INTERNATIONAL
Textile Raw Material Price 2016-11-24
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1061.17 |
USD/Ton |
0.34% |
11/24/2016 |
|
VSF |
2207.82 |
USD/Ton |
0.07% |
11/24/2016 |
|
ASF |
1854.34 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
1122.74 |
USD/Ton |
0.65% |
11/24/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2491.76 |
USD/Ton |
1.18% |
11/24/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4273.67 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2651.12 |
USD/Ton |
1.10% |
11/24/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
5461.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1332.80 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2303.43 |
USD/Ton |
1.27% |
11/24/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2028.18 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1376.27 |
USD/Ton |
0.53% |
11/24/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2853.94 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1709.47 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2549.71 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1839.85 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2202.02 |
USD/Ton |
0.66% |
11/24/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2998.81 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2231.00 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.33 |
USD/Meter |
0.11% |
11/24/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.82 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.15 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.65 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.64 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/24/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14487 USD dtd. 24/11/2016)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Continued Indian aggression has led to unannounced suspension of imports of cotton from India. Informed sources in the textile sector told The Express Tribune that high officials of the plant protection department, which works under federal ministry of food security, have issued verbal orders to the staff to stop issuing permits of import of cotton. The issuance of import permits from India has been suspended for three days. The sources said that many textile exporting manufacturers import cotton as well as chemical dyes from India in heavy quantities. The sources in plant protection department said that import of cotton without proper permit has been banned. Some importers were importing cotton without permit. This facility has been cancelled after the recent tensions with India. Last month, traders from the Indian state of Gujarat decided to stop supplying vegetables, especially tomatoes and chilli, to Pakistan, the Times of India reports.
Ahmedabad General Commission Agent Association general secretary Ahmed Patel said, “Gujarat used to send 50 trucks having 10 tonnes of vegetables, mainly tomatoes and chilli, to Pakistan from Wagah border but we have stopped supply for the past two days considering the tension between the two countries.” This was the first time in almost two decades that Gujarat traders decided to halt supply of essential vegetables to its western neighbour, he said. “We will not supply vegetables to Pakistan till the normalisation of relations between the two countries,” Patel said.
SOURCE: The Tribune
The year-end is normally a cheerful time at the textile hub of Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, when holiday orders pour in from the US and Europe. This time, there is gloom. The cash crunch triggered by the sudden withdrawal of high-value currency notes has crippled the economy of Tirupur that depends on thousands of labourers who earn their wages in cash. “I am sitting with 10 workers of the 90 I deploy,” M.P. Muthurathinam, owner of Rooban Clothing Co., said over phone from Tirupur. “I have no cash for my workers and they are either on leave or have left jobs due to the cash crunch.” Muthurathinam now worries his clients may cancel a chunk of his export orders since he won’t be able to deliver the goods on time. “Generally, November and December are happy months for us as good business order flow materializes due to the Christmas and New Year season abroad,” said Muthurathinam.
The textiles cluster of Tirupur employs some 500,000 people directly and does an annual business of nearly Rs40,000 crore. While Rs25,000 crore comes from exports, the rest comes from the domestic business. Muthurathinam said many factory owners like him will not be able to pay their workers or fulfil orders, resulting in a loss in revenue. Muthurathinam is one of the hundreds of textile factory owners in Tirupur who are facing up to a 40% decline in their annual business due to the cash crunch and the unavailability of labour following demonetization. The textiles belt, often referred to as the Manchester of south India, has remained crippled over the past 15 days and its impact will be felt for at least three to four quarters, factory owners and their association said, disputing claims that the pain will be short-lived.
Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday said in a report that the decision to withdraw Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes—approximately 86% of banknotes in circulation by value—will have credit implications for every sector of the economy. “However, uncertainty about the short- and medium-term quantitative impact of this unprecedented move is very high,” it said.
So, why is Tirupur getting impacted severely?
Factory owners said that though business-to-business transactions are mostly cashless, payments to labourers are predominantly in cash. In Tirupur, at least around 75% of the over 500,000 workers base are paid weekly in cash and the rest are paid at the end of the month. In the absence of cash, production has been significantly affected, said G.R. Senthilvel, owner of Tremendouss Exports. “Our export business is purely cashless. But the portion of our domestic business is cash-dependent. Moreover, the labour dealings are purely in cash as these people are largely unbanked due to their low education levels,” said Senthilvel. He has now written to clients in South Africa requesting an extension of delivery deadlines due to the production loss. He says clients can do one of three things: slap a penalty, cancel the order, or blacklist them for a certain period. “In either of the case, it’s a loss of revenue,” Senthilvel said. “Though the government’s intention to curb black money is good, its poor implementation has hit companies like ours and the working class the most,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Tirupur Exporters and Manufacturers Association has written to the Prime Minister’s Office to take note of the situation and help them with more cash. Senthilvel said while they support the fight against black money in principle, poor implementation of the demonetization will impact Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India campaign and hit job creation. “If business gets hit, it will have a direct impact on employment,” he said.
SOURCE: The Live Mint
Government today relaxed the guidelines of the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (A-TUFS) with retrospective effect, easing the term loan condition for entrepreneurs. "Under the modified norms, the entrepreneur will be required to keep the term loan component at a minimum of 50 per cent of the total eligible machinery cost under the project to become eligible for the TUF scheme. "Earlier, the entrepreneur had to keep the term loan component at a minimum of 50 per cent of the total project cost," a Textile Ministry official told PTI. Moreover, 20 per cent of the machine cost will be eligible under TUFS for subsidy for accessories/sample machines/ spares received along with machinery "or procured from other manufacturers of the machinery under the project". Earlier, the provision was not applicable to machinery procured from other manufacturers. The amendments will be effective from January 13, 2016, when government had notified the A-TUFS which provides one-time capital subsidy for investments in employment and technology-intensive segments of textile sector. The scheme, which was introduced in place of the Revised Restructured TUFS (RRTUFS), is credit linked and projects for technology upgradation covered by a prescribed limit of term loans sanctioned by the lending agencies will only be eligible for grant of benefits under it. The ATUFS will be effective for a period of seven years, up to March 31, 2022.
SOURCE: The India Today
Two weeks after Prime Minister Modi’s demonetisation move banning Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, it is the labour-intensive sector that is bearing the maximum brunt. There has been widespread loss of jobs in industries like textile, garments, leather and jewellery. Senior industry executives fear that post-demonetisation, more than 4 lakh people who are dependent on daily wages have been rendered unemployed. Of these, some have either lost their jobs or stopped working owing to lack of payment and production cuts. Industry executives warned that if the cash crunch continued, the number of jobless people will only grow. They, however, added that a clearer picture will emerge in the weeks to come when more cash is likely to be in circulation.
Production has been severely affected in the days following the sudden demonetisation move. Many factories have already reduced their production because of liquidity crisis. The cash withdrawal limit of Rs 50,000 a week helped the industrialists to conduct only necessary business transactions. Besides, many labourers do not have savings account, says in hubs like Tirupur, as 70 per cent of them are migrant workers from the north and northeastern parts of the country. At the same time, a lot of workers do not use bank accounts because they risk losing poverty or BPL status if the amount in their saving account exceeds the limit of Rs 50,000. Almost a fifth of 32 million people employed in textile and garment industries, who are paid their wages daily or weekly, have been severely hit. Around 25 per cent of the 25 lakh workers in labour industry have also been affected.
SOURCE: The Indian Express
The finance and railways ministries are working on ways to cut logistics costs which make exports uncompetitive, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. The Minister said that she has discussed the increasing logistics costs with the Finance Minister. "I have very clearly stated that logistics costs are increasing and therefore, we are becoming less competitive... We have definitely asked different authorities at different levels. We have asked the Railways and the Finance Ministers to look into this. They are working on it," she told PTI in an interview. "We do not want this kind of a cost which is not due to the inefficiency of the manufacturer," she added.
Worried over slow growth in exports, the Commerce Ministry has pitched to enhance the logistics competitiveness of exporters. The department of commerce has suggested to the Railways Ministry that it needs to clearly distinguish between consignments for exports, imports and general, in terms of freight rates. It was also suggested to the railways to work on ways to reduce the delivery time of consignments providing traders more predictability and reliability. Indian exporters have time and again demanded drastic cuts in freight rates to enhance price competitiveness in the global markets as costs of exports is currently very high in India.
Citing an example, an industry expert said that the time taken for delivery of consignment through Railways from Tughlakabad in Delhi to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) is huge and needs to be reduced to about 36 hours. In India, the container transport mainly happens through roads due to various reasons like high railway freight rates, unreliable scheduling of freight trains and poor last-mile connectivity. The Commerce Ministry is also in consultations with the ports for timely handling of cargo. Currently, traders have to spend a lot of time in off-loading and on-loading their consignments from ports, impacting the country's trade. FIEO Director General Ajay Sahai said that improvement in port infrastructure would help in reducing transaction costs and boost shipments. A Commerce Ministry strategy paper released in 2010 had emphasised the need to invest billions in improving infrastructure to boost exports. It had asked the government to invest in modernising roads, ports, railways, airports, power and customs stations. Between December 2014 and May 2016, exports fell for 18 straight months due to weak global demand and slide in oil prices.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
With the rupee hitting a record low of 68.86 level intra-day, the market now expects it to slip further to the 70 level by March even though heavy Reserve Bank intervention today saved the day to an extent. The rupee opened at 68.76, touched a record low of 68.86 before noon, but closed at 68.73 against the US currency as the central bank pumped nearly half a billion worth of dollars to prop it up. The unit had fallen to a lifetime low of 68.85 on August 28, 2013 due to Fed taper tantrums. “We see the rupee falling to 70 levels by March next year,” treasurers at two state-run banks told PTI. On the market intervention by RBI, another public sector treasurer said, “RBI was seen in the market at various levels. It is likely that they have sold $500 million to salvage the currency.”
Marketmen said the RBI intervention was seen at 68.84-68.85 levels. However, once the rupee got stable at 68.75-68.76, RBI’s presence was not much felt, traders said. The rupee has been on a downward trend due to continued dollar strength and outflow from overseas investors. Investors are also concerned about the likely impact on growth due to demonetisation. “FPIs’ action is based on Donald Trump’s victory as the US President and in anticipation of a hike by the Federal Reserve,” Lakshmi Vilas Bank Executive Director N S Venkatesh told PTI. Bankers termed the current fall in the currency as a “knee-jerk reaction”, saying it is more of being event-based. “It is not the weakness of the rupee, but the strength of the greenback,” Federal Bank ED and CFO Ashutosh Khajaria said. Venkatesh said, “The present fall is event-based and not due to any fundamental issues as in the past. Last time, when the currency touched the record low, our fundamentals were very weak. But today, we are in a very strong position with low inflation, narrow current account deficit and high forex reserves.”
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The rupee touched a record low on Thursday but retreated on intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) even though the central bank is unlikely to stem the slide against the dollar as the greenback is rising rapidly against all currencies in the world. The rupee may touch 70 a dollar or even break the level in the next few days, said most of the 10 currency experts polled by Business Standard on Thursday. But it would be wrong to assume that the rupee would be staying at those levels for long, they said. There could be technical correction and rupee may even strengthen from the present level. The rupee closed at 68.73 to a dollar after touching 68.865, in intra-day trades, a record low of August 28, 2013, when global markets were roiled by the US Federal Reserve’s “taper tantrum”. This time though, several factors have hit the rupee. Alongside a dollar rally, India has seen over Rs 22,000 crore flowing out from debt and equity markets in November so far. Besides, this month also saw $17-18 billion of outflows due to FCNR(B) deposits and redemption of $1 billion of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) triggered by falling stock prices.“However good your macro fundamentals, if the dollar rises you will suffer. You will suffer less maybe, but you cannot escape it,” said Jayesh Mehta, head of treasury at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The impact of demonetisation on the rupee is indirect and at best a hit on sentiment. On the contrary, the demonetisation drive, being deflationary in nature, can prop up the rupee in the medium term, said Satyajit Kanjilal, managing director of Forexserve.
According to Mecklai Financial CEO Jamal Mecklai, the negative impact of demonetisation has shaved off some credibility of the Reserve Bank of India and foreign investors won’t take it kindly. “If I have to put money now, I will have to be careful. We can push the button a little bit and say the rupee could reach 71-71.50 in the coming days if we do not receive enough support from the dollar,” said Jamal Mecklai, head of Mecklai Financial. However, the depreciation of the rupee has not surprised everyone. It was on the offing for some time and was clearly reflected in the overseas non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market that are not regulated by the RBI. “During our working hours in India, we don’t get to see much of a volatility because the RBI intervenes. However, the market is always open, taking cues from the overseas NDF market, and it has been showing sharp depreciation for the rupee for some time,” said Abhishek Goenka, head of IFA Global. “By December, the rupee could weaken to around 69.50, from where it may pull back to 68 on a technical correction,” said Mohan Shenoi, head of treasury at Kotak Mahindra Bank.
The real effective exchange rate (REER) is inching up, indicating the rupee is strengthening against currencies of India’s trade competitors. In October the 36-currency REER was 117.12 against 116.35 in September and 116.44 in October 2015. In a six-currency basket, the REER was 127.65 in October against 124.72 a year ago. A REER value of 100 is normal, anything above it indicates overvaluation of rupee. “You need to depreciate to compete with China or South Korea that have let their currencies slide,” said Harihar Krishnamurthy, head of treasury at First Rand Bank. The collapse of the premium in the forwards market has prompted exporters to not sell their dollars. Banks, under obligation to honour FCNR-related dollar supply, are buying dollars in the spot market and selling them at a future date. The premium for future dollars has fallen but the cost of the spot dollar has shot up. Currency dealers said companies had not hedged because the rupee had showed remarkable strength against its peers in the past 18 months. “There is a good amount of unhedged position. Now that will change,” said Samir Lodha, head of QuantArt Markets Solution.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
Moody’s Investors Service today said the shock ban on high-denomination currency notes will in the near term significantly disrupt economic activity and lead to weaker growth, but in the long run can boost tax revenues and translate into faster fiscal consolidation. With 86 per cent of the currency in circulation being swept away with the ban on 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, households and businesses will experience liquidity shortages for a few months, it said, adding demonetisation will “weigh on GDP growth for a few quarters, dampening government revenues.” But in the medium term, higher income declarations by way of deposits of banned notes will boost tax revenues which will support government’s capital expenditure programme and support fiscal consolidation, it said.
In a report titled ‘Indian Credit — Demonetisation Is Beneficial for Indian Government and Banks; Implementation Challenges Will Disrupt Economic Activity’, Moody’s said the demonetisation move is affecting all sectors of the economy to various extent, with banks being the key beneficiaries. “Although the measures in the near term will pressure GDP growth and thereby government revenues, in the longer term they should boost tax revenues and translate into higher government capital expenditure and/or faster fiscal consolidation,” Moody’s Sovereign Group Associate MD Marie Diron said. Moody’s added there will be loss of wealth for individuals and corporates with unreported income, as some will choose not to deposit funds back into the formal financial system to avoid disclosing the sources of these funds. In the immediate period, demonetisation would “significantly disrupt economic activity, resulting in temporarily weaker consumption and GDP growth,” it maintained. Households and businesses will experience liquidity shortages as cash is taken out of the system, with a daily limit on the amount in old notes that can be exchanged into new notes. “Corporates will see economic activity decline, with lower sales volumes and cash flows, with those directly exposed to retail sales most affected,” Moody’s Corporate Finance Group MD Laura Acres said. However, greater formalisation of economic and financial activity would ultimately help broaden the tax base and expand usage of the financial system, which would be credit positive, it added. In a separate report, S&P Global Ratings too said demonetisation would be positive in long-term, but will have a transitory impact on growth in the short run and could hurt banks’ asset quality.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The All India Manufacturers’ Organisation has expressed concern that the proposed GST will drive up compliance costs and time because of involvement of multiple agencies and complicated paper work. The 75-year-old organisation with a countrywide network finds that the manufacturing units will have to annually file 111 returns in each of the State it has a presence in. Under the prevailing VAT, there is just one return. This is just one of the major 15 concerns the organisation brought out at a media interaction on Thursday. KE Raghunathan, National President, AIMO, while clarifying that the organisation’s members welcome the GST proposal, said there are some rough edges that need to be smoothened. The MSME sector, in particular, will be drastically hit if these issues are not addressed.
A GST advisory panel, including industry and trade players, should be created, he said. S Srinivasan, Chairman, AIMO - Tamil Nadu State Board, said apart from the huge number of returns, a company will have to register twice for State and Central GST in every State it operates in. Industries should be allowed to make one GST payment which the State and Centre can share, he said. Companies should be allowed one unified registration and integrated monthly and annual filing. A unified authority should be created rather than the dual control by State and Centre over enterprises with a turnover of more than Rs. 1.5 crore. The envisaged tax on advances from suppliers and on-stock transfers should also be dropped, he said. Other recommendations include: allowing input-credit benefit for petroleum products used as input or as fuel in factories; providing all input forms of GST credit adjustment against any output form of GST as currently the provisions do not allow CGST to be adjusted against SGST. Undue restrictions on availing input tax credit for business expenses should be lifted, and proper regulations for sales return should be included, it said.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
On Thursday, the rupee closed at a 39-month low of 68.73 against the dollar, within striking distance of its record low of August 2013 when it closed at 68.83. In intra-day trading though it breached that level, dropping to as low as 68.86. But it is possible that intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may have propped it up marginally from its record low. Economists, though, are divided on whether this rather sudden slide in the rupee has more to do with internal factors or external factors. “The recent decline in the rupee is largely driven by the strengthening of the dollar which has gained against almost all major currencies,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE.
Aditi Nayar, senior economist at ICRA concurred. “The recent weakening of the rupee is primarily a consequence of external factors. The extent of depreciation displayed by the rupee is in the middle of the pack compared to the currencies of other emerging economies. To some extent, the FCNR (foreign currency non-resident) deposit redemption and the recent demonetisation policy by the government may have contributed to this decline,” she said.Since the US election results, the US dollar has strengthened against almost all major currencies. Among the emerging market currencies, the worst hit has been the Mexican peso which has declined 13% against the dollar since November 8. The Turkish lira has fallen by eight%, while the Brazilian real and the South African rand are down seven and 7.2% respectively.
Developed countries, too, have seen their currencies fall against the dollar. The euro is down 4.3%, while the Japanese yen is down 7.5%. The pound, though, is marginally up. The trend appears secular. According to a study by CARE, 11 currencies which had appreciated against the dollar prior to November 8, depreciated sharply thereafter. But what is interesting to note, as the report points out, is that the “rupee has not performed too unsatisfactorily as it is at the median change in this set of countries at 2.64%”. The study looks at currency movements till November 18.It is likely that the strengthening of the dollar reflects the changing perception about the US economy under President-elect Donald Trump. Economists contend that higher fiscal spending by the US government, as promised by Trump in the run-up to the elections, coupled with lower tax rates, would not only stimulate the US economy but may also prove to be inflationary. This would put pressure on the US Federal Reserve to raise rates faster than what was anticipated before. Higher interest rates in the US are likely to strengthen the dollar as investment flows back to the US from other economies, especially emerging ones.But other economists disagree with this prognosis. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic advisor at the State Bank of India, said, “Part of the rupee’s recent weakness is because of the FCNR redemption. It (rupee’s weakness) seems to be driven by domestic factors. I’m not sure how much it is driven by external factors.”
Ghosh’s view is based on the fact that during the period of global uncertainty, the rupee was rather steady. Sound macroeconomic fundamentals — a declining fiscal deficit and current account deficit and moderating inflation — were then cited as the reason for the rupee’s steady performance. It is also possible that other internal factors may well have played their part. “There is also some urgency being shown by importers to book their dollars before the month-end which has increased demand for dollars,” Sabnavis said. Though economists expect the volatility to continue till there is greater clarity about Trump’s economic strategy, Pronab Sen, former chairman, National Statistical Commission raised an interesting point. “The real question is what will happen when people start creating black money. Will they decide to keep their cash holding in rupees or will they prefer to switch to the dollar,” he asked.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
The Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF) is bullish on domestic textile sector and is looking to export textiles products worth around $500 million to India in the next five years. "India is a very dynamic market with lot of potential and scope for Taiwanese companies. Our focus is to tap new business opportunities in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka where there is huge demand for innovative knit and woven textile products (performance & functional) like synthetic, fancy, functional etc as well as garment accessories," Taiwan Textile Federation Overseas Market Development Sean Tsai said. Tsai said this on the sideline of buyer-seller meet here. "We aim to export around $500 million worth of functional textiles in the next five years to India. The bilateral trade between India and Taiwan has grown from $1.19 billion in 2001 to $6 billion in 2014," Tsai added.
For over 10 years, the TTF had been organising buyer-seller meet in India and has been quite successful in connecting and supplying our innovative and trendy textiles to the leading fashion garment exporters' as well domestic brands in India, he added. Organised by the TTF and the Bureau of Foreign Trade and represented by Worldex India Exhibition & Promotion, Taiwan Textile Fair showcased Taiwan's innovative and value-added yarns, fabrics, trimmings and clothing accessories were displayed to apparel exporters, fashion brands and labels, retailers, importers, distributors based in Mumbai.
Taiwanese textile industry is known in the world for its innovative and high-quality products and are sourced by leading global brands for sports and active wear, outdoor wear, functional wear, formal wear, suiting and shirting by leading global brands such as such as DKNY, S. Oliver, C&A, Victoria's Secret, GAP, Nike, Adidas, Calvin Klein, H&M, Marks & Spencer, TESCOUK, Tommy Hilfiger etc. Some of the leading exporters and brands in India that are already sourcing from Taiwan include Shahi Exports, Gokaldas Images, Madura Garments, Wildcraft, Moxi Sports, and Proline India.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The Donald Trump effect on the Asia-Pacific has become pronounced sooner than expected. While outgoing US president Barack Obama and the rest of the TPP-member-country heads pledged their support to the agreement at the APEC meeting in Lima, Trump announced his intention to withdraw the US from the TPP as one of his top priorities. The announcement confirmed the worst fears of the non-US TPP members. As the region reconciles to the imminence of the US withdrawal from the TPP, several scenarios emerge.
There is a possibility of the TPP going ahead without the US. A non-US TPP would hardly command as much influence in economic and strategic terms as it would have with the US. Apart from a sharp reduction in economic size, the TPP would lose its strength as a geo-strategic alliance in the region. Nonetheless, it could still get going without the US. The current TPP agreement requires at least six members accounting for a minimum of 85% of the bloc’s total GDP to ratify the deal for making it functional. This makes it impossible for the TPP to take off without the US, which accounts for 60 per cent of the bloc GDP. The arithmetic would change if the US pulls out. It would then come down to Japan and other large economies of the bloc, notably Australia and Canada, to ratify the deal for getting it going. While the TPP has faced opposition in several of its members, none, apart from the US, are significantly concerned over its domestic ratification, with New Zealand having already done the needful. The possibility of the non-US TPP members going ahead with the deal cannot be overlooked given that they would hate to see years of negotiations on the TPP go to waste. However, the agreement could well come for up a review with many members wanting to scale back concessions that they had made specifically for the US. The provisions on investment rules, state-owned enterprises, intellectual property protection for biologics, labour standards and environment could be the ones up for further review.
It would be erroneous to assume that Donald Trump, while withdrawing the US from the TPP and aiming to renegotiate the NAFTA, would entirely turn his back on trade. His intention appears to be to work on bilateral FTAs as opposed to big RTAs. These FTAs can extend to the Asia-Pacific and might include TPP members as well. The US already has FTAs with several TPP members like Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Singapore. The TPP would have given it preferential access to countries with which it doesn’t have FTAs—Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Vietnam. By entering into bilateral FTAs with some of these countries, the US can hope to have good trade deals fashioned according to its specific interests and advantages with respect to each country. Trump’s assessment clearly is that such deals are better for the US than a humongous TPP that while getting a lot for some US businesses doesn’t produce win-win outcomes for all and can put the US into trouble from overarching obligations like enabling non-US TPP member country businesses to arbitrate against the US.
A prominent scenario in the region is the emergence of the RCEP as the next best alternative for regional economic integration. Many analysts are interpreting this as a strategic victory for China. While China would be happy over the US withdrawal from the TPP, it may not be able to steer RCEP as close to its trade and strategic agenda as it wishes. It does not have as much strategic leverage over the RCEP members as the US had in the TPP. Nevertheless, as the largest economy in the RCEP and the second-largest economy of the Asia-Pacific and the world after the US, China is in a position to influence RCEP talks. A major relief for China at this juncture is avoiding the uncomfortable prospect of dealing with a trans-Pacific trade deal in the Asia-Pacific that would have had rules written by the US. China has capitalised the Trump victory and US withdrawal from the TPP by reviving the demand for a Free Trade Area in the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) to be based on the RCEP. This makes it the champion for expanding the size and scope of the current RCEP from an Asia-centric, ASEAN+ architecture to an agreement spanning both sides of the Pacific. With non-US and Asian TPP members—Australia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, Brunei and Vietnam—pinning hopes on the RCEP for achieving at least a part of what the TPP had aspired to, the RCEP is the deal that the region is watching out for.
As a major non-APEC member of the RCEP, India faces the prospect of integrating deeper with the Asia-Pacific if the RCEP expands into the FTAAP. The development would make India a part of the Asia-Pacific trade regulatory framework in spite of not being a member of the APEC. Belonging to the FTAAP might make the requirement of being a formal member of the APEC less significant for India since it would, as it is be able to contribute to regional trade rule making through the FTAAP. From a long-term perspective, it makes sense for India to bat for lifting RCEP to FTAAP.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 46.59 per barrel (bbl) on 24.11.2016. This was lower than the price of US$ 46.73 per bbl on previous publishing day of 23.11.2016.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs. 3198.56 per bbl on 24.11.2016 as compared to Rs. 3199.77 per bbl on 23.11.2016. Rupee closed weaker at Rs. 68.66 per US$ on 24.11.2016 as against Rs. 68.48 per US$ on 23.11.2016. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on November 24, 2016 (Previous trading day i.e. 23.11.2016) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.11.2016 (Oct 27, 2016 to Nov 11, 2016) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
46.59 (46.73) |
44.80 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3198.56 (3199.77) |
2990.85 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
68.66 (68.48) |
66.76 |
SOURCE: PIB
Turkey's general directorate of imports has decided to impose anti-dumping duties ranging from 34.81 per cent to 72.56 per cent on polyester textured yarn items imported from Vietnam. Turkey had initiated anti-dumping investigation on polyester textured yarn imported from Vietnam in May this year, following a complaint by Korteks Mensucat Sanayive Tic. A.S. Varying anti-dumping duty rates will be applied to different Vietnamese companies. Rates ranging between 34.81 per cent and 68.98 per cent will be imposed on companies like Hualon Corporation Vietnam, Formosa Industries Corporation, Century Synthetic Fiber Corporation, and PetroVietnam Petrochemical and Textile Fiber JSC. All the remaining companies will be subject to anti-dumping duty of 72.56 per cent, Vietnamese media reported. However, Turkey is yet to announce the date from which the duties will take effect.
Turkey is one of the most important markets for Vietnamese yarn manufacturers as the country imports a third of Vietnamese exports. Owing to the high anti-dumping duties, a number of Vietnamese companies have shifted their attention to other nations such as China and South Korea, said the Vietnam competition authority and the Vietnam cotton and spinning association. Turkey has also imposed similar duties on man-made and synthetic yarns and artificial staple fibres on various countries like Malaysia, Greece, Pakistan and Thailand, apart from Vietnam.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Pakistani exports to other countries recorded growth in recent years as the government is looking for new destinations in East Asia and Africa to expand exports network, Minister for Commerce informed the Senate on Thursday. "In terms of quantity, we have improved 15 percent in knitwear, one percent in bedwear, three percent in towel and four percent in readymade garments though the in terms of revenue three of the four sectors showed negative growth due to global recession," he said in response to a question during Question Hour. The minister said Pakistan has reached more destinations as "we hold on our exports as far as quantity was concerned. But, as far as revenue was concerned it could not increase due to cut in prices and economic recession." He said even big exporters like China, India, Thailand, United States and European Union have showed negative growth in terms of revenue.
Mentioning to different measures, the minister said, Pakistan is going to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Thailand and reaching out to Kenya, Nigeria and other countries in African continent. He said last year cotton exports affected due to poor crop as country had only 10 million bails that is going to improve to 11 million bails this year. "Our readymade garments sector has shown increase both in terms of quantity and revenue generation." He said the policy of encouraging value addition to country's cotton products is bearing fruit and now no raw cotton is exported rather goods are value-added that support local industry as well as create opportunities for new markets. The minister also pointed out to creation of Technical Upgradation Fund to introduce new sophisticated and energy efficient technologies in the country. He said the government had announced a special package for textile sector in budget 2014-15 and allocated Rs six billion for Textile Policy for year 2016-17.
Khurram Dastgir said the government made sales tax of five export-oriented sectors including textile, leather, sports goods, surgical goods and carpets part of zero rated tax regime from July 01, 2016. He said the policy of duty free import of textile machinery continues as the mark-up rate on Export Refinance Facility has been brought down to three percent from July 2016.
SOURCE: The Business Recorder
The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab unit urged the government to make energy costs competitive in the state, in order to restore competitiveness of the textile industry located in Punjab. The textile trade body also demanded that the government also protect the local industry from import of subsidised yarns and fabrics. APTMA Punjab unit chairman Syed Ali Ahsan said the energy costs should be made regionally competitive and so, electricity should be provided at Rs 7/kWh and regasified liquefied natural gas at Rs 600/MMBTU to Punjab based textile units. While addressing a press conference, Ahsan also added that textile exports have reduced from $13.8 billion to $11.6 billion in the last two years and at the same time, 70 spinning mills too have closed down in the state, primarily due to high cost of doing business. According to the chairman, they were also keenly awaiting the export led growth policy, which was promised by the prime minister.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
More than three quarters of $46 billion of planned Chinese-led investment in Pakistan will be implemented by next year as part of the world’s second-largest economy’s flagship Silk Road plan. “Out of this $46 billion, we have been so far able to energise about $35 billion,” Pakistan’s Planning, Development and Reforms Minister Ahsan Iqbal said in an interview in London. “By energising I mean these are projects either in advanced implementation or in a stage of financially closing.” Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is seeking to boost growth to the highest in about a decade after China announced its investment plans in the nation of about 190 million people last year. It is part of an initiative the Chinese government calls “One Belt, One Road” that aims to revive trade across Central Asia and into Europe via a network of railways, ports and highways.
About $11 billion has been allocated to infrastructure projects including roads, with concessional loans provided at about 2 per cent with payback in 20 years, along with a five-year grace period, said Iqbal, who is heading the investment plans in Pakistan. The rest has been earmarked for generating electricity, with about 11,000 megawatts expected to be added by 2018 to end the nation’s chronic power outages. In September, Iqbal said a further $8 billion would be provided by China and the Asian Development Bank to update Pakistan’s dilapidated railway network. Iqbal said the government also expects to privatise state-owned power distribution companies after the 2018 elections, when Sharif will go to the polls again in a bid for a successive term. Pakistan’s growth will rise to 5.5 per cent in the current year ending June helped by these investments and between 5.5 per cent to 6 per cent next year, he said.
Iqbal played down security concerns that have plagued the investment plans after recent attacks in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan, which is the final road toward the flagship port of Gwadar. The first consignment of Chinese goods was shipped from the port this month after trucks from China made the 3,000 kilometres journey from western Xinjiang province. “We have raised a special force of about 9,000-plus personnel that has been specially created to augment the present security apparatus in the country,” he said. “This force will directly support, it is the sole responsibility of the Pakistani government to provide security.”
SOURCE: The Business Standard
China says it will actively participate in bilateral and multilateral trade deals, with the goal of deepening reform and opening up its economy, regardless of the direction the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) or the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) might take. The statement follows US President-elect Donald Trump saying he would withdraw the United States from the multi-country TPP that excludes China, putting RCEP — as the front-runner for new free trade deals in the region.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
In the past years, many overseas companies came to invest in Vietnam and established plants there as the TPP agreement was expected to reach although the actual time in force remained unknown. Unfortunately, Donald Trump vowed to withdraw the United States from the sweeping trade deal on the first day of his administration, which is supposed to affect the capacity expansion of foreign companies. In fact, many Chinese companies like Texhong Textile, Luthai Textile, Bros Eastern and Huafu also built textile plant in Vietnam to cope with rising labor cost in China. The following is the capacity status of key Chinese companies in Vietnam:
1. By the end of 2015, Texhong Textile had around 2.2 million spindles and 572 sets of looms. Based on its expansion plan (the new yarn production base in Xinjiang and North Vietnam), yarn capacity of Texhong is expected to rise 28% on the year to 2.81 million spindles in 2016, including 1.57 million spindles in China and 1.24 million spindles in Vietnam.
2. The first phase of Luthai Textile in Vietnam covering 10 million meters of yarn-dyed fabric has started production in August 2016, and the rest part covering 20 million meters is planned to begin batch production in mid-2017 and end-2017. It is known that the products produced in Vietnam are qualified and have won huge buying interest. Designed capacity of the first phase is expected to be fulfilled by the first half of 2017. Based on current yarn-dyed fabric price, the project of Luthai Textile in Vietnam can gain more than 0.5 billion Yuan of revenue in 2017-2018.
3. The project of Bros Eastern in Vietnam covering three stages is scheduled to start complete operation by the end of 2016, and the phase I and phase II have started production. The spinning capacity of Bros Eastern in Vietnam is expected to be around 0.5 million spindles by the end of 2016.
4. Huafu Top Dyed Melange Yarn owned more than 30 companies plants in 2015, with total capacity staying at 1.35 million spindles, including 0.45 million spindles in Xinjiang and around 0.12 million spindles in Vietnam. Huafu intends to expand 0.08 million spindles in Vietnam annually in the next 2 years. The spinning capacity is expected to reach 0.28 million spindles by the end of 2017. Besides, Huafu plans to speed up capacity expansion in Xinjiang, except for designed increase of 0.16 million spindles, around 0.21 million spindles are under construction.
SOURCE: The CCF Group
DELMAR–477 capital region households participated in the Town of Bethlehem’s ‘Re-Clothe NY’ event on Nov. 19, the third time the annual event has been held in connection with America Recycles Day, and saved an estimated total of 22,417 pounds of clothing/textiles, books, paper and cardboard from the landfill. The collected weight of materials collected averages out to roughly 2 ¼ pounds for every household in the entire Town. About $500 in donations were also raised to support Bethlehem Central School District Environmental Programs, according to Town Recycling Coordinator Dan Lilkas-Rain. The annual event is a collaboration between the Town of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Central School District Green Team, the Delmar Farmer’s Market, Grassroot Givers, The American Clothing Recycling Company, Cascade Recovery, and 3N Document Destruction. “I’d like to thank all the residents who brought materials for reuse and recycling, our student and community volunteers, and the representatives from each of the event partners who helped. This allowed us to once again save an amazing amount of valuable materials from the landfill in just three hours, with minimal town costs,” said Lilkas-Rain, who was just awarded the 2016 New York State Recycling Leadership Award at the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3) Annual Conference earlier this month in Cooperstown.
The collection event celebrated national “America Recycles Day” (on Nov. 15 every year), and marked the beginning of the third year for the statewide “Re-Clothe NY” textile recovery campaign, an EPA Award-winning program which has successfully rescued millions of pounds of clothing and other textiles from being trashed in the first two years since its launch. The on-going campaign aims to raise awareness of the fact that nearly all clothing, footwear and textiles can be donated for reuse or recycling, and these items don’t belong in the landfill. NYS residents dispose of some 1.4 billion pounds of clothing and textiles annually, with an estimated market value exceeding $130 million. If all of this material was recovered, not trashed, more than 1,000 jobs could be created across New York State, according to Re-Clothe NY campaign estimates.
Proceeds from the clothing/textile collection portion will help fund the Bethlehem Central School District’s Green Team initiatives. According to Green Team leader Mark Warford, “The two annual recycling events on America Recycled Day and Earth Day are great opportunities for the school district Green Team to expand our environmental work to the entire community. We have made great strides in our school buildings in modeling sustainable practices with recycling, re-using, composting, and energy reduction. Our hope is that the students will continue to move these initiatives forward at home and beyond!” Individual categories of materials collected at the event included: Clothing, textiles and footwear: 9,287 pounds collected for reuse and recycling (wearable clothing will be re-worn; non-wearable clothing/non-reusable textiles will be cut into wiping rags or shredded into fiber for use as auto sound insulation, carpet padding, stuffing, etc.).
Residents can continue to donate clothing, footwear and other textiles for reuse or recycling throughout the year (the “other” list includes linens, stuffed animals, loose fabric, purses, belts, backpacks, and even ripped, stained or damaged items—as long as they are not wet or contaminated). Event vendor American Clothing Recycling Company manages a number of blue collection bins throughout town, including the bins at the Elm Ave CDTA Park and Ride, the Kenwood Avenue Municipal Parking Lot near Four Corners (between Hughes Opticians and Applebee Funeral Home), and the Town’s Rupert Rd Transfer Station—proceeds from these locations benefit the town. There are also blue bins at the Middle School lot and a number of churches in Bethlehem, and proceeds benefit those organizations. Visit townofbethlehem.org/recycling or nytextiles.org for additional clothing/textile bin, shed, and thrift store locations maintained by other non-profit and private sector collectors.
Books and Cardboard: Local charity Grassroot Givers and event volunteers sorted out and collected over 2,100 books with reuse value, filling two vehicles with boxes. Those books weighed an estimated 3,150 pounds; an additional 3,480 pounds of books and cardboard boxes were collected and recycled by Cascade Recovery. Residents are instructed that they can continue to recycle books, mixed paper and cardboard throughout the year at the Cascade Recovery dumpsters at the Elm Ave CDTA Park and Ride, as well as the newer location at the back of the Town Municipal Parking lot on Kenwood Avenue mentioned above.
Shredded documents for recycling: About 6,500 pounds of secure document shredding was done on-site by 3N Document Destruction of Clifton Park. This material is baled and sent to a paper mill for recycling back into paper products, according to 3N co-owner Dave Neville. The textile collection portion of the event is part of “Re-Clothe NY,” a statewide campaign to promote clothing and textile recycling. Visit www.nytextiles.org for details.
SOURCE: The SpotLight News
Wearable organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays that can be embedded on a textile substrate have been developed by a team of researchers in South Korea. The team successfully developed the displays using a planarization process to achieve a glass-like flat yet supple fabric that is more flexible than plastic substrates featuring the same thickness. The research was led by professor Chi Kyung-chul of the Kaist University and was conducted with the support of Kolon Glotech, an automotive and life commodity company. The main issue in developing the wearable OLEDs for the team was the rough surface of fabrics and their high thermal expansion coefficient. The researchers used the planarization process to overcome these limitations, according to a leading Korean daily.
The OLED to be embedded on the textile substrate was developed using a vacuum thermal deposition process. The team also used the 'multi-layer thin film encapsulation technology' in order to prevent oxygen and moisture penetration into the display. These OLED is said to have a life of more than 1000 hours and an idle life of over 3500 hours. Professor Kyung-chul said that textile OLED displays that are comparatively more flexible than plastic can contribute towards the development of wearable displays. This research paper was published in the Advanced Electronic Materials academic journal.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Gem Enviro Management Pvt Ltd has launched Rivivere, a recycled polyester fibre produced by Ganesha Ecosphere Ltd, to manufacture spun yarn and premium fabrics at the ongoing Yarn, Fabric and Accessories (YFA) 2016 trade show. GEM will display formalwear, casualwear and activewear fabrics, blended with various other yarns like cotton, and Lycra. Ganesha Ecosphere is India's leading recycling company with a 25 per cent market share, primarily engaged in the production of recycled polyester staple fibre from waste PET bottles and recycles more than 4.4 billion bottles annually. Gem Enviro Management is an organised packaging scrap management company that provides complete value chain solutions for packaging scrap management to its clients. “We are delighted to bring forth Rivivere, which will be our premium offering along with Ganesha Ecosphere at the show,” Sachin Sharma, CEO, Gem Enviro Management said. “We will create awareness about this initiative amongst visitors and other participants at the exhibition.”
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Designers need to adapt to new operating models for sampling and embrace digital prototyping; this was one of the key takeaways from Beyond Green, a signature circular textiles event that concluded recently in Amsterdam. The programme was organised by Circle Economy, a social enterprise in association with Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI). The event witnessed participation of AMFI students and people from the fashion, textile and other related industries. The case studies that were presented during the programme also focused on challenges and solutions for reducing textile waste. During the day, there were several discussions on the role of design, technology, businesses, and consumers in achieving zero wastage in the fashion industry. “The one thing we cannot waste anymore is time. We have a window of opportunity to change the way we work on this planet,” said Gwen Cunningham, lead of the Circle Textiles programme at Circle Economy and coordinator for Sustainability at AMFI.
Supporting digital prototyping, Dr Kate Goldsworthy, design researcher at the Textiles Futures Research Center, showed the audience a stack of design strategies for a zero-waste world.“We have to stop thinking of products as static, stationary objects, we have to think of them as journeys,” she said. AMFI graduates Tamara Koch and Zil Vostalova had also come up with a solution to reduce the amount of waste produced during the sampling stage of designing a fashion line. Further, they also introduced the concept of working “phygitally”, which enables virtual prototyping by using softwares such as Clo3D and Lectra.
Isaac Nichelson, chief sustainability and marketing officer at Recover, one of the world's leading mechanical upcyclers was also a key speaker at the event. Nichelson informed the audience about the potential of closed loop textile recycling and that the synergies between mechanical and chemical recyclers will play a crucial role in achieving a zero-waste future. According to him, technologies to use closed loop textile recycling exist, but they need investment and support to scale. Consumer awareness will also promote a zero waste fashion industry. “In a circular future, consumers will be the raw material suppliers and play a crucial role in the supply chain,” said Cyndi Rhoades, founder and CEO of Worn Again, a start-up that deals with recycling of textile waste.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
