In the last seven years, several such measures have been taken due to which there is an improvement in competitiveness, innovation, and ease of doing business. Secretary in Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Anurag Jain said all the reforms related to compliance burden were put in four different buckets - simplification, rationalisation, digitisation and decriminalisation. All efforts and measures to reduce compliance burden by means of simplification, elimination and decriminalisation of several laws can have a transformative impact and multiplier effect on ease of doing business, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. He said reduction of compliance burden is about trust in every business, person and citizen. Reduction of compliances which include simplification of compliances, elimination of several compliances, decriminalisation of several laws...Collectively when you look at it, it can have a transformative impact and there is a multiplier effect on the ease of doing business," he said at the National Workshop On Reducing Compliance Burden here. In the last seven years, several such measures have been taken due to which there is an improvement in competitiveness, innovation, and ease of doing business. Secretary in Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Anurag Jain said all the reforms related to compliance burden were put in four different buckets - simplification, rationalisation, digitisation and decriminalisation. "By June 2021, almost 23,000 processes have been put in these four buckets. So 23,000 reforms have happened out of those 70,000 odd which were listed out (by a third party)," he said. To reduce these burdens, every ministry, department and states were asked to conduct a comprehensive review of compliances under their purview to understand their relevance and rationale and undertake a complete process reengineering to eliminate burdensome compliances. The objective set for this comprehensive exercise was to improve ease of living and ease of doing business by simplifying, rationalizing, digitizing and decriminalizing government to business and citizen interfaces across all ministries/departments and states/UTs. This is being done by a four-pronged strategy, including elimination of compliance burden, digitization: creation of online interfaces and decriminalisation of certain laws. According to a progress report on reduction of compliance burden, released by the minister, the Centre is focused on decriminalization of minor offences to remove fear of prosecution for law abiding corporates and boost investment. Total 46 penal provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 have been decriminalized. Citing an example, it said the coal ministry is in the process of reviewing 10 more rules to be considered for abolition under Coal Mines (Conservation and Development) Act, 1974 and Coal Mines (Conservation and Development) Rules, 1975 and Department of Land Resources has also proposed to repeal Land Acquisition (Mines) Act.
Source: Economic Times
The goods which are manufactured by the company registered under the scheme shall only be eligible for the incentives, the notification said adding goods manufactured by other manufacturers or units of the same group company shall not be accounted for in the calculation of incremental turnover. Only manufacturing companies registered in India will be eligible to participate under the recently approved Rs 10,683-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the textiles sector, according to a notification of the textiles ministry. Notifying the scheme, the ministry also said that participating companies will have to undertake processing and operation activities in their own factory premises. It added that the turnover achieved from trading and outsourced job work will not be accounted for while calculating claims for availing the incentive. The goods which are manufactured by the company registered under the scheme shall only be eligible for the incentives, it said adding goods manufactured by other manufacturers or units of the same group company shall not be accounted for in the calculation of incremental turnover. "Only manufacturing companies registered in India will be eligible to participate under the scheme," the notification has said. Incentives under the scheme will be available for five years during 2025-26 to 2029-30 on incremental turnover achieved during 2024-25 to 2028-29 with a budgetary outlay of Rs 10,683 crore. However, if a company is able to achieve the investment and performance targets one year early then, they will become eligible one-year in advance starting from 2024-25 to 2028-29, it added The scheme proposes to incentivise MMF (man-made fibre) Apparel, MMF Fabrics and 10 segments of Technical Textiles products. Further, it said that only one company of a group will be allowed to be registered for PLI for Textiles and none of their other group companies will be eligible for participation in this scheme as a second participant. "However, the group may make more than one application for consideration but they will have to take a decision at the time of selection regarding the proposal they want to take forward in case more than one of their proposals are shortlisted on the basis of transparent selection process," it added.
Source: Economic Times
The FTP is a set of guidelines and instructions by DGFT pertaining to the import and export goods of India. Its aim has been to facilitate the growth in exports of goods and services in the country. In a move that further added to the uncertainty among the exporter fraternity, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) will be extended for another six months till March 31, 2022. This is the third time that the policy has been extended. The government had extended the FTP 2015-20 on March 31 last year till March 31, 2021 in the wake of the deadly virus outbreak. It was extended again by six months till September 30, 2021 and the new policy would have come into effect from October 1. Exporters and industry stakeholders, however, are not so gung ho about the new announcement. Pushkar Mukewar, Co-Founder and CEO of trade finance company Drip Capital says that the industry was looking forward to the new FTP and regarded it as a much-needed change to get the ball rolling in post-pandemic recovery. “While Indian exports stagnated for a better part of the last decade, the Covid-19 pandemic further added to the exporters’ woes. The new FTP would have promoted the ongoing export momentum. A well-formed policy could have created positive sentiments and helped India push way above the $400 billion exports goal for FY22,” he said. India’s exports have been $185 billion during the April - September period, fuelling hope that the target of $400 billion for exports would be achievable in the current financial year. The FTP is a set of guidelines and instructions by DGFT pertaining to the import and export goods of India. Its aim has been to facilitate the growth in exports of goods and services in the country Mukewar feels that the export target for FY 22 may now be a struggle with the delay in the policy that has come to the fore. “With all the uncertainties and recent happenings like the semiconductor shortages, congestion at different ports worldwide, the latest virus variants and their consequences, rising prices of raw materials, etc., a robust FTP would have proved to be a solid backing to shield the trade community from further challenges,” he added. Container shortages and delay in shipments amid severe supply chain constraints have acted as major deterrents for exporters re-starting operations in a post pandemic world. Other industry representatives are of the view that a status quo is better at this point in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak which upended normal living. “It is only recently that the government has settled exporter claims and the RoDTEP rates. Bringing in a new FTP right now would have amounted to confusion,” Ajay Sahai, DG & CEO, FIEO said. The Centre had notified the RoDTEP rates on August 17 this year after missing numerous deadlines. But it had led exporters largely unhappy citing the low rates that had been notified in the various sectors. Sahai added that the schemes within the new policy would have to meet the WTO compliances and hence the support measures would be limited. “By and large, they can provide rebates on taxes and duties only as WTO does not permit beyond that. There is no further scope to provide support on non- refund of duties and taxes,” he stated. Big ticket items, Sahai highlighted, such as using ecommerce to unfold the potential of exports, R&D and how India should take advantage of realignment of Global Value Chains can be looked at in the new policy. Echoing similar sentiments, Vikas Singh Chauhan, Director, Home textile Exporters Welfare Association (HEWA) said such a decision will give time to both exporters and the government to study in detail the impact of many schemes and trade-related developments taken recently. “If the government would have brought any big policy change, then exporters would have no option but to again go back to the drawing room and start all the planning afresh - that too at multiple levels,” he stated. Chauhan said this in the context of the announcement of RoDTEP rates, the PLI scheme as well as the scheme to rebate all embedded State and Central Taxes/levies (RoSCTL) schemes which got extended for three years. In July, the Cabinet had approved the continuation of the RoSCTL scheme under which garment exporters would continue to get a rebate on central and state taxes on their outward shipments till March 2024. Exports have been on an upward trajectory this year, showing a robust performance month-on-month since the start of the fiscal. What remains to be seen is whether this momentum is maintained, and exports can be the proverbial saviour of the economy in a Covid-ravaged nation.
Source: Economic Times
Textile units in the State are keen to invest to create new capacities or expand the existing ones, according to a recent study conducted by the Indian Texpreneurs Federation. As many as 257 units with a combined annual turnover of ₹ 36,000 crore participated in the survey from across the value chain, including spinning, semi-integrated, integrated, weaving, apparel, processing and home textile units. A press release from the Federation said 76 % of the surveyed firms said they were looking at doubling the current business in three to five years with new capex cycle. “This shows a very positive and vibrant change in the business environment in the Tamil Nadu textile and apparel sector,” said Prabhu Dhamodharan, convenor of the Federation. In the value chain, home textiles, weaving and apparel segments are showing better momentum in terms of growth. The appetite for investment is driven by demand, profitability, and reforms by the Union and State governments. In the developed economies, spending has shot up and hence there is a surge in demand. Several buyers are looking for alternatives to China. What India needs is more production capacities, he said. Several units are also looking at investing in renewable energy, especially solar energy, Mr. Dhamodharan added. Further, 16% of the companies that took part in the survey were also keen to explore the IPO option. The Indian capital market is growing at a rapid pace and textile sector is also getting lot of interest from investors with valuations rallying upwards.
Source: The Hindu
The value of digital transactions in India jumped to Rs 6 lakh crore in January-August 2021 from Rs 4 lakh crore in the entire 2020 and Rs 2 lakh crore in 2019, she said. The report highlights the need for the participation of women in the fintech space. India has emerged as a “prime destination” for the digital payment revolution, with fintech adoption rate of 87%, much above the global average of 64%, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. “No wonder, UPI today comes out as one of the very big brand images for India. We are very happy to support it, strengthen it and further it,” the minister said at the ‘Global FinTech Fest 2021’. At the same time, there should be no compromise on data privacy and safeguard of client data now that an increasing number of Indians have resorted to the digital mode of payment, she stressed. The value of digital transactions in India jumped to Rs 6 lakh crore in January-August 2021 from Rs 4 lakh crore in the entire 2020 and Rs 2 lakh crore in 2019, she said. “Data privacy is one of the things which is very important and it is an issue on which there can be a lot of contentious views. However, basic respect for privacy…as the guiding principle is well appreciated. Safeguard of client data, is something which I think is the backbone to bringing trust,” Sitharaman said. Digitisation has enabled the government to put money directly into the accounts of the intended beneficiaries through the direct benefit transfer method. This mechanism came as a big relief during the Covid-induced lockdown, she added. “The payment systems have become matured and well-layered and have adopted several schemes that the government wanted to undertake.” The event saw the release of a report on ‘UN principles for responsible digital payments’, which outlines guiding principles for the government, users and for industry and businesses. The report highlights the need for the participation of women in the fintech space.
Source: Financial Express
Sanjeev Sanyal makes strong pitch for better urban governance, infrastructure. India’s economy is likely to grow in double digits this year as well as next year with the higher revenue collections giving the Centre more room to push capital spending, Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal said on Tuesday, before making a strong pitch to fix India’s cities. Cities in distress “Some of our cities in peace time don’t have roads like Kabul had in war time. Vietnam has the same per capita income as India’s but Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi are radically better run cities than ours,” Mr. Sanyal lamented, contrasting this with the ‘shockingly poor’ roads and municipal services in some of India’s tier-three cities. “When I was younger, I used to think we are a poor country so our cities are in this mess. 30 years later, we are much richer as a country, but our cities are still in a mess, the occasional airport notwithstanding… We are not at all clear on what we want from our cities,” he noted. While infrastructure in Mumbai and Delhi is ‘relatively better’, Mr. Sanyal said the next generation of reforms must focus on intra-city infrastructure and better municipal services like garbage collection. “Many of these old masterplans, Le Corbusier-inspired planning and ideas that we still teach by the way in the SPA (School of Planning and Architecture) and other institutions, first of all, we need to throw them in the dustbin. We need to have modern planning principles, teach them, ensure our municipalities understand and build modern cities,” he asserted. He suggested the focus of urban reforms should shift from what is the appropriate governance structure to putting someone in charge and getting them to deliver what needs to be done. “It’s not as if poor people do not know what to do with world class infrastructure. The reason the rich are rich because they have access to good infrastructure. If you give the poor access to world class infrastructure, they will also become rich,” Mr. Sanyal said, while speaking to industry leaders at the CII East India Summit. “The best solution to poverty is to create access to good infrastructure in parts of the country that don’t have it,” he said, referring to the need to build world-class infrastructure in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and the North-eastern States. Arguing that the government’s focus on supply-side reforms and capital expenditure amid the pandemic will hold it in good stead, he said it is important for the economy to be flexible to adjust to the post-COVID world. “I think you will find that this year, we will hit double digit growth rates and it is quite likely that we will hit double digit growth rates in the next financial year as well,” the former golbal strategist for Deutsche Bank said. “We have even done politically difficult reforms like farm laws that may be in abeyance but let me say that broadly, we remain committed to reforming agriculture even if some changes may have to be done on the edges,” he said, stressing that the judicial system also needs to be cleaned up to enable timely enforcement of contracts. Emphasising that the reforms from 1991 to 2021 have been about deregulation and withdrawing the State from things that it ought not to do, Mr. Sanyal said the next thirty years of reforms should focus on what the Indian State ought to do for its people, which includes providing reliable infrastructure.
Source: The Hindu
Speaking at CII's East India summit, Kant said, NE can grow much faster and flourish with Act East and NE Industrial Promotion Policy functioning towards that direction. The need was to identify such assets that can be monetised and remove differential risks for the same category of an asset in different states to harmonise public-privatepartnership under one framework. The long international borders along the northeastern (NE) states required converting into major assets to improve accessibility to ASEAN for a more vibrant trade, Amitabh Kant, Niti Aayog CEO, said. Speaking at CII’s East India summit, Kant said, NE can grow much faster and flourish with Act East and NE Industrial Promotion Policy functioning towards that direction. Allocations to NE has grown 3.5 times since 2015-16 towards creating road infrastructure and seven times in four years for creating special infrastructure. Although the region has high road density, surface roads to total road length are at the bottom, Kant said. NE, at present, has a railway network of 590 Kms but the government was sincere about creating a railway link across various states in the region. However, creating railway connectivity from the NE states to Bangladesh was of prime importance to tap the growing market there. The East-West corridor, from Silchar in Assam to Porbandar in Gujarat, a part of the $12.317 billion North-South-East-West corridors, would connect NE to the rest of India and therefore it was necessary to create NE as a vibrant gateway to South East and South Asia, Kant said adding the region would have 18 airports and 150 air routes by 2024. While principal economic advisor in the ministry of finance, Sanjeev Sanyal stressed increased capital expenditure, boosting municipal infrastructure and monetising at least 50% of the roads and railways in the NE, National Task Force on Infrastructure Monitoring chairman, Vinayak Chatterjee said, the Centre offers a state 50% of the asset value if a state divests its PSU, 33% of the value for monetising a state asset and 50% if a state PSU goes to the capital market. The need was to identify such assets that can be monetised and remove differential risks for the same category of an asset in different states to harmonise public-privatepartnership under one framework. Japan’s ambassador in India Satoshi Suzuki was of the view that highways in Tripura, Assam and Mizoram will have to be extended up to the borders of Bangladesh and the Act East Forum was working to create connectivity between Assam, Meghalaya, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Japan would extend a $ 1.5 billion loan for infra projects in NE particularly for disaster resisting highways, Suzuki said.
Source: Financial Express
Seeking stronger business relationship with Andhra Pradesh, Indonesia has invited industrialists from the State to explore business opportunities the country. Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia, Agus P Saptono, in a virtual meeting with the members of the AP Chamber of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers), stated that India is the biggest exporter of sugar to Indonesia and also exports rice, meat, onion, red chillies and the volume of exports has been steadily increasing over the last few years. Agus P Saptono along with Bona Kusuma, trade attache, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in New Delhi and Kumarajati, Director of Indonesian Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) in Chennai, addressing the members of the AP Chambers, explained the opportunities for enhancing bilateral trade relations between Indonesia and India. Elaborating on the virtual conference president Pydah Krishna Prasad, president-elect Potluri Bhaskara Rao, general secretary B Raja Sekhar in a statement said that the Indonesian officials informed the AP Chambers that the Indonesia's GDP is expected to grow by 5 per cent by 2022 and is expected to become the fourth largest economy by 2050. They recalled that 57 Indian companies have their presence in Indonesia. "The potential sectors for investing in Indonesia are textiles, textiles machinery, pharmaceuticals, tourism, transportation, salt technology industry, oil and gas, electrical and renewal energy." The Indonesian officials also spoke about the Trade Expo Indonesia-2021, which is a fully interactive virtual trade expo that will take place from October 21 to November 4. They invited members of AP Chambers and businesses from Andhra Pradesh to register and participate in the trade expo to explore trade opportunities and to establish business partnerships. AP Chambers' members interacted with Indonesian officials in the virtual meeting.The members said that as Andhra Pradesh is the major exporter of rice, sugar, chillies, cotton yarn. It has major ports and four international airports, and three major industrial corridors under development. As the Government of India has recognised the State as the gateway for South-East Asia, the bilateral trade relations between Andhra Pradesh and Indonesia are poised for tremendous growth. AP Chambers requested the businesses who are interested to explore trade opportunities in Indonesia to contact AP Chambers at federation@apchamber.in or 0866-2482888.
Source: The Hans India
Working in coordination is a prerequisite for effective implementation of development and welfare programmes initiated by both Union and State governments, Minister for Handloom, Textiles and Sugar Shankar Patil Munenkoppa has said. Chairing a progress review meeting of Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) in Dharwad on Monday, Mr. Patil said that as some officials had not moved out of their offices but had taken decisions sitting in office, several technical issues had cropped up resulting in delay in the completion of various works. The Minister asked the officials to compulsorily visit the construction sites and ensure that the projects are completed in time. The onus is also on them to ensure that no sanctioned fund lapsed due to delay, he said. The absence of officials of Minor Irrigation Department and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) irked the Minister so much so that he asked the Deputy Secretary of the Zilla Panchayat to issue show-cause notices to them. Officials skipping meetings will be dealt with strictly, he said. The former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar mentioned about the alleged harassment of businessmen and street vendors by police personnel on the pretext of implementing night curfew. Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Nitesh Patil assured him of taking up the issue with the Police Commissioner. Legislators Amrut Desai, Kusumavati Shivalli and C.M. Nimbannavar collectively raised an intriguing development of contractors making bids that were 30% less than the estimated rates and sought an answer. They said that such low quotations are likely to lead to poor quality works and asked the authorities to thoroughly look into the issue. In reply, Public Works Department officer S.B. Choudannavar said that blacklisting of such contractors is under way. He assured them of preventing such instances from recurring. Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Panchayat B. Susheela, district officials of the Health, Revenue and other departments were present.
Source: The Hindu
The scheme is incentivising production of 14 categories of MMF fabrics, 10 categories of technical textiles and MMF apparel. The government has notified the Rs 10,683-crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles, specifically aimed at boosting the production of man-made fibre (MMF) fabric, MMF apparel and technical textiles. We examine the details of the scheme which is set to provide incentives from FY25 to FY29. Which product lines are being incentivised by the scheme? The scheme is incentivising production of 14 categories of MMF fabrics, 10 categories of technical textiles and MMF apparel. The MMF fabrics for which production is being incentivised include woven fabrics containing nylon, polyester and other manmade fibres. Technical textiles that are set to be covered under the scheme include defence textiles such as bulletproof vests, fighter aircraft and submarine clothing and tents, mobile textiles such as safety airbags and tyre cords and protective textiles such as personal protective equipment and fire-retardant fabrics and clothing. The scheme also incentivises the production of smart textiles embedded with active devices for medical, defence, and special purposes. MMF fabrics, apparel and technical textiles currently account for about two-thirds of the international trade in textiles, and the PLI scheme is aimed at boosting India’s share in these segments, commerce minister Piyush Goyal had said while announcing the PLI scheme.
Which producers are eligible for incentives under the scheme? The first phase of the scheme will be open to producers that invest at least Rs 300 crore in plant, machinery, equipment and civil work (excluding land and administrative building cost). Such producers will receive incentives under the scheme once they achieve a turnover of at least Rs 600 crore. In the second phase of the scheme, producers investing Rs 100 crore and generating a turnover of at least Rs 200 crore will receive incentives. Projects that enhance the value of integrated fibre or yarn by at least 60 per cent in processing to fabric, garments or technical textiles will be selected under the scheme. Independent processing houses, however, will have to meet a lower value enhancement threshold of 30 per cent to be eligible for selection under the scheme.
What are the incentives for producers under the scheme? Participating companies are expected to achieve the minimum turnover requirements after a gestation period of two years and starting FY25 are entitled to 15 per cent incentive on attaining the required turnover in the first phase of the scheme. Incentives in subsequent years will be contingent on turnover being increased by at least 25 per cent each year up to FY29, with incentives falling by 1 per cent each year to 11 per cent in the final year of the scheme. In the second part of the scheme, in which producers with lower investment and turnover thresholds will be selected, incentives will start at 11 per cent for the achievement of the required turnover and fall by 1 per cent each year to 7 per cent in FY29, with incentives after year one being subject to a similar condition of 25 per cent annual growth in turnover.
Source: Indian Express
Among the recent IPOs, I have really liked the business model of EaseMyTrip. It is a recovery play and compared to big competitors, we have seen this company being profitable because the cost structure of this company is quite low, says Pankaj Pandey, Head Research, ICICIdirect.com How should one capitalise on whatis happening in China? Whatis the one company or one sector which could be a big disruptive change? Textile is one space where we have been positive. We have seen companies like NSE 0.22 % benefitting in the US. The market share for Indian bed sheets in the US has gone up from about 52% odd to about 62% odd. These kinds of disruptions are more beneficial for companies like Indo Count, which we like despite the price appreciation. Besides that, NSE -4.94 % is another stock which we like in that space. Whatimpact can be expected on the specialty chemical stocks? The rising fuel prices are also going to impact airline stocks like NSE -2.84 % ? Are market participants going to get cautious on these kinds of patches? Rather than turning cautious, this is more of a good problem. We have already seen the attrition problem in IT, the chip shortage. All these are because demand has suddenly soared and supply is yet to catch up. So from that perspective, even if China is curbing supply, it is a good problem because China also needs to build inventories for the festive season ahead. But yes, overall expectation is that it will have a positive rub-off on a number of sectors including metals. Our sense is that if they want to curb pollution, especially next year, if their games are there, then structurally the prices for a lot of these commodities could be a lot higher given that China is one of the biggest producers. So obviously it is a sort of a challenge from an inflation perspective but most of the central bankers are going to look through it. In our country also, 3% of the overall inflation is driven by commodities. It may not have that kind of a policy ramifications despite the fact that inflation could inch up higher. I am not unduly worried. But in Europe, it is a bit scary given the kind of scarcity or the way energy prices have gone up. I am cautiously optimistic that it will have a positive rub off rather than a negative one. Which could be the one or two dhamaka IPOs in October out of about 8-10. It is a bit difficult to comment because I still do not know which of the companies are lead managers. But of the recent IPOs, the one company business model which I have really liked was EaseMyTrip. This is one particular company which we have liked and we have initiated coverage upon. It is also a recovery play and compared to big competitors, we have seen this company being profitable because the cost structure of this company is quite low. In this company, the opportunity size is large, the cost structure is quite efficient and so we like this company among the recently listed companies.
Source: Economic Times
The second ‘i of the World’ exhibition is set to take place at New York’s InterContinental Hotel on 28th and 29th September. Turkish textile manufacturers will have a chance to showcase their products at the second ‘i of the World’ exhibition, set to open this week in New York City. Organized by the Istanbul Textiles and Raw Materials Exporters Association (İTHİB), the event is expected to draw a number of leading US apparel producers, designers and distributors. In hopes of raising their share of the US textiles market, the representatives of 28 Turkish textiles firms are expected to attend the event. “Every year, the US imports $43 billion worth of textiles, making it the world’s largest textiles market,” İTHİB President Ahmet Öksüz says. “Turkey, meanwhile, represents the world’s fifth largest exporter of textiles, and the second largest exporter to the EU.” According to Öksüz, Turkey’s share of the global textiles market stood at 3% last year, but accounted for only 1.6% of the total US market. “Turkey's formidable production capacity has the potential to realize a much larger share of textile imports to the US,” he says. Despite the pandemic, Turkish textiles exports to the US rose by 8% in 2020 to reach an all-time high of $628 million “Textiles represent the main component of the $100-billion trade target between the two countries,” Öksüz adds. “The Turkish and US economies don’t compete with each other; rather, they complement one another, providing an excellent example of a win-win model.” Last year, İTHİB organized the first ‘i of the World’ exhibition in New York, in cooperation with the Turkish Trade Ministry and the Turkish Exporters Assembly. “Last year’s event was extremely productive for Turkish textiles,” Öksüz recalls. “Despite the pandemic, Turkish textiles exports to the US rose by 8% in 2020 to reach an all-time high of $628 million.” And during the first eight months of 2021, according to Öksüz, Turkish textiles exports to the US rose by 51% to reach $547 million, accounting for 2.7% of the total US textiles market. “Next week’s exhibition will help us sustain these notable increases and achieve our ambitious bilateral trade targets,” Öksüz says. “We’re planning to carry out several more promotional activities and B2B projects in the US,” he adds. “We hope to eventually hold the exhibition in other parts of the US as well, with the aim of achieving $1 billion in exports by the end of this year.” Hoping to realize $12 billion in global exports in 2021, Öksüz is quick to point out that Turkey’s textiles and apparel industry represents the county’s leading industry in terms of exports. “Our textiles industry is a global leader in terms of integrated production capacity, qualified human resources, logistics, R&D investment and sustainability,” he says. “It has remained a safe harbour – despite the pandemic – for the supply chains of several internationally-recognized garment brands.” Turkey, Öksüz concludes, “is rapidly approaching its medium-term goal of becoming one of the world’s top-three exporters of textiles.”
Source: Knitting Industry
Zalando, Europe’s leading online platform for fashion and lifestyle, has invested in the circular fashion and textile technology group Infinited Fiber Company. The company will use the proceeds to prepare for building its flagship factory in Finland to meet the demand from global fashion and textile brands for its regenerated textile fibre Infinna. Both companies are also signing a letter of intent that includes Zalando providing raw materials to Infinited Fiber Company in the future and Zalando using the regenerated Infinna fibre for its private label production, the two companies said in a media release. The investment has completed a funding round recently led by H&M Group, in which Adidas and Bestseller’s investment arm Invest FWD A/S also took part. Infinited Fiber Company’s technology turns cellulose-based raw materials, like cottonrich textile waste, into Infinna, a unique, premium-quality regenerated textile fibre with the natural, soft look and feel of cotton. Infinna is biodegradable, contains no microplastics, and at the end of their life, garments made with it can be recycled in the same process together with other textile waste. Infinited Fiber Company co-founder and CEO Petri Alava said: “We are delighted to welcome Zalando as a new strategic investor into our circle of partners, and see their commitment as further indication of the fashion industry’s strong belief in our innovation. Zalando’s vast brand portfolio and circularity initiatives provide a great basis to deepen our collaboration and to secure feedstock for our flagship plant.” Zalando Co-CEO David Schneider said: “We want to be part of the solution for a more sustainable fashion industry. With the investment in Infinited Fiber Company, we initiate a collaboration with a circular technology innovator to grow the industry share of textiles recycled into new textiles, which currently sits at only one per cent.” Zalando has previously teamed up with sustainable fashion innovation platform, Fashion for Good, and the Berlin-based startup, circular.fashion, to develop the redeZIGN for Circularity capsule collection and with the Ellen MacArthur foundation to accelerate a circular economy in fashion.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
Feelings of bloom and gloom are coming before the autumn season. Fears of growing imports and slipping current account deficit have gripped discourse on mainstream media. In the midst, the story of textile exports growth taking off has been largely missed. Back in 2018, BR Research had noted that textile exports can grow up to $20 billion in 3- 4 years, provided government provides the right incentive structure. (For details, read: “Textile ready to take off”, published on 14th December 2018). It appears that textile exports are finally indeed taking off. According to PBS data, textile group exports crossed $15 billion during FY21. The federal government is convinced that exports shall cross $20 billion in FY22. Textile industry lobbyists insist that for exports growth to maintain its momentum, incentive structure must ensure provision of energy on regionally competitive pricing, flexible exchange rate, and availability of long-term finance at concessionary markup. Back in 2018, this space had mentioned that China is moving away from textile while USA is looking to reduce reliance of its textile imports from China for strategic reasons. Fortunately for Pakistan, the pandemic has not altered the strategic outlook on textile of these two economic superpowers. The change in international trade tailwinds could not have come at a better time for Pakistan. Since PTI came to power, the regime has adopted a textile-friendly approach, making the environment conducive for exports growth. Out of $800 billion world textile trade, China’s share is one third. Recently, China is moving from low value-added exports, as labor and other factors of production are becoming expensive, and the government is moving away from subsidies to exports. Buyers in the West are recognizing the new reality as retail margins are also squeezing. Thus, in general, buyers are looking for suppliers that can enhance supplies at current pricing. If Pakistan secures even a small fraction of China’s share, its textile exports could double. Buyers moving away from China can either move to Bangladesh, Viet Nam, India, or with any luck Pakistan. The requisite infrastructure already exists in these nations, while exporters have access to cheap labour. Moreover, the shutdown of industrial base in Bangladesh during Covid has cemented the belief that buyers need to diversify supplier-base. Thus, Pakistan stands to gain from this paradigm shift in buyer strategy. It appears that the textile sector is also gearing up for grab. Anecdotal evidence based on a conversation with a knitwear manufacturer reveals that the company has increased capacity by over three times in the past few years. According to the company, buyers are willing to double the size of purchase orders if the exporter can meet timely delivery. Thus, the company is convincing spinners to expand so raw material for knitwear is in abundant supply. The textile industry demands that exchange rate must be priced at fair-value, which means that REER must hover at 100. Moreover, the industry demands energy – gas and electricity - at regionally competitive rates. While the third demand is long term concessionary financing. So far since PTI came to power, all three building blocks have been in place and appear to be paying dividends (based on textile growth). A little over half of TERF is utilized by textile players. LTFF is another avenue for exporters where textile has lion’s share. During 2MFY22, textile machinery imports have witnessed 160 percent growth over same period last year, which is indicative of the ongoing expansion within the sector. However, export growth is not fully reflecting in the first two months of FY22. According to the industry, container shortages are delaying shipments; exporters claim that their warehouses are full of inventory ready for export. Textile exports stood at $3 billion during 2MFY22, which translates into $18 billion or 20 percent increase on annualized basis. At the same time, textile lobbyists advocate that SBP needs to revisit its markup subsidies to exporters. There are two kind of subsidies – one is Export refinance scheme (ERF) and the other is long term financing facility (LTFF). ERF was introduced several decades ago when export dynamics were very different. Exporters can get dollar financing against shipments at subsidized rates which allows them to hedge against adverse currency movement. According to sources, exporters that heavily rely on ERF have a tendency to retain dollars outside Pakistan till the six-month limit expires, and in turn are able to gain from currency depreciation. The legacy structure of ERF needs to be revisited and brought in line with subsidized short-term financing offered by other countries.
Source: Brecorder
Cambodia on Tuesday raised the minimum monthly wage for workers in its key textiles and footwear industry by $2 to $194, effective January next year, shy of a $12 rise sought by major unions. Factory wages have long been a tricky balancing act for Cambodia's government, to keep costs competitive for investors and brands while satisfying influential unions representing 700,000 workers, which have held strikes in previous years. Worth $7 billion a year before the pandemic, the garment industry is Cambodia's largest employer and provides vital income for rural families, in making apparel for brands that include H & M, Adidas, Nike and Gap. The new wage announced by the labour ministry would be a struggle to live on, said Pav Sina, president of the Collective Union Movement of Workers. "I request all relevant stakeholders, the employers and the government, to consider the possibilities of adding more to the workers' wage," Pav Sina told reporters. However, Kaing Monika, Deputy Secretary General at the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC), said the raise could be problematic with operating costs also expected to rise. "Even a $2 increase would have a negative impact," Kaing Monika told Reuters. Kaing Monika said employers would spend more on pension and healthcare contributions and workplace measures to counter Covid-19, including up to $4 monthly per head on tests. As of April, garments and textiles were no longer Cambodia's dominant export product, with agricultural goods and other new products on the rise, such as luggage, which is free of duties in the United States, according to the World Bank. Cambodia's exports of travel goods to the US market were worth $3.5 billion in 2020, up 3.6% from 2019. That compared to $2.6 billion to the European Union, a 35% contraction, in part due to a partial withdrawal of preferential EU tariffs over human rights and political concerns.
Source: Bangkok Post
