The inputs given by the Logistics Ease Across Different States Report 2021 can lead the way to bring down logistics cost by 5 percent over the next 5 years, said Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. The inputs given by the Logistics Ease Across Different States Report 2021 can lead the way to bring down logistics cost by 5 percent over the next 5 years, said Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal on Monday. Addressing the gathering after the release of the LEADS Report, Goyal said that India is committed to build modern infrastructure for the 21st century, at a pace never seen before. Referring to the recently launched PM GatiShakti Master Plan, he said that it would revolutionise the next generation of multimodal infrastructure development in the country. The Minister said that the initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat for 13 years had laid the foundation for Gujarat to consistently stay at the top of the chart in LEADS report. He said that the speed of highway construction has increased 3 fold from 12 km/day in 2013-14 to 37 km/day in 2020-21 and that there was a four fold increase in Railways Capex from Rs 54,000 Cr in 2013-14 to Rs 2.15 Lakh Cr in 2021-22. He observed that in the 5 years before 2014, only 60 panchayats could be connected with optical fiber and that In last 7 years, more than 1.5 lakh gram panchayats connected with optical fibre. He also observed that logistics contributed immensely in fight against COVID-19 by taking essential supplies including liquid Medical Oxygen throughout the country during the 2nd wave. Observing that logistics is an enabler of multiple visions- From Make in India for the World to Last Mile Delivery, the Minister said that to achieve ambitious targets we cannot afford to walk but we need expressways of Land, Air and Water. He named Infrastructure, Quality Services and Conducive Regulatory Framework as the three pillars of Resilient logistics. "Rather than just absolute improvement in one State, improvement of logistics across all States, will be a force multiplier for the entire logistics ecosystem", Goyal said. He lauded Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab for having acquired the top 3 positions respectively. Goyal also congratulated the Uttar Pradesh for leapfrogging 7 ranks since 2019, highest among all states, driven by policy initiatives, higher infra spending in logistics. Minister said that since its inception in 2018, each year LEADS report has followed a progressive methodology to provide a granular insight on the logistics performance at State/UTs level. "LEADS 2021 has gone 2-step ahead in analysis of domestic and EXIM logistics ecosystem of the state" he added. Within the North Eastern States and Himalayan Region, Jammu and Kashmir is the top ranker followed by Sikkim and Meghalaya. Delhi stands at the top rank among Other UTs. Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand have witnessed a remarkable improvement in their ranks compared to 2019 LEADS ranking and have emerged as the top improvers.
Source: Zeebiz
Haryana gains four places to come second in 2021, Punjab sheds one to figure in third compared to 2019 Gujarat has maintained its lead over 20 other states by again getting top place on an index to gauge the logistics efficiency across states in 2021 due to its "well-developed infrastructure and services driven by a responsive government", according to a report released by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal. It got the No. 1 rank in the 2019 index too. Even as the state topped in indicators such as availability and quality of infrastructure, extent of facilitation and ease of obtaining all approvals, respondents to the survey that was conducted to construct the index complained that the potholes on road leading to Mundra port gets flooded and leads to congestion during the monsoon season and there is lack of connectivity between ports Mundra and Hazira via a coastal road. On the other hand, Haryana has gained four places to come second in 2021 compared to the sixth spot in 2019, while Punjab lost one notch to get the third rank from the second two years back, showed the LEADS (logistics ease across different states) index. The state has secured the highest score for several indicators such as quality of warehousing infrastructure, timeliness of cargo delivery during transportation, operating and regulatory environment, and efficiency of regulatory services, the report showed. But, it also suffered from various challenges such as bad condition of the road connecting major industrial areas in Panipat, Karnal, Jind and Rohtak. Besides, rail freight charges are high as compared to road freight charges when transporting rice from Sonipat, Panipat, and Taraori belts. Tamil Nadu came fourth in 2021 against fifth position in 2019, while Maharashtra slipped a place to figure in the fifth ranking against fourth released by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal. In the first top five place, the opposition ruled states of Punjab and Maharashtra dropped one place each in 2021 compared to the rankings two year ago, while Tamil Nadu bettered its position. Punjab's proactive policies such as single window clearance mechanism for regulatory approvals, fiscal incentives under the industrial and business development policy, grievance redressal mechanism and development of warehousing zones have had an immense impact on the logistic ecosystem, according to the report. However, there were issues such as the participating government agencies (PGAs) involved in the certification do not have their testing facilities anywhere near Ludhiana. This results in samples being sent over to Delhi for necessary testing and certification for clearance of exports and imports, adding to the total transaction time. Maharashtra dropped one place due to worsened road infrastructure and congestion at the port terminals. Poor road connectivity to the gateway port of JNPT leads to time delays and escalated costs for shippers. This high cost of transportation and terminal services is reflected in the low scores obtained by the state in indicators of reasonableness of road freight rates and terminal services, said the report. Tamil Nadu proactively introduced policies to support logistics such as granting priority status to logistics and pursuing development of a State Integrated Logistics Plan. State nodal agency has been appointed by the State for integrated development of the logistics sector. However, the state has low scores for reasonableness of road freight rates and prices of terminal services. Few key factors influencing freight rates are congestion and poor road infrastructure, the report said. If one looks at top ten positions, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, are the only opposition-ruled states to get a better ranking in 2021 versus 2019. Odisha got seventh place in 2021 against 10th in 2019. On the other hand, the BJP-ruled Karnataka shed one rank to come at the eighth position in 2021 from seventh in 2019. Adityanath Yogi-ruled Uttar Pradesh gained seventh place to get sixth position in 2021 from 13th two year ago. Andhra Pradesh, ruled by the YSR Congress Party, lost six places to come at the ninth position against third in 2019. On the other hand, its erstwhile part-- Telangana-- was down two notches at the tenth place against eighth in 2019. Among the northeastern states and himalayan union territories, Jammu Kashmir topped the chart. Among the remaining two union territories of Delhi and Chandigarh, the Kejriwal-ruled UT got the top position. Speaking at the launch of the report, Goyal said the inputs given by the report can lead the way to bring down logistics cost by 5 per cent over the next five years. According to estimates, at present, the cost is about 13-14 per cent of the GDP. Goyal said that efficient logistics was pivotal to bring ease and empowerment to businesses as well as citizens. "Rather than just absolute improvement in one state, improvement of logistics across all states will be a force multiplier for the entire logistics ecosystem", he said. When asked about the issue of container shortage, the minister said now the international trade is picking up "very well" and it augurs well for the Indian economy. "India alone will be looking at 40 per cent plus growth in our exports and almost a 25 per cent growth in our imports," he said, adding the container problem was happening across the globe and the ministry is working with shipping lines, and container operators. It is also trying to bring empty containers, customs is trying to speed up the processes, railways is helping to move empty containers at subsidised prices, he added. With all these efforts, prices have stabilised and now gradually started coming down, Goyal said. "We do hope that in the months to come, we quickly see things stabilizing to normalcy," he added. The commerce & industry ministry had launched the index in 2018, but there was no such ranking in 2020 due to Covid. In 2021, the overall index, based on a survey conducted during May to August, is based on twenty-one indicators including seventeen perception indicators and four objective indicators. The objective questions include those related to appointment of nodal officer, creation of state logistics cell, creation of state logistics policy,, single window system for approval. The survey got 3,771 responses from 1,405 respondents across the country.
Source: Business Standard
The tax department in the past two months initiated an inquiry into the bill of entry and discovered discrepancies in the valuation of many imports. Importers were then asked to pay additional taxes for goods imported in 2018/19 as penalty. Companies that were asked to pay additional indirect taxes on certain imports have come under the taxman's lens again for availing of input tax credit on the additional amount paid earlier as penalties. The Department of Goods and Services Tax (DGST) has started issuing notices to the importers for availing of the tax credit against the additional GST paid. According to the people aware of the matter, current regulations allow importers to ascertain valuation of their imports and pay GST and other duties on that. In most cases, importers provide valuation detail through the bill of entry - a legal document that is filed on arrival of the imported goods. The tax department in the past two months initiated an inquiry into the bill of entry and discovered discrepancies in the valuation of many imports. Importers were then asked to pay additional taxes for goods imported in 2018/19 as penalty. The question now is whether the importers can avail of input tax credit on the additional taxes paid for the past years. Under the GST framework, input tax credit is essentially taxes paid on raw materials (or input services). This can be used to reduce future GST liability.
Source: Economic Times
Udaan exclusive brands have been specially created to help and empower small businesses - including manufacturers and retailers of Bharat to compete with established brands Udaan, India’s largest business-to-business e-commerce platform, aims to create over 100 exclusive brands in partnership with small garment manufacturers through its Lifestyle business. This business comprises clothing, accessories, and footwear. This move is in line with its vision of empowering small businesses of Bharat (rural India and small towns and cities) through the power of B2B e-commerce. Bengaluru-based Udaaan’s Lifestyle business in the past 12 months has worked and already created over 20 exclusive brands in partnership with small garment manufacturers. It plans to further scale its operations to have over 50 exclusive brands on its platform in the next one year and over 100 brands in the next few years. The firm said it has partnered with small businesses to offer best in class quality garments at affordable prices to serve the needs of Bharat. “Over the past one year we have made significant investments to help local garment manufacturers achieve scale and get access to the national market especially in the tier-2 and tier-3 towns and cities of Bharat,” said Vipul Mathur, head (Exclusive Lines), Lifestyle Business, Udaan. “Our intent is to identify, help scale and create over 100 such exclusive brands from small manufacturing hubs and provide them the technical know-how to achieve growth.” For the creation of exclusive brands, the ‘in-house’ expert team of Udaan work closely with small garment manufacturers. It provides them with the requisite expertise of brand creation, content making, product quality improvement and technical know-how to create and sell their garments exclusively on the Udaan platform. Small manufacturers benefit from this exercise as they get to create their own brand with help from Udaan, which results in the expansion of their business in tier 2 and tier 3 cities and towns. The small retailers also gain as they get access to high-quality products at the most affordable prices, ultimately benefiting the end consumer of Bharat. Most of the manufacturers come from major textile hubs spread across tier-2 and tier-3 regions such as Tirupur, Howrah, Ludhiana and Rajkot. The garment industry in India consists of over one lakh units and currently employs about 6 million workers, both directly and indirectly. It is estimated the garment industry is a Rs 1 trillion industry with 25 per cent consisting of exports and the remaining 75 per cent for domestic consumption. The 20 brands that Udaan helped to create and scale up, were local businesses that had limited reach and penetration. Today with the help of Udaan, these exclusive brands have been successful in expanding their business. These businesses have seen a multifold increase and now serve customers nationally. Udaan exclusive brands have been specially created to help and empower small businesses – including manufacturers and retailers of Bharat to compete with established brands. It is also helping them to be competitive in the marketplace and provide the end customers quality garments at affordable prices. “Earlier my business was restricted and was catering to only local shops. But after partnering with Udaan with its extensive network of retailers, we have been able to access the national markets,” said Ajay Nanda who runs Krishna Textiles from Ahmedabad. “We witnessed good growth in business in the last one year. With Udaan’s help, I am planning to introduce more clothing lines and enter new segments.” While there has been strong adoption of the platform by small and medium businesses, even large manufacturers, and brands such as Amul Comfy, maxx, Jockey, Arvind and Shoppers Stop, have also partnered with Udaan. The other such large brands include BIBA, Rangriti, Lifestyle, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, Hummel, Relaxo and Aqualite. Hitesh Bhandari, a textile manufacturer from Bengaluru said that his family has been running the textile business for over 100 years. But the business was severely hit due to the pandemic. “We had to incur huge losses and had to let go a lot of people,” said Bhandari. “But with the help from Udaan for e-retailing, I was able to launch ‘Style’ exclusive brand on the platform.” Launched in 2016, Udaan’s lifestyle business has about 4000 brands and sellers and 1.5 lakh operating retailers and buyers. The segment contributes about 17-20 per cent of Udaan's overall gross merchandise value (GMV). “Post the launch of our exclusive brands on the Udaan platform we have witnessed about 55 per cent of repeat buyers and each buyer on an average buy twice a month from us,” said Mathur. “This trend clearly validates, we are heading in the right direction and ensuring quality products are delivered to our buyers at affordable prices.” Udaan has over 3 million registered users and about 30,000 sellers on the platform. The platform caters to over 2 million retailers, chemists, kirana shops, HoReCa (hotel, restaurant, cafe) and farmers doing over 4.5 million transactions per month, making Udaan a leader in the b2b e-commerce business. The company operates one of the largest logistics and supply chain networks – through UdaanExpress - with over 200 warehouses spread over 10 Mn Sq Ft delivering to retailers in over 900 cities covering over 12000 pin codes across the country. To cater to the growing demand, Udaan plans to scale its warehouse capacity to over 50 million Sq Ft across the country in the next 7-8 years.
Source: Business Standard
Many economic growth indicators are suggesting a faster-than-expected revival in economic activities. It expects the GDP growth for Q2 FY22 to be at 8.3 per cent (year-onyear), on the back of a 7.4 per cent contraction in Q2FY21. The country's GDP grew at 20.1 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. Domestic rating agency Brickwork Ratings on Monday revised its growth estimate for the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to 10-10.5 per cent in the current financial year from an earlier expectation of a 9 per cent growth. Many economic growth indicators are suggesting a faster-than-expected revival in economic activities, it said. "We revise our GDP estimates for FY22 to 10-10.5 per cent from 9 per cent estimated earlier," the credit rating agency said in a report released on Monday. It expects the GDP growth for Q2 FY22 to be at 8.3 per cent (year-on-year), on the back of a 7.4 per cent contraction in Q2FY21. The country's GDP grew at 20.1 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. The agency believes that the subsequent quarters too will see recovery if there is no resurgence of the virus in the form of a third wave. "Amid the waning possibility of a third wave, we expect the economy to register better growth in the remaining part of the year," it added. The downside risks of a possible third wave to growth too are limited due to the progress achieved in vaccination, it said. However, downside risks emanating from rising crude oil prices, mineral products, increasing costs of raw materials and freight rates, disruptions in semiconductor supply and coal supply shortages are likely to downplay the growth momentum, the agency said.
Source: Economic Times
Diwali festivities brings cheer as economy begins to revive as people go shopping a year after the celebrations were marred due to coronavirus pandemic. Diwali 2021 brought broad smiles to the faces of business owners in Surat. The business in the textile, electronics, and jewellery sectors started to speed up at least two months before Diwali. According to Janak Dave, News18 Bureau Chief, in two months, the textile sector saw sales up to 13,000 crores. On the other hand, the jewellery sector saw sales figures close to 500 crores and the electronics sector saw sales up to 350 crores. Reportedly, this year sales were better than the time prior to GST was enacted. According to a report in ANI, Surat jewellery stores saw a surge in the number of buyers close to the festival. As Covid-19 cases were down and gold prices were down as well, the shoppers bought gold not only as an investment but also as gifts for Diwali and the upcoming wedding season. A report in the Indian Express noted that the sales crossed Rs. 100 crores on Dhanteras in the diamond-studded gold jewellery sector along with normal gold and silver jewellery. Salim Daginawala, president, Surat Jewellers Association, said, “In 2019, the sales were close to Rs 80 crore and was nearly Rs 60 crore last year. This year, the sales have boomed to over Rs 100 crore in the city. This shows that those who had not made purchases in 2020 have bought this year. Since the past few months, there has been a boom in all sectors of industries, and at last, our industry has also benefitted.” Speaking to OpIndia about the sentiment of people during the festive season, Manoj Agarwal, chairman of Federation Of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA), said that this year was much better than previous years. He said, “We are extremely happy with the business that we are getting this year. I cannot confirm the numbers at the moment, but I can assure the sector had not seen such spike in the business since 2016.” Echoing Agarwal’s statement, Rohan Shah, senior representative, Surat jewellery Manufacturers’ Association, said, “The business was more than we expected. Everyone was delighted to see that people were coming out to buy jewellery during festival season.” Businesses across the country boomed during Diwali Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), a body of 70 million traders across the country, reported Rs 1.25 trillion worth of business during Diwali. Reports suggest that it has been ten years since such trade figures were reported by CAIT during festival season. Such massive scale of shopping contributed to ending the economic slowdown that the industry was suffering from the past two years following the Pandemic.
Source: Opindia
Industrialists from Ludhiana performed an “aarti’ ceremony for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and Union minister of Steel Ramchandra Prasad Singh on Monday, as their ongoing protest against the Centre over rising prices of raw materials entered its seventh day. Industrialists performed an “aarti’ ceremony for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and Union minister of Steel Ramchandra Prasad Singh on Monday, as their ongoing protest against the Centre over rising prices of raw materials entered its seventh day. They have been protesting for an hour everyday outside the United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association (UCPMA) on Gill Road. The industrialists stated that they are in talks with different industrial organisations and the agitation will spread across the state in the coming time. Seeking the formation of a regulatory commission at the Union level to keep a check on the rising prices, especially of steel, representatives of different industrial associations including UCPMA, Knitwear and Textile Club, Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisation (FICO), Bahadurke Road Textile and Knitwear Association and Bicycle Research And Development Organisation (BRADO) have been participating in the protest. They have also declared that they will vote only for the party which will work to fulfil their demand. The industrialists rued that price of raw materials including steel, paint, nickel, fuel etc are being increased arbitrarily in the country, but the government is turning a blind eye towards the problem. Due to this, the industry is struggling to survive and forced to hike the prices of their end products. They stated that the prices of steel have almost doubled in the last two years. UCPMA propaganda secretary Rajinder Sarhali said that if their demand is not met, they will move the protest to Delhi in the coming time.
Karwal extends support to industrialists Congress in-charge of Atam Nagar constituency, Kamaljit Singh Karwal, extended his support to the industrialists and participated in the protest on Monday. Karwal stated that the Congress government has always stood by the industry and is continuously working for the betterment of the sector. He also demanded that the Union government take concrete steps to control inflation and prices of raw material.
Source: Hindustan Times
To support the shrinking Banarasi handloom weaving industry producing traditional fabrics prepared with pure natural fibres and zari, master embroiderer from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Asif Shaikh backed Craft Design Society Art Foundation has started a school of design and weaving. This school will impart free training to selected youths from weaver background to groom them as masterweaver-cumdesigner, who will be capable of handling all work from designing to manufacturing as per the demands of domestic and international fashion markets, said Shaikh while talking to TOI on the inauguration of the school here on Sunday. “Demand for authentic Banarasi handloom fabrics is very high across the globe. However, the handloom sector of Banarasi textile industry has reduced on 8,000-10,000 looms, which is not sufficient to fulfil such demand,” said Shaikh, who is known in fashion industry for reviving old embroidery, highlighting how the shift of weavers towards powerloom had hit the handloom art. In view of these ground realities, he went through the syllabus of all government and private institutions of textile and fashion technologies, he said adding, after finding that there was meagre focus on developing skills in artisans, he designed a course to carve masterweaver-cum designers. “Under CDA Art Foundation’s `working hand-in-hand’ project, we decided to launch a school in this regard with financial assistance of BC Jindal group. There was no better place than Varanasi to launch it”, said Shaikh, mentioning the school is beginning a threeyear full time course, with assurance of job placement, loom and also providing market for the products of passing out students, who should have studied up to minimum class X to join the course. An elderly Zari producer Shyam Sundar, who is also assisting this project and will make the students aware about the history of Banarasi weaving industry and the materials like pure silk, Zari and other used in it, said, “Apart from making students learning the glorious history and tradition of the Banarasi weaving industry, they will also be made aware about the requirements and demands of the industry by the local ‘Gaddidars’ (Banarasi textile traders). Shaikh said, the students will learn designing for both manual and computer works and also the art of colour combinations. “Internationally known textile experts and designers will also teach them in both online and offline modes. The students will be taught methods of marketing, packaging and online presence to make their reach in both domestic and international markets”, said Shaikh, adding these students will be skilled to work without compromising the original weaving and designs of Banarasi handloom art. The students will get free of cost stationary as well, said Shaikh adding, if the attendance of students will remain above 80% for three months they will be given honorarium in their bank accounts. Before the formal opening of this school, he said, 30 applications had been received from boys and girls from the families of weavers or artisans of auxiliary products of textile industry. He said that he would work with them till November end after which 15 of them would be selected to join the course. Shaikh said that this project is being initiated in Varanasi on experiment basis and if it will yield positive results similar schools will be started at all traditional weaving hubs of India.
Source: Times of India
Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board and High Commissioner for Bangladesh had linked up with companies trading with the country to clear impediments and boost trade. The online forum had drawn around 30 companies representing tea, cosmetics & personal care products, textiles, electrical & electronic products, woven fabric & rubber products including tyres and chemical products. Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena had said that his ministry is working with the Department of Commerce and other agencies on a Bangladesh – Sri Lanka Preferential Trade Agreement (BS-SL PTA) to promote bilateral trade. High Commissioner of Bangladesh Tareq Ariful Islam had spoken about the importance of trade development, investment and logistic services including shipping and air transport between the two countries considering the close proximity and location advantage. The total trade between the two countries in 2020 was 200 million dollars. In 2020 Sri Lanka had exported 153.44 million dollars worth of products to Bangladesh making it the 21st largest export destination for Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka had imported 47.89 million dollars’ worth of pharmaceutical and apparel products from Bangladesh. ER Key export products of Sri Lanka to Bangladesh are Electrical & Electronic Products, Woven Fabrics, Petroleum Oils, Petroleum Gases, Textile Articles, Products of Plastics, Nails, Screws, Bolts & Nuts of Metal and Paper & Paper Products. Sri Lanka exporters taking part in the meet had discussed the issues they face when exporting. High customs duties, visa issues and insufficient container ships and flights between the two countries are some of the issues the Sri Lankan exporters had discussed. Bangladeshi counterparts had explained the procedure to obtain visas to visit Bangladesh and they have said that the proposed Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Preferential Trade Agreement will give duty concession for exporters when exporting to Bangladesh.
Source: Economy Next
Indorama and Toray increases indicative of the overall market situation. The Hygiene Division of Indorama Ventures is increasing prices on all polypropylene, polyester, recycled polyester, polylactic acid (PLA) and bicomponent fibres from December 1, 2021, or as contracts allow. These fibres are used in a variety of different hygiene and technical applications worldwide and prices will increase up to 15%, depending on the specific fibre grade. “Due to unprecedented increases in energy, wages, domestic and international freight costs, as well as finishes, additives and all packaging materials, we find it necessary to take this pricing action,” said Shachar Rachim, CEO of the Hygiene Division. “These price increases will take place independent of any resin cost changes.” “We recognise that these increases are taking place during an unusually high period of commodity resin pricing, yet we must take this action in order to support the staffing of our operations and the continued delivery of our high-quality fibres,” added chief marketing officer Tom Zaiser. “We will monitor the dynamic, global inflationary issues making these increases necessary on a quarterly basis and adjust as possible should these pressures subside.” Similarly, Toray Industries, is announcing a price increase on nylon 6.6 yarns and derivative fabrics for automotive airbag applications by around 20% from December 1st . Significant shortages of the nylon 6.6 precursor adiponitrile since 2018 have caused price escalation for nylon 6.6 polymer, as the principal material in automotive airbag yarns and fabrics. The winter storm Uri, which hit North America in February 2021, caused significant global shortages again and hampered economic activity, leading to raw material prices soaring. In addition, the prices of secondary raw materials like silicone for coating airbag fabrics have rocketed due supply shortages. Rising fuel, electricity, and logistics costs are compounding challenges in the airbag business. Toray says it has has embarked on a project to bolster its total cost competitiveness by slashing expenses and streamlining fixed and variable spending. Higher costs of primary and secondary materials and transportation outstripped savings initiatives, however, and are forcing the company to raise its prices.
Source: Innovation in Textiles
The import of textiles and apparel by the United States increased by 26.99 per cent to $82.271 billion in the first nine months of 2021, compared to $64.784 billion in JanuarySeptember 2020. With 27.84 per cent share, China continues to be the largest supplier of textiles and clothing to the US, followed by Vietnam with 14.04 per cent share. Apparel constituted the bulk of textiles and garments imports made by the US during the initial nine months of this year, and were valued at $58.582 billion, while non-apparel imports accounted for the remaining $23.688 billion, according to the latest Major Shippers Report, released by the US department of commerce. Segment-wise, among the top ten apparel suppliers to the US, imports from Pakistan, Honduras and Nicaragua shot up by 62.62 per cent, 56.27 per cent and 45.73 per cent year-on-year respectively. On the other hand, imports from Indonesia registered only a single-digit increase of 7.45 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year. In the non-apparel category, among the top ten suppliers, imports from India, Italy and Turkey soared by 60.93 per cent, 56.33 per cent and 52.80 per cent, respectively. The sharp rise in numbers is due to the base effect, as imports were disrupted last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the total US textile and apparel imports of $82.271 billion during the period under review, cotton products were worth $35.703 billion, while man-made fibre products accounted for $42.662 billion, followed by $2.348 billion of wool products, and $1.556 billion of products from silk and vegetable fibres. In 2020, the US textile and apparel imports had decreased sharply, mainly on account of the COVID-19 pandemic induced disruption, to $89.602 billion compared to imports of $111.033 billion in 2019.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
China's e-commerce logistics sector witnessed moderate growth in October, according to an industry survey jointly conducted by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and e-commerce giant JD.com. The survey found that the index tracking e-commerce logistics activities rose to 111.5 points in October, up by 0.3 percentage points from September. The total demand for e-commerce logistics rose in October, with the sub-index tracking the total business volume coming in at 127.3 points, up by 0.6 points from the previous month. Demand for e-commerce in rural areas maintained its growth momentum, with the subindex tracking e-commerce logistics in these regions standing at 129.4 points, up by 0.7 points from March, according to an official news agency. The survey predicted that demand for e-commerce logistics would continue to increase in November, influenced by ‘Double 11’ (November 11 is Singles' Day) shopping spree.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Nike is committed to investing and expanding production in Vietnam, its chief sustainability officer Noel Kinder told Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a recent meeting on the sidelines of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. Kinder told Chinh more than 100 Nike factories in the country have resumed production following a COVID-induced hiatus. Kinder told the prime minister the current situation in Vietnam has improved a lot and the firm is planning to expand operations there, according to a news agency report. Vietnamese officials hit back at rumours recently that Nike had planned to move production out of Vietnam. “The complicated developments of COVID-19 in Vietnam have affected production of enterprises in the garment-textile and footwear sector, and Nike has moved a number of orders to other countries. But there was no such thing that Nike was moving production out of Vietnam,” Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, vice chairwoman and general secretary of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (LEFASO), said. According to Xuan, 88 out of Nike's 112 factories in Vietnam are located in the Southeast region, which produce many best-selling Nike-branded sneaker products.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
