India’s trade volume growth rate is forecast to double from 3 per cent to 6 per cent, boosting its speed rank from 72nd to 34th and its scale rank from 11th to 5th between 2021 and 2026. Vietnam, India, and the Philippines all stand to benefit from efforts by many companies to diversify China-centric production and sourcing strategies, according to DHL. From 2000 to 2021, trade grew even faster in South and Central Asia, roughly doubling that region’s share from 2.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent (primarily due to India’s share rising from 0.7 per cent to 2.2 per cent). “It is fantastic to see emerging economies racing ahead in global trade. South Asia is expected to rapidly increase its share of global trade, with India doubling its trade volume growth rate in the next five years. According to the data we have gathered, the shift in trading patterns will result in higher quality goods produced versus the quantity of goods produced by emerging markets in the future,” said R S Subramanian, SVP South Asia, DHL Express. There was a surge of interest at the start of the pandemic in shortening supply chains and producing goods closer to customers. However, as trade recovered and global supply chains delivered a record amount of goods, many companies paused reshoring and nearshoring plans. As Asia led the trade expansion around the world during the past two decades, the growth of trade between regions tended to outpace the growth of trade within regions. This is largely because Europe and North America traded more with Asia as ‘Factory Asia’ became increasingly central to global production networks. Between 2016 and 2021, China ranked first with the fastest growth in both exports and imports. But between 2021 and 2026, the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) sub-region is forecasted to achieve the fastest export and import growth, followed by South and Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the report. International trade in goods has surged as high as 10 per cent above pre-pandemic levels. Despite the war in Ukraine, trade is projected to grow faster in 2022 and 2023 than it did over the previous decade. “The results show how there are still large trade growth opportunities in both advanced and emerging economies and in regions around the world. The trade landscape is shifting and presenting new challenges, but this report strongly rebuts predictions of a major retreat from global trade,” said senior research scholar and director of the DHL initiative on globalisation at NYU Stern’s Centre for the Future of Management Steven Altman. DHL and NYU Stern School of Business have published the new DHL Trade Growth Atlas, which maps the most important trends and prospects of global trade in goods. The report covers 173 countries, providing valuable business intelligence for policymakers and industry leaders.
Source: The Hindu
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet state chief secretaries this week to push state capital expenditure and to have better synergy in implementation of flagship schemes. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet state chief secretaries this week to push state capital expenditure and to have better synergy in implementation of flagship schemes. Sitharaman will also review performance of credit and other welfare schemes for scheduled castes in public sector banks on Tuesday, the finance ministry said in a statement on Monday. Credit given to persons belonging to the SC scheduled caste community as well as under various loan schemes such as Stand up India and PM Mudra Yojana will be reviewed at the meeting, the ministry said. A series of interactions are scheduled to be held with state chief secretaries from September 30 onwards to discuss the implementation of projects under National Infrastructure Pipeline and PM Gati Shakti. "The FM will discuss the progress on capex, and the progress on the national infrastructure Pipeline and PM Gati Shakti," a government official told ET. In the Union Budget 2022-23, Sitharaman announced an interest-free loan of ₹1 lakh crore to the states to enable them to accelerate capital expenditure.
Source: The Hindu
Jaipur’s apparel exporters have urged Ministry of Textiles (MoT) to support them amidst various challenges in business, which include exporting to Japan as well. In a meeting with UP Singh, Secretary, Textiles and Ajit B. Chavan, Secretary, Textiles Committee, the exporters have raised issues like lack of frequency, high cost of logistics, lower lev el of automation and longer delivery time, which are reducing the competitiveness of exporters. For Jaipur, Japan remains a major market and more than 70 per cent of the consignments are sent by air. Arif Kagzi, President, Association of Garment Exporters Sitapura (AGES), said “Jaipur is the most preferred destination for Japanese apparel buyers. However, there are issues that need to be addressed.” He further added that lack of automation is hurting the industry as delivery time by the exporters here is longer compared to rival exporting countries. The issue of automation and high cost was also discussed in the meeting. The exporters shared that the automation machinery is costly as the exporters, who are mostly MSMEs, have to pay higher customs duty. Buyers need quick delivery, but without advanced machinery and lack of other raw materials for quick sourcing, exporters end up losing buyers. Aseem Singla, Director, Fashion Images Overseas and a leading exporter to Japan, said “Skill development institutions should impart training in operating and maintenance of latest machines and equipment. With manual work, not only does the quality suffer, but also productivity remains at lower levels. Without automation, skilled workers and ready availability of raw materials, it would be difficult to compete with the rival countries.” Monu Karnani, General Secretary, AGES, said “There is a need to develop such procurement estates and clusters for the essential supplies of fabrics and accessories in Rajasthan to support the trade. Currently, the sources for procurement and supply of inputs are scarce which is a major impediment to boost exports.” The exporters also appreciate the efforts of MoT to support the industry. The secretary understood the issues in detail and assured to support to the maximum. Rajiv Dewan, CEO, Maam Arts; Naveen Adwani, Director, The Choice Fashions and few other exporters were also present in the meeting.
Source: Apparel Resources
Cotton yarn prices declined by ₹2-5 per kg today in south India as demand did not improve from last week. However, Mumbai witnessed a slightly improved buying in fabrics segment. The cotton yarn market is facing a weak demand as buyers are not confident about future buying. Traders feel that buyers are anticipating a fall in cotton prices on peak arrival. The Mumbai market noted a further fall of ₹2-3 per kg in cotton yarn prices. Although the sentiments remained weak for cotton yarn, the fabrics segment showed a slight improvement. “Cotton yarn prices further dropped by ₹2-3 per kg as weavers’ buying was muted. But garment units were active in buying fabrics. We must assess how the market moves in the days to come. Few mills attempted to raise yarn prices by ₹1-2 per kg but no trade seems to have taken place at higher prices,” a trader from Mumbai market told Fibre2Fashion. In Mumbai, 60 count carded cotton yarn of warp and weft varieties were traded at ₹1,680-1,710 and ₹1,590-1,620 per 5 kg (GST extra) respectively. 60 combed warp was priced at ₹388-405 per kg. 80 carded (weft) cotton yarn was sold at ₹1,590-1,620 per 4.5 kg. 44/46 count carded cotton yarn (warp) was priced at ₹328-333 per kg. 40/41 count carded cotton yarn (warp) was sold at ₹303-312 per kg and 40/41 count combed yarn (warp) was priced at ₹350-355 per kg, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro. In Tiruppur market, cotton yarn prices declined by ₹2-5 per kg as there was no sign of higher demand. Buyers are hesitant about fresh buying as they are trying to remain hand-to-mouth and focusing on stock clearance. A trader from Tiruppur told Fibre2Fashion, “Buyers expect a sharp fall in cotton prices during the peak season of new arrival. So, they do not want to incur losses, but are trying to hold on buying raw material.” Today, 30 count combed cotton yarn was traded at ₹342-345 per kg (GST extra), 34 count combed at ₹352-355 per kg and 40 count combed at ₹355-360 per kg in the Tiruppur market. Cotton yarn of 30 count carded was sold at ₹315-320 per kg, 34 count carded at ₹322-325 per kg and 40 count carded at ₹327-332 per kg, as per TexPro. In Gujarat, new cotton arrival increased, and daily arrival reached 6,000 bales of 170 kg. Cotton prices were slightly low after the beginning of new arrival. Shankar-6 cotton of new season was traded at ₹73,000-75,000 per candy of 356 kg in the spot market of Gujarat. Ginning mills have started buying seed cotton with the advent of the auspicious festival of Navratri yesterday. However, spinning mills are cautious as they expect a downward trend in cotton prices during peak arrival.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Bringing it home is the clear new trend in manufacturing. More and more US companies are either moving production back home by reshoring operations or shifting production closer to home through nearshoring. US garment manufacturing is clearly on the rebound; the supply chain disruptions of the last few years a major factor causing this shift but the Section 301 penalty tariffs imposed on China in tranches beginning four years ago have been a significant contributor to these trends as well. They’ve prodded manufacturers and importers alike to rethink their reliance on long supply chains stretching to China and the uncertainty these supply chains have caused. The US Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced this month that the tariffs will remain in place after receiving many comments from domestic stakeholders who have benefitted from the China tariffs—as the agency continues a four-year statutory review of the effect of tariffs on domestic manufacturing. It is clear that duties on finished textiles and apparel are spurring a shift in sourcing that is benefitting US textile producers and those in our allied countries in the Western Hemisphere. The penalty tariffs are key to addressing the economic harm caused by the Chinese government’s policies that have perpetuated and exacerbated the offshoring of many US industries. Those practices have put US companies at a serious disadvantage. Tariffs give American manufacturers a chance to compete. US trade officials have rightly stressed that the tariffs also create leverage and are a “significant tool” in ongoing negotiations with China. Moving the goal posts There is no doubt that for decades China’s illegal actions have undermined virtually every domestic manufacturing sector and contributed to the direct loss of millions of US jobs. These devastating state-sponsored practices include intellectual property theft, state-ownership of manufacturing, illegal industrial subsidies, currency manipulation, environmentally harmful production methods and abhorrent labour and human rights abuses, especially in China’s Xinjiang region, have tilted the playing field in which the goal posts have been removed. While some importing voices warned, and still contend, that the China tariffs have led to severe trade disruptions and higher costs for consumers, we now know those predictions are untrue. The tariffs on finished apparel and textiles have not led to a global trade disaster nor to rising prices from China in our product sector. In the 1960s, a family paid 10% of its income towards apparel and home textiles; today it is a mere 2%. This deflationary industry has searched for the lowest cost producer at any price and has rewarded and perpetuated the very trade practices for which China is now finally being held accountable. Further, importers have a plethora of options – including purchasing from the US apparel sector. According to the US Department of Commerce, over 80 countries from which we import textiles and apparel into the US market. Many of these alternative suppliers of finished textile and apparel products are free-trade agreements and preference partner countries that we have duty-free access to and many incorporate US textile components. Speed to market, labour and environmental compliance, transparency in supply chains, duty-free access and the ability to pivot – gives sourcing onshore and nearshore critical advantages. Staying the course Lifting the China tariffs would have a substantial negative ripple impact that would blunt this trend. Further, it would work at direct cross-purposes with efforts to stimulate investment and employment both in the US manufacturing sector and within the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras—a key pillar of the Biden administration’s strategy to curb the flow of northward bound migration— under the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Apparel imports from the CAFTA-DR region to the US, which largely incorporate US textile inputs due to the strong trade agreement, are up 23.3% for the year ending July. Since these countries compete directly with Chinese finished textiles and apparel in the US market, any easing of China’s market access and competitive positioning is sure to displace US exports as well as production and workers in CAFTA-DR and the US. Today, four years after they were first imposed, we can clearly see that the China tariffs are working. They are giving American manufacturers a chance to compete and spurring growth in the textile industry here at home. They are bringing supply chains back to the US and to our trading partners in the Western Hemisphere. These onshoring and nearshoring trends are ones we want to continue to foster and promote. Most importantly, the primary purpose of the tariffs – to penalise China’s predatory and illegal trade practices and provide leverage in trade negotiations – is still critical and relevant. Cancelling these tariffs would exacerbate an unhealthy dependence on Chinese supply chains and embolden future trade abuses, as bad actors would see that the US does not hold them accountable. Instead, let’s stay the course on tariffs. We’re seeing clear benefits and positive trends will grow, creating more opportunities for American workers and those in the Western Hemisphere. Kimberly Glas is the president and CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations and former Commerce deputy assistant secretary for textiles and apparel.
Source: Just Style
Enterprises in the textile, garment and footwear industries are facing a decrease in orders through the rest of this year and possibly into the next year. Pham Xuan Hong, chairman of HCM City Textile and Embroidery Association, said in the eight months of 2022, Vietnam’s textile and garment export value reached US$30.1bil (RM139bil), but this value mainly came from the first months of the year. Since July, textile and garment industry enterprises have been facing many difficulties, including the reduction in export orders. Many textile and garment enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City are seeing a sharp drop in export orders, mainly in the United States and the European Union (EU), because inflation pressure in these nations is large, forcing consumers to tighten spending. Furthermore, textiles are not essential goods, Hong said. An analysis report on the textile industry published by VNDirect Research has also commented that the demand for high-end clothing items such as shirts and t-shirts made from recycled cotton fibres would slow down in the second half of 2022. According to this report, garment companies said that US customers had shortened the period of ordering exports to three months before the deadline for goods delivery instead of six months due to high inventories and inflationary pressures. At present, only a few large enterprises, such as Thanh Cong, Century Yarn, and Damsan Joint Stock Company, have enough export orders for the third quarter of 2022. Still, some customers have cancelled the orders due to high inventory, while fourthquarter orders have also slowed due to inflation concerns. In the EU market, Pham Van Viet, chairman of Viet Thang Jean Co, Ltd, has also admitted that the orders of his firm have decreased by over 30% and they have been forced to cut working hours to maintain jobs. In the US and Europe, although the world fuel prices have decreased, inflation in these markets is still high to make people tighten their spending. This has negatively impacted the textile and garment exports of Vietnamese enterprises because the two markets account for a large proportion of Vietnam’s textile, garment and footwear exports. According to a representative of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association, Vietnamese leather and footwear exports would certainly be affected by the last months of the year due to inflation and reduced consumer demand in key markets. Many enterprises in the leather and footwear industry would face a reduction in export orders from now until the beginning of 2023. Meanwhile, the leather and footwear industry is in inventory due to the reduced consumer demand. To cope with this situation, the association said the footwear enterprises had been forced to reduce overtime. At the same time, they have negotiated with partners to do orders that were signed during the pandemic for maintaining operations and ensuring employee income. Textile, garment, leather and footwear are all major export industries of Vietnam and are directly affected by fluctuations in the world market. The shortage of raw materials for production is due to strict anti-pandemic measures in the Chinese and Japanese markets. Along with that, the difficult economy and increasing inflation in the large markets have affected enterprises’ purchasing power, orders and prices. According to general director of Dap Cau Garment Corporation Luong Van Thu, the corporation has seen difficulties in the market and consumption of goods, as well as a reduction in terms of scale and price of export orders from the beginning of this third quarter. As a result, orders from major markets in the US and Europe have fallen by up to 50%. Hong said that exports are unlikely to recover soon.
Source: The Star
Sri Lanka's merchandise export earnings increased by 10.24 percent in August, the country's Export Development Board (EDB) said on Tuesday. Merchandise export earnings stood at 1.21 billion U.S. dollars in August. This was mainly due to the increase in earnings from export of apparel and textiles, which rose by 15.03 percent. EDB Chairman Suresh De Mel congratulated the exporters for their great efforts to increase foreign exchange earnings for Sri Lanka during this critical period. Apart from Apparel and Textiles, other sectors such as tea, rubber-based products, electrical and electronic components, spices and concentrates diamonds, gems and jewelry, food and beverages, seafood and ornamental fish, too, saw increases in export earnings, the EDB said. Meanwhile, the estimated value of services exports for the period of January to August 2022 was 1.3 billion dollars, increasing 5.58 percent over the corresponding period of 2021.
Source: English
Textile and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi on Tuesday said the government will provide all out assistance to those who are associated with the jute sector for development, modernisation and export trade extension of the jute sector. The assurance came when Bangladesh Jute Association (BJA) representative met with him at Textile and Jute ministry's conference room here this afternoon. To ensure jute farming, the minister said, "The government is providing other input support to the farmers along with keeping seed supply accurate and that's why the production of jute has increased many times in recent years." Even the jute mills are collecting raw jute uninterruptedly and it is playing a vital role in export earning, said the minister. The farmers are also getting maximum price from selling jute. Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Textile and Jute Taslim Kanij Nahida, BJA Chairman Sheikh Syed Ali, Senior Vice-Chairman Arzoo Rahman Bhuiyan and Vice-Chairman FM Saifuzzaman, among others, were present.
Source: TBS News
Growth in the East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) region is projected to decelerate from 7.2 per cent in 2021 to 3.2 per cent this year—about two percentage points slower than was expected in April this year, according to the World Bank’s EAP Economic Update for October 2022. The slowing growth is mostly due to China, where activity is projected to decelerate sharply to 2.8 per cent in 2022, after the 8.1 per cent rebound seen in 2021, owing to recurrent COVID-19 outbreaks, mobility restrictions and real estate sector stress. Growth in the rest of the region is projected to rebound to 5.3 per cent this year from 2.6 per cent in 2021, and up from 4.8 per cent projected in April 2022. According to the update, global growth and international trade are projected to be significantly lower than expected in April this year. Financial conditions are also expected to be significantly tighter and more volatile than expected earlier. Global commodity prices are expected to decline from their current highs but will remain significantly higher than before the war in Ukraine because of disruptions in production and trade, geopolitical tensions and lingering sanctions, the update said. Export dependent economies like Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam are particularly vulnerable to slowing global demand. In contrast, a relaxation of border closures and the related recovery in tourism activity is expected to boost growth in the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and several tourismdependent Pacific island countries, especially Fiji. Countries with large external financing needs, either in the form of short-term capital (Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia), or because of high overall debt (Laos and Mongolia) are more vulnerable to the tightening of global financing conditions than are their peers. Country-specific circumstances will continue to weigh on growth. Price pressures remain elevated, the external position is worsening, and instability and policy uncertainty persist in Myanmar. This will prevent a strong recovery, following the estimated 18 per cent contraction in fiscal 2020-21. EAP annual median headline inflation is now expected to surpass 5 per cent this year compared to 3 per cent expected in April this year. This implies that inflation will overshoot the upper band of the inflation target in several EAP economies, the update added.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Fibre-rich pineapple leaves can be used to weave the future of textiles and sustainable fashion, a renowned textile artist said. Derived from the agricultural waste of the pineapple fruit industry, weaver Lynelle Barrett said the fibre-rich pineapple has a long history in the use of textiles worldwide. "The yarn produced from fibre-rich pineapple leaves is more environmentally friendly. It can also produce higher quality products like denim, clothes and furniture. "By upcycling pineapple leaf fibre, this will reduce waste. It could also supplement farmers' income and provide environmentally friendly yarn. "There is not much awareness on this but through the symposium, I was able to spread exposure on the benefits of using yarn produced from fibre-rich pineapple leaves," she said when presenting her paper on the second day of the 8th Asean Traditional Textiles Symposium. Barrett collaborated with Nextevo International, an agricultural waste specialist start-up based in Southeast Asia, to promote the use of fibre-rich pineapple leaves in textiles. She, also shared her exploration of pineapple leaf fibre yarns for use in naturally-dyed handwoven cloth. She said the yarn could also be combined with any fibre in a standard mill to produce eco-friendly materials. "Like normal weaving yarn, you can weave any product from fibre-rich pineapple leaves. The ethos of it is really interesting and with this the industry of textile, weaving and textile can be sustained. "Why make things that we already have? We should be doing things that are sustainable instead. That's the goal."
Source: New Strait Times
