The Centre has withdrawn its proposal on setting up a textile park in Kalaburagi owing to poor response from investors, Minister for Handloom and Textiles Shrimant B. Patil informed the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
In a reply to Priyank Kharge of the Congress during the Question Hour, Mr. Patil said the proposal was mooted about a decade ago. The State government requested the Centre to continue the work on the park but the latter rejected the request and asked the State to refund ₹1.85 crore, which was released for infrastructure work at the textile park.
A few days ago, Mr. Patil said he met Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani and sought the Centre’s support in establishment of the park. Ms. Irani is yet to respond to the State’s request. Mr. Patil said many subsidies and incentives had been offered to investors under the new textile policy of the State government.
Mr. Kharge urged the government to establish a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and invest in it to set up the park.
In reply to a question from Siddu Savadi (BJP), Mr. Patil said the Finance Department had rejected the department’s proposal to purchase six lakh saris from powerloom weavers who were in distress owing to the pandemic. It had been proposed to buy six lakh saris for distribution to COVID-19 frontline workers.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The textiles ministry is in the process of obtaining approval of the Cabinet for the scheme of Mega Investment Textile Park. Under the scheme, seven Mega Textile Parks will be set up in the country over 3 years, Parliament was informed Thursday.
Textiles minister Smriti Zubin Irani also told Rajya Sabha that the proposal for closure of British India Corporation Ltd. (BICL) is in the advanced stage. The corporation has been incurring losses since its nationalization in the year 1981.
“Owing to continuance of losses, BICL was referred to the Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) in 1991 and was declared sick in 1992. The government approved revival schemes in November, 2001, 2005 and 2011 also failed,” Irani said.
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the closure of Handicraft and Handloom Export Corporation of India Limited on Tuesday.
The Corporation has been continuously incurring losses for a long time and there was little scope for its revival,” Irani said, adding that in consonance with the government's vision of “Minimum Government and Maximum Governance”, the government has abolished All India Handloom Board, All India Handicrafts Board, Cotton Advisory Board, All India Powerloom Board, and Jute Advisory Board.
Further, to enable more freedom and flexibility for industry members in functioning of Export Promotion Councils which are industry bodies, the textiles ministry has decided to withdraw its representatives from all textiles export promotion councils.
Source: The Economic Times
“The textile industry is very keen that India should sign an early Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the UK as it could benefit enormously from tariff cuts. The Textile Ministry has thus conveyed to the Commerce Ministry that a limited trade deal, including textiles and clothing, among other products, should be considered for an early conclusion,” an official told BusinessLine.
UK PM’s visit
While formal talks on a India-UK FTA have not yet started, there is a possibility for discussions to begin during UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s likely visit to India in the coming months, according to UK officials.
Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had, last month, proposed to the UK Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss that the two countries could initially work on an interim pact on a preferential basis based on which both sides would reduce or eliminate tariffs on select items. “No decision has been taken on how to go about the proposed India-UK FTA yet,” the official said.
The UK is India’s fourteenth largest trading partner accounting for $8.7 billion of exports and $6.7 billion of imports in 2020-21.
Touching potential
The Textile Ministry wants more market access for textiles and clothing under the proposed trade pact with the UK as the Indian industry has been complaining about not being able to perform to its full potential in the country because of tariff disadvantages.
As per figures collated by the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), total import of apparels in the UK in 2019 was $24.9 billion, of which India’s share was just $1.4 billion while Bangladesh’s share was at $3.6 billion
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi dated December 21, 2020, the AEPC pointed out that the apparel export industry was facing severe competition in the UK due to duty disadvantages arising out of benefits under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) to 47 Least Developed Countries including Bangladesh. While the GSP scheme is for EU countries, the UK has indicated that it will continue despite exiting the EU.
Ahead of Brexit transition period on January, the Texprocil pointed out to the government that the UK had already signed trade agreements with 62 countriesand it was therefore imperative for India to start negotiations soon.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The Indian textiles & clothing industry has established its dominant value added product market share both in domestic and international markets during the last several years especially in the recent past, more so in the superfine VSF and its blended textiles and clothing products. The industry has been pleading the Government to remove anti-dumping duty of USD 0.103 to 0. 512 per kg imposed on the VSF during the last several years, which is under active consideration.
The Government is mulling the removal at the time of sunset review which is due in August 2021. In the meanwhile, the Union Budget 2021-22 imposed 5% basic customs duty and 5% AIDC on cotton (effective rate 11% including 10% social welfare surcharge).
This has greatly impacted the supply chain of both domestic and international markets and also spiraled domestic Indian ELS, organic and contamination free cotton prices that are already under acute shortage.
Ashwin Chandran, Chairman, The Southern Indian Mills’ Association (SIMA), urged for government for the removal of both anti-dumping duty on VSF and also the withdrawal of 10% import duty on cotton. He said that both the high value added market segments account around Rs.1,50,000 crores business size and employ over two million people, fetch GST revenue of Rs.5,000 crores and also forex earnings to the tune of Rs.75,000/- crores apart from catering to the value added segments.
He said that VSF and superfine cotton value chain supplies to the international brands, who have set up retails in the domestic market and the price crisis is being utilized as an opportunity by the neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and therefore, imports started looming large. He has reiterated that out of 40 MMF products identified by the Ministry of Textiles under PLI Scheme, 18 products are made out of VSF and its blended fibres. He stated that the capacity utilization of the spinning and powerloom clusters in Erode alone has been affected to the tune of 30% and therefore, the industry cannot wait till the sunset review.
SIMA chief has stated that when the industry is facing acute shortage of VSF fibre, there is no question of dumping and causing injury to the domestic market. He has stated that India has been mainly relying on the American PIMA and Egyptian GIZA and other ELS cotton for the domestic and international markets apart from the home grown DCH cotton.
He said that the industry has been mixing the imported cotton with the indigenous cotton, as the availability of Indian cotton is not even 20% and the industry also has been mixing the imported ELS cotton with micro denier polyester modal and other speciality manmade fibres to produce high value added products. He has stated that the industry has also been using Bunny cotton grown in Telangana and other regions for mixing with the imported cotton and produce fine count yarns and its products. Ashwin has said that the DCH cotton was costing around Rs.52,000/- per candy of 355 kgs during October 2020 and Rs.65,000/- in January 2021 and the same got increased to Rs.73,000/- after the levy of 10% duty. This has greatly impacted the entire value chain.
Source: The Economic Times
From jerseys, pullovers and cardigans to swimwear and windcheaters, the government is targeting elevated production in 50 man-made fibre and technical textile product categories in which India barely makes a cut now. While global exports of these products stood at $222 billion in 2019, India’s share was only $1.8 billion, or 0.8%, with both Bangladesh and Vietnam leading by a wide margin.
Through a Rs 10,683-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, India, where cotton fibre dominates the textiles and garment value chain, intends to grab a share in this pie. The incentives will be extended for incremental production in 50 product categories (40 man-made-fibre-based garments and 10 technical textiles) over a five-year period starting FY22.
According to the draft PLI programme, known as the “Focus Product Incentive Scheme”, India accounted for 4.3% (or $35.5 billion) of global exports of textiles and apparel in 2019 but its share in the man-made fibre segment was much lower at 2.8% ($9.3 billion). In fact, products based on man-made fibres made up for only 26% of India’s exports, compared with almost 50% in China and 49% in Vietnam.
For instance, in jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, waistcoats and similar items, while India exports were only to the tune of $70 million in 2019, global exports stood at $26.1 billion. In anoraks, windcheaters, jackets, etc, global exports exceeded $21 billion but India’s share was less than just $10 million. Similarly, while global exports of trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts stood at $16 billion in 2019, India’s were languishing at just $123 million. Of course, India’s exports of these products made of cotton fibre were substantially higher.
In fact, India’s exports of products in the 40 apparel categories, which are targeted under the PLI scheme, stood at just $1.1 billion in 2019, against $140 billion globally. Importantly, Bangladesh’s exports of these products were as much as $7.3 billion and Vietnam’s $14.8 billion.
As reported by FE, the PLI scheme for textiles marks a paradigm shift in the government’s decision-making on two counts. First, it earmarks big bucks for big companies, shedding its long and costly bias towards small businesses. Second, it seeks to correct India’s historical policy preference for a cotton-dominated value chain, which is contrary to the global trend. The idea is to reclaim India’s export markets after ceding substantial ground to Bangladesh and Vietnam in recent years.
The incentives, ranging from 7% to 11%, are linked to turnover or investments and will be trimmed by 100 basis points each year after the first year. The highest incentive–11%–is meant for large investments of over Rs 500 crore in greenfield projects. The benefit, however, is linked to an incremental turnover of Rs 1,500 crore in the first year and a 25% rise in turnover each year after that.
Source: The Financial Express
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday suggested that the technical textiles industry to develop clothing that can help soldiers sustain in extreme cold conditions and hot climate.
"We have a huge stake in techno-textiles. We are large users of textiles that use technology. We are hopeful that techno-textile entrepreneurs and those already in the field, will help us in the kind of textiles that we are looking at," Rawat said at a conference on technical textiles here.
He said that soldiers are serving in altitudes on the northern borders where the temperature falls to as low as minus 50-degree Celsius in the winters and jawans serving in desert areas where temperature rises to as high as plus 58 degrees Celsius in summers.
"So we are looking at the kind of clothing that can sustain our soldiers in this kind of extreme climate," he said.
In the last one-two years, domestic industries are innovating products and the defence has now started placing orders for such clothing.
"If we find that this thing can take-off and support us, we will not hesitate in putting the entire clothing or techno-clothing that we are using in the armed forces on the positive indigenisation list, which we were earlier calling negative list for imports..we will completely ban imports of these items and make sure that defence services depend only on the Indian industry as part of our Atmanirbhar Bharat support," Rawat said.
He also said that the armed forces are looking for clothing that can help differentiate between friends from foes.
Explaining this, he said such clothing can have special parameters, or special markings, or special design which when one look through binocular or other equipment will reflect differently.
Rawat asked whether it is possible for the industry to develop a kind of material that can be used for water-proofing and having elasticity.
"We will not hesitate to take your people to our forward locations to see what kind of material we are using. We would like you to come and support us," he said.
Further, he said that "now we are" venturing into the space sector and have created a space agency under the CDS and this is now going to move forward and "we will now have people operating from space" and they would require special clothing.
For troops operating in special operations, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) said can the industry look at creating clothing which can be anti-IR (infra-red) reflecting.
"When our troops go into enemy territory and have to go deeper inside, enemies have got lasers and sensing devices...which can help them pick a person who has gone inside. Can we have clothing that reflects this and does not allow a person to be picked up by radar or infrared device," he asked.
He also suggested a textile that can repel insects and mosquitos.
The defence forces also use a lot of leather products, which he said can be replaced with lightweight clothing materials.
Source: The Outlook News
General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Ministry of Defence has urged textile industry to come forward and support the defence forces with innovative products of technical textiles.
Addressing the 9th edition of TECHNOTEX 2021 he said that a large part of technical textile-based products for defence forces is being imported. And if Indian industry comes up with such innovative ‘Made in India’ products, then import of such products can be stopped completely.
“We are ready to support the industry and will take the same to our forward posts for better understanding of requirement and functioning of our products. We are hopeful that Ministry of Textiles (MoT) and Indian entrepreneurs will help us to arrange such products within the India,” he said.
Further sharing the need of defence forces, General Rawat said that besides clothes for extreme weather conditions, we also need very innovative clothing which can save our soldiers from radar. He added that these dresses should be innovative enough to help easily and quickly identify whether the person next to us is our friend or a foe.
CDS highlighted the various products’ range of technical textiles andsaid, “Defence forces also required such jackets which can heal the wound. We are also exploring space sector so we need clothing for the same. Everything from clothing to entire range of textile-based products should be light in weight.”
He assured full support to the industry and said that making such innovative products will help the vision of self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat).
The event, organised by MoT and FICCI, was also addressed by Upendra Prasad Singh, Secretary, MoT; Mekapati Goutham Reddy, Minister of Industries, Commerce, IT and Skill Development, Andhra Pradesh; Captain Dibya Sankar Mishra, Minister – Industries, MSME, Energy & Home (MoS), Odisha and Rajeev Gopal, Co-Chair, FICCI Technical Textile Committee.
Source: Apparel Online
The National Committee on Textiles and Clothing (NCTC) has launched a helpline portal to redress grievances related to yarn price increase and supply.
The garment units and trade in Tiruppur had gone on a day’s strike on Monday to draw the attention of the government on the yarn price hike.
The NCTC said in a press release on Wednesday that it had a meeting of the stakeholders on March 12 and launched a helpline portal (http://citiindia.org/yarn-form/form/form.php).
T. Rajkumar, coordinator of the NCTC, said fabric manufacturers who face yarn shortage or irregular supply can post the details on the portal 24X7. The secretariat of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry will pass on the information to related textile and export organisations. These will “advise the members to post details of the non-availability/short supplies of yarn so as to find solutions on a here and now basis.”
The system will also enable direct contact between yarn manufacturers and buyers and curb speculations.
Mr. Rajkumar appealed to all the stakeholders in the textile value chain to use the new facility. He also appealed to the spinning mills to honour their commitments on the price and also take efforts to maintain stability in the yarn prices.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The cumulative sanctioned and disbursed amounts under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to MSMEs stood at Rs 2.46 lakh crore and Rs 1.81 lakh crore, respectively, as on February 28, according to the government.
In a written reply to Lok Sabha, MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari said that under the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Subordinate Debt (CGSSD), 343 number guarantees have been issued amounting to Rs 40.56 crore as on March 10.
"As per the data furnished by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCTGC), which is the implementing agency of ECLGS, as of February 28, 2021, the cumulative sanctioned and the disbursed amount under the scheme is Rs 2.46 lakh crore and Rs 1.81 lakh crore, respectively," the minister said.
He also said the ministry has been running various schemes to provide credit facilities to the MSME sectors such as an interest subvention scheme for incremental credit which offers a 2 per cent interest subsidy, Credit Guarantee Scheme for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) for collateral-free / third-party guarantee-free loans.
Replying to a separate question, he said as on March 15 this fiscal, the public procurement from the MSEs is to the extent of Rs 31,292.09 crore, benefitting 1,35,580 units.
Source: The Economic Times
Addressing the 9th edition of TECHNOTEX 2021 organized by FICCI, General Rawat said that we (Govt of India) will not hesitate to put the entire technical clothing requirement of the armed forces on the negative import list. “Defense services have a huge stake in technical textiles. We are one of the largest users of techno textiles that use technology, and we will continue to use them in the years ahead,” General Rawat said.
He further mentioned that techno textile entrepreneurs and those already in this field will help us with the kind of textiles we are looking at. “Our jawans are operating in extreme temperatures and we are looking for kind of clothing that can sustain them in such climate,” he added.
Gen Rawat further stated that a large amount of defence technical clothing is being imported but there have also been major innovations within the Indian industry in the past few years. “We have now started placing orders for such clothing,” he said.
General Rawat further stated that the armed forces is also considering clothing for special marking or technology that can help us identify friends from foe. He mentioned that armed forces also use lot of fibre material for different purposes like insulation, covering, lining, etc., which must be waterproof, long lasting and possess elasticity. He also identified upcoming areas that would require special, like technical clothing for space missions, stealth technology-based clothing for special forces, special dressing bandages for medical purposes, insect and mosquito repellent clothing as an emerging area of interest for armed forces.
Mr Mekapati Goutham Reddy, Minister of Industries, Commerce, Information Technology and Skill Development, Govt of Andhra Pradesh, said that the success of this sector is not just determined by the annual growth, scale of production and volume of trade, but it will be remembered with its impact on livelihoods secured, technology infused, and innovations done to minimize the dependency and maximize self-sustenance. The state of Andhra Pradesh, he said, truly believes in the power of human capital and has established new centres and skilled colleges across state so that quality skill is accessible to all.
“To achieve USD 5 trillion economy, special emphasis is needed on techno textile and manmade fibre,” Mr Reddy said. We as a nation need to look as reskilling and upskilling and there is a huge opportunity for us to scale at the global level, he added.
He further mentioned that innovation is also disrupting the industry and compelling the fashion stalwarts to be sustainable. “The sector is transforming with the penetration of AI, upsurge in ecommerce,” he added.
Capt Dibya Shankar Mishra, Minister Industries, MSME, Energy and Home, Government of Odisha, said, “Odisha is fast emerging as the manufacturing hub of East India owing to proactive and progressive governance.”
Odisha, he said, was ranked number one in terms of attracting investments during Apr-Sep 2019. Even during the pandemic, the investor sentiment towards Odisha has been extremely encouraging and the state has been able to attract new investment of over one lakh crores across multiple sectors, he said.
“The Industrial Policy of the state recognizes Apparel and Textiles, including Technical Textiles as one of the five focus sectors and a number of attractive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for the promotion and development of the sector have been laid out,” he said.
He further mentioned that special emphasis is being provided by the State Government for the development of the Technical Textile Park by providing the right mix of industrial infrastructure and fiscal incentives. The park is being developed over an area of 100 acres and will be anchored by a 300 KTPA capacity polyester plant by Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL). The plant will have a committed feedstock of Polyester Staple Fibre (PSF), Drawn Texturized Yarn (DTY) and Fully Drawn Yarn (FDY). “This will create a unique ecosystem for the growth of technical textiles sector not just in India but in the entire South Asia” said the Minister.
Mr Upendra Prasad Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, said, “Technical textile has many applications. It is a versatile sector with a high manoeuvrability and with the potential to replace many products. The government has set up technical textile mission and scrutiny of 15 – 20 R&D projects are also underway. In PLI, he said we have included the man-made fibre and technical textile. He further said that government, researchers, and industry must come together to explore many more opportunities in the technical textile. “Technical textile will be very much useful in defence and will go in a long way in making India Atmanirbhar,” the Minister added.
Mr Mohan Kavrie, Chairman, FICCI- Technotex SME Committee said we are walking on the path of becoming Atmanirbhar and this is possible because of our Atmavishwas. He further said that the technical textile industry is receiving immense support from the government and urged the audience to visit the stalls virtually.
The session was moderated by Mr Rajeev Gopal, Co-Chair, FICCI Technical Textiles committee.
The event displayed virtual stalls of 100+ manufacturers & services and 250 + international buyers from 35+ countries supported by Ministry of Commerce, GoI along with State participation from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. Institutional buyers such Army, Navy, Air Force, CISF, CRPF, Paramilitary Forces, CAPF’s, Hospitals, BRO, Agriculture Institutions, CPWD, PWD, Municipality’s, Sports Institution.
Source: Orissadiary.com
Welspun Corp Ltd NSE 3.21 % on Thursday said it has bagged multiple orders worth about Rs 777 crore in the overseas and domestic markets. "We have received multiple orders of approximately 93 KMT (kilometric tonnes) valuing close to Rs 777 crore. This includes a single order of approximately 50 KMT received from a large client in the Middle East which would be executed from our facility in Saudi Arabia," Welspun Corp Ltd said in a BSE filing. ..
Welspun NSE -3.08 % Corp Ltd said most of the other orders received will be executed from our facilities in India for the domestic market.
With these orders, the company's book stands at 586 KMT, valued at Rs 5,300 crore after considering execution up to February 2021, the filing said.
Welspun Corp, the flagship company of Welspun Group, is a leading welded line pipe manufacturer.
Source: The Economic Times
Textile and garment orders in Vietnam witnessed a rise early this year after COVID-19 vaccination started on a large scale. Enterprises in the sector expect market opportunities will help the industry overcome its difficulties and gradually restore revenue levels to that seen before the outbreak of the pandemic. This has helped boost the export turnover of the industry.
Hung Yen Garment Corporation’s revenue fell by about 5 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019. However, orders were back in early 2021, according to a report in Vietnamese newspaper.
Nguyen Xuan Duong, chairman of the Hung Yen Garment Corporation Nguyen Xuan Duong said his company now has orders to fulfill until the end of July, focusing on the US market, Europe and Japan.
In the yarn sector, although the beginning of the year is not the usual time demand for textiles goes up, orders made for the first six months of 2021 at the DalatWorsted Spinning Company have been nearly equivalent to the last six months of 2020.
Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that total export turnover of textiles and garments reached $5.954 billion in the first two months of 2021, while import turnover reached $3.167 billion. Thus, the industry reported a trade surplus of $3.299 billion, while the added value of the industry has been quite high at 55.4 per cent.
Chairman of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) Le Tien Truong said that despite the presence of the pandemic, the world textile and garment market has gradually returned to a vibrant state. Although the number and prices of products have yet to return to the levels seen in 2019, market signals in the first quarter of 2021 show the industry's targets set for entire 2021 is feasible.
The country’s textile and garment industry aims to achieve an export revenue of about $39 billion in 2021.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
The fashion industry would have to contribute to the cost of recycling clothes under Government proposals to cut textile waste.
Better design and labelling are also part of a consultation on an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme to ramp up the reuse and recycling of textiles and hold manufacturers accountable for textile waste.
The fashion industry is estimated to account for 4% of annual global carbon emissions, while textiles production leads to greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the emissions of France Germany and the UK.
The amount of clothing bought by consumers increased by almost 20% between 2012 and 2016, and around 921,000 tonnes of used textiles are thrown out by households every year.
The plans are part of the Waste Prevention Programme for England which sets out how the Government and industry can take action across the construction, textiles, furniture and electrical and electronics sectors – as well as road vehicles, packaging, plastics and single-use items and food.
Following the ban of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds and microbeads in rinse-off personal care products in England, the Government said it will consult on potential bans of other single use items.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: “Major retailers and fashion brands have made huge strides in reducing their environmental footprint but there is more we must do.
“That is why, through our world-leading Environment Bill and landmark reforms, we will take steps to tackle fast fashion by incentivising recycling and encouraging innovation in new design.”
Marcus Gover, chief executive of waste and resources body Wrap, said: “Wrap welcomes the focus this consultation brings on the need to create a more circular economy. We will not achieve net zero without taking action on the way we produce, use and dispose of the products we rely on to live our lives.”
Pete Belk, circular economy campaign director at Business in the Community, said: “We welcome the Government’s focus on reuse, repair and re-manufacturing in key sectors like textiles, construction and food.
“We want business to embrace the opportunities to avoid carbon, reduce material use and create green jobs by embracing the opportunities set out in the Waste Prevention Programme.”
Source: The Evening Standard
USA has experienced a fall of 9.67 per cent in kidswear import value in January ’21, as revealed by OTEXA.
The country imported US $ 214.22 million worth of kidswear in the first month of 2021 as compared to US $ 237.14 million during Jan. ’20.
Weight-wise, USA declined by 5.28 per cent on Y-o-Y basis to import 11.04 million kg kidswear. And, the per kg price of the shipment valued US $ 19.40 in Jan. ’21 as compared to US $ 20.55 in Jan. ’20.
As far as major destinations are concerned, China plunged in value-wise shipment to USA in kidswear segment, while it noted growth in weight-wise exports (see tables below).
Y-o-Y % Change in Value-wise Kidswear Exports to USA:
(Values in US $ million)
|
Countries |
Jan. ’20 |
Jan. ’21 |
% Change |
|
World |
237.14 |
214.22 |
(-) 9.67 |
|
China |
56.53 |
52.23 |
(-) 7.61 |
|
Vietnam |
31.32 |
33.05 |
5.51 |
|
India |
33.59 |
33.55 |
(-) 0.11 |
|
Bangladesh |
30.05 |
24.44 |
(-) 18.68 |
Y-o-Y % Change in Weight-wise Kidswear Exports to USA:
(Weight in million kilogram)
|
Countries |
Jan. ’20 |
Jan. ’21 |
% Change |
|
World |
11.65 |
11.04 |
(-) 5.28 |
|
China |
3.34 |
3.53 |
5.75 |
|
Vietnam |
1.31 |
1.39 |
6.57 |
|
India |
1.51 |
1.49 |
(-) 1.90 |
|
Bangladesh |
1.62 |
1.37 |
(-) 15.80 |
Bangladesh registered a negative month as it declined both in values and weight of the kidswear shipment to USA in Jan. ’21 on Y-o-Y basis.
As analysed further by Apparel Resources, India saw a miniscule decline in value-wise shipment to USA in kidswear category, while weight of the exports too was down marginally by just under 2 per cent.
Vietnam, on the other hand, increased both in values and weight of the shipped kidswear to USA during Jan. ’21 and became the only country to do so in top 5 tally.
Source: Apparel Online
The Jordanian textiles sector has been facing difficulties in penetrating the European market for several reasons, the core of which lies in the demand of customers, according to a policy brief by the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) that explores the contributions of the textile sector to the national economy and labour market in addition to the challenges faced.
Jordan prefers to import brands from North Africa that has a competitive edge in transportation costs and cost of unit. Therefore, further enablers for the textiles sector may be necessary, if Jordan wishes to capitalise on its global comparative advantage in the sector by diversifying the trade share in multiple regions, the policy brief said.
Since the 1990s, the textile sector has been one of the top five exporting sectors in Jordan's most important exporting industries, and a home to over 32 international brands, JSF said.
This was enabled by the establishment of the qualified industrial zones (QIZs) and the Jordan-US Free Trade Agreement, according to the policy brief.
In 2018, the textiles industry contributed to approximately 7.74 per cent of the total gross value added (GVA) of the industrial sector, according to a World Bank 2020 report.
In the same year the 'manufacture of wearing apparel' industry had the fourth highest consumption in terms of intermediate services out of the 29 industries in Jordan, and the fifth highest intermediate consumption of goods used in production, a Jordanian newspaper reported citing the policy brief.
It also noted that the raw materials needed for production are mostly imported, and this exacerbates Jordan's trade deficit, and increases the costs of production due to shipping costs.
The strong performance of the sector made Jordan a global competitor in the textiles industry, which is a testimony to the sector's efforts to comply with international standards in production, operations, and labour conditions, the JSF brief added.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
Even as most of last year saw Indian and Chinese soldiers engaged in a eyeball-eyeball standoff near LAC in eastern Ladakh and violent clashes between troops in Galwan valley, China continued to remain on top of the list of countries from where India imported goods during January-December, 2020.
In 2020, India imported goods worth $ 58.71 billion from China, MoS (commerce and industry) Hardeep Singh Puri told Lok Sabha on Wednesday in reply to a question by Trinamool Congress MP Mala Roy.
In his written reply, the minister said China, USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iraq were the top five countries (in that order), from where India sourced its imports.
Giving details, the reply said the top five countries from where India imported goods during 2020 (January-December) are China with goods worth $ 58.71 billion, the US ($ 26.89 billion), United Arab Emirates ($ 23.96 billion), Saudi Arab ($ 17.73 billion) and Iraq ($16.26 billion).
The amount of total imports from the top five countries is worth $ 143.55 billion, which amounts to 38.59 % of the total imports which amounts to $ 371.98 billion.
The minister also informed the House that, “imports take place to meet the gap between domestic production and supply, consumer demand and preferences for various items”.
The major items of import from China, according to the minister, were “products such as telecom instruments, computer hardware and peripherals, fertilizers, electronic components/instruments, project goods, organic chemicals, drug intermediates, consumer electronics, electrical machinery etc”.
Source: The Economic Times
As reported by Apparel Resources recently, Canada’s apparel import values were down in Jan. ’21 over Jan. ’20, while the same noted growth as compared to Dec. ’20.
The country imported US $ 651.51 million worth of garments in the first month of 2021, shrinking from US $ 790.05 million in the same month of 2020 but upping from US $ 637.41 million in Dec. ’20.
Major Asian apparel export destinations (except China) to Canada experienced M-o-M rise, while countries such as USA, Italy and Mexico tumbled in their respective shipments to USA.
See the table below to know how different countries performed in the Canadian apparel market during Jan. ’21 over Jan. ’20 and Dec. ’20.
Y-o-Y and M-o-M % Change in Value-wise Apparel Exports to Canada from Major Asian Countries:
|
Countries |
Value-wise Apparel Exports to Canada |
||||
|
January 2020 |
December 2020 |
January 2021 |
% change (January 2020 & January 2021) |
% change (December 2020 & January 2021) |
|
|
World |
|||||
|
Knitted |
399072683 |
365014340 |
373861083 |
-6.32 |
2.42 |
|
Woven |
390978382 |
272402989 |
277650696 |
-28.99 |
1.93 |
|
Total |
790051065 |
637417329 |
651511779 |
-17.54 |
2.21 |
|
China |
|||||
|
Knitted |
125726162 |
113792297 |
121692660 |
-3.21 |
6.94 |
|
Woven |
127651771 |
114914070 |
99189891 |
-22.30 |
-13.68 |
|
Total |
253377933 |
228706367 |
220882551 |
-12.82 |
-3.42 |
|
Bangladesh |
|||||
|
Knitted |
41007600 |
32506725 |
43044223 |
4.97 |
32.42 |
|
Woven |
63467615 |
31996545 |
43157639 |
-32.00 |
34.88 |
|
Total |
104475215 |
64503270 |
86201862 |
-17.49 |
33.64 |
|
India |
|||||
|
Knitted |
12377295 |
5294344 |
8042855 |
-35.02 |
51.91 |
|
Woven |
13142230 |
6765629 |
8874361 |
-32.47 |
31.17 |
|
Total |
25519525 |
12059973 |
16917216 |
-33.71 |
40.28 |
|
Vietnam |
|||||
|
Knitted |
43696861 |
48956619 |
49853848 |
14.09 |
1.83 |
|
Woven |
46891074 |
25106587 |
33712774 |
-28.10 |
34.28 |
|
Total |
90587935 |
74063206 |
83566622 |
-7.75 |
12.83 |
|
Indonesia |
|||||
|
Knitted |
11521702 |
7410310 |
9249713 |
-19.72 |
24.82 |
|
Woven |
13355352 |
5520578 |
5956324 |
-55.40 |
7.89 |
|
Total |
24877054 |
12930888 |
15206037 |
-38.88 |
17.59 |
|
(Value in US$) |
|||||
Source: Apparel Online
In the meeting, BTMA wants to enhance alternative cash incentives behind the textile factories from 4 percent to 7 percent for the next 2021-22 fiscal year. Additionally, they urged to cut off the source tax from 0.50 percent to 0.25 percent. They said both of the offered changes are affordable for the troubled mills.
Mohammad Ali Khokon, the president of BTMA told that the textile mills were quite competitive and beneficial until the pandemic with the government provided incentives; though, the rate was low. But after the long event, millers are not more than thriving. An increment in incentives may awaken their hope.
In the 2018-19 fiscal year the source tax was 0.25 percent which was increased to 0.50 percent in the 2019-20 fiscal year. The previous rate is said to be affordable than the running one.
Khokon pointed out two more matters to advocate the demand. One is the aftermath of the LDC graduation. This is going to create new challenges to the sector as the duty benefits will decline. Another is the survival of backward linkage industries of the apparel sector. The negative impact on export is causing that.
Textile millers demanded few more conveniences. Which were:
2% withdrawal of tax on the local cotton purchase.
5% advance import tax revoke on pet chips to reduce the possibility of price increase of yarn
5% value-added tax removal to every kind of fabric made of man-made fiber
lessening the VAT per yard of all kinds of fabric made from any kind of fiber from 4Tk to 3Tk
Source: Textile Today
Pakistan's powerful Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Thursday that it was time for India and Pakistan to "bury the past and move forward", a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan made similar overtures towards New Delhi following an unexpected ceasefire announcement by the militaries of the two countries last month.
Addressing a session of the first-ever Islamabad Security Dialogue here, Gen Bajwa also said that the potential for regional peace and development always remained hostage to the disputes and issues between Pakistan and India - the two "nuclear-armed neighbours".
"We feel it is time to bury the past and move forward," he said, adding that the responsibility for a meaningful dialogue rested with India.
India last month said that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence. India has said the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility.
India has also told Pakistan that "talks and terror" cannot go together and has asked Islamabad to take demonstrable steps against terror groups responsible for launching various attacks on India.
Gen Bajwa's remarks came a day after Prime Minister Khan made a similar statement at the same venue.
Khan said on Wednesday that India will be benefitted economically by having peace with Pakistan as it will enable New Delhi to directly access the resource-rich Central Asia region through Pakistani territory.
"India will have to take the first step. Unless they do so, we cannot do much," Khan said while delivering the inaugural address at the launch of the two-day Dialogue.
Khan said that having a direct route to the Central Asian region will economically benefit India. Central Asia is rich in oil and gas.
Central Asia, in the modern context, generally includes five resource-rich countries -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
In his address, Gen Bajwa also said that peace between Pakistan and India would help to "unlock the potential of South and Central Asia" by ensuring connectivity between East and West Asia.
The powerful army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 73 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.
Their remarks came weeks after the militaries of India and Pakistan announced on February 25 that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors.
India and Pakistan signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003, but it had hardly been followed in letter and spirit over the past several years with more violations than observance of the pact.
"Our neighbour will have to create a conducive environment, particularly in Kashmir, Gen Bajwa said in his address, adding that any effort to improve ties without addressing the core issue would be vulnerable to external political factors.
"The Kashmir issue is at the heart of this. It is important to understand that without the resolution of the Kashmir dispute through peaceful means, the process will always remain susceptible to derailment to politically motivated bellicosity, he said.
Though, both Prime Minister Khan and Gen Bajwa didn't specify the minimum steps that India should take but many experts in Pakistan believe that some positive measures in Kashmir could ease pressure on the Pakistan government before entering into talks or restoring the normal diplomatic ties.
Gen Bajwa also talked about poverty which he said was linked with the regional tension that had hindered the regional connectivity and integration.
"Despite being impoverished, we end up spending a lot of our money on defence, which naturally comes at the expense of human development," he said.
However, he added that Pakistan was resisting the temptation to become part of the arms race or increase defence budget despite rising security challenges.
"This has not been easy, especially when you live in a hostile and unstable neighbourhood. But having said that, let me say that we are ready to improve our environment by resolving all our outstanding issues with our neighbours through dialogue in a dignified and peaceful manner," he said.
Ties between India and Pakistan nose-dived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in the neighbouring country. Subsequent attacks, including one on Indian Army camp in Uri, further deteriorated the relationship.
The relationship dipped further after India's war planes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26, 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.
The relations deteriorated after India announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories in August, 2019.
Talking about the concept of national security, Gen Bajwa said that it was not just about protecting countries from an external and internal threat.
"Today, the leading drivers of change in the world are demography, economy and technologyHowever, one issue that remains central to this concept is economic security and cooperation, he said.
He said that since national security involved ensuring human security, national progress and development, it was not solely the function of the armed forces and required a national effort to safeguard a nation.
Source: The Business Standard
