Central Govt likely to make adjustments in the textile sector’s duty structure
PM Modi to hold pre-Budget meeting with economists, sectoral experts
'DGFT should clarify duty payment for destruction of imported goods'
MSMEs to invest Rs 3,000 crore in Lucknow: DM Surya Pal Gangwar
Madhya Pradesh to hold Global Investors Summit on Jan 11, 12; top India Inc leaders to attend
Budget to focus on fiscal rectitude, prudent spending
INTERNATIONAL
US' textiles & apparel imports up 18.96% in Jan-Nov 2022
Turkiye lifts direct air cargo trade ban with Armenia starting Jan 1
Cambodia suspends advance IT till 2025 end for eligible textile firms
Bangla court allows Far Chemical Industries to merge with SF Textile
Germany's manufacturing orders drop by 5.3% MoM in Nov 2022
Indonesian envoy, FPCCI discuss trade
Bangladesh apparel makers hopeful of gaining larger share in US market
RCEP may boost Cambodia-Indonesia trade but limited scope in textiles
7m people laid off in textile industry, associations claim
Global purchasing practices have direct link with non-compliance: BBI
NATIONAL
Darshana Jardosh, Union Minister of State for Textile and Railways said that India’s textile industry should capture the global market and move up the value chain, while making research and marketing imperative, as per a report by Knowledge and News Network (KNN). Speaking at the inauguration of the three-day (January 7-9) Surat International Textile Expo (SITEX), Jardosh highlighted that the central funds for the textile industry, which was Rs 400 crore, have increased to Rs 1,200 crore. The seventh edition of the exhibition saw participation of more than 100 exhibitors, including textile machinery manufacturers from European and Japanese companies. Calling upon the industry’s focus on readymade garments, the minister said there is major potential in these garments and technical textiles. The textile industry should pay attention to it and also become the largest exporter in the silk sector, she suggested. Himanshu Bodawala, SGCCI president while speaking on the occasion said, “Union Textile Minister Piyush Goyal made an appeal to the textile industry people to keep target of exports over 100 billion US dollars till 2030. The SITEX 2023 will be a tool to help to achieve the target.” “The central government had done Free Trade agreement with the US, European, and African countries and even attempts are being made to cover more foreign countries. These agreements will also help to increase the textile exports,” he added. In 2019, the state government had introduced interest waiver and interest subsidy schemes for the textile industry, said Balvantsinh Rajput, Gujarat Industry Minister who attended the event. “The state government is working on all aspects for the upcoming Mega textile park at Navsari under PM Mitra scheme,” he added. SITEX was organised by Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) in association with Southern Gujarat Chamber Trade and Industry Development Centre (SGCTIDC).
Source: Financial express
To develop India’s competitiveness in the global market, the central government may announce changes in the Indian apparel and textile sector’s duty structure in the Union Budget for 2023-24, as per a report by Mint citing a government official. On account of high cotton prices in the country, the textile manufacturers said that they have been asked to reduce production days. Further, the cotton yarn export, an integral raw material in the apparel industry, may register a degrowth of 28-30 per cent in FY2023 due to weakening global demand, the report added. “Our thinking is to avoid inverted [duty] structure in trade and to make sure that if it is necessary to import raw material, the price should not be excessive, which will make our final product uncompetitive,” the report added, citing the official. However, it noted that higher production of cotton in the new season of 2022-23 could ease cotton prices. The inconsistency in the demand and supply in the current fiscal had led to prices of Indian cotton skyrocket to Rs 1 lakh per candy at one point which in turn resulted in a sharp rise in imports. Further, the imports of ‘Cotton Raw & Waste’ spiked 260 per cent to $1.3 billion between April and November 2022, compared to $361.83 million during the year ago period in 2021. “Meanwhile, we are taking steps to boost the production of cotton by implementing newer techniques for efficient farming. Branding activity of Indian varieties of cotton, such as ‘Kasturi cotton’ is also taken up in collaboration with the industry, which will have a long-term positive impact on the industry. Free trade agreements, especially with the EU, UK and Australia, will open up large markets for Indian textile products,” the official told Mint. Expressing concern over the import duty on cotton and seeking exemption on the same, Atul S. Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India, said, “the government has imposed an 11 per cent import duty on cotton from 2 February 2021. This has drastically eroded the competitiveness of our value-added products in the international markets, and our textile industry, which is the second largest employment provider in the country, is now constrained to work with only 50 per cent of its installed capacity.” The association further said that every year India requires around two million bales of extra-long staple (ELS) cotton but produces only around half a million. Therefore, cotton farmers should be given an additional MSP (minimum support price) to boost ELS cotton production, it asked. Further, Chandrima Chatterjee, secretary general of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) said, “We have been seeking removal of duty on cotton …largely on extra-long-staple cotton which India does not have…as cotton prices are under stress. And the import of this does not in any way impact the farmer… so the sensitivity for it is also not there. Raw materials like these are very seasonal, and it is very critical to the value chain. It can be a very calibrated move also.”
Source: Financial express
Ahead of the Union Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet economists and sectoral experts at NITI Aayog on Friday to discuss the state of the economy and measures to accelerate growth which is estimated to drop to 7 per cent, a senior government official said. The official further said that the meeting will also be attended by several Union ministers. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the 2023-24 Budget in Parliament on February 1, 2023 Hit by weakening demand, the Indian economy is expected to grow at a slower rate of 7 per cent in the current fiscal ending March 2023, setting the stage for the country losing the fastest-growing major economy tag. The 7 per cent expansion projected in the first official estimate released by the statistics ministry compares with 8.7 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2021-22. The projections are much lower than government's earlier forecast of 8-8.5 per cent growth but above the Reserve Bank's projection of 6.8 per cent. If the forecast comes true, India's GDP growth will be lower than Saudi Arabia's expected 7.6 per cent expansion. In fact, India's GDP growth in the July-September quarter at 6.3 per cent was lower than the 8.7 per cent growth rate of Saudi Arabia.
Source: Business-Standard
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today called upon Indian diaspora to contribute and shape the contours of New india, an India that will lead to global growth and is destined to become a Vishwaguru. He was addressing the Indian community at an event in New Jersey, US. Applauding Indian Diaspora for their outstanding contribution overseas, Shri Goyal said they are the torch bearers of the India Story. He said that it is a matter of pride that Indians have contributed through India’s rich traditions and culture that helped Indian diaspora lead large corporations and have contributed to the economic well being of several countries. He highlighted that India is truly recognized and respected across the world due to the achievements of the Indian diaspora. He also stressed that the World today looks up to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi as the most popular and tallest leader in the World. Speaking about the G20 Meeting that was held in Bali Indonesia, Shri Goyal said it was the efforts and leadership of PM Modi in the Leader’s summit that brought all the leaders on one page to agree on a collective declaration. Expressing his delight at celebrating Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) with the Indians residing in New Jersey, Shri Goyal said that PBD, that was started by the former Prime Minister of India Late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is a occasion to celebrate all Pravasis and recognize their contribution. He appreciated Indians residing in America for maintaining and keeping the Indian tradition, culture and value system alive. He further added that Indians look up to overseas Indians residing in different countries as ambassadors of India. Appreciating the fact that over 90 out of 1078 founders of about 500 Unicorns in USA are persons of Indian origin, Shri Goyal said the Indian diaspora has clearly demonstrated tremendous capacity through their work across different areas of healthcare, hospitality, journalism, technology, management. Quoting Atal ji, who had said - “Success of every category of our immigrants all over the world testifies the indomitable spirit carried from the Indian soil”, Shri Goyal said this spirit of service represented by the Indian community is celebrated in PDB. Quoting PM Shri Narendra Modi that “mere incremental progress is not enough, today a metamorphosis is needed”, Shri Goyal said transformational reforms that India witnessed over the last few years have made India a world’s 5th largest economy. He expressed confidence that in a few years from now India will be the third largest economy. The Minister said both the US and India are vibrant democracies, both have strong linkages, geopolitical ties, huge interest in Business and economic well being of both countries. Shri Goyal said that Diaspora would continue to act as a living bridge between India and the USA. Speaking about Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav that is being organised to celebrate 75 years of India’s independence, Shri Goyal spoke about the grand success of Har Ghar Tiranga drive across the length and breadth of the country stating that each and every home, every shop, office had a Tiranga unfurled demonstrating India’s unity in diversity. Shri Goyal referred to PM’s clarion call of 5 Prans in his Independence Day address to the Nation last year, Shri Goyal said these Prans reflect the collective aspiration of 1.4 billion Indians, to make India a developed and prosperous nation by 2047. He encouraged everyone to aspire to prioritise these Prans as their mission and become a part of India’s journey to become a developed nation in the next 25 years. Shri Goyal said during covid pandemic India faced all the challenges head on with grit and determination and converted those challenges into opportunities. India today has 6 indigenously developed covid vaccines, ramped up health infrastructure. India also rebounded quickly after the lockdown. He also mentioned that last year India witnessed phenomenal achievement in terms of growth, FDI, exports. He also said that over the last 2 and a half years, the government continued to provide foodgrains to 800 million less privileged Indians ensuring not a single Indian sleeps hungry. Shri Goyal highlighted that today India is the land of opportunity and expressed confidence that the diaspora will continue to contribute to make India a great superpower. India offers huge opportunities due to its large domestic consumption demand, democracy, rule of law, and transparent economy. He urged everyone to take this message to the world that India can be your trusted partner- in supply chains, investment portfolios, in your business.
Shri Goyal concluded by giving few calls for action :
Source: PIB
Q. Para 4.49(g) of the HBP deals with regularisation of bona fide default in cases where Authorisation was issued for import of drugs from unregistered sources with pre-import condition. Para 4.49(g)(i) deals with destruction or re-export of unutilised imported goods. It does not mention duty payment on imported goods. Para 4.49(g)(ii) deals with exports made under free shipping bills under the same authorisation after expiry of the EO period in lieu of destruction of imported duty-free goods. Here, the requirement is payment of customs duty with applicable interest to the Customs Authority on the unutilised quantity imported under Advance Authorisation. Does this mean that where such unutilised goods are destroyed under Para 4.49(g)(i), no duty has to be paid?
A plain reading of Para 4.49 of the HBP conveys the same message. Even logically, where imported goods are destroyed or re-exported, there ought to be no need to pay duties. In fact, in a different context, Section 26A of the Customs Act, 1962 allows refund of customs duty where the imported goods are re-exported or destroyed, or where the title to the imported goods is relinquished. However, as you mention, Para 4.9(g)(ii) does mandate payment of duties on imported goods where the goods manufactured using them are exported outside the EO period. Also, I find that in the standard conditions attached to advance authorisations, condition no. 10 states that import of approved and unapproved drugs made by the authorisation holder under advance authorisation shall be subject to the procedures and conditions specified in several Policy Circulars. One of these, Policy Circular no.18 dated October 30, 2007, says that “the authorisation holder shall also have the option to destroy such inputs or the finished product made out of it, in the presence of Jurisdictional Excise Authority subject to payment of applicable customs duty with interest”. So, practically, it is difficult to escape payment of customs duty and interest even when the goods are destroyed or re-exported. In my opinion, the Director General of Foreign Trade should review the way Para 4.49 of HBP is worded and also the standard conditions attached to advance authorisations, so that exporters are left in no doubt regarding duty payment.
Q. The initial period for realisation of export proceeds is nine months from the date of shipment. Do we have to pay any penalty where no extension in time limit is sought and payment comes through later?
No. Para C.20 of the RBI FED Master Direction no.16/2015-16 dated January 1, 2016 (as amended), on Export of Goods and Services dealing with extension of time limit for realisation of export proceeds makes no mention of penalty. Usually, when payment is realised after the initial nine-month period, banks simply mark off the EDPMS entry and close the matter, even where no extension is sought. In effect, that amounts to grant of extension and regularisation of any default.
Source: Business-Standard
More than 100 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have shown intent to invest up to Rs 3,000 crore in UP capital Lucknow, while for housing and integrated town planning, the authorities have received intent worth Rs 16,000 crore. The fact was revealed by district magistrate Surya Pal Gangwar and LDA vice chairperson Indramani Tripathi ahead of one-day investor workshop-cum-summit for investing in Lucknow. The workshop is likely to be attended by members of Indian industries association Lucknow chapter (IIA) who have committed to invest Rs 1,000 in state capital. The confederation of Indian industry (CII), federation of Indian chambers of commerce and industry ( ), PHDCCI and other MSMEs associations will also attend the workshop. In the workshop, the district magistrate would hold session explaining the government policy including MSME policy 2022, Industrial invest and employment promotion policy 2022, textile policy 2022, Pharmaceutical policy 2018, export promotion policy 2020-25, Uttar Pradesh startup policy 2022, procedural of acquiring land to set up industry, ways to avail subsidy and other things to businessman and tycoons. The DM said, “Efforts will be to promote and develop private industrial parks on minimum 10 acre land where at least 10 units are established in the form of cluster, so that district administration can provide road, power and other amenities. The clusters could be expanded on 500-1000 acre land as well.” At the workshop, CDO Riya Kejriwal will focus on steps taken for industrial promotion in Lucknow, state food processing policy 2017, state dairy farm development and dairy products promotion policy 2022, state bio energy policy 2022, state agriculture export policy 2022 and state poultry development policy 2022. LDA VC Indramani Tripathi will focus on state tourism policy 2022, state warehousing and logistics policy 2018, private investment plan in state medical colleges 2022, and state film policy 2018 at the workshop with industrialists.
Source: Times of India
Madhya Pradesh will hold ‘Invest Madhya Pradesh -Global Investors Summit’ during January 11-12. The state government will host the event in capital Indore. Through the event, the state government wants to woo investors by showcasing the MP’s growth potential, investment climate and infrastructure of the state to the potential investors. 'Invest Madhya Pradesh - Global investors Summit is a flagship biennial investment promotion of event of Madhya Pradesh. Conceptualised in 2007, MP Global Investors Summit offers opportunities for prospective collaborations to investors and the business community world over. “Invest Madhya Pradesh -GIS will be a platform where global leaders, industrialists and experts come together to share their narratives on emerging markets/trends, harness investment potential and become a part of the success story,” according to a statement by MP government. Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan conducted roadshows in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru for inviting investors to the state. The summit will be attended by foreign delegation of more than 65 countries. Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Consulate Generals, Diplomats of more than 20 countries will participate in the event. In the International pavilion, nine partner countries and 14 international Trade Organisations will showcase various aspects of their countries. Through the summit, the state's exporters will get an opportunity to connect with prospective foreign buyers, the statement added. Over 5000 industrialists and industry representatives are expected to attend the summit. Noted industrialists expected to attend the two-day summit include Kumar Mangalam Birla, Noel Tata, Nadir Godrej, Puneet Dalmia and Ajay Piramal. The event will witness participation from leading industrialists from Pharma, IT, automobiles, textiles, garments, chemicals, cement, food processing, logistics, petrochemicals, tourism, renewable energy, services etc.
Source: Times now news
Faced with a tricky task of balancing growth with fiscal consolidation imperatives amid mounting external headwinds, the government will seek to further improve the quality of spending in the Budget for FY24 to stir economic activities, resisting the temptation of resorting to populism ahead of the 2024 general elections. Economists who FE spoke to said, given its elevated multiplier effect, budgetary capital expenditure, despite its limitations, will continue to get a push and be used for growth and job creation. States and CPSEs could be nudged to raise their capex as well. Enhanced public capex is expected to complement private capex, which the government feels is showing early signs of a revival, and help herald investment-led economic growth when both private consumption (internal demand) and exports (external demand) are faltering. A clutch of production-linked incentive schemes in sectors like textiles, electronic components, furniture, toys and leather will also come in handy. Private final consumption expenditure, the principal pillar of the economy, is estimated to shrink 0.2% in the second half of this fiscal. Exports barely rose in November after a 16.7% contraction in October. However, the government is unlikely to announce any mega consumption booster for fears of stoking fresh inflationary pressure and falling foul with the central bank’s rationale for the rate hikes. Moreover, the Centre is conscious of the fact that GDP growth will decelerate in FY24 (most expect it to ease to about 6% from the estimated 7% in FY23) as global economic slowdown accentuates, and any fiscal profligacy will only exacerbate its already-bloated debt and interest burden. It will also complicate the Centre’s efforts to bring down fiscal deficit to the targeted 4.5% of GDP by FY25 from the budgeted 6.4% in FY23. So, within the limited fiscal space, the government could roll out steps to address pain points, including decelerating growth in private consumption and exports, and a potential slowdown in the farm sector expansion. Import duties on dozens of items — from jewellery, certain electronics and electrical products to helicopters — could be raised to stimulate domestic manufacturing and protect investors in the PLI sectors. At the same time, exports will likely be promoted through timely tax remission, enhanced outlay for R&D and marketing, easy imports of raw materials and restructuring of inverted duty structure in certain items. Moreover, given the renewed focus on green financing and climate change in the wake of India’s G20 presidency, sovereign green bonds could make a comeback in FY24, with an issue size larger than the proposed Rs 16,000 crore for this fiscal. Moreover, measures to encourage the reduction of carbon footprint in the economy could also features in the Budget. Pronab Sen, former chief statistician and chairman of the National Statistical Commission, told FE: “I don’t think the government has adequate space to do much, given the need to reduce fiscal deficit. It has increased public capex quite a lot. That could continue. It may bury a few programmes and launch some new ones but mostly it could just tinker around a lot of schemes.” N R Bhanumurthy, vice-chancellor of Bengaluru’s BASE University, said the Centre may raise the amount of long-term, interest-free loans to states for capex in FY24 from Rs 1 trillion this fiscal. He expects the government to roll out measures to address potential risks to the farm sector, including likely El Nino effect (which causes drought), migration of labourers from agriculture to industrial sectors (as the economy expands), less crop area and rising credit issues. So, the Budget may seek to tackle any potential land, labour and capital issues in the farm sector. This means the government may boost allocation for programmes like NREGA and raise the farm lending target substantially. Some income-generating, direct benefit schemes for the rural population could also be extended or see a hike in outlay, Bhanumurthy anticipated. The farm and allied sector grew in the range of 3% to 5.5% since FY20, decent performance by its standards. The farm lending target was raised to Rs 18 trillion for FY23 from Rs 16.5 trillion a year ago. “Moreover, the government could raise basic customs duties on a range of products to help domestic manufacturers. It may also take steps to both protect and promote exports,” Bhanumurthy added. Aditi Nayar, chief economist at Icra, said: “In the backdrop of a global growth slowdown and geopolitical uncertainty, we anticipate that the FY24 Budget will focus on supporting the domestic economic growth, with a continued impetus towards infrastructure and capacity development.” She expects a double-digit hike in capex to Rs 8.5-9 trillion. Nayar also expects continued support towards the rural economy and the possibility of a “big-bang feel-good social sector scheme, which could be funded by the cushion provided by lower expenditure on subsidies”. The government will also seek to curtail the pace of rise in revenue spending, as it expects a moderation in its fertiliser subsidy next fiscal in the wake of an anticipated drop in oil prices. The government will likely trim its deficit target for FY24 to 5.8% or thereabout, against the budgeted 6.4% for this fiscal. The Centre was forced to push up spending substantially in two of the three years through FY23 to soften the blow of the pandemic and the Ukraine war. Total expenditure climbed from Rs 26.86 trillion in FY20 to Rs 37.94 trillion in FY22 and may further swell to about Rs 42 trillion in FY23, sources recently told FE. Despite the rise in revenue spending, the government hasn’t diluted focus on capex. In fact, in the aftermath of the pandemic, the central government raised its budgetary capex by as much as 27% on year in FY21, 39% (albeit including equity infusion into Air India Assets Holding) in FY22 and 27% (budgeted) in FY23 — way above the increase in overall Budget size of the relevant years.
Source: Financial express
INTERNATIONAL
US’ imports of textiles and apparel have continued to grow in value terms and rose by 18.96 per cent to $123.463 billion in the first eleven months of 2022, compared to $103.786 billion in the same period of 2021. With 25.65 per cent share, China continues to be the largest supplier of textiles and clothing to the US, followed by Vietnam with 14.69 per cent. Within textiles, apparel constituted the bulk of the imports by the US in January-November 2022, amounting to $93.394 billion, while non-apparel imports accounted for $30.068 billion, according to the latest Major Shippers Report, released by the US department of commerce. Segment-wise, among the top ten apparel suppliers to the US, imports from Nicaragua and Bangladesh shot up by 45 per cent and 42.48 per cent year-on-year, respectively. Imports from Indonesia and India too grew by 39.83 per cent and 39.49 per cent, respectively. Additionally, imports from Cambodia, which is one of the top 10 suppliers to the US, registered a growth of 30.92 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year. In the non-apparel category, among the top ten suppliers, imports from Cambodia soared by 53.23 per cent year-on-year. Imports from Vietnam and Italy too climbed by 33.17 per cent and 16.25 per cent, respectively. On the other hand, imports from Turkiye dipped by 10.15 per cent. Of the total US textile and apparel imports of $123.463 billion during the period under review, man-made fibre products accounted for $63.625 billion, while cotton products were worth $53.167 billion, followed by $3.103 billion worth of wool products, and $2.565 billion worth of products from silk and vegetable fibres. In 2020, the US textile and apparel imports had decreased sharply to $89.596 billion compared to imports of $111.033 billion in 2019, mainly on account of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But imports rebounded again in 2021 to reach $113.938 billion, thus surpassing the pre-pandemic level.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Turkiye has lifted the ban on direct air cargo transport to Armenia effective January 1, according to the former’s foreign ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan. “…Conducting Armenia-Turkey direct air cargo transport was one of the agreements reached at the July 1, 2022, meeting of the special representatives [for normalisation],” Hunanyan said. “We expect that the other agreements such as ensuring the possibility of land border crossing for citizens of third countries will also be swiftly realised,” he added. The Turkish trade ministry had informed its exporters associations of the decision, a news agency reported.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The Cambodian government recently extended a suspension of advance income tax (IT) until the end of 2025 for eligible textile-related enterprises, several of which have been affected by a drop in orders due to global economic headwinds induced by the Ukraine-Russia war. The drop in export orders is expected to continue for the whole of this year.The decision follows a request by the Textile, Apparel, Footwear and Travel Goods Association in Cambodia (TAFTAC) last October to the ministry of economy and finance to extend the suspension of advance income tax of enterprises in the textile and garment industry, according to Cambodian media reports. At least some of the eligibility criteria are based on scale and scope of operations, sustainability and worker support, the ministry noted. It listed textiles, garments, bags, footwear and hats as possible items that can be produced by entities entitled to the tax break.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The Bangladesh high court recently allowed publicly listed textile-based chemical firm Far Chemical Industries Limited to merge with the non-listed SF Textile Industries Limited. The new entity will retain the name of the former. All existing equity shares of both the companies will be cancelled, according to a stock exchange filing by Far Chemical. SF Textile is a fully export-oriented yarn-spinning company that has been in operation since 2016. Its production capacity is 42,250 spindles of cotton, viscose, and CVC yarn. All assets and liabilities of SF Textile will be transferred to Far Chemical, whose shareholders will get a new share of post-merger Far Chemical against their three shares held in the company before. On the other hand, SF Textile's existing shareholders will get the shares at a 1:1.96 ratio. The total number of shares of the merged Far Chemical Industries will be 1,530,973,330, and its paid-up capital will be Tk153 crore. The new entity's authorised capital will be Tk501 crore, Tk300 crore of pre-merger Far Chemical plus Tk201 crore of SF Textile, as per the high court order, according to Bangla media reports. In November 2021, Far Chemical announced its amalgamation with SF Textile and the shifting of its factory from Cumilla export processing zone to its premises at Rupganj, Narayanganj. Far Chemical Industries is an entity under the Far Group established in 1993.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Germany’s real (price adjusted) new orders in manufacturing decreased by 5.3 per cent month-on-month (MoM) on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis in November 2022, as per the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Excluding large-scale orders, there was a decline of 2.9 per cent. New orders fell by a calendar adjusted 11.0 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in November 2022—reaching their lowest level since July 2020. Foreign orders went down by 8.1 per cent, which is crucial for the current fall of new orders in manufacturing. Thereby, new orders from the euro area decreased by 10.3 per cent and new orders from other countries sank by 6.8 per cent compared to October 2022. At the same time, domestic orders fell by 1.1 per cent, according to the provisional results of the Destatis. The producers of capital goods recorded a sharp decrease of 8.5 per cent (excluding large-scale orders, -3.7 per cent). Producers of intermediate goods saw a fall in new orders of 0.9 per cent. Regarding consumer goods, orders went down by 0.7 per cent. After revision of the provisional results, new orders increased by 0.6 per cent in October 2022 on September 2022 (provisional figure: +0.8 per cent). According to provisional figures, real turnover in manufacturing (seasonally and calendar adjusted) increased by 2.1 per cent in November 2022 compared with October 2022. As regards October 2022, revision of the preliminary figures resulted in a decline of 0.4 per cent compared with September 2022 (provisional figure: -0.2 per cent). Compared with November 2021, turnover was a calendar adjusted 3.5 per cent higher.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The Ambassador of Indonesia, Adam M. Tugio paid a visit to the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) office and had a detailed discussion with Senior Vice President FPCCI Amin Ullah Baiq to further intensify two-way trade activities for expanding bilateral economic relations, says a press release. During the discussion, Ambassador Tugio underlined that business communities of both the countries need to explore sectors that can complement each other. Medical equipment, spices, garment and textile could become the important trade commodities together with traditional herbal medicines, which have a great potential as they are quite popular on both sides, he added. The envoy also underscored the importance of utilising the current Indonesia-Pakistan Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) as well as by working together to move towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Highlighting the importance of investment in ASEAN region for expansion of trade ties, the Ambassador said that Indonesia could provide opportunities for Pakistan as gateway to enter the ASEAN market. He emphasised the business community of Pakistan to participate in the upcoming “1st Pakistan - ASEAN Trade Development Conference & Pakistan Single Country Exhibition” in Jakarta, Indonesia and to interact with the business community of Indonesia and ASEAN for establishing active trade connections and linkages. Talking about future prospects of trade, Ambassador Tugio mentioned that Indonesia is aware of investment opportunities in Pakistan. In this regard, a number of Indonesian investors are in the process of signing cooperation agreements with companies in Sialkot and assured that the Embassy is ready to facilitate business to business meetings between the two sides. During the meeting, Senior Vice President of FPCCI, Amin Ullah Baiq expressed FPCCI’s commitment to strengthen cooperation including exchange of delegation as well as holding business meetings with the Indonesian counterparts.
Source: The news
Bangladesh apparel manufacturers expressed hopes Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the US would gain more market share in the coming days thanks to product diversification even if shipments of ‘Made in Bangladesh’ apparels to the US crossed US $ 9 billion in January-November of 2022. Media reports claimed this citing the data from the US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel, as per which, garments import by USA from Bangladesh in the 11 months of 2022 grew by 42.48 per cent to US $ 9.06 billion compared to what was US $ 6.36 billion in the corresponding period of 2021. Meanwhile, speaking to the media, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan maintained, “It’s a good sign that Bangladesh’s share is increasing in the US market,” even as he expressed hopes this trend will continue as apparel makers in Bangladesh have been able to gain confidence of the western buyers.
Source: Apparel resources
Cambodia and Indonesia expect to increase their bilateral trade to $1 billion this year as the latter becomes the latest member to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). As far as the textile sector is concerned, both countries are competitors in the world market and their bilateral trade of apparel, fabrics and yarn was limited and need based. Cambodia’s apparel exports to Indonesia were worth $22.292 million in 2019, which fell to $14.156 million in 2020 due to the pandemic. The shipment increased to $16.144 million in 2021 and amounted to $14.781 million in the first ten months of 2022, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro. The exports in the full year 2022 may surpass the figures of 2021 but may not reach the pre-COVID levels. Cambodia’s apparel imports from Indonesia were negligible. Cambodia’s home textile exports to Indonesia jumped to $2.086 million in 2020 but ended up being negligible in 2021 and 2022. Its import of home textiles from Indonesia was also insignificant, as per TexPro. Coming to the textile trade, Cambodia’s export of fabric to Indonesia increased in the recent years, reaching $9.998 million in the first ten months of 2022 against $7.329 million in 2021 and $2.575 million in 2020. Fabric imports from Indonesia to Cambodia were at $11.308 million in 2020 but declined to $7.864 million in 2021 before falling further to $3.976 million in the first ten months of 2022. Yarn imports from Indonesia to Cambodia noticed a downtrend in the recent years.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
About seven million people in textile and textile-related industries have been laid off due to dwindling exports and the government’s failure to end the economic crisis, representatives of the value-added textile associations said in a joint press conference on Monday. The current government does not have any policy to end the various crises affecting textile producers and exporters, they said. The industry is on the verge of closure as many units have already closed down. Several others are planning to either shut down or shift their production abroad. Textile factories are being deprived of necessary raw material and accessories. Letters of credit worth as low as $5,000 are being refused, which has hit in-progress export orders of $500,000 per consignment. It’s causing severe disruption and production delays and has led to the cancellation of export orders. Demurrage on various consignments has increased the cost too much, they said. Despite such a difficult situation, the government is importing expensive luxury cars like BMWs for cabinet members. These imports will have no contribution to foreign exchange earnings. They won’t Value-added textile makers decry import curbs on dollar-earning export sector generate any taxes for the national exchequer and create zero employment, they said. It is ironic that exporters who are bringing dollars into the country have been placed third on the priority list for the import of raw materials, they said. Essential items like wheat and edible oil are the first on the priority list while energy-related imports are second. They complained that the dollar-earning export sector is placed below dollar-spending sectors on the priority list, which shows the poor judgment of policymakers. “How could you spend foreign exchange on essential items and energy if you don’t earn it first?” The government performance in the last nine months is poor, they said. Two finance ministers during this period have failed to resolve the ongoing economic crisis, they added. Neither the prime minister nor the finance minister have bothered to set aside some time to meet the exporters, they noted. The industrial sector cannot operate under extreme financial stress as the alarm bells for sovereign default have been continuously ringing while the government’s finance and economic team appears to be asleep at the wheel, they said. The country is in the middle of a dollar crisis and the economy is facing an emergency-like situation. The current shortage of dollars can be overcome only by promoting exports. The joint press conference of was addressed by Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, coordinator of the Value-Added Textile Forum, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMEA) Chairman Muhammad Babar Khan, PHMEA Zonal Chairman Khizer Mehboob, Pakistan Knitwear and Sweater Exporters Association Chairman Rafiq Godil and Pakistan Cloth Merchants Association former chairman Abdul Samad among others.
Source: The Dawn.com
The Better Buying Institute (BBI) has published a special report that analyses the available research, and confirms a link between purchasing practices and non-compliance and human rights violations. The findings reveal that buyer purchasing practices have the most known impacts on non-compliances related to working time, workers’ contracts, and workers’ compensation. The German Act on Corporate Due Diligence, which came into force on January 1, outlines companies’ obligations for engaging with known human rights risks in their supply chains, requiring companies to identify risks to workers and take preventive measures to ensure their purchasing practices minimise these risks, according to a BBI report authored by Dr. Marsha Dickson. The report can inform global brands and retailers’ supply chain due diligence efforts, guiding them where to look in their own supply chains for possible risks, and supporting them to comply with the requirements of the new Act. The institute’s supplier surveys are designed to enable subscribers to identify, manage, and address risks, and focus on the specific purchasing practices categories which are known to have the greatest impact on suppliers’ ability to operate sustainably, and meet their buyers’ codes of conduct.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
