India should be setting quality standards for products rather than following global norms, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, stressing on timely dissemination of regulations for better implementation. Addressing the 4th National Standards Conclave here, she called on the industry to produce quality products at an affordable price so that import of cheaper products can be contained. "India should be setting standards rather than following the standards which are being set," Sitharaman said, adding that the country should have active participation in any global debate on setting standards. The minister said technology will play a very critical role in standard setting and conformity assessment and there is a need to factor this in. Launching a portal of standards developed jointly by the commerce ministry and industry body CII, Sitharaman said this website will be providing all the information relating to standards and conformity assessment. "But I am also a bit impatient (as to) how it will reach people who will have to follow, conform and implement these standards," she added. A phone-based alert, adaptable to regional languages, has to be prepared so that conformity to these standards become effective, she suggested. "The farmer today is not against conforming to the global standards. He is very keen on it, but information should reach on time. Institutions cannot any longer seek cover that trickle-down does take time," she cautioned. Technology should be used to disseminate standards to implement them without time lag, the minister added. Sitharaman said there should be constant awareness among not just farmers, but trade negotiators so that standards, especially of agri products, are set in a manner that it covers all varieties of farm items and exports are not hit. In this regard, she cited the example of global standards on length and weight of mangoes and wondered how India accepted those norms. She said: "India has exemplary varieties of mango, grapes and banana. Uniformity (in standards) can go against it." Sitharaman contended that only man-made products can be homogeneous and therefore, any quality standards on agri produce should reflect different varieties and not homogeneity. The minister asked the industry to manufacture quality products at an affordable price. "Quality need not always be expensive. Quality products can also be affordable," the minister said, calling for a change in mindset. Various government departments, including textile, steel and pharma, have a focus on setting standards to enhance product quality. Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia emphasised that product quality is key to achieving export-led growth. She acknowledged the role played by states in ensuring these standards are adhered to. Teaotia stressed on putting in place "right standards" for services, where the country has a competitive advantage. The secretary said the government is focusing on evolving a comprehensive national strategy for standardisation. The objective is positioning standards as a key driver of all economic activities relating to goods and services.
Source: Moneycontrol
The South-Indian textile industry has requested for the lowest slab on textile and apparel under the upcoming GST regime that is expected to be implemented from July 1, 2017. Currently the textile chain enjoys zero per cent central excise benefit under the optional Cenvat provisions. Stating the need to support the sector to adapt to the change in taxation policy, the industry proposed that a uniform 5 per cent GST on all textile and apparel product will help facilitate the migration to the GST ensuring better compliance. Talking to KNN, Suresh Ananda Kumar, Secretary of the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) said that their association has proposed the lower slab rate for the textile industry considering the nature of the industry. He also informed that they have submitted a memorandum to the textile minister Smriti Irani in this regard. The Association also stated that the deserving sectors such handlooms should be given the benefit of tax rebate under direct benefit transfer system. Apart from the request regarding GST, the memorandum also requested the Prime ministers’ office and the Ministry of Commerce to consider concluding free trade agreements with the potential importing countries to help prevent the Indian textile industry falling sick of unhealthy competition. This comes in the aftermath of the rising rupee and high import tariffs of almost 20 per cent on textile products in almost all the importing companies.
Source: KNN
Not unexpectedly, the appreciation of the rupee hasn’t hurt the big boys of Indian industry as much the minnows, which probably accounts for the muted voices against it. The strengthening rupee has taken a huge toll on exporters in other areas like gems and jewellery and electronics as well. Even as the rupee has scaled new heights, reflecting to some the overall strength of the Indian economy, an entire category of businessmen and women are in deep distress. Spare a thought for the garment exporter in New Delhi’s Okhla industrial area or the one in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. Already facing intense competition from Bangladesh and Vietnam, whose currencies have been depreciating in the same period, as well as sharply rising cotton prices, these exporters have seen their wafer thin profits disappearing overnight. Bear in mind that over 70% of Indian textile and apparel exports are dollar-denominated. Nor have the various preferential trade agreements been particularly helpful. The India-Mercosur one, for instance, doesn’t include textiles and apparel items. As a consequence, these face prohibitive import duties of up to 35%. Mercosur comprises Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Over the last two years, analysts had placed the US dollar’s value at about Rs69-70, which means the rupee is currently up over 7% at a time when the Chinese yuan has declined. The strengthening rupee has taken a huge toll on exporters in other areas like gems and jewellery and electronics as well. These companies with operating margins of 10-12%, already hit hard by wage inflation, are now taking a massive hit to their bottom lines. But that’s not all. Domestic manufacturers, in industries ranging from electrical parts to chemicals and solvents, who compete with imports from China, are feeling the pain as well. As the economies of manufacturing have got distorted, thousands of small and medium enterprises are reeling under the impact of an irrationally strengthening rupee. The first indications are already available in the March trade deficit, which widened to a four-month high of $10.44 billion following a 28% surge in merchandise imports. Unfortunately since the rupee’s strength hasn’t come on the back of stronger economic fundamentals like rising productivity, what it has done is to wipe out all the productivity gains for exporters that recent reforms by the government enabled. Instead, it has effectively led to subsidising imports while reducing the overall export competitiveness. Eventually, at this level, the overall economy will get impacted. As Mint reported, citing UBS Securities India Pvt. Ltd’s calculations, every 1% appreciation in the rupee could lead to a 0.6% cut in Nifty earnings. Not unexpectedly, the appreciation in the rupee hasn’t hurt the big boys of Indian industry as much, which probably accounts for the muted voices against it. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) obviously doesn’t carry the same weight as some of the other similar organizations that represent the interests of the larger Indian companies. FIEO has put out a request to the government for incentives in the form of interest subvention, currently available to the manufacturers, to be extended to merchants and other sectors of exports. In addition, it is looking for some change in the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (which gives incentive of about 3% in the form of duty credit scrip to the exporter to compensate for his loss on payment of duties) in the hope that this will offset somewhat the losses on account of rupee appreciation. But these moves, even if they find favour with the government, are likely to offer little succour to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are under the cosh. There is also no rational explanation for this unexpected spike. Given the technical rules that govern the rupee market, rules that the Reserve Bank of India has been at pains to communicate over recent years, it has come as a shock. Conspiracy theorists are already speculating that it has the makings of a possible currency attack but in the absence of any evidence to show it was concerted, it is perhaps an exaggeration to call it that. Over the years, countries like the UK, Switzerland and Greece have had to handle the fallout from an overtly strong currency and in the case of the UK and Greece it did lead to a recession. Sure, a strong rupee will force Indian exporters to look for greater efficiency and increased productivity while also diversifying into more value-added exports that are less sensitive to price fluctuations. But before that happens, there is the small matter of surviving the current run. Sundeep Khanna is a consulting editor at Mint and oversees the newsroom’s corporate coverage. The Corporate Outsider will look at current issues and trends in the corporate sector every week.
Source: Livemint
Malaga’s former Intelhorce textile factory, built under Franco’s orders, will be turned into a distribution centre for a children’s clothing firm. A total of €68m is to be pumped into refurbishing the 27,000m2 architecturally protected space, which has lain empty since the early 2000s. Once complete, the company will seek final permission to construct new, interlinked buildings, which will be used for storage. The work, due to be finished by 2019, will double the distribution capacity for firm Mayoral, which decided to embark upon the project due to rising sales.
Source: Olive Press
NEW DELHI: India is open to considering Turkey’s proposal to negotiate a bilateral free trade agreement in goods, services and investments despite the politically volatile situation in Ankara, but needs time to weigh the potential gains for its industry. “New Delhi wants to consider factors such as the EU’s uncertain trade relationship with both the countries and the access Turkey can provide for Indian businesses in other markets such as Russia and the Middle-East before taking a final call on the matter,” a government official told BusinessLine. Officials are re-examining a feasibility study on the proposed Turkey-India FTA carried out earlier for the Commerce Ministry. “We will factor in the changes that have taken place in the economic and political situation subsequently and take a decision on the matter,” the official said. The government may, in fact, go for a fresh feasibility study, another official said. The earlier study finalised by ICRIER professor Arpita Mukherjee and her team in 2011 had pointed out that it was in India’s interests to have a time lag between the implementation of the proposed FTA with the EU and the FTA with Turkey. This will give it sufficient time to examine the trade flows and the impact of the FTA with the EU given the fact that Turkey and India were competitors in the EU market, the report said. “Since India’s FTA negotiations with the EU have not progressed substantially, we have to take into consideration the changed situation,” the first official said. The political situation in Turkey is, however, not a cause of major concern for India as in the past, too, business interests did not take a big hit when things were rough. “It makes sense to respond positively to the new establishment in Turkey and help it cement its position in order to help foster a climate of stability and prosperity,” the official said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressing a India-Turkey Business Summit on Monday, had said that it would be good to start FTA talks with India as it would add further momentum to bilateral relations. Erdogan, however, pointed out that the bilateral trade volume was skewed against Turkey and there was a need to balance it as fast as possible. Of the total $ 6.4 billion annual trade between the countries, Turkey's export to India was worth only about $ 650 million, he said. While Erdogan was concerned over the sluggish Indian investments in Turkey, India has said its investors are seeking stable environment there in the wake of rising political turmoil there and other geopolitical issues, sources said. Nevertheless, both sides have set a bilateral trade target of $10 billion by 2020 from $6.4 billion at present. “Turkey no doubt will gain from an FTA with India as their base is low and there exists a lot of scope to increase Turkish exports given the size of the Indian market. We have to be clear about how the FTA will help Indian exports as the size of the Turkish market is small and gains would come only if we are able to use it to cater to other markets,” the official said. For instance, India is a manufacturer of yarn, while Turkey makes fabric. “An FTA will make sense for India, if Turkey increases its sourcing of yarn from India by removing duties and then uses this yarn to make fabric and supply to third countries,” pointed out Ajay Sahai from the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. India would examine if big markets such as Russia and the Middle-East could be accessed by getting into joint-ventures with Turkish companies, the official added.
Source: Business line
“India needs to work on both manufacturing sector leg and services sector leg…Manufacturing leg is more important because it creates more jobs,” he said while addressing the 4th National Standards Conclave here. India needs to work simultaneously on manufacturing and services, but the focus should be more on manufacturing as it creates more jobs, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya today said. Panagariya also said that deployment of robots by companies need not be a big concern as the exercise won’t take away jobs, at least not in the next 20 years. “India needs to work on both manufacturing sector leg and services sector leg…Manufacturing leg is more important because it creates more jobs,” he said while addressing the 4th National Standards Conclave here. Noting that companies like Maruti in India still employs large number of workers, the NITI Aayog vice-chairman said there were perception that robots are going to steal jobs. “In my view, robots won’t steal jobs in the next 20 years. We still have time. We have to use all instruments at our disposal,” Panagariya said. On setting of quality standards for products, he pointed out that in an economy like India’s, where there is a large informal sector, the imposition of safety standards is going to be very difficult for several informal sectors. “And also from regulation point of view, to implement the regulation becomes very difficult,” Panagariya said. Citing the example of Indian carpet industry, he said that unless it is housed in larger factory organisation, it will be difficult to implement safety and labour regulations as the bulk of the Indian carpet industry is spread out. Speaking at the same event, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia, however, said that India needs to work in finding ways in which it can became a real leader in the services sector. “Our contribution to global services trade is very low. In the services sector, we have clear cut advantages and we need to capitalise on those because in the future more jobs will come in the services sector,” Teaotia said.
Source: Financial Express
LAHORE: The export package was a non-starter from day one as all the stakeholders, particularly the value-added sector, had reservations, but agreed nevertheless due to the planners take it or leave it approach. Interaction with different textile stakeholders revealed that the package was manoeuvred by the lowest value-added basic textile sector. The garment and bed wear exporters said they were entitled to more facilitation and refunds then the spinners and fabric exporters. They said when the five exporting sectors were exempted from sales tax, the sales tax on packaging material supplied to the exporters remained imposed, and it was clarified that this sales tax would not be refunded to the exporters. The value-added textile exporters further pointed out that packing material is a major cost for the value added exporters. They have to buy costly and strong packing to ensure that their garments and bed wear are not damaged during transportation. They said this one exemption from zero-rating has eaten away Rs18 billion of sales tax refunds of the value-added exporters. Khuram Mukhtar, a leading home textiles exporter from Faisalabad, said the value-added sector does not want any package. “Instead, the sector wants that the government expedite all genuine refunds and implement the textile policy announced by the present and previous governments.” He said exports were zero-rated and this principle should be strictly adhered to. He said there are some issues that need to be addressed fairly. “An amount of Rs10.30 billion export finance mark-up support announced in 2011-14 textile policy has still not been released,” he said. Similarly, Rs1.5 billion relating to mark-up rate support against long-term finance were pending, he said, and added that the technology up-gradation fund amounting to Rs19.405 million for September 2009-June 2014 was also pending. He said refunds amounting to Rs11 billion announced by the government under different heads were also awaited. “The state should fulfil its commitments,” Khuram Mukhtar added. The exporter said zero rating of energy fuels was announced in 2016-17 budget but refunds were allowed on domestic coal. He called this eye wash as domestic coal was sparingly available and 80 percent of the coal was imported. He said if these issues were resolved, Faisalabad alone would add $2 billion in textile exports. Mian Muhammad Lateef, the chairman of Chenab Group, said the GSP Plus granted by EU has saved our planners many blushes. He said the exports to EU after the grant of GSP Plus status increased by 38 percent for all items exported to EU. For textiles, he added, the surge in past three years has been 58 percent. He said the major declines were in the United States, South Africa, and Russia. He said the textile exports increased during 2008-2013 from $8 billion to $13.8 billion but have since declined to $12 billion. He urged the government to evaluate the reasons for this decline. Lateef said discussions should be held at bureaucracy level with all stakeholders, including basic textiles, home textiles, and apparel exporters. “The discussion must cover all aspects of proposed policies clearly indentifying which policy will benefit one sector and hurt the other. “Thereafter, a minimum acceptable policy for the entire sector must be designed, keeping the national interest supreme,” he added. Amjad Khawaja, a leading knitwear exporter from Faisalabad was of the view that Pakistan needed to create a large number of jobs. He said the apparel sector was the largest creator of jobs.He said Vietnam created million of jobs by exporting garments. He said Pakistani government should also make efforts to boost the clothing sector. “Currently, we are exporting low value-added garments because the fabric produced in Pakistan is not of the quality that is globally in demand,” he said, and added that as a first step, the government should allow duty free import of blended fabric so that high value garments could be produced and exported.
Source: International News
Newly formed State Government in Punjab (India) has decided to prepare a new textile policy with special focus on aligning it with Central Government’s textile policy. Punjab Government is taking suggestions from the industry and various meetings have also been conducted in this regard. One such meeting was held in Ludhiana also in which Mahesh Khanna, GM, DIC, Ludhiana discussed the requirements with leading textile players of the city. Ajit Lakra, President of the Ludhiana Knitters Association, Tarun Jain Bawa, President of Federation of Textile Association of Ludhiana, DL Sharma, MD, Vardhman Group and many other textile players were also present in the meeting. Apparel Resources interacted with the participants. Given below are the 10 main demands of the industry:
1. State Government Should Have Corpus: Industry insisted that State Government should have a corpus for the textile industry like the Government of India so that the manufacturers can take the maximum advantage.
2. Rework on Pollution Norms: It was highlighted that some of the pollution laws of State Government are more stringent compared to international level. Similarly, a symmetry in State and Central Government’s pollution laws is an urgent requirement.
3. Reform Labour Laws: Punjab’s textile and garment industry is mainly dependent on migratory workers and participants strongly recommend reformation of labour laws. Any unit which is able to construct hostels for labour, should be given outright subsidy, they demanded.
4. Incentives for Modernization: Still a major chunk of Punjab’s textile industry needs to go for automation; thus incentives for modernization/up-gradation is the need of the hour.
5. Skill Development: Facing severe shortage of skilled labour, the industry asked for increase in funding and focuses on skill development.
6. New Focal Point: The city needs more land for new factories, making it a new focal point. Fire Station in Every Industrial Pocket: In summer, fire incidents in factories go up, the industry therefore requested for fire station in every industrial pocket. Industry players are ready to offer land for fire stations so that they do not have to depend on fire tenders of nearby districts in case of an emergency.
8. R&D Centre: As individual R&D centres need lots of resources, industry demanded for a common R&D centre where collective efforts can be done for the support of industry.
9. Exhibition Centre: Ludhiana is the biggest industrial city of Punjab where apart from textile, manufacturing of bicycles and tractor’s part also take place on large scale. Despite that there is no world-class exhibition centre in the city where buyer-seller meets (BSMs), and industrial events can be organized. Industry was very much keen about this long pending demand.
10. Various Issues: Elimination of corruption, relaxation in taxes, more and regular communication between Government and industry, and improvement of basic infrastructure facilities were also underlined by the industry.
Source: Apparel Resources
My journey kicked off with education in organic chemistry. I have spent more than two- and-a-half decades in speciality products used by industries including textile, paper, food, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and others. Our focus is on speciality and performance chemicals in textiles where we collectively understand the needs and wants of customers and convert that into a product and offer better service. What are the latest technological innovations in green chemicals? There is an increase in the number of textile companies demanding green chemicals, specifically those companies exporting to European Union nations. Other countries have also begun asking for green chemicals. Environmental norms have become more stringent in India. For example, there is rising demand for polyvinyl alcohol. Demand for enzymatic bio-polishing and enzymatic scouring has also increased. We have developed better blends of polyacrylate that are also environment friendly as it reduces consumption of synthetic binders, ultimately reducing the load on effluent plants. Tell us about the latest innovations in textile sizing and textile enzyme products. More companies are opting for compact yarns in medium and fine cotton counts segments. Compact yarns are cost-effective due to less sizing. They also improve efficiency of the loom and spinners have the advantage of low recycling of fibres. So, demand for sizing materials that offer high penetration in the yarn has gone up. We have met this challenge due to selective poly acrylates and also due to the type of starch used in their products. Instead of own sizing recipes, companies and technocrats prefer one shot sizes. These come with proven technology and offer convenience to the preparatory section of the textile industry. It also reduces dependence on workers. Depending upon yarn count, sizing needs are different. We have introduced four grades of one shot sizes to suit the end use depending on counts. These offer greater weaving efficiency and also desizing. What are the R&D initiatives of the company? We have developed an enzyme product that has the ability to withstand higher pH. It provides relaxation in frequent pH adjustments during the desizing operation. This product is suitable for the denim industry. We have also developed a polyacrylate that offers very high adhesion and simultaneously promotes penetration of size. This powder has more than 95 per cent active contents. What percentage of your revenue is invested in R&D? As the company is in the growth phase and is still in the product development mode, we are spending double digit figures on R&D. What are the problems plaguing this sector? The market is flooded with low cost and low quality products. This makes acceptability of good quality products, slow. What are the top challenges that you face as a textile chemicals industry? As far as speciality performance based companies are concerned, customer acquisition process is extremely lengthy. What is the global market size for textile sizing and textile-processing chemicals? It is difficult to come out with any figure due to county-wise complexity of the industry but the Indian sizing industry is over US$ 1.2bn.
What is the target for the next two years? We are here to create a niche. Our vision is to become a total solution provider company in the next two years. Every month, we add at least one new product for the industry. What are the sustainable practices at your company? We try our best to use renewable sources of energy. We use bio-based chemicals in place of basic chemicals as much as possible, irrespective of cost.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Gearing up for the roll-out of the country’s largest tax reform, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) is carrying out a pilot test on return filing. “It will be a live test using 4,000 taxpayers and will be conducted over this fortnight,” said a senior official. Once the goods and services tax (GST) is implemented from July 1, over 80 lakh assessees are expected to log on to GSTN after a month to begin filing their monthly returns. Every taxpayer would have three returns to be uploaded every month, including GSTR 1, GSTR 2 and GSTR 3 relating to sales, purchases and the final tax paid, apart from one annual return. While Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has promised ease in compliance and has assured that in effect there would only be one return to be filed every month, concerns were raised whether the back end IT infrastructure is strong enough to take the load. The pilot test is expected to help look into these concerns as well as iron out any other wrinkles that may arise. The results of the pilot test are also expected to be shared with the GST Council in its next meeting later this month. Migration of assesses Meanwhile, the official said while migration of assessees to the GST has been stopped as of now, it will be restarted at a later date. The data of all the enrolled assessees will now be migrated to the new GST system. Despite the slow pace of enrolment of businesses, about 60 lakh or two-thirds of the assessees of State value added tax (VAT) have been registered under GST. However, the enrolment of service tax and Central excise duty assessees is lagging. “There is no reason to worry. Even if the enrolment window opens on June 30, taxpayers can easily enrol for GST,” said the official.
Source: Business Line
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is sticking to the dateline of July 1, 2017 for the launch of the goods and services tax (GST). Described as a reform of unparalleled importance in independent India, GST will subsume as many as eight central and nine state taxes under it. Its colossal nature is clear from the projected eight million taxpayers filing 37 tax returns every year and 3.5 billion invoices every month. How prepared is the country for this transformative reform? The Central GST (CGST), Integrated GST (IGST), Union Territory GST (UGST) and GST Compensation to States Acts received the assent of the President on April 12, 2017. Five states — Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Telangana — have passed their State GST (SGST) Acts, others are expected to follow suit by end of the month, GST Network (GSTN), established in March 2013, has been working to set up a common and shared information technology (IT) infrastructure for the Centre and states and provide a uniform interface for GST payers all over India. GSTN is particularly important for administering IGST and for running the matching engine for validating input tax credit, and reversing and reclaiming such credit, if necessary. Existing payers of the taxes subsumed under the GST will have to migrate to the GSTN and obtain new registration numbers. Migration involves enrolment, and then registration after receipt of additional information and documents prescribed under the GST laws. The enrolment process was started in November, 2016 with a phased enrolment plan for each state. The enrolment deadline has already been postponed at least twice — from January 31 to March 31, and then to April 30, 2017. With many existing taxpayers, for example over two-thirds of service tax payers, not yet enrolled, another extension is rumoured. While the details of the primary legislation relating to CGST, IGST, SGST, UTST, and GST compensation to the states are settled, the specifics of the rules needed to enforce the laws are not. These secondary or delegated rules, to be notified by the Centre and states, are essential to fine tune the operational aspects. Only the details of five rules on filing tax returns, registration of entities, payment of GST, invoicing, and refunds are final after approval by the GST Council. Four others — on input tax credit, valuation of goods and services, how to opt for composition levy, and transitional provisions — are not. The software needed to run the automated GSTN system will have to be tweaked in conformity with the rules once they are decided. Apart from a nil rate on essential items, GST will have a four-tier rate structure of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. Items of use by the masses will attract 5 per cent, and luxury items will attract a rate of 28 per cent. In between, 12 per cent and 18 per cent will be the two standard rates. Broadly, the GST rate on a good or service will approximate the sum total of the duties that the tax subsumes. But, when the sum total of such duties falls between two rates in the four-tier structure, some uncertainty remains whether it will be jacked up or down to conform to the structure. Furthermore, the rate on precious metals is not yet known. Neither is the list of specified luxury and demerit goods on which a cess — including its rate — over the peak rate of 28 per cent will apply for a period of five years to compensate states for any revenue loss on account of GST implementation. The next GST Council meeting in Srinagar during May 18-19, barely six weeks before GST kicks in will settle these issues. So, is India “rushing” into GST? Definitely not. The idea of ending the distinction between goods and services underlying the indirect tax structure and introducing GST has been around since 1994 when the Government of India got the report titled “Reform of Domestic Trade Taxes in India: Issues and Options”, also called the Amaresh Bagchi report, from the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. It has been a long wait even after 2000, when then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee set up the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers headed by West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta to streamline the GST model to be adopted, or since 2006 when then Finance Minister P Chidambaram, in his Budget speech, proposed introduction of the GST from April 1, 2010. Only a crisis brings out the best of Indian politicians and bureaucrats. Perhaps Ryan Blair, the American writer, knew about them when he wrote “If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is right in proposing GST from July 1. Much that could not be done in years will get accomplished in six weeks after mid-May.
Source: Business Standard
Most economic agents look forward to the goods and services tax (GST). A few await GST with positive dread, including domestic makers of phones or any other kit covered by the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1997, which bestows a zero rate of import duty on a range of electronic goods and components. A zero rate of import duty means no protection for the domestic manufacturer. Still, a range of information technology products came to be sold under Indian brand names, competing with products from China. This owed to a duty arbitrage that the government offered them, even in the absence of protection via a proper customs duty .
Nil Import Duty Carves Out...
The trick has been to levy a countervailing duty , on top of the zero customs duty , on imported products, say, phones. The duty is supposed to countervail the local taxes that a domestic manufacturer would bear and build into the price of the local product but would be absent in the pricing of the import. But the actual duty paid on local assembly was about a tenth of the countervailing duty. So, the notional countervailing duty -notional, because there was pretty little by way of domestic tax paid that had to be neutralised with a countervailing duty -became the source of protection for domestic producers of goods covered by the ITA. What GST would do is to remove this form of protection. Countervailing duties on imports meant to offset the competitive disadvantage domestic duties place on local producers who have to compete with imported goods are subsumed under GST. Unlike in the current regime, countervailing duties would become yet another input tax that can be set off against the GST payable on the value added before the import reaches the consumer. This means that the tax arbitrage between a high countervailing duty on the imported product and the very low actual tax on local production would disappear. Can Indian producers of ITA products survive? Broadband India Forum, with the help of Ernst & Young, has come out with a proposal to retain these brave souls among the ranks of the living: pay the local producer an incentive ranging from, at the minimum, the net GST payable by the local producer, to several multiples of that amounts. There is only one flaw with the proposal. It sees refunding the taxes the local producers are obliged to pay as an incentive, whereas it is not. It would amount to removal of a disincentive, to put local produce on par with the imports it competes with. Except in the case of commodities, few countries levy taxes on their exports. A phone exported from China to India is not burdened by any residue of local Chinese taxes, its price is the sum of the value added in the various stages of manufacture and assembly of its components. The import duty would be zero, thanks to the ITA.So, when it arrives in India, its price is the local Chinese price, less local Chinese taxes plus the cost of shippi ng it to India. To its landed cost would be added the costs of local distributi on and local GST, when the consum er seeks to buy it.
...An Export Zone in the DTA
What about the price of a locally ma de phone that has to compete with an imported phone? Since components are also exempt from import duty un der the ITA, the Indian phone's price would have the cost of components, local value addition in putting them together as a phone, the local taxes, that is, GST, on such value addition, plus the added costs of distribution and the GST on value added in distri bution. In other words, the local pro ducer has to burden his product with local taxes in manufacturing value addition while the competing import comes without the manufacturing tax of the exporting country. To have a level playing field for loc alproduce and imports that bear zero manufacturing tax in the exporting country, zero customs duty in India and countervailing duty that can be set off against GST on distribution, the local produce must also be exem pt from local tax on manufacturing value addition. Conceptually, an export is sale outside the domestic tariff area (DTA).When an ITA-like agreement carves out a zero-tariff subzone within the DTA, a sale to this subzone is conceptually similar to a sale outside the domestic tariff area, where the exported good competes with other goods from around the world on an equal footing. Under GST that subsumes countervailing duties, sales of zero-import duty products to the domestic tariff area must be deemed to be export, and GST on their production fully refunded to the producer. Such a policy has a built-in incentive to raise local value addition. The higher the value added, the higher the GST refund. While such a deemed export status would place local production of zero import-duty products on an even tax footing with imports, it would still leave local produce bereft of a positive incentive. The government could consider refunding the local producer of zero-tariff goods 1.05 times the GST paid on manufacturing value added. That 5% incentive can then be phased out over 10 years.
Source: The Economic Times
Once again Standard Textile, a global leader in technology-driven textiles, will be presenting its latest innovations at The HD Expo in Las Vegas. Adding to the advancements Standard Textile has developed and brought to the hospitality market year after year, the company will be exhibiting two new product offerings, Tatami Fit and The Meg Fiora Collection. Throughout the expo, Standard Textile will be exhibiting their new patent-pending product Tatami Fit, a modern alternative to a bed skirt. Crafted with bamboo and rich upholstery fabric, Tatami Fit is a light, clean and secure solution to conceal both the bed frame and box spring. Tatami snaps easily around existing bed frames without the need to remove a heavy mattress. This economical solution is available in an array of beautiful fabrics to create a modern aesthetic. Standard Textile will also be featuring their new Meg Fiora Collection. Meg Fiora, an award-winning interior designer, partnered with Standard Textile to develop a unique fabric collection for drapery. The boldly colorful collection is inspired by the timeless elegance of men's suit accessories with pattern names that include Bogart, Astaire, and Portier. Standard Textile is recognized for bringing innovative solutions to the hospitality market that are engineered to reduce operational costs while enhancing the guest experience. The Company's culture of innovation leverages its advanced manufacturing infrastructure and has resulted in more than 70 patents.
ABOUT STANDARD TEXTILE
Founded in 1940, Standard Textile has developed a culture of innovation, quality, and service. With more than 70 patents, its products are engineered to deliver durability, longevity, and value. A vertically integrated company, Standard Textile is a leading global provider of total solutions in the institutional textiles and apparel markets. Leveraging textile design, manufacturing, and laundry expertise, and its global infrastructure, this company serves customers in the healthcare, hospitality, interior products, and workwear markets worldwide. Standard Textile will be exhibiting at the HD Expo (Booth 3713), May 3rd – May 5th, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Source: Standard Textile
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$ 50.36 per barrel (bbl) on 02.05.2017. In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket was Rs. 3233.78 per bbl on 02.05.2017. Rupee closed at Rs. 64.21 per US$ on 02.05.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on May 02, 2017 |
Pricing Fortnight for 01.05.2017 (April 12, 2017 to April 26, 2017) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
50.36 |
52.36 |
|
(Rs/bbl) |
3233.78 |
3374.60 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
64.21 |
64.45 |
Source: PIB
Farmers are likely to increase acreage under cotton, resulting in higher output going forward, as the crop has been able to fetch relatively higher prices in 2016-17 and is expected to sustain remuneration levels in the current fiscal. However the demand for cotton, especially by mills, is also rising and is likely to result in a consistent fall in year-end stocks of cotton, according to the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). The total area under cotton globally will rise by five per cent to 30.8 million hectares in 2017-18 cotton year (July-June). However, ICAC says,"India's cotton area is forecast to increase by seven per cent to 11.3 million hectares in 2017-18, as farmers eye better returns brought about by higher prices and improved yields in 2016-17. Assuming the yield is similar to the five-year average, production could increase by three per cent to a little under six million tonnes". The Textile Commissioner of India had estimated the yield in 2016-17 at 568.29 kg/hectare. The highest yield was in south India and the overall yield was better than in previous years. Prerana Desai, Vice President-Research, Edelweiss Agri Services and Credit, said, "Cotton has seen a unique season this year. In response to demonetisation, farmers delayed selling their produce and dictated the price throughout the season. As the seasonal price trough did not play out, the mills were caught unawares and missed out on opportunity to make purchases at lower prices. Farmers in Rajasthan played a crucial role this season. Lower crop along with increased local consumption of cotton in Gujarat increased the raw cotton deficit in Punjab and Haryana, the largest consuming region after Tamil Nadu. Import parity for mills in the north emerged in March itself, and these mills ended up importing very large quantity of US cotton this season. This has improved their yarn realisation and US cotton may have earned some loyalty in this traditionally non-importing region of India." Production of about six million tonnes helps India surpass China and US by quite a high margin. China's production is expected to be higher by one per cent, at 4.8 million tonnes, the first increase in five seasons. Farmers in the US are expected to expand harvested cotton area by 12 per cent to 4.3 million hectares, and assuming a yield of 938 kg/ha, production could grow eight per cent to four million tonnes, according to ICAC. Another reason for the global increase in cotton acreage is lower price realisation from soyabean. As a result, farmers switched from soyabean to cotton, according to one exporter. In India, despite high prices, imports have seen a sharp rise. According to Desai of Edelweiss Agri Services, "Year-to-date imports (Oct-Mar) are around 980,000 bales vis-a-vis 450,000 bales during same period the previous year. While mills in the country have been quoted as saying that India will import more than three million bales this season, we are of the view that the pace of import will slow down from here on. Softening domestic prices has seen import parity disappear for mills in the south, and flatten for mills in north. India imported around 2.3 million bales of 170 kg in 2015-16. and may end up importing a similar or marginally lower quantity this season as well." Imports by China, now the world's third largest cotton importer, are expected to increase by three per cent to 987,000 tonnes as sales from that country's reserves are falling. India's exports are projected to decline by 30 per cent to 886,000 tonnes.
Source: Business Standard
Comparatively high cotton prices in 2016-17 and continuing in this financial year will encourage farmers to grow more this year. However, the demand for cotton, especially by mills, is also rising which will result in a consistent fall in year-end stocks, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee (CAC). The total area under cotton will go up by five per cent globally to 30.8 million hectares in the 2017-18 cotton year (July-June). On India, it says this is forecast to “increase by seven per cent to 11.3 mn ha in 2017-18, as farmers are encouraged by better returns due to high cotton prices and improved yields in 2016-17. Assuming yield is similar to the five-year average, production could increase to just under six million tonnes”. The government’s textile commissioner estimated yield in 2016-17 at 568.29 kg/ha, better than in previous years. Prerana Desai, vice-president at Edelweiss Agri Services and Credit, said: “Cotton has seen a unique season. In response to demonetisation, farmers delayed selling their produce and dictated the price through the season. As the seasonal price trough did not play out, the mills were caught unaware and missed out on an opportunity to make purchases at the lower prices. Farmers in Rajasthan played a crucial role this season. Lower crop, along with increased local consumption in Gujarat, increased the raw cotton deficit in Punjab and Haryana, second largest consuming region after Tamil Nadu. Import parity for mills in the north emerged in March itself and these have ended up importing a very large quantity of US cotton this season. This has improved their yarn realisation and US cotton might have earned some loyalty in this traditionally non-importing region of India.” Production of around six mn tonnes enables India surpass China and US by quite a high margin. China’s production is expected to be higher by one per cent to 4.8 mt, the first increase in five seasons. Farmers in the US are forecast to expand the harvested cotton area by 12 per cent to 4.3 mn ha. Assuming yield of 938 kg/ha, production could grow by eight per cent to four mt, says ICAC. Another reason, apart from higher cotton prices, for a global increase in sowing is lower realisation from soybean prices. As a result, said an exporter, farmers switched from it to cotton. In India, despite high prices, imports have seen a sharp rise. According to Prerna Desai, “Year to date imports (October-March) are around 980,000 bales (each 170 kg)vis-à-vis 450,000 bales imported during the same period last time. While mills in the country have been quoted saying that India will import more than three mn bales this season, we are of the view that the pace of import will slow down from here. Softening domestic prices has seen import parity disappear for mills in the south and flatten for mills in the north. India imported around 2.3mn bales in 2015-16 and might end up by importing a similar or slightly lower quantity this season as well.” Imports by China, now the world’s third largest cotton importer, are expected to increase by three per cent to 987,000 tonnes, as sales from China’s reserves and its stock is falling. India’s exports are projected to decrease by 30 per cent, to 886,000 tonnes.
Source: Business Standard
Pakistan witnessed growth in towel exports by 15.78 percent during month of March, 2017 as compared the exports of the corresponding month of the last year. However, during first three quarters of current financial year exports of the towel from the country decreased by 3.18 percent as was recorded at 132,723 metric tons. According the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, about 15,325 metric tons of towels worth US$ 70.354 million exported in month of March. During the period from July-March, 2016-17 towels worth of US$ 578.24 million were exported. However, in last 9 months exports of bed wear grew by 5.11 percent and about 263,814 metric tons of the bedwear worth US$ 1.585 billion exported. On month on month basis, exports of bed wear increased by 5.43 percent and was recorded at 29,259 metric tons valuing US$ 180 million. It may be recalled that textile group exports from the country during month of March grew by 6.16 percent and reached at US$ 1.64 billion. While textile goods worth US$ 9.278 billion were exported during the last nine months.
Source: YNFX
A man works at a small fabric factory at Kanglecun, one of the urban villages in Guangzhou on February 29, 2016 in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.[Photo/VCG] Of the 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions that have released their GDP for the first quarter, a total of 22 saw their GDP exceed the national average growth rate of 6.9 percent, Beijing Youth Daily reported. Four regions witnessed their GDP top more than one trillion yuan ($145.14 billion) in the first quarter. East China's Zhejiang province, with a GDP of 1.06 trillion yuan, was the new comer to the one-trillion-yuan GDP club. South China's Guangdong province recorded 1.94 trillion yuan in its GDP in the first quarter and took the top spot. The GDP of Jiangsu and Shandong provinces reached 1.88 trillion yuan and 1.67 trillion yuan, ranking second and third respectively. In the first quarter, Tibet autonomous region, Southwest municipality Chongqing and Guizhou province led the growth at the provincial level, posting growth rate of 11 percent, 10.5 percent and 10.2 percent respectively. In sharp contrast, the northeastern steel-making province of Liaoning recorded the lowest growth of 2.4 percent. Last year, the province saw its economy shrink by 2.5 percent. The local government admitted in January that a raft of economic data had been falsified from 2011 to 2014 and vowed to eliminate the bubbles in statistics. China's economy posted a forecast-beating growth rate in the first quarter of 2017, with GDP up 6.9 percent from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The reading, the quickest increase in 18 months, was above the full-year target of 6.5 percent and the 6.8-percent increase registered in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Source: China Daily
THE State Administration of Taxation today released a batch of 40 guidelines of taxation issues in countries along the Belt and Road initiative to facilitate outbound investment of Chinese companies. The guidelines aimed to familiarize investors with policies in investment destinations, prevent taxation risks, and promote healthy development of companies overseas, the SAT said in a statement. Put forward by President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and African along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes. The batch of 40 guidelines introduced business environment, main types of taxes, rules of taxation, and bilateral tax agreements between China and the investment destinations. So far, a total 59 guidelines have been published to cover major overseas investment destinations of Chinese companies. SAT said it will continue to update the guidelines and expand coverage of the series. The guidelines were released as concrete progresses have been made under the Belt and Road initiative. Official data showed China made US$14.53 billion direct investment in 53 countries along the routes last year, and China's exports to Belt and Road countries reached 6.3 trillion yuan last year. China also signed US$126 billion worth of contracts with the related countries last year.
Source: Shanghai Daily
The domestic garment industry has faced many challenges in exporting to key markets, such as the European Union (EU) and the United States, but it still has a chance of achieving its export target this year, according to experts. Workers inside the Nam Dinh Textile Garment Joint Stock Company in Nam Dinh First quarter figures appear to support this expectation. Vietnam earned 6.84 billion USD from garment and textile exports in the first quarter of this year, 11.2 percent more than in the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). Vietnam’s textile and apparel sector has set a target of seven percent growth over 2016, with total export earnings of over 30 billion USD. Currently, Vietnamese garment and textile products are available in 40 countries and territories, with major markets including the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China and the EU. VITAS has urged enterprises to optimise the capacity of their equipment to reduce production costs and seek orders for high-quality products. But Dang Phuong Dung of the VITAS advisory board said the growth of export value and volume to the EU was low, with local manufacturers receiving only small orders. Vietnam’s garment industry has also not developed in terms of design, so most textile and garment enterprises have found it difficult to complete export orders from this market. A high import tax rate of 8-12 percent to the EU market is also one of the obstacles facing garment exporters to this market. The EU is the second largest export market of Vietnamese garment products, but it has only captured a 1.9 percent share of the union’s total import value, according to the association, presenting opportunities for growth. However, Dung said, meeting the rules of origin under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement in terms of preferential tax rate would be the biggest challenge for Vietnamese garment exports. The garment industry expects ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, to sign an FTA between the ASEAN region and the EU, and then local garment enterprises would have more options to get material for garment production from other ASEAN countries, meeting rules of origin under the FTA. According to data of the General Department of Customs, in 2016, the textile and garment sector reached total export value of 23.8 billion USD, an increase of 4.6 percent year-on-year. In particular, the United States continued to be the largest export market of Vietnamese garment products, accounting for 48 percent of the total garment export value. The textile and garment export to the United States has increased by 12-13 percent in value each year in recent years. Many enterprises invested in building textile and dying factories on an extensive and intensive scale to boost opportunities in production and business for the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), according to the association. But now that the TPP with the United States' withdrawal is no longer in the cards, experts say these facilities would help the textile and garment industry complete production processes and actively source material, focusing on the significant opportunities offered by other FTAs, such as the EU-Vietnam and the Vietnam-Republic of Korea FTAs.
Source: VietNamNet
LAHORE: The export package was a non-starter from day one as all the stakeholders, particularly the value-added sector, had reservations, but agreed nevertheless due to the planners take it or leave it approach. Interaction with different textile stakeholders revealed that the package was manoeuvred by the lowest value-added basic textile sector. The garment and bed wear exporters said they were entitled to more facilitation and refunds then the spinners and fabric exporters. They said when the five exporting sectors were exempted from sales tax, the sales tax on packaging material supplied to the exporters remained imposed, and it was clarified that this sales tax would not be refunded to the exporters. The value-added textile exporters further pointed out that packing material is a major cost for the value added exporters. They have to buy costly and strong packing to ensure that their garments and bed wear are not damaged during transportation. They said this one exemption from zero-rating has eaten away Rs18 billion of sales tax refunds of the value-added exporters. Khuram Mukhtar, a leading home textiles exporter from Faisalabad, said the value-added sector does not want any package. “Instead, the sector wants that the government expedite all genuine refunds and implement the textile policy announced by the present and previous governments.” He said exports were zero-rated and this principle should be strictly adhered to. He said there are some issues that need to be addressed fairly. “An amount of Rs10.30 billion export finance mark-up support announced in 2011-14 textile policy has still not been released,” he said. Similarly, Rs1.5 billion relating to mark-up rate support against long-term finance were pending, he said, and added that the technology up-gradation fund amounting to Rs19.405 million for September 2009-June 2014 was also pending. He said refunds amounting to Rs11 billion announced by the government under different heads were also awaited. “The state should fulfil its commitments,” Khuram Mukhtar added. The exporter said zero rating of energy fuels was announced in 2016-17 budget but refunds were allowed on domestic coal. He called this eye wash as domestic coal was sparingly available and 80 percent of the coal was imported. He said if these issues were resolved, Faisalabad alone would add $2 billion in textile exports. Mian Muhammad Lateef, the chairman of Chenab Group, said the GSP Plus granted by EU has saved our planners many blushes. He said the exports to EU after the grant of GSP Plus status increased by 38 percent for all items exported to EU. For textiles, he added, the surge in past three years has been 58 percent. He said the major declines were in the United States, South Africa, and Russia. He said the textile exports increased during 2008-2013 from $8 billion to $13.8 billion but have since declined to $12 billion. He urged the government to evaluate the reasons for this decline. Lateef said discussions should be held at bureaucracy level with all stakeholders, including basic textiles, home textiles, and apparel exporters. “The discussion must cover all aspects of proposed policies clearly indentifying which policy will benefit one sector and hurt the other. “Thereafter, a minimum acceptable policy for the entire sector must be designed, keeping the national interest supreme,” he added. Amjad Khawaja, a leading knitwear exporter from Faisalabad was of the view that Pakistan needed to create a large number of jobs. He said the apparel sector was the largest creator of jobs. He said Vietnam created million of jobs by exporting garments. He said Pakistani government should also make efforts to boost the clothing sector. “Currently, we are exporting low value-added garments because the fabric produced in Pakistan is not of the quality that is globally in demand,” he said, and added that as a first step, the government should allow duty free import of blended fabric so that high value garments could be produced and exported.
Source: The News International
KARACHI: The textile industry has been in the headlines for several good and bad reasons. Absolute figures show that the volume of investment in the industry has surged significantly in recent months, but exports of the sector are showing an opposite trend. This has also caught the attention of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor, who has suggested that the money borrowed by the textile industry might be going to other profitable sectors like real estate or stock market. “Borrowings of the textile industry are continuously growing, but textile exports are on the decline. I wonder where this cheap borrowing is going, maybe it is going to the real estate sector?” SBP Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra commented during his recent visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). Planning Commission seeks Rs16.5b for 50,000 housing units. His concerns are not baseless. According to SBP data, the textile sector borrowed Rs123 billion in the second quarter (Oct-Dec) of the current fiscal year 2016-17, up 36% compared to Rs90.3 billion in the same period of previous year. However, textile exports in the first nine months (July-March) of FY17 declined 0.9% to $9.278 billion compared to the same period of last year, according to latest available data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The situation is similar in overall exports of the country. Pakistan’s exports in July-March fell 3% to $15.19 billion. The central bank governor is of the view that the country needs a new breed of exporters because the current lot has lost the appetite to grow. However, the exporters believe that the government as well as the SBP governor are unaware of the ground realities of export-oriented industries. “The SBP governor does not know about the full chain of textile sector,” Pakistan Apparel Forum Chairman Muhammad Jawed Bilwani told The Express Tribune. “We want to talk to him (the governor) about our problems, but he never gave us meeting time.” In January, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced a Rs180-billion package for five major export-oriented sectors, including textile, to give a boost to the country’s exports. Leading textile exporters were hopeful that the package would help increase their exports, but it might take four to five months.
Black money in real-estate sector
Textile industry officials, especially those that are associated with garment manufacturing, say the textile sector can provide maximum number of jobs to the unemployed youth because it is a highly labour-intensive industry. Textile exports constitute more than 60% of total exports of the country, therefore, successive governments have always been cognisant of its problems and provided it with different packages. But, like some other export sectors, Pakistan’s textile exports have literally been stagnant at levels where they were a decade ago. “We have time and again warned the government that it is only the textile sector that can solve Pakistan’s economic problems,” emphasised Bilwani. The government can still help increase textile exports by supporting the finished goods or garment industry because it utilises minimum electricity, generates maximum number of jobs and earns highest profit margins in comparison to exports of unfinished products, he added. Mian Kashif Ashfaq, CEO of ChenOne, one of the largest garment store chains in Pakistan, told The Express Tribune that the government is not releasing sales tax refunds of exporters as well as rebates due to which textile exporters are facing a severe liquidity crunch. Meanwhile, energy crisis is still very much here and the textile industry is not getting enough electricity to meet export orders, said Ashfaq. The government says textile exporters are incapable of meeting the requirements of modern trade. In contrast, the industry says the government is indifferent to the problems faced by them. These are worrying signs for the economy because the textile sector, despite acquiring huge loans to invest in fixed assets, is not confident of increasing exports in coming months. When this government came to power in mid-2013, it vowed to eliminate energy crisis by the end of its tenure in 2018. However, so far the claims of the government have been different from the ground realities.
Source: The Express Tribune
Iranian authorities have made new decisions with regard to import regulations for curbing rampant smuggling of clothes into the country. According to the Headquarters to Combat Smuggling of Goods and Foreign Exchange, apparel tops the list of goods smuggled into Iran. “In the past, many apparel producers and distributors were able to import their products directly into the Iranian market, but recently we have devised new rules and regulations under which they must have registered official representatives,” President of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran and Deputy Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mojtaba Khostrotaj told Financial Tribune. Khostrotaj added that once they have official representatives in Iran, they are required to obtain the relevant licenses before they can start their businesses in the domestic market. “As of this moment, we do not give permission for importing clothes because we have not registered any official representatives,” he said at a press conference on Monday. On March 27, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration sent a directive to the Headquarters to Supervise Border Customs as well as to border customs offices, instructing them to ban the import of certain commodities, including apparel, fruits and nuts, IRNA reported. According to the directive, imports of these goods are only permissible upon the approval of Cabinet members and after meeting the relevant rules and customs regulations. “We have already sent letters of notification to many brands, indicating that they cannot enter the Iranian market unless they have official representatives,” Khostrotaj said. According to Director General of the Association of Iran Textile Industries Mohammad Mehdi Raeis-Zadeh, more than 90% of foreign brands sold in Iran are fake and only 25 to 30 brands have sales permits from the main companies and/or their representatives. “If they do not provide creditable proof and permit from the main manufacturer, they have to stop using foreign trademarks. They don’t have the right to sell under the name of renowned brands,” Khostrotaj elaborated regarding clothes sold in Iran under the names of well-known foreign brands. Some $2.6 billion worth of clothes are imported into Iran every year and according to members of apparel unions, twice this amount is smuggled into the country. For local producers, this whopping amount of foreign apparel in the domestic market means they face tough competition, especially given the cheaper prices offered by their foreign counterparts. The Iranian apparel market is worth an estimated $12 billion per year.
Source: Financial Tribune
There is an increase in the number of textile companies demanding green chemicals. Many of these companies export to European Union nations. Aiming to establish itself as a company delivering textile chemical innovations and creating social impact, Infinium Polychem, a client-oriented outfit, also uses renewable energy as much as possible. "There is high demand for green chemicals. We have started receiving orders for green chemicals from foreign countries. Moreover, environmental norms in India have become more stringent. We have developed blends of polyacrylate that are better and are also environment-friendly as they reduce consumption of synthetic binders that ultimately bring down the load on the effluent plant," said Darshan Mehta, owner of Infinium Polychem. "More companies are opting for compact yarns in the medium and fine cotton counts segment. Compact yarns are cost effective due to less sizing. It also improves efficiency of the loom and spinners have the advantage of low recycling of fibres. So, demand for sizing materials that offer high penetration in the yarn has gone up. We have introduced four grades of one shot sizes to suit the end use, depending on counts. These offer greater weaving efficiency," said Mehta, who has spent more than two-and-a-half decades with speciality products used by industries including textile, paper, food, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and others. It is not easy developing and selling sustainable products when the market is flooded with low-cost and low-quality products. "As far as possible, we use bio-based chemicals in place of basic chemicals, irrespective of cost. We are here to create a niche in the market. Our vision is to become a total solution provider company in the next two years. Every month, we add at least one new product for the industry," added Mehta.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Amidst increasing world population and demand for clothes, and risk of decreasing cotton production as more and more land becomes occupied for food production, cellulose, produced from pine and fir, has the potential to emerge as a future environment-friendly textile fibre, according to a study carried out at the Karlstad University in Sweden. The study of cellulose production has been presented in a doctoral thesis at the university. The aim of the project was to contribute to the understanding of what happens in the sulfite pulping process of softwood where the end product is dissolving pulp, that is, nearly pure cellulose, and also to investigate if the sulfite process can be further improved to achieve better economic efficiency. "Our research project comprises two types of sulfite pulping of fir and pine wood," says Raghu Deshpande, PhD candidate in chemical engineering at Karlstad University. The research has been conducted in the industrial graduate school VIPP, funded by Domsjö Fabriker, MoRe Research, Kempestiftelsen and the KK Foundation. VIPP stands for values created in fibre-based processes and products and is an academia-industry collaboration with the aim to strengthen Karlstad University's research environments as well as professional development in industries. This study has a focus on generating new knowledge of sulfite technology. The study addresses crucial aspects of pulp production based on cheaper raw material for cellulose production. The research results are useful in the manufacturing of even better sulfite pulp and in the long term new sulfite mills may be established. "Our study shows that different raw materials can be mixed and still result in cellulose of the highest quality. The possibility to produce profitable by-products such as ethanol also makes the manufacturing process more sustainable for the benefit of society as well as the environment," says Deshpande. The population of the world is increasing and so is the average income, which means that the demand for clothes and other textiles is rising too. The global textile consumption in 2050 is estimated to be three times as high as in 2015. The cotton production, which used be the dominant fibre raw material, will decrease because more land is needed for food production. Presently, around 60 per cent of textiles are produced from petroleum, but as oil is not a renewable raw material it will no longer be available in a not too distant future. Therefore, new environment-friendly and renewable textile raw materials are needed to meet future needs, the scientists say. It is often pointed out that the forest industry has a problem with decreasing sales as the result of less paper consumption. The demand for newspapers and sheets of paper is falling while the demand for environment-friendly forest-based textile fibres is on the rise.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
