The textile industry, one of the oldest industries in the state, has kept pace with time and gained a prominent position in the world market by using advanced technology, said chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Saturday. The CM was in Ahmedabad to inaugurate the third edition of the World Textile Conference. The CM added that the state has set aside Rs 1,580 crore for subsidies and incentives in the latest to boost the textile industries. “The government has allocated funds for the development of the textile industry in line with the textile policy, clearly indicating that the government is with the industries of Gujarat and will help them when required,” Bhupendra Patel said. Textile industrialists from other states and countries are participating in this conference held in the presence of Union minister of state for textiles Darshana Jardosh preservation always comes first in their development journey.
Source: Times of India
There is a need for India’s manufacturing sector to be independent, competitive and capable of providing quality products to consumers indigenously, as the prospects of production-linked incentive schemes to help the sector is limited, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said. While speaking at the Asia Economic Dialogue in Pune on February 25, Goyal raised some key concerns about India’s free-trade agreement with Korea and Japan, according to a report in The Times of India. Goyal said that foreign automakers like Kia and Hyundai have enjoyed the benefits of indiscriminate imports by India despite being laggards in the country’s auto market. This has added to India’s trade deficit. The minister spoke of the need to be 100 percent indigenized in auto industry. “We must strengthen our domestic manufacturing capabilities; we should be competitive and able to stand on our legs and our consumers must be more caring on the potential we are losing by indiscriminate imports,” according to a separate government statement on that same event that cited Goyal, who is also the minister of Textiles and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
Source: Money control
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal today predicted that India would become the third largest economy in the next five years. Goyal also said that if India continue to grow like this, it will become the a $40 trillion economy by 2047 - the centenary year of India's Independence. Speaking at the Asia Economic Dialogue here, Goyal said India is not only the fastest growing economy, but will continue to remain so for many decades to come. "India is clearly considered as the country of the decade, if not the country of the 21st century, in view of our strong macroeconomic fundamentals and the reforms of the past few years," he said. We have already moved from the 10th largest to the 5th largest economy, and have a young demographic dividend that is being recognised as our biggest asset," he added. On trade, Goyal said that in 2019, India decided against joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement as it could have spelt the death-knell of the manufacturing sector in this country. He said that the previous government's move to join RCEP was ill-conceived and it hurt India's interests by making our people habituated to low-cost, substandard goods from China. "The trade deficit with China which was under $2 billion around 15 - 16 years ago, increased to around 48 billion dollars by 2014. We allowed products to come from China while they stopped our products from India to go to China through legitimate or illegitimate reasons," Goyal explained. The Minister said India is now a partner the world can trust and by converting the Covid-19 pandemic crisis into an opportunity, we attracted the global attention, came out with vaccines and inoculated the population at low cost, didna¿t let down a single international commitment and notched the highest exports in 2021-2022. In his address, Goyal also touched on various other topics like 100 per cent indigenisation in the auto industry, spurring MSMEs to become more profitable, promoting green businesses, climate change, organic farming, etc that would drive us to achieve a target of $47-trillion economy by 2047.
Source: Economic times
From not being taken seriously by countries when they first mooted free trade agreements, India now has nations looking forward to signing agreements with it, said Piyush Goyal, union minister for commerce and industry, textiles and consumer affairs, food and public distribution. The minister said that the world had accepted India as a trading partner they could trust. There was good progress in the FTA with UK and Canada. Similarly, he expected a deeper engagement and expansion of bilateral trade with the US. Goyal said the US commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo would lead a delegation to India on March 8. Speaking at the Asia Economic Dialogue 2023 organised by the Pune International Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs in Pune, Goyal said as the US does not have Congressional support for getting into free trade agreements in the future, they have devised the India Pacific Economic Framework, which has been conceptualised as an alternative framework. Though market access may not be offered yet it would enable the country to get closer to the US’ resilient supply chains, have technology partnerships and open up economies through indirect measures that go outside the realm of a free trade agreement. The minister said the country did the fastest-ever FTA in the history of the world with the India-UAE agreement having been completed in 88 days. “We also completed a fast FTA with Australia. That is the enthusiasm the world is demonstrating towards working with India. We have negotiations going on with Israel, Canada, the EU, the UK and GCC. Russia and its partner countries of EAU too want to fast-track negotiations with India,” he said. About the FTA with Europe, he said there were 27 countries involved and it was much more time-consuming and EU was bureaucratic in their approach so that would take time, he said. For the agreement with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, they were looking at settling a broad framework and handling sensitive issues such as not opening up the Indian dairy market and allowing the import of dairy products that would hurt farmers and on patents, the country could not accept anything that would restrict the Indian pharma industry. Goyal said the government’s decision not to join the RCEP group had saved India’s manufacturing industry. The minister said the decision to become a part of RCEP was ill-conceived and a disaster in the making as it involved getting into an FTA with a non-transparent economy with no rule of law or court of appeal or democracy. “The agreement could have been the death knell of all manufacturing in India,” he said. Goyal urged the Indian industry to wean itself away from the “opium” of low-cost low-quality Chinese imports and support domestic industry. The trade deficit with China which was under $2 billion around 15-16 years ago, increased to around $48 billion by 2014 and was now at $100 billion as the country allowed all kinds of Chinese products to come to India while China blocked the entry of Indian goods through many non-tariff barriers. He was critical of the Indian industry that would source from China for a gain of a few cents while hurting the long-term interest of the country and urged them to be more sensitive and have some nationalist spirit. The minister also singled out two South Korean automotive companies, Hyundai Motor India and Kia Motors for indiscriminate imports and benefitting from the trade with investments of barely half a billion dollars. But when it came to importing steel from India, the South Korean and Japanese companies were firmly behind their domestic companies and willing to source from them at a higher cost. He urged the Indian auto industry to focus on indigenisation and strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities.
Source: Financial express
India and the UK have agreed to make further progress on the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) and also to swiftly organise the next bilateral Economic and Financial Dialogue soon, the British government said on Saturday. At the conclusion of UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's India visit for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, held under India's 2023 Presidency, the UK's Treasury department said the finance minister held talks with Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman with a focus on deepening bilateral economic and financial ties. "At a meeting with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, both sides agreed to make further progress on the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and deepen bilateral economic and financial ties," the Treasury department said in a statement. "They agreed to make swift progress on setting up the next UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue," it said Hunt, on his first international visit as UK Chancellor, also met with business leaders in Bengaluru and visited the offices of tech multinational Wipro which employs over 4,000 people in the UK. "Meeting fellow Finance Ministers face to face is an excellent opportunity to make real progress on the key global economic issues of our time," said Hunt. "I first visited India 38 years ago, and it's been fascinating to see how much the country has changed in this time - there are positive lessons to be learnt from their successful rapid development. "It's been great to hear from Indian technology business leaders here in Bengaluru how they are pushing the country's economy forward, and I look forward to further collaboration between India and the UK as we continue to trade and create jobs - delivering on the government's plan to grow the economy," he said. The Chancellor, alongside Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, attended a meeting of G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on Thursday. They were joined virtually by Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. "Their statement sent a strong message of condemnation for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, announced an increase of financial support for the Ukrainian government to a total of USD 39 billion in 2023 and committed to continue supporting vulnerable countries hardest hit by the economic impact of the war," the Treasury said. On Friday, the UK announced a fresh wave of internationally coordinated sanctions and trade measures, to "further restrict Russia's capability to wage war in Ukraine both now and in the future". At the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting under the Indian Presidency, Hunt condemned "Russia's brutal acts" in the strongest terms, emphasising that securing peace was the most important action for global growth. According to the UK government, the senior Cabinet minister also underscored the need for bilateral official creditors and private sector to urgently help address low and middle-income country debt vulnerabilities in developing countries. The minister emphasised the importance of multilateral development banks boosting lending from their existing balance sheets and called on the G20 to fulfil its pledge to channel USD 100 billion of IMF Special Drawing Rights in support of developing countries. "The Indian Presidency issued a Chair's statement at the end of the meeting which highlighted, among other things, the continued need to fight inflation, and the importance of supply-side policies, especially those that increase labour supply, boost growth and alleviate price pressures. "There was also G20 consensus, including China, on the need for swift resolution of existing debt restructuring cases and to work on the impacts of food and energy insecurity on the global economy," the Treasury said. While in Bengaluru, the UK Chancellor is also said to have had "productive bilateral meetings" with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire and Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He also met with Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers. While speaking at the meetings, the Chancellor is said to have set out the UK government's intention to protect the most vulnerable from cost-of-living pressures, whilst maintaining fiscal sustainability with debt falling and not adding to inflationary pressure. He added that the upcoming Spring Budget of the Rishi Sunak-led government on March 15 will "drive economic growth, focusing on skills, business and infrastructure investment and research and innovation, as well as reviewing regulations of the UK's key growth industries".
Source: Economic times
After weathering the twin challenges of Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, India's knitwear hub Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu seems to be on the path of revival, with exporters pinning hopes on the positive growth recorded in January to continue its momentum. Industry insiders said the three-month average negative growth recorded in 2022 was at 24 per cent as it was largely impacted by the recurrence of Covid-19 pandemic in various European countries and also due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. So much so the two issues even altered the Europeans' pattern of using a particular T-Shirt. "Exports came down between July and December 2022. The three month average negative growth will be 24 per cent. However, from January it has increased marginally. I would say in dollar terms a 2 per cent rise while in Rupee it is 11 per cent," Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA) President K M Subramanian told PTI. According to him, exports were largely impacted due to another wave of coronavirus spread last year in various European countries. The Russia-Ukraine conflict also dealt a blow to the trade as several European nations preferred to remain 'cautious' on making expenses following a surge in inflation and rise in essential commodities, impacting the largely exportdependent knitwear units of the town. Tiruppur is located about 400 km from state capital Chennai. In the wake of the war in their neighbourhood, several European countries are experiencing higher inflation, increase in prices of fuel, power and mainly essential commodities, he noted. A large number of Europeans have stopped making purchases due to high inflation, which also led to non-clearance of inventories. For instance, a person in Europe wears a t-shirt three or four times before going in for a new one. "Now due to the impact of covid and the war, he has started to use the t-shirt 10-15 times. So they have started to be cautious on expenses," he said. "Since large traders in this industrial belt are micro, small and medium enterprises units, they largely depend on orders from Europe. They were largely hit due to the impact caused by the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Now there is a positive sign with the industry witnessing a 1.5 per cent growth in January." The knitwear industry, after bouncing back to a positive sentiment in January, is expected to witness good business in the coming months, he said. Subramanian said normally, spinning mills stop functioning for two or three days in a week due to low demand but the operations are seeing an uptick now. "Now, the spinning mills are being operated on a daily basis because of rising demand.. This is a positive sign for exports," he said. Knitwear exports from Tiruppur in USD terms grew 1.5 per cent at USD 413 million (in January 2023) while overall knitwear exports from the country grew by 0.9 per cent at USD 751 million in December 2022 as against USD 744 million in January 2022. According to him, Europe and the US account for the majority of the export orders. "Orders have started to come in from Europe and the United States," with the former accounting for 60 per cent of this, he added. "Actually, if you see the growth in January it is 1.5 per cent growth recorded on exports. It is not a huge jump compared to the same period last year," a senior official of a knitwear unit said but seemed hopeful over things looking up for the labour-intensive sector. "We expect this trend to continue. This growth itself is a positive sign which we expect to reflect in the coming months. People have started to place orders, but not in a huge manner as in the past." he said on condition of anonymity. The all India knitwear exports in 2021-22 stood at Rs 49,443 crore while it was Rs 26,923 crore from Tiruppur during the same period. In 2022-23, all India knitwear exports were at Rs 53,586 crore as against Rs 29,643 crore from Tiruppur district, data provided by Tiruppur Exporters Association revealed. In Tiruppur more than 6000 units are engaged in knitwear, stitching, dyeing, embroidery. Knitwear accounts for more than 70 percent and nearly 5 lakh people are employed.
Source Economic times
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday underlined the importance of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union for boosting two-way trade and said he will personally get involved to see its early fruition.After holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Scholz said the finalisation of the FTA and the investment protection pacts will contribute significantly to expand India-Germany trade as well. The German Chancellor said he and the Indian prime minister are committed to finalising the deal. “We want to further deepen trade relations between the European Union and India and this is why we speak strongly for the free trade agreement. It is an important topic and I will get personally involved to ensure that this does not drag on,” he said.Scholz said over 1,800 German companies are operating in India and have provided thousands of jobs.”India has so much talent to offer and we want to benefit from that cooperation. We want to recruit and attract that talent in Germany. The development of IT and software is booming in India,” Scholz said. He also said Germany wants deepening of trade relations between India and Europe. In his media statement, Modi said Germany is also an important source of investment in India along with being its largest trading partner in Europe.”Today, due to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign, new opportunities are opening up in all sectors in India. The interest shown by Germany in these opportunities is very encouraging for us,” Modi said. Separately, Modi and Scholz interacted with top executives from Indian and German companies to discuss ways to deepen economic ties.The focus areas for mutual cooperation include digital transformation, financial technology, IT and telecom.”Held productive talks with Chancellor @OlafScholz. Our talks focussed on ways to boost India-Germany cooperation and further augment trade ties. We also agreed to deepen ties in renewable energy, green hydrogen and biofuels. Security cooperation was also discussed,” Modi tweeted. “Chancellor @OlafScholz and I met top CEOs to discuss ways to strengthen economic relations between our nations. Sectors like digital transformation, FinTech, IT and Telecom featured prominently in the meeting,” he said.India and Germany also unveiled a vision document to enhance cooperation in areas of innovation and technology.It said India and Germany recognise the close ties that have been nurtured through the decades, reaffirmed in 2022 by the India-German Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP), and acknowledge the positive and proactive roles of the governments, institutions, academia and industry on both sides.After his talks with Modi, the German Chancellor also visited Rajghat and paid his respects to Mahatma Gandhi by laying a wreath.
Source: Financial express
With the World Bank (WB) estimating a growth rate of 2.0 per cent, Pakistan’s industry is bracing for a sharp decline in productive activities and an equally sharp increase in layoffs. “At least one million informal workers – mostly from the textile sector – are likely to lose their jobs,” says Secretary General of the National Trade Union Federation Pakistan (NTUF) Nasir Mansoor. Pakistan is one of Asia’s biggest exporters of textile products and a financial blow to this sector is hurting the country’s workforce. There has been a 14.8 per cent decline in Pakistan’s textile exports, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The country’s exports stood at $1.3 billion in January 2023; it had recorded textile exports of $1.5 billion last January. On a month-over-month (MoM) basis, the country had reported a decline of 2.5 per cent. “The 2022 floods washed away at least 45 per cent of our cotton crop, leaving textile mills without an essential raw material. The other solution is to import raw material, but delays in LCs [letters of credit] opening have brought all operations to a halt,” Mansoor explains why Pakistan is lagging behind. Earlier this year, during a joint press conference held by the textile associations in January 2023, representatives of the associations revealed that around 7 million workers in the textile sector and textile-related industries had been laid off since last summer. Officials from the industry also blamed the government regulations, including delays in LCs opening for the serious situation. The Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts & Accessories Manufacturers also shared that around 25,000-30,000 workers in the auto sector had lost their jobs due to an unabated drop in annual sales. A management-level official from an investment company in Pakistan, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the current macroeconomic conditions have affected sectors in a different manner. “Sectors that are more likely to get affected by the current economic conditions are those which depend heavily on import; import of raw materials or other products, like autos. Rising interest rates have allowed the banking sector to perform really well. But since this policy leads to demand compression, more mainstream companies are expected to default. And this assumption can be backed by the fact that almost all banks are taking more provisions for loan losses. “Floods have already affected the agriculture sector. Companies that are not planning layoffs are likely to, at least, impose an unofficial freeze on hiring,” the official said. Pakistan’s unemployment rate is a little over 6 per cent. And the problem has remained consistent for the country for years. According to the Pakistan Labour Force Survey, 2020-21, unemployment rate in the country declined from 6.9 per cent in 2018-19 to 6.3 per cent in 2020-21. Mansoor says: “This is not the first time Pakistan is going through a severe economic crisis. In 2020, because of Covid-19-induced lockdowns, at least 8 million employees were laid off on either temporary or permanent basis. But that was temporary and triggered because of disruptions in supply chain. This time, however, the situation is different.” In 2022, when Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assumed office, the Finance Division opted for a dollar peg to control the free-fall of the currency. But this caused a letters-of-credit crisis in the country, with banks refusing to open LCs as low as $5,000. Speaking to The News about the alarming economic situation, President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Irfan Iqbal Sheikh says that “delays in opening of LCs, unclear containers stuck at ports, and the government’s import restrictions on several raw materials and machinery parts paralysed industries. “Many companies have already suspended their operations because they do not have resources. The next three to four months are going to be tough for the economy. “Thousands of containers with crucial raw material were stuck for weeks,” Irfan Sheikh says adding that Pakistan’s economic situation is likely to get “much worse” unless the government comes with “clear-cut decisions” regarding import restrictions. “If the country cannot possibly import particular items, the government should tell what can be imported and what not. When companies will not have enough material to continue their production, how are they going to perform,” he asks. In his comment to The News on how the current macroeconomic conditions have affected businesses, Chief Executive Officer of the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) Ehsan Malik said, “Businesses are impacted by three main factors: compression of demand due to high inflation, which affects volumes; control over imports, which affects the ability to produce and hence the capacity utilised and overheads recovered; and higher cost of borrowing. “Aside from some sectors like auto, which have had to shut down production, others have been running between 25 per cent and 60 per cent of capacity. Those businesses with processes that are sophisticated, requiring specialist skills, have retained the critical employees. Others have laid off casual and contract workers,” he explained. The PBC CEO further said, “Within the textiles sector, which is also affected by shortage of local cotton due to flood damages, and also due to delay in clearing of imported cotton, it is estimated that up to 3 million people have been rendered unemployed. The total unemployed across all sectors is estimated at about 5 million.” He says that one has to additionally face a loss due to reduced overtime. “The 18 per cent GST levied under the mini budget is likely to further compress demand from the formal sector. It, therefore, does not forebode well for employment levels.” In a country like Pakistan where workers are unprotected mainly due to their employment status, any layoffs leave people without any severance packages or access to any social welfare programme. Mansoor explains what he calls it a “bleak situation”, “since we have special laws for workers -- which bind companies to offer different perks to their employees -- many companies carry out their hiring processes through third-party contracts. All workers become informal and their dismissal becomes easy as these workers cannot go to the court.” And even if there are no reports of layoffs across the country, the existing workers are expected to work more to compensate for staff shortages and rising operational costs. Mansoor shares, “Most companies ask informal workers to come in for 15 days in a month. And while they submit a month’s worth of work, they are paid for the 15 days they come to office.” Another official from one of Pakistan’s biggest conglomerates, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “fears of layoffs are valid, but most companies are trying to retain their staff and use their expertise for all sorts of work. Industries are opting for a hiring freeze on a temporary basis, and things will improve as soon as the country’s foreign exchange reserves increase.” He also agrees that the first quarter is likely to see a complete freeze on hiring. If the first two months of the year 2023 are anything to go by, Pakistan’s labour market is likely to witness massive layoffs to weather a slump in the global economy. In early February, Alibaba-backed Daraz – the country’s largest online marketplace – announced its plans to lay off 11 per cent of its workforce. This number came to around 300 employees. A report by i2i Ventures — a VC fund — had predicted a gloomy year for Pakistan’s startup landscape, published last year. The i2i Ventures predicted startups in Pakistan would attract less funding; in 2022, they attracted a total of $65.5 million as compared to $177 million raised in the same quarter in 2021.
Source Thenews.com
Amid allegations of manufacturing counterfeits, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has asked its members to be more careful about the right ownership of the products they manufacture. The move comes after the United States Trade Representative (USTR) started the Special 301 Review on IPR (intellectual property rights) Protection and Enforcement – which looks into the global state of IP protection and enforcement – after complaints of counterfeiting emerged against Bangladesh-made clothes. In a letter to the members on Sunday, the BGMEA said it is planning awareness and capacity-building programmes to help prevent the manufacture of counterfeit goods. "We should commit ourselves to say no to any business that involves the violation of IPR. If we can do so, it will give us an extra edge as we are transitioning to a middle-income country," BGMEA President Faruque Hassan wrote in the letter. If the counterfeit allegation is proven, Bangladesh will have to brace for multiple forms of penalties, according to commerce ministry officials and exporters. In the initial response to the US review, the commerce ministry lodged the country's objection, saying it was not logical to do so without giving evidence. Noting that stance by the government, Faruque Hassan said Bangladesh enjoys international support measures in the form of development assistance and certain waivers. But the local apparel sector should not label itself as a source of counterfeit goods. Referring to the buyers' trust and confidence Bangladesh built over more than 40 years, the BGMEA president said, "I would humbly request all our valued members to kindly take this issue seriously and take necessary steps of stand against manufacturing counterfeit goods." The BGMEA said it has been focusing mostly on social and environmental compliance issues, but the apparel-makers now have to pay more attention to the emerging issues governing trade across borders.
Source: Tbs news
