NATIONAL

• Small biz not ready for GST, delay roll out till Sep: CAIT
• India's GDP growth appears solid, says noted US economist
• Government reviewing Scheme for integrated textile parks post violation of norms by some SPVs
• SIMA appeals to TN govt to withdraw hike in VAT on petrol,diesel
• 80% of farm suicides by cotton growers: Study
• Why Indian farmers don’t reap what they sow
• Decision of merge MSSE and textiles dept with large industries
• Global Crude oil price of Indian Basket was US$ 54.02 per bbl on 03.03.2017

INTERNATIONAL

• Pakistan : Populist economic priorities
• Bangladesh : Engineering, textile, pharma dominate turnover
• Afghanistan : Garment Factories Face Recession
• Pakistan: The new face of fashion
• NA body endorses Textile Ministry’s budgetary proposals
• Chinese textile mills expect drop in cotton prices with state reserve auction
• Kyrgyzstan plans full cycle of industrial production to boost textile industry

Global Textile Raw Material Price 2017-03-05

Source: Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14501 USD dtd. 05/03/2017)

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

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Small biz not ready for GST, delay roll out till Sep: CAIT

Traders association Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) today made a case for delaying the roll out of Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime to September 1 as small businesses are not yet prepared for it.  Nearly 70 per cent of small businesses in the country are yet to adopt digital technology in their business format and as such it is a big challenge for them to computerised themselves in the shortest period, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said.  "Accordingly, the deadline of GST implementation from July 1, may be deferred for a reasonable time and meanwhile a nationwide campaign for mass awareness on GST may be conducted involving trade associations all over the country," he said.  Though CAIT favour early implementation of GST in the country yet it has urged the Government to give reasonable time to traders to understand the provisions of GST and prepare themselves for smooth transition from current VAT regime to GST, he said. The GST, a technology-based taxation system, requires compliance through online system, he added.  After the passage of model GST law in the second leg of Budget session, traders would be left with 60 days to adopt this technology-based system which requires training and education and awareness, he said, adding the timeframe is too short.  About two crore small businesses across the country would come under GST regime and 60 days would not be enough for spreading awareness and educating about the new taxation system, he said.  "Given the Constitutional obligation, we think that September 1 could be taken as roll out date for GST," he said.  Besides, he urged that the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to consider traders concerns so that anomalies could be removed.  Since GST is a destination based taxation system and traders are the last mile connect with consumers, the views and comments of trade and commerce will go a long way in establishing GST as a best revenue model in the country, he said.  "The concept of e-permit in inter-state transactions will destroy One nation-One Tax concept. Since each activity will be linked through GST network enabling the Government to keep a close watch on each and every movement of goods and services, the provision of e-permit should be withdrawn," he said.

Source: Business Standard

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India's GDP growth appears solid, says noted US economist

NEW DELHI: Noted American economist Steve H Hanke has said that India's economic growth for 2016-17 is appearing 'solid' because the GDP figures did not take into account adverse impact of demonetisation on informal economy.  "India's growth is only solid b/c it ignores the adverse effect of #demonetization on the massive informal economy," Hanke, an American applied economist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, said in a tweet.  The Indian government had last month pegged GDP growth at a higher-than-expected 7.1 per cent for the current fiscal despite note ban. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) had put the growth rate for October-December -- the quarter in which the government banned 86 per cent of the currency in circulation -- at 7 per cent, compared to 7.4 per cent in the second quarter and 7.2 per cent in the first quarter.  India's growth was higher than China's 6.8 per cent for the October-December period of 2016.  The growth numbers were better than those projected by the RBI (6.9 per cent) and international agencies like IMF (6.6 per cent), OECD (7 per cent) in view of demonetisation.  The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) had in February last year projected the country's economy to expand at 7.4 per cent in 2016-17.  Buoyed by higher-than-expected GDP growth, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has also said a 7 per cent expansion in third quarter belies exaggerated claims of note ban impact on rural economy.

Source: Economic Times

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Government reviewing Scheme for integrated textile parks post violation of norms by some SPVs

The government is reviewing the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP) after a report found that the scheme failed to achieve its objectives and special purpose vehicles of the parks violated norms. The report by Wazir Advisors to the Ministry has cited various reasons, including high rentals in some parks The government is reviewing the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP) after a report found that the scheme failed to achieve its objectives and special purpose vehicles of the parks violated norms. “We are reviewing the Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks as many SPVs were found violating its norms as non-textiles units were operating from inside the parks,” a senior Textiles Ministry official told PTI. “The report commissioned by us has also revealed many loopholes in the scheme which need to be rectified,” the official said. The report by Wazir Advisors to the Ministry has cited various reasons, including high rentals in some parks, changes in other government schemes or regulations, lack of marketing efforts, no special benefits available for investors in parks, poor accessibility and challenges for units in SEZ Parks, for the scheme failing to attain its objectives. The report has recommended that a new scheme — Mega Textile Parks — be launched with parks having minimum land size of 1,000 acres, and infrastructure support in the form of readymade factory sheds, warehouse, incubation centres and testing labs, with express connectivity to seaports and airports. The implementing agencies for the new scheme should be entrepreneurs-led SPV (special purpose vehicle), industry associations or state government either through their institutions or in PPP mode, said the report on review of the SITP scheme. Textiles Minister Smriti Irani last month had informed Parliament that the ministry was examining complaints against certain SPVs of textile parks sanctioned under the SITP for violation of guidelines. She had said that show cause notices to at least four SPVs, namely the Vraj Integrated Textile Park; GILT Textile Park; Surat Super Yarn; and EIGMEF Apparel Park, had been issued for violation of norms. “The Government has sought response of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd. (IL&FS) which was the Project Management Consultant (PMC) for Vraj Integrated Textile Park regarding violation of guidelines/criteria of the Scheme for integrated Textile Parks (SITP) by the Special Purposes Vehicle (SPV) of the said Park. “Based on the response of IL&FS, the SPV and PMC have been directed to get those non-textile units which were not part of the approved project of Vraj Integrated Textile Park relocated outside the textile park area sanctioned under the SITP,” Irani had said in a reply to the Lok Sabha. The Vraj integrated textile park is owned by the Chiripal Group and is based in Gujarat. The Textiles Ministry has also cancelled several projects after the SPVs were found flouting the SITP’s guidelines. These include Bharat Fabtex & Corporate Park Pvt Ltd; Vaigai HiTech weaving Park; Shri Dhairyashil Mane Textile Park Co-op Society Limited; Hyderabad Hi-tech Weaving Park; Edison Integrated Textiles Park; Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn Ltd; Wada Textile Park; Kapila Textile Park; Rajasthan Texmart Textile park; Soham Textile Park; Shri Laxminarayan Textile Park; and SLS Textile Park, Tamil Nadu.

Source: The Financial Express

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SIMA appeals to TN govt to withdraw hike in VAT on petrol,diesel

COIMBATORE : The apex body of textile mills, The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA), has appealed to the Tamil Nadu government, to withdraw the hike in VAT on petrol and diesel. In a communication to the Chief Minister, SIMA Chairman, M .Senthilkumar, termed the hike as unwarranted considering that the Centre has announced implementing the GST from July 1. Further, this would not only impact the textile industry but also the common man, he said. The government has increased the VAT on diesel from 21.43 per cent to 25 per cent, which has pushed up its price by Rs. 1.76 a litre and that of petrol from 27 per cent to 34 per cent, up by Rs. 3.77 a litre. The textile industry in the state is already in a disadvantageous position as the spinning sector spends around Rs. 6 per kg to procure the raw material from upcountry markets, and another Rs. 4 per kg to sell the yarn in those markets, while other states enjoy huge incentives. The present hike in VAT would, therefore, have considerable impact on the transport cost of all items as the textile clusters of different value segments are located in different places, and with the mill sector using diesel generators to tide over load shedding and tripping, it could increase the power cost as well, he said.

Source: Business Line

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80% of farm suicides by cotton growers: Study

Rural debt doubles to Rs 80,000 crore in 7 years | Most deaths reported in Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar. Farmers faced crop failures because of whitefly attack or got poor remuneration in the domestic and international markets. file photo Chandigarh : With the rural indebtedness in Punjab’s predominant agrarian economy touching Rs 80,000 crore, each rural household in the state is under a debt of an average Rs8 lakh. Or simply put, 89 per cent of the 10.53 lakh households in Punjab are under debt. This also shows how rural indebtedness in the state has more than doubled over the years. It was around Rs35,000 crore in 2009-10. These are some of the grim findings of a survey conducted by the state’s three premier universities — Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana; Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; and, Punjabi University, Patiala — to study the incidence of farmer suicides between April 2010 and March 2013, across Punjab. The study, conducted after a door-to-door survey of each farmer household across 12,500 villages of the state, is being conducted on behalf of the Punjab Government. The aim is to identify the affected families and provide some monetary relief to them. The final report is expected to be presented by mid of this month. Though Dr Sukhpal Singh declined to comment on the exact figures of farmer suicides during the period under study, he said over 80 per cent of those who committed suicide were cotton growers. Over the years, the cotton crop has failed to give the desired results. The growers faced crop failures because of whitefly attack or got poor remuneration in both domestic and international market. Most suicide cases have been reported in Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar, Faridkot, Sangrur, Barnala and Ferozepur districts. “The incidence of suicide in these districts and the reasons for suicides are almost similar in the present study as during the previous studies,” he said. “At least 79 per cent of these suicide victims owned less than 5 acres of land and of all farmer suicides that have taken place across the state between 2010-13, 74 per cent of the suicides were related to farm debt. The incidence of suicide among other farmers, those growing wheat and paddy as cash crops too have been found. The final report will be submitted by March 15,” Sukhpal Singh told The Tribune. In 2010, the state got done a survey of farmer suicides between 2000-10. This survey had recorded 6,926 suicides (3,954 by farmers and 2,972 by landless labourers). Of these, 74 per cent farmer and 58.6 per cent labourer suicides were due to debt. Thus, the families of 4,688 victims were given monetary relief at the rate of Rs2 lakh per family.

Source:  The Tribune

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Why Indian farmers don’t reap what they sow

MS Swaminathan talks of the problems plaguing farmers and possible solutions Father of the Indian Green Revolution and renowned agri-scientist, Prof MS Swaminathan, in an interview with BusinessLine, states emphatically that the Centre’s promise of doubling farmer income can become a reality if careful thought is applied and a comprehensive plan is drawn up. The role of the State and the public are crucial here, he stresses. Excerpts: When the real income of farmers is growing at 4-4.5 per cent, can the government really double it in five years? If you read the report of the National Commission on Farmers, we recommended that agricultural progress should be measured by the net income of the farmer and not just by his total production. How far have farmers benefited from the increase in production? Not much. So, income orientation to farming is necessary. We suggested three measures for this. The first one arises purely from the crop a farmer cultivates. For instance, if the farmer grows rice, and the yield goes up to five tonnes from four earlier, he gets one more tonne to sell. His marketable surplus goes up. After the Green Revolution, Punjab farmers, who were getting 800-900 kg of wheat per hectare started getting four-five tonnes, their marketable surplus increased and they got more money. So, by increasing productivity and ensuring that the output increases without costs going up much, farm income can go up. Take the SRI variety of rice in Tamil Nadu, which they say requires 30 per cent less water; naturally farmers gain. So one aspect is higher marketable surplus at a lower cost. The second is the utilisation of all parts of the plant — the straw, the stem, the bran. For example, rice bran can be used to extract oil. The rice bran itself, mixed with some molasses, becomes good poultry feed. The poultry industry is growing and there will be good demand. So, there should be mixed farming — a crop and livestock integration. But the choice varies, depending on the farmer. For example, after the tsunami, we introduced poultry farming to the fishermen because, for a few months, they had nothing to do. They took to it like fish to water. We introduced rearing of hybrid cows and mushroom cultivation with rice straw in Puducherry’s bio-villages. This ensured some additional occupation through biomass utilisation. The third aspect is the pricing of the commodity. There has to be public procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP). The government margin is about 10-12 per cent over the cost of production. In our report, we have recommended 50 per cent more than the cost of production as the MSP. Large businessmen get support from the government but farmers don’t. So, if the government is serious about doubling farmer income, there is a way but then they should spell out the methodology. But the Agriculture Ministry says a cost-plus-50 per cent to farmers through MSP will distort the market. They may say it will distort the consumer market, but, see, farmers are also consumers. It is a bureaucratic reply. How did production go up in the 1960s? Babu Jagjivan Ram was the Union Agriculture Minister then... He said unless you give a fairly attractive price, farmers won’t grow new varieties. So, whatever was the price recommended by the Commission, he increased it. He was a very pragmatic man. He came from a village and he understood farmers. So, it can be done. Suppose I invest heavily in post-harvest technology, then the cost may come down and you can reduce the 50 per cent mark-up to 40 per cent or even 30 per cent…I am not saying 50 per cent is a sacred figure. Do you think CACP captures the cost of production correctly? The cost of production of a tonne of rice in Kerala is very different from that of, say, Bihar. The cost in Bihar is almost thrice, as labour charges are high, at ₹400-500/day. The problem with CACP (Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices) is that it does not take into account the variability within the country. State governments add an extra bonus to the announced MSP but that, again, in most cases is not sufficient. India has been experiencing bad monsoon and drought, frequently. Hundreds of farmers committed suicide in Tamil Nadu last year. What is the solution for this? We have dealt with farmer suicides in detail in the farmer commission report. Suicide is an act of desperation. I have done detailed studies on the issue in the Vidarbha area of Maharashtra. BT cotton is expensive, but scarce water leads to crop failure. The more you spend on seeds, the more you lose when the crop dries up. Driven by hopelessness, farmers commit suicide, usually leaving behind wife and children. But the widow generally does not have the patta for the land. So, the father-in-law or brother-in-law steps in and takes away the land. The woman becomes a landless labourer. All this can be overcome only through local-level action and the Panchayat Raj. Many government schemes introduced for farmers in the last two years have not yielded the desired results. Why? Also, do you think the ‘more crop per drop’ slogan will work? There is implementation problem. You should empower the local bodies to implement the schemes. It can only be done with public support. With irrigation, I think farmers have to be taught to handle water carefully. ‘More crop per drop’ can be done, but it needs a considerable degree of infrastructure, levelling of the land, probably drip irrigation or furrow irrigation. Why are we not diversifying? Why do we keep going for a few foodgrains again and again, while there is shortage in others? Unless you provide a market for it, it is not going to happen. You can ask Punjab farmers to grow vanilla, but who will buy it? For wheat there is a market. Rice, maize and jowar have a market. But if you ask them to go for crops like paprika (Shimla mirch), who will buy it? All these are not well-thought-out.  A farmer here makes his own decisions, unlike China, where farm ownership is still with the government and the cultivator is onlya tenant.

Source: Business Line

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Decision of merge MSSE and textiles dept with large industries

The state government of Kolkata has decided to merge the Micro and Small Scale Enterprises (MSSE) and Textiles department with the Large Industries and Enterprises department. The decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting held on Friday to downsize the number of its departments and also taken keeping in mind the idea to reduce costs in running the government and for better delivery of services to people. Besides merging the departments, the department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms was designated as the department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and e-governance. After the merger, Micro and Small Scale Enterprises and Textiles department will be looked after by Amit Mitra, who is the state Finance minister. Before the merger, Swapan Debnath was the minister of state for MSSE and the Textiles department. He was also the minister of state with independent charge of Animal Resources Development (ARD) department. Debnath will, however, continue to serve as minister of state for ARD department. The decision has been taken keeping in mind the monumental increase in importance of the department after major steps taken by the state government when Trinamool Congress formed the government in Bengal. Hence, there will be better coordination if the department gets merged with the Large Industries and Enterprises department. For this purpose, 21 departments were merged into 10. It may be mentioned that 63 departments of the state government had been downsized to 52 in December 2016. This was done to increase the focus on e-governance and to ensure better delivery of public services by achieving greater efficiency.

Source: Yarns and fibres

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Global Crude oil price of Indian Basket was US$ 54.02 per bbl on 03.03.2017

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$ 54.02 per barrel (bbl) on 03.03.2017. This was lower than the price of US$ 54.82 per bbl on previous publishing day of 02.03.2017. In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs. 3610.23 per bbl on 03.03.2017 as compared to Rs. 3658.54 per bbl on 02.03.2017. Rupee closed weaker at Rs. 66.84 per US$ on 03.03.2017 as compared to Rs. 66.74 per US$ on 02.03.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:

Source: PIB

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Pakistan : Populist economic priorities

And failure to reform Of course the mantra is to win the next general elections, no matter what. Does it not matter if the nation is mired in enormous debt in the process? That is why some experts contend Pakistan will have to negotiate another IMF program for macroeconomic stability Despite some worrying indicators, our leadership remains steadfastly bullish about the state of the economy. In fact favourable comments in the international media have further boosted their confidence. The finance minister and virtual economic czar, Ishaq Dar, is doing a lot of chest thumping on the basis of these laudatory comments. The narrative is that if the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and a variety of other prestigious international outlets shower praise on us, we must believe them, rather than reading the worrisome small print? The elections — even if held on schedule — are a little over a year away. Resultantly the official narrative has become even more focused on the government’s real or perceived achievements. A lot of hype is being created around mega power projects nearing completion during the course of the year. That is why the hard working and omnipresent chief minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, has proudly proclaimed that 2017 will be the year of fulfilling promises. Undoubtedly the 1,180 megawatts gas fired Bhikki power project will be partly commissioned this month with muchfanfare. Similarly the 1,200 MW Balloki power plant will be commissioned during the year.The 1,320 MW coal fired Sahiwal power project has already started test runs and is expected to be operative in the summers. Not coincidentally all are located in Punjab. All this would not have been possible without the political will and tenacity of the Sharif brothers at the helm of affairs since the past three and a half years. Undoubtedly Chinese investment and collaboration under the much hyped CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) has made most of these projects possible. Notwithstanding the chest thumping, incremental power production solves only part of the problem. Load shedding could have been eased if the government was able to pay the existing private power producers to run their plants to optimum capacity. The problem of circular debt still casts a dark shadow over a seamless and uninterrupted power supply. A further complicating issue is the structure and state of the antiquated power distribution system. Pakistan had an installed electricity generation capacity in excess of 22,000 MW in 2013, whereas the average demand is 17,000 MW but load shedding continued unabated. However come what may, during the summers planned power shutdowns are expected to be reduced to two hours a day in Punjab — the heartland of the PML-N. Whatever minimal financial engineering and improvement in the national grid is needed will be done to achieve this target. Undoubtedly this will be touted as a great achievement of the PML-N government. But this is politics and like other political parties the ruling party has every right to do so aswell. But for how long can hard-nosed decisions be based on politics or self-serving economic mantras? Ostensibly the economy is far more stable than it was under the PPP government before 2013. A record dip in international oil prices resulting in low inflation has helped the government in painting a rosier picture of the economy. The booming stock market is also taken as an indicator of investors’ confidence in the government’s better economic management. The danger however lies in a situation where the government starts believing its own rhetoric and expects others to follows suit as well. The only way forward, according to the PML-N, is mega projects like roads, motorways, mass transit systems and coal and gas fired power projects. So far as worrying economic indicators are concerned they will somehow take care of themselves once there is economic growth. In this atmosphere of ‘mubarak salamat’ (showering excessive praises on each other) even chiding by international donors is conveniently overlooked. For example the World Bank, in its latest overview of the economy, warns that, “a range of governance and business environment indicators suggest that deep improvements in governance are needed to unleash Pakistan’s economic potential”. Of course the key words in the denouement are ‘governance’ and ‘potential.’ Unfortunately the government has failed on both the counts. If it were not so, the present trend of perennially low GDP growth hovering around less than five per cent and continued decline in exports could have been somewhat reversed. It is claimed that the fall in international commodity prices has been the bane of Pakistan’s exports. Recently the government announced a generous textile industry package. However other things remaining the same, in the short run, this is unlikely to revive the sector, thereby boosting exports of textile products. Similarly FDI (foreign direct investment) continues to remain dismal owing to multifarious reasons. According to the World Bank, Pakistan ranks as low as 144 in the pecking order. There is a marginal improvement from the previous years, but not enough to boost foreign investment. Apart from factors like terrorism, bureaucratic impediments, an outdated taxation system and the general lack of ease of doing business inhibits foreign investment. While we still wallow in our misplaced priorities, erstwhile centrally controlled economies like China and Vietnam have done away with communist era red tape to attract foreign investment. Even Bangladesh, termed decades ago as an international basket case, has outstripped Pakistan in terms of exports. There are some extremely worrisome indicators that our economic managers are sweeping under the carpet for the sake of expediency. Take the case of alarming rise in foreign debt. Sakib Sherani, an eminent economist, in a recent article quoting State Bank data says that the present government has accumulated “an unprecedented amount of both external and domestic debt, contracting $34.6 billion of new foreign loans”. According to him the cumulative public debt has increased from around Rs14,600 billion on 30 June 2013 to Rs20,272 billion as of December last year. An increase of 40 per cent, he contends. Of course the mantra is to win the next general elections, no matter what. Does it not matter if the nation is mired in enormous debt in the process? That is why some experts contend Pakistan will have to negotiate another IMF program for macroeconomic stability. Of course perhaps our economic mangers cynically calculate that this will be done post-2018 elections. If the PML-N government wins it will engage in some spin doctoring through its apologists in the media. If it is in the opposition whomsoever in power will be blamed for ‘mishandling the economy’. Despite claims to the contrary, economic indicators tell a dismal story. Pakistan has in fact slipped in the UN Human Development Index from 119th to 147th. Historically with insufficient budgetary outlays in the social sector (especially on education and health) and misplaced priorities, this is not surprising. The country’s multifarious problems, including rampant terrorism, large budgetary outlays on defence and debt servicing and lack of political will to reform, will continue to haunt it. In the meanwhile our ruling elites will continue to be prisoners of their self-serving rhetoric and jaundiced vision.

Source: Pakistan Today

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Bangladesh : Engineering, textile, pharma dominate turnover

The Dhaka bourse Sunday declined for the fifth consecutive session amid 'selling pressure' observed in some sectors. On the day, investors' participation in share trading also declined compared to previous session. At the end of the session, the broad index DSEX witnessed a moderate loss of 0.24 per cent or 13.66 points to close at 5573.07 points on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). According to a market review of International Leasing Securities, the risk-averse investors opted to liquidate their holding of shares considering further possible adjustment in stock prices. "Concisely, selling of shares mostly from services, cement and fuel & power sector contributed to the fall in indices," said the International Leasing Securities. The Shariah index DSES lost 0.31 per cent or 4.11 points to close at 1299.90 points, whereas the blue chip index DS30 went down by 0.50 per cent or 10.17 points to close at 2010.86 points. Of 327 issues traded, 98 advanced, 188 declined and 41 were unchanged on the premier bourse. The turnover stood at above Tk 7.94 billion which was 4.33 per cent less than the turnover of the previous session. "The capital bourse of the country experienced another consecutive session in downbeat tune and closed in moderate negative region amid watchfulness," said another market review of EBL Securities. According to LankaBangla Securities, the broad index DSEX opened the day with small upward movement and reached above 5,590 point-level. Later, the index declined till closing at 5,573.08 level. "Other than jute, telecommunication, life Insurance, and textile, all sectors experienced negative movement," said the LankaBangla Securities. Among the major sectors based on market capitalisation, services declined 1.2 per cent, general insurance 0.9 per cent and travel 0.9 per cent. Among the gaining sectors, telecom and textile advanced 0.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively. The investors' activity was mostly centred on engineering which captured 18.1 per cent of market turnover followed by textile 15.3 per cent and pharmaceuticals 13.8 per cent. Baraka Power topped the turnover chart with a value of Tk 482 million followed by LankaBangla Finance 472 million, RSRM Steel Tk 426 million, Islami Bank 226 million and Shasha Denims Tk 209 million. Matin Spinning Mills topped the gainers' chart with a rise of 5.79 per cent to close at Tk 47.50, while Prime Finance & Investment was the worst loser after declining 5.45 per cent to close at Tk 10.40. mufazzal.fe@gmail.com

Source: The Financial Express Bangladesh

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Afghanistan : Garment Factories Face Recession

Union: “Contracts are mostly given to Chinese and Pakistani factories, while our country has enough capacity to produce those materials.” The Industrial Union says currently only $15 million USD has been invested in Kabul’s garment factories. A big number of garment factories in Kabul industrial parks are facing a recession because their services are being given to foreign producers. Garment factories were one the high-income sectors in Afghanistan in past when they received military cloth and tailoring contracts, but now they do not have access to these contracts and are faced with hardship. According to officials of industrial union most garment services are being given to contractors is foreign countries. “Contracts are mostly given to Chinese and Pakistani factories, while our country has enough capacity to produce those materials,” said Abdul Rahman Faizan, deputy head of industrial union. “The factory is not working now, because contracts are given to foreign factories. In the past years, lots of workers had jobs here, but now there is no work to do,” said Maria Omary, owner of a factory. Economic analysts blame government negligence for not supporting domestic production and say if the situation continues, the factories will all face recession. “Afghanistan’s industry needs government support to stand on its feet, otherwise, the situation will get worse day by day,” Shabir Bashiri, economic analyst said.

Source: TOLO News

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Pakistan: The new face of fashion

Sumrin Ali, Director Domestic and Development at AlKaram, takes out time to talk to us about the brands current position and its bright, revamped future Tell us about yourself and your journey so far at AlKaram: I’ve studied at Central St Martins, gotten my degree from Parsons and luckily for me, right after my graduation I was picked up by Dior and worked in Paris for a year and a half. After returning to Karachi, it was understood that I would launch a brand financed by my dad. However, I was quickly discouraged after exploring the market and therefore decided to join AlKaram. Originally I ran exports only, which manufactures and supplies the bedding range and home textiles for prestigious brands abroad including Donna Karen, Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren, alongside big department stores like Bloomingdales, Macys, ASDA, Argos and Lidl. Recently I had the opportunity to take over the domestic side as well including lawn, pret and AlKaram Studio since the management decided to merge exports and domestic under one umbrella. What are your inspirations for the designs you create? We work very closely with current trends. Bedding trends also reflect on the trends seen internationally, so we extract those and work with them for our domestic market. Our muse is the everyday woman. What trends do you forecast for the coming year? Our lawn launched on the 24th of February for which we made it all about colours. More than design, botanicals are always in. For bedding, we are looking at high contrast; monotone with pops of colour, watercolour effect and hand drawn elements. How did AlKaram Studio come about? Khaadi and Sapphire created an environment for prêt and I’m sure that’s how it paved into AlKaram Studio. We are highly promoting this, as our fabrics are phenomenal. We have our own spinning and weaving machines and therefore we can come up with any design we want. Summarize AlKaram Studio in three words: Currently, I would say masculine, confused and a bit elderly. In the future — sophisticated, innovative and creative. How does AlKaram Studio fit in the fashion retail industry? If we talk about our share in the market we are probably five years behind. In May we are launching our revamped brand at Packages Mall in Lahore providing a whole new experience. That is the new AlKaram. How many outlets does AlKaram Studio have? Approximately 21 and we plan to go to 60 by 2020. We have also introduced AlKaram Fabrics, which are small stores targeting the mass markets in areas where loose fabric is in demand. Who is the typical AlKaram Studio consumer? We have two divisions, prêt and lawn (loose fabric). When I started, I saw a huge gap between the two. We have to bring them under one roof and speak one design language, keeping modesty intact. We don’t want to be known as hip and trendy. We want to stick to the everyday woman who wants the world to know that she can carry herself with confidence. What can one expect from a visit to AlKaram Studio? In the end of May our festive collection will launch at Packages Mall — I just need to get rid of the old baggage and have the brand revamped by then! How important is technology and the digital landscape in AlKaram Studio’s future? It’s very important. I’m not talking about just the stores having digitised equipment, but also our presence on social media. Our new management is endorsing that greatly. What sets AlKaram Studio apart from its competitors? Our style statement and everything else is based on quality. Where do you see AlKaram Studio in the next five years? The next five years is too far away, by 2020 we will be unbeatable. My aim and goals are to be similar to international brands like Desigual and Zara. Recently, we hired Mahira Khan after great difficulty. This will certainly be something to look forward too! Can we hope to see AlKaram venturing into new areas in the fashion industry? Absolutely. At this point my focus is apparel, but I don’t want AlKaram to only be a clothing brand. I want it to be a complete lifestyle solution that is affordable.

Source: The Express Tribune

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NA body endorses Textile Ministry’s budgetary proposals

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Textile Industry, Friday, endorsed all the budgetary proposals of the Ministry of Textilefor the current financial year 2017-18. The Committee appreciated the efforts of the ministry for encouraging the growth of cotton by using modern techniques and methods however, recommended that awareness should be given to the cotton growers and farmers through electronic and press media which could be helpful to increase the cotton growth in the Country. NA committee met here with Haji Muhammad Akram Ansari in the chair and was briefly apprised about the budgetary proposals relating to Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the next financial year 2017-18. The Committee also recommended that Government should ban the establishment of sugar mills especially in cotton growing areas so that the growth of cotton could not be affected. The Committee further recommended that incentives should also be given to the cotton industry to develop the interest of farmers in cotton growing so that the huge revenue could be added to the Government exchequer. Earlier, Hassan Iqbal, Secretary, M/o Textile Industry briefly apprised the Committee about the detail of the projects included in the forth-coming Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for the year 2017-18.

Source: Pak Observer

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Chinese textile mills expect drop in cotton prices with state reserve auction

The National Development and Reform Commission of China announced late last year that China will offer 30,000 tonnes of cotton per day for sale until the end of August, as Beijing seeks to scale down its large, ageing stockpile. China's textile mills have worked off cotton inventory in the hope of picking up lower-priced fiber when the government in the world's top textile market resumes annual sales of state reserves on Monday even after getting caught short last year. Ye Jianchun, vice president of China Cotton Textile Association, at an annual cotton industry conference held in Beijing on Friday said that most of the companies have low stocks, as they expect cotton prices would drop with the coming state reserves auction. They are also confident that the quality of auctioned cotton would be quite good. Last year, delays in the auctions until May from March and poor quality of the fiber in the first few sales tightened supplies, leading to panic buying by mills and spurring a surge of almost 70 percent in prices in just under nine months. The most-active futures hit 4-1/2-year highs in November. Industry insiders, however, think this year will be different. A purchasing manager at a textile company in Shandong province, a major producer of the fiber, said that she only had one month of cotton in stock, rather than the usual two to three months of inventory. Last year, (the auction) was rushed. This year, (the government) is better prepared. Traders are confident that the government will be able to meet its daily auction target this time, and prices will drop, at least in the short term. Still, hurt by price volatility last year, the industry is more guarded against potential risks. Wei Gangmin, chairman of Henan Tongzhou Cotton Trade Co Ltd, a cotton trader and processor in China with 11 ginning mills and two spinning mills said that if the government meets its promise, in terms of the volume and quality structure of the auctioned cotton, it will benefit the market a lot. Wei said that if it fails, it will cause volatility. If prices push up, it would restrain demand and obstruct the goal of reducing stocks. As China holds more than half of the world's stocks in reserves and an increase in domestic supplies would further dent imports. China’s state sales are being closely watched by the International market.

Source: Yarns and Fibres

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Kyrgyzstan plans full cycle of industrial production to boost textile industry

The 9th International Trade Fair in Bishkek dedicated to products and equipment in the fashion industry opened on 2nd March. The Trade Fair aims to strengthen business contacts and expand cooperation between companies working in the garment and textile industries. More than 50 domestic sewing, textile and handicraft enterprises, as well as representatives of companies from Uzbekistan, China, Russia, Turkey, and India are taking part in the Fair. Kyrgyz Deputy Economy Minister Daniyar Imanaliev at the opening of the fair said that Kyrgyzstan plans to create a full cycle of industrial production to develop its textile industry as local sewing enterprises are now importing accessories and fabrics. The light industry is one of the priority sectors of the Kyrgyz economy. Kyrgyzstan annually produces textile products worth $190 million and products worth $160 million are exported to Russia and Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan’s sewing industry consists of small and medium-sized enterprises and provides about 160,000 jobs. Due to the dynamic development of the garment industry, the “Made in Kyrgyzstan” label has gained a niche in the market of the Eurasian Economic Union, Imanaliev said. The head of the Kyrgyz Association of Light Industry Sapar Asanov at a press conference in Bishkek said that the construction of two techno-parks which will create from 7 thousand to 15 thousand jobs will begin this spring in Bishkek and in one of the cities (Sokuluk or Tokmok) in the Chui province, It is necessary to take into account the availability of the connection to utilities including electricity, water and sewerage. The Government has allocated land for the techno-parks that will produce textile and clothing for the domestic market and for export. In the future, it is planned to build industrial parks in other region of Kyrgyzstan. Last year, Kyrgyzstan has increased the export of garment products up to $95.5 million. Garments make 7% of the country’s total export, the Kyrgyz State Committee for Industry, Energy and the Subsoil Use said. This year, Kyrgyz sewing shops are loaded with orders from abroad, the number of sewing workshops is growing, and there is a lack of sewers. According to the National Statistics Committee, since 2013 there has been a decline in the garment industry related to the global financial crisis, and as a result, a decrease in orders due to lower purchasing power in Kyrgyzstan’s main export markets — Russia and Kazakhstan. More than 80% of the garment products in Kyrgyzstan are produced by individual entrepreneurs who work under patents and do not report to the National Statistical Committee. The Committee’s statistics also did not take into account the volume of apparel exports to Russia and Kazakhstan through Bishkek’s Dordoi wholesale market. Hence the difference between the figures reported by the State Industry Committee, the National Statistical Committee and the State Tax Service, which are now jointly working to optimize the registration of individual entrepreneurs. Kyrgyz sewers are planning to enter new markets, and participate in fairs and exhibitions which will allow them increasing exports. The Kyrgyz sewing industry has found its niche in the Russian and Kazakhstan markets. In the near future, local sewers will start to export their products to Germany and Belarus. Kyrgyzstan is now creating a value chain in the apparel industry. The Association of Light Industry (Legprom) intends to merge all production stages into a single scheme, starting from farmers who grow cotton to the sewing shops. It is also planned to create Kyrgyzstan’s export brand. The sewing industry still needs to improve the skills of workers and upgrade production facilities and equipment. Thanks to a soft loan allocated by the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund, local Transtekstil corporation has built a modern factory for the production of knitted fabric inside Kyrgyzstan. Prior to joining the Eurasian Economic Union in August 2015, the corporation exported its products to Russia alone, but after the entry to the EEU it started exporting to Kazakhstan. The company is planning to start exporting to Belarus this month and to Germany in April. New knitwear companies have started operating which creates a healthy competition. There is also a socks factory in Bishkek which provides 250 people with jobs. The Legprom Association has managed to defend its positions within the EEU including tax preferences and working on the patent system. Legprom said that as a result, they managed to keep the sewing industry. Despite the crisis, ten local knitwear companies have bought new high-tech equipment,

Source: Yarns and fibres

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