INTERNATIONAL
Textile Raw Material Price 2016-03-15
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1095.13 |
USD/Ton |
-0.70% |
3/15/2016 |
|
VSF |
2088.74 |
USD/Ton |
0.22% |
3/15/2016 |
|
ASF |
1918.78 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
1096.67 |
USD/Ton |
-0.97% |
3/15/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2253.32 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4537.40 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1284.31 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2045.67 |
USD/Ton |
0.38% |
3/15/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2103.35 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
1181.26 |
USD/Ton |
-0.26% |
3/15/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2499.41 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
5732.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
10S OE Cotton Yarn |
1799.58 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
32S Cotton Carded Yarn |
2922.39 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
40S Cotton Combed Yarn |
3583.77 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2768.58 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1753.43 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2460.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2922.39 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2460.96 |
USD/Ton |
0.63% |
3/15/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1861.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2122.58 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.08 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.90 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
0.98 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.72 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.74 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/15/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15381 USD dtd15/03/2016)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Bulge-bracket private equity funds TPG Capital Management and KKR & Co LP are competing with domestic textile companies Vardhman Group, Trident and a brand new special situations joint venture between Ajay Piramal Group and Brescon to take control of debt-ridden Alok Industries, one of India's largest exporters of home textiles. A joint forum of 25 banks led by State Bank of India that together have an exposure of around Rs 13,000 crore in the company, decided in January to convert loans extended to Alok Industries into a 65% equity stake by invoking the strategic debt restructuring (SDR) option. SBI Capital Markets has since been mandated to run a formal auction process to sell the core businesses as a whole or in parts, multiple sources told ET. The banks had called an extraordinary general meeting of the company on Monday to decide on their strategy. The potential suitors are believed to be more keen on individual assets than taking control of the listed Alok Industries. Some have expressed their discomfort about governance quality, given that the company's statutory auditor Delloitte Haskins & Sells LLP quit last November within five months of coming on board. Some bankers have been contemplating an alternative plan to split the business into cotton and non-cotton units and sell the latter KKR, TPG and Piramal Group declined to comment.Bankers have been approaching us with various proposals including Alok," said Vardhman Textiles joint MD Sachit Jain. "Vardhman is open to acquisitions of stressed assets provided a good proposal comes from lenders or promoters. We have the balance sheet strength. But on our own, we will not make a bid. Any decisions will be taken after proper due diligence. We are aware of the Alok situation and bankers have approached us. So far we have not made a formal bid for many large assets including Alok Industries." There was no response to emails sent on Monday to Alok and Trident. Rajinder Gupta, chairman of Trident Group, did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment. An email sent to him was unanswered.
Begun in 1986, Alok is a diversified textiles player with large operations in weaving, knitting, processing, home textiles and garments. It reported a net loss of Rs 1,638.29 crore in the December quarter against a yearearlier net profit of Rs 25.8 crore. Total income fell to Rs 3,310 crore from Rs 3,623 crore. In the past year, the stock has tumbled 50.37% to Rs 4.05 for a market value of Rs 557.81crore. The company's ambitious globalisation plans through high-cost acquisitions and unrelated diversification into real estate led to its current woes. It ventured into retailing and building brands locally and overseas with the launch of H&A outlets to sell home textiles and readymade garments. However, accumulated debt and intense competition in the domestic market forced it to exit the retail venture and focus on exports. The move into real estate was a killer blow, according to Alok's bankers. The company invested heavily in properties in Mumbai's Lower Parel and Silvassa, the capital of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, instead of the core business and was subsequently forced to sell these at a loss during the market downturn.
Leveraged garment, retail and textile companies have been on the PE radar in India and overseas. In 2006, Wilbur Ross acquired OCM India. TPG bought debt-stricken Vishal Retail in a complicated transaction in 2011. In recent times, both KKR and TPG have been active in similar "special situations" to turn around select manufacturing and service sectors. Riding piggyback on existing inhouse financial and operations capabilities, Ajay Piramal entered the space recently by joining hands with Nirmal Gangwal, founder of turnaround company Brescon Corporate Advisors, to float the $1 billion Piramal Resurgent India Fund to invest in stressed assets and loans. "Ajay started out helping his father in the family's textiles business that was in trouble for years," said a person with knowledge of this. "So he knows the space inside out. It's been avery old association." Munesh Khanna, who heads PwC's business restructuring and corporate finance unit in India, expects more acquisitions of distressed assets. "We do expect a lot more transactions to happen as both promoters and banks would be forced to take decisions," he said. "At the appropriate value, there will be buyers for good assets and decent businesses." For both Vardhman and Trident, the interest is more strategic, said some of the people cited above. Flagship Vardhman Textiles (VTL) is the largest listed, integrated textile manufacturing company in the country with a strong position in the manufacturing of fibre, yarn, sewing thread and fabrics. The company, which ventured into garment manufacturing in 2011 in partnership with Nisshinbo of Japan, is also a major exporter of cotton yarn. Trident, led by first-generation entrepreneur Gupta, is a diversified group with businesses spanning home textiles, yarn, chemicals, paper and energy. The company says it's the world's largest manufacturer of terry towels and among the top 10 yarn manufacturers in India.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Coimbatore, which is one of the major textile centres in the country, is also home to three centres of excellence, set up by the Ministry of Textiles. With several medium and large-scale industries here looking at technical textiles for diverse applications, these centres will promote innovative applications for textiles, especially using non-woven materials. The CoEs for industrial textiles and home textiles at the PSG Institute of Technology and Applied Research campus and the one for medical textiles at the South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) will soon have incubation facilities (plug-and-play model). According to data available, the market size for industrial textiles in the country is Rs. 9,929 crore, for medical textiles it is Rs. 4,282 crore and for home textiles, it is Rs. 9,274 crore. The market is growing at the rate of six per cent to 14 per cent annually, depending on the product. In 2012-2013, import of industrial textiles was 22 per cent of the total technical textiles imported (Rs. 6,525 crore), medical textiles were 15 per cent and home textiles were seven per cent. Export of technical textiles was to the tune of Rs. 7,117 crore and of this 15.1 per cent was industrial textiles, 9.9 per cent was medical textiles, and 10.9 per cent was home textiles. The 60,000 sq.ft centre of excellence for industrial textiles was set up at a total cost of nearly Rs. 40 crore. Of this, the land and building was by the PSG Institute and the Ministry had sanctioned Rs. 25 crore. The focused incubation centre will come up at a cost of Rs. 2.85 crore and it will look at filtration products, coir and acoustic materials.
According to G. Thilagavathi, head of the department of Textile Technology at PSG College of Technology, the centre promotes research, encourages industry to use the machinery installed, takes up testing, imparts training, and also manufactures products for commercial use. It has set up full production lines to make wet wipes for diverse uses and needle punching coir products and is working on various raw materials to produce non-woven mats that can be used as filter in different industries. “Some of the testing equipment are not available elsewhere and the industry can use it. Similarly, industries can join hands with the centre to take up research of products for specific applications. The centre can be used by any industry,” she says. The centre has signed agreements with some industries to take up product-specific research. With more focus on research and better awareness on the facilities available at the centre, development and manufacture of products for industrial purpose can grow and these will be cost-effective too, she says.
SOURCE: The Hindu
India’s merchandise exports fell for the 15th straight month by 5.7 per cent to $20.7 billion in February this year, against $22 billion in February 2015, according to data released by the commerce ministry on Tuesday. Compared to this, during the 2008-09 global financial meltdown, the decline was for nine months on the trot. The rate of decline in February, however, decelerated from 13.60 per cent in January and was, in fact, the second lowest since the outbound shipments started contracting since December 2014. It was in the last month of 2014 that exports had declined 3.77 per cent. However, experts cautioned that the small fall in February was no indication of any revival in exports as global conditions were sluggish and commodity prices depressed. They don’t see revival happening before the last quarter of 2016. The country exported goods worth $238 billion during the first 11 months of FY16, 16.7 per cent lower than $286 billion during the corresponding period of the previous year. The government had earlier set a $300 billion export target for 2015-16, but Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia recently said such a target needed to be revised downwards to $260 billion. As much as $22 billion worth of goods need to be exported in March to meet even the truncated target. If this target is met, it would be almost $50 billion lower than the previous year’s realisation and contraction for the second year in a row.
Exports fall for 15th straight month, down 5.7% in Feb Besides a global slowdown, the severe fall is attributed to a decline in global commodity prices. China also posted the steepest fall of around 25 per cent in merchandise exports in February since May 2009. Imports, too, declined five per cent to $27.3 billion in February, compared to the year-ago period, when it was $28.7 billion. The oil import bill dropped 29 per cent in February to $4.76 billion, following global cues of plunging crude oil prices. Compared to this, $6.10 billion was the comparative cost a year-ago. As such, non-oil imports in February this year were estimated at $22.5 billion, which was 0.47 per cent lower than non-oil imports of $22.6 billion in February last year.
Gold imports declined 29.5 per cent to $1.4 billion, down from $1.9 billion a year-ago. As such, non-oil, non-gold imports, taken as a proxy for indicator of industrial demand in an economy, rose 1.9 per cent to $21.1 billion in February this year from $20.7 billion a year-ago. This might mean a small industrial recovery in February after three months of continuous decline in the index of industrial production. Non-oil, non-gold imports went down 7.43 per cent in January, much more than the two per cent registered in December. Trade deficit narrowed to $6.6 billion in February this year, compared to $7.6 billion in January. The cumulative imports till February FY16 stood at $351 billion, a 14.7 per cent drop from $412 billion a year-ago, which was the cumulative figure for the same period last year. As a result, trade deficit narrowed to $113 billion for the first 11 months of FY16, compared to $126 billion in the year-ago period. This will augur well for the current account deficit.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
After a prolonged wait, India and Iran are set to ink the final agreement on the development of Iran’s Chabahar port. The agreement, which relates to the phase I development of the port, will be signed during the Maritime India Summit 2016 slated for April 14-16 in Mumbai. Iran’s Port and Maritime Authority has awarded a 10-year port development project to Iranian firm Arya Bandar, which will in turn sign an agreement with Indian Ports Global Pvt Ltd (IPGPL). IPGPL, a joint venture of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Kandla port, will install the equipment to develop two berths, and operate them for a 10-year period before handing the equipment back to Iran, sources told BusinessLine . IPGPL will operate the two berths — one for containers and the other for a multipurpose cargo facility — through an SPV, which will have an Iranian partner. All cargo except petroleum products will be handled in these terminals.
Iranian partner
The Iranian partner will be selected by a Committee of Secretaries from the Indian Ministries of External Affairs, Finance and Shipping, and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. The Centre is presently discussing the draft agreement with all the line ministries. Though India is making a strategic investment, the port will be commercially operated under Iranian rules, sources said. The External Affairs Ministry will provide $85 million to IPGPL to acquire the modernisation equipment and another $5 million as bank guarantee for the project. EXIM Bank has also extended a $150-million line of credit to the Iranian Port Authority for the project. The draft agreement was discussed with Iranian authorities during the India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting held here in December, followed by two more meetings between the Iranian authorities and the Ministries of External Affairs and Shipping.
Second phase
India is also eyeing participation in the second phase of the project, which includes the development of a 500-km rail link between Chabahar and Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province. This will directly link the port to Central Asia. Apparently, India is keen on private sector participation in the second phase, and is anticipating a surge of Chinese investments with the lifting of trade sanctions. However, officials also noted that the plan is at a nascent stage and much depends on the price of gas that India is eyeing from Iran. Talks on this, and also on developing the second phase of Chabahar port, are expected to gain momentum during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed visit to Iran later this year.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
Plans to liberalise trade between India and China, the world’s two fastest-growing large economies, have gathered momentum with both sides exchanging offers on removal of a chunk of tariff lines on goods imports. Against India’s offer to remove 42.5% of tariff lines under the 16-country Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), China has expressed its willingness to abolish equivalent amount of tariff lines for India. Although analysts said given Beijing’s huge trade surplus (around $50 billion) with India, its offer is hardly attractive (China should have offered to eliminate a much higher number of tariff lines), what’s happened was still seen by some as a forward movement. Removal of tariff lines would mean that the import taxes on the items would be reduced to zero over a specified period of time. India could press for a greater commitment from China in goods, apart from stepping up its demand for a liberalisation of the services sector in Perth in Australia where the 12th round of RCEP negotiations are scheduled to take place from April 22, a source said. Although a final call on the products India would like China to scrap the import duties, trade experts say India may seek duty relief for its textile exports, among others. Cotton fibre and yarn, copper and some organic chemicals are the major items that India has exported to China this fiscal, while its imports from China include electronic items, mechanical appliances, organic chemicals, fertiliser and iron and steel. Earlier, India used to export huge quantities of iron ore to China before curbs were placed on their mining.
India’s merchandise exports to China stood at a mere $11.9 billion in 2014-15, while China’s exports to India were to the tune of $60.4 billion. Even if the likely damaging impact of cheaper imports from China on domestic industry such as steel is discounted, the potential customs revenue loss for the country as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP) will be much higher than China’s, also because of the fact that China’s GDP is more than four times of India’s. Interestingly, China is seeking a greater commitment in terms of tariff removals for its goods from some other countries in the grouping, confirmed a foreign diplomat who is privy to such talks. China argues that the economies of such nations (for instance, Japan) are in more advanced stages of development than that of the communist nation itself, so they should commit more, he added. India may be tempted to use the same argument to seek more concessions from China than what it is willing to offer at the moment.
Successful RCEP negotiations would essentially pave the way for a virtual free trade agreement (FTA) between India and China, as India already has FTAs with other members in the grouping. RCEP comprises 10 Asean nations and six others with which these countries have already forged FTAs. According to an initial assessment made in 2013, RCEP nations included more than 3 billion people, have a combined GDP of about $17 trillion, and makes up for roughly 40% of the global trade. Already, there are serious differences among negotiating members in services talks, which India has been pushing for. On top of that, even negotiations on goods are proving to be difficult at a time when pressure mounts on the grouping to clinch a deal following the Trans-Partnership Partnership between the US and 11 others. The differences could mar prospects of an early conclusion of the negotiations, sources had said earlier.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
India has emerged as the second biggest investor in London after the US with country's tech firms investing in the British capital at an unprecedented rate, according to latest official figures. Since 2005 there has been a 117 per cent increase in Indian companies across all business sectors investing in London, with a 133 per cent increase in tech companies investing in the city, which accounts for 46 per cent of all projects, according to the latest data released by London & Partners, the official promotional company for London. The figures showed that Indian companies are the second biggest investor in London, ahead of China and Japan, but behind the US. Major tech investments in London from India in recent years include software testing service Cigniti Technologies, customer support company Kayako and many others. The worldwide expansion of Indian technology companies is also reflected in new figures released today that show venture capital raised by Indian technology firms has risen to record levels. In the last five years, investment in Indian tech companies has rocketed seven times from $454 million (Rs 3049 crore) in 2011 to USD 3.3 billion (Rs 22,165 crore) last year, according to analyst CB insights. Leading NRI entrepreneur and Cobra beer founder Lord Bilimoria, who presented awards to 20 Indian companies at the IE20 (Indian Emerging 20) event here last night said, "London and the wider United Kingdom offered the best opportunities for businesses to internationalise." He said, "India has some of the brightest talents in the world. First they should think global and they have to be the best."
Noting that India is a huge growing market, he said, "Once the GST (Goods and Services Tax) comes into force, it will help Indian companies a great deal." The Mayor of London Boris Johnson MP said: "India is the fastest growing major economy in the world and Indian companies are now the second biggest foreign investor in London." The winners of the IE20 programme -- designed to identify Indian companies destined for global growth -- come from a broad range of categories including life sciences, artificial intelligence, IT services, cyber security, sports tech, travel tech, adtech, e-commerce and analytics. Gordon Innes, CEO London & Partners, said, "Following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit, we wanted to bolster our already strong ties with India. India is such an exciting economy with so many emerging, global companies. And London is the world's preeminent global city, home to 40 per cent of the top 250 companies from the Fortune Global 500." "That's why we developed the India Emerging 20 programme: to support Indian businesses looking to scale up and internationalise. Particularly, technology businesses, because of London's recent emergence as one of the world's largest tech clusters," Innes said. L&P is a not-for-profit public private partnership set up by the Mayor of London in April 2011 to unlock London to overseas investment
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$ 35.42 per barrel (bbl) on 15.03.2016. This was lower than the price of US$ 36.47 per bbl on previous publishing day of 14.03.2016.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs 2381.35 per bbl on 15.03.2016 as compared to Rs 2444.07 per bbl on 14.03.2016. Rupee closed weaker at Rs 67.23 per US$ on 15.03.2016 as against Rs 67.02 per US$ on 14.03.2016. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on March 15, 2016 (Previous trading day i.e. 14.03.2016) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.03.2016 (26 Feb to 11 Mar, 2016) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
35.42 (36.47) |
34.82 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
2381.35 (2444.07) |
2356.62 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
67.23 (67.02) |
67.68 |
SOURCE: PIB
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is partnering with global apparel and footwear major VF Corporation and consumer products retailer Target Corporation to improve resource efficiency at their supplier factories in Vietnam. Under the first phase of this programme, energy and water efficiency assessments will be conducted at about 30 factories over the next 12 months to help them reduce operating costs and improve productivity while contributing to the country's green growth and climate change targets, IFC said in a press release. The textile, apparel and footwear sector is a significant contributor to Vietnam's economy. In 2015, the sector's exports reached $39.2 billion and generated approximately three million jobs, most of which are for women. While this sector is energy and water intensive, there are opportunities for reducing resource consumption by 20 per cent or higher by using latest technology and good operating practices. “With Vietnam's increasing participation in trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the EU Free Trade Agreement, the local textile sector is poised for faster growth, creating increased demand for sustainable energy and water use practices,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR. “Vietnam's textile enterprises stand to benefit from this IFC programme by further access to global markets while implementing resource efficiency best practices.”
Factory assessments at VF and Target supplier factories across the textile value chain, including cut-and-sew, dyeing-and-printing and garment-washing operations, will identify and develop cost-effective measures to improve energy and water efficiency while helping suppliers improve productivity and competitiveness. In addition to providing advice for technical solutions, IFC will help facilitate financing through its partner banks in Vietnam, drawing on its substantial experience in other top textile export countries such as Bangladesh and China. “The cooperation with IFC in Vietnam strongly complements Target's global responsible sourcing strategy and our corporate sustainability goals for making supplier factories more resource efficient and environmentally friendly,” said Ivanka Mamic, Director for Responsible Sourcing at Target Sourcing Services, the subsidiary of Target Corporation leading sustainability efforts for the corporation. “VF has a long history of manufacturing excellence centered on respect for the people and the environment, and we continuously explore opportunities to further scale these commitments across our global supplier base for greater impact,” said Brad van Voorhees, Senior Manager for Supply Chain Sustainability at VF Asia, a subsidiary of VF Corporation. “The collaboration with IFC and Target is a natural extension of our work and enables the collective exchange of knowledge and best practices to green the textile supply chain.” This manufacturing sustainability initiative will promote resource efficiency by systematically assessing performance improvement opportunities, conducting benchmarking studies, sharing technology best practices, and raising sector-level awareness for broader uptake.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
There is a huge scope for Pakistani products such as textile, cotton, cosmetics, etc in Mauritius, the island nation's High Commissioner to Pakistan Yusuf Elahee on Monday has said. During a meeting with Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) President Mian Humayun Parvez, the High Commissioner said Mauritius wants to enhance trade relations with Pakistan with a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and would cooperate with RCCI to hold 'Made in Pakistan Expo' in Mauritius to strengthen bilateral trade relations. He said that business community of both sides must interact with each other to boost trade volume between two countries. According to him, since Mauritius is a gateway to Africa, it therefore offers huge opportunities to Pakistani businessmen desirous of winning those markets. He said that Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). "We would like to share the knowledge and expertise with Pakistani business community," he added. Elahee pointed out that a preferential trade agreement (PTA) was signed in 2007 between Pakistan and Mauritius but no efforts were made to enhance the bilateral trade relations. "Mauritius is mulling a free trade agreement with Pakistan in this regard," he said.
RCCI President Humayun Parvez acknowledged that there is a huge scope for expansion in trade and the private sector has the responsibility to be a front-runner in creating new avenues of establishing trade and investments relations. He said that sustainable efforts are needed to boost bilateral trade that is much below the respective potential of the two countries. The RCCI President said that under the agreement, Pakistan offers concessions to Mauritius on 130 items, whereas Mauritius gives concession on 102 items. "The objective of the PTA was to pave the way for FTA." Parvez said that current bilateral trade volume between the two countries is around $56 million, which is very low. He agreed with Elahee that it is need of the hour to strengthen bilateral relations. He hoped that frequent exchange of international exhibitions/delegations between both the countries would be a best source of strengthening the relation.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The Enterprise Mauritian team is on their visit to South Africa to promote the country’s trade opportunities in textile manufacturing, accessories, agricultural products and jewellery. The team landed in Durban on Monday and will be in Johannesburg later this week to talk with big chains, such as Mr Price, Ackermans and Reebok about manufacturing in the Indian Ocean country. Earlier this year, the same enterprise team for Mauritius was in Cape Town to expand its manufacturing contracts with large retailers, such as Woolworths and The Foschini Group which are already sourcing some of their production in Mauritius. The country is already doing business with the likes of Edcon and major brand names, such as Calvin Klein, Puma, River Island and Levi’s. Europe and the US account for more than 50% of Mauritian textile and clothing products, while SA accounts for about 24%, as the fourth-largest importer of apparel.
Enterprise Mauritius CE Arvind Radhakrishna encouraged South African companies, especially big fabric manufacturers, to set up their plants in Mauritius. The textile and apparel industry employs about 55,000 people on the island. The timing of the mission is particularly opportune in light of the depreciation of the South African rand, since Mauritian manufacturers enjoy zero rate of duty when entering the South African market. The trade missions sought to strengthen existing relationship, while seeking new buyers in different categories, such as boutique outlets.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The Ugandan government on Monday signalled the beginning of the end of importation of used clothes after it rolled out a plan to impose punitive taxes on importers. The move, which sets the pace for its counterparts in the East African Community (EAC), comes barely a week after the trade bloc agreed to initiate a process of locking out used items from the region. At the EAC Heads of State Summit in Arusha on March 2, leaders of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi directed the EAC Council of Ministers to study the modalities of promoting textile and leather industries with a view to stopping importation of used clothes, shoes and other leather products. On Monday, Uganda's Finance minister Matia Kasaija was quoted by the Daily Monitor as having proposed to increase the rate of the environmental levy imposed on used clothes from 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the cost, insurance freight (CFI) value in a cocktail of taxes in the post-election budget. The minister wants to alter the Excise Duty Act 2014 to increase taxes in the Finance (Amendments) Bill, 2016.
Job losses
Kenya is one of the largest importers of second-hand clothes, popularly known as mitumba, in sub-Saharan Africa and a decision to phase out the trade has hit a wall of fresh resistance after leaders said it would lead to massive job losses. The majority of traders, estimated at 65,000 in Nairobi's Gikomba market alone, have protested the move, saying the ban, if implemented, will affect the economic growth of the country. During a meeting with the Association of Mitumba Importers in Kenya last week over the ban, President Uhuru Kenyatta signalled a compromise on the easing of the planned phasing out. He told importers that it was time for the textiles industry to promote local manufacturing and grow high-value jobs while also ensuring that the used items business goes on uninterrupted. "There is need to provide competitive alternatives for mitumba traders through Kenyan manufactured apparel, to be sourced locally at competitive prices whilst ensuring adequate supply of good quality products," said the President. "Ultimately, the key is for the mitumba industry to slowly move into the new clothes market, supporting local production and local jobs," he added. Importation of mitumba has been blamed for the collapse of the country's textile industry. By doing away with used clothes, the regional states hope the move will improve the value chains of regional member states in the apparel and textile industry, making them vibrant again.
SOURCE: The All Africa
Indonesia's exports to Japan and China, the country’s traditional main markets, recorded positive growth in February from the month before, but accumulatively still recorded a decline year-to-date for the first two months of the year. According to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data, exports to Japan rose by 5.3 percent to US$1.11 billion last month from $1.05 billion in January, while exports to China increased 6.6 percent to $945 million from $886 million in January. "Exports to Japan and China have shown an improvement, an increase on a monthly basis," BPS head Suryamin said at a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday. However, accumulative export figures from the first two months of 2016 showed that Indonesia’s trade performance was still weak compared with the same period of 2015. Exports to Japan in January-February, at $2.16 billion, marked a 5.4 percent decrease from the same month last year, while exports to China at $1.83 billion recorded a 9.65 percent decline.
Japan is Indonesia's second-biggest export destination, with an 11 percent market share, followed by China at 9.37 percent. The United States, Indonesia's biggest export market, has a 12.15 share. The agency’s data showed that exports to the US in February dropped 6.8 percent month-on-month to $1.15 billion from $1.23 billion. Accumulatively, January-February exports to the US were down too, by 3 percent to $2.38 billion compared with last year’s $2.45 billion. In total, non-oil and gas exports in February were worth $10.19 billion, an increase of 8.67 percent from $9.37 billion in January. Nevertheless, on a year-to-date basis, January-February exports were down 9.89 percent to $19.56 billion from last year's $21.7 billion. Indonesia exports to the US, Japan and China were mainly textile and textile products, electronics, rubber and rubber derivatives, palm oil, forest products, footwear, automotive products, shrimps, cocoa and coffee. Seventeen of Indonesia’s total 24 commodities experienced an increase in February, Suryamin said.
SOURCE: The Jakarta Post
