INTERNATIONAL
Textile Raw Material Price 2016-05-31
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1000.82 |
USD/Ton |
-0.30% |
5/31/2016 |
|
VSF |
2050.25 |
USD/Ton |
0.15% |
5/31/2016 |
|
ASF |
1913.56 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
964.37 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2217.30 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4328.30 |
USD/Ton |
-0.35% |
5/31/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2445.11 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
5663.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1230.15 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
2057.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2088.21 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1093.46 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2764.03 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1673.61 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2429.92 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1807.25 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2126.18 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2915.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2217.30 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.35 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.81 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.16 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
-0.22% |
5/31/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
5/31/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15187 USD dtd. 31/05/2016)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The textile units of Ichalkaranji, the textile city of Kolhapur district, get an extended opportunity to submit applications for claiming subsidy for upgradation of technology in their industrial unit. Under the technology upgradation fund (TUF) scheme, the textile operators will get a 5 % subsidy. Last week, the government had announced that textile units need to submit their applications online before May 3. Operators, however, objected to the announcement being made at such short notice and demanded an extension of the deadline. Thus, the state government extended the deadline till the end of June. According to Suresh Halwankar, Ichalkaranji MLA, the state announced the subsidy, but it came in late due to administrative delay followed by the failure of the government server. Many textile unit operators could not upload their claims in time. To avoid any further inconvenience, the issue was raised before state textile minister Chandrakant Patil a couple of days back and he immediately issued extension orders. Patil had recently stated that that business persons from the textile sector would not be suffer for the mistakes of the state government.
Ichalkaranji is the second largest textile hub in the state, with more than 50 international apparel brands sourcing their products from there. The industry is growing with more units coming up. Halwankar said all textile operators are being informed about the extension in the deadline for submitting the application. The MLA added that he would try to form proper communication between textile operators and the state government.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The site for the textile park planned to be set up at Padalur, on the Tiruchi – Chennai National Highway has been eventually finalized after witnessing several impediments in its initial three years. The site is to come up on an area of 40.35 hectares — 36.79 hectares of government poramboke land in the Padalur village and 3.56 hectares government poramboke land in Irur village. The park is located at a distance about one km from the Tiruchi – Chennai National Highway and an approach road is planned to be laid at an estimate of Rs. One crore. A large number of entrepreneurs have expressed their desire to set up their units at the proposed textile park. About 35 entrepreneurs have expressed their desire to set up their plants. Most of them hail from the western districts and possess adequate expertise for starting the units. In fact, one of the entrepreneurs had already successfully set up a mini textile unit, not far away from the park, and has demanded an acre in the park, indicating the scope for the textile park in this area. But strong objection from the local residents made the district administration shifted the site to the Padalur where a vast extent of government porrambokke land was available. Export-oriented units making readymade garments will come up. Promoted by State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT), the park is expected to give a fillip to the industrial growth in the backward district of Perambalur. Availability of skilled labour and un-skilled workers were the major advantages in this region. The state government had accorded permission to the Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles for setting up the park. The park will mainly cater to the needs of export-oriented ready-made garments units, production of yarn and so on. No dyeing unit will be permitted with a view to protecting the underground water table in the area.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The power loom job working units here and in Tirupur district have decided to take up with the authorities the issue of non-payment of increased wages by textile merchants as agreed two months ago. Nearly two lakh power looms remained silent following an indefinite strike over the issue and the matter was resolved after tripartite talks between Collectors of Coimbatore and Tirupur districts, on February 22 last. The strike was necessitated, as the textile traders stopped paying the increased wages agreed upon in 2014, after paying for initial three to four months. Eventhough the units began functioning from February 23, the traders had paid only 10 per cent increased wages instead of 27 per cent agreed for Palladam variety of fabric and repeated requests have only fallen on deaf ears, sources in the Powerloom Job Workers Association in Tirupur said. Since elections are over, the office bearers have decided to meet Palladam MLA and also Tirupur District collector next week to find an amicable solution to the problem, the sources said. The future course of action, including indefinite strike, will be decided depending on the outcome of the meeting, they added.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Union Textile Minister Santosh Gangwar and Minister in charge of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh jointly inaugurated an exhibition-cum-sale of handicraft and handloom products from the Northeastern states in New Delhi on Monday. The event has been organised to showcase the rich variety of textiles, handicrafts and bamboo furniture and artefacts of the region, according to an official press release. Gangwar said the Ministry of Textiles has taken an initiative to set up apparel and garment making centres in all eight states in the Northeastern region. “This is the first organized effort to bring modern ready-made garment industry in the North East, and a significant step towards the Make in India initiative of the Government,” Gangwar told reporters.
The Minister said that the project, which comes under the North-East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS), will develop entrepreneurship through various capacity building measures and also train the people to work efficiently on high-end garment machines. Each Apparel and Garment Making Centre set up under the initiative is estimated to generate direct employment for 1,200 people. It will help develop an ecosystem that will trigger further investments and employment. The Centres in Tripura and Nagaland have already been inaugurated, while work is in progress in the remaining six states. DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh said the exhibition is a landmark event to showcase the rich variety of textiles, handicrafts and bamboo furniture and artefacts of North East India. The fortnight-long exhibition-cum-sale of exclusive products, specially created by award-winning craft persons, master craft persons from North Eastern States of India, has been organised by the Central Cottage Industries Corporation of India (CCI) Ltd at the CCI Emporium.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
At a time of global slowdown, India’s textile exports has not decreased in comparison to last year, Union Textile Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in an interview to KNN. In terms of quantity, he said, textile exports was same this year and is likely to surge next year. Talking about the initiatives taken in the North Eastern region, Gangwar said that unlike the previous governments, PM Modi is giving importance to North East as well. “It is always said that North East region has always been neglected in terms of funding but Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking at the every region of the country,” the Minister said. He explained that after the intervention of PM, Textile Ministry has started setting up Apparel and Garments units in each of the eight states of North-East with the cost of around Rs. 20 crore. He said that the foundation stone had been laid for some units and now work is about to start in some. “Around 10,000 men and women will get jobs here,” he said adding that work has already been started in three units and it is an initiative which would benefit the locals there. Now the local people would get employment opportunities in their hometowns, said the Minister.
SOURCE: The KNN India
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
A healthy and robust manufacturing sector with significant contribution to the GDP is at the core of consistent and sustainable economic growth of a nation. For India, which enjoys end-to-end capabilities across the manufacturing spectrum, the capital goods (CG) sector is of high strategic importance as it is considered to be the ‘mother’ of manufacturing. While the sector is a vital chord of industrial development, India’s capital goods production has been historically plagued by a variety of issues—limited inclination of end user industries to use domestic sources due to lack of latest technology, sub-scale and fragmented nature of industry with a large number of small and medium enterprises, and sub-par visibility and promotion of India as a capital goods manufacturing hub alongside a set of continuing taxation and trade policy related issues. As a result, India’s imports of machinery and equipment have been rising across sub-sectors. The fast track approval by the Cabinet of the National Capital Goods policy is noteworthy as the much awaited policy is critical for realising the Make in India vision. The policy incorporates extensive inputs from industry including those from the joint task force of the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). It comes at an opportune time when the government has announced several infrastructure projects such as Smart Cities, industrial corridors, Housing for All, etc.
The CG policy strives to the increase the contribution of this sector to 20% from current 12% of total manufacturing activity by 2025. The share of domestic production in India’s total demand would be raised from 60% to 80%, and exports are targeted to go up from the current 27% to 40% of production to make India a net exporter of capital goods. The policy also aims to facilitate improvement in technology depth across sub-sectors, increase skill availability, ensure mandatory standards, and promote growth and capacity building of MSMEs.
Under the Make in India initiative, the CG policy would identify major sub-sectors such as machine tools, textile machinery and others as priority sectors. The existing CG scheme, to enhance competitiveness through centers of excellence, integrated industrial infrastructure parks and Technology Acquisition Fund, would receive additional funds. Cluster development would be a key target to provide critical components of competitiveness such as management of quality, energy, costs, plant maintenance, etc. Transfer of technology, purchase of intellectual property rights, designs and drawings and commercialisation of research will be encouraged through a specific budgetary allocation. The policy proposes to set up a startup center for the CG sector with participation from the private sector to provide technical, business and financial support.
A key element of the policy is mandatory standardisation according to which minimum standards would be defined. With the help of the Bureau of Indian Standards, International Organisation for Standardisation and other institutions along with industry associations, these would go a long way towards imparting quality to the products. More research institutions are also proposed to be set up. For skill development, a sector skills council for the CG sector would be set up along with five regional centers. A capital subsidy scheme to enable SMEs to replace their equipment with modern, efficient, computerised systems is also included. To map the progress, a continuous system of monitoring for timely corrective action will enable the policy to be optimally effective.
While the recommendations and intent of the National Capital Goods policy are well stated, it now demands intense implementation focus and programme management rigor. An important element will be to build and strengthen a supply chain and form stronger linkages with the rest of the world. Our international counterparts have been able to establish themselves in the arena of manufacturing as their focus has been to build local industries as preferred sources of procurement. If we are to enhance scale and quality, significant efforts will need to be made to provide an ecosystem to promote innovation, R&D and quality.
CG needs a TED (technology depth, export promotion and demand creation) boost. The need of the hour is to replicate and adopt global best practices in these three core areas, as also highlighted in the policy. As an economy where we strive to excel and create a brand of our own in “manufacturing”; there has to be constant collaborative effort from manufacturers and the government to ensure that this industry becomes competitive and sustains higher growth through technology transfers, domestic R&D, and effective export strategy. We in the industry will need to be consistent in our efforts towards the implementation of the key policy actions to make the Indian capital goods industry globally competitive. Importantly, the role of the state is very critical for overall balanced growth of the capital goods sector. The game changer has been unveiled, but there is still a long way to go.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.6 per cent in 2015-16, up from 7.2 per cent a year ago. The full-year growth was fuelled by close to eight per cent growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2015-16, the fastest in the world for the January-March quarter and FY16 since the new GDP series was launched in 2011-12. With such a high growth number, India has managed to retain its tag of the world’s fastest growing major economy — outpacing even China — giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi more reasons to celebrate after completing two years in office last week. Though the annual growth rate remained the same, quarterly economic expansion changed in 2015-16 between the actual data that was released on Tuesday and advance estimates. At 7.6% in FY16, India now fastest growing economy The GDP grew 7.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2015-16, against 7.6 per cent projected in advance estimates; 7.6 per cent in the second quarter, against a projected 7.7 per cent; 7.2 per cent in the third quarter, against a projected 7.3 per cent; and 7.9 per cent in the fourth quarter, against a projected 7.7 per cent. Though manufacturing and financial services posted strong growth, investment declined in the fourth quarter, showing signs of overstretched corporate balance sheets. That meant growth was largely consumption led despite rural distress.
Growth in the gross value added was 7.2 per cent in 2015-16 against advance estimates of 7.3 per cent. Nominal GDP growth climbed to 10.4 per cent in the fourth quarter, from 9.1 per cent in the third quarter, pointing to inflationary pressure building up. While inflation was below two per cent in the third quarter, it rose to nearly 2.5 per cent in the fourth quarter. The GDP growth rate of 7.6 per cent in 2015-16 is the highest in the new series. “The numbers are encouraging. Everyone is looking forward to a good monsoon. We should hope for things to be better from hereon,” said Expenditure Secretary Ashok Lavasa. He has been appointed finance secretary.
The government had pegged GDP growth at 7-7.75 per cent in 2016-17. What may give the government a bit of boost is that the index of eight crucial core sector industries rose 8.5 per cent in April, against 6.4 per cent in March. “The various measures that the government has been taking in the last couple of years are beginning to show results and overall there are green shoots. This year, hopefully with good monsoon, we should look at a growth closer to eight per cent,” said Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das.
At 7.6% in FY16, India now fastest growing economy Agriculture rose 1.2 per cent in FY16, against advance estimates projection of 1.1 per cent. The push came from 2.3 per cent growth in the fourth quarter, against contraction of one per cent in the third quarter. Manufacturing grew by 9.3 per cent in 2015-16, lower than the 9.5 per cent projection, and the financial sector expanded by 10.3 per cent, in line with estimates. Growth rates for both segments fell sequentially in the fourth quarter. Manufacturing growth was 9.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, down from 11.5 per cent in the third quarter, and financial services grew 9.1 per cent in the fourth quarter, down from 10.5 per cent in the third quarter.
“Healthy corporate earnings in some sectors in the just-concluded quarter supported manufacturing growth in fourth quarter of FY16, despite a decline in volumes revealed by the Index of Industrial Production. As expected, manufacturing GVA growth has moderated in Q4FY16 from Q3FY16,” said Aditi Nayar, senior economist, Icra. The worrisome part of the economy was that gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), a proxy for investment, contracted 1.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015-16. It had risen as high as 7.1 and 9.7 per cent in the first and second quarters, respectively. However, the third quarter also saw a small increase of 1.2 per cent. However, private final consumption expenditure rose 8.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, against 8.2 per cent in the third, 6.3 per cent in the second and 6.9 per cent in the first. Gross final consumption expenditure growth declined somewhat to 2.9 per cent in the fourth quarter, against three per cent in the third quarter, reflecting tightening of the purse by the government. “The contraction of GFCF by 1.9 per cent in fourth quarter of FY16 is disappointing, highlighting the muted trend in private sector investments as well as some slowdown in the pace of growth of the government’s capex in the final quarter of the last financial year,” Nayar said.
“With government giving strong impetus to the rural sector in Budget and expectations of a normal monsoon, both demand and investments are expected to further strengthen”
FICCI
“These estimates put forward certain positive indications of growth revival. However, policymakers need to continue with the proactive stance to support these developments”
ASSOCHAM
“Overall growth levels should move up in the coming quarters, though likely to remain sub-8%, on the back of a pick-up in consumption expenditure. Expect next financial year’s growth to be around the 7.6% mark”
DELOITTE
SOURCE: The Business Standard
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Growth in the eight core sectors jumped to 8.5 per cent in April, due to a sharp pick-up in refinery products and a commensurate rise in electricity generation. The index had grown by 6.4 per cent in March. According to data released by the ministry of commerce and industry on Tuesday, growth in the eight sectors— coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity — comprising nearly 38 per cent of India's total industrial production, had fallen a marginal 0.2 per cent in the same period of the previous year. Refinery products, which have steadily grown since December 2015, had output rising 17.9 per cent in April, after 10.8 per cent in March. Electricity generation rose for a fifth straight month, up 14.7 per cent, after 11.3 per cent in March.
Core sector growth accelerates to 8.5% in April Four sectors in March showed double-digit growth; it was two in April. Growth in cement and fertiliser slowed considerably. The former rose 7.8 per cent in April, after 22.9 per cent in March. Cement production fell from a 11.9 per cent rise in March to 4.4 per cent in April. Production volumes for both crude oil and natural gas continued to go down in April. While crude oil fell by 2.3 per cent, growth in natural gas contracted 6.8 per cent. The industries had last shown growth in August last year, continuing to be hit by falling international crude oil prices coupled with subdued domestic and international demand. Steel production increased by 6.1 per cent in April after rising 3.4 per cent in the previous month. Growth rates for coal continued to fall significantly from 9.1 per cent rise in January to 0.9 per cent fall in April.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The country’s fiscal deficit for 2015-16 was Rs 5.32 lakh crore, about 99.5 per cent of the government’s revised target of Rs 5.35 lakh crore, compared with 99.6 per cent for the same period a year before, official data showed on Tuesday. As a percentage of gross domestic product at current prices, also issued on Tuesday, the deficit was 3.9 per cent, as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said it would be in February. For FY17, the deficit target is 3.5 per cent of GDP. For the year ended March 2016, the provisional figure of combined revenue was Rs 1.24 lakh crore or 99.2 per cent of the revised target of Rs 1.25 lakh crore, compared with 98.7 per cent of the full-year target a year before. FY16 fiscal deficit target met Total expenditure was Rs 1.77 lakh crore or 99.3 per cent of the revised target, compared with 99 per cent for the same period last year. Total expenditure was Rs 1.61 lakh crore, or 8.2 per cent of the full-year estimate, compared with 8.7 per cent last year.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
A slew of additional taxes announced in the Budget, including agriculture cess on services, equalisation levy, higher securities transaction tax on sale of options and tax collection at source on cash purchases for goods and services over Rs 2 lakh, will kick in from Wednesday. The 0.5 per cent Krishi Kalyan Cess (KKC) on all services increases the total tax chargeable on services to 15 per cent, making it expensive to dine out or travel. The equalisation levy of six per cent on cross-border digital transactions is aimed at foreign multinational digital companies without a permanent establishment in India, such as Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Twitter, making them liable to be taxed in India for their earnings from local advertisers. The levy could potentially drive up costs for advertisers, with the digital companies expected to pass on the extra tax cost. The payment in cash for buying goods and services worth more than Rs 2 lakh, excluding jewellery, will attract one per cent extra tax at source from June 1. The existing similar tax of 1 per cent on cash purchase of over Rs 5 lakh of jewellery and over Rs 2 lakh of bullion will continue. The sale of options will also attract increased Securities Transaction Tax (STT) of 0.05 per cent from Wednesday. Currently, STT is 0.017 per cent. A one-time settlement tax scheme for resolving disputes emanating from retrospective amendments to the Income Tax Act will also come into effect from Wednesday.
Apart from all this, the four-month window under the Income Declaration Scheme, which gives a chance to domestic tax payers to declare undisclosed income or assets and avail immunity from penalty and prosecution by paying tax 45 per cent, also kicks in on Wednesday. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) released the first set of 14 FAQs to dispel doubts related to the scheme last week. The scheme requires declaration of undisclosed asset at its fair market value (FMV) as on date of commencement of the scheme and will be regarded as cost of acquisition of the asset for any subsequent transfer. The CBDT members Rani Nair and S K Sahai in a 'Talkathon' on Tuesday said declarants under the scheme will enjoy immunity from prosecution under various laws like the Wealth Tax and Income Tax Acts. "No questions will be asked from them. Once this window closes and we get to know that a person has black money, we will tax it and the I-T department will take action," Sahai said. A similar scheme for undisclosed assets stashed overseas fetched exchequer Rs 2,428.4 crore from disclosures worth Rs 4,147 crore.
The Dispute Resolution Scheme provides an opportunity to taxpayers to settle tax disputes once and for all by paying tax, interest and 25 per cent penalty by December 31. "It is an accepted fact that a huge number of cases are pending at various stages of appeal, adding to uncertainty to taxpayers as well as the tax department. The scheme is a win-win situation for taxpayers as well as the government. However, the scheme should have been made broader to provide certainty to a greater number of taxpayers. Further, asking taxpayers to pay penalty of 25 per cent above tax and interest might dampen the enthusiasm of taxpayers to avail the scheme, particularly when in majority of cases disputes are due to aggressive approach of tax authorities in assessment," said S P Singh of Deloitte.
The Direct Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, which seeks to resolve cases pending in various courts, tribunals, arbitrations or are in mediation under the Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA), will come into effect from Wednesday and provide an opportunity to settle retrospective tax cases. The scheme allows companies to pay the basic tax demand and get waiver on interest and penalty. The scheme is seen as an opportunity for companies like Vodafone and Cairn, which have been facing multi-billion dollar tax liability, following retrospective tax amendments in 2012.
STARTING TODAY
SOURCE: The Business Standard
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
India’s exports have been falling in dollar terms for the 17 months in a row. What is causing this and what can be done about it? A debate on these issues, especially the role of the exchange rate and the RBI, has been raging in the media. Yet, some important points are missing in the discussion. Falling exports can be attributed to weak global demand and hence beyond the control of Indian policy makers. A significant part of our exports consists of refined petro products, iron ore and minerals, whose prices have fallen sharply. Such exports may have actually risen in volume terms. But that is not the case for all exports. Also, countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam have been able to increase their exports in dollar terms during the same period. So, we cannot put the blame entirely on deteriorating global demand or falling prices.
Two approaches
There are basically two schools of thought here. One emphasises the structural/institutional features of the economy to be primarily responsible while the other holds the exchange rate to be the villain. The RBI, not surprisingly, subscribes to the former school. The RBI view is that we should focus on improving our economic fundamentals and maintaining macroeconomic stability and the trend exchange rate should be left to market forces. For improving our international competitiveness, we need to remove infrastructural bottlenecks, enhance productivity and access to finance, increase domestic competition, keep inflation in check and improve the ease of doing business in India. If one looks at the nominal exchange rate, over January 2015 to March 2016 (a substantial part of the period over which Indian exports have been falling) the rupee depreciated against the dollar 6.2 per cent, whereas the Chinese yuan fell by only 4.6 per cent. Thus, contrary to popular perception, the rupee, instead of appreciating, marginally depreciated against the yuan and yet our exports were falling. The currencies of some countries (South Africa, Brazil, Russia, Malaysia, Turkey, Canada, the Eurozone) depreciated by much more, relative to US dollar, while the exports of several of them declined. The real exchange rate or REER (both the six-currency and the 36-currency variants) — which better captures the average price competitiveness of India’s exports relative to its competitors — has remained flat over the period of falling exports. All these imply that the exchange rate was not the primary reason for the fall in Indian exports.
People who hold the exchange rate primarily responsible refer to cross-country empirical studies which show that relative exchange rates (with suitable lags) matter for export performance. Even if that is generally true, the fact that the real exchange rate has remained flat during the period of falling exports (and even more strikingly, had actually appreciated, in both nominal and real terms, during the preceding period of rising exports) means that, for the specific period and the Indian context under consideration, exchange rate was not the main factor.
Reality bites
In theory, other things remaining the same, currency depreciation should produce an effect on a country’s exports. However, even here, one needs to make a distinction between demand and supply constrained situations. Depreciation helps exports particularly when the binding constraint is weak external demand and lower dollar prices sufficiently increase demand for exports (high price elasticities of demand). The situation becomes different if there is a supply constraint (like in most agricultural products). In that case, when rupee falls but supply remains the same, Indian exports may rise temporarily as production is diverted from domestic market to export market (since exporting becomes more profitable relative to home sales). But more exports will push up domestic rupee prices of exports and the initial gain in international price competitiveness will be neutralised by higher inflation. Removing supply constraints calls for other kinds of reforms — not exchange rate adjustment.
A country’s export performance also depends on the credit terms, brands, reputation about reliable product quality and maintenance of delivery schedules, quality of repair and servicing facilities (for consumer durables and machines), linkages with global supply chains, access to global marketing channels (often controlled by multinationals), trader networks (note the role of expatriate Chinese traders in expanding Chinese exports), membership of big preferential trading arrangements, labour market flexibility (in the face of sudden rise/fall in export demand), efficiency of storage and transportation facilities, trade facilitation at the customs, and so on. Even if one accepts that the RBI should intervene to maintain a competitive exchange rate, the question is: How? Since we allow free movement of foreign capital into and out of India, there will be periods of sharp appreciation and depreciation. The best that the RBI can hope to do is to smoothen out excessive fluctuations around the trend, but it should not try to buck the trend.
Rate concerns
The folly of trying to prevent a currency from falling in the face of big capital outflow, whatever the reason, has been amply demonstrated by the experience of countries such as Thailand during the East Asian financial crisis. Maintaining an undervalued exchange rate, as Japan, Korea and China are alleged to have done (and some Indian commentators are urging India to do) to artificially create a competitive cost advantage, run a big trade surplus and accumulate foreign exchange reserves, has its costs. Devaluation, by raising prices of imported final goods and intermediate inputs, pushes up domestic prices. Thus, an undervalued exchange rate, in effect, taxes domestic consumers and subsidises domestic producers. Also, while it benefits the domestic producers of import competing products, it penalises the firms that use the imported goods as inputs. (for example, higher price of steel would benefit Tata Steel but would hurt Tata Motors). Accumulating foreign exchange reserves by running a big trade surplus deprives the current generation of a higher level of consumption while the savings held in the form of US government securities earn a meagre 0.5 to 1 per cent interest rate. The upshot is that, in addition to global demand and exchange rate, falling exports could be the result of factors specific to individual products and markets. This may also explain why exports from Bangladesh and Vietnam, whose commodity compositions, markets and integration with global supply chains are different from India’s, could be rising while Indian exports were falling. For similar reasons, India’s service exports dipped at a much slower rate than goods exports. The causes of falling exports should be subjects for detailed product and market specific research. A general explanation such as global recession or overvalued currency is not enough.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Chennai port is now the deepest port among Major Ports to help handle large-size ships, Cyril George, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust, told newspersons. Draft at Bharathi Dock is 17.5 m, at Ambedkar 15.5 m; at Jawahar Dock 14 m, at CITPL 15.5 m and DP World 13.4 m. The port will handle container vessels of around 8,000 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units). This is a major achievement for the port, he said.
Cargo decline
The port reported a 4.7 per cent decline in cargo handling to 50.06 million tonnes (MT) in 2015-16 as against 52.54 MT in the previous year. Despite this, the port managed to report an 82 per cent increase in net surplus due to handling of higher revenue generation cargo like project cargo to report higher operating income, he said. In 2015-16, the port’s two private container terminals handed a total of 1.56 million TEUs, which was the highest number of containers handled till date thus surpassing 1.55 million TEUs handled in 2011-12, said George.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Asking industry to suggest an appropriate tariff structrure which the government can pursue at Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation negotiations, a senior Commerce Ministry official today said neither a very high, nor zero duties, are good for the economy. Arvind Mehta, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said India understands that high tariffs are not favorable but at the same time zero tariffs would also hurt the economy. He urged the industry to "recommend appropriate tariff rates that the government could propose at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) membership negotiations". APEC members include Australia, Canada, China and Japan. Mehta was speaking at a stakeholder' consultation on 'India and APEC: Issues and Options' organised by industry body Ficci and the Centre for WTO Studies.
Quoting the additional secretary, the chamber said in a statement that the APEC member countries were creating a narrative that India should take certain policy measures to signal its commitment to APEC's vision and improve its chances for APEC accession. "The narrative may require India to make binding concessions for securing APEC membership. Therefore, it was necessary that industry voiced its opinion with respect to their expectations and apprehensions from India's membership at APEC," he said. He also said that India needs to consider the takeaways from the partnership as well as the losses that it would incur to become a member and added that India may have to propose a Voluntary Individual Action Plan to project its aspirations to member countries to eliminate their concerns. India has indicated its willingness to be a member of APEC earlier as well and was re-engaging in the issue but the government needed the industry's views on how competitiveness, trade facilitation, ease of doing business would be further enhanced to meet the APEC standards, he added. Abhijit Das, Head of the Centre for WTO Studies, said India should consider joining APEC only if it is confident of undertaking reforms in all areas of activities of APEC.
Speaking at the event, Ficci Secretary General A Didar Singh said India has shown an inclination towards joining APEC and this could greatly benefit the industry. The voluntary and non-binding APEC partnership would allow India to forge free trade agreements and strengthen its supply chain, he said.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
India today said it wanted to make MOROCCO the hub for its economic activities in the African region as the two countries sought to inject fresh momentum in bilateral ties with Vice President Hamid Ansari holding wide-ranging talks with the Moroccan Prime Minister. Two MoUs on cultural cooperation and institutional training were signed after Ansari met Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane and delegation-level talks were held between the two sides. "We reviewed all aspects of our expanding cooperation. Morocco is crucial to us for food security as it is the main supplier of phosphate which is crucial for agriculture," Ansari said as the two leaders jointly spoke to the media. Five Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) had been finalised between India and Morocco for improving bilateral relations but only two could be signed. The MoUs on Cultural Exchange and Institutional Training for Foreign Service officers were signed, Secretary Economic Relations Amar Sinha said at a media briefing. Sinha said the MoUs relating to other three areas of cooperation -- Water Resources, Television Broadcasting and Education -- have been finalised but "could not be signed due to technical issues". Sinha said the Vice President conveyed to the leadership that the Indian government would like to look at Morocco and expand its economic activities since the two countries have a trade of USD 350 million. "We would like to use Morocco as a hub for our economic activities in the African region," Sinha quoted the Vice President as saying during the talks. The Moroccan Prime Minister said India is an important partner for them, India's Ambassador to Morocco Dinesh Patnaik said. "The two agreed to make the relations more dimensional for increased cooperation," Patnaik said. Both the sides stressed on the need for injecting fresh momentum in bilateral relations. Morocco said that they need to look into the issues of political stability, economic development and human resources development, Sinha said. Ansari said India appreciates Morocco's support for India's candidature for the UN Security Council. The two sides identified new areas of mutual cooperation which included information technology, the Vice President said, adding that the MoUs signed will be beneficial for both countries. He said that India was very happy to receive the King of Morocco Mohammed VI, who came to India last year for the Indo-Africa Summit. The Vice President said on behalf of the Indian government he invited Prime Minister Benkirane to visit India. Benkirane said Morocco sees India as a friend. "We will work together for a common future for the Mediterranean region." He said the two countries will also work in engaging jointly in efforts towards counter-terrorism.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
With China slowing down, the world is now looking for “other shoulders to rest its growth on” and India, with planned infrastructure spending to bridge deficit, can be a very powerful driver, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. Speaking at ‘The Future of Asia’ Conference organised by Nikkei Inc, he said China shouldered almost 50 per cent of global growth over the last few years. With its economy slowing down, “the ability of China to shoulder that percentage of growth may not be there and therefore the world also is now looking for other shoulders to rest its growth on. “And since we have a lot of infrastructure deficit and expenditure still to undertake and I think all that is going to be a very powerful driver of economic growth in India,” he said. Jaitley, who is on a six-day investor-wooing visit to Japan, however, said no one country can really replace another because the world has enough space for major economies to emerge.
China started growing at a much faster pace ahead of India and therefore has maintained a higher level of GDP. But the current slowdown has meant it is “going through a structural transition into a more consumption, service oriented economy”, he said. And so India’s growth rate has moved higher than China. “But China will always remain a major economy,” he said. Finance Minister said even when global growth has slowed down to close to 3 per cent, developed world seems to be growing at lesser pace. But, Asia has maintained growth around 6 per cent. “Chinese slowdown did impact the average Asian growth, which is now anticipated to be about 5.7 per cent. The Chienese developments do certainly (have) impact on Asia,” he said.
Stating that China could not have grown 9-10 per cent indefinitely, the transition of its economy is taking its own time. “But I have not the least doubt that an economy of that size even with the normal that they now predict, or something less than the normal, would still have a great impact both on Asia and the world,” he said. Jaitley said 40 per cent of world FDI now comes to Asia, whose growth rate today is 3 times faster than the developed world. It is belatedly slowly now becoming the hub of trade integration. “Whether it is the ASEAN, SAARC, RCEP or TPP… India always had a very important and powerful message for Asia,” he said, adding it has established that it can grow nothwithstanding its diversity. India, he said, has historically been a stabilising force and it stands committed to absolute peace and prosperity. “So I think the structures for ensuring that peace in the region are still structures that are evolving as the economy of Asia is evolving and I am quite sure that India will be a major stabilising force in the region,” he added.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 46.53 per barrel (bbl) on 30.05.2016. This was same as the price of US$ 46.53 per bbl on previous publishing day of 27.05.2016.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs. 3133.13 per bbl on 30.05.2016 as compared to Rs. 3120.17 per bbl on 27.05.2016. Rupee closed weaker at Rs 67.34 per US$ on 30.05.2016 as against Rs 67.06 per US$ on 27.05.2016. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on May 30, 2016 (Previous trading day i.e. 27.05.2016) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.05.2016 |
|
(28 Apr to 11 May, 2016) |
|||
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
46.53 (46.53) |
43.00 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3133.13 (3120.17) |
2859.5 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
67.34 (67.06) |
66.50 |
SOURCE: PIB
A new anti-dumping and countervailing duty petition may lead to an increase in import tariffs on a key input for manufacturers of textiles, leather and flame retardant materials in the US. The petition alleges dumping margins between 273.33 per cent and 474.94 per cent on import of ammonium sulphate (classified under HTSUS sub-heading 3102.21.0000) from China, says a recent Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg (STR) Trade Report. The petition covers ammonium sulphate in all physical forms, with or without additives such as anti-caking agents. The scope includes ammonium sulphate that is combined with other products, such as by blending (e.g. mixing granules of ammonium sulphate with granules of one or more other products), compounding (e.g. compacting ammonium sulphate with one or more other products under high pressure) or granulating (e.g. incorporating multiple products into granules through a slurry process), regardless of whether the combining occurs in third countries, the STR report said. In case of combined products, only the ammonium sulphate component is covered in the scope. Ammonium sulphate when commingled with the same product from sources other than China is also included in this scope. The next step is for the US department of commerce and the US international trade commission (USITC) to determine whether to launch anti-dumping and/or countervailing duty and injury investigations, respectively on ammonium sulphate.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Turkmenistan textile industry is on the way to a new stage of development as it plans to hold an international exhibition in Ashgabat on June 4-5, 2016, said the message from the event's organizers, Turkmenistan's Ministry of Textile Industry and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry May 31. The textile industry holds an important place in Turkmenistan's economy as it traditionally grows cotton which is a basis for ensuring the development of the textile industry. This year, it’s planned to collect 1.05 million tons of cotton from an area of 545 hectares in Turkmenistan. At the international exhibition, cotton fiber, cotton yarn and fabrics, knitwear, a wide range of denim garments, silk fiber and yarn, panne, the national fabric "keteni" and unique handmade silk carpets will be presented on the stands of domestic companies. The major part of the products is exported to the US, Canada, Germany, UK, Russia, Italy, Turkey, China and Ukraine.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Egypt and China penned a framework agreement last week to establish a 1.2 million square meter zone for textile industries in the Egyptian governorate of Minya, economy news site Amwal Al-Ghad reported. The agreement was signed between the Egyptian Textile Industries Council and the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC). Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil said that the move represents an important step towards reinstating Egypt as a leading actor in the textile industry in the Middle East and North Africa, pointing to its wide-ranging expertise in textile production. His remarks came during a meeting with a delegation of Chinese businessmen headed by CNTAC’s Vice President, Gao Yong. The meeting saw both sides expressing their willingness to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of textile industry. Minister Kabil further stated that establishing the new zone will directly contribute to his ministry’s strategy to develop Egypt’s textile industry as well as the social and economic development of the country’s less developed areas, as it will attract both local and foreign investments, according to privately-owned Youm7. The exact location for the zone is Al-Matahra, located in the eastern parts of the governorate, south of Minya City, Kabil said. Kabil further noted that Egypt has great potential to attract increased investments from Asian economies when it comes to the textile sector. On his part, Yong stressed that China is keen on boosting cooperation in fields of mutual interest to both countries, such as the textile industry. He added that his country aims to expand its operations in Egypt’s textile market and increase Chinese investments there.
Egypt’s textile industry makes up approximately 3 percent of the country’s total GDP with roughly 1.2 million workers and engineers, representing no less than 30 percent of employment in the whole industrial sector, according to Kabil. He added that textiles account for 16 percent of Egypt’s non-petroleum exports with a total value of USD 2.6 billion. Relations between Egypt and China have recently strengthened as a number of agreements have been signed and cooperation between the countries has been enhanced in a range of fields. In January, the two countries penned 21 agreements and memoranda of understanding in the areas of technological development and economy. China also agreed on a deal to secure a USD 1 billion loan for the Egyptian Central Bank aimed at raising the country’s foreign reserves. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Egypt in January, which was the first by a Chinese leader in 12 years, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Since the January 25 revolution in 2011, which resulted in a decline in Egypt’s foreign reserves and economic turmoil, the country has been looking to diversify its economic and trade opportunities.
SOURCE: The Egyptian Street
Shaoxing city in eastern China's Zhejiang province is all set to become the country's largest textile waste recycling base, as two companies have joined hands for a project aimed at environment protection. Two companies, namely, Zhejiang Jiaren New Materials and Zhejiang Lvyu Environment Protection, have announced their support to the Paojiang New District's commitment to building the country's largest textile waste recycling base, according to a China Textile Leader Express report. As a result of this project, after two years, China's textile waste recycling capacity will increase of 600,000 tons per year, or one-third of China's total textile waste. At present, only about 1.5-1.6 million tons or around 10 per cent of waste textiles are reused in China. Zhejiang Jiaren New Materials Company is a joint venture between Zhejiang Jinggong Holding Group and Japan's Teijin Group. The company uses Eco-circle technology, a chemical method to manufacture recycled polyester fibres.
Zhejiang Lvyu Environmental Protection Company is a new project invested by Zhejiang Guxiandao Industrial Fiber Company. It is designed to use the technology and process similar to Eco-circle to turn waste textiles into polyester chips. These chips will be mainly sold to domestic textile mills for producing polyester filaments or staple. The project costs a total investment of 5 billion yuan. The first-phase project, with an investment of 1 billion yuan, broke ground in March this year. Over the next five years, this project will become the largest base for regenerated resources in China.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Two Germany-based companies with complementary offerings for technical textiles have joined forces to allow business expansion to new markets and markets segments. Olbo & Mehler Tex (OMT) and Synteen and Luckenhaus (SL) will join activities and business operations under the leadership of a management team headed by Alberto Tavares, current leader of Olbo and Mehler Tex. Both companies are part of the KAP group holdings company, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and both are dedicated to the production of technical textiles.
SOURCE: The TEVO
Albania's foreign trade deficit widened by 20.8% y/y to nearly ALL100.4bn (€726.5mn) in the first four months of 2016, as exports declined and imports went up, according to data from the statistics institute INSTAT on May 30. In the first four months, machinery and equipment, food and beverages, construction materials, chemical and plastics products as well as textile and footwear dominated among imported products in terms of value, while textile products as well as mineral and fuels were top among exported items. According to the European Commission, Albania’s trade gap in terms of goods is expected to reach 23.4% of GDP in 2016, from 22.4% of GDP in 2015. Albania’s exports declined by 5.9% y/y to ALL74.4bn through April, whereas imports rose 7.8% to ALL174.9bn, data indicated. In April alone, exports went up 1.5% y/y while imports climbed by 17.2% y/y, making a deficit of ALL30.1bn, up by 31.4% y/y. In April, the annual increase of exports was influenced by the textile and footwear group (+11.3pp) and food, beverages and tobacco (+3.6pp). A negative contribution of -12.3pp was from minerals, fuels and electricity group followed by the group of machinery and equipment spare parts. Imports were positively influenced by the construction materials and metals group (+11pp) followed by the group of textile and footwear group, which contributed +3.6pp. A negative influence came from the group of minerals, fuels and electricity/
SOURCE: The Intellinews
Germany has slipped out of the top 10 most competitive economies in the world, falling two places to 12 from last year, a study by Swiss business school IMD showed on Monday. The study, based on a worldwide survey of 5,400 managers assessing 342 criteria, showed that a diminished assessment of Germany's government and the economy's performance were the main reasons for the drop, IMD director Arturo Bris said. "The biggest danger for Germany is self-satisfaction," Bris said. "If it rejects that, it will get back into the top ten." Hong Kong came top in the survey this year, followed by Switzerland and the United States.
SOURCE: The Global Textiles
