“Walmart and Flipkart are helping artisans and entrepreneurs augment their Indian ingenuity with merchandising and logistics expertise and access to e-commerce customers across India and abroad. Growing MSME businesses creates employment opportunities in local communities and puts them at the heart of make-in-India and digital India programmes,” Leigh Hopkins, executive vice- president, International Strategy, Development and Asia Region, Walmart International, said.
The first Vriddhi e-Institute, opened in Haryana in October 2020 and serves MSMEs from the Panipat-Sonipat-Kundli region.
Source: The Financial Express
Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy has exhorted the officials to focus on achieving a tangible result from the negotiations held with trade representatives of over 25 countries and 30-plus multi-national companies for attracting investments to the State by leveraging its advantages.
No effort should be spared to tap some of the investments that were in the pipeline, he said at a review meeting on the industrial scenario at the APIIC head office at Mangalagiri on Thursday.
He enquired about the targets of the AP Economic Development Board and the progress thereof, and the status of the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) with specific focus on the Krishnapatnam node.
Director of Industries J.V.N. Subramanyam said A.P. was doing better than Tamil Nadu and Telangana in attracting investments.
Officials said policies for electric vehicles, textiles and IT, and some other sectors were being finalised.
Later, Mr. Goutham Reddy interacted with the faculty of Indian School of Business through a video-conference, wherein he suggested that remote working be encouraged and promoted to the extent possible.
Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy requested the Minister to explore ways to increase the usage of handloom garments in order to create employment opportunities to a huge number of weavers dependent on the vocation.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
2020, the year of pandemic, has motivated people more towards sustainability and organic!
The latest figures of Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certification too confirm as in 2020, this certification has touched five figures for the first time ever.
In 2020, 10,388-certified facilities adopted GOTS certification – that’s an increase of 34 per cent.
16 GOTS-Approved Certification Bodies report that over 3 million people in more than 72 countries were working in GOTS-certified facilities.
GOTS is the stringent voluntary global standard for the entire post-harvest processing (including spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing and manufacturing) of apparel and home textiles made with certified organic fibre (such as organic cotton and organic wool), and includes both environmental and social criteria.
A statement from GOTS says that there were significant increases in all regions. Top 10 countries for certified facilities are India (2,994), Bangladesh (1,584), Turkey (1,107), China (961), Germany (684), Italy (585), Portugal (449), Pakistan (391), US (167) and Sri Lanka (126).
GOTS-approved chemical inputs now number 25,913 – an increase of 13 per cent in 2020. This confirms that these inputs are increasingly used as a risk management tool by wet processors to satisfy legal and commercial residue requirements.
Claudia Kersten, MD, GOTS says, “The exceptional increase in this unprecedented year shows that decision makers value GOTS as an important tool to drive sustainable transformation in a comprehensive way – from field to fashion. Using organic fibres and processing them under strict GOTS criteria definitely provides a credible and strong base for market players to be successful in the future.”
It is also pertinent to mention here that GOTS version 6.0, to be implemented from 1 March 2021, includes stricter social and environmental criteria.
Certified entities will now have to calculate the gap between wages paid to ‘Living Wages’ and will be encouraged to work towards closing this gap.
Source: Apparel Online
The higher growth in consumer expectation index is a reflection of rising confidence of Indian households and is vital to sustain the economic recovery, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy said, suggesting there is a need to further build up this confidence.
According to CMIE, the index of consumer expectations in April and May 2020 was 6.9% and 9.6% higher than the Index of Current Economic Conditions.
In July 2020 it was 15.5% higher and since then it has been systematically significantly higher with the average difference at 11%, CMIE said in its weekly analysis. The index of consumer expectation is usually about 1.5% higher than the Index of Current Economic Conditions.
“This continued confidence in the future is vitally important to sustain the recovery seen thus far,” CMIE said in its weekly analysis.
“If households remain hopeful of their future they are likely to spend and help in the recovery process,” it said, adding it is important to build upon the confidence of households.
CMIE is of the view that the sustenance of recovery is best achieved when households feel positive of their well-being. “India’s vast consumer markets need to feel like spending beyond their essential requirements for the economy to pick pace beyond the recovery,” it said.
Further, CMIE said the government should recognise the importance of households as it is motivating private enterprises. “Like animal spirits of private enterprises is important, the sentiments of households are also very important to sustain the free recovery ride we had so far,” it added.
While the CMIE’s Consumer Sentiments Index shows urban sentiments at 50.3 are somewhat worse than rural sentiments at 55.8 in January, both rural and urban Indian households indicate greater confidence in their respective future than their current economic conditions. The consumer sentiment index stood at 54 in January 2020 compared to 46 in April 2020 when there was almost a collapse of consumer sentiment due to the nationwide lockdown.
According to CMIE, an interesting feature of Indian households is that independent of their current economic conditions, they are systematically optimistic of their future. Even RBI’s Future Expectations Index for households was more optimistic of the future in January 2021 than it was in March 2020, it said.
The RBI's Future Expectation Index was 115.2 in March and 117.1 in January 2021. However, it is limited to India’s urban regions with a sample of less than 5,400 households, CMIE added.
Source: The Economic Times
ASW Marketplace-organised Vendor Meets, under the B2B Matchmaking initiative, are fast becoming the talk of the town!
After the super success of its first two meets by EasyBuy and Jockey India, the third Vendor Session by the buying office Ethical Sourcing too turned out to be a runaway hit.
Addressed by Sanjay Thakur, Director Sourcing, Ethical Sourcing, the session saw the company reflect the current business scenario and talk about new product categories.
The engaging session saw Sanjay express optimism that those vendors who have good quality products and are open to work in smaller quantities would be in demand in the months to come.
Besides encouraging vendors to partner with buyers for mutual benefits, Sanjay also said that flexibility in every aspect – except compliance – was the call of the hour. There aren’t any two ways about it!
He also added that buyers are today looking for immediate solution to their growing needs and therefore are keen to work with sourcing offices that have strong vendor base.
Importantly, Ethical Sourcing is seeking vendors who are eyeing long-term relations not only in existing product categories, but are also ready to work with buying offices to develop new categories and products.
Ethical Sourcing was co-founded by Sanjay 7 years back, and today has several clients across the US and Europe.
Like the previous meets, this one too saw increasing number of attendees and array of questions being asked during the session – yet again reflecting the growing popularity of these sessions at the ASW Marketplace.
There are quite a few business-generating activities in the pipeline and if you aren’t here as yet, come and register now.
Source: Apparel Online
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that all help and cooperation should be extended to the beneficiaries under YSR Aasara and YSR Cheyutha.
At a review meeting on welfare schemes, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that there are 16.25 lakh beneficiaries who are availing themselves of various schemes in textiles, handicrafts, food products, jewellery and other sectors.
Under Jagananna Jeevakranthi scheme, 70,719 beneficiaries would be handed over sheep and goats, he said.
Under Jagananna Palavelluva, 1.06 lakh units would be given away to beneficiaries.
The Chief Minister also examined the proposal to felicitate volunteers and classify them into three levels. He would attend three programmes across the State, he said.
On the NREGS, the officials explained that 2,328 lakh working hours have been logged in, out of which June recorded the highest working hours of 798.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy asked the officials to speed up construction of village and ward secretariats.
Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Secretary, PR and RD, Gopalakrishna Dwivedi, Principal Secretary G. Jayalakshmi and Finance Secretary Natarajan Gulzar were present.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
From the beginning of December 2020, the prices of recycled polyester staple fibre (PSF) have been increasing with growing PSF futures and downstream yarn demand, supported by the polyester feedstock market. The PSF price rose 9.22 per cent to 5,450.00 CNY/mt in February 2021 (2nd week) compared to 4,990.00 CNY/mt in the last week of November 2020.
In October 2020, the recycled PSF prices improved 7.36 per cent to 5,250.00 CNY/mt (end of month) from 4,890.00 CNY/mt (beginning of month). However, in November the prices declined 4.95 per cent to 4,990.00 CNY/mt.
The prices remained stable to lower with higher inventory and steady operating rate of spinners, lack of restocking demand from downstream buyers and with weaker rigid demand. The PFY companies focused more on the fulfilment of previous orders in the China export market.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
The lockdown has boosted UK athleisure sales, while a lack of social occasions has seen formal wear order volumes plummet compared to last year, according to data from True Fit, a personalisation platform for apparel and footwear retailers. Order volumes of women’s athleisure apparel rose by 84 per cent since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Order volumes of women’s athleisure bottoms peaked in December 2020, with almost five times the volumes of orders placed in April during the first national lockdown. Men’s athleisure clothing sales weren’t as pronounced as the rise in demand among female shoppers for leisurewear, but still finished the year 20 per cent higher in terms of order volumes than in 2019.
True Fit’s Fashion Genome, the world's largest connected data set for fashion, analyses data from 17,000 retail brands and data from 180 million True Fit Members, who are registered shoppers on the platform.
In January, M&S announced it would expand its activewear range, Goodmove, to kids and men as demand for athleisure rose during the pandemic; online sales of its activewear grew by 200 per cent between March and September 2020.
M&S reported that 52 per cent of its customers now wear athleisure items more often as everyday clothing when compared to last year, prompting Jill Stanton, its womenswear and kidswear director, to declare that 2020 ‘cemented activewear as a staple’ of the nation’s wardrobes.
Similarly, Sweaty Betty saw a 60 per cent rise in revenues in 2020, prompted by consumers turning to athleisure or investing in activewear as they worked out at home with gyms closed during lockdown.
Meanwhile, with most social occasions cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, dresses of sales and women’s formal wear never reached 2019 levels throughout last year, according to True Fit’s data. Order volumes for dresses plummeted by 60 per cent year on year during the first lockdown in April.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
Paper (Wheat Straw-based) and chemicals manufacturer, Trident Limited has launched a digital campaign #TheGoodPaper to promote its environment friendly range of copier paper. Trident Group is committed to the cause of responsible manufacturing and believes that business is not a profit making machinery divorced from the societal and environmental context in which it operates, Abhishek Gupta, vice chairman, Trident Limited, said, “”We are immensely proud of what we have been able to achieve with Trident Paper but most of all we are grateful to be able to contribute to the lives of farmers of the country. With this campaign, we hope to encourage our audience to do their bit to help the environment and choose the good paper,” he added.
The company plans to launch a three-part campaign featuring Divya Dutta. Trident has released the first part of a three-part film series campaign which aims to normalise not feeling overridden by guilt while using copier paper. The campaign film shows a farmer who is seen surprising his daughter with her favourite doll. He is able to provide for his family because of the extra income he has generated with the sale of the wheat straw. While a young kid by using Trident paper has unknowingly contributing to the betterment of the environment.
Trident Limited is the flagship company of Trident Group headquartered in Ludhiana, Punjab, Trident Limited is a vertically integrated textile (Yarn, Bath and Bed Linen), Paper (Wheat Straw-based) and Chemicals manufacturer with captive power generation facility. It is also one of the largest players in home textiles globally.
Source: The Financial Express
Luring Vietnam of easing tax compliance for setting up MSME units in the state, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has invited the latter to invest in agriculture, textile.
Additional. Chief Secretary, MSME, UP government, Navneet Sehgal during a virtual discussion on India -Vietnam Trade and Investment Connect on Thursday organised by Indian Industries Association (IIA) said that the UP has liberalized the policies and brought many changes in the ecosystem and there are various potential growth areas for tie-ups.
''We can collaborate and take advantage of each other's strengths, as Vietnam is good in electronics and UP is good in textile and agro-based industry. We have 60 products under One District One Product (ODOP) which we are exporting in large numbers to other countries. This type of meets can be a good platform provided by the embassy where industry to industry kind of interaction can be done.''
In a bid to promote and enable the Indian and Vietnam MSMEs to know each other, understand the business opportunities and promote bilateral trade and investment and to encourage trade links and helping SME on both sides of the countries Indian Industries Association (IIA) and Embassy of Vietnam in India organized “Virtual Discussion on India -Vietnam Trade and Investment Connect & with all concerned stakeholders on February 25th 2021.
This virtual meet made entrepreneurs aware of the opportunities and scope of investment for expanding their business in Vietnam which will help them to make their presence in the global market.
He further said that the UP government is very positive towards any kind of tie-ups with the embassy and creates a common group which could jointly work on potential areas and technology transfer which can be explored.
''Whatever we can do for support and collaboration we will definitely do so,'' he added.
He said that if Vietnam is interested then we (UP government) can establish an ecosystem, subsidy on capital and GST reforms, Labour, technology, hand holding process, land availability, airports, proper connectivity, power availability.
''We also welcome investment from Vietnam in agriculture, textile. If you establish MSME units in UP, you will get easy access to all requirements including various incentives. We are glad to announce that we are at number 2 position in ease of doing business,'' Sehgal avowed.
Prominent Speakers from the Vietnam counterparts were also present in the meeting who graced the sessions are Ambassador of Vietnam to India – Pham Sanh Chau; Deputy General Secretary of Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (HANOISME)- Nguyen Hoang; Head of Investment Promotion Division - Foreign Investment Agency Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam- Hoang Thanh Tam; Trade Counsellor,
Head of Trade Office, Embassy of Vietnam in New Delhi- Bui Trung Thuong.
The India counterpart meeting was chaired by the National President of IIA Shri Pankaj Kumar; Moderated by IIA General Secretary Ashwani Khandelwal. Senior Vice President IIA Manmohan Agarwal gave a detailed presentation on Opportunities & Challenges for Indian Business to Access Vietnam.
In his address President IIA Kumar said that the rising importance of Vietnam in global supply chains has the potential to strengthen India-Vietnam ties further. Indian Industries may also seek the potential to set up businesses in Vietnam in energy, mineral exploration, agrochemicals, sugar, tea, coffee manufacturing, IT, and auto components.
''Vietnam provides several lucrative reasons to invest such as increased access to markets, favourable investment policies, free trade agreements, economic growth, political stability, low labour costs, and a young workforce. Defense production Corridor is set up in UP after Tamil Nadu. This field is full of opportunities for Indian MSME and our counterpart Vietnam. We both can share support in this field also bilaterally,'' IIA president added.
Kumar further said that we from the India counterpart look forward and want to set up an association with you for the sake of MSMEs in both countries so that the development and promotion can be done more effectively.
In the coming time, we may organize many programs which will increase the competitiveness of entrepreneurs of both countries, Kumar added.
Ambassador of Vietnam to India Pham Sanh Chau expressed his views and said that Vietnam recently raises its economic growth rate by 3 per cent which is a good sign to attract more investment.
''Indian Companies can easily invest in Vietnam due to its political stability. Areas wherein Vietnam looking for investment from India are Automobile, Granite, Marbles and Marbles, Textiles, Home Appliances, Agricultural, and Pharmaceuticals. Vietnam is also influenced by the Prime Minister and his aim of making India self-reliant and invite Indian businesses to set up their operations in Vietnam as they will get access to a domestic market of 90 million,'' he added.
Source: Knn News
Group of 20 countries should take strong policy actions to reverse a “dangerous divergence” that threatens to leave most developing economies languishing for years, the head of the International Monetary Fund said in a blog.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said “much stronger international collaboration” was needed to accelerate the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in poorer countries, including additional funding to help them buy doses and reallocation of excess vaccines from surplus to deficit countries.
The IMF recently projected global GDP growth at 5.5% this year and 4.2% in 2022, but Georgieva warned that the outlook remained uncertain, citing concerns about different strains of the virus and the slow rollout of vaccines across most of the world.
“It is going to be a long and uncertain ascent,” she wrote in a blog accompanying the IMF’s surveillance note prepared for Friday’s meeting of G20 finance officials, urging them to take action to prevent what she called the “Great Divergence.”
“There is a major risk that as advanced economies and a few emerging markets recover faster, most developing countries will languish for years to come,” she said. “If we are to reverse this dangerous divergence between and within countries, we must take strong policy actions now.”
By the end of 2022, the IMF estimates that cumulative per capita income will be 22% below pre-crisis projections in emerging and developing countries, excluding China, compared to 13% in advanced economies and 18% in low-income countries.
The IMF is also seeing an accelerated divergence within countries, with job losses hitting the young, the low-skilled, women and informal workers disproportionately hard, and millions of children facing disruptions to education.
Ending the pandemic faster would add $9 trillion to the global economy by 2025, with some $4 trillion going to advanced economies, beating “by far” any vaccine-related costs, she said.
In addition to moves to accelerate vaccinations, Georgieva said vaccine production capacity should be significantly scaled up for 2022 and beyond, and policymakers should consider insuring vaccine makers against the risks of overproduction.
She called for continued, targeted fiscal support by G20 governments to support economies, and said central banks should maintain accommodative monetary and financial policies to support flow of credit to households and firms.
But she warned that continued monetary policy support had raised “legitimate concerns around unintended consequences, including excessive risk-taking and market exuberance.”
G20 countries should also step up support to vulnerable countries through additional concessional financing, while leveraging private finance through stronger risk-sharing instruments and continuing work on debt relief, Georgieva said.
She said a new allocation of the IMF’s currency, or Special Drawing Rights, would substantially boost countries’ liquidity without increasing their debt burdens. It would also expand the capacity of donor countries to provide new resources, she said.
Italy, which leads the G20 this year, is pushing for a $500 billion allocation, a move backed by France, Germany and other big countries.
The United States had opposed such a move under former President Donald Trump, but has not yet communicated a firm position on a new SDR allocation under President Joe Biden.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
China's plan to build a global rapid logistics circle for goods by 2035, which would allow goods to be delivered to neighboring countries and major international cities within two- three days, will likely boost China's trade with major economies in the EU and Asia, observers said.
Some expect the country's foreign trade to grow more than 5 percent annually during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), and analysts said the broad plan is also significant in terms of coordinating a global industry chain where China plays a centralized and pivotal role. Riding on such momentum, the world's economic center of gravity could gradually shift to China, they predicted.
According to a plan jointly issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, China's cabinet, on China's comprehensive transportation network layout, the country aims to build 200,000 kilometers of railways, 460,000 kilometers of highways, and 25,000 kilometers of high-level sea lanes by 2035.
The total transportation network will reach 700,000 kilometers by 2035, according to the plan, with 27 major coastal ports, 400 civil transportation airports and 80 express hubs.
That will provide support for the "global 123" fast logistics circle for goods, which stands for one-day delivery in domestic market, two-day delivery for neighboring countries and three-day delivery for major global cities, the plan noted.
The unprecedented blueprint would create the world's largest transportation network. Analysts said that as the plan will significantly shorten shipping times, it will facilitate China's goods flow with other major economies -- in particular with Asian countries with which China shares a land border, and countries along China's southwest passage such as Pakistan, Myanmar and European nations.
At the end of 2020, the EU completed negotiations for a bilateral investment treaty with China, the bloc's largest trading partner. Also, China in November signed the world's largest trade deal, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), that encompasses one- third of the global economy. Analysts said that improved logistics connectivity could speed up those trade deals' implementation.
"It is expected that under the plan, the annual number of China-Europe freight trains will double from the current level to 40,000 to 50,000 by 2035. Transportation times will also be cut from more than half a month now to 10-20 days by that time," Tian Yun, vice director of the Beijing Economic Operation Association, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Some analysts expected that the plan will drive China's foreign trade to expand more than 5 percent during the 14th Five-Year plan if the negative impact of geopolitics is well controlled.
Bai Ming, deputy director of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's International Market Research Institute, told the Global Times on Thursday that as distance matters less, industry interactions and cooperation between China and other economies will also move closer, enabling the world's second-largest economy to play an increasingly important role in serving global industry chains.
"By 2035, China will become more than a global production center as flourishing foreign trade opens up more space for industrial growth. The country will also evolve to be a logistics center, trade center, clearing center and financial center, laying a solid foundation for a path to be the world's economic center," Tian said.
In 2020, China - the only major economy to avert an economic contraction - was more than 70 percent the size of the US' GDP. Some analysts predict the country will surpass the US to be the world's largest economy by 2028.
Source: Global Times
According to the United Kingdom’s Office of National Statistics in December, China was the only country among the UK’s top five trading partners with which bilateral trade in goods increased in the first half of 2020－due mainly to a 17.2 percent increase in goods imported from China.
Also, in the first seven months of 2020, China surpassed the United States to become the European Union’s largest trading partner. The total import-export volume between the EU’s 27 member states and China was €328.7 billion ($399.99 billion), an increase of about 2.6 percent year-on-year. In fact, China was the EU’s largest trading partner in the first three quarters of last year, with a total trade volume of €425.5 billion, up 3 percent year-on-year.
How has China become an increasingly important trade partner of the UK?
First, China met many of the UK’s needs, especially because British imports from other countries declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the second quarter of 2020, European countries were struggling to contain the novel coronavirus, and global industrial and supply chains were disrupted.
Besides, the traditional major trading partners of the UK adopted some protectionist trade policies, affecting overall exports to the country.
On the other hand, thanks to its strict pandemic prevention and control measures, China largely contained the virus by the end of the second quarter of 2020 and resumed production and other economic activities much earlier than other economies, which enabled it to meet the emergency needs of the UK and other countries.
Besides, the pandemic led to the rise of “home economy” in the UK, and British citizens’ demand for electronics products such as mobile phones and computers from China greatly increased.
China also met the demand of many countries, including the UK, for medicines and medical equipment such as face masks.
According to official data, about 12,000 express trains plied between China and Europe in 2020, an increase of more than 50 percent year-on-year. The goods exported by China included daily products, electronics and medical supplies, which were in high demand in the UK.
Second, the Chinese and British economies are complementary. According to the Office of National Statistics, China enjoys comparative advantage in making most of the products it exported to Britain, such as clothing, furniture and electronics. Among them, electronics equipment made up the largest proportion of British imports from China－more than one out of every three Chinese product exported to the UK was electronics.
Similarly, British exports to China are mostly products in which Britain has a comparative advantage, such as wine, cosmetics and auto parts.
In addition, the British market depends more on Chinese goods than China does on British goods. For example, textiles comprised the tenth largest volume of products China exported to the UK, with Chinese textiles accounting for about one-third of the total global imports.
Third, British imports from China increased because 2020 was the Brexit transitional period for the UK－it had to leave the EU’s single market and customs union on Jan 1, 2021, whether or not it reached a free trade agreement with the EU.
During the Brexit transition period, the industrial division of labor and cooperation among the EU countries underwent necessary readjustments and realignment. Britain’s trade relations with its traditional European trading partners also changed during the period, prompting it to urgently establish new trade relations with other economies.
Also, since China enjoys great advantages in industrial and supply chains, it became the largest source of imports for the UK after Brexit, and British demand for Chinese products is likely to further increase in the future.
On Jan 22, 2021, the EU released the agreement text for the negotiations on the Sino-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment. After the CAI is signed by the two sides and implemented, Britain’s trade with European countries could decline further.
And since during the Joe Biden administration in the US－especially in the post-Brexit and post-pandemic era－the global industrial and supply chains are likely to witness further adjustments, the UK should seize the opportunity to strengthen multilateral cooperation with countries around the world and embrace new breakthroughs at the global turning point by strengthening its trade cooperation with China.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
The Lenzing Group is introducing a sustainable indigo technology for denim.
The one-step spun-dyeing process incorporates indigo pigment directly into Tencel-branded modal fibers. In addition to offering superior color fastness, the offering has been awarded the EU Ecolabel, which certifies products meeting high environmental standards throughout their life cycle.
Compared to conventional indigo dyeing, Lenzing’s technology provides indigo coloration with substantial water, chemical and electricity savings, along with less wastewater produced, and no heat energy used. A specially commissioned indigo pigment from dyestuff manufacturer DyStar ensures that Tencel Modal with indigo technology can be certified with Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex, guaranteeing ultra-low levels of aniline.
“Innovation is at the core of what we do, from sustainable fiber sourcing through industry leading features and production processes, with the ever-present goal of safeguarding our environment,” said Florian Heubrandner, VP of global textiles business at Lenzing AG.
Source: Home Textiles Today
Bangladesh's economy has started recovering from the Covid-19 shocks, although some major challenges are there in some areas for maintaining its growth momentum, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) has said.
The challenges are - slow implementation of the government's development projects, unemployment situation, lower investment trend and sluggish growth of tax-revenue income, the trade-body opined in its Review of Economic Situation in Bangladesh for the last October-December period (Q2 of FY 21) on Thursday.
"Bangladesh's economy is now rebounding from the Covid-19 shocks due to the time-befitting steps of the government alongside implementation of the stimulus packages."
"Turning to FY 21, economic conditions seem to have been gradually improving after the easing of restrictions in late May 2020, supported by the government policies."
The MCCI said the major macro-economic indicators like inward remittance, foreign currency reserve, money supply and inflation remained satisfactory during the quarter under review (Q2 of FY 21).
The exchange rate has long been stable, while the current account and balance of payments account are also in positive trajectory.
Although a large segment of informal industries, services and other activities have resumed their operations, these seem to be running at a much lower level of their capacities, the chamber mentioned.
"The export-oriented garment and leather, and the domestic market-oriented steel, food-processing and transport sectors are not running in full scale yet," the MCCI said, suggesting that these positive changes need to be interpreted carefully.
It, however, opined that private investors are trying to cope with the situation instead of making further investments.
The MCCI also suggested that there is a need for significant rise in the public and private investment in the country to help maintain competitiveness and foster further growth.
"Employment cannot grow fast enough when private investment is stagnating. Private investment in the country has been hovering around 22-23 per cent of the GDP for many years."
The review further said domestic reforms as well as initiatives are urgently needed to liberalise trade policy regime for improving the investment climate and rejuvenating employment growth.
In its sector-wise review, the MCCI said due to slower economic activities, caused mainly by Covid-19 in the previous months, the country's industrial sector recorded a lower growth (6.48 per cent) in FY 20, compared to 12.67 per cent in FY 19.
In the broad industry sector, the manufacturing sub-sector recorded a lower growth of 5.84 per cent in FY 20 mainly due to Covid-19, compared to the previous fiscal year's 14.20 per cent.
To overcome the possible impact of the pandemic on the sector, the government announced a bail-out package of Tk 300 billion for the affected industries and service sector organisations to provide working capital through banks at low interest rate in April 2020, it mentioned.
Tax revenue collection under the National Board of Revenue (NBR) lagged behind by Tk 307.91 billion or 21.80 per cent against the target of Tk 1,412.25 billion set for H1 of FY 21.
The NBR collected Tk 1,104.34 billion in July-December of FY 21 compared to 1,062.42 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, the MCCI noted.
On the other hand, the ADP implementation rate in the first half of the current fiscal year was lower than that in the corresponding half of the previous fiscal year.
Referring to official data, it said 58 ministries and divisions could spend Tk 512.66 billion or 23.89 per cent of the total allocation of Tk 2,146.11 billion in July-December of FY 21 in the aftermath of Covid-19.
In the corresponding period of the last fiscal, Tk 571.96 billion was spent, which was 26.59 per cent of the total outlay (Tk 2,151.14 billion), added the MCCI.
However, the country's inward remittance in the quarter under review (Q2 of FY 21) grew by 27.47 per cent to US$6.23 billion from $4.89 billion in Q2 of FY 20 despite the ongoing pandemic.
The government incentive and the latest policy support provided by the Bangladesh Bank (BB) helped boost the remittance growth.
The MCCI said the country's overseas employment sector has been facing a blow due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
"Although there was an apprehension that about 1.0 million migrant workers might return home amid the pandemic, about 0.326 million have returned so far, according to the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment," it mentioned.
Source: The Financial Express Bangladesh
Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa says that the government is committed to introducing new technologies in every sector to enable the country to increase its market share in the global economy.
He said the government had established a separate Ministry of Technology with this objective, just as it had promised in its ‘Vision of Prosperity’ policy statement.
The President made this observation addressing the 15th Governing Council meeting of the Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries for Science and Technology, on Zoom Technology yesterday (24).
The conference was organized by the National Science and Research Commission under the guidance of the Ministry of Technology and was held at the Miloda Institute of Financial Studies, Colombo.
Sri Lanka is chairing and hosting this year’s conference, which was attended by delegates from 22 countries via Zoom technology.
The President emphasized that in order to become a country with a technology based economy, indigenous technology must be integrated with modern technology. “We have a proud history of eco-friendly local and traditional technology,” the President said.
The President said that the Covid epidemic provided an opportunity for science and technology, researchers, scientists and inventors to demonstrate the potential to meet the immediate needs of the health sector.
Plans for the next three decades were discussed at length at this year’s conference and it was agreed to exchange science and technology knowledge between member countries and to hold the next Bureau meeting in September 2021 in Mauritius.
Five books written based on knowledge exchanged between member countries were also launched.
Ambassadors and heads of government agencies in the field of science and technology were also present at the conference.
Following is the President’s full speech:
President and the Vice Presidents of the 14th Governing Council
Secretary, Ministry of Technology, Sri Lanka
Director General of NAM S & T Centre
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is indeed a pleasure to address the 15th Governing Council meeting of the Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries for Science and Technology, with representation from 47 member countries spread over the African, Asian and European continents and Latin American countries to promote South-South cooperation in science and technology.
From the date of inception, I am sure many member states had benefitted by the activities of the NAM S & T Centre. This Centre, as I am made to understand, has so far progressed through various interventions including promotion of mutually beneficial collaboration among member countries and establishing links with national and regional science and technology centers for scientific advancement.
Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the NAM S & T Centre in India for the continuous and sustainable operation of this inter-governmental institutional mechanism from 1989, offering meaningful contributions to the S & T community across borders.
Science and technology-based planning is what was used to build and transform the world. Indeed, technology provides answers to many of the challenges that are taking place in this dynamic world. Current COVID-19 pandemic and the development of different types of vaccines in record time with adequate clinical trials is a living example to show the important role that could be played by science and technology in human life.
It is well known that we face major challenges in introducing new technologies due to high capital investment. Similarly, there is heavy competition developing countries have to face. As a result, our own inventions do not progress much. My government, therefore, has established a separate Ministry for Technology under my purview to introduce new technologies in all feasible sectors enabling us to increase our market share in the global economy.
Exchanging technologies, through a center of this nature would be a strategic approach to minimize our capital investment in introducing new technologies. Sri Lanka has currently embarked on introducing a scientific approach and technological advancements in major economic sectors such as Information and Communication Technology, agriculture, plantations, and fisheries. We are more than happy to collaborate with other member countries in sharing our best practices in these sectors.
Nevertheless, a country to become a technology-based economy, it is important that local and indigenous technologies are integrated with high-end technologies. Sri Lanka has a proud history of indigenous and traditional technologies that are environmentally friendly. This would further elevate the level of cooperation between member countries specially in introducing and developing new industrial start-ups in several fields including herbal and food technology so as to address issues in pandemic situations.
The entire world is now moving towards developing strategies and plans to overcome the adverse impacts caused by COVID-19. Sri Lanka is no exception. Fortunately, Sri Lanka has a strong health system to handle pandemics and we also observe that the recent pandemic has presented a greater opportunity for the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) sector, especially to showcase the abilities of researchers, scientists and inventors in meeting immediate needs of health sector.
In this context, the NAM S & T center could play a greater role in identifying common interests of member countries and create a collaborative mechanism that will be beneficial to all. I propose that the NAM S & T center expands its scope to accommodate new thinking in line with current requirements of member countries.
I would also like to make a special request to all delegates to consider deliberating how best we can collaborate in reaching our sustainable development goals within this pandemic situation, particularly in the area of climate change since our focus has shifted due to the recent pandemic.
Finally, realizing the mandate of the NAM S & T center is our collective responsibility, and it is incumbent upon us to continue the operation of this inter-governmental mechanism and I assure you that Sri Lanka is committed to collaborate in all aspects that are mutually beneficial.
I wish all success to the 15th Governing Council Meeting.
Thank you.
Source: Sri Lanka Internet News
Ethiopia recently sought investment from Indian investors in priority sectors and hoped bilateral trade and investment will grow in future. The country’s priority sectors include textile and apparel, leather and leather products, agro-processing, information and communciation technology and energy, Ethiopian ambassador to India Tizita Mulugeta said.
Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $1.27 billion in the recent past. The Ethiopian government has taken several initiatives to encourage investors from India, Mulugeta said at an interactive session with the Merchant Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in Kolkata
MCCI president Aakash Shah said Ethiopia is poised to emerge as a middle income country and a major manufacturing hub in Africa by 2025, a news agency reported.
There are over 558 Indian companies operating in Ethiopia with licensed investment of approximately $4 billion, mostly in agriculture and manufacturing, he added.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
The Biden administration has indicated that the issue of restoring the GSP status to India is on top of its radar, as several lawmakers have raised the issue of retaliatory tariffs imposed by New Delhi on American agricultural products after the previous Trump regime terminated it.
In 2019, former president Donald Trump terminated India''s designation as a beneficiary developing nation under the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) trade programme after determining that New Delhi has not assured the US that it will provide "equitable and reasonable access" to its markets.
The GSP is the largest and oldest US trade preference programme and is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated beneficiary countries.
The issue was raised by several members of the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday during the confirmation hearing of Katherine C Tai or the position of United States Trade Representative.
“On your question on GSP in India, let me just say that if confirmed, this is very high on my radar,” Tai said, responding to a question from Senator Maria Cantwell who raised the issue of high retaliatory tariffs imposed by India on several American products after US terminated GSP privileges of India.
“What can we do to open up the Indian market to US apples and reduce the horrific tariffs that are on those apples, particularly with the Trump administration terminating the GSP programme? When would the Biden administration restore India’s GSP status and help us with apple exports?” Senator Cantwell asked.
India was the largest beneficiary of the GSP programme in 2017 when it exported USD 5.7 billion worth of goods to the US under this scheme.
India imposed retaliatory tariffs on 28 American products, including walnuts, almonds and apples from June 5, 2019, after the Trump administration revoked its preferential trade privileges.
“Coming from the Hill as I will be, to USTR, I don''t have a good answer for you right now for lack of having good briefing, just by virtue of being on the outside but it’s something that I look forward to engaging with you on robustly,” Tai said in response to the question from Cantwell.
Cantwell asked Tai about a number of Washington trade priorities including opening the Indian market for apples, increasing wheat exports, and resolving the dispute with the European Union on commercial aircraft subsidies for Airbus.
The market for Washington apples has fallen to USD 4.9 million from USD 120 million after India imposed retaliatory tariffs following the Trump administration’s unilateral steel tariffs in 2018.
India will now be requiring certification that export shipments are free of genetically engineered crops.
Apples are included under this requirement, and no genetically engineered apples are exported from the United States. Furthermore, there are no genetically engineered red delicious – the variety that accounts for most of all the apple exports to India. India may close its market to US apples in March 2021 if no agreement is reached with the United States, she said.
Cantwell asked Tai what she would do to ensure that India keeps its market open to US apples and reduces its tariffs. She also asked when the Biden administration would consider restoring India’s GSP status and whether access for apples and other US exports would be a factor.
During the hearing Senator Bill Cassidy, raised the issue of export of shrimp to India which are heavily subsidised.
“India is sending a lot of shrimp here. They heavily subsidise – I’m told – they’re shrimpers and then the EU is refusing to accept it over phytosanitary concerns,” he said.
“So we’re getting subsidised shrimp refused elsewhere because of phytosanitary concerns putting my folks out of business. If they want to compete on price, that’s fine, but make sure it’s clean, doesn''t have antibiotics, etc. but also that it’s not unfairly subsidised,” Cassidy said.
Under the GSP programme, nearly 2,000 products including auto components and textile materials can enter the US duty-free if the beneficiary developing countries meet the eligibility criteria established by Congress.
Source: Outlook Magazine
Indonesia recently imposed anti-dumping duty (ADD) equivalent to a maximum of Tk 956 per piece on import of 134 types of apparel products for three years. The Indonesian trade ministry’s Committee on Safeguards on February 23 issued a notification to this effect. The safeguard measures will apply after publication of the decree by the finance ministry.
The notification was published on the website of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Although the duty is imposed unilaterally, Bangladesh’s export will be hit the hardest as the country already faces up to 25 per cent duty on export of readymade garment (RMG) products to Indonesia, exporters and trade officials told Bangladeshi media outlets.
In fiscal 2019-2020, Bangladesh exported RMG products worth $27.91 million to Indonesia, which is more than 54 per cent of the country’s total export to Indonesia worth $51.42 million.
In 2018-2019, Bangladesh exported apparel products worth $30 million against import of textile articles worth $187 million, including $133 million of fibres, from the country.
Imposition of the safeguard duty on top of that will worsen Bangladesh’s export competitiveness in the country, experts in Bangladeshi said, hoping the Dhaka should utilise the scope for consultation and bilateral trade relations to mitigate the impact of the safeguard measures.
According to the notice, the safeguard duty has been imposed on top garments (casual), top garments (formal), bottom garments, suits, ensembles and dresses, outwear, babies’ garments and clothing accessories, headwear and neckwear.
The rate of specific duty is Rp 6,231 per piece of headwear and neckwear, Rp 45,499 for top garments (casual), Rp 1,56,979 for top garments (formal), Rp 90,346 for bottom garments, Rp 1,59,143 for suits, ensembles and dresses, Rp 1,38,930 for outwear, Rp 32,034 for babies’ garments and clothing accessories for the first year.
The duty rate is slightly lower for the second and third years. The amount of duty ranges from Tk 37 to Tk 956 per piece of clothing item which come under the purview of the duty.
The notice said that WTO members who have substantial interests in the goods would have to request for consultation within seven days from the date of circulation of the notice. The consultation is scheduled to be held no later than March 19.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
On 5 January 2021 the European Commission (“Commission“) published the roadmap for the upcoming consultation on the EU’s “strategy for sustainable textiles”.
The textile sector was previously identified as a priority sector in the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Industrial Strategy where the EU seeks to develop a carbon neutral, circular economy (see our previous article Strictly Sustainable Products Only for further analysis) and, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increased need for sustainable recovery and growth on both the supply and demand side of the textile sector.
The textile sector
The textile and clothing industry employs 1.5 million people across the EU, most of which are part of small and medium sized businesses that operate in long, globalised and diverse value chains. However, the European textile industry faces an uneven playing field due to lower costs, environmental standards and working conditions in developing countries. It is increasingly challenging to prove that textiles are produced under acceptable environmental and working conditions.
Although there is a growing awareness of sustainability within the industry, Europeans still consume on average 26 kg of textiles each year. Of this, around 11 kg of textiles are discarded per person each year, in part due to the continuing “fast fashion” phenomenon, and less than 1% of all textiles worldwide are currently recycled into new textiles.
In order to address this, the Commission suggests that a coordinated and harmonised EU-level response is required to tackle structural weaknesses regarding textile waste collection, sorting and recycling in the Member States, and to strengthen capacity both of the industry and public authorities.
What does the Commission aim to achieve?
The Commission wants to set up a comprehensive framework in order to create conditions and incentives to boost the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of the EU textiles sector. The new framework should support sustainable investments in production processes, design, new materials, etc. and offer support to new technologies that can help tackle the release of micro plastics and help contribute to the digital and green transition.
The Commission has suggested:
The Consultation
The initial feedback period ended on 2 February 2021 for comments on the roadmap and the full consultation is expected to commence within this first quarter of 2021. Whilst the content of the consultation is not yet clear, we expect to see some of the ideas suggested in the roadmap to be included, depending on the feedback received.
Key Takeaways
Companies in the textile industry should consider potential adjustments required in their supply chains with regard to waste, recycling, and transportation methods, and should familiarize themselves with the new European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Industrial Strategy. Companies would be well advised to implement more robust onboarding and monitoring processes in their supply chains to ensure third party activities are in line with anticipated standards, and to assess risk given likely additional corporate responsibility for failure to meet future sustainability standards.
Source: Global Compliance News
In 2020, 192 Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) retailers and brand members sourced 1.7 million tonnes of Better Cotton, notwithstanding the significant impacts felt by retail markets due to COVID-19, a record for BCI and the industry. This shows a 13 per cent increase on 2019 sourcing volumes. BCI is a leading cotton sustainability programme in the world.
The BCI engages and brings together the entire cotton sector, from farmers, ginners and spinners to civil society organisations and major global retailers and brands, to establish more sustainable cotton as the norm. Among BCI’s 2,000 members, its retailer and brand members are influencing the market and driving demand by sourcing more sustainable cotton as their raw material of choice. Better Cotton, the cotton grown by licensed BCI Farmers, often forms a significant part of a retailer’s portfolio of more sustainable cotton, which may also include organic, fair-trade, and recycled cotton, BCI said in a media statement.
BCI’s demand-driven funding model means that when BCI retailers and brand members source cotton as Better Cotton, it directly translates into increased investment in training for cotton farmers on more sustainable practices, as set out in the Better Cotton Principles and Criteria. Supplier and manufacturer members also form a critical link between demand and supply of Better Cotton and are committed to sourcing increased volumes year on year. In 2020, spinners sourced an incredible 2.7 million tonnes of Better Cotton, ensuring there was ample supply available on the global market, BCI said.
“H&M wants to lead the change towards circular and climate positive fashion, and one of the key tools to do this is to shift from conventional cotton to cotton sourced in a more sustainable way. We have come a long way on this journey and it’s positive that an increasing number of companies, including H&M, are sourcing more sustainable cotton, including cotton sourced through BCI. Contributing to real impact at farm level to help cotton growers to embrace environmentally friendlier, and socially and economically sustainable farming methods is crucial to us and BCI allows us to achieve that,” Cecilia Brannsten, environmental sustainability manager from H&M said in a statement.
“BCI members remained focussed on their commitments to sustainability through what was a challenging year. From civil society members supporting farmers on protective measures for COVID-19, to commercial members continuing to source Better Cotton, and thereby, investing in cotton farming communities, BCI members were more active and engaged than ever. Now we look ahead to 2021 and support even more ambitious sourcing plans from our growing membership,” Paula Lum Young-Bautil, deputy director, membership and supply chain, BCI said.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
The Kampala City Traders’ Association (Kacita) has petitioned the ministries of Finance, Trade, and commissioner general of Uganda Revenue Authority to rescind the new tax policy, saying it has increased the cost of importation of textile products.
The traders say the new tax policy has placed a heavy burden on the traders who have since abandoned their goods at Mombasa Port in Kenya.
In a February 12 petition, traders want members to clear their goods based on the transaction value as opposed to weights, which they said will be in line with General Agreement on Taxes and Tariffs (GATT) valuation, as signatories of World Trade Organisation (WTO).
“Please also in research, endeavour to establish the different types of materials demanded for in the market and compare the same with what can be supplied by our local manufacturers; again in the research, establish the number of jobs which are created by the importation of these materials and hence those who will be rendered jobless,” the petition in part reads.
Mr Thaddeus Musoke, the secretary general of Kacita, told journalists in Kampala yesterday that if government does not stop the implementation, many traders will suffer huge losses which will drive them out of business.
“We have got several petitions from business community due to the increase of taxes when the economic situation in the country is very badly off. You’re aware that Covid-19 has affected the business community negatively unfortunately government has increased taxes in almost all major ‘sectors,” Mr Musoke said.
Changes
Under the new policy, the tax rates of textiles were increased to 35 per cent as import duty from 25 per cent, and to $5 per kilo on the imported textile materials.
Mr Musoke said the implication is that imports that were cleared at about Shs30 million to Shs40 million, now clears at taxes of between Shs300m and Shs400 million.
“Indeed, this is prohibitive and by no imagination can we assume that the increment in the taxation represented a mark-up. This, therefore, explains why the importers have abandoned their merchandise,” Mr Musoke said.
He said Uganda is a signatory to the WTO where imports are valued on the basis of General Agreement on Taxes and Tariffs valuation where goods valuation is based on transaction value.
He said in all the provisions of the GATT valuation, there is nowhere, where it is provided that goods will value be on the basis of weights, except for used items, whose transaction value cannot be readily established.
Source: Daily Monitor News
