|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1045.69 |
USD/Ton |
0.15% |
11/30/2015 |
|
VSF |
2230.7 |
USD/Ton |
-0.84% |
11/30/2015 |
|
ASF |
2031.11 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
Polyester POY |
1001.86 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2426.37 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
40D Spandex |
5244.09 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2684.66 |
USD/Ton |
-0.87% |
11/30/2015 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
5835.81 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1248.41 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
Nylon POY |
2230.7 |
USD/Ton |
-1.04% |
11/30/2015 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2207.21 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1045.69 |
USD/Ton |
-0.15% |
11/30/2015 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2833.37 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1659.32 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2645.53 |
USD/Ton |
-1.17% |
11/30/2015 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1815.86 |
USD/Ton |
-0.85% |
11/30/2015 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2269.83 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
3005.57 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2582.91 |
USD/Ton |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.1 |
USD/Meter |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.92 |
USD/Meter |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1 |
USD/Meter |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.74 |
USD/Meter |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.75 |
USD/Meter |
0.00% |
11/30/2015 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY 0.15654 USD dtd. 30/11/2015)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
One-day workshop/ seminar by the textile industries directorate, with a view to promote new investments in new textile industries in the state and other textile related activities, will be held at Hotel Jhulelal Pride, Darwha Road, Yavatmal on December 2, 2015.Yavatmal district collector S P Singh will be the chief guest of the workshop which will be presided by Maharashtra textile industries director Richa Bagala.All textile traders/ businessmen/ investers engaged in ginning, spinning, processing and garment manufacturing are invited to the seminar/ workshop to derive advantage out of it.
SOURCE: The Nagpur Today
Driven by the growing online retailing market, the share of branded products in the readymade garment segment is set to rise to 46-48 per cent in the 2019 calendar year, from 35 per cent in 2014, says the latest report by Edel Invest Research of Edelweiss, the financial services group. The report suggests the mega trend of growing e-commerce penetration, along with innovation disruption created by fast fashion, changing consumer trends and preferences, are set to drive growth of the branded apparel industry. Some of the big entities in this area are Siyaram Silk, KKCL, Indian Terrain, Arvind and Madura Fashion. According to Vinay Khattar, research head at Edelweiss Financial Services, the country’s apparel industry’s growth story is set to gain more heft by the entry of marquee global brands, sharpening focus of big domestic business houses and the online revolution started by e-commerce entities.
Growth spurt for branded apparel Further, benign inflation and a spurt in gross domestic product (GDP) are bound to induce consumers to spend more, boosting discretionary consumption over the medium term. The report also points to factors like the favourable demographics of a younger population, influenced by Western culture, along with improved affordability and willingness to spend on one’s looks & image, higher GDP per capita spending on apparel, a shrinking unorganised sector pie and a burgeoning middle class. “We estimate branded apparel to clock a 10-12 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over 2014-19, driven by a jump in volumes and realisations,” it states. Saturation of available retail space and infrastructure and operational challenges, coupled with a rising internet penetration and jump in the number of Indians owning an internet-enabled smartphone, has led to most retailers looking at avenues such as e-commerce. This platform offers consumers attractive discounts on good quality and trendy products, a larger bouquet of products and brands to chose from, the convenience of cash on delivery and ease in returning of products. “The online retailing market is expected to grow to $44 billion (Rs 2.9 lakh crore) by 2018, as against $13 bn (Rs 87,000 crore) in 2014, with apparel being one of the biggest beneficiaries — it already has 31 per cent of the online retail presence. E-commerce also helps e-tailers in real-time consumer data analytics. These involve identifying consumer trends, which are then combined with other indicators such as income levels to devise customised offerings helping e-tailers capture the latest trends, accurately target customers and continuously innovate to stay ahead of competition,” the report states. The other prominent trend for a boost to the branded apparel segment are changing consumer preferences, along with ‘fast fashion’. Many new trends are apparent. For instance, the rising demand for readymade garments is replacing stitching of clothes. Also, price sensitivity has been replaced by quality, brand recall and aesthetics, said Khattar.
A younger and fashion-conscious population, higher comfort level in Western wear, entry of foreign brands and higher penetration of organised retailing are driving a preference for casual Western wear. The Indian middle class, traditionally less fashion and brand conscious, has become fashion savvy and developed strong brand loyalties. And, fast fashion, which implies quickly capturing the latest fashion and catwalk trends, replicating these in a retail format, has caught the fancy of consumers as well. “Fast fashion requires an efficient supply chain and quick & inexpensive designing and manufacturing. This philosophy of quick and outsourced manufacturing, replicating the latest designs at affordable prices, with a short shelf life, is used by some of the biggest and most successful international apparel brands such as H&M and Zara. As new products are launched every week, existing products have a short shelf life, inducing shoppers to visit stores often, generating higher volumes. As the inventory is fast moving, the need to discount products to clear out stock is low, keeping margins stable,” the report observes.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
Macro-economic data released on Monday paint an upbeat picture of the economy, with robust growth and a rebound in manufacturing output. But, this may not influence Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan to cut rates on Tuesday, as inflation remains a concern. Growth data released by the Central Statistics Office on Monday show that the economy grew 7.4 per cent in the second quarter up from 7 per cent a quarter earlier. It was also well ahead of the 6.9 per cent growth recorded by China in the same quarter. However it was lower than the 8.4 per cent growth recorded in the second quarter of the last fiscal year. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said “despite two years of below-par monsoons we are still able to show growth”. GDP growth for the first half of the fiscal year is now pegged at 7.2 per cent, according to the CSO. The Budget had forecast growth of 8-8.5 per cent for the full fiscal year but analysts expect it to be lower. “While agriculture continued to surprise positively, construction activities have nearly collapsed. Continued growth momentum of the financial sector and robust manufacturing growth — the highest since Q2 of 2012-13 — is encouraging. Full fiscal growth is likely to be 7.5 per cent,” said DK Pant, chief economist, India Ratings and Research. However, economists raised concerns over the decline in private final consumption growth by 3.25 per cent in the second quarter over the first quarter. The manufacturing sector registered a sharp uptick and grew at 9.3 per cent in the second quarter against 7.2 per cent in the first quarter. With pressure to spur growth, the RBI, in its last policy review in September, had cut key rates by 50 basis points. “I expect the central bank to keep policy rates unchanged, especially when the US Fed is expected to go in for a policy stance shift in the next 15 days,” said Indranil Pan, Chief Economist, IDFC Bank.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
The output of eight core sector industries increased 3.2 per cent in October, slowing from the 9 per cent pace registered in the year earlier. Core sector growth in the April-October period was lower at 2.5 per cent this fiscal compared with 5.6 per cent during the same period last financial year, data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Monday showed. The eight industries combined contribute almost 38 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). Incidentally, most core sector companies have reported a fall in their profits in the September quarter, as they did in the previous two quarters. The October numbers, which show that growth is yet to be broad-based in the core sector, came a day ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) monetary policy announcement slated for Tuesday. Most analysts predict that the central bank is unlikely to reduce interest rates any further. The industrial uptick is still in a nascent stage after a slowdown, and most core sector companies have been spending a sizeable portion of their profits to service debt. The interest amounts spent by these companies have also been climbing. The star performer in October’s core sector numbers was the cement sector, which recorded an 11.7 per cent jump, as against -1.5 per cent in September, signalling that some infrastructure build up is beginning again. The growth was also the first time the sector registered double digit growth since November 2014, when it clocked 11.3 per cent. Coal production was the next best on a month-on-month basis with 6.3 per cent growth as against 1.9 per cent in September. But the pace was much slower than the 16.4 per cent in October 2014.
Fertiliser production was also healthy at 16.2 per cent growth, slightly lower than 18.1 per cent in September, but way above -7 per cent in October last year. Electricity growth slipped to 8.8 per cent in October as against 10.8 per cent in September and 13.7 per cent in October 2014. Steel production continued to be in the red, shrinking -1.2 per cent as against -2.5 per cent in September and compared with a healthy 14.2 per cent growth in October last year. Refinery products output contracted -4.4 per cent, compared with 0.5 per cent growth in the previous month and 4.2 per cent increase in October last year, while natural gas production also shrank in October to -1.8 per cent as against 0.9 per cent increase in the previous month and -3.9 per cent in October 2014. Crude oil output also shrank -2.1 per cent in October as against -0.1 per cent in September and 1 per cent growth in October last year.
SOURCE: The Hindu
Aided by stepped up government spending, a surprise uptick in agricultural output and and sharper value creation in the manufacturing sector, India’s GDP growth picked up in second quarter of the current fiscal to 7.4%, from 7% in the previous quarter and 8.4% a year ago, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Monday. While India’s growth looked impressive compared with China’s 6.9% in the same quarter, analysts saw only early signs of a recovery and lamented about the relatively weak private consumption, the collapse of the construction sector and continued sluggishness in external demand. They, however, expected the Reserve Bank Of India to hold key rates on Tuesday, as it had administered a sharper-than-expected 50-basis-point cut at its last meeting on September 30.
Though the 6.8% growth in gross fixed capital formation — a gauge for fixed investment — in the quarter was the highest since the first quarter of 2014-15, aided by improved government spending, private consumption expenditure remained weak, with growth slowing to 6.8% in the July-September period from 7.4% in the previous quarter. The government’s capital expenditure in the April-October period stood at 59% of the budget estimate for FY16; in the same period last year, such spending was only 48% of the full-year target. Government consumption expenditure rose 5.2% in the second quarter, against 1.2% in the first quarter.
Real gross value added (GVA) grew 7.4% in the September quarter — the same as the gross domestic product (GDP) — and compared with 7.1% in the previous quarter, despite robust growth in indirect tax mop-up from a year before. Government officials explained that according to the new methodology formulated by the International Monetary Fund, adopted by the CSO, only the real growth in the underlying indirect tax base is taken into account while calculating the GDP at market prices and the increase in mop-up owing to an increase in tax rates is reflected as only “a rate of change in price”.
Indirect tax collections between April and October rose 35.9% from a year before, partly reflecting the additional measures taken to boost revenue receipts including the excise increases on diesel and petrol and the increase in service tax rates from 12.36% to 14%. Importantly, nominal GDP grew just 6% in the second quarter, compared with 8.8% in the first quarter and much lower than 13.6% a year before. Nominal GDP growth in Q2 was lower even than the real one as inflation measured via the GDP deflator remained subdued at -1.3%, mainly as wholesale price inflation dropped to -4.5% in the September quarter. The lower nominal GDP growth could add to the government’s pressure to meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.9% of (nominal) GDP for the year, especially when the 7th pay commission has recommended much higher salaries for central government employees.
The data showed while the services sector continued to put up a decent show, manufacturing growth sustained a momentum built up lately and scaled a three-year high of 9.3% in the September quarter. The robust manufacturing growth suggests value addition may have risen at a much faster pace than output, as reflected in the subdued growth for the sector in the index of industrial production (IIP). Manufacturing output in the IIP grew just 4.6% in the September quarter from a year before. However, what surprised the analysts most was the growth in the farm and allied sectors despite a second straight year of deficient monsoon. The GVA in the agriculture and allied sectors grew 2.2% in the second quarter, compared with 1.9% in Q1. The GVA in mining grew 3.2% in the September quarter, lower than 4% in the first quarter. The construction sector, however, performed poorly as it witnessed a just 2.6% expansion in the second quarter, against 6.9% in the previous quarter.
Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank, said: “This suggests still a fairly tepid performance in the economy although some of the gains are essentially due to value addition, low commodity prices and so on. Prima facie, the number seems reasonably good. Clearly we are stuck in a groove which is considerably lower than what our potential is.” “The key surprise in the initial growth data for Q2FY16 is the uptick in growth of agriculture, forestry and fishing, belying the concerns regarding the extent of drag generated by the unfavourable monsoon on the crop sector,” said Aditi Nayar, senior economist at ICRA. “Continued growth momentum of financial sector and robust manufacturing growth (highest since 2QFY13) is encouraging. Despite decline in inflation and monetary easing, decline in 2QFY16 consumption growth from 1QFY16 is puzzling. Growth in fixed capital formation continued to inch up from 3QFY15,” said India Ratings.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
As many as 36 special economic zones (SEZs) are operational in Tamil Nadu, followed by Telangana and Karnataka, Parliament was informed today. In Telangana and Karnataka, 26 SEZs in each state are operational. "Presently, a total of 204 SEZs are exporting. As on June 30, a total of 15,04,597 persons have been provided employments in SEZs," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. Further, she said as many as 225 non-operational zones are there in different states of the country. The government has approved 19 proposals for setting up of new zones in 10 states, including Andhra Pradesh (1), Maharashtra (4) and Uttar Pradesh (2) during the last three years and current fiscal till November 30. SEZs are major export hubs of the country. It contributes about 25 per cent in the country's total exports.
In a separate reply, she said the incentives announced by the government recently would enhance competitiveness of exporters in the global market and "may help in boosting the exports. This in turn, will help in bridging the trade gaps". Trade deficit during April-October 2015 declined by 9.87 per cent to $77.7 billion as against $86.27 billion in the same period last year. The cumulative exports during April-October this fiscal came down by 17.62 per cent to $154.29 billion as against $187.2 billion in the same period last year.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday approved a set of more liberal external commercial borrowing norms (ECB), allowing Indian companies to raise rupee resources from overseas lenders, without incurring currency risks. The new norms will be effective April 1 next year. Such rupee-denominated bonds are being issued in large numbers. They are a hit with Japanese retail investors. For ECB in foreign currency, the central bank raised the limit for small-value bonds, with a minimum average maturity of three years, to $50 million from the existing $20 million. For ECB of more than $50 million, the minimum maturity period should be five years, it said. The all-in cost for such ECB has been reduced 50 basis points from what was allowed earlier. For long-term ECB though, the all-in cost is 50 basis points higher. For rupee-denominated ECB, the rate will be commensurate with the prevailing market conditions. Apart from usual lenders like banks, such rupee resources can now be borrowed from sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and insurance companies, according to the final guidelines. The liberal approach, with fewer restrictions on end uses and higher all-in cost ceiling will help for "long-term foreign currency borrowings as the extended term makes repayments more sustainable and minimises roll-over risks for the borrower," RBI said in a statement. Such an ECB policy means attracting foreign funds "will continue to be a major tool to calibrate the policy towards capital account management in response to the evolving macro-economic situation," the central bank said, adding the guidelines will be reviewed after one year, based on the experience and evolving macro-economic situation. For ECB with a minimum three- to five-year average maturity, the all-in cost ceiling is 300 basis points over the six-month London Interbank Offer Rate (Libor), or applicable bench mark for the respective currency. The ECB with an average maturity of over five years will carry a ceiling of 450 bps over the six-month Libor. The penal interest for default or breach of covenants is capped at two per cent over and above the contracted rate of interest.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
Chennai Port is considering plans to relax the prescribed time limit allowing traders to keep the cargo in its premises, a top official said. The move by the Port was in the backdrop of economic downturn and slowdown in China, Chennai Port Trust Chairman M A Bhaskarachar said. Considering the fact that industries were “facing difficulties” in terms of cost cutting due to economic downturn and the slowdown in China, he said “the penal demurrage slabs will be relaxed in consultation with the industry shortly”. Chennai Port had introduced a penal demurrage system to discourage storage (of cargoes) a few years back, he told reporters.
Pointing out that Port area was essential for a trader not to keep cargo for a longer period of time, he said, “all over the world Port authorities discourage longer dwell time by imposing demurrage for cargoes staying in Port above a prescribed period”. On the initiatives taken by the Port, he said the manual processing methodology to track the container system was “slowing down the vehicular movement significantly”. “In order to eliminate this an RFID (Radio frequency identification) based container tracking system has been tested involving CFS (Container Freight Station), Customs, terminal operators”, he said. Trial runs are over and system is being installed in various CFS and was expected to be operational by January 2016, he said. Giving statistics on the amount of cargo handled by the Port in 2014-15, he said total cargo was 52,541,000 tonnes, with a majority being container cargo at 29,945,000 tonnes.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
India has evinced interest in signing a preferential trade agreement with Iran once international sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation are lifted. This will be India's first trade agreement with a country in West Asia and offer it a foothold to tap other markets in the region. "We have a good relationship with Iran. It is a good market for us in the long term," a senior commerce department official told ET on condition of anonymity. "So, a preferential trade pact makes sense and we are interested. We are still at a conceptual stage on this." The official said by conceptual stage he means that both the parties have shown interest in signing the agreement but no negotiations have begun. The official said Iran is also preparing for the agreement once it comes out of the sanctions. "Iran is working towards WTO accession. In the build up to that, they have shown interest. There are no negotiations at present. From India's perspective, the sooner the better that we sign an agreement," the official said. This is a logical step forward in Delhi's trade relations with Tehran, which has accorded India priority status for trade and investment in acknowledgement of its support during the hard times when the country was reeling under tough US and European Union-imposed economic and military sanctions on it.
Iran is looking at cooperation in agro-processing, IT, steel and hotels/tourism with India, while India plans to invest Rs 2 lakh crore in Iran's Chabahar port and develop a gas-based urea manufacturing plant there. In 2014-15, India's exports to Iran stood at $4.17 billion while imports amounted to $8.95 billion, an increase from $1.44 billion and $7.61 billion, respectively, in 2006-07. India has been exporting automobile components, tools, motors and chemicals to Iran besides Basmati rice, sugar and other agricultural commodities. It imports mainly oil from Iran. In October, industry chamber Assocham said an India-Iran trade agreement will help India expand the volume of exports to Iran, particularly of pharma, iron and steel, auto components. Also, Iran could serve as an outlet for Indian goods to countries in Central Asia and Afghanistan. "Iran is a good country to sign a trade agreement with because it will open up the entire West Asia market for us," said Ajay Sahai, director-general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. Sahai said in such a scenario, as per FIEO analysis, exporters would expect greater market access in sectors such as agriculture, pharma, chemicals, paper and paper products, synthetic textiles, garments, iron and steel products, aluminium products, two-wheelers, auto components, electrical machinery and parts, mechanical machinery and parts, writing instruments, gems and jewellery.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
African countries have greatly benefitted from a bilateral capacity-building programme launched by India more than 50 years ago as it helps expand, build and share technical skills among developing countries. Indian High Commissioner Ruchi Ghanashyam said the start of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) in 1964 has allowed India to boost people-to-people relations and enhance its ties with developing countries as it followed a strategy of economic and technical cooperation. ITEC focuses on addressing the needs of developing countries through cooperation between India and the partnering nation. Ghanashyam said the shared benefits were also in keeping with a commitment at the recent India-Africa Forum Summit hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. She said this at a function here to honour the 85 South African candidates who returned from the latest batch of 100 positions available to the country in the project. "With Africa having a special place in India's development assistance programme, nearly 50 per cent of the ITEC slots, some 4,300 slots annually, is allotted to this continent," she said. "The utilisation of slots in the last financial year was more than 80 per cent compared to previous years for both the countries. During the last eight years about 560 candidates from SA and 350 people from neighbouring Lesotho have utilised the ITEC scholarships."
South Africa is allotted 100 and neighbouring Lesotho 70 slots annually, with ITEC candidates from these countries generally opting for management, IT and accounting-related courses. South Africans have been benefiting for a number of years now from the civilian training programmes, fully sponsored by the Indian government, with more than 280 courses, primarily short-term, being offered at 53 institutions. Enver Surty, South African Deputy Minister for Basic Education, and Minister of Culture, Sports & Education in Mpumalanga province Norma Mahlangu-Mabena, highlighted the importance of education to strengthen South Africa's skills base and lauded India's assistance in this regard. Surty cited the common links of a shared Gandhian heritage which created a special bond between India and South Africa. Two of the candidates from this year's intake were Thabo Kiti, Acting Director of the Department of Trade & Industry, who attended a training programme on 'Cluster Development Executives' at the Enterprise Development Institute of Ahmedabad, Gujarat; and Roseline Ble, from the Pan African Parliament, who attended a certification course in Delhi for proficiency in English and Business Communication. The two shared their experiences in India and pledged to use the skills they had learnt there to better their tasks in development in Africa.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The garment and textile sector expects its exports will grow an average of 11.5 per cent per year between now and 2020, the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) said last week. Vitas reports said the sector is expected to generate export revenue of US$27.5 billion this year, and increase this value to $31 billion next year and $45 billion to $50 billion by 2020. In the first nine months of this year alone, Viet Nam's garment and textile exports totalled $20 billion, an increase of 10 per cent over the same period last year. Vu Duc Giang, who was voted chairman of the Vitas at a congress last week, said that global integration will facilitate Vietnamese garment and textile products over the next five years. Tariffs for these products will reduce from 18 per cent to zero per cent following the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and from an average 11 per cent to zero per cent following the Viet Nam-European Union Free Trade Agreement. "When these pacts take effect, they will boost the development of the garment and textile industry in the long run," Giang said, adding that accelerating investments in the sector will enhance the value of local products in the global value chain. Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review) online cited data of the American Chamber of Commerce, forecasting that after taking into account the impact of the TPP, Viet Nam's exports to the United States are likely to reach $51.4 billion, with garment and textile products alone touching $15.2 billion by 2020. The garment and textile exports to this market may hit $20 billion by 2025.
Viet Nam has been among the top 10 garment and textile exporters in the world for the last 10 years. Last year, it ranked fifth after China, Turkey, Bangladesh and India. The country exports its products to 180 countries and territories, with the United States, the European Union, Japan and South Korea being major markets. It is also exploiting emerging markets such as Russia and Australia. Many domestic enterprises have reported significant profitability and market expansion, with some officially recognised as national brand names such as Viet Tien, Phong Phu, Nha Be, Garment 10 and An Phuoc
SOURCE: The Vietnam News
The surge in import of man-made fibre (MMF) yarns, including polyester, acrylic and fabric, in the domestic commerce is badly affecting the local textile industry, said All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Acting Chairman Shahid Mazhar on Monday. He said the competitors of Pakistan textile industry in Far East, China and India were producing MMF yarns and fabrics at comparatively lower energy cost. "On the other hand, the textile industry in Pakistan is facing highest energy cost in the region," he asserted. He said that the import of MMF yarns has surged to 72,300 tonnes in 2014-15 against 47,700 tonnes in 2012-13. Similarly, the import of fabric made from MMF yarns has also reached to 562,000 square metres in 2014-15 against 180,000 square metres in 2012-13, he added. The acting chairman said the government has not levied 10% regulatory duty on the dumped and subsidised MMF yarns and fabrics in order to protect the domestic industry, adding that the local industry has first right on the domestic commerce. "A limited quantity of MMF yarns and fabrics are produced for export purposes. Therefore, tariff or non-tariff measures to restrict subsidised import of MMF yarn and fabric would not hurt the production of textile goods meant for exports," he added. He urged the government to safeguard the domestic industry and save the jobs and exports of local MMF yarns and fabrics producing textile mills by imposing regulatory duty on the import of MMF yarns and fabrics immediately. He also urged the government to announce the remaining part of the textile package without further delay to save the textile industry from total collapse.
SOURCE: The Daily Times
Pakistan's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) will start courses related to garments and hospitality industries with the assistance of Turkish Cooperation and Coordination agency (TIKA), Pakistani newspapers have reported quoting a press statement. The decision was taken during a meeting between a three-member delegation from the TIKA and TEVTA Chairman Irfan Qaiser Sheikh in Lahore, according to the press release. Sheikh said that garment manufacturing sector is a key export-oriented industry for Pakistan which requires well-trained and skilled workforce. “The Turkish support for skill development will not only be beneficial for the industry but will also help strengthen the ties between the two countries,” he said. The TEVTA Chairman also discussed in detail the scope of technical assistance in the proposed garment courses. Turkish support in these courses, provision of machinery and equipment, training of trainers in Turkey, curriculum development and accreditation for garments and technical assistance for curricula, training of teachers, will help Pakistan do better in the sector, the release said.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Colombia's neighbour Panama case which had been brought to the World Trade Organization in 2013 against Colombia’s tariff on textiles, clothes and shoes was backed by the WTO panel. Panama had complaint that the tariffs, which consisted of a fixed 10 percent and a variable component, breached the maximum allowable 35-40 percent tariff on those products. Previously, Panama had lodged two complaints against its neighbor for which the first was settled by Colombia out of court in 2006, while the second dispute in 2009 was won by Panama. The WTO dispute panel ruled against Colombia's tariff on textiles, clothes and shoes on Friday, dismissing its argument that the measures were needed to fight -money laundering. Colombia had argued that the imported goods constituted "illicit trade" because they were imported as artificially low prices in order to launder money, vindicating its use of a higher tariff than was permitted under its WTO agreement. However, the WTO panel failed to demonstrate the tariff was either designed or necessary to fight money laundering, and because the tariff did not apply to imports from various countries or trade zones with special trade deals, it was illegally discriminating against Panama.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Environmental group Greenpeace has released a study which shows that Hong Kong dumps 110,000 tonnes of garment each year, enough to cover 25,000 football fields. That's like throwing away 1,400 T-shirts every minute. According to the report, people in Hong Kong still cannot shake off their wasteful habits despite improvements in their environmental awareness during the past 10 years. Over the past decade, Hong Kong has dumped nearly 300 metric tonnes of clothing on a daily average while the recycling rate fell to 4 per cent last year. Greenpeace released the figures on November ahead of Buy Nothing Day, an international day of protest against consumerism. Greenpeace campaigner Bonnie Tang said each Hong Kong person discarded 15 kilos of garment, the equivalent to 102 shirts. By contrast, the recycling rate in Singapore is 11 per cent, and even higher in western countries such as Britain (16 per cent) and the US (15 per cent), she said. Part of the reason for Hong Kong's high waste rate is an import ban in mainland China and shrinking markets in Africa and Southeast Asia for used clothing, a Hong Kong newspaper quoted Leung Pui-lun, chairman of the Hong Kong General Association of Recycling Business, as saying. Tang said discarded textiles contain hazardous chemicals and heavy metals that could leak into groundwater and take years to decompose. These produce harmful greenhouse gases.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday approved the Chinese yuan as one of the world's main central bank reserve currencies, a major acknowledgement of the country's rising financial and economic heft. The IMF decision will help pave the way for broader use of the yuan in trade and finance, securing China's standing as a global economic power. But it also introduces new uncertainty into China's economy and financial system, as the country was forced to relax many currency controls to meet the IMF requirements. The changes could inject volatility into the Chinese economy, since large flows of money surge into the country and recede based on its prospects. This could make it difficult for China to maintain its record of strong, steady growth, especially at at a time when it economy is already slowing.
The IMF will start including the Yuan in the fund's unit of accounting, the so-called special drawing rights (SDR), at the end of September. Many central banks follow this benchmark in building their reserves, so countries could start holding more yuan as a result. China will also gain more influence in international bailouts denominated in the fund's accounting unit, like Greece's debt deal. China's leadership has made it a priority to join this group of currencies, naming it in October as one of their highest economic policy priorities in the coming years. The Yuan’s new status "will improve the international monetary system and safeguard global financial stability," President Xi Jinping of China said in mid-November.
In the months before the IMF decision, China took several actions to make sure that the yuan was more widely embraced. China did so partly to meet the IMF's rule that a currency must be "freely usable" before it can be included in this benchmark. China and Britain have sold yuan-denominated sovereign bonds for the first time in London, which has emerged as Europe's hub for the currency. Even Hungary has announced plans to issue its own yuan-denominated bonds as well, while the Ceinex exchange in Frankfurt has begun trading funds this month based on Yuan bonds. Preparations began to trade yuan-denominated oil contracts in Shanghai, where copper and aluminium contracts are already sold. Most important, China began changing the way it sets the value of the yuan each morning. In doing so, it abruptly devalued the currency. The entry itself into the special drawing right is mainly symbolic. But such broader moves toward greater financial transparency and easier trading - part of the process to meet the IMF requirements - will have long term effects on the yuan's usage. "There's this obsession with the SDR, and it's completely out of proportion to its economic impact, which is likely to be trivial," said Randall Kroszner, a former Federal Reserve Board governor who is now an economics professor at the University of Chicago. "It may be that in the drive to get into the SDR, they may make changes that make the yuan more attractive for international market participants."
SOURCE: The Business Standard
