INTERNATIONAL
Textile Raw Material Price 2017-01-02
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1205.75 |
USD/Ton |
1% |
1/2/2017 |
|
VSF |
2375.51 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
ASF |
1842.82 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1260.46 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3138.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
4391.09 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1626.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
3340.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
5462.22 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1500.89 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2965.78 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2015.58 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
3037.77 |
USD/Ton |
1% |
1/2/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1828.42 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2649.05 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1972.39 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2217.14 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3167.34 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2274.73 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.32 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.81 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.15 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.65 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/2/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14397 USD dtd. 2/1/2017)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The newly launched directorate of handlooms and textiles at Lamphel, Imphal will promote the sales of handloom and handicraft products produced in Manipur. The directorate was recently inaugurated by state commerce and industries minister Govindas Konthoujam. The directorate will also help to enhance the quality of handicraft and handloom items. The handloom and handicraft sector is one of the main economic contributors in Manipur, said Konthoujam. Under the Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana (AHVY), handicraft cluster projects were also launched by Konthoujam along with a handicraft museum at the inaugural programme. AHVY aims to promote the handicraft sector by creating artisans who have capability to manage things professionally.
As per the Manipur Handlooms and Handicrafts Policy 2016 that was released at the inaugural programme, 50 per cent of the state’s handloom and handicraft products will be sold to the state government, while only 20 per cent will be given to private buyers, said Konthoujam. He also urged the weavers and artisans of Manipur to increase the quality of the handicraft and handloom products which will increase the scope of getting better price internationally. The state government will provide the required assistance to increase the production quality, according to a leading daily. The programme also witnessed distribution of awards for distinguished contribution in handicraft and handloom sector. State handicraft and handloom awards were bagged by six persons for their outstanding contribution in the field. Incentives were also distributed to one state level handicraft cluster project and nine district level cluster projects. Konthoujam also handed over 10 merit awards to persons from handloom and handicraft sector.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
During a recent visit to Brandix India Apparel City near Visakhapatnam, textile commissioner Dr Kavita Gupta called it a great success story and an example, which other Textile Parks in India should follow. Dr Gupta appreciated in particular, the world class infrastructure that Brandix has set up, which would help boost Indian textile and apparel exports. A news website quoted Dr Gupta as commending Brandix for their water treatment and effluent plants, which helped units inside the park, meet global standards. Dr Gupta advised the management of the Apparel City to develop an integrated value chain across all segments like spinning, weaving, garments and also technical textiles. The Brandix India Apparel City, while being the largest textile park in the country, is also the biggest employer of women workforce at a single location, which totals to over 15,000.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Collector Prashanth Jeevan Patil urged people to patronise handloom products and promote weavers. Inaugurating the textile exhibition with Police Commissioner G. Sudheer Babu here on Monday, Mr. Patil said the State government was taking steps to protect the handloom industry and was getting associated with the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to bring out new designs to appeal to a wider range of people.
Government employees and public representatives were asked to sport handloom clothes once a week to promote such products. Mr. Babu said handloom formed a part of our culture and everyone should patronise it. Scores of weavers were dependent on this age-old industry which is slowly losing patronage. People should protect and preserve the handloom industry by buying products from weavers, he added. Sangareddy/ Medak Staff Reporter adds: With an aim to promote the use of handloom fabrics, several handloom stalls were set up at the Collectorates at Medak and Sangareddy on Monday.
At Sangareddy, Collector Manickaraj Kanan and Joint-Collector V. Venkateswarlu bought a few items and even wore them. It was also decided that officers should wear handloom fabric every Monday without fail. This was the initiative suggested by IT and Municipal Administration Minister K. Taraka Rama Rao. The products at the stalls were brought from handloom cooperative societies of Jogipet, Narayankhed, and Sangareddy. Nizamabad Special Correspondent adds: Collector Yogitha Rana urged government officers and employees to attend the Prajavani (grievance cell) meeting by wearing handloom clothes every Monday.
Addressing the gathering after opening a handloom outlet set up by the Telangana Chenetha Society at Pragathi Bhavan here on Monday, she said that orders were also issued to the employees at the division and mandal level to wear cotton and handloom clothes at least once a week. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had taken a decision to make it mandatory to ensure financial support to weavers, Ms. Rana said, appealing to the people to use handloom products at home. The Collector also suggested the people to purchase clothes worth Rs. 500 every month by joining the Chenetha Lakshmi scheme. Members of the scheme would get a rebate on the same. If people keep buying handloom products, the weavers would come out of their financial woes, Ms. Rana said. District Revenue Officer Padmakar, District Rural Development Agency project officer Venkateswarlu, and BC Welfare Officer Vimala Devi were also present.
SOURCE: The Hindu
Leading Indian womenswear brands bucked the slowdown trend on the back of mostly younger consumers shifting from tailor-made to ready-to-wear stylish designs at affordable rates and discounts. Makers of ethnic brands in the country — TCNS Clothing (maker of W and Aurelia brands), BIBA, House of Anita Dongre (AND and Global Desi brands), and Ritu Kumar — all posted 14 per cent-64 per cent year-on-year jump in their revenues last fiscal, even as the overall Indian apparel market slipped to single-digit growth at 8 per cent. Sales of these four companies put together equals that of the apparel sections retail chains Shoppers StopBSE 2.32 % and Lifestyle International that sell around a hundred brands, and are more than Tata's Westside. In fact, with combined sales of Rs 1,600 crore in the year to March 2016 as per their annual filings, these companies have nearly doubled their business in the past two years. "Consumers no longer are stuck to the idea of compartmentalising ethnic wear and western wear as strictly as we think it is. There is a growing market for contemporary Indian wear, which cuts across all product segments," said Anant Daga, CEO at TCNS Clothing.
The maker of W and Aurelia brands, which posted a 65 per cent growth in sales for FY16 at Rs 591 crore, is expecting a threefold jump in revenues in five years. Experts say there’s good growth opportunity as branded women’s apparel is an extremely under-penetrated category and that is changing gradually. "The number of women taking up ready to wear was smaller, which is now picking up. Also, younger women are preferring to go out wearing something which addresses both traditional aesthetic and the work environment," said Devangshu Dutta, chief executive at retail consultancy Third Eyesight.
This growth potential has helped TCNS Clothing, BIBA, House of Anita Dongre and Ritu Kumar — which are nearly two decades old or more — attract private equity investments in the past three years. While Everstone Capital picked a minority stake in Ritu Kumar for Rs 100 crore ($16.6 million), Warburg Pincus and Faering Capital invested about Rs 300 crore to buy a stake in BIBA Apparels. General Atlantic has picked up a significant minority stake in AND Designs for around Rs 150 crore. More recently, US-based private equity firm TA Associates invested about Rs 937 crore in TCNS Clothing.
Experts said companies can now easily support changing trends with investment in product innovation and reach. Indian wear, initially largely restricted to the older age segment, now finds acceptance among younger consumers. That's because most companies now sell fusion clothing — a mix of modern and traditional wear — instead of just ethnic, which are reserved for special occasions. Another growth trigger is growing popularity of online shopping that has helped these brands reach out to customers in smaller cities. Online retailing now accounts for 10-15 per cent of their sales.
While online added to overall sales, companies aren't necessarily enthused because of discounts. "We have been able to curtail ecommerce growth to a large extent as we believe in selling full price merchandise rather than going into the discount," said Bijit Nair, president – retail at House of Anita Dongre. "But the new found availability due to geographical presence is helping too," he said. Siddharth Bindra, MD at BIBA, said, "We have got bigger stores and more locations. Our product ranges have evolved. We also brought larger heavier collections and collaborations with designers which did very well." BIBA posted sales growth of 15 per cent at Rs 441crore in FY16.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Productivity of cotton in the country continues to remain well below the world average productivity mark, top officials of the Cotton Association of India (CAI) said. As per the latest estimates of the Directorate of Cotton Development (DOCD), the acreage under cotton is expected to go down to about 105 lakh hectare during 2016-17 from 118.77 lakh hectares during 2015-16. However, due to the improvement in productivity expected on account of better weather conditions across all cotton growing regions of the country, India expects to produce about 345 lakh bales during 2016-17.
However, looking at the initiatives taken by the government and continued research by scientists, one can hope that India would soon achieve the world average productivity mark, Dhiren Seth, ex-president of the Association said. Seth who has been the president of the association for 8 years said the production of cotton in the country which had reached a record high of over 4 crore bales during the 2013-14 crop year fell to about 386 lakh bales in 2014-15, he said,adding that the production of cotton in the country declined further during the 2015-16 crop year to around 338 lakh bales, the lowest during the last five years.
This drastic reduction in the crop during 2015-16 was mainly due to the whitefly attack especially in the northern region, he said.Cotton prices sought lower levels almost during the entire 2015-16 cotton season, resulting in lower realisation of prices by farmers for their produce. This has led to a reduction of over 10% in the acreage under cotton during 2016-17, Seth said. “The world-over, trading of cotton is done on the basis of quality parameters. In order to be in sync with this trading norm and looking to its crop size, our country requires a huge boost in infrastructure. Our association has set up eleven laboratories across the country, with one more laboratory in the pipeline.
Apart from providing cotton testing facilities to the cotton community at various cotton growing centres locally in a cost effective manner, these laboratories also work as regional centres of our Association and provide other services to the cotton sector in their respective regions,” he said. Seth said that globally, cotton is losing its share in textile manufacturing because of the stiff competition it faces from polyester and other manmade fibres. In order to arrest the declining trend of cotton consumption, countries like USA, Australia and Brazil have effective demand enhancement programmes.
The Association has also embarked on the generic promotion of cotton and as a medium through School Contact Programmes (SCP). In the pilot phase of SCP, we covered 20 English medium schools in Mumbai across all boards and targeted school children of fifth to seventh standards to create awareness amongst them about cotton and to familiarise them about the benefits of cotton. We have successfully completed the pilot of the SCP this year, he said.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The sale of readymade clothes increased by close to 44 per cent in Bihar in the seven months following the ban on liquor, said chief minister Nitish Kumar. The sale of apparel as well as hosiery went up as people have begun utilising their money for buying useful items. Kumar also said that the sales of sewing machines witnessed a rise of 19 per cent. While addressing a Chetna Sabha in Lakhisarai, Kumar said that people of Bihar are using their earnings to buy good clothes for themselves and their children post liquor ban. Kumar made the announcement of the surge in the sales of clothing items during the sixth leg of ‘Nischay yatra’, according to media reports. This yatra aims to take feedback regarding the impact of liquor prohibition on common people.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The e-commerce platform, LimeRoad has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Madhya Pradesh Laghu Udyog Nigam for online selling of a range of handloom and handicraft products. The partnership will promote selling of the items produced at Nigam via e-commerce. These products are a combination of traditional weaves with contemporary designs. The online platform has already started selling handloom and apparel created at the Nigam, the company said in a statement. The MoU was signed during the National Vendor Development Programme and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) convention 2016 hosted by the ministry of MSME, Government of India and the department of MSME, Government of Madhya Pradesh. “Platform provided by LimeRoad to our artisans will help spreading the old customs and traditions of rural Madhya Pradesh across the world,” tweeted Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh.
“We are proud to announce that the Mrignayani products are live on LimeRoad. We have always wanted Limeroad to be the most extensive platform for the discovery of delightful products made by small-scale entrepreneurs across India. We are honoured to partner with the Madhya Pradesh government and we welcome the talented artisans of MP on to our platform. These gorgeous Chanderi and Maheshwari fabrics and saris have been around for years. The LimeRoad mobile application will now take these unique assets of India to millions of customers, and make these products from traditional to trending,” said Suchi Mukherjee, founder and LimeRoad CEO.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
The country is expected to produce about 345 lakh bales during 2016-17 as compared to around 338 lakh bales produced in 2015-16 crop year, Cotton Association Of India (CAI) said here. "Due to the improvement in productivity expected on account of better weather conditions across all cotton growing regions of the country, the country expects to produce about 345 lakh bales during 2016-17," former CAI President Dhiren Sheth said at the association's annual general meeting (AGM) here.
The production of cotton in the country which had reached a record high of over four crore bales during the 2013-14 crop year fell to about 386 lakh bales in 2014-15, Sheth added. The production declined further during the 2015-16 crop year to around 338 lakh bales, the lowest during the last five years. This drastic reduction in the crop during 2015-16 was mainly due to the white-fly attack especially in the northern region, he added.
Productivity of cotton continues to remain well below the world average productivity mark. However, looking at the initiatives taken by the Centre and continued research by scientists, one can hope that India would soon achieve the world average productivity mark, he said. Cotton prices also sought lower levels almost during the entire 2015-16 cotton season, resulting in lower realisation of prices by farmers for their produce. This has led to a reduction of over 10 per cent in the acreage under cotton during 2016-17, said Sheth.
As per the latest estimates of the Directorate of Cotton Development (DOCD), the acreage under cotton is expected to go down to about 105 lakh hectare during 2016-17 from 118.77 lakh hectares during 2015-16, he added. The world-over, trading of cotton is done on the basis of quality parameters. In order to be in sync with this trading norm and looking to its crop size, our country requires a huge boost in infrastructure, said the CAI chief. Sheth pointed out that CAI took the initiative in converting this challenge into an opportunity and set up eleven laboratories across the country, with one more laboratory in the pipeline. "Apart from providing cotton testing facilities to the cotton community at various cotton growing centres locally in a cost effective manner, these laboratories also work as regional centres of our Association and provide other services to the cotton sector in their respective regions," Meanwhile, CAI today appointed Nayan C Mirani as its new President and Udayan Thakkar as Vice President for 2016-17.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Making an amendment in Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the Ministry of Commerce has allowed ‘self-certification’ for Certification of Origin for exports to European Union from India. The new rule is applicable from January 1, 2017. “Registered Exporters System (REX) as of 1 January 2017 for the EU Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) is notified,” Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
The European Union (EU) has introduced a self-certification scheme for certifying the rules of origin under GSP from 1.1.2017 onwards. Under this scheme called as REX, exporters with a REX number will be able to self-certify the Statement on Origin of their goods being exported to EU under the GSP Scheme. Talking to KNN, garment exporter Animesh Saxena, Managing Director, Nitee Clothing, said the scheme will reduce the workload and save time and cost for MSME exporters. “This is a very welcome step as it will reduce the workload and cost which further results in saving time and reduce hassle,” said Saxena. He also said that the scheme will eventually be beneficial for export sector and business activity will be easier. “It will be beneficial for the exporter community. It is a step forward towards ease of doing business,” added Saxena.
The DGFT notification added that the registration on REX is without any fee or charges and this system would eventually phase out the current system of issuance of Certificates of Origin (Form-A) by the Competent Authorities listed in Appendix-2C of FTP (2015-20) by 1.1.2018 (one year transition period).
SOURCE: The KNN India
The GST Council, which is lead by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and has Finance Ministers of all States as members, will begin its eighth round of consultations from Tuesday. During the two-day meeting, it is expected to finalise the draft of the model Integrated GST (IGST) Bill, the draft compensation Bill and also reach a solution on the thorny issue of cross-empowerment. The Centre is keen to finalise the draft Goods and Services Tax (GST) legislations in the meeting to ensure that they can be tabled in Parliament and State assemblies in the ensuing Budget Session. But, the spectre of demonetisation and administrative control over taxpayers will continue to cast a shadow over discussions of the Council in the New Year. “Once cleared by the GST Council, they will have to be cleared by the Cabinet and then introduced in Parliament,” said an official. The Budget Session of Parliament is likely to commence later this month.
States’ demand
However, States are sticking to their demand to have exclusive control over all businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs. 1.5 crore and share control with the Union Finance Ministry over taxpayers beyond the threshold. “There can be no forward movement on GST unless the issue of dual control gets sorted,” said a State Finance Minister, adding that if the Centre can come up with an agreeable proposal the indirect tax proposal can be implemented from April 1, 2017. Meanwhile, a number of States such as West Bengal and Kerala as well as those ruled by the Congress are understood to be hardening their stance over demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes and its impact on the economy.
In the last meeting of the GST Council on December 23, some of these States had also sought higher compensation for revenue loss on the grounds that demonetisation had hurt their tax collections. However, Jaitley had said that the compensation would only be for the revenue loss directly attributable to GST. The issue of dual control and cross-empowerment was not taken up for discussion in the last meeting. The Council had approved the primary drafts of Centre and State GST Bills.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
Though the bitterness over demonetisation is a big factor in the Opposition reaction to GST and the fact that it had to be postponed from the original implementation date of April 1, the divide over dual control has been a contentious issue from the very beginning. Even before November 8, several rounds of discussions on it have yielded nothing. In an ideal situation, most will agree, no assessee should have to face more than one tax authority. Yet, that is hardly true in a very large number of cases. So, a firm faces one set of authorities while paying corporate taxes and another while paying excise/service/VAT taxes even though the sales and profits are the same. Even so, state governments have a point when they say it would be harassing small businesses if they have to be answerable to two sets of tax authorities, one at the level of the state and one at the level of the Centre.
Fortunately, there could be a solution, provided the states and the Centre want to cooperate. Under GST, all returns will be filed electronically, through the GST portal, and this return will be assessed by both the central and state GST inspectors—it is not as if a trader or a manufacturer will prepare one set of accounts for the Centre and give an additional copy of this to the state GST inspectors, and then have to satisfy each one of them separately. Assume a trader/manufacturer records its turnover for the year as R1 crore. Now, say, the state GST authorities feel the number should be R1.1 crore while the central GST authorities feel the number should be R1.2 crore—the same exercise can be done in terms of tax payable, it makes no difference. Instead of, at this point, the central and/or state GST inspectors descending upon the trader/manufacturer, the best solution is that they consult each other on why they have come to different conclusions on the same business’s turnover. If the matter is not resolved satisfactorily, one of them—the Centre or the state—can be assigned to direct questions to the trader/manufacturer and its assessment will ordinarily have to be accepted by both. All of this, and various variations of it, can be codified into the software and/or customary protocols on how to deal with assessees where there are differences in opinion on the tax payable. In any case, given just a very small proportion of tax declarations are picked up for verification/scrutiny, the chances of assessees actually having to deal with inspectors, either central or state-level, are quite low. Also, since the central GST authorities will be dealing with assessees all over the country, their database will throw up a smaller number of assessees that need to be quizzed in comparison to the state authorities whose universe is restricted to units in the state. This is something the Centre and states need to keep in mind over today and tomorrow’s deliberations on dual control.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
India’s manufacturing contracted in December 2016 as cash crunch due to demonetisation hurt demand as well as output in the first month of ban on old high denomination notes, a private survey showed on Monday. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 49.6 in December from November's 52.3, marking the first contraction in the last 12 months. A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while areading below 50 shows contraction. "Having held its ground in November following the unexpected withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes from circulation, India’s manufacturing industry slid into contraction at the end of 2016," said Pollyanna De Lima, economist at IHS Markit and author of the report. The decline in the index is the sharpest since November 2008, the beginning of the global financial meltdown.government on November 8 announced cancellation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, withdrawing from circulation over 86 per cent of the currency. Due to the resultant cash crunch, output and new orders fell for first time in one year, the survey showed. Economists have slashed their growth estimates for India to less than 7 per cent for the current financial year following demonetisation, well below 7.6 per cent recorded last year.
Blaming the withdrawal of high-value rupee notes November 8 onwards for the downturn, survey participants said cash shortage and lower workplace activity resulted in shedding of jobs and falling buying levels in December 2016. Operating conditions deteriorated in both consumer and intermediate goods categories, the report said. Businesses also highlighted challenging conditions in external markets with a fall in new business from abroad ending a six-month sequence of growth. "With the window for exchanging notes having closed at the end of December, January data will be key in showing whether the sector will see a quick rebound," De Lima said. The Reserve Bank of India has said that the impact of demonetisation will be transient. It had not cut interest rates in the monetary policy review last month but banks have started slashing interest rates after they raised low cost deposits following demonetisation.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The target under Make in India is to create 10 crore new jobs by 2020. This can be achieved only by taking the manufacturing sector’s growth to 25 per cent of the country’s GDP, said Jagat Shah, Head (Economic Development Agency), Cluster Pulse. Speaking to select media here, Shah said the manufacturing sector’s growth, which stood at 9 per cent of India’s GDP in 1950-51, stagnated at 15 per cent level for over 2 decades. “In our analysis, even though we say there has been a 7-8 per cent growth, we view this as ‘jobless growth’ for, manufacturing as a percentile of GDP was not increasing. “In the last two years, it has improved to 17.1 per cent and this is primarily due to the ‘Make in India’ drive. But we are still low compared to our neighbouring countries such as Thailand (where 35 per cent of GDP is from manufacturing), China (32 per cent), Phillippines (30 per cent) Indonesia (29 per cent). We have a long way to go,” he added. He clarified that ‘Make in India’ is not about getting foreign companies or large corporates to set up business here. “Such companies cannot create jobs. Even in manufacturing, only the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can create jobs. “Again, surveys show that it has not been easy to do business in India. The Centre is taking all steps to address this by making the system transparent; and digitisation would be the way to go.”
That said, Shah pointed out that under the MUDRA Scheme, the total disbursement in the last 11 months touched a high of Rs. 1,41,000 crore to 3.2 crore individuals. “The life of these 3.2 crore people is bound to change if they survive in business for 1,000 days,” he said and explained: “It is believed that if one survives for 1,000 days in business then they would not have to worry about the growth for the next 2 -3 decades.” A task force is working to identify those SMEs that would make it, but it is still early days, he said in reply to a question.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
Leader of Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly (ALA) Debabrata Saikia has termed the demonetization as country’s biggest-ever scam that has been taxing the holders of 94 per cent white money just to unearth only six per cent black money.
Addressing the media at Rajiv Bhawan in the city today, Saikia said: “According to the RBI, the amount of black money in circulation in the country is just six per cent. However, the demonetization has been harassing people who hold 94 per cent (white) money in the country. This is not all. Most of the people who are caught with black money are BJP leaders in various parts of the country, and even Prime Minister Narendra Narendra Modi’s home State Gujarat is no exception. There has been no probe on the incident of Rs 500 crore having been deposited in Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank, of which BJP president Amit Shah is the Director, on the eve of demonetization. This is not all. Many BJP leaders purchased property before demonetization and deposited cash in various banks. According to a survey, 48 lakh workers lost their jobs in the unorganized sector, and 4 lakh other workers lost job in textile industry. In Gujarat, three lakh jewelry workers, ten lakh construction workers, thousands of jute mill workers had to lose their jobs.”
Saikia said: “The Prime Minister did seek 50 days to normalize the post-demonetization situation. However, the situation is such that till now 50 per cent of the two lakh ATMs in the country run dry. Even many of the ATMS have not been changed for 2000-rupee denomination. What baffles many in the country is as to why the Prime Minister is shying away from facing the Opposition in Parliament on the issue of demonetization by respecting Parliamentary democracy? He, however, opts to address the public. In contrast to this, during the UPA tenure then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did discuss the 2G and 3G scams in Parliament as per the device sought by the Opposition. How come Modi shies away from discussing this issue on the same device?”
Saikia said that he would like to ask the Prime Minister some queries: “How much black money has been unearthed since November 8? What is the economic loss to the nation on account of demonetization? How many jobs and livelihoods have been lost since the announcement of the policy? How many lives have been lost due to demonetization? Why has the government not paid any compensation to the families of the deceased? What was the process of consultation and preparedness followed prior to demonetization? Why were experts, economists or the RBI not consulted before unleashing this draconian policy upon the people? Will the government place the names of all persons, institutions, and entities that deposited Rs. 25 lakh or more in bank accounts in the six-month period preceding November 8?”
Saikia said: “We’re not in favour of circulation of black money. We also want to put an end to black money, but not the way the BJP government is doing. During the last two years in the UPA regime we did recover Rs 1.30850 lakh crore black money without any hassle.” Another Congress leader Kishore Bhattacharya said: “It doesn’t look good for a prime minister to talk on an Opposition leader like Rahul Gandhi. He should keep it in mind that he’s the Prime Minister, not an RSS leader. What he’s done in 30 months of the 60-month period he had sought from the people of the country? What’s he done in the 30 months?”
SOURCE: The Sentinel Assam
Demonetisation has worsened the business mood for domestic shipping and logistics companies, already struggling with volatile freight rates. With cargo-owners not ready to commit for the usual quarterly, annual or bi-annual contracts in the year ahead, uncertainty in terms of revenue visibility is setting into domestic logistics companies. “There is a fear of the unknown among cargo owners. First came demonetisation, then was remonetisation (issue of new currency notes) and we do not know what comes next. Due to this, cargo owners are not ready to commit for longer contracts. They all want vessel-to-vessel basis contracts,” said a top official with SICAL Logistics. “No one wants to commit and this is impacting businesses significantly.”
SICAL has taken a 15 per cent revenue hit in the past 50 days due to demonetisation. This would increase by another five percentage points in the coming days, said the official. “The morale is completely down. No one is ready to make long-term commitments. Apart from containers, no one is committing on even break-bulk commodities such as steel goods or bulk commodities like iron ore and fertiliser shipment,” said Kiran Kamat, managing director of Link Shipping and Management System. “A low freight rate was already hurting business. Cargo owners’ dilemma on committing is making things worse,” said the top official with SICAL. “Shifting to e-transactions will take time. All are not geared for it,” said an official with Mumbai-based Bhavani Shipping. Some in the secot, however, think the situation will not last. And, that the impact of demonetisation would differ from company to company.
“We did not face any challenges in terms of renewal of contracts. Demonetisation did jolt the market and also caused disruption but the markets are beginning to come back to normal since last week,” said Prakash Tulsiani, executive director (operations), Allcargo Logistics.The integrated logistics company owns five vessels and operates on coastal moving bulk, break-bulk and project cargo. It says 90-95 per cent of its transactions are via cheques.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
Investments have fallen sharply post demonetisation, slipping to their lowest under the current Narendra Modi-led NDA government, data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed. In the quarter to December, new investment proposals worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore were observed, CMIE said, contrasting it with the average Rs 2.36 lakh crore worth of new investments per quarter in the preceding nine quarters of the Modi government. "Data suggests that demonetisation has hit the pace of announcement of new investment proposals during the quarter ended December," Mahesh Vyas, managing director and CEO of CMIE said. The data showed 227 new investment proposals worth Rs 81,800 crore were announced during this quarter before the demonetisation on November 8. Only 177 investment proposals worth Rs 43,700 crore were made between November 9 and December 31. The contrast is starker when adjusted for the number of days in each period. "The quarter consisted of 39 days before demonetisation and 53 days after. Evidently, the quarter had more days in the post-demonetisation period and yet, investments during this period were lesser than in the shorter pre-demonetisation period," Vyas said.
Only 404 new investment proposals were observed during the quarter ended December, the lowest number of new projects announced in a quarter in over a decade, CMIE analysis showed. "On an average, 7-8 projects are announced per day. The post-demonetisation fall in this average to just three projects per day reflects a new level of anxiety on the investments front," Vyas said, adding that the investment climate is expected to remain weak for some more time.
Stalled projects
Projects involving investments worth Rs 77,700 crore were stalled during the December quarter, 38 per cent higher than the value of projects stalled during the preceding quarter. "Eighty per cent of the investments that were stalled during the December quarter were stalled because of lack of environmental and non-environmental government clearances. Lack of government clearances was the biggest factor responsible for stalling of projects under implementation," Vyas wrote. Unfavourable market conditions and lack of promoter interest account for only about 11 per cent of the total projects stalled during the quarter of December, CMIE estimated. "Six of the 16 projects that gave reasons for stalling their projects in the December quarter mentioned reasons that imply an adverse business environment. It is important that such projects are revived and saved from remaining stalled for long," Vyas said.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
India’s peak demand for power is expected to rise from the current level of 153 GW to about 690 GW by 2035-36, according to the Perspective Transmission Plan of the Draft National Electricity Plan prepared by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The CEA is the policy ideation and demand projection arm of the Ministry of Power. The report notes that this “can at best be an indicative plan giving broad transmission corridors across various regions and possible international exchange corridors.” According to the CEA, the demand projection till 2022-36 includes the 14th Plan (2022-2027), 15th Plan (2027-2032) and first three years of 16th (2032-2036) Plan. The massive increase in power generation and transmission infrastructure would require an expenditure of Rs. 2,60,000 crore during the 13th Plan (2017-2022) alone. This also includes an estimate of Rs. 30,000 crore in the transmission system at below 220kV voltage level. The generation projections under the draft National Electricity Plan note that there will be no need for coal-based power generation capacity addition in the country from 2017 to 2022. Effectively this suggests that all new projects during the 13th Plan need to be restricted to the transmission sector.
Integration of renewable energy into the grid will be a focus area, according to report. The transmission corridors between various regions are sufficient to cater to variable dispatches of wind and solar, both during evening peak and noon time (when solar dispatches are high), provided the gas generation is reduced to zero and coal based generation are also brought down as shown under various scenarios, the report said. The analysis assumes that, the all-India peak dispatch from wind would be 50 per cent of the wind installed capacity due to spatial diversity. It is also assumed that the all-India dispatch from solar plants would be 60 per cent of the installed capacity during summer months and 50 per cent during rest of the months.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
The rupee opened nearly 10 paise higher at 68.11 against dollar on Tuesday on account of selling of American currency by bank and exporters. Meanwhile, domestic equity markets opened on a flat note on Tuesday following firm Asian cues. The BSE Sensex opened 21.47 points, or 0.08 per cent, up at 26,616.92, while NSE Nifty opened 16.55 points, or 0.20 per cent, higher at 8,196.05. The local currency started 2017 on a weaker note and plunged 30 paise to 68.22 against the US dollar on Monday.
According to Nirmal Bang Commodities, rupee is likely to trade in the range of 68.18-68.45 against dollar on Tuesday. On the further movement of rupee, Mustafa Nadeem, Chief Executive Officer, Epic Research said, “Indian rupee against dollar may continue to appreciate in near term. Technically there has been already a golden cross as short term moving averages are trading above all higher duration averages indicating any fall in recent scenario can boost bulls and maintain buy on dips. Further Broader range for USD INR is expected to maintain positive momentum and overall next resistance is seen at 68.60-68.80 while support is at 67.8 67.6.”
Foreign institutional investors continued to remain net sellers in domestic equity markets on January 2. They sold shares worth Rs 678.87 crore with gross purchases and gross sales of Rs 2231.13 crore and Rs 2910 crore, respectively, according to the data available with depository NSDL. Government bonds rose for a fourth day on Monday, as lending rate cuts by some domestic banks sparked expectations of a near-term policy easing by the Monetary Policy Committee. The benchmark 6.97% 2026 bond yield fell to 6.41 per cent as increased expectation of rate cuts in the near term spurred purchases in bonds.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala believes crude oil prices will not move beyond $60 a barrel in 2017. The black gold remained highly volatile in 2016, as Brent prices fell to a multi-year low of under $28 a barrel last January and struggled to breach the $50 mark until the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) deal pushed the prices higher. The projection was in line with what other market experts have been saying.
During the previous calendar year, oil prices surged 47 per cent to $53.41 a barrel from $36.33 a barrel reported in January 2016. In an interview with ETNow, Jhunjhunwala said, “Crude prices will not move beyond $60 a barrel in 2017.” Almost 64 per cent of the analysts polled by ETMarkets.com felt crude oil prices could stay between $55 and $60 a barrel, while 21 per cent felt it could surpass the $60 mark in the same period.
Market experts said one of the biggest challenges for oil prices in 2017 will be whether the countries that signed up to cut production deliver on that agreement or not. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) last month agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels a day (bpd) for six months from January 1, with top exporter Saudi Arabia cutting it by around 4,86,000 bpd. On December 10, non-Opec producers – including Russia – agreed to reduce output by 5.58 lakh bpd, short of the initial target of 6 lakh bpd, but still the largest-ever contribution by non-Opec nations. Opec has a poor record of sticking to supply agreements. SMC Investment Advisors in a research note said, “In the 17 production cuts since 1982, Opec members have reduced output by an average of just 60 per cent of their commitments.”
SOURCE: The Economic Times
Facts speak as they are eternal and irrefutable, but opinions, being potentially divisive, can vary. Let us do a fact check on Pakistani Army’s administration and operations. Administratively, it is divided into different regiments and operationally has 11 corps with territorial jurisdictions. Of the 11 corps’ headquarters, Quetta’s XII Corps, with two infantry divisions—41 and 33 (29 Brigade, Zhob; 60 Brigade, Sibi; 205 Brigade, Loralai; and Divisional Artillery, Zhob)—is headed by a comparatively junior Lieutenant General Riaz (Baloch Regiment; retiring September 23, 2019), placed 19th out of 27 serving Lieutenant Generals of Pakistani Army. Riaz, also the commander of Southern Command Quetta, is responsible for western Sind, south and southwest Afghan border of Pakistan, and for reinforcement of eastern formation as required (as took place during the India-Pakistan stand-off in 2002). That aside, Riaz is committed to internal security against the separatist Baloch national army.
Thus, Riaz is a sector commander of a part of Pakistani territory. He is neither Army Chief (as of now) nor the prime minister (he has not yet resorted to a coup, unlike some of his “illustrious” predecessors) and he also doesn’t hold any other civilian constitutional position of the country, which traditionally had been under “forced” political and administrative grip of the Army.
Against this background, it is surprising that a “junior” sector commander would have “extra-command” to sermonise on an issue which, following the civilised world’s conventional state structure, would be the privilege and prerogative of the prime minister or at least the nation’s ministry of external affairs. But then, that is Army’s Pakistan. What did Riaz say? And why? The Quetta commander, being an estimated 55,000-troop boss, has given clarion call to India to “shun enmity” and “join the $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) along with Iran, Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries and enjoy its benefits.”
But then we all know that the real Pakistan, at best a weak outpost, is serving under a terrorist and fundamentalist Army, and that traditionally the Generals thereof have shown enough “guts” to show off that they trust no civilian of their country except the military high command. It is an Army which betrayed and battered its own people in 1971. It is an Army which put its elected prime minister to sword in 1979. It is an Army which proved its valour and bravery by inflicting immeasurable misery on their own Bengali-speaking people, ruthlessly killing tribal populace of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), en mass massacre of Balochis and outsourcing its professionalism to terrorists and fundamentalists to spread hatred and fear, and organising target killing in India and Afghanistan! It is an Army which today is “universally lauded” for its “International Academy for coup training” and “International School of terrorism, fundamentalist handling and suicide bombing by illiterates.” However, what comes as a real revelation is that the all-weather friend of this murderous Army, with an inglorious and dishonourable record, happens to be a country with a 5,000-year-old civilisation. Yes, it is the Han of the Hwang Ho and Yangtsze-Kiang valley who happens to have taken the position of an enlightened friend, philosopher, guide of Pakistan Army.
So much so that even the prima donna amongst the Chinese media believes the “sincerity” of a junior Lt General, and advises India that “the best way to reduce hostilities is by establishing economic cooperation … to put aside what cannot be reached by a consensus!” Indeed, so profound is the impression created by a junior, remote-area, sector commander, on its all-weather friend, that the Chinese official mouthpiece media instantaneously takes cue to describe and prescribe a mutually-beneficial economic roadmap for India. That India should try to “boost its export and slash its trade deficit with China via new trade routes.” As if joining the CPEC would be the panacea for all the ills and evils of the northwest frontier of India as has been suggested by the Chinese media: “That the northern part of India bordering Pakistan and Jammu & Kashmir will gain more economic growth momentum if India joins the project.”
China’s deep concern for the area referred to is understandable. Why? Because the area is infested with military, mullah, militant, ghazi, fidayeen, lashkar. That is the geography, through which the proposed CPEC would pass—inhabited or surrounded by an eternally hostile, illiterate, religious fanatic, turbulent, violent demography which faced innumerable invasions down the ages, but rarely managed to beat them or reverse the tide. And there is nothing to believe that historical factors and forces would be any different in the foreseeable future. Far from it. Hence the need for a balancing factor of India, to take and face bullets, in case of flare up.
For India, however, it is sovereignty and the Constitution that the Chinese-promoted CPEC has brazenly trampled upon? Can any government of India (irrespective of the party in power) be seen to be fiddling, or compromising, with J&K territory, being an integral part thereof? Several adverse consequences, therefore, follow in case India falls into the trap. First, legally, India would violate its own law. China will straight-away be a part, inside J&K, with full “Indian help.” Militarily too, India will be outflanked, with “India’s collusion.” Geopolitically and in international fora, none will heed India’s point in case it is fingered by a Sino-Paki axis. Everyone will say: “It is your creation. You have joined them. Do not cry foul.” Also, India’s joining can only be perceived as if “Delhi is not serious about terror problem.” Indians themselves are likely to complain that there is a “hiatus between what is professed and what is practised by the government of India!”
And finally, China’s One Belt, One Road, through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, would amount to “Three Belt, Three Road” of the three-nation club (Beijing, Islamabad, Delhi) running over, and brazenly breaching India’s sovereignty and territory. Seen in juxtaposition, since the Chinese see J&K as a disputed territory, will the Chinese accept an (identical) reverse situation in Tibet or Taiwan? In case a CPEC-type bilateral programme of two foreign countries passes through a disputed Tibet or Taiwan, and China is asked, or offered, to join for “connectivity, commerce and convenience,” how would the Chinese mandarins react? Will they say yes or no?
SOURCE: The Financial Express
India and the Mercosur bloc, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, have stepped up efforts to expand their preferential trade agreement (PTA) to make greater inroads into the other’s market. The two sides, in a recent meeting, exchanged lists of items where each wants greater market access. “We are at present going through the Mercosur’s list of demand. The group wants lower duties in both industrial and agricultural products. We have to weigh our options carefully,” a government official told BusinessLine.
A PTA is a limited free trade agreement where partner countries reduce import duties on a few identified products for the other. While the PTA between India and Mercosur is presently limited to just 450 products, the two sides have raised their ambitions manifold and are now aiming at providing preferential access to about 3,000 items. “Going in for an expanded PTA with the Mercosur is in line with India’s objective of trading more with Latin America and diversifying its trade beyond the EU and the US,” the official said. India’s exports to the bloc in 2015-16 were $3.4 billion, while imports were $6.6 billion. This was just a fraction of the country’s bilateral trade with the US valued at $68.6 billion and the EU at $115 billion in the same year.
India wants to export processed foods, more engineering goods and a wider range of pharmaceuticals to the Mercosur. Under the existing agreement signed in 2009 India has brought down duties in the range of 10 per cent to 100 per cent on 452 items. These include meat products, chemicals, raw hides and skins, leather articles, wool, cotton yarn, glass and glassware, iron and steel, machinery and equipments, optical, photographic and cinematographic apparatus.
India has preferential access in the Mercosur for organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, essential oils, plastics & articles, rubber and rubber products, tools and implements, machinery items, electrical machinery and equipments. “In the expanded PTA, not only will the number items covered be greater, the margin of preference will be much more,” the official added.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
Bangladesh finance minister Abdul Muhith has assured garment exporters that the government would favourably look at their demand for an additional five per cent cash incentive, by relaxing a previous condition. As per the condition, an exporting unit qualified to receive the additional incentive, only if it exported worth more than $3.5 million per year. Following the assurance by the finance minister, readymade garment exporters are likely to get 10 per cent cash incentive instead of 5 per cent they are getting currently. The demand was earlier made by the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the assurance was given to a delegation from the two trade bodies. Additionally, the minister also gave a positive response to another demand of charging flat energy rates instead of the increased rates in the peak hours, until improvement in the power situation.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Vietnam’s biggest export market, the US which consumes 50 percent of Vietnam’s total textile & garment export turnover, if TPP takes effect, analysts estimate that Vietnam’s textile & garment export turnover would increase by 30-40 percent in the first year of the agreement implementation, and would increase by twofold after three to four years. In October 2016 alone, Vietnam exported $9.476 billion worth of textile & garment products to the US. This means that export turnover would reach $16 billion by 2018, an increase of $3 billion, and to $20 billion by 2020.
However, the figures may be unattainable after Donald Trump, who takes office as the 45th US President on January 20, 2017, is against the TPP because of concern about jobs for US citizens, as the domestic industry will have to compete with imports from TPP countries. Truong Van Cam, Vitas’ secretary general, said that Vietnam will still see its textile & garment exports to the US increasing, with or without TPP.
In recent years, the export turnover to the market has been growing steadily by 12-13 percent per annum, while the US import turnover has been growing by 3 percent only. Vietnam’s products just account for 9 percent of the US total textile & garment imports. According to Le Quoc An, a textile & garment expert, and former chair of Vitas, there are three possible scenarios for Vietnam.
First, TPP could take effect, but the content of the agreement would change. If so, Vietnam’s export turnover to the US would be 50 percent lower than initially designed. Second, TPP fails. If so, Vietnam’s exports to the US will still enjoy MFN like other WTO members. In this case, exports would depend on US economic performance Third, there is no TPP, and the Trump administration imposes a monitoring scheme and anti-dumping duties on imports from Asia, including Vietnam. If so, Vietnam’s exports would decrease. Nguyen Duc Thanh, head of VEPR, is of the view that the US withdrawal from TPP won’t affect Vietnam’s exports to the market. However, textile & garment exports would not increase as sharply as initially planned.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
With the recent growth in the Chinese garment industry there is a demand for yarn due to which Vietnam’s cotton industry likely to see uptick. Vietnam’s cotton imports to increase in the first few months of 2016-17. It is estimated that imports will experience an increase of 18 percent. The Chinese garment industry has thrived on the demand from the US and Europe for cheaply manufactured clothes. In China this industry focuses on produces finished textile goods, which explains the demand for the yarn from Vietnam.
Some experts and industry watchers are worried that China’s internal cotton production has increased to the point where its prices will be low enough to render Vietnam’s cotton unproductive. However as many in China increasingly turn to the cities for employment and the urban lifestyle the Chinese Communist Party is having a harder time meeting its agricultural labor needs. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the garment industry. One thing that could have an outsized effect is US production. The USDA recently released a report that said that US cotton consumption is down while US production is on the rise. The resulting surplus could be enough to drive prices down to the point where textile heavy economies start feeling real impacts. Many are also worried that trade policies will be altered by President-Elect Trump. Such a move could introduce volatility into an already fragile market. This would be another way the US could influence the East Asian cotton industry. The situation in East Asian garment industries is particularly interesting because spinning prices are so low right now. As a result many expected demand for spun yarn to take a hit. However the industry beat expectations and returns in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and other places have been higher than expected.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
With the technology movement in Vietnam, millions of workers in the textile sector to get affected, according to a survey by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vienam on labour market trends.This is one of the major downsides of the technological revolution that has for many years also greatly benefited people and economies. To ensure jobs, not only the State and enterprises, but also the workers themselves have to improve their skills to adapt. Dao Thi Thu Hien, chief of office of Canon Viet Nam, said that seven years ago, Canon Thang Long Plant in Dong Anh District employed 13,000 workers, but the number had dropped to 8,000 with automation, while turnover and production remain stable. According to Hien, with robots and computing advancements replacing workers, especially those performing repetitive tasks, low-skilled workers are the most harmed.
Deputy General Director of the Garment No.10 Corporation, Nguyen Thien Ly, said that the trend of using technology to replace human labour is indispensable in order to reduce costs and compete. In recent years, the company had to invest in equipment to cut labour costs, she said. For example, an automatic cutting machine could replace 12-15 employees, said Lý. Over the past year, the garment industry faced difficulties due to the increase of labor costs in Vietnam while there were fewer preferential tax policies so application of new technologies replacing labour will partly help solve this difficulty.
According to a survey by the World Labour Organisation (ILO), to meet the trend of integration, some foreign-invested garment factories in Vietnam put advanced technology in use last year to replace 10 to 15 workers in each stage of production. In the coming years, 86 percent of Vietnamese workers are at high risk of losing their jobs to automation, according to the ILO’s study. Robots will replace three-quarters of the workers, the study said. This requires Vietnam to develop a comprehensive and synchronous strategy, said Vu Tien Loc, chairman of VCCI.
Dao Van Vinh, director of the Institute of Labour and Social Sciences under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), said that globalisation and the scientific and technological revolution are posing challenges for the labour market. Over million of workers in the country had undergone training and gotten diplomas and certificates. But the country still lacks skilled workers as well as corporate governance, finance, banking, information technology and automation. According to statistics of the Vietnam National Productivity Institute, the Vietnamese are assessed to be hard working and dedicated labourers, but labour productivity remains lower than in other ASEAN bloc countries. Vietnam would take many more decades to catch up with them as well as with other advanced countries in the world, Vinh said. The working environment at enterprises was a good school and enterprises should actively participate in the training process to meet the demand of the labour market. Most employees have to be retrained when they are recruited. Enterprises are looking forward to State support in training qualified workers.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The general department said the nation had total trade value of 349.2 billion USD this year, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent. However, trade value in December dropped by 0.6 percent to 32.3 billion USD, including 16.3 billion USD in import value and 16 billion USD in export value. Vietnam had 175.94 billion USD in export value, a year-on-year surge of 8.6 percent and 173.26 billion USD in import value, a year-on-year increase of 4.6 percent in 2016. This year, the nation gained trade surplus 2.68 billion USD, while last year, it had trade deficit of 3.55 billion USD.
Groups of products with high export value this year did not witness many changes from the previous years, the general department said. This year, telephones and their components had the highest export value at 34.51 billion USD, followed by 23.56 billion USD from textile and garment exports, 3.3 percent higher than last year. Other products with large export value included the group of computers, electronics and their components (18.48 billion USD), the group of equipment, machines, tools and parts (10.48 billion USD), footwear (12.92 billion USD), seafood (7.02 billion USD) and the group of transportation means and their parts (6 billion USD).
Difficulties in market and price this year made export value of crude oil drop by 36.7 percent to 2.35 billion USD, the general department said. In 2016, the group of machines, equipment, tools and parts had the largest import value at 28.09 billion USD, 1.8 percent higher than last year. It was followed by the group of computers, electronics and their parts with total import value of 27.8 billion USD. Import value of telephones and their parts dropped by 0.3 percent year-on-year to 10.56 billion USD. Other products such as steel, material for plastic, material and sub-material for textile, garments and footwear production had high import value of between 5 billion USD and 10.5 billion USD. In 2016, Vietnam showed growth in import volume of petrol and oil at 14.2 percent to 11.47 million tonnes. It, however, also saw a reduction in import value of these products at 11.7 percent to 4.71 billion USD compared to the previous year.
SOURCE: The Vietnam Net
Nigeria is missing out among the selected 15 African countries on the share of cotton in product exports by the World Cotton Market on cottonguide.org, as cotton farming in Nigeria due to lack of improved seeds, access to extension services and low prices of the produce have been facing major setback over the years. As a result, Nigeria is said to be losing about $6.5 billion export opportunities in cotton annually. It’s contribution to GDP dropping from 25 percent to 4 percent. It has also been revealed that the country spends $4 billion annually importing textiles and readymade clothing, which could have gone into the pocket of Nigerian farmers if the industry is revived.
Cotton farmers, especially in Northern Nigeria, have been lamenting over recording low yield and returns despite working hard and investing so much in the production of cotton. This development forced many farmers to divert attention to the cultivation of other crops like maize, sorghum, soybean and cassava. Today, cotton which is essentially produced for its fibre, which is universally used as a textile raw material served as an important commodity in the world economy and is being used more than any other fibre.
Considering the arable fertile land Nigeria possesses, with the important use of cotton across the country and the world, coupled with states like Kaduna, Kastina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, Osun and others where cotton grows, farmers say Nigeria can achieve 60 to 70 percent of what America is getting today . If government at various levels could provide improved seeds, fertilizer, modern equipment like tractors for clearing of land and give right supports. In order to revive the cotton industry, stakeholders said that Nigerian authorities must adopt biotechnology cotton, which they say has a high potential for added value.
The industry will continue to witness tremendous decline in production of high yielding, pest and disease-resistant variety such as the biotechnology cotton failed to be fully adopted by the Federal Government, according to stakeholders. Government need to now graciously revisit those schemes and ensure that there is cotton corporation just like the board as a guide because there is no way farmers can produce cotton without government intervention. A cotton farmer from Zamfara, Dinladi Hassan Dinladi, said that farmers are no longer cultivating cotton because of low yields, lack of competitive price and market, and no improved seeds to replace the conventional ones. Since the dissolution of the Marketing Board, there has been no particular cotton market in Zamfara where farmers can take their cotton to be graded to determine the levels of the quality.
Before the dissolution of Marketing Board, cotton used to be graded and rated A, B, C and D according to its quality. This is because any contaminated cotton will be rejected right at the spot. These are done for farmers to get value for their produce. The government is urged to provide special intervention funds for cotton farmers, which would enable them to be committed to cotton farming and production. The abandoning of cotton resulted to textile industry in Nigeria going moribund. If cotton industry is revived, the textile industry will come alive and if the textile industry is revived, cotton production will be on the rise. The two industries need each other. So government must do something about it as a matter of urgency.
The African countries that share of cotton in product exports by the World Cotton Market on cottonguide.org, are Burkina Faso ranked number one along with Benin with exports of 71.5 percent and 63.2 percent while Mali, Zimbabwe and Togo possessed exports of 35.6 percent, 12.4 percent and 11.7 percent respectively. However, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda recorded exports of 6.4 percent and 5.7 per cent respectively while Cameroon and Zambia also accounted for exports of 5.6 percent and 5.4 percent respectively. Meanwhile, Malawi, Sudan and Cote d’lvoire have exports of 3.8 percent, 2.5 per cent and 2.2 percent while Burundi, Ghana and Central African Republic possessed exports of 1.8 percent, 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Total cotton output in 31 autonomous regions and municipalities in China, including the main cotton producing province of Xinjiang, decreased by 4.6 per cent or 260,000 tons in 2016 compared with that in 2015. This decrease was despite the increase in yield per unit area, according to a bulletin released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China. The Bulletin on the National Cotton Output in 2016 is based on the result of nationwide statistical survey in 31 Chinese provinces. The cotton sown area of Xinjiang was acquired through remote sensing survey. The total cotton sown area stood at 3,376,100 thousand hectares, down by 11.1 per cent or a decrease of 420,500 thousand hectares compared with 2015, the Bureau said. However, the cotton yield per unit area amounted to 1,582.5 kg/ha, up by 7.2 per cent or an increase of 106.5 kg/ha compared with 2015. The total cotton output accounted for 5,343,000 tons, down by 4.6 per cent or a decrease of 260,000 tons compared with 2015.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
China’s leading technical fibre and textile manufacturer Labon is establishing its first US facility in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, which will begin operations this month. Labon has purchased a 15,700-square-foot facility to utilise raw materials for producing fibres in the country. The project is expected to bring $3.1 million in capital investment. Shanghai Labon Technical Fiber Co., Ltd. expects to create 23 new jobs at its new manufacturing unit. The Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved job development credits related to the new project. “Labon is excited to launch our first operations in the US in Orangeburg County. Between the skilled workforce and friendly business climate, this decision was easy for us. This development will allow us, not only to accommodate our continued business growth, but better serve our customers as well,” said Hongxin Chen, general manager, Labon.
Established in Shanghai, China in 2005, Labon specialises in the research, development and manufacturing of technical fibres and textiles for use across a variety of applications, including sealing, friction, hand protection and flame-retardant products. “We welcome this quality international company. Labon’s decision to locate in Orangeburg County once again validates our quality workforce, superb location and robust utility network. We are truly grateful,” said Johnnie Wright Sr., chairman, Orangeburg County Council. “Over 60 per cent of the announced capital investment here in our region over the past two years has been from foreign-owned enterprises. Today, South Carolina and, specifically, Orangeburg County celebrate another foreign direct investment win for our communities. Congratulations to Labon on their first US location. We look forward to their successes and watching them grow for many years to come,” said Mike Brenan, Chairman, Central South Carolina Alliance.
SOURCE: The Technical Textile
Buyer delegations from across the world will be attending the third edition of the Morocco International Home Textile Fair that will take place in Casablanca, North Africa from February 24 – 27. National and international companies will promote their skills to form new partnerships with various international brands that will attend the fair. Pyramids Group Fair and Expotim are organising the Morocco Hometex. Items like bed linen, curtains, bath textiles, upholstered furniture, kitchen textiles and more will be exhibited at the event. “Thousands of professional buyers come together at Morocco Home along with our Buyer Delegation Programme from our target countries such as Italy, Spain, Quatar, Gambia, Ghana, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal, Kuwait, Guinea, Jordan, Algeria, France and Tunisia,” said the organiser.
Exhibitors from countries like Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, USA, Portugal, Greece, Italy, China, Pakistan and India had attended the second edition of the fair. Over 12,308 local and international visitors from West Africa, North Africa, Middle East and Gulf Countries, European countries such as Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, England and America had attended the Morocco Style Fair that was also held in Casablaca.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Bright conventional spinning nylon-6 offers in Asia surged US$240 a ton in the second week of December. Offers for semi-dull high-speed spinning chip were up US$270 a ton on the week. Taiwan‐origin high-speed chip offers were hiked by another US$200 a ton. High-end engineering plastics grade chip prices moved up US$260 a ton on the week. Nylon chip prices skyrocket in line with surging caprolactum, given firm crude oil and benzene values. Producers operated cautiously, leading to tight supply and low inventory. In the meantime, converters trimmed operation and made rigid procurement. Coupled with healthy demand for engineering plastics/film grades, nylon chip market was bolstered a bit. Thus, supply‐demand fundamentals are expected to be moderate. And in turn, nylon chip markets are likely to inch up mildly following spike.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Director-General of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry Khalid bin Butti Al Hajri during a meeting with a high-level delegation of Serbian senior trade and economic representatives headed by presided over by Milos Perisic, charge d'affaires at the Serbian Embassy in the UAE said that the emirate of Sharjah has deep economic ties with Serbia and seeks to strengthen investment and trade ties with Serbia. The delegation representatives of garment, leather and food industries, met with investors and businessmen from the UAE, to discuss ways of supporting the unique economic ties between Sharjah and Serbia through developing trade relations and opening new investment avenues for UAE investors in Serbia.
The delegation made a presentation about their national products as well as incentives and facilities offered by their country to the UAE business community. The two sides also discussed the services and facilities offered by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the body's willingness to support Serbian companies and organisations planning to invest in the emirate. Al Hajeri said that the business communities in both countries need to identify areas of mutual interest and co-operation to promote investment opportunities and exchanges of knowledge and information that encourage investors. Expressing his country's keenness to promote economic ties with Sharjah, Milos Perisic invited Emirati investors to visit Serbia to explore investment opportunities, in garment, leather and food industries in particular.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Oil prices rose in the first trading hours of 2017, buoyed by hopes that a deal between Opec and non-Opec members to cut production, which kicked in on Sunday, will be effective in draining the global supply glut. International Brent crude oil prices were trading up 31 cents, or 0.55 per cent, at $57.13 a barrel at 0203 GMT on Tuesday - close to last year's high of $57.89 per barrel, hit on December 12. Oil markets were closed on Monday after the New Year's holiday. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices were up 32 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $54.04, not far from last year's high of $54.51 reached on Dec. 12. Jan. 1 marked the official start of the deal agreed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and non-Opec member countries such as Russia in November last year to reduce output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day.
Market watchers said January will serve as an indicator for whether the agreement will stick. "Markets will be looking for anecdotal evidence for production cuts," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at Sydney's CMC Markets. "The most likely scenario is Opec and non-Opec member countries will be committed to the deal, especially in early stages." Libya, one of two Opec member countries exempt from cuts, increased its production to 685,000 barrels per day (bpd) as of Sunday, up from around 600,000 a day in December, according to an official from the National Oil Corporation (NOC).
Elsewhere in Opec, member country Oman told customers last week that it will cut its crude term allocation volumes by 5 per cent in March. Non-Opec member Russia's oil production in December remained unchanged at 11.21 million bpd, but it was preparing to cut output by 300,000 bpd in the first half of 2017 in its contribution to the production cut accord.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
