Illegal subsidies by trade partners, other countries hurt Indian trade & biz: Govt
India, Nepal agree to boost economic and development ties
This MSME unit from Barabanki makes it big in textile sector
Trade and industry express concern over delay in Coimbatore airport expansion project
Welspun One Logistics Parks inks pact with UP govt to invest Rs 2,000 cr
Focus on early deliverables which can benefit all members: Piyush Goyal to IPEF
INTERNATIONAL
Demand for the UK’s expertise is flourishing in Uzbekistan
Bangladesh textile makers seek economic zones to set up MMF manufacturing units
EGP 51 bln needed to upgrade spinning& weaving industry: PM Madbouly
EU’s textile waste and used clothing in Pakistan
NATIONAL
The government on Monday said illegal subsidies by trade partners and other countries hurt Indian trade and business, and that corrective actions are taken in the form of invoking dispute settlement mechanisms. The Department of Commerce on February by trade partners and other countries hurt Indian trade and business, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh told the Lok Sabha. "At a multilateral forum, the disciplines regulating the provision of subsidies and the use of countervailing measures to offset injury caused by subsidized imports are addressed in the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures," he said in a written reply. According to him, the subsidies whether they are prohibited (illegal) or actionable are determined by three major steps within the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures agreement.
Source: Economic times
India and Nepal agreed on Monday to further bolster their economic and development cooperation as Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra met his Nepalese counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal and had a fruitful exchange on strengthening the comprehensive bilateral relations. Foreign Secretary Kwatra arrived here on a two-day official visit to hold talks with the country's top political leadership on the entire range of multifaceted cooperation between the two countries. "Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra met his counterpart Mr Bharat Raj Paudyal and reviewed the wide-ranging India-Nepal partnership," the Indian embassy here tweeted. "Both sides agreed to further strengthen their economic and development cooperation for benefit of the two countries and region as a whole," it said. Later, Kwatra called on Foreign Minister of Nepal Bimala Rai Paudyal and had a fruitful exchange on strengthening the comprehensive India-Nepal relations. "Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra called on Hon'ble Foreign Minister of Nepal @bimalarp today and had a fruitful exchange on strengthening the comprehensive India-Nepal relations," the mission tweeted. During his visit, Kwatra, who was earlier India's ambassador here, will pay courtesy calls to Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and Foreign Minister Paudyal. It is expected that Kwatra will also discuss with his Nepalese interlocutors the possibility of a visit to India by Nepal's Prime Minister Prachanda. Prachanda has said that he will travel to India on his first foreign visit. Nepal and India will discuss various matters of bilateral cooperation such as connectivity, power trade, agriculture, health and culture among others during the foreign secretary's visit, according to a statement issued by Nepal's foreign ministry here on Sunday. "The visit is in continuation of the regular exchange of visits between the two friendly neighbours," it said. Earlier, Kwatra was received at Tribhuvan International Airport by his Nepalese counterpart Paudyal upon arrival. had a one-to-one meeting with Paudyal before the delegation level meeting Seven members each from Nepal and India took part in the Foreign Secretary level bilateral meeting. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava was among the members of the Indian delegation while Joint Secretary and spokesperson at the Foreign Ministry Sewa Lamsal was among the members of the Nepalese delegation. This is the first high-level visit from India after Prime Minister Prachanda assumed office for the third time in December. Kwatra is also expected to meet Nepal's top political leaders, including Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML chairman KP Sharma Oli. "The visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and the priority India attaches to its relations with Nepal under its 'Neighbourhood First' policy," the Ministry of External Affairs has said. India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy is an integral component of Indian foreign policy. The policy seeks to build cordial and synergetic relations with India's South Asian neighbours in various areas such as economy, science and technology, research and education, among others. Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old "Roti Beti" relationship. The country shares a border of more than 1,850 km with five Indian states - Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services.
Source: Economic times
Women’s fashion wear selling at the stores of some of the leading fashion brands all over the country may have been made at the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) textile unit Greenwear Fashion, in Barabanki’s Safedabad area. This startup has carved a niche for itself in textile weaving and designing using a solar-powered handloom and has a turnover of over Rs four crore. “We count it as an achievement that clothes readied at our village unit are being sold by some leading women fashion brands. In UP, we might be the first to be working for these brands,” said founder Abhishek Pathak, a native of Sultanpur and a first generation businessman in his family Pathak had set up the unit in 2019 in Safedabad after he gave up his job in a US-based home fashion company where he worked as a designer. He wanted to set up the venture in Lucknow, but then ended up finding a place in Safedabad where he was fortunate to have found trained artisans, some of whom had worked in Delhi and NCR but were forced to migrate to their native places after the pandemic. “We have transformed the handloom at our unit into solar looms and women working on it need not use their hands on the loom as it is the handle that operates on solar energy that makes the working easier,” said Pathak, a graduate in textile designing from NIFT, Delhi. The plan is to make even the sewing machines at the unit operate on solar power. This will, further, increase the efficiency of artisans at the unit, who are either weavers or work for value addition on the product. The startup has 380 people of which 212 are women. “We have an aggregation unit in Safedabad otherwise women can work from home as it is a decentralised system of working,” he said. The designs are mostly made-to-order. Women are artisans trained in traditional crafts, like zari zardozi and chikankari. The unit is registered under India Startup and UP Startup schemes. “I also have my own outlets where I sell these products. I also work for men’s fashion and home fashion, which is making products for kitchen and baths using textiles,” he said.
Source: Times of india
Lack of clarity on progress of land acquisition to expand Coimbatore International Airport is emerging as an area of concern to the trade and industry here. According to sources in the industry, the State government has spent nearly ₹2,000 crore so far to acquire over 600 acres for the airport expansion project. This is nearly 80% of the land required. Another 10% land is under legal disputes and the remaining land is with the Defence. “We do not know if any fresh allocation was made to acquire the Defence land,” said one of the trade representatives. Meanwhile, the Central government has identified Coimbatore as one of the airports for development under the public private partnership. “We are told that the State government, having spent so much money to acquire land, now wants to know if it will have any stake in the PPP mode of development. The amount spent in Madurai or Tiruchi for land acquisition is relatively less compared to Coimbatore,” said the representative. So, there is a delay in transferring the land to AAI for the expansion project. Further, one of the options proposed to acquire Defence land was to give equal land to the Defence in any other location. However, there is no clarity on this. f there is no progress now, the entire project will come to a standstill. Coimbatore’s demand for a larger airport with a longer runway is pending for several years. There was hope of the project getting implemented when the State government allocated ₹1,312 crores to expedite the land acquisition process. However, now there seems to be challenges in going ahead with the project, the sources said. An official at the airport said there are said to be problems in getting the required land and there is no clear picture at present of how and when the project will move forward.
Source: The Hindu
Welspun One Logistics Parks has signed a pact with the Uttar Pradesh government for investment of Rs 2,000 crore to develop warehousing and logistics parks in the state. In a statement, the company said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) to broaden its presence in the warehousing sector in North India. The MoU was signed at the UP Global Investors Summit 2023 which was held on 10-12 February 2023 in Lucknow. "Welspun One seeks to effectively utilise government and private land parcels in Lucknow for the construction of Grade A warehouse facilities and logistics parks. WOLP would invest Rs 2,000 crore in the state of Uttar Pradesh with The warehousing facilities and logistics parks will be spread across about 6 million square feet and will be built over 3-4 years which will help generate 6,000 jobs. Welspun One Logistics Parks is an integrated fund, development, and asset management organisation, designed to deliver large format, institutional Grade-A logistics parks across India. It is the warehousing platform of the USD 2.3 billion Welspun Group.
Source: Economic times
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has urged member countries of the IPEF group to focus on early deliverables which can benefit all the nations, the commerce ministry said on Monday. Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) was launched by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23 last year in Tokyo. The 14 partner countries represent 40 per cent of global GDP and 28 per cent of global goods and services trade. Goyal said this while addressing visiting delegates of the IPEF partner countries on February 10 here. The delegates were here to attend the special negotiating round for the IPEF which was hosted by India from February 8-11. The round covered three pillars of the framework – supply chains, clean economy, and fair economy. India has opted out from the trade pillar. Goyal has asked the members to come up with creative and innovative approaches to develop convergences and achieve tangible outcomes.” He specifically urged members to focus on early harvest of deliverables which can benefit all the members,” it said. The minister shared his views on some of the common tangible benefits like capacity building; technical assistance, including sharing of expertise and best practices; investments, innovative projects, expected out of this initiative. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on February 8 urged all the delegates to focus on the broader objectives for creating more conducive environments for enhancing trade and investment linkages, development of resilient supply chains, and acceleration of sustainable development. The ministry said that all the countries agreed to continue working intensively to make further progress in each of the three pillars. About 300 officials from India, the United States, Australia, Brunei, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam participated in the deliberations. All the other 13 Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for prosperity countries have joined all the four pillars — trade, supply chains, clean economy and fair economy.
Source: Financialexpress
INTERNATIONAL
Located in the heart of Central Asia at the c rossroads of the anc ient Silk Road trading rou te, Uzbekistan has been one of the w orld’s great marketplaces for centu ries. That v ibrant history, rich in spices, tex tiles and prec iou s metals, liv es on in the streets and market stalls of the capital, Tashkent, and the w inding passagew ays of Samarkand, one of the w orld’s longest-inhabited c ities. Bu t don’t let its storied past fool you – modern Uzbekistan is set on an ambitiou s path of economic and political reforms which are set to make it one of the w orld’s most exc iting markets. With an expec ted popu lation of 40 million by 2030, the country has the foundations of a regional economic pow erhou se. They are dynamic , literate and entrepreneu rial, and more than half are under 30 years old. Uzbekistan’s GDP grew by 7.4 per cent in the fi rst half of 2021, w ith exports to the w orld inc reasing by around 6 per cent betw een 2020 and 2021, and goods imports inc reasing by around 19 per cent. British bu sinesses are poised to take adv antage of this grow th thanks to the UK’s c lose trading relationship w ith Uzbekistan. In 2021, the country became the fi rst to be admitted into the UK’s Enhanced Trade Framew ork, giv ing bu sinesses the chance to export goods to the UK at zero tariff rate. Bilateral trade w ith Britain dou bled to ov er £378 million that same year, and there are ambitions to dou ble it fu rther. Fu rthermore, the country ’s economic reforms are expec ted to inv igorate priv ate sec tor-led grow th, w ith changes to the exchange rate and a redu c tion of import tariff s. The gov ernment has made a priority of ac ceding to the World Trade Organization and aligning w ith internationally recognised ru les for trading and bu siness. As a resu lt, Uzbekistan is one of the most promising new marketplaces for UK bu sinesses, particu larly those off ering fi nanc ial serv ices, edu cation and infrastru c tu re. The gov ernment has embarked on an ambitiou s scheme of reforms to the fi nance and banking sec tor, w ith a target of priv atising 75 per cent of state assets – around 1,900 companies – and half of the state banks by the end of 2025. State-ow ned banks are in the process of modernising their c lient serv ice systems, transitioning to international fi nanc ial reporting standards and improv ing corporate gov ernance to inc rease their attrac tiv eness to foreign inv estors. Firms spec ialising in fi nanc ial adv ice, env ironmental, soc ial, and gov ernance (ESG), management consu lting and au diting can take particu lar adv antage of Uzbekistan’s plans to condu c t IPOs of the top 15 state-ow ned enterprises by the end of 2024, inc lu ding stateow ned energ y companies, Uzbekistan Airw ays and the state telecom company. Reforms on pu blic -priv ate partnerships hav e also opened u p new opportunities for foreign inv estors to partic ipate in large projec ts. The country plans to launch at least 28 large PPP projec ts w orth $14 billion by 2026, inc lu ding the constru c tion of the new Tashkent International Airport. The ensu ing constru c tion boom is the perfec t c limate for bu sinesses w ith experience in the sec tor. In addition, Uzbekistan has tremendou s potential for energ y dev elopment, particu larly in solar pow er, w ind energ y and hydropow er. With more than 310 sunny days a year, the technical potential of harnessing solar energ y in Uzbekistan is estimated to be around 2 trillion KWpH The gov ernment has set a target of dev eloping 12GW+ of renew able energ y by 2030, opening u p opportunities for UK engineering and procu rement bu sinesses and renew able energ y solu tions su ppliers. An inc reased demand for a highly edu cated w orkforce to meet these targets means that Uzbekistan is also undergoing a radical shift in its edu cation and academic standards. In 2022, more than a million people applied for ju st 150,000 av ailable places in higher edu cation, highlighting the opportunities for bu sinesses spec ialising in edu cation training and su pplies, and for edu cation institu tions looking to engage w ith a new market. Established UK fi rms in the market – inc lu ding Aru p, Benoy, Weirs and Wood – hav e also c reated a demand for English lang u age training, prov iding a uniqu e opportunity for British edu cational spec ialists. Cambridge Univ ersity Press & Assessment, the Univ ersity of Westminster and around 20 other UK edu cational establishments are already engaged in the sec tor. With a you thfu l and highly-motiv ated popu lation, and an ambitiou s programme of economic and indu strial reform on the agenda, Uzbekistan’s fu tu re as a regional bu siness pow erhou se has nev er been brighter.
Source: The telegraph.co.uk
Man-made fibre (MMF) based-apparel growing in popularity globally, Bangladesh garment makers want to increase their market share in the same even as it is evoking interest amongst the textile manufacturers in the country to invest in MMF to cash the opportunities on offer. Speaking to the media, the President of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Mohammad Ali Khokon has reportedly underlined entrepreneurs involved with textile making need around eight to ten economic zones with speedy completion to set up new units to manufacture MMF even as he opined there has been lot of discussion pertaining to broad usage of MMF and investments in the country’s primary textile sector with focus on MMF. The BTMA President further reportedly added considering the prospects in MMF-based apparel as the amount of MMF being used in Bangladesh is still insignificant. Reports further claimed within the next two or three years, the global MMF clothing demand will exceed 70 per cent even if Bangladesh only has a stake of US $ 10 billion in the US $ 700 billion market.
Source: Apparel resources
Madbouly said that as part of its reform plan the government decided to intervene and support such a vital industry. He added that the government seeks to substantially increase the production rates of the spinning and weaving sector to meet the needs of the domestic market, state-run factories and the private sector; and to increase exports as well. The company, whose contributions once constituted 40 percent of the country's national economy, has been burdened with debts estimated at EGP 21 billion, and has incurred accumulative losses of EGP 8 billion, Madbouly said after concluding an inspection tour of the ongoing development process. The development cost, he noted, is estimated at EGP 30 billion, including EGP 8.5 for new constructions and upgrading existing ones at all the companies' branches nationwide. In addition, the prime minister pointed out that importing new machines to improve the company’s final products – including cloth, terry cloth, and others – will cost up to EUR 650 million. The premier explained that the state’s decision to intervene to develop the spinning and weaving sector is in line with similar decisions the state took to develop certain sectors that serve the country's economy. Such intervention, he said, should also help prepare the way for the private sector to complete the development process later on. He acknowledged that post spinning and weaving products – which are essential for the manufacturing of clothes – are very important to the private sector working in the clothing and textile industry. But he asserted that the private sector cannot initiate the development process of the spinning and weaving industry. "The reality reflects to us the inability of the Egyptian private sector to take the first steps in developing this important industry, especially the spinning," a cabinet statement quoted Madbouly as saying, calling on the private sector to kick-start a real partnership with the state after its recent steps. "The state was able to secure financing for these projects, and it is now the private sector’s turn, which we welcome, to assume responsibility for management, operation and marketing, which are aspects in which the private sector is distinguished," he added. Egypt seeks to create an attractive environment for both local and foreign investors in line with the State Ownership Policy Document (SOPD). The SOPD aims to increase real GDP growth to between seven percent and nine percent through increasing public investments by between 25 percent and 30 percent and the creation of more job opportunities. The basic plan of the SOPD is to raise the input of the private sector from the current 30 percent to 65 percent over the next three years. In August 2022, Egypt announced it will start in 2023 the experimental operation of a new spinning factory, described by the government as the world's largest factory. The new factory is part of a broader plan already set into motion by the Egyptian government to upgrade the public sector spinning and weaving industry. The plan, under which 23 state-owned textile companies have already been merged into eight, includes developing the infrastructure of the companies concerned and obtaining advanced new machines. It also includes developing Masr Spinning and Weaving Company by establishing six new factories, upgrading two existing ones (Ghazl 4 Factory and Ghazl 6 Factory), developing a training centre, and automating work systems, production, sales, quality, maintenance, human resources and store sectors. Egypt’s textile manufacturing industry is the second-largest in the country. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt’s textile exports shrank by 14 percent in 2020 to $2.8 billion, down from $3.7 billion in 2019, according to the Textile Exports Council.
Source: The english.ahram.org
With the rising global trends in fast fashion, the export of textile waste or unwanted clothes to destinations outside the EU has steadily increased. This export reached 1.4 million tonnes in 2021. Around 2.1 million tonnes of post-consumer clothing and home textiles are collected in the EU annually for recycling or sale on global reuse markets. This represents around 38% of textiles placed on the EU market. The remaining get discarded in the mixed waste streams. Pakistan is one of the dumping grounds for post-consumer textile waste or unwanted clothes discarded every year from the EU. In 2021, used clothing worth 46 million USD export value was exported from the EU to Pakistan. Used clothes from the EU’s high streets end up reaching resale markets and also, dumping sites in the country. In the absence of efficient traceability criteria and waste hierarchy in both the EU and Pakistan, that distinguishes between textile waste and second-hand textile products, the textile waste streams falsely labeled as second-hand clothes are imported to Pakistan, a major portion of which adds to the already mounting ecosystem challenges in the country. The unregulated waste streams of used clothing and lack of their recycling not only cause more GHG emissions and unsustainable water consumption, as this leads to the manufacturing of more new clothing, but also causes an increase in the dumping of textile waste in landfills. The EU is now giving utmost consideration to sustainability, promoting textile circularity, and regulating the export of textile waste streams to other nations. The EU’s legislative reforms will change the game for Pakistan’s textile and secondhand clothing industry, which will not only significantly minimize the dumping of textile waste but also support the alignment of the current textile business models with the textile circularity business models.
CURRENT SCENARIO: Affordability and business through resale platforms are the massive forces behind large imports of used clothing from the EU to Pakistan. With the growing economic crisis, consumers have become mindful of their expenses and their preference for secondhand clothing, which is believed to have superior quality, has grown. For instance, recycling and reshaping of secondhand clothes emit less GHGs and cause less water pollution compared to the emissions and pollution from the new clothing production. However, the inflow of unregulated textile waste streams, falsely labeled as secondhand clothing, and unmonitored dumping of textile waste is a rising environmental concern and a challenge to promote textile circularity in Pakistan. Pakistan has a huge potential to recycle and redesign used textiles. The current scenario indicates that imported used clothes are recycled by some industries, but the progress is not significant and major portions of these clothes enter resale markets and dumping sites directly. For instance, Karachi Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) is greatly benefiting from the used textile industry. It recycles and resales imported used clothes globally. Given the preference for the use of recycled material in new clothes, if industries are channeled into the market of recycled fashion, the recycling and redesigning of imported and locally generated used clothes can become a significant business market for Pakistan. Recycled Polyester Staple Fiber (rPSF) is a highly suitable alternative for the industry to promote business through recycled fashion. The installment of recycling plants for the production of rPSF can uplift and green the industry’s business development, as it is the most preferred recycled content. rPSF has a huge business potential for brands and is now gaining high popularity, as it supports sustainability and compliance with the Global Recycling Standards (GRS) due to various desired physical properties including higher strength, low moisture absorbency, high elasticity, and comparatively easy production. Textile circularity is now a matter of utmost attention for Pakistan’s textile industry. The industry is currently experiencing a massive transition from only manufacturing new textiles in the absence of strategies to ensure their circularity, to initiating circular business models, with a major focus on eco-designed textile products and recycling of used textiles. From knowledge dissemination to preparing skilled labor, implementing sustainable business models, and upscaling technology, textile companies are actively internalizing the EU’s guidelines and strategies to achieve zero waste targets. The progress, however, needs to be enhanced in the entire industry through coordination, the right financial allocations, and training.
THE NEXT BIG THING: The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles will enormously transform the textile production patterns in Pakistan. Driving fast fashion out of fashion by reversing over-consumption and over-production is a major target of the strategy. The industry will be obligated to adopt resource-efficient manufacturing processes and circular business models. This will not only promote the manufacturing of superior quality clothing, but also the recycling of secondhand clothes, thus causing a massive shift in the consumers’ preference towards recycled secondhand textile products. With the motto of #ReFashionNow, the EU is underlining the introduction of eco-design requirements for textiles including quality, durability, longer use, repair, and reuse of textile products, that will ultimately decouple textile waste generation from the growth. The textile industry will experience mandatory requirements to give second life to used textiles, which will require major shifts in industrial functioning. This will require skilled labor, efficient policies for waste hierarchy and collection, and technical progress for recycling, and treatment of used clothes. As the EU’s strategy for textile circularity is getting stricter, the information requirements to track the origin of all the textile products via traceability mechanisms are also becoming a norm in the EU’s green economy plan. Through its Digital Product Passport initiative, the EU is introducing mandatory information requirements on circularity and key environmental aspects of textiles. This indicates that traceability mechanisms will gradually become applicable to secondhand textile products, both in the EU and Pakistan. From the export of secondhand textiles to their recycling and reuse points, this mechanism will trace all the necessary information of the product’s lifecycle, thus reducing dumping of the used textiles to the minimum. Digital Product Passport is a milestone initiative to deal with greenwashing, which misleads buyers by giving a false impression of the environmental footprint of the companies. The EU’s criteria to avoid greenwashing are getting immensely stringent, as the European Commission is seeking to define all greenwashing tactics (figure 1) and disseminate information about them. While this will give enormous recognition to the textile companies in Pakistan who are making efforts to green their products; it will also hold accountable the poorly performing companies for their high environmental footprint. Aligning business growth with the EU’s strategy for textile circularity by focusing maximum on eco-designed new products and recycling used textiles is the next step towards a new normal for Pakistan’s textile industry, as the strategy will soon enter into force. This will not only regulate the EU’s post-consumer textile waste misleadingly labeled as secondhand textiles entering Pakistan, but will also reduce the dumping of textile waste to the minimum levels. It is a must for Pakistan’s textile industry to adopt waste hierarchy protocols for the imported and internally generated post-consumer textile waste and strengthen the traceability mechanism to trace its recycling and end-of-life points. As the EU is a top textile export destination for Pakistan and is increasingly focusing on eco-design requirements for textiles, management of post-consumer textile waste will fulfill the EU’s mounting requirements for textile circularity. The industry will observe a transition, as manufacturing of superior quality textile products and recycling and exporting of used clothes will dominate the industrial functioning. This will reduce the environmental footprint of the industry to a significant level and promote green economy-based industrial development. This will require the right financial allocations, upscaling of the current technology, skilled labour, and coordination among the relevant stakeholders for knowledge dissemination, the absence of which will affect the industry’s compliance performance compared to its regional competitors, ultimately distressing the export-based business market to the EU.
Source: The brecorder.com
