The European Union (EU) is seeking more free trade agreements (FTAs) with members of the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) while the latter is eager to attract more investment to the region from Europe. ASEAN members are a potential investment destination for European nations, Cambodian commerce minister Pan Sorasak told the tenth ASEAN-EU Business Summit in Brussels. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has also called for closer cooperation between the EU and its ASEAN partners. “We want to trade more with each other. We already are each other’s third-largest trading partners. Our free trade agreements with Vietnam and Singapore are delivering. That is impressive,” she was quoted as saying by Cambodian media reports. The EU president also said the bloc wants to conclude more such agreements with ASEAN countries. The EU’s ultimate goal would be to negotiate a region-to-region free trade agreement, she noted. Sorasak said the private sector is a driving force in promoting the effective implementation of mechanisms set by the governments of regional countries. She said the EU wanted to accelerate the clean energy revolution and it has launched a Just Energy Transition Partnership with Vietnam, similar to the one it has with Indonesia. It also decided to start an EU-ASEAN new Energy Dialogue Bilateral trade between Cambodia and EU reached $4.98 billion in 2021, up by 4.6 per cent from a year earlier.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
With the aim to boost textile exports from the state, the Karnataka government is planning to make changes in the textile policy in the coming days, said Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Speaking after being felicitated by the weavers in Suvarna Soudha Conference Hall for fulfilling their longstanding demands on Monday, he pointed out that the state government is making efforts to get international branding for weavers’ products from the state as it will help in increasing productivity and improving the economy. “The government will take all necessary steps in this regard,” said Bommai. Bommai further added that Karnataka has been the biggest exporter of textiles in the country and the Ilkal saree is quite famous across the country. But it needs branding on a national level and for which an agreement will be signed with online platforms like Amazon. Recently the state government has increased the subsidy that has been given to the professional weaver’s community from 30 per cent to 50 per cent. The occupancy certificate will be issued to those residing in Weavers Colony. Considering weaving at home a cottage industry, concession will be given from Karnataka State Pollution Control Board. The weaving products are being bought under the Education Department’s Vidya Vikas scheme. From the next academic year, the education department will place the order for supplying the cloth required to stitch uniforms for the school children in the month of December. Depending upon the capacity of the Government Weavers Corporations, tender will be floated to supply the cloth for the remaining quantity. It has been decided to buy 25 per cent of the uniform requirement of various departments from Karnataka Handloom Development Corporation. Bommai said the weavers will be disbursed loan up to Rs 2 lakh with zero per cent interest rate and also get 50 per cent concession in power charges and fixed charges for handloom and powerloom units on the lines of Tamil Nadu. Besides, those working in looms will be treated as unorganised labourers and get all benefits accordingly.
Source: KNN India
After a continued decline in previous months, India’s apparel exports rose 11.70 per cent year on year (YoY) in November 2022 to reach $1,198.09 million. However, the shipment of textiles stayed in the negative zone in November. Cumulative exports of textiles and apparel for the period between April and November 2022 also noted a declining trend. India’s textile exports dropped by 30.11 per cent to $1,405 million in November 2022 compared to $2,010.41 million in November 2021. Exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, madeups, handloom products etc declined to $803.17 million in November this year from $1,226.69 million in November last year. Shipment of manmade yarn, fabrics, made ups, etc declined from $432 million to $355.37 million, and carpet exports decreased to $115.06 million from $148.68 million, according to an analysis of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) based on the data released by Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), ministry of commerce. Cumulative exports of textiles and apparel during November 2022 registered a fall of 15.57 per cent as compared to November 2021. The shipment came down from $3,083.05 million to $2,603.09 million in the period under review, as per the data. During April-November 2022, textile exports registered a YoY decline of 21.93 per cent to $12,754.27 million, while apparel exports witnessed a growth of 7.22 per cent to reach $10,358.36 million. Cumulative exports of textiles and apparel during the first eight months of the current fiscal (April-March) were down 11.10 per cent to $23,112.63 million. Share of textiles and apparel in India’s total merchandise exports declined to 8.14 per cent in November 2022 as compared to 9.70 per cent in November 2021. Global economic slowdown has hit Indian textiles and apparel exports during the last couple of months. But the recovery in shipment of garments indicates a sign of some respite to the Indian textile industry. High inflation across the developed world has reduced consumers’ purchasing capacity, which is the main cause of slowdown in the textile sector. Developing countries including India are facing serious challenges in textile exports.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Textile industry players are batting for removal of import duty on cotton and a stimulus from the government after being hit by a dip in demand due to the global financial crisis and the Ukraine war. The industry has been also affected by the rise in Indian raw cotton prices, which are at least 10-20 per cent higher than international cotton right now. “The rate of Indian raw cotton is 10-20 per cent higher than the international cotton, including the Chinese cotton. This makes Indian spinning mills not to source cotton from India due to the higher rate. At the same time, the Government of India has imposed 11 per cent import duty. This spoils the level-playing field,” said K Venkatachalam, chief advisor, Tamil Nadu Spinning Mills Association (Tasma). India’s cotton textile and raw cotton exports dipped by 29 per cent to $5.406 billion in the April-September period, compared to $7.606 billion during the same time in 2021-22. During the same period, cotton textile exports dipped by 23 per cent to $4.791 billion as against $6.468 billion last year. Similarly, raw cotton exports too declined by 62 per cent from $1.138 billion from April to September 2021 to $435.9 million in 2022, according to the data shared by the Tasma. “Our cotton rates are not competitive globally. Domestic market is also shifting faster from cotton to polyester and consumption is down. Hence, the government should remove the import duty and make our raw materials at par with international prices,” said Sanjay Kumar Jain of Delhi-based TT Ltd. This comes at a time when there is a shortage of demand for textile goods globally due to the Ukraine-Russia war. “Unless the Government of India proposes a stimulus package to textile industries at all levels, whether they are spinning, weaving, fabricating, ready-made garments and home textiles, most of the industries will become NPAs very shortly, as they are all working only for two to three days in a week and their efficiency has come down to the extent of 30 per cent only,” Venkatachalam added. On the other hand, moving in line with the overall merchandise exports that dipped by 16.7 per cent to $29.8 billion in October, ready-made garment (RMG) exports too dipped during the month. “Since most of the traditional markets of Indian RMG including UK, EU and the US are witnessing recession and global headwinds, leading to shrinking of demand on one side and buyers asking for 15 per cent discount on the other, we have requested the government for expediting FTAs in these markets and ensure all tariff lines of RMG sector, which will enable a duty reduction from the existing 9.6 per cent and act as a strong breather,” said Naren Goenka, chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). The total set target of apparel exports for 2022-23 is $17.6 billion as against $16.01 billion in 2021-22, out of which $ 9.2 billion was achieved during April-October 2022.
Tiruppur knitwear exports back in growth track
After clocking negative growth during the months of August, September, and October by 14.6 per cent, 24.4 per cent and -34.1 per cent, respectively compared to the corresponding months of last year 2021, Tiruppur knitwear exports turned positive in November by recording a 10.6 per cent growth. Tiruppur contributes to 55 per cent of the country’s knitwear exports, according to the Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA). The export date for the month of November 2022 reveals that readymade garment exports have reversed the negative growth and posted a positive growth of 22.71 per cent compared to November 2021. “The positive growth in November is quite encouraging and factors like Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) entered with Australia will come into effect from December 29 and the envisaged Agreement with UK will happen in another two months, will help to boost the knitwear exports from Tiruppur,” said K M Subramanian, President, TEA. He further noted that the UK and Australian buyers are interested to place orders with Tiruppur because of the China Plus one policy of the respective countries.
Source: Business Standard
"Japan at present buys 5% of their apparel requirements from India. But with Covid again spreading in China, it is looking at alternative countries to source readymade garments," said Lalit Thukral, president of Noida Apparel Export Cluster Apparel exporters of Tirupur and Noida have started tapping the markets of Japan, Canada and Australia amid fears that the deepening downturn in the US and European Union-their main buyers-will hit their trade, which recorded good growth last month. "Japan at present buys 5% of their apparel requirements from India. But with Covid again spreading in China, it is looking at alternative countries to source readymade garments," said Lalit Thukral, president of Noida Apparel Export Cluster. "We had a meeting with leading Japanese buyers and it is expected that they may divert 15-20% of their purchase to India."
Source: Economic Times
In FY22, Tangedco clocked a total revenue of ₹72,096 crore and incurred a revenue loss of ₹11,213 crore Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V Senthilbalaji said the projected revenue increase as a result of the power tariff revision will see a drop on account of a cut in tariff for certain segments. “With the tariff increase, we expected a ₹19,000 crore increase in Tangedco’s revenue per year. However, with the reduction of tariffs in certain categories for MSMEs, handloom and powerloom sectors, among others, we are getting an additional revenue of only about ₹1,000 crore per month (as against the projected ₹1,583 crore),” a statement quoting the Minister said. Tangedco’s revised tariff structure for domestic and other categories came into effect this September after the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) accepted the tariff increase proposed by Tangedco. The regulator has also allowed for an annual revision of tariffs going forward. The previous tariff order was issued in August 2017, and since then, no tariff orders have been issued. As a result, the prevailing tariff rates were inadequate to cover the increasing power purchase costs. Revenue loss In FY22, Tangedco clocked a total revenue of ₹72,096 crore and incurred a revenue loss of ₹11,213 crore, down from ₹13,407 crore in FY21, when it posted a revenue of ₹63,389 crore. The minister said Tangedco was collecting details on the damages caused by cyclone Mandous, and the details will be shared once the exercise is completed. The total installed capacity of Tangedco is 32,500 MW, and there is a plan to increase the capacity to 65,000 MW by 2030. He said Tangedco has taken various measures to rationalise costs and improve revenues. The sale of fly ash fetched ₹7 crore in revenue in FY22, and this year it has doubled and stands at about ₹14 crore. Also, interest payments towards REC (Rural Electrification Corporation) have come down from the previous level of ₹84 crore per year as it has reduced the interest rate from 13 per cent to 10 per cent. Tangedco has taken ₹6,600 crore loan from REC.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The Ministry said it could not present the Medium Term Expenditure Framework in Parliament, as mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act India’s gross domestic product growth in the first half of the current fiscal year averaged at 9.7 per cent, the finance ministry said in its mid-year expe¬nditure and revenue state¬ment on Tuesday. The ministry said it could not present the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF)¬, as mandated by the Fiscal Respon¬sibility and Budget Manage¬ment Act, because the global macro-economic situation disrupted the government’s projections. “India’s economic growth, measured by growth in GDP at constant prices, has been estimated at 9.7 per cent for the first half (April-September) of FY23, as compared to 13.7 per cent in H1FY22 and 4.7 per cent in H2 of FY22,” the ministry said. On the MTEF, it said the FRBM Act states that if any deviation is made in meeting the fiscal obligations cast on the central government under this Act, the minister-in-charge of the finance ministry shall make a statement in both Houses of Parliament explaining any deviation in meeting the obligations. “As per Section 3 (1B) of the FRBM Act, 2003, the MTEF Statement needs to be laid in the Parliament in the session immediately following the session of Parliament in which the Medium Term Fiscal Policy Statement, the Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement and the Macro-Economic Frame¬work Statement are laid.” The three statements were laid in the Budget session. “During preparation of the MTEF statement, assumptions have to be made regarding the growth rate of the economy and tax and non-tax rec¬eipts of the Govern¬ment to come up with meaningful expenditure projections. Three continuous Covid-19 waves, RussiaUkraine conflict, and global economic uncertainties have affected almost all macroeconomic indicators, making synchronisation between the Budget and mediumterm goals difficult,” it said. The ministry said that while expenditure projections for the year factored in GDP growth, and various obligations, effective management of the exogenous shocks and global uncertainties requires the additional flexibilities in terms of expenditure management and fiscal consolidation. “Since the MTEF statement requires rolling targets for expenditure lines for the next two financial years, the normative increase will be based on the anticipated expenditure of the current fiscal year.” “In the current financial year, the expenditures to stabilise the economic growth and also catering the needs of marginally weaker sections of the country amid the external economic shocks have pushed the expenditure upward. Therefore, any projections amidst global turbulence, having consequence on all major economies, may bring risk of considerable gap between projected numbers and actuals therein,” it said.
Source: Business Standard
"More recently, however, there are some signs of moderation in price pressures, which have raised expectations of an easing in the pace of monetary tightening. Alongside easing in sovereign bond yields, the US dollar has come off its highs.Capital flows to emerging market economies (EMEs) remain volatile and global spillovers pose risks to growth prospects," the report stated. The Reserve Bank ofIndia's (RBI) bulletin on Tuesday stated that the global growth is set to lose momentum due to tightening of financial conditions caused by monetary policy actions. Another significant factor is the elevated and persistent inflation levels across countries as they grapple with food and energy price shocks and shortages. "More recently, however, there are some signs of moderation in price pressures, which have raised expectations of an easing in the pace of monetary tightening. Alongside easing in sovereign bond yields, the US dollar has come off its highs.Capital flows to emerging market economies (EMEs) remain volatile and global spillovers pose risks to growth prospects," the report stated. The global economy has been hit by multiple shocks which have led to globalisation of inflation, with advanced economies (AEs) facing multi-decadal high inflation; sustained slowdown in economic growth and trade, together with rising concerns about a possible global recession and deteriorating global food and energy security situation. It has also affected the realignment of global supply chains and led to policy-induced deglobalisation. The emerging market economies (EMEs) have been facing an additional challenge from threats to their external sector stability, as per the bulletin.
Source: Economic Times
Emphasising the creativity and innovation arising from circular goals. The Future Materials Library 2023 is a collection of interior material innovations from around the world to be showcased at the forthcoming Heimtextil show in Frankfurt, Germany, from January 10-13. Curated by futures agency FranklinTill, it celebrates radical designers, manufacturers and producers who are helping to turn the current, linear system of production and consumption into a circular model. Featuring a mix of commercially viable and early-stage developments, the textiles and interior materials exhibited in the library have been collected under the four key themes of this year’s Heimtextil Trends – Make and Remake, Continuous, From Earth and Nature Engineered. The four themes emphasise the creativity and innovation arising from the shift from a linear ‘take, make and discard’ system to a circular model in which materials are repurposed and kept in use for longer. Make and Remake Unique textile paintings and panels layering and combining shapes and blending colours and fibres into something new, for example, have been created by Eileen Fisher for the Waste No More installation, within the Make and Remake collection. Developed with longtime collaborator and artist Sigi Ahl, the work draws on discarded clothing recuperated from Eileen Fisher’s sorting and recycling facility in Irvington, New York. The artist and her team use a specially developed technique based on traditional felting using a small-batch needlepunch machine – a process that uses no water and very little energy. Continuous Keeping materials out of landfill and in use for multiple lifespans is the cornerstone of the Continuous theme. Modularity and disassembly allow for components to be used again and again, and mono-materiality makes recycling easier and keeps impact low. As reclamation processes become more technically advanced, they are enabling materials to retain their original quality. Spain’s Honext, for example, uses a carbon-neutral, circular biotech process to upcycle waste fibres into boards for use within the building industry. The boards are made from waste cellulose in an enzymatic process to create strong binding between fibres rather than non-recyclable resins. Non-toxic, highly insulating, moisture-resistant, fireretardant and strong, the boards are long-lasting but can ultimately be fed back into the production cycle. From Earth Embracing natural variation, regenerative processes, natural dyes and chemical-free processes, the textiles and materials featured in From Earth are also biodegradable. The rare natural fibres of luxury brand Tengri, as one example, are sustainably sourced from indigenous yak and camels in remote Mongolia as well as Bluefaced Leicester sheep in the UK. Tengri’s supply chains are ethical and transparent, strengthening the links between fashion and agriculture and protecting biodiversity. The fibres are spun and woven at a family-owned mill in Yorkshire in the north of England, combining traditional craftsmanship and expertise with the latest innovations in textile development. Circularity is integrated at every stage of the brand’s zero-waste value chain. Nature Engineered Materials selected to illustrate the Nature Engineered theme combine plant-derived biological materials such as hemp or mycelium with cutting-edge production processes. One selected company, Denmark’s Søuld, uses eelgrass – a plant that grows in shallow sea water – to create acoustic mats and boards that offer excellent insulation and effective humidity regulation and are also highly fire-resistant. Eelgrass is a sustainable, organic resource that effectively stores away carbon dioxide. Many more inspiring new products will be displayed in the library at the Frankfurt exhibition.
Source: Innovation in Textiles
European apparel and textiles body Euratex has voiced concern over the “fast loss” of competitiveness of Europe and has demanded urgent action to save the industry. ollowing last week’s European Council Summit and its conclusions on the measures to tackle the energy crisis, Euratex expressed concern over the potential loss of competitiveness and the EU’s inaction on the energy crisis, and Chinese and US subsidies to domestic industry. Euratex says the reasons for the sharp decline in competitiveness is twofold: energy costs in Europe are six times higher than in the US, China and neighbouring countries; and Europe’s main international competitors and trade partners have developed comprehensive state-aid frameworks for their domestic industry despite not being affected by the energy crisis at all. “At present, many textiles and clothing companies are producing at net loss or have shut down production. The industrial conditions have worsened in such a way that there is no business case to invest in Europe or buy products produced or processed in the EU. It is only the sense of responsibility of our entrepreneurs towards the European society that is keeping the plants and production running.” According to Euratex, recent trade data already indicates a loss of global competitiveness: imports to the EU have grown 35% year-to-date in 2022. It is expected that energy prices will remain high and volatile, “opening the door for imports to gain substantial market shares in the EU”. If the status quo is maintained, Euratex says the EU will not be able to recover its competitive position on the global business stage, and will fail its plans to reach zero-net emissions and achieve circularity. Euratex is calling on the EU political leaders in the Commission, in the European Council and in the national capitals to: • Raise the ambition and adopt a comprehensive approach at EU level: energy, stateaid and trade policy must be brought together in a single strategy with concrete emergency solutions and with a clear SME dimension. • Let all hesitations aside and adopt a meaningful price cap on natural gas wholesales, that should be ideally no higher than 80 euro/MWh. In parallel, it should also be ensured that electricity prices are brought to a sustainable price level. • Change the European posture on state-aid, even temporarily. An ambitious plan of investments and state-aid in green technologies to support the industrial transition should be rolled out. “Such a plan, however, should not be conceived as a retaliation against our most necessary and like-minded trade partners, Euratex adds. “Access to finance and markets must be safeguarded for all those actors who are capable and willing to invest in Europe, on the basis of reciprocity. In these challenging times for geopolitical stability, ensuring strong trade ties with our traditional allies and partners is of utmost importance. The roll-out of an investment and state aid plan should not interfere, but rather support, the dialogue with the US (and other partners) and the deepening of our trade and investment partnership.”
Source: Just-Style
Textile makers in Bangladesh have called upon the Government to impose on export of all type of apparel waste including cotton. This is as per media reports, which underlined the leaders of the textile makers’ body of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) underlined the need to ban export of all types of apparel waste as they feel the same could be used as raw material for recycled fibre. Further, they have also reportedly sought withdrawal of 7.5 per cent and 15 per cent VAT respectively on sourcing raw materials from the local market and supplying the recycled fibre to the spinning mills even if BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon wrote to National Board of Revenue while underlining there are around 20 recycle fibre factories across Bangladesh that are producing around 24, 00,000 tonnes of recycled fibre annually by using garment waste as raw material.
Source: Apparel Resources
Biological recycling company Protein Evolution has announced an R&D collaboration with fashion brand Stella McCartney in a move aimed at “trailblazing” the future of sustainable fashion. Protein Evolution’s proprietary process of transforming textile and plastic waste into new products will now focus on mixed textile waste, including polyesters and nylons, addressing one of the greatest problems facing the global textile industry today. Beginning in 2023, Protein Evolution will process leftover polyester and nylon fabric from Stella McCartney’s collections and transform them into good-as-new fibres. From there, Stella McCartney will work with Protein Evolution to see how these new fibres could be used to produce new clothing, footwear, or other infinitely recyclable products. “Our proprietary biological recycling process has the power to enable circularity efforts across the textile industry,” said Scott Stankey, PEI co-founder and chief technology officer. “By partnering with Stella McCartney, we are able to test our platform in a realworld setting and collectively learn how to seamlessly integrate PEI’s technology into existing manufacturing processes. This collaboration will ultimately demonstrate for the first time how complex fabric types, such as nylon and polyester blends, can be fully reused to make new plastic material in a low-energy, cost-effective way.” Stella McCartney was an early investor in Protein Evolution and an advocate for the company’s technology. PEI’s initial fundraising round was led by Collaborative Fund’s climate-focused Collab SOS, which is in partnership with McCartney. “We’re honoured to partner with Stella McCartney on this ambitious and hopefully ground-breaking effort,” said Connor Lynn, PEI co-founder and chief business officer. “Stella’s brand is synonymous with sustainability, circularity and innovation. Together we’re setting out to accomplish something that’s never been done at an industrial scale before, and we’re just getting started.”
Source: Just-Style
