NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said that path to India's economic recovery post pandemic lies in attempting to focus on capturing the export markets, and push for consumer demand as the economy opens up. NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Sunday said that path to India's economic recovery post the Covid-29 pandemic lies in attempting to focus on capturing the export markets, as the world is flush with liquidity due to the various packages put in by various countries, and also push for consumer demand as the economy opens up. Kant on Sunday in an exclusive interview to ANI said that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report found India's Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018, has benefited almost 21 per cent of the nation's population and improved their quality of life. He said that the UNDP report found the ADP acted as a "catalyst for expediting development" that brought about "major changes" in sectors such as health care, nutrition, and education. When asked about the impact of coronavirus outbreak on Indian economy and path to its recovery, he said, "India is seeing today is a huge improvement in its exports. So, we should look at the global market, the world is awash with liquidity, because of the different packages which different countries have put in so there's a lot of money available across the world. "We should try and focus and capture the export markets and fourthly, I think there's a need to push for consumer demand as the economy opens up, providing greater liquidity spreading free ration as the Prime Minister has done till Diwali, well all this will help the economy to boost up in due course," the Niti Ayog CEO said. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced free rations under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till Diwali this year. It will cover 80 crore poor who will be provided with free ration under the scheme amid lockdowns and pandemic. Kant said the country can use the Covid pandemic as an opportunity to attact the world's best manufacturers. "I think it's a huge opportunity. COVID has accelerated the change, global supply chains will get relocated, there will be a China plus one strategy for manufacturing, a lot of foreign direct investment (FDI) has come into India and it's an opportunity for us to attract best manufacturers from all the world," Kant said. He also encouraged Indian companies to think big and to produce at global scale and size in order to penetrate global markets instead of focussing on domestic demand. "There is a big market outside this huge amount of liquidity right now. And what you get in the export market is far more than what you get in the domestic market and therefore size and scale. Use the strength of your domestic market to penetrate global markets. If you are at that size and scale, then your cost of production will fall. And therefore, India will become highly competitive in the global market. And that is the objective, the production linked incentive scheme," Kant told ANI. Advising the Indian business sector, Kant said that COVID has disrupted business in a big way but it has also provided an opportunity to maximise the use of technology to leapfrog across areas and make India the easiest place to do business. "This is also an opportunity to make ourselves easy and simple, do away with a lot of rules, regulation that we built up over the years, make India the simplest and the easiest place to do business, use technology, and I think this is also an opportunity to get into cutting edge areas of growth. This is an opportunity to use technology to leapfrog across a whole range of areas, we should use new technology to leapfrog," Kant said. He said that he has great belief on the resurgence of Indian economy and advocated for mass vaccination at great pace. "I'm a great believer that for this economy, we need to vaccinate fast which we are doing now in a very big way, the government has ordered a lot of vaccines to come in in the subsequent months, so I quite agree with the government approach that by December we should have vaccinated the entire population," said Kant. He also informed that the government has put a lot of focus on infrastructure. "We've created the National Infrastructure pipeline, huge emphasis on that and India is seeing huge improvement in its exports." Talking about the initial steps for Indian economy on future roadmap post pandemic, Kant said that it needs to be watchful as nature of the virus is pretty unknown. "Countries which have been very adventurous to totally open out, then get back and start closing this has been the strict trend across all over look at what is happening in UK now," said Kant.
Source: Business Standard
If the Government undertakes the effective steps and provides a substantial stimulus to combat the impact of coronavirus, a double-digit growth rate of more than 10% in FY2022 will be achievable. The daunting impact of COVID-19 has drastically impacted the growth trajectory of Indian economy, which decelerated to (-) 7.3% in FY 2021 as compared to the 4% in FY2020. However, the meaningful and proactive reforms undertaken by the Government in last many quarters have pulled the economy from the lows of Q1 FY 2021. The GDP growth recovered in Q4 FY 2020-21 at 1.6% as compared with 0.5% in Q3, (-)7.4% in Q2 and (-) 24.4% in Q1, thereby taking the overall growth rate for FY 2021 to (-)7.3%. The growth rate of (-) 7.3% in FY 2021 is not a matter of serious concern as the low economic activity was mainly due to the stringent lockdown of 2 months in 2020 to contain the spread of virus whereas, this statistical low base effect was expected to provide a good opportunity for India to attain a double-digit growth trajectory in FY 2022. However, the second wave of coronavirus has fully engulfed the country, with record new cases, active cases and deaths. Coronavirus-induced restrictions in the country have created a difficult time for the trade and industry. The trade and industry have been impacted in four major ways; first being the partial/complete lockdowns in many States; second being the labour shortage; third is the skyrocketing price of commodities; fourth is the depressed demand scenario. In the second wave of coronavirus, the demand is heavily disrupted unlike last year, where demand was retarded only for a period of 2 months. The reason for this can be attributed to the spread of second wave of COVID to urban areas, metropolitan areas, small cities and rural areas. Further, the economy activity and spending has diminished as households are shifting their savings towards fulfilling the medical needs of their family members along with deferment of their expenditure on non-essential items. Many national and international forecasting organizations including OECD, UN, Moody’s, Crisil, among others, have reduced their growth forecast for India’s GDP from double-digit to single digit. RBI has also reduced the growth forecast from 10.5% to 9.5% in FY2022 in its monetary policy review of June 4, 2021. The growth forecasts may further decelerate if the substantial measures are not taken by the Government. At this juncture, to re-build the high growth trajectory, the Government has to focus on 1) National Infra Pipeline expenditure is front loaded as private investment are not coming, 2) Government/ PSU payments must not be delayed due to Work From Home issues or shortage of funds, 3) Do away with the custom duties on the imports of primary raw materials for industrial use for at least current FY 2022 and impose export duties on various primary commodities showing huge price increases, exceeding 50% over the last FY 2021, 4) More and more direct transfer benefits to be considered for the urban and rural poor under the various welfare schemes, 5) At least 75% of the population of country needed to be vaccinated with both doses of vaccination by December 2021 to do away with the uncertainty in the economy. A substantial stimulus to create effective strides for futuristic growth trajectory and to diminish the daunting impact of the second wave of the pandemic coronavirus on trade and industry would be crucial to support the economic momentum in this extremely difficult time. If the Government undertakes the effective steps and provides a substantial stimulus to combat the impact of coronavirus, a double-digit growth rate of more than 10% in FY2022 will be achievable as anticipated earlier by various forecasting organizations along with GOI and RBI before the 2nd wave of pandemic coronavirus.
Source: Financial Express
Talking about Aurangabad and the surrounding areas, he said this part of central Maharashtra needs a regional master plan for development with consideration for possible growth in the next 25 years. It will not be business as usual after the COVID-19 pandemic and we need to bring more "simplicity" in the ease of doing business by doing away with the current maze of rules, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said here on Saturday. He was speaking to reporters after visiting the Aurangabad Industrial City and Auto Cluster at Waluj. To a question about proposed reforms after the pandemic, Kant said, "It is very clear that business will not run as usual after the pandemic. We need to bring reforms as much as we can, after COVID. "We have made many rules, regulations and procedures. By removing them, we need to bring more simplicity to ease of doing business," he added. The country also needs to "grow the technology and leapfrog along with it", Kant said, adding that the Union government is working in this direction. Talking about Aurangabad and the surrounding areas, he said this part of central Maharashtra needs a regional master plan for development with consideration for possible growth in the next 25 years. "This area has a potential and can come up as one of the fastest growing region in the country from the tourism and industry point of view," he said.
Source: Economic Times
The manufacturing sector, hit hardest by the national lockdown over April 2020, recorded a 197.1% uptick this April, though it was still 0.9% lower than April 2019 levels India's index of industrial production (IIP) rose by a sharp 134.44% in April 2021, as per data from the National Statistical Office which stressed that the numbers are not strictly comparable with April 2020 when the country was in the midst of a national lockdown. April's industrial output was just 0.08% higher than the pre-pandemic levels of April 2019. The manufacturing sector, hit hardest by the national lockdown over April 2020, recorded a 197.1% uptick this April, though it was still 0.9% lower than April 2019 levels. Economists said the ‘exaggerated’ numbers could create a misleading impression about the state of the economy. On a sequential month-on-month basis, April’s IIP contracted 12%, reflecting a hit on production activity as major states like Maharashtra and Delhi led the localized lockdowns, said Madhavi Arora, lead economist at Emkay Global Financial Services. Maharashtra has an 18% share in India’s manufacturing Gross Value Added (GVA), she pointed out. “.. Last year, output had come to a standstill in most sectors. Therefore, the growth numbers for April which are exceptionally high need to be ignored. A similar situation would arise in May too and it would be only from June that there could be reasonable numbers forthcoming,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings. “It would be better to track PMI, waybills and GST collections to get a fair assessment of activity in the industrial sectors,” he said. Electricity output rose 38.5% in April 2021 from a year ago, and was 6.81% higher than the pre-COVID-19 levels of April 2019. Similarly, Mining output grew 37% year-on-year in April, but was only 0.2% higher than the same month in 2019. ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar said that capital goods and consumer durables output trailed the April 2019 levels by 14.3% and 11.6%, respectively, which suggests that the widening state-wise restrictions over April impacted production amid a weakening outlook for investment activity and consumption in the near term. “Manufacturing moderated by 12.6% in April from the previous month, narrower than the slippage of 17.5% in the GST e-way bills generated over the same time period. This suggests that inventories may have built up, with dispatches being limited by the second Covid surge that was underway in April,” she said. ICRA reckons that though IIP growth may flatten to below 20% in May, it would slip below May 2019 levels. The National Statistical Office also revised upwards the IIP numbers for March 2021, to reflect a growth of 24.14% over March 2020, as opposed to 22.4% estimated earlier. Industrial output indices for January were revised as well. Instead of a 1.6% contraction in output as per earlier quick estimates, January 2021 saw production decline by just 0.58% as per the final data.
Source: The Hindu
Industries here have welcomed the State government’s announcement of relaxations for lockdown that will continue for one more week. According to Southern India Mills’ Association chairman Ashwin Chandran, permitting exporting units to operate with 25 % workers will enable the textile mills to function with workers staying in hostels on the mill premises. The South India Spinners Association said that small-scale textile mills also plan to resume partial operations from Monday according to the government announcement. It has written to the Chief Minister on Friday seeking time for payment of electricity charges. Coimbatore District Small Industries Association president M.V. Ramesh Babu said that permitting export units to work with 25 % labourers would benefit those units. With no support from banks and the MSMEs not permitted to operate, it is a difficult situation for the units. The government officials are also taking action on units that are operating without permission. The MSMEs need to pay wages though the units are not functioning, he said. According to J. James, president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises, continuing lockdown for industries will hit hard the micro units as there is no support from the government to these units that are not functioning for a month. Banks have started insisting on the units to repay the dues. If the government does not support, the micro units will be wiped off, he said.
Source: The Hindu
Experts, too, suggest that both the sides need to work on less controversial issues first; the more difficult ones can be taken up later, as any deal there will take time to materialise. As India and the European Union (EU) prepare to resume formal negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) after a gap of eight years, both the parties could focus on “low-hanging fruit” first, before switching to contentious matters that had hampered talks earlier, a source told FE. “The idea is to first try and forge consensus where it’s easy to achieve this. Even if both the sides can hammer out an early-harvest deal before a full-fledged FTA, that would be an encouraging sign. Otherwise, it would be like back to square one,” he said. EU’s recent investment agreement with China and its FTA with Vietnam for meaningful negotiations. Preparatory work for the next round of negotiations is in full swing, said a senior official. After 16 rounds of talks between 2007 and 2013, formal negotiations for the FTA were stuck over stark differences, as the EU insisted that India scrap or slash hefty import duties on sensitive products such as automobiles, alcoholic beverages and cheese, among others. India’s demand included greater access to the EU market for its skilled professionals, which the bloc was reluctant to accede to. Since its pull-out of the Beijing-dominated RCEP trade negotiations in November 2019, India has been seeking to expedite talks with key economies. But it has made it clear that any such agreement will have to be “fair” and “balanced”. Since 2013, though, the situation has changed dramatically with Brexit, and the attractiveness of the EU as a large market has somewhat eroded. Nevertheless, it still remains an important export destination for India. Of course, New Delhi and London are separately exploring the feasibility of an FTA, formal negotiations for which may start later this year. The EU, including the UK, was India’s largest destination (as a bloc) in FY20, with a 17% share in the country’s overall exports. Importantly, the UK accounted for 16% of India’s $53.7-billion exports to the EU in FY20. Experts, too, suggest that both the sides need to work on less controversial issues first; the more difficult ones can be taken up later, as any deal there will take time to materialise. At a virtual interaction organised by the Trade Promotion Council of India last week, Arpita Mukherjee, professor at ICRIER who specalises in trade and investment, highlighted the need for innovative solutions to break any potential logjam on critical issues. For instance, in case of alcohol, Mukherjee proposed a threshold price for such products for tariff liberalisation, as was done by Japan for Australian wines under the RCEP. Dairy, Mukherjee thinks, is a complex issue since both the EU and India are already large producers. Automobiles present an altogether different challenge, as India’s existing FTA partners, such as Japan and South Korea, are already large producers, and they may seek a level-playing field if New Delhi extends greater market access to the EU. According to Pralok Gupta, associate professor (services and investment) at the Centre for WTO Studies, said India’s demand for freer movement of skilled professionals (under Mode 4 of services) may face stiff resistance during negotiations; instead, Mode 3 is easier to access. According to the WTO, Mode 3 occurs when a service provider of one of its members offers a service through some form of commercial presence in the territory of another member. Gupta said getting physical presence (under Mode 3) can ultimately simplify India’s goal of getting access to other modes of services. The India-EU negotiations will also feature talks on geographical indications (GIs). RV Anuradha, partner at Clarus Law Associates, said the EU was seeking automatic recognition for a wide range of products, including wines, spirits, dairy and farm commodities. But any automatic recognition for its goods under the Indian GI Act will require a legislative amendment by New Delhi. “While this may be considered, the problem for India is that in the EU, GI protection is linked to farm products, food stuffs and wine. However, out of 330-odd GIs in India, more than 210 are handicrafts (non-agricultural products),” Anuradha said. Also, India needs to ensure if its automatic recognition of the GI products from the EU will affect domestic industries, such as cheese, where it has its own production capacities. For instance, Amul has been manufacturing the Gouda and Emmental cheese for the past decade, having set up units set up with Swiss collaboration.
Source: Financial Express
Investing in the Blue Economy can help enable nations to address Covid crisis, and make sure that the global community builds back better and greener. This was the key theme at the fourth India-Norway Task Force on Blue Economy that met on June 9. The task force was chaired by Norwegian Ambassador to India, Hans Jacob Frydenlund and Ratan Watal, Member Secretary, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC to PM)…………
Source: Economic Times
To promote exports of textiles products, he suggested the government to come up with an export scheme like DEPB (duty entitlement passbook scheme) in different forms. Production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for man-made fibre and will help boost manufacturing, increase exports and attract investments into the sector, textiles firm RSWM Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Riju Jhunjhunwala said on Friday. He also said the immediate need of the hour is to put synthetic textiles at par with cotton in the goods and services tax (GST) chain. "The PLI scheme is what the sector needs. India today lags behind the world in synthetic textiles and this scheme would help. "It will not only increase India's manufacturing capabilities but increase investment and production in the textile sector, too," he said. To promote exports of textiles products, he suggested the government to come up with an export scheme like DEPB (duty entitlement passbook scheme) in different forms. "Exports are doing well because of a conscious call taken by global giants to limit their consumption from China. They are focusing to source from India, Southeast Asia, etc, and the effect of this is being seen in exports," Jhunjhunwala added. About the key challenges being faced by the sector, he said skilled manpower, and raw material at globally competitive rates are something that "we miss". "The rise in prices of imported raw materials has also increased the prices of dyes. Government can help industrialists by relaxing the GST on fabric and dye imports. They can also fix the pricing catalog for the imported raw material," he said. About the company's performance, he said its net sales stood at Rs 859.06 crore in March 2021, up 39.33 per cent from Rs 616.56 crore in March 2020. "Our quarterly net profits at Rs 71.38 crore in March 2021 is up from Rs. 5.15 crore in March 2020...We have announced capex worth Rs 350 crore to be completed within 18 months. This would be used towards expanding denim capacity, melange yarn capacity, cotton yarn capacity and a major modernization of old machinery," he added.
Source: Economic Times
Mr Jitender Kumar Singh, Director, Department of Industries, Govt of Jharkhand today said that in order to attract more investment in the state and revive the industry in Jharkhand, the state government has taken few measures including the New Jharkhand Industrial and Investment Promotion policy. “This is in draft stage and within a week the new policy will get notified,” he added. Addressing the webinar on ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Jharkhand’s Economy’, organized by FICCI, Mr Singh said that with the unlocking of the economy, the demand for products will increase thereby leading to increase in production as well. “The government of Jharkhand is responding to the situation, demands and the needs of the industry. In the new Industrial policy, we have increased the incentives including the capital subsidy which will benefit the MSME sector as well,” he said. Mr Singh also said that the Textile policy of the state has been very lucrative for the investors and existing policy is expiring in September. We are also working on the new Textile policy, and it will be more attractive than the current policy, he stated. Speaking on the other incentives and plan of the state, Mr Singh said that the state government is also working on the food policy and industrial park policy. To further support the industrial revival in the state he said that the government is revamping the single window clearance system. “In the coming few months we are hoping for recovery and reviving our single window clearance system along with expediting all clearances and compliances. With this, our industrial production and clearances will get a major boost. To reduce the industrial compliances, 121 compliances have been reduced, reengineered, and uploaded on the DPIIT portal as well,” added Mr Singh. Emphasizing the potential of tourism sector in the state, Mr Singh said that the Department of Tourism is in the process of drafting the new Tourism policy. “The policy will be implemented in next 2 months. The new policy also has new attractive incentive provisions which will further boost the sector,” he noted. Mr Pradeep Hazari, Special Secretary-Cum-Advisor, Dept of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Cooperative, Govt of Jharkhand said that second wave impacted critical areas in the state which include rise in the unemployment, stress on supply chain with decrease in the government income. “The tourism and hospitality industry has collapsed in the state. We are also witnessing a reduction in consumer demand,” he added. Mr Hazari further said that to support the agriculture sector, the state government took steps to support the farmers. In order to prepare for the third wave, he suggested that it is required to learn from past experiences and save unseen resources. “Investments have to be utilized properly and expenditure needs to be curtailed. We need to adopt backward integration approach, adjust our production and through these measures we will overcome the crisis,” he added. Mr Praveen Kumar Jain, President, Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce & Industries (FJCCI); Mr Pramod Choudhary, Managing Partner, Pawansut Minerals; Mr Sailesh Agarwal, Owner, Drishti Travels and Mr Vikash Sinha, Director, Shir Ram Teachers Training College also shared their perspective on impact of COVID in different sectors.
Source: India Education Diary
Suspension of manufacturing activities due to COVID-19 lockdown has brought financial crisis to textile hubs in Uttar Pradesh. With both the textile hubs of Kanpur and Noida reporting decline in credit (loan), the textile industry has been the worst hit in Uttar Pradesh, suggests the SIDBI-CRIF report on Indian Textiles and Apparels Industry. This is due to the suspension of manufacturing activities after the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 imposed to check the spread of pandemic. When the manufacturing activities were to pick up in December-January the deadly second wave dealt a severe blow to the sector. The textiles and apparels industry in India is one of the oldest and largest sectors of the economy. The CRIF is an RBI approved credit bureau in India which provides information about credit-worthiness or credit history of individuals and commercial establishments. The SIDBI’s report states that the number of active loans (volume), in the sector stood at 4.26 lakh as of December 2020. During this period, there has been a decline of 42 percent in the credit (loan) in Kanpur region which is one of the two hubs of textile industry in Uttar Pradesh. Till December 2020, the credit outstanding portfolio in Kanpur was ₹1,730 crore. The credit portfolio of textile industry in the entire Uttar Pradesh was ₹4,600 crore till December 2020. At present, there are over 10,000 textile and garment units across the state with most of them concentrated in Kanpur and Noida region. In Noida region of the state there are around 3,000 textile units. Each unit has a minimum workforce of around 100 employees. Almost all of them are facing financial crisis in the post-pandemic scenario. Foreign buyers are reluctant to place orders with Noida units as they are apprehensive whether they will be able to fulfil the order due to prevailing Covid-19 condition in India. “After the grim Covid-19 picture of India was portrayed in international media, foreign buyers are no more placing orders with us. Instead they are moving to Taiwan and Bangladesh,” said Rajiv Bansal, national secretary, IIA, and a garment exporter. Garment exporters also claim that the Centre has stopped Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), an incentive based scheme for exporters from December 31 last. Against this, the government has launched new scheme Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) which is yet to be rolled out, said Rajiv Bansal.
Source: Hindustan Times
Textile exporters termed the budget 2021-22 as growth-led and export-oriented with progressive initiatives to accelerate economic growth in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. The new fiscal plan has set in place pro-growth measures to maximize industrialization, create jobs, increase revenue and attain higher export growth. Responding to the budget measures, Chairman Pakistan Textile Exporters Association Muhammad Ahmad, in a statement here on Saturday, termed the budget a step in the right direction; however, subjected to implementation in letter and spirit. He said that the foremost objective of the budget was to give the direction and fillip to manufacturing, business and trade of the country enabling these sectors optimum utilization of available resources in order to maximize their output increasing their contribution and share to the GDP. With budgetary measures, economic indicators would show an upward trend and the GDP growth would improve significantly, he added. Reduction / exemption of CD, ACD & RD on import of goods falling under 589 PCT codes to incentivize the textile industry, steps for ease of doing business, announcement of a new uniform export facilitation scheme under a phased out programme, permission for the bond to bond transfer of goods through WeBOC (web-based one customs) without prior approval of the collector and continuation of all export facilitation policies will give necessary fillip to exports and industry. However, roadmap for disbursement of exporters’ old refunds (before July-2019) has been ignored; whereas no funds are allocated for revival of sick units which could help in fetching extra US$ 1 billion in foreign exchange and create additional thousands of new jobs. He appreciated Government on presenting a balanced fiscal plan in challenging times as country’s economy is going through a challenging phase due to the outbreak of global COVID-19 pandemic and all segments of economy are in distress and facing huge financial losses. PTEA’s Patron-in-Chief Khurram Mukhtar commended Government’s policies to enhance exports. Confidence of the business community has been restored as a result of Government’s prudent economic policies, which has accelerated the economic process in the country. With growth-led initiatives especially market based flexible exchange rate, energy package for export sectors, timely refund payments and availability of LTFF and TERF at subsidized rates, textile export sector has already regained its growth momentum and exports have witnessed positive growth.
Source: Brecorder
Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao and his US counterpart Gina Raimondo recently agreed to push forward trade and investment links in their first call since the new US administration took over in January, with Washington seeking a more level playing field. Wang and Raimondo “agreed to promote the healthy development of pragmatic cooperation in trade and investment,” in a phone call on June 10 morning. The two “exchanged views frankly and pragmatically on relevant issues and mutual concerns,” according to a Chinese government statement. Raimondo “discussed the Biden-Harris administration’s focus on economic policies benefiting American workers and expressed US concerns, including China’s unfair and market-distorting industrial policies, the need to level the playing field for U.S. companies in China, and the importance of protecting U.S. technology from unauthorized users,” the US commerce department said in a statement. The call was the third between senior officials in recent weeks, after Vice Premier Liu He spoke with US trade representative Katherine Tai and treasury secretary Janet Yellen. The two sides are gradually trying to resume official contact after the January change of administration in the United States. Normal communications between the two countries have started, according to Chinese commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng. The two sides have agreed to pragmatically solve some issues for producers and consumers, and promote healthy, stable economic and trade ties, he said. While there are issues, “the essence of trade and economic relations is mutually beneficial and win-win,” Feng told reporters in Beijing.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Although the economic crisis unleashed by Covid-19 has driven large international trade declines, Cambodia-US trade seems to have largely eluded the clutches of the pandemic wobbles, worth $2.6549 billion in January-April, an increase of 24.48 per cent over the $2.1327 booked in the same period of 2020. Of that, the Kingdom exported $2.5192 billion, up by 24.43 per cent year-on-year from $2.0246 billion, and imported $135.7 million, up by 25.53 per cent on a yearly basis from $108.1 million, according to the US Census Bureau. Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng told The Post that although Covid-19 influences production chains at all levels, the US market still boats large potential for the Kingdom’s finished textile products. He said he remains optimistic that the upward trend of bilateral trade growth will continue as the US economy, which has been hard-hit by the Covid-19 crisis, shows more positive signs. The Kingdom is also gaining traction in US market share due to the ongoing Sino-US trade row and investment diverted from Myanmar, he said. “The trade volume between the two countries will increase further if Cambodia continues to qualify for the Generalised System of Preferences [GSP] from the US,” Heng said. He asserted that plans in many countries around the world to reopen tourism would provide significant momentum for orders of garments and finished textile products from Cambodia. Bilateral trade between the Kingdom and the US amounted to $6.9213 billion in 2020, up 17.89 per cent from 2019, data from the US Census Bureau show. The export value of Cambodian goods was $6.5777 billion, up 22.79 per cent from the $5.3568 billion posted in 2019, while goods imported from the US were worth $343.6 million, down 33.15 per cent from $514 million.
Source: Phnompenhpost
As COVID-19-related restrictions are being gradually lifted in many countries, importers of Vietnamese textile and garment products have been opening up opportunities for enterprises to boost production and expand export markets. According to the Vietnam’s general department of customs, the export turnover of the sector was nearly $9.7 billion in the first four months of 2021—an increase of 10.7 per cent over the same period last year. The US continued to be the largest importer of Vietnam’s textile and garment products at $4.7 billion during this period, a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 18.7 per cent, accounting for 48.7 per cent of the country's total export value of textiles and garments, followed by Japan at $1.07 billion and the European Union (EU) at $942 million, according to a news agency report. Textile and garment enterprises have signed orders until the end of third quarter. Many units have signed contracts for orders until the end of the year and are entering into negotiations for 2022. Businesses in the sector are aiming to achieve an export turnover of $39 billion this year.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The Export Development Board (EDB) yesterday expressed concerns over the resolution adopted by the European Union (EU) Parliament calling on the EU Commission to consider the temporary withdrawal of Sri Lanka’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status and the benefits that come with it. The resolution on Sri Lanka was adopted noting the Government’s persistent failure to adopt and enact human rights reforms and repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Up to 628 votes were cast in favour of, 15 against, and there were 40 abstentions. “We are concerned with the EU Parliament’s resolution,” EDB Chairman Suresh de Mel told the Daily FT. The resolution calls on the EU Commission to “carefully assess whether there is sufficient reason, as a last resort, to initiate a procedure for the temporary withdrawal of Sri Lanka’s GSP+ status and to report to Parliament on this matter as soon as possible”. The resolution recalled that the GSP+ scheme offers the incentive of better access to the EU market for the country’s exporters, in return for further progress in fully implementing those conventions. EDB Chief said the apparel industry, which contributes close to 50% of the total exports and generates over $ 5 billion in foreign exchange to the economy, will be impacted most if the EU Commission decides to withdraw Sri Lanka’s GSP+ status and the accompanying benefits. Textiles and clothing exports to the EU have benefited most through the GSP+ concession, accounting for over 60%, followed by food products with over 12%. Sri Lanka has duty-free access to 7,200 products with the EU GSP+ concession. “We will discuss the matter this week with top officials,” de Mel said. Last year Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports amounted to $ 10 billion, and the Government has set a target of $ 12 billion in 2021, of which $ 3.6 billion was achieved by April. The EU remains Sri Lanka’s largest export market, accounting for 30% of the total, while the US is the largest single export market, accounting for 27% of the total merchandise exports last year. Nearly 60% of Sri Lankan exports benefit from some form of preferential access due to EU GSP+ and US GSP schemes. In January 2020, the EU delegation in Sri Lanka reassured that it will continue the GSP+ concessions to Sri Lanka till 2023 while noting that there will be ‘no changes’ in the rigorous monitoring of the country’s progress in implementing the conventions. Sri Lanka regained the EU GSP+ privileges for Sri Lankan exports in May 2017. The trade preferences under GSP+ consists of the full removal of duties on 66% of tariff lines, covering a wide array of products, including textiles and fisheries. The GSP+ scheme is conditional on Sri Lanka advancing human and labour rights and working towards sustainable development. Since the resumption of GSP+ concessions in 2017, the value of Sri Lanka’s total exports to the EU market has increased year on year.
Source: Financial Times
Opportunities to speed up the joint construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Asia is the main destination for Italian textile machinery manufacturers and 66 companies from the country will present at the upcoming ITMA ASIA + CITME exhibition that opens at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai on June 12th Of these, 21 manufacturers will be presenting their technology offerings within a national sector group organised by ACIMIT, the Italian Association of Textile Machinery Manufacturers, and the Italian Trade Agency. With an occupied area of about 3,200 square metres, Italy is among the main exhibiting countries attending the event, as has been the case at previous editions. In 2020, China accounted for 14% of Italian textile machinery exports with a value of over €190 million, with other main destinations in the region including Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. “The outlook for the Asian market remains positive, despite the fact that demand for machinery slowed considerably during 2020 due to the pandemic,” said ACIMIT president Alessandro Zucchi. “China, before many other countries, has resumed its path of economic growth and in the textile sector investments have never stopped. I believe that ITMA ASIA + CITME will confirm expectations of a recovery in demand.” “Italian cutting-edge technology can contribute greatly in terms of innovation and the further development of the flourishing Chinese textile industry,” added Massimiliano Tremiterra, trade commissioner for the Italian Trade Agency’s Shanghai office. “In Eastern China, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Fujian are the top three provinces for the textile and garment industry that along with Guangdong and Shandong reach around 80% of the industry’s production capability. “Italy remains one of the leading suppliers of textile machinery in China for cleaning, dyeing and finishing machines, knitting, stitch-bond, lace and auxiliary machinery. The Italian textile machinery industry’s focus on sustainability and innovation is also in line with the keystones of the Chinese 14th five-year plan and the Made in China 2025 plan. It is the right time for the two countries to start a new round of trade and speed up the joint construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.”
Source: Innovation in Textiles
