|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1044.64 |
USD/Ton |
-0.29% |
5/9/2016 |
|
VSF |
2036.97 |
USD/Ton |
0.08% |
5/9/2016 |
|
ASF |
1938.51 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
1020.79 |
USD/Ton |
-0.97% |
5/9/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2307.75 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4461.65 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2538.53 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
5737.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1284.65 |
USD/Ton |
-0.60% |
5/9/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
2153.90 |
USD/Ton |
-0.36% |
5/9/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2115.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1138.49 |
USD/Ton |
-0.67% |
5/9/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2800.07 |
USD/Ton |
-0.27% |
5/9/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1723.12 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2461.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1861.59 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2153.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2953.92 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2261.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.37 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.82 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.17 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.69 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
5/9/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15385 USD dtd 09/05/2016).
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
SOURCE: The Global Textiles
A major fire broke out at the low-rise Jay Radhey Textile Market on Ring Road here in the wee hours of Saturday. There were no casualties, but goods worth Rs40 crore were gutted in the fire at the five-storeyed building, which houses around 90 shops. The fire was reported on the second and third floors of the building and at least 15 shops were completely destroyed. Sources at the Fire and Emergency Department of Surat Municipal Corporation said the fire call was made at around 5am by the security guard posted at the textile market. At least 15 water tankers, five fire engines and more than 80 fire fighters were deployed at the spot to bring the fire under control. It took over 12 hours for the fire department to douse the fire. ire department sources said the access to the building was very difficult. The shops were stocked with finished and unfinished fabrics in huge quantities and this also made it difficult for firemen to enter it. Chief fire officer (CFO) S K Acharya said, "This was one of the most difficult fires at the textile market area. It took more than 12 hours for us to douse the blaze. The market is congested and the construction is so bad that our firemen were unable to gain access to the building. The fire could have erupted due to a short-circuit. There was no human presence in the building as it was early morning hours when it happened." Asked about the fire system in the building, Acharya said, "We could not find any fire extinguishers. We will be issuing a notice to the market management on this."
SOURCE: The Times of India
India’s cotton export is expected to drop by over 10 per cent to 6 million bales in the current year ending September due to rise in domestic prices which have made the fibre uncompetitive in the global market. In the 2014-15 marketing year (October-September), India had exported 6.7 million bales (of 150 kg each). Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam were among the major export destinations. "So far, we have exported 5 million bales. No further exports are taking place now because global prices are cooling and domestic prices are on the rise. Total cotton exports would be around 6 million bales in 2015-16," Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) Chairman and Managing Director B K Mishra told PTI. Cotton prices in the domestic market have increased by Rs 1,000 per candy in the last few days to Rs 34,000-35,000 per candy. "I think the rising price trend will continue for some time till the new crop comes from October," he said. Mishra said the rates have gone up due to an estimated fall in domestic cotton production to 35.3 million bales in 2015-16 from 38 million bales in the previous year due to drought. Traders are therefore, not exporting cotton for lack of good margins in the global market and see better prospects in the domestic market, the CCI chief said. Mishra also said that tuch of the Indian cotton has been exported to Pakistan, which stood at 2 million bales so far this year. The CCI, which buys cotton from farmers when rates go below the support prices, said it has procured 8, 40,000 bales so far this year. With cotton prices rising, Mishra ruled out any more procurement. Of the total procured cotton, the CCI has already sold 3, 75,000 bales and the rest of the stock will be disposed of in the coming months, he said.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The union minister for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) Kalraj Mishra inaugurated the new khadi spinning, weaving and marketing centre, Harmukh Khadi Gram Udyog Sansthan, for khadi goods in Srinagar. 25 new model charkhas were distributed among local artisans at the function, which was organised khadi and village industries board Srinagar at Soura. “The charkha is a symbol of resistance and can help maximum number of unemployed youth and women in far flung areas to attain economic independence,” said Mishra. Mishra urged the state to come forward and seek maximum help from New Delhi. The centre is ready to provide all sorts of assistance to the state of Jammu and Kashmir in order to remove regional imbalances. Chander Parkash Ganga, Jammu and Kashmir minister for industries and commerce, thanked the union minister for the ministries supportive attitude and helping approach towards Jammu and Kashmir and also requested the central ministry to increase the targets for the state so that it benefits the local artisans.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The 42nd India International Knit Fair, a trade fair exclusively for knit garments, will be held in Tirupur from May 11-13, 2016. The three-day event will showcase women’s garments, T-shirts, skirts, casuals, kidswear, and knitwear, said A Shaktivel, the chairman of India Knit Fair association, the organiser of the trade fair. More than 60 buyers and close to 100 buying agents from countries like Dubai, Brazil, Japan, and Australia will be participating in the event. Ashok G Rajani, chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), will inaugurate the fair.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Arvind, textiles to retail conglomerate, is eyeing to raise up to Rs 500 crore through issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on a private placement basis. The board of the company will consider the proposal in its meeting on May 12. Arvind is India's largest integrated textile player and is one of the oldest and most respected groups in the Textile Business in India. The company is also one of the largest producers of denim fabrics and is supplier to a large number of fashion brands in the world.
SOURCE: The Live Mint
High level trade delegation of AEPC opens possibility of India emerging as one of the biggest partners in Apparel trade with Iran. Target set to US$ 18750 million in year 2016-17 against the likely performance of US$ 17000 million in the financial year 2015-16 New Delhi: Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) embarked on an exploratory visit to Iran to understand the market after removal of sanctions. A delegation under the stewardship of Shri Ashok G Rajani, Chairman-AEPC and four executive committee members of the council visited Tehran (Iran).
Sharing the experience of the visit Mr. Ashok G Rajani, Chairman, AEPC said, “The warmth and positive attitude towards India among the members of the trade associations and government representatives augurs well for trade promotion between the two countries. Although the economy and trade is still recovering from the impact of the sanctions, there is market for simple but stylish apparel products, which AEPC plans to tap.” India’s share in Iran’s RMG import was 2.5% in 2015; thus there is an impeccable possibility for India to capture the growing Iranian market. Iran’s RMG import from around the world has shown a growth of 43.3% in 2015 which has increased to US$ 825.9 million in 2015 from US$ 576.2 million in 2014. “Although it is small market at present, there is scope for growth in the immediate future and we want India to be an important partner in this growth,” said Mr. Rajani. The council has drawn its export promotion program for the year 2016-17 with a view to achieve an export performance of US$ 18750 million in the year 2016-17.
Meetings with Iran Textile Export Association, Tehran Chamber of Commerce and Tehran Textile Union had discussion on how to reduce tariffs and facilitate market access. Incidentally, Iran has seen a progressive reduction in tariffs from 300% during sanctions to the present 55%. The high tariffs had resulted in “unofficial” imports being over 10 times the volume of “official” imports. Hence the Trade associations have been working with the government for reduction in import duties to international levels. This is also necessary as Iran wants to be part of WTO and hence align to WTO’s tariff levels. This visit reaped high hopes for the Indian RMG exports, Mrs. Nasrollahi, General Director of Textile & Clothing, Ministry of Industries, of the Islamic Republic of Iran is said that, “India has a lot to offer and could complete the apparel value chain in Iran.” Chairman, AEPC extended an invitation to Mrs. Nasrollahi and other senior dignitaries to be present in the July edition of India International Garment Fair, hosted by AEPC twice a year. The invitation was received with appreciation and keen interest expressed in exploring the Indian products to be displayed at IIGF. The AEPC delegation also met with Indian Ambassador H.E. Mr. Saurabh Kumar who reiterated the opportunities that can open up in the coming years in Iran.
SOURCE: The Hans India
The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) has welcomed the government's decision to amend the Incremental Exports Incentivization Scheme (IEIS) and the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). The Government removed the restriction under IEIS last week. “The decision of the Government to issue duty credit scrips under the IEIS without any restriction will certainly improve the cash flow of the exporters,” Texprocil Chairman R.K. Dalmia said in a statement. IEIS for the last quarter 2012-13 was introduced on December 28, 2012. The scheme extended a duty credit scrip of 2 per cent on the incremental growth in exports during the period from January 1, 2013 to March 3, 2013 as compared to the period from January 1, 2012 to March 31, 2012 on the FOB value of exports to the US, EU and Asian countries. Subsequently, DGFT issued a notification in September 2013 restricting the entitlement under the scheme to 25 per cent growth or incremental growth of Rs.10 crores in value, whichever is less. Many of the exporters were affected because of this restriction which was not there in the original scheme, Dalmia pointed out. He also complimented the Government for including exports of Made ups falling under chapter 63 to Group C countries under MEIS through a notification last week. “This will promote exports of Made ups to countries like Australia and New Zealand which falls under group C of the MEIS,” Dalmia said. According to the notification, landing certificates henceforth, shall not be required under the MEIS. Dalmia pointed out that exporters faced difficulty in getting landing certificates from the shipping companies besides incurring costs.The exemption of landing certificates has come as a huge relief to the exporters and would certainly reduce the transaction costs for the exporters, the Texprocil Chairman said.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Grasim Industries, the textile maker of Aditya Birla Group, is preparing a three-pronged strategy to maintain its top position in the market as well as fight volatility in the global economy. Dilip Gaur, managing director (MD) of the company, said they have managed to ensure a steady supply of viscose staple fibre when demand was at a high after a stagnant market for four years. The company ramped up its manufacturing plant in Vilayat, Gujarat, which helped them meet the rising demand for fibre. The Kumar Mangalam Birla-owned Grasim is the largest producer of VSF — a man-made, biodegradable fibre with characteristics similar to cotton — in the world with a 16% market share globally, and 90% in the domestic terrain. "We managed to create a sustainable demand to handle the volatility better, and plan to move people away from commodity fibre (cotton, viscose) to speciality fibre," said Gaur. Grasim's VSF plants are located at Nagda in Madhya Pradesh, Kharach and Vilayat in Gujarat, Ganjam in Orissa, and Harihar in Karnataka. The company now plans to produce what it calls the '4th generation' of fabric, which is a speciality fabric like modal, micro modal, spun-dyed fibres. These are bio-based textiles made from reconstituted cellulose of beech tree. "We are focusing on pushing the value up and moving from just VSF to more speciality. You can keep adding capacity but we want more bang for the buck," said Gaur. This research is being done at its Taloja centre, Pune, and the company had invested Rs 150 crore on it last year.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor and 14th Finance Commission chairman Y V Reddy believes global slowdown on the whole had a positive impact on Indian economy. “It has affected the Indian economy, both positively and negatively. However, the net effect has been positive,” he said at the valedictory function of a six-week induction training programme for India Administrative Services (IAS) officers conducted by the MCR HRD Institute here. Citing the enormous savings India was able to make on its oil import bill due to fall in global oil prices and other such examples, Reddy said this welcome proposition will result in innumerable beneficial outcomes for the country.
Talking about the nature of All India Services job, Y V Reddy, himself an IAS officer, said the ultimate success of IAS officers depends not only on their technical and conceptual competencies but also on their people related skills as they need to deal with multiple stake holders, including the elected leaders. “Considering their high level of intelligence quotient, the IAS officers’ posses an inherent potential to diversify and enrich their skills to effectively deal with people,” he said. More than 60 IAS officers promoted from the State Civil Services from thirteen states attended the training programme, according to a statement issued by the institute.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
China today reached out to the Indian industry, saying bilateral cooperation between the two will benefit the entire world. "At present, India is an important country and our mutual cooperation will benefit not just the two countries but the entire world... co-operation is the only way to success," Han Zheng, a member of the political bureau of the Chinese Communist party and party secretary of Shanghai, told an industry gathering here this evening. "We are looking at how Shanghai can partner with the Indian industry in science and technology, innovation, financial and IT services and contribute towards greater Indo-China economic engagement." Han was accompanied by a high-level government and business delegation. Addressing the CII event, Han said the world is following two economies (China and India) and both have contributed immensely to the world's growth. He noted that at present, 50 per cent of Indian merchandise coming to China comes through Shanghai, which signifies the strength of the bilateral trade. In 2014, Mumbai and Shanghai were teamed as sister cities. "Today, India and China are deeply integrated with the world economy and we have much in common and both nations can benefit out of it," he stressed. Han referred to Shanghai as one of the five prosperous cities in the world, which showcases socialist development path of China.
Addressing the gathering, state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he did not want to change the character of Mumbai to Shanghai, but "we need to learn how to transform the city in such a short time as Shanghai did". He said Mumbai is embarking on projects of USD 15 billion in 2016 and and the state alone has the capacity to provide work to the Chinese for a decade. "That is the capacity at which our state consume and fortunately Chinese companies are already entering the state. Every week I meet a new Chinese company willing to invest and I am very happy to welcome them," Fadnavis said. During the session on 'China & India Strengthening Partnership', an MoU was signed between the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and the Confederation of Indian Industry for establishing economic and trade partnership. Earlier, CII's new President Naushad Forbes said that given the economic growth drivers and risk factors, the country's medium term outlook looks positive. India is expected to remain the fastest-growing large economy of the world. With this background, CII expects GDP growth of around 8 per cent in 2016-17, he said.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The US had a trade deficit of USD 1.7 billion with India and of USD 26 billion with China in the month of March, according to official figures. The goods and services deficit was USD 40.4 billion in March, down USD 6.5 billion from USD 47.0 billion in February, the US Department of Commerce said in its latest monthly figures. March exports were USD 176.6 billion, USD 1.5 billion less than February exports while imports in the month were USD 217.1 billion, USD 8.1 billion less than in February, it said. According to the Commerce Department, the deficit with China decreased USD 6.2 billion to USD 26 billion in March. Exports from China increased USD 0.1 billion to USD 8.5 billion and imports decreased USD 6.1 billion to USD 34.4 billion, it said. The March figures show surpluses with South and Central America (USD 3.2 billion), OPEC (USD 0.7 billion), United Kingdom (USD 0.5 billion) and Saudi Arabia (USD 0.1 billion).
Deficits were recorded with China (USD 26 billion), European Union (USD 11.1 billion), Germany (USD 5.9 billion), Japan (USD 5.9 billion), Mexico (USD 5.2 billion), South Korea (USD 3.0 billion), Italy (USD 2.4 billion), India (USD 1.7 billion), France (USD 0.9 billion), Brazil (USD 0.2 billion), and Canada (USD 0.1 billion). According to the latest monthly report, the balance with the United Kingdom shifted from a deficit of USD 0.5 billion to a surplus of USD 0.5 billion in March. Exports from the UK increased USD 0.6 billion to USD 4.8 billion and imports decreased USD 0.3 billion to USD 4.4 billion. The surplus with Saudi Arabia decreased USD 1.2 billion to USD 0.1 billion in March. Exports from Saudi Arabia decreased USD 0.9 billion to USD 1.4 billion and imports increased USD 0.3 billion to USD 1.3 billion.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
India and the US want the UK to stay in the EU to "look after their interests", a top European Parliament member has said and underlined that Brexit would be a "seismic shock" for the bloc if it goes through. "Countries like India and the US, they want us in the EU in order to bring a bit of common sense to the institution and to look after their interests within this European organisation," Geoffrey Van Orden, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and Britain's Conservative Party leader, said. With just over a month left for the June 23 referendum on Brexit, Van Orden, however, said he has not yet declared his position but will do so in due course of time. "I oppose so much of what goes on in this place (European Parliament) and in the European Union. I think a lot of it is detrimental to British interests and indeed in the interest of many of our European countries," Van Orden, the Chair of the European Parliament's Delegation for relations with India, told a visiting group of Indian journalists here. "I would say about an 80 per cent of what goes on here I oppose. So you would think therefore I would naturally be a Brexiter. My heart says leave but there are some serious reasons why one has to hesitate about that. And included among these reasons are...we don't know how easy it would be for us to negotiate new trade arrangements with the bloc that we are leaving behind," the 71-year-old said.
Van Orden said he has no doubt that the UK would be able to negotiate arrangements separately but how long will that take and how much of an economic upset would that be in the meantime are all factors that need to be considered before deciding on Brexit, a term used for the UK's exit from the 28-nation European Union. "Another very strong consideration particularly for me is that none of our Commonwealth friends and allies including India are saying to us leave the European Union. Indeed many of them are saying please stay for selfish reasons in fact this was indeed (the case) with our great American friends," the Vice-Chair of European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament said. Asked if India and the UK should work on a bilateral trade agreement with the India-EU FTA talks not progressing much, Van Orden said such a step will have to "wait till June 23". "This is one of the arguments -- how easy would it be for the UK (to negotiate trade pacts)...," he said. "After all if the UK were to leave the EU, this would be a seismic shock to the EU and it would unlock a whole lot of forces in many other countries and lead to a lot of questioning of the EU relationship in many other places," Van Orden said.
Giving his insight into how he feels the referendum campaign was panning out in the UK, Van Orden said the outcome hangs in balance and could swing both ways. "If you ask me more widely that what is the situation in the UK regarding Brexit. My answer to that is it is finely balanced. I would say at this moment it is probably 50-50. I think the turnout might be lower than what people expect," he said. Asserting that there were a lot of arguments in favour of Brexit, Van Orden said there were certain key considerations that were holding him back from supporting the 'Leave' campaign.
Talking about such considerations, he said Britain relies a lot on foreign investment and there might be some nervousness on the part of investors that they would no longer have unfettered access to that single market on the European continent if the UK were to leave. "The fact is if you have a seat at the table why would you give it up. If you have some influence...and I know that there is a lot of criticism about the degree of influence that we have and how often we get voted down in the council of ministers and how there have been sort of power shifts since the treaty of Lisbon. This place now has equal decision-making standing with the council of ministers," Van Orden said. "I think all these are regrettable moves but nevertheless it is now the reality that we now have to face. And so one has to think that if we left this thing is still going to be there 20 miles across the English Channel and we will have no foothold in it and no influence over it. So these are the things that hold me back and in due course I will give my views on what I think are people should do," he said. The influential MEP said he wants the UK to play to its strengths and asserted that the country has offered so much and can offer much if it stays in the EU. "I would like to see the UK playing a stronger role in the world not defined by its membership of the EU even if we decide to remain in. In other words that is just one of a number of clubs we belong too, it is not our be all and end all," he said. Van Orden said that in the EU "any number of people" from different nations are telling him not to leave. "The Germans say to me don't leave us alone with the French. The Danes will say don't leave us alone with the Germans. All around we have people saying please stay which brings me back to the thought we should have got for more in those negotiations. I blame ourselves, I don't think we asked for enough and we should have pushed harder," Van Orden said. "Whatever I might think about French ambitions in Europe, nevertheless I do have respect for French diplomacy. I have actually said to the British Prime Minister why don't we behave like the French. In other words make outrageous demands and then people will say what can we give them. We can't give them a 100 per cent of what they want but we give them 75 per cent," he said. "But we are not French and so we didn't behave like that," he added.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
In a bid to protect domestic synthetic rubber industry from rising imports, a parliamentary panel has recommended that the government review the free trade agreement with South Korea. As per the report, the Indian synthetic rubber industry is facing major issues due to rise in imports from South Korea. "The committee recommend the Department of Commerce to review the free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea and see if the domestic rubber industry can get some protection for some time, may be for 4 to 5 years so that it may stabilise its position in the market," the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce said in its report. India and South Korea signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2009, which was implemented in 2010. The suggestion assumes significance as the imports of the synthetic rubber from South Korea jumped more than four-times to Rs 2,264 crore in 2014-15 from Rs 499 crore in 2007-08.
During the same period, synthetic rubber product imports too increased to Rs 466 crore from Rs 211 crore. Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties ( DGAD) is probing into alleged dumping of rubber variants used for leather goods by the EU and South Korea following complaints from Indian Synthetic Rubber. The bilateral trade between the two countries increased to $18.13 billion in 2014-15 from $16.67 billion in 2013- 14. The committee has also recommended that the import duty on tyre could be increased to the level of duty imposed on natural rubber in the country to protect the domestic players from cheap imports. In April last year, the government had raised the import duty on natural rubber to 25 per cent or Rs 30 per kg, whichever is lower, to protect interest of growers and curb imports. It has also suggested for reviewing of some other free trade pacts such as with ASEAN members, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia with a view to stop India becoming dumping ground for cheap tyres.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
India and the US are set to take their negotiations on the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) to the next stage as the high-level officials from the two countries on Tuesday start discussions on the fine-print of the pact. The two countries are trying to iron out all pending points in the pact as they are planning to sign a framework pact during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US next month. A high-level delegation from the US will be meeting Finance Ministry officials on Tuesday in an effort to take the talks forward and reach a conclusion before a new government takes over in the US, a top official, involved in the talks, told BusinessLine.
Talks on a high-standard BIT, which seeks to safeguard the investors on both sides, started in 2008. With Modi visiting Washington for the fourth time in two years, the US industry is vigorously pushing for the pact to go through. “There is now a common thinking on both sides that the agreement can be signed while all the outstanding issues can be sorted out as we progress,” the official said. According to the official, the US is ready to address some of the concerns even though it has reservations on the government’s draft BIT model. The US is believed to have asked the Indian government to replicate the investment chapters it has signed with Japan and Korea under the individual trade pacts. US had taken up this issue during the recent visit by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. “As of now, there are no sticking points for either of the two nations. It will be a clause by clause negotiation on the overall framework,” said another official. The Finance Ministry and the Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry are understood to have finalised India’s position on the treaty. “There has not been much progress especially after India adopted the new model BIT in 2015. There are very many differences between the US 2012 model BIT and the Indian 2015 model BIT … US might be more interested in using the text of the investment chapter of India’s CECAs with Korea etc as the basis to negotiate in place of the new Indian model BIT,” said Prabhash Ranjan, Assistant Professor, South Asian University, who was also part of the committee that drafted the 260th report of law commission on the Draft Indian model BIT. In December 2015, India revised its old BIT model text of 1993 by adding more stringent provisions and strict riders for achieving smoother Investor State Dispute Settlement.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
China's exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 4.1 per cent year on year in April, while imports dipped 5.7 per cent, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs (GAC). That led to a monthly trade surplus of 298 billion yuan ($45.9 billion), up from March's 194.6 billion yuan, the customs data showed, suggesting the economy is steadying amid slowing growth. The export growth in April was milder than the 18.7 per cent increase in March, while imports fell at a faster pace compared with the 1.7 per cent fall in the previous month. Foreign trade edged down 0.3 per cent year on year to 1.95 trillion yuan last month and that for the first four months combined slipped 4.4 per cent to 7.17 trillion yuan. In the January-April period, exports dropped 2.1 per cent year on year while imports went down 7.5 per cent, leading to a trade surplus of 1.11 trillion yuan, widening 16.5 per cent from a year earlier. The leading index for the country's exports rose 2.2 points to 33.8 in April, with sub-indices for new export orders and managers' confidence both up from March, signaling smaller pressure on export growth in the second quarter, the GAC said.
Exports to the European Union, China's largest trade partner, climbed 1.3 per cent year on year in the first four months, the GAC data showed. In the same period, exports to the US and the ASEAN, China's second and third largest trade partners, both declined 3.5 per cent. According to the customs data, imports of iron ore, crude oil and copper posted strong increase in the four months -- up 6.1 percent, 11.8 per cent and 23.1 per cent, respectively. But imports of coal, steel and refined oil fell.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The export-oriented industry of value-added textile, waiting for the refund claims of around Rs4.6 billion pending for the last two years, has threatened to move court if their funds were not released immediately. Pakistan Readymade Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) Chief Coordinator Ijaz Khokhar on Monday asked Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to personally intervene and play the role in early processing of exporters' claims, otherwise they would approach the court against this illogical circular of the State Bank of Pakistan. He said that the State Bank of Pakistan revised the calculation method in DLTL Scheme at a time when full payment is due and exporters have submitted their final claims after a lengthy process of paperwork. If the Finance Ministry does not intervene in the matter the whole fund of Rs 4.6 billion under DLTL Growth Scheme may be lapsed due to undue delay in payment. “If SBP considers this new method necessary it should be implemented from next financial year and the central bank should intimate the exporters in the beginning not at the end of the year.” Khokhar said the association has also sent a letter to the National Standing Committee on Textile chairman Khawaja Ghulam Rasool Koreja to raise the issue of financial crunch faced by the apparel sector. Koreja has fixed the meeting with PRGMEA to deliberate all issues of textile industry. He said that the finance minister Ishaq Dar had committed in his budget 2015-16 speech for refunds of claims of Drawback of Local Taxes and Levy (DLTL) to the exporters but the recent circular of the SBP gives impression that it would not seem to be materialized like several other commitments of the government. Ijaz Khokhar said that revision in method of calculating DLTL claims will require additional paper work, fresh certificates/undertaking and re-verification of the claims already verified by the ministry of textiles. He said that it would delay the processing of claims and add to the financial burden on the value added sector. “The claims already submitted under notification dated 22 October 2014, should be acceptable as the export realization in rupee has been calculated on daily closing rates published by the State Bank. We don’t see the need to submit the claims, as all data pertaining to exports in foreign currencies is already available with the SBP.
SOURCE: The News
The textile industry has identified serious distortions in the electricity tariff resulting in the build-up of billions of rupees per month of unpaid refunds, making the industry unsustainable. In a letter to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), the All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has pointed out that the existing scheme of power tariff was not only creating problems for consumers, particularly the industry, but also the distribution companies. The Aptma said the regulator had adopted furnace oil price at Rs65,769 per tonne for reference tariff for fiscal year 2014-15 instead of actual price of Rs56,000 per tonne prevailing at the time when the determination was issued.
Given the fact that Nepra was obligated to order monthly adjustments on the basis of fuel costs, Rs3-4 per unit per month adjustment has been allowed since July 2015. Sadly, the fuel price adjustment was being passed on to consumers with a lag of two to three months, it said. This meant that distribution companies were firstly receiving billions of rupees over and above their actual cost of service in the shape of extra amount billed and collected from customers each month and returned to relevant customers subsequently. This leads to a cash crunch for both the industrial consumers, especially the textile sector, on account of bloated initial extra payments and for the power sector that is confronted with continuing bad governance challenges to return the amounts held in trust. All this is also onerous for the distribution companies (Discos) because of poor collections and high losses because Nepra determined performance targets are neither achieved nor its directions fully complied with.
The Aptma pointed out that while finalising the Consumer End Tariff for 2015-16, the reference fuel price for furnace oil should have been fixed at Rs23,000 per tonne as monthly notified by PSO every month. Also, the maximum price for LNG should be around Rs600 as determined by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority for reference fuel price adjustment instead of over Rs900 per unit. It pointed out that the regulator had itself determined the tariff for the 425MW Nandipur project on the basis of Rs38,625 of furnace oil price. “The difference in reference furnace oil price for a Genco plant and the Discos tariff is clear-cut dichotomy and also a negation of the ground realities,” it said. “Actually, it is most inopportune for the Regulator to fix the furnace oil reference price at Rs47,981 per tonne in its determination issued in March, 2016, which is not only 24 per cent higher than Nepra’s own determination of January 2016 but also 109 per cent higher than RFO price in February2016” in determinations for Discos. It contended that the Nepra decision for Nandipur’s fuel cost billing to CPPA for pass-on to Discos Rs38,625 per tonne and allowing Discos to bill the same energy to customers at a cost based on Rs47,981 per tonne was not only a contradicting assumption, but also discriminatory from the customers’ perspective. The textile industry has pleaded that it was confronted with the high cost of doing business in Pakistan and could not afford to pay excess bills on account of inaccurate fuel cost estimation assumption to generate surplus cash flows for the poorly managed Discos. It pointed out that the industry, textile sector in particular, for many factors was not in a position to pay an extra Rs3-4 per unit each month above full cost of service and then wait for similar refunds after some time. “The mere payment of extra money and then wait for refunds is going to make the industry unsustainable,” it said. The Aptma letter concluded that the industry may be compelled to seek legal remedy if corrections were not made at the institutional level. A Nepra official when asked said the regulator normally abstains from writing back letters and could address specific issues during public hearings and in its written determinations when necessary.
SOURCE: The Dawn
With textile and apparel exports from the East Asian giant China and start-ups Cambodia and Vietnam declining at least in the United States, but the opportunity is moving up in South Asia. In India it has increased by 15.3 percent in March compared with exports of same items in February 2015. Bangladesh recorded an export increase of 7.8 percent during the same period while Pakistan’s exports in textiles and apparel increased by 8.8 percent. India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the leading exporters of textile in Southern Asia. Major portion of textile and apparel exports go to the U.S and EU from the South Asian countries. According to the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel reports the textile and apparel exports started declining in the recent months, China, Vietnam and Cambodia took the largest hit with a decline of 43.3 percent, 22.4 percent and 22 percent respectively in the month of March compared with February 2016. The decline in their textile exports in March ’16 when compared with March ’15 was 42.1 percent for China, 22.6 percent for Vietnam and 34.4 percent for Cambodia. However, when compared with March 15 the increase in exports from these countries was much lower. The increase in exports from India was only 1.4 percent, Bangladesh and Pakistan recorded negative exports of 0.1 percent and 2.9 percent respectively.
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are now among the top five exporters of textiles and clothing to the United States and the European Union. The export performance of the three South Asian countries was however much better than that of Far eastern economies. In fact there has been an overall decline in apparel and textile exports to the United States. Most of the decline was borne by the Far East Asian economies. While exports from the South Asian economies remained almost stable. This shows that South Asian textiles were more resilient than the Far Eastern textiles. It is worth noting that the textile industry in Pakistan remained under immense pressure due to low availability of energy and its high cost. Things started changing when RLNG was made available to the industries for power generation form January this year. The cost of RLNG is lower than even the tariff of locally produced natural gas. The cost of energy has come down sharply for the industry. At the same time the power tariff has also been cut by almost 30 percent that provided relief to the industries that do not have gas run generators. Industry is getting state supplied power 24/7. The benefit of this facilitation has not been registered in exports as the foreign buyers had already placed their orders for the first quarter of 2016. Pakistani exporters quoted rates on the basis of high power cost. They are likely to be more competitive in the second quarter of 2016 and an overall increase in textile exports are expected from April onwards. The decline of apparel exports from China was expected as its labour costs have gone very high. However, the decline in apparel exports of Vietnam and Cambodia shows that the region as a whole is becoming uncompetitive. In fact, when the going was tough for the Pakistani textile sector China tried to acquire some running industries at a low price in the two neighbouring countries to keep its global hold on textile intact but this plan seems to be failing.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
After almost ten years Pakistan has won back its lost membership of the European Union Generalized System of Preference, commonly known as GSP-Plus status. The European Union (EU) Parliament approved the GSP-plus status with 409 to 180 votes for 10 developing countries. The renewed membership will enable Pakistan to export to 27 EU countries its textile products free of duty. The last membership was cancelled in 2004 on the allegation that Pakistan has been dumping its products into the European markets thus militating against the rights of the competitors playing a just game. The allegation however was never proved through investigation. The ban had been a bane to Pakistan’s export targets as it pushed up the prices of the products manifold. Suddenly Pakistan had become uncompetitive against Sri Lanka, China India and all those countries enjoying the preference status. The increased prices translated into fewer orders and buyers switching to other regions. Add to this the law and order situation and the battering energy crisis, and a picture of a crucified textile sector battered with high cost of doing business and trimmed market share emerges. This obviously goes against the business prospects of the country already down on several economic and financial indicators, and need a consistent and sustained effort to perform better. The GSP-Plus comes with a caveat, and could bring testing time to the country again. We would be checked and verified against our treatment to issues such as good governance, labour and environmental standards. We had already missed the status as there some member of the EU parliament wanted Pakistan to renounce capital punishment. This demand can arise again and Pakistan should be prepared to handle it lest it loses the hard earned GSP. Our score on human rights has gone down many levels, especially in term of child labour, sectarian violence, target and honor killing etc. Terrorism is still insurmountable. We have to fight for our cause form a risky pitch. It is for the government now to strategies the long awaited security policy and takes the issue by its horn before economic isolation takes over the best part of us.
The business community is jubilant about getting a duty free access to the EU markets. According to the government figures Pakistan textile industry would earn around $ 1 billion annually while the profit to the industry after the inclusion of EU market through duty free access would get approximately Rs 1 trillion. It would also create 100,000 new jobs in the manufacturing sector. All these benefits could not be realized unless the textile industry gets uninterrupted supply of gas, power and water. Presently the textile sector is shutdown because of unavailability of sufficient gas in the country. In this situation fulfilling orders in time could become a critical issue. It could also affect the quality of the products. Delayed shipments had been one of the causes why many markets in Europe and even in the US had shifted to other countries in the region especially to Bangladesh. Combine this with the law and other situation when many marketers were reluctant to visit Pakistan, the textile sector cuts a sorry figure. It would be humiliating for the country and a setback to its future economic prospects if we could not deliver on our commitments. The challenges confronting the government and the textile sector are enormous. Unfortunately we have a very short list of industries to leverage a position in the international market for diverse market share; textile is the backbone upon which survives not only the economic pyramid but the sustainability of the country as well. Therefore it is the energy sector that needs to be set straight, without this planning every preference would turn out a dud. *
SOURCE: The Daily Times
Tunisia that already ranks as the fifth-largest apparel supplier to Europe and the number two supplier for the French market, according to Tunisia's Foreign Investment Promotion Agency with textile and apparel exports totaled TD6.5bn (€2.9bn) in 2014 is now looking for talks on a new deal with the EU, its biggest trading partner, to pave the way for improved access to European markets, while opportunities to boost trade with Pakistan are also showing signs of promise as impact of global economic situation weighing on trading volumes. In October Tunisia launched negotiations with the EU with a view to securing a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) that has been in consideration since 2011. Tunisia has benefitted from a raft of association agreements since the late 1990s that have given the country tariff-free access to several EU markets, together with financial and technical assistance. However, the DCFTA is expected to offer far greater opportunities to improve trade flows by reducing tariffs on key Tunisian exports, such as agricultural products.
According to the European Commission, the EU is Tunisia's largest trading partner by far, accounting for 80% of the country's imports and exports. Bilateral trade was valued at approximately €20bn in 2014. Electrical machinery and transport equipment accounted for 38.1% of Tunisia's exports to the EU, while textiles and clothing comprised 24.9%. Fuels and mining products, meanwhile, made up 14% of Tunisia's sales to the bloc. Tunisia will be looking for the new deal to unlock trade in key areas that were not fully liberalised under the 1998 EU-Tunisia Association Agreement, such as agriculture, which accounts for around 9.5% of GDP. Other trade deals under discussion, including a preferential trade agreement with Pakistan, could feed into Tunisia's value-added export strategy. The Tunisian ambassador to Pakistan, Adel Elarbi, is hopeful that an agreement could be signed this year, which would boost bilateral trade from a modest $33.1m in FY 2014/15. Elarbi highlighted agriculture, textiles, electronics, tourism and services as areas for potential cooperation, with a focus on importing more raw materials from Pakistan. Atif Ikram Sheikh, president of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that there is a good scope for the export of Pakistani fabrics, which after value addition in Tunisia could be exported to the European and other countries.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
A business delegation of leading Czech companies led by the Ambassador Milan Hovorka are in Sri Lanka to explore opportunities for trade and investment where Upul Jayasuriya, Chairman of BOI, and a few representatives met the Czech delegation and there the Ambassador Hovorka brought their attention on the areas of interest of the Czech Republic Companies. Currently trade between Sri Lanka and the Czech Republic is small. The Czech Republic imports US$50 billion of product from Sri Lanka and including textiles, Garments and Tea while Sri Lanka only imports about US$10 million worth of Czech made products. This meeting is to be considered as laying the foundations for a ministerial level meeting between the two countries. However, commercial relations between the two countries had not expanded and steps are being made to upgrade relations between the two countries with a strong focus on economic relations.The Czech Republic is a highly industrialized Country with a healthy and rapidly growing economy. The country is also a member of the European Union and has had excellent relations with Sri Lanka. During the period of former Czechoslovakia, they had been significant trade of Czech products which were exported to Sri Lanka.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
