The textile industry is awaiting the central government's decision on whether the new goods and services tax (GST) rate would be five per cent for segments presently not subject to any indirect tax or stick to one of 12 per cent. The sector provides direct employment to an estimated 45 million individuals and indirect jobs to another 60 million. And, is a tenth of the country's manufacturing. Textile commodities have a seven point weight in the Consumer Price Index. Observers say there is a large 'grey market' which is completely outside the ambit of tax payment. Currently, fabrics are fully exempt from taxes but not yarn or garments. The way GST works, with input credit, the duty will apply to all on value addition and can be collected back from buyers. However, a segment that has been completely out of a tax regime will find it difficult to accept a 12 per cent rate. Rahul Mehta, chairman, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), said: "A low GST rate of five per cent, applied uniformly across the sector, will propel domestic production and facilitate and encourage voluntary (tax) compliance. This growth would enable India to achieve its target of generating 35 million jobs, and attracting investment worth $200 billion by 2025." Adding: "A multiple tax structure will also compromise fibre neutrality, with producers moving to manufacture of garments made from lower taxed fabric. Such a structure might also lead to disputes in classification of textile products to different tax categories." CMAI says extension of GST to both fabrics and apparel would mean a substantial expansion of the tax base. Assuming even 50 per cent compliance in the sector, a five per cent GST would generate annual revenue of Rs 10,850 crore for the government. The current system, say observers, is marked by exemptions, concessions and tax cascade. Fabrics are exempt under both the central excise and state value added tax (VAT). The effective rate on garments is also low (1.2 per cent excise and five per cent under state VAT). The total of output tax from the sector is estimated to be about Rs 3,400 crore a year.
Source: Business Standard
NEW DELHI: A year after the hash tag 'I Wear Handloom' trended on Twitter, Union textile minister Smriti Irani is back at it. On Tuesday, she tweeted a selfie in a cotton sari, with the hashtag 'CottonIs-Cool', and asked netizens to post their selfies and tag five friends. Soon, the hashtag started trending, with people still tweeting their pictures in cotton attire. While Irani has kept a low profile in the textiles ministry, her Twitter campaigns seem to be a hit, enforcing her image as a social media savvy politician. It's the second twitter campaign of Irani which has managed to get people talking, even as she has consciously stayed away from traditional media, preferring to be visible on twitter and Instagram etc. Irani's #CottonIsCool campaign certainly got the attention of twitterati. Following up her selfie with posts in which she termed cotton as a "celebration of Indian summer and the cotton industry", Irani had celebrities and regular folk, not to mention her Cabinet colleagues posting pictures of themselves in cotton wear. Latest Comment Indian cotton needs to be promoted. It is life giving source for millions. Hail the Minster for taking it on for promotion.Narendar Singh The list had names like Advaita Kala, Amish Tripathi, Rajat Sharma, Gul Panag, Randeep Hooda, Anita Dongre, Vir Sanghvi, Virender Sehwag, Mohammed Kaif, Manish Malhotra, Kirron Kher, Hema Malini and Vijender Singh. Those from the government included Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Kiran Rijuju, Piyush Goyal, Manohar Lal Khattar, Swapan Dasgupta etc. Minister for railways Suresh Prabhu and minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha expressed their support as well, with Prabhu calling it his personal choice. The Twitter outreach programme seemed to have worked as hundreds of common folk posted selfies as well, while tagging others.
Source: TNN
Kolkata: A sudden surge in the cotton futures price in the country caught market participants by surprise due to overwhelmingly bearish fundamentals. There is a sufficient available stock in the country coupled with reports of higher acreage estimates in India and world on anticipation of normal weather forecast in the cotton growing countries. "Cotton futures on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) surged recently, tracking firm International prices which climb to highest in three years amid buoyant demand for U.S. exports and tight local supplies of cotton. Most traders and textile mills were bearish on cotton prices, as world output is forecast to grow in the coming cotton season," said Ritesh Kumar Sahu (fundamental analyst-agri commodities), Angel Commodities Broking. ICE cotton for July delivery climb about 12% in three trading sessions similarly on MCX, cotton futures for May delivery surged almost 4% or Rs. 800 in two trading sessions to touch Rs. 21,500 per bale, but corrected about Rs. 300 on second day to close at Rs. 21,210. During the 2016/17, cotton futures have been trending higher since second half of December 2016 till last week of March 2017 and now consolidating in the range between Rs. 20,500 – 21,600. However, the prices have been quite volatile during this consolidating phase due to gap in demand and supplies situation, despite bearish sentiments in the market due to higher supplies and lower export prospects. As per Cotton Association of India, cotton supplies have improved in last two months, but the increasing mill demand has kept the prices supported at higher levels. There was sufficient availability of cotton during 2016/17 season, despite lower acreage last year, due to high carryover stocks, improved production on better yields, lower than expected domestic consumption and exports. Cotton prices during the first 4 month of the current calendar year (2017) have been higher by at least 34% and 25% compared to prices during calendar year 2015 and 2016 respectively for the same period. This season country witnessed slower domestic arrivals due to demonetization during peak arrival months. This results into build up of cotton inventory with the farmers and aggregators which create an artificial shortage in the country that results in record imports. The imports into the country are expected to be around 30 lakh bales in 2016/17, but may be revised lower if international prices will not correct in coming weeks. For 2017/18 cotton season, the area under cotton in the country is expected to increase by at least 10-15% to over 115 lakh hectares as compared to 105 lakh hectares last year. This increase is expected as farmers have been encouraged by better returns due to high cotton prices and improved yields last year. As per trade sources, cotton area expected to increase in Punjab as farmers may switch from rice to cotton because of higher returns. In the central Indian states – Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh- the planting will begin with the onset of monsoon and acreage is expected to higher compare to last year. As per latest United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), India cotton production is forecast at 358.8 lakh bales (1 bale =170 kg) or 6.01 million tonnes in 2017/18, up by 5.7% compared to last year productions. Cotton planting has already begun in the northern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. The trade estimates have been increased for the next season but the stock positions in the country is expected to be higher due to good production and higher beginning stocks.
Source: Economic Times
NEW DELHI: As farmers prepare fields for kharif sowing, the government is considering increasing the minimum support price (MSP) of cotton by Rs 160 per quintal to Rs 4,320 for the 2017-18 crop year beginning July. It is also planning to promote Bt cotton variety developed by the government research body ICAR and expects increased area coverage and better output on hopes of good southwest monsoon that has already hit Kerala in advance. For the ongoing 2016-17 crop year, MSP of medium staple cotton has been fixed at Rs 3,860 per quintal and long staple cotton at Rs 4,160. According to sources, the Agriculture Ministry has proposed increase in cotton MSP by Rs 160 per quintal for the 2017-18 crop year, based on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). It has moved a Cabinet note for inter-ministerial comments on fixing MSP at Rs 4,020 per quintal for medium staple cotton and Rs 4,320 per quintal for long staple cotton for the 2017-18 crop year. That apart, sources said since much of the cotton area is under Bt cotton seeds of private companies, the government is planning to promote first generation Bt cotton variety developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and has asked National Seed Corporation to ensure sufficient supply in the ensuing kharif season. With higher MSP and normal monsoon forecast, area under cotton is expected to increase next year. In 2016-17, cotton area had dropped to 102.78 lakh hectares, but output rose by 8.57 per cent to 32.58 million bales (of 170 kg each) due to good yields.
Source: Economic Times
The textile and clothing industry is aiming to increase its exports to Japan, complying with quality requirements of the Japanese Market. In this regard, it was decided to extend helping hands to the Indian Textile Trade and Industry, for better understanding of quality culture in Japan, particularly concerning Textiles and Apparels. Therefore, it was decided by the Government of India to enter into an MoU with Japan Textile Products Quality and Technology Centre (QTEC) through the Textiles Committee, with a view to jointly establish and encourage quality compliance activities. In this context, Industry Capacity Building Programme" is being organized at nine major textile centres in India. The capacity building programme was held in New Delhi today, at Hotel Le Meridien. In his address, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Shri Subrata Gupta outlined Japanese quality consciousness. He said that though Indias manufacturing capacity is enormous, its exports to Japan are very minimal in textiles. He said that by changing the mind-set, India can compete with Japanese quality requirements and hence enhance our quantum of textiles exports. Shri. Vijay Mathur, Additional Secretary General, AEPC, in his special address, presented a case study of M/s Neetee Clothing Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon, outlining how an Indian exporter met both the quality & process requirements of Japanese Market. Secretary, Textiles Committee, Shri Ajit B Chavan said that a major reason behind sub-optimal level of exports to Japan from India is lack of awareness about the Japanese textile quality requirements in Indian textile industry. He said that MoU has been signed between Textiles Committee and Japan Textile Products Quality and Technology Centre on 11.11.2016 at Tokyo, Japan during the visit of Honble Prime Minister of India to Japan, to address this issue. The MoU is expected to usher in a new beginning in the International Trade of Textile and Clothing from India to Japan as Indian industry is marching ahead. Trade and Industry appreciated the initiative taken by the Government of India and the Textile Committee which will bring in sizeable difference in the international trade, he added. Mr. Toshiki Tasaka, Director, Overseas Coordination Department of QTEC; and Mr.Kei Funaki, ASEAN and South Asia Regional Manager, Overseas Coordination Department, QTEC deliberated in depth on the subjects Difference of quality requirements between Western buyers; Quality and Compliance in Japan and JIS Overview; and The Banned substance in Japanese Market. Japanese delegates also discussed Japanese market requirements in terms of quality, makeup, benchmarking tools, Japanese industrial standards and various other compliances. The programme was well attended by the leading textile industry & trade personnel. About Textiles Committee The Textiles Committee is a statutory body set up under an Act of Parliament in the year 1963, and is working under the administrative control of the Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India. It is committed to promotion of Quality in the Textiles trade and Industry. The Textiles Committee serves the textile trade and industry by the way of providing various range of services including Testing, Inspection, Market Research, Total Quality Management etc. It has a nationwide network of 28 offices & 19 state of art Laboratories in all major textiles centers of India. About QTEC The QTEC, Japan is one of the very renowned organizations in Japan providing world class facilities for quality evaluation, standardization, technology evaluation, conformity assessment, technical guidance and education, factory certification for the textile industry of Japan.
Source: Business Standard
DKTE Society's textile and engineering institute, located in Maharashtra, has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Wuhan Textile University (WTU) of China. Both institutes have signed the MoU with an aim to facilitate faculty and student exchange, product developments, joint researches and organise workshops and training programmes. Selected students from the DKTE institute will get an opportunity to pursue masters course in the Chinese university with scholarships and tuition fee waiver. Umesh Patil, Rahul Navik, Moisin Naikwade, Shivraj Karande and Umer Inamdar are some of the B Text students from DKTE who have been selected to study at WTU with scholarships. DKTE had signed an MoU last year with the North Carolina State University (NCSU) to undertake research at the institute in the US. The institute also signed agreements with textile sourcing and marketing specialist Texperts India and Nanded based Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering and technology (SGGS) to innovate and share academic and administrative knowledge.
Source: Fibre2fashion.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which meets on Thursday, will take up the Commerce Ministry’s concerns over tax incentives for exporters, and the possible delay in payment of refunds under the new taxation regime that kicks in on July 1. “I met the Finance Minister (on Wednesday) and gave him the details of what emerged after consultations between a committee of senior officials from the Commerce Ministry and Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia (on concerns related to GST),” Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told BusinessLine in an interview. According to exporters’ body FIEO, there are apprehensions about liquidity under the GST regime as exemptions currently enjoyed by exporters — on payment of additional customs duty and excise on imports of inputs used in exports — will get subsumed under GST. Exporters’ costs could go up by up to 1.25 per cent (FOB value) once the GST is implemented, according to industry calculations. The Revenue Department, however, feels the concerns are overstated. “Their argument is that the payments are in automatic mode. The moment export happens, money gets into the exporters’ account. So there is no locking-up period. Let us see what decision the GST Council takes when it looks into the matter,” Sitharaman said. The Minister had set up a committee comprising former Commerce Secretary GK Pillai, incumbent Rita Teaotia and Director General of Foreign Trade Ajay Bhalla earlier this month following a review meeting with exporters and trade experts on the impact of the GST regime on exporters. The concerns voiced by the committee were largely related to the treatment of tax incentives and the larger issue of refunds. “There are strands within these two larger issues, which include concerns such as what is going to be the treatment of advance payment exporters have made and what is going to happen to the 10 per cent that is not refunded (within the stipulated time),” Sitharaman said.
Source : Business Line
In what is being seen as the last round of discussions before the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax regime from July 1, the Centre and States will meet over two days on Thursday to finalise the fitment of commodities in rate slabs, the list of exemptions as well as the rules for the new levy. In its meeting, the GST Council is expected to firm up the exact levy over each commodity under the new tax regime. Sources said the general principle to be followed would be to ensure that the tax incidence on most goods should remain the same. The only exceptions could be high-end consumer goods and fast-moving consumer goods such as gourmet foods and cosmetics. The Council in its meeting in November had agreed to a four-rate structure under GST of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. While some States have expressed concern, services are likely to be taxed at a single rate of 18 per cent, except for transport which will get the benefit of abatement at present. Some other services of mass consumption and public goods such as education, healthcare and even pilgrimage related services will continue to enjoy exemptions. States have been worried that the tax incidence on services under GST could increase from the present 14.5 per cent. Sources said a few States could also ask for a discussion on this issue.
Gold, silver rate
Meanwhile, the GST Council, led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is also expected to finalise the tax rate on gold and silver, which is likely to be kept at four per cent. “The tax incidence on gold is one of the last remaining issues under GST to be finalised. A 4 per cent rate would be higher than the current rate but not too high so as to encourage smuggling,” noted an official, pointing out that it also is in line with what was recommended in Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian’s report to the Finance Ministry. A committee of officers of the Centre and States has been working on the fitment of commodities as well as the exemption list.
Pruning exemptions
With the general principle of broadening the tax base under GST, the Centre is also in favour of pruning the list of exemptions to only mass consumed items, necessities and food articles. “A slightly tough stance now will come in useful at a later time because in one stroke we can reduce exemptions and enhance tax revenue,” said the official. At present, the Centre has an exemption list of nearly 300 items while States have about 100 items excluded from value added tax. The Finance Ministry as well as State governments have been getting numerous representations to continue exemptions or keep more items out of the tax net. Meanwhile, with the July 1 deadline looming, the Council will also review the preparedness of officials as well as the GST Network. The issue of IT training of officials and enrolment under GST of businesses has been continuously under monitoring but has still lagged behind. The Council will also approve the draft rules for GST relating to subjects including e-way Bills and refunds.
Source: Business Line
New Delhi: The goods and services tax (GST) Council, chaired by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley and including representatives from 32 states and Union territories as members, will put together the final shape of the indirect tax regime set to kick in from 1 July at its two-day meeting starting here on Thursday. The Council, where neither Union nor state governments can push through decisions without consensus, will decide on the GST rate that individual commodities and services will attract with the aim of making the transition from the prevailing fragmented tax system revenue-neutral. The meeting will be the Council’s 14th and final one before the roll-out of the largest tax reform since Independence. The Jammu and Kashmir government is hosting the Council meeting, treating all the visiting ministers as state guests, conferring them the required security. Twenty four state ministers have confirmed their participation. The border state has played key role in making GST a reality. A major breakthrough in the journey towards GST was achieved when J&K chaired the erstwhile Empowered Committee of state finance ministers that reached a consensus with Jaitley in December 2014 on the design of GST within months of the NDA government assuming power at the Centre. J&K finance minister Haseeb Drabu told Mint in an interview published on 17 May that the Council meeting in the state signifies its role in national policymaking.
Two officials who are privy to the discussions in the Council said on condition of anonymity that the fitting of commodities and services into the rate slabs has been provisionally done, and now needs to be signed off by the Council. Also, more items that are currently exempt from central excise duty and state-level value added tax (VAT) will be brought into the GST net. At present, around 99 items enjoy exemption from VAT, while about 250 items are exempted from central excise duty. Under the new regime, there will be a common list of GST exemptions, which are in the nature of essential items of everyday use like foodgrain. The Council will also clear four sets of rules relating to input tax credit, valuation, transitional provisions, and the composition scheme at its meeting. With this, the legislative work will get completed at the Union level. At the state level, more than 12 states have already cleared their respective state GST laws. They will now have to notify rules under those laws. Before the end of May, all states are expected to compete the legislative work related to GST. At the technical level, GST Network (GSTN), the company that will manage millions of invoices and GST returns to be filed by companies, has already allowed companies to test the interface of their business software with that of GSTN’s to ensure that the transition is smooth. It is also testing the matching of invoices by different businesses in the supply chain to make sure that tax credits are available to businesses without any hassle. However, there could be initial hiccups. “There certainly will be teething problems. By 10 August, companies have to file GST returns for the month of July and tax credit settlement will happen shortly thereafter. We will know how the system works when invoice matching for the purpose of tax credits takes place. The Rs20 lakh threshold for GST means that many small entities will be covered by GST. It remains to be seen how prepared they are,” another person with knowledge of the discussions in the Council said, also on condition of anonymity. Anita Rastogi, partner-indirect tax, PwC India said that finalizing the draft rules and announcement of rates for specific goods and services at this week’s Council meeting is crucial considering that companies have only about 40 days to prepare for the implementation of GST from 1 July. While fitting all commodities and services into different tax rates, the Council’s idea is to place them at a rate that is closest to their effective tax rate at present. That would involve taking into account the reliefs given at present in the form of applying the tax rate on a partial value of the sale and also the inefficiencies in the current tax system. Services are likely to be taxed at two slabs--12% and 18%-- while goods are to be taxed at five different rates—5%, 12%, 18%, 28% and 28% plus cess. The gems and jewellery industry is likely to get a special rate between 2% and 5%. R. Muralidharan, senior director, Deloitte in India said that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) need to gear up for the transition. About 95% of the industrial units in India are SMEs and this sector accounts for 40% of value addition in the manufacturing sector.
Source: Economic Times
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$ 50.78 per barrel (bbl) on 17.05.2017. This was lower than the price of US$ 51.12 per bbl on previous publishing day of 16.05.2017. In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs. 3251.16 per bbl on 17.05.2017 as compared to Rs. 3275.80 per bbl on 16.05.2017. Rupee closed stronger at Rs. 64.02 per US$ on 17.05.2017 as compared to Rs. 64.08 per US$ on 16.05.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on May 17, 2017 Previous trading day i.e. 16.05.2017) |
Pricing Fortnight for 16.05.2017 (April 27, 2017 to May 11, 2017) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
50.78 (51.12) |
49.22 |
|
(Rs/bbl) |
3251.16 (3275.80) |
3162.88 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
64.02 (64.08) |
64.26 |
Source: PIB
J Thulasidharan; Courtesy: CITI The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), New Delhi, the apex body representing the entire textile industry in the country, has elected its new office-bearers at its Committee meeting held on May 12. J Thulasidharan, managing director of Coimbatore based The Rajaratna Group of Mills, has been elected as the new chairman of the apex body. Thulasidharan, who has been immediate past vice chairman of CITI, has also served as the chairman of The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), president of Open End Spinning Mills Association and SIMA Cotton Development & Research Association (SIMA CD&RA). He is also the president of Indian Cotton Federation, formerly known as South India Cotton Association. He also holds directorship in Coimbatore Capital Limited and Coimbatore Commodities Limited. The CITI Committee meeting also elected new deputy chairman and vice chairman. T Rajkumar, chairman of Sri Mahasakthi Mills Limited, Kerala; Sri Arumuga Enterprise Limited; and Foundation One Infrastructures Pvt Ltd, Tamil Nadu is the new deputy chairman. Rajkumar is the immediate past chairman of The Southern India Mills’ Association and chairman and managing trustee of Global Pathway School, Coimbatore; secretary of Nachimuthu Gounder Rukmani Ammal Charitable Trust, Pollachi, Tamil Nadu; apart from being actively involved in various industrial bodies and educational institutions. Sanjay K Jain, managing director of T T Limited, a vertically integrated textiles company having its manufacturing units in various states of the country, has been elected as the new vice chairman. Jain is the chairman of NITRA and immediate past chairman of NITMA, vice president of FOHMA and WBHA. He is also on the committees of TEXPROCIL, SIMA, FICCI Textiles Group and various other bodies.
Source: Fibre2fashion.com
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1063.00 |
USD/Ton |
1.03% |
5/17/2017 |
|
VSF |
2205.82 |
USD/Ton |
-0.33% |
5/17/2017 |
|
ASF |
2292.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1073.89 |
USD/Ton |
1.37% |
5/17/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2438.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
5340.42 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2467.04 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
1291.57 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2684.72 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
5775.78 |
USD/Ton |
-0.13% |
5/17/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1335.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2292.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2844.35 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1654.37 |
USD/Ton |
0.62% |
5/17/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2684.72 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2336.43 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
1799.49 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2249.36 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
3018.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.35 |
USD/Meter |
-0.11% |
5/17/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.85 |
USD/Meter |
-0.17% |
5/17/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.17 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.65 |
USD/Meter |
-0.22% |
5/17/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
5/17/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14512 USD dtd. 17/05/2017) The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
India’s spun yarn exports in March 2017 declined 47.6 per cent in volume terms and fell 39.3 per cent in value terms. Spun yarn (all kinds) shipments were at 64.55 million kg worth US$198.6 million, implying per unit realization of US$3.08 per kg which rose US cents 13 from previous month and were up US cents 42 as compared to March 2016. With Indian yarn imports declining significantly in China, Bangladesh emerged as the largest importer of spun yarns in terms of value in March. Bangladesh imported spun yarns worth US$40.19 million while China imports were worth US$34.40 million during the month. In March 2017, 83 countries imported spun yarn from India, with Bangladesh at the top accounting for 20.24 per cent of the total value with imports plunging 41 per cent in terms of volume YoY and declining 32 per cent in value YoY. China was the second largest importer of spun yarns in March and accounted for around 17 per cent of all spun yarn exported from India. Export to China were down 65 per cent in volumes and 59 per cent lower in value. Pakistan was the third largest importer of spun yarns, which saw volume rising 3.1 per cent while it was up 4.6 per cent in value. These three top importers together accounted for around 44 per cent of all spun yarns exported from India in March. Cotton yarn was exported to 71 countries with Bangladesh as the largest importer from India in March, followed by China and Pakistan. The top three together accounted for more than 49.35 per cent of cotton yarn exported from India. Brazil, Dominican Republic, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Madagascar were among the fastest growing markets for cotton yarn, and accounted for 3.47 per cent of total cotton yarn export value. Eleven new destinations were added for cotton yarn export, of which, North Korea, Chile, Oman and Austria were the major ones. Eight countries did not import any cotton yarn from India, including Venezuela, France, Norway and Sudan. They had imported yarns worth US$1.25 million in March 2016. In March 2017, significant deceleration was seen in export to Bahrain, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Romania and Greece.
Source: YNFX.
The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association has unveiled plans to send a delegation of representatives to showcase the country’s prowess at a major business-to-business (B2B) event for the textiles segment in India. Textiles India 2017, which takes place this coming June 30 through July 2, promises to be a landmark trade event for the textiles and apparel industry at the global level, said Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai of the Association.
At the event, exhibitors from all around the globe are expected to display their wares in more than a thousand stalls, Mr Mai noted.In addition, a record setting 2,500 international buyers, agents, designers, retail chains from across the globe, and 15,000 domestic buyers have already signed up to attend, he added, noting that this is an event Vietnam textiles can’t afford to miss.
Source: VietNamNet.
Cotton is an integral part of the apparel and textile industry providing livelihoods for over 300 million people across the globe. The environmental and social implications of cotton production are, however, significant. The water footprint for one kilogram of cotton equates to approximately 10,000 to 20,000 liters and the intensive use of agricultural chemicals can have severe health impacts on workers and surrounding ecosystems. Shifting cotton production to a more sustainable model presents a number of opportunities across the value chain, yet only 13 percent of cotton is grown in a sustainable manner, with only a fifth of this number actually being sourced by companies for their products. In an effort to spur a paradigm shift, leading international retailers, cotton standards, industry initiatives and stakeholders are banding together to form Cotton 2040, an initiative that seeks to make sustainable cotton a mainstream commodity rather than a niche market. Convened by sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future with support from the C&A Foundation — whose namesake company recently debuted the world’s first Cradle to Cradle Certified™ GOLD T-shirts — the initiative includes retailers such as M&S and Target, industry standards Better Cotton Initiative and Cotton Made in Africa, organic standards represented by Textile Exchange, the Fairtrade Foundation, industry initiatives Cotton Connect, IDH, Cotton Australia, Value Added in Africa and Organic Cotton Accelerator, as well as the London College of Fashion. The initiative has identified four key priority areas to be tackled over the next two to three years by working groups to share with the wider industry:
• Building Demand
• Closing the Loop: Scaling up cotton recycling and circularity
• Traceability: Building greater visibility and transparency throughout the cotton value chain and across standards
• Upskilling for resilience: Creating a cross-industry forum to build resilience among smallholder cotton farmers in a changing world “Past debate around sustainable cotton standards and industry initiatives has at times been polarizing, but we know to make effective progress we need to work together. At Forum, we believe that collaborative action is essential in order to address complex issues that no one entity — whether a business, standard, consumer group, NGO or government — can tackle alone,” said Sally Uren, CEO of Forum for the Future. “We’re delighted that leaders across the global cotton industry are ready and willing to come together and are excited to help steer them forward through this unique and growing partnership.” The coalition is currently seeking additional partners with resources, expertise and drive to take action in one or more of these four areas. More specifically, it is inviting organizations to get involved in the ‘Building Demand’ work stream and benefit from testing and piloting the framework internally. The first priority, ‘Building Demand,’ was launched in November 2016 with the aim of increasing uptake of sustainable cotton from the industry to drive production from 13 percent to beyond 30 percent from 2020. Currently in the works are:
• A sustainable sourcing guide, which will serve as a standard neutral decision-making tool for companies wanting to start or increase sustainable cotton sourcing. It will help them develop strategies across different standards, types of cotton or sourcing regions.
• A clear business case for sourcing more sustainable cotton, which can be used to drive internal engagement of procurement teams and others and will include corresponding tools to help achieve this.
• Lessons and insights from those who have taken a pioneering role in sustainable cotton sourcing so that those starting out can go further, faster.
Before being launched and shared with the wider textile industry in October 2017, these tools are being tested and piloted by coalition members. “Cotton 2040 is not a new platform, but a smart way to accelerate the many good initiatives out there working to mainstream more sustainable cotton. Together, we can be more than the sum of our parts and jointly tackle the effects of one of the world’s thirstiest crops,” said Leslie Johnston, Executive Director of C&A Foundation.
“Last year, Target announced our responsible sourcing aspirations around worker well-being, net-positive manufacturing and sustainable raw materials. These aspirations are guiding our work to ensure the owned brand products we deliver to Target guests are made ethically and responsibly,” said Kelly Caruso, President of Target Sourcing Services. “We’re proud to be a member of Cotton 2040 and have a seat at the table in an initiative that has the potential to change the industry. We’re committed to championing responsibly grown and harvested cotton and this is a strong step toward making that happen.” Launched in 2006, Sustainable Brands has become a global learning, collaboration, and commerce community of forward-thinking business and brand strategy, marketing, innovation and sustainability professionals who are leading the way to a better future.
Source: Sustainablebrands.com
The government is determined to revive the cotton sub-sector and increase production in a bid to boost the agricultural sector and the textile industry which at one time was the country's biggest source of export revenue. The Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB) Director General, Marco Mtunga said in Mwanza over the weekend that some of the strategies being adopted towards that end include adoption of contract farming and multiplication of UKM08, a new certified cotton seed which is expected to improve the quality of cotton lint while boosting cotton yields in Tanzania. "Application of Good Agricultural Practices supported by adequate supply of quality inputs (seeds, insecticides, sprayers, fertilisers) will raise cotton output by over 60 per cent in the next three years," he told eight Regional Commissioners from the Western Cotton Growing Areas (WCGAs) who visited the Mwabusalu seed multiplication Ward in Meatu District, Simiyu Region. Proper processing of seed by delinting which is the removal of lint from it is critical in ensuring high germination rates and limiting disease spread. Mtunga said the government and donors have supported research at the Ukiriguru Agricultural Research Institute (UARI) to come up with the best seeds that could be used by cotton farmers. It has developed a number of new seed varieties - one of which - UKM08 is currently being multiplied. The UKM08 has a ginning outturn (GOT - lint as a share of seed cotton) of 42% compared to 34 per cent for UK91, the current major variety, and a 25% higher yield. "As a sector, quality seed forms the basis of quality and high yields in cotton farming. In order to ensure a sustainable revival process of quality cotton seed, the government has created an enabling environment for the private sector to invest in seed multiplication, processing and marketing of cotton seed for planting to farmers," he said. The revival process will involve all stages of seed production from breeder seed, pre-basic seed, and basic seed to certified seed. Ukriguru Research Institute will produce both breeder and pre-basic seeds at Ukiriguru and Nkanziga farm in Misungwi respectively then the private sector will collect the seeds for further multiplication at Mwabusalu Ward in Meatu District. The basic seeds produced in Meatu will be taken to Igunga District to be multiplied to get certified seed ready for distribution to farmers. Due to fusarium wilt infestation in many cotton producing areas, which is a disease that can last in the soil for over 30 years, suitable areas for seed multiplication include the whole of Tabora region, Singida region, Meatu district and some parts of Itilima district only. Tanzania Cotton Board has been instructed by the government to ensure that all cotton farmers plant certified seeds come 2019. In implementation of the government directive, during 2016/17 farming season, a total of 4,108 acres have been planted to cotton at Mwabusalu Ward with a target of producing 500 tons of delinted seeds which will be adequate to plant 55,000 acres in Igunga during 2017/18 farming season with an expected output of 7,000 tons of certified delinted seeds. Using the seed rate of 6 kilogrammes per acre, the quantity of seeds to be produced will be enough to plant one million acres which the national acreage. Igunga District this farming season planted 46,100 acres of UKM08 standard seed which is expected to produce 4,000 tons of seeds. Nzega District planted 4,500 acres to cotton with an expected output of 700 tons. This quantity if delinted will cover more than 10 districts during 2017/18 farming. In order to sustain seed multiplication programme, Tsh. 377 million has been budgeted by the Cotton Development Trust Fund to be spent on construction of irrigation infrastructure at Nkanziga farm in Misungwi to boost production of prebasic seeds. "In order to successfully rollout the UKM08, avoid contamination, and maintain purity of the seed we have put a system in place that allows the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute to identify, register, inspect and certify cotton farms that are planting UKM08. Deliberate adulteration of the seed crop will not be tolerated. TCB is calling upon cotton farmers and buying agents to resist the urge to adulterate cotton otherwise they will face the full force of law through the mobile courts which helped to curb adulteration the previous season leading to over 95 per cent germination of the current crop. Other efforts being undertaken as part of the revival process include sensitisation and training of key stakeholders".
Source: All Africa
Trades and Industries Minister, Mr Alan Kyerematen, has announced plans to revive the onetime special initiatives on garments and textiles as part of the government’s industrialisation drive to create employment and boost growth. He is hopeful that the revival of the textile and garment initiative, which will be pursued alongside the integrated iron and automobile assembling plans, will be realise the next five years. At the opening of the second National Single Window conference on trade facilitation in Accra, Mr Kyerematen said the garment textiles and the automobile assembling plants were key areas the government was seeking to diversify into, hopefully within the next five years. “We will be diversifying our economy away from cocoa and gold to the petrochemical industry, creative arts and other sectors as we seek to create trade platforms that will require us to trade across borders in a cost effective manner,” Mr Kyerematen said. He also appealed to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to assist Ghana to fund its trade facilitation processes, which were costly and required capital injection. The WTO has estimated that the trade facilitation agreement would generate over US$1 trillion in benefits annually to developing countries. The minister also announced the government’s plan to partner the private sector to establish at least one major industrial park in each of the 10 regions. Industrialisation drive. This is also expected to aid its flagship industrialisation One-District, One-Factory policy so that industries can be established in any part of the country. A Turkish firm has indicated its intention to invest US$150 million into the policy which will be a big boost to the country's industrialisation agenda. “With such industrial parks, companies can establish in each of the regions they prefer due to the available resources at the particular location,” he said. On the facilitation agreement, the Trade Minister embraced the concept and called for more collaboration between the implementing agencies and the government. “I see the combination of the enhanced trade facilitation and trade development programmes as a dynamic synergy for the economic development of our country” he added. The Single Window is, therefore, enshrined in the TFA which is expected to help implement many of the policy measures by the government. These developments, he said, were part of the government’s ambition to fundamentally change the way international businesses are regulated in the country by providing an enhanced business regulatory environment.
Source: Graphic.com
LAHORE: After a long time the economy is performing independent of the political situation as investors have discounted the impacts of terrorism and political uncertainty in their business models. This clear approach in uncertain times has kept the businesses moving. Our exports are under cloud because they are textile-centric. The share of textiles in our domestic market is only 20 percent and the rest is exported. Whenever there is gloom in the global economy the textile exports suffer and a large chunk of the industry falls sick. This has happened in every global recession during the last two decades. Still, the planners in Pakistan have been reluctant to think beyond textiles. Supporting and facilitating other sectors like textiles would improve the prospects of country’s exports in the long run. About three decades ago, Indians were also dependent on textiles in a similar way, but finally realised that they would not be able to move forward without energising other sectors. Today software leads Indian exports, while textiles account for only 15 percent of them. Indians are moving ahead very fast in the exports of pharmaceuticals, auto parts, engineering goods, electronics, and agricultural products. All these sectors also command repute in their domestic market. Global recessions do impact Indian exports but in every recession there are certain sectors that continue to excel. India has weathered global recession with less pain than Pakistan because of the wide range of their export sectors. As the export accelerates, so does the use of technology. Unfortunately, it did not happen in Pakistan’s case as our basic textiles, mainly operating on obsolete technology, are losing competitiveness at an alarming rate. This can be judged by the fact that as the global economy started improving, Indian exports jumped by 29 percent in February and 20 percent in March 2017. This was despite the fact the Indian rupee appreciated by 6 percent against the dollar in last four months. Pakistani exports also improved in February surging by 9.5 percent and by over 6 percent in March 2017, but this gain was 19.5 percent and 14 percent less than the increase in Indian exports. The other sectors of economy were always hoping to get a support from the government similar to textiles, particularly after the dismal performance of the sector that allowed many non-textile economies to overtake Pakistan in textiles exports. However, they have now realised the export facilitation is unlikely to be offered to them in short term. Now they are formulating their business models without any expectation of government support. This year, Pakistan has started exporting tractors formally for the first time. Software exports are constantly increasing but the government regulations regarding software are inadequate to record the actual increase. Millat Tractors is executing an order of 16,000 tractors to different economies. The auto and engineering sectors are expecting exports to increase this year. The exports of five zero-rated sectors, however, are not expected to gain much. While the textile sector is protesting day in day out, the economy as a whole is moving on. The car sales are at all-time high, so are the sales of motor bikes. Families now have consumable surplus as the inflation during past four years has averaged less than four percent against an average of over 10 percent in the previous four years. Moreover, the capital market is considered the barometer of any economy. The surge in the US and some European markets does indicate the global economy is recovering. Pakistan’s equity market has outperformed all other bourses, which is a feat that cannot be engineered by the government of Pakistan. We must acknowledge that the economy is picking up, but it can again hit a bump if the reforms introduced by the present regime are disturbed or its election-centric public appeasing spending breaks the bank.
Source: International The News
Cambodia's apparel industry – of critical importance to its national economy – is struggling to retain experienced workers, which means the sector is facing a chronic skills shortage. The industry is experiencing a massive 44% annual labour turnover, meaning nearly half of its workforce quit jobs every year, an industry expert notes, assessing data from a survey earlier this year. The problem means the sector is facing a chronic skills shortage, says Silas Everett, the Cambodia country representative of the US-based Asia Foundation, a non-profit organisation trying to improve lives across Asia. But if the Cambodian industry is to deal with this challenge, it needs to shed some old assumptions, he notes. The first: that all factories need more workers and therefore recruitment is a matter of just opening the front gate of the factory. "This certainly is not the case," Everett says. "We have found that factories want to find the right workers and finding those workers is not always easy." Indeed, the difficulty of crafting effective recruitment policies is made tougher for the sector by the fact that thus far, few recruitment agencies have been working with factories because currently "professional recruitment agencies cater to the professional and semi-professional sectors which is relatively low in volume." The good news, suggests Everett, is that recruitment agencies are starting to realise the "big business potential" in facilitating the skilled manual labour market in Cambodia. But to succeed, agencies will have to overcome a second assumption that prevents garment factories from adopting effective recruitment policies: that such services are prohibitively costly and hence factories rarely budget for such services.
Recruitment practices
Current recruitment practices within Cambodia's garment sector remain "largely informal," according to the Asia Foundation survey that included 590 member factories of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC). In fact, 98% of all participating factories admitted their most common way of finding workers is simply "selecting workers in front of the factory gate." It is common practice for prospective workers to show up at a factory gate when they need a job and a factory HR manager or supervisor selects a handful of these potential employees for interview before being immediately put to work. Informal referrals are also widely used, with 81% of factories using such recommendations to recruit staff. But easy appointment processes are matched by the willingness of workers to leave a company, with the result that they do not remain in post long enough to gain skills.
Sewing and leadership positions take the longest to fill
As a result, "sewing and leadership positions, such as supervising and team leading, appear to be the positions that take the longest to fill," according to the survey. Nearly 44% of respondents said "sewing" jobs were hard to fill, 42% said the same of supervisor roles and 35% regarding team leader jobs.
Industry-led initiative
The GMAC is trying to address the skills gap with an industry-led initiative. "A new vocational training centre to train garment workers will be opened in June this year," the association's secretary-general Ken Loo told just-style. However, where high labour turnover is concerned, it is "something for individual companies to control," Loo says. "Despite a contract, if an employee decides not to turn up the next day – it's totally up to them." Everett suggests an effective way for factories to address the talent gap would be to provide information on available jobs to the government's national employment agency. In fact, businesses are supposed to do this by law, but "so far it has been difficult for the government to enforce." He says providing job seekers with information about working conditions in factories where working conditions are better could help reduce recruitment costs for well-managed factories while increasing recruitment costs for poorly performing plants. The problem for Cambodia is that it has skills shortages across all industries, which is often "cited as a barrier to investment by foreign employers," recruitment specialist AAA Cambodia told just-style, adding both local and foreign businesses in Cambodia need to invest heavily in training staff. This issue has been recognised, however, with the government paying more attention to the vocational training sector in Cambodia, along with international development organisations. "Having more skilled workers should help to reduce those costs and help increase productivity of these business," says AAA Cambodia managing director Susanna Coghlan.
Potential partnerships
Djamel El Akra, the chairman of the human resources committee at European-Cambodia business organisation EuroCham Cambodia, suggests employers establish partnerships with public agencies to formalise and diversify their recruitment processes, working with bodies such as the Cambodian National Employment Agency (NEA). It collects data on recruitment issues and these have been informing the government about the scale of the problem – figures have proved a "mismatch between vacancies in the manufacturing sector and level of skills of job seekers registered with the NEA," Akra says. Ultimately, however, the difficulties companies have in retaining staff is rooted in the fact that Cambodia's garment workforce comes mainly from rural areas. These workers' goal is not to find a career in a specific industry, but to increase the household income by finding whatever opportunity, Akra explains. This meshes with the desire of employers to minimise their costs through having a flexible workforce with just enough skills to yield current levels of productivity, but not improve it, he says. To counteract these causes, the industry needs to develop a "partnership that goes beyond recruitment" with workers by developing vocational training plans and a career development plans, even though these would be tough to implement. For the time being, at least, Everett says the industry needs to get the recruitment process right. "Mobile internet use among garment workers has become widespread in Cambodia and therefore the costs of disseminating job information have come down a lot." Moreover, the costs of integrating record retention and building up worker databases have fallen as well. The Asia Foundation survey recommends that "brands and factories should focus on recruiting quality workers instead of a larger quantity of workers" by formalising the recruitment process – providing more information about job opportunities among workers through recruitment services and other channels. But will factory owners listen? Ultimately, they may have to, if Cambodia is to retain its edge in garment manufacturing.
Source: Just-Style.com
