|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1082.28 |
USD/Ton |
1.77% |
10/8/2015 |
|
VSF |
2076.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
ASF |
2289.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
Polyester POY |
1013.17 |
USD/Ton |
2.38% |
10/8/2015 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2528.99 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
40D Spandex |
5654.88 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2477.94 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1103.49 |
USD/Ton |
1.08% |
10/8/2015 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2780.32 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
Nylon POY |
5851.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1295.91 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2356.20 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2827.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1743.59 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2733.19 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1900.67 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2324.78 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2984.52 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2576.11 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.10 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.93 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.02 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.75 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.75 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/8/2015 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15708 USD dtd. 8/10/2015)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Indian Texpreneurs’ Federation (ITF) has sought a policy changes to make the mill sector more vibrant. In a memorandum submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ITF Secretary D Prabhu has sought the Centre’s support to do business with ease. An industry insider, who did not want to be identified, said there was some disconnect between the TN textile sector and the Ministry of Textiles at the Centre. “Many of our burning issues, such as undue delay in disbursement of TU (technology upgradation) subsidy, lifting the TUF (Technology Upgradation Fund) blackout period (between June 29, 2010 and April 27, 2011) and scrapping the hank yarn obligation, among others, remain unaddressed. “We look forward to some constructive dialogue to achieve the targeted growth. For this to happen, the powers-that-be in the sector need to visit this region, understand our concerns and address them without delay,” the source said.
TUF claims
Prabhu said the Textile Commissionerate in Mumbai had released the Expression of Interest (EoI) from audit firms to clear the pending TUF claims, but for the move was stalled for unknown reasons. The Federation appealed to the Prime Minister to intervene and resolve this issue as huge amounts remain locked up. The ITF also highlighted other issues such as the need for rationalisation of duty structure on man-made fibres, imposing sourcing restrictions on duty-free import of apparels from Bangladesh and LDCs (least developed countries) and expediting FTAs with Russia, the EU and other emerging markets. Notwithstanding such issues, the mill sector has drawn up a road map to train and place 1 lakh workers under the Pradhan Mantri Koushal Vikas Yojana. “This will help us gain maximum benefit in standardisation of job roles and work practices. Already over 135 member mills of the federation have enrolled as training providers and imparted training to 6,500 workers in the first phase. “Another 7,500 workers have been enrolled for the second batch in four months,” Prabhu added.
Source: Business Lines
The Commerce Ministry has asked the Finance Ministry to rationalise taxes on exports and extend the interest subvention scheme to support the export industry, which has been witnessing a continuous fall in export demand through this calendar year. Speaking on the sidelines of a packaging industry event here, Rajni Ranjan Rashmi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said, “The relative fall in the export numbers is because of several reasons, one the global slowdown and also the fall in commodity prices. All this reflects in our numbers. However, the larger impact of the fall in export revenue has been curtailed because of lower costs on oil imports.” According to data released by the Ministry, exports contracted 20.7 per cent to $21.2 billion and imports shrank 9.95 per cent to $33.7 billion during August, leaving a trade deficit of $12.5 billion. August saw the ninth continuous month-on-month fall in Indian exports. “Hopefully,” Rashmi added, “with the fiscal and financial arrangements in place, we will see better days.” Speaking on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a mega regional trade agreement led by the US to which India is not a party, Rashmi said, “The TPP is an important development. It represents a conflict between multi- and bi-laterialism. Regional trading arrangements do not contribute to the multilateral trading regime but at the same time do help some partners in creating a trade regime with positive and negative consequential effects.” “If the TPP emerges as major trade bloc, We need to see if this trade bloc will affect our competitiveness in the service industry. “However,” Rashmi concluded, “investment works on several other factors as well, like market potential, the strength of a market, and not just on a trade agreement. So the potential for growth in investment in India remains.”
Source: Business Lines
The rupee gained strength against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, inching up 50 paise to 65.01 for the first time since August 14, 2015 on Tuesday. The domestic unit snapped a five-day winning spree against the US dollar on Tuesday to close 12 paise lower at 65.41 on fresh demand for the American currency from banks and importers. On Tuesday, the dollar weakened against the euro and yen as investors' confidence in the Federal Reserve raising rates this year continued to falter. However, John Williams, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, on Tuesday said he still expected the central bank to begin raising short-term interest rates this year, despite a slowing of job gains in September. "Things are looking up, and if they stay on track, I see this as the year we start the process of monetary policy normalisation," Williams said in a speech to the Urban Land Institute in San Francisco. Continued strength in domestic equities is also proving a prop to the rupee. Provisional data available with the BSE showed foreign portfolio investors (FPI) were net buyers of equities to the tune of Rs 480 crore on Tuesday. Mythili Bhusnurmath, Consulting Editor with ET Now, says to the extent bond yields are down, to the extent FII flows and FDI flows increase, the rupee should continue to appreciate and that might not be good for the real economy. "I think macroeconomics is much too complicated, you win some lose some, and ultimately what the central bank as well as the government must keep an eye on is the real economy, because that is where human lives are involved. So I think that basic perspective must always be kept in mind," she said. Murthy Nagarajan, head for fixed income at Quantum Mutual Fund, believes the recent rupee stability has been a combination of reduction in India's inflation differential with the developed world and the emergence of positive real interest rates, which have reduced the rupee's risk premium. "The rupee will continue to outperform its emerging markets peers as it has since the low of August 2013," Nagarjan said. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which tracks dollar movement against a basket of six major world currencies, stood at 96.10.
Source: The Economic Times
Truck rentals are expected to go up in October due to an increase in cargo offerings because of the festive season and the onset of the kharif crop harvest. October may also see some increase in diesel prices due to a firm trend in crude oil prices. With cargo offerings from fruit and vegetables and factories remaining virtually flat and a small diesel price rise of Rs 0.5 per litre, the truck rentals remained range-bound on most of the trunk routes, said a statement from the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training. The body said there has been an average fall in monthly rentals by 5.3 to 6.9 per cent on trunk routes during April-September of 2015, in comparison to the same period last year, mainly due to the decline in diesel price during this period. Diesel price has come down in line with the global price. Against a price of Rs 58.97 a litre (in Delhi) a year ago, diesel now sells for Rs 44.45 a litre. September also saw an increase in sales of certain categories of heavy commercial vehicles, since prices were set to increase from October due to the mandatory fitting of antilock braking system and speed control device. Manufacturers increased prices by five-10 per cent and, as a result, many buyers advanced the purchase to September. Tata Motors sold 52 per cent more medium and heavy commercial vehicles in September against a year ago.
Source: Business Standard
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 49.81 per barrel (bbl) on 08.10.2015. This was lower than the price of US$ 50.33 per bbl on previous publishing day of 07.10.2015.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs 3245.72 per bbl on 08.10.2015 as compared to Rs 3284.13 per bbl on 07.10.2015. Rupee closed stronger at Rs 65.16 per US$ on 08.10.2015 as against Rs 65.26 per US$ on 07.10.2015. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on October 08, 2015 (Previous trading day i.e. 07.10.2015) |
Pricing Fortnight for 01.10.2015 (Sep 12 to Sep 28, 2015) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
49.81 (50.33) |
45.27 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3245.72 (3284.13) |
2991.44 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
65.16 (65.26) |
66.08 |
India’s preferential trade agreement (PTA) with the Mercosur bloc should be re-examined with the objective of deepening the bilateral economic and business exchanges between the two regions, says a top government official. India’s preferential trade agreement (PTA) with the Mercosur bloc should be re-examined with the objective of deepening the bilateral economic and business exchanges between the two regions, says a top government official. Commerce secretary Rita Teaotia, speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day 6th India-Latin America and Caribbean Conclave in New Delhi, emphasised, “While the India-Mercosur PTA as it stands today is limited in many ways, it has contributed to 68% increase in India-Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) bilateral trade volume. “The bilateral trade flow could increase several-fold if the PTA were to be re-structured in keeping with the emerging opportunities for trade expansion.” Mercosur consists of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, the commerce secretary said. At the third edition of the India-LAC conclave organised by CII along with the MEA and the commerce ministry, Teaotia said that while India has established deeper trade relations with several LAC countries, and discussions are on for an FTA with Peru, India’s trade relations with the Caribbean countries need to be intensified. India’s bilateral trade with the LAC region increased to $45 billion in 2014-15.
Source: Financial Express
India is in advanced level talks with Peru over a free trade agreement and is looking to facilitate greater trade with Chile. The government is in advanced talks with Peru over a proposed free trade agreement, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said on Thursday.
Speaking at the Latin America and Caribbean Conclave organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, she added an agreement facilitating more trade with Chile would soon be announced. Current annual trade with Peru is $1.1 billion. Major exports involve automobiles and cotton. India imports minerals and precious metals like gold. The secretary called for more trade in mining, information technology and allied services, and environmental technology. The Vice President of Costa Rica was present at the event, as were the ministers of foreign trade and industry from Nicaragua, Uruguay and Ecuador. An estimated $45 bn is the total two-way trade India has with the Latin American and Caribbean region, up from $3.7 bn a decade earlier. This is five per cent of our total international trade. The government wishes to widen the scope of its preferential trade agreement (PTA) with the Mercosur bloc (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay). India has partial admission in the regional bloc and about two-thirds of its total trade with the region is through this avenue. The PTA should be re-examined because it is “limited in many ways”, said Teaotia. It came into force from June 1, 2009. The government wishes to widen the scope of its preferential trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay). About two-thirds of India's total trade with the region is through the PTA. The secretary said despite almost $15 bn of investment by Indian companies, South America is one of India's smallest trade areas.
Reliance and ONGC Videsh have sought exploration rights for oil and gas there, and are in the process of setting up refining facilities. Teaotia asked Latin American companies to participate in the 'Make in India' initiative. Inviting investment in mining, she said India allows 100 per cent foreign direct investment in the sector, via the automatic approval route. Pharmaceutical companies like Ranbaxy are also active in the region which is a hub for the industry. The Vice President of Costa Rica along with ministers of foreign trade and industry from the countries of Nicaragua, Uruguay and Ecuador, were present at the event.
Source: Business Standard
India and the Latin American countries need to work towards deepening their existing trade pacts to realise the full trade and investment potential that exist between the two regions, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia has said. New Delhi has preferential trading agreements with Chile and the Mercosur bloc that includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, but these cover just a handful of items. “It is still a very limited arrangement and we look forward to deepening this engagement, adding value to it and really using it as a tool to be able to facilitate business exchanges with each other,” Teaotia said at the ‘India-Latin America and Caribbean Conclave’ organised by CII. Bilateral trade between India and Latin America was $45 billion in 2014-15. While trade between the two regions has grown several times over the last 10 years, it still is a very small part of India’s total trade of $758 billion. India’s cumulative Foreign Direct Investments in the region is around $15 billion. “The potential is immense. If we are able to enlarge and strengthen the agreement then the potential for multiplying these gains mutually is really strong,” she said. The two regions enjoy strong complementarities in areas such as energy, minerals, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, IT/ITeS and automobiles which would serve as building blocks for greater India-LAC trade and investment flows, she said. The Commerce Secretary also stressed on the need for the Latin American countries to facilitate easier registration and renewal support to the Indian firms. Indian pharmaceutical firms have demonstrated high capability in the area of contract research, clinical trials and clinical data, she said.
Source: Business Line
India's position on trade agreements is under scrutiny after a group of 12 countries, led by the US, reached a tentative agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) earlier this week, a Singapore banking group said today. While the TPP ratification by the signatories and other processes are expected to delay its implementation by a few more years, nonetheless India's patchy track record on free-trade agreements is feared to hurt latter's ambitious goals to double exports to $900 billion over the next five years, DBS group said in its daily economic report. Of the 12 TPP signatories, India has existing free trade/cooperation agreements with three. Negotiations are on-going with the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) member countries on a separate Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which includes China but not the US, it pointed out. India had expressed plans earlier in the year to join the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation), but there has been little material progress since then, DBS said. Focus has also been on pushing forth with other key pacts, especially with the European Union. However, India's progress has been slow on a free trade agreement with the European nations. The Indian government has taken active interest in forging deeper international ties since assuming office last year, especially to attract foreign investments for infrastructure and manufacturing facilities. But progress on bilateral/multilateral trade pacts particularly has been tricky, given the tough choice between maintaining controls on certain strategic aspects, including agriculture, pharma, intellectual property rights, and services. Authorities have leaned towards the former in recent negotiations, suggesting that the push to conclude more trade pacts will evolve at a cautious pace. Close to a quarter of India's merchandise exports headed to the US and ASEAN countries last year, with another four per cent to key Latin American markets. Concern is whether improved market access, tariff reductions and diversion of service trade between the TPP members, as and when it becomes effective, might erode India's market share, the bank said. It cited a think-tank estimates and press reports that India's exports, especially textiles and leather products might face threats, as countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia get cheaper access to the US and other markets covered by the deal. Overall, given the weak global demand backdrop, collapse in commodity earnings, domestic bottlenecks and cautious stance on trading pacts, meeting the government's ambitious target to raise India's share in global trade to 3.5 per cent by 2020 from two per cent presently, will be an uphill task, DBS said.
Source: The Economic Times
India’s exports will not be hit in a major way by the trans-Pacific partnership (TPP) pact signed between the 12 Pacific rim countries, including the US, as India has already entered into bilateral and regional trade pacts with some members of the grouping and a few more are in the pipeline, the Commerce Ministry has said. Had India joined the TPP, the negative fall-outs would have been greater, a Commerce Ministry official told BusinessLine . “The intellectual property rules under the pact would have led to ever-greening of several off-patent drugs and sent prices of essential drugs soaring while the investor-state dispute rules would have infringed on the country’s policy space,” the official said. The TPP is a regional trading arrangement between the US, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Peru, Chile and Vietnam. The pact, yet to be ratified by each country, will result in the largest trading bloc with zero or low tariffs on most goods, easier investment norms and services flow but tougher IP rules and laws to protect corporate interests. “All the number crunching that has been done till now on the effects of the TPP on India do not show losses beyond $10 billion, and that too in 2025,” pointed out Abhijit Das from the Centre for WTO Studies. For instance, the US-based Peterson Institute of International Economics has estimated a 0.3 per cent export loss for India in 2025 on estimated exports, which would translate into no more than $10 billion, Das added. While some items, such as textile and yarn, may face issues in markets like Vietnam because of rules in the TPP mandating use of local inputs by members to be eligible for zero tariffs for final products, for most other products Indian items are not likely to experience preference erosion because of the country’s trade pacts with individual members of the group.
“India already has entered into free trade agreements (FTAs) with Japan, the ASEAN, Singapore and Malaysia. It is about to finalise similar pacts with Australia and the 16-nation RCEP. FTA negotiations with New Zealand and Canada are also in full-swing and we are looking at expanding the preferential trading agreement with Chile. All these pacts would ensure that our exporters don’t lose their markets,” the official said. Elaborating on the potential harm that India may have suffered had it joined the TPP, the official said the biggest hit would have been the generic drug producers in the country and the common people. “The deal gives exclusive marketing rights to biologic medicines for five years even if their patents have expired. There are a number of other provisions too which would result in ever-greening of patents and sky-rocketing of prices of life-saving drugs. This would have been devastating for our poor and middle-class,” the official said.
Source: Business Lines
After long negotiations, 12 major trading countries have reached an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP. The final text of the agreement is not yet known, and will have to be ratified by each country; but, if and when that process is completed, it will create a trade bloc that includes economies producing over 40 per cent of the world's output. This is a new-age trade agreement. Unlike those of the past, it does far more than just reduce tariffs; most importantly, it aims to harmonise regulations and procedures, and reduce sovereign risks, enabling companies to move more freely between jurisdictions. For President Barack Obama of the United States and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, reaching an agreement has been a priority, and they have pushed it through in spite of the fraught process it had to overcome. Mr Obama will face troubles selling any deal to the US Congress - particularly to the many anti-trade legislators of his own party - but this agreement does buttress the argument that he has not abandoned the idea of a US global leadership. It has been reported that many troublesome issues - such as protection for Japanese rice - have been simply set aside. Those government officials participating in the process have suggested that most countries and interest groups have got less than they wanted. The logic of international negotiations, of course, is such that this means that the final TPP may be economically sound.
The TPP, as and when it comes into force, will add a new dimension to the current global trade regime. Negotiations will be less about tariffs and more about "beyond the border" issues such as local regulations and dispute regulation. There will be a distinct advantage to first-movers in such a regime. The harmonised regulations of the TPP will impact the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, between the US and Europe. More to the point, it will also inevitably affect the base positions of various countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, between Southeast Asia, Australia, Japan, Korea - and China and India. The provisions of the TPP that will impact trade in services - including those on intellectual property - are most likely to concern Indian producers and thus negotiators. The environmental and labour standards built into the TPP, which India has stiffly resisted at the World Trade Organization, will also inevitably become part of the conversation.
India has stood aloof, by and large, from such "beyond the border" negotiations, stuck in a backward-looking, tariff-focused mode. Further, trade negotiations are driven by entrenched interest groups and industries, and any hint that domestic regulations may need to be overhauled to meet the demands imposed by freer trade is met with much protest from New Delhi's establishment. It is clear, now, that the world has moved on, and such a mindset is no longer tenable. Countries such as Vietnam have, through the TPP, signalled their willingness to undergo painful internal reform to update labour, environmental, and services standards. Whatever may be the merit of India's claims that first-world expectations of such standards cannot be applied to its producers, a strategy of staying aloof cannot help in today's environment. If India is to reverse its sliding exports, it must work to become part of the new global trade order. And that will require it to be open to the need for internal reform.
Source: Business Standard
India is witnessing "firming" growth prospects even as most of the major economies including the US are seeing signs of moderation in growth, according to Paris-based think tank OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). The latest projections come at a time when the global economy as a whole is grappling with uncertainties, especially in the wake of Chinese slowdown. While India is poised for better growth prospects, loss of "growth momentum" is anticipated in the UK and the US albeit from relatively high levels, OECD said on Thursday. It noted that there are signs of moderating growth outlook in most major economies. The readings are based on composite leading indicators (CLIs) that are designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to trend. "Among the major emerging economies, CLIs continue to point to a loss of growth momentum in China, and weak growth momentum in Brazil and Russia. Firming growth is expected in India," OECD said in a statement. India's CLI inched up to 99.9 in August from 99.8 recorded in July. Last week, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said that global growth would likely be weaker this year with only a modest acceleration expected in 2016 but India remains a bright spot. "India remains a bright spot. China is slowing down as it rebalances away from export-led growth. Countries such as Russia and Brazil are facing serious economic difficulties. Growth in Latin American countries, in general, continues to slow sharply," she had said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too had said that India has the potential to be the bright spot even in somewhat gloomier situation. However, last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revised downwards the GDP forecast for the current financial year (2015-16) to 7.4 per cent from the earlier estimate of 7.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, the think tank said that CLI for the OECD area as a whole points to growth easing and signs of a more moderate easing in Canada and Japan. "In Germany and the euro area as a whole, stable growth momentum is anticipated while in France and Italy the outlook is for firming growth," OECD noted.
Source: Business Standard
Vietnam, one of the biggest garment exporters in the world with $24 billion worth of exports in 2014 and to put out such big volume of goods the industry needs 6.5 billion meters of cloth more a year. In order to make out the volume of cloth, it will also need $6.5 billion worth of investment capital, 60 percent of which would be spent on machines, according Nguyen Van Tuan, deputy chair of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vinatas). This means that Vietnam would need $3.9 billion worth of machines for the textile and garment industry, but domestic mechanical engineering companies cannot satisfy demand. Most of the textile and garment companies have replace manually cutting done by workers with cutting machines. In the past, the Saigon Garment & Trade Company (GMC) needed 50 workers for cloth cutting and spreading, because the work was done manually. But since it began using cutting machines from Nhat Tin Technology JSC, productivity has improved significantly and the number of workers needed has been cut to eight. GMC managers believe they made the right decision to buy new cutting machines. Other textile and garment companies also tend to spend more money on upgrading technologies. This is why Nhat Tin’s sales of cloth spreading machine have increased by 300 percent compared with the same period last year, according to Nhat Tin’s president Nguyen Tan Thanh.
However, domestically made products are still far from satisfying the demand from the textile and garment industry. At present, most machines used in the industry are imports. European machines are the most expensive and the best ones for textile and garment companies. Mid-grade machines are from South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Meanwhile, Chinese machines are the cheapest, and are the choices of most small- and medium-sized enterprises. According to Nguyen Viet Thang, director of Viet Tin Technology JSC, 50 percent of machines and equipment being used in the textile and garment industry are from China. Vietnamese businesses prefer Chinese machines not only because they are affordable, but also because Chinese suppliers can offer products of different types and at different price levels. Japanese Tsudakoma Group, a textile machine manufacturer, have realized the high demand of textile machines in Vietnam market has been contacting many Vietnamese enterprises to discuss the supply of machines. Vietnam, together with China and India, are the largest markets for the Japanese group. Many foreign textile machine manufacturers realizing the high demand for textile and garment machines in Vietnam are now trying to exploit the market.
Source: Yarn and fibre
The blankets are manufactured by using materials like acrylic yarn and fibre, which are not produced in the local market thereby making it costly to manufacture blankets in Zambia, he said. Desai opined other investors to help in reducing the cost of producing blankets by focusing on yarn manufacturing domestically. “The materials are imported on credit basis that are quoted in foreign currency. After manufacturing the goods using these imported materials, we sell them in local currency. However, the main challenge is to pay back the raw material cost to the supplier as there is no stability of our currency Kwacha.”, he stated. As a result, there has been a negative impact on textile business because prices can’t just be increased suddenly, he added. Desai has appealed the government to take this matter into consideration and support the local blankets manufacturers in order to save the domestic textile industry.
Economist Dismas Chapula, Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, said the government is already committed to promote the textile industry as it will create employment in the country. He further said that product quality is the main factor and the local manufacturers should focus more on quality in order to get their products accepted domestically and globally.
Source: Yarn and fibre
