|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1002.94 |
USD/Ton |
6.27% |
6/16/2016 |
|
VSF |
2051.39 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
ASF |
1911.80 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
983.97 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2215.26 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4324.31 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2086.29 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1119.01 |
USD/Ton |
0.68% |
6/16/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2442.85 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
5658.01 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1229.01 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2055.94 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2746.31 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1669.03 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2427.68 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2200.09 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
1805.59 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2124.22 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2913.22 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.35 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.81 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.15 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/16/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15173 USD dtd. 16/6/2016).
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Government today said fall in India's exports have been arrested in May and now it is time to extend incentives to boost the overseas shipments. Although the pick up in exports may be slow but the bottoming out has happened, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. "I think from now, it will show slow but steady rise. Last month's indicators show that it has now come down to 0.79 per cent, which is still a situation where we have to do a lot more to allow it to pick up," she said. "So it is a time when the help will have to be extended whether in the form of interest subvention or in the form of any kind of incentives for exports. We have been looking at sectorally," she told reporters here. The remarks assume significance as exports fell the 18th month in a row in May, though marginally by 0.79 per cent, to USD 22.17 billion as several non-oil sectors such as engineering and gems and jewellery saw a rise in outward shipments. The decline in May was lowest since December 2014. However, the minister said she is cautious but " I can see that the fall is getting arrested and pick up is slowly showing up".
Further talking about the 20 per cent customs duty on sugar exports, Sitharaman said the move would help in increasing availability of the commodity in the domestic market. "We do not want any speculative rise in the prices of sugar. In order to make sure that there is enough sugar available for the Indian market, this step has been taken ," the minister said. Government has imposed 20 per cent customs duty on sugar exports to boost domestic supply and check prices which are ruling high at Rs 40/kg. India, the world's second largest sugar producer after Brazil, has exported 1.6 million tonnes of the sweetener so far in the 2015-16 marketing year (October-September). Further exports are unlikely to take place with this decision. When asked whether government is considering to extend minimum import price on steel, she said the ministry would "talk" about the issue only when the time would come. The Minimum Import Price (MIP) in its current form is in place till early August. According to an official, MIP is not a WTO compliant measure and India should consider measures like antidumping duty -- which is WTO compliant -- to deal with cheap imports of commodities including steel.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The steep hike in cotton prices, by about Rs. 6,000 a candy, in the last few weeks is a matter of concern to the textile industry, for which cotton is the main raw material. According to data obtained from sources in the trade, cotton price (Shankar – 6 variety) is now Rs. 39,600 a candy compared to Rs 34,300 in April and Rs. 34,000 in January this year. Prior to that it has been fairly stable in the Rs 32,000 to Rs. 34, 000 range between January and In January last year, the price was Rs. 32,000 a candy. This has hit the acquisition prices for textile mills that do not have stock of the raw material. The mill gate price is more than Rs. 40,000 a candy. This is an abnormal increase, said C. Varatharajan, president of the South India Spinners’ Association. However, sources in the Ministry of Textiles are not worried. “There is sufficient availability of cotton. Both imports and exports are at the expected levels. Prices also depend on market sentiments,” said a senior official in the Ministry of Textiles. At its meeting in February, the Cotton Advisory Board estimated imports to be 11 lakh bales and exports to be 70 lakh bales this year.
Higher imports
However, according to the textile industry, imports are likely to be more than the estimates as international cotton prices are lower than the Indian prices. Domestic production might also be less than the expected 352 lakh bales. Sources say that prices will come down once the rains start in the cotton cultivating areas. Prices have gone up mainly because of the delay in the arrival of the monsoon and reports that cotton production next season might be lower than in this year. “We have asked the textile mills not to panic. But, the Government should create a stability fund to help mills buy cotton during the peak season,” said M. Senthil Kumar, chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association.
Price pressures
The mills, sources said, felt the price pressure in cotton last year only during July-August. This year, it has started early, they said. The Government should clearly indicate the cotton position so that there is no speculation in prices, says Prabhu Damodaran, secretary of Indian Texpreneurs Federation.
SOURCE: The Hindu
Chennai Trade Centre (CTC), an international exhibition-cum-convention centre at Nandambakkam, about 7 km from the airport, is set to increase the built-up space. The built-up area is expected to be more than doubled over the next two years. The State government plans to add 16,000 sq m (as against earlier planned 6,000 sq m) of air conditioned space, taking the total space to 30,000 sq m. Along with the expansion, a food court and some other facilities are being planned, according to a top official. The new space is expected to come up on 9.13 acres. In September 2015, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced that the government would take up expansion of CTC at a cost of Rs. 298 crore. It is gathered that the Government has provided the land for expansion. Final cost estimates are getting ready and approval is expected in a couple of months. The expansion is expected to be completed in about 18 months from then. “A city like Chennai would definitely require more exhibition space as it is on the international manufacturing map now. So, expansion is a step in the right direction and with increased space, it can attract more international fairs, which will give further visibility to attract investments,” said an industry representative. CTC, set up in 2001 as a joint venture between India Trade Promotion Organisation and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation , is spread over 25 acres and comprises three exhibition halls and a convention centre. Final cost estimates are being prepared and approval is expected in a couple of months. The expansion is expected to be completed in about 18 months from then.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
The Gujarat government's Purchase Policy-2016 announced on Wednesday, focuses on providing a level playing field to small, micro and cottage industries in the state. Announced by Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, the policy will also focus on increasing employment opportunities in the SME sector, as they would now be given preference by state departments while procuring various items. The policy mandates that departments will have to purchase only those items which are produced in India. If any item, which the government wishes to procure, is not produced in India, then the department concerned can buy an imported item with prior approval of department's secretary, an official press release said.
To encourage small, micro and cottage industries registered in the state, the government has exempted such units from paying tender form fees as well as Earnest Money Deposit(EMD) while taking part in the government bidding. This relief is also applicable to government recognised institutions working for betterment of the visually impaired, deaf and mute people as well as for those working for mentally challenged children, stated the release. In addition, such eligible units will be given benefit of 10 per cent price difference in comparison to the bidding price quoted by large and medium units for a government floated tender.
Government departments have been clearly instructed that under the policy, all the direct purchases, which are made without floating a tender, must be made from such eligible units or from those which are run by government, including self help groups, jails and various government corporations, such as Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation and Gujarat State Handloom and Handicraft Development Corporation, the release said.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
To achieve third position among India states in ease of doing business as per World Bank, the Odisha government today fixed timelines for implementation of required reforms. The timelines were set for different departments at a high level meeting presided over by Chief Secretary A P Padhi here. Earlier, the assessment done by World Bank and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), central government, had placed Odisha in the seventh position. ALSO READ: India’s investments at 10-year low in 2015: World Bank. While reviewing the progress, Padhi directed concerned departments to prioritise implementation of the reforms as departmental agenda and achieve the set targets by July 30, Principal Secretary of Industries Department S Chopra said. Padhi directed the departments to upload reforms implemented in their respective departmental websites in a prominent and user-friendly manner so that investors could easily access and use it while complying to various statutory clearances and certificates. The departments were told to segregate and categorise various points applicable for different types of industries and communicate with them accordingly through e-mail, mass media and SMS modes, Chopra said.
Stating that state government was in the process of making things easier for small and medium scale industries as these are likely to create more employment, Chopra said. On achievements so far, he said the compliances to reform agenda by the departments varied from 46 to 100 per cent. While the department of water resource recorded 100 per cent compliance to reform agenda by June 16, departments like commercial taxes, energy, labour and employees state insurance, industries and pollution control board varied from 82 to 98 per cent. The overall compliance by June 16 was around 83 per cent, Chopra said.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The travel industry believes the Centre’s ambitious plan to increase air travel among Indians by developing unutilised airports will boost small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and also lead to an uptick in domestic tourism. This is while the aviation industry is still awaiting the fine print of the Regional Connectivity Scheme that was unveiled under the Civil Aviation Policy. The Centre aims to convert unutilised airstrips into no-frills airports. It has also proposed a cap of ₹2,500 for one-hour flights connecting unserved airports — something the aviation industry is still trying to decipher. Manmeet Ahluwalia, Marketing Head, Expedia in India, said: “Capping air fare at ₹2,500 will give a huge boost to domestic travel. It will also see a lot of traction towards air travel from tier II and III cities as regional connectivity will strengthen and will also help SMEs in these segments to grow.” At present, out of 125 airports and airstrips in the country, as many as 78 are connected by commercial flights. If the Centre manages to execute the scheme with the cooperation of States, many destinations, such as Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Bareilly and Panna, could see flights operate from their airstrips. “The scheme will impact the flow of tourism towards cities like Gaya, Ujjain, Surat, Varanasi and Bhubaneswar, as connectivity to these places will become better,” Ahluwalia said. “It will also help boost international travel as these sectors will work as feeders into main hubs for outbound flights.”
Mining hubs
Even mining and other industrial hubs, such as Bilaspur, Gondia and Jharsuguda, could become better connected with the development of their airstrips. Sharat Dhall, President, and Yatra.com, said: “The travel ecosystem will definitely see a change as we are expecting a considerable shift from first class rail travellers and a considerable percentage of road travellers who would enjoy the convenience of travelling by air and saving on time.” The policy is also being seen as a solution to the infrastructure problem that has been acting as a deterrent to tourism in tier II and III cities. “While the airlines will face challenges due to capping, the travel sector will see more cities becoming tourism hubs,” Dhall added.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
The government was reviewing the trade agreement with South Korea and would update it soon, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday. A mechanism to facilitate South Korean investment would be launched by the government on Saturday, the minister said at an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Korea Trade & Investment Promotion Agency. "We hope to conduct an intensive exercise that can be concluded in favour of both countries. It will require quite a few assessments of the benefits derived by both countries under the existing CEPA (comprehensive economic partnership agreement)," Sitharaman said. India's CEPA with South Korea was implemented in January 2010 to liberalise trade norms. Bilateral trade, estimated at $16.58 billion in 2015-16, is heavily in favour of South Korea. India's exports to South Korea fell nearly 23 per cent in 2015-16 to $3.54 billion. Indian companies have sought a review of trade agreements with other nations that they claim have benefitted the country's trading partners more. They have pointed to steel products, which they said should be excluded from the free trade agreements (FTAs) with Japan and South Korea because these countries were flooding the Indian market. South Korean Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Hyunghwan Joo also favoured a review of the CEPA. "The CEPA suffers low utilisation rates due to complex rules of origin and low level of concessions," Joo said. Only 62 per cent of South Korean exports to India enjoyed the trade benefits, he added.
South Korea had earlier demanded more products like machinery and certain kinds of steel be included in the agreement. India's major exports to South Korea are aluminium, organic chemicals, and iron and steel. India is South Korea's ninth largest trading partner. Both nations want to increase South Korean investments in India, which were estimated at $1.67 billion between 2000 and 2015. The exclusive mechanism for South Korean companies planning to invest In India, called Korea Plus, is expected to streamline investment as well as operations. A similar framework for Japan has been operational since October 2014. Joo said 450 South Korean firms had a presence in India and these provided 200,000 job opportunities here. Over 100 Indian companies have a presence in South Korea.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
The next round of US-Japan-India trilateral dialogue will start in Tokyo from tomorrow, the State Department has said. The US delegation would be led by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel. In addition to participating in the three-day long dialogue, they would also attend the Ninth US-India Consultations on East Asia. Biswal and Russel will meet with both Japanese and Indian government officials to discuss trilateral cooperation and developments in global affairs, the State Department said yesterday. Biswal will then travel to Canberra and Sydney June 22-23 to meet with officials from the government of Australia and regional experts to share perspectives on the future of the Indo-Pacific region. The first India-US-Japan trilateral meeting was held in December 2011 at the level of joint secretary. Since then officials of the three countries have been meeting twice a year. From the US perspective, the dialogue is seen as part of what is described as a policy "pivot" toward Asia and for India it is part of its 'Act East Asia Policy'.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday vowed to step up the talks for a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and commence negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) as he held his first bilateral meeting with Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Modi said, “We see a particular synergy between Thai strengths in infrastructure, particularly tourism infrastructure, and India's priorities in this field. Information technology, pharmaceuticals, auto-components, and machinery are some other areas of promising collaboration. We also see early conclusion of a balanced Comprehensive Economic and Partnership Agreement as our shared priority.” Chan-o-chan, who is on a two-day visit to India, also agreed that while India and Thailand had already been negotiating a FTA, the talks should be made all encompassing thereby by taking the trading relations beyond just in goods but also in services and investments. Both sides had concluded an early harvest scheme in 2004 covering 84 tariff lines, after which they had been negotiating for a FTA. So far as many as 29 rounds of talks for FTA have taken place. “Both countries recognised the importance of bilateral trade and noted that the bilateral economic relations are deep rooted in the existing framework including bilateral Free Trade Agreement, ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement and Early Harvest Scheme. Both countries agreed that the same may be enhanced further by striving to increase bilateral trade and engaging in bilateral and multilateral forums. Thailand took note of Indian initiative in further deepening bilateral economic ties towards comprehensive economic cooperation,” stated a joint statement. Trade between India and Thailand stands at $8 billion. While exports to Thailand is $2.63 billion, Thai imports touched $5.3 billion in 2015-16.
Investment treaty
In an effort to boost two-way investments, India and Thailand also decided to renegotiate a new Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). Apart from economic ties, both sides also agreed to take their defence ties to the next level as both countries are maritime neighbours. “Prime Minister and I have agreed to forge a closer partnership in the fields of defence and maritime cooperation. A partnership to meet our bilateral interests and to respond to our shared regional goals,” Modi said. In December last year, India and Thailand held a high-level dialogue in defence. According to Modi, the defence ties will be shaped by sharing of expertise and experiences, greater staff exchanges and more exercises, cooperation on counter-piracy on seas, deeper engagement in naval patrolling and building linkages in the field of defence R&D and production. Modi also announced that in order to encourage more tourists from Thailand, especially to Buddhist sites, India will soon be facilitating double entry e-tourist visas for Thai tourists. “Both countries recognised the importance of bilateral trade and noted that the bilateral economic relations are deep rooted in the existing framework including bilateral Free Trade Agreement, ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement and Early Harvest Scheme.”
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 45.22 per barrel (bbl) on 16.06.2016. This was lower than the price of US$ 46.52 per bbl on previous publishing day of 15.06.2016.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs. 3039.39 per bbl on 16.06.2016 as compared to Rs. 3124.60 per bbl on 15.06.2016. Rupee closed weaker at Rs. 67.21 per US$ on 16.06.2016 as against Rs 67.16 per US$ on 15.06.2016. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on June 16, 2016 (Previous trading day i.e. 15.06.2016) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.06.2016 (28 May, 2016 to June 13, 2016) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
45.22 (46.52) |
47.61 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3039.39 (3124.60) |
3191.77 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
67.21 (67.16) |
67.04 |
SOURCE: PIB
Japanese international trading house Marubeni Corp has teamed up with US based clothing and textile management consultants Werner International in rehabilitating a textiles factory in Angola to produce denim and knitwear products. The move is part of a long-term plan by the Angolan government to restore its clothing and textile sector, which was severely damaged by the country's civil war, which lasted from 1975 to 2002. Angola wants to diversify its economy away from oil. Government figures for 2015 said oil accounted for more than 95% of export earnings and 52% of government revenues, making Angola vulnerable to the fall in global oil prices over the past 18 months. The financial squeeze has also prompted the Angolan government to open talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which it wants to help finance an economic growth programme. The IMF said it would be "supporting a comprehensive policy package to accelerate the diversification of the economy, while safeguarding macroeconomic and financial stability."
Marubeni and Werner International's work dovetails with this strategy. The Japanese company is working on a contract worth around JPY25bn (US$229m) by Angola's ministry of geology, mining and industry to get the facility in Dondo, central Angola, back into operation. Werner International is presently training the management of the start-up. "With the eventual delivery of our equipment, the facility is expected to produce 2m T-shirts a year, 2m polo shirts and around 6m metres of denim," says Kuniyoshi Matsui, a spokesman for Marubeni, in Tokyo. "Angola has been battered by civil war and its cotton business has been badly damaged," he adds. "The Angolan government has been seeking to revive the nation's textile industry and also to create jobs in the agriculture sector." Marubeni was invited to take part in the project from the planning stages, he explains.
Under the project, existing buildings are being extensively renovated and modified, while the production plant will be fitted with state-of-the-art textile machinery for spinning, weaving, knitting and dyeing. Once the factory is back in production, the project will enable Angola to reduce imports of some textile products – such as fabrics for shirts and uniforms, towels and bed sheets – and replace them with domestically manufactured goods. Matsui said the plant may employ as many as 1,000 local people when it is operational. The Dondo project is the third and final phase of an agreement between Marubeni and the Angolan government, with the earlier projects involving restoring textile factories in Luanda, the capital city, and Benguela, western Angola. This latest contract has been financed by buyer's credit provided by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), its first project in Angola.
A note from Werner International president Constantine Raptis welcomed the commission from "the powerhouse company of Marubeni and the government of Angola to assist with an exciting new textile start-up plant producing knitwear and denim products. We are currently in Angola training the management in the start-up of the installations and securing the profitability of the plant."
Japanese support
The Angolan government has been proactively courting Japanese help as it seeks to rebuild a vibrant textile and clothing sector. Last September, Angola's minister of public administration, employment and social security António Pitra Neto welcomed the social and economic benefits of such assistance, when taking delivery of 14 sewing machines from the Japanese embassy in Luanda, earmarked for use in the three planned new factories. He said the move would inspire the development of additional vocational education so the plants had a ready supply of qualified staff – they will employ 3,500 people, he predicted. The initiative was good, "not only for the diversification of the ongoing economic programme, particularly in industry, but also the national system of vocational training," he said.
Employment law
Pitra Neto said the initiatives would be helped by employment law liberalisation within Angola's new General Labour Law no 7/15, which also entered into force in September. The legislation scraps a rule insisting that employment contracts must be limited to between six months and three years. Going forward, contracts offered by any company can be up to five years in duration and for medium, small and micro-sized companies, 10 years. The Angolan government is currently following an 'Angola 2025' long-term development strategy devised by its planning ministry. It commits the government to try and increase textile and clothing exports, especially to neighbouring southern Africa countries. The plan says this should be achieved by creating competitive clusters of textile and clothing manufacturers, plus effective domestic production supply chains; supporting import substitution; offering benefits and incentives (especially for finance, including venture capital assistance; research, marketing and communications) to boost exports; and tariff protection. A World Trade Organization (WTO) review of Angolan trade policy noted that in 2015, the average import tariffs for textile products in Angola were 9.5%, clothing 12% and footwear 9.4%.
SOURCE: The CCF Group
Exports of world famous Egyptian have dropped by almost a quarter in the first half of the current marketing year, which starts in September, compared to a year earlier, figures released by state statistics agency CAPMAS showed. Exports have dropped sharply as years of neglect and recent government spending cuts on subsidies have taken their toll. According to Ahmed El-Bosaty, chairman of the Modern Nile Cotton trading company, this has been one of the worst years for Egyptian cotton. Egypt sold 236,300 qintars on the world market between September 2015 and February 2016, down from 308,800 during the same period of the previous year. Lax enforcement of regulations during the turmoil that followed the country's 2011 revolution has led to mixing premium long-staple strains of cotton with cheaper ones. Seeds of different qualities were also jumbled together in the ginning process, said El-Bosaty, further compromising the premium quality demanded by buyers overseas, as well as makers of luxury cotton products at home. Ever since the days of the British occupation of Egypt, cotton varieties had been carefully segregated, with the government assigning different varieties to different geographical areas and ginning different types of cotton separately to ensure purity. The country has had seven different ministers of agriculture since the uprising which toppled the Mubarak regime, one of whom was recently sentenced on corruption charges. The decline in cotton exports can only exacerbate Egypt's foreign currency crunch following years of instability and weak FX receipts from tourism, workers' remittances, foreign investment, the Suez Canal, and other exports.
In the years following the revolution, the value of Egypt's raw cotton exports plunged from $221 million during the 2010/2011 fiscal year to $42.5 million in 2014/15, according to Central Bank of Egypt data. El-Bosaty said that it reached a point where cotton traders' contracts that have been registered will not be executed because they were not meeting the criteria for long-staple cotton. Egypt has contracted to export 27,710 tons of cotton, or 554,200 qintars, so far this marketing year. Seventy-four percent of the quantities contracted have been shipped. El-Bosaty estimates that the majority of the exported cotton came from the previous year's stockpiles. Accoridng to Nabil Santarisy, President of the Alexandria Cotton Exporters’ Association (ALCOTEXA, all their foreign buyers refused to buy any of this year's production, they sold roughly 600,000 qintars that were leftover from the previous year. The lifting of a decades-old state subsidy to cotton farmers before the sowing season last January drove many growers to less costly and more profitable crops such as rice, which offered attractive margins as its local price doubled significantly at the same time. The subsidy of EGP 1,400 per feddan (1.038 acres), equivalent of EGP 350 per qintar according to then-minister Adel El Beltagy, was eventually replaced by another that was linked to the selling price of cotton to the local spinning industry. The state-owned Holding Company for Textile Weaving and Spinning is buying 85 percent of the year's premium variety crop for EGP 1,300 per qintar. The government of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, which aims to cut the budget deficit from 11.5 percent to 9 percent in the coming fiscal year, is offering lower prices this year, including EGP 1,250 for the longest staple Giza 86 and Giza 87 varieties. This comes even though the Egyptian pound has weakened by 14 percent against the dollar since the start of the year and has fallen further on the black market. The ministry of agriculture has also failed to make new, higher yielding varieties available to cotton farmers in recent years, said Santarisy.
According to Cotton Arbitration and Testing General Organization (CATGO), the total area planted with cotton in 2015 was 121,195 feddans. This is expected to be halved this year, according to El-Bosaty, and the 2016/2017 harvest is projected to be the most meager in the history of Egyptian cotton. Technological advances and consumer preferences over the years has drastically reduced demand for the high-end product, with world consumption of long staple cotton currently accounting for just 2.5 percent of the total according to a United States Department of Agriculture report released last week. The silver lining is that this may halt the decline in the quality of the cotton, said El-Bosaty. The smaller the area, the more control over the quality. This year newly salvaged pure long staple seeds were made available to growers. Until the 1980s, Egypt cultivated as much as half a million hectares (1.2 million feddans) of cotton a year to meet global demand for luxury Egyptian cotton.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The recommendation of Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research to impose regulatory duty on import of cotton from India through Wagha Border has been strongly rejected by All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) as the industry is facing acute shortage of cotton resulting in the local market flooded with the imported yarn and fabrics. According to APTMA Chairman Tariq Saud, the recommendation of Senate Committee on National Food Security and Research is based on the false data provided to them, which has no basis. The Federal Minister for Finance, Ishaq Dar in his budget speech accepted that due to the failure of cotton crop by about 35 percent this year the growth rate has declined by about 0.5%. The failure of local cotton crop by about 35 percent has placed extra burden on the industry to import more than 5 million bales of cotton to meet the consumption requirement of the spinning industry. The decline in production of cotton in the country has not only affected the operations of basic textile industry, which is already suffering due to high cost of doing business and shortage of energy in the country but also resulted in surge in import of cotton yarn and Fabrics.
Due to high cost of doing business and other factors the domestic industry is unable to compete in the international market which can be confirmed from the fact that in the 11 months of the current financial year the imports of cotton yarn has almost doubled as compared with 2014-15. Chairman APTMA said that India does not give any subsidy to their farmers on export of cotton to Pakistan. Further, India after independence has undertaken variety of Land Reforms including modern farming system whereas no Land Reforms and modern cotton farming technology have been introduced in Pakistan as yet. Land holdings in India are very small and cannot be compared with Pakistan. The reason behind the enhancement in production of cotton crop in India is the introduction of modern technology and research which they are lacking here in Pakistan.
The Pakistan government need to reexamine/reorganize the Cotton Research Institutions as there is no justification of keeping the existing research centers/ institutes/ organizations because they have failed to come up with the expected results to meet the consumption requirement of the industry. The cotton research centers controlled by the government are presently in pathetic state and the cotton cess of Rs50/bale obtained from spinning industry is being wasted. The government also need to provide incentives and better quality cotton seed to the growers traditionally cultivating cotton to produce more and more cotton instead of other crops.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
A raft of thorny issues including market access and trade barriers makes it very unlikely 16 Asia-Pacific countries can hammer out a proposed economic “partnership” by the end of this year. The week-long 13th round of negotiations to create a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), under way in Auckland, New Zealand, ends on Saturday. The talks kicked off in 2013. The original aim had been to wrap up by the end of 2015 a trade deal that involves a total population of more than 3 billion and annual trade volume of over $17 trillion. But there’s no sign of progress that would produce even by this December a pact acceptable to the 10 governments in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. “This is a very complex negotiation,” said New Zealand chief trade negotiator Mark Trainor, noting that the countries involved range from some of the world’s least developed to some of the richest. “It is a difficult process to bring it in to land, given those complexities,” he said on Friday. Stephen Jacobi, director of the New Zealand International Business Forum, said while negotiators are working to an end-year deadline, it is “difficult to see how they’ll pull all the pieces together in time.” Deborah Elms, executive director of the private Singapore-based Asian Trade Centre, said progress wasn’t anywhere near enough for a 2016 deal. “If we are just talking about some countries making adjustments to initial offers we are not ready to close. We are not in that ballpark,” she said.
In addition to trade, intellectual property provisions are also an issue. Medecins Sans Frontieres warns that India will be negatively impacted if some intellectual property provisions are included as access to affordable medicine could be severely restricted. New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay told Reuters there could be an agreement by year-end but the “challenge will be the quality of the outcome, the quality of the deal”. He said New Zealand is not “willing to forego a high quality outcome for an issue of timing.” China and India, not in the unratified Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, have been keen to help create RCEP. He Ping, a trade expert at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the New Zealand meeting should have marked the “final sprint” toward a deal but “right now it seems it is hard to get that sense of urgency with RCEP.”
SOURCE: The Financial Express
Unifi will expand the global availability of its recycled fibre brand, Repreve, and other premier value-added (PVA) yarns through a new division in Sri Lanka, Unifi Textiles Colombo Private Limited (UTCL). The operations in the new division in Colombo are expected to begin by the end of the third quarter in 2016. Prior to this, Unifi expanded its distribution channels in Turkey through Korteks and in Taiwan through Sun Chemical. Tom Caudle, president of Unifi, said, “Our global footprint for PVA products includes the Americas, China, Turkey, Taiwan and now, Sri Lanka, which means that we can supply our customers anywhere in the world in which they choose to develop a programme.” “Built on high product quality and strong social and environmental standards, Sri Lanka is a compelling sourcing alternative in South Asia. UTCL will provide Unifi with the flexibility and speed-to-market required to respond to the ever-changing needs of our customers, “said Jay Hertwig, vice president of global brand sales, marketing and product development, Unifi.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
A UK vote to leave the European Union would seriously hurt the British economy and possibly lead to a recession next year, the International Monetary Fund warned Friday. An IMF report estimated that were Britain to leave the EU, its economy could contract by as much as 0.8 percent in 2017. In 2019, economic output could be up to 5.5 percent lower to what it would be if the country remains in the 28-member EU. While the Washington-based IMF cautioned that the decision was for the British voters to make, IMF experts believe that ”the net economic effects of leaving the EU would likely be negative and substantial.” An exit by Britain, referred to as ”Brexit,” would likely lead to reduced trade and financial flows with other EU members, lower investment and consumer confidence and higher financial market volatility. All this could prompt major financial firms to relocate from London. ”Such effects could over time erode London’s status as Europe’s preeminent financial center,” the IMF said. British voters go to the polls on June 23. If the UK leaves, it would no longer be obligated to make mandatory financial contributions to the EU. But those savings will likely be offset by losses triggered by a decline in trade and investment, the report said. The IMF also said that leaving the EU will trigger a lengthy, complicated and uncertain process of negotiating new trade terms with EU members and Britain’s other trading partners, which in itself could decrease investor confidence and shake markets.
On the other hand, were Britain to remain the EU, that would help dissipate uncertainty and could support a rebound in growth of some 1.9 percent this year, according to the Fund. Matthew Elliot, the chief executive of Vote Leave dismissed the IMF report as its ”latest intervention in the referendum debate” and said it ignores the positive aspects of leaving the EU, such as job creation and saving government funds. ”If we Vote Leave we can create 300,000 jobs by doing trade deals with fast growing economies across the globe,” Elliot said in a statement. ”We can stop sending the >350 million we pay Brussels every week. That is why it is safer to Vote Leave.”
SOURCE: The Financial Express
