India's poly spun yarn prices down amid weak buying
Budget 2023: Textile industry angles for changes in import-export levies
PHDCCI's international conference on technical textiles on Feb 15
Export boosters soon: Few steps likely in Union Budget
India to be $26 trillion economy by 2047-48: EY
Which sectors may rally this budget? How markets trend in pre and post-budget, a look in past
Focus on inverted duty structure in textiles and aluminium sectors
INTERNATIONAL
China's supply-chain logistics recover swiftly post reopening: Fitch
CO2-to-polyester converter raises €22 million
Rod to get costlier by Tk1,200 to Tk3,500 a tonne
NATIONAL
Polyester yarn prices in India eased down amid subdued demand today, while polyester-cotton yarn remained steady because of weaker sentiments. According to the traders, the market witnessed optimism last week, but it turned bearish due to limited buying from the industry. Prices of cotton increased in north India as mills turned up to buy. Polyester yarn prices did not find support as the market scenario was gloomy due to the absence of regular buying. “Garment exports have not picked up yet. Not only India, but other major exporting countries were also struggling for export demand,” a trader from Ludhiana market told Fibre2Fashion. In Ludhiana, Poly spun yarn prices came down by ₹2-4 per kg. 30 count PC combed yarn (48/52) was sold at ₹210-217 per kg (GST inclusive), 30 count PC carded yarn (65/35) was priced at ₹185-190 per kg, 30 count poly spun yarn was sold at ₹152-157 per kg and recycled polyester fibre (PET bottle fibre) was noted at ₹80-83 per kg, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro. In Surat, Gujarat, poly spun yarn prices eased down by ₹2-3 per kg. Demand from the downstream industry could not sustain even after better indication last week. 30 counts poly spun yarn was traded at ₹135-136 per kg (GST extra) and 40 counts poly spun yarn at ₹150-152 per kg. Reliance Industries Limited has further decreased the prices of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and MELT for the current week. But monoethylene glycol (MEG) was kept unchanged. On Friday, RIL had fixed the prices as: PTA at ₹77.50 per kg (-0.20), MEG at ₹55.90 per kg (N/C) and MELT at ₹84.98 (-0.17) per kg. RIL decreased the prices of PSF by ₹1 to ₹102 per kg for the current fortnight. North Indian cotton prices strengthened after mills increased buying. Cotton arrival improved in mandis because of regular sale by farmers. According to local traders, three and half months into the current season, farmers have realised that cotton prices are unlikely to touch last year’s rates. Cotton arrival increased to 15,000 bales of 170 kg. The natural fibre was traded at ₹6,350-6,450 per maund in Punjab, ₹6,300-6,450 per maund in Haryana and ₹6,500-6,575 per maund in upper Rajasthan, and at ₹61,000-63,000 per candy of 356 kg in lower Rajasthan.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The textiles sector is among those hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. And just when the production and exports began recovering, the ongoing RussiaUkraine war and its spillovers of high inflation and monetary tightening knocked down the sector as developed markets slowed. Issues and concerns Exports have slowed amid downturn in global demand Domestic demand also tepid amid a rural sluggishness Industry expects cotton shortage Rs 10,683 cr Production Linked Incentive scheme in place Man Made Fibre (MMF), garments, technical textiles focus areas 7 PM Mega Integrated Textile Region & Apparel Parks planned MITRA scheme providing complete value chain support for textile $100 billion export target by 2030. Key demands from Budget Incentive scheme for textile value chain Cotton Price Stabilisation Fund Scheme to push exports Replace Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme with PLI type plan Issue claims for 40,000 pending cases in ATUFS and Tax expectations Remove 11% import duty on cotton, and cotton waste to remain competitive against Bangladesh Retain 5% import duty on all types of textile machinery; 5% import duty till March 31, 2023, 7.5% thereafter Increase basic customs duty on imports of MMF Yarn to 10% from 5% Restore duty-free imports facility against madeups exports Cover cotton yarn exports under 3% interest equalization scheme
Source: Economic times
With prime focus to capture the potential of Indian technical textiles and position the country as a global leader in the field, the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) is going to organise the ‘International Conference on Technical Textile and B2B Exhibition, on February 15, 2023. Fibre2Fashion will be the Knowledge Partner for the conference. As a Knowledge Partner, Fibre2Fashion’s market research experts will present a knowledge paper on ‘Technical Textiles – Market Outlook & Opportunities’ at the conference. Under the theme ‘Market Growth, Opportunities, and Challenges in Technical Textiles’, the conference will discuss exploring new opportunities in the domestic and international textile market, research and innovations in technical textiles, challenges in R&D and way forward, and government schemes and policies for the development of technical textile manufacturing in India. The theme for one of the sessions will be ‘Functional textile: Way forward.’ It will include panel discussion on functional textile market international market opportunities, challenges to manufacturing functional textile, promoting exports and investment in functional textile, and developing high quality sportswear for the Indian market. ‘Technological innovation in Meditech’ will also be discussed in another session which will deliberate on evolution of the meditech industry, post-pandemic global innovations in meditech, strong international connections among meditech industries, and impact of healthcare awareness amongst consumers on meditech industry. The purpose of the conference is to enable and initiate a multi-stakeholder group which improves domestic manufacturing and evolving commercial industry, which fosters technical textiles. The conference aims to valorise cross-border trade and technology sharing to add value in the technical textile industry and share information on the new application areas of technical textiles. The conference will amplify and execute government policies by promoting B2B interaction and negotiation in technical textiles. It will also suggest interventions in the technical textile sector for increasing domestic manufacturing thereby decreasing the import burdens while looking at the export potential. “This conference and B2B exhibition are to bring leaders in manufacturing to participate and search for ways to get better in technical textiles,” the organiser said. The conference assumes significance in view of the Indian government’s policy measures to boost the country’s technical textiles industry. Last year, the ministry of textiles established the National Technical Textile Mission (NTTM) which aims to have an average growth rate of 15-20 per cent to increase the domestic market size of technical textiles to $40-50 billion by the year 2024. Several high-level officials from the ministry of textiles are likely to participate in the conference and share their views to scale up the technical textiles sector. As a forward looking, proactive and dynamic pan-India apex organisation, PHDCCI has been working as a catalyst for the promotion of Indian industry, trade and entrepreneurship for the past 117 years. It works at the grassroots level with strong national and international linkages for propelling progress, harmony and integrated development of the Indian economy. At the global level, it has been working with the Embassies and High Commissions India and overseas to bring in the international best practices and business opportunities.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The government has decided to initiate a raft of steps, including higher outlay for its flagship tax remission scheme for FY24 and assistance to develop various districts as export hubs, to help reverse the recent deceleration in outbound merchandise shipments. Given the elevated interest rates, it is also weighing a proposal to increase the interest subsidy from up to 3% to 5% for pre-and-post shipment credit for MSME exporters manufacturing stipulated products. Some of the proposals could feature in the FY24 Budget announcements. Exporters are set to gain, as the government has acknowledged “anomalies” in case of 432 products under the so-called Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme. Consequently, the effective refunds will rise for most of these exported products under the RoDTEP programme. The government will likely raise allocation for its flagship tax remission scheme for exporters by 10% in the Budget for FY24 from the revised estimate for the current fiscal, official sources told FE. It had budgeted Rs 13,699 crore for the RoDTEP scheme for FY23 and the revised estimate is expected to be around this level. Under the scheme, eligible exporters used to get refunds in the range of 0.3% to 4.3% of the freight-on-board value of the exported products. The latest anomalies were identified by a government panel under former commerce secretary GK Pillai. Similarly, a composition fee — which is slapped on traders who fail to honour their re-export commitment under the advance authorisation scheme (AAS) within a stipulated period and seek the renewal of permit — is being slashed. For instance, the composition fees in such cases used to be as much as 0.5% of the freight-on-board value of unfulfilled export obligation. However, under the new regime, the fee will be fixed at flat rates of Rs 10,000-Rs 30,000, depending on the value of the unfulfilled commitment. Under the AAS, exporters get to import inputs at zero duty after undertaking obligation to re-export finished products within a stipulated period. The commerce ministry has also floated a Cabinet note on a new scheme to develop select districts across the country as export hubs. Under the scheme, the Centre could extend a total assistance of Rs 3,000-5,000 crore to not just states but also eligible private players for creating export infrastructure in select districts. It is also considering extending greater outlay for the marketing of exported products overseas. The set of proposals comes at a time when India’s merchandise exports are faltering due to a demand slowdown in top markets like the US and the EU. Goods exports shrank 12.2% on year in December, having witnessed a marginal rise in November and a steep 16.7% contraction in October, which was the first drop in 20 months and the worst since May 2020. So, any support to boost exports of goods and services, which account for over a fifth of the country’s GDP, assumes significance at this juncture. Already, the government has stepped up efforts to ensure greater geographical diversification of exports to beat slowdown in its traditional key markets. It has also started brainstorming sessions with industry to expand the country’s product basket to cater to a wider buyer base. The ministry has also started in-depth, product-wise analysis to identify export opportunities in markets beyond the traditional ones.
Source: Financial express
India’s GDP will be $26 trillion in market exchange rate terms by 2047-48, and India’s per capita income would exceed $15,000, putting it among the ranks of developed economies according to EY. In a report released on Wednesday, EY noted that even while maintaining a stable yet modest growth rate of 6% per annum, India would become a $26 trillion economy, in nominal terms by 2047-48 with the per capita income at six times the current levels. The recent accelerated pace of economic reforms of the last few years in the domains of fiscal, digital, physical infrastructure and social inclusion, has positioned India for higher and sustainable growth, the report noted. This, together with the largest, broadest and deepest labour pool, with a relatively inelastic labour market, provides a long runway for improving productivity at a pace faster than growth in wages. This enhances the global competitiveness of enterprises doing business in India. Among the key enablers is the services exports which have grown by 14% over the last two decades to $254.5 billion in 2021-22. A large part of services exports is from the Information. Digitalisation too is an enabler. The large telecom subscriber base of 1.2 billion and 837m internet users combined with government’s focus on building digital platforms have laid foundations for a digital economy, enabled the development of a robust digital payment ecosystem and strengthened governance. N Chandrasekaran, Chairman Tata Sons, wrote in the foreword, “our technology strength means that we are well placed to continue reimagining our national blueprint using digital. If we use technology in the right way — and put our people first — it can fix structural problems that have held us back for decades,”. Chandrasekaran added that it wasn’t merely about domestic development. “It is about becoming a global hub for technology that will drive exports, fuel growth and raise incomes even faster,” he observed. India, he noted, has already led the world in reimagining ways of work once before, during the transition from hardware to software. As traditional ways of doing things continue to be transformed by the accelerating digital revolution, we can lead again.
Source: Financial express
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has notified the amended rules for calculation of Composition Fee for extending Export Obligation under Advance Authorization Scheme by amending Para 4.42 of Handbook of Procedures (2015-20) vide Public Notice No.52/2015-20 dated 18th January, 2023. The simplification of calculations for Composition Fee helps in automation and faster service delivery by making the process more efficient and easier to understand. The previous formula for Composition Fee was convoluted and difficult to understand, which made the process more tedious and strenuous for exporters. However, the revised Composition Fee formula, which is based on a specific rate for different levels of the 'CIF value of Authorisation', is more straightforward and easier to calculate. This will help automate the entire Export Obligation extension process with minimal human intervention, further eliminating the risk of errors and misconceptions. Automation of the process will reduce the need for manual calculations and paperwork, which will ultimately lead to faster service delivery. This will be beneficial to exporters as it will reduce the time and effort required to complete the Export Obligation extension process. Additionally, automation will also reduce the risk of errors and misconceptions, which will further improve the efficiency of the process. The process of automation is being taken up under the IT-revamp project of DGFT and shall be notified separately. Simplification of calculations also helps in the "Ease of Doing Business" objective by reducing the complexity and making the process more straightforward for exporters. By simplifying the calculations for Composition Fee, the DGFT is working towards this objective by making the process more efficient and easier to understand for exporters. This will ultimately lead to trade facilitation and ease of doing business.
Source: PIB
A budget expectation survey by credit rating agency CareEdge on Wednesday comprising 364 respondents from key industries suggested measures to support merchandise exporters. Developing export logistic infrastructure was the key expectation of 71 per cent of respondents followed by easy credit availability suggested by 58 per cent. Support in overseas marketing was also suggested by 34 per cent of respondents. Other measures suggested were credit subsidy for MSMEs, tax reliefs, expansion of the Production Linked Incentive scheme etc. The suggestions for the upcoming union budget come in the backdrop of challenges faced by exporters including reduced demand in key markets because of fear pertaining to the looming global recession and high inflation. Importantly, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in March last year RBI had announced the extension of the interest equalisation scheme for pre and post shipment rupee credit for MSME exporters till March 2024 from September 2021 in order to boost shipments. Moreover, the interest equalisation rates were also revised to 3 per cent for MSME manufacturer exporters and 2 per cent for manufacturer exporters and merchant exporters. Industry-wise, auto and auto components, capital goods, and textiles have sought measures to boost exports. For instance, the auto sector sought an increase in the all-industry rate of duty drawback and rate of Remission of Duties and Taxes on exported products to enhance the exports. The tax refund rates range between 0.5 per cent and 4.3 per cent for various sectors. On the other hand, the textile sector asked for more foreign trade agreements and a reduction in tariffs for encouraging export penetration globally, the survey report said. Currently, India has FTAs with 13 countries including the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) that came into force on December 29, 2022. The share of MSME exports in India’s total exports was 42.67 per cent as of August 2022 in the current fiscal, nearing the FY22 share of 45.03 per cent, according to the data shared by the minister of state for MSMEs Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma in a written reply in Rajya Sabha in December. India’s exports including merchandise as well as services for the April-August 2022 period was estimated at $311.82 billion, up 19.72 per cent over the same period last year, according to a commerce ministry statement. Meanwhile, MSME exports had increased by 21.8 per cent from $155.9 billion during FY20 and 31.9 per cent from $143.9 billion during FY21 to $190 billion during FY22.
Source: Financial express
Union Budget 2023-24 is less than two weeks away and expectations are of a populist budget ahead of elections next year. This budget is expected to focus on long-term growth, continuing on the path of fiscal consolidation, further strengthening the financial system, and lowering the current account deficit. Stock market investors can expect some specific sectors such as infra, energy, and defence among others to be the theme for the budget. However, past data of nearly a decade indicates that markets rally in anticipation of the budget but enter into a bearish tone after the announcement. Although, majority of the time, markets have reacted positively to pre and post-budget announcements. Will this trend continue even in Budget 2023? And which sectors are likely to benefit this time? Explaining markets performance in prepare & post Budget trade in the last 5 or10 years, Divam Sharma, Founder at Green Portfolio a Sebi registered portfolio management service provider, said, "it has mostly been buy the rumour and sell the news for many sectors that get directly impacted like PSUs, PSBs and Railways players." Sharma added, "We have seen several sectors rallying by double digits in anticipation of the budget. Looking past at the last 5 years, markets rally in anticipation of the budget and underperform for the next one month. We have observed this trend four times out of the last five years." In the last five years, on average, Nifty 50 has yielded a negative 2.8% one-month return post the announcement. Meanwhile, as per Sonam Srivastava, Founder at Wright Research, SEBI Registered Investment Advisor, the market has fallen five times, while gaining six times in the month ahead of the Union Budget in last 11 years and has oscillated between -3 and +3%. The budget day has been positive most of the times and the post budget has been more positive than negative. According to Sharma, this budget should be a populist budget with elections coming next year. He said, "Last 4 years, we have not seen income tax slab sops for the masses, we can expect some sops this time Pre-Election year budget sops would also include spending for the rural economy, which has been facing stress over the last 1 year, populist welfare schemes, and spending on health infrastructure." This time as well focus is expected to remain on growth. He added, "Manufacturing as a trend has been successful through various policies including PLI, this should see further expansion." Also, Sharma said, "as we expect a CAPEX cycle over the coming years and as the Government wants to attract manufacturing CAPEX, Industrial parks, sops for manufacturers, spend on infrastructure building should be on radar. Renewables will be on radar, to reduce the cost of energy to GDP, ensuring energy security and reducing the import burden. This will be pushed through solar, public transport, EV related sops announcements." Whereas, this year, Srivastava added, “we see a pre budget buying in stocks that might be favoured by the budget but on the broader market level, the volatility could persist. The announcements in the budget could be crucial - if the budget is too populist it might hurt sentiments while a more cautious budget might be more welcome." Meanwhile, Anil Rego, founder, and fund manager at Right Horizons believes that the upcoming budget is the final budget before pre-elections in 2024, so the focus will be primarily on growth through improving infrastructure, manufacturing and exports, and tax benefits for investors and taxpayers. Lastly, Sameer Kaul – MD & CEO of TrustPlutus said, "Market investors would hope for a progressive non-populist, capex-focused and fiscally prudent budget, which would be well accepted by market participants especially foreign investors. Hence, expectations are for a well thought out middle of the road approach towards balancing the books in FY’24."
Which sectors are expected to benefit the most from the budget 2023?
Market investors can expect the Government to support CAPEX, infrastructure creation, and import substitution to ensure a high GDP growth over the coming years, as per Green Portfolio founder. In regards to energy and power sector, the world has seen the importance of energy security and keeping low energy costs as a percentage of GDP. Companies offering distribution, generation, equipments, and EPC-related services will benefit from developments in infrastructure. Also, allied sectors including EPC, Cement, and Steel will benefit considering the push for infrastructure creation by the Government. Further, manufacturing (PLI) related sectors such as Textile, Pharma, Automobile, and Chemicals could benefit from a further thrust by the government. Also, defence manufacturing sector will be on the radar. Sharma expects government to push local manufacturing and exports of Defence equipment's. On the defence sector, Ashwin Patil, Senior Research Analyst at LKP Securities said, "Defence sector, as every year before the budget has a wishlist out of which the important one is outlay for emphasis on indigenisation, which means emphasis on local production. The GOI definitely does a lot for the sector every year, also on the R&D side where they plan to spend a substantial amount. Therefore even this year we expect them to announce a significant budget for the space and research, electronic equipments, and advancement on further localization." Adding Patil said, "on PLI schemes, we would say that the GOI is fostering healthy competition in the defence space through launching various PLI schemes. This would surely improve the quality of defence products and services and further enhance the defence sector. Also, the country needs to improve on their space research, due to which we believe that further PLI schemes will be more focused on Space research." Furthermore, Sharma has also factored further push for the Banking sector through efforts towards financial inclusion, rupee-denominated trades, and focus on tech implementation. Notably, the government is already working on a single tech application for all PSBs for lending. Hence, as per Green Portfolio's founder, energy, defence and infrastructure will be the theme for the budget as the focus will be on long-term growth, financial strength, and reducing current account deficit relative to GDP. Realty sector may also witness a boost. According to Rego, there is an expectation for the Government to increase tax slabs from the existing levels. If that happens, it will leave more disposable income in the hands of consumers, which will boost the growth of the economy. Also, there is an expectation of additional incentives to increase affordable housing. Currently, homebuyers can claim a deduction of up to ₹2 lakhs on the annual interest paid on a housing loan. In the upcoming union budget, home buyers expect this limit to be increased up to ₹ five lakhs. In Srivastava's view, the focus will also be to improve ease of doing business. The Budget is expected to continue the focus on domestic manufacturing revival and PLI schemes for labour-intensive sectors are likely. Most importantly instead of going populist the Budget expected to continue to focus on post-Covid fiscal consolidation and focus on divestment and reduction of subsidies. In regards to the tax structure for capital gains is expected to be discussed in the upcoming union budget. Rego said, "this might help Indian taxpayers to have more disposable income in hand, which can be mobilised into investments and utilised efficiently." Rego also highlighted expectations of tax exemption on the interest paid on personal loans and education loans which account for a large share of the credit basket. Burdened by inflation and increasing rates this relief will nurture credit growth and spending. Food and fertiliser subsidies account for about one-eighth of India's total budget spending of 39.45 trillion rupees this year, and to control the fiscal deficit that inflated during the pandemic the government might look to cut down. The Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles is seeking an extension of EV subsidies under the FAME-II scheme and the inclusion of light to heavy commercial vehicles to promote electric mobility.
Will the same sectors rally in Budget 2023 like the previous one?
Last budget, sectors like banks, capital goods, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, IT, real estate, and metals did well. This Budget 2023, Sharma expects banks, capital goods, and Pharma to rally post the budget announcement. Some favourable benefits will accrue to real estate if tax deduction benefits can be announced. Metals infra and energy-related stocks could rally not because of the announcement particularly, but owing to the Chinese reopening and factors influencing the global economy. However, Green Portfolio does not expect the IT sector to rally. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce Budget 2023 on February 1st this year. From the previous Budget to date, Sensex and Nifty 50 have gained between 2.5-3%.
Source: live mint
The government is likely to address the inverted duty structure in textiles and aluminium sectors, which would boost domestic production and exports amidst the global slowdown. In an inverted duty regime, the duty on components is higher than the duty on the final product — making the locally made product uncompetitive. The government is closely examining the inverted duty structure in textiles, which is the second largest employer in the country after agriculture. In textiles, the finished item is taxed at 5 per cent. But man-made fibres are taxed 18 per cent and yarn 12 per cent. “Our effort is to avoid inverted (duty) structure and make sure that if it is necessary to import raw material, the price should not be excessive, which will make our final product uncompetitive,” a senior official said. Textiles contribute more than 2 per cent to GDP and more than 12 per cent to the manufacturing sector’s GDP. “The value at which processed fabric is being imported is abysmally low and doesn’t justify the rationale of the engaging in manufacturing activities in India. We request to review the import of fabric and institute some policies to discourage this import, so that domestic production of fabric may increase, which in turn shall create demand for textile raw material also,” industry chamber Assocham said. Ajay Hans, partner, Dhruva Advisors, said “the textile industry is also facing an inverted duty structure issue. Despite the government’s efforts to resolve it, the measures taken were rolled back. To attract investment and enhance export competitiveness, resolving these inconsistencies in the Budget 2023 is essential”. The domestic aluminium industry is poised to grow exponentially to 10 million tonnes (mt) capacity from 4mt now. An investment of nearly Rs 4 lakh crore is required to scale up production capacities and adequately cater to the rise in demand. The industry is confronted with challenges stemming from rising imports, a declining market share and escalating costs. Aluminium industry representatives have sought government intervention for supportive measures to tide over this challenging phase Rahul Sharma, president, Aluminium Association of India, said “the bottlenecks of the domestic aluminium industry needs to be addressed by correcting the excessive duties and inverted structure on critical raw materials such as calcined petroleum coke, calcined alumina and caustic soda lye.” “The current high duty structure of 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent on these essential raw materials is an investment deterrent and needs to be rationalised to at least 2.5 per cent,” he said.
Source: Telegraph India
INTERNATIONAL
China’s supply chain logistics have recovered quickly after most pandemic-related restrictions were lifted in the country, according to Fitch Ratings. Freight traffic in China recovered to levels comparable with November 2022 by early January. As major Chinese cities reopened, consumer and retailing activities also showed signs of recovery, although at a much slower pace. Intra-city transportation in major cities started to recover from troughs in December 2022, although the pace of recovery varied, reflecting the timing of the peaks in COVID-19 infections. Offline retail recovery trailed industrial activities. The numbers of shopping centre visitors picked up, but remained well below last year’s levels, according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch Ratings expects a continued recovery in offline retail in 2023 from easing mobility restrictions. However, uncertainty still lingers on the scale of the recovery, given on-going risks of further waves of COVID-19 outbreaks.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Paris-based Faibrics, which is developing a technology to convert CO2 emissions into high value polyester through a circular manufacturing approach, has raised €17 million from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme and a further €5 million from partners involved in its technology upscaling project. The EU’s grant was awarded to a consortium coordinated by Fairbrics that brings together 13 partners from seven countries throughout Europe, ranging from upstream and process development experts in engineering design, CO2 capture, chemical reuse and electrolyzers to final product specialists including Faurecia for automotive and Les Tissages de Charlieu for textiles. To prompt societal impact, the project also includes a strong educational component and together with academic partners will develop learning and training resources on CO2 valorisation for young professionals, university students and lifelong learners. The combined funds will be used to upscale Fairbrics’ technology, first in a pilot line of 100 kg per day by 2024 and later, by 2026, in a one ton-per-day demonstration plant. “By using CO2 emissions instead of fossil resources to manufacture polyester, Fairbrics addresses one of the greatest global challenges –greenhouse gas emissions,” said Benoît Illy, co-founder and CEO of Fairbrics. “This funding comes as a strong recognition of what we have accomplished so far, the quality of the consortium we have brought together and the extraordinary potential of our technology to provide highly polluting industries like textiles with an alternate environment-friendly and economically viable solution.” Fairbrics will initially address the fashion industry and has already secured strategic partnerships with major brands such as H&M, On-Running and Aigle. It intends to progressively diversify its technology platform with solutions addressing other sectors such as sports equipment, packaging and automotive. Fairbrics partners in the technology upscaling project are the University of Antwerp (Belgium), Tecnalia (Spain), Lappeenrannan Lahden (Finland), Aimplas (Spain), CiaoTech (Italy), DITF Denkendorf (Germany), Lappeenranta Villmanstrand (Finland), Digiotouch (Estonia), Faurecia (France), Naldeo (France), SurePure (Belgium) and Les Tissages de Charlieu (France).
Source: Innovation in Textiles
Building a home, bridge, or undertaking any other construction project will become costlier from 1 February following yesterday's record hike in gas prices as steel and other construction materials are also set to become costlier.According to the government notification, large and medium industries that use gas must pay an additional 150% and 155% for gas.Major players in the steel industry will fall under these two categories. If the mills have captive power plants run by gas, they will have to pay 88% more bills. "I am utterly shocked," said Manwar Hossain, chairman of Anwar Group, which has exposure in gas-consuming cement, steel and textile industries. Manwar was a campaigner for a gas price hike (to ensure supply), but the way the government has done it was beyond his imagination. He expected a 10%-20% hike but hadn't even anticipated hikes of 150%-180%. Now per tonne rod (steel bar) will be costlier by Tk3,500, putting producers and consumers in further strain, he said. Presently, the price of a tonne of 60-grade rod stands at around Tk90,000, up from Tk54,000 two years ago. He said the government might have hiked the gas prices without assessing the financial impacts on the businesses and individuals. Tapan Sengupta, deputy managing director of BSRM, one of the country's largest steel producers, said per tonne rod price will shoot up by Tk1,200 for the latest gas price hike. He said the price hike may further dampen demand when businesses and individual consumers are already going through uncertain times amid high inflation. Another miller, wishing not to be named, said the IMF (International Monetary Fund) wants no losses and subsidies in energy prices. For that reason, the government has increased gas prices massively after hiking electricity prices a few days ago. The government has hiked gas prices by up to 179%, eliminating subsidies to cut fiscal deficit, in hopes of securing $4.5 billion loans from the International Monetary Fund, according to some businesses. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday, however, told Parliament that the loan Bangladesh was taking from the IMF had no significant conditions attached to it.
Source: Tbs news
