INTERNATIONAL
Textile Raw Material Price 2016-10-07
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1010.06 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
VSF |
2543.12 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
ASF |
1888.24 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
1022.79 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2427.73 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4420.87 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1288.80 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2232.91 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2053.08 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
1236.35 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2622.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
5637.73 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
3102.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1678.43 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2607.56 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3236.98 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2367.79 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1843.28 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2247.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.37 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.84 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.19 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.70 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/7/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14986 USD dtd 07/10/2016)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Sharp increase in yarn prices have hit the powerloom units very badly and most of suppliers have now decided to cut production by downing their shutters once in a week to stay in the business by avoiding huge losses. "We are trying our best to clock a handsome business ahead of Diwali. But, we are finding it difficult to meet the orders as yarn prices have gone up," said K Suresh, president of Erode Powerloom Owners Association (EPOA). In the current scenario powerloom weavers were forced to up the prices of their products and as a result sales have come down. The buyers are reluctant to pay more. There are more than one lakh powerloom units in Erode district and Pallipalayam and Kumarapalayam in Namakkal district. They usually use cotton and Viscose Rayon yarns to make the products.
Six months back, 1kg of Viscose Rayon yarn was priced at 193. "Now, it has increased to 215," said B Kandavel, executive member of EPOA. When it comes to bulk deals, he said, the rise in prices would affect our profit margins. Similarly, the price of 1kg of cotton yarn has also shot up to 205 from 170. Usually, powerloom units do brisk business during Diwali time. But this year, business is dull for most units. "About 60% of the units have decided to stop production for one day in a week," Kandavel said, adding that the remaining units would continue to work around the week as they have bagged tenders from the state government for its free dhoti and sari scheme. Most powerloom unit owners refuse to take more orders, citing rise in yarn price. "Because of the price hike, we have decided not to opt for Viscose Rayon and cotton yarns," the powerloom unit owners said. But, the move would hit the units and eventually force them shut the units. They have decided to take up the issue with both the state and Central governments.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Underdeveloped infrastructure, restrictive environment and a lack of trade agreement with key markets have been identified as the main reasons for the unsatisfactory foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in the Indian textile sector, says a recent study. Stringent labour laws were also cited as one of the major challenges that hamper the FDI inflow. In order to attract large scale investments, acquire global scale and bring India at par with other competing countries, there is an immediate need to review the labour laws to make them investor and labour friendly, says the study that was commissioned by the Indian ministry of textiles.
Labour laws restricting women from working in night shifts and the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 that stipulates that companies employing over 100 people must obtain necessary approvals for lay-offs need to be amended to rectify the situation. “Despite India offering a large domestic market, competitive labour costs and a well working democracy, its performance in attracting FDI flows has been far from satisfactory. The country's weakness lies in underdeveloped infrastructure and restrictive operative environment and lack of trade agreement with key markets,” notes the study.
Apparel and textile exporting nations like Bangladesh, Vietnam, Turkey, Cambodia and Pakistan have duty advantage ranging from 10 per cent to 30 per cent for different products in the US and EU markets. This advantage enables them to achieve exports growth rates higher than that of India, according to media reports. The report points out that the cumulative FDI in Indian textile sector from 2000-01 to 2014-15 is approximately $1.5 billion. By region, Africa is the largest investor in Indian textile sector, with nearly one-third of the total FDI inflows in India since 2000-01. Out of the investment of $462 million from Africa, Mauritius accounts for about 99 per cent of investment. Europe ranked second in FDI inflows in India accounting for 25 per cent of total investments. The top 3 investing countries of Europe are Belgium (27 per cent), Finland (13 per cent) and Switzerland (11 per cent). Asia and America are the third and fourth largest investors in the Indian textile industry by region, respectively. The FDI policy in India allows 100 per cent FDI in the textile sector under the automatic route.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
India formally submitted a concept note on a trade facilitation agreement (TFA) in services with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Thursday, official sources said, taking the first decisive step towards gathering global consensus on a framework to boost worldwide trade in services. It has told the WTO that just like the TFA in goods, which is aimed at aimed at relaxing customs rules for smoother trade flow, there is a need for a “counterpart agreement” in services, and that the proposed pact must also ensure special and differential treatment for developing and poor nations. The concept note said: “The TFS (trade facilitation in services) agreement will address the key issues that are pertinent to facilitating trade in services, such as transparency, streamlining procedures, and eliminating bottlenecks.” The note pitches for the facilitation of Mode 4 services (movement of natural persons) through the simplification of procedures for temporary entry and stay, and clarity in respect of necessary work permits and visas. The Mode 4 services are crucial to India’s interest, as it has a vast pool of skilled professionals, especially in the IT sector. The latest move by India is crucial because while over half of WTO’s 162 members have so far endorsed the TFA on goods (it will take effect once two-thirds of WTO members ratify it), the multilateral body doesn’t have a similar mechanism for services trade. India has sought comments from various WTO members on its concept note and it will submit the detailed text with the multi-lateral body later once it’s ready.
The TFA in goods was adopted by the WTO in 2014 to expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods as well as to improve cooperation on customs compliance issues to boost trade. It could cut the cost of trade by an average of 14.5% and the impact could be greater than elimination of all remaining tariffs, according to WTO director general Roberto Azevêdo. While any such estimate of likely benefits of a similar agreement in services is yet to be firmed up, analysts believe the TFS has the potential to give similar dividends, going forward.
India is keen on boosting the services sector, as it accounts for over a half of its GDP. India’s concept note on services puts emphasis on the facilitation of free flow of data across borders for meaningful supply of services; facilitation of delivery of services, including through cross border insurance portability for availing of medical or tourist related services; streamlining temporary entry formalities, including visa processing fees and procedures, for people seeking entry into another country to avail of services (for instance, medical services, education services, tourism, etc). The note says measures such as single-window clearance for setting up commercial presence need to be in place. The note also focussed on steps relating to taxation, fees/charges, discriminatory salary requirements, social security contributions in relation to temporary entry, etc in order to ensure that these do not unfairly disadvantage foreign service suppliers.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The size of the Indian economy could increase five-fold to $10 trillion in the next 15 years, replicating a feat achieved by the Chinese economy, NITI Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Friday. “India started off to rapid growth a little later than China, but now it has the potential to accomplish in the next 15 years what China did in the last 15 years. India’s GDP (now) stands at about $2 trillion and it has good prospects of rising to $10 trillion in the next 15 years,” Panagariya said addressing an India-China investment conclave organised by industry body Ficci in New Delhi. Panagariya said India needs to learn from China and develop coastal economic zones as China has done in Shenzhen. China and India, which contributed to 50% of world’s GDP till 1820, are once again regaining their lost glory in the world, he said. With $10.86 trillion (14.7% share in world GDP), the Chinese economy stood second in the world after the US in 2015, while India, at $ 2.07 trillion (2.8%)was ranked seventh. Analysts reckon that to reach $10 trillion level, the Indian economy needs to grow at over 11% for the next one-and-half a decade, which is a daunting challenge. China’s economy was $1.2 trillion in 2000.
The NITI Aayog is preparing a 15-year vision document, which would provide a roadmap for developing India into a global economic powerhouse with inclusive and sustainable growth. The first draft of the document would be ready by January. “With China promoting out-bound investment and India seeking foreign capital and technology, it should enable us to take advantage of the synergies and put in place a vigorous framework to strengthen bilateral investment relationships,” Panagariya said. Since India and China are the only two rapidly-growing major economies, they need to maintain high growth rates to lift global growth, said Xu Shaoshi, chairman of the National Development and Reforms Commission of China. Xu is leading the delegation for the fourth India-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
A number of Chinese small and medium enterprises are keen to set up manufacturing bases in India and Bangladesh to take advantage of the lower labour costs, said a senior Hong Kong Trade Development Council official. Dickson Ho, Principal Economist (Asian and Emerging Markets), Research Department, Hong Kong Trade development Council, said about 6,000 SMEs from Guangdong province have,on their own or through local engagements, set up units in Vietnam. “We are now exploring opportunities in India, which has emerged as an attractive investment destination due to the lower cost of labour compared with China. As part of a pilot research we have visited West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Hyderabad (Telangana) to explore opportunities,” he said. Dickson Ho said businesses in textiles and garments, furniture, plastics, machinery, household items, and electronics are keen to explore setting up facilities in India.
Apart from taking advantage of lower labour costs, they can market their products domestically and export to other markets. “We are particularly keen to engage with SMEs as as they need linkages unlike big companies like Alibaba, Foxconn etc, who can find their way anywhere,” he said. If the production data of textiles are any indicator, India has a great potential for collaboration with Chinese companies. China accounts for nearly 10 times the textile business generated in India, he said. There are a number of original equipment suppliers, which do not have their own brands.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
As India embarks on a journey to spread its wings wider in the Latin American region, it has lined up a series of initiatives to strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations. First among these is the move to expand the India-MERCOSUR preferential trade agreement (PTA), for which modalities have been put in place. A group of four countries —Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay — have formed MERCOSUR and together they have a PTA with India and are seeking to expand it. So far, both sides have exchanged their respective wish lists. India has exchanged a wish list of 4,836 tariff lines at an eight-digit in July this year and the MERCOSUR grouping has exchanged their wish list of 3,358 tariff lines at eight-digit HS code.
Officials from the ministry of external affairs, ministry of commerce & industry, and the Indian ambassadors to the countries were part of a high-level government delegation for negotiations on a margin of preference (MoP) on the tariff lines to be offered by each side and other related issues, which concluded last week. Sources told FE, “All the member countries have agreed to work together in a modular manner so that the expansion can be completed on time. Right now, India along with the four countries, has set 2018 for an expanded India-MERCOSUR PTA. Towards this, the plan is that next February, India and the members will have another round of discussions to expand the existing PTA, followed by a series of meetings by June-July.” “Some of the member countries are not happy to talk about services, hence the government has to work on lines where there will be large volumes as compared with others,” the source explained.
Also, in Peru, India is working on a different model for pepping up economic relations. “There was a meeting of a joint study group on an India-Peru FTA last week in Peru. An FTA between the two countries is not going to happen soon, so the government has decided to work on a new, unique model, wherein the government has agreed to do single undertaking discussions on services investment and goods,” said an informed source. According to Peru embassy officials in New Delhi, “India is an important market with a great potential for development.” The Peruvian government has invited Indian businessmen to invest in the country for the construction of roads, highways, ports, airports, telecommunications and energy, and take advantage of its tourism spots to boost bilateral tourism ties. The country is also keen on tapping India for space technology. Peru has signed 40 FTAs across the world, including with China and the European Union.
According to sources, “MERCOSUR stands to benefit from India’s worldclass capabilities in software and pharmaceutical industries and exports of agricultural products like soybean and corn. On the other hand, India can secure its oil and other natural resource needs by partnering with the grouping’s member countries.” The process of expansion was started earlier and the wish lists were also exchanged between India and MERCOSUR in 2010. However, the process of expansion could not proceed further. India had earlier exchanged its wish list containing around 1,287 tariff lines at an 8-digit code at HS 2007 nomenclature. Besides huge opportunities in fertilisers and lithium, there is a big potential in the areas of agriculture, livestock and food processing. Both India and Argentina are major producers of food and have quite a diversified industrial base.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
A delegation of Bahrain Economic Development Board (BEDB) is in India seeking investments for the oil-rich kingdom in sectors like tourism, start-ups, financial services, information technology and manufacturing. “Tourism is the most important industry for the start of business links with India’s hotel operators, while the financial services and information technology start up sector fits well for Indian companies, especially those engaged in the digital payment business,” BEDB Managing Director Simon Galpin said. “Bahrain is very keen to develop economic relationship with India. We have many government-funded infrastructure projects that could present opportunities for Indian engineering companies, such as upgrading oil and gas companies, expanding our airport by 40 per cent and a new light-rail system,” he added.
Realising the importance of non-oil sectors and foreign direct investment as essential components of economic diversification, Bahrain has stepped its campaign for foreign trade and investment, stressing its role as the gateway for the six nation Gulf Cooperation council (GCC). “Bahrain’s prime assets are its strategic geographical location in the Middle East, low labour costs, diversified industries and an open economy that offer a favourable business environment for Indian companies. “It is connected to Saudi Arabia by a 25-kilometer causeway, which only needs 30 minutes drive, so many companies use Bahrain as a gateway for access to Saudi Arabia and the GCC countries,” said David Parker, Executive Director, Financial Services, BEDB. The government of Bahrain is also keen that local high net worth individuals, angel investors and serial entrepreneurs become active investors in startups in India that wish to set up shop there and get access to other markets in the region. The Bahrain Economic Development Board is a public agency with overall responsibility for attracting investment into the Kingdom and supporting initiatives that enhance the investment climate.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
Formation of a Tripartite Consultative Council (TCC) for addressing labour disputes faced by workers in the RMG sector was discussed at a roundtable organised by Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES). Speakers suggested that workers and owners from the industry should have a clear understanding of labour laws. It is necessary for the owners of companies in the RMG industry as well as the workers to understand and apply labour laws for effectively forming the TCC. The council will help solve labour problems related to wages, workplace safety, working hours and social security among others. The roundtable called 'Formulation of Tripartite Consultative Council in RMG sector: Scope and Challenges, Role of Stakeholders' was organised to explore the possibilities of the council and getting suggestions from the stakeholders for addressing the challenges in its formation, said Bangladeshi media reports.
Bangladesh worker organisations' leaders believe that formation of TCC will not be enough to reduce labour problems in the apparel sector as such bodies can only provide suggestions and are not empowered to make decisions. However, Mikail Shipar, labour secretary, was of the opinion that TCC should be formed for the improvement of the Bangladesh's RMG sector. He suggested BILS to propose a framework to the labour ministry to assist the government in analysing the issue. Shipar also thinks that the council should be linked to the National Tripartite Consultative Council.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The International Apparel Federation (IAF) with other organisations is leading the development of a training course on collaborative sourcing, for both buyers and manufacturers in Bangladesh. The course will create a unique opportunity for buyers and manufacturers to learn about collaborative sourcing in a joint and collaborative training course. The decision to start a training course was taken at a conference on 'Sustainable Sourcing in the Garment Sector' (SSGS) organised by the embassy of Netherlands in Dhaka, hosted in partnership with IAF and the BGMEA. This conference clearly indentified knowledge as a key factor in creating more sustainable sourcing practices. It also concluded that for management of both, buying firms as well as manufacturing companies, more knowledge of setting up collaborative sourcing arrangements is needed. IAF will lead the formation of a consortium involving major Bangladeshi and international partners to build and finance the training course. The course will also serve as a benchmark for similar training courses to be developed in other countries with a major apparel industry.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Driven by rise in Ice Futures at the New York Stock Exchange, Brazilian cotton prices continued to increase in late September. Cotton prices also grew on expectations of low cotton availability until the beginning of harvesting of the new crop. Besides, cotton buyers too expressed higher interest in purchasing, while sellers remained firm in asking prices. The CEPEA/ESALQ Index for payment in 8 days, for cotton type 41-4, delivered in São Paulo, increased 2.77 per cent, closing at BRL 2.5244 or $0.7764 per pound on September 30.
Quoting data from the Brazilian Commodity Exchange, CEPEA said 73.8 per cent of the Brazilian 2014/15 cotton crop, forecast at 1.563 million tons, had already been traded until late September. Of this volume, 50.8 per cent was sold in the domestic market and the rest in the international market. With regards to the 2015/16 crop, projected at 1.289 million tons, 60.4 per cent had already been traded in September. Of this total, 43.9 per cent was sold in the local market and the rest in the global markets.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The government on Friday approved Rs 185 million under Export Development Fund (EDF) for the development of textile sector in the country. The meeting of EDF was held under the chairmanship of secretary of Ministry of Textile Industry, which approved various development projects for promotion of textile sector and boost its exports. A senior official of Ministry of Textile Industry said that allocations of Rs 100 million has been approved for washing facilities in Karachi garments institute, while Rs 75 million was also approved by the EDF for land acquisition of new training institute in Sailkot and was also allocated Rs 10 million for garment training institute in Lahore. The production of up to 11.2 millions bales of cotton was expected this crop season, as compared to 10 million bales produced in the same period of previous year, he added. The selling price of cotton seeds was also decreased from Rs 3,200 to Rs 3,000 per 40 kilogrammes in order to encourage farmers to cultivate cotton crops on more land and enhance the cotton production in this season, the official said.
The official further said that the experts and scientists helped in providing training to more than 8,000 farmers to overcome losses of cotton crops and evolved measures against the virus, which harmed the cotton crops in the past. This year farmers were likely to get good prices for the cotton crop, as the increased cotton prices in international market would benefit farmers, as compared to previous years when they suffered huge financial losses, he added. However, the government had set 14.1 million bales of cotton for this year, which had to be revised, as some of the growers in cotton producing areas opted to cultivate sugarcane crop, the official said.
SOURCE: The Daily Times
Weaving two types of specially designed fibres with cotton yarn and conductive copper-coated threads, a team of researchers from China and Singapore has devised a smart fabric that can both harvest energy from light and store it as a supercapacitor would do. As its main threads (used as flying shuttle), the textile combines fibre-shaped photo-anodes interlaced with counter electrodes (CEs) for the energy harvesting functionality, with TiN nanowire-based fibre supercapacitors (FSCs) for the energy storage part. Published in the ACS Nano journal, the paper "Tailorable and Wearable Textile Devices for Solar Energy Harvesting and Simultaneous Storage" details the fabrication process of both types of specialty threads as commercially viable for production in any length. The smart thing about this textile is that it can be woven with both threads side by side in any proportion, offering the right balance between energy harvesting and energy storage based on the end applications envisaged.
What's more, the textile can be tailored into any shape while still retaining its overall solar energy harvesting and storage capabilities. Two equal parts of a fabric cut in half providing each roughly half the energy harvesting and energy storage capacity of the integral fabric (as long as the threads' extremities are reconnected in some way to build up functional modules in series or in parallel). In fact, every individual “thread” (FSC, fiber-shaped DSSC photoanode and CE) can be cut while retaining its functionality. To prove their idea, the researchers weaved a palm-size sample that could be fully charged to 1.2V in 17s by self-harvesting solar energy. It fully discharged in 78s at a discharge current of 0.1mA.
About these special threads
The TiN nanowire-based fibre supercapacitors (FSCs) were obtained starting with a Ti wire roughly 250μm in diameter. The titanium wire undergoes an alkali hydrothermal treatment and a further ion-exchange process to obtain H2Ti2O5·H2O nanowires on its surface, about 100nm in diameter. The 1D porous structure it forms as a thread can simultaneously provide a fast electron transport channel and large surface area, supporting fast charge/discharge rates as well as boasting a high volumetric capacitance. Functional FSC devices were obtained by assembling two TiN/Ti electrodes into a symmetric structure with a KOH/PVA gel used simultaneously as an electrolyte and a separator. Such strings were then woven with cotton yarns using an industrial weaving loom with flying shuttle to produce the energy textile with predesigned patterns. The FSCs were tested under thousands of bending cycles, from 0° to 360°, maintaining about 98% of their original capacitance.
The fibre-shaped photo-anodes were obtained by radially growing ZnO NWs on a manganese-coated polymer wire, then sensitizing them with industry standard ruthenium-based dye N719. The fibre-shaped photo-anode thread was finally completed with a coating of copper iodide (CuI) as the hole-transfer layer. nitridation process followed by a hydrothermal carbon-coating process yields carbon-coated TiN nanowires (NWs) about 80 to 100nm in diameter and 10μm long, grown uniformly and radially around the titanium wire. Solar energy harvesting modules were obtained by weaving these fibre-shaped photo-anodes with Cu-coated polymer wire or cotton yarn as the counter electrodes. In their paper, the researchers note that when connected in series, the open circuit voltage (Voc) of the DSSC textile increases linearly with the number of the photo-anode strings (the short-circuit current remains unchanged). As for the FSCs modules, they can be charged to several volts when connected in series. The threads exist, but how would you connect their loose ends in a piece of fabric to establish connections between the different domains and form complete circuits? We asked corresponding author Wenjie Mai, Department Chair / Professor in the department of physics at Jinan University (China). "We simply use metal wires to connect all these fibres at their extremities" explained Mai, understanding that although this may not look perfect, it was good enough to show the idea on a working prototype. Maybe some sort a welded seam process involving special conductive coatings could overlap and connect the conductive ends of these special threads during garment manufacture. Hoping to industrialize and commercialize their smart fabric, the researchers filed a few patent applications and established contact with a few Chinese companies as potential industrial partners, Mai revealed.
SOURCE: The EE Times
Apparel Sourcing 2016, the European trade fair for worldwide apparel sourcing, and the Shawls & Scarves show, for accessories, scarves, and shawls, were recently held in Paris Le Bourget, from September 12 to 15, 2016. Visitors were pleased with the solutions and services provided at Apparel Sourcing Paris that offered customisation and flexibility. Around 13 591 visitors from France, Italy, Turkey, Germany, and European countries turned up at the 39th session of events. Having grown to one hundred exhibitors, the expo demonstrated an offer for clothing production and accessories that is unique in Europe. The diversity of skills offered made visitors more curious and encouraged them to take a closer look at their manufacturing processes. Questions on limited production runs and customisation appeared to be constantly in the background of buyers' questions. A clearer and more transparent view of exhibitors' presentations for visitors, improved ease of making contacts, the openness and clarity making it easier to initiate discussions.
The Apparel Sourcing Accessories section dedicated to the manufacture of textile accessories featured an expanded range of umbrellas, bow ties and small leather goods, which were alongside the usual ranges of hosiery, tote bags, gloves, footwear etc. The Shawls & Scarves show was dedicated to finished textile products and fashion accessories by around fifty exhibitors. Natural materials like linen or hemp, which Indian exhibitors are highly skilled in, also captured the visitors' attention. Similarly, accessories embroidered with rhinestones, targeting the segment for weddings and occasion wear, also drew a lot of sales orders.
Apparel Sourcing Paris also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Chinese CTAF pavilion at the show, which represents major ranges of products from China. Xu Yingxin, assistant to the president of CNTAC and executive vice president of CCPIT TEX, Olaf Schmidt, vice president Textiles and Textile Technologies at the Messe Frankfurt Group, awarded prizes to 15 exhibitors for the quality of their products and to the most effective representatives.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
On October 5, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and Georgia's Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development signed a memorandum of understanding to mark the successful conclusion of substantive negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA). A feasibility study on the FTA was completed in August 2015, and formal talks began last December. Only three intensive rounds of negotiations were required to complete the agreement. It was said that the two countries have agreed zero tariffs for most of their traded products, pledged to open many markets in the service sector, and improved trade rules. The FTA, which covers 17 chapters, also includes intellectual property and e-commerce rules. According to the MOC, the FTA is expected to boost bilateral economic and trade ties and promote the implementation of China's Belt and Road Initiative. The agreement will now be subject to ratification procedures.
SOURCE: The Tax News
China’s foreign trade remains under heavy downward pressure due to increasing uncertainties, despite improved export and import data in August, an official has said. The difficulties are not short-term problems, with uncertain and unstable factors increasing, Shen Danyang, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said. Foreign trade improved markedly in August, customs data showed in September, with exports and imports rising 5.9 percent and 10.8 percent respectively, the first time since November 2014 that the figures have both risen on a monthly basis. However, in the first eight months, foreign trade was down 1.8 percent from a year earlier, with exports dropping 1 percent and imports falling 2.9 percent, official customs data showed.
Citing the figures, Shen said it is no time for complacency and the situations is still complicated and daunting. Increasing trade frictions concerning Chinese exports are partly to blame. From January to August, 20 countries or regions launched 85 trade remedy probes against Chinese products, up 49 percent and worth 10.3 billion U.S. dollars, almost doubled the amount for the same period last year, Shen said. In those eight months, the United States launched 15 trade probes under the Section 337 of the 1930 Tariff Act against Chinese products, he said. Section 337 investigations focus on allegations of patent or registered trademark infringement, and also involve misappropriation of aspects such as trade secrets, false advertising and violation of antitrust laws.
SOURCE: The Global Textiles
China’s currency moved slightly yesterday with banks offering ample dollars to meet demand from companies for greenback just days before the yuan is included into the International Monetary Fund reserve basket. Traders told Shanghai Daily that the government wants to see yuan traded within a narrow range of guidance rate when it is about to officially enter the IMF’s reserve basket, known as Special Drawing Rights, tomorrow. The spot market of yuan opened at 6.6724 yuan per dollar and was changing hands nearly around the midpoint of 6.6700 set by the People’s Bank of China yesterday. Chinese market will be closed for seven days starting tomorrow for the National Day holiday. “The recent fluctuation of yuan reflects the consideration of SDR inclusion,” said a trader at a foreign bank in Shanghai. “There are a lot of dollar offerings on the market to hedge dollar buying that could lead yuan to fast depreciation.”
Twice this year, the overnight cost of borrowing the offshore yuan in Hong Kong surged above 20 percent amid speculation the PBOC mopped up liquidity to boost the exchange rate. Though the central bank last week denied it intervened in the trade of yuan, traders preferred to wait and watch as the rate was still under PBOC guidance. The yuan will have a 10.92 percent weighting in the basket after October, behind the euro and the US dollar. It is the first addition since 1999. There were 204.1 billion SDRs as of March this year, equal to around US$285 billion.
Though yuan joining the SDR won’t have a direct impact on global financial markets, the inclusion underlines the recognition of Chinese market’s importance to global economy, and the potential wider use as reserves and transactions in financial market, JPMorgan’s economist Zhu Haibin said. Singapore-based DBS Bank estimates that yuan will comprise 4 percent of global reserves, similar to that of Japanese yen in three years’ time. That means US$440 billion out of some US$11 trillion of global reserves could be allocated to yuan assets. SDR inclusion marks a milestone in China’s efforts to promote the yuan’s global profile, but Eswar Prasad, the author of “Gaining Currency,” argued: “China needs to carry out a broad range of reforms, both economic and political, before the yuan can become a truly global currency on par with the dollar.” The former top China hand at the IMF told Wall Street Journal that China was in a “grand experiment” between two contradictory impulses — “more freedom for market forces but with a heavy dose of government intervention.” “Whatever happens with the yuan’s prominence on the world stage, such reforms are good for the Chinese economy,” Prasad told the newspaper.
SOURCE: The Global Textiles
