The feasibility of merging the 12 per cent and 18 per cent to a single slab may be looked into, a source said. The Goods and Services Fitment Committee is likely to meet tomorrow to review the proposal of GST slab mergers. The feasibility of merging the 12 per cent and 18 per cent to a single slab may be looked into, a source said. Following this, a group of ministers (GoM) on GST rate rationalising may later this week meet if the need is as per Fitment committee's discussion. "Fitment committee has been meeting over various issues and will soon submit the review report to Group of Ministers on rate rationalisation, as per the final discussion." added a source. If the GoM on rate rationalisation concurs with as to what Fitment committee suggests, then they will send their final report to GST council and the final decision will be taken by GST council. “We were supposed to meet in February, but due to the global situation and elections in various states, we had to delay this meeting. Following our meeting, the GST Council will take a call on the recommendations made by the group of ministers (GoM)," a government official told Business Today TV. The GoM has reportedly met only twice since its constitution in September 2021. Led by Karnataka Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai, the GoM has not been able to conclude deliberations on revising and rationalising GST rates. Last December, the 46th GST Council meeting decided to drop a plan to hike GST rates for most textiles products in the man-made value chain from 5 per cent to 12 per cent. At the same time, the Council did not roll back their decision on hiking the GST for low-cost footwear. Industry expects the government may propose a single 15 per cent GST slab by merging the existing 12 per cent and the 18 per cent slab. The 15th Finance commission led by former bureaucrat N.K. Singh had also called for a three-slab GST rate structure.
Source: Business Today
The interim pact or India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) was inked by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan on April 2 After the signing of the interim trade agreement between India and Australia, a committee formed the two nations will start talks within two-and-a-half months for transforming the early pact into a full-fledged comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA), according to official documents. The interim pact or India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) was inked by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan on April 2. According to the text of ECTA, both the countries have established a negotiation subcommittee which shall be composed of government representatives of both the sides. "Within 75 days after the date of signature of this (ECTA) agreement, the negotiation subcommittee shall commence negotiations on amendments to this agreement, on a without prejudice basis, on areas including inter alia market access for goods and services, a complete product-specific rules schedule, a digital trade chapter, and a government procurement chapter, to transform this agreement into a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement," the text said. Following those negotiations, the two countries "may make amendments to this agreement...to transform this agreement" into a CECA. On customs procedure and trade facilitation, the text stated that both the sides would endeavour to apply its customs procedures and practices in a predictable, consistent, and transparent manner. "Each Party shall adopt or maintain simplified customs procedures for the efficient release of goods in order to facilitate trade between the Parties," it added. India and Australia on April 2 signed ECTA under which Canberra would provide dutyfree access in its market for over 6,000 broad sectors of India, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery. The agreement is likely to be implemented in about four months. The agreement would help in taking bilateral trade from $27.5 billion at present to $45- 50 billion in the next five years.
Source: Live Mint
The current deal will be a win-win situation for both the countries, said the official sources. It augurs well for Australia, which is expected to go to polls in May. More than 95% of roughly 12,000 Indian goods will get duty-free access to the Australian market as New Delhi signs a much-awaited trade deal with Canberra on Saturday. India will keep its sensitive dairy sector out of the ambit of the interim pact, but will allow premium Australian wine at concessional duties, official sources said on Friday. Of course, the scope of the pact will be expanded to cover 100% Indian goods in five years. About 70% of Australian products will get duty-free and concessional access to the Indian market under the Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement, as the deal will be formally known. This will be increased to cover 85% of goods in 10 years. Indian exporters in critical sectors, especially labour-intensive ones like agriculture, textiles & garments and pharmaceuticals will get duty-free access to the Australian market. New Delhi will also get greater access in about 100 services. Importantly, the deal will also ensure freer movement of skilled professionals from India under the so-called Mode-4 services. Both the sides will forge a broader free trade agreement (FTA) in due course to build on this partnership. FE had on March 21 reported that India will likely allow high-end Australian wine but keep the dairy sector out of the pact’s ambit. The deal will be signed by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and his Australian counterpart in the presence (virtual) of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison. The basic customs duty on premium Australian wine (beyond a price threshold) will be cut in phases — from the current 150% to 100% and then to 75%. This is designed to protect the Indian wine industry that doesn’t typically operate in that highend segment. Public procurement isn’t part of the deal yet. At just $8.6 million, spirits and beverages, including wine, accounted for a tiny slice of Australia’s exports to India until January last fiscal, thanks to the prohibitive impost. The current deal will be a win-win situation for both the countries, said the official sources. It augurs well for Australia, which is expected to go to polls in May. This deal goes beyond the realm of trade, as it covers strategic considerations as well, said a senior government official. Both the countries are part of the strategically-important QUAD grouping along with the US and Japan. Similarly, together with Japan, they form a supply-chain resilience initiative, a move that is seen as countering China’s “weaponisation” of supply chains. On March 21, the Prime Ministers of both the countries had committed to bolstering bilateral co-operation and an early conclusion of a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), as the broader FTA will be formally known. The CECA would ultimately cover not just traditional pillars like goods, services and investments but also a broad range of other critical areas. These include government procurement, logistics, standards, rules of origin, phytosanitary measures, legal and institutional issues. However, many of these areas won’t be covered by the enhanced partnership that will be signed on Saturday. But even this deal won’t fall foul of the provisions of the World Trade Organization, as it ensures a “substantial coverage” of each other’s market. India had a merchandise trade deficit of $7.2 billion with Australia in the first ten months of FY22. It shipped out goods worth only $6.3 billion, while its imports from Australia stood at $13.5 billion. Major traded items include mineral fuels, pharmaceutical products, organic chemicals and gem and jewellery. Bilateral trade, including services, were as much as $27 billion in FY21.
Source: Financial Express
Value of inbound petroleum shipments nearly doubles; account for 26% of total imports India’s trade deficit widened to $192 billion in financial year 2021-22 (FY22) as imports hit a record high of $610 billion because the value of inbound petroleum shipments nearly doubled as compared to a year earlier. The sharp 94.33 per cent jump in petroleum imports’ value was because of the rise in global crude oil prices as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Share of petroleum imports out of India’s total imports was 26 per cent in FY22, preliminary data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed. Apart from petroleum products, imports of electronic goods and gold grew by a third and resulted in widening of the trade defi it. The value of goods exported witnessed 40 per cent growth, hitting a record $417.8 billion and surpassing the target set by the government by 5 per cent, driven by higher demand for engineering goods, petroleum products, and gems and jewellery. However, imports grew at a faster pace. India’s merchandise imports in FY22 grew 54.71 per cent from $394.44 billion in FY21. This resulted in merchandise trade crossing the $1 trillion mark for the first time ever. In March, exports touched $40.38 billion, as compared to $34 billion during the corresponding period a year earlier. The value of petroleum imports jumped 80 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the month. “For the first time, India’s monthly merchandise exports exceeded $40 billion, reaching $40.38 billion in March, an increase of 14.53 per cent over $35.26 billion in March 2021 and an increase of 87.89 per cent over $21.49 billion in March 2020. India’s merchandise import in March 2022 was $59.07 billion, an increase of 20.79 per cent over $48.90 billion in March 2021 and an increase of 87.68 per cent over $31.47 billion in March 2020,” an official statement said. The trade deficit in March 2022 was $18.69 billion. According to Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA, the crash in gold imports in March amidst robust exports helped to curtail the merchandise trade deficit to $18.7 billion, below ICRA’s expectation of at least $20 billion. “We expect the current account deficit to recede under $19 billion in Q4FY22 (JanuaryMarch),” she said. “The trade deficit for non-oil non-gold/jewellery items stood at $55 billion or 1.7 per cent of GDP in FY2022, accounting for around one quarter of the total merchandise trade deficit,” she said. Value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in March was $29.38 billion, registering a growth of 4.79 per cent on the year-on-year basis.
Source: Financial Express
Exporters' body FIEO on Monday said it is taking a delegation of various export promotion councils for business meetings in Australia as a sequel to the recently inked trade pact between Canberra and New Delhi. The delegation consists of councils from different sectors including apparel, gems and jewellery, cotton textiles, services, oilseeds and Council for Leather Exports, and is a part of the team led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to Australia from April 5-8, it said. On April 2, India and Australia signed an economic cooperation and trade agreement under which Canberra would provide duty-free access in its market for over 6,000 broad sectors of India, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery. The delegation will have meetings with businesspersons from Australia at Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A Sakthivel said in a statement. He said all sectors of exports, particularly apparel and textiles, leather, engineering, gems and jewellery, are likely to benefit from the meeting. “New opportunities will be available in government procurements and digital economy for Indian entrepreneurs and exporters,” he added. He exuded confidence that India would be crossing the target of USD 45-50 billion of bilateral trade much before five years.
Source: Devdiscourse
Collections in March hit an all-time high of at Rs 1.42 trillion; FM says some states may report revenue growth above 14% Monthly goods and services tax (GST) collections hit an all-time high of Rs1.42 trillion in March (February transactions), indicating robustness in consumption, efficient plugging of tax evasion and a sustained shift of business to the formal sector of the economy. Continued buoyancy in GST collections for several months in a row would help allay the state governments’ concerns about a revenue shock they might have to deal with once a five-year revenue protection ends on June 30. For the Centre, the high mop-up would mean its share of the tax as Central GST would be higher than the revised estimate of Rs 5.7 trillion for FY22 by Rs 20,000 crore or thereabouts. Given that an incipient pick-up in consumption has resulted in a more-thanproportionate jump in GST revenues, a stronger economic recovery could allow the collections to settle at an elevated level, proving the high revenue productivity of the broad-based consumption tax. Shortly after the data was released, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at a function here that several states displaying high efficiency in collecting the taxes on transactions in their domain had now become confident of achieving a revenue growth above 14%, the guaranteed level under the compensation mechanism. Underscoring the importance of a stable GST regime, she said, the efforts made by the tax authorities to cut outflows in the form of undeserved refunds and the use of technology, data and artificial intelligence to curb tax evasion, helped accelerate collections. The minister, however, stressed the need for a rationlisation of GST rates given that the weighted average rate was hovering around 11%, much below the revenue neutral rate of 15-15.5% estimated when the tax was launched with the current base. The timing of the rate rejig, the minister said, would be decided by the GST Council, which should soon receive a report on the same by a group of ministers headed by Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai. Given elevated inflation, a comprehensive restructuring of GST slabs might have to wait, analysts reckon. “The (March) revenues are 15% higher than in the same month last year and 46% higher than in March 2020,” the finance minister said in a statement. “Coupled with economic recovery, anti-evasion activities, especially action against fake billers have been contributing to the enhanced GST. The improvement in revenue has also been due to various rate rationalisation measures undertaken by the GST Council to correct inverted duty structure,”the finance ministry said in a statement. During March, revenues from import of goods was 25% higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 11% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year. The average monthly gross GST collection for the last quarter of FY22 has been Rs 1.38 trillion against the average monthly collection of Rs 1.1 trillion, Rs 1.15 trillion and Rs 1.3 trillion in the first, second and third quarters, respectively. Devendra Kumar Pant, chief economist at India Ratings & Research on said: “There is a concern on inter-state variation in GST collections. While collections grew more than 15% for Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh in March 2022, for states such as West Bengal. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh growth was less than 10%.”
Source: Financial Express
Textiles secretary UP Singh said the investments committed by the applicants have exceeded the government’s expectations of over Rs 19,000 crore. As many as 67 companies have applied for support under the Rs 10,683-crore productionlinked incentive (PLI) scheme for the textiles and garment sector, pledging investments of around Rs 23,000 crore, textiles secretary UP Singh said on Saturday. Singh didn’t reveal the names of potential investors but sources told FE that the applicants include Reliance Industries, Arvind Group, Welspun, IndoRama Synthetics, Bombay Dyeing, Vardhman Group, Trident and Shahi Exports. “The who’s who of the textile and garment industry has expressed interest in the scheme. The list of beneficiaries will be out soon,” said one of the sources. The textile ministry’s initial target was to draw 60 firms, he added. Singh said the investments committed by the applicants have exceeded the government’s expectations of over Rs 19,000 crore. The textile PLI scheme covers 40 man-made fibre (MMF) garments, 14 MMF fabric products and 10 technical textile items. “We have taken a number of steps to promote growth of the technical textile sector. There has been a very good response for the PLI scheme,” Singh said at a CII event. The government had extended, for a second time, the deadline for applying for incentives under this scheme to give more time to companies to weigh their investment plans. Interested firms were allowed to submit their applications until February 28. Under the scheme, incentives will be extended for five years. It will remain operational until 2029-30.
Source: Financial Express
Attributing the hike due to mindless hoarding, industrialists claimed that small scale textile units are forced to close, if the trend persists. Therefore, Tirupur garment exporters have planned to meet Union Minister for Textiles Piyush Goyal on April 4 to address their concerns. In a further blow to Tirupur knitwear sector, which is yet to recover from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the cotton yarn prices have increased by Rs 30 per kg at one go on Friday. In the last 18 months alone, the yarn prices rose by Rs 200 per kg. The garment manufacturers feared that if this trend continues, then India may lose its competitiveness. “We may even be forced to import garments from Bangladesh and China,” said Tirupur Exporters and Manufacturers’ Association (TEAMA) president MP Muthurathinam. Yarn of 30s count has increased from 370 per kg to Rs 400, while the 40s count yarn rose from 400 to 430. Similarly, all variants of yarn have increased by Rs 30 per kg. Such continuous hike in the price has severely affected the readymade garment sector. Also, the cotton prices have increased from 45,000 per candy in February last to 90,000 per candy now. Attributing the hike due to mindless hoarding, industrialists claimed that small scale textile units are forced to close, if the trend persists. Therefore, Tirupur garment exporters have planned to meet Union Minister for Textiles Piyush Goyal on April 4 to address their concerns.
Source: Financial Express
The Government has promulgated the Handlooms (Reservation of Articles for Production) Act, 1985 to protect handlooms weavers from encroachment of the powerloom and mill sector on their livelihood. 11 textiles articles with certain technical specifications are exclusively reserved for production on handlooms. Appropriate action under provisions of the Act is taken in case of violation. Central and State Government implementing agencies conduct inspection of powerloom units to ensure that items reserved for production on handlooms are not produced on powerlooms. During the last three years & current year (as on 28.02.2022) implementing agencies have inspected 11,14,667 powerlooms and lodged 218 FIRs. In addition, the “Scheme for Protection of Handlooms” has provisions for capacity building of State Govt. Enforcement Machinery; awareness programmes etc. in order to curb sale of fake handloom products. This information was given by the Minister of state for Textiles Smt. Darshana Jardosh in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Source: PIB
The growth was driven by higher demand for items in the petroleum, gems and jewellery, engineering products The value of goods exported from India witnessed 40 per cent growth during the financial year 2021-22, hitting a record $417.8 billion and surpassing the target set by the government by 5 per cent, according to the commerce and industry ministry. During the month of March, exports touched $40.38 billion, as compared to $34 billion during the same period a year earlier. The growth was driven by higher demand for items in the petroleum, gems and jewellery, engineering products. “India has exported $418 billion, for the first time in its history. This is more than the set target. Exceed $40 billion in exports in March alone which is the history of highest export in a single month,” commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal told reporters on Sunday. “We have been able to achieve such wonderful results without any specific subsidies and grants and that is the way to go…You can handhold up to a level, but ultimately we have to stand on our own feet, we have to engage with the world from a position of strength, with self confidence, with the basis of our confidence and high quality and that is reflected in our achievement today,” Goyal said. While the government is yet to release the import data for the month of March, it is expected that inbound shipments will also touch record high. Imports grew 51 per cent on year to $589 billion during 1 April 2021- 21 March 2022, resulting in widening of the trade deficit to $189 billion. Considering these numbers, India’s total trade, in a first, is set to exceed $1 trillion. Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Sarangi told reporters that India’s export basket is not confined to intermediate goods or raw materials, but is gradually moving towards manufactured goods. “Our engineering and electronics goods export indicates this,” Sarangi said. While electronics goods are one of the top items in India’s import basket, after gold, Sarangi said that electronic goods witnessed a 40 per cent jump in FY22, as it got a massive push from the production-linked incentive scheme (PLI). Export of non-petroleum goods grew by close to a third at $352.76 billion. Sarangi further said that India has seen a significant jump in exports to developed markets as well such as the United States, Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany. On the contrary, till now substantial amounts of goods were exported to neighbouring countries, predominantly to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The minister had earlier said that in order to achieve the export target, a detailed strategy was in place, including specific country-wise, product-wise and export promotion councilwise target, monitoring and course correction. Engineering goods exports topped $111 billion in FY22 and is expected to sustain the growth momentum in the current fiscal too despite challenges emerging out of global geopolitical tensions, EEPC India Chairman Mr Mahesh Desai said. “The volatility in commodity prices, supply chain disruptions and a possible change in world political order would certainly have its impact on trade and economy. Some of the leading rating agencies have in the past few weeks lowered India's GDP forecast. So, clearly the impact would be felt but it should not be severe," Mr Desai said.
Source: Business Standard
With plans afoot to develop Gandhi Nagar market, traders are apprehensive about the change For the 15,000 shop owners based in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar textile market, the daily work comes with its set of challenges. Narrow and congested lanes, lack of civic amenities, footpaths and proper roads have hindered smooth functioning of business in the area for years. Rahul Kumar, a garment shop owner, lamented about the long traffic snarls and the difficulty of moving within the market. He also pointed out at the long lines of tangled electric wires and open drains filled with garbage, which add to the woes of the people. In its budget for the financial year 2022-23, the Delhi government announced its plans to redevelop this area, which it called “Asia’s largest readymade garment market”. The traders are, however, unsure about the execution of the ambitious plan. The ground realities are different, they say. New opportunities As per the Delhi government’s plans, the “Grand Garment Hub” that it proposes to develop would help create more than “40,000 new employment opportunities”. Listing out the issues faced by the traders, Mr. Kumar said, “The packers and loaders occupy the roads to carry out their tasks and in the process choke the space meant for vehicles and pedestrians. There have also been countless accidents involving e-rickshaw drivers. The civic body workers do not perform their duties. Also, irrespective of electricity usage, we have to pay over ₹600 per month.” He added that these problems needed to be addressed first to bring about any change. “There is a minimum charge that we end up paying for electricity every month, regardless of whether we use it or not. Unlike the relaxation in electricity rates given to households, commercial spaces do not get such benefits,” he said. Amit Singhal, another shopkeeper, said after surviving three spells of financial distress due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, he was worried that the redevelopment project might further “mess around with the future of the shops”. Daily turnover According to the government, the market generates a daily turnover of over ₹100 crore while providing for 1,00,000 direct employment opportunities and close to 3,00,000 indirect jobs. However, K.K. Balli, president of the Association of Wholesale Readymade Garment Dealers (Gandhi Nagar), welcomed government’s announcement. “There has never been a dedicated initiative on these lines in the last 30 years of my presence here,” he said. However, he agreed with the points highlighted by shop owners in terms of the lack of civic amenities and infrastructure. A meeting was held last week between government officials, including Jasmine Shah, vice-chairperson, Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi, and market associations . All concerns of the shop owners were put forth in the meeting, he said, adding that he also pushed for the need of multilevel parking for customers to decongest the market. First step “Over the years, we met several politicians and civic officials to find solutions for our problems but to no avail. The government’s decision now to upgrade the market is the first step and it has our support,” Mr Balli said. When contacted, the ward’s councillor at the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), Romesh Gupta of the BJP, dismissed allegations about Gandhi Nagar market lacking in civic amenities and sanitation. He said, “All roads are in good condition. If there is garbage strewn everywhere, the shop owners are to be blamed for it. The EDMC workers are doing their job. What redevelopment will the Kejriwal government do here? They only make tall promises and never deliver.” Responding to the status of the redevelopment plan, a Delhi government official said more meetings and consultations would be held with the market associations before finalising the plans. “The market is crying for help. Most of the issues are related to civic amenities and we are trying to fix it, though it’s not our job,” the official said. When told that the traders were apprehensive about redevelopment and coordination with other agencies, the official said the government would put in its best efforts. “The civic body should be happy and cooperate with us as its revenue will also increase once the market is developed,” he added.
Source: The Hindu
Tamil Nadu has aggressively pitched in for the Centre’s mega textile park project having in its possession 1,052 acre of land for such a park under the PM-Mega Integrated Textiles Region & Apparel Park (PM-MITRA) scheme. Chief minister M K Stalin submitted a memorandum to Union minister for commerce & industry, consumer affairs, food, public distribution and textiles Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Friday and expressed the state’s keen interest for the mega textile park as Tamil Nadu is a leading producer and exporter of textile products. The land identified is next to National Highway 44 (Madurai to Kaniyakumari) and is in the possession of State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (Sipcot) in Virudhunagar district. TN has already submitted the Preliminary Project Report for setting up a textile park under the PM-MITRA scheme on March 14, 2022 to the union ministry. Chief minister Stalin also sought a new production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for footwear manufacturing, a segment in which Tamil Nadu is a dominant player at the national and global level. TN accounts for 26% of the national manufacturing output and 45% of the national exports of footwear. A PLI scheme for footwear manufacturing will increase the productivity of existing players and make India the most favoured destination for footwear exporters. TN has also asked for capacity increment under the PLI scheme for advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery storage from 50 GWh to 100 GWH given the need of the EV sector and the response to the scheme. Stalin also took up the issue of spiralling raw material costs, especially that of steel and asked the Union government to control steel prices and restrict exports. Given the extent to which steel price increase has hit MSMEs, National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) must be asked to buy steel in bulk and provide to MSMEs on a no profit no loss basis and steel manufactures should be asked to provide 20% discount to MSME customers. The price pull back should start with SAIL freezing hikes for the next two months. The state government has also sought speedy transfer of 2,000 acre of land belonging to the Salt Department to state-owned TIDCO for which it has already sent letters to DPIIT. TIDCO will develop this land as an industrial township under the CBIC Ponneri Industrial Node project, the memorandum said.
Source: Times of India
Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities of Malaysia Ms. Zuraida Binti Kamaruddin, along with a delegation called on Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani and discussed in detail issues of mutual interest including the bilateral relations between both the countries, here at the Parliament House on Friday. The Chairman Senate said that Pakistan and Malaysia have a long standing fraternal relationship which has been developing with the passage of time. He said the recent exchange of high level delegations between the two countries has further enhanced the bilateral relations. “The Parliamentary relations between the two countries will be further strengthened and the trade volume between the two countries to increase which will significantly boost the economy of the country” he added. Sadiq Sanjrani said that Pakistan attaches great importance to friendly relations with Malaysia and mutual partnership in various fields. The two countries have always fully supported each other’s stance at international forums, he added. He said that due to their geographical importance, Pakistan and Malaysia could provide strategic and economic benefits to each other by providing access to their respective markets. He said, “Education, defense products, trade investment, electronics and IT industry, bilateral cooperation in the fields of halal food, oil and gas, renewable energy, tourism will pave the way for meeting each other’s needs and further strengthening relations between the two countries.” Regarding the promotion of trade and investment in Pakistan, Sadiq Sanjrani said that Malaysia may benefit from increasing exports of fishing, textile, pharmaceutical, surgical instruments, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products from Pakistan. He said that Gwadar would be the economic hub in the world in the near future and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects would significantly boost trade and investment through access to Central Asia countries. Malaysia should also take advantage of the vast investment opportunities in Pakistan. Sadiq Sajrani said that Pakistan was taking effective steps to promote tourism and Pakistan was keen to benefit from Malaysia’s expertise in tourism as well as Malaysian investment in the tourism sector. He said, Pakistan also wanted to benefit from the “Malaysia, Trolley Asia” experience. Increasing trade volume and boosting investment between the two countries will be beneficial for economic growth. “This will benefit not only the two countries but also their people” he added. He said that Pakistan encourages Malaysian investment in Small and Medium Enterprises. Ms Zuraida Binti Kamaruddin, while agreeing with the views of the Chairman Senate, said that there were vast investment opportunities in both the countries and it was essential to increase trade volume and take advantage of existing investment opportunities for the betterment of the economy. “Pakistan is an important country in the region. Malaysian investors are keen to invest in Pakistan” she added.
Source: Daily Times
The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) recently urged the US government to remove all additional tariffs on Chinese goods to benefit both Chinese and US consumers and enterprises in the wake of the latter’s renewed tariff waivers for 352 Chinese items. It called for a more favourable environment for trade between businesses of both sides. China-US economic and trade relations are essentially about reciprocity and mutual benefits, and there are no winners in a trade war, CCPIT spokesperson Yu Yi told a news conference. Since 2018, Chinese and US businesses have taken a hit from a continued escalation of frictions in bilateral trade, according to the CCPIT spokesperson. China's industrial and commercial community welcomed the US decision to reinstate product exclusions, as well as many US entrepreneurs who considered the move as propitious to revive normal trade between the two economies and convey a positive signal of normalizing bilateral trade ties, Yu said. It cannot be ruled out that a small number of companies in individual countries might benefit from abnormal trade relations, "decoupling" and even geopolitical conflicts in the short term, but cooperation and development are the mainstream views of the global business community, most enterprises, employees and consumers in the world, the trade body said. Chinese and US trade teams are maintaining normal communications, Shu Jueting, spokesperson of the ministry of commerce, was quoted as saying by state-controlled media. As a World Trade Organisation member, the United States should align its trade policies and practices with the organization's rules, rather than pushing for unilateralism and protectionism under the guise of new trade policies and actions, Shu stated.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
A business networking event organised recently by the Sri Lanka–Greater Mekong Business Council (SLGMBC) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce facilitated opportunities to enhance bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Thailand. Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka, Poj Harnpol was also present. The networking event explored opportunities to increase the volume of Sri Lankan exports to Thailand, and developing trade, tourism and economic cooperation between the two countries. Ambassador Harnpol welcomed prospects for enhancing trade between the two countries. While continuing to focus on traditional import and export products such as precious stones, rubber, plastic, garments, and agricultural produce he said that Thailand is in the process of designing itself as a medical and wellness hub, as well as promoting the concept of ‘workcation’, where expatriates could base themselves in Thailand while working remotely for any part of the world. President of the SLGMBC, S. M. D. Suriyakumar outlined Sri Lanka’s enthusiasm to develop trade, tourism and investment, and the opportunity to balance Thailand’s trade surplus with Sri Lanka, while also paying tribute to the strong historic cultural ties Sri Lanka and Thailand enjoyed. Director, Market Development of the Export Development Board, Anoma Premathilaka drew attention to market potential analyses carried out by the EDB which indicated strong potential for exports such as precious stones, black tea, and wheat flour and expressed optimism that existing trade frameworks between the two countries would enable opportunities in fields such as education as well.
Source: Sunday Observer
Ambassador stated Pakistan had potential to increase exports to Indonesia Ambassador of Indonesia to Pakistan, Adam Mulawarman Tugio, on Saturday said that Indonesia fully supports Pakistan to obtain Full Dialogue Partner status with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which will provide huge economic opportunities for Pakistan with 623 million of potential trade market of the region. In an exclusive interview with APP, the ambassador said that there were two approaches for achieving this goal; first is through an institutional process while the second was that the existing bilateral policy between Pakistan and individual ASEAN member countries need to be addressed through bilateral approach. On the institutional approach he said, ASEAN and Pakistan have already adopted the action plan, adding that there were 11 areas of importance in which Pakistan and ASEAN countries could work together and one of the areas was trade and investment. The second, he said is related to using the bilateral approach such as Pakistan can build bilateral relations with Indonesia and with other ASEAN member countries and added that by doing this, Pakistan would be able to be accepted as a full dialogue partner status and it would increase political, commercial and economic links with ASEAN member states. The Ambassador further stated that Pakistan had vast potential to increase its exports to Indonesia, mainly textile, garments, leather products, surgical instruments, and fruits. It is pertinent to mention here that the current bilateral trade between Indonesia and Pakistan is around $ 2.6 billion; with balance of trade heavily in favour of Indonesia. Answering the question related to trade imbalance between both the countries, the ambassador said the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between the two countries has enhanced Pakistan’s exports to Indonesia while in future, by signing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), trade on both sides can be further enhanced. Answering a question on Indonesian investment in China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Ambassador said that two Indonesian companies are already investing in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) of Faisalabad (Allama Iqbal Industrial City) and Thatta, Sindh Dhabeji Special Economic Zone. He said that CPEC project would emerge as a game-changer for the entire region through connectivity to Central Asia and Western China. Moreover, Indonesia could also provide coal to power projects being established under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and the domestic large-scale real estate and manufacturing sector. He further said that Pakistan and Indonesia had ample opportunities for cooperation in tourism as both sides could introduce new dimensions in promoting mutual tourism. The Ambassador said that Indonesia had provided 500 scholarships for Pakistani students to study in top Indonesian universities. Talking about culture, he said that there was considerable similarity between the food and culture of both countries. Indonesia and Pakistan already have a suitable mechanism for political coordination, economic and defense cooperation, and events on social and cultural affairs, he added. In reply to the question about the role of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Ambassador said the OIC’s role is significant, adding that the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had declared March 15 as International Day to Combat Islamophobia on a resolution introduced by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The Ambassador also lauded the role of Pakistan government in organizing an extraordinary session of the OIC on Afghanistan and then raising a voice against Islamophobia in UNGA. On Kashmir issue, he observed that there were no military solution and both Pakistan and India should resolve this issue through dialogue to find out an acceptable solution for both the countries. He further stated that OIC was a vibrant forum to resolve various issues the Muslim countries were facing. It is making a tremendous effort to reform and improve the economic and social conditions of the member states. He said that Halal food had enormous potential from a financial perspective, but if the member states do not focus on it, the OIC market could be exploited by non-OIC countries. Commenting about the economic and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, he said that Indonesia, with the collaboration of OIC members, provided humanitarian assistance to help out our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan. Moreover, Indonesia offers scholarships to Afghan students for higher studies in Indonesian universities, he expressed. The ambassador also said that now Indonesia had opened itself for tourism and there was no quarantine time for fully vaccinated visitors. Moreover, the Indonesian government has already received agreements from the relevant authorities in Pakistan to start direct flights from Pakistan to Indonesia which would further promote people to people contacts, tourism and business opportunities in the two countries.
Source: The Daily Star
The Ukraine war has led the World Trade Organization (WTO) to cut its global trade growth forecast for this year. The previous 4.7% growth forecast has been cut to 2.5% due to “the impact of the war and related policies”, said WTO boss Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The cut is also linked to continuing global supply chain problems that started as a result of the pandemic. She said disruptions would make food more costly, saying “my worry is that we have a food crisis that is brewing”. Dr Okonjo-Iweala told the BBC that although Russia and Ukraine only make up about 2.5% of global merchandise exports, they “are very, very significant in certain sectors”. “The first worry, of course, is for the people of Ukraine, who are being displaced [and] not having enough food to eat,” she said. She added the global economy was “going to suffer some severe consequences”, and said poorer countries would particularly feel the impact of the shortages, and “the supply constraints on food”. Supplies of many food products including wheat and corn have been affected following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Industry groups have warned the EU faces a shortage of sunflower oil. In total, 46.9% of global exports come from Ukraine and 29.9% from Russia according to S&P Global, but with Ukraine’s ports closed it is struggling to export it. “I’m truly worried about looming hunger, particularly in poor countries that can least afford it,” Dr Okonjo-Iweala warned. Using Africa as an example, the former Nigerian finance minister said 35 of 55 countries there imported wheat and other grains from Russia and Ukraine and 22 imported fertiliser. “Work being done by the African Development Bank now shows that in many countries, food prices are rising by 20% to 50% already,” she said. However, Dr Okonjo-Iweala said she was hopeful there were solutions to the supply problems. She said in the short term countries could be “changing our dietary tastes” to eat more homegrown products. She added in the longer term Africa was investing in “heat tolerant varieties of wheat and other crops” as it adapts to climate change.
Source: FBC News
More awareness of Pak economy in Italian business community to enhance bilateral relations delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry led by Muhammad Shakeel Munir, President called on Andreas Ferrarese, ambassador of Italy in his office on Saturday. They discussed with him the prospects for further improving bilateral trade and economic relations between the two countries. Muhammad Faheem Khan Vice President and Sheikh Amir Waheed former President ICCI were also present in the meeting. Addressing the delegation, Ambassador of Italy said that his country wanted to further strengthen trade and economic relations with Pakistan to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. He said Pakistan could achieve multiple benefits for its economy by developing close cooperation with Italy. He said that more awareness in the Italian business community about Pakistan would help in enhancing trade relations. He said that Pakistan should focus on value addition of its products and Italy can help it with its advanced technology in various fields including marble and tourism. Speaking at the occasion, Muhammad Shakeel Munir, President ICCI said that the bilateral trade between Pakistan and Italy was not reflective of their true potential and urged both the countries tofocus on developing strong business linkages between their private sectors to increase bilateral trade volume. He said that technological cooperation of Italy with Pakistan in textiles, construction, marble, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, processed food, dairy, livestock and other sectors would enable our country to upgrade its industrial capacity and produce value added products for exports promotion. He said that Pakistan has huge reserves of marble and granite and Italian technology would help it to produce value-added marble products and boost their exports. He said that Pakistan was offering incentives to foreign investors and Italian companies should take benefit of these opportunities by exploring JVs and investment in Pakistan. Muhammad Faheem Khan Vice President ICCI and Sheikh Amir Waheed former President ICCI also shared many useful proposals to further improve bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Italy.
Source: Daily Times
Nigeria’s textile industry was the third largest on the African continent, following Egypt and South Africa. It used to employ over 350,000 individuals when all the textile mills in the country were functional. The aforementioned figure was about 25% of the entire workforce in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector. It was an indisputable note that the said sector was then the second highest employer of labour, following the country’s civil service. Between 1985 and 1991, record has it that the sector had an annual growth rate of 67%. Survey showed that the number of mills in operation as at then was about 180 and they were all reportedly doing very well, especially the Kaduna Textile Limited (KTL) and Nigerian Textile Mills (NTM) in Lagos, which were the oldest having been established as at 1957. It’s therefore needless to assert that the now comatose textile industry was one of the booming subsectors of the nation’s economy during the post-independent era. The current pathetic state of the industry could not be unrelated to the level of neglect experienced by it in recent times owing to the overwhelming dependence on oil revenue. The obvious decline in, or depreciating effect of, the textile industry could be aptly traced to influx of cheaper textile fabrics from China and India, among others, sold at prices the local mills can’t compete with. This ugly trend has resulted in a drastic downfall of the industry. It would be recalled that in 2010, the Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government (FG) placed a ban on importation of textile fabrics. This approach – like other restrictive trade policies as at then – failed to yield the needed result. Rather than bringing relief in the industry as expected, the above measure regrettably ended up causing the ‘smuggling industry’ to grow more wings. This unfortunate resultant effect made it possible for continued influx of textile materials into the country. It’s noteworthy that at the moment these materials have virtually zero revenue for the government’s coffer. In a bid to alleviate the excruciating effects of the present realities, in early March 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) led by Mr. Godwin Emefiele, under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari, made a frantic move on the moribund textile industry by adding textile materials to the list of the already restricted items regarding foreign exchange (forex). In his words while disclosing the plan to the textile industry stakeholders during a meeting, Mr. Emefiele informed that the restriction would awaken the sleepy sector and ensure the required growth was actualized. The CBN’s boss, however, disclosed that – as part of the apex bank’s intervention for the industry – it would currently support the importation of cotton lint for use in textile factories with a view that the concerned importers shall start sourcing all the needed cottons locally, commencing from 2020. He further stated that as part of the CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the bank would also assist local growers of cotton towards enabling them meet the entire need of the textile industry domiciled in the Nigerian State. Additionally, he notified that the Mother bank would support Nigeria’s cotton farmers to source high yield cotton seedlings with a view to meeting global benchmarks. It’s worthy of note that the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), alongside the Senior Staff Association of Textile (SSAT), applauded the Emefiele-led CBN over its restriction of forex to textile importers, saying it would go a long way in rejuvenating the moribund industry. In a related reaction, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) however cautioned the FG over the strong move. In his statement, the Director-General of the body Mr. Musa Yusuf opined that there was need for a strategic approach before such policy pronouncement was made. Mr. Yusuf argued that given the position of Nigeria in Africa as a leader in fashion, the range of fabrics being produced by the Nigerian textile industry could not favourably support the industry in terms of the quantity and quality required by the consumers. He therefore urged the government to reconsider the CBN’s move, which he described as ‘harsh’. In his swift response to the argument, Mr. Emefiele clarified that the measures as announced by the apex bank were targeted to revive the Cotton, Garment and Textile sector. According to the boss, “the measures were well thought out to reposition the sector for job creation and economic growth”. To assert the least, the inclusion of the textile materials into the list of the restricted items regarding forex couldn’t have come at a better time than now. The textile industry is almost going into extinction and the era when the FG is apparently intensifying its diversification mantra. It suffices to enthuse that the frantic move was, without equivocation, a welcome development and a round peg in a round hole. I’m even of the candid view that the austerity measure ought to have been implemented long before it came on board. Meanwhile, it’s appalling that two years down the line, absolutely nothing is being felt as regards improvement of the said sector, perhaps owing to lack of policy direction and insincerity on the part of the concerned authorities. Knowing full well that epileptic power supply has hitherto been an overwhelming plight in the manufacturing sector at large, it’s preposterous to remind the FG that efforts need to be thoroughly intensified towards boosting the said source of energy. This will help tremendously to encourage the prospective cotton millers. Similarly, towards encouraging the cotton growers, the farmers ought to be made to easily assess funds or low-interest loans to enable each of them purchase the needed machinery. It’s not anymore news that the continual deployment of crude pattern of cultivation and harvest has overtime bedeviled Nigeria’s agricultural sector. In the same vein, the governments at all levels should equally assist in providing adequate irrigation systems for the farmers domiciled in their respective jurisdictions. The enabling environment must holistically be provided by the governments for business to strive. Inter alia, acknowledging that policies of this kind are often, in the long run, frustrated by the forex black markets littered all over the country as well as importation smugglers, the FG must seriously implement measures to tactically checkmate these markets and our various borders, respectively. It’s quite appalling that a few years after the policy was reportedly implemented by Nigeria’s apex bank, nothing tangible has been achieved in the country in regard to the textile sector. Hence, the concerned stakeholders and authorities must be prepared to fish out the bad eggs militating the progress of the lofty initiative.
Source: Tekedia
Hundreds of factories have sprung up in recent years Hundreds of sewing thread manufacturing units have sprung up in Bangladesh in recent years, allowing the country to nearly attain self-sufficiency in the major garment accessory. As a result, apparel manufacturers have been able to cut their over-reliance on the imported raw materials and maintain strict lead time. Sewing thread is mainly used in stitching garment items. And 10 years ago, local garment manufacturers and exporters were fully dependent on imported sewing thread. But now some of the major producers are even exporting the accessory after meeting local demand. Currently, 20 local and multinational sewing thread mills produce more than 100 tonnes of the item a day. Although the contribution of the sewing thread is less than 1 per cent to the total garment export of $36 billion, it is vital for manufacturing a finished garment item. In the past decade, the sewing thread sector witnessed an investment worth Tk 1,000 crore, according to industry people. Sanzi Textile Mills, located in Kalurghat of Chattogram, invested Tk 100 crore in 1995 to make sewing thread. Today, it produces 30 tonnes of thread per day. "We are meeting the rising demand in the domestic and international markets," said Syed Nurul Islam, chairman of Well Group, the owning company of the textile company. Islam plans to invest in another factory to produce leather sewing thread since the leather and leather goods industry is also growing in Bangladesh. Currently, almost all of the required leather sewing thread is imported. "Leather sewing thread has a very bright future in Bangladesh because leather and leather goods industries are performing strongly," he said. Sanzi Textile Mills' market share in the sewing thread segment is 30 per cent, raking in $20 million annually. It also ships more than $6 million worth of the accessory a year. Islam puts the local sewing thread market at $150 million. Previously, garment manufacturers relied on China and Hong Kong for sewing thread. Now, local manufacturers can supply 95 per cent of the accessory, while the rest is imported owing to the special requirement from international retailers and brands. DBL Group, a garment exporter, invested Tk 200 crore in 2016 to set up Eco Threads & Yarns to make quality sewing thread. It produces 10 tonnes of sewing thread a day at its Kashimpur factory in Gazipur. Of the produce, the company consumes 20 per cent and the rest 80 per cent is sold to other garment manufacturers, said MA Jabbar, managing director of the group. DBL Group is eyeing expansion in the segment. "I have a plan to set up a unit to produce sewing thread in Vietnam within two to three years as buyers are nominating our thread for their products due to its higher quality," Jabbar said. Eco Threads & Yarns sells sewing thread worth $25 million annually at present and plans to double the sales by 2025. "Even a few years ago, local garment manufacturers were mainly dependent on multinational companies to procure sewing thread, but now local companies are capable of producing internationally standard sewing thread," Jabbar said. Although the country has become self-reliant on sewing thread, the associated raw materials need to be imported, according to Abdul Kader Khan, managing director of Khan Accessories and Packaging Ltd. He invested Tk 7 crore to establish a sewing thread unit in Tongi a few years ago to produce 70 tonnes of thread a month. Nearly 200 manufacturers are engaged in producing sewing thread for export-oriented garment factories, but few of them dominate the market, said Abul Quasem Haider, president of the Bangladesh Sewing Thread Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Local manufacturers can supply more than 90 per cent of cotton-made sewing thread. But in the case of the synthetic-made thread, they can cater 70 per cent of the demand, and the remaining 30 per cent comes from imports, mainly from China. More than 100 small and medium-sized mills serve the local sewing thread market.
Source: The Daily Star
