COIMBATORE: More attention towards technical textiles will enhance the scope of the textile industry on a large scale, said commissioner of textiles Dr M Vallalar on Thursday. He said more textile innovations like IAF’s ‘quantum stealth’ and ‘ripstop’ fabrics should be developed. Vallalar was speaking as the chief guest at the Establishment Day function of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International School of Textile and Management (SVPISTM) in Coimbatore. He appealed to entrepreneurs to utilise the support given by the Tamil Nadu government and work outside their comfort zone He emphasized on overcoming challenges in the textile industry by improving knowledge in designing and cost analysis. Dr Alli Rani, director, SVPISTM, highlighted growth of the textile and technical textile industry. She spoke about student-industry collaborations in sustainability and circular economy.
Source: Times of India
India's newly-elected president of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), K.V. Srinivasan, sees a significant opening for the country in the global textile market. With international buyers seeking alternatives to China, India has a prime opportunity. However, global demand slumps and rising inflation pose challenges. Granularity Srinivasan notes surprising domestic textile demand lows, even during festivals, emphasizing room for Indian industry competitiveness improvement. The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) recently felicitated Srinivasan, with ITMF Director General Christian P. Schindler highlighting global industry dynamics in a virtual presentation.
Source: Business Standard
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal held a bilateral meeting with Minister for Trade of New Zealand, Todd McClay to strengthen the trade relations and explore opportunities for mutual growth and cooperation. At the meeting, the leaders recognized the importance of trade facilitation and discussed measures to streamline trade processes, reduce trade barriers, and promote a more conducive environment for businesses and investors from both nations. New Zealand’s Trade Minister appreciated the efforts made by India to sort out the issue related to export of wooden logs to India. He also commended India’s Presidency of G20 and the outcomes thereof, which are significant milestones as it seeks to find practical global solutions for the benefit of all. The Ministers expressed the need to strengthen the trade and economic relationship by increasing engagement between both the countries under a collaborative approach that engages officials from across relevant departments and the private sector, wherever appropriate. The broad and informal engagements by creating working groups on specific areas of mutual interest are aimed at fresh ideas for new, innovative and productive approaches for economic partnership between both the countries. They emphasized that new initiatives should also focus on encouraging, facilitating and coordinating collaboration of technology and expertise for genuine mutual benefit and that the opportunities in each other’s markets, which is of interest to businesses of both the countries should be explored. Both the Ministers acknowledged the longstanding friendly relations between the two countries built on the foundation of mutual trust and respect and expressed their commitment to further enhancing bilateral trade, investment, and economic cooperation. They highlighted the need to deepen engagement in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, pharma, connectivity, education and tourism. The Ministers acknowledged the strong step-up in engagement between businesses in the two countries, and the desirability of ensuring this provides impetus to the Government-to Government dialogue. The importance of the annual meeting of the Joint Trade Committee (JTC), established under the 1986 India-New Zealand Trade Agreement, and regular engagement at a senior level was also acknowledged. They agreed that both sides should meet on a regular basis, as convenient, for bilateral discussions on trade and investment issues and co-operative activities. Piyush Goyal along with his New Zealand counterpart discussed issues related to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC) and assured each other of co-operation and mutual understanding for a positive approach to reach a decision on the long-standing issue of Public Stock Holding (PSH) during MC13.
Source: The States Man
Lenzing Group, a global leader in wood-based specialty fibers, recently orchestrated 'The Lenzing Conclave' in Ahmedabad, a renowned textile hub. Emphasizing Lenzing's enduring commitment to innovation and responsible manufacturing, the event provided a pivotal platform for industry stakeholders to discuss sustainable textile advancements and future opportunities. Outlines The conclave spotlighted Lenzing's latest innovations under TENCEL and LENZING ECOVERO fiber brands, with a particular focus on products blending TENCEL fibers and cotton tailored for the Indian market. Ahmedabad's fabric mills and traders, stalwart consumers of Lenzing fibers, have significantly influenced end fabrics in fashion, denim, home textiles, and intimate wear, gaining traction both domestically and in export markets. Demonstrability The exhibition showcased Lenzing's cutting-edge developments across major segments, offering a hands-on experience for participants to explore the versatility and quality of Lenzing fibers. Avinash Mane, Senior Commercial Director of AMEA & NEA region, Textiles Business, Lenzing Group, hailed the conclave's success in fostering collaboration, innovation, and sustainable practices. The event affirmed Lenzing's role as a trusted partner in Ahmedabad's textile industry, contributing to the creation of high-quality, sustainable fabrics for global markets.
Source: dfupublications
On 15th December, 2023, AEPC hosted a roadshow about Bharat Tex Expo 2024 at the ITC Windsor Bengaluru. The event was graced by Rachna Shah, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Rohit Kansal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Dr. Richard Vincent D’Souza, Principal Secretary, Commerce and Industries Dept (MSME & Mines), Government of Karnataka and C.N. Sreedhara, Commissioner for Textile Development & Director of Handlooms & Textiles. Rachna Shah, who was speaking on the occasion, urged the businesses to aggressively interact with the Indian textile sector and place their trust in the country’s newly developed business-friendly eco-system. She stated, “Brand leaders requested that during Bharat Tex Expo 2024, due emphasis be placed on the promotion of the Indian textile story with regard to sustainability, circularity, and traceability.” The Roundtable meeting with the sourcing heads of prominent brands came after this event. Attending the Roundtable were Rachna Shah and Rohit Kansal, along with Naren Goenka, Chairman, Sudhir Sekhri, Vice Chairman, and Mithileshwar Thakur, Secretary General, AEPC. PVH Corporation, Ralph Lauren, H&M, Wildcraft, Tesco Sourcing, India Private Limited, Myntra, Columbia Sportswear, Zivame, Jockey, New Times, Triburg, and other notable companies were among those taking part in the Roundtable. Rohit Kansal, promised ongoing policy assistance in the form of various incentives provided to promote the expansion of textile and apparel production in India. The sourcing teams and brand representatives received assurances regarding the sustainability status of Indian manufacturers across all ESG metrics from Naren Goenka. According to him, the occasion will guarantee India’s readiness for the global market in terms of conformity, product emphasis, quality, and support from the government and policy. At this event, around 120 exporters were present. The Central Silk Board, the Handloom and Textiles Department, the Government of Karnataka, NIFT, and the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council all provided assistance for the event. The purpose of the conference was to gain an understanding of the viewpoint of brands and to actively include well-known Indian and global brands in the Mega Textiles Show, with the ultimate goal of enhancing business partnership prospects and promoting the convergence of trade and investment during Bharat Tex 2024.
Source: Apparel Resource
The Government approved setting up of 7 (Seven) PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks in Greenfield/Brownfield sites with world class infrastructure including plug and play facility with an outlay of Rs. 4,445 cr. The Scheme aims to strengthen the Indian textile industry by way of enabling scale of operations, reduce logistics cost by housing entire value chain at one location, attract investment, generate employment and augment export potential. The scheme envisages to develop integrated large scale and modern industrial infrastructure facility for total value-chain of the textile industry for example, spinning, weaving, processing, garmenting, textile manufacturing, processing & printing machinery industry. Nearly Rs. 70,000 crore of investment is expected in these Mega Parks. 18 proposals from 13 States were received including one from Rajasthan. The Government has finalised 7 sites viz. Tamil Nadu (Virudhnagar), Telangana (Warangal), Gujarat (Navsari), Karnataka (Kalaburagi), Madhya Pradesh (Dhar), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow) and Maharashtra (Amravati) for setting up PM MITRA Parks. So far, SPV has been incorporated in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, while the process of SPV formation in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu is at an advanced stage of incorporation. Process for SPV formation in other states has been initiated. This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Textiles, Smt. Darshana Jardosh in a written reply today in the Lok Sabha.
Source: Business Standard
India’s year-on-year (YoY) growth in economic activity eased to 9.6 per cent in November 2023 from 13 per cent in October 2023, according to the ICRA Business Activity Monitor. The dip is largely attributed to fewer working days in November due to the festive calendar shift compared to 2022. This variation complicates YoY comparisons for October and November, thus necessitating an average YoY growth assessment for these months. The combined October-November 2023 period saw a YoY expansion of 11.3 per cent, exceeding the 9.5 per cent growth observed in the second quarter (Q2) of financial year 2024 FY24, indicating sustained growth momentum. Despite the slowdown in November, the ICRA Business Activity Monitor recorded a milder month-on-month (MoM) dip of 1 per cent, compared to a 3.0 per cent decrease in November 2021. This performance suggests a resilience in economic activity, even amidst a larger number of holidays. The growth momentum remained robust in the first two months of the ongoing quarter, as eight of the 14 available indicators showed an uptick in YoY performance in October-November of FY24, supported by healthy demand for goods during the festive season. In light of these trends, and coupled with sustained deflation in global commodity prices, as indicated by the Bloomberg Commodity Index trending 10.2 per cent lower than the yearago levels in Q3 FY24, ICRA has revised its forecast for the FY24 GDP growth to 6.5 per cent from 6.2 per cent. This revision, however, still trails behind the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) revised projection of 7 per cent for the fiscal.
Source: Fibre2fshion
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the valuation rules for levying 28 per cent GST on entry-level bets on online gaming platforms are effective prospectively."The clarification on that (online gaming) was issued. 28 per cent is the tax and as to who it will apply to and on whom the incidence will fall is clearly explained... The valuation rules to exclude winnings is prospective. So, I hope there is not confusion on that," Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha. The minister was replying to a discussion in the House on the GST (Second Amendment) Bill, which provides for capping the age limit for president and members of GSTAT. This implies that bets placed from the winning amount on online gaming portals will not attract 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) with effect from October 1. In its meeting in August, the GST Council had clarified that 28 per cent GST is applicable on online gaming. Thereafter, amendments to Central GST Act were cleared by Parliament in August to give effect to the decision of the Council. The effective date for the amendments was October. The amendments provide that GST will be levied on entry-level bets on online gaming platforms and not on what players pay in each game from the winning amount. Giving an example, the minister said if a bet is placed for, say Rs 1,000, and the player wins Rs 300, then if the player again places a bet of Rs 1,300, then GST will not be levied on the winning amount. In September, GST field officers sent notices of over Rs 1.12 lakh crore to a host of online gaming companies for alleged short payment of taxes. Such companies have approached the court and the matter is sub judice.
To a question in the Rajya Sabha on the amount of tax evasion and number of showcase notices issued to online gaming companies, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary had said on December 5, "71 show cause notices involving GST to the tune of Rs 1,12,332 cr have been issued to online gaming companies during financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24 (up to October 2023)." "As these notices are pending adjudication, the respective GST demand is not yet determined under the provisions of CGST Act, 2017," he said.
Source: Business Standard
Indian apparel manufacturers are looking to hold exhibitions in world markets like Australia, the US and the UK which have strong diaspora to expand into new geographies, an industry official said. Speaking with PTI after holding the inaugural edition of the annual exhibition in the city, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) chief mentor Rahul Mehta said domestic brands are becoming stronger and more capable with their successes within India and it is necessary to take these brands to newer geographies. "It is time to expose to the international and global market and we felt we should begin with the international market, where the Indian diaspora is in large numbers," Mehta said. At the recently held "Brands of India" in Dubai, there were a total of 350 domestic brands from India exhibiting their wares, Mehta said, terming the response as "tremendous". "Our plan is to have three cycles, at least in Dubai. then, we will go to other markets such as Australlia, US, New Zealand, UK etc," Mehta said. He underlined that Indian brands are not just about ethnic wear, but also include other alternatives which make them as powerful as western wear brands. Dubai was the "obvious choice" to hold such a show, he said, adding that being the second largest export market for Indian goods, it has an established potential for Indian products. The CMAI tied up with The Dubai Textile Merchants Association, The Dubai Textile Merchants Association (TEXMAS), Dubai International Chamber and Readymade Garments Merchants Group Dubai for the exhibition which was held in November-end. Leading wholesalers, retailers, distributors, e-commerce platforms and departmental chains showed interest in the exhibition, the CMAI said. Rajesh Masand, president of CMAI said the apparel industry will play a crucial role in augmenting India's Ready-made Garment exports to the region. About 1,500 retailers and importers from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya Cameroon, Somalia, Algeria, Sudan, Russia and had pre-registered to visit the event. Jagdish Amarnani, the chairman of Texmas said, "India is amongst the world's largest producers of apparel." The fair had fashion collections by leading brands from Kolkata, Mumbai, Tirupur, Surat, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Indore, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi. United Arab Emirates (UAE) emerged as the largest importer of Indian ready-made garments with imports totalling USD 1.21 billion in FY23. In the first seven months of 2023- 24, UAE's imports of Indian ready-made garments reached USD 368.78 million.
Source: Business Standard
KARACHI: High gas prices appeared to have made textile exports uncompetitive on the world market resulting in an eight per cent month-on-month and 7pc year-on-year decline to $1.3 billion in November. In rupee terms, the country’s textile exports clocked in at Rs376bn, down by 7pc month-on-month but rose 19pc year-on-year owing to rupee depreciation against the dollar, said a note by Topline Securities on Thursday. Basic textiles witnessed a fall of 14pc MoM and a rise of 20pc YoY to $243m in November. The YoY substantial increase resulted from the 12 times YoY increase in raw cotton exports due to the significant growth in cotton crop this year as compared to last year, which was greatly affected by floods. Value-added textile exports reached $920m, up by 6pc MoM while it fell by 12pc YoY. Towels remained the major contributor to the segment with 21pc MoM and 20pc YoY drop in exports. Knitwear saw a 5pc MoM and a 12pc YoY decline. Bedwear posted a 16pc MoM and 8pc YoY fall followed by 12pc YoY decline in readymade garments but a 5pc MoM rise. In 5MFY24, textile exports shrank by 6pc to $6.9bn from $7.4bn in the same period last year due to an economic slowdown and a reduced demand for textile products worldwide. The government has set a textile export target of $25bn. However, textile exports for FY24 will reach $17bn, up 3pc YoY.
IT exports rise 9pc in November
Pakistan’s Information Technology (IT) exports rose nine per cent month-on-month to $259 million in November, which was also higher than the 12-month average of $222m. The jump is due to a relaxation in the permissible retention limit by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), increasing it from 35pc to 50pc in the Exporters’ Specialised Foreign Currency Accounts, and the stable rupee which encourages IT companies to repatriate their foreign income and deposit it in local accounts. IT export number indicates the amount remitted back to Pakistan by technology companies. According to Caretaker IT Minister Umar Saif, IT companies have parked an estimated $1-2 billion outside of Pakistan.
Source: Dawn
As Vietnam’s economy still faces headwinds, its government should extend its economic support programme next year to allow its planned investments to be fully deployed, thereby supporting aggregate demand, according to the November 2023 edition of the World Bank’s monthly Vietnam Macro Monitoring report. Due to a rise in production of key export items, the country’s industrial production index grew by 2.7 per cent in November. For example, textile production increased by 4.4 per cent month on month (MoM). Prospects, however, remain subdued as the country’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) remained in the contractionary territory in November to reach 47.3, the lowest level since May this year. Monthly retail sales remained flat at 0.27 per cent in November, with retails sales growth averaging 7.5 per cent year on year (YoY) between August and November, well below the pre-pandemic growth rates of about 12 per cent annually. Despite a small sequential fall in exports, the overall performance of goods exports and imports in the month was resilient amid recovering external demand, increasing by 6.7 per cent YoY and 5.1 per cent YoY respectively. However, cumulative exports and imports for the year to November dropped by 5.9 per cent YoY and 10.7 per cent YoY respectively. The consumer price index (CPI) inflation remained stable at 3.5 per cent in November compared with 3.6 per cent in October, well below the target level of 4.5 per cent, a news agency reported citing the World Bank report. The government budget revenue collection during the first 11 months of the year fell by 6.2 per cent YoY amid a slowdown in economic activities. Home Italy's Diesel & Lee Join Force
Source: Vietnam Plus
China will halt the export of a range of rare-earth technologies, potentially making it harder for the US and its allies to bolster Western supplies of strategic raw materials. While Beijing already had some limits in place, it has now widened a list of technologies that cannot be transferred overseas to include the processing of rare-earth metals and magnets, according to a document from the Ministry of Commerce. The move by the world’s dominant supplier — arguably the most significant rare-earth move from China in over a decade — puts the vital materials front and center as a tit-for-tat trade war on technology worsens. “China is flexing its muscle,” said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis SA. Over the past three decades, China has built a dominant role in mining — and especially in refining rare earths, a cluster of 17 elements used in everything from wind turbines to military hardware and electric vehicles. The nation accounted for more than two-thirds of mined rare earths last year, and is home to as much as all global refining capacity, according to US government figures. The country also dominates the supply of rare-earth magnets, the main product deployed in manufactured goods. The new rules don’t affect shipments of rare-earth products themselves, but appear aimed at frustrating even nascent efforts to develop the industry outside China. Restrictions on a smaller selection of rare earth technologies have been in place since at least 2008. Earlier this year, Beijing imposed limits on exports of gallium and germanium, metals used in parts of the semiconductor, telecommunications and electric-vehicle industries, and on graphite. The latest move comes as the US and EU grow more concerned about China’s growing exports of clean energy products, from electric vehicles to batteries, and its dominance of key portions of the supply chain. The White House is weighing tariff increases on EVs, according to people familiar with the matter — a decision that may have a limited effect on China’s electric car industry given the relatively few models it exports to North America, but one that could be politically significant during a presidential election year in the US. Washington is also looking into Chinese production of legacy semiconductors. The EU, meanwhile, has launched an anti-subsidy investigation into EVs, in response to surging Chinese car imports. Beijing’s response in the form of rare earth processing limits may carry more heft than other recent curbs, such as the ones on gallium and germanium, according to Garcia Herrero, given existing strategic reserves. Beijing could be posturing to avoid “additional protectionist measures” from the West on cars and other products. Critical metals — a category that includes all minerals crucial to vital industries and in short supply domestically, not only rare earths — are increasingly under the spotlight as Western nations increasingly view supplies as a matter of national security, especially as the global energy transition stokes fears of potential shortages in the future. The US is spearheading a drive to reduce China’s stranglehold over flows of these minerals, from rare earths to lithium and cobalt. President Joe Biden’s flagship climate legislation includes rules aimed at generating more supply domestically or from allied nations. China has responded with restrictions of its own. While Biden’s landmark legislation and Europe’s Critical Raw Materials Act promise to unlock new funding for prospective suppliers, Beijing’s latest salvo underscores the technical challenges that Western producers could face in developing refining processes that China has come to master over the decades. Until relatively recently, there were barely any rare-earth refineries at all outside of China. That means its companies and researchers have built a substantial technological and practical advantage in how to extract and process rare earths, while expertise elsewhere has lagged. While it would not be impossible to replicate Chinese processes, it would likely take time — and require significant policy incentives. The ban list includes technology for separating rare earths as well producing metal and magnets. Technology for mining, ore-dressing and smelting was listed as “restricted,” rather than banned. China’s grip over the global rare-earths market first gained broad international attention in 2010, when China imposed tight restrictions on exports. The US, European Union and Japan eventually forced Beijing to overturn the measures via the World Trade Organization. Concerns about its dominance have lingered since.
Source: Business Standard
