Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that India’s merchandise exports can reach $400 billion in FY22 as there is a large potential for enhancing exports in several sectors like pharma, engineering, auto-component, fisheries and agro-products. At a meeting with export promotion councils, issues related to high input costs due to rising prices of steel and plastics, release of pending refunds under export incentives and extension of interest subvention scheme for one year.
Source: Economic Times
A sharp rise in exports in April is giving a hope that the ambitious target of USD 400 billion merchandise shipments can be achieved this year, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. He also said that the Department of Commerce has taken up several issues of exporters with the Ministry of Finance for their early resolution, like RoDTEP (remission of duties and taxes on eport products), MEIS (merchandise export from India scheme), and inverted duty structure. The minister added that there is a large potential for enhancing exports in several sectors like pharmaceuticals, engineering, auto-component, sheries and agro-products. The minister was addressing a meeting of export promotion councils. India's merchandise exports in April jumped by 197 per cent to USD 30.21 billion as against USD 10.17 billion in April 2020 and USD 26.04 billion in April 2019. "Performance of exports in April 2021 and 2020-21 gives a hope that an ambitious target of USD 400 billion merchandise exports can be achieved this year," the minister said. Regarding certain issues being raised by exporters, Goyal said that they should approach the Covid helpdesk of the department for resolving the problems emanating due to Covid-related measures. Would help them in factoring in those rates while negotiating prices of goods with international buyers. The reimbursement of taxes such as duty on power charges, VAT on fuel in transportation, farm sector, captive power generation, mandi tax, stamp duty and central excise duty on fuel used in transportation would make Indian products competitive in the global markets.
Source: Economic Times
The sudden spurt in COVID-19 cases across the State and the resultant lockdown has pushed textile dealers in Kozhikode to the brink, as they are facing the biggest losses in the last four to five years. The unexpected loss was the result of dealers stocking up aggressively for the Ramzan season, expecting to make amends for the loss they experienced over the last few years due to the Nipah outbreak, two floods and COVID-induced lockdown last summer. Usually, shops remain open until early morning during the last days of the Ramzan season to accommodate last-minute shoppers. For the textile market here, it used to be the most profitable season, next only to Onam. The COVID-19 situation had eased considerably during the months of January, February and March and the textile dealers anticipated a good Ramzan sale. “Most textile shops had purchased stocks worth crores of rupees and had even borrowed additional spaces to keep their stocks for the season. But the situation turned upside down by the end of April and most textile shop owners are now drowning in debt,” said K. Sethumadhavan, district general secretary of the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi. The merchants are in various stages of liability. Some have suppliers calling them relentlessly for payment while some are being troubled by loan sharks. “A large number of merchants are on the verge of suicide,” said Arshad Abdulla, head of a prominent textile house in Kozhikode. The Samithi had appealed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan earlier this month to allow textile and footwear shops to open for a few days in accordance with the COVID-19 protocol. But the Chief Minister was not ready to take the risk. The dealers have appealed again to allow textile and footwear shops to remain open from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. for the two last days of Ramzan. “If we get the last two days, we will be able to cut down the loss by at least 10%,” said Mr. Sethumadhavan.
Source: The Hindu
Following the self-imposed lockdown by Tiruppur Exporters Association from May 14 to 24 considering the Covid-19 spike, another outfit, the Karur Textile Exporters Association, also called for a similar lockdown. There are roughly 400 textile exports units in Karur district, which are allowed to operate with 50% manpower. While 1.5 lakh workers engaged directly and another 1 lakh indirectly, the lives of the workers are at stake considering the pace of the Covid19 spread. “In all likelihood they can become super spreaders as they came from different parts of the district and the neighbouring districts on a daily-basis,” says R Stiffen Babu, member of the Karur Textile Exporters Association. Congratulations! You have successfully cast your vote Login to view result He said public could be seen moving in Karur town without any restrictions even during the complete lockdown. People could easily escape from police saying that they are going to textile units for work. He said he asked the district administration to take a call in this regard, as at least 10 days of lockdown is essential to contain the virus in the coming days. The world is seeing the alarming Covid -19 situation in India. Countries importing finished textile goods from us will acknowledge positively even if we ask for a grace period to send the orders, he said. Many of the textile units may say that they have pending orders, but the situation may go out of control by then. The administration needs to take a decision on the same, he said.
Source: Times of India
GUWAHATI: Former United People’s Party Liberal(UPPL) president and Former Rajya Sabha Member Urkhao Gwra Brahma is the new Handloom & Textile, Soil Conservation, Welfare of Plain Tribe & Backward Classes (BTC) Minister of Assam. UG Brahma, who represents the Chapaguri constituency is a Sahitya Akademi Awardee and former All Bodo Students Union(ABSU) president. Urkhao Gwra Brahma is 57 years old, a resident of Kokrajhar Town. He is a Bachelor in Arts from Kokrajhar College.
Source: News Live
The Indian rupee slumped 18 paise to 73.53 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday tracking weak domestic equities and strong American currency. Forex traders said concerns over rising COVID-19 cases also weighed on investors' sentiment. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened lower at 73.47 against the dollar, and lost further ground and touched 73.53, registering a fall of 18 paise over its previous close. On Monday, rupee had closed at 73.35 against the US dollar.The domestic unit started on a weaker note against the dollar tracking decline in Asian shares and currencies on concerns over rising US inflation expectations, Reliance Securities said in a research note. Most of the Asian currencies are trading weaker against the dollar and could weigh on sentiments, the note said, adding that markets will also await domestic IIP and CPI data this week. Single day spike of 3,29,942 COVID-19 infections, 3,876 fatalities has pushed India's tally of cases to 2,29,92,517, and death toll to 2,49,992. Active COVID-19 cases in country recorded at 37,15,221, according to the Health Ministry. In the equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 336.74 points or 0.68 per cent lower at 49,165.67. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 97.10 points or 0.65 per cent to 14,845.25. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, as they purchased shares worth Rs 583.69 crore on Monday, as per provisional data. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.03 per cent at 90.23. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were down by 0.67 per cent to USD 67.86 per barrel.
Source: Business Standard
Uzbekistan exported textile products worth $637.7 million to 54 countries in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, which is $174.9 million more than the country’s exports in the same period in 2020, as per a recent report by the Statistics Committee. The country had exported textile goods worth $1.9 billion to 70 foreign countries in 2020. Close to 5,080 textile companies produced goods worth 11.5 trillion Uzbekistan soms ($1.08 billion) during the period under review, said Uzbekistani media reports quoting the Statistics Committee. The Fergana region accounted for 15 per cent of the total textile products manufactured in the country, while Kashkadarya and Tashkent accounted for 9.8 per cent and 9.1 per cent of the total volume, respectively.
Source: Fibre2fashion
While the global growth outlook has improved, led by robust rebound in China and the US, surging COVID-19 infections and inadequate vaccination progress in many countries threaten a broad-based recovery of the world economy, says the latest United Nations forecast. The widening inequality casts a shadow over projected 5.4 per cent global growth in 2021. According to the World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) mid-2021 report, following a sharp contraction of 3.6 per cent in 2020, the global economy is now projected to expand by 5.4 per cent in 2021, reflecting an upward revision from the UN forecasts released in January this year. Amid rapid vaccinations and continued fiscal and monetary support measures, China and the United States – the two largest economies – are on the path to recovery. In contrast, the growth outlook in several countries in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, remains fragile and uncertain. For many countries, economic output is only projected to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 or 2023, the WESP report said. “Vaccine inequity between countries and regions is posing a significant risk to an already uneven and fragile global recovery,” said UN chief economist Elliott Harris. “Timely and universal access to COVID-19 vaccinations will mean the difference between ending the pandemic promptly and placing the world economy on the trajectory of a resilient recovery, or losing many more years of growth, development and opportunities.” Global merchandise trade has already surpassed pre-pandemic levels, buoyed by strong demand for electrical and electronic equipment, personal protective equipment, and other manufactured goods. "Manufacturing-dependent economies have fared better, both during the crisis and the recovery period, but a quick rebound looks unlikely for tourism- and commodity-dependent economies," the report underscored. While the pandemic has reduced labour force participation by 2 per cent worldwide, compared to only 0.2 per cent during the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, more women than men were forced to leave the work force altogether, further widening gender gaps in employment and wages, the report highlighted. Women-owned businesses have also fared disproportionately worse. “The pandemic has pushed nearly 58 million women and girls into extreme poverty, dealing a huge blow to poverty reduction efforts worldwide, and exacerbated gender gaps in income, wealth and education, impeding progress on gender equality,” said Hamid Rashid, the chief of the Global Economic Monitoring Branch at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and the lead author of the report. “Fiscal and monetary measures to steer recovery must take into account the differentiated impact of the crisis on different population groups, including women, to ensure an economic recovery that is inclusive and resilient,” Rashid added.
Source: Fibre2fashion
