INTERNATIONAL
Textile Raw Material Price 2016-12-25
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1219.89 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
VSF |
2331.83 |
USD/Ton |
1% |
12/25/2016 |
|
ASF |
1842.43 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
Polyester POY |
1259.48 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3123.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
40D Spandex |
4361.38 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1619.33 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
Nylon POY |
3325.01 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
5459.64 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1504.17 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2950.77 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2015.16 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2965.16 |
USD/Ton |
1% |
12/25/2016 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1851.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2634.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1971.98 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2216.68 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3094.71 |
USD/Ton |
1% |
12/25/2016 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2267.06 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.32 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.81 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.15 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.65 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.65 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
12/25/2016 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14394 USD dtd. 25/12/2016)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
On the ocassion of Good Governance Day, 2016, Union Minister of Textiles Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani launched following initiatives of the Ministry of Textiles in New Delhi today.
JUTE-SMART, an e-Governance Initiative is a Smart Tool for Procument of B-Twill Sacking.
JUTE-SMART seeks to provide an integrated platform for use by all the stakeholders to allow easy access to information, more transparency and ease of doing business for the jute sector. B-Twill Supply Management & Requisition Tool, in short, JUTE-SMART is a web based application developed to facilitate end to end transactions relating to procurement of B-Twill sacking. It is designed to:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) decided to transfer the operation of purchase and supply of B-Twill sacking by the State Procurement Agencies (SPAs) from the Directorate General of Supplies & Disposal (DGS&D) to the Office of Jute Commissioner, Kolkata with effect from 1st November 2016. Annually about Rs. 5500 crore worth of jute sacking is procured through support by the Government of India to support the Indian jute workers and farmers.
The erstwhile system relied mostly on paper and there were bottlenecks tot information sharing between the stakeholders, mainly State Procurement Agencies, the Ministry of Food and Public Distribution, Jute Mills, Inspecting Agency, Loaders, Consignees, Pay and Accounts Office etc. Since B-Twill sacking is an essential requirement for procurement of foodgrains, the entire operation is time bound and needs to be closely monitored. In addition, the system provides for automated transactions through banks to reduce cost to the State Procurement Agencies on account of loss of interest on their funds.
The SPAs have already selected their banks and Inspection Agencies from those selected through responses to Request for Proposals. Necessary training have been provided to the State Procurement Agencies, Banks, Inspection Agencies and supplying jute millers for using this system. At present the JUTE-SMART software has become operational and indents of 3.01 lakh bales worth of Rs. 700 crores (approx.) have already been placed through JUTE-SMART in the month of November and December 2016 by SPAs from Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, AP, Telengana and Bihar and PCSO have been placed for these bales to the jute mills located in 7 states. JUTE-SMART is a smart software platform which will significantly ease the process of B-Twill procurement by state governments and FCI, make the process completely transparent and rule based and also reduce costs for the SPAs.
ISDS Initiative
In pursuance to the efforts in bringing more transparency into the system, as part of “Good Governance Day”, the information relating to the progress of ISDS along with State wise details of all live training programmes under the scheme will be opened for public view through Ministry’s website. The live information being sourced from MIS will be displayed in a separate page of Ministry’s website in a user friendly dashboard format giving State-wise, sector-wise, category-wise progress of training programmes under the scheme across the country. The drop down provision will facilitate downloading of state-wise details of training centres along with names of trainees undergoing training in respect of all live training centres under the scheme. The proposed interactive provision in the MIS will also enable any prospective trainee to identify the live training centre close to his native so as to enroll himself/herself for training. In addition, as part of this occasion, in order to utilize and harness the benefits of existing state-of- the-art secured Government cloud set up by NIC, ISDS-MIS presently hosted in a private cloud has been migrated to NIC cloud.
The strength of the textile industry, especially the textile and clothing sector, can be leveraged in two ways. While skilled workforce will provide competitive edge to the textile industry in the global market, it will also be a tool for participative and inclusive growth by providing job opportunities to the unemployed rural youth preferably below matriculates and from marginalized section of the societies. Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS), the flagship demand driven placement linked skilling programme of the Ministry is an initiative towards this direction. The Ministry is partnering with State Government Agencies, industry, major textile training institutions, Textile Research Organizations and industry associations for implementing the scheme. Out of the 12th Plan target of 15 lakh persons under the scheme, the Ministry has so far trained a total of 8.82 lakh persons.
With an objective to ensure transparency in implementation and also to maintain accountability, Ministry has taken following measures under the scheme:
BUNKAR MITRA -- HANDLOOM HELPLINE CENTRE
Currently 28 Weavers’ Service Centres (WSCs) are functioning across the country to provide technical assistance to handloom weavers in improving their skills. For seeking assistance, weavers have to personally visit the WSCs. As on date, there is no single point of contact where weavers can seek solutions for their technical issues/problems. In order to enable poor weavers to overcome these problems, the Central Government has decided to establish a “Bunkar Mitra-Handloom Helpline Centre” where professional queries of weavers will be answered by the experts in the field. This helpline will function from 10.00 a.m to 6 p.m. and initially it will be provided in 6 languages viz., Hindi, English and 4 other regional languages (Telugu, Tamil, Bengali & Assamese). To set up this helpline, online bids were called by following the due e-procurement process. M/s. MSD (I) P. Ltd., Bhopal has been selected as an agency for providing Handloom Helpline Centre and LOI was issued on 30.11.2016. A period of 30 days has been given for making entire installation and set-up of call centre and to make it operative.
SOURCE: PIB
The recent inclusion of made-ups in the Rs 6,000 crore apparel package is a boost for the Indian textile industry. This will help increase exports of made-ups sector which includes towels, and decorative cotton products etc. It will also generate employment in rural areas and the government has recognised this potential while announcing the measure. The apparel package was announced by the government in June this year. “The extension of apparel package to made-ups is indeed a major step by the textile ministry and will help the Indian industry withstand global competition. This will re-energise the entire value-chain and help the industry function efficiently. It is also important to address the issues of FTAs. The inclusion of home textiles in the package will provide logistics that will help us compete globally. With a dynamic textile minister and proactive measures being taken by the government, this is an opportune time for the industry to take path-breaking initiatives,” BK Goenka, chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) national committee on textiles and chairman, Welspun India Ltd, told Fibre2Fashion.
“The textile industry welcomes government’s initiative to support the made-ups sector. This will help India achieve a triple of creating huge employment, earning forex and creating traction for fabric and yarn sectors. The maximum sourcing for made-ups sector will also help in the implementation of ‘Make in India’ plan of our prime minister Narendra Modi,” said Binoy Job, secretary general, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI). Welcoming the initiative by the government, Siddhartha Rajagopal, executive director of The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) said, “This is a good initiative by the government. The rebate of state levies on made-ups is a huge benefit. It is relief to the exporters of home textiles. This step will also promote the production of fabrics in the country, which will also boost employment.”
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
India's garment export is poised to register a positive growth in 2017-18, said Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC). The council has an ambitious target for export and job creation for the next three years and initiatives by the government along with good quality products aided by innovative design prowess will drive the change for the industry. “The garment export industry is poised to grow in 2017. The growth will also help in meeting the target of Rs 6,000 crore and create 1 crore jobs set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a special package for the apparel export industry,” said Ashok Rajani, chairman, AEPC at the awards ceremony for excellence in global exports for apparel sector organised by the association in Delhi. “The Prime Minister has given a wonderful package to the textile industry in June 2016, and I assure you that we will not only achieve the $30 billion mark in next three years for apparel exports, but also have the potential of exceeding the expectation. We have an immense pool of talent in our country and this is an industry that can harness this resource maximum utilisation,” added Rajani.
Rajani said that the share of textiles and apparel in total exports from the country increased from 13 per cent in 2013-14 to 15 per cent in 2015-16. The association has expanded capacity with seven new Common Effluent Treatment Plants with Zero Liquid Discharge technology in last two years covering 3000 SME units. Also, eight apparel and garment making centres were set up in all north-eastern states and Sikkim for promoting garment manufacturing in the region. “Apparel Export Industry is highly employment intensive, more than 5.3 lakh persons trained in last two years under Integrated Skill Development Scheme out of which 81 per cent have been placed including 79 per cent of the trained women, providing big help to the employment seekers in country,” he added. AEPC organised over 40 events in India and overseas including seminars, workshops and trade fairs and BSM. Apparel Training & Design Centre (ATDC) has trained over 250 thousand workmen, mainly women and empowered them to not only improve their lives but the lives of those around them.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Skill Development Council (NSDC) to train 50,000 fresh workers from January to December 2017. The association will enhance the efficiency of the workers while making them familiar with the uniform work procedures followed in textile mills across India. The MoU was signed during a skill India event held in Kanpur recently. The training programme is a part of the Prime Minister Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) version II that will be carried out in the mills of Tamil Nadu. Already, 83 mills have applied for the programme and another 52 textile mills will be joining from January.
Talking of the benefits of organising a training programme at such a large level, ITF Secretary Prabhu Dhamodharan said, “This scheme will promote the transparency of operations which will improve the overall production of mill units. Also, it is an opportunity for newcomers to increase their efficiency and earn better income. This step will help the industry in the long run to improve the competitiveness of textile sector to strengthen the Make in India concept.” “The training module is a combination of practical and theory knowledge. However, more emphasis will be laid on the practical aspects,” Dhamodharan told Fibre2Fashion. The training scheme will incorporate biometric system to avoid overlap of training. “Each worker will be trained for a specific job role. We will be maintaining a record to keep a track of it,” he said. The entire scheme is designed in a professional manner and each process from training to certification will be monitored and supported by Textile Sector Skill Council. The workers will be trained for 45 days in 15 job roles. Thereafter, 90 per cent of them will be offered employment after the certification process. The pilot phase of PMKVY that was organised eight months back had trained 17,500 workers. Nearly 80 per cent of the trained workers were employed by the mills.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The Ministry of Textiles have take an initiative to organize first ever Investors’ Summit exclusively for the Northeast (NER) in association with the Ministry of DoNER and industry associations FICCI and CII with an aim to showcase the NER as a global destination for investment, and explore possibility of convergence of efforts of various central Ministries and North Eastern States to attract investment in NER. The summit will be held on 30-31 January 2017 at Shillong which will be attended by the all North Eastern States, Industries from North East and leading investors across the country. The Summit is expected to unlock huge potential of the NER in textile manufacturing and generate new avenues for employment in the region.
North Eastern Region has huge potential for investments particularly in the field of textiles and handicrafts due to its inherent strength for skilled work force and locally available raw material. Ministry of Textiles is implementing projects worth Rs 1050 cr for Handlooms, Handicrafts, sericulture, Apparel & Garmenting, Technical textiles etc. in the eight States of North East region in line with the Act East policy of the Government. These projects will created a foundation for further growth of manufacturing in textile sector. There are also schemes where various incentives/ concessions are available for investments in NER..
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Demonetisation has hit the textile business ahead of the New Year and Sankranti festive season. The traders in Srikakulam say that the per day business of the garment market has dropped from the regular `1 crore to somewhere between `30 and `40 lakh after the demonetisation of high value currency notes. The usual hustle bustle of the market on the GT Road dotted with around 200 small and medium garment showrooms was missing and it wore a deserted look on Sunday, which the traders say a very unlike trend ahead of the festive season. “The demonetisation has hit the garment business hard this Sankranti season. The business has come down by more than 50 per cent in major shops, while it is up to 75 per cent for the small (roadside) and medium shops,” says Konark Sreenu, president of Srikakulam cloth merchants association.
Usually, the traders do their bulk business between December and January 15 every year during the festive season of Christmas, New Year and Sankranti. But, this year, the business has lost its sheen as the traders are incurring loses for the want of buyers, with the roadside vends being the worst hit for lack of loose tender. “Customers offer `2,000 notes for the material priced at `200 and we can not manage loose tender for each customer. They are going away,” says Konchada Prakash Rao, a roadside garment vendor.
After the business declining fast after demonetisation, the traders took the e-payment routes too. But, they say it is not much of help. Keeping the Sankranti season in view, around 100 traders have installed e-PoS terminals. But, the machines fail owing to technical snag. A few terminals fail to handle the crowd. Those frequently develop snags like register overload and network problems. “I set up POS machine at my shop, but it hardly functions, showing overload, network problem and other errors. Around 20 per cent of the customers leave even after choosing their pick for lack of payment facility,” says Konark Sreenu, who is also owner of the Konark Readymade Showroom. He says that he applied for another PoS terminal some 20 days ago, but it is yet to be delivered.
SOURCE: The New Indian Express
The Pune Centre of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) as designed a computer training programme as part of a free, tailor made course for the women weavers in Paithan, Aurangabad, who hardly stretched beyond the loom to create beautiful sari. With beginning of the new year 2017 they will also learn how to loop the computer. The women weavers will also be able to complete a pre-graduation module through a special six-month Bachelor's Preparatory Programme ahead of graduating from IGNOU. Pushpa Pokale is among 500 weavers from Paithan and Yeola, Nashik, who will be part of the course.
The computer training programme will enable the women to browse the internet, understand the market and help improve their marketing skills. The programme has been tailor-made for the women to help them make presentations, said Masoon Parvez, senior regional director of the IGNOU centre in Pune. The course would help the weaver put their work on the internet. As of now, they only cater to dedicated clients who come there to give them orders. This will hopefully change soon. The course is part of a memorandum of understanding between IGNOU and Ministry of Textiles for skill development and educational upliftment of the weaver community. IGNOU has tied up with local study centres to augment learning skills and train the women. The weavers are hoping that computer skills would help their cluster browse the internet, understand market requirement, and scout for designs for Paithani dresses as well. One Paithani sari would cost between Rs25,000 and Rs1 lakh. Usually, customers approach them to place orders ahead of a function and it takes two to six months to weave one sari. Individual orders are taken and the amount is given in phases. However, in the last two months, demonetization has impacted the weaver community with orders reducing immensely.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
India’s exports of cotton and cotton products, such as yarn and fabric in 201-17 to China, the world’s largest textile and garment exporter, dropping to $416.14 million, while those to Bangladesh touches $613.16 million in the first half of the current fiscal according to official data. Bangladesh may emerge as the largest importer of such item for the first time to China. As late as 2011-12, China’s purchases of cotton and cotton products from India were almost four times of Bangladesh’s. In fact, cotton and cotton products had remained India’s largest segment of export items to China for years, accounting for 19-26% of the country’s total supplies to the bigger neighbour until recently. In the first half of this fiscal, though, such items made up for a meager 10.5% of the country’s overall goods exports to China. The slowdown has been driven by China’s offloading of massive official stocks to consuming industries and a discernible withdrawal from labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and garments due to soaring costs, senior. With demand from China remaining subdued, India’s exports of such items to that nation are unlikely to rebound anytime soon, senior government and industry officials said.
According to a recent report, of the US-based International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), year-ending stocks in China dropped 13% to 11.3 million tonnes in 2015-16 (marketing year that runs from October through September), as the government there sold over 2 million tonnes from its official reserves from May through September 2016. In addition, the government is planning to begin sales from its reserves in March 2017 when the majority of the new crop will have been sold, the ICAC said. According to textile expert DK Nair, higher Indian supply to Bangladesh suggests growing appetite of the tiny neighbour which has been aggressively courting foreign companies —including the Chinese, Indian and Pakistani. In recent years, Arvind Mills in a joint venture with Nitol group has expanded its denim manufacturing capacity by setting up a plant in Bangladesh in a joint venture with Nitol group. Also, Chennai-based apparel manufacturer Rattha Overseas, Jay Jay Mills of Tirupur and Mumbai-based Creative Casuals, among others, have firmed up plans for sourcing from Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is increasingly becoming a regional garment hub due to low costs, availability of semi-skilled manpower, easy labour rules, and most importantly, duty-free access to some of the lucrative markets such as Europe and the US due to its status of a least-developed country. While, Indian exporters have to pay duty in the range of 14-32% for the shipment of textiles and garments to the US. This has prompted some Indian companies to set up shop in Bangladesh in recent years.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has approved the draft Central GST and State GST laws. There is agreement, if not consensus, on compensation as well: instead of limiting the states’ compensation to the proceeds of cesses on sin goods, states want funds to be drawn from other sources as well. The worry is that the demonetisation-induced slowdown would hurt the revenues of state governments and they would actually need compensation from the Centre to make good anticipated revenue gaps. However, the issue of dual control and draft of the Integrated GST law still elude agreement, regrettably. The Integrated GST is meant for inter-state supplies, on which the Centre would levy IGST and share the tax collected with the states. Once it is agreed that the Centre has the responsibility to tax inter-state supplies, whether to maintain check-posts at state borders or not is no longer a state headache. Ideally, the check-posts should go. However, the mechanism envisaged as of now is to facilitate movement past check-posts through electronic receipts rather than to eliminate the check-posts. On dual control, the states are making an unnecessary fuss.
For the success of GST, it is vital to ensure that taxpayers do not face harassment or undue complexity in the matter of compliance. The ideal regime would be for the states to collect all GST dues on goods and for the Centre to collect all GST dues on services, using their respective collection mechanisms meant for goods and services. This would allow for both efficiency and avoidance of a taxpayer having to deal with two administrative bureaucracies for the same tax. Even if the GST Council sorts out the remaining differences over IGST and dual control and Parliament and state assemblies pass all the needed laws by March, the task remains of finalising the rules for these laws. Companies have to be able to issue an invoice and upload it to the GST Network in compliance with all the rules. To prepare themselves, they need to know all the rules and then start modifying their IT systems/accounting software.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The tricky issues of division of administrative turf over assessees between the Centre and states — which can make or break the roll-out of the goods and services tax (GST) on April 1 — was not taken up by the GST Council during its two-day meeting that ended Friday. All other provisions of the draft model GST Bill and compensation Bill were cleared. The next meeting of the Council, on January 3 and 4, will try to resolve the issue of dividing the administrative powers between the Centre and states, but signals given by state governments on Friday suggest that it would be a difficult task. The meeting will also take up the Integrated GST (IGST) Bill.
GST “That leaves us with the very important work of IGST law and cross-empowerment,” Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the meeting on Friday. A state finance minister said states were clear there should be no dual control over assessees with up to Rs 1.5 crore annual turnover. This means that states want sole control till this limit, and share powers with the Centre over this threshold. On the other hand, the Centre has been pushing for a cross-empowerment model of randomly choosing and dividing five per cent of the assessees between itself and the states, using a computer programme. The division of administrative turf involves another issue — whether or not states can have control over assessees having inter-state businesses. This comes under the IGST Bill and the Centre is empowered to collect IGST and distribute it among states. The issue of IGST also involves the territorial limits of states. This could also turn out to be a vexed issue, if not resolved quickly.“Definition of the territory of a state itself is a matter of Constitutional interpretation. We will have to discuss it and reach a decision,” Jaitley said.
The Centre also wants to take 12 nautical miles beyond coasts as Union territory and tax any item sold there. Coastal states are averse to this. If these issues are resolved even in the next meeting, the Bills could come up in the Budget session of Parliament. When asked whether or not the GST could be rolled out from April 1, 2017, Jaitley said, “Well, I am trying my best to do that. I don’t want to hasten the process of discussion. I don’t want to delay the process of implementation. Left to myself, I would like to (implement it from April 1).”However, the FM indicated that there would not be voting to resolve the contentious issues; these would be settled through consensus. “It would be resolved through a deliberative way. The GST Council meets for a full day. There is discussion for hours on a single subject. There is a high standard of debate. We get alternative suggestions. We accept the best solution after listening to all proposals. We have not decided any issue through a vote or by a give-and-take policy,” he said.
To a query that industry wants more time to prepare for GST, Jaitley said, “That we will decide once we cross all bridges. I am not going to bind myself with anything. Our effort is to do it as quickly as possible. And I think we are making a reasonable headway.” The Council approved the draft model GST Bill, except for provisions relating to administrative turf. It will be drafted in legally vetted language. It also decided to provide full compensation to states every two months for first five years of the GST roll-out. There are expectations that the total compensation would amount to Rs 50,000 crore a year, but Jaitley said there was no cap on the amount. "If there are high deposits in banks and we got higher tax receipts after demonetisation, will it be linked to GST?" Jaitley wondered. The next meeting would also discuss the states proposals for the union Budget of 2017-18. As the ruling party and the opposition had bitter exchanges over demonetisation, a question was asked whether there would be political hurdles in the way of GST. The finance minister said: "We are living in the real world and politics is a part of the real world. At the end of the day, one has to assume that elected representatives of the Centre and states have a sense of responsibilities. So far, despite initial divergence of views, it all ends with convergence."
SOURCE: The Business Standard
With consumption spends in rural and urban India stifled by the acute scarcity of cash, the economy is set to clock sharply lower levels of growth in the current and coming quarters. While the initial days of demonetisation saw economists merely pruning their growth estimates, the cuts could get bigger. Nomura, for instance, believes there is a downside risk to its Q1 GDP growth projection of 6.9% y-o-y. “Near-term growth may fall much more than expected,” economists at the brokerage wrote. They alluded to proprietary indicators which had slumped to their lowest level since the series started in 1996 and were consistent with a below 6% GDP growth. While sales have decelerated across markets, given the larger volume of cash transactions, the hinterland has been hurt far more than urban areas.
Economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) estimate every month of disruption due to demonetisation costs between 0.3- 0.5% of GDP. Consequently, they are now looking at a FY17 GDP growth target of just 6.9% rather than the 7.7%. At a time when consumption was driving the economy in the absence of investments, the hit to sales of big-ticket items—property, jewellery, cars and other durables—will deal a blow to the economy. Credit Suisse has reworked its forecast for GDP growth in FY17 to 6.9% from a more robust 7.8% since it feels consumption will grow at a much slower 6.5%, way below the 8.2% anticipated before demonetisation. “Businesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, and sectors like automobiles and non-bank finance companies will probably see temporary disruptions as well,” the brokerage wrote.
High frequency indicators show the economy has been sluggish (see charts) — the contraction in railway freight together with slowing sales of commercial vehicles is a sign of weak demand. While consumer goods sales had started picking up after the raises for government employees, demonetisation will put the brakes on consumption for the next few months. In the meanwhile, investment continues to be anaemic; gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) contracted for the third straight quarter in Q2FY17 after increasing by sub-1% in Q3FY16.
Consequently, corporate earnings could continue to disappoint; Bofa ML estimates a downside risk of anywhere between 1-6% to its FY17 earnings estimates. To be sure, the recovery reflected in the Q2FY17 results may seem impressive, analysts point out these came off a low base. More pertinently, underlying trends — volumes for instance — have been subdued. BofA points out that Q2FY17 aggregate numbers are somewhat misleading because of the 70 sub-sectors that it tracks, the fewest number at 61% have delivered a growth in earnings before interest and tax (ebit).
“Demonetisation plus GST mean earnings will be volatile for the next 3-4 quarters,” the brokerage wrote recently, adding further downgrades were possible. “Demonetisation measures will not help,” Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE) wrote in a recent report. The brokerage, nevertheless, expects earnings to grow 13% and 20% in FY17 and FY18, respectively. That’s on the back of profits in sectors such as PSU banks, metals & mining and pharmaceuticals getting normalised. The brokerage cautions that there are potential risks to earnings in sectors such as cement, consumer discretionary and industrials on the back of weaker-than-expected demand and profitability. “Weakness in demand will also hurt profitability disproportionately,” KIE noted.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today expressed hope that demonetisation will help increase government revenue and lower fiscal deficit, leading to higher expenditure on defence and rural infrastructure. With the junking of the old high-value currency, the parallel economy has become part of the formal system, which leads to higher accountability and taxation that boost economic growth and transparency, he said at the launch of Digi Dhan Mela here. He illustrated this point by saying that shifting towards less cash economy will help bridge fiscal deficit and bring about improvement in rural India. The government will pass on lesser burden to the posterity if the fiscal deficit is lower, he added. At the same time, it will augment capability of administration, increase defence expenditure and improve spending on the poor. The government aims to bring down fiscal deficit to 3.99 per cent of GDP this fiscal. Anonymity of money is gone with demonetisation as the money has come into the banking framework and becomes part of the formal system leading to strengthening of banking, he said. The banks, in turn, can extend more loans and help build a better economy, Jaitley added.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled two schemes — Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi Dhan Vyapaar Yojana — for customers and traders alike to promote mobile banking and e-payments. A total of 15,000 people will get rewards as Christmas gift through a draw, whereby each of them will have Rs 1,000 in their accounts. “Starting today, this scheme will continue for the next 100 days. Everyday, 15,000 people are going to receive rewards of Rs 1,000 each. In the next 100 days, lakhs of families are going to receive crores of rupees as gift, but you will be entitled to this gift only if you make use of mobile banking, e-banking, RuPay card, UPI, USSD – such means and methods of digital payment,” Modi said. In addition, there will be a grand draw once every week for such customers in which the prize money will be in lakhs of rupees. On April 14, on the occasion of birth anniversary of Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, there will be a mega bumper draw where rewards will be in crores of rupees.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The Centre is preparing the Union Budget 2017-18 assuming an average crude oil price of $55-60 a barrel for the coming financial year. At those prices, the petroleum subsidy bill for next year would be comfortable Rs 26,000-27,000 crore, similar to this year, it is assumed. However, if prices hover above $60 a barrel for most of next year, the subsidy calculations and overall assumptions will be under strain. Business Standard has learnt from senior sources that the government is likely to pass on the burden to consumers if oil prices breach the $65-a-barrel mark.
According to discussions between officials from the petroleum and finance ministries, once prices cross that level, the government could come up with a burden-sharing mechanism, where higher prices will be equally absorbed by both consumers and the government. This would mean that if prices go above $65 a barrel, the Centre could turn its back on decontrolled regime on petrol and diesel.
Up to $65 a barrel, the current excise duties and tax structure for decontrolled petrol and diesel would remain the same. Beyond that, the burden would be shared through a reduction in excise duty and increase in retail prices. “The Budget is likely to assume a $55-60 barrel oil price. In spite of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (Opec’s) production cuts, we expect prices to remain below $60 a barrel, barring a major global shock,” said an official aware of the deliberations.
The Opec has announced it will reduce production by 1.2 million barrels a day to 32.5 million barrels a day from January 2017, which could lead to a higher crude oil price regime. Although prices are unlikely to touch the 2012 peak of $110 a barrel, they’ll inch upwards from the current $50-55 a barrel. Budget makers assume an average oil price for the year. For 2015-16, the fuel subsidy projection of Rs 30,000 crore was made assuming crude oil price at $70 a barrel. For 2016-17, it is $50 a barrel. The Centre has been quite comfortable on that front as oil prices have hovered below that level for the most part of the year, going as low as $37 a barrel in early March.
“As far as prices are concerned, for the past one year or so, the prices were in the range of $45-50 a barrel. When we talk of a comfortable range band, anything between $45 and $55 a barrel always seems to be fine with us. As a refiner, we want to make sure that if the market-pricing mechanism continues, the capability of consumers to afford prices should be there. We have that capability at the current pricing range,” said B Ashok, chairman of Indian Oil Corporation, in a recent interview with Business Standard. Crude prices are currently at $53 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate and $55 for Brent Crude. Most energy analysts see prices for the calendar year 2017 to be in the $55-60 range as well, with World Bank and Goldman Sachs at the lower end of that range.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
India has begun framing its position on new issues including on ecommerce, small and medium enterprises, and investment at the World Trade Organisation, as it faces immense pressure from developed countries to start a discussion. The WTO ministerial meeting will be held in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires in December 2017. Until now, India has vehemently opposed the inclusion of new issues in the multilateral organisation unless the existing one related to food security and special safeguard mechanism (SSM) are resolved. “Developed countries want outcomes on small and medium enterprises, ecommerce, investment and fisheries, but we are still formulating our position. We are pushing for trade facilitation in services,” said a commerce ministry official.
At the last ministerial in Nairobi, developed countries were successful in clinching the deal away from India by allowing new issues to be taken up in the WTO’s mandate. Developed countries including the US have been pushing for cooperation, information exchange and capacity building for small and medium enterprises. On fisheries, they want to prohibit subsidies granted for illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing and a strict mechanism to assess fish stocks which is not easy for developing countries like India. India’s concerns on investment becoming part of the WTO agenda pertain to the definition of investment and the investor dispute settlement mechanism. “India’s stated position is that the Doha issues need to be resolved first. We have to be steadfast on our concerns on SSM and food security,” said Abhijit Das, head of the Centre for WTO Studies at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
Ecommerce is the first among the new issues that the developed countries have been pushing to be included in the WTO’s agenda for the next ministerial. Although India has not favoured ecommerce discussions till now, it has begun studying papers submitted to the WTO on the issue to understand the various views. “Our policy has not evolved in ecommerce, but in the current situation, how can one avoid talking on ecommerce? We will have to take a position,” the official said. The government is consulting ecommerce companies operating in the country, but the views emerging from these talks are divergent.
“The Indian ecommerce players do not want opening up or foreign companies to come here freely, but the foreign companies operating here want some kind of opening. The issue is till how long can we stop (ecommerce) … We will discuss how much we can do,” the official added. Foreign companies have pressed for liberalised rules for servers, right to recall, fake goods and e-payment issues. Recently, US Trade Representative Michael Froman asked India to open its ecommerce sector to foreign investment. The US has floated a non-paper on ecommerce prohibiting digital customs duties, enabling cross-border data flows, promoting a free and open Internet, and preventing localisation barriers.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
A seminar on "Doing Business with Pakistan" was held on 21st Decemebr in Kuala Lumpur, jointly organized by Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and High Commission of Pakistan Malaysia saw participation of over 200 Malaysian companies and Pakistani businessmen. High Commissioner of Pakistan in Malaysia, Syed Hassan Raza at the seminar said that both countries Pakistan and Malaysia to facilitate businesses under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are negotiating to further reduce duties on existing and additional tariff lines.
The High Commissioner highlighted the investment opportunities and trade potential in Pakistan and informed the participants that there were numerous opportunities for the companies in both countries, having FTA since 2008. Current trading basket by both countries is limited to Palm oil, fibre board, rubber electrical and electronic equipment from Malaysia while from Pakistan main items being exported are cotton, textile, rice, maize, vegetables. Diversification of products was the key to boost trade between the two countries.
On investments, he mentioned that present investment regime is the most liberal in the region. Foreign equity could be 100% owned by foreign investor and there were no restriction on repatriation of profits/royalties, almost all sectors are open for investment and one-window facilitation were some of the highlights of new policy. He emphasized that Pakistan was a stable, peaceful and welcome foreign investors to visit any part of the country. He also underlined the importance of promoting tourism between the two countries and informed about the various breathtaking and scenic locations as well as numerous opportunities for shopping at prices much lower than many other countries in the region specially offering excellent textile and other consumer goods. He highlighted recent developments of economic cooperation between China-Pakistan which has culminated in China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as part of One Road One Belt initiative. It is as a game changer for the entire South and Central Asia regions in terms of connectivity, access, reduction of distance and time for movement of goods. This would enhance development prospects of the region and provide investment and trade opportunities.
Earlier, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MATRADE, Dato' Dzulkifli Mahmud highlighted the role of MATRADE in promotion of bilateral investment and trade between Malaysia and Pakistan. Mahmud highlighted the advantages of doing business with Pakistani companies and said that both the countries have Malaysia-Pakistan Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (MDCEPA) since 2007 which became operation in 2008. There are many consumer products under zero tariff regime, adding Pakistan offers very attractive opportunities in all areas of trade. Dato' Dzulkifli also mentioned that ten Malaysian companies are working in Pakistan in different sectors. He urged the Malaysian service sector to explore opportunities in Pakistan. During a penal discussion, the panelists highlighted the regulatory and working environment in Pakistan and future of new investors was promising in terms of returns on Investment and security of investment. They also explained the ease of doing business and facilitation provided to investors while establishing their business entities.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
China is the world's top textile exporter due to smog that has blanketed the north of the country in the past few days, cotton mills have stopped buying raw cotton and have suspended output in Hebei and parts of Shandong, the two Chinese provinces both major growing regions for the fibre, as part of measures to curb smog, according to a report by Cncotton.com, a government-backed trade website. However, the report did not reveal the number of mills affected, nor give details on the amount of production involved. The report said that cotton processing in parts of Hebei, one of the nation's most polluted provinces, may be affected until the end of December. The shutdowns come as more than more than 40 cities in China's northeast have issued pollution warnings in the past 48 hours. For many cities, that means shutting factories, closing schools, recommending residents stay indoors and curbing traffic and construction work.
China's most-active cotton futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange after earlier hitting their lowest in a month at 15,465 yuan at the beginning of this week saw settling down 0.60 percent at 15,715 yuan ($2,263.27) per ton. But the prolonged closures at cotton mills likely to hurt demand for the natural fibre amid concerns about global oversupply. Pollution alerts have become increasingly common in China's northern industrial heartland, especially during winter when energy demand - much of it met by coal - skyrockets.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
A total of 23 Bangladeshi textile companies will join Heimtextil 2017 in Germany to display their products including bedsheets, bed covers, cushion covers, towels and bathrobes to attract buyers from the European countries. Heimtextil, the biggest international trade fair for home and contract textiles, will be held in between January 10 and 13 in 2017 in Germany’s Frankfurt. More than 2,886 exhibitors from 69 countries will take part in Heimtextil 2017. Bangladesh Terry Towel and Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BTTLMEA) Chairman Hossain Mehmood and Director Mian Uddin Ahmed will participate in the expo. Such participation will help the manufacturers to attract global buyers to source products from Bangladesh, said Hossain Mehmood. It also would help exchange views with manufacturers of other countries to enrich their knowledge, added Hossain. “Bangladesh has a lot of potentials in textile sector and we can explore markets through the expo.”
Of the 23 exhibitors participating from Bangladesh, 10 will take part under the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) while 13 will join the trade show directly. The EPB will attend the expo to promote Bangladesh. The participanting companies are ACS Textiles (Bangladesh) Limited, Apex Weaving and Finishing Mills Ltd, Mom Tex Limited, Noman Terry Towel Mills Limited, Regent Textile Mills Pvt Ltd, Shabab Fabrics Ltd, Towel Tex Limited, Unilliance Textiles Ltd, Shamsuddin towels, Hossain Dyeing and Zaber & Zubair Fabrics Limited. Anik Composite Mills Ltd, Instinct Textile Ltd, Miray Towel Industries Limited, Virgin Grace Ltd, Jaantex Industries Ltd, Manuri Textile Mills, RTT Textile Industries Pvt Ltd, EKE TEX (PVT.) LTD, and Asix and RTT Textile Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. There are also participants from Germany, China, Turkey, Italy, Great Britain, USA, Spain, France, India, Netherlands, Pakistan and other countries.
SOURCE: The Dhaka Tribune
Pakistan plans to spend Rs26 billion to boost its export competitiveness in the next three fiscals to stem the slide in its product sales abroad. The government had decided to take up the matter as part of the Strategic Trade Policy Framework 2015-18, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and approved by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif three months ago. But instead of moving on a fast track basis, action to implement it has been tardy for no apparent reason. The decision of the Pakistan government, though late, follows constant protests by the industry and exporters seeking help as business has been declining rapidly. Billions of dollars of potential earnings were lost. "Exports were down from $25 billion in fy-13 to $19 billion in fy-16," said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the central bank.
Commerce Minister Khurrum Dastgir said: "Exports were down because the output of various key items was hit due to power and natural gas shortages. But the major external cause was the international oil and commodity price crash which reduced foreign demand for Pakistani products. These include export of textiles." The textile industry alone earns 60 per cent of forex for Pakistan. Dastgir, who has faced the brunt of the industry and exporters, said: "In the wake of international changes, several other initiatives are also being implemented to enhance exports and Pakistan's share in the global market." The sales tax paid by manufacturers on the purchase of inputs for their products will be refunded to industrialists in the case of five products. These products are: textiles, leather and leather products, carpets, surgical instruments and sports goods. These five are the main products in Pakistan's export list. Four categories of export items - fine grade basmati fragrant rice, horticultural products, halal meat and meat products and jewellery - will be highlighted for exports, especially to Iran, Afghanistan, China and the European Union (EU). The government will also spend an additional Rs6 billion to help exporters, as provided under the Textile Policy 2014. The government said that in order to help increase the industrial output, especially textile output, uninterrupted power supply has been assured since October 2015. Uninterrupted natural gas supply has been assured to the industry since March 2016 this year. As part of the plan to reduce the cost of doing business and bring down the cost of production, the electricity tariff has been slashed by Rs3 per unit for industries. Additional charges on fuel consumption have been shifted from the industries to consumers.
The National Tariff Commission Act has been revamped to stop smuggling in foreign textiles. Cheaper Indian and Chinese textiles as well as those from South Asian countries are the main source of this smuggling into Pakistan. The Pakistan government has also upgraded its trade promotion organisations such as the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. The Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company is also being revitalised. The volume and cost of export finance, the key element in funding this business, has been improved to make Pakistani exports competitive in the global market. The State Bank of Pakistan has reduced the discount rate to 5.75 per cent - the lowest in 42 years. The bank has introduced a special low rate export finance facility of three per cent to lower the export price of Pakistani products. These new concessions will help boost exports. The cheaper prices of all Pakistani products, ranging from fashion and textiles to fresh fruits and vegetables, will be welcomed by consumers, including those living in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and the EU.
SOURCE: The Khaleej Times
Bangladeshi investors are keen to invest in the apparel sector of Ethiopia as it has easily trainable workforce, great climate and facilities like electricity and good road networks, said Bangladeshi ambassador to Ethiopia. Textile and garment companies from the US, China, India and Sri Lanka are also eyeing the textile sector of the African nation. Swedish government owned development financier Swedfund and the Bangladeshi conglomerate DBL Group are also establishing a textile factory in Mekelle, Ethiopia, which will provide job opportunities for 4,000 people. This facility is expected to start producing apparel by mid 2017, ambassador Monirul Islam told Ethiopian news agency.
Labour intensive textile and garment industry sector can empower women by offering them financial liberty, said Islam. He also said that as compared to the traditional jobs, which generate minimum income, women can benefit more if they get the opportunity to work in the apparel and textile sector. Bangladesh’s textile sector employs about 4 million people, 90 per cent of which are women. He said that women can lead good lives by working in the apparel sector and Ethiopia can learn from Bangladesh about how to empower women. The ambassador also said that Ethiopia can draw lessons from Bangladesh’s experience in the apparel sector as both countries were at the same level a few years ago and now Bangladesh has become the second biggest textile producer after China with exports touching $30 billion. He also assured Ethiopia that Bangladesh is willing to share its experience with the country. An agreement has recently been signed by four parties, viz. the Enterprise Partners, a programme of UK's Department for International Development (DfID), Trade and Industry Bureau of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPRS), Ethiopian Textile Industry Development Institute (ETIDI), and the Tenants' Association to source, recruit and train 30,000 people in the textile and garment industry for the newly launched Hawassa Industrial Park in Ethiopia. Around 15 textile and garment companies from the US, China, India, Sri Lanka and six local companies are setting up their operations in the park. Once fully operational, the industries within the park will create a total of 60,000 jobs in double shift.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
A new garment factory has been established in northern Balkh province where 150 individuals have been employed and produced thousands meteres of cloth on daily bases. Haji Baryali Nabizada, the owner of factory, told Pajhwok Afghan News the facility had been made functional over the past one month but was not officially inaugurated. He demanded government support for more production in the factory. He said 10,000 metres cloth and 1.5 tonnes of thread was produced in 24 hours in the factory with 150 people, including 60 women, provided with work opportunity.
Murtaza, a worker, said he was suffering from unemployment over the past few years. “Often I decided to go to Iran for work, but did not have enough money to do so.” He was joyful over the establishment of factory in the province where he will work and may not feel the need to go to other country. The factory owner said he invested 60 million Afghanis and planned to export the product. He demanded government support to increase the production. The land and electricity issues threatened the production and expansion of the factory and Nabizada demanded help from the government in this regard. Governor spokesman termed the establishment of garment factory a positive sign for business. He said the provincial government welcomed investment and business in the province.
SOURCE: The Pajhwok Afghan News
Pakistan cotton crop output likely to improve during this season (2016-17). However, there is not doubt that It would remain lower side but better compared to previous season (2015-16) mainly due to favourable weather conditions. According to the feedback from the growers, it is being projected that Pakistan's cotton crop is expected to be 10.6 million bales (1bales = 155kg) slightly higher than 9.7 million in the last year, traders and experts said.
Pakistan's Cotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC), in the first week of this month, has already revised cotton production target downward side and estimating a cotton crop of 10.54 million bales (1 bale = 155 kg) in this season against actual target of 14.1 million. CCAC has revised cotton crop estimates for the third time during this season. The cotton prices were also expected to rebound in the coming month due to higher demand of quality cotton and ginners were also likely to offload improved quality cotton in the market in January, traders added.
The United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) had also predicted that Pakistan's cotton crop would rebound 18 percent during that season. USDA recent report on Cotton and Wool Outlook stated that Pakistan's crop is projected at nearly 8.3 million bales (1 bale = 480 pounds) in 2016-17, an 18-percent rebound from a 2015-16 crop that was the countries lowest since 1998-99. Although 2016-17 area was forecast at a three-decade low, crop conditions appeared to have been favourable that season as the yield was projected at 748 kg per hectare, one of the top yields on record for Pakistan, it added. As per the traders, shortfall in cotton crop would result in higher import of raw cotton to meet the domestic demand. Although, Pakistan is among the leading cotton producing countries, however from the last few years its cotton production is on downward side and declined drastically to 9.7 million bales in 2015-16. They have suggested that some serious measures needs to be taken for higher cotton crop output thereby reducing import bill.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Despite the United States of America being Nepal’s second largest trading partner in terms of exports after India, exports to the US are low in terms of value and are limited to the export of garments. However, the recent trade preference programme that the US has announced for Nepali imports is expected to boost exports of Nepali readymade garments to the country. Sujan Dhungana of The Himalayan Times caught up with Kiran Saakha, who was recently appointed the President of the Nepal-USA Chamber of Commerce and Industry to know about NUSACCI’s future plans to boost US-Nepal trade relationship, Nepal’s move to reap benefit from the trade preference announced by the US government and future possibilities of American investment in Nepal. Excerpts:
What are your top priorities to enhance US-Nepal trade ties as the new president of NUSACCI?
We need to understand that NUSACCI is a platform for both Nepali investors and investors in the US to promote businesses between both the countries. NUSACCI is not involved in providing facilities to businesses but in facilitating traders and investors of both countries to do business in each other’s country. The major role of NUSACCI is to increase bilateral trade between Nepal and US and as the president I am committed to do the needful to increase export of Nepali products to the US and lobby to draw US investment in Nepal. NUSACCI will serve to eliminate business hurdles that traders of both the countries are facing. However, both aforementioned tasks are not as easy as they sound. One major issue that I have identified personally is the current export figure to the US market maintained by the government does not reflect reality. It is because a number of trade fairs are organised in the US every week these days and Nepali traders are seen participating in those events. However, a majority of Nepali traders participating in such fairs do not clear their goods through the official channel. Even if the goods are officially cleared from Nepal, they do not clear their goods in the US through the official channel. Traders do not have the habit of declaring their products while entering the US due to procedural hassles in clearance. They rather prefer to take goods like jewellery, thanka and pashmina in handbags without declaring them officially as an individual is allowed to take up to two handbags without declaring them in the US. However, the fact is the US does not impose customs duty on a majority of items being imported from Nepal. So why are Nepali traders taking goods to the US market unofficially even though they enjoy customs waiver facility? This trend is not beneficial to both the countries and due to this we also do not get the real export data. I have thus been trying to bring such items under the official channel. I will soon sit with Nepali traders and US customs officials to solve the matter. Similarly, I will take a delegation of the Nepali private sector to the US soon and arrange for meetings with the business community there. NUSACCI will also hold some fairs in the US to promote Nepali goods and increase Nepal’s participation in big fairs.
The government has been talking about boosting foreign investment in the country. What have you planned to do to encourage US investment in Nepal?
It is my obligation to encourage US investment in Nepal and I will do it. The first thing I will focus on is to bring an American business delegation to Nepal to show them potential areas of investment. However, we have to realise that any foreign investor will come to Nepal only if they see investment prospects here and are assured of good returns. But the fact is we don’t have an investment friendly atmosphere at present. Bringing foreign investment in manufacturing and production sector will just remain a dream at a time when even domestic investors are reluctant to invest. Though the government talks about bringing investment-friendly policy, it has not even properly implemented its existing policy and has been creating hassles for domestic investors against its own rules and regulations on many occasions. We don’t have compensation law in the country to compensate businesses and investment. With such realities, bringing large scale foreign investment in Nepal is a huge challenge.
The US has started implementing its trade preference programme that provides duty-free treatment to dozens of products from Nepal. Will this help revive domestic garment industry which had been hit hard after the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) was phased out in 2005?
The domestic garment industry was on the verge of collapse after the expiry of the Multi Fibre Agreement in 2005 as the Nepali garment industry lost its biggest market. A number of domestic readymade garment companies were shut down then. With the US Senate endorsing the bill that gives ‘duty-free-quota-free’ facility to 66 different items, people expect it to boost Nepal’s export to the United States and help revive the readymade garment industry. However, the assumption is wrong. We had requested the US government to give such facility on sensitive garment items like cotton and synthetic series in the way it has done for African and Caribbean nations through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The current trade preference that the US has announced for Nepal is for such products that it already does not impose customs duty on or has very low customs rate. These 66 items are all low customs tariff goods. Had the US announced such facility for synthetic and cotton items, it would have helped to revive domestic garment sector. Giving trade preference to cotton and synthetic series would have counted more for Nepali exporters. This facility will not bring a huge change to domestic garment industry. The duty free facility that has been given to Nepal is not going to drastically bring down the high cost of Nepali readymade garments in US market as only four to five per cent duty was being levied on those products. Nepali readymade garments in the American market will still be about 10 per cent more expensive than garment products of other countries. The US should have given duty free facility on those products that have high customs rate and are in high demand in the US market. Thus, the current preference facility announced by the United States is not going to change export value of our garment products to US significantly. However, extensive promotion of Nepali garments in the US market by the government can make a difference.
Like the US, Australia too has given duty-free access to Nepali garments. However, Nepali exporters seem less attracted to Australian market. Why?
It simply is because of the market size. The United States is a huge market for Nepali garments while Australia is very small. As a result, traders prefer to market their products in the United States and European nations over Australia.
Export of readymade garments has come down by 13 per cent in the first four months of this fiscal. What is the reason behind it?
Nepal’s garment products under ‘patch and cut work’ had high demand in the US and other markets and such products had a majority stake in the overall export volume of readymade garments from Nepal. However, with the change in fashion in the American culture, particularly from last year, the demand for ‘patch and cut work’ garment has come down drastically in the foreign market contributing in bringing down overall export of domestic readymade garments.
What do you expect from the government to boost export of readymade garments?
The first thing government should do is conduct a study to find out by what per cent in terms of price are Nepali garments failing to compete with foreign brands in the international market. I assume that it is by around 15 to 20 per cent. The government should calculate tax rate difference and labour wage difference between Nepal’s garment industry and other nations. The government should find out the exact figure of competitive difference of Nepali garments in terms of price due to factors like high production cost including high wages and taxes. Then comes the issue of export subsidy. Once every factor hindering Nepali garments from competing in international market is analysed, government should announce certain per cent tax subsidy. However, tax subsidy alone is not going to lift up garment industry. It should be followed by extensive promotion in international market from government side.
SOURCE: The Himalayan Times
The number of 'mini garment industries' has been maintaining a steady rise in Syedpur upazila under the country's northern Nilphamari district. At present, there are more than 200 such industries - almost all of which are located in and around Syedpur municipality area. Most of the small-scale and home-grown industrial units, dubbed as mini garment industries, comprise five to 25 traditional sewing machines. Insiders and local businessmen say roughly 5,000 employees are working in different shifts in those factories predominantly aiming to export their products to neighbouring West Bengal of India, Bhutan, and Nepal. Sources concerned say the production cost of these mini industries is relatively low as they preferably use stock-lot and waste cut pieces of cloths usually collected from the large ready-made garments (RMG) industries in Dhaka, Gazipur and Chittagong to make shirts, T-shirts, jackets, trousers, and allied items. The sources, however, informed that this year these mini industries exported garment items worth Tk 3.6 billion to Shiliguri and Jalpaiguri of West Bangal in India side by side the destinations in Nepal and Bhutan. The export figure is reported to be increasing every year as the mini industries exported to the tune of Tk 2.7 billion during the corresponding period of last year, they said.
Although these tiny units are contributing substantially to the country's export basket, they still remain deprived of the country's statutory body Export Promotion Bureau's (EPB) membership. When asked, the local chamber leaders and traders lamented that they were seeking the EPB membership for so long. Even the former Governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Atiur Rahman visited the country's northern small town and talked about its export potentials, they said. Akhtar Hossain Khan, President of Syedpur Small Garments Industries Association, said at present they export their products through the Burimari Land Port covering a distance of more than 170 kilometres whereas the distance could have come down to only 60 kilometres had the Chilahati Land Port been reopened. The local export-oriented businesses could have benefited hugely - thereby reducing both time and money, he rued while also talking about the missed chances.
SOURCE: The Financial Express Bangladesh
Bangladesh dropped three places to 123rd in this year's global Enabling Trade Index of 136 countries despite improving its overall scores. In the scorecard of 1 and 7, Bangladesh scored 3.48 this year, up from 2014's score of 3.39 when the country ranked 120. The index is part of the Global Enabling Trade Report 2016, a joint publication of the World Economic Forum and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, a coalition between the WEF, the International Chamber of Commerce, the Centre for International Private Enterprise and the governments of Australia, Canada, Germany, the UK and the US. The report evaluates the economies based on their capacity to facilitate the flow of goods over borders and to their destination. In the seven rankings that made up the whole index, Bangladesh moved up in three, slipped down in three and remained unchanged in one. All economies in South Asia have improved their score over the past two years, contributing to the positive economic momentum currently experienced by the region. But some have progressed slower than others, thus slipping down the ranking. Bangladesh is behind all five other South Asian countries included in the index.
Bhutan was the most improved country in the region, climbing 12 positions and becoming the regional leader at 92nd, followed by India (up four to 102) and Nepal (up four to 108). Pakistan was 122nd and Sri Lanka 103rd. South Asia remains the most closed region in the world, particularly when it comes to granting access to its domestic market, where its performance deteriorated from two years ago. On average, South Asian countries impose a tariff of 16.7 percent on imported products, up from 15.8 percent in 2014. It was the most improved region when it came to adoption of ICTs. It also enhanced its access to foreign markets. Progress has been slow when it came to transport infrastructure, particularly in Bhutan and Nepal. Bangladesh slipped six positions to 127 in the domestic market access rankings, although the score remained unchanged. In the foreign market access rankings too, it dropped six spots to 12, despite maintaining its 2014 score. Bangladesh has retained its spot of 130 in the efficiency and transparency of border administration rankings. The country made a major jump upward in the availability and quality of transport infrastructure rankings, climbing to 109th place from 123rd two years earlier. It also moved up five places to 100th in the availability and quality of transport services rankings, and six spots to 118th in the availability and use of ICTs pillar rankings. It slipped 17 places to 128th in the operating environment pillar rankings.
In the preface of the report, Richard Samans, member of the managing board of the WEF, said the report is launched at a time of uncertainty for global trade. “The year started with the signing of the Trans-Pacific-Partnership agreement, bright hopes for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, signs of progress in the WTO and a positive mood among leaders round the world.” By November, anti-trade rhetoric in the US election, the UK's vote to leave the European Union and stark divides among WTO members had brought progress on these fronts close to a halt. However, liberalisation efforts did continue in other regions, via Asia's Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Africa's Continental Free Trade Area and other negotiations. “Amid the uncertainty, business and governments look for navigation markers -- signs to show them which aspects of trade policy and practice are working well and which aren't.” According to the report, which is published every two years, Bangladesh's trade openness is 34.8 percent of its gross domestic product, while its share of world trade is only 0.22 percent of the total international trade. The report identified a number of problematic factors that imports face. They include: tariffs and non-tariff barriers; burdensome import procedures; corruption at the border; high cost or delays caused by domestic transportation; crime and theft; high cost or delays caused by international transportation; domestic technical requirements and standards; and inappropriate telecommunications infrastructure.
Problematic factors for exporters are: identifying potential markets and buyers; high cost or delays caused by domestic transportation; inappropriate production technology and skills; difficulties in meeting quality/quantity requirements of buyers. Access to imported inputs at competitive price and trade finance; high cost or delays caused by international transportation; technical requirements and standards abroad; tariff barriers abroad; rules of origin requirements abroad; burdensome procedures at foreign borders; and corruption at foreign borders, are the other factors.
SOURCE: The Daily Star
The Amhara Regional State Technical, Vocational and Enterprises Development Bureau, Ethiopia has created market links for 71,022 enterprises both locally and internationally by incorporating 161,000 mobilizer. This could possibly generate over 598,000,000 ETB in local markets, said Deputy Head with the Bureau, Kassa Alemu. According to Kassa, 22 international enterprises have benefitted 565 mobilizers and could be possible to generate 420,000 USD. The international market linkage basically benefits many through its open job opportunities, he said. A single textile enterprise can participate close to 300 mobilizers. USA, Turkey, India, Sudan, Djibouti, Arab Countries are among the major countries that import much of the textiles.
The Bureau has targeted to excel local market linkage to enterprises and mount the income to 2 billion ETB. Similarly, it is targeted to collect 3million USD and benefit 5,000 mobilizers from markets which are linked to international markets of 110 enterprises. Kassa added that the bureau is intensively working to build capacity of enterprises of mobilizers to create market linkage and more job opportunities. The bureau has planned to organize exhibition and trade fair at regional level to create more market linkage and introduce products by the coming month.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Textile printing is used to design or color a fabric in the definite pattern. Textile fiber binds the fibers together in order to reduce friction within fibers. Textile printing is associated with dyeing where the whole fabric is uniformly covered with single color. In order to use one or more colors, defined patterns are required. Textile printing includes engraved plates, wooden blocks, rollers, stencils, and others to color fabrics. Colorants include dyes that thickened color to avoid spreading through capillary action beyond the certain limit in definite patterns. The aim of textile printing is to create attractive designs and distinct patterns for attracting the customers. Earlier, textile printing was traditionally used in India and it has evidence of using wooden blocks for printing.
The demand for the textile printing is anticipated to increase globally, and this, in turn, will drive the market in the coming future. The increasing popularity of textile printing throughout international market will foster the market growth in future. People moving towards more artistic and royal choices will also positively influence the textile printing market. Increasing the double income of the middle-class people is expected to enhance the global textile printing market in the near future. Changing preferences of the people for wearing clothes will augment the global market growth in future.
The global textile printing market is segmented on the basis of the type of as printing resist printing, direct printing, and discharge printing. The global market is bifurcated on the basis of methods as transfer printing, duplex printing, stencil printing, roller printing, digital printing, screen printing, jet spray printing, blotch printing, block printing, and electrostatic printing. Digital printing accounted for the largest market share among all worldwide.
Asia Pacific is dominating in the textile printing worldwide. This region is anticipated to witness considerable market growth in the future mainly owing to financial stability and governmental support. Furthermore, Europe is the second largest market due to the rapidly developing industrial network. Additionally, North America is moving forward to gain highest market value. Further, increasing disposal income of the people in this region will contribute to the market growth. Emerging countries such as India and China will show significant growth in the textile printing globally in the near future. The demand by domestic people in India and China will contribute to the growth of the textile printing market. Some of the major key competitors in the global textile printing market are Digitex India Inc., AM Printex, Dazian LLC, AGS Transact Technologies, JV Digital Printing, and Dickson Coatings. Other major players influencing the global market are Glen Raven, Inc., Mehler Texnologies, Fisher Textiles, Inc., and China Dyeing Holdings, Ltd.
SOURCE: All about News
Delhi based artist Puneet Kaushik, with a uniquely “Global-Local” perspective, best known for his abstract and primeval artworks, has engaged and worked closely with tribal crafts practitioners for almost two decades now. He strongly feels that the national identity of India is rooted in its indigenous people, and their expressions. These manifest in building materials, crafts, textiles, folk stories etc. For him the nature of folk art is specific to its particular culture, which moves towards civilization yet, rapidly diminishing with modernity, industrialization, and outside influence. A suite of works comprising of installations and wall works under the title “Barren Red” by Kaushik will be on view until 4 January 2017 at Gallery Espace New Delhi.
“Art is the evidence of excavation of the self inflicted, choices representing the collective memories of landscape, people, culture and spaces. It is a visual manifestation of a historical past relevant in the present. My works impact more than just your physical space ...Scribbling in a meandering free flow of territorial thoughts that layer of the social and cultural fabric of everyday existence almost in a meditative trance and yet entangled, knotted, tied, woven, stitched to let go of the wandering heart”, says Kaushik who has been engaged with indigenous art practices for over two decades now. Over the years these art forms have taken different directions and dimensions in his art practice. Techniques like crochet in steel, fibre art and bead work from Tibet constitute a major part of the artist’s vocabulary.
With Barren Red, the artist attempts to (re)establish techniques on the verge of extinction which include weaving, knitting, crochet and Tibetan bead work embellishment. “Fibre art” gets altogether a new dimension with crochet being knitted in copper and stainless steel wire. Such techniques not only transport us back to our roots but also evoke an urge of knowing the “self”. What remains in common is the colour “red”, which is universally identified. “Red” is the colour of the blood that flows within every human body. And is been a colour with different connotations but followed uniformly through the ages. The territorial landscape which is ever changing when viewed from the top (aerial view) also appears “red”; it can be one’s perception and can be related to the fierce world of terrorism we live in. The other aspect that the artist explores is of the “skin” which contains biological and cultural history within its layers — in a way, similar to the pigments of paint in an artwork, fibres in clothes, or the architectural makeup of a building.
Puneet in his installations successfully has been driven by a single idea or concept, injecting, an element of exploration, with materials…offering their own guiding agency; and in this respect he marks a posture of difference. Barren Red showcases a tech of weaves of Kaushik’s multilayered installations and mixed-media works aimed at seeding the landscape to the scape we live in along with the viewer’s own interpretation. A thought about humanitarianism, the comprehensive colour “red” and a thought about our deep rooted traditions.It will be very apt to quote the artist here “I am a montage of cross disciplines; that each space negotiates and creates a vocabulary of its own. Contrast is the core of the experience — light and dark, hard and soft, strong and fragile, robust and delicate, fiery and cool, passion and calm, intricate yet simple... Like the testament of our faith should be the power of cultural expressions to become the fine balance between silence and speech, gravity and lightness absence and presence, participation and witnessing.
SOURCE: The Sunday Guardian
UK based Tarsus Group has conditionally agreed to acquire 65 per cent of Foshan Huaxia Home Textile Development, which owns the home furnishing expo, Hometex, a bi annual home textiles exhibition in China. Tarsus Group has acquired the stake of Foshan Huaxia Home Textile from Guangdong Home Textile Association and other association members. Hometex, which was launched in 1997, takes place twice a year in spring and autumn in Shenzhen, with the next edition of the event planned in March 2017. Tarsus Group will acquire the 65 per cent stake in Foshun Huaxia for an estimated cash consideration of approximately £19.3 million. The remaining 35 per cent stake in Foshan Huaxia will continue to be held by the Guangdong Home Textile Association and association members, who are also exhibitors at the events. The Hometex brand has strong industry backing with one of the original shareholders being the Guangdong Home Textile Association, while the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for textiles also has a long-term partnership with Hometex.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The Textile Recycling Association has welcomed new research from the Nordic Council of Ministers which asked whether used clothing donated by the public in Nordic countries is supporting the circular economy through reuse and recycling. The report also asked whether it really is the case that the second hand clothing market has negative economic and social impacts in key African second hand clothing markets. This report answers these questions by tracking flows of exports to their final destinations, and by estimating the socio-economic and environmental impacts arising from their subsequent treatment. Among other things, the report suggests that only good quality re-useable clothing is exported to Africa, while recycling grades are processed into new products – a finding, according to the TRA, which raises serious doubts on claims that used clothing imports are an important factor in the decline of African textile production. The report states suggests ageing and inefficient domestic textile industries in much of Africa have been unable to compete with cheap production in Asia as trade barriers were progressively dismantled during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Both used and new textile imports have increased rapidly since then across sub-Saharan Africa.
Alan Wheeler, director of the Textile Recycling Association said: "It is important to appreciate that the used clothing industry operates in a similar manner throughout Western Europe and most clothing collected in this global region ends up being exported to similar markets in other parts of the world. So it is reasonable to assert that the conclusions drawn from this report can be applied to a significant extend to exports of used clothing from the UK. Although I would welcome some detailed research on British exports, which I am confident would confirm this. "It is really good that this independent research has concluded what we already knew. Blaming used clothing imports and citing them as the main reason as to why some African textile producers are struggling is a red herring. The abolition of the Multi-Fibre Agreement by the World Trade Organisation in 2005 was the death-knell for many textile producers in this region and other parts of the world. Within months of this happening exports of new clothing from China doubled and many African producers were simply not able to cope."
The Nordic report's project team leader David Watson, PlanMiljø added: "One crucial finding that emerged is that for once economics and environmental benefits go hand-in-hand. The sorting companies have such tight margins that every single fraction that can be sold for reuse, is sold for reuse, and anything else that can be recycled, is recycled. Even the plastic bags that the textiles arrive in. Otherwise they just wouldn't be able to pay for the sorting activities." Yvonne Augustsson, Nordic Council of Minister's coordinator for the project said "The findings of this report is good news. It means that people can donate their used clothing to charity without worrying that it is doing harm."
SOURCE: The EcoTextile
Polish company Inovatica sp. z o.o. has developed an innovative T-shirt fitted with bio-monitoring capacities. The biotextile product allows to perform electrocardiography (EKG) on the patient wearing it. Senior company representatives told Innovation in Textiles the project consisted of developing such a bio-monitoring system that could be integrated with the T-shirt in a way that would make it possible to wash and clean it, and use it in a regular way. The product should also allow to record the electrical activity of a patient’s heart with the use of electrodes placed on their skin. The textronics product was developed by Inovatica in cooperation with two local higher education institutions. © Inovatica sp. z o.o.
Bogumil Zieba, the company’s managing director, confirmed that Inovatica aims to launch large-scale production of the T-shirt, and that the next phase of the project will be to introduce it to the domestic and foreign markets. “However, currently we don’t have the capacity to launch production, because each T-shirt must be custom-made for each patient to ensure that the T-shirt perfectly fits their bodies,” Zieba told Innovation in Textiles. This is particularly important for the proper functioning of EKG sensors, and allows to avoid distorted results of the tests, according to the company’s managing director. “We are currently working on developing a new technology that would allow to produce individual T-shirts based on a 3D scan of the patient’s body,” Zieba said.
Investors to support foreign expansion
Once the necessary technology is available, Inovatica aims to introduce its bio-textile product to the Polish markets, and also launch export sales of the T-shirt. The company’s managing director said that the company is seeking to establish a close cooperation with potential partners, both investors and manufacturers, as „we don’t have the necessary output capacity to launch mass production, distribute the product and market it.” In addition to the costs related to setting up a production line for the T-shirt, obtaining medical certification for the product could cost more than PLN 100,000 (EUR 230,000), according to Inovatica’s managing director. “This is why we would be glad to acquire a partner investor that could provide us with the necessary organisational and financial support, and also allow us to market the T-shirt at mass scale. However, we already see that the road between developing a functional prototype and mass-producing is very bumpy,” Zieba said. “The principal aim of the project was achieved with the use of relatively low expenditure on staff and equipment, and it also revealed the major market potential of our product.”
Mobile textronics solutions
The textronics product was developed by Inovatica in cooperation with two local higher education institutions, the Lodz University of Technology (Politechnika Lodzka) and the Medical University of Lodz (Lodzki Uniwersytet Medyczny). Inovatica’s product is Internet-enabled with allows doctors to monitor their patients’ state via an app installed on their phones or tablets. The T-shirt is also enabled with Bluetooth connectivity. The product’s functionalities were tested by cardiologists from the Medical University of Lodz, while engineers from the Lodz University of Technology were in charge of developing a textronics solution that allowed Inovatica to merge the textile products with EKG sensors.
Regarding the company’s investment plans for the forthcoming year, Zieba said that Inovatica has applied to obtain funds from the European Union to finance further research and development (R&D) works in relation to the bio-textile T-shirt. Should Inovatica obtain financial support from the EU, it will be one step closer to launching sales of its new product. “Together with a major research unit, we have submitted an application to the National Centre For Research and Development to pursue our work and complete the project to make the T-shirt available to consumer markets,” Zieba said. The first phase of the project was supported by funds obtained from the Regional Operational Programme for the Lodz region, under which Inovatica and its partners obtained about PLN 300,000 (EUR 690,000) from Brussels.
Set up in 2015, Inovatica is based in Lodz, Poland’s second largest city, and specialises in developing Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and software. For many years, the city has served as the country’s textile hub, with a number of manufacturers operating their production facilities there. This said, since Poland’s transformation to a market economy in 1989, the industry has been struggling to remain competitive regarding foreign manufacturers. To stimulate the industry’s recovery, the Polish government aims to inject as much as PLN 400 million (EUR 90.6 million) into the city’s troubled textile industry to fund research and development activities under the Innotextile programme, financed by funds from the EU, as earlier reported by Innovation in Textiles. The programme is designed to support the development of innovative textiles, such as hydrotextiles, geotextiles and agritextiles, and their production by local textile industry players.
SOURCE: The Innovation in Textiles
