INTERNATIONAL
Textile Raw Material Price 2016-11-29
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1069.01 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
VSF |
2209.04 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
ASF |
1855.36 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
1123.36 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2536.63 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4276.03 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2362.69 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
2029.30 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1391.52 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2681.58 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
5464.62 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1333.54 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2855.52 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1710.41 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2551.12 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
3000.47 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2232.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1840.87 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2203.24 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.33 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.82 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.15 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.64 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/29/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14495 USD dtd. 29/11/2016)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The size of domestic textile machinery industry is poised to hit Rs 32,000-35,000 crore in the next five years from the present Rs 22,000 crore on the back of government initiatives like 'Make in India', an industry member said. "The textile machinery manufacturing section is one of the important segments of the industry in India," India International Textile Machinery Exhibitions Society Chairman Sanjiv Lathia told reporters here. "With the Government's initiatives like 'Make in India' and incentives for manufacturing sector, we expect the size of India's textile machinery industry to touch Rs 32,000-35,000 crore in the next five years from the present Rs 22,000 crore," he added.
The textile sector is one of the largest contributors to India's exports, accounting for approximately 11 per cent of the total outbound shipments. India's overall textile exports during FY16 stood at USD 40 billion and is expected to reach USD 223 billion by 2021, the chairman said. The textile industry is the second largest employer in India after agriculture and hence it is utmost necessary that the machine manufacturing industry strengthen its base for quality output and efficiency through innovations, he said. Meanwhile, the society is organising the 10th edition of its exhibition, 'India ITME 2016', in Mumbai from December 3 to 8. The event is expected to attract over 1,050 exhibitors from 38 nations, 13 delegations and nearly 1.50 lakh visitors. Through the event, India ITME Society provides a global platform for exhibitors to showcase their products and disseminate information on innovative technologies. Foreign and domestic businessmen, academicians, research scholars, government officials from countries such as the Philippines, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iran, Turkey, Brazil, Indonesia, Poland, Malaysia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Egypt will visit India ITME 2016. The idea of 'Make in India' in textile engineering will be promoted to the visiting foreign business visitors. The exhibition also provides an opportunity to propagate government schemes and incentives for the textile industry in India, Lathia said.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Denim manufacturers are urging the Central government to announce immediate enhancement in the present duty drawback rates and extend some more benefits under focus product scheme. The Indian denim industry has experienced a shutdown of over 50 per cent of its capacity post government’s move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes. Industry experts are also requesting the government to focus on market scheme so that the mills can competitively try to shift production for export market. The denim fabric sold in the domestic trade needs to be cut, sewn and washed before it can be sold in the market. These upstream activities are majorly done in the unorganised sectors located at the small-scale industries of Gandhinagar and Tank Road in Delhi, Ulhasnagar in Mumbai and Bellary near Bangalore. These hubs mainly deal in cash, and have shut down due to cash crunch. This has affected the selling of 85 per cent of the fabric in the domestic market.
Since the upstream activities of garment sewing and washing in these small-scale industries will take a while to work smoothly with the formal banking system, industry experts fear that short-term recovery of market will not occur in near future. This has also led to shutdown of denim mills and loss of jobs in this industry. Over the last decade, the Indian denim industry has been growing at a healthy rate of 15 per cent CAGR. Currently, the industry has an annual installed capacity of 1.4 billion metres which is the world’s second largest, after China. Sales turnover of the industry, which gives direct employment to approximately 4,00,000 workers besides providing indirect employment to many, is estimated to be around Rs 15,000 crore.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
RIL's textile brand 'Only Vimal' has been granted patent by the US Patent & Trademark Office for its DEO2 process technology that helps fight perspiration odour. DEO2 helps fabric resist micro-organisms from settling in, offering freedom from perspiration odour and had been awarded patent by the Indian government in July 2015, said a statement by Reliance Industries Ltd. RIL CEO (textiles business) Pradeep Bhandari said: "The US patent award is a testimony to our thrust on the technological innovation. Our textile manufacturing processes are amongst the best technologically and innovative process available globally". He added: "At Reliance we emphasise on making cutting-edge concept design, processes and products research that provides benefits to the end customers."
DEO2 process innovation allows it to process wool, rayon, polyester, polyester/viscose, polyester/wool and other combination fabrics with anti-microbial coating, it added. RIL sells both fabrics as well as apparel with DEO2 under Only Vimal brand. "Both Only Vimal DEO2 fabrics and apparels had already made a strong inroads into domestic markets," it said, adding that the company is "focusing on domestic market as typically warm and humid tropical environs in Indian cause perspiration and provide ideal condition for growth of bacterial and fungi on once cloths".
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Vardhman Group, a leading Indian textile conglomerate, has launched Rangoli Vol. 7—new shades to its vast collection of mélange yarns—and Expressions—new patterns in slub yarn collection. The launch has further strengthened Vardhman's legacy of product innovation and commitment. The launch event was attended by all the leading customers of Vardhman. Vardhman introduced its popular melange yarn range Rangoli in the year 1995 with a humble collection of 64 shades. These yarns have the widest content including 100 per cent Indian and imported cotton, cellulosic, sustainable cotton, blends with polyester, modal, viscose, wool, linen, special fibre blends, compact spun, and special effect mélange like Jaspe, Slubs, Neps, Flaky, Snow etc. Backed by its strong in-house R&D and product development cell, Vardhman Rangoli today has over 1,300 shades and is known for its in-trend and precise matching of shades.
Vardhman also launched an equally impressive range of fancy patterns in its latest slub yarn collection, Expressions. These yarns are made using the latest and most advanced technologies and are ideal for high fashion. They are available in a wide count range, a variety of slub structures and number of substrates. Vardhman is one of the largest vertically integrated textile groups in India with 22 manufacturing units spread across 6 states. The group's business portfolio includes yarn, greige and processed fabric, sewing thread, acrylic fibre, garments and alloy steel. With relentless focus on customer centricity and innovation, the group is today in an enviable position in the textile industry.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Gandhinagar gearing up for the Première Edition of the Indian Textile Sourcing (ITS) exhibition where the entire range of textile raw materials with distinctive supply chain for cotton and polyester will be put on display. It will be the largest textile sourcing event in South Asia covering raw materials to finished products. With an exhibition area spreading over three halls, the organizers are expecting more than 350 exhibitors from all over India and overseas for the grand gala. Participation of about 13,000 buyers in all, comprising 10,000 domestic and 3,000 international visitors. Overseas visitors are expected from the USA, EU, China, Korea, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Turkey, Middle East and Latin America is anticipated at the exhibition. The event jointly organized by K and D Itmach Expositions and Spinners Association, is expected to get a response from the entire textile value chain including fashion and retail. It will play the role of a facilitator to generate high volumes of business, enquiries and partnerships. This in turn will stimulate sourcing and discovery of new supply chain partners. The organizers of the exhibition also expect participation from leading suppliers, brands, buyers and media. The ITS exhibition will be the platform to converge all the supply chain partners for a three-day event at the outskirts of Ahmedabad in Gandhinagar.
Dr Bharat Boghara, president, Spinners Association of Gujarat said that they envisage the idea of meeting industry needs and promoting Gujarat as the global textiles sourcing hub. The exhibitors and visitors will get a chance to discover market opportunities, collaborate with new partners and prosper in the global marketplace. Boghara further added that Gujarat contributes to over 30 percent of India’s textile production and has presence of entire textile value chain. Moreover, it is the largest cotton, polyester and denim producer. Gujarat is the largest investment destination and is home to well-known textile brands. ) The product categories to be displayed at the event include fibre, yarn, suiting and shirting fabrics, ladies wear and dress materials, knits, home textiles and sheeting, denim, fashion fabrics, khadi and handlooms and sustainable and eco-textiles among others. The exhibition is envisaging a good response from the entire value chain of both fashion and retail. It will play the role of a facilitator to generate high volumes of business, enquiries and partnerships. The event is slated to take place from February 16 to 18 in Gujarat, India.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
With production having slowed down to about 50% for most micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) since the demonetisation of R500 and R1,000 notes by the Centre, a spectre of unrest is beginning to haunt labour-intensive sectors such as the textile and chemicals units in Gujarat. “There are two lakh registered MSME units in Gujarat, several of which form ancillary units for the textile industry such as for garments or even textile machinery units. These units have not shut down production completely, but they are running on 50% of their total capacity. “Most of these industries pay their workforce and the transporters in cash. The salaries for October were paid off before the demonetisation announcement, but paying the salaries for November is going to be difficult; with the R50,000 limit on withdrawals from banks. If the situation does not improve by December 10 at least, there might be trouble by the labour force”, said Kirit Patel, chairman, MSME & Industrial Policy Committee, Gujarat Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI). According to Patel, the cash component in labour-intensive sectors amounts to almost 60% of a unit’s turnover.
The textile sector, for which Gujarat forms a major hub, has been in shambles since the demonetisation announcement since most transactions are in cash, especially at the retail level. Ahmedabad alone is home to about 225 textile processing units, 70% of which have almost closed down since the announcement. Ahmedabad Textile Processors Association (ATPA) estimates the annual turnover of these units to be approximately R18,000 crore. Ahmedabad Textile Processors Association (ATPA) president Nitin Thaker said: “The textile trade is directly related to the consumers, and there are at least five stages the product passes through from the manufacturer till the retailer. “Maximum purchasing happens through cash, whether it is from the manufacturer to the distributor, or even the reverse cycle. This entire chain has been disturbed because of lack of cash. About 70% of the processing units have almost closed down, while 30% are able to sustain their production due to export orders.” ATPA has made representations to the Centre regarding the current situation, but is yet to hear from the government. They fear that the slowdown will continue till at least March next year. Things are a little better for units within the Vatva Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) estate since most of these units cater to export orders more than domestic sales.
Talking to FE, Ankit Patel, vice-president, Vatva Industries Association, said, “There are 1,800 units within the estate. Production has slowed down but not considerably. We estimate the estate’s annual turnover to be approximately R15,000 crore, and of that, at least 50% is through exports only, and therefore unaffected by the demonetisation. Only about 40% or lesser of our units are into local sales. The textile sector has been the worst affected as have the industries directly dependent on the textile sector such as chemicals and dyes.” Shailesh Patwari, vice-president, GCCI, added that chemical units within the GIDC estates in the outskirts of Ahmedabad, were running at 60% of their total capacity. Speaking of the scenario for the textile sector, Patwari said, “Each textile processing house has at least about a 1,000 workers; many of whom have to be paid daily and in cash. Since these units are in no position to make payments due to the lack of liquidity, they are reducing production.” Chemical industries form a major ancillary industry for the textiles sector, with dyes contributing in a huge way to the value addition within the textile sector.
Talking to FE, Bhupendra Patel, chairman-Gujarat Region, Chemexcil, said, “The annual turnover for small-scale dye units in Gujarat is about R25,000 crore, of which R13,000 crore is generated from exports. Thanks to these exports, the units are still running. There is difficulty for units catering to domestic sales since the market situation post demonetisation is not clear. There is no work at present for the local industries, and the three months of advance planning for procurement of raw materials and sales that industries normally engage in has completely stopped.” On a cautionary note, Kirit added, “Industrial units usually pay their labour as well as transportation charges through cash. Since the last two weeks, people have been hopeful of the situation improving with regard to the disbursement of cash by banks. Now, with December approaching, if things don’t improve by December 8 to 10, there is a chance of a financial crisis as well as labour unrest.”
SOURCE: The Financial Express
India today pitched for better legal standards and trade laws in resolving disputes involving commercial entities engaged in global commerce, saying such a step would create new opportunities in boosting trade. Sujata Mehta, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs said States, at times, get involved in cross border trade disputes either because of their far-reaching policy implications or due to provisions in trade treaties, and there was a need to focus on improving legal standards in dealing with such issues. "The ever growing number of cross border disputes between commercial entities also draws States into these, sometimes on account of their far-reaching policy implications, in other cases on account of high values and yet others because of treaty provisions. "All these instances serve to draw attention to the larger implications of trade law. It is a fact that better and improved legal standards can themselves lead to identifying and creating new opportunities," she said.
Mehta was speaking at a conference on 50 years of United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). It was set up in 1966 to promote the progressive harmonisation and unification of international trade law. The senior diplomat also talked about various steps like lowering cost of credit and helping businesses to restructure and recover in boosting trade globally. "The importance and relevance of international trade law in today's globalised environment, continues to grow. The challenges we face in this field require considered deliberation, and preferred outcomes are those that emerge from collective thinking and the best platform for the purpose is clearly the UNCITRAL," she said.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tally Solutions, a software product company, to demystify, educate and train the retail community regarding goods and services tax (GST). It aims to facilitate technology adoption among retailers for easy compliance of the taxation system. As per the MoU signed between D S Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM and Sathya Pramod, chief financial officer of Tally Solutions, both entities plan to conduct a series of conferences for the retail community in over 15 countries across the nation, over the next few months. The conferences are designed to help the businesses shift from the existing taxation method and adapt to the new technology led law with ease.
Tax experts from government bodies will also be participating in these conferences to help clear the air about GST by discussing the law and its implementation in these events, said ASSOCHAM in a statement. “Since the inception of GST discussion, Tally has been making constant efforts to demystify the new taxation policies for businesses and help with its smooth transition. This association with ASSOCHAM gives us a wider platform to reach out to the retail community and acquaint them with the technological changes that they need to adopt in the next few months. A thorough understanding of GST will allow these businesses to continue their functions comfortably post the roll out as well,” said Pramod. “GST has created a lot of clamour in the business community given the technological changes required to comply with the law. The lack of clear knowledge at the grassroots level about the draft bill is another reason for resistance by the smaller businesses in the nation. We are happy to partner with Tally on this, as this provides our members a platform to understand the significance of this new taxation policy and make an easy transition towards it,” said Rawat. The first series in the conference will be held in Mumbai on November 29 and will continue till March 23, 2017. These camps will be held across 15 cities in India including Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Indore, Cochin, Goa, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Dehradun, Bhubaneswar, Jammu and Guwahati.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
India's economy probably picked up steam in the July-September quarter on strong demand, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise currency crackdown this month will likely dent growth in coming months, a Reuters poll found. While developed economies have wallowed in lacklustre activity, Asia's third-largest economy has maintained a resilient pace of expansion in recent years, eclipsing China. That trend likely continued in the last quarter, according to the median consensus of 35 economists polled over the past week. They forecast India's nearly $2-trillion economy expanded 7.5 per cent in July-September from the same period a year ago, accelerating from a 15-month low of 7.1 per cent in the previous quarter. Forecasts ranged from 6.5 per cent to 8.7 per cent. "We expect GDP growth to have recovered...supported by a rise in private consumption. Sharp revisions in central government employees' salaries and pensions likely supported domestic demand," Sarah Hewin, chief economist at Standard Chartered, said in a note. Private surveys showed business activity at manufacturing and services firms accelerated during the three months to September as broadly steady prices helped drive a surge in domestic and foreign demand. Cooling inflation in recent months gave the Reserve Bank of India room to unexpectedly cut the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points last month to 6.25 per cent, a six-year low.
GDP Growth
A separate Reuters poll showed another rate cut was likely in the first three months of 2017. Lower interest rates would help the Indian government in its efforts to boost economic growth to above 8 per cent, which is the bare minimum needed to provide jobs to around a million people who enter the workforce every month. However, Modi's shock move on November 8 to withdraw ~500 and ~1,000 notes as legal tender to fight tax evasion, corruption and forgery have caused disruptions across the economy, leaving companies' cash-reliant supply chains in tatters and depressing consumer demand. That should slow growth in coming months, economists said. In the year to March 2017, the cash crunch is estimated to pull down India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth from last year's 7.6 per cent by as much as 4.1 percentage points.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
Pakistan’s ‘undeclared’ suspension of cotton imports from India after tensions across the border, is not likely to affect shipments of the fibre from here. Indian exporters see cotton shipments in 2016-17 in the range of 5.5-6 million bales (of 170 kg each). Further, Indian cotton exporters see brighter opportunities in neighbouring China and other promising markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Brazil as local cotton prices provide parity with international prices. Ahmedabad-based cotton expert Arun Dalal maintained that in spite of Pakistan’s suspension, cotton exports would remain in the range of 5.5-6 million bales this year. “There is good demand from other importing countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Brazil, besides China. Therefore, we do not see a significant drop in exports,” added Dalal.
Currently, international prices hover in the range of 73-75 cents per pound, which works out to about Rs. 38,500 per candy (of 356 kg each). Currently, domestic cotton prices are in the range of Rs. 38,100-39,100 a candy. “Our prices are competitive with international cotton prices. Hence, we can expect exports even to China,” said a senior official at an Ahmedabad-based cotton export company.
Further drop expected
“The present cotton prices are almost at par with international prices. There was a short-term spike in prices recently, but that is coming back to normal and we expect a downward trend as supplies increase,” said Arun Sekhsaria of Mumbai-based Brijmohan Seksaria & Co. Sekhsaria sees no impact on India’s cotton exports after Pakistan’s move. “We do not know of anything official from the Pakistani government banning agri-imports from India. But they are not issuing import permits too, so it is understood what their intention is. We are not going to be affected by this as we are no longer dependent on Pakistan,” he said. Pakistan, which consumed close to 40 per cent or about 2.7 million bales of India’s total 6.8 million bales of cotton exports last year, was expected to import about 1.5 million bales this year.
India’s cotton crop is estimated to come in at 34.5 million bales — a tad higher than last year’s 33.7 million bales. Considering the higher crop, prices are likely to be range-bound as arrivals hit the markets. Cotton arrivals had come to a standstill after the note-ban announcement on November 8, thereby affecting overall supplies, which stood at around 3.7-3.8 million bales so far for the season. “The supplies would have hit 70 lakh bales by now but due to lack of liquidity in the market, arrivals slowed down. However, farmers have started accepting cheques and the liquidity situation has also improved, so we expect prices to go down from here as supplies ease,” said Sekhsaria, who is also the member of the Cotton Association of India. Echoing similar sentiments, Dalal maintained that prices may come down by up to Rs. 1,000 per candy from the current levels of around Rs. 38,000-39,000.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor became operational during the second week of November 2016. Pakistan’s prime minister, chief of army staff and other senior officials along with some Chinese were in Gwadar, witnessing the departure of the first shipment from the port, after having arrived there through different routes from Kashgar and from within Pakistan. ‘Game-changer’ is the phrase being used by many in Pakistan to describe the $45-billion CPEC. The pace at which the project progressed despite political controversies deserves admiration: the Chinese and the Pakistanis went ahead with the corridor within a period of two years.
Many challenges
However, there are serious challenges to the project. Though the political opposition by non-Punjabi provinces — especially Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — is projected as a major issue, there are serious economic, environmental and fiscal concerns relating to the CPEC. Of course, there are concerns from Gilgit-Baltistan as well, but they are not considered important.
First and foremost, the CPEC is not just a ‘corridor’ or a ‘route’ comprising road and rail networks. It is much more than that. In fact, only around $12 billion is allocated to building the ‘corridor’; the rest — around $34 billion — will go into investing in energy projects — coal and hydel — and creating economic zones and related projects from Gilgit-Baltistan to Gwadar. The nature of these investments — hydel and coal projects leading to the generation of power —are a particular source of friction due to their location. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan complain that the CPEC investments benefit Punjab more than rest of the provinces in terms of economic and power projects. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government have been repeatedly blaming the federal government for not providing its the provincial ‘share’ of the CPEC.
Second, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan also complain about the routes and the pace at which they are being built. The CPEC foresees two routes primarily — eastern and western. The former runs primarily through Punjab and Sindh and the latter primarily through Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, linking Gwadar with Gilgit through the Karakoram Highway (KKH). The complaint from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is that the eastern route is being given priority by the Sharif brothers, over the western. Though the government has been attempting to address the issue of the eastern and western corridors in parliament and outside, there are deep suspicions that Punjab is a larger beneficiary. In short, these provinces feel the CPEC is more of a China-Punjab Economic Corridor.
Mainly, the Balochis feel the development will “pass through” them rather than benefit them and Gwadar will become a Punjabi town soon. The Balochis’ fear has a historical basis, starting from British times. Investing in Balochistan’s infrastructure and resources hardly benefited the locals; it benefited those who made the investments — earlier, the British and now, the Punjabis. And now they fear the CPEC will continue the same trend and make the Balochis onlookers as their province is ‘robbed’ in the name of development.
Third, there have been a few concerns from financial and environmental perspectives, , especially relating to power projects. While some of the projects are hydel, there is substantial investment in coal for energy. Environmentalists fear that when the entire world is going slow on burning coal for energy production and is investing in renewables, the idea of investing more in coal may become counter-productive in the long run.
Money matters
A larger concern is fiscal — related to pricing and payments. Pakistan’s power sector is known for its bad governance; there has been a long-running controversy over the pricing in terms of the cost of electricity produced per unit. There have already been reports that the Chinese projects are expected to sell electricity at a higher cost and the state will have to buy. South Asia is known for its power debt with respect to state-run companies, and Pakistan is no exception. Though the new projects are based on the concept of build, operate and transfer (BOT), the cost for the initial years will have to be borne by the state for purchases. At a later stage, even if the Chinese are willing to transfer, how many will be willing to buy coal plants? The pricing policy has been a mess for Pakistan, and if the state is willing to pay more for Chinese power, other producers (IPPs) are likely to get upset and may even pursue a legal course. While at this stage the investments in power projects look good, much would depend when they yield results, and how Pakistan is going to buy electricity from these projects.
Trade with India
Fourth, a concern raised recently in Pakistan’s parliament is interesting. What if the Chinese want to use the CPEC to trade with India? Some people are aware that the corridor will not serve a narrowly north-south link — connecting Kashgar with Gwadar — but also enable feeder roads. For Pakistan, as long as these feeders are on the west of the CPEC — meaning, linking Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia — it would not be an issue. But if the Chinese show interest in using it for the substantial Sino-Indian trade, there would be serious questions internally.
Finally, from an Indian perspective, there are a few issues. Firstly, the CPEC as a corridor runs through Gilgit Baltistan; besides investments on the KKH, the Chinese are also investing in hydel projects in a region that our parliamentary resolution considers Indian. Secondly, perhaps, there is something for New Delhi to learn from the pace at which the CPEC got operationalised. Still, despite all these problems, the Chinese have succeeded in getting goods from Kashgar into Gwadar within two years. A regional comparison with Chabahar and Sittwe would highlight the pace at which the Chinese have operated: it is something widely admired in our neighbourhood.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
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$ 45.23 per barrel (bbl) on 29.11.2016. This was higher than the price of US$ 45.18 per bbl on previous publishing day of 28.11.2016.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs. 3105.26 per bbl on 29.11.2016 as compared to Rs. 3105.19 per bbl on 28.11.2016. Rupee closed stronger at Rs. 68.65 per US$ on 29.11.2016 as against Rs. 68.72 per US$ on 28.11.2016. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on November 29, 2016 (Previous trading day i.e. 28.11.2016) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.11.2016 (Oct 27, 2016 to Nov 11, 2016) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
45.23 (45.18) |
44.80 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3105.26 (3105.19) |
2990.85 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
68.65 (68.72) |
66.76 |
SOURCE: PIB
The global spandex market has been estimated to reach US$ 4,834.8 Mn in 2015, and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 10.3% over 2015-2021, to reach US$ 8,704.6 Mn by 2021. According to the U.S Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “Spandex is a manufactured fiber in which the fiber-forming substance is a long-chain synthetic polymer comprising at least 85% of segmented polyurethane.” This fiber, also called elastane, is a synthetic long-chain polyurethane-polyurea copolymer composed of rigid diisocyanate segments and flexible macro-glycol segments arranged in a specific order. The fiber is characterized by exceptional stretch and recovery properties, with the elongation at break of around 400% to 600%. These characteristics entail its wide-scale use in a diverse set of applications in textile & clothing and healthcare industries. Some prominent areas of application for spandex fibers include sportswear, casual clothing, home furnishings, and undergarments. Medical and healthcare-related applications of spandex fibers include diapers, compression stockings & hoses, and bandages.
In the recent past, there has been a steady increase in demand for spandex-based stretchable clothing & apparel in developing regions. Steadily rising population, coupled with increasing disposable income, in these regions is expected to drive the growth of the global spandex market over the forecast period. Besides, increasing demand from healthcare-related applications is another major factor driving the growth of the global spandex market during the forecast period. On the contrary, relatively slower economic growth in some major clothing & apparel-importing countries is expected to act as a deterrent to the growth of the global spandex market over the forecast period. Revenue from the global spandex market is expected to increase from US$ 4,834.8 Mn in 2015 to US$ 8,704.6 Mn by 2021, expanding at a CAGR of 10.3% over the forecast period.
In terms of market value, Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the global spandex market during the forecast period, whereas the Middle East & Africa, Latin America, Europe, and North America are expected to account for a relatively smaller share in the global spandex market value during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is expected to register a CAGR of 11.0% in terms of market value over the forecast period.
On the basis of application, the medical segment is slated to expand at a relatively faster CAGR during the forecast period. Growth in this segment is primarily driven by increasing demand for medial textiles & apparel and rising demand for diapers from certain regions. In terms of market value, a medical segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 10.8% over the forecast period. In terms of overall market value, clothing segment is expected to dominate the global spandex market throughout the forecast period.
Hyosung Corporation, INVISTA, Asahi Kasei Corporation, and Zhejiang Huafon Spandex Co. Ltd are leading players in the global Spandex market. Other players in the market include Yantai Tayho Advanced Materials Co., Ltd, TK Chemical Corp., Taekwang Industrial Co. Ltd., Jiangsu Shaungliang Spandex Co., Ltd, Xiamen Lilong Spandex Co., Ltd, and Indorama Industries Limited.
SOURCE: The Satellite Press Release
In a bid to revive its ailing cotton textile industry, the Kenyan government is planning to provide training and credit facilities to cotton growers. This initiative comes as the manufacturers of Kenya are counting on the growth of apparel exports to US by 5 per cent after the extension of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for a period of 10 years. Post AGOA extension, Kenyan farmers have begun sowing seeds bought from Israel instead of recycling seeds. This is likely to nearly double Kenya's cotton production for next year in comparison to current year. The government has taken the initiative with a strong demand for lint from domestic mills and also to meet the needs of supply manufacturers exporting clothing and textiles to the US under a preferential trade deal, according to a Bloomberg report.
To attract the global export market, Kenyan government has begun modernisation of Eldoret-based Rivatex textile factory. Earlier this year, Rivatex had received a Sh3 billion loan from the government of India through the Exim Bank to buy a modern textile machine for the factory. East Africa could potentially export garments worth as much as $3 billion annually by 2025, according to a 2015 McKinsey report. Affordable electricity and cheap labour make Kenya and Ethiopia attractive to investors, according to the report. In 2015, East Africa's biggest economy had exported clothing valued at $380 million. Brands such as Puma, Walmart, JC Penny, H&M source some of their garments from Kenyan Export Processing Zones, which employ over 66,000 people. Meanwhile, the regional East African Community bloc is working to revamp the domestic garment market by banning secondhand import of clothes at the end of 2018.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The Minister of Investment Dr. Mudathir Abdul-Ghani urged the Chinese companies for more investment in all sectors, particularly in textile, sugar, food and infrastructure sectors. The minister welcomed, when he addressed the Opening Session of the Second Session of the Sudanese-Chinese Businessmen Forum held Monday in Corinthia Hotel, the Chinese companies, pointing to the importance of the forum for the exchange of experiences and the trade and economic benefits to achieve distinguished partnership achieving its aspired objectives for the benefit of the two brotherly peoples, revealing that the China's investments in Sudan totaled $ 15 billion in all fields through 126 Chinese investment companies operating in Sudan.
Dr. Abdul-Ghani stressed his ministry strategic plan attract more Chinese investment in all sectors plan, referring to the studies his ministry prepared on investment projects in the fields of textile, sugar and other processing industries besides infrastructure, electricity and solar energy in addition to the investment in the fields of minerals and livestock for establishment of successful investments after the creation of investment environment including legislations, land preparation and the single-window system as well as the creation of the Red Sea free economic zone to be the nucleus for the project service, revealing an agreement with the Chinese side to develop the free zone and establish free port to service imports and exports.
The minister pointed to the importance of the participation of the Sudanese private sector in the forum as it is an important link for supporting the economy, stressing the ministry's keenness to expand its role to boost the economy, adding that the forum comes and the country takes steps towards the resources increase for the development of Sudanese products in light of the political and economic challenges, hoping that the forum comes out with a genuine partnership for the implementation of a strategy consistent with the state programs being directed towards production increasing, which in turn leads to the achievement of tangible significant economic growth.
SOURCE: The All Africa
The Bangladesh government and the country's garment industry need to ensure workers' rights to association, organise, bargain as well as raise their voices on safety issues, said Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, US ambassador. However, Bernicat found the building and fire safety in the readymade garment industry of the nation to be satisfactory. The RMG industry and the government should also ensure that the rights of the workers are fully protected, said Bernicat during a discussion on 'The State of Fire Safety in Bangladesh' that was organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Dhaka. ILO is working towards improving fire and general building safety in Bangladesh, an initiative funded by the US department of labour. Close to 4,000 factories have already been tested for electrical and fire safety, Bangladeshi media reports said quoting Bernicat.
General secretary of IndustriAll Bangladesh Council Kutubuddin Ahmed is of the opinion that trade unions can be of help for identifying workers' issues and help them voice their concerns. Considerable improvements have been witnessed in fire safety since 2013 and the first priority should be workers' safety at workplace, said Srinivas Reddy, Bangladesh country director, ILO. He added that the government of the country and the garment industry can work independently to ensure the workers' safety in factories. (KD)
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
At the upcoming Heimtextil, a leading trade fair for home and contract textiles, which will be held from 10-13 January, Messe Frankfurt will present the Digital Textile Micro Factory in the "digital print technology" segment for the first time. As part of this presentation, which has been set up in collaboration with the German Institute for Textile and Fibre Research and in partnership with renowned representatives from the industry, a digital production chain will be showcased live on site.
More space for digital printing
From the design and digital printing to cutting and confection, visitors will experience the completely networked production of textiles. “With the Digital Textile Micro Factory, we'll be revealing a model of the future. It enables individualised products to be manufactured in a competitive, regional way to meet demand through the digital networking of automated processes,” commented Sabine Scharrer, Manager of Heimtextil. “The possibilities are almost limitless and we're proud to be able to implement this project with our partners.”
Heimtextil is a leading international trade fair for home and contract textiles. With its new location in hall 6.0, the digital print technology segment will be given more space in a central area of the exhibition site, organisers report. Leading printer manufacturers from across the world will present their innovations and technologies for the textile segment here. With more exhibitors and more surface area than last year, this segment will grow for the fifth time in a row at the upcoming Heimtextil.
From design to finished product
The digital networking of the production steps within the Micro Factory ensures optimal material consumption, quicker processing time for orders and the highest level of flexibility to enable producers to react to market needs in a short space of time. Visitors walk through the Micro Factory following a specified path with various different stations portraying the manufacturing steps undertaken in textile production. Experts are on hand to explain technical details and answer questions. The wide range of products showcased at Heimtextil is subdivided into the home textiles and the household textiles product segments, as well as a services segment. © Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Thomas Fedra
The starting point is the design area where the workflow starts with the selection and preparation of the design. The station is manned by European higher education institutions which are coordinated by Heimtextil partner Printcubator. The next step shows how the textiles are printed using the digital printing procedure. Manufacturing orders can be combined and printed in a colour binding way using various parameters. The specific know-how is provided by hardware and software partners Mimaki, Ergosoft and Multiplot. The digital cutting of the textiles is realised at the next station in partnership with the company Zünd. One of the biggest challenges of this production step is the automatic identification of the orders, in order to be able to cut various materials in accordance with their specific characteristics and to the best standard of quality.
International manufacturers, dealers, and designers present their products and innovations to a large audience of trade visitors. In the last production stage, the cut textiles are sewn together using automatic identification. The latest machine developments, the recognition of textiles and categorisation, as well as the digital networking of sewing machines, are presented by the experts at Heimtextil partner Juki.
Shop window display
The tour through the Digital Textile Micro Factory ends with a shop window display coordinated by Hochschule Luzern and the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences from Helsinki. As in the first production step, the design area, students from the higher education institutions The Strzemiński Academy of Art Łódź and MOME Moholy-Nagy Kunstakademie, Budapest, support the depiction of this process at this station. The students present possible applications for textile printing in the home textile industry. Visitors to the Micro Factory will get one of the textile products printed on site as a gift.
SOURCE: The Innovation in Textiles
Invista opens a new state-of-the-art, nylon 6,6 facility in China. The new facility includes a 215,000-ton hexamethylene diamine (HMD) plant and a 150,000-ton polymer plant, at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP). The opening of new nylon plant looks to meet the growing demand for products using the fibre such as hosiery and other apparel. As a world leader throughout the nylon 6,6 value chain, Invista is proud to have built this new facility with its most advanced technologies and provide a local supply base to support their customers’ growing demand in China and Asia, said Kevin Robles, Invista’s senior vice president of global Operations. Their constant commitment to environmental health and safety excellence was underscored by this project’s completion with nearly 10 million safe work hours. Bill Greenfield, president of Invista Intermediates, said that they believe that China’s continued strong GDP growth will drive increasing demand for durable goods—products that can be enhanced by the use of nylon 6,6.
Known for its strength at high temperature as well as impact, chemical and abrasion resistance, nylon 6,6 offers significant advantages in many applications over other materials that have traditionally been used in China. Invista's nylon 6,6 products are used in applications such as apparel and industrial textiles, air bags, carpet, coatings and more Invista’s new facility will help advance the development of the nylon 6,6 industry in China, in line with national industry development goals.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Nilit, an Israeli yarn producer at the upcoming exhibition next month in France dedicated to innovations in the sports and outdoor markets to unveiled new range of nylon 6.6 yarns The Innergy Sport range has the ability to capture body heat and reflect it back to the body to keep wearers warm and will also showcase its Air Textured Soft (ATS) nylon 6.6 yarns to the visitors. Pierluigi Berardi, Nilit’s global marketing director said that the Innergy Sport is a very special performance yarn that has been proven to help active people feel better and look better. Designers can use this exciting yarn to create activewear that provides unique benefits for athletes at all levels. According to Nilit, by incorporating a “naturally occurring mineral” into the fibres, they can convert thermal energy and generates the FIR (far infrared ray) emissions – subsequently leading to greater user comfort and better athletic performance.
Following independent laboratory testing, it’s also been claimed that the yarns can increase oxygen levels in the blood, reduce lactic acid build up, and relieve muscle fatigue and tension. These yarns are said to adopt a unique air jet texturising process to create a “softer than cotton” feel for performance apparel, and are said to provide garments with a number of moisture management, UV protection, thermal insulation and antimicrobial protection properties, and can also be offered in semi-dull and full-dull variations.
Speaking at a ‘Textile Dialogue’ seminar session on innovation in sports and outdoor clothing during last month’s Intertextile exhibition in Shanghai, Beraldi expanded on the company’s plans to implement ATS. Nilit have finalised the technology and want to combine the ATS yarns with other variations of performance fibres, such as with their ‘Nilit Heat’ range. These fibres can absorb body temperature and then release it through fabrics. Beyond thermal insulation, they are also antibacterial, deoderising, sweat-free and very ‘environmentally friendly’. They would also want to use ATS alongside their ‘Nilit Breeze’ fibres. These have special additives which create micro-channels to allow cooling properties. Sports Gear Sourcing Days exhibition to take place from 6-7 December in Annecy-le-Vieux, France.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) and Textile Vision Science Technology Education Foundation together organised ‘Textile Vision Science’ 2016 award ceremony in Beijing on November 23, 2016. A total of 114 projects out of 181 applications were selected for the award after layers of selection and scrutiny, and the final approval by the CNTAC. The 2016 annual textile technology awards included 12 first prizes, 46 second prizes and 56 third prizes. In addition, the 2016 ‘Textile Vision Science’ Textile Education Teaching Achievement Award was presented to 101, of which 17 were first prize, while second and third prizes were bagged by 32 and 52 persons respectively.
The 2016 ‘Textile Vision Science’ Teacher Award and Student Award in the 13 undergraduate colleges and two vocational colleges were also given for the first time. While the teacher special award was given to 1 teacher, 21 others bagged the Teacher Award. Likewise, ‘Textile Vision Science’ students Special Award was given to 2, and Student Award to 147 people. Another 11 projects were awarded 2016 ‘Textile Vision Science’ CNTAC’s knitted underwear innovation contribution award. The award presentation ceremony was attended by CNTAC officials—Party secretary Wang Tiankai, former President Du Yuzhou, and Chairman Sun Ruizhe. It was also attended by Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and Secretary General, Chairman of Textile Vision Science’ Science and Technology Education Foundation Gao Yong; Vice Chairman of CNTAC, Science and Technology Education Foundation Vice President Xia Lingmin, Vice Secretary of party committee Chen Weikang, Wang Jiuxin, Xu Yingxin, Chen Dapeng, Li Lingshen, Yang Zhaohua, Sun Huaibin, CNTAC Consulting committee members: Chen Shujin, Zhang YanKai, Xu Wenying and other leaders.
Li Ling Shen, Vice Chairman of CNTAC, introduced the basic situation of 2016 textile science and technology and education award in CNTAC, and elaborated the work of science and technology education in the thirteenth Five-Year Plan. According to Li Ling Shen, this year’s award-winning science and technology projects presented four major characteristics. First, high-tech fibre material made a major breakthrough. The innovation of fibre materials has a leading role in driving the transformation of textile raw materials and downstream related industries.
Fibre material innovation is the highlight of this year’s Textile Science and Technology Award. Among them, was the “thousand-ton dry-jet wet-spinning high-performance carbon fibre industry, key technology and self-equipped” project, built the first thousand tons of T700/T800 grade carbon fibre production line by the Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd. and other units. The product of China’s military high-performance carbon fibre to protect their ability to support the national strategic development of new industries has important strategic significance. Shandong Yingli Industrial Co., Ltd., Baoding Swan New Fiber Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and other units completed “The key technology of cellulose fibre research and development and industrialisation” project, to overcome the solvent purification recovery, enrichment technology to break the monopoly of foreign similar products production technology, and significantly improved China’s new solvent method of cellulose fibre production technology and equipment level. The second major point was that high-performance functional textile industry and technological innovation has made important progress.
In recent years, with the rapid development of industrial textiles, textile industry has become the new economic growth pole of development. Scientific and technological innovation has played an important supporting role in this. Donghua University and other units completed the “medical and health protection materials key processing technology and industrialisation” project, for medical and health textile protective materials of high shielding, comfort and low-cost core key technologies such as research, developed a function type medical textile materials, the overall project technology reached the international advanced level, thus significantly enhancing the medical and health protection of textile materials with the technical level and core competitiveness.
Zhejiang University of Science and Technology and other units completed the “waste incineration flue gas treatment filter bags and high key technology of fluorine-containing fibre preparation technology” project. The dust filter material of high efficiency, low resistance and long life and other key technologies were studied. The overall technology reached the international advanced level, and the project increased the high temperature filter production process and equipment level, providing a scientific and technological support for the prevention and treatment of air pollution. The third point underscored was that resource recycling technology has been significantly improved.
Resource recycling technology is to support green manufacturing, and promote green development of the important technical support. Shanghai Juyou Chemical Co., Ltd. and other units completed the “polyester esterification of organic wastewater recycling technology” project. Polyester esterification wastewater organic matter composition is extremely complex, and after stripping wastewater COD high key technical problems, developed a technology to match the serialization of technology and devices to solve the organic matter in wastewater recovery rate of the problem, greatly reducing the COD discharge of wastewater. The technology has been applied in the 11.37 million tons of polyester plant, to promote the chemical fibre industry, and low-carbon emission reduction.
Clean production has made important contributions to the Haiyan Haili Environmental Fiber Co., Ltd. and other units that completed the “high-quality differential recycling poly key technology and equipment research and development of polyester fibre” project. The automation, digital, intelligent technology used in recycled polyester fibre production, innovation and integration of high-quality differential regeneration of polyester fibre production of key technologies and equipment, built the largest at home and abroad 150,000 tons/year of waste PET bottle chip processing and cleaning production demonstration line and 200,000 tons/year of recycled polyester fibre production line. Thus, the overall project technology reached the international advanced level.
The fourth major point was the internationalisation of technical standards to achieve a breakthrough. Technical standards are an important technical support for industrial development and an important rule for international trade. The China Textile Testing and Certification Co., Ltd. and other units carried out an independent research and development of a series of harmful substances in textile detection methods, and developed an “ISO 14389: 2014 textiles phthalate determination of tetrahydrofuran law” international standard. Unified global detection of phthalates in textiles is the result of the first internationalisation of Chinese standards in the past two decades, which has resulted in a major breakthrough in China from following the adoption of standards to leading the development of international standards. “Dry-jet wet spinning is the most advanced technology recognised for the production of high-performance carbon fibre. We started dry-jet wet spinning technology research in 2009,” said Zhang Guoliang, Chairman of Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd. The company was able to break the monopoly of foreign countries and started independent production using the first dry-jet wet spinning technology in 2012. “After 11 years of persistence and unremitting efforts, this year for the first time we have made profit, which is the first time in the domestic civilian market, marking the entry of domestic carbon fibre into the stage of sound development,” Zhang Guoliang said.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) is gearing up to hold a protest against the government in Lahore on Tuesday. A meeting of the association will be held prior to the protest in which ways will be reviewed to pull out APTMA from the swamp of problems. APTMA leaders have said that production cost have increased in few years due to which the mills are being shut down. They have revealed that the local industry is being destroyed as a result of the dumping of thread and fabric imported from India. APTMA has also demanded to fix the price of electricity as Rs7 per unit. A symbolic protest will be staged today outside mills and APTMA house however; the leaders have said that if their demands are not fulfilled then they will be forced to expand the scope of their protest.
SOURCE: The Dunya News
Republican and Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress seem willing to let the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal languish, and if anything's certain about President-elect Donald Trump, he won't push for it once in office. But even if the U.S. isn't smart enough to share in the benefits, the pact is worth saving. The 11 other signatories should implement it on their own. That might not be easy, admittedly. The other governments made concessions in the talks to gain greater access to the U.S. market. Vietnam said it would allow independent trade unions, for instance, and Japan agreed to liberalize its agricultural markets. Japan's government seems to be hoping that Trump will change his mind before the deadline for ratifying the deal comes round in February 2018, but there's no sign of a Plan B in case he doesn't. Japan and the other partners need to see that a TPP without the U.S. is still a lot better for them than none.
A TPP-11 would establish rules and standards that would benefit its members, including protections for labor, the environment, intellectual property and digital commerce. The reforms required under the deal would make their economies more competitive and efficient -- and might be hard to push through if governments don't seize this opportunity. The members' export industries will still gain from expanded trade; their consumers will still gain from cheaper goods. Japan and the other partners need to see that a TPP without the U.S. is still a lot better for them than none. There'd be wider benefits, too. Even without the U.S., the TPP would put allies such as Japan, Singapore and Australia, rather than China, at the forefront of trade liberalization, giving other nations an alternative to which they can aspire. By deepening the integration of Asia's economies, the pact would promote stability in a critical and volatile region.
True, the other TPP partners could choose to pursue trade liberalization in other venues -- including the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. But such alternatives aren't as promising. China's deal has limited ambitions and its prospects are in doubt; it won't lower barriers to trade as much or as fast as even a diminished TPP. And a TPP-11, valuable in its own right, would give its members greater leverage in those and other talks. Eventually, as the benefits of a successful mini-TPP become evident, the U.S. might have second thoughts and come back into the fold.
Certainly the strategic logic of the larger TPP remains compelling. The best way for the U.S. to maintain its decades of influence in the Asia-Pacific region is to integrate the world's biggest economy with the world's fastest-growing markets, under rules that promote rather than undermine the liberal order Washington has supported since World War II. Sooner or later, it's likely that the U.S. will see the wisdom of that policy -- and it would be easier to participate in an existing TPP than to reopen negotiations from scratch. The U.S. is making a big mistake in letting this opportunity pass this year. But the error needn't be irreversible, and it will be easier to put right if the TPP's other members press on regardless.
SOURCE: The Oregon Live
THE European Union (EU) is the largest single market and trader in the world. It is a €12.6-trillion economy, larger than the United States (€11.5 trillion), China (€4.6 trillion) and Japan (€4.2 trillion) in 2015. Its strong market position is achieved by its 28 member-states acting as a single voice on the global stage, resulting in a position where the EU currently accounts for 16 percent of the global trade. The EU is a highly attractive integrated market to do business with, as it has more than 500 million consumers with a gross domestic product per capita of €25,000. The EU is the top trading partner for 80 countries in 2015 (in comparison to the United States—the top trading partner for just 20 countries). Importantly, the EU is one of the most open economies committed to freer trade, especially with developing countries, with over 70 percent of developing-country exports coming in at zero or less-than-MFN duties. The EU is one of the most important trading partners of the Philippines. Total two-way trade in 2015 amounted to €12.9 billion, or 11 percent of the total, making the EU the Philippines’ fourth-largest trading partner.
The broad stroke numbers
In terms of exports, the EU is the third-largest market of the Philippines with exports of €5.7 billion in 2015. Within the EU, 90 percent of EU-Philippine trade is concentrated among eight EU member-states—Germany, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Denmark. The Philippines’s main exports to the EU are office and telecommunication equipment (44.9 percent of the total), machinery (15.1 percent), food products (12.5 percent), and optical and photographic instruments (11.1 percent). While the main exports of the EU to the Philippines are transport equipment (30.9 percent), machinery (14.9 percent), food products (13.2 percent), chemicals (11.5 percent) and electronic components (11.3 percent).
A close look at the export data of the Philippines to the EU from 2002 to 2013 reveals a steady decline of exports from €8.5 billion in 2002 to €5.1 billion in 2014. There was an increase in 2015 of 13 percent, when exports amounted to €5.8 billion. Hopefully, this positive increase will continue, especially with the GSP+ and the prospect for an EU-Philippines free-trade agreement. We return to these two trade instruments later in this article. Trade in services between the EU and the Philippines was worth €3.1 billion in 2015. The Philippines’ services exports have been very robust with an average growth rate of 20 percent from 2013 to 2015. Philippine services exports to the EU are dominated by sea transport, travel and telecommunication services. EU services exports to the Philippines are IT services, telecommunication, and sea and air transport services.
The EU is a very large investor in the Philippines with €300.16 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2015 and €6.15 billion in FDI stock. EU FDI to the Philippines came predominantly from 5 EU member states: The Netherlands, UK, Germany, Denmark and France. The potential to increase EU investment to the Philippines should be very high, especially if one looks at the EU FDI figures in other Asean countries such as Vietnam (€1.3 billion) and Thailand (€700 million) in 2015, and Malaysia (€1.563 billion in 2014).
GSP and GSP+
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) was created in 1971 following an Unctad recommendation to developed countries to provide developing countries better access to their markets. Under the EU GSP, developing countries can export goods with reduced tariffs entering the EU to stimulate economic growth and job creation in their economies. The European Commission said the GSP is solely an economic instrument focused on the reduction or removal of tariffs and does not deal with political or societal challenges developing countries face. There are two important dimensions of the GSP: First, it is a non-reciprocal arrangement; and second under the Enabling Clause under the Tokyo Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), developed countries (e.g. EU) may provide trading preferences to developing and least developed countries at the risk of discriminating against the trade of developed countries.
The GSP has three different approaches: general/standard arrangement; special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance (GSP+); and Everything But Arms (EBA) which is reserved for the least developed countries. The current GSP program covers the period 2014–2023. The general/standard arrangement provides developing countries tariff discounts for around 66 percent of all EU tariff lines. Low or lower-middle income countries are only eligible to apply. Currently, 30 countries such as Georgia, Ethiopia, Fiji and Cook Islands are under the GSP scheme.
The Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable Development and Good Governance or the GSP+ provides developing countries the opportunity to export their products to the EU at zero tariff on more or less the same 66 percent of EU tariff lines outlined in the general arrangement. The EU GSP+ scheme is an essential component of the Philippines’ Europe trade and investment strategy as it has given an important opportunity for the Philippines to broaden its market access to the EU.
In December 2014, the EU granted the Philippines GSP+ status. As a beneficiary country, the Philippines can avail itself of the zero preferential duties on 6,274 products (tariff lines). In order to be a beneficiary country under GSP+, an applicant country must meet two conditions: (i) non-diversification of exports (e.g., concentration of exports in a few HS Chapters), and low proportions or share of global EU imports; and (ii) the ratification and effective implementation of 27 international conventions on human and labor rights, environment and governance principles. Currently, there are nine GSP+ beneficiary countries: Armenia, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines. Sri Lanka may be re-admitted after years of being disqualified for violations of the second condition. Sectors where there are wide margins between the MFN duty and the GSP+ zero duty are prepared food stuffs (at least 9.3 percentage points), garments (9), textile products (5), live animals and animal products (4.2) and footwear, headwear and umbrellas (4). In principle, these are sectors that should benefit most from the GSP+.
In the first year of the GSP+ for the Philippines, GSP+ trade accounted for €1.38 billion of the €6.8 billion of total exports in 2015. This is an increase of 22.2 percent compared to €1.13 billion under the GSP in 2014. The following product groups had the strongest overall (i.e. MFN plus GSP+) growth rates in 2015 in comparison to 2014: meat products, which grew from practically nothing in 2014 to about €72,000 in 2015, products made of wool (+4,307 percent), aircraft and spacecraft parts (+1,524 percent), products made of silk (+1,046 percent), ships and boat structures (+849 percent), products made of tin (+302 percent), products made of lead (+293 percent), prepared animal fodder (+255 percent), footwear (+225 percent), beverages (+210 percent), photographic or cinematographic (+165 percent); ores, slag and ash (+129 percent); cereals (+120 percent), dairy and animal products (+100 percent), and jewelry, pearls and precious metals (+93 percent).
The fastest-growing product groups under GSP+ alone in 2015 were textile fabrics (+1,783 percent), products made of copper (+366 percent), tobacco (+291 percent), products made of wood (+249 percent), beverages (+246 percent), clocks and watches (+242 percent), footwear (+221 percent), fish (+179 percent), pyrotechnic products (+143 percent), articles of cork (+107 percent), salt, sulphur, earths, stone and plastering materials (+100 percent), albuminoidal substances (+100 percent), modified starches (+100 percent), products made of silk (+100 percent), products made of zinc (+100 percent) and products made of metal (+100 percent).
In terms of absolute magnitudes, the biggest product groups exported under the GSP+ in 2015 were: animal or vegetable fats (€315,591,560), electrical machinery and equipment (€135,857,041), preparations of fish or meat (€127,069,275), photographic or cinematographic goods (€102,148,659), preparations of vegetables (€73,345,267), chemical products (€70,442,747), machinery and mechanical appliances (€59,260,977), vehicle parts (€57,879,039), products made of rubber (€57,014,025), tanning or dyeing extracts (€39,530,291), tobacco (€31,709,651), organic chemicals (€31,133,461), not knitted or crocheted clothing accessories (€28,146,680), products made of steel or iron (€27,045,850) and furniture (€26,964,138).
The following product groups under the GSP+ saw their share to total trade increase the most: articles of zinc (which gained 68 percentage points), products made of cork (53), tobacco (52), textile fabrics (47), fish (38), products made of wood (26), products made of copper (21), umbrellas (20), preparations of meat or fish (19), pyrotechnic products (16), cocoa preparations (14), products made of silk (13), felt and nonwovens (12), products made of cement, plaster and asbestos (12) and headgear parts (11).
As another condition under GSP+, the Philippines must agree to be monitored by the EU in implementing the international conventions. The first monitoring mission took place in September 2015 and – on the basis of a scorecard that the EU provides before a monitoring mission, and which the Philippines fills up – produced a report which showed the Philippines satisfactorily complied with substantive and reportorial obligations under the international conventions. The next GSP+ monitoring mission is scheduled in November 2016. The mission will include visits to companies benefiting from GSP+.
Free Trade Negotiations with the EU
The FTA is another essential component of the Philippines’ trade and investment strategy for Europe. (Unlike GSP+, an FTA- a free trade agreement – is a reciprocal arrangement and has no expiry date.) The negotiations for the EU-Philippines FTA were formally launched on December 22, 2015. An FTA is when two or more trading partners aim to reciprocally open up their markets to each other for goods and services, by eliminating barriers to trade and custom duties, establish common rules and standards that will govern economic relations and develop joint commitments on important trade policy issues that include intellectual property rights, competition rules and dispute settlement.
In the EU-Philippines FTAm the following topics are being negotiated: trade in goods (market access, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade), rules of origin, intellectual property rights, competition, trade in services and investment, trade and sustainable development, and legal and institutional issues (including dispute settlement). The first round of negotiations took place in Brussels in May 2016. The second round is scheduled in Manila in December 2016. Ideally, there should be three rounds every year. The average length of negotiations for an FTA with the EU, based on the experience on recent partners (e.g. South Korea, Singapore and Vietnam) was about four years.
SOURCE: The Business Mirror
