The country’s textiles exports dipped by about 4.5 per cent to $26 billion during April-December of this fiscal. “The exports of textiles during 2016-17 (April-December) were $26 billion compared to $27.2 billion during 2015-16 (April-December),” Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta said today in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
He also said that during the three quarters of this fiscal, the total production of man-made fibre stood at 1,037 million kg while spun yarn production was 4,254 million kg.
SOURCE: PIB
The government will soon launch a scheme to protect the interest of powerloom weavers, Parliament was informed today.
Powerloom weavers are facing problems like lack of regular supply of electricity and availability of sufficient yarn, among others, he said. Sharing the key features of the proposed scheme, the Minister said that solar energy will be promoted and subsidy support given to powerloom weavers.
The Minister announced the measure while replying to a query by Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu (Cong) on the steps being taken to protect powerloom weavers in various states including Andhra Pradesh. Highlighting the measures taken to revamp the textile industry, the Minister said the government has launched a special package for garment and made-ups segment besides implementing various schemes for upgrading decentralised powerloom, handloom and handicraft sector.
Under the special package for garment and made-ups segment, the Minister said that rebate of state levies (RoSL) is given to exporters on the lines of existing duty drawback scheme underwhich rebate is given on central levies.
RoSL is implemented from September 2016 and Rs 1,470 crore worth of claims are pending so far. Of which, Rs 29 crore has been cleared, he said.
Under Technology Fund Scheme (TUFS), Rs 58.93 crore towards margin money subsidy is pending as the sanctioned budget for 2016-17 fiscal has been exhausted, he added.
SOURCE: PTI
Weak global demand and rising rupee were a problem, despite govt's booster package
Textile export contracted in calendar year 2016 for a consecutive year, due to weak global demand and India's losing competitiveness.
Data from the ministry of textiles shows a five per cent fall to $34.9 billion (Rs 2.3 lakh crore) for calendar 2016, from $36.7 bn in 2015.
In September 2016, the central government announced a Rs 6,000-crore package to boost textile export. This was on recommendations from the industry, and a commitment from it to raise annual export to $50 bn and create 100,000 new jobs.
"Textile demand remained sluggish, following uncertainty in globally economy. And, India has been losing its competitiveness to China, due to almost flat (rise in) cost of production there and depreciation in their currency. In contrast, the cost of production had increased sharply in India over the past year. Additionally, the rupee has appreciated around five per cent. So, India's receivable export proceeds have declined proportionately," said Rahul Mehta, president, Clothing Manufacturers' Association of India.
According to trade sources, the past year has seen a 25-30 per cent jump in apparel production's labour cost. Since labour is a major component of the overall cost, this rose proportionately. And, while the Chinese yuan rupee weakened by nine per cent over the year, the rose against the dollar by five per cent.
"Overall, therefore, India's textiles and apparel export are estimate to remain flat in calendar 2017, as the benefits offered by the government are negated by a sharp increase in the cost of production and appreciation in the rupee," said Mehta.
Rating agency ICRA says the global apparel trade remains under pressure, having contracted in 2016 for another year, with subdued demand in key importing countries.
While volume growth was marginally positive, primarily aided by a recovery in demand from Europe, realisations fell. The latest trends point to a modest recovery in calendar year 2017.
"India's apparel export grew a tepid one per cent (in dollar terms) for a second year in FY17. This trend, however, needs to be looked into in conjunction with the decline in global apparel trade in value terms," said Jayanta Roy, senior vice-president at ICRA.
The pace of growth for other Asian apparel exporters Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Vietnam has also moderated during these two years, though their growth was better. Scrapping of the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) has weakened the prospects for Vietnam, which augurs well for India.
Given the weak trend in global trade, home market-focused apparel makers are expected to do relatively better than exporters in FY17. However, given the temporary pressures observed in domestic consumption, owing to demonetisation, the gap in growth rates is likely to be narrower.
Subdued offtake by apparel makers, in addition to meagre fabric fabric fabric fabric export, continue to weigh on demand. The country's production was tepid in April-September 2016, first half of this financial year, with modest growth of two per cent, after a flat trend in FY15. Demonetisation added to the challenges faced by this fragmented and unorganised segment, seen in a six per cent fall in production during the December quarter. This is expected to hit total output in FY17, which might see a one per cent fall.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
India is currently the world’s second largest textile and apparel producer behind China. The whole textile and apparel industry represent over 4% of India’s total GDP and more than 14% of country’s export earnings every year, making it the largest manufacturing sector in India.
Today, India’s textile and apparel industry is worth of about USD110 billion, with employment of total 105 million people directly and indirectly and is set to create an additional 50 million jobs by 2025. Here are some of the latest figures and facts about India’s textile and apparel industry, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF)
1.The size of India’s textile and apparel market recorded USD108.5 billion in 2015, and is expected to reach USD226 billion market by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% between 2009 to 2023.
2. India’s textile and apparel industry directly employs over 45 million people, which makes it one of the largest source of employment generation in the country.
3. The fundamental strength of the textile industry in India is its strong production base of wide range of fibre/yarns from natural fibres like cotton, jute, silk & wool to synthetic /man-made fibres like polyester, viscose, nylon & acrylic.
4. India is the largest producer of cotton, the cotton production in India reached 6,106 million kg in 2016-17.
5. Production of raw cotton in India grew from 28 million bales in FY2007 and further increased to 35.2 million bales in FY2016. During FY2007-2016, raw cotton production expanded at a CAGR of 2.6%. Among all the amount of raw cotton produced in the country, domestic consumption totalled 30 million bales in FY2016
6. Cotton yarn, one of the largest segments in India’s fibre market, representing over half of share in India’s total fabric production,
7. Fibre production in India is expected to reach 10 million tonnes by 2017-18, growing from 9 million tonnes in 2015-16.
8. Indian textile industry accounts for about 24% of the world’s spindle capacity and 8% of global rotor capacity.
9. India has the highest loom capacity (including hand looms) with 63% of the world’s market share.
10. India accounts for about 14% of the world’s production of textile fibres & yarns (largest producer of jute, second largest producer of silk and cotton; third largest in cellulosic fibre).
11. India is also the second largest producer of Manmade Fibre and Filament, globally, with production of around 2,511 million kg in2015-16.
12. Production of man-made fibre in India has also been on an upward trend. Production of man-made fibre in India topped 1.34 million tonnes in FY2015. In the first half of FY2016, production stood at 0.77 million tonnes.
13. India’s total textile exports value reached USD40 billion in 2015-16.
14. Readymade garment sector is the largest contributor to India’s total textile and apparel exports, representing around 41% of country’s textile and apparel exports.
15. The technical textile industry in India has witnessed one of the fastest growing rate over the recent years, and is expected to reach USD32billion by 2023, representing CAGR of 9.6% during 2014-2023.
16. The government has supported the technical textile industry with an allotment of USD1 billion for SMEs and an exemption in custom duty for raw materials used by the sector.
17. To improve technical skills in apparel industry government established 75 apparel training and design centres across the country.
18. To promote apparel exports 12 locations have been approved by the government to set up apparel parks for exports
19. The government is planning to conduct roadshows to promote the country’s textiles in non-traditional markets such as South America, Russia & select countries in West Asia.
20. Textile and apparel industry in India received a record high Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in FY2016, totalling USD2.4 billion. International apparel giants, such as Hugo Boss, Liz Claiborne, Diesel and Kanz, have already started operations in India.
SOURCE: India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF)
The note bank shocker and the lingering sluggishness in exports have the apparel and fabric industry in knots, says a report.
"Given the weak trend in global apparel demand, the domestic market-focused apparel manufacturers are expected to perform relatively better than their export-oriented peers for the second consecutive year.
"However, given the temporary pressures observed in domestic consumption owing to note ban, the gap between their growth rates is likely to narrow significantly," an Icra report said.
Overall, growth for apparel manufacturers has been relatively weaker at 8-10 per cent in fiscals 2016 and 2017 compared to the past few years, wherein revenue of both apparel exporters and domestic-market focused players grew at a CAGR of 13-14 per cent during 2011-15, it observed.
Global apparel trade is under pressure, having contracted for the second consecutive year in 2016, owing to subdued demand conditions in the key importing countries.
"While the volume growth remains marginally positive, primarily aided by a recovery in demand from Europe, revenue realisation has seen a decline," it said.
The pace of growth for other apparel exporters like Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Vietnam has also moderated in the past two years, though they continue to grow at a relatively better pace compared to India.
"Nevertheless, scrapping of the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership has weakened prospects for Vietnam, which augurs well for India, as the risk of increased competition from Vietnam has abated to an extent for now," the report noted.
The agency pointed out that subdued offtake by apparel manufacturers, in addition to meagre fabric exports, continue to weigh on fabric demand as well.
Domestic fabric production remained tepid in first half of the current fiscal year with a modest growth of 2 per cent, following a flat production last fiscal.
"The demonetisation drive increased the challenges faced by this highly fragmented and unorganised segment of the textile industry as is reflected by a 6 per cent de-growth in fabric production in the third quarter.
"This in turn is expected to constrain the total fabric production and is likely to result in around 1 percent de-growth this fiscal," it concluded.
SOURCE: PTI
A strengthening rupee might not hit exports, which grew 17 per cent in February, in the near term, traders and economists believe.
The rupee on Thursday was at a 17-month high against the dollar, despite the US Federal Reserve announcement on hiking interest rates. Maintaining a strong position over recent months, the rupee has risen by 3.4 per cent till date this calendar year.
On the other hand, rising for a sixth straight month, exports posted the highest rate of rise in a little more than five years. Outbound trade touched $24.5 billion in February; it was $20.8 bn in the same month last year, according to data issued by the commerce and industry ministry on Wednesday.
"The rise in exports happened in spite of no support from the currency side," said Ajay Sahai, director-general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. He believed exports would continue to improve, although a major rise in the rupee could upset this.
The rupee is the third best performing currency in Asia against the dollar, behind South Korea’s won and the Taiwan Dollar, that have risen 5.4 per cent and nearly five per cent, respectively.
The strong performance of the Modi government in successive key elections is counted as an important reason, among others, for sustaining the faith of foreign investors in the rupee.
“From a trade perspective, that is a difficult position for India, as it is only the emerging market economy which has seen its currency appreciate,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings.
However, on Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve increased its policy rate by 25 basis points, to a range of 0.75 per cent to one per cent. Economists suggest the rally in the rupee could slow down over the coming months.
The sudden rise in exports in February has been attributed to a low base effect, as well as increasing crude oil prices, which boosted the export of engineering goods and petroleum products, two of India’s major foreign exchange earners.
"Global commerce is more dependent on demand than the valuation of currencies," said Devendra Pant, chief economist, India Ratings. Overall, global demand conditions are slowly improving, he added.
On the other hand, the strengthening dollar is also a sign of the US economy getting stronger, which will also raise its capacity for import. This is expected to augur well for India, since that country is our second largest trading partner and largest export destination. Total bilateral trade was $109 billion in 2015-16, with a commitment by both nations to raise it to $500 bn. Of this, merchandise trade was $62 bn, with exports from India a little more than $40 bn.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
Fiscal policy expert Parthasarathi Shome has said that the success of the goods and services tax (GST) hinges on the preparedness of businesses to comply with the new levy. He reckons that the Centre and states will be forced to make improvements in the GST design if taxpayers find it difficult to comply with the new regime.
Centre and states have done well to forge a consensus on the enabling laws after intense negotiations. Some give and take is inevitable. Hopefully, improvements will take place if taxpayers are discomforted,” said Shome, former advisor to the finance minister during the United Progressive Alliance regime, at a panel discussion followed by the launch of his book ‘Development and Taxation’. GST is meant to create a seamless common market and the Centre is hopeful of rolling out the new levy on July 1. The optimism follows the GST Council’s nod to all the enabling laws on March 16 —the draft central GST, integrated GST, state GST and the Union Territory GST laws. Besides the Centre, state legislatures too have to approve the law, after which all the rules have to be finalised and published.
India's plan is to have a dual GST with a four-rate structure ranging from 5% to 28%. But the levy excludes real estate, electricity and alcohol besides petroleum products (that will be brought un- der the net subsequently). An extra cess will be levied on luxury and non-merit goods.
Shome is clear that the current version of GST is not internationally benchmarked. “It seems as complex as the value-added tax regime that was introduced in Brazil in the 1960s,” he said, adding that improvements can be made over time. Shome was involved in the exercise to improve the VAT regime in Brazil in the 1990s. GST will be administered both by the Central and state tax authorities. So Shome underscores the need for proper training of the tax administration to ensure ease of doing business.
Ahead of the value-added tax regime that replaced archaic sales tax imposed by states, the empowered committee of finance ministers held several rounds of discussions with stakeholders that included industry and trade, Shome said.
Are both taxpayers and the tax administration prepared to implement the new levy and is the IT system up and running? These are the crucial questions to be asked, he said. A robust implementation strategy is also important to ensure the success of the tax reform, he added.
Source: The Economic Times
There will not be many changes in the goods and services tax (GST) rates compared to what’s prevailing in the current indirect taxation regime, according to officials.
They also said the rates would not be inflationary because foodgrains are likely to be exempted.
The next big thing in the GST regime will be rules and the item-wise rate structure.
“We don’t want to make many changes in rates for goods under the new GST rate structure,” an official said.
Another official said there would be a smooth landing for industry with respect to the rates. He said the fitment of items in the GST rates would be done to ensure that the consumer price index (CPI) did not spike.
“We will do calculations to see to it that rates don’t lead to consumer price inflation,” he said. The GST Council, an official said, would decide if cesses over the peak rate of 28 per cent should continue after five years. All other cesses will be subsumed in the GST.
The official said the Centre would lose some revenue due to the abolition of cesses.
Hotels will attract an 18 per cent rate, while those with a turnover of up to Rs 50 lakh will attract five per cent.
The Council has approved four tax slabs — five per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent — and cess over the peak rate. On Thursday, the Council approved caps on cesses, which would range from 15 per cent in the case of luxury cars and aerated drinks to 290 per cent in the case of cigarettes.
However, the actual cesses will be lower and at the rate that will ensure that the aggregate tax incidence is equal to the one under the current taxation regime.
The GST Council will next take up rules at its meeting on March 31. After that, a committee of officers will start an exercise of fixing item-wise rates.
Source: The Business Standard
Nearly a month after announcing plans to close underperforming stores across the U.S., J.C. Penney on Friday identified the 138 locations in question, including nine stores in Texas and eight in Minnesota, with liquidations beginning April 17. The retailer also will shut down two distribution facilities and offer buyouts to 5,000 workers over the next few months.
The closures represent an effort to trim costs, leverage lucrative real estate value from a Buena Park, CA supply chain facility and better position the discount department store “to effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers,” J.C. Penney CEO Marvin Ellison said in a statement released Friday.
The stores in the crosshairs represent about 14 % of J.C. Penney's 1,014-store portfolio, less than 5% of total annual sales, less than 2% of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization and 0% of net income.
J.C. Penney says the measures announced Friday morning will generate annual cost savings of some $200 million, mainly by saving on occupancy, payroll, home office support, corporate administration and other store-related expenses. To soften the impact of the closures on its store workers, Penney is instituting a voluntary early retirement program for some 6,000 eligible employees.
It's a bold step, but necessary, according to GlobalData Retail managing director Neil Saunders. “The blunt truth is that from a financial standpoint, some of these stores are just not working and future investment in them cannot be justified,” Saunders said in a note emailed to Retail Dive. “In our view, this fairly aggressive action is sensible. At a stroke it will improve JCP’s same-store sales numbers as these outlets are the ones dragging down the company’s performance. It will also allow the group to direct capital and resources to the stores which have the best prospects of delivering profitable growth. Admittedly, there will be a short term impact on the bottom line from lease termination and staff severance costs, which we expect to hit during the first half of the upcoming fiscal year.”
In his statement Friday, Ellison said that limiting J.C. Penney's footprint to only its top-performing physical stores can provide a competitive advantage. ”During the year, it became evident the stores that could fully execute the company's growth initiatives of beauty, home refresh and special sizes generated significantly higher sales, and a more vibrant in-store shopping environment," he said. "We believe the relevance of our brick-and-mortar portfolio will be driven by the implementation of these initiatives consistently to a larger percent of our stores. Therefore, our decision to close stores will allow us to raise the overall brand standard of the company and allocate capital more efficiently.”
Saunders agrees that a stronger physical store base allows Penney to focus on areas of needed improvement. “With a slimmed-down store portfolio, JCP will be able to focus on making its remaining stores more of a destination. This is essential as while progress has been made on categories like home, other departments still require attention,” he said. “Foremost among these is womenswear, where JCP — like many other players — is still suffering. This is disappointing, especially given the success JCP has had in driving female traffic to its stores from the Sephora [beauty] concessions. In our view, JCP needs to thin out its clothing assortment and make the section easier to shop.”
J.C. Penney nevertheless turned a profit in the fourth quarter, supported by strong sales in home, its Sephora beauty concessions, salons and fine jewelry. Profit climbed to $192 million, or 61 cents per share, up from a loss of $131 million, or 43 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Q4 net sales dropped 0.9% to $ 3.96 billion from $4 billion a year ago, and same-store sales fell 0.7%: Thompson Reuters analysts had anticipated profit of 61 cents per share and a sales decline of 0.4% to $3.98 billion.
That's no small feat in this retail environment, especially compared to struggling rivals like Macy’s and Kohl’s, and considering that the results are coming off Penney's relatively strong performance in recent quarters, according to Saunders. And though the retailer saw a sales decline, the real story is in its profits, Saunders added: “In our view, this alone serves as evidence that Marvin Ellison’s turnaround plan is delivering and that JCP is finally getting its house in order.” Even so, gross margins were hit by discounts (mitigated by e-commerce growth and sales of major appliances, a space the retailer re-entered last year): Q4 gross margin was 33.1% of sales, a 100-basis point decline compared to the same period last year, the company said.
SOURCE: Detail Dive
The food and clothing sectors, which are heavily reliant on exports, are most exposed to the pound’s 18 percent drop against the dollar since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
UK consumer spending growth will weaken for years to come after slipping to about 2 percent this year from 3 percent in 2016, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said.
Spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of UK gross domestic product, will slow further to 1.7 percent in 2018 as income gains fail to keep up with inflation, according to a report by PwC published Friday. It forecasts that housing and utility spending could account for just under 30 percent of household budgets by 2030, up from about 25 percent last year, forcing Britons to cut back on non-essentials.
“Increased borrowing may help fill the gap in the short term, but there are limits to how far UK consumers can continue to live beyond their means with spending rising faster than disposable incomes,” said John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC. “We therefore expect consumer spending growth to moderate over the next couple of years as higher inflation and Brexit-related uncertainty start to bite.”
PwC says the food and clothing sectors, which are heavily reliant on exports, are most exposed to the pound’s 18 percent drop against the dollar since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. Hotels, restaurants, manufacturing and agriculture also look set to face challenges due to their dependence on labor from the EU, it said.
Brexit will also hurt business investment, according to a separate report by the Institute of Chartered Accountants that said it will shrink by 1.9 percent this year. Real wages will decline for the first time since 2013, it said.
SOURCE: Business of Fashion
Its goal is to help brands and designers make cutting-edge wearables.
The line between technology and fashion is blurring. Brands and designers are now using electronics to make cutting-edge wearables and experiences, while companies like Amazon are trying to break into a space that hasn't until now been very welcoming of outsiders. Intel is another tech company that's set its sights on the fashion world, with various smart garments and accessories, including dresses, glasses and bracelets. In an interview at SXSW, Intel Vice President Sandra Lopez said her team's mission is to be an enabler first and foremost rather than trying to become a fashion brand unto itself.
Lopez pointed to last year's New York Fashion Week, when Intel teamed up with 13 designers to livestream a runway show in virtual reality -- a medium that's being embraced by many fashion houses. Another example, she said, is Tag Heuer's Connected Modular 45 smartwatch, which Intel helped build with Google and the Swiss watchmaker. "Our strategy is focused on collaboration and empowering leaders in the fashion industry to push the boundaries of fashion with technology," Lopez said. "We are constantly working to make our technology smaller, faster, more energy efficient and more capable than ever before to help our partners succeed."
One of the challenges for brands is figuring out how to make the most out of technology, she said, especially in terms of the data they're collecting through connected garments, other types of wearables and at their retail stores. "There is a real opportunity to help the fashion industry harness the power of data," Lopez said. "How can you analyze what consumers are doing in store, online and through every interaction you have in real time to maximize sales and open up new revenue streams?" That's something designers like Rebecca Minkoff are already trying to do with in-store features like smart mirrors, self-checkout and RFID tags that let the brand know more about customers' buying habits.
"Personalization and customization is only beginning to be tapped into," Lopez said about the potential of both industries working together on wearable products. "Technology has the ability to transform industries, and fashion is no different."
SOURCE: Engadget
Lately, the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) and the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority (ERCA) organized a half day joint workshop to discuss on the quality and efficiency of Ethiopia's trade regulatory system ranging against with the basic parameters of the World Bank's Doing Business Report 2016.
In fact, the World Bank report measures the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. The study presents a detailed analysis of costs, requirements and procedures in all 10 methodology indicators such as Starting a Business; Dealing with Construction Permit; Getting Electricity; Registering Property; Getting Credit; Protecting Minority Investors; Paying taxes; Trading across boarders; Enforcing contracts; Resolving insolvency 1 across 189 countries.
It has become an indispensable means for private sector development, and also to propel regulatory reforms in developing countries. As it has been released for public, countries are ranked from 1 to 189 by ease of doing business focusing on regulations relevant to the life cycle of businesses.
According to the report, Ethiopia ranks 146th out of 189 globally and 20th among 48 Sub Saharan African countries. Based on the 10 indicators used for measuring the countries' Doing Business suitability, Ethiopia ranks particularly below par in the area of starting a business (176th), getting credit (167th), trading across borders (166th), and protecting minority investors (166th).
In this regard, Senior Analyst with EIC Saron Lakew opposed that the World Bank's Doing Business contest does not directly measures the macroeconomic conditions or the underlying strength of institutions, quality of infrastructure services, and the economy's proximity to large markets. As she noted, the status of training and skills of the labour force, transparency of public procurement, prevalence of bribery and corruption, security of property from theft and looting were not considered for competition.
Commissioner Fitsum Arega also said that though the efficient service delivery expected from EIC and ERCA needs more improvement, there has been a significant change to make the nation an enviable place of doing business. Recognizing the fact that trade can promote faster growth and development and higher income per capital in an economy, the Ethiopian government showed its commitment to improve the country's trade system from time to time.
Fitsum ascertained that EIC has been engaged in preparing conducive investment climate for the private sector to improve the country's ranking on 'Ease of Doing Business.' Consequently, the Commission has been working closely with various stakeholders to achieve the industrialization goals through providing a favourable investment and business climate that could compete with regional and international businesses.
Approaching the solution, Saron explained that the government has also planned to place Ethiopia in a better rank than its current 104th position in Logistics Performance Index (LPI). Currently, logistics cost is 30 per cent of GDP and the goal is to reduce to less than 22 per cent by 2020. In addition, port dwell time will be reduced from 40 days to 3 days.
SOURCE: The Ethiopian Herald
The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh yesterday expressed the federal government’s desire to address the foreign exchange (forex) challenges faced by exporters, disclosing that the ministry is in talks with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) concerning the issue.
Audu who spoke at the FirstBank of Nigeria Expo in Lagos tagged: ‘Re-inventing Agriculture for Sustainable National Development,’ noted that it does not augur well for exporters if they cannot export at the official rate.
He expressed confidence that once the issue is addressed, exporters would be able to repatriate their earnings and not lose money.
“We are planning a meeting between the CBN, the Ministry, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Ministry of Finance in order to deal with some of these challenges we face especially as it affects smuggled goods that come into the country and how they damage our local efforts.
There is need for us to work to attain self-sufficiency in food production,” the minister explained.
Furthermore, the minister revealed that the federal would soon embark on large-scale production of crops such as cocoa and Shea butter, especially in states that have comparative advantage.
He added: “We are also looking at the expansion of coconut. The water from coconut has a natural source of sweetening. Coconut oil is expensive one litre today is N7, 000. A coconut shell is a very expensive export item which can be used to produce activated carbon heavily used in industries just like palm products are very valuable and they are strong export items. Last year, we shipped $6,000 worth of raw cashew to Vietnam.
“We have decided that in two years, we shall not export raw cashew nuts we shall begin to roast it and export because from 3tonnes of raw cashew we produce one tonne of roast cashew which sells in Vietnam for $10,000. We need financial support. We are the only country in the world that the interest rate for agriculture sector is still high.”
He said policy summersault by successive government was one of the factors that hindered the attainment of self-sufficiency in food production by the country, lamenting that Nigeria had become highly dependent on food imports.
Earlier, the Managing Director of FBN, Adesola Adeduntan, said the bank was positioned to build alliances with agro-producers, processors and storage companies to ensure improvement in the agricultural sector.
SOURCE: Nigeria Business News
