For the year 2021, India is the Chair of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa). Of the various groups of BRICS, theContact Group on Economic and Trade Issues (CGETI) is responsible for economic and trade matters. The Department of Commerce is the national coordinator for the BRICS CGETI. Meeting of the CGETI was held from 12- 14 July 2021.During the three daymeeting, the BRICS Members deliberated on the following proposalscirculated by India, for strengthening and increasing the Intra-BRICS cooperation and trade:
• BRICS Cooperation on Multilateral Trading System;
• BRICS Framework for ensuring Consumer Protection in E-Commerce;
• Non-Tariff Measures (NTM) Resolution Mechanism for SPS/TBT Measures;
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Working Mechanism;
• Cooperation framework for protection of Genetic Resources, Traditional
Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions;
• BRICS Framework on Cooperation in Professional Services.
BRICS Members agreed to take forward India’s proposals to finalise them before the BRICS Trade Minister’s meeting to be held on 3 September 2021, to be chaired by Shri Piyush Goyal, the Commerce and Industry Minister. To deepen and strengthen the trade and economy, following events proposed by India were also agreed by the BRICS Members:
Source: PIB
Pursuant to the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, Make in India and the ProductionLinked Incentive (PLI) became fundamental stepping-stones to shaping India as an efficient, equitable and resilient manufacturing hub. Make in India aims to promote investment, encourage innovation, enhance skill development, protect intellectual property and create best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure in the country. The PLI scheme, as its name reflects, is meant to provide companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units. “The Make in India campaign by the Government has given manufacturing an impetus and the investments made in infrastructure, healthcare, electronics, amongst others, are already bearing fruit. This will help India being seen as one of the global manufacturing hubs producing world-class products,” says S Sunil Kumar, President, Henkel, India. The pandemic intensified the supply chain uncertainties, which made many organizations rethink their sourcing strategies.
What is fast gaining preference is the concept of localizing for two-fold reasons - to be closer to the point of use and to minimize the risk of disruption. Ramesh Babu, Managing Director, Velan Valves India states that, “Though the general perception is that FY21 was a bad year, most of the manufacturing organizations started doing well from Q2 through Q4. For most of us, it was a 9-month year. With overheads coming down, a majority of organizations fared well on the bottom-line. This is especially true for manufacturing Industries.” The factor aiding this shift is that India has rapidly embraced digitization and emerging technologies, which contribute to leaner operations. Rajen Vagadia, VP and President, Qualcomm India & SAARC states, “Historically, the cadence of technology innovation has had a deep impact on industrial growth. 5G has applications across enterprises for industrial connectivity, private networks, industrial IoT and automotive, to name a few. 5G IoT solutions are vital for the manufacturing sector, as they will be the enabler of Industry 4.0.” The aim is to create a robust manufacturing sector by not only inviting foreign companies to set up operations in India but also enhance India’s exports and manufacturing capabilities for high-quality, competitive products. In the Union Budget 2021-22, an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore for the PLI Schemes for 13 key sectors was announced, to create national manufacturing champions and generate employment opportunities for the country’s youth. This means that minimum production in India as a result of these Schemes is expected to be over US$ 500 billion in 5 years. Both these initiatives also aim to improve India’s rank on the Ease of Doing Business index by eliminating unnecessary laws and regulations, making bureaucratic processes easier, and making the government more transparent, responsive and accountable. According to Ashok Ramachandran, Chief Executive Officer and President, Schindler India, “There is also a ubiquitous evolution of nationalist feelings, consumer preference for locally produced products coupled with clear mandate from infrastructure development authorities to source from within India. Organizations with forward looking strategies, ones who are agile, have been able to leverage this opportunity by accelerating localization of the production base.” India already has a massive domestic market, the largest pool of workers across diverse skill categories, and its industrial ecosystem is maturing which makes it a viable option for investment and growth. Both Make in India and PLI have the potential to be transformation multipliers. However, for these to truly have impact, they need to focus beyond the generic assembling of components, and enable the generation of employment and a value-driven penetration of export markets. “India has a natural advantage around its farming base and emerging industries around food processing may be very relevant here. Similar other examples like IT services could provide growth opportunities around electronics and semiconductor industry. On the cost competitive front, there is a lot of learning from the more matured services sector and their use of technology, AI and machine,” states Amit Lahoti, VP and GM, Ball Beverage Packaging - India and SE Asia. In its effort to make India a manufacturing hub, the government is developing industrial corridors and smart cities to provide infrastructure based on state-of-the-art technology with modern high-speed communication and integrated logistic arrangements. Innovation and research activities are being supported through fast paced registration systems, and accordingly, the Intellectual Property Rights registration set-up has been upgraded. A number of new initiatives have been launched in order to streamline and rationalise licensing rules at the state government level, aligning them with global best practices. The requirement of skills for industries is being identified and accordingly, the development of the workforce is being taken up. Gaurav Malhotra, Managing Director, Hansgrohe India is of the opinion that “To make Make in India and the PLI initiatives come alive, what needs to improve is to develop talent and skills at the rural as well as urban front. We need to set up institutions and emphasis on academics that look at developing skills development. Skills need to be given dignity at all levels.” Make in India and PLI make for the single largest manufacturing initiative undertaken by a nation in recent history. It is important for Indian sectors to leverage this opportunity with vitality and optimism, and a global quality mindset to usher in a new economic era. It is also a call-out to global enterprises to sit up and take notice of India as an attractive destination. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has said, “I want to tell the people of the whole world: Come, make in India. Come and manufacture in India. Go and sell in any country of the world, but manufacture here. We have skill, talent, discipline and the desire to do something. We want to give the world an opportunity that come make in India.” The initiatives provide a much-needed push to India’s manufacturing sector and when cumulative efforts combine, will also make India a superior domestic manufacturer and a favourable investment centre. This will create positive traction for the overall economic growth of the nation for a long time to come.
Source: Economic Times
Representatives of Burhanpur Textile Private Limited Company, a Burhanpur based textile manufacturing company, met Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan at Mantralaya today. During this, they handed over the investment proposal to Chief Minister Shri Chouhan to set up a textile project in Burhanpur Madhya Pradesh with an investment of about Rs 300 crore. Industry representatives included Shri Omprakash Mittal, Shri Ravi Poddar, Shri Vedant Mittal, Shri Sudhir Pate and Shri Sunil Mor. M/s Burhanpur Textile Limited was established in the year 1956. The company has 9 units working in Burhanpur. The company has a turnover of more than Rs 221 crore in the financial year 2020-21. 1000 people will get employment The operation of the project will provide employment to about 1000 persons. Out of this, direct employment will be available to 200 persons and self-employment to about 800 persons.
Source: Orissa Diary
Loses market share in cotton yarn to Vietnam, China The share of the textile sector in the total Indian merchandise exports declined from 24 per cent in 2001 to 11 per cent in 2020. Cotton yarn contribution in Indian export basket declined during the same period from 2 per cent to approximately 1 per cent, and Ready Made Garments (RMG) share of exports declined from 11 per cent to 4 per cent. Exports are estimated to have accounted for 28 per cent in cotton yarn and 25 per cent in the RMG sector last financial year. As per a CRISIL report, lack of free trade agreements (FTAs) and significant improvement in peer competitiveness are the main causes for this dip. The report points out that textile is important to India’s $313 billion merchandise exports as it accounts for 11 per cent of the pie. The sector is also a significant employment generator and with 45 million direct employees and 60 million employees in allied industries, the sector is the second largest employment generating sector in India. An analysis by CRISIL points out that India has lost market share in cotton yarn over the past decade to countries such as Vietnam and China due to high cost and lack of FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) amid intensifying competition. In RMG, India has done well to maintain its share even as global trade in the segment contracted. But competing countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh have done much better as they have capitalised on China’s falling share in the past five fiscals, while India could not. The report states that the Indian textiles players were pushed to the brink in 2020 as the Central government reduced export incentives in line with guidelines of the World Trade Organization. CRISIL Research has pointed out that it does not expect any significant improvement in incentives with the launch of the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme, which aims to reduce tax burden of exporting entities. However, to revive the textile value chain, the government has announced additional structural reforms whose impact needs to be evaluated. The report observes that the recently announced PLI scheme for man-made fibres (MMF) and technical textiles is expected to improve the potential of MMF-based RMG exports where India’s share has been weak. Along with the integrated textile parks scheme, the PLI scheme may help the sector enhance its export share over the medium to long term, if implemented well. However, continuous support in terms of trade negotiations, more investments to improve infrastructure at larger scale may be needed. India is in a favourable position with China facing political backlash globally, but capitalising on this opportunity would need continuous and concerted effort. Interestingly the CRISIL report highlights that despite the EU and the US being the largest RMG export destinations from the country with 32 per cent and 27 per cent share in 2020 respectively, India was unable to increase its presence there. On the other hand, while Bangladesh was able to improve its share in EU exports due to low cost of labour after abolition of quota system for developing nations, Vietnam increased its share in US exports as it acquired the most favoured nation (MFN) status in 2001. Recently, however, the US imposed a ban on cotton and cotton-based products originating from Xinjiang region in China, which contributes more than 80 per cent in Chinas’ cotton production. Apparently since it is the largest cotton producing area globally, with around 20 per cent contribution, the ban is expected to affect the entire textile value chain. As a result, several RMG brands started looking for alternatives globally, and this led to a spike in Indian originated RMG exports since March 2021. This report says that this trend is expected to underpin India’s exports trajectory providing the country the much needed opportunity to re-establish relations with global brands. As per the report over January-May 2021, cotton yarn or fabric and made-ups exports from India have grown at ~69 per cent and RMG exports have grown by 39 per cent. Even raw cotton exports have gone up by 55 per cent year-on-year basis during October 2020 to May 2021 to 5.8 million bales of 170 kg as the US and Brazil struggled with lower cotton production. CRISIL says that Vietnam and Bangladesh enjoy lower duties and India needs to seep in trade agreements and low import duties in key export destinations. With changing global dynamics, India, too, can take advantage of the global need to reduce dependency on China and increase presence in global trade like Vietnam and Bangladesh, which are delivering the right products at competitive prices. However, for this, India will have to revamp its product portfolio, restructure incentive schemes and reduce cost.
Source: The Week
Headquartered in the UK, Coats is the world’s leading industrial thread company. Fibre2Fashion spoke to V Jaigopal, Managing Director of Coats, to understand how the textile industry is poised to grow in the next 5-10 years, the competitive advantages Coats has over other industry players and its commitment to set science-based emissions reduction targets across its entire value chain. What’s your take on the textile industry’s growth world over in 2021 and in the next 5-10 years horizon? While Covid has been hugely disruptive and there are ongoing second waves in many regions, we see enough green shoots around the world which point to a revival. Apparel retail sales in Europe in May and June have exceeded expectations. Many footwear and home textiles majors are reporting strong growth. India showed a major bounce back in Jan-March 21 before the second wave hit. My view is that we are likely to see a release of pent-up demand when markets open as infection rates decrease. With vaccination programmes gaining traction, there is reasonable hope that the pandemic will become an endemic which will have to be managed on an ongoing basis. After a short-term surge, we expect to see growth at a more temperate level with the US and Europe at low single percentage digits and India and China at a much higher level. We also see strong growth for applications other than clothing – home textiles is already trending. Medical and protective wear requirements will only increase and the need for lightweight solutions will drive usage of textiles as an alternate to other materials in automotive and industrial applications. At the same time, the market will continue to be volatile – lockdowns continue, supply chains are yet to be fully restored and the global freight situation is still disturbed. Also, new trends are emerging. There is a definite shift from formal wear to athleisure and ecommerce will continue to accelerate. Companies that ride this change will outperform competitors and the industry. How has your business been impacted by the pandemic? Is the industry back on track as pre-Covid times? Coats released a trading update earlier this week which included sales growth of 34 per cent year on year and 1 per cent over 2019. Growth was visible across apparel and footwear and various performance materials segments. If there was no lockdown in India, growth could have been even higher at 3 per cent over 2019. The Indian business which I look after was heavily impacted by the second wave of Covid in May and June, but we do see positive sentiment returning to most geographies and the onset of the festival season from August should aid this further. Exports from India have been doing reasonably well even in this period. Has supply chain become of bigger importance than earlier given continuous disruptions due to Covid? Are there certain out of the box contingency planning measures incorporated to ensure customer supply is not disrupted? While nobody anticipated Covid, we have always been trying to increase our resilience and agility. The cloud technology we deployed gave us the ability to have 4,000 employees work from home, almost overnight. We continue our factory of the future roadmap. We deployed Intenseye, an artificial Intelligence software which leverages our camera network and machine-learning to keep employees safe and socially distanced. We also have advanced supply chain tools which help us anticipate and respond to customer requirements across a vast range of products. To this, we have added some agile processes to react better to changing trends without excessive inventory. We also took great care to ensure resilience of our warehousing and distribution network, key vendors, and service providers by including them in our Covid related actions.
What are the competitive advantages of Coats over some of the other leading brands which have helped Coats stand in good stead? Is it quality, speed of delivery, innovation, or any other aspect? Our strategic pillars are digital, innovation and sustainability. Even before the pandemic over 80 per cent of customer orders were placed digitally which helped us hugely during the disruption. We have also developed an array of customer facing digital tools including mobile applications, colour matching, sampling, technical service offerings, customer contact and demand activation programmes using digital means. While there is a strong trend to casual apparel, these garments are getting more technical with requirements like high stretch, next to skin comfort, embroidery, and special finishes. We create innovative solutions and offer many smart thread and yarns to enhance the functionality or performance of products. Sustainability has long been at the core of how we do business and is a key driver of our strategic decisions. Not only does it give us a competitive advantage, but also allows us to help our customers with their own sustainability agendas. Sustainability and circularity are important aspects of textile industry and SMEs across the world believe that the industry is ready to take the next leap now. How does Coats plan to incorporate sustainability? Do you have an ambition to supply a certain percentage of industry’s threads and yarns? We launched our sustainability strategy ‘Pioneering a sustainable future’ in 2019 with aggressive targets to reduce water use by 40 per cent, energy by 7 per cent, move to zero discharge of hazardous chemicals and acquire GPTW certifications for all key sites by 2022. We will also move 100 per cent of our premium threads to fully recycled products by 2024. Despite the Covid disruption we remain committed to these timelines. We already have GPTW certification in Brazil, China, and Sri Lanka; last month we secured this in India also. Further, we have committed to set science-based emissions reduction targets across the entire value chain that are consistent with keeping global warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. We have committed to develop a long-term target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the highest level of ambition on climate under the science-based target initiative. In addition, we have become a member of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the leading proponent of the idea of circular economies which aligns closely with Coats’s objectives to develop products and processes that are compatible with this. In terms of sustainable product development, we recently launched EcoRegen, a biodegradable thread which supports customers’ sustainability goals. Coats EcoRegen is made from 100 per cent lyocell, a renewable fibre derived from wood pulp sourced from sustainably managed forests. This eco-friendly regenerated fibre is fully biodegradable and compostable due to its cellulosic origin and is suitable for a wide range of apparel applications to accommodate multiple customer needs. The launch of EcoRegen is part of our eco journey roadmap to produce innovative sustainable products which support Coats’s drive towards a circular economy. This journey started with EcoVerde in 2018, which is now one of the most comprehensive ranges of 100 per cent recycled polyester threads, zips and trims on the market. There are further two new products which will be launched soon: EcoCycle is a range of water dissolvable thread that facilitates garment recycling and end to end circularity; and Eco-B is a recycled polyester thread incorporating an additive which reduces synthetic fibre accumulation in landfills and microfibre pollution in oceans. Any new collaborations and announcements in pipeline? In recent years, we have acquired a range of companies in the highly engineered performance materials space specialising in telecom and personal protection as well as software solutions for the apparel and footwear industry, which comes under our Coats Digital business. We continue to identify strategic acquisitions that would build scale, principally in these areas. (PC)
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
This is aimed at increasing productivity, employment, says R. Gandhi Six cooperative spinning mills in the State will be revamped and upgraded at a cost of ₹12 crore, Minister for Handlooms and Textiles R. Gandhi said here on Tuesday. As a prelude to this, the spinning mills in six districts would be reviewed, he said. Among the cooperative spinning mills that are slated for upgrade are the Krishnagiri district Cooperative spinning mill, Uthangarai; Kanniyakumari district cooperative spinning mill, Aralvaimozhi; Thootukudi district Bharathi cooperative spinning mill, Ettayapuram; Theni Anna Cooperative Spinning mill; Pudukottai Cooperative Spinning mill, Aranthangi; and Ramanathapuram Cooperative Spinning mill. Earlier, the minister inspected the district cooperative spinning mill at Uthangarai and said the spinning mill was started during the Sixth Five Year Plan at a capital cost of ₹7.30 crore, and had 25,520 spindles. The spinning mill now had 26.21 acres as its property and currently operated with 20,160 spindles. In the intervening period since its inception, the spinning mill had seen an upgrade at a cost of ₹28.84 crore. The proposal to upgrade the spinning mills would enhance the productivity at the units and provide the necessary yarn for the government schemes, the minister said. Further, a well-functioning mill would ensure employment for the workers, he said. Collector V. Jayachandra Bhanu Reddy and Principal Secretary and Textile Commissioner Beela Rajesh were present.
Source: The Hindu
Apparel exporters said they expect the order position to reach the pre-pandemic level by the third quarter of FY22. Tirupur is one of the largest textile export hubs. About half of the 600,000 people working in the city’s garment cluster are migrant labourers, mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand. As new Covid-19 infections in the country decline, migrant workers have started returning in droves to the textile exporting hubs in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, bringing cheer to the industry which is seeing a 25-30% increase in export orders from the previous year. Apparel exporters said they expect the order position to reach the prepandemic level by the third quarter of FY22…………
Source: Economic Times
Finance Ministry has declined the industry demand to remove 10pc import duty on cotton saying the move was aimed at benefitting domestic producers but garment manufacturers have argued that the decision has made export of high-quality clothing uncompetitive in the international market. A Gurgaon-based top garment exporter said that high-quality cotton is not grown much in India and hence they have to import them from Australia and America. The additional import duty on cotton has made such high-quality cotton expensive in the country. "India is among the top manufacturers, largest or second largest, of cotton in the world. But the challenge we are facing is that certain high quality cotton is not grown in India. So, from a highend stand point, you need Australian cotton and American cotton mixed with our regular cotton. So, that is the niche (segment) we are missing,"Amit Sethi, Joint Managing Director at NCRbased Orient Fashions told UNI "Otherwise, there is no problem with regular cotton. But when we go for a very high mixture of cotton we don't get that quality of cotton in India. As a result, high-quality cotton is expensive and hence India getting uncompetitive in high-end clothing in the international market," he added. Responding to a question on additional import duty imposed on cotton in Union Budget 2021- 22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the decision to impose duty on imports of cotton has been taken to benefit domestic cotton farmers which in turn would help in higher domestic value addition and reduce import dependence. "The decision to impose 5% Basic Customs Duty, and 5% Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess on imports of Raw Cotton in Union Budget 2021-22 has been taken to benefit domestic cotton farmers," she said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. "Imports of cotton has surged significantly in last few years, even though India is the largest producer of cotton in the world. All varieties of cotton, including those which were produced in India were being imported in large quantities. This has impacted the Indian farmer adversely," she further said. Making a strong case for scrapping the additional duty, Cotton Association of India had earlier urged the Government to withdraw the duty. The textile industry representatives stated that imposition of import duty cotton had become costly and it was not in the interest of domestic textile industry. The government has, however, refused to accept their demand and said that many incentives are being provided to garment industry under various schemes. "Garment exporters would not be affected as exporters may avail benefit of schemes like advance authorization, duty drawback, EoU, SEZ etc. Further, RoSCTL scheme for garment and madeups has also been extended till March 2024. Further incentives under various schemes are also being provided to the garment sector," the Finance Minister has said.
Source: United News of India
Informal meeting of competitiveness ministers takes place in Vienna under the motto “Rethinking European Industry” with focus on innovation, digitalisation, artificial intelligence and professional education. Vienna – As part of the informal meeting of competitiveness ministers, the economy and industry ministers from the 28 EU member states met in Vienna on Monday 16 July 2018 to discuss the future of European industrial policy. Held under the motto “Rethinking European Industry”, the event focused on innovation, digitalisation, artificial intelligence and professional education. “Industry is responsible for securing, both directly and indirectly, 52 million jobs in Europe. It is important to highlight once again the significance of European industry policy. It is our vision to achieve an innovative and digital industrial policy that makes good use of the potential of highly trained skilled workers and new developments such as artificial intelligence (AI). Only an innovative Europe can remain competitive”, the chair of the meeting, Austrian Federal Minister Margarete Schramböck, said. Threefold approach for a new industrial policy Following on from the work of the preceding Estonian and Bulgarian presidencies, the Austrian Presidency wishes to make a significant contribution to a European industrial strategy post 2030. In order to raise awareness of a new – innovative and digital – industrial policy, the ministers attending the meeting in Vienna agreed on a threefold approach:
Concrete measures during the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU
The informal meeting of competitiveness ministers brought together not only representatives from the 28 EU member states, but also from Switzerland, Norway, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions as well as business representatives. The discussions and results of the meeting will form the basis of a presidency paper on the future vision for a new industrial policy. The Austrian Presidency is also planning concrete progress at EU level, such as proposals for a monitoring mechanism for the implementation of European industrial policy as well as for effective governance structures. The objective is to develop a long-term vision for a strong and successful joint industrial policy as a legacy for the future EU Commission.
Source: EU 2018
The United States is closely monitoring the trade situation between China and Australia, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has said. She made the remarks during a meeting with Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan on Wednesday. Tai conveyed to Tehan that the US stands with Australia to tackle this shared challenge and supports a rules-based international trade, a media release said. They discussed the importance and strength of the bilateral trade relationship, which is underpinned by the USAustralia Free Trade Agreement, it said. They also agreed to continue working together to develop a digital trade policy that supports the digital economy and addresses the needs of workers, recognising the importance of collaboration among those with open, free, democratic systems. "During the meeting, Ambassador Tai noted that the United States is closely monitoring the trade situation between Australia and China," USTR said in a statement. Tai conveyed that the United States stands with Australia to tackle this shared challenge and supports a rules-based international trade to promote fair, market-oriented trade practices. "Tai reiterated the US' commitment to engaging our allies, including Australia, to address China's state-led, non-market practices that harm our workers, businesses, and citizens," the statement said. Tai and Tehan welcomed continuing senior-level discussions to address non-market practices, including economic coercion, it said. They also discussed World Trade Organisation reform, supply chain resilience and regional economic collaboration in the Indo-Pacific, the statement said.
Source: Economic Times
Surge comes on back of government’s policies to ramp up economy amid pandemic Pakistan’s import and export activities geared up to multi-year high in the fiscal year ended June 30 in the wake of government policies to ramp up economic activities to get out of the Covid-19 pandemic stress. However, the growth strategy has weakened the country’s capacity to make international payments for imports and foreign debt repayments. The trade deficit surged by a massive $30 billion in FY21 and mounted pressure on rupee against the US dollar, as it dropped to a nine-month low at $161.48 to the greenback on Tuesday, the last working day ahead of Eidul Azha holidays. “While rampant economic activity supported by SBP (State Bank of Pakistan)/government facilities keeps indicators upbeat, external position is under pressure,” Arif Habib Limited, a securities-backed research house said on its official Twitter handle. The imports and exports both surged. However, imports soared sharply compared to a rise in export earnings. Accordingly, the trade deficit widened and pulled the balance of current account surplus in the first 11 months (Jul-May) into a deficit for full year FY21. The deficit was sharp and surprising in terms of dollar value against expectation of a nominal surplus in the year. The rising international petroleum oil price, soaring cooking oil price and surge in food imports like wheat and sugar to control inflation in the country, increase in demand for medicines and Covid vaccine and rise in import of machines in the wake of government strategy to support expansion in industrialisation; all contributed towards increasing imports to a three-year in FY21. Total imports increased by 17.6% to $61.6 billion (including import of services) in FY21 compared to $54.4 billion in FY20. The export earnings surged to an eight-year high at $31.6 billion on the back of record high export of technology and all-time high export of textile goods. However, the surge in export earnings remains significantly low compared to the one recorded in imports, registering a huge trade deficit of $30 billion in fiscal year 2021 which weakened the country’s balance of payment. Total exports increased by 12.8% $31.6 billion during FY21 compared to $27.9 billion in FY20. Technology exports jumped 47% to $2.1 billion in FY21 compared to $1.4 billion in FY20, contributing 36% to the overall services export in the year under review, according to AHL. Commenting on a significant surge in technology exports, Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haque said in a press statement that there was no doubt that the IT sector had a key role in strengthening the national economy and creating more job opportunities in the country. “The target of $5 billion IT sector exports would be achieved by 2023,” he said according to APP. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in its third quarterly (Jan-Mar FY21) report on the state of Pakistan’s economy that the trade deficit rose on the back of a sharp increase in non-energy imports. Food, transport, textile and machinery groups largely contributed to the increased imports. Energy imports, on the other hand, remained subdued, due to higher base effect. “Meanwhile, exports also rose, but less sharply as compared to the increase in imports,” the central bank said. “Value-added textiles contributed the most to the expansion in exports. Among non-textile exports, the increase in rise exports remained moderate, as higher non-basmati rice exports partly arrested the decline in basmati rice exports.” The SBP and government’s policies to support revival of economic activities in the wake of the pandemic have facilitated growth in the leading export sectors. They included, among others; sharp decline in policy rate, which lowered the cost of financing; subsidies on gas and power supply to industries; faster sales tax refunds; enhancement in the limits of refinancing under the Export Finance Scheme (EFS) and the Long-Term Finance Facility (LTTF). “Pakistan’s imports rose in three consecutive quarters for the first time in the last 10 quarters, indicating that the declining trend in the imports that had appeared since Q1- FY18 has bottomed out,” the central bank added in the 3QFY21 report issues last week. As the economic recovery gained traction, the imports increased…,” SBP said. The Covid shock warranted the introduction of accommodative policies to stimulate economic activities. Reviving economic activities, however, led to a broad-based increase in nonenergy imports…,” it said. Besides, the lower than targeted wheat output last year and the government’s efforts to stabilise wheat and wheat flour prices, contributed to significant wheat imports. “This, coupled with rising international palm oil prices, pushed up food imports…” After food, transport was the second largest contributor to the increase in overall imports. Specifically, car imports witnessed a rapid growth.
Source: Tribune
Aim is to target both post-industrial and post-consumer feedstocks. Accelerating Circularity has released plans for US trials of commercial scale textile-totextile regeneration systems in its latest report, Putting Textiles to Good Use. The report presents the rationale and goals for the trials, including ambitious content minimums of 40% recycled blends and 20% post-consumer inputs for all trials. In response to stakeholder demand, the report also lays out the role, benefits, and responsibilities of each prospective participant. Accelerating Circularity is a collaborative industry project developed to accelerate the textile industry’s move from linear to circular production routes. It was founded in 2019 with a mission to establish systems that will use the embedded value and resources in existing textiles for new products, reducing the millions of tons of textile waste annually going into landfills and thereby supporting the reduction of the industry’s GHG emissions. In its latest report, the group proposes specific trials targeting post-industrial and postconsumer feedstocks, mechanical and chemical recycling technologies, recycled cotton, polyester, and manmade cellulosic fibres, and several finished product categories. These serve as a starting point for trial partner collaboration within the project that will generate multiple circular textile products at mass retail scale. Brand and retail partners have the option to buy-in at several stages in the process to maximise the potential for the circular fibres to be plugged into existing commercial supply chains. Several major brands and supply chain partners – including those on Accelerating Circularity’s US Steering Committee – have already opted into the project. “Architect and engineer Buckminster Fuller gave us this piece of advice – to change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete,” said the company’s US Project Manager Janel Twogood. “The fashion and textile industry is embracing historic commitments. Accelerating Circularity is facilitating the engagement of an entire supply chain system to design nothing short of a new model, one that is economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. The time is right for a systems approach to measure what we can do now and what needs to be built to meet our obligations.”
Source: Innovation in Textiles
Peru’s official ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TransPacific Partnership (CPTPP) is expected to help boost trade between Vietnam and the South American nation. Peru’s official ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TransPacific Partnership (CPTPP) is expected to help boost trade between Vietnam and the South American nation. With the ratification, Vietnamese goods will have more chances to penetrate the Peruvian market in the time ahead. According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, Peru has joined most of international and regional institutions such as the WTO, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Pacific Alliance (PA) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), and signed 27 free trade agreements with 55 countries. Trade between Vietnam and Peru increased from 284.96 million USD in 2014 to 422.73 million USD in 2019. Last year, the value stood at only 391.17 million USD due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the bilateral trade grew strongly in the first half of this year to reach 278.27 million USD, up 78.7 percent year-on-year. Notably, Vietnam’s exports to Peru hit 242.49 million USD, representing a rise of 103.6 percent. Vietnam’s major exports to Peru include phones and electronic components, computers and electronics, footwear, clinker and cement, garments-textiles and aquatic products. Meanwhile, Peru ships fish powder, antimony and minerals to the Southeast Asian nation. Peru has been viewed as a potential market that matches Vietnamese firms’ capacity and scale as up to 75 percent of Peruvian export and import companies are small and mediumsized ones. Peru commits to removing up to 81 percent of tax lines right after the CPTPP comes into force, and 99.4 percent of tax lines in the 17th year after the deal takes effect. Notably, exterior wood and agricultural products like cashew nut, tea, pepper, fruit and vegetables, and certain coffee products will enjoy a zero percent tariff after the deal comes into force, while garments-textiles and footwear are subject to the zero percent tariff in the 16th year. The ministry suggested local firms optimise opportunities presented by the CPTPP to step up exports to Peru, improve their competitiveness and put forth sustainable export strategies. The Peruvian Congress has recently ratified the CPTPP, which was signed in March 2018, becoming the eighth member country to ratify the deal. It will officially take effect in Peru 60 days after the country completes the registration of the ratification with New Zealand, the depository for the TP
