Many importers had filed the refund claims after the Supreme Court order, but their claims are still stuck. "It is directed that if any IGST amount is collected, the same shall be refunded within six weeks along with statutory rate of interest," Justice NV Anjaria said, while admitting the petition by Louis Dreyfus Company India Pvt Ltd Vs Union of India. The Gujarat High court has directed the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs to grant refund of goods and services tax paid on ocean freight within six weeks with interest, in a relief for importers. Refund claims worth ₹1,000 crore are pending. The decision comes after the levy of Integrated GST on ocean freight was struck down by the Supreme Court in a case pertaining to Mohit Minerals. Many importers had filed the refund claims after the Supreme Court order, but their claims are still stuck. "It is directed that if any IGST amount is collected, the same shall be refunded within six weeks along with statutory rate of interest," Justice NV Anjaria said, while admitting the petition by Louis Dreyfus Company India Pvt Ltd Vs Union of India. The finance ministry has sought a legal opinion on the Supreme Court judgement and legal review was still in process. Officials said tax authorities can initiate the process of refunds only after the completion of the review. "We are yet to get a direction. We expect clarity at the next GST Council meeting or before that," a senior official told ET. As the decision to impose IGST was taken by the GST council, the centre wants to discuss the legal opinion on it and its implementation at the council. Experts say the Gujarat High Court brings relief to importers facing delay in their refunds. This will be beneficial for sectors which are outside the ambit of the GST regime or are exempted under GST or face inverted duty structure. "The judgment is likely to provide relief to sectors where GST paid is either a cost or gets accumulated on account of inverted duty structure viz., alcohol, power, petroleum, fertiliser, textile, etc," Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner, EY India said. The Supreme Court had in May held that if IGST is paid on freight, which is included in the value of imported goods, levy of tax again was illegal. "Having paid IGST (Integrated Goods & Service Tax) on the amount of freight which is included in the value of imported goods, the impugned notifications levying tax again as a supply of service, without any express sanction by the statute, are illegal and liable to be struck down," the Supreme Court said.
Source: Economic Times
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has further increased the price of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), monoethylene glycol (MEG) and MELT for the coming week. RIL is the largest manufacturer of PSF and its raw materials PTA, MEG and MELT in India, so the market follows its prices. The prices are also influenced by fluctuation in the Chinese market. According to the market sources, RIL has increased PTA price by ₹2.50 per kg to ₹88.10 per kg. The price of MEG has increased to ₹56 per kg with hike of ₹0.40 per kg. MELT’s price has gone up to ₹94.91 per kg with increase of ₹2.29 per kg. The company has revised prices with effective from July 30, 2022. It is believed that the prices of raw materials of polyester increased due to stronger US dollar against the rupee and higher freight charges. Brent crude was traded at $79.74 per barrel in international market. RIL will revise price of Polyester Spun Fibre (PSF) in the beginning of August. It had earlier decreased the price of PSF by ₹7 to ₹120 per kg. The company revises PSF prices fortnightly.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Smt. Anupriya Patel, Hon'ble Minister of State, Commerce and Industry, Government of India at the India – Uzbekistan Business Forum organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry mentioned that the frequent high-level visits of the Heads of State of India and Uzbekistan have played a pivotal role in deepening the ties between the two countries. Uzbekistan is an important trade partner for India and given the close ties of the two countries, Smt. Patel emphasized on growing bilateral trade between the two countries. Accordingly, she urged both the countries to focus on diversifying the trade basket as multisectoral trade is the need of the hour. Smt. Patel further underscored the willingness of India to deepen its engagement with Uzbekistan particularly in infrastructure, hospitality and tourism, IT and, training and capacity building which could also be important for Uzbekistan. Given the significance of the pharmaceutical and IT sector for Uzbekistan, H.E. Mr. Jamshid Khodjayev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan, in his keynote address invited Indian businesses to integrate and jointly produce pharma and IT products with Uzbekistan and work towards the development of several segments such as fintech and cybersecurity. Mr Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Co-Chair, India Uzbekistan Joint Business Council (From India) & Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises in his opening remarks stressed upon the potential of engagement between India and Uzbekistan in agriculture, tourism, health & pharma, and space. Mr. Farkhodjon Toshpulatov, Deputy Chairman, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan mentioned that India is considered to be one of the leading partners of Uzbekistan and economic cooperation is Uzbekistan’s priority. He mentioned about Uzbekistan’s keenness to join efforts with India on mutually beneficial projects in pharmaceutical, agriculture, food processing etc.
Source: PIB
The Government has put in place a liberal and transparent policy for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), wherein most sectors, except certain strategically important sectors, are open for 100% FDI under the automatic route. Subject to the provisions of the FDI Policy, foreign investment in 'manufacturing' sector is under automatic route. Manufacturing activities may be either self-manufacturing by the investee entity or contract manufacturing in India through a legally tenable contract, whether on Principal to Principal or Principal to Agent basis. Further, a manufacturer is permitted to sell its products manufactured in India through wholesale and/or retail, including through ecommerce, without Government approval. Measures taken by the Government on FDI policy reforms have resulted in increased FDI inflows in the country. India has received its highest ever FDI inflow of INR 6,31,050 crores in Financial Year 2021-22. Further, FDI Equity inflow in Manufacturing sectors has increased to INR 1,58,332 crore in Financial Year 2021-22 from INR 89,766 crore (FY 2020-21), which is an increase of 76%. India's monetary and fiscal Policies have been positioned to lowering inflation and managing the Current Account Deficit (CAD). Under this overarching framework, monetary and fiscal adjustments are done to address emerging economic issues. Further, Reserve Bank of India has undertaken several measures to enhance forex inflows. These measures include: i. exemption of incremental Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) [FCNR(B)] and Non-Resident (External) Rupee (NRE) deposits from Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), ii. permission to banks to raise fresh FCNR(B) and NRE deposits without reference to the extant regulations on interest rates until end-October 2022, iii. inclusion of all new issuances of G-Secs of 7-year and 14-year tenors under the Fully Accessible Route (FAR) for FPls, iv. exemption of investments by FPls in G-Secs and corporate debt made till October 31, 2022 from short term limit, v. allowing FPI in commercial paper and non-convertible debentures with an original maturity of up to one year, vi. temporary increase in the limit for external commercial borrowings (ECBs) under the automatic route from US$ 750 million or its equivalent per financial year to US$ 1.5 billion, vii. increase in the all-in cost ceiling under the ECB framework by 100 basis points, subject to the borrower being of investment grade rating, and viii. permission to AD Cat-I banks to utilise overseas foreign currency borrowings for lending in foreign currency to entities for a wider set of end-use purposes, besides exports. This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Source: PIB
Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: The state government is promoting sale and exhibition of Manipur’s handloom products in different cities to support local artisans and weavers, noted commerce minister Kipgen. Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Manipur’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Nemcha Kipgen on Wednesday said that the state has planned the new industrial policy for the upcoming term that includes plans for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and large-scale industries both, Knowledge and News Network (KNN) reported. The tenure of former Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy of Manipur 2017 ended on March 31, 2022. The final draft of the 2022 policy would be produced before the Cabinet for discussion. She made the announcement while discussing the grants for textiles, commerce and industries department. Opposition members, K Meghachandra and Th Lokeshwar raised some issues during the assembly session such as lack of policy to promote MSME and large-scale industries, non-provision of loom for weavers and lack of training activities. To which the commerce minister confirmed about the new industrial policy that would focus on the MSME sector. The state government is also promoting sale and exhibition of Manipur’s handloom products in different cities, to support local artisans and weavers, noted Kipgen.
Source: Financial Express
The State government is keen on setting up mini textile parks in the district with subsidy if entrepreneurs come forward for such an initiative, said Collector K. Shanti here on Friday. At a consultative meeting held under the aegis of the Department of Textiles at the Collectorate, the Collector said a 50% subsidy or a maximum of ₹2.50 crore would be provided to entrepreneurs for setting up the textile park. A park shall be spread over a minimum area of 2 acres with a minimum of three textile workshops. It shall have all the requisite infrastructure that includes land, approach road, captive power plant, sewage treatment plant, marketing hall, warehouse, workers hostel, crèche, canteen, workshop, raw materials warehouse and machinery. Entrepreneurs may submit a detailed project report for such a textile park to the Deputy Director, Textiles Department, regional office on Sangagiri main road in Salem. For details, contact 0427-2913006.
Source: The Hindu
Economists, however, have been critical of New Delhi’s move to undermine liberalisation, achieved assiduously over the years since the 1990s. Reversing a slide witnessed in 2020, India’s average applied import tariff rose to 18.3% in 2021 from 15% in the previous year. This reflects a return of duty hikes that had marked India’s push for import substitution through self-reliance at a time when key economies, especially the US and China, have exhibited protectionist tendencies. Similarly, after a second straight year of fall through 2019, India’s trade-weighted average tariff—total customs revenue as a percentage of overall import value—also rose to 12.6% in 2020 from 7% in the previous year, according to the latest data sourced from the World Trade Organization (WTO). To be sure, India’s average applied tariff is still well below the bound rate of 50.8%–the level approved for it by the WTO. Given that the government has, in recent months, raised imports duties on a range of products, including gold, umbrellas, headphones and earphones and smart meters—this year, the applied tariff is expected to remain elevated in 2022 as well on a net basis, factoring in duty cuts on a number of other products, said analysts. India’s import tariff (simple average), which stood at 13.5% in 2014, started rising from 2017 and hit 17.6% by 2019. It dropped sharply to 15% in 2020 before rising again in 2021 in response to a series of duty hikes (in sectors like electronics, automobiles and agriculture) to contain a current account deficit and promote local manufacturing. India’s tariff increase distinguishes it from other key economies that have been resorting to trade “protectionism by stealth” by erecting huge non-tariff barriers to discourage imports that they deem undesirable or non-essential. However, since these economies (mainly advanced nations such as the US and the EU, and some developing ones like China and South Korea) usually keep their tariffs low, they manage to mask their trade protectionism better than India. While the applied tariff (simple average) on farm products rose to 39.2% in 2021 from 34% in the previous year, industrial tariff inched up to 14.9% from 11.9%, showed the latest data. Similarly, based on trade-weighted average, tariff on farm items jumped to 63.3% in 2020 from 32.5% in 2019, while industrial tariff rose to 9.4% from 5.8%. These tariffs are meant for imports from countries to which India has accorded the mostfavoured nation (MFN) status, in accordance with the WTO norms. Following a surge in its crude oil import bill in 2018, New Delhi had targeted “nonessential imports” to curb pressure on its current account. It again resorted to increases in customs duties on scores of products in 2019 and in 2021 to prepare the way for its Aatmanirbhar initiative amid a trade war between the US and China and also Beijing’s unreliability as a supplier in the wake of the Covid outbreak. The tariff increase is part of the broader effort to promote domestic manufacturing, which, in turn, is expected to curb imports and boost exports. It’s also aimed at targetting the dumping of low-grade items through the tariff route (China has been the biggest supplier of sub-standard products to India). A sustained drop in imports will also help the country lower its trade imbalance, which, some officials reckon, will not just ease pressure on its current account but boost its GDP growth as well. Economists, however, have been critical of New Delhi’s move to undermine liberalisation, achieved assiduously over the years since the 1990s. Former vice-chairman of Niti Aayog Arvind Panagariya has already cautioned that the duty hikes can be counter-productive. No major economy has grown 8-10% without opening up its market and India needs to bring down its industrial tariff to at most 10%, he has argued. In a paper with Shoumitro Chatterjee in 2020, former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian said India was turning inward. “Domestic demand is assuming primacy over export-orientation and trade restrictions are increasing, reversing a 3-decade trend,” the paper said. India still enjoys large export opportunities, especially in labourintensive sectors such as clothing and footwear. “But exploiting these opportunities requires more openness and more global integration,” the paper argued. Analysts have also pointed out duty hikes have been mostly unsuccessful in containing imports, especially from China. Domestic industry, meanwhile, clamours for more protection, arguing that in the absence of credible structural reforms to bring down its costs (including costs of logistics, wage, electricity and credit) and provide it a level-playing field, allowing increased foreign competition is patently unfair. Reforms to boost competitiveness of the economy haven’t been undertaken since liberalisation as they should have, it stresses. Bolstering competitiveness not just enables a country to improve its exports but also reduce costly imports. As pointed out in a 2016 report by HSBC, India’s domestic bottlenecks explain 50% of the slowdown in overall exports (remaining the biggest threat to its outbound shipments), followed by world growth (33%) and the exchange rate (just 17%).
Source: Financial Express
Singh expressed happiness over the fact that businesses from both sides can enter into long-term partnerships for more diverse and resilient supply chains. The bilateraltrade between India and Thailand reached an all time high of around USD 15 billion in 2021-22 as the domestic market remains attractive for Thai investors, said Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. The economic cooperation between the two countries in trade, investment and tourism have continued to flourish during recent years, Singh said on Saturday at the ongoing second edition of the North East India Festival, being held in Bangkok. "Thailand is the fourth largest trading destination for India in the ASEAN region. Bilateral trade between India and Thailand has reached an all time high of around USD 15 billion in 2021-22. The Indian market remains attractive for Thai investors," he added. Commerce, Culture and Connectivity define the future focus areas of cooperation between India and Thailand, Singh stressed. "India provides huge opportunities for investment in infrastructure, including roads, ports, power sector, food processing, renewable energy, digital technology, logistics and electric vehicles," he said. Singh expressed happiness over the fact that businesses from both sides can enter into longterm partnerships for more diverse and resilient supply chains. "India's Act East policy complemented by Thailand's Act West policy has provided the basis for building a multi-faceted partnership between the two countries. NortheastIndia is the gateway to Thailand and other South East Asian countries. "We would welcome the business community of Thailand to explore the Indian market for greater trade and investment linkages with particular emphasis on Northeastern states," the Indian minister said. All the Northeastern states are rich in natural resources, minerals and forest wealth, exotic fruits and vegetables, and unparalleled scenic beauty, he stressed. Echoing similar sentiments, Thailand Deputy Prime Minister Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said: "Thailand is historically and geographically very close to India's North East." He thanked the Indian government for organising the second edition of North East India Festival at Bangkok in the 75th year of India's diplomatic relations with Thailand. "The North East India Festival will help in pushing trade, tourism and people to people connect with both the regions," Laksanawisit said. The three-day festival showcasing the Northeastern region's rich diversity and opportunities began on Friday with the presence of a number of dignitaries, including central ministers of India and Thailand along with several chief ministers from the region. Among those present include Chief Ministers of Meghalaya and Nagaland Conrad Sangma and Neiphu Rio, respectively, Arunachal Pradesh Deputy CM Chowna Mein, Assam's Textile Minister Urkhao Gwra Brahma and Revenue Minister Jogen Mahan, and Tourism Ministers of Mizoram and Arunachal Robert Rongmawaia Royte and Nakap Nalo, respectively. As part of the festival, a trade meet was organised wherein around 60 buyers of Thailand interacted with MSME entrepreneurs and government agencies from India. A B2B meet on tourism was also held and it was attended by 150 tour operators from Thailand who interacted with state tourism departments of Northeast, tour operators and policymakers of both the countries. An exhibition of products of Northeast such as cuisines, crafts and tourism potential is also being held.
Source: Economic Times
Himanta Biswa Sarma released a video on Har Ghar Tiranga to generate awareness on the initiative to mark the Independence Day celebration in a programme held at Janata Bhawan. Assam government will procure around 50 lakh flags from the Textiles Ministry. Himanta Biswa Sarma released a video on Har Ghar Tiranga to generate awareness on the initiative to mark the Independence Day celebration in a programme held at Janata Bhawan. The Chief Minister urged people to hoist the tricolour at their homes, business establishments, government and private offices, religious places and all other public places from 13th to 15th August. Sarma said that following request from the government of Assam, the Self-Help Groups in the state have taken steps to produce around 30 lakh flags. He urged the owners of business establishments and people who are economically well off to buy flags from the SHGs only. Sarma also informed that the state government will procure around 50 lakh flags from the Textiles Ministry. He said that flags will be available at Fair Price Shops also, which can be purchased at Rs. 18 only. The Chief Minister said that the state government aims to make the Har Ghar Tiranga initiative a mass movement and urged people to gift the tricolour to others as well. He also said that the state government will provide Rs. 18 additionally to the Orunodoi beneficiaries with the monthly financial assistance during the month of August to purchase the tricolour. Sarma also urged people to upload photos of hoisting the tricolour at Har Ghar Tiranga website. He also informed about the publicity campaign to be carried out across Assam to make the initiative successful. Sarma provided financial assistance under Chief Minister's Sishu Seva Scheme (Phase-II) to 8 orphans who lost their parents during COVID-19 pandemic in a programme. On the occasion, the Chief Minister also provided financial assistance to the orphaned children of the horrible Satekona murder case. Under the assistance given, the children will be provided with a monthly income scheme (MIS) of Rs. 3,500 per month, being the interest accrued on a Fixed Deposit of Rs. 7.67 lakh deposited in their respective names. The MIS will continue till they attain the age of 24 years, when the principal amount will be deposited into their savings accounts.
Source: Economic Times
Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: “Textile traders in Surat alone, which is the country’s largest textile market, have received orders for more than 5 crore national flags and manufacturing mills are working day and night to deliver flags on time,” said CAIT. Traders’ body CAIT said manufacturers and traders are working day and night to meet the ‘unprecedented’ rise in demand for the Indian tricolour following the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga campaign’ launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 22 to encourage people to hoist or display the national flag in their homes for three days — between August 13 and August 15. The campaign is part of the government’s ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ initiative launched by PM Modi in March 2021 to commemorate 75 years of India’s independence. “Textile traders in Surat alone, which is the country’s largest textile market, have received orders for more than 5 crore national flags and manufacturing mills are working day and night to deliver flags on time. Wherever there are textile markets in other states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar etc. people have started making our national flags leaving their routine work,” said CAIT National President BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal in a joint statement.
Source: Economic Times
Major tourist places are being linked with handicrafts cluster and Infrastructure supports combined with soft interventions are being proposed under the “Linking Textile with tourism”. In this regard, 8 Craft Villages at Raghurajpur (Odisha), Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Vadaj (Gujarat), Naini (Uttar Pradesh), Anegundi (Karnataka), Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu), Taj Ganj (Uttar Pradesh), Amer (Rajasthan) have already been taken up for overall development of the villages wherein craft promotion and tourism are being taken up at single location. Craft Village will develop handicrafts as a sustainable and remunerative livelihood option for artisans in the clusters and thus protecting the rich artisanal heritage of the country. Through this programme, around 1000 artisans will be benefitted directly across the country. This programme has also increased the tourist inflow across these Craft Villages.
Source: PIB
Cash incentive on exports of non-cotton apparel items The country's primary textile millers called on the government to provide cash incentive for exporters of readymade garment (RMG) items made from man-made fibre (MMF) only after ensuring that they use locally produced yarn and fabric. They argued that such a move would help develop the backward linkage industry in the country and achieve higher realisation of export proceeds. Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), in a letter to the commerce minister on July 16, made the plea after the ministry backed the RMG makers' demand that they be provided five per cent cash incentive on exports of non-cotton apparel items. In response, the commerce ministry has recently written to the finance ministry about this issue. Welcoming the move, the BTMA in the letter said a 5.0 per cent cash incentive will help increase RMG exports and ensure the growth of overall textile and clothing sectors. "Larger share of exports of non-cotton RMG items is made using the imported fabrics and thus little value addition takes place, resulting in low foreign currency retention against exports," BTMA president Mohammad Ali Khokon said in the letter. With the rise in global demands for MMF or non-cotton based garments, the BTMA spinning millers are producing viscose, polyester, various filament yarn and blended yarn using the imported MMF and making 'deemed exports' to local RMG exporters, he said. Besides, a good number of MMF and its raw materials pet chips (textile grades) producing mills are being set up in the country to meet local MMF requirements, he said, expressing hope that these units will come into production by the end of next year. The previous 25 per cent cash incentive helped develop a strong backward textile linkage industry and now the industry meets 85 per cent and 40 per cent of the demands for knitwear and woven fabrics respectively, Mr Khokon noted. The country fetched US$23.21 billion and US$19.39 billion from exports of knitwear and woven items respectively in the just concluded fiscal year. He urged the government to provide a 5.0 per cent additional cash incentive on exports of RMG produced from MMF considering the three stages production-yarn from MMF, fabric from yarn, and then RMG. When asked, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) executive president Mohammad Hatem citing a central bank circular said the garment exporters are receiving 4.0 per cent cash incentive provided with raw materials like yarn and fabric sourcing from the local market. The BTMA has slightly changed their demands, he added. "Local millers can meet less than 1.0 per cent of domestic demands for such man-made fabric whereas the global demands for such garments replaced the same for cottonbased items in recent years," he said. About 2.5 million spindles are being set up and it would take at least two to three years to come into production, he said, raising a question as to how the situation could be managed in the meantime. Incentives should be given on MMF garment exports to encourage local exporters to go for this segment irrespective of imported yarn and fabric, he noted, adding that additional two or three per cent could be added later for the local raw material sourcing. According to the industry insiders, with the increase of earnings through RMG exports over the decades, the consumption of cotton has also been on the rise and still the majority of the exportable RMG items are based on cotton. The import of MMF like polyester staple, viscose and tencel is on the rise following the rising demand amid changes in the global fashion trend, they added. According to BTMA, some 0.15 million tonnes of MMF were imported last fiscal year while about 50 local millers partially produce such items.
Source: The Financial Express
Members of Vietnam’s textile and apparel industry will be gathering in Ho Chi Minh City at the 8th Vietnam Textile Summit 2022 from September 22-23, 2022. The summit will highlight the latest policy developments in Vietnam’s textile and apparel industry, sourcing strategy, supply chain, digital transformation, labour shortage, sustainability, and much more. The two-day conference will include a keynote speech, panel discussion, and other networking activities and will be open to both onsite and virtual participants worldwide, according to the event’s organiser ECV International. Despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam’s textile and garment industry has recorded an export turnover of $8.84 billion in the first quarter of 2022, which is a 22.5 per cent rise over the same period last year. The country’s manufacturers and their partners are exploring various opportunities in the global textile and garment market. Vietnam’s textile exports to major export markets such as the United States, Europe, and Japan have shown positive growth. At the same time, many raw materials used in the textile industry are still imported. Other challenges include the labour shortage resulting from the pandemic, post-COVID recovery, climate change, and the volatile trade market. The summit aims to offer valuable insights on the future prospects of Vietnam’s textile and apparel industry to attendees.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
A textile industry group in Japan said Thursday it has created guidelines encouraging companies to pay more attention to human rights abuses in supply chains. The Japan Textile Federation’s guidelines include a checklist for company executives to ensure their supply chains are free of various types of rights abuses, such as forced labor, child labor and harassment. Specifically, the checklist said that attention needs to be paid to long working hours and delays in wage payments. The guidelines also said it is important that textile companies make internal rules and human rights policies. The guidelines came amid allegations of forced labor over cotton production in China’s Xinjiang region. “We hope that the guidelines will be used to make the industry more attractive for workers,” Masanao Kanbara, president of the industry group, told a virtual news conference. The government plans to draw up guidelines this summer on human rights due diligence. The textile industry is lagging behind in addressing human rights abuses. In textile manufacturing in Japan, which is costly compared with foreign rivals, the way in which some foreign technical trainees are treated has raised concerns over human rights abuses.
Source: Japan Times
China and various African countries recently signed 14 agreements worth around $170 million at the Promotion Conference for China (Hunan)-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation held in Changsha in central China's Hunan province. The deals covered areas like regional cooperation, strategic agreement, project financing, investment cooperation and trade procurement. Six Chinese provinces also jointly signed an agreement to advance economic cooperation and trade exchange with African countries at the conference, which also promoted the Pilot Zone for In-depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, official Chinese media reported. Twenty nine diplomatic envoys from 15 African countries, including Algeria, Ethiopia, Angola, Ghana, and Kenya, attended the event.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Traders say export value of Nepali products rose due to global inflation, not because of growth in quantity shipped out. The value of Nepal's exports hit an all-time high of Rs200 billion in the last fiscal year, which has been largely attributed to a rising US dollar against the rupee and higher prices due to inflation. Even though the export value surged by 41.74 percent over the previous year, shipments of listed goods remained subdued. According to the statistics of the Department of Customs, listed products worth Rs40.72 billion were dispatched in the fiscal year 2021-22 ended mid-July, up 8.76 percent yearon-year. Exports of products in the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) like medicinal and aromatic plants, fabrics, textiles, yarn and rope, leather, footwear, pashmina and carpets increased slightly. Exports of large cardamom and tea, however, declined. Traders say the export value of Nepali products rose due to global inflation, and not because of any expansion in the quantity shipped out. Shipments of processed palm, soybean and sunflower oils were worth Rs93.74 billion, which accounted for nearly a half of the country’s exports and largely drove up export values. Export growth set a record, but it didn't make a dent in Nepal's foreign trade gap, which only yawned wider. While exports hit the Rs200 billion mark, imports soared to Rs1.92 trillion, resulting in a staggering trade deficit of Rs1.72 trillion. The massive trade deficit caused a current account deficit, ringing an alarm that the country's imports have spiralled out of control. Large cardamom shipments, Nepal’s niche product with increasing popularity among premium class consumers in the global market, decreased sharply by 31.45 percent to Rs4.81 billion in the last fiscal year. Exports totalled Rs7 billion in the previous fiscal year. Nirmal Bhattarai, president of the Large Cardamom Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal, said that the production of large cardamom declined 20 percent due to a winter drought. "The price of large cardamom had increased in the initial months of the last fiscal year, but started to fall sharply from mid-April," said Bhattarai. Large cardamom was traded at Rs1,200 per kg during the period mid-September to mid-November, which is the main harvest season. "It then dropped to an all-time low of Rs800 per kg," he said. The price of large cardamom is influenced by demand in the international market. Nepal is the world's largest producer of large cardamom with a 68 percent share of the global market, followed by India (22 percent) and Bhutan (9 percent). Exports of pashmina, which were hit in the previous fiscal year due to Covid-19 restrictions, grew slightly in the last fiscal year. Pashmina shipments grew by 4.48 percent to Rs2.82 billion. Durga Bikram Thapa, immediate past president of the Nepal Pashmina Industries Association, said that immediately after emerging from the impact of the Covid pandemic, Nepal’s trade suffered another wallop from the Russia-Ukraine war. "Runaway inflation has hit the purchasing capacity of people worldwide, and as a result, demand for expensive products like pashmina has also dropped in the international market," Thapa said. “The shipping charge that used to be around $5,000 per container before the pandemic has more than doubled to $12,000. This makes the product more expensive in the international market.” The price of raw materials has also jumped by 40 percent, according to him. “As long as inflation bites consumers worldwide, it will be challenging for Nepali pashmina," he added. Pashmina was exported mainly to the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Japan and India. Tea, Nepal’s lucrative cash crop, too did not perform well. According to official statistics, tea exports dropped 9.55 percent to Rs3.43 billion in the last fiscal year. Deepak Khanal, director of the National Tea and Coffee Development Board, says that repeated hassles created by the Indian side regarding the quality of Nepali tea have been discouraging farmers from growing it. Nepali tea needs to be tested at the Central Food Laboratory in Kolkata, India to obtain export certification. "Around eight months ago, the Indian side blocked the export of 40,000 tonnes of tea for several weeks," Khanal said. Nepal exports 90 percent of its tea to India. "The production of crush, tear, curl (CTC) tea has also been declining," Khanal said. According to traders, one of the reasons behind reduced productivity is the government's inability to supply chemical fertilisers on time. Tea farmers in the country's eastern region have been facing acute shortages of urea, one of the most important sources of nitrogen. The tea sector has also been suffering from a lack of irrigation systems and erratic electricity supply. Traders say that the government has even stopped providing interest subsidies to the tea sector from this year. Tea producers lament that they are still forced to sell tea at the price set by Indian traders. Nepal exports its tea to India, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, the US and Russia. Exports of fabrics, textiles, yarns and ropes saw a rise of 19.42 percent to Rs16.33 billion in the last fiscal year. Yarn was exported to India, Turkey, Singapore and Jordan. Carpet shipments jumped 32.26 percent to Rs9.58 billion in the last fiscal year. Most of the carpets went to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US. Shipments of medicinal herbs increased to Rs1.7 billion in the last fiscal year from Rs1.69 billion in the previous year. Trade economist Posh Raj Pandey said that last year’s export growth of Nepal’s potential products was not satisfactory. “Obviously, there were problems in the implementation of the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy,” he said. "The government authorities think that export promotion and minimising the trade deficit is the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies," he said. The government is reviewing the NTIS for the third time after it failed to boost exports amid a changing global trade landscape. The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies is planning to integrate new products with comparative advantage to boost exports in the upcoming NTIS. The government rolled out the NTIS in 2016 intending to increase and promote exports to narrow down the trade deficit. But even after a decade, exports have been pathetic, experts say. The NTIS is normally reviewed every five years. “There is a lack of intergovernmental coordination for the promotion of listed products,” said Pandey, who chairs the South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment. "There is no point in being proud of exports of Rs200 billion. Edible oil makes up 50 percent of the exports.”
Source: Kathmandu Post
Imagine if a significant portion of the textiles that cannot be reused in their current form could be recycled. That’s part of the vision for the base-case and upside-case scenarios laid out in a recent report on textile recycling in Europe from the consulting firm McKinsey. Here's the base-case scenario: 50 percent of post-consumer household textile waste in the 27 European Union countries and Switzerland is collected, up from today's 30 to 35 percent. In the upside case, 80 percent is collected. A lot has to happen to get to either of those scenarios. Fashion companies need to set ambitious targets for recycling textiles and designing for circularity. Textile manufacturers need to invest in equipment capable of working with recycled fiber. Investors need to support new ways of making textiles. The public sector needs to expand infrastructure to support textile collection and recycling. And there’s more that each of these stakeholders can do. It’s clear that the fashion industry, which is highly resource-intensive and wastegenerating, is not at the point where eliminating all textile waste is a viable option. That’s why the innovations with textile recycling feel necessary. Here are four takeaways from the 75-page report: 1. There are three factors driving the push to scale textile recycling. Those factors are regulation, consumer demand and environmental awareness among investors (on the brand and solution sides of the textile waste equation) and shareholders (on the brand side). The report points to recent European policy initiatives that urge the fashion industry to move toward enhanced waste collection and more circular models. “For example, Article 11(1) in the Waste Framework Directive states that member states are required to set up separate collections of textiles by 2025,” the authors noted. 2. Textile recycling is just one of the solutions the fashion industry should use to address its waste issues. “It's without any question that reducing overproduction and reducing consumption are environmentally superior to recycling,” said Karl-Hendrik Magnus, senior partner at McKinsey’s Frankfurt, Germany, office and leader of sustainability in its apparel, fashion and luxury group. “If I am able to prevent waste in the first place, that will always be superior to recycling the waste.” (Magnus is one of the authors of McKinsey’s recent report.) 3. It’s going to take some serious cash. Earlier this month, Circ announced a $30 million funding round. “I think when you look at what it's going to take for the industry [to reach textile recycling at scale], it's going to be billions and billions of dollars to do it, but we need to do it," said Circ CEO Peter Majeranowski. To reach the scale laid out in the base-case and upside-case scenarios, McKinsey estimates that “capital expenditure investments in the range of 6 billion to 7 billion euros would be needed by 2030.” And that’s just for the industry in Europe. The numbers needed for a global shift for textile waste is likely much more. If I am able to prevent waste in the first place, that will always be superior to recycling the waste. While it’s not the same industry, I’m reminded of a point Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling Partnership, which is focused on other recyclable materials like packaging, made during Circularity 22. She said the price tag for fixing recycling in the U.S. is $17 billion — those dollars would be spent on building the necessary infrastructure and addressing accessibility. “Don’t freak out because it’s doable,” Harrison said. “We can stop having this conversation in five years if we just did that.” 4. For textile recycling to work, collaboration is imperative. The textile collection and sorting ecosystem is fragmented, according to the report. McKinsey recommends that businesses across the textile value chain, investors and public sector actors come together “in an unprecedented way to engage in a highly operational joint effort to overcome the barriers to scale.” That would look like stakeholders from these separate parts of the value chain such as collectors, sorters and recyclers connecting to ensure more textiles are available for recycling. The report pointed to two emerging textile-waste platforms — Reverse Resources and Refashion Recycle platform — that could help with fragmentation by connecting textile waste sellers to buyers. During an interview, Magnus said that fashion companies have a big responsibility to invest in recycling, but also invest in other measures to improve their garments and the industry as a whole. That includes investing in extending the lifetime of the product by ensuring quality and providing care instructions for garments, helping consumers make conscious choices about buying new items, and balancing the trade-offs with newness and sustainability. “That takes transparency,” Magnus said. “And that takes support and openness of communication from the brands.
Source: Green Biz
