India experienced a 65 per cent surge in polyester yarn imports during financial year 2023 (FY23), while exports plummeted by 38 per cent year-on-year, according to CareEdge Ratings. This marked a significant turning point, with India becoming a net importer of polyester yarn for the first time in a decade, a trend that persisted into the first eight months (8M) of FY24. The influx of cheap imports from China led to an oversupply in the domestic market, severely impacting the pricing power of Indian manufacturers and causing a contraction in their export volumes. During the calendar year 2022 (CY22), global fibre production totalled 116 million tonnes, with polyester fibre accounting for 54 per cent. China, as the largest player, significantly overshadowed India, the second-largest producer, in the global polyester yarn market.India's domestic production of polyester yarn ranges between 4.5 to 5 million tonnes annually, with over 80 per cent consumed within the country. However, FY23 saw a drastic shift in India's polyester yarn trade dynamics, primarily due to China's zero-COVID policy impacting its domestic textile consumption. Despite a slower recovery of the Chinese economy, manufacturers there continued production unabated, leading to the dumping of surplus polyester yarn in global markets at lower prices, including India, as per CareEdge. The operating profitability of Indian polyester yarn players, which had seen substantial improvement in FY21 and FY22 due to healthy sales volume growth and increased average sales realisation, suffered in FY23. The industry's profit before interest, lease rentals, depreciation and taxation (PBILDT) margin was significantly affected by the competition from cheaper imports, leading to a decline in average sales realisation. The capital structure of the industry, however, remained relatively stable, with total debt to PBILDT ratios better than historical levels, supported by debt reduction efforts in previous years. The total outside liabilities to total net worth (TOL/TNW) ratio was comfortable at 0.81x as of March 31, 2023. To combat the influx of inferior quality imports, the government of India implemented a Quality Control Order (QCO) on polyester yarn, including fully drawn yarn (FDY) and partially oriented yarn (POY). The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) played a crucial role in ensuring compliance with these standards. The implementation of BIS, initially scheduled for April 2023, was postponed twice, eventually taking effect from October 5, 2023. This led to a surge in imports in September 2023 due to pre-buying, followed by a significant decline of nearly 60 per cent in November 2023 compared to the previous year. Looking ahead, CareEdge Ratings anticipates a reduction in polyester yarn imports, potentially allowing Indian industry players to increase prices and improve average sales realisation. The polyester yarn spread is expected to improve, with a gradual improvement in PBILDT margin from Q3FY24 onwards. A more meaningful improvement is forecast from Q4FY24, with a resurgence in domestic demand in key markets like China, the US, and Europe expected to narrow the demand-supply gap and revive export demand for Indian polyester yarn manufacturers.
Source: Fibre2fashion
Synopsis Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri stated that the Indian economy is set to reach USD 5 trillion in the next financial year (2024-25) and aims to double to USD 10 trillion by the end of this decade. Puri expressed confidence in achieving the USD 5 trillion target by 2024-25 and projected India to become a 10 trillion dollar economy by 2030. The Indian economy is poised to touch USD 5 trillion next financial year - 2024-25 - and capitalise to double to USD 10 trillion by the end of this decade, said Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri. At present, the Indian economy is estimated to be about USD 3.7 trillion. "Lord Ram is blessing us. We are the fifth-largest economy and the fourthlargest stock market... I think that in the next 1-2 years, we will not only be the fourth-largest economy but we will go further ahead," Puri told on Tuesday "I was somewhere told that we would be a USD 5 trillion economy by 2028. I told him that there is no need to wait until 2028; it will happen by 2024-25. We will then be a 10 trillion dollar economy by 2030," Puri, who is also Urban and Housing Affairs Minister, said. Global interest in India, he added, is increasing by the day, be it in digital infrastructure, the automobile market, energy or biofuels. "So, it (the Indian economy) is looking very good," the minister said. The Indian economy is expected to grow 7.3 per cent in the current financial year 2023-24, remaining the fastest-growing major economy, the National Statistics Office said on January 5. India's economy grew 7.2 per cent in 2022- 23 and 8.7 per cent in 2021-22. Lately, India pipped Hong Kong to become the fourth-highest equity market globally, Bloomberg reported. The combined value of shares listed on Indian exchanges reached USD 4.33 trillion as of Monday's close, versus USD 4.29 trillion for Hong Kong, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Firm GDP growth forecasts, inflation at manageable levels, political stability at the central government level and signs that the central bank is done tightening its monetary policy have all contributed to painting a bright picture for the Indian stock market. India's stock market capitalization crossed USD 4 trillion for the first time on December 5, 2023, with about half of that reportedly coming in the past four years. The top three stock markets are those of US, China, and Japan. Cumulatively, the past 12 months have been stellar for investors who parked their money in Indian stocks. Though there has been some turbulence, the calendar year 2023 gave handsome monetary dividends to stock market investors. In 2023 itself, Sensex and Nifty gained 17-18 per cent, on a cumulative basis. They gained a mere three to four per cent each in 2022. Notably, foreign portfolio investors have again trained their sight towards India, becoming net buyers in the country's stock market. In the process, it helped Indian benchmark stock indices taste their all-time highs recently.
Source: Economic Times
Synopsis There has been a dramatic transformation in India-Australia relations, in less than a decade, from persistent suspicions and distrust, occasional animosity, and polite disinterest to one driven by strategic necessity, mutual benefit, and proactive bipartisan political will. The depth and intensity in bilateral relations doesn’t just happen. It takes time, sustained effort by multiple stakeholders, and more importantly, strong political will for it to become strategically significant. Situations, circumstances, events, and prevailing perceptions, including misperceptions, act as strong influencers either in strengthening it or holding it back from attaining its true potential. A rapidly changing global environment, certainly, can impose a strategic necessity in reinventing bilateral, regional, and global relationships. At the same time, the evolving nature of foreign policy itself constantly reassesses relationships to maximize national interest. In other words, the forging and enhancement of relationships is not solely driven by externally imposed compulsions. Countries discover each other because relationships also have their own bilateral rationale It is in this context that the dramatic transformation of India-Australia relations, in less than a decade, from persistent suspicions and distrust, occasional animosity, and polite disinterest to one driven by strategic necessity, mutual benefit, and proactive bipartisan political will needs to be seen. Australian Parliamentarian Andrew Charlton, in his recently published book titled Australia’s Pivot to India, characterizes the relationship as one that did not happen overnight but incrementally moved through four distinct phases – acquaintances, friends, family, partners – before it arrived at the current state of play. From what was a tepid, almost moribund, engagement, it has leapfrogged to emerge as one of the most exciting and fastest growing relationships in the Indo-Pacific, spanning multiple and diverse verticals from defence to education to critical technologies to the social sector to trade, to name a few. The willingness of both countries to enter into a comprehensive relationship is by itself spectacular, given how mundane the relationship earlier was. But willingness alone does not move mountains. Years of neglect and entrenched misperceptions leave behind their own baggage. This is particularly evident when we consider sectors outside of government. Consider trade, for instance. The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) was signed in April 2022 and entered into force in December of that year. A strong showing in two-way trade that year ($48.4 billion) was particularly heartening and suggested appetite for sustained growth from both sides. However, a literacy gap continues to plague business communities in both countries. Indian business has little knowledge of the Australian market, negligible contacts to enter into business tie-ups with their counterparts, which is holding them back from exploring how they might expand the product basket. Indeed, several of India’s regional business chambers do not even have a dedicated Australia chapter to provide information to their members and facilitate business delegations. This is problematic as it does not allow for a fuller appreciation of consumer demand in Australia, nor indeed of Australian requirements of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards. For India’s SME exporters, the target clientele appears to be restricted to the growing Indian diaspora in Australia. This will continue to restrain the volume of India’s exports to Australia. Australian business is similarly handicapped because of their lack of familiarity on how they might do business with India and whether the process is as seamless as doing business with China, where they have been engaged in for several decades, including knowing the language and local customs. It bears mentioning that China is Australia’s largest trading partner and the two-way trade stood at over $271 billion in 2020. It was mistakenly argued in some Australian quarters a few years ago that trade relations with India would replace those with China! At that time credible fears about Beijing’s behaviour, including interference in Australia’s domestic affairs, had resulted in frostiness in their bilateral relationship. The perception that India could ‘substitute’ China in trade relations was misplaced and exaggerated for multiple obvious reasons. The present government in Canberra has taken a more pragmatic approach. Fears with regard to Beijing persist and has resulted in greater vigilance. At the same time, the government has realized the advantage of expanding its trading partners and efforts to improved India-Australia trade, while not sacrificing existing Australia-China trade, would be the driving imperative. The next step is for India and Australia to sign a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). ECTA has established the high level of complementarity and alignment between the two countries. For coal-starved India, continued import of coal for its energy demands would be critical for its developmental aspirations. At the same time, India has a proven track record of its investment in renewables. Collaboration with universities carrying out high-end research in photovoltaics and other areas would help address the deficit in areas of critical interest to India. India’s focus would also be on trade in critical minerals keeping in mind its long-term requirements. Given strong political will on both sides for an early conclusion of CECA negotiations, preparations for the entry of CECA would include taking fuller advantage of ECTA and boosting two-way trade to $100 billion over the next couple of years, if not earlier. This is a credible possibility if industry in both countries were to expand the trade basket, reach out to new consumers, which would only be possible through a better understanding of consumer demand and market potential. Overall, there will be two key signposts which can point in this direction in the coming months: Focused trade reviews by respective Missions and Consulates on ECTA implementation, more discussions with local representatives of Indian and Australian companies on their priorities for CECA, and steps by Missions to further facilitate bilateral commercial relations. The efforts towards greater involvement of non-government stakeholders such as civil society and educational institutions to complement governmental efforts to further promote uptake of the ECTA and foster a positive narrative for the proposed CECA. These factors will be instrumental in ensuring that the initial gains from the ECTA translate into greater ambition on both sides in terms of what a CECA can deliver for their economies.
Source: Economic Times
The union government does not intend to relook at its Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme after the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) last year imposed countervailing duties on four Indian products citing breach of World Trade Organization (WTO) norms, a government official said. The US and EU had imposed countervailing duties (CVDs) on paper file fold “There is no need to relook at the scheme. It is WTO compliant. There were few exporters who could not show the documents..some people mentioned it is an incentive because there used to be incentives. So our exporters will have to adapt to the documentation mechanism and the government will be helping in the process,” the official added. It replaced the WTO-incompatible Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) scheme, which had faced several challenges from WTO members. The RoDTEP scheme operates under a budgetary framework and for FY 23-24, Rs 15,070 crore was allocated to boost exports of items such as pharmaceuticals, organic and inorganic chemicals and articles of iron and steel among other items. “If our partner country is not able to interpret our policies, then it is a problem. The onus is upon us. Because we are looking for market access. For instance, if partner countries are imposing standards, we have to conform to the standards. So we need market access and so we will have to resolve these issues,” Biswajit Dhar, Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said. to be constantly reviewed and monitored, to check if compliance is in order. Because for one black sheep, you can’t let the whole scheme be called into question. The government has to be careful about implementation because when our exports are falling, we need to count our pennies. Because we stand to lose,” Dhar added.
Source: Financial Express
Synopsis Interim budget: India's Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, launched in 2020, aims to boost manufacturing, decrease imports, and increase exports. While critics, including former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, question its effectiveness, the Commerce and Industry Ministry reports over Rs 95,000 crore invested and 746 approved applications till November 2023. The proposed industrial policy seeks to enhance competitiveness and identify areas of cost advantage over China. The Narendra Modi government's flagship manufacturing scheme has received plenty of bouquets and brickbats from different corners of the world as India attempts to attract global bigwigs. But can India use the interim Budget and push a dedicated industrial policy to truly counter China as the global manufacturing hub? In the past three decades, India's successive central governments have made significant efforts to increase the manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP from the present 17 per cent to 25 per cent. The government truly set the ball rolling for its manufacturing ambitions when COVID-19 struck and the production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme in 2020. In its present avatar, the PLI scheme provides 14 specific industries with a 3–5 per cent incentive to boost local production. And the ultimate goal of this policy is to decrease imports and augment exports.
A policy in the works The proposed new industrial policy, which was expected to be released last year, has been at an inter-ministerial consultation stage. The main aim of this policy is to create a globally competitive business environment in the country to boost manufacturing and exports. If the policy sees the light of day, it would be the third industrial policy of India after 1956 and 1991, which was created amidst the balance of payments crisis. "Sustainability, R&D, MSME and ease of doing business for manufacturing are the thrust areas of the country's industrial vision. The draft is still under stakeholder consultation," an officialtold ET. The major industries covered by the various PLI schemes include textiles, white goods (AC and LED light components), electronics, pharma, and telecom, among others. The government had allocated Rs 1.97 lakh crore for the PLI initiatives in the Union Budget 2021–2022. Whatthe critics say of PLI scheme A May 2023 research note created a furore when former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan questioned the effectiveness of the PLI scheme. Not one to hold back his words, Rajan described the scheme as "a failure in the making.” Rajan, Rahul Chauhan, and Rohit Lamba, the authors of the note that was shared on social media, asserted that, despite the claims made, India has not truly developed into a global leader in the production of mobile devices. Rajan said that the government needed to look at data and undertake a detailed assessment of how many jobs had been created due to the PLI scheme, the cost to India per job, and why the PLI scheme did not appear to have worked so far before extending it to new sectors.
"One of the key deficiencies of the PLI schemes for mobile is that the subsidy is paid only for finishing the phone in India, not on how much value is added by the manufacturing in India. India still imports much of what goes into the mobile phone," the note said. Meanwhile, the government stood by its stance with great vigour, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, responded to Rajan, stating that his aim behind the criticism was to "purely mislead readers, sensationalise the trade deficit, and put down the PLI scheme as a failure.” According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for 14 sectors have drawn over Rs 95,000 crore in investment till September last year, and as many as 746 applications have been approved till November 2023 under these schemes. Moreover, incentives worth around Rs 2,900 crore have been disbursed in 2022-23, the ministry added. "Further investments of Rs 6,766 crore are envisaged creating additional direct employment of about 48,000 persons," the ministry said, adding 13 foreign companies are investing Rs 2,090 crore under the scheme. According to data provided by Rajan, India exported none of the essential parts used in mobile manufacturing, such as semiconductors, PCBAs, screens, cameras, and batteries. He further pointed out that there was, in fact, an abrupt spike in imports following the enactment of import duties on mobile phones in April 2018.
How would a dedicated industrial policy be differentfrom PLI?
The current PLI scheme is primarily focused on industries that are capital- and skill-intensive, such as pharma, telecom, automobiles, and advanced battery cells, among others. This is where a well-conceived and focused industry policy could make a big difference by identifying specific areas where the country enjoys a cost advantage over China and other South Asian nations to offer the best combo of adequate labour, capital and skills. Meanwhile, an industrial policy could also pave the path for establishing a link between domestic suppliers and foreign firms, which would not only facilitate technological upgradation but also result in a boost in foreign direct investment (FDI).
The need ofthe hour?
While it is heartening to know that the Indian economy has shown tremendous resilience amidst various global challenges and outpaces other major economies in terms of growth, the country's burgeoning population needs jobs as millions of young people are joining its workforce every year. Last year in October, India's overall unemployment rate climbed to 10.05 per cent, the highest in more than two years, according to Mumbai-based researcher Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. And this is where a robust industrial policy could come in handy, with a result-oriented focus on labour-intensive sectors such as garments, toys, leather, light engineering goods, and footwear, among others. According to HSBC, India, with a growth rate of 7.5 per cent, needs to create 70 million new jobs over the next 10 years to solve only two-thirds of its unemployment issue. An industrial policy would help in creating a conducive environment where the government could upgrade various sectors with a dynamic approach to leverage India's comparative advantage over peers, and that would create a cycle of profits and earnings and give the push to reinvestment by the same firms. Once domestic firms become competitive on a global scale, that would ultimately trickle into a surge in capital-intensive manufacturing. Reportedly, a proposal to extend the benefits of the PLI scheme to sectors like toys and leather is in advanced stages. But there could be a change this time, or one can simply hope that in Budget 2024, the government may extend the PLI scheme to more sectors with high employment potential to bolster its promises of providing jobs to millions.
Source: Economic Times
Synopsis India's business activity expanded at the fastest pace in four months in January, according to HSBC's flash India Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI). The PMI rose to 61.0, its highest since September, indicating economic growth. The manufacturing PMI increased to 56.9, and the services industry PMI rose to 61.2, both showing accelerated activity. India's business activity expanded at the fastest pace in four months in January on stronger demand, according to a private survey that also showed input costs rising at the quickest rate since August. The findings indicate Asia's thirdlargest economy would continue to hold onto its title as the fastest growing major economy in the near-term at least. India will grow 6.9% in the current fiscal year, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. HSBC's flash India Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, rose to 61.0 this month, its highest since September, from December's final reading of 58.5. That put the index above the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction for the 30th consecutive month. "The economy grew at a faster pace in January, led by stronger manufacturing output, as well as more robust business services activity," noted Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC. "New orders rose at a faster pace than a month ago, and within that, international orders were stronger than before." A manufacturing PMI rose to 56.9 in January from 54.9 last month. Activity in the dominant services industry also accelerated at a sharper rate, with its PMI rising to 61.2 this month from 59.0 in December. That was primarily due to a strong expansion in demand. Factory new orders grew at the quickest pace in four months while new business in the services sector increased at its fastest rate since July 2023. Improving demand boosted firms' expectations for the coming 12 months, especially in manufacturing as the future output soared to its highest in over nine years. Firms continued to hire for a 20th consecutive month, but higher employment generation took place in the services industry. Although overall output prices rose at a slower rate in January, input costs increased at the sharpest pace since August 2023, indicating price pressures could remain elevated. India's retail inflation hit a four-month high in December, and a Reuters poll suggested the Reserve Bank of India would keep interest rates on hold until at least July.
Source: Business Standard
Struggling with the global economic instability and demand crunch due to the ongoing geo-political crises in Europe and West Asia, the exports from Gujarat, the highest exporting state contributing one-third to the total exports from India, registered a 8% decline in total exports between April 2023-December 2023 of FY24. According to the recent data released by the ministry of commerce and industry, the exports from the state came down to $100 billion from $108.6 billion for the same period in the previous financial year. As per the data, the situation is the same for Maharashtra, the second-highest exporter state of the country. Maharashtra also registered an 8% slide in the value of its exports to $ 49.4 billion against $ 53.8 billion between April 22- December 22. Except for Tamil Nadu, whose exports rose by 5.3%, the exports from 4 of the top 5 exporting states including Karnataka (declined by 10%) and Uttar Pradesh (declined by 7.3%) witnessed a downward growth in their total exports for the same period. The exports from Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh stood at $ 19.9 billion and $ 15.1 billion compared to $ 21 billion and $ 16.3 billion, respectively. Due to this decline in the exports from the top exporting states, The total exports from India dropped down by 4.5% to $ 317.12 billion from $ 332.7 billion in FY23. Furthermore, the poor performance of exports in this financial year resulted in the decline of export share of Gujarat and Maharashtra in India’s total exports to 32.14% and 15.89% from the previous 33.49% and 16.61%, respectively. Anticipating a slump in Zee’s valuation, a number of brokerages have downgraded the stock in the last two days. Among them was global brokerage firm CLSA which lowered its target price to Rs 198 from Rs 300 after the merger termination was announced on Monday. Citi Research has cut the target price on the stock to Rs 180 from Rs 340 earlier. Elara Capital has reduced the target price to Rs 170 from Rs 340 and downgraded the rating to ‘sell’ on Zee. Excluding the exports of petroleum products which remained more or less the same, the gems and jewellery industry and the organic and inorganic chemical sector are bearing the biggest of the burns of this global demand crunch and economic instability. The exports in gems and jewellery declined by 16% to $ 24.31 billion from $ 28.99 billion last year. The exports from the organic and inorganic chemical sectors dropped to $ 20.27 billion from $ 22.96 billion, an 11.7% decline compared to the same period in the previous year.Despite the poor performance of overall exports from the states and from India, the exports of electronic goods and drugs & pharmaceuticals have performed exceptionally well. The export of electronic goods registered a growth of 22% and stood at $ 20.35 billion against $ 16.67 billion while the export of drugs and pharmaceuticals touched $ 20.40 billion compared to $ 18.84 billion, an 8.2% growth for the period between Apr 23 – Dec 23.
Source: Financial Express
During Tuesday's ribbons cutting ceremony, employees, community members and city leaders all came out to celebrate the official opening under the new name. With around 200 regional employees and counting, the global company is looking to bring work, money, and time to the local economy, says Plant Manager Donnie Phelps. “As I go out into the community and I have a Freudenberg shirt on, and a Freudenberg coat on no one knows Freudenberg in western North Carolina," Phelps said. "Everybody remembers Rayon, Enka or Low & Bonar or BASF. I want them to know Freudenberg.”
Source: 13 News
LAHORE: Planners are realising the potential of non-textile exports. Many non-textile sectors simply need prudent policy changes and no finances to move up. Export performance of the rice and IT sectors after prudent policy changes is testimony in this regard. The IT exports in December exceeded $303 million and are on their way to achieve their $4 billion target. Rice exports increased 76.5 percent (54.7 percent in basmati and 247 percent in other varieties) in the first half of FY24. The IT minister Umar Saif expects IT exports to touch $ 10 billion by 2030. Shahzad Malik, the member of the Export Advisory Council (Non-Textile), Ministry of Commerce, is hopeful that rice exports would touch $5 billion in five years. Much has been written about IT exports but rice is also a success story outside the textile sector that along with IT kept growing without any direct or indirect subsidies. Pakistan rice exports in 2002 were $462 million that in 2023 touched $2.5 billion. Current year rice exports will exceed $3 billion. Pakistan has two types of rice, Basmati and non-Basmati (IRRI). Basmati rice is a heritage of Pakistan and mainly grown in Punjab. Malik says rice has the potential to reach $10 billion within ten years. He said in agriculture, constant research and development of seeds is key to increase yield. Unfortunately, he added, no research was done after acquiring IRRI type rice grown in Sindh from International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines in 1960s. Even up to 1990, no replacement of IRRI type rice was developed and yield remained stagnant around 45-50 maunds/acre. This is despite the fact that Hybrid Rice was developed in 1973 and introduced in China by Prof.Yuan LongPing, also known as “Father of Hybrid Rice”. It was 26 years later that a local enterprise, the Guard group, started field trials of hybrid rice in 1999 through Hunan Rice Research Institute, China. In 2002, Guard’s first hybrid variety was recommended for cultivation by PARC. Hybrid rice commercialisation started from Sindh province. In the last 25 years, PARC has recommended 12 Guard hybrid rice varieties for cultivation by PARC. In 2023, Punjab approved 2 open pollinated Varieties (OPV) of rice and 1 extra long grain variety. Hybrid rice doubled per acre yield from 45-50 maunds to 100-120 maunds/acre increase. Due to double yield, farmer’s income also doubled resulting in farmer’s prosperity. Hybrid rice was also instrumental in poverty alleviation, particularly in rural Sindh. The country now produces 9.3 million tonnes of hybrid rice, most of which is exported. It has overtaken Basmati as the major rice export variety.The Member of the Export Advisory Council (Non-Textile), Ministry of Commerce said researchers in the country are now working on development of Guard, working on development of separate hybrid rice seed varieties that are heat, drought and salinity tolerant. Some domestic seed research companies are also in the final stages of developing extra long grain hybrid rice including Basmati Rice for Punjab. Besides, there are a number of corporate farming projects that are coming up. The Chinese also launched the first agro project in CPEC phase-II in collaboration with a local company under which it aims to replace 0.4 million tonnes of chili it currently imports from Pakistan. The advisor said that to build an image of Pakistan as a reliable supply source of rice with continuous surplus production of rice, we must exploit India’s ban on rice export to our advantage. In the past as well, India has banned export of rice. He urged to identify and establish contacts with importers/distributors of FMCG handling international brands for introduction of Pakistan FMCG brands instead of only commodity/private label importers.
Source: The News Com
With intercontinental strength, Heimtextil 2024 laid the foundation for a record year for Messe Frankfurt. 46,000 buyers from around 130 nations took the opportunity to participate in the global textile market – from upholstery and decorative fabrics, bed and bathroom textiles, mattresses, functional textiles and carpets to wallpapers, outdoor fabrics, artificial leather, curtains, fibres, yarns, sleeping systems and decorative cushions. Heimtextil 2024 ended with 46,000 visitors from around 130 nations and 2,838 exhibitors from 60 nations with 25 per cent growth. The response from international buyers to the quality and variety of the new Carpets & Rugs product segment was overwhelming. In numerous talks, tours and workshops, Heimtextil as well focused on two of the most important key topics of the coming decades: sustainable production and action as well as artificial intelligence. At the leading trade fair for home and contract textiles, transformations could be experienced more intensively than ever before. Despite nationwide rail strikes, this edition recorded a plus in visitor numbers and, with 2,838 exhibitors from 60 nations, a 25 per cent increase in exhibitor numbers compared to the previous year’s event: “Heimtextil ends with overwhelming participation. The increase in space, exhibitors and visitors in 2024 makes the following clear: the leading trade fair for home and contract textiles remains on course for growth – and sets new standards for a sustainable and AI-driven textile industry”, says Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt. The launch of the new Carpets & Rugs segment was a complete success. For the first time, the global carpet industry presented together in one hall, including numerous international market leaders who exhibited in Frankfurt for the first time or after a long time – with overwhelming satisfaction. “We came back because we saw potential in the new concept. And I have to say, we were more than pleasantly surprised,” summarises Raghav Gupta, Director of E-Commerce at the Indian company The Rug Republic, which stands for high-quality handmade rugs.
Source: Architect and interiors India
