INTERNATIONAL
Two new industrial park for textile and apparel industry planned in Ethiopia
'In terms of skills, Pakistan lags behind Sri Lanka and Bangladesh's garment industries'
The adverse tax structure perhaps has been the reason for curbing the growth of the Indian MMF industry. The lopsided tax structure is a handi-cap according to the industry leaders and based on their pleas Textile Ministry has been interacting and engaging with the Revenue Secretary regularly and have explained them the reason to have a fibre-neutral excise policy in order to grow in the domestic and international market.“I think to large extent we have been able to convince them with the right data and reasoning. And in the coming Budget we expect some benefit coming to the MMF sector” Mr. Rashmi Verma Textile Secretary said here. Addressing the industry leaders at the SRTEPC Export Award Function Mrs. Verma noted that here is tremendous export opportunity globally asChina is vacating textile space in the international markets.Even if we are able to capture10% of the vacated space India can double its MMF exports heal pointed out. Textile Secretary advocated that MMF exporters and SRTEPC should undertake market research and find outwhich are the markets were China is withdrawing and in which product groups and accordingly develop a strategy to penetrate in those markets. She ensured full support ofthe Textile Ministry for carrying out the market research. On the recently announced apparel and made-ups package announced by the Ministry Mrs. Verma noted that it augurs well for the MMF industry. The industry should take advantage of these packages and set-up new units or augment existing capacities as these packages have been offered for a limited period of 3 year she stressed. Stating that luck seems to be in favour of India Mrs. Verma said that based on the fact that with the coming of Mr. Trumpas USA President and not signing the TPP Treaty and China withdrawing from textile space India is faced with tremendous global opportunity. In view of the emerging scenario Textile Secretary called upon the MMF industry to innovate and develop new products and also improve the quality of the export products.
Source: Tecoya Trend
They said that the interest rates in the competitor countries such as China and Vietnam are 5 per cent to 7 per cent. The government should reduce the interest rates for supporting the industry. "Textile and garment industry was severely hit by demonetisation leading several textile units to slash production by 20 per cent to 30 per cent. Industry participants said that the bank interest rates should be reduced to about 5 per cent from the current 12 per cent to 14 per cent. INDORE: Industrialists of Indore, the hub for textile mills and ready-made garments, expect reduction in taxes and interest rates in the upcoming budget 2017 to give a boost to the struggling industry.Madhya Pradesh Textiles Mills Association has demanded the government to put cotton and man-made fibre products in the lowest tax rate slab in the GST, which is expected to be implemented in coming months. The association has also demanded to reduce the excise duty on man-made fibre (MMF) to create a supportive business ecosystem in the state. According to the Madhya Pradesh Textiles Mills Association, the present rate of excise duty on MMF and its products is 12.5 per cent, which makes the products costly as compared to other textile products. Industry participants said that to increase the consumption of man-made fibre as per the National Fibre Policy, the excise duty on MMF and filaments should be reduced from the current 12.5 per cent to 6 per cent. The consumption of MMF in the country is only about 40 per cent as against 70 per cent in the global market.The industry is also demanding to withdraw the import duty on wool fibre as the woollen industry is completely dependent on imports. Rajesh Chardiya, an industrialist said, "The textile industry is labour intensive and requires high capital for running operations.
INDORE: Industrialists of Indore, the hub for textile mills and ready-made garments, expect reduction in taxes and interest rates in the upcoming budget 2017 to give a boost to the struggling industry.Madhya Pradesh Textiles Mills Association has demanded the government to put cotton and man-made fibre products in the lowest tax rate slab in the GST, which is expected to be implemented in coming months.The association has also demanded to reduce the excise duty on man-made fibre (MMF) to create a supportive business ecosystem in the state.According to the Madhya Pradesh Textiles Mills Association, the present rate of excise duty on MMF and its products is 12.5 per cent, which makes the products costly as compared to other textile products.Industry participants said that to increase the consumption of man-made fibre as per the National Fibre Policy, the excise duty on MMF and filaments should be reduced from the current 12.5 per cent to 6 per cent.The consumption of MMF in the country is only about 40 per cent as against 70 per cent in the global market.The industry is also demanding to withdraw the import duty on wool fibre as the woollen industry is completely dependent on imports.Rajesh Chardiya, an industrialist said, "The textile industry is labour intensive and requires high capital for running operations. The government should reduce the interest rates for supporting the industry."Textile and garment industry was severely hit by demonetisation leading several textile units to slash production by 20 per cent to 30 per cent.Industry participants said that the bank interest rates should be reduced to about 5 per cent from the current 12 per cent to 14 per cent. They said that the interest rates in the competitor countries such as China and Vietnam are 5 per cent to 7 per cent.
Source: Nyooz
Speaking on the occasion, Irani made mentioned of Vrindavani Bastra that had been weaved during the days of Srimanta Sankardeva. She spoke of adequate potentials of handloom and textiles industries in Assam. She said that her department would extend all help to Dispur if it took measures for the development of handloom and textiles and generation of employment avenues. She said that the App E-Dhaga is now available in Assamese, and through this App cotton and jute yarn can be bought by weavers. State Handloom and Textile Minister Ranjit Dutta was also present at the meeting. He said that the State Government took measures for the development of handloom and textiles in the State. "The State Government is going to sell the products through the ARTFED," he said, and added: "The National Institute of Fashion Technology will be set up at West Boragaon in a 60-bigha plot of land." MP Bijoya Chakraborty, Handloom and Textiles Commissioner-Secretary Mukti Gogoi, Director Pradip Talukdar and others were present.
Source: The Sentinel
The Government is keen on the rehabilitation of the Anglo French Textiles (AFT) mill and two other textile mills in Puducherry through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy has said. He told presspersons that a committee headed by a retired IAS officer and those in the textile industry had been constituted to go into the proposal. Once a report was available, the government would take steps to rehabilitate the AFT, Swadeshi, and Bharathi mills. The century old AFT mill had remained closed since 2015 following mounting losses, rapid erosion of net worth of the company, and prevailing labour unrest because of non-payment of statutory dues to employees. The company had been facing financial crisis, short of cash even to meet on its day-to-day operations. The Chief Minister said the new industrial policy of the government had started attracting entrepreneurs to the Union Territory. Twenty two enterprises from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry had shown interest in setting up industries in Puducherry and Karaikal regions with a total investment of ₹500 crore. These industries would generate 1,000 jobs. The government-owned Pondicherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment Corporation (PIPDIC) was providing land at low rent and industrial sheds to entrepreneurs to start their units. The industrial zone in Polagam in Karaikal would be used for promoting industries in the private sector.
Monsoon failure
Mr. Narayanasamy said that Puducherry and Karaikal regions had been severely hit by monsoon failure causing heavy crop loss. He said that he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to depute a team to assess the impact of drought in Puducherry and Karaikal and release sufficient funds for giving relief to farmers. A resolution in this regard had been adopted on the floor of the Legislative Assembly. “I will meet Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh during my visit to Delhi next week and persuade him to depute a team and release funds to tackle the drought situation,” he added.
NEET issue
The Government had urged the Centre to exempt the Union Territory from conducting the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for the next five years. He said that NEET had been adopting CBSE-based syllabus. But Puducherry was still in its formative stages. There were not many CBSE schools in the Union Territory and steps were being taken to bring more schools under the ambit of CBSE syllabus, he added.
Source: The Hindu
Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC) has signed four MoUs with the State government with an investment of Rs. 250 crore to create 3,000 new jobs. The MoUs are with regard to establishment of two Chinese companies Leung Fung Textiles and Tian Yuan and two Indian companies Aggarwal Elastics and Manav Packaging in the textile park located at Atchutapuram near here. The agreements were signed at the CII Partnership Summit by Indian partner of Brandix Dora Swamy in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. According to a press release, the new companies will generate around 3,000 jobs.
Source: The Hindu
Weavers and craftsmen from all eight northeastern states on Sunday gathered here for the 1st North East Business Summit to explore the region as a "global destination" for investment. The two-day summit dubbed as "Exploring Opportunities in North East Region" is organised by the Union Textiles Ministry, in association with the Development of North East Region (DoNER) Ministry and the industry Associations FICCI and CII. Nearly 60 textile export houses from across India are participating in the summit. Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani said that there has been around 715 various development projects in the northeastern states including tie ups with countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar and China through economic corridors to ensure that "the 'Act East Policy' under the leadership of Narendra Modi is something that fructifies in front of our very eyes". She said her ministry has sanctioned projects of more than Rs 1,040 crore for the region through textiles promotion schemes of handloom, handicrafts, sericulture and garmenting so that the central government can add to the efforts of the state governments to create more employment opportunities. "The region itself has huge potential for investments, particularly in the field of textiles industry due to its strong traditional skill base and a variety of unique designs and eco friendly products," Irani said. "We are in a position for infusion of Rs 820 crore for support to sericulture in the northeastern states and is estimated that it will impact around 3.95 lakh families of which 70 per cent are women," she said. Further, she also informed that her ministry had launched the "Bunkar Mitra-Handloom Helpline Centre" where professional queries of weavers will be answered by the experts and a mobile app, 'E-Dhaga', developed to address the concerns of individual weavers relating to the availability of raw material, delays in supplies and ensuring stocks in depots. "The mobile app will be a boon for handloom weavers to transact business anytime, anywhere and they can send their indents and payments online through this app," she said. Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said that the two day summit would provide an opportunity to showcase the talents of the weavers, to inculcate upon themselves the job avenues which ultimately becomes self-sustainable. Stating that the central government was concerned on the exodus of youth from the region in search of quality education and jobs, DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh said the business summit will surely open the region to investments in textile industry, adding that his ministry will provide initial venture capital fund for start ups in the region. Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju urged the central government to ensure that the northeastern people should be made to feel that the central government is funding the states not for charity but for its commitment towards developing the region. Stating that India's biggest challenge is "job creation", NITI Aayog Vice Chairma, Arvind Panagariya said that the textile industry is the best sector for providing jobs to unemployed youth.
Source: Business Standard
Shillong: Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani today sought linking of Assam’s potential eri silk with “peace” and Mahatma Gandhi in an attempt to market it to international buyers. “Eri Silk can be linked to as ‘peace silk’ from the land of the Mahatma,” she said while addressing the first investors’ summit for textile industries here. Irani said these icons will be ideal for marketing and the idea can be of huge potential and the industries can find strength in it. Irani’s suggestion is in line with Assam Industries Minister Chandra Mohan Patwary who said that Mahatma Gandhi was “amazed’ at the beautiful patterns by the Assam weavers. “Gandhi wrote in praise that every Assamese woman is a born weaver and she weaves fairy tales in her clothes,” he said.
Muga is famous for its shining golden colour and high tensile strength while Eri is known the world over as the non-violent and peace silk and has the same thermal insulation as that of wool, Patwary said. Assam boasts of producing 48 per cent of the total looms of the country which is about 11.11 lakh and directly and indirectly employing 25 lakh people, according to the loom census 2009. Assam produces 2400 MT of eri silk and 126 MT of Muga silk, constituting about 70 and 98 per cent respectively, of the country’s production every year.
Source: India.com
The state government of Madhya Pradesh will soon bring out a special policy to encourage garment industry in the state. In the last one decade, the state has emerged as one of the hubs of textile industry in India owing to industry-friendly policy of the state government. The state has also made long term planning to increase electricity production. “A special policy is being brought soon to encourage garment industry in the state,” Madhya Pradesh minister for commerce, industry, employment, mineral resources and overseas Indians Rajendra Shukla said at the 14th International and 72nd All India Textile Conference. Over 300 representatives of the textile industry participated in the conference organised by The Textile Association (India) – MP Unit, in Bhopal. With the theme ‘Shape India – Shape Textile’, the conference covered whole gamut of cotton, textiles and apparel industry. Madhya Pradesh has all facilities needed to set up industries, said Shukla. He said that the state has around 1,000 acre land bank in all the districts to establish industries. He added that electricity, water, transport and other facilities like good roads are also available. He said the state is registering an increase of 1,000 megawatt capacity in electricity production as a result of long term planning. Well known textile groups like Trident, Raymond, Vardhman, Nahar, SEL Group and Grasim are successfully operating in the state. In the last six years, nearly 40,000 people have got employment in the textile sector in the state.
Source: Fibre2fashion
If you have been thinking of revamping your wardrobe this Spring Summer, you ought to check upon your wallet because the introduction of GST (Goods and Service Tax) may bump up the price of branded apparels. If the industry veterans are to be believed, there would be a 3-4% rise in the prices readymade apparels and other finished textile products. As of now, textile industry pays 8-9% of tax. However introduction of GST may make this tax almost 12%, if not the government starts following the 18% tax rate, which will make the prices dearer further. Industry experts, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, they are expecting a tax of 12% GST. But the duties they would now be paying at the manufacturers’ end will be quite high. For worse, the textile industry may witness inflation till third quarter of the financial year in 2017-18. The textile industry is making sure the tax slab remains limited within a neutral rate as they fear a little above will hit this market like anything.
Garments industry as luxury There is a talk going on in the industry that textile is being seen as a luxury and is being planned to taxed accordingly. Putting a luxury tag will mean a t-shirt worth Rs 500 or a dress of Rs 5000 will have a higher tax slab because of the ‘branded’ label. And if that actually happens, the middle class buyers that form the major chunk of consumer would be affected the most. Breathing relief Well, tax experts say, in the long run GST would be beneficial for the industry. Currently as a value chain, in textile, too many inter-state transactions happen. This anyways bump ups the price. With GST the small and medium players would require to pay one tax and things may fell in place.
Source: Business Insider India
In order to attract more investments in the textile industry, the cap of Rs 50 crore should be removed under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) in the upcoming Union Budget 2017-18, said the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). It has also suggested the government to avoid changing drawback benefits and procedures under GST regime. “The industry has been benefitted by the Rs 6,000-crore special package for the garment industry, announced in June 2016, which aims at facilitating new investment, exports and employment. We expect the budget to supplement it, taking the introduction of GST also this year,” Ashok Rajani, Chairman, AEPC told Fibre2Fashion in an exclusive interview. He also said that the companies that are scaling up should be incentivised and the condition of term loan component of 50 per cent should not be imposed since there is no interest subsidy for the loans being taken from the banks. Clubbing of license should also not be permitted under annual advance license for the enhanced Duty Drawback Scheme. “The entire 12 per cent provident fund (PF) should be contributed by Central government for removing the need for additional registration and compliance requirement of payment of employer’s PF contribution first and then taking its refund. Some of the notifications pending under the special package like the notification for optional deduction of EPF for the employees less than Rs 15,000 per month should be issued,” added Rajani. Talking about the apparel market, he said, “The global apparel markets have been stagnant since 2015. For India, the growth in 2015-16 was a nominal 0.2 per cent and in 2016-17 it is expected to be similarly modest. However, India's domestic market is growing, which is an opportunity for the apparel manufacturers.” India’s overall apparel exports witnessed a decline of 0.2 per cent between April and December owing to the decrease in import from major markets like US and UAE. However, India’s apparel exports grew in non-traditional markets such as Russia, Oman, Tanzania, Argentina, Iran and Qatar. When asked which factors are most likely to influence Indian apparel exports this year, Rajani said, “The revival of the EU, USA and UAE markets – the top three markets for India is critical for export enhancement. The continuation of Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and effective roll out of the Special package will be critical as these are biggest support that the industry has presently. Besides this, bilateral trade agreement with UK, post Brexit, and India-EU FTA can be huge positive influences on apparel export.” He noted that the delays in the roll out of the special package, non implementation of some of the important support announced and the stagnation in EU and US markets resulted in a curtailed growth potential. The growth witnessed during the months of August, September and October was proof enough that the package is an answer to the industry need for support.
Source: Fibre2fashion
NEW DELHI: It will soon become easier to compare the health of industrial sectors in the states and verify the country’s total factory output. The Centre has asked the states to come out with their own Index of Industrial Production (IIP) on a monthly basis by the end of 2017-18. The government has asked for the state-level IIP to be constructed on the revised base of 2011-12 when it has yet to prepare the national IIP series on the new base. Government asks for state-level IIP data on revised base of 2011-12 The statistics ministry has been using the 2004-05 base even though work on the new series has been on for almost two years. “We have given a message to states to come out with state-level IIP with the new base on a monthly basis. If not monthly, then they have to give quarterly numbers,” said an official aware of the development. The Central Statistics Office has created an individual list of items for each state, depending on their volume and value of production. “The advantage of getting statelevel data is that detailed sectorwise information will be available. Items with relatively lesser weight at the national level will get adequately captured in state IIPs. It is also possible that the number of firms which get included in the IIP data may increase, thereby giving a better picture of industrial production,” said Devendra Kumar Pant, chief economist at India Ratings, a Fitch Group company. At present, some states compile monthly data, while others prepare quarterly numbers. In some cases, the index is not shared with the Centre. Some states face resource constraints in compiling the statistics. “Ideally, the summation of state IIPs should lead to the national IIP but because the composition of items at state level would be different, we’ll get an approximate number. This will help verify the Central-level data that can’t be done at present,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Care Ratings.The IIP has been called a flawed indicator by economists since it gets swayed by a single item and does not capture changes in usage of items due to the old base. Contrary to expectations, the IIP rose 5.7% in November, the first month of the government’s demonetisation drive, after declining 1.81% in October. The cumulative growth of India’s factory output for the April-November period was at 0.4% compared with 3.8% during the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
Source: The Economic Times
New Delhi, Jan 29 () Emerging market economies like China and India, which have been growing much faster than the US, Europe and Japan, are expected to witness even sharper jump in the coming years, says a PwC report. Key markets showing positive growth also include Indonesia, Turkey, Poland, Egypt and Bangladesh. Besides, Iran too is expected to witness a steep jump in growth following the easing of economic sanctions, it said. The report said that from this year onwards, growth markets including India are expected to see the dawn of a new era and despite the recent turbulence, these markets will still account for the majority share of global growth over the next five years. Regarding India, the report said that policy reforms are leading the way for growth momentum. "Ongoing policy reforms in many growth markets, including India, are further opening doors to new opportunities for private sector firms, and are expected to significantly boost economic growth in the medium to long term," said the PwC report, 'Winning in maturing markets'. It further said that several initiatives launched by the government since 2014 have aimed at improving business conditions for the private sector, including domestic and foreign players, established firms and entrepreneurs and is on the verge of implementing a landmark tax reform to introduce a unified value-added tax structure in the country. "With the central government focused on pushing policy reforms to contain fiscal deficit, for ease of doing business in India, and expansion of the tax base alongside improvements in the macro environment, we can expect market recovery to gather momentum in the year ahead," PwC India Advisory Leader Deepankar Sanwalka said. The report noted that the "building blocks" for a sustainable economic revival are in place for perceptible changes on the ground in the days to come.
Source: Business Line
The spinning mills at the Anglo-French Textiles have gone silent since 2015 when the industry plunged into financial crisis. | Photo Credit: T_Singaravelou The Government is keen on the rehabilitation of the Anglo French Textiles (AFT) mill and two other textile mills in Puducherry through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy has said. He told presspersons that a committee headed by a retired IAS officer and those in the textile industry had been constituted to go into the proposal. Once a report was available, the government would take steps to rehabilitate the AFT, Swadeshi, and Bharathi mills. The century old AFT mill had remained closed since 2015 following mounting losses, rapid erosion of net worth of the company, and prevailing labour unrest because of non-payment of statutory dues to employees. The company had been facing financial crisis, short of cash even to meet on its day-to-day operations. The Chief Minister said the new industrial policy of the government had started attracting entrepreneurs to the Union Territory. Twenty two enterprises from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry had shown interest in setting up industries in Puducherry and Karaikal regions with a total investment of Rs.500 crore.
Source: The Hindu
There has been a lot of well-intentioned talk about the need for employment growth in manufacturing in India. Most of us (including myself) have attributed the low rate of employment growth to antique, and counter-productive, labour laws. One of the lasting bad legacies of Nehru’s India, and that incorporates all governments (including Modi’s BJP-led one) is the belief that profits are “bad”, that entrepreneurs are unclean. There has been a lot of well-intentioned talk about the need for employment growth in manufacturing in India. Most of us (including myself) have attributed the low rate of employment growth to antique, and counter-productive, labour laws. Some of us have suggested that part of the reason for the dismal state of manufacturing in India is because of the high real interest rate regime. But none of us has dared to suggest that the real cause of the lack of job creation in India is the high rate of taxation of profits for Indian firms. One of the lasting bad legacies of Nehru’s India, and that incorporates all governments (including Modi’s BJP-led one) is the belief that profits are “bad”, that entrepreneurs are unclean. Hence, the consistent policy of not just high taxation of productive activities, but extremely high taxation. The Modi government correctly realised that the major impediment to job creation and industrial growth in India was our rotten standing in the World Bank’s index of Ease of Doing Business (WB-EoDB). Hence, the ambitious target, applauded by all, of putting India in the top 50 countries within a short span of three years. Well, the government did bring about reforms (some BJP states have moved on labour reforms, a model bankruptcy law was introduced, and GST legislation was passed). In addition, FM Jaitley began the process of reducing corporate tax rates to 25 % by 2019. Like all others, I was shocked to learn that, despite India’s reform efforts, the World Bank had barely moved the needle on our EoDB ranking; it moved a few notches in the first year, and for the last two years, the ranking has been stuck at 130 (actually 131 in the 2016 edition and 130 in the 2017 edition). On examination of the voluminous data on EoDB for close to 200 countries, I am no longer shocked. I am deeply saddened. And confident of the following prediction. Unless the government begins to change its Nehruvian mind-set on the high, indeed criminal, taxation level of Indian corporates, Make in India, accelerated growth in manufacturing, etc, will remain a pipe-dream. I want to offer two sets of statistics in support of this pessimism (if the Budget does not begin to change the policy of high taxation). First, the comparative nature of manufacturing growth in India. One indicator is the maximum average 10-year growth, i.e., what is the best a country has been able to achieve over any consecutive 10 year period. For 79 non-oil developing countries with population over 1 million, India ranks 44th. The maximum rate of decadal manufacturing growth in India was 8.2% (2003-2012). In contrast, for Pakistan, the maximum is 12.2%, for Bangladesh 10.3%, for Indonesia 13.6% and for Vietnam 11.9%. Oh yes, and China was 13%.
Source: Financial Express
MUMBAI: The rupee is seen to be better placed compared with other emerging market currencies as the Indian economy is less vulnerable to protectionist policies expected from US President Donald Trump. After Trump's election victory, the rupee has outperformed several emerging market currencies. "The rupee continues to be a better performing currency and is at or above the median level of change in a set of 17 currencies. We believe that the rupee will be driven more by fundamentals than an external US shock. US policies are more likely to affect countries like Mexico and China, which may be expected in the next six months," said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, CARE. On Friday, the rupee recovered from the red to end marginally higher at 68.04 against the dollar, up from the day's low of 68.23 and marginally stronger than Wednesday's close of 68.08. Forex dealers said increased demand for the dollar kept pressure on the rupee, but a higher opening in the domestic equity market helped the currency recover. According to Sabnavis, if currency movement during the fiscal is viewed separately for the period before US elections and after, the rupee has fared well in both. "It was at the median of 17 countries up to November and was above the median level subsequently," he added. Half the currencies had declined by more than 5% in the first period. The renminbi was also affected and fell by over 5% up to November. However, it declined moderately by over 0.7% subsequently . The ruble, real, Taiwan and Hong Kong dollars were best performing with appreciation witnessed in both the periods. Future movement will be driven more by fundamentals in the balance of payments rather than this external influence. Also, the Mexican peso in particular will be affected the most as of now, while the renminbi will be under pressure depending on the policy actions taken by the US with regards to Chinese trade and investment. According to a report by Nomura, emerging markets are generally starting from a weak position to fend off `Trumponomics'. The report says that India is among the few emerging markets that could gain. "President Trump's warmer tone towards Russia has increased expectations that sanctions may be lifted or relaxed, but we do not expect it to happen this year. India too could benefit as President Trump seems to believe that a nuclear India is the real check to Pakistan," the report said.The only negative for India would be the immigration curbs that could hurt the IT industry. "Of the 23 emerging markets, there are only four in our leaders camp -India, Indonesia, Philippines and Peru -while there are 12 laggards and seven in the middle," the report said. The leaders are the markets that are expected to perform better. According to a Nomura survey , 67% of respondents believe it is either extremely or somewhat likely that the US will impose targeted tariffs on China. Mexico is singled out as the most exposed. "Over time, we believe US trade protectionism could be strongest against Asia. Although the US trade deficit with China dwarfs that of Mexico, China also masks Asia's massive supply chain," the report said.
Source: The Times of India
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 54.63 per barrel (bbl) on 27.01.2017. This was higher than the price of US$ 54.53 per bbl on previous publishing day of 26.01.2017.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs. 3725.97 per bbl on 27.01.2017 as compared to Rs. 3716.41 per bbl on 26.01.2017. Rupee closed weaker at Rs. 68.20 per US$ on 27.01.2017 as compared to Rs. 68.16 per US$ on 26.01.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on January 27, 2017 (Previous trading day i.e. 26.01.2017) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.01.2017 (Dec 29, 2016 to Jan 11, 2017) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
54.63 (54.53) |
54.24 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3725.97 (3716.41) |
3691.57 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
68.20 (68.16) |
68.06 |
Source: PIB
windfall for cultivators Pitapuram: At last, and after a long wait, the unexpected increase in the market value has brought cheer among the cotton farmers. Farmers who had gone ahead with cotton cultivation despite warnings about virus attacks are reaping rich dividends this year. The price of cotton per quintal which was Rs.3,000-3,500 last year has now escalated to Rs 5,100. Cotton is the only commercial crop cultivated in dry lands. Generally, it is cultivated in Gollaprolu, Kirlampudi, Thuni, Kotananduru, Gandepally, Rangampeta Cotton crop yield also has gone up in the current year to 15 quintals per hectare. Farmers went ahead with cultivation of cotton despite agricultural officials advising them not to go for this crop and got good yield and that too without any virus and other agency mandals. With decline in prices of cotton last year and the influence of Pink bollworm, the area of cultivation has reduced to 10 hectares from 25 hectares in the district. In Gollaprolu mandal alone, the area for cotton cultivation decreased to 900 hectares from 1700 hectares last year. Government did not encourage cotton cultivation with a view to eradicate the virus. attack. Many purchasing centers have come up with Gollaprolu as the hub. Middlemen are purchasing cotton in bulk and transporting it to Kolkata and Mumbai. Cotton is fetching between Rs. 5,100-5,400 per quintal in the open markets while it is priced much lower at Rs.4100 at the Pithapuram agricultural market committee purchase centers. Farmers are earning around Rs.5,400 in the open market by selling it to retailers. Traders attribute increase in price to the reduction in the area of cotton cultivation in the entire state. According to Padmasri, Assistant Director of Agriculture, Pithapuram, the pink mammoth attack had resulted in losses last year. “However, the farmers retained more profits this year by eradicating the virus under the guidance provided by the agricultural officials at the right time,” he said.
Source: The Hans India
The 64th National Garment Fair organized by The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) is scheduled to take place in city on 30th & 31th January 2017.Mr Rahul Mehta President CMAI said “Despite Demonetization the 64th NGF has over 260 Stalls showcasing over300 Brands under one roof. It is estimated that nearly 12000Retailers will visit the Fair across Two Days.”The Exhibitors at the Fairwill exhibit a wide range of Men’s wear Women’s wear Kids’ wear Ethnic wear Intimate wear Sports wear etc.show casing their Spring –Summer 2017 Collection. CMAI’s Apparel Training Centers CMAI is one of the Lead Implementing Agencies Under Component II of the Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISID) of the Ministry of Textiles Govt of India to Impart Training to 35000 Trainees by March 312017.CMAI has so far trained 32145 Trainees and placed 25336Trainees in the Industry as on 27th Jan 2017Packaged Commodities Act CMAI has succeeded in persuading the Government of India to Remove Readymade Garments Sold in loose form from the Rules of Packaged Commodities Act. This huge step which will goa long way in Increasing the ease of doing Business in the Apparel Indusrty .Size of the Indian Apparel Industry The Total Size of Indian Apparel Industry is estimated to be around Rs 250000 Crores for the Domestic Market. Out of this Organized Market is Rs 74250Crore (30%) where as Unorganized Market is Rs75750 Crore (70%). Mr Rahul Mehta stated that the Indian Domestic Apparel Industry’s sizeis estimated to double within next 7 years. In the year 2015-16India’s Garment Export was US $16.80 Billion. It is expected to reach US $ 20 Billion during the current fiscal.
Source: Tecoya Trend
The Ethiopian Industrial Development Corporation (IPDC) has awarded the construction of two new industrial parks for textile and apparel industry in Addis Ababa and Jimma to two Chinese construction firms, in a deal worth around ETB 5 bn (US$221.2m). CGCOC will construct the Bole Lemi II industrial park, an extension of the Bole Lemi I, while CCCC will build the Jimma industrial park. The Bole Lemi II Industrial Park will be constructed at a cost of 3.5 billion birr in southern part of Addis Ababa. IPDC has selected CGCOC to undertake the construction which will take 12 months, while the South Korean firm DOHWA will be the consultant of the project. The Jimma Industrial Park will be built in the Oromia Regional State in Jimma town at cost of 1.5 billion birr. CCCC, the Chinese construction firm, which has accomplished several major construction projects in Ethiopia, will construct the industry park within nine months. A local consulting firm, MH Engineering, will supervise the construction project. During the contract signing ceremony, IPDC CEO Sisay Gemechu said that the government gave number one priority to the textile and garment industry. It is a light industry which is labour intensive and it uses locally produced raw materials. Mr.Sisay said that the Bole Lemi and Kilinto Industrial Parks will be built with 158 million dollars loan secured from the World Bank. These two projects are under one category and they followed the World Bank procurement proceduress. Managers of the Chinese construction firms appreciated the Ethiopian government’s commitment to develop industrial parks and create job opportunities and boost the export sector. They assured that the construction of the projects would be completed according to schedule and high quality standards.
Source: Yarns and fibres
In terms of skill base in the garment industry Pakistan lags behind Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Firoz Rasul, the president of the Aga Khan University, said on Saturday. He was speaking as the chief guest at the 17th convocation of the Textile Institute of Pakistan held at its main campus near Eastern Zone, Bin Qasim (Ghakkar Phatak). Firoz said he admired TIP’s work, significance and its impact. He added that textile was one of the most important sectors of the country and considered the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. “We are the eight largest exporters of textile products in Asia, fourth largest producer of cotton and third largest consumer of cotton in the world. We are also the world’s second largest cotton yearn exporters and third largest cotton cloth manufacturer and exporter.” He appreciated that the sector provided employment to about 40 percent of the industrial labour force and accounted for eight percent of the total GDP. However, Firoz noted that Pakistan lacked quality and innovation in engineering and technology development. He highlighted the energy crisis, shortage of gas supply and power cuts for the reducing number of textile mills in the country. He observed that production capability was very low because of obsolete machinery and technology while in the long term, cotton as a crop would not be viable in Pakistan with its scarce water resources. Degrees and medals The institute awarded 38 degrees and six gold medals. Aminah Shahzad of the Textile Design Technology was given the Dr Eqbal Ahmad Award and a cash reward for scoring the highest CGPA among her graduating classmates of various faculties. She also delivered the valedictory speech on behalf of graduating students. The Dr Eqbal Ahmad Award is given in memory of the TIP’s first chancellor, the late Dr Eqbal Ahmad. TIP president Humayun Zafar informed the audience that the institute had produced 1,117 graduates during the last 22 years and it was producing leaders for the socioeconomic progress of Pakistan. “The TIP has 100 percent employment to its credit, which by no means itself is a great feat to celebrate,” he added. “Now the TIP is moving forward in a sustained manner.” He announced that from the Fall 2017, the TIP would introduce industrial manufacturing and management as another degree programme. Two MoUs have been signed with fashion institutions in Switzerland and France last year while this year the TIP is planning to ink an MoU with two leading firms for betterment of its students. The TIP president shed light on the ongoing development at both campuses and mentioned that 26 students and three faculty members went to Frankfurt to attend Heimtextil textile fair held annually in Germany. “The research is now considered a primary responsibility of an academic institution, but in our country, the research culture is not yet fully developed.” He appealed to the textile industry to strengthen the TIP as they had done in the past.
Source: The International Times
Bangladesh's exports to India have not been growing at expected levels despite duty benefits in place, due to different tariff and non-tariff barriers, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said yesterday. With the current imbalance in trade between Bangladesh and India, the minister urged the Indian government to hold dialogues between the two countries to remove the barriers to higher exports from Bangladesh to India. India has awarded duty-free access for all Bangladeshi goods, except 25 alcoholic and beverage items, to the Indian market, but it has imposed a 12.5 percent countervailing duty on apparel and up to $329 antidumping duty on jute exports, he said. “I hope those barriers can be removed through discussions. But here, India will have to come forward. We have a lot of expectations from our largest neighbouring country India.”Ahmed was speaking on 'India's Integration with South and Southeast Asia' on the second day of a partnership summit held at Visakhapatnam, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. The Indian Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Commerce and Industries of India jointly organised the annual event where businessmen, ministers and business leaders from home and abroad were present. Bangladesh exported goods worth $689.78 million in fiscal 2015-16 and at the same time, India exported goods worth $5.70 billion to Bangladesh. Moreover, it is believed that goods worth more than $6 billion come to Bangladesh through informal channels through the border areas. Ahmed invited Indian entrepreneurs to invest in any of 100 special economic zones that the Bangladesh government is developing. On the first day of the event, the minister brought forward the issue that Bangladeshi exporters are facing hurdles in the export of jute and jute goods to India for the antidumping duty imposed by India. The issue of antidumping surfaced after the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties or DGAD under India's commerce ministry concluded its probe into the matter in October last year. Bangladesh's jute and jute goods used to enjoy zero-duty benefits on exports to the Indian market under the South Asian Free Trade Area agreement. Three years ago, the Indian Jute Mills Association had accused Bangladeshi exporters -- for the first time in 40 years -- of selling jute products at prices lower than those in India's domestic market. In October 2015, the Indian antidumping authority started its investigation into the matter. Usually, the antidumping duty on a product is the same amount by which it undercuts the domestically manufactured product. The prices of jute yarn in the Indian market tend to be comparatively low. Bangladesh exports more than 110,000 tonnes of jute yarn to India a year, according to data from Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association. Besides the jute yarn, Bangladesh also exports raw jute and other jute goods. Jute yarn and twine account for 65 percent of the sector's annual export receipts of over $850 million, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau and Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association. The number of trucks carrying jute and jute goods into India through the Benapole land port sharply declined after New Delhi imposed a high antidumping duty on the imports of the goods from Bangladesh. India on January 5 slapped the antidumping duty on imports of jute and jute goods from Bangladesh and Nepal to “protect the domestic industry”. For Bangladesh, the duty ranges between $19 and $352 per tonne.
Source: The Daily Star
Shillong, The Meghalaya capital will host the first-ever Northeast Investors Summit from tomorrow where focus will be on textile manufacturing and its allied sectors. Union textiles minister Smriti Zubin Irani and a host of other ministers will be present at the inaugural function. The two-day summit is being jointly organised by the textiles and DoNER ministries. The summit will dwell on the theme of Exploring Opportunities in Northeast Region and aims to showcase the sister states as a global destination for investment. It seeks to explore the possibility of bringing in convergence of efforts of various ministries and northeastern states to attract investment. "The event will showcase the unique opportunities in textile manufacturing that the region offers to the business world. It is expected to usher in a new era of collaboration not only for investments but also for new skills and advanced production technology," an official communiqué said. The northeastern states will put up stalls and make presentations on investment opportunities in textile manufacturing. The summit will have sessions on Showcasing Opportunities in Textiles in Northeast, Entrepreneurship Development and Start-ups, Enhancing Reach of Northeast Textiles through Textile Design and Marketing, Ease of Financing of Textile Industry in Northeast and Improving Infrastructure. Various memoranda of understanding between industry bodies and state governments are also expected to be signed during the summit, which will promote investment and boost manufacturing. Buyer-seller meets and exhibitions will also be organised. The communiqué said the region has a huge potential for investments, particularly in the field of textiles and handicrafts, owing to its inherent strength of skilled workforce and locally available raw materials. The Union textiles ministry is implementing projects worth Rs 1,050 crore in handlooms, handicrafts, sericulture, apparel and garments and others in the eight northeastern states in line with the Act East policy. "These projects have created a foundation for further growth of manufacturing in textiles sector. Other line ministries, too, have schemes where various incentives/concessions are available for investments in the region. However, this is mostly in silos and does not provide a comprehensive picture to the investors about the opportunities in Northeast. The investors' summit seeks to address this concern as well," the communiqué said.
Source: The Telegraph
CHENNAI: The textile sector nearly hit a standstill during the first few weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation. Many small garment units were unable to pay wages to workers and production, according to industry players, was affected by as much as half in some areas. However, with the situation improving steadily and the Union Budget coming up, the industry is optimistic about the year ahead. What Arun Jaitley announces on February 1 will determine whether the industry’s optimism is warranted. According to A Sakthivel, chairman, Federation of Indian Export Organisations and textile industry veteran, the industry does not expect too many sops from the Union Budget. “There was a big `6,006 crore special package that was announced for the textiles sector in June last year. So we do not expect any major sops from the budget. The two key demands from the industry, submitted to the government, concerns the Goods and Services Tax (GST),” he pointed out. The industry is lobbying hard, say analysts, to get the government to exempt exporters from the tax. “Another issue is that we transport a lot of products right through production. Something goes for printing outside of the primary factory, then comes back. We want this movement of goods to be exempt from the tax as well,” pointed out Sakthivel. Others however, have more specific suggestions on what the government’s, and the budget’s, thrust should be on. V D Zope, chairman of The Textile Association (India), stressed that more focus needs to be put on the garments segment in particular, to boost exports. “The thrust should be on garments and we should also push for more polyester cotton consumption,” he said. But more important is what Jaitley is expected to give to exporters. According to Vope, it is the export section of the industry that focus needs to be on. “We need to incentivise exports more. Our industry is primarily export driven and not on domestic consumption. We already have enough inventory here,” he said. Manickam Ramaswamy, chairman and managing director of Loyal Textiles, also pointed out that the sector needs the government to even out the playing field as far as exporters are concerned. “This is not something that the Budget can address. But it is a pressing issue. The Indian textile industry is burdened by customs duties we have to pay while exporting to most European markets. But our competitors, from everywhere in South and South East Asia, have negotiated for and got zero duty. The Commerce Ministry needs to address this issue. One or two sops from the budget will not help,” he pointed out. The FIEO, which has a significant percentage of textile industry representatives, has also submitted a wishlist to the government that includes a demand to increase the limit under Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS). “CLCSS has helped the small scale sector to modernize and expand their production. The CLCSS limit was fixed at `1 Cr about a decade back and therefore, the limit under CLCSS may be enhanced from `1 crore to `5 rore,” suggested the organisation. The increase in the CLCSS limit would have a direct, positive impact on the sector, according to experts, since many textile units are small firms who are already beneficiaries. FIEO has also pointed out that countries across the world are supporting aggressive marketing to get limited orders available globally with the slowdown in global trade. “The Government,” said the body, “should create an Export Development Fund for aggressive marketing particularly for MSME by providing a corpus of about 0.5 per cent of previous year exports as the present support through marketing scheme is inadequate.”
Source: The Indian Express
Several textile manufacturing companies from Egypt are looking to export to Brazil, according to the Egypt’s trade office in São Paulo. The companies searching for Brazilian buyers include Spinalex, Misr Amreya, Elbanna, Sammakia Embrator, Hesni, Sogic, KCG Textile, etc. Among Arab nations, Egypt is currently the top textile exporter to Brazil. Alexandria based Spinalex is searching for a local representative to export 100% Egyptian cotton to Brazil. The company had done business in the South American country in the past, and it now wants to resume trade, according to a Brazil-Arab news agency report. Spinalex currently exports cotton to the US, Canada and other Arab countries. Misr Amreya, also based in Alexandria, exports 100% Egyptian cotton yarn, fabrics, tablecloths and napkins to countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the US. It is now looking for buyers in Brazil, the report said. Innerwear producer Sammakia Embrator, which operates more than 1,000 stores in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, is also planning to extend its operations to Brazil. With a portfolio of over 40 items, the company’s main markets are the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Morocco and South Korea. Sewing threads producer Elbanna, cotton yarn manufacturers Sky Tex and Shamtex, fabric producer Hesni, home textiles firm KCG Textile, and textiles and clothing manufacturer Sogic have also approached the Egyptian trade office looking for buyers in Brazil. Last year, Brazilian textile imports from Egypt stood at $9.4 million, according to the data from the Brazilian ministry of industry, trade and services. (RKS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
A hand-embroidered Suzani from Uzbekistan pairs with two green Fortuny pillows on an antique day bed. The art gives the room a more modern vibe, demonstrating how antique textiles can compliment multiple styles of design. CONTRIBUTED BY: B. Viz Design. It’s the little things that make a room. A vase of flowers, a throw pillow or a table setting are all small details that can make a huge difference. Without them, even if every piece of furniture is a beautiful antique, the room doesn’t look finished. “Pillows are like jewelry for your room. You’ve got your room, it looks pretty good, but it’s like wearing a plain black dress. You have your outfit and it looks good, and then you put the jewelry on and it just sings,” said Rebecca Vizard, owner of Louisiana-based B. Viz Design. Vizard, the author of the 2015 book, “Once Upon a Pillow,” will be a breakfast speaker on Feb. 9 at the 2017 Cathedral Antiques Show in Buckhead. The annual event, from Feb. 5-12, includes home tours, other speakers, an antique show and flower festival.
Perfect pillows
Vizard collects ecclesiastical pieces, such as priests’ robes, and other antique textiles to create unique pillows and art. She has discovered stuffed inside the robes bits of newspaper, ledgers and even pages from the Bible that were used to sketch out designs to conserve paper. To add accents to a room, Vizard recommends lending your space symmetry and style with a few pillows. “There are all kinds of ways to pull together a room with a pillow,” said Vizard. For example, a long pillow looks great on a king bed. This technique means you don’t need a huge pile of pillows on the bed. You can simplify with one long statement pillow — a tip, Vizard adds, that men tend to appreciate. But accessories aren’t just about the arrangement or the colors. Particularly when engaging with ecclesiastical textiles, Vizard finds the fabric itself can tell stories. “There’s all kinds of symbolism in the pillows, particularly from the flora,” said Vizard.
Fab florals
The flowers on your throw pillows shouldn’t be the only blooms in the room. Botanical arrangements can really send a message, said Laura Dowling, former chief White House floral designer and author of the new book “Floral Diplomacy at the White House.” “They communicate so much, whether it’s a diplomatic message honoring a visiting country or dignitaries, environmental messages like recycling, reuse, repurposing, or even just a broader message about American style and how it’s warm and optimistic, friendly and open,” said Dowling. Few of us will be entertaining foreign dignitaries, but Dowling said you can do the same thing at home, just on a smaller scale. When it comes to translating White House-level florals into your own home, start with a theme and work from there. She suggests thinking about the message you’re trying to send, and trying not to let florals scare you.
“Sometimes people seem intimidated by flower design, or they feel like there’s a right and wrong way. It can almost paralyze people,” said Dowling, who studied floral design in Paris. The garden style of flower arrangement, which Dowling will discuss in her Feb. 10 talk at the Cathedral Antiques Show, has few rules. It’s full of free-flowing lines, crossing stems and looping vines. “I always like to cross stems to give that sense of natural movement. So it’s really not a rigid recipe. It’s just working with the materials and looking at each flower to see the best placement,” Dowling said. And if coming up with a theme seems intimidating, start with color. Put different colors of vases that are in the same color scheme that would go together, said Jule Eller, the director of trend and style at Lowe’s. “Then, you want various heights and widths, so you can kind of nest them together to make a unified look,” she said. Dowling likes to consider the colors on the undersides of flower petals as well. “It’ll have variations of colors, and you can use those as a guide to create some really interesting and inspiring color combinations,” she said.
Source: AJC .com
Construction for Russia’s first synthetic textile, including fibre and yarn, manufacturing complex will begin this year. Approximately 25 billion rubles ($419 million) is being invested to set up the project that is expected to start production in 2020. The project will come up in Vichuga town, located in the Ivanovo region of the Central Federal District. The modern integrated plant for synthetic textiles would have capacity to produce nearly 200,000 tons of synthetic fibre and yarn per year, Ivanovo governor Pavel Konkov told reporters, according to the Russian media. Preparatory procedures are already underway, ahead of the actual construction that is planned to start in summer of this year. Vichuga town is located 65 kilometres northeast of Ivanovo. (RKS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders on Sunday said that government’s focus on SMEs uplift can ensure rapid economic development, which will resolve many problems including unemployment, reduced exports and dismal revenue situation. All the SAARC countries have designed policies for the promotion of this sector, though with uneven results. Yet their faith in SMEs is ever growing, it said. The business community of Islamabad will push the authorities concerned to take steps for swift development of the SME sector, said Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Butt. In a statement issued today, he said that authorities will be asked for special incentives to revive the SME sector, which will boost businesses, provide jobs and enhance revenue. Shahid Rasheed Butt said that the SME sector has 40 percent share in the GDP. He said that among 3.5 million SMEs in Pakistan, 65 percent are located in Punjab facing multiple problems. Law and order, energy crisis, lack of regulatory support, incoherent laws, deficiency of market information, and scarcity of skilled labour and want of finances are the main reasons behind lacklustre performance of SME sector, he added. The business leader said that high ratio of defaults has compelled lenders to rethink SME financing, which requires attention of policymakers. He noted that textile and garments sector has emerged as biggest defaulter which failed on 50 percent of its financial obligations. which is disturbing for many in the business community. He called for reviving textile and garments sectors which is steadily going down due to stiff competition with China, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Source: The Daily
Pakistan is planning to build the country’s first state-of-the-art grand petrochemical complex which would include a Naphtha Cracker Complex (NCC), which will convert naphtha into various by products like ethylene and propylene, which are raw material feedstock to produce textiles and various other consumer products. The announcement for setting up the naphtha cracker came up after a meeting of a delegation from Pakistan Chemical Manufacturing Association (PCMA) and federal minister for planning, development and reforms. NCC will have an impactful role in all industrial zones to be placed along the route of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), it was said at the meeting. Iqbal Kidwal, secretary general of Pakistan Chemical Manufacturing Association (PCMA) said that currently there are trying to pull together a feasibility report. The complex may take five to six years to complete with an investment of $6bn–8bn. Currently, Pakistan has to buy all petrochemical feedstock from international market due to the absence of a naphtha cracker complex means taking heavy toll on import bill and prices of long range of items. The NCC will be integrated with a petrochemical complex, that will produce polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), ethylene glycol, paraxylene (PX), and few other high value products in the beginning, Tahir Qadir, chief consultant of PCMA said. However, with the start of work on projects falling under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the south Asian country’s need for petrochemicals is set to rise. A cracker and petrochemical complex were essential for Pakistan to meet the growing needs of the country. The creation of this complex will revolutionise the industrial landscape. India has nine naphtha cracker complexes providing it tremendous mileage in industrial and economic progress.
Source: Yarns and fibre
Sri Lankan handloom runs through 3000 years of history, rich heritage and cultural diversity, even today its handloom products passes down diversity, uniqueness and ingenuity in their designs and technologies. The traditions of weaving and handloom manufacturing still holds strong among the Sri Lankan handloom weavers who still stand faithful to the age-old designs of weaving that have been handed down through generations. Today, there are over 10,000 Sri Lankan handloom manufacturers clustered in the Western, Central, Eastern, Southern and Northern provinces of Sri Lanka. Many of the Sri Lankan handloom manufacturers are home- based small holders or individuals employed by private, cooperative and government agencies which are mainly catering to a growing export market. Made with cotton and silk materials of brilliant colours, Sri Lankan handloom designs and products are used extensively by leading fashion designer and interior decorators in creating new fashion statements and interior decoration trends with handloom curtains, kitchen and dining linen, rugs and bed linen that are sold under leading labels across the world. Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen addressing the launch of the National Handloom Exhibition ‘Ransalu’ at the BMICH in Colombo on Friday said that Sri Lanka is enlisting its surging tourism and provincial cottage infrastructure to transform its struggling handloom produce to global markets and a national blueprint for this transformation is now ready. Sri Lanka’s handloom industry formerly had 200,000 people but today this has fallen to 10,000. The cottage level industry produces export quality designs and material. A great number of producers are of small and micro level. The leading province in handloom production is the Western Province followed by the Eastern province and the Central province. To develop Sri Lanka’s handloom sector back to its former levels, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has set up a Handlooms Industry Task Force which is focusing on tourism as well, the Minister said. Although the use of handlooms were strictly restricted to cotton handloom sarees and home linens among Sri Lankan consumers, a new generation of Sri Lankan designers are seeking to revive the face and future of the Sri Lankan handloom industry by combining old designs with bold colours, textures and material. Today, a range of new handloom designs and products by a number of leading handloom manufacturers including bold coloured handloom garments, handloom bridal sarees made with silk and polished cotton, vibrant handloom kaftans, sarongs and shawls, hand woven tapestries and rugs have become the toast of the town around the world. Many tourists to Sri Lanka make a shopping tour of the leading handloom outlets in the country in search of the best bargains while regional fashion weeks frequently feature designs made with Sri Lankan handloom designs. With an increased demand for environmentally sustainable and handmade products made by Fair Trade labour Sri Lankan handloom industry holds a greater opportunity for global expansion. The Sri Lanka’s handloom textile industry is highly labour-intensive, export-oriented, rural based and has the capability to generate high returns if the right product is offered at the right place at the right price. It has also gained high socio economic importance due to the significant employment generating potential especially among the rural women in Sri Lanka. The manufacturing process includes scouring (removing waxes, oil and dirt marks) and bleaching, dyeing, washing, hydro extracting the material which is then sized again put through the process of hydro extraction and dyeing. The mix of manufacturers includes leading handloom weaving manufacturers as well as small scale producers. With the help of factories, some small scale weavers have been given an opportunity to showcase their talents and penetrate international markets. Leading producers have not only found success but also present their wares to tourists to Sri Lanka, which has always resulted in an excellent response. A range of designs and colours are on offer. Individual and innovative designs, craftsmanship, colour combination and patterns are handed down from generation to generation. Italy, Germany, France, UK, Norway, Netherlands and Maldives markets are some of the largest buyers of Sri Lankan handloom textile products. Sri Lankan handloom producers are capable of supplying numerous products which are designed for niche markets where handmade products of high value are preferred. In 2014 Sri Lanka exported nearly US$ 1.09 million worth of handloom products including garments, upholstery fabric and curtaining, handloom bags, soft toys and hand woven rugs and tapestries to countries including Maldives, South Korea, UK, Sweden, Australia, Netherlands, Spain and USA.
Source: Yarns and fibres
