The state government is readying a proposal for the establishment of a textile park in Odisha with the Centre having approved seven PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) parks for the development of the textile sector in the country. The Centre has planned to invest around Rs 4,445 crore by 2027-28 to develop these parks with world-class infrastructure, including plug-andplay facility for investors in the sector. The Centre has asked the state governments to send their proposals for the establishment of textile parks under PM MITRA by March 15. The state-owned Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) has roped in consultancy firm, Grant Thornton, to prepare the preliminary project report (PPR) seeking setting up of the park. It has engaged the industries department as the nodal agency for the purpose. The state government has identified around 1,000 acres at Neulopoi near Dhenkanal for a greenfield textile park under the PM MITRA Scheme. “Considering various aspects like availability of suitable land, water and power supply to the place, connectivity by road and rail, centralised location that should be far from coastal areas in view of natural disasters, particularly cyclones, we have selected a patch of land for the establishment of the textile park,” industries secretary Hemant Sharma told TOI. Sharma said they are hopeful that the Centre would consider Odisha’s proposal as it meets all the requisite criteria. The state government source said it is ready to hand over the 1,000 acres of land at a nominal rate to the special purpose vehicle (SPV), to be formed for the development of the textile park. Under the PM-MITRA, the Centre assures capital support of Rs 500 crore or 30% of the project cost (whichever is highest) for developing common infrastructure in the proposed textile park. Considering Odisha’s huge potential for growth of the textile industry, the state government has listed the textile and apparel sector as one of the six focus sectors to draw investments. Odisha also has skilled manpower in the textile and apparel sectors. The state produces several varieties of saris while some of them are popular globally. It has also proposed to set up cotton processing, spinning and weaving, textile and garment plants to draw investment in the sector.
Source: Times of India
India and the UAE are set to grant each other duty-free market access in hundreds of products as they prepare to clinch a full-fledged free trade agreement (FTA) on February 18, in what is going to be New Delhi’s first such pact with any economy in over a decade. The comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), as the FTA is formally called, will be announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan at a virtual summit. It will be followed by due processes of ratification by the two sides. Earlier, both the sides were aiming to sign an interim agreement first by December 2021, which was to be followed by a broader FTA by March 2022. Sources told FE that India had identified more than 1,000 products across sectors, including gem & jewellery, textiles & garments, leather, spices, engineering goods, chemicals and poultry, where it wanted duty concessions from the UAE under the FTA. Both the sides started formal negotiations from September 23 last year.While the UAE, India’s third-largest export destination, currently imposes a 5% duty on textiles & garments and jewellery, certain steel products are taxed at 10%. These three segments alone made up 34% of India’s $16.7 billion exports to the UAE last fiscal and 43% in the pre-pandemic year of FY20.The UAE has also prohibited poultry imports from India on concerns of bird flu. Seeking the lifting of the ban, New Delhi has highlighted that it has been strictly adopting the safety norms stipulated by the World Organization for Animal Health. For its part, Abu Dhabi, too, has sought duty concession across broad range of products, including in food items such as dates and confectionary. Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council chairman Colin Shah said the proposed FTA will help drive up India’s gem and jewellery exports to the UAE to as much as $10 billion by FY23 from just $1.2 billion in FY21 (when the shipments were hit by the pandemic). The UAE accounts for 80% of India’s plain gold jewellery exports and 20% of its studded jewellery shipments. Abu Dhabi is also a gateway to the entire West Asian region, Shah said. Both sides are aiming to raise bilateral merchandise trade to $100 billion in five years following the signing of the pact from about $43 billion in FY21. It also aims to more than double bilateral services trade to $15 billion during this period. The negotiations with the UAE are a part of India’s broader strategy to forge “fair and balanced” trade agreements with key economies and revamp existing pacts to boost trade. The move gained traction after India pulled out of the China-dominated RCEP talks in November 2019. India is also engaged in talks with Australia, the UK and the EU for FTAs.
Source: Economic Times
India can add USD 20 billion to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) if the country can reduce by 50 per cent the dependence on imports from China by leveraging the production linked incentive schemes, an SBI research report said on Tuesday. In terms of imports, India continued to reduce its trade deficit with China in FY21. However, share of China in India’s total merchandise imports has been steadily increasing to 16.5 per cent currently, as per the report Ecowrap. In FY21, out of the USD 65 billion of imports from China, around USD 39.5 billion were commodities and goods where PLI scheme has been announced (textile, agri, electronics goods, pharmaceuticals & chemicals).“If, because of the PLI scheme, we can reduce our dependence on China even to the extent of 20 per cent, then we can add around USD 8 billion to our GDP. Over time, if our dependence is further reduced by 50 per cent, we can add USD 20 billion to GDP,” the report said. In FY22 April-December period, there were 6,367 products with a total value of USD 68 billion (or 15.3 per cent of the total imports) imported by India from China. The report said it estimated the import dependence of each product on China by checking the share of Chinese imports in India’s overall imports of these categories.“The maximum aggregate value (USD 9.7 billion) is of the products in which our import dependence on China is between 50-60 per cent, although the number of products is lower.“Although number wise the imports were highest in the category where our dependence was lowest (0-10 per cent), the value is not that high at around USD 1,894 million,” the report said. Further, it said most important imports for FY22 so far are personal computers and parts of telephonic and telegraphic equipment, electronic integrated circuits, solar cells, urea and micro-assemblies’ lithium-ion and diammonium phosphate. There are other goods also under the electrical and electronics imports. The items in the low value category are a mix of finished goods and intermediate inputs and India has a revealed comparative advantage in most of these imports, it said. “If India wants to wean itself off its dependence on China, capabilities have to be developed in these areas, especially chemicals, textiles, footwear, so that both inputs and final consumer goods in these low value imports can be manufactured domestically,” the report said.India should integrate more and more into the Global Value Chains (GVCs), it added.
Source: Financial Express
China's share rose to 4.5% from pre-pandemic levels of 3.5%. In its Global Trade Update, the Geneva-based agency said that global trade in goods and services touched a record high of $28.5 trillion in 2021, up almost 13% from the pre-pandemic levels, boosted by increases in commodity prices, subsiding pandemic restrictions and a strong recovery in demand due to economic stimulus packages India's trade deficit as a percentage of global trade fell to 0.6% in 2022 from 0.7% in the pre-pandemic period, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Thursday. China's share rose to 4.5% from prepandemic levels of 3.5%. In its Global Trade Update, the Geneva-based agency said that global trade in goods and services touched a record high of $28 5 trillion in 2021 up almost 13% from the India's trade deficit as a percentage of global trade fell to 0.6% in 2022 from 0.7% in the pre-pandemic period, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Thursday. China's share rose to 4.5% from pre-pandemic levels of 3.5%. In its Global Trade Update, the Geneva-based agency said that global trade in goods and services touched a record high of $28.5 trillion in 2021, up almost 13% from the prepandemic levels, boosted by increases in commodity prices, subsiding pandemic restrictions and a strong recovery in demand due to economic stimulus packages. "The positive trend for international trade in 2021 was largely the result of increases in commodity prices, subsiding pandemic restrictions and a strong recovery in demand due to economic stimulus packages. As these trends are likely to abate, international trade trends are expected to normalise during 2022," UNCTAD said. Overall, world trade in 2022 is likely to be affected by factors such as slower than expected economic growth, continuing challenges for global supply chains, rising concerns about debt sustainability, free trade agreements and government policies regulating the trade of high-carbon products, it added. Trade in goods increased more strongly for developing than for developed countries in Q4 2021. Exports of developing countries in Q4 2021 were about 30% higher than in Q4 2020, while the growth for developed countries was about 15%. Moreover, trade growth between developing countries (South-South) outpaced global trade during Q4 2021, with an increase of about 32% relative to Q4 2020, and with an increase of about 38% when excluding East Asian economies. "Similar patterns are found when comparing Q4 2021 with the pre-pandemic level," UNCTAD said. As per the report, with the exception of transport equipment, all economic sectors saw a substantial increase in trade in Q4 2021.
Source: Economic Times
Time for India to reshape its narrative for the globe and newer avenues of growth India has finalized a trade engagement with UAE with the formal agreement likely by this month-end. This will give India better access for its food and dairy products to the Middle East while easing several constraints of movement of Indian professionals and students with eased visa norms. It would also allow India crucial access to the Gulf's rich petroleum resources thereby adding to employment opportunities. This comes close on the heels of India finalizing a similar trade agreement with Australia, with an interim agreement being preparedfor March 2022.Announced by commerce minister Piyush Goyal and Australian trade minister Dan Tehan, it is likely to cover certain categories of mutually agreed upon goods, services, customs clearances, market access barriers,etc. This is a preview to the final stated target of both countries to signa comprehensive economic cooperation agreement in about two years. The sectors which can harvest benefits include pharmaceuticals, healthcare, mining, education, renewables, gems and jewelry,defence and textiles. It also has the potential of increasing access for Indian students to Australian universities and vice versa, thereby also opening up huge avenues of growth down south. Add to this is the three -ay short visit of external affairs minister Jaishankar to South-East Asia on his return trip from Australia to meet with the top leadership in The Philippines. The echoes of cooperation in bilateral interest areas such as security, coordination in the Indo Pacific belt, cooperation in healthcare, vaccine research, defence and maritime rights found resonance in India's engagements withThe Philippines too. The pivot for all these activities lies in finding and strengthening alliance partners for safe, secure, transparent, rules-based Indo Pacific region.Global forces such as US and Europe are also recalibrating their diplomatic, defence and miliary strengths to find a right balance in the region, threatened by an overtly aggressive China. It may not be missed that in the examples of external bilateral and plurilateral engagements, India is trying to aggressively make deeper inroads into emerging dominant groupings. After shying away from engaging with QUAD, India has thrown itself into the game deeply with the group on several areasof mutual interest while carefully staying away from being pulled into defence arrangements (such as AUKUS). Similarly, India has made an early headway into what many have called the western QUAD consisting of a significant bunch of interested parties such as UAE, US and Israel. This marks a shift in India's foreign, trade and economic policy which is rapidly changing to adjust to the new global order emerging post-Covid. The world has realized that an over dependence on China for mostof the manufacturing needs including in critical sectors such as information communication technology, and pharmaceutical can be disastrous. Secondly, a world economy hammered by the pandemic and waiting to open up to tourism and new opportunities realizes that a diversified bunch of partners dotted across the globe is a better hedge. Third,the winds of change ushered by US pull out from Afghanistan and Russia's showof military strength on Ukraine borders, with a view of redrawing European power structures have left all to look for resilient allies, instead of sticking to old ideological intimate friendships. This is also a timefor India to reshapeits narrativefor the globe and re-engage with the citizens on the newer avenues of growth. It may be difficult to sell a nationalist foreign policy to an electorate, but, however,byshowing some ongroundbenefits such as increased wealth and job opportunities, with an added bonus of chances to work abroad,the domestic constituency can be managed.
Source: Daily Pioneer
Need methodologies to adapt to new ways of funding, says Sitharaman Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday pitched for an independent governance mechanism at the multilateral level for distribution of funds and vaccines through greater mobilisation of funds, to remain prepared for future pandemics. Speaking at a virtual seminar on “Strengthening Global Health Architecture” on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting organised by the host country, Indonesia, Sitharaman said efforts should be to maximise available resources within the country, committing for today’s pandemic as well as investing for future preparedness. “We need to have an independent governance mechanism even if they are located in multilateral institutions and keep principles of inclusivity, transparency and equity in mind. Increased funding will be needed from multilateral development banks. Resilient and Sustainability Trust (RST) being created by the IMF must keep pandemic preparedness in mind,” she added. The proposed $50-billion RST’s central objective is to provide affordable long-term financing to support countries as they tackle structural challenges. Sitharaman said the lesson to be learnt from the coronavirus pandemic is the lack of adequate preparedness of countries. “Amounts which we could spend were also not adequate and therefore although all of us had our hearts in the right place, our hands were tied because we weren’t effectively ready for such a crisis. All of us have to contribute towards global public good,” she said. India spent $29 billion on health infrastructure mission in which health insurance was assured for the poor and for low income groups, the finance minister said. Sitharaman said prices of mobilising resources were acute in low- and middle-income countries. “Their own fiscal space to generate that kind of increase in funding health related and climate issue-related matters is very limited,” she added. Sitharaman said official funds from development assistance (ODA), multilateral funding should be treated as catalyst funds to generate from private philanthropy and markets. “By bringing in multilateral funding and also making sure that countries can come up with grants that can be given to small- and low-income nations, we have to evolve methodologies through which we can adapt new ways of funding to fill those gaps which exist between multilateral institutions,” she added. The finance minister also said the World Health Organisation (WHO) needs to expand its capacity and mobilise global resources, and structural bottlenecks will have to be addressed to bring down the impact a future pandemic might have. During the first session of the two-day summit, Sitharaman talked about global economic outlook and risks, including inflation, supply disruptions and new variants of the virus and called for expeditious and equitable distribution of vaccines to aid recovery. “FM Smt. @sitharaman shared insights on India’s policy response and suggested that recovery measures have to be built around a long-term vision. She emphasized on addressing structural bottlenecks to reduce the pandemic’s scarring effects and build resilience. FM Smt. @nsitharaman stated that it is crucial to address the gaps in global #pandemic #preparedness and said that the work of #G20 Joint Finance and Health Task Force should progress in this direction,” the finance ministry said in a series of tweets. Separately, in a G20 surveillance note, the IMF said since the January 2022 WEO update projected growth of 4.4 this year, with economic indicators pointing to continued weak growth momentum amid the spread of the virus. “Supply-demand mismatches, increases in energy and food prices, and bottlenecks in transportation of goods have put upward pressure on inflation — which in some economies has broadened across consumption categories, prompting a shift toward a less accommodative monetary policy stance. While economic activity is projected to return to pre-pandemic trends in many advanced economies, many emerging market and low-income economies continue to face significant headwinds. The most vulnerable people continue to struggle, with employment yet to fully recover and the danger of persistent learning losses from school closures,” it added.
Source: Business Standard
Facing major competition from industries located in other states, the micro and small units dealing in the garment and textile products in Ludhiana have pinned high hopes on the next Punjab government to equip them with the latest technology by starting new schemes. Harish Kairpal, president of Ludhiana MSME association, said, “The garment and textile industry of Ludhiana which at one point of time was the leader in the country is now lagging behind other states. That happened as the newer units which came up in other states especially in South India adapted latest technologies. We therefore demand from the new government which comes to power in March should pay special attention to technological upgrade of the existing units in Ludhiana and support us financially to adopt new machinery and technology.” Narinder Mittal, general secretary of Ludhiana Business Forums, said, “Textile and garment units of Ludhiana are fast becoming uncompetitive as compared to similar units in other states. The cost of production of textile and garment industry in other states is decreasing due to adoption of new technologies. We have already suffered a lot as significant percentage of the total business of Ludhiana’s garment and textile units has been taken over by the industry from other states. It’s high time that the state government takes appropriate measures like starting unconditional technology upgrade fund scheme for old units so that we can easily adopt new techniques.” Atul Saggar, general secretary of Apparel Manufacturers Association Ludhiana, said, “The new state government can save garment units by subsidising purchase of new machinery and opening a technology upgrade centre which can guide the garment units about the latest technologies. This centre should also give assistance in buying and setting up new machinery
Source: Times of India
Cambodian commerce minister Pan Sorasak recently met Canadian ambassador to the country Sarah Taylor to discuss bilateral cooperation and promote some priority areas. Bilateral trade has increased significantly, with Cambodia exporting $954.82 million worth merchandise to Canada under the free tariff and free quota programme in 2021, the minister said. Sorasak requested the ambassador to explore the possibility of a bilateral free trade agreement and convene a meeting with Canadian investors who have invested in Thailand and Laos so that they can take advantage of the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), Cambodia-Korea Bilateral Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). The ambassador said Canada will promote ASEAN-Canada free trade negotiations and examine the feasibility study on the possibility of a Cambodia-Canada FTA as this is in line with Canadian trade policy under the new administration, according to Cambodian media reports.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
At the recent EU-Africa summit, EURATEX re-iterated the ambition of the European textile industry to grow its role in global markets, including the African continent. The textile ecosystem is considered the second most globalised sector of the European economy, built on globalised supply chains and competition with China, US, Bangladesh, Turkey and more. Imports are now peaking at €115 billion (ca. 60 per cent garments and 40 per cent textiles), with a dramatic increase of imported medical textiles (face masks) in 2020. Every year, 22 billion pieces of textile and garment products are brought into the EU Single market, EURATEX said in a media release. Europe’s answer to this competitive pressure must be to invest even more on quality and innovative products, made in a sustainable manner. As emerging markets evolve, the appetite for better quality, comfort and design will grow. The ability and willingness to purchase technical textiles, which offer solutions to durability and improved performance, will increase. That is where Europe can be successful. To illustrate: the EU’s exports to China have increased by 33 per cent in 2021 (first 11 months). In its vision paper on the future of European textiles and apparel, EURATEX has confirmed its ambition to increase the global market share of the European textile industry. Strengthening relations with nearby Turkey and North African countries is important in this regard, offering opportunities for nearshoring. The African continent at large offers trade and investment opportunities, provided the business climate is stable and transparent. Relations with the UK and Switzerland need to be optimised; especially Brexit has caused serious damage to bilateral trade flows (-33 per cent export to the UK during Jan-Nov 2021). The Mercosur FTA offers interesting opportunities for the European textile industry; it should be ratified as soon as possible. Europe needs to work with the US on mutual recognition of standards and setting global environmental and social rules. The association has called upon India to make an honest proposal for the upcoming free trade negotiations, which will ensure full and fair access to the Indian market. European textile and apparel companies (mostly SMEs) need to be accompanied to exploit these market opportunities. At the same time, they need to be protected from unfair competition, e.g. products who do not comply with stringent EU standards and procedures. This requires more effective market surveillance. The future of European textiles is global; there are millions of potential customers out there, eager to enjoy high quality and sustainable products, which our companies can provide. The upcoming European textile strategy must embrace that global dimension; failing to do so would be a missed opportunity,” concluded EURATEX director general Dirk Vantyghem.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
Walmart execs shared their outlook on in-stocks, pricing and the company’s shifting business model during this morning’s fourth quarter call with analysts. The multi-national retail corporation is bullish on the year ahead, forecasting a 3.0% increase in consolidated comps on a constant currency basis and comp sales growth of 3.0% for Walmart US (excluding fuel) for the full fiscal year. “We’re excited about our ability to manage through whatever external forces we’ll see,” said John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart US. Key takeaways from the call include: Costs: The company is expecting higher product costs, supply chain wages and technology costs, along with spending on new initiatives. However, it believes some of those costs will abate over the course of the year. “Where it happens, when it happens remains to be seen,” said Brett Biggs, EVP and CFO. Pricing: Walmart is focused on making sure customers perceive value in key categories and is keeping an eye on the gaps between its pricing vs. competitors’ prices. Walmart US has managed to boost the number of price rollbacks on offer since Q3, and the number of those deals is now on par with last year’s first quarter. “When it comes to pricing, we take a long-term view,” said Furner. In-stocks: Walmart US made improvements in late Q3 and early Q4, although some of that fell back in January. “We see recovery happening pretty quickly,” said Furner. “I think we’ll see a much better flow in the next few weeks and months, and that will get us into a good position as we lean into the first and second quarters.” Diversification: Corporate plans to drive growth through non-core retail initiatives including its last-mile delivery services for local businesses, health and wellness services such as telemedicine calls with in-store pharmacists, its advertising business, its thirdparty online marketplace and expanded financial services. Walmart is also evaluating opportunities in social commerce and wearables. “The headline is that the company becoming more digital,” said Doug McMillon, Walmart Inc. president and CEO. He noted that fulfillment from stores grew 170% last year on top of 500% growth in the previous fiscal year. For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, at Walmart US stores comp was up 5.6% (excluding fuel). Transactions rose 3.1% and average ticket was up 2.4%. General merchandise comps rose in the low single-digits, with strength in apparel, automotive and seasonal items, including strong holiday sales performance. Total sales hit $105 billion for the first time ever, rising 9.7%. E-commerce sales were up 1.0%. Sam’s Club comp increased 10.4%, excluding fuel. Comp in the home & apparel division rose in the mid teens, with strength in apparel, toys, jewelry, tires and seasonal. The warehouse club’s total sales increased 10.6% to $16.9 billion, excluding fuel. E-commerce sales grew 21.1%. Walmart Inc. total corporate revenue inched up 0.5% to $152.9 billion in Q4. Net sales rose 0.4% to $151.5 billion. Sales were negatively affected by $10.2 billion due to divestitures in the company’s international operations. Operating income increased 7.3% to $5.9 billion. For the fiscal year, Walmart Inc. revenues were up 2.4% to $572.75 billion. Net sales rose 2.3% to $567.76 billion. Operating income increased 15.1% to $25.9 billion.
Source: Home Textiles Today
Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), an independent, non-profit organisation, and Belgium-based Trusted Experts on Due Diligence (TEDD), an initiative launched by VECTRA International, have announced a strategic partnership designed to bolster brands conducting due diligence related to human rights issues in their supply chains. The two entities will work towards streamlining human rights due diligence in apparel and textiles manufacturing. In the face of evolving human rights legislation and increasing calls for responsible business practices from consumers, stakeholders, and the investor community, all organisations stand to benefit from strategic due diligence focusing on environmental issues and governance. Coupled with a growing global demand for transparency in manufacturing and sourcing, these cultural shifts are fostering industry-wide change, setting new standards for responsible business practices and underscoring the value of social compliance, they said in a joint media release. Companies with global supply chains will tremendously benefit from the complementarity of services offered by TEDD and WRAP,” said Christian Ewert, TEDD director at VECTRA International. “This partnership provides for a seamless comprehensive service portfolio covering all aspects of risk assessment, risk prioritizing, and risk monitoring.” “Businesses around the world are increasingly coming to realise how critical it is for them to conduct due diligence effectively and efficiently and they are recognising the value of expert resources in this regard,” said Avedis Seferian, president and CEO of WRAP. “This partnership between WRAP and TEDD will enable companies to draw upon the collective strength of two global players with a deep understanding of the challenges modern supply chains present.”
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
