Growing around 60 per cent in the next three years, Welspun India, the home textiles giant expects its revenue to cross Rs. 15,000 crore-mark by FY ’26. Besides strengthening the export market, the company, a prominent player in terry towels and sheets, is looking at ‘multiple drivers for growth’ in the domestic market as in an investor presentation, it said it is poised to grow at ‘3X of the market growth rate’ in the domestic textile market. The company is expanding its retail presence into the country ‘through TT/MT (traditional trade and modern trade) channels and e-commerce’. An increase in urban population, aided by higher disposable income and consumers’ shift towards organised retail are expected to be industry growth drivers. It expects overall domestic business to contribute around 11 per cent of its total revenue by FY ’26, rising from 3 per cent last fiscal. The company said that though the Indian cotton prices remained considerably out-priced against competing global peers for a large part of FY ’22, from October onwards it is observing a downward trend. It said, “We can expect demand pick-up in the next couple of quarters.” The company is strengthening its core business in the bath and bedsheet segment and is foraying into blankets and throws in North America. Besides, it is increasing its reach by expanding brand and license business share in key markets such as NA, UK, EU, SEA (South East Asia). The company has an installed annual capacity of 27 million square metres and ‘expects full utilisation of annual installed capacity by FY ’26’.
Source: The apparel resources
Starting next month, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) will look into anti-profiteering measures under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), replacing the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA). Experts say the CCI will have to address the challenge of finding appropriate methodology to gauge profiteering and quantum of penalty over which NAA is embroiled with litigation in courts. A notification to this effect was issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on Wednesday. Apart from omitting and adding rules, the notification says, "The central government, on the recommendation of the Goods and Services Tax Council, hereby empowers the Competition Commission of India ... to examine whether input tax credit availed by the registered person or the reduction of the tax rate have actually resulted in a commensurate reduction in the price of the goods or services or both supplied by him." The decision comes at a time when 50-odd cases against the constitutional validity of NAA have been clubbed and are being heard in the Delhi High Court. The biggest issue is the lack of methodology to calculate profiteering. Abhishek Rastogi, founder of Rastogi Chambers, said while this is an expected move based on the recommendation of various states, it will be interesting to see whether CCI provides for a methodology for diverse sectors before progressing into quantum profiteering. He said the extension of the anti-profiteering provisions beyond five years will have to test the waters of constitutionality at some stage as the intent was to provide the anti-profiteering relief only for the transitional phase. Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner at EY, said it has to be seen how the CCI addresses the methodology for calculation which was absent in NAA proceedings. Karan Sachdev, partner Lakshmikumaran and Sridharan Attorneys, said CCI has a working knowledge of various business dynamics impacting price and it is well equipped to handle such cases. Even in Australia, anti-profiteering violations were examined by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. “With its prior expertise, it will be interesting to see how the CCI interprets and enforces the anti-profiteering provision and whether it adopts a different approach than NAA,” he said. The NAA was set up for two years till November 2019 to ensure any reduction in tax rates on any supplies of goods or services or benefits of the input tax credit. Later, it was extended till November 2021. The GST Council, in its 45th meeting in September last year, gave another one-year extension till November 30, 2022, to NAA and also decided to shift the work to CCI after that.
Source: The business-standard
Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India, and His Excellency Dr. Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf, Secretary General, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), held a Joint Press Conference, in New Delhi today, to announce the intent to pursue negotiations on the India-GCC FTA. With forward-looking and solution-oriented deliberations, bilateral engagements witnessed significant progress on all matters of mutual interest across the entire gamut of bilateral economic relations between India and the GCC nations. Both sides agreed to expedite conclusion of the requisite legal and technical requirements for formal resumption of the FTA negotiations. The FTA is envisaged to be a modern, comprehensive Agreement with substantial coverage of goods and services. Both sides emphasized that the FTA will create new jobs, raise living standards, and provide wider social and economic opportunities in India and all the GCC countries. Both sides agreed to significantly expand and diversify the trade basket in line with the enormous potential that exists on account of the complementary business and economic ecosystems of India and the GCC. It may be noted that the GCC is currently India’s largest trading partner bloc with bilateral trade in FY 2021-22 valued at over USD 154 billion with exports valued at approximately USD 44 billion and imports of around USD 110 billion (non-oil exports of USD 33.8 Billion and non-oil imports of USD 37.2 Billion). Bilateral trade in services between India and the GCC was valued at around USD 14 billion in FY 2021-22, with exports valued at USD 5.5 Billion and imports at USD 8.3 Billion. GCC countries contribute almost 35% of India’s oil imports and 70% of gas imports. India’s overall crude oil imports from the GCC in 2021-22 were about $48 billion, while LNG and LPG imports in 2021-22 were about $21 billion. Investments from the GCC in India are currently valued at over USD 18 billion.
Source: The Pib
Textile Commissioner Roop Rashi has said that the Australian Parliament has ratified the Australia – India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ETCA) which would bring a lot of changes to the textile industry. She further cited that till now we have set many targets for the cotton and textile industry but now it is high time to work towards achieving the same and that too in a timebound manner. She was addressing the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI)’s 2nd Global Cotton Conference. The theme of the conference was ‘Game-Changing Technologies and Traits for Achieving High Yields and Fine Quality of Cotton’. She remarked that both the Ministry of Textiles and the Ministry of Agriculture have been able to achieve synergy in their operations which is one of the major breakthroughs in their efforts toward the upliftment of the cotton farmers. T Rajkumar, Chairman CITI informed that CITI is directly undertaking Cotton Development and Extension Activities through its extension arm- CITI Cotton Development & Research Association (CITI CDRA) for more than past 50 years wherein at present about one lakh cotton farmers are directly associated with CITI CDRA in three states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Sunil Patwari, Chairman, TEXPROCIL; M. M. Prabhakar Rao, Chairman, NSL Group; Prashant Mohota, Member, CITI’s Standing Committee on Cotton & MD, Gimatex Ltd and many other experts from across the industry addressed the event.
Source: The apparel resources
Exporters on Thursday sought tax incentives for job intensive export units, cheaper credit for MSMEs and creation of an Export Development Fund. In the customary pre-budget interaction with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, exporters pitched for reduction in customs duty and sought government support for setting up a global Indian shipping line. "Creation of employment is the biggest challenge faced by the country...We would urge the government to provide fiscal support to units which provide additional employment in the export sector," FIEO president A Sakthivel said. He added that currently the credit rate for MSMEs is 11%-13% and it may increase further in the next few months.
Source: The economictimes
India’s consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation could ease in the coming months thanks to the arrival of kharif crops, lower international commodity prices, and a pass through of lower input costs to consumers, the finance ministry said in its Monthly Economic Review (MER) for October, which was released on Thursday. The MER, however, warned that the global macroeconomic situation remained precarious and a recession in many advanced economies would impact India’s exports. “Easing international commodity prices and new Kharif arrival are set to dampen inflationary pressures in the coming months. Going forward, the current retail inflationary pressures are expected to ease with pass-through of lower input costs to consumers, also affirmed by the Reserve Bank of India’s inflation projections for the next two quarters,” the MER stated. It pointed out that the wedge between CPI and wholesale inflation (which is influenced more by global prices) had declined from a peak of -10 per cent in November 2021 to -1.6 per cent in October 2022. India’s headline retail inflation softened to a three-month low of 6.77 per cent in October from 7.41 per cent in September as food prices declined substantially. This might make the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI less hawkish when it meets next month, even though it is unlikely that there would be a pause in the ongoing rate hike cycle. The MER stated that the recovery in economic activity across sectors had improved the employment situation in the country. It said the periodic labour force survey (PLFS) showed that the urban unemployment rate had declined for four consecutive quarters till June — the latest PLFS data released on Thursday showed a further dip in the urban unemployment rate. It stated that net payroll additions in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation had grown in double digits in September, reflecting the increased pace of formalisation of the economy, while most private sector indicators showed that key industries had seen an increase in hiring activity in October and in the September quarter. However, it added, larger macroeconomic risks remained. “The global economy continues to navigate an increasingly turbulent and uncertain environment. Despite the current slowdown in global growth, inflation has risen to a multi-decade high in many economies, amid elevated food and energy prices.” It said that alongside tighter financial conditions and a steep fall in consumer confidence, indicators of global economic activity had deteriorated. The global composite PMI output index shrank for the second consecutive month in September, led by weakness in advanced economies as increasing uncertainty and high energy prices dented confidence. “A rapid deterioration in global growth prospects, high inflation, and worsening financial conditions have increased fears of an impending global recession. The spillover of the global slowdown may dampen India’s exports businesses’ outlook,” the MER stated. The report stated that India’s food supplies had also been impacted by the conflict in Europe and the vagaries of nature. The domestic prices of some food items had risen amid a rise in international prices and grain availability was impacted by heat waves and deficient southwest monsoon in the current year. However, export restrictions had ensured that the country’s needs were fully met.
Source: The business-standard
The Uttar Pradesh government has inked pact with at least 34 foreign companies for investments largely in five sectors, including textiles, IT & electronics and pharma, according to a report in the TOI. As per the data shared by the Chief Minister's office shows that 22 MoUs for projects worth Rs 1,853.52 crore have been signed in textiles and handloom sector. Textile sector has so far bagged the maximum number of MoUs signed by foreign companies. Another nine MoUs worth an investment of Rs 56,681 crore have been signed under the department of IT & electronics, followed by two under pharmaceutical sector worth Rs 108 crore. One MoU worth Rs 13,085 crore has been signed under infrastructure and industrial development department. The Uttar Pradesh government is in talks with various countries of which many have expressed interest in investing across various sectors, an official said."For instance, UAE has expressed interest in renewable energy, hospital and medical education, apparel and textiles, agro and food processing, leather footwear and infrastructure," he said. Discussions have taken place with the US, Canada and Brazil for IT & Electronics, agro and food processing, defence and aerospace, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, energy, venture capital, retail and automobile components. UK, France and Netherland have shown interest in energy, electrical vehicle manufacturing, agro and food processing, textiles, defence, engineering and technology, manufacturing agriculture equipment, water management and green house technology. Businesses from South Korea, Thailand and Japan have expressed interest in sectors like IT & electronics, textiles, infrastructure, agro and food processing, manufacturing, logistics, retail, chemicals and tourism. Russia has expressed interest in sectors like defence and aerospace, energy, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and venture capital. Sweden, Belgium and Germany have also discussed investment opportunities in electronic manufacturing, retail, automobiles, electric vehicle manufacturing, defence, textiles, agro and food processing, chemicals, pharma and transport. Countries like Singapore and Australia have also come forward with investment proposals in IT & electronics, textiles, infrastructure agro and food processing, logistics, dairy, healthcare, education and warehousing, while Mauritius and South Africa are willing to invest in IT, tourism, healthcare and renewable energy. Around 21, foreign delegates have so far confirmed their participation for the upcoming Global Investors summit.
Source; The Knn
Wrapped in colorful haute couture, artisans and indigenous designers took a Mexico City fashion event by storm, all while trying to carve out a sustainable future in an industry threatened by plagiarism, instability and lack of funds. At Original, a government-led fashion week dedicated to traditional textiles, artists showcased their designs and confronted industry challenges under the slogan: “No bargaining, no plagiarism, no cultural appropriation.” World-renowned brands such as Ralph Lauren and Chinese fast-fashion company Shein have in recent months faced accusations of plagiarizing indigenous Mexican designs, threatening the country’s ancient textile tradition. “We need people to understand this is not a mass process,” Original board member Hilan Cruz, a backstrap loom artisan from Puebla state, told Reuters. “What we do takes time, and that time should be valued both economically and in terms of product value.” “This work is inherited,” he added. “It not only helps pay for our day-to-day life, it represents our people, our community, our space, our life vision.” Cruz said Original seeks to prevent plagiarism by raising awareness of the quality and detail of artisan fashion. But financial troubles and problems competing with the large-scale fashion industry have caused artisan’s children – who would have historically been apprenticed into the trade – to seek out more stable work.
INHERITED WORK
Peruvian Rosa Choque is the only artisan in her South American country to make designs based on her Chiribaya ancestors, some dating back 500 years. She has no successor. Her two daughters have moved away and found other jobs as artisan work didn’t sell enough and was often not appreciated. Choque herself works a second job. Meanwhile, Mexican artisan Rosa Gonzalez works with her son. “He is the one who comes up with the ideas, I shape them and put them together,” she said, pointing to inspiration from regional wildlife. The family used to make art canvases but moved to clothing because it was easier to sell. “With our designs anyone can wear an haute couture dress for gala parties, graduations. We have even made them for brides,” Gonzalez said. But lack of funds has been stifling innovation and preventing designers from investing in better production. “I wanted to be modern while still maintaining my culture,” Peruvian designer Licet Alvarez told Reuters, wearing face paint and a beaded Kitsarenchy, a traditional costume of the Anaro people of Peru’s central highlands. “But sometimes we don’t have access to the necessary materials.” Plagiarism of ancient indigenous designs has drawn ire from Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. “They plagiarize designs from artisans and indigenous people from Hidalgo, Chiapas, Guerrero,” he told a news conference last week. Brands can use pre-Hispanic or native designs, he said, but “there has to be recognition of their intellectual work, creativity and no plagiarism.”
Source: The Indian express
The Vietnam Trade Office in Australia has introduced high-quality Vietnamese garment and textile products at a recent exhibition, which was part of the International Sourcing Expo Australia. The annual exhibition, from November 15-17, the biggest of its kind in Australia, brought together 400 businesses from about 20 countries and territories. Apart from showcasing the high-quality garment and textile products, the office's staff also cleared up visitors’ concern about other products of the Vietnamese garment-textile, and leather and footwear sectors. The office has also co-organised an online exhibition on Vietnamese garments-textiles, leather and footwear on the digital platform Vietnamsourcingexpo.com from November 17-25, with the participation of tens of enterprises. The events are expected to create more opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to access the Australian market, said head of the office Nguyen Phu Hoa, adding that the office will organise more trade promotion activities next year. He suggested the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) and the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO) send trade promotion delegations to exhibitions in Australia to expand export opportunities. Vietnam’s garment-textile export to Australia has increased 27.96% so far this year to 358.4 million USD. The leather and footwear sector's exports surged 41.05% year-on-year to 353.7 million USD. As of October, trade between the two countries had reached 13.3 billion USD, with Vietnam’s exports up more than 33.79% year-on-year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. With the results, Hoa said he believed that the bilateral trade revenue will hit a new record of 15 billion USD this year.
Source: The Vietnam plus
In a recent letter to the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen, EURATEX stated that any price cap above the level of € 80/MWh would not help the EU industry – the textile sector in particular – to survive the current crisis. It’s worth noting here that, as early as July 2021, the wholesale gas price in the EU was below € 30/MWh. Now, the EU industry is facing gas and energy prices that have exceeded any coping capacity: from record-high of € 320/MWh last August, the price has reached to € 127/MWh today. Still, it is more than 300 per cent than the business-as-usual prices. The very existence of the European industry is at stake and with it, the European sustainability agenda – and Europe’s capacity to implement it, expressed EURATEX. Furthermore, Europe will lose its strategic autonomy, which guarantees essential goods and services are made available in the European Internal Market. “If we continue on this path, the EU will soon become totally dependent on foreign imports with no leverage to implement its sustainability agenda, let alone lead the transition to a circular economy on the international stage,” reads official statement of EURATEX. At present, the EU industry is facing dire international competition with the industry in China, India and the US working at energy prices of around US $ 10/MWh. In addition, these competitors are benefiting of sky-high subsidies from their own governments: the rollout of US $ 369 billion industrial subsidy scheme is just the latest example. Dirk Vantyghem, EURATEX Director General, believes, “While the EU industry is under immense, unprecedented pressure, a price cap at € 275/MWh would be meaningless: the European industry will be permanently pushed out on the market. The industry is at the heart of the European way of life and the fundament of our social market economy. The EU must save its industry to save Europe. The moment to act is now.”
Source: The apparel resources
Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada took place at in Toronto from 7-9 November, marking its first in-person trade event on Canadian soil since 2019. The event was originally scheduled for August 2020 and had been postponed for more than two years due to the pandemic. The sourcing show reintroduced its retail audience of 2,000 attendees including a notable number of significant Canadian brands like La Maison Simons, Walmart Canada, and Roots, to its international field of exhibitors, over 150 textile and garment enterprises, featuring readymade garments, textiles, and accessories. Jason Prescott, CEO of JPC, Inc, producer of ATSC said: “Our sourcing-focused trade shows have experienced a remodelling forced by Covid and extenuated by current geo-politics. It’s never been more challenging to produce an in-person event, especially internationally, and we all were suffering from a two-year digital hangover. In Toronto our staff, attendees and exhibitors all felt a renewed interpersonal connection from the face-to-face interactions and everyone is excited about next year.” More than 90% of the exhibiting booths were from outside the borders of Canada, raising the level of difficulty to produce the event due to ongoing travel restrictions for the Chinese and extreme visa processing delays for nearly all participants requiring a visa to enter Canada. A dozen countries’ manufacturers were featured including 13 Chinese manufacturers travelling direct from China to Canada in spite of China’s continued zero-Covid travel policy. Fifty more Chinese companies shipped their products and participated via a combination of local Canadian representatives and virtual onsite matchmaking. This hybrid option allowed attendees to connect direct to manufacturers in China’s provinces of Hubei and Zhejiang. Each province brought 20 high-quality textile and garment suppliers to ATSC. The “China Brand” pavilion focused on apparel and textile brands with a focus on China-chic design, zero carbon materials and the latest in R&D. Many participating manufacturers were provided financial and logistical support from their national governments and industry associations including the India Chamber of Commerce, the BGMEA and EPB for Bangladesh, the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association, the Gyunggido Business & Science Accelerator for South Korea, the Embassy of Vietnam, the Embassy of Mongolia, the Mongolian Wool & Cashmere Association, and the Ghana Export Promotion Association. The event also produced ten seminar sessions focused on the Canadian retail sourcing buyer and designer attendee-base. Topics centred on sustainability, new industry legislation, trends and branding and featured Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) president & CEO Avedis Seferian speaking on “The Evolving Legislative Landscape & Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Laws”, and charitable partner Brands for Canada executive director Helen Harakas discussed “Solutions for Surplus Goods & how to improve your company’s sustainable footprint”. Earlier in August, Apparel Textile Sourcing Canada moved this show from 22-24 August to 7-9 November, hoping it would provide enough time for the Canadian government offices worldwide to process visa applications for anyone wishing to attend the show.
Source: The just-style
New season, new styles, buy more, buy cheap, move on, throw away: the pollution, waste, and emissions of fast fashion are fueling the triple planetary crisis. The annual Black Friday sales on 25 November are a reminder of the need to rethink what is bought, what is thrown away, and what it costs the planet. Sustainable fashion and circularity in the textiles value chain are possible, yet this century the world’s consumers are buying more clothes and wearing them for less time than ever before, discarding garments as fast as trends shift. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is spearheading an initiative towards a zero waste world. As part of this ambitious outlook, UNEP has partnered with Kenyan spoken word poet Beatrice Kariuki to shed light on high-impact sectors where consumers can make a real difference. “We need circular industries where old looks are made new,” Kariuki says in the video. “Less packaging, more reuse. Threads that last.” The Ellen Macarthur Foundation, a UNEP partner, has estimated that a truckload of abandoned textiles is dumped in landfill or incinerated every second. Meanwhile, it is estimated that people are buying 60 per cent more clothes and wearing them for half as long. Plastic fibres are polluting the oceans, the wastewater, toxic dyes, and the exploitation of underpaid workers. Fast fashion is big business, and while the environmental costs are rising, experts say there is another way: a circular economy for textiles. At this month’s UN Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt, UNEP and the non-profit Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) held an event on ‘Circular Systems for a Net Positive Fashion Industry’, which drew industry leaders to discuss routes towards a circular economy for the industry, with less waste, less pollution, more reuse, and more recycling. Now, UNEP and GFA are spearheading a consultation across the fashion industry to define a path towards becoming net-positive—meaning an industry that gives back more to the world than it takes out. UNEP is also producing a roadmap towards sustainability and circularity in the textile value chain and working on shifting the narrative of the sector, looking at the role of consumption with a guideline to sustainable fashion communication. The fast fashion business model of quick turnover, high volume, cheap prices is under pressure from consumers who are demanding change. They want resilient garments from a sustainable industry, a goal supported by the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion. A prominent example of how the garment industry can embrace the principles of a circular economy is the US outdoor clothing brand Patagonia, winner of a UN Champion of the Earth award in 2019. Patagonia has gone further still, announcing earlier this year that it would transform into a charitable trust with all profits from its US$1.5 billion in annual sales going towards climate change, making the planet its only shareholder. There are many others in the industry also making important changes. This week, UNEP organized a timely webinar titled, ‘Shifting the Fashion Narrative: Rethinking aspiration in a world of overconsumption,’ available to watch here. To fight the pervasive impact of pollution on society, UNEP launched BeatPollution, a strategy for rapid, large-scale and coordinated action against air, land and water pollution. The strategy highlights the impact of pollution on climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and human health. Through science-based messaging, the campaign showcases how transitioning to a pollution-free planet is vital for future generations.
Source: The unep.org
