INTERNATIONAL
Textile Raw Material Price 2016-08-11
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1025.04 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
VSF |
2412.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
ASF |
1896.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
1032.57 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2302.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4365.08 |
USD/Ton |
27.19% |
8/11/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1956.76 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2069.65 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1128.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
2513.68 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
5621.92 |
USD/Ton |
0.08% |
8/11/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1285.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2995.35 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1791.19 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2415.85 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3145.87 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2393.27 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1941.71 |
USD/Ton |
-0.77% |
8/11/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2318.01 |
USD/Ton |
-0.65% |
8/11/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.38 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.85 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.19 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.70 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
8/11/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15046 USD dtd. 30/06/2016)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
India's merchandise exports resumed their declining trend in July after a marginal rise in June as Brexit and slowing global growth pulled down shipments. July exports were down 6.8% to $21.6 billion while the decline in imports was sharper at 19% to $29.4 billion, data released by the commerce department on Friday showed. Trade deficit in the month narrowed to $7.76 billion from $8.1 billion in June. "As feared, the y-o-y rise in merchandise exports, both aggregate and non-oil, has proved to be shortlived with widespread y-o-y degrowth in July 2016," said Aditi Nayar, Senior Economist, ICRA."The decline in export reflect the contraction in global trade and leading exporting countries like China also witnessed similar decline in the month of July, 2016. President FIEO said that global trade uncertainties are increasing and Brexit has further compounded the same," said S C Ralhan, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations. China's exports fell 4.4% in July and imports declined 12.5%. As many as 23 of the 30 exporting sectors reported negative growth. Ralhan said that the decline in exports of engineering goods, leather and textiles is major concern as these are high employment intensive sectors of exports. The government has set a target of increasing India's exports to $900 billion by 2018-19 and expanding the country's share of global exports to more than 3%. SHARP FALL IN IMPORT Non-petroleum imports contracted 15.8% to $22.6 billion while oil imports shrank 28% to $6.8 billion. The decline in imports was also partly due to a 63% dip in gold imports to $1.07 billion.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
With market analysts predicting that cotton prices are unlikely to fall until the next season that starts in October, textile mills in the Manchester of South India are taking desperate measures like reducing production and raising prices of hosiery yarn. Though the state government does not have a role to play in cotton pricing, they say that reducing taxes as per their earlier demands will go a long way in this situation. Domestic cotton prices, especially the preferred Shankar-6 variety, have risen from 34,000 per candy (355 kgs of cotton) in April to 49,000 per candy by July-end. According to India Ratings and Research, prices of cotton are unlikely to come down till October, when the new season begins for cotton. As a result, textile mills in the state, which account for 46% of the spinning capacity in the country, preferred to bring down production by 15% to 20%, to at least cut their losses. The textile industry accepts that the state government cannot play a role in stabilising or bringing down cotton prices, but say they can take many long-term and short-term measures to help the industry tide over the current crisis and prevent it in the future. "Though the GST bill has been passed, at least till it is implemented, the state government can reduce its VAT (value added tax) on cotton cone yarn from 5% to 2 % to bring it on a par with the central sales tax," said Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) chairman M Senthilkumar. "Because of this tax difference of 3%, we buy and sell a majority of our cotton raw material and products to other states. This hurts both mills and TN's economy," he said. "Because otherwise, we have to transfer the tax burden to our fabric, which is not taxed across the country. But our product becomes expensive. And even if we buy from other states, there is a huge transport cost involved," he said
SOURCE: The Times of India
India’s exports are better placed in terms of product diversification as top ten export products account for 58 per cent of total shipments, says a study. The study by an industry body analysed concentration of top 10 export products for major economies, including Hong Kong (89 per cent), Republic of Korea (86 per cent), Japan (77 per cent), the UK (71 per cent), Germany (70 per cent), the USA (68 per cent), China (68 per cent), Netherlands (63 per cent) and France (60 per cent). Higher the percentage of the country, the more it is concentrated to exports of few products and lesser the percentage of the country, the more diversified it is in terms of export diversification of its products. India has consistently diversified its export products as concentration of top ten export products was 60 per cent in 2010 and 58 per cent in 2015, noted the analysis conducted by PHD Chamber of Commerce. However, notwithstanding the diversification of export products, India’s export growth trajectory has showed lacklustre performance due to slowdown in demand in the destination countries. “Although things are improving in logistics and export infrastructure front, the cost of credit to exporters is still high as compared to its competitors in the international market,” PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mahesh Gupta said. As world economy witnessed slowdown in demand, all top export countries posted negative growth in 2015 except France.
In Netherlands export growth was (-17 per cent), Italy (-13 per cent), Germany (-11 per cent), the UK (-9 per cent), Republic of Korea (-8 per cent), the USA (-7 per cent), Hong Kong (-5 per cent), China (-3 per cent) but positive in France at (1 per cent), the study pointed out. India stands 19th in the list of exporters with merchandise exports valued at USD 262 billion. India’s share in exports is estimated at 1.6 per cent with a growth rate of (-)15.5 per cent in 2015-16, the analysis noted. “Further, a ray of hope is emerging with decent efforts undertaken by the government in improving the ease of doing business and reforms in export infrastructure,” Gupta said. With the continuous reforms, exports showed a positive growth of 1.27 per cent in June and hopefully one can anticipate an incremental growth scenario in the coming months too, he added. Going ahead, there is lot of potential for India to enhance its exports as seven out of the top ten export destinations of India such as the USA, the UAE, Hong Kong, China, the UK, Singapore and Germany are also among top 10 export destinations of leading exporters, the study observed. “As these destinations are already in focus of our exporters, the need of the hour is to enhance our competitiveness in terms of reduced costs of capital and improved exports logistics to increase our volumes of exports,” said Gupta. “Going ahead, the continuous pace of reforms at domestic front and recovery in the international market would help India to remain in positive exports growth trajectory in the coming months,” he added.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
Textile and worsted fabrics major Raymond Ltd is expanding its retail network across diverse brands. The company is also developing an omni-channel to cater to the growing demand for online sales. It will renovate and upgrade more than 100 stores during this year, while it sets up over 100 stores during the current financial year. “The move to renovate existing chain of stores set up over the past few decades and new ones is in line with the company’s move to expand beyond tier II and III cities to tier IV and V smaller towns,” said Mohit Dhanjal, Director, Retail. Dhanjal told BusinessLine that, “Our experience has shown that all those stores which have been upgraded, have had more than four times increase in sales. Thus far, we have upgraded over 100 stores of the 1,000 plus stores we have across brands within the Raymond-fold”. He was here recently to launch the ‘Look good , Do Good’ initiative partnering with social enterprise Goonj, where people are encouraged to exchange their old trousers, buy new new trousers at showrooms and avail free tailoring services in exchange for old ones. “We have one of the biggest retail chains with over 715 Raymond stores spread across 385 towns. Along with other brands under the Raymond portfolio -- Park Avenue, ColorPlus, Parx, Raymond ready-to-wear, we have more than 1,050 stores, which are both fully-owned and franchisee stores,” he said. “Lately, online sales have begun to gain as youngsters are looking at convenience of shopping from home. Towards this, we are building an omni-channel to help us further consolidate our business,” he said.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
Special Economic Zone (SEZ) developers and units from Tamil Nadu — the State which refused to support the Constitution Amendment Bill on the Goods & Services Tax (GST) in the Rajya Sabha — have expressed concern that the law could end all tax advantages for such zones. They have sought changes in the proposed legislation to ensure continuation of benefits. In a recent representation to the Finance Ministry, the Tamil Nadu Association of SEZ Infrastructure Developers (TASID) sought more flexibility in the definition of ‘exports’, zero-rating of all domestic levies on supplies to SEZs and non-imposition of IGST (tax on inter-State supplies) on goods imported by the units. “It is shocking that the current status in the form of exemptions and zero rating for SEZs have not been retained in the main GST law. Unless the SEZ related provisions are grandfathered into the GST, the entire object of SEZs would be defeated,” TASID pointed out. The Commerce Ministry is already in discussions with the Finance Ministry on how to retain tax exemptions at present availed by SEZs under the new GST law, but it is the latter which would take the final call on the matter. According to the SEZ Act, ‘exports’ also incorporate supplying goods or services from domestic tariff area (area outside SEZs) to a unit or developer and supplying goods or services from one unit to another unit or developer in the same or different SEZ. The broad definition exempts SEZ units from paying taxes when they supply to each other and when units outside the zones supply to them. The Model GST law, on the other hand, defines ‘export of goods’ to mean taking out of India to a place outside India. “The definition of ‘export’ is absolutely narrow in the GST law and defeats the entire concept of SEZ,” said TASID adding that the definition of ‘export’ in the SEZ Act must be incorporated in the GST law.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
The country’s economic recovery is expected to accelerate in the long-term on the back of rise in purchasing power, consumption growth and monetary policy easing, while inflation is seen below 5 per cent over the next two years, says a Morgan Stanley report. “We believe this will be a longer duration expansion cycle with GDP growth expected to accelerate and inflation expected to remain at or below 5 per cent over the next two years,” Morgan Stanley said in a research note. According to the global financial services major, the recovery in the Indian economy will be led by domestic demand, with factors like consumption, public capex and foreign investment playing the key part.
Five factors that will drive consumption growth sustainably higher going forward include, sustained moderation in inflation and improvement in purchasing power; trailing monetary policy easing and expectation of more easing; pay commission-related wage hikes for government employees; pick-up in job growth; potential improvement in the rural sector if the weather becomes supportive. According to the global financial services major, the macro environment has seen steady improvement in the last two years, however, the pace of growth recovery has been slower than anticipated. Morgan Stanley expects inflation to be sustainably lower at 4.5 per cent year-on-year in quarter ended March 2017, as drivers of both food and non-food inflation are likely to remain supportive of a deceleration in inflation. Though the RBI has highlighted that risks to inflation trajectory could emanate from food prices, impact of 7th Pay Commission and possible impact from GST, Morgan Stanley believes that risks from these remain manageable. “We continue to believe that CPI inflation will remain on the path of moderation, reaching 4.5 per cent year-on-year by March. In our view, all the drivers of inflation (commodity prices, wage costs, fiscal consolidation, property prices) will remain benign, leading to a sustained deceleration in inflation trajectory,” the report said. On RBI’s policy stance, the report said, “Based on our inflation forecast and the RBI’s stated real rates target of 1.5-2 per cent, we expect another 50 bps of rate cuts in this fiscal year. We see a high probability of RBI reducing rates in the October meeting (full impact of monsoon season will be known).” RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan in his last monetary policy review on August 9 left interest rates unchanged citing “upside risks” to inflation but said the central bank’s stance remains “accommodative”. Expecting “upside” risk to his March inflation target of 5 per cent due to pay hike of central government employees following the 7th Pay Commission and sticky core inflation, which excludes food and fuel, he kept benchmark repurchase rate at five-year low of 6.50 per cent.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
India and Sri Lanka, after years of delay following ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa's intransigence, have finally launched negotiations this week on Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) formerly known as CEPA or Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that will push both Indian investments and services into the island nation. Indo-Lanka ETCA that promises Indian investments in Lanka besides boosting service sector hopes to be in place by year-end despite strong opposition from Rajapaksa supporters. A four-member Indian team led by a commerce ministry official was in Colombo this week for the first round of negotiations with their Lankan counterparts, an official source said. As this was the very first meeting, the two sides explored the broad contours of the ETCA in terms of areas it should cover and avoid. The two sides also apprised each other of their needs and concerns in the light of the changing economic situation and the experience accruing from the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISLFTA) which has been in existence since 2000. While India is looking at the ETCA as a mechanism to enable it to participate in the post-war economic development of Sri Lanka through Indian investments in select areas, the Sri Lankan government is seeking to use ETCA to become part of the Indian supply chain for the manufacturing sector, indicated a person familiar with the discussions. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Strategic Development and International Trade had issued a statement recently which said that the ETCA will enable Indian manufacturers to set up factories in Sri Lanka and export to third countries with which Colombo plans to have Free Trade Agreements. India plans to send professionals for the IT sector and ship building, where there is a need for expertise and higher levels of training there. These are also sectors that could boost Sri Lanka's exports.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
With less than a month to go before the Prime Ministers of India and China meet post the NSG fiasco, the two countries have decided to set up a dialogue mechanism at the level of foreign secretaries for the first time. The decision to set up a new mechanism at the level of foreign secretaries was taken during a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was on a three-day visit to India. “A new mechanism at the level of Foreign Secretaries agreed to discuss ties. It's a new mechanism so earlier mechanisms remain,” said an official who was present during the talks. The Foreign Secretary-level talks will be a new mechanism that will encompass all bilateral issues between both the countries. This will be over and above the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) that both sides already have in place, sources told BusinessLine . The SED was held in 2014 and there has not been much headway in the talks between both the sides on issues such as India’s membership at the Nuclear Suppliers Group, defence cooperation between both the military establishments, rising trade deficit and shrinkage in Indian exports to China, among others. As a result, both countries have now decided to set up the new mechanism keeping in mind India’s decision to join the NSG, whereas China is firm that India should take a position on the South China Sea (SCS) issue. In fact, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang made it explicit that India takes a stand on the SCS when he came to India.
According to sources, the dates for the meeting of the foreign secretaries have not yet been decided, but the talks may take place after Modi’s visit to China to attend the G20 Summit where he will meet his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang on the sidelines. Last week, a state-run Chinese daily had threatened that if India focuses on the South China Sea tensions, then it might have an adverse impact on the economic and business ties between the two countries.
Arm-twisting tactics
However, according to experts, the new mechanism might not yield the desired results. “This is going to be another institution without any concrete results. We already have the SED and there is also a separate channel for the border talks to take place. What will the new mechanism contribute remains to be seen. Nothing dramatic is expected to come out of it. China is basically resorting to coercive diplomacy. They want us to support their stance on the South China Sea issue, and only then will they support India’s NSG bid. They are trying to arm-twist us,” said Srikanth Kondapalli, Professor in Chinese Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
For Texhong Textile Group, investing in Vietnam was a strategic move to circumvent the adverse impact of its home country not being part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But now, even as uncertainty looms over the free trade pact amid open opposition by both major-party U.S. presidential candidates, the Chinese company is firmly committed to further expansion in its southern neighbor. Texhong, one of the world's largest yarn suppliers, has been aggressively building up production capabilities in TPP signatory Vietnam. Founder and Chairman Hong Tianzhu has said one of the main intentions of investing there is to deal with the trade agreement. Execution of the TPP "will pose new challenges to China's textile and apparel enterprises," so the company is building up its Vietnam operation "with respect to the cost advantages" and prospects of the pact, he said in its latest annual report this March. The company is staying the course in Vietnam despite the dark clouds hanging over the agreement. Co-CEO Zhu Yongxiang said Monday that even without the TPP, the competitiveness of the Vietnam operation "is very strong, among all Southeast Asian nations and even compared to Chinese production bases."
Vietnamese production has at least three advantages besides the TPP, Zhu pointed out. One is relatively favorable trade relations with the world vis-a-vis China. Even before the TPP, tariffs on yarns exported from Vietnam to Japan, South Korea and Europe were lower compared with exporting them from Chinese factories. Production costs are another advantage. "Compared to China, its labor, electricity and other costs are lower in Vietnam," Zhu said. In addition, the factory's location is "very good" for the group's overall operation. Its Vietnamese production complex sits in Quang Ninh Province, which is adjacent to China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. This enables the company to include its Vietnamese factory in a production chain already established in southern China. And being close to the port makes exporting convenient. Indeed, the company's expansion in Vietnam continues. The new yarn production line there will be in full swing during the second half. Upon completion, the company's yarn production in Vietnam is expected to become almost on a par with its Chinese operation.
Manufacturing is going downstream beyond yarn. Production equipment with an annual capacity of 60 million meters of gray fabric, 40 million meters of woven dyed fabric, and 7 million pieces of garments will be installed by around November and begin full operation early next year. The productivity of a number of lines in Vietnam has exceeded that of those in China, Zhu said. In the meantime, studies of other Southeast Asian locations have only reinforced Vietnam's advantages. The co-CEO acknowledged that Vietnam will be the future first choice for further production expansion. First-half revenue announced Monday came to 5.82 billion yuan ($877 million), up 20% on the year. Net profit attributable to shareholders grew 56% to 456 million yuan. Segment revenue from yarn in Vietnam, including internal transactions, now accounts for 21% of the total. In terms of assets, the Vietnam operation adds up to more than 4 billion yuan, constituting a third of the group as a whole. But what about the risk of excessive exposure in Vietnam, where bilateral relations have been strained over the territorial dispute in the South China Sea? "I have considered somewhat on this, but it has not become a major consideration," Zhu told the Nikkei Asian Review after the news conference. This is because Vietnam, following in China's footsteps, has already come a long way on the path of economic reform and has accepted so many foreign investors. "Therefore, I believe the government will act in a rational manner. ... I don't think politics will destroy the economy," he said. Zhu said he has not felt any influence derived from Sino-Vietnamese political tensions and holds that separating politics and business "is a big global trend."
SOURCE: The Asian Review
PAKISTAN’S textile industry is fast collapsing after the closure of around 100 textiles mills and their Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) are massively rising, causing more setbacks to the struggling economy. Out of total of 250 textiles mills, these 100 mills located in Punjab and Sindh are feared to have added another Rs3 billion in the already piled up Rs630 billion NPLs by the end of June 2015, up 5.8 per cent from a year ago. Though most of the increase in NPLs came from the agricultural sector because of the unfavourable weather conditions, the continued closure of small and large textile units is said to have speedily increased what is also termed “bad loans”. According to the officials of the central bank, NPLs rose by 1.6 per cent in April-June quarter of 2015-16 over the last corresponding period. So far officials and experts maintain that these non-performing loans have not posed any serious threat to the banking system.
Nevertheless, the way textile mills are closing down due to the lukewarm attitude of the ministry of commerce, their bad loans could soon pose a serious threat to the banking industry as well as the overall textile sector which is one of the vital pillars of the economy. Banking industry, it is said, has started worrying as these NPLs are fast becoming unmanageable and has started bluntly refusing the textile industry to seek any kind of loaning with the result more and more mills are closing down in both the provinces. Commerce Minister Engineer Khurram Dastgir when asked recently about the increasing problems of the textile industry, he reportedly said what does APTMA give in terms of revenues and that why should it be bailed out in any respect? “Instead of supporting us the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) is after us and attaching our mills for failing to pay their due taxes,” laments prominent textile businessmen Mian Habibullah. Former Minister of State Mian Habibullah is very critical of the government’s, what he termed, “apathy” towards the textile industry and calls for rescuing it before it is too late. The FBR officials, he said, get “speed money” (a kind of financial reward) for recovering taxes from the textile mills owners by attaching their mills which mean they cannot work unless pay their due taxes. “We pay our sales tax, income tax and other taxes but still we are being haunted by the FBR,” he said. The industry, he said, needs incentives to come out of the present highly-sluggish mode to perform and that the government has to offer uninterrupted supply of power and gas along with other utilities to enhance overall exports which continue to go down due to one reason or another. “The irony is we do not have any textile minister.”
While all regional economies are flourishing, Pakistan lags behind in terms of witnessing certain increase in exports. The dream of achieving $25 billion annual target of exports is fast becoming a difficult undertaking. The trade gap has widened by 18 per cent from $2.6 billion to $1.76 billion because of the decline in exports which have gone down by seven per cent while imports are up by six per cent. This all is happening despite the fact that oil prices still are very low and helped reduce the oil import bill that went down by almost $5 billion a year. Now when the allegations are being levelled by the politicians against each other for getting their billions of rupees loans written off, the issue of non-performing loans has started hurting the banking sector. The officials of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the market analysts, however, believe that more-than proportional increase in gross loans has resulted in decline in the overall share of bad loans compared to last year. The risks emanating from rising infected portfolio, they say, remain low in the economy.
Among various sectors, textile industry has recorded the highest amount of bad loans which is whooping 28.4 per cent followed by automobile/transportation (19.2) per cent, electronics (16.8) per cent, shoe and leather garments (15.9) per cent and cement (14.9) per cent. According to the SBP data, minimum infected ratios were recorded in insurance (1.3) per cent, sugar (4.8 per cent) and production/transmission of energy (5.7) per cent at the end of June 2015. The rising NPLs reflect the bad health of the banking system which otherwise is thriving because of its number of hidden and open operations. A higher level of infected portfolio amply shows that banks are facing difficulties in collecting their interest and principal loan amount. World Bank definition: Bank non-performing loans to total gross loans are the value of NPLs divided by the total value of the loan portfolio (including NPLs) before the deduction of specific loan-loss provisions). The loan amount recorded as non-performing should be the gross value of the loan as recorded on the balance sheet, not just the amount that is overdue. Generally the central bank is urged by the independent economists to deal with non-performing loans in a comprehensive manner by bringing changes in coverage and reporting of loans through gradual improvement in the policy and regulatory framework. According to former Governor of SBP Dr Ishrat Hussain the stock of existing NPLs will always grow over time even if all the new loans being granted are fully serviced. This will happen because the declared amount consists of principal and mark up. By its very definition, he said, if the loan is not being serviced and is overdue by 90 days then the unrealized mark-up will continue to be added up to the total amount of NPLs.
The central bank is still not satisfied with the declining trends of these NPLs, though many differ with the banks’ regulator – as the spread between the deposit and lending rates is still high due to this drag. The SBP has, its officials claim, adopted a multi-pronged approach to resolve the issue as it is putting pressure on the banks and the Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) to accelerate recovery. The SBP has been urged by the independent economists to strengthen its supervisory capacity by shifting to risk based supervision and by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of internal controls, systems and risk management mechanism within the financial institution with a view to check the rising bad loans. Meanwhile, the government is believed to have decided to effectively counter what it often terms “propaganda” that growth numbers are exaggerated. Critics of the government do not think that 5.7 per cent GDP growth set for the current fiscal year compared to 4.7 per cent of the last financial year is achievable. This is being said in the backdrop of the much needed tax and energy sector reforms beside the poor performance of the agriculture sector that registered 0.3 per cent negative growth in 2015-16. There is an increasing consensus that without introducing structural reforms, the real turnaround in the economy will remain a distant dream. The government’s recent efforts to substantially tax the real estate sector, expected to generate Rs70 billion additional revenue, is being seen a haphazard decision taken without fully taking on board the icons of the sector. Since most of the sale and purchase in the property market has almost stopped, the government is said to be preparing to undertake another round of talks with the real sector. Emerging reports suggest that billions of rupees will again witness a flight of capital to Dubai or elsewhere due to taxing the real estate sector. This was no doubt a real direct tax effort to enhance revenue, although 70 per cent current taxation comes through indirect taxes. Successive governments have been asked by local and foreign experts including those sitting in the World Bank, IMF and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to tax the potential untaxed sectors including the agriculture sector to seek new resource mobilization. But perhaps this is a political expediency of the two major parties – PML-N and the PPP – to avoid this tax which if levied, can provide a significance amount of genuine taxes. This is in that backdrop said that without improving the FBR revenues and restructuring of the energy sector, it would continue to be an uphill task to mange 5.5 per cent or 6 per cent plus growth needed to seek a real turnaround in the economy.
SOURCE: The Pak Observer
Researchers at Penn State University has currently created a special self healing, polyelectrolyte liquid that essentially allow everyday clothes to repair themselves with which the days of patching up a torn pair of jeans with spare fabric may soon be over. Made from bacteria and yeast, the liquid can help most fabrics bind together once torn. It contains proteins similar to those found in squid ring teeth, which also have self-repairing qualities. The healing process involves putting the substance on the torn fabric, applying warm water, and pressing the edges together. The fabric then reattaches, effectively repairing itself. The said coating, called polyelectrolyte, consists of positive and negatively charged polymers. Melik C. Demirel, a professor of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State, said that they were looking for a way to make fabrics self-healing using conventional textiles. So they came up with this coating technology, the invention could prove beneficial for expensive clothing, such as wool and silk, which are not cheap to replace or repair. The liquid could also be applied to new clothing as a coating, so garments would have the inherent ability to repair themselves with a little water and pressure. They currently dip the whole garment to create the advanced material, said Demirel. But they could do the threads first, before manufacturing if they wanted to. As the thin coating will increase the overall strength of clothing, could also be tailored to particular fabrics. According to the researchers, the coating could protect farmers from exposure to organophosphate pesticides, soldiers from chemical or biological attacks, and factory workers from accidental releases of toxic materials. It could also be used on medical meshes to minimize the risk of infection. The special liquid, when applied to any torn fabric, does not affect its quality and is strong enough for machine wash.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
“Nigeria spends over $4 billion per year on importing textiles and clothing,” a statement from Hamma Kwajaffa, director general at the Textile Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (TMAN) revealed. “However, the country's textile sector can manufacture textiles and apparels for the domestic market as well as for the countries in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),” he said. “These products can also be exported to the US under AGOA and to the European Union under its GSP scheme,” Kwajaffa added. “He was but worried over the huge imports of textiles and clothing, which according to him, not only weakens the domestic industry, steals jobs and reduces government revenue,” Nigerian media reports said. In the statement, Kwajaffa urged the government to address the eight challenges which were earlier brought to the notice of the government. They include re-scheduling of the CTG loan facility, high tariff on gas despite fall in oil and gas prices, supplying fuel to industry, consistent supply of certified seeds to farmers and lastly allocating forex at official rates.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
