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Union Minister for Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Food Piyush Goyal said here on Wednesday that the Centre was implementing Quality Control Orders (QCOs) on several products and services for faster adoption and alignment with world standards. He said the QCOs would help India have the same quality products as used in large markets worldwide, and hence importers abroad would have confidence in Indian goods. He noted that the National Quality Mission also included sensitising citizens so that they started demanding good quality products. He was talking to reporters on implementing standards through QCOs and standardisation in emerging technology sectors such as drones and electric vehicles. He said no new QCOs were introduced without adequate and repeated industry consultations. “In the leather and footwear sector, we issued three QCOs in October, 2020 after consultations with industries. If in two and a half years, somebody has not yet become compliant, then there is vested interest, which we cannot fulfil. Consumers in the country are not ready to accept low quality products,” he said and added that QCOs would reduce wastage and bring down prices. “No one has the right to play with the lives of people. No one has the right to dump lowquality products in India,” Mr. Goyal said. The Minister said a perception was being spread that QCOs were being implemented to stop imports. “It is not true. Our attempt is to change the mindset of the consumers towards quality products,” he added. The Centre said a total of 115 QCOs covering 493 products have been notified for compulsory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification. The BIS has formulated the Indian Standards (IS 17799:2022) for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – drones for agricultural purposes. “This standard would ensure the design and maintenance requirements such as requirements of control and stability, propulsion system, flight control system, geofencing, the performance of various subsystems such as control systems, mission profile, software under various environmental conditions of temperature, pressure, humidity, rain, vibration,” a government release said. Similarly, BIS has formulated five Indian Standards on e-vehicles and charging Infrastructure too.
Source: The Hindu
The Centre is working on bringing 643 products under the ambit of mandatory quality control orders to ensure compliance with quality standards. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is also in the process of finalising and developing standards for emerging sectors such as drones (unmanned aerial vehicles), electric vehicles & charging infrastructure including battery swapping Speaking to mediapersons on Wednesday, Minister for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal said as part of government’s focus to develop a robust quality ecosystem in the country, a total of 115 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) covering 493 products have been notified by various Ministries. Read: Bureau of Indian Standards to chalk out a plan for the next 25 years Till May 2014, only 14 QCOs covering 106 products had been notified for compulsory BIS certification and implementation of Indian Standards. However, after May 2014, further 101 QCOs covering 387 products have been notified by various Ministries. So far, 643 products are under consideration by 14 Ministries or departments to be brought under the ambit of the QCOs, officials said. ‘Robust quality ecosystem’ Stressing that quality is an important pillar to make India self-reliant, Goyal added that a robust quality ecosystem will increase exports, bring economies of scale, create more jobs, boost GDP and make India competitive. Responding to a query on resistance by some players on implementation of mandatory quality norms in the footwear sector, Goyal said that QCOs are implemented after adequate industry consultations. He added the government issued these orders for the footwear sector in October 2020 and more than two years have been given to players to become compliant with the norms. “Twice we have given extensions for implementation of these orders. We have given industry time of two and half years to become compliant for QCOs which comes into effect from July 1. Now where is the question of still not being able to comply...there is some vested interest. Indian consumers deserve good quality footwear and should not suffer,” he added. He pointed out that similar concerns were raised during the implementation of QCOs for toys, but after its implementation imports of substandard toys have dropped and there has been a significant increase in exports in this space. Meanwhile, in the electric vehicle (EV) space, BIS has published six standards that focus on safety parameters. It is in the process of developing three additional standards for EV and charging infrastructure. Standards of battery swapping are also under development as interoperability has been an area of concern for players, officials added. BIS officials said standards for drones used for agricultural purposes have already been published, which are used for soil analysis, irrigation, crop mapping and pest management. Now, standards are being developed for drones for general requirements among others.
Source: The Hindu
India will retaliate against a EU law that allows it to suspend concessions and impose trade restrictions if the law is invoked in response to an Indian appeal against a ruling on ICT tariffs at the dispute settlement panel of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a government official said. The WTO’s dysfunctional dispute settlement panel has found tariffs imposed by India on mobile phones and electronic components in violation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. These findings came after EU dragged India to the WTO panel in 2019 on the ICT issue. The panel has been unable to fill vacancies on the WTO Appellate Body, which has hobbled its ability to resolve trade disputes, giving way to rising tensions between WTO members. “The [EU] domestic law is not in conformity with the WTO. Since they have brought it, it has never been invoked. If they were to invoke it, then it would be a violation of WTO," the official stated. “It remains to be seen if they will invoke the domestic law. Because it is in contravention of violation of WTO, India can retaliate in WTO." The official said India is also considering a retaliation by imposing higher duties on products coming from the EU against the quota restrictions put in place by EU on steel imports from India in 2020. Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General, CUTS International that works on international trade issues, said the EU’s 2021 amendments to the EU regulation on trade enforcement give it the power to modify trade concessions against other countries. “Trade retaliation could take the form of suspension of concessions, introduction of quantitative restrictions and exclusion from public procurement. Yet, it is debatable how far the EU can unilaterally determine the levels of trade retaliation," Mehta said. However, Menta added that the objective of retaliation or trade sanctions in the WTO context are not intended to be punitive in nature. They only seek to secure compliance with a legal ruling. The EU’s regulation has the same conceptual basis. Experts suggested that the recently set up EU-India Trade and Technology Council can serve as a forum for talks and any escalatory action at this stage will be ill-advised and must not be allowed to derail ongoing FTA negotiations. Notably, India has already accorded duty-free treatment to two tariff item products, which was recognised by the WTO panel. Attempts can be made to arrive at a mutually agreed solution on the tariff treatment of the remaining products within the ongoing India-EU FTA negotiations, Mehta suggested. Mint had earlier reported that the WTO’s panel’s report will have little impact on India’s ICT products as the EU’s share of total Indian imports of ICT products during the calendar year 2022 was 3.03%, estimated at $550 million. Moreover, India has brought its duty rates to 0% with respect to two of the contested products, namely, headphones/earphones and electric convertors, since February 2022.
Source: live mint
The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) representing the organised textile industry in South India is organising 14th edition of SIMA Texfair 2024, an international expo for textile machinery, spares and accessories during June 21-24, 2024 at CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex, Coimbatore. The objectives of the fair is to provide a platform for the stake holder to zero in their investments and expenses prudently, showcase their inventions and cost effective items and other products, enable the technocrats and shop floor technicians to update their knowledge on the latest technology and create an awareness on cost cutting, to encourage micro, small and medium entrepreneurs also to showcase their products and get exposure to the market. It is a highly economical Fair with excellent services, organised by the user industry and being conducted at Coimbatore, which is the hub for textile business in India and the fair would be an ideal platform to showcase and market the products. The Association has formally commenced the stall booking with effect from 23rd March 2023 and the initial response is overwhelming. SIMA appeals to all the exhibitors to participate in the expo to make the event a grand success and internationally memorable one.
Source: Indian textile magazine
The effort is aimed at containing import of the sub-standard product and boost domestic industry. Products under the Quality Control Orders (QCOs) cannot be produced, traded or imported without conforming with the Bureau of Indian Standards quality norms and bearing a BIS mark. So far this year, 58 draft QCOs for 316 products are in different stages of progress, Goyal, who also holds the portfolio of consumer affairs ministry, told reporters here. "Overall 675 products are under consideration by 14 ministries so that this culture of quality becomes seeped in our day today working. It will help us reduce costs, improve competitiveness, boost exports, create jobs and promote brand India image," he added. He also informed that during 2015 to 2022, 101 such orders were issued for 387 products. It was only 14 QCOs for 106 products during 1947 and 2014. During the Covid period, India was recognised as the trusted partner by many developed countries and now they are involving India in developing the resilient global supply chains. "A living example of that is the increasing foot print of (iPhone maker) Apple in India which is being seen very closely with many companies around the world as an example of India's growth story," he added. Citing example of toys, he said that despite a lot of pressure from certain quarters, QCO was implemented in 2021 for the sector and it has helped in boosting domestic products and cut imports of sub-standard toys from different countries. "We are ...monitoring continuously....we have now reached a level where almost 85-90 per cent of toys are passing all the tests against 33 per cent toys that passed the tests in 2019," Goyal said. Through the issuance of QCOs, the notified products shall conform to the requirements of the relevant Indian standard and the manufacturers of these products have to compulsorily obtain certification from BIS. After the date of commencement of the QCO, no person shall manufacture, import, distribute, sell, hire, lease, store or exhibit for sale any products covered under the QCO without a standard mark except under a valid certification from BIS. As the QCOs are equally applicable to Indian manufacturers as well as foreign manufacturers, the Indian consumers are assured of the quality of such products manufactured in India as well as imported to the country. Some of the recent examples are toys (both electric and non-electric), helmets for two-wheeler riders, domestic appliances like air-conditioners, refrigerators, domestic cooker, LPG gas stove, and footwear. PTI RR SHW
Source: The newsdrum.in
The times ahead are going to be tough and challenging and exporters should show their capabilities in such situations to increase shipments, said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. While addressing FIEO's Niryat Shree and Niryat Bandhu Awards function held in New Delhi, he said, "India's exports have reached an all-time high of USD 773 billion in 2022-23." "The times ahead are going to be very, very tough. The situation is only deteriorating from what we saw as happened today in the Ukraine-Russia war, It's going to be very, very challenging in the months and years ahead of us. But tough times is the time when people with mettle show their capabilities," he added. According to reports, Russia has claimed it foiled an attack by Ukrainian drones on the Kremlin early Wednesday, calling it an unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin and promising retaliation for what it termed a terrorist act. The Ukrainian president denied it, saying "We didn't attack Putin or Moscow". The minister said that in the global economic uncertainties, Indian exporters showed resilience and exports of goods and services reached USD 773 billion. Mr Goyal said, "Let us all work together to ensure that we don't get left behind. Let us all work together to ensure that we will show the pathway to the rest of the world and towards that trading beyond boundaries, trading to newer markets, and trading in newer products produced in India for the world. Serving from India to the world economies, to developed economies, exploring new markets, and new opportunities, diversifying our export basket, encouraging collaborations and investment both into the country and internationally, and becoming globally more competitive. These will be the drivers of our export and future international engagements. We have to ensure that the world recognizes brand India for quality and reliability." He also expressed confidence that exports by 2030 would reach USD 2 trillion.
Source: The ndtv.com
Supply chain management is a complex process that involves the coordination of various parties and the movement of goods and services from suppliers to customers. It is a critical aspect of business operations, and as such, it is essential to ensure that every stage of the supply chain is monitored and managed effectively. Traceability is one such aspect of supply chain management that plays a crucial role in ensuring that the goods and services are tracked and accounted for at every stage of the process. In this article, we will explore why traceability is essential in supply chain management and how it can benefit businesses. Traceability in supply chain management refers to the ability to track and trace the movement of goods and services at every stage of the process. It involves the use of advanced technology to monitor and record the flow of products from the supplier to the customer. The traceability process involves recording and monitoring data such as product information, supplier information, shipping details, and delivery information. The data collected is then used to identify potential problems and issues in the supply chain, as well as to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the process. In India, the food and agriculture industry is the largest employer, however, it suffers from significant wastage, which amounts to approximately $13 billion annually, or 5- 15% of the value of fruits and vegetables, due to inadequate harvesting technologies and insufficient cold chain infrastructure. Moreover, with the population expected to reach almost 1.6 billion by 2030, the pressure on the already strained food systems will continue to increase. Therefore, it is crucial to prioritize the supply chain and identify and address inefficiencies to ensure that it can cope with the growing demand for food.
Source: Times of India
Thanks to the energy crisis, a strong dollar, and a slowdown in the global market consequent to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, many textile and apparel makers in Bangladesh saw lower profits even as many even incurred losses in the January-March quarter of the current fiscal. This is as per media reports, which cited the concerned industry players in this direction even as many listed companies in this sector reportedly witnessed a sharp decline in profit during the first quarter, as per the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) data, which showed 45 out of 58 listed companies that published their January to March quarter financial statements, 17 incurred losses while the profit of 16 companies declined compared to the same period of the previous fiscal. Only 12 companies reportedly managed to make a profit. Meanwhile, speaking to media, President of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) and Chairman of Maksons Spinning Mills Limited, Mohammad Ali Khokon underlined the textile sector has been facing a hard time after production costs went up owing to gas and electricity price hikes even as imported yarn continued to flood the local market, compounding problems further for the textile makers.
Source: Apparel Resources
Expenditure on clothing topped the list in terms of growth rate for various items under the Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) in FY22, followed by alcohol and footwear, according to a report by the Statistics Ministry. However, the increase in food expenditure was in the single digit. PFCE includes the final consumption expenditure of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) such as temples and gurdwaras. Data showed that at the constant price (with a base year of 2011-12), the expenditure on clothing rose over 26 per cent, followed by a 14.3 increase in alcohol and 12.8 per cent in footwear, while that of food rose by just 7 per cent. At the current price, the increase for textiles was over 35 per cent, followed by 19.76 per cent for footwear and 19.16 per cent for alcohol in FY22. Expenditure on food recorded a rise of 11 per cent Also read: Healthcare textiles look to provide the next layer of infection-control According to DK Srivastava, Chief Policy Advisor at EY India, because of Covid, health expenditures, reduced incomes, and increased demand for precautionary savings forced families to cut down on their consumption, especially on non-essential items such as alcohol and to some extent textile and footwear. As incomes started to increase in FY22 and Covid subsided, households attempted to restore their preCovid consumption levels. “Growth in food expenditure was relatively less as compared to the other items because food expenditure growth in the Covid year was positive unlike the other commodities where there was a strong contraction,” he said. Anil Kumar Sood, Professor and Co-Founder of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Complex Choices (IASCC), said the PFCE has indeed grown significantly in real as well as nominal terms — 17.8 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively. However, “we must interpret the consumption data for FY22 very carefully, as we had experienced a collapse in consumption during FY21 and FY20, too, was not good”, he said. Also read: How can India leverage its textile industry to boost export? Further, high growth during FY22 still does not offset the consumption decline experienced during the pandemic. Growth in discretionary expenditure is still significantly below the trend rate. For example, even with clothing expenditure growing by 26.6 per cent in real terms, the pandemic period growth is still at 3.9 per cent, compared to the trend rate of 5 per cent. It is worse for footwear at -0.7 per cent, compared to the pre-pandemic CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of 6.8 per cent Srivastava expects a restoration of normal growth of the pre-Covid years in FY23. According to NSO’s second advance estimates, overall private final consumption expenditure is estimated to grow in real terms by 7.3 per cent. This is only marginally higher than the average annual growth of 6.9 per cent during the pre-Covid period from 2015-16 to 2019-20. “We also expect demand for food to grow around 5 per cent which was its normal growth in the pre-Covid years while expenditure growth in the non-essential items is expected to be higher,” he said. Sood thinks since India’s real growth in GDP is expected to be only between 6-6.5 per cent during the next five years, which is below the pre-pandemic trend growth of about 7 per cent, “I don’t accept the consumption growth to accelerate anytime soon.”
Source: The Hindu
INTERNATIONAL
Tighter U.S. rules to ban imports from China's Xinjiang and the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act have weakened Vietnam's apparel and footwear manufacturers. The sector has already shed nearly 90,000 jobs since October as demand slowed. The US law, in place since June, requires companies to prove that they do not use raw materials or components produced by Xinjiang's forced labor. The U.S. clampdown hurts, as it comes on top of a drop in clothing demand from richer nations, that has already dented industrial output and exports from Vietnam, a major supplier to big brands, such as Gap, Nike and Adidas. The value of shipments from Vietnam that have been denied entry to the U.S. exceeded $2 million, three times more than those from China - with the sanctions having increased in the first months of this year. He said it was unlikely Vietnam could drastically reduce this dependence, also because many of their manufacturers are owned by Chinese investors. An industry and a government official familiar with the situation confirmed that some Vietnamese suppliers may find it difficult to comply with the new rules, either because they import cotton from Xinjiang or because they are unable to prove they do not. Two officials from U.S. footwear and apparel industry trade associations have said that the new rules have had no major impact so far on Vietnam and blamed recent job cuts on lower global demand. "Normally, firms recruit new workers after Tet (Lunar New Year), but this year everything has gone the opposite," said Nguyen Thi Huong, 45, who worked for Pou Chen for ten years and recently lost her job, as reported by Reuters
Source: Big News Network
Europe seeks to tackle the overproduction and overconsumption of apparel and footwear by taking proactive measures. The Green Deal includes harsher rules. ‘Selling a lot of clothes at cheap prices that are of lower quality.’ This is how the European Commission characterises ‘fast fashion,’ a practise it seeks to outlaw within the EU. Many of the major fashion companies, including Zara and H&M, which have built their empires on fast fashion, are faced with a difficult choice. In actuality, fast-fashion companies now control the majority of the fashion sector. Before the summer, Europe wants to suggest more stringent rules. Products will need to be devoid of dangerous materials and made with as much recycled fibre as possible. They must be more resilient, reusable, and recyclable. Throughout the entire production process, human rights, social rights, labour rights, environmental protection, and animal welfare must be upheld. The EU also wants to prevent the destruction of returned or unused textiles and minimise the amount of microplastics and microfibres that end up in the environment. Additionally, the Commission seeks to end ‘greenwashing’ by better educating consumers and tightening up regulation of ‘green claims.’ It’s time to take action, according to MEP Delara Burkhardt, since “if we allow the market to self-regulate, we leave the doors open for a fast fashion model that exploits people and the resources of the planet. Manufacturers and major fashion brands must be compelled by law to operate more sustainably.” The European Green Deal was applied to the textile industry by the Commission’s proposal of a European Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles in March of last year.
Source: Apparel Resources
Apparel is Sri Lanka's largest industrial export and earned $5.95 billion in 2022, helping the country as it weathered its worst financial crisis since independence in 1948, triggered by a record reduction in foreign exchange reserves. But the industry's first-quarter performance in 2023 has struggled with textiles and garment exports dropping 13.8% to $1.3 billion, data from Sri Lanka's central bank showed. Exports in March marked the lowest in three years, said Yohan Lawrence, Secretary General of the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), which is the industry's apex body. "Given the slowdown in demand we are seeing now, a $1 billion reduction in exports this year is not unreasonable," he told Reuters. "Our projection is it could be five to six more months before we see a recovery in global demand." Shipments to the Unites States, the country's biggest buyer, dropped by 22% to $470 million in the first quarter. Exports to the European Union fell 13% to $344 million while first-quarter exports to the United Kingdom were down 10% to $167.7 million, according to the latest JAAF data. A steep 66% power tariff hike in February has also hit Sri Lanka's competitiveness, Lawrence added. However, the industry is not expecting significant job losses from the downturn but small and medium companies could see difficulties as the sector adapts to deal with a slowdown in orders. The island's apparel sector has about 300,000 employees, most of whom are women.
Source: The fashionnetwork.com
Worker’s safety programme, The Life and Building Safety Initiative (LABS) has launched a new collaborative platform, the Platform for Safety in Apparel and Footwear Industry (PSAFI), aimed at promoting fire, electrical and building safety and sustainable development in India’s apparel and footwear industry. The platform seeks to provide a trusted and neutral space for industry stakeholders to come together, discuss, and exchange ideas on addressing safety issues in the sector. The initiative aims to promote a preventative safety culture and cooperation between governments, employers, workers, and their organisations. At the launch event of PSAFI, LABS spokesperson Pramit Chanda said: “For us, some of the key objectives of the platform include identifying opportunities to scale interventions, improving the management of building safety risks, transparency in reporting, promoting gender empowerment and driving positive changes in safe working conditions in factories and industrial parks across the country and the manufacturing sector.” Prajakta L Verma, joint secretary, ministry of textiles, the government of India, added: “There are a lot of challenges around worker safety, and especially the safety of women workers, which also presents an opportunity to make improvements. We look forward to PSAFI helping stakeholders in coming together in a collaborative manner and addressing issues together in a steadfast way, for providing a safe and healthy environment to workers in the sector.” The launch event for PSAFI took place in New Delhi, India on 28 April, 2023, with discussions on topics such as “how various stakeholders in the supply chain look at worker safety’ and ‘what more needs to be done for providing safer working conditions.’ Experts, stakeholders, and representatives from the industry, government, and workers’ organisations came together to chart a path towards a safer and more sustainable future for the apparel and footwear industry in India. PSAFI is open to all interested parties, including industry professionals, policymakers, workers’ representatives, and other stakeholders, to join the platform and contribute to the collective efforts in improving safety in the apparel and footwear industry in India.
Source: The just-style.com
As a part of the effort to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, Vietnam is encouraging developers to establish eco-industrial parks and transition from traditional to ecological ones. In 2022, Vietnam National Strategy on Climate Change for 2050 was approved. The country aims to lower its greenhouse gas emissions by 43.5% by 2030 and achieve peak carbon emissions in 2035 and net zero by 2050. According to experts, the development of eco-IPs plays an important role in the national target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and benefitting businesses with symbiotic relationships. Although eco-IP is an inevitable trend, many barriers still exist to expanding the model across the country. Implementing this model requires large investment capital and a great deal of determination from industrial real estate developers. With a vision of sustainable development and a mission to facilitate an eco- industrial park for continual clean, green growth requirements from investors, Aurora IP has been established. It is oriented to be the green, clean, and sustainable textile industrial park in Nam Dinh province in northern Vietnam. Developed by Cat Tuong Group, one of the leading real estate developers in Vietnam, Aurora IP has embraced developing a green IP encompassing clean energy facilities, clean water production with green energy, and international standard waste collection and treatment. It is one of the few IPs in Vietnam that meets the legal and utility infrastructure requirements qualified to accommodate fabric-dyeing establishment. It has one of the largest wastewater treatment systems in the country with a capacity of 110,000 m3/day night, divided into modules with advanced and synchronous technology. It shall ensure the treatment standard of wastewater before discharging. Aurora IP’s leading water extraction and treatment system will take water from the Day River surface. It minimizes the exploitation of groundwater and the impact on the environment and geology while always ensuring adequate water supply for producers. With such a well-designed system and a developed social infrastructure, Aurora IP is committed to bringing optimal facilities for textile & dyeing production. In addition, the IP also prioritizes and encourages manufacturers to apply energysaving solutions using renewable energy and environmentally friendly materials. Besides the advantages of geographical location and model infrastructure, Aurora IP offers attractive investment incentives and long-term commitment to investors throughout its operation in Vietnam. Many large foreign investors recognized these efforts of the Cat Tuong Group. Previously, it successfully signed large-scale projects with total investment capital of $300 million with many investors from Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to develop high-tech textile and dyeing projects. Jehong Textile is among the companies that joined Aurora IP on the journey to promote sustainable growth for Vietnam’s textile and garment industry. It was recently awarded three green-related ISO certifications by the British Standards Institution. “We at Cat Tuong Group believe that development must go hand in hand with eco-preservation. Therefore, protecting the ecological environment is our top priority. Since its establishment, Aurora IP has made great strides towards the eco-industrial park goal, which aligns with our vision of being a sustainable real estate developer,” said Tran Quoc Viet – Chairman & CEO of Cat Tuong Group. “Sustainability is the core of everything we do. We are aware of our responsibility to bring investors an ideal destination for production and contribute to the stable development of Vietnam’s textile and garment industry in the industrialization and modernization process,” he added.
Source: Indian textile magazine
Pakistan’s textile sector exports witnessed a significant decline of 29%, clocking in at $1.24 billion in April 2023 compared to $1.74 billion recorded in the same month of previous year, showed provisional data released by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) on Tuesday. Data showed the country’s textile exports in the first ten months of FY23 decreased by 14% to $13.71 billion from $15.97 billion a year earlier. The decline in textile exports, a crucial industrial sector of Pakistan, has raised concerns for the South Asian economy, which is dealing with low foreign exchange reserves. Forex reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) are treading at $4.46 billion, barely enough for a month of essential imports. Earlier, APTMA had warned that the country’s textile exports could fall by $3 billion this year as compared to last year, while urging authorities to take immediate and urgent intervention. “The decline in textile exports has been progressively accelerating,” APTMA Patron in Chief Gohar Ejaz had said in a letter to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. “Given the trajectory of decline, Pakistan is likely to fall short by $3 billion in textile exports from the exports achieved last year of $19.4 billion without taking into account any increase from newly installed capacity,” warned Ejaz. Pakistan’s trade deficit narrowed by 39.62% to $23.713 billion during the first 10 months (July-April) of the current fiscal year 2022-23 as compared to $39.272 billion during the same period of last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said. The country’s exports during July-April (2022-23) were recorded at $23.174 billion against the exports of $26.247 billion in July-April of 2021-22, showing a decline of 11.71%, according to the trade data released by PBS on Tuesday.
Source: The brecorder.com
