INTERNATIONAL
Textile Raw Material Price 2016-02-22
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
961.78 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
VSF |
1967.98 |
USD/Ton |
1.18% |
2/22/2016 |
|
ASF |
1910.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
974.80 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2205.36 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4824.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
5706.37 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1144.80 |
USD/Ton |
0.34% |
2/22/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2021.58 |
USD/Ton |
-1.49% |
2/22/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
2094.33 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1041.42 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2481.03 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
10S OE Cotton Yarn |
1791.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
32S Cotton Carded Yarn |
2925.17 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
40S Cotton Combed Yarn |
3583.71 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2695.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1546.82 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2450.40 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2817.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2419.77 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1715.28 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2113.47 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.07 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.90 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
0.97 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.72 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.74 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/22/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15313 USD dtd. 22/02/2016)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Jat agitation in Haryana for ongoing quota reservation has hard hit Surat’s polyester fabric trade, the country's largest man-made fabric (MMF) hub as over 300 trucks, loaded with textile fabrics including saris and dress materials that had set journey towards Delhi, Haryana and Punjab on Friday, have been asked to return following widespread incidents of violence and arson on the Haryana-Delhi and Haryana-Amritsar highway. More than 500 transporter trucks are loaded from the city's textile markets and sent to various places in north India. Due to the Jat agitation that has spread out to Delhi, with agitators blocking the National Highway, Surat City-based transporters dealing in textile goods transport towards north India have stopped accepting supply orders from the textile traders. The onward routes from Haryana leading to Punjab from Rohtak are also disturbed due to the agitation.
President of Surat Textile Goods Transporters Association (STGTA), Yuvraj Deshle said that they can't take risk with the delivery of materials in Delhi and Haryana. They have stopped taking delivery orders from markets towards northern India. Manoj Agarwal, president of Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (Fostta) said that North India is an important market for the textile sector. At present, the market is passing through a tough phase and they were hoping that the marriage season will come to their rescue. But the Jat agitation will literally bleed their business. Devkishan Manghani, chairman of SGCCI's textile committee, said that most buyers in northern India have cancelled their orders. There are many places where shoot-at-sight orders have been issued, so they can't take any chances. Nihar Pandey, a textile trader at NTM market, said that they were supposed to deliver saris worth Rs 40 lakh to Haryana and Amritsar, but the orders have been cancelled by buyers following the violence. Northern India is the largest market for the MMF fabrics manufactured in Surat. Saris and dress material worth around Rs 45 crore are transported to Delhi, Punjab and Haryana on daily basis.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The government is likely to announce a new textile policy by April, aimed at helping the sector take advantage of the slowing competition from China through a series of reforms. Announcing this development, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, the minister of state for textiles (independent charge), said on Thursday, the new textile policy would be announced in the Budget session of Parliament. “The slowdown in the Chinese economy has rendered the cost of textile production in China high. So, Chinese textiles manufacturers have the lost competitive advantages of lower cost of production in the last few months. This has offered an opportunity for Indian players to grab the market share of China in the developed world, especially the European Union and the United States, which cumulatively comprise around 60 per cent of the global export market. This is the right time to increase our market share in exports,” said Gangwar.
With the low cost advantages, China has increased its market share in the global textiles trade to 35-40 per cent, while India inched up to five per cent from three per cent over the last decade or so. To begin with, there would be amendments to the labour law, under the new policy, allowing women to work at night. According to existing norms, women are allowed to work only in the day shifts. However, about 50 per cent of the workforce in the sector comprises rural women, and it is essential to allow them to work at night. “The textiles ministry has taken this issue to the highest level of the government to resolve the impediment and amend the existing labour law to accommodate the change,” said Rashmi Verma, secretary, Ministry of Textiles. The textile ministry also wrote to the finance ministry to lower interest rates to seven per cent on working capital. A sudden spurt in interest rates has resulted in many manufacturing units closing down, and others facing a huge squeeze in their profit margins. The textile sector employs 35 million people and aims to double the number by 2022. The government is focusing on training youths in different skills to meet this target.
Speaking on the occasion, B K Goenka, chairman, Welspun Group, said, “India’s textile industry is estimated at $110 billion, of which domestic markets contribute about $70 billion and the rest is from exports.” The government is also looking into special incentives for manufacturing units to be set up in the Northeast, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, where the cost of production would work out to be lower than in Maharashtra and Gujarat, where most of the factories are located. “Labour is very cheap in these states. So, the pressure of high cost of production would certainly ease to certain extent,” said Verma. The government is also working on free trade agreement with the European Union. “The government will also facilitate exports schemes to promote textiles exports,” said Verma.
Speaking on the occasion, Naishadh Parikh, Director, Arvind Ltd, urged the government to convert exports incentives into manufacturing incentives manufacturing and exports of textiles from India would be unviable after 2017 once World Trade Organisation (WTO) guidelines come into place. "India is a signatory of the WTO and therefore, has signed the agreement under which all exports incentives would be automatically withdrawn post 2017. Once exports incentives would be converted into manufacturing incentives, we would enjoy benefits without having violation of WTO guidelines," said Parikh. Textiles manufacturers in India currently enjoy various exports incentives schemes including MEIS and duty drawbacks.
Source: The Global textiles
First-generation entrepreneurs and industry stalwarts Sanjeev Khandelwal and Mihir Shah introduced xstok.com, a B2B online marketplace for selling surplus textile stock. Termed it as a badla business with the tagline “kya aap badle?” xstok.com lists extra stocks of various products in the textiles industry from large mills. The platform conducts online auctions of fabrics, readymade garments and made-ups. Since its launch nearly seven months ago, xstok.com has conducted over 300 auctions of extra stock of fabrics from renowned mills. According to Khandelwal, the platform was aimed at creating a democratic environment wherein the buyers have a much wider choice of goods without intermediaries from mills like Arvind, Grasim, Donear, Mafatlal, Bombay Dyeing, Trident, Welspun, Gokuldas Exports, Indo Count etc, at transparent prices. At the same time, a seller gets a systematic and quick way to sell inventory at market-determined prices. Since the transaction takes place online, there is total transparency to the whole deal and costs of middlemen are saved.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
Wage talks for the job working powerloom units in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts will be held at Codissia Trade Fair complex here on Monday. The job working units are on strike from January 28 demanding that wages agreed upon with textile manufacturers in 2014 be implemented. Owners of the striking units said that the manufacturers had reduced the wages during the last few months. According to industry sources, the talks were to be held at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the presence of the local administration minister and forest department minister. However, some of the job working powerloom unit owners and textile manufacturers had left the venue as talks had not started even in the evening and the Ministers came only by 8 p.m.
SOURCE: The Hindu
The Centre, through the National Jute Board, is setting up three skill development centres for the diversified sector at National Jute Manufactures Corporation mills – Howrah, Alaxendra and Kinnison – in West Bengal at a cost of Rs. 10 crore. The Union Minister of State for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar said this at a National Jute Board event here recently. NJB hopes to provide direct employment to over 10,000 people in the State through this effort. The centres will train in designing, development, production and marketing of diversified products.
Self-help groups
The Minister also said that the NJB has set up a common facility centre for processing, value adding and marketing of jute diversified products at Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district of West Bengal at a cost of Rs. 2 crore. This centre will be run through women self-help groups at block level formed under the National Rural Livelihood Mission. The self-help groups have begun training at Dhaniakhali centre from Friday. It is slated to provide employment to 1,000 women. NJB will provide working capital to the entrepreneurs.
Design centre
Earlier this month, training had begun at Deganga centre in North 24 Parganas district. NJB has also set up a jute design centre at the National Institute of Design, Gandhinagar. NID would provide market worthy designs to these centres, the Minister added. Though diversified products contribute just 5 per cent of the jute sector’s total turnover, NJB plans to expand it through these steps. According to the Minister, it is estimated that the jute industry provides direct employment to 40 lakh jute farming families and 3.7 lakh workers in the mills.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
With the Budget session set to start from February 23 and the Opposition not agreeing with the government on major issues, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) has suggested a slew of urgent reforms across sectors, which will not require legislative action. The proposed reforms are spread across exports, taxation, and crucial sectors such as small scale, labour and infrastructure. According to Ficci, most of these reforms can be addressed by executive action by the respective ministries. To boost India's lagging merchandise exports, which went down for the 14th consecutive month in January, Ficci has suggested simplifying the process by which exporters can claim incentive benefits. While the government has sought to incentivise exports through interest subvention and the merchandise exports from India scheme (MEIS), exporters have claimed several procedural and implementation difficulties to have made it unusuable. The suggested reforms include increasing the time period allowed to exporters to claim MEIS benefits as well as for manually submitting the shipping bill. Allowing exporters to self-certify the origin of various goods, which usually take a considerable time, has also been mentioned. In labour laws, Ficci has proposed a uniform period of five years across states after which factory licences are required to be renewed. Currently, the period ranges from one to five years. It has also recommended fixing a three-year time limit to decide pending cases by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction under the Sick Industrial Companies Act, 1985, which has pending cases stretching back to 15 years.
Under the Employees Provident Fund and Employees State Insurance Acts, it has suggested placing a cap on the time duration of records summoned by the inspector for inspection for up to three years before. It also urged the government to divest its stake holding in central public sector undertakings, especially mentioning Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India, where it said the Centre holds equity to the tune of Rs 52,000 crore or 0.4 per cent of the GDP. To secure urgent infrastructure growth, the setting up of a one-stop shop for handling projects coming up under the public-private partnership mode has been recommended. While the government had announced setting up of an institution called '3P India' in 2014, the body has still not been set up. Ficci has also called for introducing binding statutory timelines for adjudication of matters relating to indirect taxes. It said the uncertainty in such cases make doing business difficult especially for small and medium enterprises. Currently, the Customs Act states tax officials shall have to determine the amount of such duty within one year from the date of notice. "A provision be made each in the Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax laws that in case a show-cause notice is not adjudicated upon within a specified period from the date of issue, the proceedings shall lapse as if the show-cause notice was never issued," said Ficci. On cheap steel imports flooding the domestic market, it has argued for instituting anti-dumping norms and suggested import duty on all steel products should be raised to 25 per cent in the upcoming Budget. It has also called for the customs duty on all steel products be immediately raised to 15 per cent. Currently, the duty on import of long steel ranges from 10 to 12.5 per cent across categories. The suggestions have been submitted to the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
Going by the CSO data, it would appear India’s manufacturing sector is galloping at close to 13%; the numbers from the corporate sector, however, tell a different story altogether, in which most firms aren’t sprinting but crawling. In aggregate, the Ebitda — which is what the CSO (Central Statistics Organisation) seems to be tracking — for a universe of 1,400 companies (mining and manufacturing) has risen barely 5.3% y-o-y to R1,04,577 crore in Q3FY16. Of this, the profits of five oil marketing companies account for close to R10,500 crore; in Q3FY15, they reported a loss of R3,682 crore. Also, Reliance Industries accounts for another R11,000 crore, so together that’s roughly 20% or a fifth of the profits. In contrast, JSW Steel and SAIL reported a collective operating loss of R22,612 crore, while BHEL reported an operating loss of R1,639 crore. Indeed, much of corporate India is in trouble. At Jindal Steel and Power, for instance, Ebitda has dropped 63% y-o-y from R1,556 crore, at Vedanta it has fallen by 49% to R3,106 crore and at Larsen Toubro by 8% to R2,650 crore. Smaller firms too have fared poorly. At Tata Chemicals, for instance, Ebitda has come off by 16.5% y-o-y, while at Cipla the fall has been 18% y-o-y.
Even if aggregate Ebitda has increased, there is little to cheer because this is the result of enormous savings from the lower cost of inputs — raw material costs fell 19% y-o-y for the sample while the ratio of raw materials to sales fell by more than 600 basis points. Lower pet coke prices reduced power & fuel cost by 10% y-o-y for a clutch of cement companies helping them post higher operating profits. What has also boosted gross value addition is the rise in employee costs, which for the sample, has increased by 8% year-on-year. Consequently, the sum of the Ebitda and employee costs — or GVA — has risen 6.3%.
Ideally, it’s higher revenues that should be driving operating profits. But revenues have dropped 10.5% year-on-year in Q3FY16, for the same sample restricting the rise in Ebitda. While lower corporate revenues are largely the result of falling commodity prices, volumes for a host of manufacturers have barely grown. At cement maker ACC, they rose just 3% in CY2015 and at Tata Steel, they were lower. In the consumer staples space, they have grown in single digits for nearly three quarters now; Colgate’s volumes rose just 1%. The GVA data is consistent over the last four quarters quarters — 6.6%, 7.3%, 9% and 12.6%. But the trend in the corporate sector is uneven. In Q2FY16, the sum of the Ebitda and wages actually fell 11% after a rise of 9.9% in Q1FY16 while in Q4FY15 it had contracted 22% y-o-y. As economists at JP Morgan have pointed out, the 12.6% rise in manufacturing in Q3FY16, reported by the CSO, would imply that value-added growth from corporate filings needs to be tracking nearly 17% in real terms. But that is completely at odds with the results.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
India, concerned at being sidelined from the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), is stepping up efforts to reach agreement with an alternative trade bloc centred around China and hopes to reach a deal this year. New Delhi has long been seen by many countries as an intransigent player at the World Trade Organization (WTO), a multilateral forum that has struggled to find the consensus it needs to move forward. Now, after 12 advanced economies accounting for 40 percent of the global economy signed a TPP deal this month, India's trade negotiators feel they need to get a move on. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has backed an export-focused 'Make in India' drive as the path to prosperity for Asia's third-largest economy, where per capita output is $1,688 a year, one fifth that in China. With TPP out of reach - India was not invited to join - India's negotiators are focussing instead on a Chinese-led grouping called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that would improve its access to Asian markets. Trade representatives meet in Brunei from Feb. 15-19 to iron out differences on tariffs. A senior New Delhi official said that India was hopeful of striking a tariff-cutting deal this year, in the clearest indication yet that India wants to accelerate progress on a bloc first launched in 2012. Ganeshan Wignaraja of the Asian Development Bank said a breakthrough on RCEP would help mitigate the competitive disadvantage of India being absent from the TPP. "Concluding an RCEP agreement would mark a key milestone for the Modi government," he said. Experts caution that India has shown little appetite to open its market to imports, even as it seeks to ramp up exports, not least because of a gaping trade deficit with China. "India is worried about opening up to China," said Professor Bernard Hoekman, a trade expert at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies in Italy, adding he very much doubted an RCEP deal would happen this year.
With the TPP lacking votes in Congress and likely to be put on hold if a Republican is elected U.S. president, any sign China is seizing the initiative in the trade arena could raise concerns over Washington's declining clout in Asia. Beijing has already redrawn the financial map by launching the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, with backing from close U.S. allies like Britain. New Delhi fears the TPP, although years away from reality, could mean losing some textile and drugs exports to countries like Vietnam, which has embraced both the TPP and the RCEP. It could also raise barriers to entry on labour, environment and intellectual property when it comes to seeking access to other markets, officials said. "The TPP will certainly have an impact on India's exports," Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. "It is most likely to affect sectors like leather goods, plastics, chemicals, textiles and clothing."
Talks on creating the 16-member RCEP could be the last hope for some Indian companies to break into the global supply chain. The group comprises the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. If signed, the regional free trade agreement would create an economic bloc with a population of 3.4 billion and trade volume of over $17 trillion. "We can't waste time. TPP will basically change the landscape of global trade," said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the CII. Successful export industries, particularly garment and drug makers, have been urging Modi to speed up RCEP talks and wrap up trade deals with the European Union and Australia. But steel, tyre and chemical firms want him to go slow, saying they have been undercut by free trade pacts already done with ASEAN, South Korea, Thailand and Japan. Indian merchandise exports have fallen for 13 months in a row, depressed by weakening global demand and slumping commodity prices. To boost its stagnant 1.7 percent share of global exports, India needs to raise productivity and move up the value chain, economists say.
SOURCE: The Hans India
The Delhi High Court has agreed to examine a plea seeking immediate steps to check violation of Line of Control (LoC) trade policy between India and Pakistan. A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath asked the Centre to respond within four weeks on the plea which sought direction to ensure that items like almonds are not illegally imported in contravention to LoC policy. "Respond to the averments raised in petition within four weeks," the court said and listed the matter for April 4. The court order came on a plea by Association of Agro Importers and Indo Foreign Chamber of Commerce, which came in appeal against the single judge's October 2015 decision, by which their petition seeking directions to the authorities concerned to take requisite measures to implement policy of LoC trade was dismissed. It also urged to ensure that the items under the policy are not imported in contravention to LoC trade policy, besides direction to exclude import of almonds from the policy. "The said directions were sought in view of the rampant and undeterred misuse of LoC trade policy between India and Pakistan..." the plea claimed. It said the single judge had dismissed the association's petition while "ignoring the procedure and guidelines", which are of great concern for honest almond traders. The plea sought setting aside of the LoC trade policy to the extent that the same applies to almonds. It also sought order for complete ban on imports into India of almonds under the cross LoC trade policy.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 31.07 per barrel (bbl) on 19.02.2016. This was lower than the price of US$ 31.86 per bbl on previous publishing day of 18.02.2016.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs 2127.88 per bbl on 19.02.2016 as compared to Rs 2182.01 per bbl on 18.02.2016. Rupee closed stronger at Rs 68.49 per US$ on 19.02.2016 as against Rs 68.59 per US$ on 17.02.2016. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on February 19, 2016 (Previous trading day i.e. 18.02.2016) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.02.2016 (28 Jan to 11 Feb, 2016) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
31.07 (31.86) |
30.05 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
2127.88 (2182.01) |
2040.70 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
*68.49 (68.49) |
67.91 |
SOURCE: PIB
GPS sport watches, compression leggings and hydration packs are the new must-haves for wealthy Chinese, pumping up the multi-billion dollar sportswear industry at a time when China's elite are reining in spending on more traditional luxury brands. Extreme sports apparel and expensive active wear is in vogue thanks in part to government promotion of sport ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and the purchase of the Ironman brand by China's richest tycoon last year. The market is also forecast to grow with the government's decision to relax its one-child policy after 36 years, and companies like U.S.-listed Under Armour and Canada's Lululemon Athletica Inc are lining up to cash in. "It is huge - that wellness and healthy lifestyle opportunity in the whole of China," said Colin Grant, chief executive of the Hong Kong-headquartered Pure Group, an operator of gyms, yoga, retail and nutrition businesses across Asia. "Luxury has its challenges but active wear is a bright spot in the industry. Some people wear it to weddings in China."
China will host its first ever Ironman events this year after billionaire property developer Wang Jianlin bought World Triathlon Corp for $650 million. The deal is set to capitalise on a growing fitness craze which saw 134 marathon and road-running races held across the country last year, up 160 percent from 2014, according to the Chinese Athletic Association. As part of its promotion of sport and healthier living generally, the government says that by 2025, more than 900,000 stadiums and gyms will have been built across the country. For Under Armour and Lululemon Athletica, two of the Western brands already active in China, the country offers an opportunity to grow outside the mature markets of the United States and Europe. No. 2 U.S. sportswear maker Under Armour expects China sales to leap 25 percent a year until 2018, while Vancouver-based yogawear giant Lululemon says its first Hong Kong store is on track to make $8 million in sales this year. But they face a strong field of Chinese rivals such as ANTA, Xtep and 361 Degrees whose share prices soared between 34 percent and 56 percent last year. That compares with traditional luxury titans like Italy's Prada - a maker of fancy handbags - which sank 45 percent on the Hong Kong exchange last year as Beijing's clampdown on corruption and China's slowest economic growth in 25 years forced China's elite to change their spending habits. Some of the money once spent on French wine and Italian leather now appears to be flowing into high-end heart-rate monitors and running shoes.
China's sportswear market will surpass the luxury goods market by 2020, according to Euromonitor, with double-digit growth each year to 280.8 billion yuan ($43.10 billion) compared with luxury's single digit growth to 192.4 billion yuan in the same period. Europe's sportswear market, by comparison, would be worth $64 billion by 2020, it says. And China's market is only just starting to flex its muscles. The sports sector contributes 0.67 percent of China's total gross domestic product, compared with 2.2 percent in the European Union and 3.5 percent in the United States, according to Oriental Patron Research.
GETTING PHYSICAL
In Hong Kong, a typical GPS sports watch costs up to HK$2000 ($257) with top brands charging closer to HK$4000, while a pair of compression tights averages about HK$900. "I spend mostly on sports shoes and sports watches," said Gu Xiaojiang, 36, a keen marathon runner who works in the finance industry in Shanghai. "From an expenses point of view, not including transport fees ... I spend a few thousand yuan a year. But if I start biking, then I suspect I'll start spending a lot." Those who want to look sporty without actually working up a sweat are increasingly buying "athleisure", a mix of athletic and casual clothing that has grown popular even in formal settings like offices in the United States. As Chinese customers become more affluent they are becoming more demanding when purchasing, said Shakeel Nawaz, director at Escapade Sports which sells sportswear and nutrition products mainly to the Hong Kong market. "The mainland customers we get are very, very focused. They know exactly what they want in our stores. It hasn’t gotten to the watershed moment when it becomes a mainstream thing, but they are catching up," he said.
SOURCE: The Reuters
Many textile-garment enterprises said they have secured export orders until the end of the second quarter and some have tight production schedules until the end of this year. Many apparel firms on February 15 resumed operation after a nine-day Lunar New Year holiday (Tet), which ended on Sunday. Le Quang Hung, chairman of Saigon Garment Manufacturing Trading JSC (Garmex Saigon), told the Daily that there are plentiful export orders which will keep their factories busy until the end of the year and that the firm looks to raise revenue by 20% to VND1.8 trillion this year over last year. Garmex Saigon obtained VND1.53 trillion (US$68.3 million) revenue in 2015. Pham Xuan Hong, vice chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), said most of the companies have won export contracts for the first and second quarters and some even prepare goods for export until the year’s end.He told the Daily on February 15 that orders and export markets are quite stable in the first months of 2016. However, enterprises have just resumed operation and waited for workers to come back to work. Hong said Vietnam’s apparel export turnover reached US$27 billion last year and is projected to rise by over 10% to some US$30 billion in 2016.According to statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the manufacturing index of the textile industry went up 12% in January and the index for the apparel sector up 11.2% year-on-year.Nearly 30 million square meters of woven fabric made from natural fibers was turned out last month, up about 10% year-on-year, artificial and synthetic fiber products grew 6.5% to 63.3 million square meters, and clothes were up 9.2% with 305.8 million items.Overall, the textile-garment sector posted US$2 billion in export revenue in January, a rise of 5.8% against the same period of 2015.
However, Hung of Garmex Saigon warned that if companies, especially local ones, do not adjust their way of doing business, they will not benefit much from the country’s deeper international integration. Hung said last year’s textile-garment export turnover totaled US$27 billion with the apparel sector accounting for 80%. Though foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises make up 30% of textile firms in Vietnam, they generate 70% of the nation’s export revenue. He said 85% of domestic companies outsource apparel and earn 25% of prices of products. Experts said there should be supporting policies in terms of finance, technology, manpower, design and material to help businesses change their production and trading methods. When enjoying those supporting policies, businesses may shift their production from outsourcing to Free on Board (FOB), Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) and Original Brand Manufacturer (OBM). Almost all domestic firms said careful preparations are needed to boost exports to key markets including the United States and Japan, which are the two biggest importers of Vietnamese apparel and member states of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. Vietnam will get tariff exemptions for apparel exports to other Pacific Rim nations in the next few years. This is an advantage for the ASEAN country to enhance its competitiveness over other major apparel exporting countries like China and Bangladesh.
SOURCE: VietNamNet
Viet Nam must act quickly to improving production technologies in all industries to ensure the competitiveness of its goods and services in the international market, a seminar heard in HCM City on Friday. Speaking at the seminar on Viet Nam's opportunities and challenges when the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) comes into force held by the International Business and Law Academy, Prof Dr Don Nang, former head of the Ministry of Science and Technology's Department of Legal Affairs, said several studies have found that the TPP would create huge economic opportunities for Viet Nam, especially in trade and investment. But it would also face massive challenges since it is the least developed among TPP members, he said, adding that the "productivity, quality and competitiveness of Vietnamese goods and services are far behind that of other TPP member countries." Technological skills and competence of Vietnamese firms are also inferior to their counterparts in other countries, he said. "According to the ministry's statistics, the country has nearly 600,000 enterprises, with more than 90 per cent of them being small and medium-sized and most of them used outdated technologies." Little research is done in the country to innovate technologies and make modern machinery and equipment, he said.
Imports of these products have increased significantly but, according to a survey by UNDP, account for less than 10 per cent of the country's total imports compared to 30-40 per cent for other countries, he said. Besides, most of the imports are from China, he said, noting that "Chinese machinery and equipment are rather old and obsolete and cause low productivity and pollution during industrial production." He called on relevant agencies to act quickly to help businesses and sectors upgrade technologies to yield quality products and services and enable Vietnamese firms to take part in the global value chain. "Importation of outdated technologies must stop, and speeding up training and developing skilled human resources and technological workers is an imperative," he said. Truong Dinh Tuyen, a former trade minister, said the TPP would bring opportunities, but opportunities cannot by themselves turn into benefits or market strength. It would depend much on how Viet Nam takes advantage of the pact and copes with related problems, and only with appropriate efforts would the country be able to achieve its potential and overcome challenges, he said. State agencies and businesses must thoroughly understand the country's commitments to other TPP member countries to avoid lawsuits, he warned.
Garment and textile sector
Le Dong Trieu, general director of the Gia Dinh Textile and Garment Corporation, said the country earned US$27.5 billion from garment and textile exports last year, a year-on-year increase of 9.4 per cent. Exports to TPP member countries were worth more than $14.7 billion, he said. Once the TPP comes into force, import tariffs would fall to zero, opening up more opportunities for Vietnamese firms to export to these countries, he said. But there would be challenges in the form of stipulations related to origin, quality, chemical use and others under the TPP, he said. To enjoy the benefits, Viet Nam must quickly develop the garment and textile supporting industry, encouraging investors to invest in sectors that have remained weak, and develop a complete supply chain for the domestic garment and textile industry, he said. Companies should invest more in upgrading production technologies, designs and quality to achieve a firm foothold in the global market, he said
SOURCE: The Vietnam News
“If there’s one thing that we need to watch out when we join the Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP], that’s the yarn-forward clause,” said Benny Soetrisno. Speaking in a recent press conference, the Indonesian Textile Association’s (API) advisory board chairman said that while the US-led TPP would likely bring more benefits than harm to the local textile industry, the country had to boost the industry’s readiness at all stages of the manufacturing process. “There’s a provision in the TPP that will cut tariffs only for garment products made using materials sourced from the member countries,” he said. The US-led economic partnership, once implemented, is set to apply a “yarn-forward” rule of origin that requires textile and apparel products made using TPP members’ yarns and fabrics to qualify for zero-tariff in trades among the member countries.The clause will also certainly apply to Indonesia if it eventually joins the so-called 21st century economic partnership.The TPP currently has 12 signatory countries, namely Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the US. All the 12 signatories are now in the process of ratifying the TPP in their respective countries, expected to take about two years. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said last October during his state visit to the US that Indonesia intended to join the TPP and in his recent visit to the US-ASEAN Summit, he said that Indonesia was now calculating both the benefits and drawbacks of the partnership.
Indonesia’s textile industry is considered to be the sector that will gain most should the country join the TPP in the coming years. The Industry Ministry’s director for textiles, leather, footwear and various industries, Muhdori, said that the textile industry was ready for the partnership as it was already structured from its upstream to downstream. Meanwhile, the Industry Ministry’s data show that in 2014, Indonesia still imported a total of US$8.6 billion textiles in the form of fiber, yarn, fabric, garments, tapestry and other textile products, with a big chunk estimated to come from China, which is not a TPP member. Vietnam, which is one of the TPP signatories, has previously raised concerns about the yarn-forward rule of origin as it still imports some types of fabric from China. API chairman Ade Sudrajat argued that he was still upbeat that joining the TPP would benefit the country’s textile industry, but support from the government to develop the whole process of garment manufacturing was needed. In terms of workers, Ade said the government could, for example, help textile companies build workers’ dormitories next to production plants. “We want the government to subsidize housing for workers at garment factories so that we can recruit workers from other districts outside where the production plants are based,” he said.
While a number of business sectors have been reportedly making lay-offs to improve business efficiency, many garment manufacturers have experienced workforce shortages to support expansion. Garment manufacturers in Surakarta, Boyolali and Wonogiri, are now still looking for more workers although they have already recruited around 1,000 new workers. Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Franky Sibarani said previously that his office would request companies to report any layoff plans so that it could channel affected workers to other business sectors that needed more workers. The API has estimated that textile exports will surge significantly, particularly if the country joins the TPP. Indonesia’s textile exports increased from $8.6 billion in 2005 to $12.7 billion in 2014, well behind the performance of Vietnam, which booked $26.2 billion from textile exports in 2014 from only $5.3 billion in 2011. Ade said that his association estimated that the TPP could more than double Indonesia’s textile exports in a decade as the US is one of its major markets.
SOURCE: The Jakarta Post
Pakistan’s textile producers will continue to benefit from European Union (EU) preferential tariffs, following the EU’s decision not to suspend Pakistan’s “generalised scheme of preferences plus” (GSP+), status despite concerns about its human rights record. The scheme has been beneficial to Pakistan’s textile industry – textiles and clothing account for around 75% of Pakistan’s exports to the EU. The GSP+ benefits allow 80% of Pakistani textile and clothing imports to enter the EU at preferential tariffs. Items include table and bed linen, as well as many fabric lines and clothing products. There were concerns that the country could lose its EU trading privileges after the EU ambassador to Pakistan, Jean-Fran?ois Cautain, was quoted last year as saying such a move could not be ruled out. Countries enjoying GSP+ status must comply with 27 international conventions, covering human and labour rights, environmental protection and good governance. The decision to maintain the status, at least for the time being, was announced on Tuesday (16 February) as the European Parliament’s committee on international trade heard details of a report assessing Pakistan and other GSP+ countries’ progress regarding trading relations and human rights. Pakistan gained GSP+ status in January 2014.
Speaking at the meeting, EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said of Pakistan or any other GSP+ nation: “There is no recommendation to end GSP plus. We insist on progress, but recognise things will not change overnight.” Malmstrom, however, spoke of the “great importance” of human rights issues in trade and how GSP+ “links trade to good governance by allowing access to the world’s biggest market while promoting the 27 international conventions on human rights, covering matters including child labour, the death penalty, women’s rights, the rights of people with disabilities, discrimination and freedom of expression. She says the report was an important tool in monitoring progress towards improving human rights in Pakistan and other beneficiary countries. But the status quo was not supported by all MEPs. In a sometimes tense and emotional session, the trade committee heard from critics of Pakistan as well as supporters of continued trade and dialogue – and from Ashtar Ausaf Ali, as special assistant on law and justice issues to Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Of particular concern to the committee was the country’s status of women’s rights, especially given the importance of women to the country’s textile and clothing industries. Pakistan also came under fire from western politicians for re-introducing the death penalty.
Meanwhile, Malmstrom acknowledged that not every region of Pakistan had made as much progress on child labour rights as the Punjab province, where laws improving factory inspections are going through due process. Italian MEP Alessia Mosca quizzed the commissioner about women’s rights in Pakistan. She said: “The textile sector attracts a lot of female workers. Very little action has been taken to protect their rights as they have entered this industry.” From Spain, MEP Santiago Fisas Ayxelà pointed to statistics – “scary figures” – showing that Pakistan had executed more than 300 people since the re-introduction of the death penalty and that there are more than 5,000 people on “death row”. But it was Ali who answered such concerns by pointing out that Pakistan was in “a state of war” as the world’s biggest victim of terror. He said the terrorist insurgences in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan had cost the country US$105bn, brought three million refugees to the nation and that there had been 60,000 civilian deaths, including children. Despite the backdrop, Pakistan had produced a “national action plan” on human rights to facilitate progress in areas such as discrimination, women’s rights, education on human rights among the wider population and labour rights. Ali said: “Progress may be slow, but we are getting there.” For GSP+ to be withdrawn, says a European Parliament spokesman, there would first have to be a Commission proposal to this end. “According to the EU GSP Regulation, if Pakistan had to be taken out of the list, it would first need to be a Commission-delegated act," he said. "The Parliament would be given a certain time to object, if it doesn’t share the opinion.”
SOURCE: The CCF Group
The textile and ready-made clothing sectors are set to make up for their losses, which they experienced since bilateral political relations were strained with Russia, by opening up to Iranian and African markets. With the signals of financial weakening in Russia, as importers did not purchase enough goods in the beginning of the new season, Turkish textile exporters have planned roadshows in Iran, Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria in March. Laleli Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (LASİAD) President Giyasettin Eyüpkoca said economic recession is being experienced not only in Russia but also in other countries such as Italy, France and the United Kingdom. He stressed that roadshows bring more advantages than fairs to the ready-made clothing sector. Eyüpkoca added that Pure London and Magic Show fashion events, which were recently held in the U.K. and the United States, respectively, were not efficient enough. "The year 2016 will be challenging for the textile and ready-made clothing sectors. However, we see the potential in Africa," he said. Dosso Dossi Holding Chairman Hikmet Eraslan said the sector has failed to increase its turnover despite reducing prices by 30 percent in the Laleli and Osmanbey shopping areas, which are popular shopping spots for Russian tourists in Istanbul. He underscored how essential it is to find alternative markets.
Referring to the fact that the Russians' purchasing power has significantly declined due to the economic recession, Eyüpkoca said the spending balance in the country has reflected on the Laleli market as well. He said the season did not see a good opening, as the Russians' capital has melted away because of the economic crisis. Eyüpkoca also stressed that the Russians have come very choosy, which makes things difficult for the companies that only have business relations with Russia. The textile and ready-made clothing sectors have difficulty exporting goods to Russia. Osmanbey Textile Businessmen's Association (OTİAD) President İlker Karataş said many companies operating in Osmanbey tried producing goods in Serbia and Georgia from where they could then be exported to Russia. He said that a top-level delegation from Serbia recently visited OTİAD to invite Turkish textile companies to produce goods in the country. "Serbia has seriously focused on the job. It offers quite convenient investment opportunities for Turkish companies," he added.
In Nov. 24, Turkey downed a Russian SU-24 military jet that violated its airspace. In a furious reaction, the Russian government banned Turkish trucks from entering the country, making life difficult for Turkish businesspeople living and working in Russia. As a result, Turkish exporters had to find alternative routes to reach countries like Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and began to seek alternative trade partners. In December, estimated losses stand at around 80 percent in Laleli; however, a small part of these losses were incurred after the Russian warplane went down. Eyüpkoca, said in order to better understand the effects Russian tensions have on Turkey's textile industry, the past two years of the two countries' bilateral trade history should be examined.
Previously, the Russian economy was in trouble because of commodity prices and European sanctions. Oil prices hit a 11-year-low last week following a downward trend in the last one-and-a-half years. The energy-dependent Russian economy has lost around $100 billion, according to the Kremlin's finance ministry. Furthermore, European sanctions against Russia, implemented in response to the Ukrainian crisis, passed the six-month mark last week. The falling value of the Russian ruble also decreased the purchasing power of Russian consumers. Eyüpkoca claimed that textile and leather producers in Laleli were faced with a 60 percent decrease in Russian trades. He also said that 20 percent of the aforementioned 80 percent loss was due to Russian sanctions along with seasonal weather factors.
SOURCE: The Daily Sabah
Pakistan's Ambassador-designate to Russian Federation (RF) Qazi M Khalilulllah while exchanging views with the business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), said that Russia was a huge market for Pakistani products and urged the Pakistani businessmen to step up efforts to explore the Russian market for promoting trade and exports. Russia is among top 10 economies of the world with annual imports of over $175 billion, but Pakistan's share of trade with Russia was 0.06 percent of its total trade, which was quite negligible. He said that Pakistani textiles, leather goods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, plastic and many other products could find good market in Russia. He suggested that Pakistani businessmen should consider setting up a certification agency to improve the quality and standards of their products at par with international requirements, which would help them in boosting exports. He further said that Russia was a major importer of food products that accounted for 13 percent of its total imports and Pakistan has good opportunity to promote export of its food products to Russia by improving their quality and ensuring compliance of sanitary and phyto sanitary standards.
An annual international food exhibition named 'World Food Moscow' would be held in September 2016 and Pakistani food exporters should participate and explore export potential for Pakistani fruits & vegetables, fish & seafood, meat & poultry and other products. ICCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh on the occasion said that Russian technology and machinery could also help in modernizing Pakistan's industry and the embassy should play its role to strengthen and share trade-related information with chambers of commerce in Pakistan so that businessmen could take measures to avail potential opportunities for improving trade and exports with Russia. He want the government cooperation in establishing warehouses in Russia to display Pakistani products, which would help in promoting exports with Russia.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The Government of Japan provides additional assistance to budding Sea Island Cotton industry, Belize. Cotton crop yields are much higher than any other agricultural product in Belize, including sugar cane, but cotton farming requires different kinds of equipment. The Japanese, who are knowledgeable in the harvesting and processing of cotton, has offered this kind of support, as well as the equipment to produce cotton. A year ago, Japan also assisted the industry, which was originally started in 1980 by a US company. The Japanese since 2000, has been managing the industry, through a cooperative called ICA. On Tuesday, Japan handed over two tractors worth $205,000 to ICA Belize, a local cotton growing company owned by Japanese-belizean businessman Kensuke Inoue, under the aegis of the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security projects of Japan.
Benefiting cotton farmers with the potential to strengthen the relationship between both countries, the Embassy of Japan, wished the project success and said that Belize produces some of the best cotton in the world. The gifts complement an ongoing project, which Japan revived to benefit both countries. Japan’s demand for cotton far surpasses the world’s supply and Belize can earn much-needed cash by exporting the product. Belize’s weather conditions and soil quality bodes well for Belize’s ability to produce top quality cotton. In a productive year, the country can produce 30,000 pounds of dried cotton, which represents $160,000 in earnings from Japan and Europe.There are six local farmers in Buena Vista, Little Belize, Shipyard and Bomba who are involved in the project. Cotton harvesting is tedious and laborious, it must be done by hand so as not to damage the fibers. The development of the industry provides for job creation, with between 150-200 cotton pickers per cotton field.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
