The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) and Commercial Taxes Departments of States/Union Territories have jointly issued clarifications on various aspects related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST). This comes in the wake of protests against various clauses and rules under the GST regime. The clarifications will help the industry in filing GST. Since raw jute and raw silk have been kept at nil rate slab in the GST, suppliers dealing only in raw jute and raw silk are not required to register, it said. However, since cotton is placed under 5 per cent rate and farmers are not liable to registration, the buyers of raw cotton from the farmers are required to pay tax on Reverse Charge basis as per Section 9 (4) of the CGST Act. For readymade garments, all goods of sale value not exceeding Rs 1,000 per piece would be taxed at 5 per cent and the goods of sale value exceeding Rs 1,000 per piece would be taxed at 12 per cent. Therefore, it is the sale value i.e. the transaction value on which the tax has to be paid and not the MRP. CBEC further clarifies that relaxation in filing of returns for the months of July and August 2017 has already been provided by the GST Council wherein for the first two months of GST implementation, the tax would be payable based on a simple return (Form GSTR-3B) containing summary of outward and inward supplies which will be submitted before August 20 (for July) and September 20 (for August). However, the invoice-wise details in regular GSTR – 1 would have to be filed for the month of July between September 1 and 5, and for August between September 16 and 20. Form GSTR – 2 would be auto-populated from GSTR – 1.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
NEW DELHI: Sarees, whether designer or embroidered, will attract a five per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST), the tax department said today. Clearing the air over whether sarees will be treated as garment or fabric, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said sarees are treated as fabric and it remains so even after embroidery and the like as no new item emerges having a distinct name, character and use. "Therefore the sarees, whether, embroidered or not would be taxed at the same rate at which the fabric is taxed," the CBEC said in a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs). It said 5 per cent GST is levied on job processes relating to the textile yarn (other than man-made fibre/filament) and fabrics. With regard to dress materials, the FAQ clarified that if the sale value if not exceeding Rs 1,000 then a 5 per cent GST will be levied and in cases where it exceeds Rs 1,000, a 12 per cent GST will be charged. As per the GST rate decided by the GST Council last month, all categories of fabric attract a 5 per cent rate. Man-made apparel up to Rs 1,000 will attract a 5 per cent tax and those costing above Rs 1,000, will attract 12 per cent. In regard to sale of old dhotis, the CBEC said it would be treated as "worn clothing" and will be taxed as apparel based on sale value. "As presumably the old cotton dhoti would be below the sale value of Rs 1,000 per piece, it would be taxed at 5 per cent," the CBEC said. With regard to new dhotis, it clarified that the tax rate will be 5 per cent. The CBEC has also clarified that jute handbags and shopping bags would be taxed at 18 per cent under the GST, which came into effect on July 1.
Source: PTI
The panel, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising of representatives of all the 29 states, is also likely to consider removing anomaly in taxation in cases where the intermediate goods are taxed at the highest bracket than the tax on final output, the source said. The GST Council in likely to consider this week lowering of tax rates for job works for making garments to 5 per cent from 18 per cent, a source in the finance ministry has said. The panel, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising of representatives of all the 29 states, is also likely to consider removing anomaly in taxation in cases where the intermediate goods are taxed at the highest bracket than the tax on final output, the source said. It will be the first full fledged meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, after the roll out of the new indirect tax reform on July 1. The Council had on July 17 discussed, via video conferencing, hiking cess rate on cigarettes as there was some anomaly in the rate fixed earlier. Apart from reviewing the roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the 19th meeting of the Council on August 5 may take a look at streamlining the anomalies raised by the industry over the past one month, said sources, who did not want to be named. Currently, services by way of job works in relation to textile yarns (other than man-made fibre/filament) and textile fabrics attract 5 per cent GST. Other job works in relation to garments attract an 18 per cent levy. Sources said the Council may look at streamlining it and being all job works, including for making garments from fabric, under the 5 per cent slab. "This would help the textile sector as the final product was taxed between 5-12 per cent," the source said. As per the rates decided by the Council, in the textiles category, silk and jute fibre have been exempted, while cotton and natural fibre and all kinds of yarns will be levied a 5 per cent GST. Man-made fibre and yarn will, however, attract a 18 per cent tax rate. All categories of fabric attract a 5 per cent rate. Man- made apparel up to Rs 1,000 will attract a 5 per cent tax and those costing above Rs 1,000, will attract 12 per cent.
Source: moneycontrol.com
How will the Goods and Services Tax change matters for the 5-crore plus informal and small enterprises? Will they grow and join the formal sector? Or will the businesses shrink as tax exemptions come down? Many small businesspersons feel that expanding the scope of concessions offered is necessary for survival and growth. The GST package for small firms has two options. Those with annual turnover of up to ₹20 lakh (10 lakh for north-eastern States, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, and the UK) may remain outside the tax net. For slightly bigger firms with turnover less than ₹75 Lakh (50 lakh for the NE, HP), the GST allows a low tax option called the composition scheme by which firms can pay tax at a low 1-2 per cent and file four returns a year. This looks good as a regular dealer pays an average of 18 per cent GST and files 37 returns a year. Many are not happy with this package. They feel these concessions come with so many conditions that they are no more an option for a growing firm.
Restricting conditions
1 Low exemption limit: Is the ₹20-lakh annual turnover limit for opting out of the GST net adequate? Consider an example. A grocery shop owner selling goods of value ₹2 lakh a month would not qualify for the exemption as his annual turnover crosses ₹20 lakh. Now, guess his take-home income. Considering 10 per cent margin on sales, his monthly income would be a low ₹20,000. Forget his expenses on electricity, other charges, and taxes that reduce his income further. Do we expect a person earning about ₹15,000 a month to join GST as a regular dealer and file 37 returns online every year? 2 No composition scheme to service sector: So, shopkeepers, motor garage owners, transporters, storage and warehouse owners, and everyone else except restaurateurs do not have the low tax option. The service sector comprises 70 per cent of all MSME units. They are big employment and value creators. The irony is that many of them, whether a shopkeeper or garage owner or laundryman, already face stiff competition from app-based service providers flush with VC funds. 3 No export-import business: Even if a firm’s annual turnover is less than ₹20 lakh, it must register as a regular dealer to export or import. No registration would lead to loss of business for a lakh small firms that contribute over 40 per cent of India’s exports. 4 No sale on e-commerce websites: A small firm must register as a regular dealer to sell. This condition will affect more than 50,000 entrepreneurs selling through eBay, Flipkart or Amazon, and other e-commerce websites. They could be housewives, students, small traders, retired army personnel, small craftspersons, or manufacturers. Low risk and low investment make selling on e-commerce sites safe and attractive. No wonder e-commerce is propelling an entrepreneurship boom in small cities. The e-commerce provisions have not become operational yet. 5 No sale to other States: A composition dealer cannot sell to other States. Earlier, large firms purchased from small firms of the same State to avoid paying Central Sales Tax, which was payable on purchases from other States. But under GST, large firms are free to source from any State as they get input tax credit on such supplies. So small firms face double trouble. They may lose their existing customer base. Also, they cannot supply to other States. 6 Loss of orders from large firms: If one regular GST-registered firm buys from another GST-registered firm, the seller pays the tax and the buyer gets the input tax credit. But, if such firm buys from an unregistered firm or a composition dealer, the buyer has to pay tax. As this increases the buyer’s compliance burden, he would avoid a non-registered firm.
Reluctant dealers
An inspector will knock on the doors of a garage owner with sales of ₹2 lakh a month unless he registers as a regular dealer. Others may expect a similar fate. Why then are small firms reluctant to enrol as regular dealers? There are two reasons for this. For one, tax liability shoots up on registration. Consider an example. Pre-GST, a small firm making a product that attracted central excise duty @12.5 per cent and VAT @ 5 per cent paid only VAT as manufacturers with turnover below ₹1.5 crore were exempt from central excise. Now, if such a firm registers as a regular dealer, his liabilities shoot up from 5 per cent to 18 per cent. For large firms, tax liabilities remain more or less the same. For another, there is the high cost of regulatory compliance. A regular GST dealer must file 37 returns for each State in which it operates. He also must keep records, meet audit requirements. The small turnover does not justify high compliance costs. Also, most dealers are not tech savvy. In order to enter the GST regime, they need expert help and a mind-set change.
Way out
Two actions will help small firms. One, an increase in the GST exemption limit from the current ₹20 lakh to ₹1 crore will free them from the tax burden so that they focus on growth and job creation. This step would be broadly tax neutral if we factor the earlier available ₹1.5-crore central excise exemptions. Two, free small firms to do all the business large firms are allowed to do. Concessions should extend to exporters, inter-State sales and transactions on e-commerce websites.
Source: Business Line
Industry, which is slowly getting back to normalcy, fears an increase in imports under GST, wants higher duties. The textile industry, which suffered a sales decline of up to 50%, is slowly getting back to normalcy as the new tax regime completes one month of implementation on Tuesday. Industry players, however, warned that if the government does not raise duties to restrict imports, the trade would be massively hit by cheap fabric imports from China in next few months. Strike in Surat and Ahmedabad, key centres of textile industry in the country, had crippled the industry , which is second largest employment generator after agriculture. “Ahmedabad is the biggest market of synthetic T fabric in the country and fabric in the country and the long strike there had severely impacted the industry ,“ said J Thulsaidharn, chairman of Southern India Mills Association. “However, the situation is normalising at a fast pace now. “ The disturbed industry value chain led to a fall in business. “The consumer product sales were down by 50% in Ju ly,“ said Vijay Puniyani, senior vice present at Vardhaman Textiles. Suresh Mehta, president of Clothing Manufacturers Association of India, said clothing sales were down by 10-15% in July as the companies are not yet ready and their IT systems not geared up for the change in the tax regime. However, the dip in July sales of clothing over previous year is also linked to sales season starting in June instead of July, industry sources said. Though the industry is hopeful of adjusting to the new tax regime, it is more concerned about the bigger threat of imports becoming cheaper under GST (Goods and Services Tax) regime. “There is threat of substantial increase in import of fabric from China as imports have become cheaper by 6% to 8%,“ said Mehta. Puniyani of Vardhaman Textiles pointed out that before GST, the domestic industry was protected from imports with customs duty and countervailing duty and some other taxes that totalled to about 15%. “However, now all these taxes will be passed on to the consumer,“ he said. Thulsaidharn of Southern India Mills Association said, “With 18% GST on synthetic yarn, there is very narrow difference in the domestic yarn and synthetic yarn. “Spinning and weaving industry also fears that yarn and fabric from countries such as Indonesia and China, will be dumped in the country after being routed through Bangladesh.
Source: Economic Times
Ahead of the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee on Tuesday, latest official data of core industries show a further slowdown in production that could also have an impact on factory output. The index of eight core industries grew at its slowest pace since February at a meagre 0.4 per cent in June this year as against a robust 7 per cent expansion in June 2016. It grew by 4.1per cent in May. The data, released on Monday showed that the worst performers were coal mining and cement production that contracted by 6.7 per cent and 5.8 per cent respectively in the month. Fertiliser production also declined by 3.6 per cent in June. Production of natural gas registered a growth of 6.4 per cent in June as against a year ago, while steel production grew by 5.8 per cent. “The cumulative growth of the eight industries during April to June, 2017-18 was 2.4 per cent,” said an official release. The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Inflation at all-time low
With retail and wholesale inflation at an all time low in June, industry and the Finance Ministry is hoping for at least a 25 basis point reduction in the repo rate. The MPC, led by the Reserve Bank of India, will announce the decision on Wednesday. In the second bi-monthly monetary policy review on June 6 and 7, the committee had left lending rates unchanged at 6.25 per cent while reducing the statutory liquidity ratio by 0.5 per cent. Analysts attributed the low growth of core sector in June to a high base effect. “It points to a subdued picture for industrial growth for June 2017, with the sequential decline in growth of non-oil exports, core sector output and automobile production. “An unfavourable base effect and inventory trimming prior to the onset of the goods and services tax may contribute to a year-on-year contraction in industrial output in June 2017,” said Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist, ICRA.
Source: Business Line
India will push for early finalisation of a joint growth strategy for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) while checking China’s attempts to expand the scope of discussions on e-commerce at the BRICS trade ministers meeting beginning in Shanghai on Tuesday. Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman — who will attend the two-day meeting with her counterparts from Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa — is also likely to make a stronger case for cooperation in non-tariff measures (NTMs), the services sector and standardisation and conformity assessments, a government official told BusinessLine. “At the BRICS Summit in Goa last year, members agreed to work towards greater integration of MSMEs in regional and global value chains. India wants to ensure that the framework for implementing such integration is in place at the earliest,” the official added. India, which has taken the lead in strategising to integrate MSMEs in the region, organised a round-table on the sector last year. It proposed a mechanism for cooperation to regulate tariffs, check non-tariff measures (NTMs), ensure transparency in sanitary & phytosanitary measures and exchange information on regulatory mechanisms. “New Delhi also believes that for full exploitation of the trade potential within the bloc, NTMs, which are generally in the form of technical and standards barriers, need to go. It will continue to stress on cooperation in NTMs, standardisation and conformity assessments,” the official said. Trade amongst BRICS nations in 2014 was just $297 billion which was less than five per cent of the five countries’ $6.5 trillion worth trade with the world.
Easing visas
Easier visas for the business community and lower restrictions on movement of professionals are other areas where the country is putting its weight behind. India, however, has to be cautious on handling discussions on e-commerce cooperation being pushed by China and Russia. Economic and technological cooperation is likely to be included in the agenda, thanks to the host nation, where proposals for enhanced cooperation in e-commerce could be made. “Measures for greater transparency in e-commerce is acceptable but what is worrying is that countries may try to aim for more. Some proposals on cooperation in e-commerce that would include development of trans-boundary trust space (by setting up common trust infrastructure such as servers) for acceptance of e-documents between member countries are already floating around. We are not ready for such levels of ambitions,” the official added. China is also likely to make a case for lower market access restrictions amongst members though its earlier proposal for a free trade zone had not been received well by other members.
Source: Business Line
The Centre’s fiscal deficit for the April-June quarter was Rs 4.42 lakh crore, or 81.8 per cent of the full-year target of Rs 5.46 lakh crore. This compares with 61.1 per cent for the year-ago period. The jump in fiscal deficit is primarily a result of massive front-loading of expenditure due to the advancement of the Budget from March 28 to February 1. Additionally, revenue deficit for April-June 2017-18 was Rs 3.83 lakh crore, about 119 per cent of the full year target of Rs 3.22 lakh crore, and compared with 79.6 per cent for the corresponding period last year, according to official data released on Monday. This shows that the Centre’s revenue expenditure grew at a faster click than capital spending. Aditi Nayar, principal economist, ICRA , said: “The sharp year-on-year rise in the Centre’s fiscal and revenue deficits is not a source of alarm, with the up-fronting of the Budget presentation and expenditure pattern, making the data incomparable.” In particular, the robust 40 per cent year-on-year expansion in the government’s capital expenditure in Q1 FY2018 is encouraging. For the April-June, tax revenue was Rs 1.77 lakh crore or 14.5 per cent of the full-year estimate. Total receipts, including from revenue and non-debt capital receipts, was Rs 2.09 lakh crore or 13.1 per cent of the full-year target. Total expenditure during April-June was Rs 6.51 lakh crore or 30.3 per cent of the budgeted estimates. Capital expenditure was Rs 68,328 crore or 22 per cent of the full-year target, while revenue spending was Rs 5.82 lakh crore or 31.7 per cent of the full-year target. “More than half of the Budget estimates for major subsidies have been already released in the first quarter, contributing to the high growth of revenue expenditure in that quarter. Together, the incremental subsidy and interest payment outgo accounted for nearly half of the rise in revenue expenditure in absolute terms,” Nayar said. As a percentage of gross domestic product, the Centre aims to limit fiscal deficit to 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product, compared with 3.5 per cent for 2016-17.
Source: Business Standard
The stunning fall in oil prices, from a peak of $115 per barrel in June 2014 to under $35 at the end of February 2016, has been one of the most important global macroeconomic developments of the past 20 months. The sharp fall is broadly similar in magnitude to the decline in 1985-1986, when OPEC members reversed earlier production cuts, and in 2008-2009 at the outset of the global financial crisis. Understanding the underlying causes of price drops is essential to interpreting their macroeconomic effects. The 1985-86 decline was mainly supply-driven, while the drop in 2008-2009 was almost entirely due to a collapse in demand. The recent price decline appears to be a mix of the two. Slowing growth in emerging markets, most importantly in China, has led to sharp drops in commodity prices almost across the board. The drop in oil prices, however, has been significantly steeper than in metals and food. The magnitude of the differential is one important metric that suggests that rising supply has been at least as important as falling demand; most mainstream macroeconomic models suggest that the effect on global GDP has been a net positive, on the order of 0.5%. This is significant, but less than past experience might have suggested, though the effect may prove larger if the decline persists. There appear to be three reasons for this lower impact on global GDP. First, although the oil price decrease has been largely passed on to consumers in advanced countries, there has been much less pass-through in the rest of the world. Many governments – for example, in China and India – have taken advantage of the decline to reduce subsidies on fuel consumption and thereby strengthen their fiscal position. A second reason is that, normally, a supply-driven oil price decline raises world demand by transferring resources from high-saving oil producers to consumers with a higher propensity to spend. This channel, however, has been muted, as major oil producers have faced pressures to increase spending, and as consumer countries continue to repair balance sheets from the financial crisis. Third, the collapse in oil prices has led to a major short-term drop in investment in the oil industry, with global investment in production and exploration falling from $700 billion in 2014 to $550 billion in 2015, with spill-over to energy commodities. Sharp declines in investment in other commodity sectors have also contributed to overall slow global growth. There is no question that the oil price decline has been a significant contributor to the financial market volatility of the past year. Can the impact worsen? A primary concern is the a cycle of deteriorating financing conditions for oil companies and oil exporters. Countries that are heavily dependent on remittances from citizens working in oil economies are also at risk. So far, exchange rate flexibility and (for some countries) a large cushion of hard currency reserves have helped in avoiding an outright financial crisis. But if the low price is sustained, important oil producers will become increasingly vulnerable if they are unable to make the requisite fiscal adjustments to a lower price trajectory. The recent episode underscores that over the longer term, it is important for oil exporters to diversify their economies and sources of fiscal revenue in order to decrease vulnerability to oil price volatility. For oil-importing advanced economies, the price decrease is a welcome stimulus, and provides an opportunity to strengthen fiscal resilience against capital outflows for many emerging markets. It is a clear boon for Europe and Japan, albeit more mixed for the United States which is both a large consumer and a large producer. Regardless, it is important for policy-makers to continue policies that strengthen the long-term growth potential of their economies. Although futures prices suggest that oil prices will rise only moderately over the next four years (to just over $47 as of Feb 21, 2016), it is important to prepare for the fact that oil prices can rise in the future just as sharply and unexpectedly as they have fallen in the past.
Source: World Economic Forum
Two Indian states have asked cotton farmers to step up pesticide sprays to ward off potential harmful bug attacks as dry weather conditions in some parts of the country risk triggering infestations of pests like plant-eating whitefly. Despite plentiful rains in most parts of the country, monsoon has been patchy in some areas of Punjab and Maharashtra, prompting the two state governments to initiate steps to stop pest attacks. "We are a little concerned because of deficient rains in about six districts of the state and that's why we have reached out to farmers to help fight pest attacks, if any," Balwinder Singh Sidhu, Punjab's agriculture commissioner, told Reuters in a telephone interview. The Punjab government will ensure that farmers get to spray extra rounds of pesticides to avoid any infestation, Sidhu said. Cotton output has jumped fourfold since India allowed the genetically modified (GM) variety in 2002, transforming the country into the world's top producer and second-largest exporter of the fibre. Monsanto's lab-grown seeds yield nearly all of the cotton produced in India. India grows cotton on 11-12 million hectares and is likely to have harvested 33.63 million bales (1 Indian bale = 170 kg) in the 2016/17 season that started on Oct. 1, slightly down from 33.78 million bales a year earlier, according to the Cotton Association of India. While Punjab is not a major producer of cotton, Maharashtra is the second-biggest grower of the fibre. The Maharashtra state administration has asked farmers in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions to be vigilant for the next 8-10 days, when the crop is vulnerable to pest infestations, said an official at the agriculture ministry. The official declined to be identified as he was not authorised to talk to media. Whitefly pests hit cotton crops in Punjab and neighbouring Haryana state in 2015, when India suffered back-to-back drought years for only the fourth time in over a century.
Source: moneycontrol.com
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$ 50.32 per barrel (bbl) on 28.07.2017. This was higher than the price of US$ 49.73 per bbl on previous publishing day of 27.07.2017. In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs. 3227.71 per bbl on 28.07.2017 as compared to Rs. 3189.08 per bbl on 27.07.2017. Rupee closed weaker at Rs. 64.15 per US$ on 28.07.2017 as compared to Rs. 64.12 per US$ on 27.07.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on July 28, 2017 Previous trading day i.e. 27.07.2017) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
50.32 (49.73) |
|
(Rs/bbl) |
3227.71 (3189.08) |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
64.15 (64.12) |
Source : PIB
Lok Satta Party founder Jayaprakash Narayan on Monday said to overcome unemployment problem in rural areas, the country was in need of more apparel parks like Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC). After a visit to the park at Atchutapuram, he told reporters that he was amazed to see the facilities created at BIAC, which had provided employment mostly to rural women. Mr. Narayan said in India every month 10 lakh people were applying for jobs typifying the magnitude of unemployment problem. He said China was able to export $180 billion of apparel whereas India’s export turnover was just $18 billion, one-tenth of it. As apparel industry was labour intensive, it was better to establish more parks like BIAC, he opined.
Source: The Hindu
SUNBURY — A company with product sales in more than 120 countries worldwide will acquire longtime city manufacturer Sunbury Textile Mills by October and has long-term plans to expand employment and operations at the plant. Glen Raven Inc., a provider of performance fabrics, announced on Monday that the company signed a letter of intent to acquire the 63-year-old city business at 1150 Walnut Street Extension. The Sunbury facility for the last 20 years has been exclusively licensed to produce Glen Raven's Sunbrella fabrics for outdoor/indoor furniture markets. Once the agreement is complete, it will operate as Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC. “Glen Raven is presenting Sunbury with an extraordinary opportunity to continue our growth path,” said Hank Truslow Jr., CEO of Sunbury Textile Mills. “We are looking forward to continuing to serve our customers with innovative solutions, superior design and unsurpassed levels of customer service as we’ve done for more than 60 years.” Allen E. Gant Jr., chairman and CEO of Glen Raven Inc, said the goal is to expand Sunbury Textile Mills in both employment and operations, but said it was too soon to say by how much. "It offers the opportunity for expansion down the road if we decide to do so," Gant said. "We hope very much to grow the employment. We are quite excited about the people and the business. "The time to do this is when business is good for both people. It's really going to be good for the folks in Sunbury and the folks of Glen Raven. We look forward to growing," he said. The financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed. Sunbrella fabrics — described as "durable, easy care" fabrics available in thousands of styles, fabrics and colors for both indoor and outdoor furniture — make up 40 percent of Sunbury Textile Mills' current business, according to Vice President of Operations Brian Burke. "We have an experienced work force that allows us to produce specialty textiles and that gives us confidence about job security in the future," said Burke.What makes Sunbury Textile Mills so unique is the custom designs and exclusive high-quality fabrics that can be made on a small scale, he said. "Under the agreement, we will continue in the existing markets we've had for decades," said Burke. "We're bringing that mentality of customization to the Sunbrella brand. We're adding more fabric into the existing plant, which will increase business and volume. That's our culture. Nothing will change." David Swers, president and COO of Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC, said the two companies have already been working together for years. “The long-term partnership has greatly expanded our ability to service customers with high-design, high-durability Sunbrella fabrics, and we see even more potential in the talented team at Sunbury and all the markets they serve,” Swers said. Gant called Sunbury Textile's work "unparalleled" and explained the importance of the company's customers to Glen Raven. "Every Sunbury customer is important to us and represents an opportunity to combine resources and be better suppliers and business partners,” he said. Sunbury Textile Mills is located at the former Susquehanna Silk Mill, which operated from 1896 to 1952. Founded in 1954, the current facility specializes in innovative decorative upholstery fabrics targeting the design community and luxury furniture manufacturers, for both residential and contract applications for the hospitality, restaurant and health care industries, according to a press release. The 400,000-square-foot facility operates on 65 acres of land in Sunbury with half of that space dedicated to manufacturing. The Sunbury manufacturing location has 180 employees while the creative design and sales location in New York City has 30 employees. Founded in 1880 in Alamance County, North Carolina, Glen Raven Inc. is a global company with product sales into more than 120 countries worldwide. Glen Raven is active in upholstery, marine, technical shading, automotive, military, water filtration and protective work wear markets. It operates national distribution and logistics subsidiaries.
Source: Daily Item
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1216.96 |
USD/Ton |
-0.30% |
7/31/2017 |
|
VSF |
2352.30 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
ASF |
2196.47 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1216.96 |
USD/Ton |
-1.56% |
7/31/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3072.09 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
4971.74 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1573.15 |
USD/Ton |
-0.93% |
7/31/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
3190.82 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
5698.94 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1439.58 |
USD/Ton |
-0.51% |
7/31/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2834.63 |
USD/Ton |
0.53% |
7/31/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2374.56 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2983.04 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1820.99 |
USD/Ton |
-0.41% |
7/31/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2767.85 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1914.49 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2300.36 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3131.45 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2285.51 |
USD/Ton |
0.65% |
7/31/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.38 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.85 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.19 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.69 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
7/31/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14841 USD dtd. 31/7/2017). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The United States is expected to overtake the European Union as China's largest trade partner this year, a former vice-minister of commerce said. At the same time, China's trade structure will continue to optimize, and private companies are likely to dominate the export sector, Wei Jianguo, who is also vice-president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, told China Daily in an exclusive interview. Sino-US trade will continue to boom in the second half of this year, "with China's imports from the US growing faster than its exports". Therefore, the US trade deficit with China will decline, he said. Part of the reason why the US would surpass the EU, which was China's number one trading partner for almost the past decade, Wei said, lies in ever-strengthening Sino-US economic and trade ties. In April, China and the US agreed to initiate a cooperation plan to address the trade imbalance. Under the plan, China will resume US beef imports, and allow rice imports for the first time. Wei's predictions are in line with recent industry figures. Between January and June, Sino-US trade reached 1.85 trillion yuan ($272 billion), up 21.3 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs. The growth rate is higher than that between China and EU members, which stood at 17.4 percent in the same period. Sino-EU trade was 1.97 trillion yuan. "With such a growth rate, it won't take long for China's total trade volume with the US to exceed that with EU members", said Wei. China's total trade volume was 13.14 trillion yuan in the first six months, up 19.6 percent year-on-year, according to the GAC. Specifically, exports grew by 15.0 percent to 7.21 trillion yuan, and imports surged 25.7 percent to 5.93 trillion yuan. Huang Songping, a spokesman for the GAC, said earlier that the increase was mainly due to recovering external demand that pushed up exports. Looking into the overall picture in the second half of this year, Wei said China's trade would still gain momentum. "The growth rate of China's trade with economies along the Belt and Road Initiative would be 5 to 6 percentage points higher than other regions." Official data show trade between China and Belt and Road economies posted double-digit growth year-on-year in the first six months. Privately run companies, even some small and micro businesses, would dominate the trade sector, with more high-tech products and self-owned brands being exported, Wei added. In the first six months, private companies' imports and exports grew 20.6 percent year-on-year to 5.02 trillion yuan, show data from the GAC. It accounted for 38.2 percent of the nation's total volume. "The current domestic and foreign environment is favorable to future trade flows… But it is still an arduous tasks to maintain the uptrend for the rest of the year," Qian Keming, a vice-minister of commerce, said on Monday at a news conference. Qian cited trade protectionism and rising costs as the major factors.
Source: China Daily.
CHENNAI, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Bangladesh, the second largest garment producing country in the world, will digitally map its entire garment industry in the first such initiative to bring transparency in the supply chain in an effort to stop abuses. The mapping project will collect "credible, comprehensive and accurate data" on factories across Bangladesh and disclose it in a publicly available, online map, said a manufacturers association that launched the project on Saturday. Bangladesh's garment sector, worth about $28 billion per year and employing 4 million people, came under scrutiny after the collapse of the eight-storey Rana Plaza factory complex in 2013 that killed more than 1,100 workers. The death of 10 workers in a boiler explosion at a garment factory earlier this month renewed calls for more transparency and implementation of labour laws. "We believe (the project) will empower stakeholders across the industry, including workers, factory authority, brands, government and civil society organisations to create positive changes...," Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said in a statement. "This transparency initiative would significantly complement our ongoing efforts towards enhanced, more risk-averse supply chains," Rahman said. Campaigners have criticised many retailers for failing to improve working conditions in their supply chains. Long hours, low pay, poor safety standards and not being allowed to form trade unions are common complaints from garment workers. Locating sub-contracting suppliers has been the biggest challenge, with many big manufacturers not transparent about the lower ends of their supply chain, campaigners add. The digital mapping project is part of efforts to change that, project head Parveen S. Huda said. "The mapping project will fuel Bangladesh's garment industry advancements, inspire shared responsibility, responsible sourcing, collective action and build upon pre-existing improvement efforts through informed decision-making," Huda said in a statement. The map will provide a detailed industry-wide database of factories, including names, locations, numbers of workers, product type, export country, certifications and brand customers. Verification of information will be crowdsourced from the public to ensure that information remains up-to-date and accurate. The first public map is scheduled to live in 2018 in the Dhaka region. The final version of the map showcasing all 20 Bangladeshi garment producing districts is expected to be completed by 2021. Reporting by Anuradha Nagaraj, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking and climate change.
Source: Reuters
MANILA- To help the local garments industry become more responsive to the demands of global trade, a joint department order on the accreditation of firms for tax holiday was issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Trade Industry (DTI). The tax holiday, which is guided by the General System of Preference (GSP), is a preferential tariff scheme which allows duty-free access or ‘zero tariffs’ for products exported to other countries. The joint order, signed last week by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, aims to help local garments firms to conform to the international labor standards, which is a requirement in supplying the global garments market. “These joint guidelines will help the local garments conform to the set requirements, as it intends to promote compliance with labor laws and standards by establishing a certification and decertification mechanism for companies intending to avail of preferential tariff under the GSP,” Bello said. The joint guidelines, Bello said, prescribes policies on the issuance, suspension or revocation of certificates of accreditation to firms engaged in the local garments. The Secretary added that the joint guidelines will ensure that Filipino workers will have decent jobs, and enjoy the economic benefits brought by the industry’s participation in the global trade base. Under the joint order, the eligibility for market access under the GSP will be granted to firm or contractor that has secured from the DTI Accrediting Board (DAB) a Certificate of Accreditation for complying with labor standards. “The issuance of the Certificate of Accreditation is based on the findings and recommendations of the Workers’ Rights Review Committee (WRRC) which will be created to conduct an audit of compliance for firms intending to avail the GSP,” Bello said. The WRRC will be composed of four members representing the DOLE, who will act as Committee Chair; a designated representative from the DTI, who will act as Vice-Chair; and one representative each from the labor and employers sector. The joint order, Bello said, applies to all local garments manufacturers, exporters, and subcontractors that will avail of preferential treatment under the GSP. The order likewise prescribes that the accreditation may be suspended or revoked in the event a firm or contractor fails to comply with minimum labor standards or when it engages into subcontracting of work to a person not accredited by DAB. “Firms whose accreditation was suspended may request to lift the suspension three months after receipt of the adverse decision. While those whose accreditation had been revoked may reapply for reaccreditation six months after receipt of the adverse decision,” said Bello. Initiated by the Clothing and Textile Industry Tripartite Council (CTITC), the joint order highlights the government’s continuing effort to provide an environment conducive for business and investment through compliance with international labor standards. “This joint issuance serves as a potent proof of the Duterte administration’s resolve to ensure that all Filipino workers here and abroad are able to reap the just fruits of their honest labor in a manner that also enables their employers to gain reasonable return on their investments, thus ensure business expansion and growth,” Bello added. (Tim Laderas-DOLE)
Source: Philippine Information Agency
Islamabad : The first meeting of Cotton Crop Assessment Committee (CCAC) would be held next week to asses the volume of current cotton crop in the country. All stakeholders including Ministry of Textile Industry, representatives of provincial governments, Plant Protection Department, Trading Cooperation of Pakistan (TCP) and cotton growers would attend the meeting, said Cotton Commissioner Dr Khalid Abdullah. Talking to APP here on Monday he said that among others the meeting would also be attended by the all Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) and Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC). The committee would asses the volume of current cotton crop in the country, besides assessing the per acre crop output and average plant population and crop outlook, he added. The meeting would also discuss the challenges and issues being faced by the cotton growers at post harvest Giving the overview about the crop, Dr. Abdullah said that cotton crop for stages and would suggest their remedial measures. the season 2017-18 was progressing well in Sindh Due to heavy rains in Mirpur Khas, picking activity has been and Punjab. He said that picking of seed cotton was started in lower Sindh in first week of July and crop out look was stable and encouraging production was expected during the season. slowed, adding that recent rains has damaged cotton crop in Mirpur Khas at some extent but significant losses have not been reported, he added. Khalid Abdullah said that cotton crop was in good condition in rest of cotton belt of Punjab and Sindh, besides the pest situation was also below economic threshold level. About the seed cotton priceshe said that the prices were remained between Rs 2,800-3300 per 40 kg in domestic markets.
Source: Pakistan Observer
Indonesian Textile Association chairman Ade Sudrajat has said that the textile industry had to cut production in the first half of 2017 because of weak consumer purchasing power. Many shopping centers reported weak sales during the recent Ramadhan and Idul Fitri holiday seasons, which usually see the year's peak sales for textile products. “Several companies have been cutting their production since the first half,” he said, as quoted by kontan.id, adding that the textile industry's electricity usage had declined by 20 percent in the first half of the year. As part of efficiency measures, textile companies extended their Idul Fitri holiday period for employees to 20 days from two weeks, Ade added. He also recorded many companies had also postponed their expansion plans, pending the availability of growth in overseas markets. Separately, the iron and steel industry had withheld sales, pending the materialization of the government’s plan to cut the gas price to US$6 per million British thermal units (mmbtu), said Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry executive director Hidayat Tresiputro. Meanwhile, state electricity company PLN recorded 1.17 percent increase in its electricity sales in the first half of 2017.
Source: The Jakarta Post,
ICE cotton futures inched higher on Monday, moving close to a six-week high, as investors covered short-positions amid a sagging dollar. The December cotton contract on ICE Futures settled up 0.06 cent, or 0.1 percent, at 68.86 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 68.5 and 69.7 cents a lb. "Given the current rains acrossWest Texas (the price movement) is more likely on short-covering," said Louis Rose, co-founder and director of research and analytics at Rose Commodity Group. The U.S. dollar on Monday hit a 2-1/2-year low against the euro and touched a more than six-week low against the yen. The dollar index was down 0.40 percent. The Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index, which tracks 19 commodities, was up 0.27 percent. "The market seems to be stuck between a bullish current crop and a potentially bearish new crop scenario," Plexus Cotton said in a note. "Demand has clearly been stronger than anticipated this season... to the point that origins like the U.S. and India will basically be out of cotton by the time new crop is harvested." Speculators increased a net long position in cotton by 2,191 contracts to 17,251 contracts in the week to July 25 after adopting a bearish stance for nine straight weeks, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed on Friday. Since late May, speculators had been unwinding their net long position in the commodity to the smallest since April 2016. "The CFTC report is back tracked so they increased their longs during the consolidation of the past week. The market could move higher from additional longs entering the market though," said Anestis Arampatzis, risk management consultant with INTL FCStone. "Technically it looks like it wants to try higher and retest the 71 cents." Total futures market volume rose by 8,839 to 19,153 lots. Data showed total open interest fell 430 to 216,063 contracts in the previous session. Elsewhere, two Indian states have asked cotton farmers to step up pesticide sprays to ward off potential harmful bug attacks as dry weather conditions in some parts of the top-cotton producing country risk triggering infestations of pests.
Source: The Times of India
Companies from Belgium, India, Korea, Morocco, Pakistan, Taiwan and Turkey will bring their specialised products to display at the Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles - Autumn edition, being held in Shanghai during August 23-26, 2017. There will also be domestic pavilions comprising Haining, Shaoxing, Tongxiang and Yuhang with fabric options for buyers. The show, being organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK), the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, and the China Home Textile Association, is seen as the gateway to Asia’s home living market, providing suppliers from around the world huge business potential in the region. Over 1,200 exhibitors from seven countries are expected to participate besides four domestic regional pavilions presenting products from the region. Indian exhibitors are specialists in rugs, bath mats, throws, shawls, handloom carpet and handmade rugs predominantly made out of 100 per cent cotton and also blended fibres. Korean companies specialise in fashionable microfibre fabrics, polyester blankets and curtain fabrics, and will also demonstrate a full range of machine-made natural dyed sewing products. Exhibitors in the Pakistan pavilion will showcase bedding products bed sheets produced with 100 per cent combed and carded cotton or bamboo cotton. Pakistani companies have also developed a reversible stitching technique for bed sheet sets that helps save water and electricity. The Taiwan Pavilion will showcase eco-friendly fabrics and yarn with features including anti-odour, anti-ultraviolet, black-out, fire-retardant and fireproof and water repellent. The presence of non-Asian pavilions including Belgium, Morocco and Turkey marks exhibitors’ enthusiasm towards the Asian market. The Belgian group excels at upgrading fabrics with backing, laminations and fire retardant properties, while pavilion members will also present quality fabrics which are widely applied on decorative pillows, lampshades and other hospitality upholstery. The Morocco Pavilion will display uniquely designed fabrics with embroidery, geometric shapes and ornamentation. The Turkey pavilion joins again with quality products including towels, bed sheets, curtain fabrics, bathrobes, furnishing articles, curtains, interior blinds, and upholstery fabrics with original designs and made with eco-friendly technologies. The wide range of home textile products under featured product zones is one of the reasons the fair attracts buyers from around 100 countries. The show features a strong lineup of worldwide upholstery fabrics suppliers like Alhambra, CASAMANCE, Designers Guild, JAB Anstoetz, Mark Alexander, Prestigious Textiles and Zinc Textile in the Editors Zone, while other renowned brands such as Aico Home, Culp, D Décor, GM Syntex, Enzodegli Angiuoni, Haining Qianbaihui, Hexin, Huatex, Maya Fabric and Yuanzhicheng. A variety of machine-made and handmade carpets from Afghanistan, China, India and Pakistan will also be on offer. Chinese suppliers incorporate innovative materials into their carpets. Carpet producer COC Group uses advanced production technology to produce carpets from materials such as pure wool, acrylic wool, wool-polyester, polypropylene monofilament yarn and spun silk. In 2014, they were authorised by DuPont to apply Sorona fibre to their carpets. They will be promoting their new carpet collection with soft texture, durable colour and dirt resistance properties in the fair. Haima Carpet will be featuring two major carpet collections comprising handmade New Zealand wool carpets and raw silk nylon carpet. Keeping up with the Smart Home concept in China, leading industry experts like Somfy, Shidian, Huatong, Nanhai Yongfeng and Xu Sheng will present their advanced sun protection system and electric curtains. Digital printing factories such as DIGITEX and MS Printing Solutions will introduce their latest printing technology. Four domestic industry experts including Wuxi Pengda, All-Nice Coated Production (Suzhou), Kunshan Caidu and Shanghai Twinjet will demonstrate the printing process onsite in the Digital Printing Micro Factory. Buyers can source avant-garde and exclusive textile collections from global textile design studios in the Textile Design Zone.
Source: Fibre2fashion
