INTERNATIONAL
Textile Raw Material Price 2016-07-17
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1014.63 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
VSF |
2174.21 |
USD/Ton |
1.75% |
7/17/2016 |
|
ASF |
1882.82 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
1031.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2196.62 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4258.76 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2413.29 |
USD/Ton |
0.31% |
7/17/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
5572.24 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1262.68 |
USD/Ton |
0.60% |
7/17/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
2039.72 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2054.66 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1150.61 |
USD/Ton |
0.65% |
7/17/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2749.51 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1673.62 |
USD/Ton |
0.45% |
7/17/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2398.35 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1778.22 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2092.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2869.06 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2181.68 |
USD/Ton |
0.69% |
7/17/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.33 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.81 |
USD/Meter |
0.19% |
7/17/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.14 |
USD/Meter |
0.26% |
7/17/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0.22% |
7/17/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
7/17/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14943 USD dtd 17/06/2016)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
To boost its 'Make in Maharashtra' plans and generate employment, the state government is working on a niche policy to promote investments in the garment and apparel sector considering its job creation potential. The policy, which is being worked out by the state industries department, will focus on setting up garment and apparel units in the cotton-growing areas of Vidarbha and Marathwada, which are also known for agrarian distress and farmer suicides. Officials said that the economic benefits of value-addition to raw cotton would also percolate down to the farmers while generating direct and indirect employment. "Apparel is a sector that is low on investments and high on manpower," a senior state industries department official told dna, adding that they were considering a special policy for the garment and apparel sector. "We will promote such industries and units in Vidarbha and Marathwada," he added, explaining that this would create a larger supplier eco-system and increase employment opportunities.
The policy will look at granting fiscal and non-fiscal incentives like land in Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) areas, grant of FSI and allotment of plots for garment and apparel units in the 10 textile parks to come up in Vidarbha and Marathwada. Though Maharashtra already has a policy for the textile sector, this niche, sectoral policy for garments and apparels will give a further boost to investments, the official said. "We are examining policies by the Centre and also by other states for the sector. This is a labour intensive area so we will focus on facilitation and ease of doing business… and at doing away with bottlenecks to investment and meeting stakeholder needs. After agriculture, the garments sector can be the second largest source of employment in Maharashtra," added another official from the industries department.
He added that the initiatives would benefit women as the sector employed them in large numbers. It would also create indirect employment due to various "job works" that were given out. "The value addition to cotton and cloth will trickle down and eventually ensure a better price for cotton cultivators," the official noted. He pointed to how the Union cabinet had approved a special package for employment generation and promotion of exports in the textile and apparel sector. The policy, which includes incentives and EPF reforms, comes after the package of reforms announced by the Centre to generate one crore jobs in the textile and apparel industry over the next three years. These steps are expected to lead to a cumulative increase of US $30 billion in exports and investments of Rs74,000 crore over the next three years. "Similarly, our incentives may include sweeteners like the state government constructing major roads, sub-stations and infrastructure and set up of common effluent treatment plants," the official said.
The Maharashtra government has also unveiled policies for retail trade, electronics, single-window facilitation, for SC/ST entrepreneurs and for IT and ITeS. It is also working on niche policies for defence production and industrial parks. According to the Centre's statistics, India is the largest cotton producer and has the second largest textile manufacturing capacity globally with 24% of the world's spindles and 8% rotors. While contributing 14% to industrial production and 4% to India's GDP, the textile industry employs over 45 million people directly. According to the Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2015-16, between August, 1991 and October, 2015, a total of 19,053 industrial proposals with an investment of Rs 10,97,337 crore were approved in Maharashtra. Of these approved proposals, the major industries by number are chemical and fertilizers (14.9%), textiles (10.5%), metallurgical (10%), sugar (8%), electrical and electronics (6.2%), processed food (5.5%) and photographic raw film and papers (5.2%).
SOURCE: The DNA
India is one of the major producer of fibre, cotton, jute and is a strong player in textile sector. So, there is a huge potential to take up fashion technology to new level, said VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan. Speaking at the inauguration of VIT Fashion Institute of Technology (V-FIT) in the Chennai campus here on Saturday, he said India is a diverse nation with different tastes and powerful thought for cultural values, where fashion technology has great scope. In India, the textile production at present is valued at 108 billion and is expected to touch 223 billion by 2020. For it, we need well trained designers and technology experts, he said. On job scenario, Viswanathan said, the textile industry provides jobs to 4.5 crore people directly and six crore indirectly. By 2020, there will be opportunities to provide over six crore jobs directly. Hence, we need to provide training in this sector, he said.
Inaugurating V-FIT, P Mohammed Ali, founder, Galfar Engineering and Construction Company, Oman stressed on the need for upholding cultural values and ethics of the country. 'This is a great opportunity for students to create new fashion and trends. But my only request for the students is to keep in mind, the country's ethics while designing products,' he said. Anitha Mabel Manohar, director, National Institute of Fashion Technology, in her address said, 'There are multiple specialisation under fashion technology. So, students have a bright future in the field and congratulated VIT for providing such a great platform for students.' Sriramulu Balakrishnan, managing director, KG Denim Limited, Coimbatore appreciated the university's efforts for identifying the hidden potential in fashion technology. VIT vice-president Sankar Viswanthan and assistant vice-president Kadhambari S Vishwanathan were present during the event.
VIT University is planning to start a new university in Amaravati next year. Speaking to reporters, VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan said that the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet has decided to allot 200 acres of land to VIT. Work on construction of the new university campus at Amaravathi would start within a month. The university will admit students for engineering courses from July next year, he said.
SOURCE: The News Today
The intervention of Textile Ministry towards addressing the problem of spiralling cotton prices by directing the Cotton Corporation of India to sell the stocks with it directly to the small and medium spinning units has brought cheer to the consuming sector. Hailing the proactive decision of Textile Minister Smriti Irani in this regard, the Southern India Mills’ Association Chairman M Senthilkumar said “this would bring in stability to the cotton price during the off-season; and the direction to sell the balance quantity of cotton with CCI only to the MSME spinning mills would help meet their raw material requirement.” He advised the mill sector to avoid panic buying. “Prices would soften with the availability of 43 lakh bales closing stock (estimated by the Cotton Advisory Board). Further, import of cotton from African countries and Australia could exceed 15 lakh bales as the mills have already contracted”. Thanking the Textile Ministry for the intervention, the President of the South India Spinners’ Association C Varadharajan said “it is a saving grace as quite a few units decided to defer operation as the price of the raw material had skyrocketed Rs. 50,000 a candy in July in three months. “Small spinners would now be able to procure cotton from CCI at rates lower than the prevailing market rate.”
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
Following the sharp rise in cotton prices, small and medium textile mills in Tamil Nadu (TN) with a capacity of up to 25,000 spindles have reduced production by about 15%-20% since the beginning of the month as losses continue to mount. Tamil Nadu textile mills account for about 46% of the total installed spinning capacity in the country. Mills are losing about Rs 15 per kg on yarn. This has come even after two rounds of price increases by mills that resulted in yarn prices going up about Rs 20 per kg since April. Prices of Shankar-6, the most popular cotton variety used by mills in TN, have zoomed 42% since the beginning of April and has crossed `49,000 per candy (a candy is 355 kgs) now. Prices have jumped by about Rs 6,000 per candy in the last ten days alone.
Interestingly, mills in the state have started importing cotton as prices are ruling lower in the international market. Since the cost of imported cotton is lower by at least Rs 2,000 per candy many spinning mills, including smaller ones with a capacity of 10,000 spindles, are importing cotton now. K Selvaraju, secretary-general, Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) said that clean cotton prices have gone up by Rs40-45 per kg since April. About 70 kgs of combed yarn is typically produced from 100 kgs of cotton. According to S V Devarajan, former president, South India Spinners' Association, they are facing losses as cotton prices have skyrocketed leading to fall in capacity utilization by 25%-30% in some mills. Textile mills typically operate at 90% capacity. Incidentally, mills in Andhra Pradesh have declared a one-day production holiday every week now. Smaller textile mills are not able to get credit for cotton purchases due to high prices, Devarajan said. Textile mills in the country consume around 25 lakh bales (a bale is 170 kgs) of cotton per month. Mills in TN use about 10 lakh bales a month. With area under the crop declining on the back of a drought in Maharashtra and Karnataka and pest attacks affecting output in Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana, cotton production would fall to a five-year low of 352 lakh bales for the 2015-16 season, Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) estimated in February this year. CAB, at the recent meeting held on Wednesday has pegged cotton production even lower stating that out output would be 338 lakh bales for 2015-16.
SOURCE: The CCF Group
With cotton prices shooting up, the Textile Ministry to keep prices under check has directed the Cotton Corporation of India to sell cotton purchased by it. CCI will start e-sale of cotton stock with it to to micro, small and medium-scale (MSMS) textile mills in a couple of days directly at minimum support price, according to the official. The official said that the CCI purchased 8.4 lakh bales of cotton at minimum support price this year. It has supplied nearly two lakh bales to National Textile Corporation and state co-operative mills. It had also sold about 1.5 lakh bales a month over the last four months through e-auction. Now, the CCI has 27,000 bales with it and these will be sold to small and medium-scale mills. The sales will be through e-auction and only small and medium-scale mills will be able to bid for the stocks. This will benefit the small and medium-scale mills, the official said. The textile mills here welcomed the direction from the ministry. M. Senthil Kumar, Chairman, Southern India Mills’ Association said that this will bring stability to prices and meet the raw material requirement of the smaller mills. Mr. C.Varadarajan, President, South India Spinners Association, said that the cost of cotton purchased from CCI will be lower than the current market rate. The main reason for the spiralling prices was CCI selling cotton to multinational companies and large buyers. The CCI should sell cotton at just minimum support price and the cost incurred for storing the cotton till now to the domestic textile mills so that prices come down.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The hiring of contract workers may soon get firm legal backing as the government is considering the introduction of labour reforms that will have far-reaching impact. The Contact Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act denies adequate legal protection to contract workers and is seen as discouraging the formalisation of the labour force, thus depriving many employed in the informal sector of adequate safeguards. The government is considering a proposal to drop the word 'abolition' from the law, as it contradicts the regulation of the sector, and giving staffing firms a national licence. The licence will be based on set criteria and renewed every three years. This will have the twin advantage of providing better social security for contract workers and help create more jobs in the organized sector. "Contract labour is now a reality. There is a need for a legal and administrative policy framework that can provide for easy hiring and social security for a growing number of contact workers in the country," a senior government official told ET on condition of anonymity as the proposal is still being discussed. Both the government and the corporate sector employ a large number of contract workers. Contract labour accounts for 55 per cent of public sector jobs and 45 per cent of those in the private sector. If accepted, the government will move an amendment to the Contact Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act to rename it. "This would give contract labourers the first and much-needed recognition," the official said. The number of contract labourers in the country is on the rise, primarily because they can be paid less than permanent workers and the ease with which they can be sacked. About 2 million contract labourers are currently in the organised sector, which itself is minuscule. Out of 480 million workers in the country, just 10 per cent are in the organised sector, depriving the vast majority of social security benefits to contract workers who are part of the unorganised sector.
Staffing firms would welcome any move to formalise such employment. "Currently, staffing firms have to go for approvals for hiring contract workers at every location/premises and for every change in number," said Rituparna Chakraborty of the Indian Staffing Federation lobby group. A single licence would be a boon, she said. "One national licence, which could be given based on the financial credibility and past record of staffing firms, will make it easier for us to operate, besides reducing informalisation," said Chakraborty, also cofounder of Teamlease. "Such a sweeping change in legislation will see small staffing firms either close shops or start being compliant. For big listed firms, we see this as a direct push to job creation." The International Labour Organisation's convention 181 regarding private placement agencies prescribes a tripartite relationship in contractual hiring. While India is one of the ILO's signatories, it is not among the big 42 countries that have ratified the convention.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Imports will become easier from the next year as the CBEC is planning to go paperless and move towards a completely integrated Customs system for facilitating documentation and fast-tracking clearances of consignments. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is planning to rope in more government agencies under its SWIFT mechanism, which replaces nine separate documents with one common electronic declaration. “In another six months, we are planning to go completely electronic for Customs clearance by doing away with requirement of any physical documents. We are planning to create a web repository,” Additional Director General (Customs) S K Vimalanathan said.
The CBEC had, on April 1, launched a single-point interface SWIFT for clearance of imports to facilitate trade by reducing the dwell time. About 10 lakh documents have been processed till June 1,2016. “Importers still need to show physical copies of various documents like analytical certificates. We are working on enabling importers to scan and upload those documents in a PDF format and this will be made available to Customs officer as a link,” Vimalanathan said. The CBEC will float a ‘Request For Proposal’ within three months inviting IT companies to integrate the customs system which currently uses three softwares for faster clearance of goods. “With the Integrated Customs System, the document processing time will come down to less than 10 seconds from more than 10 minutes now,” Vimalanathan said.
The CBEC has substantially brought down the documentation requirements and now importer are required to file only three documents — Declaration of Goods, Invoice and packing list — at the time of Bill of Entry. Earlier, importers had to file 18 such documents. The SWIFT clearance mechanism brings in six government agencies — FSSAI, plant quarantine, animal quarantine, drug controller, wild life controller bureau and textiles committee — on a single platform. This has eliminated need for importers to interact separately with these agencies. “We are working on non-intrusive ways for clearance of goods. We are talking to more agencies to come under the SWIFT platform for ensuring faster clearance of goods,” Chief Commissioner (Customs) Rajeev Tandon said. In order to ensure efficient facilitation through Risk Management System (RMS), Tandon said the Customs departments keeps tweaking them as per global scenario. RMS is a process through which Customs officials can single out suspicious cargo based on various risk parameters like items, country of origin, importer’s track record. This reduces time as customs officials do not need to carry out manual checks on each cargo.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
There’s a perceptible change in the Congress party’s position, hitherto opposed, on the proposed national goods and services tax (GST) Bill. On Sunday, Ghulam Nabi Azad, its leader in the Rajya Sabha, said the party was ready to support any legislation in the interests of “the people, business and India”. “We are not for preventing any Bill from being passed,” he said after an all-party meeting on the issue. Ahead of the previous session of Parliament, he’d stated the party was opposed to the GST “in its present form”. His tone on Sunday indicated the party had changed its position, faced with near-isolation on the issue in the Rajya Sabha. In Sunday’s meet, called by recently appointed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi complimented all political parties for speaking in one voice on Kashmir. He sought similar help to pass the GST Bill. “We represent both the people and parties, and there is a need to keep national interests above anything else,” he said. After the meeting, attended by 45 leaders of 30 political parties, Ananth Kumar said the Congress had assured support to legislative proposals on merit. He said the government assured the leaders of an open mind and would facilitate discussion on issues raised by various parties. Kashmir and the recent political crisis in Arunachal Pradesh are two and likely to be raised. The minister said the government would build consensus on GST and consult all parties. Despite their opposition to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress are supporting the GST Bill.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, of the Congress said on GST: “There have been intermittent discussions…a draft (proposal should) be presented on each of three issues...the one per cent cap which is an additional levy that can be levied by states, the issue of an 18 per cent cap on GST and the issue of a dispute resolution mechanism. On all these, the ball is fairly and squarely, as we have always mentioned, in the government’s court.” The only other entity still opposed to the passage of GST is the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which rules Tamil Nadu. “We believe there is a possibility of resolution and the ball is in the Centre’s court. We hope the PM intervenes in the matter,” its spokesperson, K Pandiarajan, had said last month. “We have raised six specifications; one has been addressed. A major specification is to compensate states like Tamil Nadu for five years. Manufacturing states like Tamil Nadu should not get penalised for doing well…We have announced so many schemes and have made a huge amount of fiscal commitment. If we compromise on everything, where will we find resources?”
Tamil Nadu demands that revenue neutrality be ensured if GST takes effect, a consensus be reached on a revenue-neutral rate and assurance of full compensation to states for revenue loss. And, that petroleum products be kept out of GST and states be allowed to levy additional taxes on tobacco and tobacco products. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had met the PM in mid-June. Parliament’s monsoon session ends on August 12. It being a relatively short session, with 20 sittings, the government’s legislative agenda has only 16 Bills. Some considered important haven’t been listed; the contentious Land Bill has been given a quiet burial. Apart from GST, the other key Bill to be taken up will be the Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, after a report is presented by the joint committee examining it, in the first week.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
As the World Bank comes calling on Monday to assess India's position on the global ease of doing business list, the government has readied a catalogue of accomplishments to back its pitch for a big leap in ranking this year. With a special focus on areas such as enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and starting a business, in which India ranked poorly last year, the government is hoping to make significant improvement from the present position of 130 out of 189. The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) has informed the World Bank of reforms undertaken across 14 parameters on which the ranking is decided. A team of researchers will spend two weeks in Delhi and Mumbai talking to actual users and stakeholders to study and verify the implementation of these reforms. The rankings will be issued in October. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given us a mandate that we have to be in the top 50 in the next three years," said DIPP secretary Ramesh Abhishek. Getting all stakeholders on board hasn't been easy. "Dismantling the complex procedures has been a mammoth task," he said. "If it was easy it would have been done long time back."
DIPP is the nodal agency for the project to improve the ease of doing business ranking. The World Bank, which considers the business environment in Delhi and Mumbai, speaks to actual users before giving credit for a change, the reason why some of the measures could not be factored into last year's ranking these will be included this year. The specific areas of improvement DIPP has targeted are starting businesses, insolvency procedures, construction permits, ease of trading across borders and electricity connections. "We have re-engineered the existing processes. These complexities have been there for decades," the DIPP secretary said. "We have now realised that we do not need all this." DIPP said the number of days to start a business has dropped to 12 in the past year from as high as 29. Many steps have been eliminated, clubbed or moved online. The Bankruptcy Law passed in May aims to slash time taken for completion of insolvency proceedings to 180 days from 4.3 years. India has ranked at 136 on this for the past two years. Dealing with the construction permits (rank 183 last year) is also being made easier. In April, the government moved all processes into one online form. A series of steps has been taken over the past year to ease trading across borders by removing physical barriers and reducing processes. While only Delhi and Mumbai are considered for ranking, India's own ranking of states has improved ease of doing business across India. "States know they need investments to create jobs, infrastructure, for which they need to provide a businessfriendly environment," Abhishek said. "The Centre is just trying to facilitate these reforms." Experts said there has been improvement. "Stakeholders and the government have been working very hard," said Jaijit Bhattacharya, partner, government services and infrastructure, KPMG India. "The change is happening in all the states. Given the state we are in, we have an enormous amount of work still to do." Another expert said more efforts were needed at the back end. "There are issues with online submissions with the backend infrastructure not available to handle such data, which ends up getting rejected," he said.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
India Inc remained upbeat about the business environment in the first quarter (April-June) of the financial year 2016-17, a new survey by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said. CII Business Confidence Index has seen an increase to the level of 57.2 in April-June period up from 54.1 recorded in the previous quarter. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director-General, CII, said, “A rise in business expectations sends an early signal that industry is anticipating an upturn in demand propelled by factors such as implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, progress of a favourable monsoon and pro-active reform agenda of the government’. The findings are a part of the CII’s 95th edition of quarterly Business Outlook Survey , which is based on more than 200 responses from large, medium, small and micro firms. “The increase in the business sentiment is backed by strong expectation of economic growth for the current fiscal year, with more than 60 per cent of the firms expecting real GDP growth to range between 7 per cent and 8 per cent in the financial year 2017,” the survey noted. While 61 per cent of the firms expect an increase in sales, nearly 65 per cent anticipate an increase in new orders in April-June period.
Companies expect that recovery in business conditions to be domestically driven as more than half of the firms hope to maintain status quo on their export orders. “A majority of the firms have put their investment plans on hold in the April-June period, notwithstanding the expectation of improvement in sales and new orders in the said period.” Existing unutilised capacity and unforthcoming demand have prompted nearly half of the firms to maintain status quo on their domestic investment while the uncertainty in the global economic environment has forced 60.5 per cent to keep their international investment plans unchanged.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
Commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman says Britain wants informal talks on a likely trade pact with India to continue until its exit process with the EU is over. In an interview with Banikinkar Pattanayak and Shobhana Subramanian, Sitharaman says the export slowdown has bottomed out, and her ministry is in regular talks with the finance ministry to offer relief to struggling SEZs.
How will you approach trade talks with the UK after Brexit?
I am happy the UK’s business minister (Sajid Javid has now become communities secretary) came and said they would like to start talks informally on a trade pact. The minister said although the time frame to complete (Britain’s exit process with the EU) is two years, they expect to complete it sooner than that. So, both India and the UK should start talks informally; so, as and when Britain completes the process with the EU and has the authority to forge bilateral treaties, both the parties should be ready for it.
What will be the key features of the likely pact with the UK?
Goods will be a key pillar of the talks with Britain. Also, we will be talking as much about services as about goods. The advantage that India has in goods (most nations want greater access to the massive Indian market in goods) will have to be leveraged to get a good bargain in services. Therefore, reciprocity being the guiding principle, I would want a good deal for us in the services domain as much as they would want us to yield on the goods domain (Britain made up for 3.4% of India’s goods exports in FY16 and 12% of software services exports in FY15.
Does Brexit change anything to India’s advantage?
The fact that the (UK) minister came and said “let’s get things going” suggests a sense of urgency and a desire for quick decision-making, as opposed to the EU, which negotiates on behalf of the 27-28 nations it represents (The EU FTA talks have been going on since 2007). The pact with the UK will be a bilateral one (so that decision-making can be quick).
You say India will recalibrate the FTA strategy with the EU. What specific things are you looking at in talks with the EU?
Even with the EU, our FTA negotiations got to be getting into the details. The FTA shouldn’t be worse for us (compared with its scope, pre-Brexit). But our offers have to be tempered in view of the fact that Britain is out of the bloc now. The EU wants greater access in wines and spirits and automobiles, on which our industry has its own views. We want greater access for our generic drugs and more liberalisation in the services sector. Data security is another issue.
Last week, two US lawmakers introduced in the House of Representatives a piece of legislation which, if approved by the Congress, would prevent Indian companies from recruiting IT professionals on H1B and L1 work visas. Earlier, the US had also raised visa fees, which was estimated to drive up the Indian IT industry’s annual visa cost by four times. Are you holding any government-to-government talks to address these issues?
Certainly. Earlier, we had already taken it (visa fee hike) up with the US trade representative. When we (India and the US) hold the strategic commercial dialogue in New Delhi, maybe in September, we will raise all these issues with them. Also, we are mentally ready to challenge the visa issues at the World Trade Organization (dispute settlement appellate body).
Exports contracted in each of the past 18 months (before June). How do you plan to turn the corner?
We want this overriding narrative of export contraction to change. In fact, if you see non-oil and non-bullion export data for 2015-16, it points at underlying robustness. Also, between 2013-14 and 2015-16, the share of manufacturing goods in our export basket has increased. From around 60% in 2013-14, it rose to 63-64% in 2014-15 and it touched 69% in 2015-16. So, this trend needs to be highlighted as well. Also, the rigid exchange rate in all these months dented our competitiveness in the export market. We have already taken up this issue with the Prime Minister’s Office and the finance ministry. I believe the exports slowdown has bottomed out.
Has Apple approached you to set up its own stores in India after the government relaxed local sourcing norms for those selling “cutting-edge” technological products?
We have informed Apple about the relaxation. As of now, they have not approached me personally.
How would you ensure a revival of investor interest in special economic zones (SEZs)? Are you still taking up the issues of tax relief with the finance ministry?
The UPA came up with the (18.5%) minimum alternate tax (MAT) and the dividend distribution tax (DDT), seriously denting the spirit of SEZ policy. We have been trying to give relief from such taxes. But you have to understand that once the revenue (department) gets the taste of money coming in, it’s difficult for them to recalibrate their strategy quickly. Also, we think the non-processing area rule also needs to be changed to help SEZs. We are in regular talks with the finance ministry to see how best we can do it to revive and boost SEZs.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 44.15 per barrel (bbl) on 15.07.2016. This was higher than the price of US$ 43.79 per bbl on previous publishing day of 14.07.2016.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs. 2960.89 per bbl on 15.07.2016 as compared to Rs. 2929.97 per bbl on 14.07.2016. Rupee closed weaker at Rs. 67.07 per US$ on 15.07.2016 as against Rs. 66.91 per US$ on 14.07.2016. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on July 15, 2016 (Previous trading day i.e. 14.07.2016) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.07.2016 (June 29, 2016 to July 13, 2016) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
44.15 (43.79) |
45.17 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
2960.89 (2929.97) |
3043.55 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
67.07 (66.91) |
67.38 |
SOURCE: PIB
If quality of products is improved, local manufacturers would not import foreign clothes and BGMEA will use the clothes made here.Bangladesh Specialised Textile Mills and Powerloom Industries Association (BSTMPIA) demanded a single-digit loan facility to modernise the historic industry for producing quality products and increasing productivity. The association president Azizul Haque made the demand at a dialogue titled “Public private dialogue on overcoming challenges towards modernisation of textile sector in the capital yesterday. Currently, there are 30,000 to 40,000 textile mills in the country, of which 20% to 30% are modernised and producing high quality export-oriented products while the rest 80% use traditional power-loom to produce saree, lungi, poplin, napkin, long clothes, shirting and suiting, said Azizul Haque. That is why, the sector needs low-cost fund to set up modern machinery by next 10 years, Haque said, calling for an allocation of low-cost foreign funds for the sector from Bangladesh Bank. He urged the government to set up textile village and take measures to discourage import of foreign clothes.
In response to the demands of the sector people, Textiles and Jute Minister Md Emaz Uddin Pramanik assured the sector people that he would place the demands to Prime Minister Sheik Hasina. He was present as the chief guest at the event. State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan was also present as special guest. The BSTMPIA leaders also sought withdrawal of 15% VAT on textile products imposed for the current fiscal year. “Specialised textile sector meets 70% local demands. A sudden imposition of 70% Value Added Tax (VAT) is a threat to the sector and it would hinder expansion and modernisation,” Md Haider Ali, a director of BSTMPIA, said. “Clothing products are being imported from several countries and we are doing business facing huge competition. We are producing products for the country’s poor people. If 15% VAT is implemented, it would increase the prices, which would be a burden for consumers,” said Shahjahan Mia, another director. The sector people have experience, but their experience cannot be utilised due to lack of modernisation. On the other hand, factories are turning into sick industry because of old machinery that produce less products, he said. For modernisation, low-cost fund is a must, but the current interest rate is 14%, while the low-cost fund charge 10% provided by the donor agencies and development partner, Sultan Mahmud, a director of the organisation, said, urging the government to ensure a single-digit loan facility for the industry to contribute more to the economy. “If the quality of products is improved, local manufacturers would not import foreign clothes and BGMEA will use the clothes made here,” Senior Industry Secretary Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said. Mosharraf suggested establishing a Testing Laboratory to provide certificate that would help the sector to issue certification for production. The government can earn in two ways by helping business expansion and creating jobs, while the other is taking policy in line with the recommendation from the world bank, said Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, acting president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The sector is not ready to pay VAT as it not equipped with the manpower and system, added Islam. He said the government should give time to introduce VAT, or else it would hurt the business expansion. Currently, 90% demands of knitwear sector is met locally, while woven sector met only 30%. there is huge opportunity to contribute a lot by the specialized sector, said Islam.
SOURCE: The Dhaka Tribune
The deadly terrorist attack in Dhaka would not deter global top clothing retailers giants including Target Corporation, JC Penney Company Inc, VF Corporation, Wal-Mart Stores and the Children’s Place from sourcing clothing products from Bangladesh. Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety – a platform for North American global retailer – working on safety improvement in Bangladesh in RMG industry came up with the remark at a media briefing yesterday. The briefing aimed at providing quarterly progress update on factory remediation and worker empowerment initiatives. “Despite these unspeakable tragedies, the Alliance and our member companies will continue to stay the course because improving safety for the millions of men and women who make a living in Bangladesh’s garment sector is a moral imperative,” James Moriarty, country director for the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, told the conference yesterday. “I am not aware of brands withdrawing or cancelling contracts.” “On behalf of the Alliance, our member companies and our staff, I am heartened and humbled by the strength of the Bangladeshi people, and I am confident their resilience will see them through these challenging times,” he said. According to the second quarterly report of the Alliance as of yesterday, 28 RMG factories have completed their Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) and across all factories, more than one-third of the issues, most critical to life safety, has already been addressed, two years ahead of the deadline. “As we review and update our policies to help keep our staff and contractors safe, our work to improve safety in Bangladesh’s garment factories will continue at full speed,” said the former ambassador to Bangladesh. Since the end of first quarter, an additional six factories have been suspended for failure to make adequate remediation progress—bringing the total number of factories suspended to 83.
On the topic of worker empowerment, Moriarty said: “Our worker training and helpline programs continue to bring positive change in the lives of workers and the safety of their workplaces.” The Alliance also provided training to more than 22,000 security guards in all Alliance factories that would allow them to play a leadership role in the event of fire or earthquake. The retailers platform also provided financial compensation to nearly 7,000 workers displaced by remediation, fulfilling 100% of requests from factory owners, and helping workers provide for themselves and their families despite the temporary closure of those factories. The Alliance has also completed training for democratically elected worker safety committees in 34 factories, including the initial pilot programme of 16 factories, and it is going to launch the training for 60 plus factories in the next few months. More than 1.1 million workers in over 770 factories now have access to the Alliance’s confidential 24-hour worker helpline, which allows them to safely and anonymously report concerns, safety or otherwise within their factories. The Alliance of mostly North American companies was set up in 2013 to improve safety in Bangladeshi factories after the collapse of Rana Plaza complex in which more than 1,100 people died.
Members of the Alliance are Ariela and Associates International LLC, Bon Worth, Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited Carter’s Inc, The Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc, Costco Wholesale Corporation, Fruit of the Loom, Inc, Gap Inc, Giant Tiger Hudson’s Bay Company, IFG Corp, Intradeco Apparel, JC Penney Company Inc, Jordache Enterprises, Inc, The Just Group, Kate Spade & Company, Kohl’s Department Stores, LL Bean Inc, M Hidary & Company Inc, Macy’s Nine West Holdings, Inc, Nordstrom Inc, Public Clothing Company, Sears Holdings Corporation, Target Corporation, VF Corporation, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc and YM Inc.
SOURCE: The Global textiles
Federal Secretary for Textiles Ministry Amir M Khan Marwat addressing a meeting at the Federation House organized by the Standing Committee on Textile Apparel of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry said that a Textile City to be established soon in Karachi on government of Sindh allotting land for which the federal government has already paid Rs. 300 million. The government is doing its best for the development of textile industry as this is an important industry providing 40 percent industrial jobs and earning 60 percent foreign exchange. Amir Marwat said that the government has introduced performance based incentives for textile industry in the Textile Policy 2015 to encourage the industry and exports and Rs 6 billion will be given to textile industry every year for next five years on account of Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL), Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF) and rewards according to performance. He claimed that the exports from Pakistan have started to grow and the government envisages more exports growth in coming years. The federal government is trying its best for establishing a Textile City in Karachi like that of Faisalabad and Rs. 300 million has been given to Sindh Government for acquiring the land. But, he continued that the Sindh government has informed that the land will be allotted as soon the litigation regarding the land is over.
Regarding refund claims, according to his ministry Rs. 20 billion refund claims are pending but the ministry has decided to do survey of real claimants and then release the refund and hopefully this job will be done within a short period. He also appealed textile mills owners to cooperate in this regard. Senior Vice President FPCCI Sheikh Khalid Tawab urged the government to appoint a minister for textiles ministry so that the government could face Indian planning well and save their export-oriented industry. He demanded to release tax refund of various industries amounting to more than Rs 300 billion. Khalid Tawab also demanded to change the name of DLTL Scheme to Reward on Incremental Export and announce special incentives for cotton growing areas. Vice President FPCCI Zulfiqar Sheikh, Chairman Standing Committee Naqi Bari, Ikram Rajput and leading members of the FPCCI were also present in the meeting.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The UK citizens were offered a binary choice of ‘Remain’ in or ‘Leave’ the European Union. They made the unexpected choice of Leave. The voting pattern was interesting. The UK has three regions—nations —with devolved assemblies. Scotland and Northern Ireland chose Remain. Wales chose Leave. It was England, undevolved but, by far, the largest and most populous nation which voted to Leave. Scotland had 2.68 million voters, Northern Ireland 790,000, Wales 1.63 million. The English voting numbers of 28 million made up the rest. The final result with a margin of 51.9/48.1 was thus very much determined by the margin of 53.4/46.6 in England despite Scotland’s 62/38 in favour of Remain. It is the large and clear margin of 7% in the largest nation, England, which has made Brexit unavoidable and unrevisable—no second referendum, despite the fond wishes of Remainers. Brexit means Brexit. But the economic consequences of Brexit are unknown and subject to a variety of predictions.
The first is that exiting the EU is likely to be a long process. As of now, the UK is likely to remain in the EU for at least two and a half years at the minimum. The UK has to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union (Lisbon Treaty) to initiate the process. As no one has previously done this, we are in unknown territory. The European Council, the assembly of heads of government, the European Commission which is the executive arm of the EU and the European Parliament will all take part in the negotiations. There is a two-year deadline after triggering Article 50 which can only be extended if there is a unanimous agreement among the remaining 27 members.
The exit negotiations involve deciding which of the cooperative arrangements—on border control, anti- terrorism, climate change, aviation, crime and policing—will be changed or kept the same. There will be the end of many privileges of being able to access the single market. The end of exit is total dissociation from the EU with freedom to control immigration from within the EU. Many of the debates about the impact of the exit are hinged on the alternative arrangements which would be negotiated for the post-exit regime. There are three main strands to this. The UK could join the European Economic Area (EEA), of which Norway is a major member. The EEA enjoys free access to the EU single market, has to accept free movement of people, pay a contribution but not vote in any of the decisions which the EU may make which would be binding on the EEA members. This is exit with back-door entry.
The other arrangement is European Free Trade Area (EFTA). Switzerland is a leading member. This allows free access to the single market but with national control over immigration. This is closer to what the referendum decision was about, but not complete withdrawal. The last alternative is to break away completely and trade with EU on the basis of WTO as everyone else does. This allows complete control over immigration as the UK has over non-EU migration even today. With the WTO arrangement, the UK is like any other country as far as the EU is concerned. The costs of these alternatives are difficult to estimate. This is because all one has is past data. The future may be like the past, but we need to allow for predictable changes both within the UK and in the EU and/or the global economy. The real variable which may shape policy is the time lag involved in negotiating before we can be certain of the post-exit UK. The EEA or EFTA negotiations have to be conducted with the EU after exit negotiations are done. This also involves the unanimous agreement of all 27 members. This may take two or even more years, since there is no reason why the EU members should be kind to the UK. In getting full access to the single market without membership, the UK is asking for a cut-price bargain. There may be harsher conditions imposed, especially about migrations. Member-countries, especially from Eastern Europe, may want concessions for their own citizens to be allowed.
In many ways, the WTO option is the best in terms of time delay. Those negotiations are not with the EU, but with the WTO. They can be held in parallel with the exit negotiations. Thus, we could be clear about the shape of the Brexit at the same time as the exit negotiations are concluded. The economic impact would be easier to calculate as the UK will join the majority of the nations in the world. Brexit is a gamble. But it is remarkable in showing that when people want a change, they will not be discouraged by the prospect of economic loss. It also shows the power of the voters over the wishes of their representatives.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The Asian Development Bank has cut its 2016 growth projection for developing economies in Asia and the Pacific to 5.6 percent, down from its earlier forecast of 5.7 percent, but says their solid performances will help offset softness from the U.S. economy and near-term market shocks from Britain’s vote to exit from the European Union. The Manila-based lender’s report released Monday says the growth forecast for 2017 of 5.7 percent made in March for developing Asian economies remains unchanged. Shang-Jin Wei, ADB’s chief economist, says the Brexit vote has affected developing Asia’s currency and stock markets but its impact on the real economy in the short term is expected to be small. He urges policy makers to remain vigilant due to tepid growth prospects in the major industrial economies.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The United States and the European Union have had 14 rounds of talks over three years on a trade and investment deal aimed at creating the world’s largest trading zone, but they are making slow progress. Facing stiff headwinds in Europe (over wariness about the influence of business) and the United States (because of mounting scepticism over free trade), the negotiations have languished. The most recent round of talks concluded on Friday with no breakthroughs announced. Here is a primer on the deal: the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP.
What the deal is about
At its core, the deal seeks to provide economic stimulus by bolstering trade in the aftermath of the financial and European sovereign debt crises. But there is more at stake. A grander goal of the negotiations has been to enable Western countries to compete with rising economic powers like China and India by setting mutually agreed standards in areas like car safety, cosmetics and chemicals. A backlash against globalisation on both sides of the Atlantic, however, makes the deal a test case for the West’s commitment to trade liberalisation.
The main sticking points
Relatively straightforward parts of the talks — like lowering tariffs — remain under discussion, and both sides face making delicate trade-offs. The Europeans are seeking concessions so that their companies can do more business with federal and state authorities in the US that are currently required to buy American goods and services. They also want to protect the names of foods like Parma ham and Roquefort cheese from being used by American manufacturers. On the other side, the United States wants firm protections for investments by American companies in Europe, in case a member state fails to uphold the terms of the pact. It also wants far greater access to European food and agricultural markets to sell more of its produce, including beef, which is banned in Europe if treated with growth-promoting hormones.
How does Britain’s Brexit vote affect the talks?
Britain has long been among the most enthusiastic supporters of free trade in Europe, but its vote last month to leave the European Union will make the country less of a force in the negotiations. Although Britain is expected to remain a member of the European Union for at least two more years, it will most likely turn its attention to seeking new trade deals with other parts of the world. That could put pressure on the Europeans to make concessions to complete the deal, but it could also strengthen the influence of other big member states like France, which generally takes a more protectionist approach to trade than Britain. “The withdrawal of the UK from the EU market would affect the value of the EU market,” L Daniel Mullaney, the chief American negotiator, told a news conference on Friday in Brussels. He noted that a quarter of United States exports to the European Union go to Britain, and that the prospect of Britain’s dropping out of the deal was like the United States’ saying, “maybe TTIP will not apply to California.”
What are the chances of a deal during the Obama presidency?
The chances are slim, unless there are significant compromises from both sides before President Obama leaves office in January. Elections in the United States this year, and in France and Germany next year, are expected to make it hard for leaders to promote a deal aimed at opening up their economies even as many citizens face day-to-day uncertainty. Large movements in countries like Germany have mobilised against the deal, arguing it would lead to the privatisation of public services and lower standards for food safety and environmental protection. This week, several groups of protesters rallied at buildings in Brussels where negotiations were taking place, delaying the start of some of the talks. One group dressed in animal costumes briefly occupied another building used by European Union trade officials to protest trade treaties they considered environmentally harmful. In the United States, Obama still has not succeeded in winning ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a far more advanced deal. Ratifying that is likely to remain his paramount goal while in office.
What now?
More negotiations are expected after the summer, though no dates have been set. European trade ministers will hold meetings in September and October to determine whether there is sufficient political will to give the negotiations a final push. In the United States, the picture is also politically charged. Hillary Clinton, who is expected to be the Democratic candidate for the presidency, has blown hot and cold on trade over the course of her campaign. Donald J Trump, the presumptive Republican challenger, has shown outright hostility.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
Globalization—that irresistible force that is inevitably, inexorably fueled by large ships—looks to be in retreat. Trade growth has never recovered to the levels reached before the 2008 financial crisis. Donald Trump is fueling his presidential campaign on fear of free trade and immigration. The economic problems of the U.S., he blasted in a June speech, are “the consequence of a leadership class that worships globalism over Americanism.” Then came Brexit, the worst setback for the European Union, that most ambitious experiment in globalization. Money manager Bill Gross said Brexit marks “the end of globalization as we’ve known it.” In a sense, Gross is correct. The rich West launched globalization on the ideal that nations tied together by bonds of trade, money, and culture are less likely to destroy one another. Now those in the U.S. and Europe who believe themselves hurt by the massive changes wrought by globalization want to reverse it. Isolationism is being heralded as independence. But anyone who thinks globalization is dead misreads what’s really happening. While there are pockets of resistance, much of the world is still forging tighter links between countries, companies, and communities. Rather than retrenching, globalization is deepening and expanding—whether angry Trump supporters or British Leave voters like it or not. This new and perhaps even more exciting phase of globalization presents serious challenges for policymakers, especially in the U.S. and Europe. As working classes—suffering from stagnant incomes and joblessness—lash out at the free movement of money, goods, and people, their elected politicians face pressure to detach from an increasingly interconnected world. In doing so, though, they may cede to non-Western competitors the potential benefits these fresh linkages will create. The fate of nations may depend on whether they continue to embrace globalization.
That’s been the case for decades. The first round of globalization was, generally, a movement from the West to the rest. As the open exchange encouraged by the U.S.-led global economic system and advancing technology smoothed the way for doing business on an international scale, finance and factories flowed from the richest countries to the poorest. With them came Western doctrines (from capitalism to evangelical Christianity) and Western culture (from McDonald’s to Mickey Mouse). The countries that took advantage—China, Japan, South Korea, and, yes, the U.S.—reaped the rewards. Developing countries alleviated poverty on an unprecedented scale, while advanced nations gained greater economic efficiency. Countries that sat on the sidelines—Russia, much of the Middle East, and Africa—are still trying to make up lost ground. The success of that early phase of globalization has spawned another—one that moves in all directions. Emerging economies are knitting closer ties among themselves as China, India, and others gain in wealth, clout, and confidence. The World Trade Organization figures that 52 percent of developing countries’ exports went to other emerging economies in 2014, up from 38 percent in 1995. Trade between China and India was $1.7 billion in 1997. By 2014 it had ballooned to $72 billion. India’s total trade with Africa grew more than 60 percent in only four years, to almost $48 billion in the country’s 2014-15 fiscal year.
Most of the world continues to pursue free trade, even as Trump derides the North American Free Trade Agreement, or Nafta, as a “disaster,” and Brexit excises Europe’s second-largest economy from the continent’s integrated market. China is pushing for a pan-Asia free-trade zone; the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations is forming a common market; and African countries have started negotiating a continentwide free-trade area. Today’s globalization is also drawing in countries previously left out. Textile and apparel manufacturers from Bangladesh, China, and Turkey invested $2.2 billion in Ethiopia last year to open factories to export to the U.S. and Europe. The Philippines, long a laggard in a region replete with hyperconnected economies, has become a major hub for call centers. New institutions are forming to support these trends. In June the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a development organization akin to the World Bank, approved its first four loans, totaling $509 million, for projects in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. Two months earlier, the New Development Bank—founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and headquartered in Shanghai—announced its first loans. They totaled $811 million and will fund renewable energy projects in the BRICS countries, except for Russia. Companies from the emerging world are becoming more important investors as well. According to the American Enterprise Institute, Chinese companies invested $111 billion around the world in 2015—more than 10 times the amount in 2005. The total that Indian companies have invested abroad, at $139 billion in 2015, rose 43 percent in only five years, growing faster than the amount of foreign money invested in India. During a June visit to China, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the two countries are jointly undertaking investment projects worth $50 billion. Growing antipathy toward immigrants hasn’t kept people at home, either. The World Bank estimates that the number of international migrants rose to a record 251 million last year. More than 38 percent of them moved from a developing country to another developing country in 2013, compared with 34 percent to advanced economies.
Of course, this new globalization may encounter its share of Brexit-like setbacks. Trade among emerging economies hasn’t escaped the global slowdown. The WTO estimates that the growth of exports among developing economies slumped to 1.3 percent in 2014, down sharply from about 33 percent only four years earlier. In some cases, the ties between nations are tightening less than they appear. Despite the high-level friendship between China and Russia, persistent distrust has kept many of their promises of cooperation just that—promises. And politicians and policymakers intent on turning back globalism can hamper progress for everyone. Trump’s protectionism, if ever implemented, could spark retaliatory measures capable of dragging down global growth. In Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is talking tough on Brexit, saying the U.K. cannot go “cherry-picking” what it wants and doesn’t from EU membership. The trauma of the U.K.’s impending exit is expected to dampen growth not only in Europe, but possibly around the world. Yet the foes of globalization won’t be able to stop it. Too many countries see their future as part of something bigger. India long harbored doubts about participating in globalization, but after liberalizing rules on foreign direct investment in June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office tweeted that his country is the “most open economy in the world for FDI.” Next door in Myanmar, military rulers gave in to democratic reform after realizing their impoverished country could no longer remain isolated. They hope to gain from the opportunities embedded in this latest round of globalization—new sources of growth, finance, and profits; new founts of information and innovation; new job creators and consumers; and new ideas sprouting in a newly emerging global culture. Those who blame globalization for their problems think they’ll be better off watching from the sidelines. Trump and his supporters contend that erecting walls—literally and figuratively—will protect U.S. jobs and industry from an unfair global economy. But early indications say otherwise. The pound’s steep post-Brexit swoon is a signal that investors believe the U.K. is less competitive outside an integrated Europe than within it. In Paris and Frankfurt, bankers and politicians are eager to capitalize on Brexit to siphon off financial business from London.
Instead of pandering to isolationist forces, politicians would do better to address their very real concerns directly. Workers displaced by free trade need more intensive training to prepare them for new jobs. University education must become less expensive, and vocational schools more available. Allowing labor a greater voice in corporate management will help wage earners share more equitably in the profits globalization creates for Big Business. As the world continues to flatten, opponents of that inevitable, inexorable change must mind the edge.
SOURCE: The G Captain
A government-sponsored research institute and the City University of Hong Kong have teamed up for a joint project on an innovative unique solution to the problem of large amount food of thrown away during the course of its daily production, distribution and consumption. This includes not only leftovers but, for example, vegetables that are not within the standard range of size or shape. Hong Kong does not have sufficient landfills, and the city has been slow in making efforts to separate the 9,000 tons of garbage collected every day. Food waste is believed to account for a third of that. The city needs an alternative solution for the mountains of waste food that pile up every day. Edwin Keh, chief executive of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel, as he holds a piece of textile with a silky smooth texture said that it is made from kitchen garbage. According to Keh, food waste is a global issue and he believes this innovative material could help solve the problem. The mechanism is quite simple. Using enzymes, food waste containing sugar is converted into polylactic acid, a type of bioplastic. The material is then melted into the form of a filament. The process can recycle 10 tons of food waste into one ton of fabric, and a patent is pending. The method itself is not extraordinary, including the process of fermentation, and is a low-cost solution that does not require a large amount of resources, such as electricity and water. The project has received financial support from a European apparel manufacturer. Work is progressing towards commercialization, which the team hopes can be done in three to five years. But the hurdles remain, is the thread snaps easily, making it too delicate to be used for making clothes. One workaround is to blend the fiber with different materials to improve the quality. Keh said that his team wants to create a recycling technology that has commercial uses.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Teijin, a Japanese technology driven global group announced that it has developed a new range of nylon-based functional materials and related textiles by adapting the company’s well established polyester production technologies for nylon material are ideal for sports, outdoor and casual wear garments. The newly developed products offer the high functionality of polyester products such as lightweight, moisture management, anti-transparency, and softness — while retaining the characteristics of nylon fiber produced by Taiwanese nylon manufacturer Chain Yarn Corporation . The ‘Deltapeak’ and ‘Waveron’ lines are claimed to provide the high performance characteristics of nylon, whilst also maintaining the traditional properties found in polyester garments. Nylon fabrics traditionally have higher moisture absorption capabilities than polyester, with better wicking ability but slower drying rates. Polyamide fibres also have high abrasion resistance, flexibility and elasticity. They are, however, relatively more expensive than polyester and hence their use tends to be restricted to the likes of swimwear, cycling wear or as a reinforcing fibre in sportswear garment blends. Polyamide fibres also have very low air permeability making them a suitable light-weight material for windbreaker jackets and for the outer shell of ski garments. The company said that the new Deltapeak knitted nylon fabrics are ideal for outdoor, sports and casual wear. Its advantages include lightweight, softness, anti-transparency, stretchability, snag resistance and useful bulkiness thanks to its dense, flat-knit surface. It also offers high durability and colouring properties. The new Waveron nylon fibre features a unique cross-sectional shape consisting of four flat peaks, which enhance anti-transparency, moisture management and quick-drying. In addition, the nylon’s original characteristics offer softness, hygroscopic effectiveness, wear resistance and a cool feel to the touch. The fibre is suitable for use in yoga wear and compression garments when mixed with urethane fibre, as well as inner wear and surface fabrics for wadding, Teijin added. Both sets of fabrics are expected to be released to the market in sportswear and outdoor applications for Teijin’s spring/summer 2017 collections, with annual sales of both products expected to exceed 10 million metres by March 2019. Going forward, Teijin Frontier will continue to develop advanced athleisure materials, leveraging its long experience with highly functional polyester products, to meet increasingly diverse consumer demands.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
