Had the duty been abolished at least a few months ago, several export orders could have been saved, claim traders. The government’s decision to remove import duty on cotton will reduce the prices of the commodity and help exporters, but it should have come earlier, say traders. The withdrawal of import duty on cotton is a big relief, says Sumit Jain, the MD of Delhi-based Kanin Originals, a manufacturer and exporter of cotton-based readymade garments. But he asserts that the decision was belated. “For the last 6-7 months, there has been a consistent spike in cotton prices every fortnight. Several orders we had got cancelled due to the high prices. We couldn't execute many business commitments as the steep price hike derailed our original manufacturing plans and timelines. This step partly addresses our concerns. Currently, we can't plan anything as there is so much price volatility," says Jain, who serves clients in China, Europe, West Asia and Africa. Cotton prices have been rising because of a combination of factors involving supply shortage and a rise in demand. Excessive rain in cotton-growing areas has affected output in India, the world’s leading producer of the commodity. The US had in 2020 imposed sanctions on cotton suppliers from Xinjiang in China, the second largest producer. About 45% of the world’s production is from India and China, according to the US Department of Agriculture. While post-Covid revenge buying caused a rise in demand for cotton, the logistics and supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic have jammed the global trade routes. These are among the factors that have inflated cotton prices while curbing supply. Industry observers told ET Online that in October 2021, the popular Shankar 6 variety of cotton cost Rs 59,000 a candy. This soared to Rs 90,000 in April 2022, hurting manufacturers and exporters. On April 13, the government removed import duty on cotton till September 30, 2022. The decision effectively meant that the customs duty on raw cotton has now been reduced from 10% to nil, in an effort to stabilise prices. The industry has been demanding the removal of the import duty at least since October 2021. The country's textile exporting community hailed the decision but also added that it was “late” by at least a few months. "My only observation is that if the decision had come sooner — by 2-3 months, it would have greatly eased pressure on our export shipments," says Pentappa Irappa Goddam, Director of Solapur District Powerloom Association. Manufacturing and exports of towels and bedsheets from the MSME-dominated district in Maharashtra were severely affected in the last 8-10 months due to the hike in cotton price, he adds. Traders and exporters say to effectively help the domestic textile industry, the government should take more steps right away. Jain of Kanin Originals suggests the government put some curbs on yarn export as that would bring some stability to the garment industry. The government has to also take a firm view on measures needed to control the export of cotton in order to help add value to cotton products, says Prakash P, Manager at Karurbased textile firm Aarthia Impex. India exported $43 billion worth of textiles in 2021-22, against $33 billion in the previous year. The HomeTextile Exporters Welfare Association (HEWA) insists the figure could have been much higher if the prices had not gone up so steeply. For now, the domestic textile industry is willing to take solace from their view that the duty exemption would bring stability to prices and spur activity in the entire textile chain — yarn, fabric, garments and made-ups. The exemption will particularly help MSMEs in the sector as they are already facing stiff competition from other countries. “With the cost of cotton spiralled up in 6 months, many small players would have faced mill closure. Removal of the import duty will ease pressure on manufacturers who had to deal with shortages,” says Ronak Chiripal, CEO of Nandan Terry Limited. The import duty had placed textile manufacturers at a disadvantage against Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam — economies that are now giving Indian players tough pricing competition — adds the chief of the Ahmedabad-based textile firm. HEWA has appealed to the government to introduce some checks and balances to stop the uncontrolled exports of raw materials to competing countries such as China and Bangladesh. Such uncontrolled outflow of the country’s raw material considerably disturbs the supply-demand cycle of our domestic manufacturers, it added. Removing the import duty is also expected to bring down the scarcity created by hoarders. Director of HEWA Anant Srivastava says this is likely to be the biggest impact of the decision as it would have a huge impact on cotton hoarders who were profiteering from the scarcity. “The government's decision has started yielding results. It will bring a full stop to the volatile situation that has been prevalent in the last 6-8 months. Further, it will lead to hassle-free availability of cotton in the off season,” Srivastava adds. If the government wants to promote value-added exports, the association says, it should also revoke export incentives on raw materials, including RoDTEP and duty drawback benefits. Such a rejig in policy shift is needed as it is an established fact that value addition and finished goods can generate 10x more employment opportunities and 2-5x more revenue in exports, the industry body adds.
Source: Economic Times
Synopsis Integration is the key to boosting trade, transport connectivity, electricity transmission and climate change in the region. If the countries lift some of the policy restrictions and create a more modern trade infrastructure, we estimate the total inter-regional trade to increase by $44 billion. India needs to remove trade restrictions, reduce tariffs and provide seamless connectivity at the borders to reap the trade benefits in the South Asian region, Cecile Fruman, director, regional integration and engagement, South Asia, World Bank, said in an interview with ET’s Yogima Seth Sharma. Edited excerpts: How will integration of countries in the South Asian region help? Integration is the key to boosting trade, transport connectivity, electricity transmission and climate change in the region. If the countries lift some of the policy restrictions and create a more modern trade infrastructure, we estimate the total inter-regional trade to increase by $44 billion. Please elaborate on the policy restrictions that you are referring to? In terms of trade, this is the region that has restrictive trade policies, and that results in high tariffs and non-tariff barriers. So the cost of trading is very high. Also, the cost of moving goods across the border is very high and there is a need for customs modernisation with focus on moving towards digitalisation and risk space inspection. What is the role of the World Bank in strengthening inter-regional trade and addressing some of these challenges? Our role is to support our client countries. We come in where there is demand. For instance, we are working on the policy side in creating an enabling environment for a shared electricity market. We are also working on some of the investments in terms of production, distribution and transmission of electricity. How significates India in the South Asia region? India has a big role to play in the South Asia region with 72% of the region’s population and 76% of its GDP. Therefore, India has a very important leadership role to play in terms of setting the agenda for inter-regional integration, cooperation and supporting and implementing that agenda. What are some of the big things that India needs to do to reap the benefits oftrade in the South Asian region? India has signed FTAs with most of the countries in the region. However, there are still a number of tariffs and non-tariff barriers that are very high and that can sometimes be a very high bar to reach for exporters. So, greater openness on the policy front is important, which means modernising the trade policy and tariffs. Further, seamless connectivity and thinner borders are essential to ensure benefits accrue to India and particularly to the states in the north-east. It will open opportunities for greater trade in agricultural goods and for tourism as well. There is also a need to support the private sector. While some firms grow into exports on their own, others need support in terms of capacity building, knowing their neighbours and understanding the market needs to help them improve on their competitiveness. Investment is required in improving infrastructure connectivity, including improving roads and waterways, while making sure those investments are inclusive and the benefits of those investments accrue to the communities. The South Asian region has one of the highest rates of poverty in the world and the pandemic has worsened the situation. What are the urgent steps that can be taken to pull a huge population out of poverty? The World Bank’s core mission is to reduce poverty and boost shared prosperity. So a large part of our work is in this space. From a regional perspective, we see that further regional integration can have very significant growth and poverty benefits. By supporting greater trade openness, by reducing the transactions on connectivity and by bringing cleaner and cheaper energy sources we can make services more accessible to the poor and can also create new opportunities in terms of livelihood and jobs.
Source: Economic Times
This compensation cess is credited to the compensation fund and as per the Act, all compensation is paid out of the fund. Ahead of the end of five-year assured compensation period on June 30, the Centre on Wednesday acknowledged that an amount of Rs 78,704 crore was yet to be released to the state governments towards fully compensating them for their Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue shortfall for the financial year 2021-22. However, the government has already paid GST compensation for 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21. “Including the assistance released on back-to-back basis, Rs 7.35 trillion has been released to states till now and, currently, only for the year 2021-22, compensation of Rs 78,704 crore is pending due to inadequate balance in the fund, which is equivalent to compensation of four months,” the finance ministry said in a status report on GST compensation. At the time of introduction of GST, the Constitution amendment provided that the Parliament, by law shall provide compensation to states for a period of five years for loss of revenue due to introduction of GST. Accordingly, the GST Compensation to States Act was legislated which provides for release of compensation against 14% year-on-year growth over revenues in 2015-16 from taxes subsumed in GST. This compensation cess is credited to the compensation fund and as per the Act, all compensation is paid out of the fund. Currently, cess is levied on items like pan masala, tobacco, coal and cars. Compensation of about Rs 49,000 crore has been released for 2017-18 from the fund, which increased to Rs 83,000 crore for 2018-19 and further to Rs 1.65 trillion in 2019-20. For these three years, almost Rs 3 trillion compensation was released to states. However, the compensation requirement increased substantially during 2020-21 due to impact of Covid on revenues. To ensure that states have adequate and timely resources to combat Covid and related issues, Centre borrowed Rs 1.1 trillion in 2020-21 and Rs 1.59 trillion in 2021-22 and passed it on to states on a back-to-back basis.
Source: Financial Express
The India Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), signed on April 2, targets to help increase annual bilateral trade to $50 billion in five years from about $27.5 billion in 2021. India and Australia should aim for sharply raising annual bilateral trade to $100 billion because “sky is the limit”, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has played a crucial role in shaping the recently-concluded interim trade deal, said here on Tuesday. The India Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), signed on April 2, targets to help increase annual bilateral trade to $50 billion in five years from about $27.5 billion in 2021. Both the sides are planning to use the deal to take bilateral commerce to new heights. This interim deal is supposed to be followed by a full-fledged free trade agreement (FTA). Abbott, who is now the special trade envoy to the Australian Prime Minister, was speaking at a function where Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Barry O’Farrell AO, released an update to a 2018 report titled, An India Economic Strategy to 2035: Navigating From Potential to Delivery. “This update includes a five-year plan for the Australian government to help achieve its long-term economic ambitions with India,” the High Commissioner said. “India and Australia have complementary economies. And our partnership is vital as we both strive for stronger, sustainable economic growth, and more secure and diversified trade and supply chains,” he added. According to this strategy, Australia remains committed to the ambitious goal to lift India into its top three export markets by 2035 and make New Delhi the third-largest destination in Asia for outward Australian investment. The update responds to evolving challenges and opportunities for both the countries, including lessons learned during the pandemic, efforts to bolster supply chain resilience, India’s economic reform agenda and progress under the Australia-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The ECTA promises preferential access to all Indian goods in five years (from 96.4% immediately after the pact comes into effect) and 85% of Australian products (from 70% to start with) to each other’s market. Indian yoga instructors, chefs, students and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) graduates will have easier access to Australia while premium wine from that country will make greater inroads into Indian supermarkets once the ECTA comes into force. Moreover, Australia recently announced an investment of over AUD $280 million (Rs 1,500 crore), including to support new programmes and initiatives across technology, space, critical minerals, strategic research and people-to-people links, to bolster cooperation with India.
Source: Financial Express
The growth trajectory for Indian manufacturing must take into account not just the current value-added, but also the challenges of the future and which sectors may be emergent. My last column analysed India’s push into semiconductor manufacturing from the perspective of its Digital India initiative, and the benefits of enhancing expertise in an area where global demand growth is bound to be strong. The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme that is being used to fuel this push is actually much broader in scope, and is, of course, tied to the Make in India initiative launched at about the same time as Digital India. Make in India has yet to yield appreciable results, but the PLI and the concentration on specific sectors are steps in the right direction—certain kinds of public investments and incentives are needed to change the trajectory of Indian manufacturing. India’s need to create new productive jobs is so great that it has to look beyond any one sector. At the same time, a lack of focus will hamper achieving significant change anywhere. In this context, a McKinsey analysis that offers “A New Growth Formula for Indian Manufacturing” is a useful framework for thinking about strategic priorities. The report was written by Rajat Dhawan and Suvojoy Sengupta, and published in October 2020, in the early days of the Covid pandemic. Their approach is analytically clear—they try to identify manufacturing sectors, or, to use their terminology and conceptual framework, value chains, where India is well-positioned in terms of resources and opportunities. The result is a list of 11 value chains with the greatest potential to add value to India’s economy. According to their calculations, these 11 sectors could increase their gross value added (GVA) by $320 billion within 7 years. If India’s GDP is $5 trillion by then, this would represent a 6% boost in level, or additional growth of close to 1% a year. Of course, these numbers are very rough, but they suggest that the estimates are realistic, even conservative. In terms of additional GVA, the top three sectors in the report are chemicals, agriculture and food, and electronics and semiconductors, representing over half the growth opportunity. Unlike electronics and semiconductors, the first two sectors are established or even mature, but they lack scale and productivity. Much of the growth opportunity in these sectors lies in domestic markets, not exports, so the barriers to success are not in areas such as port infrastructure or market knowledge and access. In Indian manufacturing, as a whole. both labor and capital productivity are low, so the challenge is to identify specific pain points and how to overcome them. Taking agriculture—so much in the news because of the failed “farm bills”—as an example, the report proposes, “Raising productivity by strengthening farmer-producer organisations so they can diffuse new technologies and promote sound agronomic practices, such as minimum tillage and plant population management.” It also proposes investments in irrigation and precision agriculture. There is a chicken-and-egg problem in the case of agriculture, since farmers are not in a position to make these investments without reforms in the whole value chain, but it is arguable that starting with public investment at the farm level is a better approach than starting with later stages of the value chain. In the case of chemicals, the report just argues for scaling up, and points out the enormous disparity in productivity between India and countries such as South Korea. But it does not dive deeply into the causes, and that would be needed to understand what the true barriers to growth are in some of India’s manufacturing sectors. Industry studies of determinants of productivity are not unknown in India, but they are rarely high-profile analyses, and sometimes stop short of understanding the root causes of relative stagnation, although more general discussions have pointed the finger at management quality. Of course, the size of growth opportunities over the next few years cannot be the only drivers of strategic focus. Renewable energy, a negligible contributor to the GVA numbers, will have an increasing and dominant importance over the next two decades, and accelerating investments in this sector makes strategic sense beyond anything that can be easily quantified at present. Another example is aerospace and defence, which is a small and somewhat established sector, but one where India would benefit the most from greater self-reliance. Indeed, energy and defence are the two cases where the recent government focus on self-reliance truly makes sense. A final conceptual piece of India’s manufacturing strategy has to be the design of policies to increase worker skills, and to increase access to finance for its firms. The latter is a general need across the economy, but manufacturing firms are more likely to require fixed capital investments, and are hurt more by lack of adequate finance for expansion, upgrading, or working capital. One could argue that there is nothing conceptually novel in the McKinsey report, but it provides a clear and focused quantitative analysis, with implications for strategic policymaking, and pointers toward where further understanding and analysis are needed. To the extent that Indian policymaking can move in this direction, decades of relative stagnation in manufacturing may finally come to an end.
Source: Indian Express
E-commerce in the country is expected to reach $130 billion by 2026, as compared to $45 billion in 2021, according to the report As the country recovers from the pandemic, the retail industry has resumed its growth trajectory and is likely to witness 10 per cent annual growth to reach approximately USD 2 trillion by 2032, according to a report. According to a BCG-RAI report titled "Racing towards the next wave of Retail in India", while certain industry segments like food and grocery, restaurants and Quick service restaurant (QSR), and consumer durables have recovered to pre-COVID levels, others like jewellery and accessory, apparel, and footwear remain on track to a full recovery. "The Indian economy continues to be driven by consumption and we are observing that consumption growth is back in the positive territory after the two-year COVID pause," BCG Managing Director and Senior Partner Abheek Singhi said. Noting that India's retail industry will grow to approx USD 2 trillion in the next 10 years, Singhi said "the next decade will see organised retailers focus on footprint expansion, across all formats - offline and online - to fuel future growth". As per the report India's consumption, which was growing at approximately 12 per cent pre-pandemic, went into negative territory during the pandemic but has now recovered to surpass pre-pandemic growth levels at 17 per cent. E-commerce in the country is expected to reach USD 130 billion by 2026, as compared to USD 45 billion in 2021, according to the report. "The rising competition and the need for constantly improving the customer value proposition is driving the rise of ecosystems and the customers are approached by players across retail and non-retail. We are seeing examples of this trend already in India and is expected to significantly transform the entire landscape in the future," added Rachit Mathur, Managing Director and Partner, Consumer & Retail Practice, BCG. The report is an in-depth study of retail players in the country, identifying challenges in the prevailing environment and highlighting emerging trends and models that can potentially shape the future of retail.
Source: Business-standard
In a letter to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi, FOSTTA has mentioned that traders are facing a lot of hurdles in renting shops in textile markets of these areas, as they have to obtain a compulsory 'Ashant dhara' certificate. THE FEDERATION of Surat textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) on Wednesday requested the state government to remove the textile markets falling in Salabatpura, Mahidharpura and Limbayat areas in Surat from the purview of Disturbed Areas Act, as it was “creating hurdles for business”. Under the Disturbed Areas Act, a district collector can notify a particular area of a city or town as a “disturbed area”, which is generally done based on the history of communal riots in the area. Immovable assets like property can only be sold or rented in such areas if the collector expressly signs off on an application made by the owner or seller and renter or buyer of the property. In a letter to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi, FOSTTA has mentioned that traders are facing a lot of hurdles in renting shops in textile markets of these areas, as they have to obtain a compulsory ‘Ashant dhara’ certificate. In the letter, FOSTTA general secretary Champalal Bothra said that textile traders have to spend Rs 8,000 for getting the necessary documents and also have to pay for a lawyer to prepare documents. It takes around a month to get the Ashant dhara documents made and the traders also have to produce other required documents like the 11-month rent agreement. FOSTTA also highlighted that this plight is mostly being faced by medium and small traders, as they have to visit the collector’s office regularly to obtain such documents and can apply for GST number — necessary for conducting business — only after the rent agreement has been made. Earlier, representations through memorandum was made to the Surat district collector by FOSTTA against the rule of Ashant dhara, but till date no steps have been taken. Bothra told The Indian Express, “If a Hindu shop owner wanted to give his shop on rent to another Hindu trader, Ashant Dhara documents are necessary. This makes business difficult for traders and conflict arises between shop owner and tenant as to who will bear the one-month rent while the documents are being processed.” Surat Mercantile Association president Narendra Saboo said, “There are 165 textile trading markets in Surat which houses around 65,000 trading shops… Only 20 percent of the shops are run by owners while the remaining are given in rent… Majority of the shop owners and tenants are from other states and they face great difficulties. We request the state government to remove Disturb Areas Act from textile markets in Surat,” he added.
Source: Indian Express
UK Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan was giving evidence to the House of Commons International Trade Committee when she was asked about the timeline announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his visit to India last week. The UK's minister driving the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with India said on Wednesday that the Diwali deadline set for a deal is a good "landing point" as there is "real optimism" on both sides. UK Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan was giving evidence to the House of Commons International Trade Committee when she was asked about the timeline announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his visit to India last week. The minister said the negotiating teams, currently in India for the third round of FTA talks, have been "going at pace" and if they come across "bumps in the road", those will be dealt with accordingly. "Diwali seems like a good landing point. Like all of these things, if you provide a political anchor it helps drive the energy,” said Trevelyan, in response to questions from the crossparty parliamentary committee. "But we may yet come across areas of disagreement and need more time on (them). But our respective Prime Ministers have given us that landing zone and there is real optimism and real effort on both sides… the team are out there this week moving into the next stage, looking at the various chapters where those areas of agreement are and indeed looking at the text already, which is really exciting,” she said. "The Prime Minister was out last weekend, helping champion all the work that my team are doing to move forwards on an India FTA," she added. The senior Cabinet minister also indicated that while an interim agreement by mid-April ahead of a full-fledged FTA by year-end had been on the agenda, there has been a mindset shift on the Indian side to go ahead for a completed agreement by October. "It (interim agreement) is a tool, but their mindset has changed since doing deals with Australia and UAE. Getting an interim agreement by mid-April fell away by virtue of resource capacity within their trade team,” said Trevelyan, with reference to India's recently concluded trade agreements with Australia and the UAE. "Actually, now having had two rounds of talks with their fantastic team, there is a sense that we probably can do more than perhaps those early conversations; which is why we have all set ourselves the challenge to see if we can draw what will be the broad FTA that both parties want to see through the course of this year,” she said. The minister was also questioned about India's "neutrality" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its impact on the talks. However, Trevelyan was clear that the "trade track" of the bilateral relationship was not tied in with the diplomatic side. "Every country takes a position. India's taken a neutral position… The key is that trade deals aren't the tool for the broader diplomatic agreement discussion. Those continue and there's continuing discussions around areas of policy difference, whatever they might be,” she said. "What we will continue to do is encourage everybody to think about how their relationship, either with Russia or indeed with Ukraine, can be enhanced or reduced in order to bring this war to an end as quickly as we can," she noted. The minister highlighted that while historically, FTAs have been very much about "straight forward movement of goods", they are now about looking beyond to areas such as innovation. On a specific question on whether her negotiating team has a mandate to raise issues around the Russia-Ukraine conflict, she said: "No, they have a very clear mandate to continue discussing the broad range of trade issues that we want to see in a trade deal with India." The minister reiterated that the UK wants to see a "broad partnership" covering defence and strategic ties and as part of those discussions UK minister of state for defence procurement Jeremy Quin has been out in India for the last few days talking to his counterparts in India. "So, lots of different tracks going on but for the FTA, we have a mandate from across Whitehall and the team are cracking on with making progress and we'll see how we go. We hope we can make good progress, but we may yet encounter challenges,” she said. During his two-day visit to India, Johnson had announced that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have told the negotiators to get the FTA done by Diwali, which falls on October 24 this year. On the eve of the visit, officials had confirmed that four out of 26 chapters within the FTA have been finalised during the first two rounds since the negotiations began in January and "significant progress" has been made in the remaining 22 chapters.
Source: Economic Times
Turkiye wants to deepen ties with Latin America. During Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's six-country tour of the region recently, he reiterated his country’s will to strengthen such cooperation and raise bilateral trade with South America. He first visited Uruguway, followed by Brazil. His itinerary includes visits to Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Venezuela. The minister said in Montevideo that the number of Turkish embassies in the region had increased from six to 17 in the last two decades. The number of Latin American embassies in Ankara also reached 16, up from six, in the same period. Turkiye is looking forward to the opening of Uruguay's embassy in Ankara, he was quoted as saying in an official release. Cavusoglu said in Brazil, its biggest commercial partner in Latin America, that both sides are aiming for a trade volume of $10 billion (TL 147.90 billion).
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Coats Digital is delighted to announce that Vietnamese apparel manufacturer Viet Vuong Trading Co. Ltd. has reduced its fabric wastage to under 2 per cent, resulting in fabric cost savings of almost 3 per cent as a result of implementing Coats Digital’s IntelloCut solution. Additional benefits realised include Bill of Material (BOM) savings of 1.13 per cent. Located in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, top apparel manufacturer Viet Vuong Trading Co. Ltd. is a privately-owned Vietnamese company with three factories and 50 production lines. Viet Vuong has enjoyed steady growth since its inception in 1999, employing over 3,700 people, and produces over three million jackets and trousers every year. Viet Vuong is committed to delivering sustainable manufacturing processes wherever possible and reducing its fabric wastage to zero is a top priority. The company has secured recognition for being a green-friendly factory from: WRAP - a charity, working with governments, businesses and citizens around the globe to create a world in which resources are used sustainably; Better Work - which improves global garment industry conditions - and the sustainable building programme, LEED, the companies said in a joint statement. Prior to implementing IntelloCut, Viet Vuong used Excel spreadsheets to assess and monitor its fabric costing and utilisation processes. This manually executed operation resulted in limited visibility into accurate fabric consumption calculations and unnecessary wastage due to a lack of available data regarding material usage on the production floor. CEO of Viet Vuong Trading Co. Ltd. said: “Before IntelloCut, all the cutting data was spread between disconnected spreadsheets and emails, so it was difficult to compile the data to analyse key trends related to fabric consumption and wastage. With IntelloCut, we have gained visibility over the entire cutting floor and through the intuitive real-time reports on fabric performance, we now have the ability to make data-backed decisions to optimise fabric utilisation, reduce wastage and ultimately support the sustainable growth of our business.” With no robust method in place to provide an accurate breakdown of fabric wastage, the management team at Viet Vuong found it difficult to make informed business decisions about how much fabric to buy to fulfil orders. If the company purchased more fabric than it needed, it would lose profit from dead stock; and if it bought less than was actually required, it would lose profit by having to buy in more material at its own expense, as these additional costs had not been factored into initial customer quotes. “IntelloCut helped us to establish an efficient fabric planning and cutting process by providing fast and accurate cutting execution plans as well as effective fabric tracking and real-time reporting of the cutting floor. This has allowed us to eliminate error-prone manual processes, saving us a huge amount of time and effort," added the CEO. Following the implementation of IntelloCut, Viet Vuong was afforded the full visibility and tracking of fabric consumption and wastage it needed to make factual data-based decisions about the fabric it purchased and how it was utilised. By digitising these costing and cutting processes, Viet Vuong significantly optimised its fabric utilisation rate to over 98 per cent, reducing its fabric wastage to under 2 per cent. The solution increased production efficiencies which meant shorter lead times for customers, but also greatly reduced the time and effort planning teams required to create capacity forecasts, freeing up more time to enhance customer satisfaction objectives overall. Fundamentally, the implementation had a direct positive impact on the company’s bottom line within months of implementation, with Viet Vuong reporting fabric savings of nearly 3 per cent and Bill of Materials (BOM) savings of 1.13 per cent. “IntelloCut has allowed us to gain full control over fabric usage in our cutting department and with the ability to plan and re-plan the fabric based on real time cutting floor feedback, we have successfully reduced our fabric wastage to under 2 per cent which is a great achievement for us and propels us towards our sustainability goals,” the CEO further said. Coats Digital’s IntelloCut is designed to give full control over fabric usage in the cutting room by optimising key processes, including: the generation of cut plans, lay plans and allocation, end bit usage, capacity planning/tracking and reporting. The solution’s automated, closed-loop approach to fabric planning reduces the amount of time and effort spent on planning and re-planning and maximises fabric utilisation on the production floor. Tan Demir, associate manager, Coats Digital, said: “It is great news that Viet Vuong has achieved such significant results since the implementation of IntelloCut. The solution has not only increased Viet Vuong’s profitability, but also helped it realise a few of its ambitious sustainability targets, by reducing fabric waste and operational costs, which are all factors increasingly become uppermost in the minds of more discerning consumers.”
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Sri Lanka stocks rallied, marking their first day of gains since April 5 The World Bank will extend $600 million in financial assistance to Sri Lanka in two phases to address its economic crisis, according to a statement from the president’s office of the country. Sri Lanka stocks rallied, marking their first day of gains since April 5. The Colombo All-Share Index ended 6.8 per cent higher, after losing about 15 per cent in the past two days. The bluechip S&P Sri Lanka 20 Index surged 14 per cent. Trading had to be suspended in the prior two sessions within minutes of the open as the S&P gauge fell by its daily set limit. The first instalment of $400 million from the World Bank will be released shortly “to meet medicinal drugs and health needs, social security, agricultural and food security and gas needs,” the statement said. In a meeting between World Bank representatives and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the multilateral institution pledged to continue providing assistance for overcoming the economic crisis
Source: Business-standard
South Korea is projected to see export growth in the steel and textile sectors if the nation becomes a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. But sectors like machinery, fine chemistry and auto parts could suffer handicaps in the wake of the technology gap with Japan, according to forecasts from a variety of business lobbies. The associations delivered their outlook for each industry if the country were to be a member of the CPTPP to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy during a meeting with Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, held in Seoul on Wednesday. Their predictions come as the Korean government is poised to submit an application to join the CPTPP, an entity aimed at multilateral free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region. The local business associations expected that Korea would be able to overcome disadvantages, compared to Japan, in export destinations including Mexico, Vietnam and Malaysia under entry to the CPTPP. They picked steel and textiles as major segments that would see boosts in outbound shipments to the three nations. In addition, they said digital-oriented companies could possibly see steady growth when free trade terms on data-related business are introduced in the multilateral entity. In contrast, the lobbies cast worries over a scenario in which some sectors, including auto parts, would suffer difficulties in export competitiveness. They called for the government to take preemptive countermeasures against the projected disadvantages in an active manner. Government officials replied that relevant ministries would expand support for small and midsized enterprises specializing in materials, assembly parts and equipment, as well as others seeking futuristic industries. The support will be provided in terms of research and development, manpower, financial loans, digitalization and eco-friendly measures, said the officials. Minister Yeo said, “The nation needs to find a fresh opportunity via the CPTPP in a bid to attain another takeoff of the economy.” The government would consult business associations to minimize any side effects caused by the entry to the entity of multilateral trade agreements. The CPTPP is the renegotiated version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership initiated by the Barack Obama administration. In 2017, his successor Donald Trump withdrew from the TPP, which was widely seen as key to countering China’s growing economic clout. The multilateral trade pact, launched in December 2018, has been signed by 11 countries: Japan, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Zealand and Australia. Korea’s willingness to join the pact came several months after China submitted an application to accede from the CPTPP in a surprising move, with Taiwan following suit.
Source: The Investor
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which came into effect on January 1 last year after the United Kingdom’s trade ties with the European Union (EU) ended, has increased trade costs between both sides, according to research by London School of Economics (LSE). The TCA resulted in a major disruption of UK-EU trade though there was no evidence of reduced trade, it found. Under the TCA, UK-EU trade remains tariff and quota free, but the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the EU’s single market or customs union. The LSE researchers—Rebecca Freeman, Kalina Manova, Thomas Prayer and Thomas Sampson—estimate that the implementation of the new trade relationship led to a sudden and persistent 25 per cent fall in UK imports from the EU relative to the rest of the world. In contrast, they found a smaller and only temporary decline in relative UK exports to the EU. Nevertheless, there was a sharp drop in the number of trade relationships between UK exporters and EU importers, which suggests that the introduction of the TCA caused many UK firms to stop exporting to the EU. Total UK export growth compared to that of other advanced economies was weak in 2021, but their analysis suggests that this weakness cannot be explained by a decline in relative exports to the EU, they wrote in a blog post on the LSE website. It is surprising that the TCA had a greater effect on imports than exports in 2021, particularly since the UK delayed the introduction of many customs checks on EU imports until 2022, they noted. The TCA led to a fall of around 30 per cent in the number of export relationships (or export ‘varieties’) with the EU relative to the rest of the world and a smaller, but still significant, drop in the relative number of import relationships. The decline in export relationships is moreover driven by the exit of low-value relationships.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
The Microfibre Consortium (TMC) has issued a call to action to the textile industry to better control microfibres in wastewater during the production of apparel, ahead of the publication of its new guidelines. TMC is a research-led sustainable textiles NGO, working to convene the global textiles sector through The Microfibre 2030 Commitment and Roadmap. In support of the capture of unintentional fibre loss during manufacture, TMC is proposing a wide, cross industry adoption of the Preliminary Guidelines, ‘Control of Microfibres in Wastewater’ within the global supply base, so that an aligned and industry wide adoption of these best practices can achieve the greatest impact. The document is the result of an extensive two-year development process led by TMC’s manufacturing task team and involved partners from across the industry, designed to help companies better control microfibres in wastewater during the production of apparel, it says. TMC says the document is the latest tool for manufacturers to use as part of meaningful, science-based, co-ordinated action on fibre fragmentation from natural and synthetic textiles and will be available to signatories of the Microfibre 2030 Commitment from 6 May. TMC has engaged with organisations throughout the global textile sector to develop these preliminary guidelines and is urging companies to get involved in the initiative and incorporate the guidelines into their manufacturing processes. As understanding improves, TMC says it will continue to work with the industry to revise and enhance the guidelines presented in the document. Dr Kelly Sheridan, head of research at The Microfibre Consortium, commented: “Getting involved […] has allowed me to combine my experience of writing and reviewing scientific publications with my forensic science background. This will ensure that the manufacturing guidelines are not only valid scientifically, but are also simply communicated from top to bottom, through policy makers to manufacturers, to provide an aligned action plan.” Following the publication of Control of Microfibres in Wastewater, TMC hopes that there will be wide, cross industry adoption of the preliminary guidelines. Support throughout the global supply chain will allow for an aligned and industry wide adoption of best practices that can achieve the greatest impact in a timely manner, it says. TMC says all businesses along the footwear and apparel value chain (i.e. brands, retailers and their supply chain partners) have a responsibility to adopt and adhere to aligned cross industry guidelines to minimise impact from fibre fragmentation and that equal priority should be placed on both synthetic and natural fibres which both shed during manufacturing. Sophie Mather, executive director, TMC, adds: “To achieve substantive, long term change in the industry we need a critical mass of action across the supply chain. Control of Microfibres in Wastewater can be a key step towards securing that, but only if companies are prepared to commit to the manufacturing guidelines within the document. We’ve issued our positioning statement now to encourage organisations to follow our lead, get in touch, and help us to keep scaling up the work of the textile industry in addressing the issues of fibre fragmentation at key stages of the product lifecycle.”
Source: Just Style
