|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1253.90 |
USD/Ton |
-0.29% |
3/2/2017 |
|
VSF |
1253.90 |
USD/Ton |
-50.43% |
3/2/2017 |
|
ASF |
2151.62 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1282.25 |
USD/Ton |
-0.17% |
3/2/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3634.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
5088.30 |
USD/Ton |
1.45% |
3/2/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
3808.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
5662.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1504.68 |
USD/Ton |
-0.48% |
3/2/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
3430.97 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2398.77 |
USD/Ton |
4.43% |
3/2/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1308.42 |
USD/Ton |
-17.43% |
3/2/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
3169.28 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1882.67 |
USD/Ton |
-0.38% |
3/2/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2733.14 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2049.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2297.00 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3300.13 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2355.16 |
USD/Ton |
-1.22% |
3/2/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.35 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.84 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.17 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/2/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14538USD dtd. 03/03/2017)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The special package for the textile and garment sector unveiled by the Modi government in June last year — and hailed by many including chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian as a potent tool for creation of decent jobs — hasn’t been a runaway success, going by the fresh enrolments from the sector under the employees provident fund (EPF) scheme. While a crucial component of the package was an undertaking that the government will bear the entire 12% employer’s contribution to the retirement fund for the first three years — against 8.33% for other sectors under the Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Protsahan Yojana — just 1,075 new workers have enrolled under the scheme in the last eight months. The scheme’s objective was very ambitious: To achieve a cumulative increase of $30 billion in export of textiles and garments and R74,000 crore investments in the employment-intensive sector over three years. A senior labour ministry official said that the numbers (of new employers enrolled under the bolstered EPF scheme) might have been better had the scheme been launched in June itself. But that was not to be. “The scheme, approved by the Cabinet in June, got other necessary clearances only in August. EPFO had to ready the software and enrolment started from October and, finally, in December, direct credit to the scheme by the government started,” the official said. The software was also such that even a slight incompatibility between the credentials of the employee, as provided by employer, and her Aadhaar card details would automatically reject the enrolment, the official said. “The ministry has now asked the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) to enrol new employees whose credentials match up to 80% as provided by the employers,” he said, adding, “A lot of cases are under examination now.” The package for the sector included making EPF optional for employees earning less than Rs 15,000 per month. The idea was to ensure there is more cash in the hands of such workers. Sources said even this has come a cropper since the proposal needs an amendment to the EPF Act and even the process for the same has not started yet. For the proposal to take effect, the EPFO needs approval of its highest decision-making body, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), to be followed by the Cabinet’s approval and vetting by the law department before it could be tabled in Parliament. Sources said the retirement fund body might take the proposal to the CBT in its next meeting. Many trade unions are, however, not happy with the proposal, as they think that it would deprive the workers of even a modicum of social security. The labour ministry has already had a round of meeting with the unions’ representatives in this regard and the unions are learnt to have opposed the idea “tooth and nail”. The package for the textile-and-garment sector, which policymakers want to be extended to other employment-intensive sectors like leather and footwear, included introduction of fixed-term employment (in line with the seasonal nature of he industry), additional interest subsidy incentives under the technology upgradation fund scheme and enhanced duty drawback coverage for exports.
Source: Financial Express
Indian Bt cotton seed producers have demanded an increase of Rs 50 per packet of seeds, in the coming cotton season, considering the climbing costs of production. This demand was made by the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) ahead of the government’s annual review meeting with industry representatives, which will be held on March 6. “Inflation, rising wages as well as increase in minimum support price (MSP) of cotton have increased seed production costs massively in the last one year,” a leading daily quoted a top official of NSAI as saying in a representation made to the ministry of agriculture. Currently, BT cotton seeds are marketed at Rs 751 per pack of 450 gm, which NSAI said was inadequate to meet manufacturing costs.
Source: Fibre2fashion
NEW DELHI: The GST levy may go up to 40 per cent after the GST Council proposed raising the peak rate in the Bill to 20 per cent, from the current 14 per cent, to obviate the need for approaching Parliament for any change in rates in future. The model Goods and Services Tax Bill will replace the clause which states the tax rate "not exceeding 14 per cent, with "not exceeding 20 per cent" when it comes up for debate in Parliament during the second phase of Budget session beginning next week. The change in the peak rate will not alter the 4-slab rate structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent agreed upon last year for the moment, but is only a provision being built into the model law to take care of contingencies in future, two officials in the know told PTI. The revised draft of model GST law, which was made public in November 2016, provides for a maximum rate of tax under the new regime at 14 per cent (14 per cent central GST and an equal state GST, taking the total to 28 per cent). "There shall be levied a tax called the central/state goods and services tax (CGST/SGST) on all intra-state supplies of goods and/or services... at such rates as may be notified by the central/state government... but not exceeding 14 per cent on the recommendation of the Council and collected in such manner as may be prescribed," the draft law states. Officials said this will now be changed to say the rate will not exceed "20 per cent". The GST Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising representatives of all states, has agreed to keep the upper band of the rate in the law at 20 per cent. "For the moment, we will not tinker with the rate structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. The GST Council has decided to keep the upper cap higher at 20 per cent so that in future in case of need to hike tax rate, there is no need to approach Parliament for a nod and the GST Council can raise it," the officials said. This means the central GST and state GST can be up to 20 per cent each, leaving the scope for a maximum levy at 40 per cent. "The 4-tier rate structure that has been decided will hold for now. By keeping the upper cap at 20 per cent, we are just keeping an enabling provision which the Council can exercise at a later date after deliberation," the officials added. Mirroring the model GST law, the CGST, the SGST and the UTGST law will be firmed up by the Centre, states and Union Territories, respectively. The Centre plans to introduce in Parliament the Central GST (CGST) Bill in the forthcoming session beginning March 9. After it is ratified, the states will introduce the State GST (SGST) Bill in their respective legislative Assemblies. The central and state officials will soon start the exercise to determine which goods and services should fall in which tax bracket and the same will be taken to the Council for approval soon. Together with this, they will also decide the goods and services that would attract a cess on top of the peak rate to create a corpus that can be used to compensate states for any loss of revenue from implementation of GST in the first five years. The government is looking at GST rollout from July 1.
Source: PTI
Ahead of the second half of the Budget session of Parliament, the Centre and States will meet here to finalise the draft laws for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which will include a revised proposal for a higher peak rate of 20 per cent. The GST Council, in its meeting on March 4 and 5, is likely to finalise a provision to keep the peak rate under the indirect tax levy at 20 per cent. This means the combined incidence of Centre and State GST could rise up to as high as 40 per cent. This is in contrast to the revised draft of the model Centre and State GST Bills that was released last year, which proposed a cap of 14 per cent. This would in effect lead to a combined incidence of 28 per cent. Sources said the proposal will only ensure that the GST Council can revise rates without having to seek Parliamentary approval and it will in no way impact the four tier-rate structure that has already been approved. The Council, in its meeting in November, had agreed to a four-rate structure under GST of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. However, whether the proposal will pass muster with all the States is yet to be seen. The draft model laws have been circulated to the States.
States’ concerns
In its earlier meeting held in Udaipur on February 18, the GST Council had approved the draft Compensation Bill. The remaining three Bills — for Centre, State and Integrated GST — could not be taken up as some States are understood to have raised concerns over various modalities of the Council. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu is understood to have written a letter to the GST Council, opposing the model to tax territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles. He had noted that the High Court has already decided in favour of States and the matter is now pending in the Supreme Court.
Source: Business Line
This weekend is critical, with the GST Council expected to approve three GST Bills, namely, the CGST, SGST and IGST Bills. This would be an important milestone in the GST journey, and once approved, the CGST and IGST Bills are expected to be tabled in the second phase of the Budget Session starting March 9 for early passage. States will equally need to plan passage of SGST Bills in their Assemblies within a short period. This milestone is important for GST that is to come into force from July 1, 2017. There are other critical milestones, namely, finalising of GST rules, slotting of goods and services in the multiple GST rate structure and readying the GST Network infrastructure for compliance going forward. There is good amount of work that has been done in all these areas by the government but will require focused push before implementation. It appears that industry will only get to know the lay of the final GST law only when it is presented in Parliament/ state Assemblies. There were several issues that industry sectors had raised; many of these were addressed in the second version of Model GST law. But there are still many issues that need attention. Some key ones amongst them that merit attention is the intent to incorporate anti-profiteering measures and the provisions around inspection of goods during movement. Both are concerns for the industry at large. While the objective behind anti-profiteering maybe laudable and there are examples of countries that have resorted to this mechanism, what is critical is the transparency and objectivity in the manner in which the law and rules around this are framed to avoid intrusive audits and litigations. Is there a need for anti-profiteering measures at a policy level or we allow competitive market dynamics to determine pricing in the GST regime is a question that is worth pondering over. Under section 163 of Model GST law, the government may constitute an authority or entrust an existing authority to examine whether due to input credit availed or any reduction in tax rate has resulted in commensurate price reduction in the price of goods and services under GST. Any violation of the above can lead to penalties. GST will create efficiency at various levels, namely, removal of tax cascading, variation in effective tax rates and changes in operational efficiency due to the enabling environment. Tax efficiency at an entity level will have common inputs and services, how does one co-relate to pricing of individual goods and services? What will be the reference price and the relevant period for such evaluation? All these will require careful consideration, including exploring alternative mechanisms that need to be clearly spelt out if we decide to go down this route. Section 169 of the Model GST law, which deals with eligible credit of duties and taxes with respect to inputs held in stock, also has conditions for such transitional credits, namely, subject to benefits being passed through reduced price as a result of such credits. The issue around such provisions is the difficulty in implementing them painlessly on the ground. While one can appreciate the concerns of law makers, it is equally important that the provisions, if brought in, are simple to understand and execute and avoid intrusive and protracted litigation. One of the prime objectives of GST was to create common market of One India where goods can move seamlessly across borders, reducing transit times, logistics costs and relevant inventory levels. The hope was that the sight of trucks and other vehicles lined up for hours at state check-posts will be a thing of the past with the removal of way-bills, entry forms, etc. The first draft of the Model GST Law, under Section 61, provides that the central/state government may require a person transporting goods to carry with him such documents as may be prescribed in this behalf; and a tax-officer can intercept the vehicle and require him to produce such documents for verification. There was vociferous representation from all industry chambers for removal of this provision. Everybody hoped there would be a redressal of this issue, but the revised version of Model GST Law—under section 80 that deals with inspection of goods—continued with these steps of document verification. The fear is whether this verification will once again lead to lining of trucks and vehicles at check-posts at state-borders—this defeats the very objective of the GST—or such verification will be an exception-basis intelligence which would be more pragmatic and also fulfils the objective of GST. With compliance in GST becoming electronic with the entire value-chain being tracked for both intra and inter-state transactions, such verifications should be limited to intelligence inputs. While we are at the cusp of GST legislations being approved, we hope some of these issues will be addressed prudently to usher in a law that enables compliance with the objective of ease of doing business.
Source: Financial Express
After the steps taken to reduce black money and streamline election finance, the natural follow-up is to clean one of the biggest sources of black money — land and real estate. And the natural way to do that is to bring the supply of land and real estate (hereafter LARE) into the GST. At the moment, the GST law does not include LARE, but there is still a window to fix that in the GST Council meetings in the months ahead. Before we spell out the details, a few clarifications are in order to clear misconceptions and misinformation, some of which appear to be perpetrated deliberately by vested interests with a stake in preserving the murky status quo. The first misconception is that stamp duties will be brought into the GST. Many states have refused to entertain bringing LARE into the GST, fearing that their right to levy stamp duties on the sale of land — a big source of state revenues — will be taken away from them. This fear is unfounded. There is no such intention; stamp duties will remain untouched. The second misconception is that agricultural land will be taxed. There is no intention to bring transactions relating to land for agriculture into the GST. The fear that there is a slippery slope leading to taxes on agricultural land and income is also unfounded. The third misconception is that low-cost housing will be taxed and made unaffordable. There is no intention to bring transactions relating to low-cost housing into the GST. The fear that the price of housing for the poorer sections will go up because of new taxes is also unfounded. Housing below a certain cost (or below a carpet area of 60 square metres) will unambiguously not be subject to GST. The fourth misconception is that the tax burden will increase and hence, the prices of LARE will go up — there is no intention to increase current taxation on LARE. As will be elaborated below, bringing LARE into the GST will keep current effective rates of taxation broadly unaffected; what will happen is an increase in taxes at the final stage, but because credits will be available on input taxes, the real burden of taxation will not increase. So, what will come into the GST? Answering that requires understanding the current system. Currently, an annual property tax is levied on land as a source of wealth by urban local bodies. When land or property is sold, there is a stamp duty levied by state governments to register the sale. Neither of these will be brought into the GST. In principle, the GST can be levied as a service tax on the supply of land and real estate. What exactly is the service? The service in question relates to that provided by those who develop and construct commercial and residential property (the LARE service provider). This service can be provided either as a works contract when the buyer gets the LARE to build and develop the property; or the service can be provided as the supply of an already constructed property (call it readymade property). Today, the law makes an arbitrary distinction between works contracts and ready-made property. There is a service tax on works contracts both for commercial and residential properties. This tax is about 4.5 per cent, levied on the total value of the property, but no credits are available for taxes paid on inputs such as iron and steel, cement and other fittings and fixtures (many of which are transacted informally) that go into the construction of a property. The lack of input tax credits means that the effective rate of tax is not the headline 4.5 per cent, but that rate plus the cascaded sum of all the input taxes: A rough estimate is that the effective tax rate even today is over 12 per cent. In contrast, there is no tax on ready-made properties, commercial or residential. Because there is no tax, there is also no provision of input tax credits — this means that here too, the effective rate of taxation is not the headline zero per cent, but the sum of all the cascaded taxes on inputs. One technical reason that ready-made properties are not taxed currently is that some argue immovable property is excluded in the Constitution from the definition of a “good.” But going forward, ready-made properties — or rather, the service provided in building them — can easily be taxed as a service because the definition of what can be taxed under the GST is quite broad; supply of goods or services or both (excluding alcoholic liquor for human consumption). So, today, the playing field is not level. The service underlying works contracts is taxed more heavily than the same service embodied in a readymade property. The way forward is to recognise that this distinction between works contract and readymade property is artificial and to tax the service that went into the development and construction of both; hence, level the playing field. The key idea would be tax them at a standard rate and allow full input tax credits. It is the flow of credit that will strike at black money because the self-policing nature of the GST will kick in — all input transactions, notably the sale of cement, iron and steel, and fixtures and fittings that go into the construction of property will have to be accounted for. So, even as the tax on the consumer can be kept the same as today, the sales and purchases of inputs can be brought into the tax net. This would be a real transformational step in the fight against black money in real estate. But even these very important changes will not strike at another key problem — the exclusion of transactions relating to the sale of land per se from the GST net. For that to happen, the sale of land (for non-agricultural purposes) must itself be taxable as a supply of good or service. Only if the sale of land is taxed can there be input tax credit for this down the chain; and only if there is input tax credit will the self-policing GST mechanism for disclosing the sale of land transaction kick in when that land is further developed. It is this disclosure that will strike at black money in land sale transactions. Another advantage of imposing a GST on the first sale of land is that it will deter hoarding and encourage land development because when the latter happens, the GST can be claimed as a credit. In contrast, the land hoarder will bear the full burden of the GST. There are several international precedents for taxing the sale of land under the GST, including in the VAT systems of Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Africa. However, Indian constitutional provisions are less clear. The exclusion of immovable property from the definition of “goods” is one impediment. But it is also quite defensible and intuitive to consider the sale of land, or the sale of the right to land, as a service which will then be covered by the definition under the GST (Singapore, for example, considers the sale of the right to land as a good). Imposing a GST on the sale of land will be the big advance in striking at black money, complementing the other action described above to treat works contracts and ready-made properties similarly. These two actions will, respectively, bring land and real estate into the GST — which could then become a truly transformational GST. In the GST Council, the Centre and some of the pro-governance states have expressed their support for bringing LARE into the GST. But many of the largest states have expressed opposition. At a time when there is a drive to root out black money creation, it is imperative to attack the source of the problem — the flow problem — and not just the symptom, which is the stock problem. Bringing LARE into the GST is thus a litmus test for whether state governments are serious in their efforts to address the problem, and hence, supportive of the prime minister’s drive in relation to reducing black money. Those who are for the murky status quo are hiding behind the four misconceptions stated above. But we must be clear: If you are against bringing LARE into the GST, you are for the continuous generation of black money. If so, please stand up and be identified. It is as simple as that.
Source: Indian Express
Are the third quarter estimates for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate pegged at 7 per cent too good to be true in the wake of an adverse impact of demonetisation? This is the sense given by an internal study by the State Bank of India research team in an analysis of the GDP estimates released by the Central Statistics Office on Tuesday. According to the advanced estimates of CSO, the GDP growth was 7 per cent in the third quarter of the current fiscal, during which demonetisation had taken place. For FY17, GDP growth has been pegged at 7.1 per cent. There is more than what the numbers speak on the surface impact of demonetisation, if one goes by the expenditure side of demonetisation. “Interestingly, the impact of valuables on the total estimates from the expenditure side tell the story of demonetisation,” says the research study by the State Bank of India on the GDP estimates on impact of demonetisation. “After demonetisation, there was a steep fall in the international price of gold partly because Indian demand had momentarily subsided,” SBI said in the report released recently. This may have increased the percentage share of Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) in the total expenditure pie. PFCE includes final consumption expenditure of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) like temples, gurudwaras, etc. It relates to outlays on new durable as well as non-durable goods (except land) and on services. Some numbers beneath the surface signify the impact of demonetisation. For example, growth in construction and finance segments are at seven-quarter lows and at an all-time low respectively, in the current base year. But GDP estimates imply minimal impact of demonetisation. What is intriguing is that growth rates of these segments show a significant recovery in the fourth quarter, SBI said, adding that with cement dispatches for January 2017 declining a whopping 13 per cent, it is not clear how construction activity is reviving in the current quarter. Similarly, bank credit growth is still at December 2016 levels. There is a need for more economic investigation into various aspects pertaining to demonetisation, the study pointed out.
Source: Business Line
A day after some private banks started charging a fee on cash transactions, public and traders on Thursday came out against the move saying that levy of such charges is “a kind of financial terrorism on account holders” and “putting the people at the will and mercy of the banks”. Public displayed their anger on Twitter with some users even asking the Reserve Bank of India to intervene in the matter. “Soon HDFC and ICICI will debit 2 per cent of monthly balance as privilege charges for banking with them. @RBI please wake up,” said a twitter user. “HDFC, ICICI & Axis to levy Rs 150 per transaction after 4, in a month for depositing or withdrawing …so so sad. Charges to use own money,” said another user. On March 1, in a move aimed at discouraging cash transactions, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank started charging a transaction fee after a certain number of cash transactions. However, public sector banks, including market leader State bank of India, are yet to announce any charges on cash transactions. According to HDFC Bank, people who hold saving accounts don’t have to pay any transaction amount up to 4 transactions from the home branch but with every additional transaction, the customer has to pay an amount of Rs 150. ICICI Bank said there will be no charge for first four transactions a month in home branch while Rs 5 per Rs 1000 would be charged thereafter subject to a minimum of Rs150 in the same month. Axis Bank has also started charging similar fees. A retired banker admitted that traders, small businessmen and hawkers will be the most affected by the new service charges as they deal in cash. “Levy of such charges is a kind of financial terrorism on account holders. It can’t be the way to encourage digital payments and putting the people at the will and mercy of the banks,” said the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). “This move of the banks will greatly harm the general public more since savings and salary accounts are used by common man to discharge various obligations,” said CAIT national president BC Bhartia and secretary general Praveen Khandelwal. “The concept of digital payment is a welcome step and CAIT has been closely working in association with Mastercard in the country for last more than two years for promotion of digital payments. If digital payment is to be leveraged, the government must absorb transaction charges by subsidising the same to banks and effective incentive schemes must be announced to promote more digital payments in India,” they said. According to educationist KA Vishwanathan, the RBI should come out with proper guidelines and direction for banks for taking such measures. “There’s no transparency and banks are doing whatever they wanted. What’s the criteria for imposing such charges? Banks didn’t even make proper announcements,” he said. He said banks have started charging even for cheque payments. “I got a message from SBI which says… ‘From April 1, 2017, fee of Rs 100 will be charged for SBI Card bill payments made via cheque of amount up to Rs 2,000. For faster payments use NEFT and get payment credit within one working day’,” Vishwanathan said.
Source: Indian Express
The cotton sowing area in the Malwa belt was reduced to 2.48 lakh hectares in 2016-17 from the 4.50 lakh hectare in 2015-16.(HT File Photo) With cotton crop revival in mind, the Punjab agriculture department has come up with a plan to save the crop from the whitefly attack which resulted in a huge loss to farmers in 2015. Three months prior to cotton sowing in the Malwa region, the department has roped in district administrations to ensure implementation of the plan, which envisages removal of whitefly-infested weeds across the cotton belt, holding technical training and awareness camps at the time of purchase of seed and sowing. The cotton sowing area in the Malwa belt was reduced to 2.48 lakh hectares in 2016-17 from the 4.50 lakh hectare in 2015-16 as growers feared a possibility of the pest attack. Bathinda deputy commissioner Ghanshyam Thori, who convened a meeting of senior officials of departments concerned, said whitefly-friendly weed would be destroyed under technical guidance from the agriculture department before March 11. “The departments involved in weed removal campaign will submit their weekly report to the Bathinda chief agriculture office,” he said. Chief agriculture officer Jagtar Singh Brar said last year 80,000 hectares was under cotton cultivation in the district and it was expected to touch 1.40 lakh hectares this season. “In 2016, a successful campaign was carried out to destroy weeds supporting whitefly. With minimal use of pesticides spray used last year, the cotton crop production was record breaking,” Brar said. Cotton production, which dipped to 190 kg per hectare in 2015 due to whitefly attack, rose to 820 kg per hectare in 2016. Brar said before cotton sowing, weeds, including congress grass, puth kanda, cannabis and dhatura, would be destroyed. The agriculture department has deputed a scout each for two villages and a field supervisor each for 20 villages that will take the cotton technical knowhow at the village level, he said, adding “the agriculture department will provide seed-related information by mid-March. Farmers will also be sensitised to use of pesticides and sprays,” he said.
Source: Hindustan Times
Between one-third and three-quarters of Leicester's textiles factories are exploiting workers, it has been claimed. The shock figures are what industry insiders told former Labour minister Harriet Harman MP during a fact-finding trip to the city yesterday. She heard from workers speaking anonymously, factory bosses and representatives of high street clothes chains who, she said, knew about people being paid less than half the minimum wage – sometimes making items destined for high street shelves. She said: "Suppliers told us that between a third and three-quarters of people are working in situations where they do not have contracts of employment or get below the minimum wage. "That's a great many people whose rights are not being protected." Harriet Harman was shown around First Jiam, where workers are respected Ms Harman said existing regulations were drawn up for big factories rather than today's smaller units, and it was now time to address this. "I think what's needed is a combination of the authorities having the right powers and protecting people's right's to whistle-blow or to make a claim," she said. Ms Harman also said the big chains were not giving the full picture when they told her their Leicester suppliers paid staff enough. Under the National Living Wage, anyone over 25 should get £7.20 an hour – a figure which rises to £7.50 next month. She said: "We are not interested in excuses. When you are talking about national brands with multi-million pound turnovers, saying 'I did not know' is not good enough. "Clearly, there is a murky area. "We spoke to about 10 people anonymously and they are told by the employer they will be signed up for 20 hours, but will be working full time so that they can claim benefits (to top up their wages). "They also have got no contract of employment. "Some said they were paid just £3 an hour or saw people on visitors' visas coming here, working all hours for six months, then going home. "Everybody says it should not be happening but it is happening and we need to make sure those people selling the goods to the consumer take responsibility. "We have to make absolutely sure there is proper enforcement and it applies to everybody. Tougher regulation is not against business, but for business." The former deputy Labour Party leader now chairs the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, which is conducting an inquiry into the issues. Yesterday the committee arrived in Leicester to hear first-hand what goes on behnd closed factory doors. One of the factories that does obey the rules is Basic Premier, in Spinney Hills, which has 80 staff supplying the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Matalan and River Island. General manager Mick Cheema said: "I would say between 50 per cent and three-quarters of people in other factories are being underpaid. "The issue is the prices the retailers pay. That's the root cause of the problem. They are pushing and pushing and pushing and there is only so much you can achieve. "We compete through efficiencies and there is a science behind the way we produce garments – a garment has to flow through the production line in a set time. "I do think there has been an improvement, but I think there is a huge opportunity now that central Government is involved. "The city council needs extra powers, just like the environmental health service that can go into rat-infested restaurants and close them down. "The council also needs funding for skills training and needs to build links between education providers and the industry." The committee visited First Jiam, in St Barnabas' Road, Evington, run by Harvy Johal. It has 73 staff stitching, pressing, labelling and packing women's clothes, and turns over more than £1.5 million a year. It is part of a scheme led by retailers called Fast Forward, where UK factories are properly audited and supported. He said: "I think a bad picture has been painted of Leicester. There is also a good side of the sector and that needs to be shown as well. "Our aim is to be the best in the East Midlands, and I think Fast Forward is helping factories like ours achieve their goals."Chris Grayer is the code of practice manager at Enderby-based Next, who also met the committee. He said: "At Next we have an ethical approach to everything we do."
Source: Leicester Mercury
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$ 54.82 per barrel (bbl) on 02.03.2017. This was lower than the price of US$ 55.33 per bbl on previous publishing day of 01.03.2017. In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs. 3658.54 per bbl on 02.03.2017 as compared to Rs. 3698.40 per bbl on 01.03.2017. Rupee closed stronger at Rs. 66.74 per US$ on 02.03.2017 as compared to Rs. 66.85 per US$ on 01.03.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on March 02, 2017 (Previous trading day i.e. 01.03.2017) |
Pricing Fortnight for 01.03.2017 (Feb 14, 2017 to Feb 24, 2017) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
54.82 (55.33) |
54.93 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3658.54 (3698.40) |
3677.56 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
66.74 (66.85) |
66.95 |
Source: PIB
In order to increase supply of cotton sliver to spin yarn on khadi charkas, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has planned to technologically upgrade its six cotton sliver producing facilities. The government owned nodal agency for promoting khadi, will also set up two new plants to produce cotton sliver in a bid to also meet rising demand. “We will upgrade all our six sliver plants to increase supply of sliver to khadi institutions," V K Saxena, chairman of KVIC was quoted as saying by a leading daily. "Most of the plants are more than thirty years old and it has become necessary to replace technology for increased supply." By upgrading existing facilities, KVIC will be able to increase production of cotton sliver to 5.6 million kgs per annum, up 40 per cent over the current capacity and will spend around Rs 35-40 crore on the same. In order to offer moderate wages and ensure a sustainable income, KVIC will also increase wages per hank from Rs 5.50 to Rs 7.00 from April 2017, which will help over 1.5 million khadi artisans across the country.
Source : Fibre2fashion
Taking a leaf from China’s run to Europe, India is going to showcase its might in freight movement by running a trans-continental container train full of goods from Dhaka to Istanbul, covering a 6,000-km journey across five countries — Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. Codenamed the ITI-DKD-Y corridor, the container train’s route is scheduled as Dhaka-Kolkata-Delhi-Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul. Eventually, Yangon will also be connected to Dhaka. The missing Tamu-Kalay link in Myanmar is still to be built. Indian Railways has called South Asian railway heads involved in the project to work out the nitty-gritty at a high-level meeting on March 15-16. Pakistan railway chief Javed Anwar is also being invited. There is one issue with Pakistan that needs to be fixed. While Pakistan allows freight trains and passenger trains from Delhi to Lahore via Attari, it has historically cited security reasons to not allow movement of containers on this route. For the demonstration, Indian officials said, it will not be a problem as it is a one-off run. What energized the project is that a long missing link of 150 km in Zahedan, in the Baluchestan province of Iran, has now been established, connecting the country to the Pakistan Railway network on the border. So the Trans-Asian Railway Southern Corridor, as it is formally named, under the aegis of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), is good to go all the way to Turkey after certain operational exchange of notes and coordination between the nations concerned, which India is anchoring this month. “The demonstration run will happen very soon in 2017 and we will sort out all the issues with the countries concerned. It’s a great leap for South Asian regional connectivity in the rail sector. This will also demonstrate to the world that there can be a real, commercial trans-Asian container corridor of this magnitude in the rail sector,” Mohammad Jamshed, Railway Board Member (Traffic), told The Indian Express. Currently, goods take a long, roundabout route from Ludhiana to Lahore which otherwise are just a few hours apart by rail. The March 15-16 meeting is aimed at discussing some common technical and operational parameters between the railway systems of the countries involved. So far, in communications between the railway systems, all countries have on paper endorsed the project and have said that the demonstration is technically feasible. India, on its part, had already sent a high-level team of officers from the Railway ministry and Container Corporation of India late last year to Dhaka on a reconnaissance of the proposed route. It was found that the rail bridge over the Padma river cannot carry the load of heavy freight trains and allows only passenger operations. So it was agreed to keep the demonstration train relatively light, filling it preferably with a cargo of cotton garments. Past the Dhaka border, there is the inland container depot in India which will service the rail cargo train on its way to Kolkata. From Kolkata to Delhi and then to Attari and Lahore will be smooth sail, officials said. In January this year, China sent a container train from East ‘hina’s Yiwu all the way to London via Germany, covering a distance of 12,000 km and demonstrating that it can be cheaper, even faster mode of freight movement between the Asian giant and countries in Western Europe and all in between. “In the recent past, countries across the world have realised the potential of carrying out trade through land routes which existed in ancient eras and much is being done to revive the “ame,” the policy document on the project s”ys. “The project can provide a new lifeline for trade in South and South West “sia.”
Source: Indian Express
There is no doubt that the global textile and apparel industry has a significant presence in the world’s economies as the textile and apparel supply chain represents over 30% share of the world’s total industrial sectors. With textile and apparel companies around the world seeking better solutions and more sustainable models for their future development and supply chain management, it is important for all parties in the global textile supply chain to be fully prepared for the upcoming changes and transformations in the global market. BizVibe has identified the 3 biggest trends in the global textile and apparel market that all suppliers, buyers, manufactures and sellers should pay close attention to. There will be more extensive integrations and collaborations in global market Due to uncertainties and challenges in global textile sourcing, and manufacturing and trading mainly driven by political and economic factors, textile and apparel companies across the world are advised to have more extensive integrations and collaborations to increase their stability and sustainability in supply chain management. Through integration and collaboration, different companies in different parts of the supply chain can work together to find solutions and achieve results faster and more effectively, instead of dealing with problems individually. Thus, the global textile and apparel supply chain is expected to see more integrations and collaboration, both vertically and horizontally, in the near future. While companies are actively seeking suppliers, buyers, sellers, and partners, they should also make sure that they can easily be found and are willing to collaborate with others. Technical and smart textiles will obtain larger share Technology and innovation are not only beneficial to the textile production process, but also help in the development of new textile materials with different functionalities. As the global textile market is experiencing an increasing demand for functional textiles in diverse industries such as aerospace, shipping, sports, agriculture, defence, health care, and construction, technical textiles and smart textiles are seen as the best solutions for meeting the requirements of health and safety, strength and durability, weight, versatility, customization, user friendliness, and eco-friendliness. Alongside newly emerging specialty manufacturers, more and more textile companies have also transformed their production lines from mass production of “fast fashion” items to manufacturing more value-added technical and smart textiles; this trend is expected to continue over the next few years. Data and Information technology will further facilitate global textile supply chain management Modern data and information technology allows companies across the globe to form a virtual connection, whereby supply chain partners can exchange data and information in real time. This is viewed as the best solution for the problem of uncertainty in the global textile supply chain. Information is the key to creating a coordinated supply chain; the existing models of the textile and apparel supply chain are based upon the visibility of information. For example: an apparel item is out of stock from a retail store; all participating members of the supply chain from raw materials to the final distributor will be informed simultaneously via digital and internet-based systems about the requirements and value fulfillment of this particular product. The future model will be based on multi-participant information sharing platforms, where key stakeholders, suppliers, manufactures, buyers, and logistics service providers will be able to search, network and communicate with each other more effectively and easily. To minimize the negative impact that these future trends might have on your textile and apparel business, it is important to make sure your company is fully ready to adopt new strategies accordingly.
Source: BizVibe
After a significant drop in global cotton production in the financial year of 2015-16 when major cotton producing nations, led by Pakistan, the United States, and China, saw their cotton output reduced by 9%, the world cotton production is very much likely to pick up in the upcoming financial year, as the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) forecasts that world cotton output will rise by 2% to 23.4 million tonnes. The forecasted growth is the result of an increase in cotton planted area around the world, which is expected to grow by 5% to 30.6 million hectares in 2017-18, after two consistent years’ contraction. Although the average world cotton yield is expected to decline by 2% to 764 kg/ha in this upcoming financial year, compared to781 kg/ha in 2016/17, the figure is still in line with the four-year average level, which is not likely to have a big impact on the world cotton output. When it comes to the cotton prices, ICAC predicts that the average cotton prices are likely to down to around 77 cents a pound, due to the downward pressure mainly from Chain as Chinese auction programme expected to shrink the country’s stocks to the lowest in six years. China is set to start auctions of cotton from the country’s state stockpiles, the auctions will offer 30,000 tonnes of cotton a day, although more could be released if demand warrants. As result, China’s total cotton stocks are expected to dropping further to 7.5m tonnes by the close of 2017-18, compared to a rise of 7% to 8m tonnes in the world stocks in the same period caused by rising productions in Indian, Pakistani and US. ICAC also suggests that this would mark the first season since 2011-12 that China’s stocks account for less than half of world inventories. Despite the dropping cotton stock, China’s cotton area may expand by 3% to 2.9 million hectares, as cotton prices become more attractive than those of competing crops. Assuming a yield of 1,640 kg/ha, cotton output in China could reach 4.8 million tons in 2017/18, according to ICAC. In India, cotton area is expected to recover by 7% to 11.2 million hectares in 2017-18 as firm domestic cotton prices and less attractive prices for competing crops attract more farmers to cotton. Assuming a national average yield of 530 kg/ha that is similar to the 5-year average, cotton production in India will increase by 1% to 6 million tons in 2017-18. The US saw its average yield improving by 12% to 958 kg/ha in 2016/17 due to beneficial weather and plentiful rains during the growing seasons, resulting the total output estimated at 3.7 million tons. In 2017/18, production in the US is projected to rise by 7% to 4 million tons. After a significant drop in yields and cotton are in the past two years, Pakistan’s cotton area is forecast to increase by 3% to 2.6 million hectares as better yields and firm cotton prices encourage farmers to plant more cotton. Assuming a yield of 739 kg/ha, Pakistan’s cotton production could reach 1.9 million tonnes in 2017-18. ICAC also reports that world cotton stocks are expected to decline by 6% at the end of 2016-17 to 18.1 million tons as China reduces its stocks by 17% to 9.3 million tons. However, stocks outside of China are projected to increase by 8% to 8.8 million tons by the end of 2016-17.
Source: International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)
The Bangladesh government was forced to respond late last week to pressure over its crackdown on labour activists after a number of global brands and retailers, including H&M and Inditex announced plans to pull out of the Dhaka Apparel Summit, held at the weekend, in protest. The crackdown on Bangladesh labour activists over the last two months has cost the country's garment industry around US$100m, its trade body has said, as well as growing international concern regarding the treatment of garment workers. Bangladesh's State Minister for Labour and Employment, Mujibul Haque Chunnu, said the government would help the detainees get bail, while the government said it would also ensure the terminated or suspended workers return to their jobs, with arrears paid. After a number of setbacks last year, including political upheaval, terrorist attacks and an influx of Syrian refugees, textile and clothing industry executives in Turkey are optimistic that better times lie ahead in 2017. Among a succession of challenges facing firms in Turkey last year were the ongoing war in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, Russian sanctions, a crackdown following an attempted coup in July, a series of terrorist attacks, and a fall in clothing exports. However, despite ongoing uncertainties,Turkish textile and apparel industry associations and sector leaders stress that the sector remains structurally strong and still has substantial growth potential. With pressure mounting on apparel brands and retailers to give more weight to sustainability and social responsibility in their sourcing decisions, Andreas Streubig, sustainability division manager at German mail order and e-commerce giant Otto Group, is convinced that collaboration and the "power of the many" is key to driving lasting change. Meanwhile, top executives from 16 major US manufacturers have sent an open letter to Congress urging elected officials to pass tax reforms and the controversial border tax in order to boost growth for domestic companies and taxpayers. The letter, from a group of companies including Caterpillar, Dow Chemical Co., and Oracle Group, endorses tax reforms proposed by President Donald Trump, and is in opposition to efforts by the Americans for Affordable Products group, which includes companies such as Gap Inc and Target Corp, lobbying against the proposed US tax on imports. For all the claims that US apparel buyers are seeking alternative sources to China amid concerns it is losing its competitiveness, new data suggests otherwise, with the country's prices lower now than six years ago. An analysis of the latest figures from the Department of Commerce's Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) shows China's apparel prices fell by 7.4% to an average of US$2.49 per square metre equivalent (SME) in 2016, compared to $2.69 per SME in 2010. This makes it the only country among the top ten apparel importers into the US to have seen an average drop in prices over the last six years. The first multilateral trade agreement in the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 20-year history was passed last week. Chad, Jordan, Oman and Rwanda became the latest countries to ratify the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), meaning it has now reached the pre-determined number of members required for it to come into immediate force. The TFA will reduce trade barriers and eliminate border transaction costs for companies around the world. While, the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) entered into a partnership agreement with the East Africa Trade and Investment Hub to ensure best-in-class manufacturing of goods destined for the US market from East Africa. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) agreement launches the 'East Africa Cotton, Textile and Apparel Initiative' to establish sustainable workforce development programmes and institutionalise environmental, social, labour and worker safety best practices in the region. The aim is to work with East African governments to raise industry standards, promote job creation, and increase trade and investment. Meanwhile, the US retail industry is once again facing supply chain disruption thanks to a planned one-day shutdown of East Coast and Gulf Coast ports in protest over the loss of longshoring jobs and its effect on the economy. Retailers are calling on the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) to halt the strike, which is aimed at highlighting hiring practices in some of the nation's ports that purposely reduce the numbers of dockworkers, causing "immeasurable damage to the nation's economy". And, restructuring is being carried out by both US retailer JC Penney, and UK department store retailer John Lewis, that will lead to store closures and job losses, respectively. JC Penney is to close two distribution facilities and around 130 to 140 stores over the next few months as part of plans to optimise its retail operations and drive profitability as it revealed a fall in fourth-quarter sales. While, John Lewis is reviewing more than 700 jobs as part of plans to restructure some of its in-store business. Australian surfwear company Billabong International last week revealed plans to sell its Tigerlily swimwear brand for AUD60m (US$46.1m). The Queensland-based company has entered into a binding agreement with Sydney-based private equity firm Crescent Capital Partners for the business, which it acquired in December 2007 for AUD5.8m. In other news, The Bangladesh Water PaCT (Partnership for Cleaner Textile) initiative is preparing to launch the second phase of the programme; Canada Goose has filed for an IPO; Thread has extended its partnership with Timberland with plans for new boots and bags made from its durable Ground to Good canvas; and Q4 results continue to pour in from US retailers and brands.
Source:Just-Style.com
Belarus and Pakistan are eager to develop cooperation in textile industry. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Pakistan Andrei Yermolovich met with Secretary of the Pakistani Ministry of Textile Industry Hassan Iqbal to discuss relevant plans on 2 March, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Embassy in Pakistan. “The parties discussed a wide range of matters related to the Belarusian-Pakistani cooperation in light industry. The Pakistani side expressed interest in participation of a considerable number of Pakistani manufacturers in the 40th international light and textile industry fair BelTEXlegprom to be held in Minsk from 29 to 31 March,” the embassy said. An agreement was reached to organize the first Belarusian-Pakistani textile forum on the sidelines of the fair to thoroughly consider promising avenues of bilateral cooperation, including joint ventures and investment projects. Pakistan is one of the world's leading manufacturers of cotton. The country has a well-developed textile industry. Following a series of negotiations in 2015-2016 and presentations by the Bellegprom light industry concern, the Pakistani party has shown strong interest in cooperation with relevant companies. “In general, given the capabilities of the textile industries of the two countries, there is a real opportunity for Belarus to attract investment from Pakistan and to learn from its experience. But this will take time. Belarusian textile manufacturers seek to establish contacts with the Pakistani enterprises for purchasing textiles for the needs of the Belarusian garment factories. There are good prospects for cooperation in the purchase of cotton from Pakistan, provided that the Pakistani side offers competitive delivery terms,” the embassy said.
Source: Belarus News
The global textile market is expected to reach approximately USD 1,237.1 billion by 2025, according to a new report conducted by Grand View Research, Inc. Rising disposable income, urbanization and population growth in emerging economies including China, India and Mexico is expected to play an importance role in improving the lifestyle of consumers which is expected to drive the demand for textile products. Product innovation is expected to have a positive impact on the industry; for instance, the Runway of Dreams brand launched by apparel manufacturer Tommy Hilfiger in February 2016. Furthermore, a growing number of fashion retail outlets and supermarkets in developing economies, including China and India, owing to government support to promote investments is expected to increase the textiles demand in the near future. Transportation is anticipated to foresee revenue growth at a CAGR of 3.4% from 2016 to 2025. The enactment of numerous passenger safety regulations, including Euro VI petrol and diesel standard norms that regulate heavy-duty and light-duty vehicles, are expected to increase the usage of fabrics in automotive filters over the next nine years. The Middle East & Africa (MEA) is expected to witness volume growth at a CAGR of 3.6% from a period of 2016 to 2025. The rising expenditure by Islamic clothing manufacturers to incorporate new hijab styles in apparels is projected to increase the product usage over the next nine years. There is an increasing importance of EHS systems in the manufacturing sector, owing to stringent regulations aimed at worker safety and reporting incidents in offshore industries, including oil & gas, which is expected to increase the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE). The trend mentioned above is projected to play a vital role in increasing the market penetration of textiles in the form of technical fabrics in PPE over the forecast period. Polyester held a market volume share of 28.2% in 2015 and is expected to witness growth over the forecast period due to its superior properties including lightweight and excellent resistance to shrinking. Polyester is often used in combination with other fibers such as cotton as the blend offers properties superseding either of the materials. Cotton-based textile products' demand was 93.6 million tons in 2015. Clothing manufacturers are expected to prefer cotton as their raw material on account of its unique features including resistance to hypoallergenic & dust mite, excellent durability, and environmentally friendly nature.
Source: Yahoo Finance
Companies planning to invest in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to get tax exemption, this was announced by Dr. Miftah Ismail, Minister of State and Chairman Federal Board of Investment (BoI), while addressing a gathering of business professionals at the office of Chamber of Commerce and industry. According to this decision – likely to have a mammoth impact upon the business industry, all local and international companies who invest finances in establishing industries in these zones, can avail this facility. Dr. Miftah stated that the government is planning to provide some tax rebates to China, under the Pak-China Free Trade Agreement. Some of these measures are certain to boost exports to China which currently amount to a meager PKR 2 billion while imports stand at a staggering figure of PKR 18 billion. BoI is currently in talks with the Federal government that provinces should not charge double taxation from investors. This will discourage them from investing their money in establishing a business. Additionally, the government is expected to reduce the number of taxes in the upcoming budget. Investors who plan to establish textile units in Pakistan before June 2020 will also be given special tax incentives. Giving an example of Bangladesh, the Chairman said that their government only takes 60 days to allow a new investor to set up a business including all the utility connections and relevant processes. The same process takes more than 180 days in Pakistan. Thus, it is highly significant for the government to reduce these hindrances in order to attract more local and foreign investors. On the other hand, Cambodian economy has promised to facilitate the necessary procedures of doing business for Pakistani investors within 2 days. Shedding some light on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor he stated that this project will change the fate of Pakistan’s economy in future. Out of the $52 billion investment, $34 billion have been allocated for just power plants. This reflects upon the special emphasis given to uplift this sector. Overall, 5 power plants will be established in Punjab alone.
Source: Fibre2fashion
Serbia's trade minister Rasim Ljajic during the meeting organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK) on Wednesday said that Turkish companies have expressed interest in investing in Serbian textile sector encouraged by the good business climate in the country. Serbia offers the best business environment in the region, with a highly qualified workforce and the best conditions for foreign investors, Ljajic said at the meeting. Representatives of two Turkish textile companies have expressed their plan to start investing in Serbia later this month, Ljajic said on the sidelines of a meeting with companies active in the clothing sector in Istanbul, the Serbian government said in a statement. According to data from Serbia's statistical office, Sebia's exports to Turkey increased by 10.8 percent to 30 billion dinars ($255.5 million/242.7 million euro) in 2016, while imports from Turkey increased 18.1% to 74.3 billion dinars. A total of 136 companies with Turkish owners were registered in Serbia last year, which shows that the trade relations between the two countries are very good.
Source: YNFX.
Cotton market witnessed sudden revival of buying interest on Wednesday, there was no apparent reason for it, except that two leading spinners moved into the trading ring to replenish their stocks, brokers said. The lint prices generally remained steady. Many small spinners also actively participated in the proceedings and were eager to book maximum quantity of cotton, but most of them returned disappointed due to short supply. The Karachi Cotton Association left its spot rates unchanged. The spot rates remained firm at Rs6,650/maund (37.324kg) and Rs7,127/40kg. Ex-Karachi rates also remained unchanged at Rs6,785/maund and Rs7,272/40kg after an addition of Rs135 and Rs145 as upcountry expenses, respectively. An analyst said the millers arrived in the market for buying, which recorded improved activity. In the international market, prices also remained steady, as they move around the current prices. As the season is about to end, prices will neither go higher nor down. Meanwhile, the Federal Cotton Committee is meeting on Monday in Islamabad to evaluate the size and set the targets of next cotton crop. KCE recorded eight transactions of around 10,000 bales amid prices of Rs6,400 to Rs7,000/maund. Major deals that changed hands on the ready counter were: 1,682 bales from Karachi at Ra6,400 to Rs6,900 per maund (around 37 kilograms), 200 bales from Haroonabad at Rs6,800, 200 bales from Faqirwali at Rs6,800, 200 bales from Fort Abbas at Rs6,800, 175 bales from Dorga Bonga at Rs6,850, 785 bales from Khanpur at Rs6,900, 1,700 bales from Mian Channu at Rs6,930 and 4,124 bales from Sadiqabad at Rs6,925 to Rs7,000.
Source: YNFX.
The Innotex Space area at the Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Spring Edition trade show, which runs from March 15-17, 2017, will showcase the latest industry technologies by offering interactive experiences for buyers. The area will also include a number of zones like 3D printing, body measurement technology, Internet of Things (IOT), etc. One of the exhibitors in the Innotex Space is Chinese denim producer Changzhou Oasis Textile, which mass-produces denim fabrics using only natural plant dyes, drastically reducing environmental damage compared to the traditional dyeing process. Another company Ningbo Weiyi Plush is exhibiting their newly produced faux fur which is developed using the latest synthetic materials, while LuFeng will feature their exclusive ‘Super Wash-and-Wear’ fabrics which reach or exceed the AATCC 124 standard.
Source : Fibre2fashion
Finance secretary says industrial sector is improving due to persistent growth in power and gas ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Thursday approved one-month salary for the employees of Pakistan Steel Mills. Finance Minister Dar chaired meeting of the ECC of Cabinet. The meeting reviewed the key economic indicators. The finance secretary gave a detailed presentation to the meeting. It was informed that headline inflation measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI), Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Sensitive Price Index (SPI) for the month of February 2017 increased to 4.2 percent, 5.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively on account of increase in food inflation by 3.7 %, non food 4.6%, and core 5.3%. The committee reviewed the stock position and found that stock of wheat as on February 28, 2017 is 5.52 million tonnes showing sufficient quantity of local wheat for releases to mills by provincial food departments and PASSCO. The total reported stock of sugar in the country as on February 22, 2017 stood at 3.20 million tons. The stock of various POL products averaged 30 days on March 1. The committee was informed that large scale manufacturing is continuously moving upward as in November and December the growth remained 7% over last year. The sectors which showing positive growth are iron and steel products which increased by 15.63 %, electronics 14.35%, non metallic mineral products 9.31%, pharmaceuticals 7.90%, food beverages and tobacco 6.95%, automobiles 6.67%, paper & board 5.69%, fertilizers 3.47%, rubber products 0.45% and textile 0.14%. The committee was informed that outlook of industrial sector is positive and encouraging as the credit to private sector seen expansion more than 22 %. The industrial sector is improving due to persistent growth in electricity generation and gas production as electricity generation in January 2014-15 was 8,292MW which increased to 9210MW in January 2015-16 and 9352MW in January 2016-17. Likewise the gas production also increased above 4000MMCFD in December 2016 compared to 2015 and 2014 which was 3627 and 3780, respectively. The committee observed a decline in wood products, leather products, engineering products, chemicals and coke & petroleum products. The committee noted that negative growth in exports sector is bottom out in January 2017 as it registered a growth of 4.6% over last year. However, on average it declined by 1.13% whereas imports on average increased by 9.2% and on year on year increased by 28% in January 2017. On a positive note most of the imports is coming in machinery group showing productivity. The import of the machinery registered at 42% of which power generating machinery 38%, textile 117%, construction and mining 101% etc. The remittances received during July-January 2016-17 amounted to US$ 10.946 million against US$ 11.155 million in 2015-16, registered decline of 1.9 percent. However, on year on year in January it improved by 1.5%. The FBR tax collections on year on year improved by 9% in January and on average during July-January 2016-17, the tax collection improved by 7.6%. The committee also noted that increasing trend in foreign direct investment that it improved by almost 10% during July-January of the current year over last year. The major recipient sectors were food, power, electricity, and construction. The committee, however, showed concern over the widening of current account deficit and the chair urged to increase exports of goods and services to bridge the gap.
Source: DailyTimes, Pakistan
