The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 3 DEC, 2016

NATIONAL

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

Textile Raw Material Price 2016-12-01

Item

Price

Unit

Fluctuation

Date

PSF

1068.52

USD/Ton

-0.67%

12/1/2016

VSF

2212.54

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

ASF

1858.30

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

Polyester POY

1120.06

USD/Ton

-0.32%

12/1/2016

Nylon FDY

2598.72

USD/Ton

0.56%

12/1/2016

40D Spandex

4282.81

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

Polyester DTY

2032.52

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

Nylon POY

1408.25

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

Acrylic Top 3D

2772.94

USD/Ton

1.06%

12/1/2016

Polyester FDY

5473.29

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

Nylon DTY

1335.66

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

Viscose Long Filament

2453.54

USD/Ton

2.42%

12/1/2016

30S Spun Rayon Yarn

2860.05

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

32S Polyester Yarn

1714.58

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

45S T/C Yarn

2555.17

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

40S Rayon Yarn

3005.23

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

T/R Yarn 65/35 32S

2250.29

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

45S Polyester Yarn

1843.79

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

T/C Yarn 65/35 32S

2206.74

USD/Ton

0%

12/1/2016

10S Denim Fabric

1.33

USD/Meter

0%

12/1/2016

32S Twill Fabric

0.82

USD/Meter

0%

12/1/2016

40S Combed Poplin

1.15

USD/Meter

0%

12/1/2016

30S Rayon Fabric

0.66

USD/Meter

0%

12/1/2016

45S T/C Fabric

0.64

USD/Meter

0%

12/1/2016

Source: Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14518 USD dtd. 1/12/2016)

The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com.  SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.

 

FinMin working to converge all insurance schemes for weavers

The Finance Ministry is working with concerned ministries to converge all insurance schemes including Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana from next financial year, Parliament was informed on Friday. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said: "the Finance Ministry is coordinating with concerned ministries to converge all insurance schemes including Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana (MGBBY) to Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana from next financial year." She said the government is planning to increase the level of insurance cover of handloom weavers under the MGBBY. MGBBY, the insurance scheme for coverage of handloom weavers is being implemented by the Office of Development Commissioner for Handloom through the LIC, she said.

Replying to a separate question, she said as on September 30 this year, there were 2,002 cotton man-made fibre textile mills (non-small scale) in the country. During the last five years (FY 2011-12 onwards), 129 cotton man-made fibre textile mills were reported closed as on September 30 this year, she added. The ministry is implementing Integrated Processing Development Scheme to assist the textile processing units to set up/upgrade Common Effluent Treatment Plants with zero liquid discharge technology/marine discharge technology, Irani replied to another question.

SOURCE: The Business Standard

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Exhibitions are good for weavers, says Aneeth Arora

Designer Aneeth Arora, who is showcasing natural block printing and Bandhini through her label Pero at the second edition of Nayaab exhibition here, says that exhibitions are beneficial for weavers. The three-day Nayaab exhibition, which began on Thursday, has 19 designers showcasing some of the finest textile traditions of India. "We believe in working with the same set of people so that they keep getting work. This collection has been made with our association with weavers of Bhuj in Gujarat. I believe a constant flow of work for the weavers is a great advantage for them. We do explore new designs and techniques but we prefer guiding the same set of people with the design expectation," Arora told IANS. Arora says that the exhibition, curated by Rupa Sood and Sharan Apparao, is all "about natural dyes". "We decided to work with block printing of natural colours. We are showcasing natural block printing and Bandhini. It is all in black and white to go with the current season. There was no inspiration as such but this was our guiding tone of the collection we are showcasing this year at Nayaab," she said. The fabric used in her collection is mostly chanderi and khadi from Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Nayaab is also showcasing collections by Akaaro, Bodhi, Divyam Mehta, Eka, En Inde, Flora for Fauna, Gaurang Shah, Indian Textiles, Kashmir Loom, Kora, Monapali, Raw Mango, Sahar Mahjabeen Hasan, Sunita Shanker, Swati Khalsi, Vriksh Odisha Sarees, Vrisa by Rahul and Shikha and Weavers Studio Kolkata.

SOURCE: Sify

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How Is Demonitisation Impacting The Textile Industry

Eighty percent of the Indian textile and clothing industry is in the decentralized sector, in the SME sector, and that tells the story of the impact that demonitisation is having on the country's second largest industry. There are reports of 70-75% of powerloom units having stopped production in the various textile clusters, as most of the transactions happening were in cash. Traders and manufacturers are reporting a pile up of stocks across the value chain, and companies are not in a position to collect receivables resulting in a serious impact on cash flows. Manufacturers are unable and unwilling to buy inputs, due to limited liquidity. The retail consumer too has little liquidity to splurge on clothes, which will slow down the demand downstream. While the liquidity crunch is temporary, this could impact the textile industry for the next 2-3 quarters. Demand for textiles and clothing in the market even before the demonitisation has been dull. The situation has worsened after November 8.

Textile jobs, production, productivity affected

Almost 70-80% of the textile workers in most of the clusters are paid weekly wages in cash. Majority of these workers do not have bank accounts, are migrant labour, who stash their savings at home. Cash-strapped companies are unable to pay workers their wages. And even those who paid their workers an advance of 2-3 months to avoid changing the scrapped notes, have had to allow workers to queue in front of banks to handle cash and change notes. This has severely impacted production and productivity in the textile production clusters. Moreover, many of the migrant workers have left for their villages to take care of their money, and lay-offs are rampant too, as mills are cutting production.

Textile industry asks for government help

The textile industry has been quick to ask the government for moratorium on repayment of heavily subsidised loans and interest. "The withdrawal of around 86% of the currency in circulation and issuance of less than 10% of currency in the denomination of Rs 2,000 has led to severe shortage of funds for regular operations, purchase of raw material, sale of finished goods and also the purchase of the regular requirements of stores, spares, and accessories in the textile industry," said M Senthil Kumar, chairman, Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA). "Textile retail showrooms and shops across the nation are hit by the cash crunch and low sales as customers are starving for cash and spending the rationed currency available with them only for emergency purposes," he stated. "It might take at least six months for the textile industry to reach normalcy in its performance," the SIMA chairman said. Since the performance of the textile units in the post-demonetisation period has aggravated, it is essential to increase the period for classifying existing NPAs (non-performing assets) from 90 days to one year to avoid textile units turning sick, he said. The working capital limit should also be enhanced to 50%, he said. "Cotton arrivals to the market came to a grinding halt during the first 10 days after demonetisation and has currently improved to the level of 50%-60%," Senthil Kumar stated. "Considering the grave situation of the textile units, the government may consider deferring all tax payments for six months," he said in a representation to the Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani.

A large number of the workers in textile mills do not have savings bank accounts due to cumbersome procedures including submission of KYC (know your customer) details, the SIMA chairman said. "This discourages the migrant workers from opening savings bank accounts. Therefore, necessary direction may be given to banks to enable workers to open accounts instantly by showing any ID proof," he said. The government had encouraged bank account openings under the Jan Dhan Yojana, with minimum documents. And has once again addressed this demand of the industry, and will start another campaign to encourage companies to help their workers to start bank accounts, as the government has notified that all salaries of all employees - contractual and permanent - will have to be paid into bank accounts.

Enhancement of working capital limit

Because of the demand slump, there is a greater need to hold the inventories till the demand starts picking up which can take at least 3-6 months. In the interim, as cotton season is also on, textile spinning industry is extremely starved for working capital because there is dire need to invest in inventories, both raw materials and finished goods. Given this extraordinary situation, and also given the fact that banks are presently flush with cash, the ITF has requested that banks consider enhancement requests from textile spinners favourably, or grant one time working capital support finance for a period of six-nine months.

Reduction of interest rates for bank loans

Though reduction of bank interest rate is expected to take place sooner rather than later, the ITF wants that the same be expedited in the larger interest of the industry. The ITF further points out that banks have started linking the pricing for loans to the external rating obtained by the units, which has resulted in many units being sanctioned loans at very high interest rates. The ITF has asked for a short term action plan to reduce the loan interest rates to textile spinning sector which can prevent many units from becoming NPAs, and thereby saving thousands of jobs.

MEIS to cotton yarn exports

The ITF has also asked for extension of MEIS/IES benefit of 2% and 3% respectively for cotton yarn exports. The present glut in the local market is resulted in a huge pile-up of stocks. But demand in the export market is good provided the cost is competitive. The MEIS benefit will help in pushing  up exports and in better management of the inventory situation.

Industry faces worker and liquidity crunch

Currently, most of the textile clusters in the country are facing not just a liquidity crunch but also a shortage of workers. Most of the workers are migrant labourers, who have gone back to their homes in their villages. For instance, Tirupur employs about 500,000 people directly and does an annual business of Rs 40,000 crore. While Rs 25,000 crore comes from exports, the rest comes from the domestic business. Factory owners said that though business-to-business transactions are mostly cashless, payments to labourers are predominantly in cash. In Tirupur, around 75% of the over 500,000 workers are paid weekly in cash and the rest are paid at the end of the month. But the cash-strapped cluster is now unable to make payments, and is `helpless' as workers are heading back to their villages. This has impacted production and deliveries during the busy months of November and December. Many exporters in Tirupur are expecting their business revenues to fall by 30-40% this year, due to the demonitisation which comes when global apparel consumption is facing a downtrend.

Surat faces a similar situation

There are 6.5 lakh powerlooms in Surat, employing 7 lakh workers. There are around 400 textile processing units employing over 3 lakh workers. Surat produces 40 million meters of fabric per day. Around 95% of the wages to the textile workers are paid in cash. Very few big units have opened bank accounts of their employees. Large number of migrant workers employed in the country's largest man-made fabric (MMF) sector have started moving out of the city after the weaving and textile processing units drastically cut down production by almost 70% due to severe liquidity crisis after demonetisation.

Powerloom weavers claim that over 50% of the workforce has left for their hometowns and those who had gone to their natives for Diwali vacation are yet to return. At present, the industry has less than 25% workers, and they too are waiting to leave once their salaries are done before December 1. Besides, layoffs are rampant in the cluster as units are able to run barely one shift, due to negligible demand in the market. "The situation is grim for Surat's textile sector. The industry's production capacity has reduced by almost 70% since November 8. We pay the wages in cash but as the old notes have become invalid and cash supply is limited, we won't be able to cater to the workers by the end of November," said Jitu Vakharia, president of South Gujarat Textile Processors Association (SGTPA). Ramnaresh Yadav, a labour contractor in Pandesara said, "Many units have paid advance wages to the workers. On daily basis, the workers are standing in long queues to exchange old notes. Once they get the money, they move out of the city, because they have to exchange old currencies at home as well."

Leader of the weaving community, Devesh Patel, said, "Over a dozen of my workers left for their hometowns in the last three days. They had their life savings in form of cash in their houses. Since the old notes have been scrapped, they have rushed to exchange them with new currency. Now, they may come only after December 15." Ashish Gujarati, president of Pandesara Weavers Association said, "We are running our units eight hours a day. We can't stop the workers from leaving the city due to the present situation."

Textile mills seek measures to pay workers, even as stocks pile up

The main demand of many of the textile mills is the need for arrangements so that the mills are able to pay the workers, especially the casual workers who get their wages in cash. According to sources, the bigger mills have opened bank accounts for the workers, even the trainees, and pay the salary in the accounts. But, weavers and yarn agents do not want to lift the yarn from the mills now, especially those in the northern states. Some of the weaving centres have come to a standstill and this has hit the mills here. Yarn stocks are piling up. In the case of cotton too, the arrivals are just picking up and ginners are unable to pay farmers in cash. Hence, farmers are not bringing cotton to the markets. There is a pressure on raw material and sales front. The government should look at easing the pressure felt by businesses, the spokesperson said. In some clusters, lorry movement is hit because of the demonetisation. Very few lorry owners are willing to accept payment by cheque. Further, most mills are purchasing cotton only for their immediate needs and cotton prices have also firmed up.

SOURCE: The Textile Excellence

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Demonetisation impact: Textile sector to be impacted in near-term, says ICRA

Consumer spending has resulted in a slowdown in domestic demand for apparel and other end-products of textile industry in the immediate term as a fallout of demonetisation. The resulting inventory accumulation with the retailers will, in turn, cause deferment of purchases from apparel, home-textile manufacturers (focused on domestic market) in the near term, besides resulting in stretched payments, says an ICRA research report. This, in turn, will affect the cash flow of the textile industry and is likely to drive a constraint in the demand for the entire textile value-chain, the report stated. While textile retailers are facing the immediate impact, the impact on apparel manufacturers and other intermediaries in the value chain is expected to be felt with a lag of a few weeks, with reduction in orders due to a slower offtake of the channel inventory. The overall impact on the sector, however, is expected to be limited as one third of the Indian textile industry is estimated to be export focused (directly or indirectly), the report stated.

Also, as the demand reverts back to a steady state over the next few months with expected improvement in liquidity, this impact will be neutralised. Winter-wear segment is likely to be worst-affected, the report said. In ICRA’s assessment, the impact of demonetisation is likely to be the most severe for winter-wear retailers and manufacturers focused on the domestic market, which witness 60-70% of their annual sales during the period October-February. Though from the manufacturers’ end, the shipments typically take place by September-October, pressure on sales in the retail space during the subsequent peak season can indirectly affect manufacturers, the report said.

SOURCE: The Financial Express

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Demonetisation to severely impact winterwear segment

While the currency demonetisation is likely to be a near term snag for the textile industry, the winterwear segment will be the worst-affected, according to credit rating agency ICRA. It is because winterwear retailers and manufacturers focused on the domestic market witness 60-70 per cent of their annual sales during October-February period. Though from the manufacturers' end, the shipments typically take place by September-October, pressure on sales in the retail space during the subsequent peak season can indirectly affect manufacturers, ICRA said. On the one hand, slow sales increase the possibility of stock returns to manufacturers or affect order book for the next year in the light of unsold inventory, while on the other hand, slow sales and consequent liquidity pressures on retailers can result in stretched payments to the manufacturers.

 

In its analysis of the apparel industry, the agency said slowdown in demand for apparel and other end products will result in a trickle-down effect on textile value chain The adverse impact of the demonetisation on disposable incomes and hence consumer spending has resulted in a slowdown in domestic demand for apparel and other end-products of textile industry in the immediate term. The resulting inventory accumulation with the retailers will, in turn, cause deferment of purchases from apparel/home-textile manufacturers (focused on domestic market) in the near term, besides resulting in stretched payments. This, in turn, will affect the cash flow of the textile industry and is likely to drive a constraint in the demand for the entire textile value-chain.

While the immediate impact is felt by textile retailers, apparel manufacturers and other intermediaries in the textile value chain are expected to feel the impact after a lag of a few weeks, with reduction in orders due to a slower off-take of the channel inventory. However, the overall impact on the sector is expected to be limited as one-third of the Indian textile industry is estimated to be export focused (directly or indirectly). Also, as the demand reverts back to a steady state over the next few months with expected improvement in liquidity, this impact will be neutralised, the report said.

SOURCE: Fibre2fashion

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Raymond becomes Tecnorama's 1000th machine buyer

Indian textile giant Raymond has become the thousandth machine buyer of Italy based Tecnorama. Raymond recently purchased DOS&DYE system for precision dyeing of its high quality yarns and fabrics. In a span of just over 30 years, Tecnorama has sold 1,000 machines all over the world. However, it plans to sell the next 1,000 in shorter duration. “Our perseverance in working with dedication and quality is being rewarded and we will continue to follow this path. It is not every day that a company receives a vote of confidence from a renowned Group like Raymond. With more than 800 dedicated retail stores and thousands of multi brand outlets in India and neighbouring countries, Raymond is indeed the most admired textile brand and we are honoured to be associated with them We express gratitude to all our clients who have placed their trust in us over the years and helped us become a strong company,” Tecnorama said in a statement. Tecnorama develops and produces automatic machinery for dissolving and dispensing of liquid and solid dyestuffs and chemicals for laboratory use and production in bulk.

SOURCE: Fibre2fashion

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Indian currency crisis impacts global cotton market

The currency crisis in India, marked by insufficient supply of new currency notes post demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, is resulting in reduced supply of cotton to the global market. Since much of Indian economy operates on cash basis, including payments to farmers, the present situation has led to delays in sales and shipments of cotton. India is the world's largest producer of cotton and also the second largest exporter. The present cash crunch is leading to delays in sales of cotton and is creating shortages in the domestic market as well as reducing supplies to the global market, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) said in its latest report.

Analysing the situation, ICAC said other countries may benefit from increased exports in the short term due to the delay in Indian cotton reaching the global market. It predicts Indian cotton exports to fall by 34 per cent to 825,000 tons in 2016-17. However, it adds that the effect of the currency crisis will be limited as it is likely to be resolved in the near future. “Despite weak global demand for cotton and higher production in 2016-17, international cotton prices have remained elevated, with the Cotlook A Index averaging 79 cents/lb during the first four months of the season. The unanticipated shortfall in production in 2015-16 led to a 14 per cent decline in both world stocks and in stocks outside of China, which pushed prices up at the end of last season,” ICAC said. Prices have remained high as the bulk of the 2016-17 crop is only just now reaching the international market. In addition, the currency crisis in India is temporarily exacerbating the situation.

Exports from the US are projected to increase by 29 per cent to 2.6 million tons, remaining the world's largest exporter. The sizeable crop anticipated in Australia is likely to cause its exports to increase by 21 per cent to 750,000 tons. Exports from Burkina Faso and Mali, the sixth and seventh largest exporters, are expected to increase by 13 per cent to 295,000 tons and by 17 per cent to 255,000 tons, respectively, as a result of larger crops. According to ICAC, cotton from these origins may replace some of India's exports if their crops reach the global market sooner. Meanwhile, Bangladesh is expected to be the largest importer of cotton in 2016-17 for the second consecutive season as its mill use continues to grow, with imports expanding by 1 per cent to 1.4 million tons. Bangladesh, which imports from India, may use cotton from other countries for its immediate needs.

SOURCE: Fibre2fashion

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Cash crunch affects cotton arrivals in new season

The ban on high value notes has affected cotton arrivals in the market due to widespread prevalence of cash payments to farmers, industry officials said. Demonetisation would hit retailers of winter-wear clothing and manufacturers focused on the domestic market, who witness 60%-70% of their annual sales during October-February. "Farmers are not bringing cotton to the mandis. There has been a 30% drop in arrivals," said Atul P Asher, secretary, Indian Cotton Federation (ICF). "Business has come down and only 10% of the ginning factories are operating," he said. "Cotton arrivals in Gujarat has been affected by the demonetisation," said Ashok Damji Daga, director, ICF.

Prices of the popular Shankar-6 cotton have gone up by about 1,000 per candy (a candy is about 355 kgs) in the last three weeks, Asher said. "Prices continue to remain firm," he said. "Farmers are holding on to inventories resulting in a fall in daily cotton arrivals in November," analysts at ratings agency ICRA said. This has resulted in artificial supply shortage and bottoming of cotton prices, they said. While the situation is bad in Gujarat, the largest producer of cotton in the country, it is much better in Maharashtra, which is also a leading cotton growing state. "The adverse impact of the demonetisation on disposable incomes and consumer spending has resulted in a slowdown in domestic demand for apparels and other end-products of textile industry in the immediate term," ICRA said.

The impact is expected to be pronounced on the unorganised segment, which forms a large part of the domestic textile sector where cash transactions are more prevalent, as reduction in currency circulation would temporarily affect their routine business transactions, observers said. "The resulting inventory accumulation with the retailers will, in turn, cause deferment of purchases from apparel/home-textile manufacturers focused on domestic market in the near term, besides resulting in stretched payments," ICRA said. "This, in turn, will affect the cash flow of the textile industry and is likely to drive a constraint in the demand for the entire textile value-chain," the agency said. The harvest season for cotton begins in October, with major cotton arrivals happening till March. New cotton arrivals are typically accompanied by softening of cotton prices from the levels during April-September. "The slowdown in cotton arrivals is a short-term phenomenon, which has already started to correct, as farmers have gradually started accepting alternate modes of payments," ICRA said.

SOURCE: The Times of India

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The way Indians buy fashion is changing.

The average Indian fashion consumer today takes as many cues from an international supermodel as from Bollywood celebrities, contributes annually the booming wedding industry, and finds answers to their wardrobe needs online. To make an impact on the buyer, a designer today has more boxes to tick than ever—celebrity approval, instant availability of the product and transparency in means of production. The economy of fashion is balanced on the dual scales of vanity and practicality. While the selling point is based on utopian aspirations, increasing uncertainty has the consumer grounding their choices in reality. Designers and buyers, therefore, have had to evolve their business modules to adapt. We spoke to the key players in the industry about the new moves. Money talks Veteran designer Tarun Tahiliani believes that the increase in spending power has been the decisive factor in changing the consumer’s mentality. “This has meant a more exacting customer in terms of fit, finish and quality of product, as the new Indian has become increasingly aware of global standards of quality,” he says. According to Tahiliani, weddings still remain the crux of the fashion business here. “Indian bridal wear is a niche market in the sense that only Indians and the Indian diaspora across the world have an interest in buying [from that segment]. Nonetheless, it probably accounts for 70 per cent of an Indian designer’s repertoire. Indians spend much more on their wedding wear than the rest of world,” says Tahiliani. Instant gratification “The industry is in transition. The ‘See Now, Buy Now’ model is becoming more and more prevalent because of the internet and social media,” says Tina Tahiliani Parikh, executive director of the multi-brand store, Ensemble. “It is a well-known fact that a lot of top fashion houses world over are rethinking their strategies in light of this. They are also more aware of the fact that fast fashion brands put trends from the runway onto racks much faster than couture brands,” she says. Designer Manish Malhotra, one of the biggest names in the industry, has invested in e-commerce heavily over the last couple of years. While a vast majority of his clientele frequent the designer’s boutiques for their couture needs, his designs are available on several e-commerce platforms as well. “Our strategy so far has been to strike a balance between both worlds. Our newest collections can be found on shelves in-store and online just a couple of days after a show,” he says. Ground rules While many labels are adapting to ensure they have online retail presence, expectations from the shopping experience when buying luxury are not quite the same as with ready-to-wear, primarily due to stark difference in prices. Malhotra believes that, “The beauty of retail today lies in its dichotomy. On one hand, we have brick and mortar—where I talk to my clients, let them touch and feel an outfit, try it on, and then purchase it. And then we have e-commerce, where the physical retail experience is simulated to bridge geographical gaps.”

Anita Dongre’s business includes her main line Anita Dongre, Global Desi, AND, Grassroot by Anita Dongre and jewellery brand Pink City crafted by Jet Gems. In her Make it bigger coterie of labels that include accessible mall staple stores, NGO collaborations and bridal go-tos, Dongre’s unique model targets consumers of varying ages and income brackets. Focus on social media has always been important to her brand, but her learning curve was when the Duchess of Cambridge was spotted in a dress by her label and the overnight demand for it was such that brand’s website crashed from the excessive orders. “We have a lot of customers come in with pictures of celebrities demanding the same [garment]. It’s not that there is a dearth of the fashion conscious, but the response an outfit has when worn by a celebrity is incomparable,” says the designer. Simple, but significant “I think consumers are more thoughtful and considered in making buying choices, be it what they wear, or for that matter what they eat,” says Maithili Ahluwalia, owner, CEO and creative director of Bungalow 8. Anita Dongre’s label Grassroot by Anita Dongre is consciously focusing on ethical means of production. “There is a definite demand for ethical fashion, but we still have a long way to go for this to be a mass shift,” says Dongre.

SOURCE: The Vogue India

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Open bank A/cs for staff and facilitate payments via UPI: Government to textile units

The government has asked textile units to facilitate, on a “priority basis”, opening of bank accounts for their employees and make cashless payments through unified payments interface (UPI). This is to mitigate the impact of demonetisation on payment of wages and bring textile workers into the banking system. “The first impact of these reforms is likely to be on the payment of wages to workers of textile units, including garmenting units. A large segment of the workers were traditionally being paid in cash as they didn’t have bank accounts,” a senior official told ET.

As per the directive, textile units will now have to register the details of workers who already have bank accounts. “This will ensure payment of wages through the bank transfer mode,” the official said. The government has already conducted workshops to guide weavers on how to download and register for UPI in textile clusters. An awareness camp on this issue was held in Hyderabad a few days ago. Another official said the textile ministry is in the process of compiling data on the total number of bank accounts and daily updates are being sought from industry associations. The textile and apparel sector is the second largest employment provider in the country. In 2015-16, the sector had employed nearly 51 million people directly and 68 million people indirectly. Textile exports from India last fiscal stood at $40 billion.

SOURCE: The Economic Times

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Industrialists forced to stop units for four days a week

Perturbed at continuous non-availability of liquidity, industrialists were forced to stop their units for four days a week, said members of the Amritsar Textile Processor Association (ATPA). Addressing mediapersons, ATPA president Krishan Kumar Sharma said textile industry laid off nearly 10,000 workers since demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes by the Central Government. He said the textile industry was labour intensive. There were about 40 processing units in Amritsar and nearly 700 units of warp knitting and textile weaving depend on the former. The production of processing units drastically came down to about 25 per cent since the implementation of demonetisation. He said even after 23 days of demonetisation of old currency notes, the shortage of the new currency notes still persists, which is a management failure on the part of the Central Government. “The ceiling imposed for withdrawal of money from savings and current bank accounts of industrialists must be eased immediately,” he said.

Kamal Dalmia, president, Focal Point Industries Welfare Association, said the continuous non-availability of liquidity had forced industrialists to stop their units for four days a week. He said: “Much of the demonetisation debate has focused on whether the economy can be revived or become more cashless. The implication is that if it does both, all will be well. It ignores the biggest impact of the move that will be on the economy and the distribution of resources within the economy.” He said demonetisation was a giant vacuum, sucking up resources of MSME/small scale units and weaker sections and delivering them to the large-scale business corporates and powerful individuals. The policy of demonetisation might prove fruitful in the long term, which time will tell, but its execution for the public at large had been disastrous, he said.

SOURCE: The Tribune India

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Bombay Dyeing adopts franchise model for expansion

Bombay Dyeing, one of India’s largest producers of textiles, plans to treble retail turnover by adopting the franchise model. BDMCL posted Rs 1,845.7 crore turnover to which retail or textiles segment contributed to nearly 17 per cent or Rs 305.7 crore for FY16. It currently aims to achieve a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore by 2020. In the process, the company has shut all its manufacturing plants for the past two years and shifted sourcing of its products on franchise model. It has hired 10 critical and fairly large manufacturing companies on franchise basis that contribute around 90 per cent of its output requirements. Also, the company has engaged a number of small manufacturers to meet its annual requirement.

To achieve its goal, Bombay Dyeing plans to appoint at least one franchise stores in small cities with over 100,000 population. It plans to open 500 such franchise stores in four years. The company has also set up its own design studio for research and development in product designs. Bombay Dyeing plans to launch e-commerce platform by March 2017. Nagesh Rajanna, chief executive officer, Bombay Dyeing Retail said that they have been investing in technology, talent and brands immensely to achieve this growth. Until recently, they had been banking largely on brand loyalty with the quality products on offer to retain our customer base. But now, they have changed their strategy and re-strategized their approach for appealing to new and young customers with around Rs 100-crore investment on brand improvement for four years.

Apart from that, according to Rajanna, the firm plans to introduce at least two-three products every year to strengthen its presence in home textiles business. He added that to maintain the quality at every levels of the product chain from sourcing of cotton to spinning, yarn manufacturing to textiles, their quality inspection team will monitor product quality at every stage with no room for compromise. This will be in addition to the well-defined quality norms which all franchisees need to adhere to.

SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers

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Demonetisation cloud hangs over GST Council meeting

The country’s most ambitious tax reform, the Goods and Services Tax, may be held hostage to the States’ sentiments on demonetisation, going by the public statements of some Ministers on the first day of the fifth meeting of the GST Council on Friday. “I hope there will be discussions on demonetisation tomorrow because some of the State Ministers said it is affecting the tax collections and will have an impact on GST rollout,” said Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and also holding Finance portfolio. The meeting, which will continue on Saturday, is being held amidst concerns by a number of States, including West Bengal, over the impact of the demonetisation on economic growth.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, who chairs the Council, is hoping to reach a consensus with States on two issues: approval of the draft model legislation for the Centre, the States and the integrated GST, as well as compensation to the States; and, secondly, the tricky issue of administrative control over businesses. Most of the State ministers present wanted the Centre to pick up the deliberations from where the Council left off at its earlier meeting. But although a few provisions of the Draft GST Bill were discussed, the dual control issue did not come up at all. Sisodia confirmed that the meeting did not take off from the points discussed the last time. Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac was more blunt. He said: “There was no conensus at the meeting. If the GST Bill faces any opposition in Parliament, the Centre will be solely responsible. It has to change its adamant stand over sharing of revenues. Despite our objections, the Centre did not take up this issue for discussions, but started a debate on the GST Bill.”

Horizontal division

On the GST law, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have called for a horizontal division of assesses under the GST: this would give them exclusive control over small businesses that have an annual turnover of less than Rs. 1.5 crore. There would be cross-empowerment of officials of the Centre and the States beyond this threshold. “Many of the States are uncomfortable with Central officers’ encroaching into the jurisdiction of the States,” said Sisodia. “Dual control below Rs. 1.5 crore is not fair on traders or on the State government.” However, calling for easier registration and compliance procedures, a number of other States and the Union Finance Ministry have argued for a vertical division of assesses, under which both the Centre and State will get a fixed number of assessees. The delay in securing a consensus is also raising questions about whether the government can meet the April 1, 2017, deadline to roll out the GST regime. “If the GST is not rolled out from April 1, 2017, it can be introduced from the second quarter of thatfiscal year. But the government is stuck, given the constitutional compulsions to roll it out before September 16,” those involved with the developments said.

SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line

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Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to prepare short videos on GST concepts

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will take steps to explain the concepts of GST (goods and services tax) through short videos of 5 to15 minutes. Addressing presspersons on the sidelines of a national conference on GST in Mangaluru, organised by the Mangaluru branch of ICAI on Friday, Madhukar Hiregange, Chairman of the Indirect Taxes Committee of ICAI, said that GST has around 100 concepts.

Revised model law

ICAI had hosted a 90-minute video on the model GST law on its website. The revised model law is likely to be ready by mid-January. The video will be updated after that. Few technology-savvy youths of today have the patience to go through such lengthy videos. Considering this, the Indirect Taxes Committee has decided to break the lengthy video into several short videos focusing on different concepts of GST. Around 150 short videos with duration of 5 to 15 minutes will be uploaded on ICAI’s website by the end of January for the benefit of the CAs and others, he said.

On the preparedness of ICAI fraternity for GST, Hiregange said that around 150 faculty members have already been trained on GST. Another 400 have been selected as faculty for training. Another 200 members will be added for training by this month-end. Apart from this, awareness programmes will be conducted for around 50,000 members of ICAI by March. Another 50,000 will be included in such awareness programmes by July next year.

SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line

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Constitutional compulsion to roll out GST from September: Arun Jaitley

Citing constitutional compulsion Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday sought to drive home the point that the goods and services tax  (GST) has to roll out before September 16 next year as the existing indirect taxes will come to an end by then and it would not be possible to run the country without revenue collection. He made a pitch for widening the tax base, saying efforts are on to make the taxation process far simpler and make rates more reasonable. For instance, he said, the GST Council is deliberating on ways to reduce the taxation process, including assessment by tax officials. “Today, each person gets assessed thrice, in each of the three taxations (including VAT and central excise). Now, you will only be assessed once and what one authority assesses, others will have to accept that assessment,” he said.

Terming GST as a game changer, Jaitley said: “The Constitution does not permit delay in GST implementation. The government notified GST on September 16 and the constitutional amendment itself says the current indirect tax system can continue for one year, after which the GST has to come.” So, if as on September 16, 2017, there is no GST, then there is no taxation in the country, he reasoned. “So, you have a constitutional compulsion to have a Goods and Services Tax in place before September 16 (2017), otherwise the country doesn’t run, and the tax is absolutely essential. Therefore, our intention is it gets implemented from April 1, 2017, that was the original intention,” he said. Jaitley made the point that states should not oppose every reform for the sake of opposition because that makes investors wary. “The states must welcome the decision and I can only tell you, if some states are seen as opposing every reform, then investors in the country and the ones coming from outside, must decide which are the states they want to invest in,” he cautioned. “So, if your state is seen on the wrong side of the reform, then investors are going to be very wary of those states.”

SOURCE: The Business Standard

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Trade regime with India remains unchanged: Pakistan

Pakistan has said that trade regime with India remains unchanged despite tensions in the bilateral relationship. Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir made the remarks at the Senate Standing Committee on Textile Industry in response to a point raised by Committee Chairman Senator Mohsin Aziz, who said a huge quantity of Indian raw cotton had been stopped at Karachi Port, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Responding to the question, Dastgir yesterday said that the government has not issued any notification in this regard. However, he said the government has put restriction of importing 500,000 cotton bales in a year through Wagah border while there was not any such restriction on Karachi port. Aziz said the government should instead ban value-added products from the neighbouring country in a bid to protect the local textile industry. The meeting was informed that the local textile industry was in a dilapidated condition and its exports were on the decline due to a number of issues including high prices of gas and electricity, high tariffs on import of input materials for industries, lack of progress on restructuring of bank loans and failure to revive sick units. Dastgir said the government was committed to resolve all the genuine issues of the textile industrialists and it had already met a number of their demands including provision of uninterrupted electricity and gas to the industry. It was decided that a meeting would be held in Karachi to resolve the issue of banking sector with the textile industry in which representatives from the textile industry, the State Bank of Pakistan, National Bank of Pakistan and private banks would be invited.

SOURCE: The Economic Times

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Global Crude oil price of Indian Basket was US$ 50.27 per bbl on 01.12.2016

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$ 50.27 per barrel (bbl) on 01.12.2016. This was higher than the price of US$ 45.83 per bbl on previous publishing day of 30.11.2016.

In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs. 3436.79 per bbl on 01.12.2016 as compared to Rs. 3140.33 per bbl on 30.11.2016. Rupee closed stronger at Rs 68.37 per US$ on 01.12.2016 as against Rs 68.53 per US$ on 30.11.2016. The table below gives details in this regard: 

Particulars

Unit

Price on December 01, 2016 (Previous trading day i.e. 30.11.2016)

Pricing Fortnight for 01.12.2016 (Nov 12, 2016 to Nov 28, 2016)

Crude Oil (Indian Basket)

($/bbl)

50.27             (45.83)

44.87

(Rs/bbl

3436.79       (3140.33)

3061.48

Exchange Rate

(Rs/$)

68.37             (68.53)

68.23

SOURCE: PIB 

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Huge potential for nylon consumption: Experts

There is huge potential for increase in nylon consumption said speakers at a two-day seminar held in China. Officials from leading companies, both Chinese and abroad, discussed issues concerning the nylon chain, on December 1 and 2, 2016. Oversupply, demand, capacity, as well as future outlook and strategies were among the points discussed at the forum. There is huge potential for nylon consumption, and market may begin to shake off the burden of oversupply in 2019, said Huang Wei from Fiber Raw Material Department of Sinopec Chemical Commercial Holding. Wei focused on caprolactam fundamental changes and market perspective and discussed carpolactam market outlook at the 14th China International Polyamide & Intermediates Forum.

The Forum, supported by Nylon Committee of China Chemical Fiber Association (CCFA) and China National Chemical Fiber Corp., was organised by China Chemical & Fiber Economic Information Network (CCFEI) and Tecnon OrbiChem in Shanghai. Song Manjun, marketing & logistics director of Fujian Shenyuan New Materials discussed China's role in a changing road. In his speech, he pointed out that China is achieving self-sufficiency in caprolactam with improving quality, and gaining strong influence in Asia and globally on pricing and trade flow. He also mentioned that global PA6 growth is mainly from fibre, while China dominates spin PA6 market, with more export of high quality. Though EP and film applications have quality gap, he said, more Chinese players are stepping in.

In his speech about 'Overcapacity Builds Along the Supply Chain of Nylon Industry', Charles Fryer, chairman, Tecnon Orbichem pointed out that massive caprolactam capacity additions in China have created over-capacity and reduced cash margins to zero or negative, and world caprolactam industry was thereby pushed into oversupply. The fall in crude oil prices has helped the competitiveness of polyamide versus polyester and other fibres, but this will reverse if crude oil prices rise. Profitability of caprolactam production is related to the tightness of the supply-demand balance. Growing new capacity means a continuing squeeze on profits. Though caprolactam producers are trying to protect themselves by integrating downstream into PA6 production, more effort is needed, he said.

Jiang Zhenhua, product manager of CCFEI, attributed lower nylon prices, shrinking margin and low operating rates to fast domestic capacity expansion. Though oversupply will continue to weigh on the industry, he believes the industry may improve somewhat in 2017. Zhao Ling, general manager of CHTC Sinofiber Wuxi talked about 'The Market Status and Development Prospect of Polyamide Staple Fiber Industry in China'. According to him, fibres of differentiated, low-energy consumption, high-quality, functional and environmental-friendly will be the focus in R&D. James Mills and Emma Liu from Tecnon OrbiChem were of the view that China's adipic acid market has been oversupplied since 2012, and the oversupply will intensify as new adipic acid projects come on-stream. As a result, Chinese adipic acid producers are actively developing overseas markets to absorb excess supply. They made a reference to Invista's recent start-up of new 215 ktpa HMDA and 150 ktpa polymer plants in Shanghai, which will boost demand for polyamide 6,6 polymer in China. Lin Jun, chief editor of CCFEI, suggested that players should pay attention on relevantly low crude oil values and strong US dollar, risks of RMB appreciation and changing profit structure. She was of the opinion that in 2017, profit of China's nylon industry may probably improve in general, based on inventory cycles in past years.

SOURCE: Fibre2fashion

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Need to counter threat by man-made fibers to cotton: ICAC

Man-made fibres are posing a threat to cotton demand and there is a need to counter this threat, said International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) executive director José Sette in a briefing for World Trade Organisation (WTO) members. He also said that ICAC members wish to streamline phytosanitary regulations affecting the international cotton trade. “Competition from polyester is cotton's greatest competitive threat. Polyester had made considerable gains in the market for downstream products, such as yarn, filament, staple and apparel. This trend is due to cheaper polyester prices caused by current oil prices and underutilised industrial capacity in the polyester industry,” said Sette in his presentation for WTO members at a meeting of the 6th Dedicated Discussion of the Relevant Trade-related Developments on Cotton. “ICAC approved a recommendation of the Private Sector Advisory Panel (PSAP) to broaden the terms of reference of the secretariat's ongoing studies of the polyester market to include government support measures that have stimulated overcapacity in the polyester industry,” he added.

Sette also said in his presentation that ICAC received a report from PSAP emphasising the need for harmonisation of phytosanitary regulations affecting the world trade of cotton. In particular, the PSAP noted that requirements for fumigation of cotton varied widely among countries and requested the standing committee to examine possible ways in which to reduce these differences during the coming year. Latest developments in the supply and demand for cotton were also discussed at the meeting. In addition, Sette provided information on government support measures to the world cotton sector and on decisions taken during the recent ICAC plenary meeting.

SOURCE: Fibre2fashion

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Cambodian Garment Workers Urged To Boost Sector's Productivity

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has urged garment workers to improve their productivity in order to prevent factories from closing shop and moving to such countries as Laos, Bangladesh and Myanmar, all of which have lower minimum wages. His comments came during a graduation ceremony at the National Technical Training Institute, where he also pointed out relatively rapid gains in the minimum wage for Cambodia's garment workers, which was recently set at $153 a month for the coming year. "The countries that are absorbing the factories from us are Myanmar, with a minimum wage of $60 to $80; Laos, with a minimum wage of $100; and Bangladesh, with a minimum wage of $100," he said. "The factories might pass our country."

Miguel Chanco, lead ASEAN analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, agreed that countries such as Myanmar and Bangladesh "present a real threat to Cambodia's garment industry, primarily because of how much more expensive it is to hire workers in Cambodia". "The steep increases seen in the minimum wage of Cambodia's garment industry since 2013 pretty much mean that it now costs twice as much to hire someone in Cambodia - when compared with labour costs in Myanmar and Bangladesh - which is critical given the labour-intensive nature of the industry," he said via email. Cambodian Garment Manufacturers Association's deputy secretary-general Kaing Manika said it was impossible to deny the threat posed by Myanmar and Bangladesh. "Want it or not, they have joined the list of Cambodia's competitors," he said in an email. "It's not a threat, but a requirement for Cambodia to perform better." But William Conklin, country director for the Solidarity Center, said the situation was more complicated than simply demanding that employees work harder. "For production to increase, it's the employer that needs to take the first step by providing a decent work environment for workers," he said. "There's a role for all players to really come together and try to help preserve and develop the sector." Pav Sina, president of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, meanwhile, said the wage issue was not to blame for factories shuttering. He points to rather long-standing complaints about bribery, infrastructure woes and non-competitive electricity prices. "What is important for some investors is the high transportation fees and the electricity prices, which are higher than in other countries," he said.        

SOURCE: The Textile Excellence

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Indonesian government urged to control flood of textile imports from China

The Indonesian Textile Association (API) has called on the government to further regulate imports, as cheap imported textile products continue to flood the market, hitting the domestic industry with losses.  API chairman Ade Sudrajat said on Friday that the domestic market was expected to continue to be flooded with imported products in the next two to three years. “To protect the domestic market, imported textile products have to be managed; so does the illegal smuggling of used clothes,” he told The Jakarta Post. Ade said the government could control the wave of textile imports, primarily from China, by setting a reference price.

Based Industry Ministry data, the textile industry experienced a loss of Rp 30 trillion (US$2.2 billion) per year due to rampant illegal smuggling. Achmad Sigit Dwiwahjono, the ministry's director general for chemicals, textile and miscellaneous industry, said it would collaborate with the Trade Ministry and the Directorate General of Customs and Excise to curb illegal imports. “The utilization of the textile's upstream industry currently stands at 50 to 60 percent. Thus, there should be a new policy to support the industry,” he said, explaining that the government aimed to create a new regulation to control textile imports.

SOURCE: The Jakarta Post

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Bangladesh Bank (BB) to facilitate Green Transformation Fund (GTF) for export oriented textile industries

Bangladesh Bank (BB) to provide long term financing amount of US$ 200 million for transforming the export oriented textile industries into green industries for which they have signed agreements with six private banks to facilitate fund. The funds for long-term financing will be facilitated under the “Green Transformation Fund (GTF) for Export-oriented Textile and Textile Products and Leather Manufacturing Industries” to set up environment friendly infrastructures. BB has signed agreements with Eastern Bank Limited, Jamuna Bank Limited, Mercantile Bank Limited, Prime Bank Limited, Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited and South East Bank Limited. Under this agreement these banks would provide long-term financing for transforming the export-oriented industries into green industries. BB’s deputy governor Shitangshu Kumar Sur Chowdhury presided over the agreement signing ceremony while general manager of sustainable finance department Manoj Kumar Biswas, chief executives of related banks and senior officials of Bangladesh were present.

 

The GTF is intended to facilitate access to financing in foreign exchange by all manufacturer-exporters in export oriented textiles and textile products, and leather manufacturing sectors to import capital machinery and accessories for implementing environment-friendly initiatives. The refinance fund will be provided for water use efficiency in wet processing, water conservation and management, waste management, resource efficiency and recycling, renewable energy, energy efficiency, heat and temperature management, air ventilation and circulation efficiency and work environment improvement initiatives in the export oriented textiles and leather industries.

SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers

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Minimum wage law still not cutting it for garment workers: report: Myanmar

A New report on the state of the garment industry from Progressive Voice found that last year’s minimum wage law is causing negative workplace impacts for a majority of labourers and, for many, is still not resulting in a living wage. Daw Thwel Zin Toe of Burmese Women’s Union speaks at the launch of Progressive Voice’s report yesterday.( Naing Lin Soe / The Myanmar Times) The report, released yesterday by the rights-based policy research and advocacy organisation, also found that many workers face long hours with near-constant pressure and intimidation from factory owners and management. Nearly all workers said they were expected to work six days a week but when they took a day off, most faced disproportionate wage deductions.

Many took issue with the sanitation facilities and healthcare offerings of their employers. Nearly every worker interviewed said the minimum wage policy, which went into effect on September 1, 2015, and sets the lowest salary threshold at K3600 (US$2.75) per day, is being followed, but 61 percent reported negative impacts from the policy. Two-thirds of those who reported negative impacts said it came in the form of harsher working conditions, in terms of expected output and strict regulations. Half the workers reporting a negative impact said they had lost the opportunity to earn bonuses or other benefits. The director of the Let’s Help Each Other civil society group, U Pyi Paing Ko Ko, said the minimum wage requirement has also served as a de facto “maximum wage” – it has become the highest rate of pay workers can expect upon entering the garment industry. The Progressive Voice report is based on interviews with 199 workers, 87pc of whom are women. U Kyaw Myo Htwe, who is involved in an independent cooperatives program for workers unions, said capital is being drawn into the garment industry thanks to a deep human resources pool and cheap labour. However, he said attracting foreign investment through the exploitation of workers is the wrong way to go about it. Progressive Voice coordinator U Aung Khaing Min said rather than attracting foreign direct investment with low labour costs, it would better to lift wages where they are lowest in the world, in order to create benefits for workers locally and internationally. “At this critical juncture in Myanmar’s reintegration into the world, the garment industry can play a key role in being a model for sustainability, but it must also fit into a broader, more equitable economic development of the country,” he said. At the end of November, protesting factory workers called for the minimum wage to be lifted to K5600 in light of rising costs of living and inflation.

SOURCE: The Myanmar Times

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Korean apparel firms sign MoU for functional clothing

South Korea's mountaineering, outdoor apparel and gear maker, Black Yak has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with textile company Hyosung, to produce functional clothing such as T-shirts and innerwear, which will be made using odour-neutralizing materials beginning from next year. Black Yak's initiative will help in expansion of its business. Black Yak and Hyosung will work towards developing highly functional fabric that will be used in Black Yak's clothes, according to a Korean daily. For the first time ever in Korea, Hyosung has created functional nylon and polyester yarn product “Freshgear” and spandex material “creora Fresh” to eliminate sweat smell or foot odour. Such products are used in the making of clothes that are directly in contact with the human body such as sportswear, innerwear and stockings. This innovative step will enable both the firms to spread out their presence in the global textile and fashion market.

SOURCE: Fibre2fashion

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Global brands commit to use GOTS certified textiles

Brands that attended the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) seminar in Bangladesh, committed to increase their share of GOTS certified textiles. GOTS, a voluntary global standard for the entire post-harvest processing of apparel and home textiles, organised the seminar in Dhaka that was attended by over 170 delegates from five countries. The national seminar on GOTS certification stressed on the need to create more training and awareness among staff and workers for better implementation of standards at the workplace. The participants also agreed that sustainable textile production, compliant with international standards like GOTS, is the way to go for long term business gains.

The conference had four sessions that addressed the various dimensions of GOTS as an instrument of sustainable supply chain management. These included ‘Business Case for Sustainability with Organic Textiles’, ‘Quality Assurance through GOTS’, ‘Leading the Way to Best Practices’ and ‘Challenges in Sustainable Supply Chain and Opportunities with GOTS’. “I was delighted to see tremendous interest in GOTS and sustainability among the textile industry in Bangladesh. The fact that this seminar had a full house testifies to the efforts that the industry is making in moving towards a cleaner future. Delegates showed great enthusiasm during the Q&A sessions asking experts their doubts, giving suggestions and even sharing good practices they follow,” said Rahul Bhajekar, GOTS director standards development and quality assurance.

Sumit Gupta, GOTS representative in Bangladesh and India, encouraged the Bangladesh textile industry to use sustainability and GOTS as a tool to achieve its ambitious target of $50 billion in RMG exports. International brands and retailers, manufacturers and exporters, representatives from Bangladesh government, certification bodies, professionals from fields of testing, chemical compliance, media, trade associations, NGOs, academics, consultants and more attended the seminar.

SOURCE: Fibre2fashion

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Paris getting ready to showcase merits of textile world

As a group of four related trade fairs will be held simultaneously at Le Bourget in Paris during early February next year. Paris the capital of France is once again gearing up to showcase the merits of the textile world to the professionals from across the whole industry that will converge in Paris. The four textile trade fairs to take place in Paris next year are Avanprint, Avantex, Texworld and Apparel Sourcing. All of which have attracted a healthy increase in registrations, according to event organisers Messe Frankfurt.

Avanprint: The trade show dedicated to digital printing, which offers solutions for textile procurement and clothing industry research. The digital textile printing is fundamental to the future of the industry. The performance of the cutting-edge solutions presented at Avanprint constitutes an essential element in cutting consumption of water and energy, in optimising required workspace and in reducing the amount of waste that conventional printing methods entail.

Apparel Sourcing: A trade show where the latest innovations for clothing production and accessories will be demonstrated. In view of the current economic situation, Apparel Sourcing Paris has made it a point to take a rigorous approach in selecting the expertise presented here, aware of the promotional value and the need to secure growth markets. Its goal is to provide buyers a platform that presents a wealth of expert techniques and specialised and rare skills, offering high quality and flexibility.”

Avantex: The show for sourcing innovative products to help create and design collections that blend fashion with the latest technological developments. Since Avantex paris was launched in September 2015, they have taken steps so that heads of collections and designers are offered solutions that are at the forefront of innovation for clothing and fashion accessories. The February 2017 show will give rise to a series of new features to enhance sourcing for innovative fashion products and services and to intensify the interaction that is a vital factor in developing new products.

Texworld: A trade show which aims to introduce its visitors and exhibitors to the latest trends from across the industry. Messe Frankfurt France reports an 80 per cent increase in registrations for the next edition.

The four textile trade shows will take place from 6 to 9 February 2017 at Le Bourget, Paris.

SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers

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Teijin to reorganise polyester and aramid fibre businesses

Teijin has announced that it would integrate its industrial-application polyester fibres business and the Products Converting Business Group to form the new Fibers & Products Converting Business Group next April, aiming to strengthen and expand these businesses under a new structure. Industrial-application polyester fibres are currently part of the High Performance Fibers Business Unit, which is in the Advanced Fibers & Composites Business Group. The unit will specialise in aramid fibres business after the reorganisation. “The High Performance Fibers Business Unit has earned the confidence of customers as a material manufacturer and provider of polyester fibres for a broad range of industrial applications, including automobiles, bedding and infrastructure,” said Masaya Endo, General Manager of Advanced Fibers & Composites Business Group of Teijin Group. “I am convinced that this reorganisation will strengthen our capability to provide advanced solutions for polyester fibres, and it will enable us to strengthen our commitment to meeting diverse global needs for aramid fibres.”

New development activities

The reorganisation will establish a structure for providing maximum customer value with existing polyester and aramid-fibre products and services for industrial applications, the company reports. It is also expected to facilitate new development activities. The Fibers & Products Converting Business Group will strengthen the competitiveness of Teijin’s polyester fibres businesses and develop solutions based on Teijin’s highly competitive materials. For apparel applications, it will strengthen development through the establishment of an extra-reliable supply chain that newly integrates R&D and raw material and fibre productions with existing textile-processing and sewn-products supply functions. For industrial applications, the group will provide trusted high-end solutions for automobiles and other segments by reinforcing supply capabilities through the integration of functions ranging from materials development and processing to final production.

New solutions

The company says that the decision to form the Fibers & Products Converting Business Group is based on Teijin’s recognition of synergies between its development and production functions for polyester fibres and processing technologies and marketing functions for textiles. The integration has great potential to enhance Teijin Group’s capability to offer new solutions. In terms of aramid fibres, the High Performance Fibers Business Unit will continuously realise accelerated marketing functions needed to serve growing demand for products that offer properties such as high tensile strength, tensile modulus and impact resistance. “The Products Converting Business Group has been providing unique solutions through hybrid businesses combining converting and manufacturing, paying close attention to needs for polyester fibers in apparel applications,” said Shinji Nikko, General Manager of Products Converting Business Group of Teijin Group. “The new group will develop an integrated system—from production to sales—and leverage the expertise of the existing Products Converting Business Group by complementing business functions in polyester fibers for industrial applications.”

SOURCE: The Innovation In Textiles

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Global e-Textiles Market To Grow At 36.2% CAGR

The global e-textiles market is growing with a CAGR of about 36.2% due to its increasing application across varied industries such as defence, healthcare, and sports among others, according to the recent report by Occams Business Research & Consulting, an India based market research company. The report entitled Global E-Textile Market Insights, Opportunity, Analysis, Market Shares And Forecast 2016 - 2022, provides a market overview, market determinants, market segmentation, competitive landscape analysis, as well as global e-textile market by region revenue analysis for 2014-2022, and company profiles.

Technological advancements

Technological advancements in wearable technology coupled with its rapid growth rate are majorly propelling the market growth of e-textiles. Wearable technology has witnessed a growth rate of around 126% during 2014-2015 and is expected to continue this positive trend in the coming years, according to the report. Medical and healthcare, and sports and fitness segments are anticipated to impact the market growth positively in the coming years due to increasing adoption of e-textile in these application areas. North America dominates the global market and held around 40% of revenue share in 2015 owing to the rising adoption of e-textile products in the regional healthcare and sports sector. Whereas, Asia Pacific is growing with huge pace owing to availability of low cost fibres and cost-efficient manufacturing. In the US, various NBA teams such as Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks etc. have started experimenting with using an OptimEye, a device developed by Catapult Sports. This device is embedded into a jersey and helps the team members to collect data on a player's velocity, acceleration, jump height, distance, heart rate and more.

Recent developments

Wearable technology is the pioneer and a worldwide leading innovation, as well as a market development platform for the technologies worn close to the body. Constant technological advancements in this platform have boosted the market growth for e-textiles. The technological innovations showcased at the Wearable Technology Show in London in March 2016 included Babypod, Spartan Boxer Shorts and Beddit Sleep Tracker.

A Spartan Boxer Shorts wearable technology is designed with the aim to protect the males from the side effects of the IOT revolution. It has been witnessed that the electromagnetic radiations generated from the wireless devices possess the capability to decrease the fertility rate in men. This innovative product claims to restrict 99% of radiations from affecting the reproduction rate in men. Hence, it is been estimated that the innovation of such technologies creates a wider scope for the e-textile market.

Healthcare and sports applications

E-textile products are primarily deployed in the healthcare segment to fulfil the unique purposes such as to track heartbeat and to study and scrutinise numerous disorders (cardiovascular, neurological or respiratory). In recent decades, a significant increase has been observed in the number of older people suffering from diseases. Due to this, automatic and smart health care services e-textiles can be foreseen as significant tools for achieving the goals of controlling the reducible costs and eliminating the inefficiencies in terms of reactive healthcare system

Currently, the need for preventive or predictive healthcare system has boosted the demand for e-textiles. Some of the most popular e-textile products in healthcare applications are SmartShirt and LifeShirt, with a capability of measuring the vital signals like blood pressure, heart beat, temperature etc. Furthermore, increasing sales volume of health and fitness trackers across the regions indicates a scope for the e-textiles market in healthcare and sports segment. In 2015, health and fitness trackers sales in North America were numbered 8.5 million units, up from 4.8 million units in 2014.          

SOURCE: The Textile Excellence

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Indonesia issues free visas to Ghanaians

The Indonesian government has re-crafted its long-standing relationship with Ghana by issuing free visas to Ghanaians for tourism purposes and to explore its textile and agricultural industries. Unknown to Ghanaians, however, the free visa process began since April 26 this year with specific mention of Ghana because of its credibility and hospitality. The idea is, among other things, to open up the country to Ghana in particular and the African market as a whole to explore some of its unique tourism facilities dominated by Hindu and Buddhist temples.

Indonesia, one of Asia’s tigers, is known for its branded batiks which, according to historians, ruled the Asian markets and parts of Africa even before it became common in Ghana. These came to light during a familiarisation visit by two Ghanaian journalists, accompanied by the third Secretary for Information, Social, Cultural and Consulate Affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr Abuja Wanry Wabang, to Indonesia. The textile industry together with the agricultural sector, particularly the rice industry, employs more than two-thirds of the country's youth and more than half of the entire nation's workforce. Rice is grown in almost all the 34 provinces by the 260 million people, and this can be compared to Ghana's Operation Feed Yourself in the mid 1970s under the Acheampong regime. Indeed, it is common to find rice at almost all backyards just as Hindu temples could be found in every household and offices at Bali, one of its well-known tourism sites. Its initiative is being driven by President Joko Widodo under its unitary state government in an attempt to maintain its membership in the G-20 major economies in the world.

Currently, Indonesia's economy is rated 16th in the world by nominal gross domestic products. Mr Wabang told the journalists that despite Indonesia’s steady growth in the economy, particularly its tourism sector, many people around the world were yet to explore the opportunity. Bali, one of the three provinces the team visited, was literally lightened by a sea of visitors across the world who thronged many of its dotted sites, including beaches and local food joints. Hotels were overbooked, traffic was heavy as the revellers, mainly students from Australia and Austria, flooded the various provinces. However, it still could have been better if the country's currency, the Indonesia rupiah, was a bit more stronger. Its high currency notes, the highest of which is 100,000, was a major talking point and the need for some of the zeros to be knocked off.

SOURCE: The Ghana Web

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Pak-China disapprove of trade concessions in FTA II

In the seventh round of meeting held by Pakistan and China on trade concessions, after the stalemate of one year over reaching an agreement on the revival of preferential tariff on exportable products for each other, both the nations are reluctant to give specific concessions to each other in the Free Trade Agreement II. Pakistan's major exports to China remained rice, cotton yarn, woven fabric, grey fabric while import were electronics, stainless steel items, polyester, yarn, fabric and tires in 2015. The FTA covers more than 6700 tariff lines at 8-digit tariff code under Harmonised System (HS).

Pakistan and China signed an FTA in November 2006. Pakistan offered tariff concession and elimination on 6711 products while China did the same in 6418 products over a period of five year. Phase 1 of the FTA ended in December 2012, phase 11 negotiating started in July 2013 aiming to eliminate tariffs on at least 90 percent of all products Since then, both sides had held six meetings but failed to develop an understanding on preferential concessions to each other. The last meeting on the second phase negotiations was held in October 2015 in Beijing. During the meeting, Pakistan shared its concerns regarding insufficient utilisation of concession given by China to Pakistan and competition faced by the local industries due to cheap imports from China.

The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) in its report showed huge discrepancies in both countries trade volume. The report shows that Pakistan has a trade deficit of over $9 billion with China whereas Chinese data shows a trade deficit of over $14 billion indicating that in 2015 there is nearly $5 billion in trade that is unaccounted for that mean severe revenue losses and tax evasion are taking place. A Pakistani official said that Pakistan has been demanding to revive the preferential tariff on exportable products under the second FTA II as it wants zero rated on 80 to 90 percent of products but China is unwilling to accept Islamabad's demands. On the other hand, China also wants Islamabad to reduce zero percent on 80 to 90 percent products under the revised FTA. The official also said that China has showed its willingness to address this concern. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) centre will be formed in FBR and it will begin functioning in 2017 .After that the discrepancy will be minimized to lowest level. Currently, Pakistan has reduced duty to zero percent on 35pc products, while China reciprocate it by reducing duties to zero per cent on 40pc products of Pakistan's exports.

SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers

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