NEW DELHI: Exporters would be able to get their pending refunds of Rs 600 crore soon even as a new scheme to facilitate speedier reimbursement of taxes paid on inputs is being worked out, dismissing claims of thousands of crores stuck in refunds. The government also allayed concerns over reports that taxpayers have claimed Rs 65,000 crore of tax credit for central excise and services in pre-GST period and government revenues will take a hit. Finance ministry issued two separate statements on Friday putting out the exact situation in respect of these two issues. Exporters had in a representation to the government claimed that Rs 65,000 crore could get stuck by the end of October if duty refunds to not start flowing immediately. The finance ministry said there were 'wild estimates' and for two-thirds of exports by value there is no blockage of funds, adding that problem is not as grievous as is being made out. "Duty drawback scheme was actually extended in the post-GST regime for a period of three months, i.e. up to September 30, 2017, subject to that exporter not taking input tax credit under GST. This means that as of now, for 66% of the value of exports, there is no blockage of funds," the statement said. A senior finance ministry official said the amount stuck is about Rs 600 crore. "Government is working on scheme that should be legally tenable and financially bearable," said the official. The scheme would allow exporters to get their refunds in three days. The GST Council is expected to take up the issue on its October 6 meeting. "We are trying to find a way of giving refund by linking form GSTR 1 with form GSTR 3B and, therefore, for the month of July, where form GSTR 1 is already filed, the authorities would be in a position to process the refund applications," the statement said. "Therefore, the exporters, who have not yet filed form GSTR 1 for July 2017, may be advised to file it immediately and not to wait till the deadline," the statement said adding that the GSTN application for refund is also getting ready. "But, in the meantime, we are also finding other ways of giving refund, if necessary through a manual procedure," it said. The official said tax authorities were only verifying transition credit claims and not going after businesses after it emerged that as much as Rs 65,000 crore out of the about Rs 95,000 crore tax collections in July — the first month of GST —had been claimed as transitional credit by taxpayers.
TRANSITION CREDIT CLAIMS
The high claim had also led to apprehensions that the government would not have much left after these claims are adjusted. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, which kicked in on July 1, allows a tax credit on stock purchased during the previous tax regime. This facility is available only up to 6 months from the date of GST rollout. The finance ministry issued a statement to allay concerns about high transitional credit claims saying that the Centre's revenue kitty will not go down because of these claims, offering three explanations. This figure of transition credit claimed is also "not incredibly high" since Rs 1.27 lakh crore of credit of Central Excise and Service Tax was lying as closing balance as on June 30, 2017, the statement said. It said the credit claimed by taxpayers in the TRAN-1 form does not mean that they would have used all of this credit for payment of their output tax liability for July 2017. Secondly, it may be clarified that an amount of Rs 95,000 crore, which was received in the month of August 2017 for GST, is the amount actually paid in cash other than availing credit, it said. Thirdly, this figure of transition credit claimed is also not incredibly high, since Rs 1.27 lakh crore of credit of Central Excise and Service Tax was lying as closing balance as on June 30, 2017 as per department's record. Also, some of the credits, which are claimed in TRAN-1 form may be under litigation and therefore, it may not be available to the assessee to carry forward or for utilisation. It is from this angle that CBEC is examining the transition credits, which are claimed by assessees in TRAN-1 form in certain cases," the ministry said. The statement said some assessees would have committed a mistake in filing the form and hence the government will allow facility of revision of TRAN-1by the middle of October. The GST Council has already extended by a month the date for filing TRAN-1 form till October 31.
Source: The Economic Times
Textile sector growing exponentially, has more potential: Smriti IraniJAIPUR: The textile industry is growing exponentially in the country, with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) having tripled in three years, Union Minister Smriti Irani said today. The FDI flow into the sector reached USD 618.95 million in 2016-17. However, there is still huge potential for further growth for which various efforts are being made by the Centre as well as states, the textiles minister said after inaugurating the four-day international textile and apparel fair 'Vastra'. The minister further said the textile industry employs the second largest number of people in the industrial sector, with 45 million employed directly and another 20 million getting indirect employment. She said concerted efforts are being made for creating further avenues by living up to the Prime Minister's vision of 'Make in India'. The government is providing skilling opportunities as well as incentives to give an impetus to the industry. The financial support to weavers under the 'Mudra Yojana' has documented evidence of increase in income of the weaver to the tune of 50-60 per cent. Irani also appreciated the efforts of the Rajasthan government in making it a garment hub. Rajasthan Industries Minister Rajpal Singh Shekhawat said the state is a prominent textile destination in the country. He further highlighted that Rajasthan enjoys leading position in production of polyester viscose yarn and synthetic suiting material. Chief Secretary Ashok Jain said while the value addition and employment generation in this segment is high, the capital required is comparatively low. Promoting garment industry in Rajasthan is important as it is less water consuming. He added that the sector is also a useful tool to leverage women empowerment as they constitute majority of the workforce in this segment.
Source: ET Retails
The Finance Ministry on Friday said it was working to ensure timely refund of taxes for exporters under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, even if it has to intervene manually. “The GST Network application for refund is getting ready. But in the meantime, we are also finding other ways of giving refund, if necessary through a manual procedure,” it said in a statement. The government is looking to find a way to give refunds by linking GSTR 1 with GSTR 3B forms. “Exporters who have not yet filed form GSTR 1 for July 2017 may be advised to file it immediately and not wait till the deadline,” it said. But to give immediate relief to exporters, the government has also asked tax officials of the States and the Centre to expeditiously clear the pre-GST refund claims of Central excise and value-added tax. Working capital woes. The Finance Ministry also refuted concerns that a large part of the working capital of exporters had been blocked under the GST due to delay in refunds. “For 66 per cent of the value of exports, exporters have preferred the duty drawback scheme instead of taking actual refund of input taxes in the pre-GST regime. There is no blockage of funds for these exports,” said the Ministry. It added that the remaining 33 per cent of exporters have always preferred a normal refund route for taxes paid on inputs for Central Excise value added tax, which was given only after the actual exports took place. “There was a normal blockage of funds for a period of five to six months at least — except for those using (the) facility of advance authorisation,” it said. The Ministry stressed that the Committee on Exports led by Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia met exporters from eight sectors earlier this week to discuss ways to address their problems under GST. The meeting of the GST Council has also been advanced to October 6 to work out more measures for exporters.
Source: Business Line
Historically high valuations, concerns over refund of over ₹65,000 crore claims under the GST regime, and heightened tensions over North Korea took their toll on India’s equity markets on Friday. The BSE Sensex crashed 447 points (1.38 per cent) to close at 31,922. The broader index CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange fell 1.56 per cent to close at 9,964. The markets were rattled by analysts’ claims that the government’s GST calculations may go awry. Over 46 lakh businesses had paid around ₹95,000 crore in taxes in July, but claimed ₹65,000 crore as refund. The government, it was feared, would have to scramble to make refunds. But the Finance Ministry clarified that transition credit claims were not “incredibly high” since ₹1.27 lakh crore of credit of Central Excise and Service Tax was lying as balance as on June 30. Global investor sentiment was down after North Korea said it may test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean. “Despite the mayhem, we remain constructive on stock markets,” said Steven Birch, President, William O'Neil+ Company, a global equity research house. “Indices are in a confirmed up-trend... It is still not a situation to run for cover.” Birch said markets were discounting the Korea tensions as none of the US media was seriously talking about the possibility of an armed conflict. “Every time stocks decline due to (Korea tensions), there is a buying opportunity,” he said. But other analysts believe the market’s internals have started to weaken. “The broad market is giving up ahead of key indices,” said Rohit Srivastava, fund manager, Sharehkan-BNP Paribas. “A downward momentum may gain traction as we enter October.” This week marked only the third time that the Nifty index saw its price-to-earnings multiple rise above 26. On two earlier occasions, in 2000 and 2008, the markets crashed sharply. The rupee dropped to a six-month low against the dollar on Friday due to concerns of India’s widening fiscal deficit and the US Fed’s announcement of a rollback of the stimulus. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had on Thursday promised “appropriate action” at the “right time” to revive the economy as growth slipped to a three-year low of 5.7 per cent in the June quarter. Tata Steel was the top Sensex loser, down 4.70 per cent, followed by L&T, down 3.49 per cent. Reliance Industries, Hero MotoCorp, SBI and Adani Ports were among the others that fell. Investor wealth eroded by ₹2.68 lakh crore on Friday. FPIs sold stocks worth ₹1,241 crore while DIIs bought in for ₹521 crore in the cash market.
Source Business Line
Amid talks of stimulus for certain sectors, including trade, to prop up growth, the government is considering adopting a two-pronged strategy to achieve higher exports growth — to promote more value-addition in goods, and to diversify the country’s services product basket to reduce traditional reliance on the IT sector. The government is also looking at further improving exports in employment-intensive sectors, including agriculture and textiles and garments—and improving value-addition in sectors like gems and jewellery, a top government official told FE. Even measures could be initiated to promote more sophisticated level of value addition in engineering goods, said the official. Exports have faltered in recent years, thanks partly to a drop in commodity prices globally, although outbound shipments in volume terms have risen at a faster pace. With the developed world resorting to protectionism, restricting the free movement of skilled professionals, India will be stepping up focus on diversifying away from IT services, which account for roughly 60% of our services exports. The commerce ministry has identified areas such as tourism, healthcare, wellness services, entertainment, legal advisory services and accounting for greater focus, to start with. Subsequently, the country’s education sector has to be opened up further, said the official. Various departments of the government are working on specific measures to improve exports and details are being worked out, said another official. Earlier this month, commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu said the share of exports in India’s gross domestic product (GDP) needs to improve significantly. Exports growth slowed down consistently since April before rising again in August, although the phase of contraction noticed between November 2014 and May 2016 is well over. Exports-to-GDP ratio fell to 19.4% in Q1 FY18, the lowest in the curent GDP series (with 2011-12 base year) and compared with 21% in the previous quarter, showed the latest GDP data. According to the second volume of the Economic Survey for 2016-17, exports need to grow at 26.5% annually for the next five years for India to reach a “respectable’’ 5% share in world trade from the existing 1.7% it has been stuck at since 2011. This could be achieved only through reforms in trade policy by diversifying exports, rationalising tariffs and developing world class export infrastructure, it added. India’s exports grew 4.7% in 2016-17 after two years of continuous decline. However, merchandise export value may have grown just 5% in 2016-17 after two successive years of contraction, but volumes of outbound shipmentsmostly rose at a faster pace last fiscal, according to the official data. This indicates fluctuations in global commodity prices continue to influence India’s exports value more than any worthwhile slowdown in overseas demand. As many as 19 of the top 30 commodity segments (in which data in both volume and value terms are available) witnessed export volumes either rising at a faster pace or dropping at a slower rate than the shipment value in 2016-17. Similarly, 21 of these 30 commodity segments—including petroleum products, iron and steel, marine products, spices, buffalo meat, aluminium—registered growth in export volumes in 2016-17, against 15 in the previous fiscal. These 30 segments together accounted for 45% of the total exports value (in dollar terms) in the last fiscal. Even in 2015-16, the global commodity price crash was the main driver of a 16% contraction in export value, as export volumes in many cases had increased, showed the data
Source: Financial Express
While global trade growth is expected to rebound in 2017, India may not be in a position to fully take advantage of it in United States and China, which are the major markets where consumer and industrial demand drive trade forward. On Thursday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) raised the estimate of growth in world merchandise trade volume for 2017 to 3.6 per cent up from the 2.4 per cent estimate earlier. The latest rise has been due to positive economic trends in North America - with the United States in particular - along with China, which has lead to resurgence of industrial and consumer demand. However, exporters and trade experts alike believe it will be difficult for India to tap into this demand in the near future for a plethora of reasons.
Stagnation in the US
The US is the largest destination for Indian exports, earning $42 billion in 2016-17. The share of goods heading to the US has gradually increased over the past five years and stood at 15.3 per cent last year. However, major export categories such as textiles, gems and jewellery have seen stagnation in the US market. India's textile exports, across categories such as apparels and accessories have suffered over the past few years due to the onslaught of cheaper alternatives from Bangladesh, Vietnam and Philippines. "Our market share has stagnated in the low single digit levels and I don't see a change anytime soon, both in the United States or Europe." S K Jain, Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council said. On the other hand, India's exports in gems and jewellery and especially rough or processed diamonds, stood at $9.7 billion, up 12 per cent in the last year. But industry experts believe the trend may be reversed next year. For pharmaceutical products, the US is a major market for Indian generics, almost half of which, by volume, reach US shores. "In the United States, almost 80 per cent of generics are sourced from India. However, the market share has stagnated while growth in value terms have slowed down", P V Appaji, past Executive Director at Pharmexil said. This is mainly due to price erosion, he added.
Not geared for China either
On the other hand, India is ill-equipped to grow its exports to China. While its northern neighbour is its largest trading partner, only 3.68 per cent of India's exports find their way to China. Apart from finding it difficult to bridge the whopping $51-billion trade deficit, India is also looking to upgrade its current basket of exports to China. Raw materials like cotton, iron ore and copper - long a hallmark of Indian exports to neighboring China - has come under increased scrutiny as both government as well as exporters try to shift exports towards value added products in a bid to cap growing trade deficit. While previous Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier said that export focus should shift from raw materials, her Ministry has identified key sectors such as hardware, electronics, pharmaceuticals, textiles and auto components, to realign and boost exports. With a burgeoning middle class and rising labour prices, China is expected to relinquish its dominance over the labour intensive, low-end manufacturing space in the near future, which is being eyed by the Indian industry. A changing consumer pattern has also moulded a greater demand for consumer goods in China where overall demand in the first half of 2017 was driven by solid growth in industry (up 6.4 per cent) and even stronger growth in services (up 7.7 per cent). We are looking to harness our strengths in labour intensive sectors where India enjoys significant advantage over other developing nations," a Commerce Ministry official said under conditions of anonymity. Currently, the top 5 export categories to China are all input products. These are used by China to manufacture costlier goods which it ships abroad, often back to India. These, along with other raw materials like iron and iron ores, constitutes for more than 70 per cent of India's exports to China, Ajay Sahai, Federation of Indian Exports Organisations said. These are subject to volatile global commodity prices and should be periodically swapped with products higher in the value chain, a Delhi based trade expert said.
Source: Business Standard
The recent high growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Indian textiles sector has boosted the confidence levels in the textiles industry, textiles minister Smriti Irani has said. The success rate of placements of skilled workforce in textiles sector is now over 70 per cent, she said inaugurating the textiles and apparel fair Vastra 2017 in Jaipur. The 6th edition of the four-day international fair started on September 21. On the success of the Integrated Skill Development Scheme, Irani said the government continues to engage with the trainees even after placement to ensure that individuals continue in the job for at least six months, according to a press release from the textiles ministry. Referring to the Rs 6,000-crore government package specially aimed at providing support to the textiles, apparel and made-ups sectors, Irani said as the textiles sector offers direct employment to over 45 million people and indirectly impacts close to another 20 million households, the sector’s growth will have a proportionate impact on the growth of employment opportunities. Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation Ltd. has organised the fair in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. It hosts over 300 international buyers and around 200 representatives from 100 Indian buying houses or agents.
Source: Fibre2fashion
The US has made a formal offer to host the trade policy forum with India on October 26 in Washington, where both sides hope to thrash out complex issues, including work visa restrictions, liberalisation of multi-brand retail and legal services in India and market access for pharmaceuticals and farm products. “Assistant US Trade Representative Mark Linscott, who met senior officials from the Commerce & Industry Ministry in New Delhi this week, proposed the possible dates and October 26 was acceptable to both sides. It will be an important meeting as it will be the first under the Trump administration, at a time when top administrative posts have finally been filled,” a government official told BusinessLine. The forum will be co-chaired by Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu and US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer. The meeting with Linscott’s team this week took stock of trade relations so far and shortlisted issues for discussion at the October 26 forum. It was attended by senior officials from various ministries and departments, including legal services, higher education, consumer affairs and financial services. “The US officials stressed on the need to open up the services sector including legal services, multi-brand retail trade and education. They have been pushing India to allow foreign universities to set up campuses on their own without tying up with Indian partners,” the official said.
Visa woes
India, on its part, emphasised that its IT services sector has been hit by the tightening of work visa norms in the US and imposition of higher visa fee on companies that employ more non-American workers. It also pointed out that the US needs to listen to India’s repeated request for a totalisation agreement that would save the domestic industry an estimated $3-4 billion in social security payments in the US. In the area of non-agricultural market access, New Delhi has asked Washington to lower the barriers for generic exporters — they have been facing high inspection fees and strict inspection norms. The US team sought wider market access for medical equipment manufactured by American companies. “In agriculture, both sides complained of non-tariff restrictions and agreed that such barriers need to be lowered through regular discussions,” the official said.
Patent laws
The US is also keen to discuss IPR issues and nudge India to make its patent laws more favourable for patent holders by going beyond its commitment made in the global TRIPS (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement. “It will now be up to the USTR and the Indian Minister to decide how to go about sorting out the problem areas, many of them long-held,” the official added. The US is one of the largest trade partners of India with bilateral trade of around $65 billion. However, the fact that India enjoys a trade surplus of an annual $22 billion with the US has not gone down well with the Trump administration, which is working to zero in on the reasons. “The reason for the deficit is simple. The US buys labour-intensive items from India as it has slowly moved away from manufacturing to specialised services. It is all fair trade and no action is warranted,” the official said.
Source : Business Line
For a reform that was cracked up to be India’s biggest tax overhaul since Independence, the roll-out of the goods and services tax is off to a less-than-desirable start. Over 80 days after its introduction, the GST Network, its online backbone, is struggling to keep pace with the millions of invoices and returns being filed electronically by businesses across the country. The government has extended the deadline for filing GST returns for July, the first month of the GST era, twice. And Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has reiterated an appeal to taxpayers to not wait till the last day, to avoid burdening the GSTN. But even those filing returns well before the last date have struggled. It is clear that the network had not been fully tested for chinks before July. A ministerial group formed by the GST Council to resolve the GSTN’s glitches gave an assurance last Saturday that 80% of the problems would be fixed by the end of October. For a country that takes pride in its IT edge, this is a strange impasse. Critically, for an economy that is slowing down for multiple reasons, even more troublesome is the implication of these implementation stumbles for 85 lakh taxpayers now registered for GST. Exporters, for instance, have already alerted the Centre that the delayed timelines for filing GST returns (the last of which must be sent in by November 10) will mean that no refunds can be expected before mid-November on input taxes paid in advance and the integrated GST levied on goods they imported. By their reckoning, as much as ₹65,000 crore of working capital will get blocked, cramping their ability to ramp up capacity and raw material procurement in time for festive season orders from around the world. Terming these as ‘wild’ estimates, the government has asserted that many exporters’ funds were blocked for five-six months even before the GST, even as it said a solution to speed up refunds is being worked out. Those producing only for the domestic market are no better off. Therefore, expectations of a rebound in manufacturing activity may be misplaced. Moreover, in contrast to the ₹95,000-crore GST collections recorded so far for July, about ₹65,000 crore has been claimed as transitional credit (that is, taxes paid on stock purchased before the GST). On Friday, the government clarified this is not ‘incredibly high’ as firms had outstanding credits of ₹1.27 lakh crore for central excise and service tax levies on June 30. Though the deadline to file the relevant return has been extended to October 31, initially only those who filed by September 28 were to be allowed to revise their credit claims. While revisions will be enabled from mid-October, the tax department is already examining some of these credit claims, triggering unease among firms. Several revisions in deadlines, tax and cess rates, rules, clarifications and tweaks later, the GST regime is turning out to be neither simple nor friendly for taxpayers.
Source: The Hindu
The Government of India has today announced the new duty drawback rates to be effective from October 1, 2017 (post-transition period ending September 30, 2017). The new All Industry Rates (AIR) for cotton garments is 2 per cent as compared to the 7.7 per cent drawback available so far. The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has expressed disappointment. The duty draw back rate on garments of blend containing cotton and man-made fibre (MMF) will be 2.50 per cent beginning next month compared to the existing 9.5 per cent. Likewise, the rate on garments made of MMF will also be 2.50 per cent compared to 9.8 per cent at present. Clothing items (under HS codes 61 and 62) made of silk (other than containing Noil silk) will be subject to a rate of 4.80 per cent as compared to the earlier 7.6 per cent. The duty drawback rate on woollen apparel will also come down from 8.7 per cent to 3.50 per cent. The duty drawback rate on garment of blend containing wool and MMF will be 3 per cent from October 1, whereas the rate on all other garments will be 2 per cent. This low rate is unexpected at a time when the industry is facing continuous decline in exports due to global conditions, rupee overvaluation and uncertainties under the GST regime. The duty drawback was one of the key policy support measures towards lifting industry’s cost competitiveness. However, due to the steep drop in the drawback support over 7000 small and medium enterprises in the apparel export sector will be crippled, creating an adverse impact on the employment being provided to over 12 million people by this sector, AEPC said in a press release. “The apparel industry needs to book orders in advance for the next season. The uncertainty prevailing for the last three months regarding the GST rates on apparel and job work have already cost the industry’s order books. I think the present new rates are unacceptable and the ministry of textiles should immediately consider AEPC’s recommendation for extending the current transition rates till March 31, 2018, to instil confidence in the sector and also ensure a smooth transition into GST and also for sustaining employment in the sector. In the absence of an encouraging drawback rates, the exports will further witness a sharp decline just ahead of the peak festival season when the industry was expecting recovery,” said AEPC chairman Ashok G Rajani. AEPC has been in constant consultation with the Drawback Committee and various ministries for identification and consideration of several embedded / blocked taxes which are presently not subsumed in GST, not considered in the drawback, and hence a loss to the exporters. The industry was expecting continuation of the present drawback rates till such time as these consultations could be completed and proper measures taken to ensure that exports remain zero rated and no taxes are exported, AEPC said. Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA) has also termed the reduction in duty drawback rate as death knell to Tiruppur garment export sector. TEA president Raja M Shanmugham said once buyers go out of the country due to higher price it will be very difficult to bring them back to our country. He apprehended that the latest step might lead to more job losses since 80 per cent of the garment exporting units are in MSME sector. (RKS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Amid calls for stimulus to create jobs and boost economic growth, industry body CII on Friday sought an interest rate cut of 100 basis points and interventions for depreciation of the rupee rate that would increase exports. Earlier this week, finance minister Arun Jaitley held brainstorming sessions with Cabinet colleagues and government officials to devise a plan to lift economic growth, which slipped to a three-year low of 5.7% in the April-June quarter of 2017-18. “CII looks forward to quick growth in the GDP which we expect by year-end as industry gets over the teething issues related to GST,” CII quoted its president Shobana Kamineni saying. “It is encouraging to note that certain factors are positive such as automotive sector and personal loans,” she said. A cut in interest rates would encourage domestic demand in sectors such as affordable housing, consumer durables and construction. Also, interest rate subvention in certain sectors such as exports, housing and small enterprises would also help economic growth, the CII said. There may be a need to relax the fiscal deficit targets to accommodate stimulus measures, particularly for job-creating sectors, it added. On the GST front, the industry body recommended procedural changes to ease initial administrative processes. Also, input tax credit refunds for exporters need to be passed on, CII said. Highlighting the need for bank recapitalisation for enabling credit growth to revive the economy, it said that the government may consider lowering its stakes in public sector banks for this purpose.
Source : Financial Express
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$ 55.51 per barrel (bbl) on 21.09.2017. This was higher than the price of US$ 54.93 per bbl on previous publishing day of 20.09.2017. In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs. 3581.88 per bbl on 21.09.2017 as compared to Rs. 3535.42 per bbl on 20.09.2017. Rupee closed weaker at Rs. 64.53 per US$ on 21.09.2017 as compared to Rs. 64.36 per US$ on 20.09.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on September 21, 2017 (Previous trading day i.e. 20.09.2017) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
55.51 (54.93) |
|
(Rs/bbl) |
3581.88 (3535.42) |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
Source : PIB
Warangal: An all-out multi-level campaign has been launched on a war-footing against the dreaded pink bollworm attack that has been causing havoc to Bt cotton crop across India. Over the years, pink bollworm (PBW) has developed resistance to Bt cotton and during the last cotton season alone, the pest caused a crop loss ranging from 20% to 25% across the states. Some farmers even lost the entire crop as it had to be uprooted due to severe damage. This year, the loss could even go up, which could lead to major agrarian crisis, if timely checks are not implemented, experts have said. To overcome this problem, the Union government has recommended a unique RIB concept (Refugia In Bag) wherein 25 gram of non-Bt cotton seed is mixed with 450 gram of Bt cotton seed. This new RIB system makes farmers plant non-Bt plants compulsorily as seeds are mixed inside bag. Such non-Bt plants can host PBW wild insects (which are not resistant to Bt) and prevent resistance buildup in PBW by mating with mutant insects (which have developed resistance) whose progeny again lose the resistance. Earlier, farmers in general have ignored this process due to lack of awareness and fell victim to pink bollworm attack. During the current season, the National Seeds Association of India (NSAI) has taken up the issue on a war footing and revived the RIB concept. “The field staff of various seed companies has been working proactively working with the farmers to impress upon them on the need to go for RIB and save their main crop,” said NSAI president P Prabhakar Rao, who is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Nuziveedu Seeds Limited. Several seed and pesticide companies have also begun to distribute pheromone traps as part of their CSR projects. More than one lakh traps have already been pressed into action both by public and private sector establishments as a measure for awareness drive for early detection of PBW attack, NSAI said.
Source: The Hans India
Xaar, the UK-based leader in the development of inkjet technology and the leading independent manufacturer of industrial inkjet printheads, has its eyes set on the burgeoning packaging market in India. The company also sees textile printing as another important market in India. Doug Edwards, CEO, Xaar, has confirmed that the company is strengthening its business in India with its wide portfolio of inkjet printheads and new technology for a variety of print applications. Attending a press conference in Gurgaon on 19 September 2017, Edwards also outlined the importance of the Indian market to the company’s global goal to reach annual sales of 220m pound by 2020.
Doug Edwards, CEO, Xaar
Edwards said India is an important market for the company, which already the largest share in the ceramic tiles decoration market. Now, as digital printing is gaining footholds in packaging printing and in textile printing, the company sees a great potential for inkjet for these segments. The company also has products for coding and marking (Domino being one of its biggest clients). Another area that Xaar is focusing on is direct printing on product. Besides, Xaar is also looking to explore the potential in the commercial printing market. In fact, Edwards said, Asia is Xaar’s biggest market, followed by Europe and North America. “Our product revenues outside of ceramics are growing by 60%; global sales into the graphics sector grew by 33%, and we have also made good progress in our packaging and product printing markets, where global sales jumped by 54%. We expect the packaging and product printing area of the business to be about a third larger than ceramics by the end of this year. In addition, we have seen an increase in our Asian business, which now makes up 47% of the company’s overall sales,” Edwards said. Founded in 1990, Xaar, listed in London Stock Exchange, has a turnover of 96.2m pound and employee strength of 600. The company has a regional office in India for the last 13 years. Edwards said it is the only printhead manufacturer to have a local direct presence. About its ‘re-establishment’ plans in India, Edwards said the company has developed seven new products in the last 18 months. Plus, the market is ready for inkjet more than ever. “Our focus for the last two years has been to broaden our horizons into a wider range of print applications, all of which are of significant interest to our customers and partners in India. I am delighted to say that results from the first half of this year show that we are making good progress,” he said.
New High Laydown Technology
During the press conference, Edwards also announced that Xaar’s High Laydown (HL) technology, initially launched in the Ceramics market, is now available for packaging customers, enabling raised effects to be added to substrates, transforming standard labels and folding cartons into high value packaging for products that can command a premium. In ceramics applications, High Laydown allows effects such as gloss and adhesives to be applied with unprecedented laydown levels. For example, the Xaar 1003 C with HL technology can achieve a laydown of up to 90 g/m2 at 35 m/min line speed. For labels and packaging, High Laydown technology with UV varnish enables raised or tactile effects to be printed in single pass and with a single print bar – for example, the Xaar 1003 U with HL technology can achieve a varnish film thickness of 80 microns at 25 m/min line speed. Competitor offerings typically require multiple print bars or much lower line speed to achieve the same result.
Aqueous printheads
In addition, the recent printhead launches from Xaar are starting to shift the company towards a broader reach. Of particular interest to the Indian market are the Xaar 1201 and Xaar 5501, both of which are capable of handling aqueous inks. This means that OEMs looking to produce textiles or graphics printers using water-based inks now have access to robust and reliable technologies. Already making a significant impact in Asia, the Xaar 1201 is a Thin Film Piezo Silicon Micro Electrical Mechanical System (MEMS) technology printhead for printing wide-format graphics and textiles with dye sublimation, eco-solvent or aqueous inks. To complement the Xaar 1201, the company recently announced the Xaar 5501, which previewed in China a few months ago. This compact and lightweight printhead is the first product resulting from Xaar’s collaboration with Xerox, and delivers high print quality combined with low printing costs, whilst integration costs will also be kept to a minimum.
Local focus
“We are committed to supporting our customers and partners in India,” said Edwards. “Because we have a regional base in India, our customers and partners benefit from local technical expertise, a quick response and a printhead partner with a more in depth understanding of the Indian marketplace. Our focus is always on helping our customers get to market quickly with a range of products their own customers want and need. Having a local presence is the only way to serve our customers well.” Bob Bobertz, director of sales, Asia, Xaar and Namrata Sharma, commercial account Manager, India, Xaar, also attended the press conference and gave detailed presentations on the company’s latest products.
Source: Printweek India
An entrepreneur from Ukraine, taking a look at the innovative fabrics displayed at Yarnex-2017 in Showcasing a wide portfolio of value-added fabrics, yarn, fibres and accessories, the 11th edition of Yarnex International Exhibition got off to a radiant start here on Thursday. The three-day fair had participation of yarn, fabrics and accessories manufacturers from China, United States, Japan and India. “The event is now not only an one-stop sourcing destination, but has also emerged over the years as a converging point for knitters and weavers to interact with spinners and discuss the emerging technologies,” said P. Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer of S. S. Textile Media, the organiser of the fair. The current edition had witnessed a significant increase in the number of participants as 139 companies had set up stalls against 94 companies in the previous edition. Mr. Krishnamurthy said that only 28 companies took part in the first edition held a decade ago. Some of the innovative products that were on display include fire safe fabrics that have properties to retard fire, polyester fabrics with high moisture absorption properties, blended special yarn, dyed yarn, fibres made from recycling of Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles and embellishments. Earlier on the day, Tirupur Exporters Association president Raja Shanmugam inaugurated the event in the presence of TEA general secretary T. R. Vijayakumar and representatives of various other textile associations.
Source: The Hindu
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1353.69 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
VSF |
2453.37 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
ASF |
2433.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1320.99 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3270.15 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
5779.80 |
USD/Ton |
1.33% |
9/21/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
3346.20 |
USD/Ton |
0.46% |
9/21/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
1680.71 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
5749.38 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2965.95 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2585.70 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1551.42 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
3057.21 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2032.06 |
USD/Ton |
0.23% |
9/21/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2889.90 |
USD/Ton |
0.53% |
9/21/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2403.18 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2433.60 |
USD/Ton |
1.27% |
9/21/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2159.82 |
USD/Ton |
1.43% |
9/21/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
3224.52 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.43 |
USD/Meter |
0.11% |
9/21/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.43 |
USD/Meter |
0.36% |
9/21/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.23 |
USD/Meter |
0.12% |
9/21/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.72 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/21/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15210 USD dtd. 9/21/2017). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
China has moved to limit North Korea's oil supply and will stop buying textiles from the politically isolated nation, it said on Saturday. China is North Korea's most important trading partner, and one of its only sources of hard currency. The ban on textiles trade will hurt Pyongyang's income, while China's oil exports are the country's main source of petroleum products. The tougher stance follows North Korea's latest nuclear test this month. The United Nations agreed fresh sanctions - including the textiles and petroleum restrictions - in response. Media captionWas your T-shirt made in North Korea? A statement from China's commerce ministry said restrictions on refined petroleum products would apply from 1 October, and on liquefied natural gas immediately. A limited amount, allowed under the UN resolution, would still be exported to North Korea. The current volume of trade between the two countries - and how much the new limits reduce it by - is not yet clear. But the ban on textiles - Pyongyang's second-biggest export - is expected to cost the country more than $700m (£530m) a year.China and Russia had initially opposed a proposal from the United States to completely ban oil exports, but later agreed to the reduced measures. North Korea has little energy production of its own, but does refine some petroleum products from crude oil it imports - which is not included in the new ban. The AFP news agency reports that petrol prices in Pyongyang have risen by about 20% in the past two months. "It was $1.90 yesterday, today it is $2," a petrol station employee told the agency. "I expect the price will go up in the future." North Korea also produces coal, some $1.2bn of which was exported to China in 2016, but China had already strictly limited its imports of North Korean coal earlier this year. North Korea's foreign minister is expected to speak at the United Nations General Assembly later on Saturday, amid an escalating war of words between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump. The North Korean leader earlier labelled Mr Trump "mentally deranged" and a "dotard" while Mr Trump labelled Mr Kim a "madman" in response.
Source : BBC News
LONDON (Reuters) - Euro zone private businesses ended the third quarter growing much more strongly than predicted, bolstered by manufacturers, according to a survey which showed the momentum should carry on into October. That energy, alongside rising inflationary pressures, is likely to increase expectations the European Central Bank will announce plans next month to reduce its monthly spending on quantitative easing. IHS Markit’s euro zone Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for September, seen as a good guide to economic growth, bounced to 56.7 from August’s 55.7, comfortably above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction. September's reading was above all forecasts in a Reuters poll, which had predicted a dip to 55.5. The euro gained 0.4 percent to $1.1989 EUR=, on track to end the week higher. Earlier PMIs from Germany and France showed activity in the bloc’s two biggest economies also exceeded the top end of expectations in Reuters polls. “The euro zone PMI suggests that the economy remains very strong and will embolden policymakers at the ECB. Indeed, the price indices of the Composite PMI also picked up in September,” said Stephen Brown at Capital Economics. The PMI pointed to third-quarter growth of 0.7 percent, IHS Markit said, faster than the median forecast in a Reuters poll last week for 0.5 percent. The upturn came despite businesses increasing prices at one of the fastest rates this year. The output price index rose to 52.6 from 52.1. “This rounds out a run of data that provide evidence of building pipeline inflation pressures. This will help to build a case for ECB tapering next year,” said Bert Colijn at ING. The ECB will announce in October a six-month extension to its asset purchase program but will cut how much it buys each month to 40 billion euros from January, a Reuters poll of economists found last week. The PMI for manufacturing soared to 58.2 from 57.4, confounding expectations for a fall to 57.1 and chalking up its highest reading since February 2011. An index measuring output rose to a 6 1/2-year high of 59.5 from 58.3. Suggesting the solid pace would be maintained next month, factories built up a surplus of orders at the steepest rate in the sub-index’s 15-year history. The backlogs of work index was 57.8, compared with August’s 57.1. “Firms are scrambling to expand capacity as fast as possible to meet order-book growth and rising backlogs is presenting them with huge problems,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit. Companies in the bloc’s dominant service industry also had a much better month than expected - their PMI rose to 55.6. A Reuters poll had predicted no change from August’s 54.7. With activity thriving and new orders flooding in, their optimism also increased. The business expectations index jumped to 66.1 from 64.0.
Source : Returns
FAISALABAD: Economic revolution in the country can only be possible through trade promotion and the government is extending all possible support to export industries in an effort to achieve optimum growth, said Haji Akram Ansari, Minister of State for Commerce and Textile Industry. “Textile industry is the backbone of the national economy and remedial measures are being taken to save this sector,” declared Ansari while speaking at the annual general meeting of the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA). ‘Textile industry consumes more water than needed’. “The government is fully committed to expediting the growth of commerce to the maximum possible level by using all available means. The prime minister’s package has helped in attaining competitive edge in the international market,” he said.Ansari underlined the need for serious and well-planned efforts for increasing value addition, especially in the textile sector, for capturing a higher share in regional and international markets. “With support of the masses, we will overcome the challenges being faced by the country,” he said while emphasising that the future of Pakistan was very bright and all resources would be mobilised for developing the country according to the wishes and dreams. Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Minister for Commerce, Trade and Industries Sheikh Allauddin said the government was committed to providing all possible facilities to the business community, which was playing a major role in bringing economic stability. He expressed the belief that no country could achieve economic targets without the due role played by exporters and said the government was making efforts to overcome the export challenges. Earlier, newly elected PTEA Chairman Shaiq Jawed argued that the rising cost of doing business had not only stalled fresh investment in the textile industry, but it also hampered export growth. He asked the government to devise a comprehensive strategy to counter the issue in order to accelerate the pace of industrialisation and save livelihood of millions of workers. ‘Govt responsible for decline in textile exports’ “Pakistan’s exports are under pressure due to prevailing economic, financial and industrial crisis as well as persistently high cost of production, heavy burden of taxes and high energy cost,” he said. Outgoing PTEA chairman Ajmal Farooq, presenting his annual report, termed the prime minister’s export package and payment of long outstanding tax refunds positive moves, which would definitely help accelerate industrialisation in the country. “Our exporters have held their ground against heavy odds and achieved the targets,” he remarked.
Source: The Express Tribune
FAISALABAD - The government strongly believes that economic revolution in the country can only be possible through trade promotion and all possible support to export sector is being extended to achieve optimum growth. Textile industry is the backbone of economy and remedial measures are being taken to save this sector. These views were expressed by Haji Muhammad Akram Ansari, Minister of State for Commerce and Textile Industry, while addressing the 31st annual general meeting of Pakistan Textile Exporters Association. He said that government is fully committed to expedite growth of commerce to maximum possible level by using all available means. Prime Minister's package has helped in attaining competitive edge in international market. He underlined the need for serious and well-planned efforts for increasing value-addition especially in textile sector for capturing more share in the regional and international markets. With support of the masses, we will overcome the challenges being faced by the country, he said and added that future of Pakistan is very bright and all resources will be mobilize for converting Pakistan according to wishes and dreams. Addressing the members, Provincial Minister for Commerce, Trade and Industries Sheikh Allauddin said that government is committed to imparting all possible facilities to the business community as it is playing a major role in bringing economic stability. No country could achieve economic targets without the due role of exporters; therefore government is making all-out efforts to overcome export challenges. Earlier, newly elected Chairman PTEA Shaiq Jawed, addressing the participants, said that rising cost of doing business has not only stalled fresh investment in the textile industry but have also hampered the export growth. Govt should devise a comprehensive strategy to counter the issue in order to accelerate the industrial pace and also to save livelihood of millions of workers. Pakistani exports are under pressure due to prevailing economic financial, industrial crisis in the country as well as persistently high cost of production, heavy burden of taxes and high energy cost which are badly affecting the industrial and trade activities and productivity output. He appreciated the successful efforts of outgoing team in resolving the issues confronting exports. Outgoing Chairman Ajmal Farooq, presenting his annual report, said that despite big challenges, it was wonderful experience representing as chairman of the country's premier association of textile manufacturers and exporters. During the year, utmost efforts were made to look after the trade related issues of members by advocating their voice at appropriate forums. He termed the Prime Minister's package and payment of long outstanding refunds as positive which will definitely help to accelerated industrial pace in the country. Notwithstanding the fact that Pakistan's economy has lost significant momentum, our exporters have held their ground against heavy odds and achieved the export targets. He expressed the hope that new team will continue the efforts to strengthen the linkages with the local and international businesses to promote and protect the interests of textile industry. Later, shields and photo albums were presented to the outgoing chairman. Large number of textile exporters attended the meeting.
Source: The Nation
A view of the Pacific Crystal textile factory in Lai Vu commune, Kin Thanh district, northern Vietnam's Hai Duong province, Sept. 2017. Protesters in northern Vietnam’s Hai Duong province have vowed to continue blocking the entrance to a textile factory that has polluted local water supplies, despite threats from local authorities, until the company ceases operation and moves from the area. For more than two years, Hong Kong-owned Pacific Crystal has been discharging smoke into the air which people have described as “horrible” and smelling like “burnt plastic.” Noise from its production operations has prevented residents from sleeping at night, and water in the vicinity has turned black, protesters said. When locals detected the foul smell in the area a year ago and found it coming from water discharged by the mill, they reported it to the local government, which they say has failed to address and resolve the problem. Since April, they have been setting up tents in front of the factory building to prevent workers from entering, effectively forcing Pacific Crystal to cease operation in Hai Duong, a highly industrialized province 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of the capital Hanoi. Local government officials have failed to persuade the protesters to move the tents because residents of Lai Vu commune in the province's Kim Thanh district, said they do not trust administrators who have promised to stop the pollution. A resident who requested anonymity told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that the group of protesters are still manning the tents around the clock to keep tabs on the textile plant which serves global fashion brands, including Japan’s Uniqlo. She said authorities have continuously threatened the protesters in person and via loudspeakers to try to convince them to remove the tents so the mill can reopen. “The authorities are still threatening us, saying that what we are doing is illegal and that we have to demolish the tents immediately, but we haven’t listened to them,” she said. “We told each other that we are determined to prevent the company from operating under any circumstances,” she said. “We take turns staying in the tents to keep watch, both day and night.” “When they [authorities] came to meet with us, we said that we can’t let it operate again because we’ve been suffering from the pollution for so long — more than two years,” she said. The protester said local government officials tried to persuade them to let the company operate at 50 percent of its capacity, and only return to full capacity once it has implemented a wastewater treatment system, but they rejected the proposal. “We said we didn’t believe them!” she said. “From time to time, they have lied to us and deceived us. We are determined to keep the tents!” A large tent set up by Vietnamese protesters blocks the entrance to the Pacific Crystal textile factory in Lai Vu Commune, Kim Thanh district, in northern Vietnam's Hai Duong province, Sept. 2017.
Acknowledgement of facts
On Sept. 19, local authorities held a news conference to acknowledge the pollution and that people have set up tents to observe the company’s activities. They said they would allow the company to remedy the situation and resume its operations, and warned that if it pollutes the environment again, it would be closed permanently. Nguyen Hong Son, director of Hai Duong’s Propaganda and Training Department, said that the province will get rid of the tents and punish those who try to provoke public disorder in the area. At the press conference, Pacific Crystal executives promised not to discharge any more toxic wastewater and said it is creating an environmental protection system at the request of Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. When RFA contacted Pacific Textiles Holdings Ltd., the parent company of Pacific Crystal, on Sept. 21, the secretary to Director General Simon Chou said he had no further information on the situation. “We have worked closely with the local government for a very long time to solve the problem,” said the man who did not give his name. “We do not currently have any specific plans for the future, but I think the best way forward is to work with and rely on the local government.” Pacific Textiles and garment maker Crystal Group opened the factory in Hai Duong in 2015 as a joint venture with a reported initial investment of at least U.S. $180 million, according to a Reuters report in July. The company previously said that its factory in Vietnam had discharged wastewater only once, on Dec. 24, 2016, and that it had not reached a river, Reuters said. A company official said the factory had taken measures to stop further wastewater discharges with help from the local government. When RFA contacted Bui Do Dat, vice president of Lai Vu commune, prior to the news conference, he said that officials would address and resolve the problem at the event, but provided no further information. During a previous interview, Dat told RFA that locals had discovered that Pacific Crystal was discharging waste and began protesting by setting up the tents. At the time, Dat also said that residents affected by the pollution should receive individual compensation, but because the company had discharged effluent into a common water system and river, the damage to individuals could not be determined. “That’s why they can’t compensate anyone in particular,” he said. “We can only punish the company for causing pollution in general.” A channel carries wastewater discharge from Pacific Crystal textile factory in Lai Vu commune, Kim Thanh district, in northern Vietnam's Hai Duong province, Sept. 2017.
Authorities fine factory
Authorities fined Pacific Crystal 672 million dong (U.S. $29,100) for releasing toxic wastewater last December and hit the firm with a 340 million dong (U.S. $14,725) fine in April after it failed to supply documents and reports they requested. The factory was discharging between 1,500 cubic meters and 2,000 cubic meters of wastewater a day, according to an announcement that accompanied the first penalty, Vietnam’s Tuoi Tre News reported in February. Despite the levying of fines, villagers continued to accuse the factory of polluting the environment and set up their tent blockade on April 12. They told RFA that they will not comply with authorities’ request to dismantle the tents until the company leaves the area. “We are determined to fight, even if it requires bloodshed!” said the female protester. When residents from Lai Vu commune previously went to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to ask for help, they were promised that the problem would be resolved, she said. When RFA asked her what the protesters still demanded, she said they want the central government to clear up the issue. “To be honest we are sick of doing this [staying in the tents to watch the company] because it takes so much time,” she said. “Nevertheless, we can’t have peace of mind at all if we allow it to continue operating.” “It discharges waste directly into the environment,” she said. “The chemicals that come out are unbearable for us.” Protests against foreign-owned factories that emit pollutants in Vietnam are not uncommon and pose a challenge to the communist state’s authority. A toxic spill by Taiwan-owned Formosa Plastics Group in central Vietnam in April 2016 that polluted more than 125 miles of coastline along four provinces prompted a slew of protests by residents, fishermen and tourism industry workers who lost their food supply and livelihoods to the environmental disaster
Source: Radio Free Asia
ITMA 2019, the world's largest textile and garment technology exhibition, will focus on smart garment technologies as robots and artificial intelligence are set to revolutionalise the industry. The trade event scheduled to be held during June 20-26, 2019 in Spain, is expected to feature a wide range of innovative solutions for manufacturing. The exhibition will showcase an integrated textile and garment manufacturing value chain. In addition to machinery, exhibits will also include yarns, fibres and fabrics, and solutions for technical textiles and nonwovens, and garment making. "The garment making industry is labour intensive and associated with low productivity. Things are set to change. Recently, there has been much publicity about 'sewbots', considered as a major breakthrough in garment automation. Manufacturers fast enough to ride the digital wave will find new opportunities and gain an edge over their competitors," Fritz P Mayer, president of CEMATEX, which owns the ITMA exhibition, said in a press release. "The digitisation of the fashion industry means that their suppliers will need to seamlessly integrate their design, material supply and production of the finished products. With integrated solutions, garment manufacturers will be able to respond well to fast and flexible production turnarounds and cut costs by increasing productivity and reducing wastes," elaboated AE Roberts, managing director of ITMA Services, organiser of ITMA 2019. "We are glad that there is a resurgence of textile and garment making in Europe as this benefits the Portuguese textile and apparel industry. Our manufacturers can be more competitive by improving competencies through branding, innovation and R&D," said Paulo Vaz, general director of the Textile and Apparel Association of Portugal. "By incorporating technological and creative innovation to differentiate our products, we can expand our markets. As such, it is critical for us to continually evaluate and invest in new technologies. ITMA 2019, which will be held in neighbouring Spain, will be an excellent platform for our manufacturers to explore integrated solutions, ranging from textile and garment technologies to fibres, yarns and fabrics," Vaz added. Besides a big display of technologies, fibres, yarns and fabrics, the exhibition will also host conferences and meetings that will add value to the visits of garment technology buyers, as well as brands and retailers. "An exhibition such as ITMA 2019, where we can explore all the solutions, from textile to garment making, and even materials, in one location is ideal for our members. We will be organising a delegation of top garment manufacturers to study the latest trends and source new technologies that we can implement in our factories," said Vu Duc Giang, chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association.
Source: fibre2Fashion
Today, the NAFTA supply chain is a success story—with significant production and sales in all three countries that create jobs and offer consumers better products at better prices. The trade agreement remains one of the most important—and most used—Free Trade Agreements for textile and apparel companies as well as retailers and brands. The Western Hemisphere supply chain is an essential element in global sourcing today. And we have forged successful partnerships over the past 20-plus years that bring together top performers in all three countries. This week, our thoughts are with colleagues in Mexico as they deal with devastating earthquakes. The outpouring of sympathy and assistance, reflects the close ties and long-standing friendship between the United States and Mexico. And in the last few weeks, as we’ve been worried about colleagues in Houston, the Caribbean and Florida, our North American Free Trade Agreement partners have been among the first to offer assistance. Industry associations representing apparel brands, retailers, and manufacturers in Canada, Mexico, and the United States came together this week with a joint statement to the negotiators who are meeting in Ottawa for the third round of talks to update NAFTA. Our message is that the negotiators need to support a modernized NAFTA that will lead to more job creation and commercial opportunities within—and among—our three countries.
What does this mean?
NAFTA should remain permanent to give companies the predictability to continue to make long-term investments in sourcing and in manufacturing. It also means NAFTA needs to maintain the balance of innovative flexibilities that exist today to support the fashion industry. By definition, the fashion industry needs flexibility–today’s fashion trends develop with lightning speed and NAFTA allows companies to respond immediately. Proposals to make NAFTA more restrictive would disrupt the supply chain that brings us together. That is why 10 associations came together to support this message–and to specifically say that the existing Tariff Preference Levels (TPLs) are an essential flexibility that maximizes the ability to use North American content in our members’ global supply chains. We tell the negotiators, “Retaining, at a minimum, the size and scope of the TPLs is essential to ensuring that these supply chains, and the North American jobs they support, are not harmed.” We ask for support from the Canadian, Mexican, and U.S. negotiators to update NAFTA in a way that will continue the current trade and opportunities for businesses, workers and consumers in all three of our countries.
Source: Sourcing Journal Online
Cotton prices kept their grip on 69 cents, basis December, during the week. But short-term signals and long-term fundamentals continue to favor the market testing its 65 cent price support. While the market does have a few bullish factors on its side, the realization of a 119-121 million bale crop is expected to keep the bull fighting for every point it can muster. The October contract moved to first notice without any fanfare. The potential for a price squeeze held the only potential for a near-term rally. Thus, the December contract is now left with the reality of December futures slipping lower. The trading range has tightened, but the 65 cent floor remains in play, while upside potential falls back to 71 cents – and still with a downward bias. As noted last week, the market must come to terms with the bigger than expected Indian and Chinese crops. Post hurricane data adjustments by USDA will reduce the currently estimated 21.7 million bale U.S. crop, possibly to as low as 19.5 to 20.0 million bales. However, the world crop will still total 119 million bales, if not larger. Further, on the side of the bears, is that world ending stocks, as well as Indian and U.S. ending stocks, will increase. It is the combination of these supply fundamentals that will keep the 70 cent lid on prices and continue to push prices lower. Yet, the market must account for the bull’s argument for higher prices. The bulls do have a point to make. However, as impressive as the bullish fundamentals factors are, the supply side of the price equation is simply dominated by excessive stocks. Nonetheless, it is these bullish factors that will likely work to hold the December contract at its 65 cent price support level and keep the market from facing a test of 62 cents. First, USDA continues to insist that the Indian stock level is 14.6 million bales versus the 8-9 million bales most analyst predict. When (or should) USDA comes to grips with this issue, its adjustment could well add several cents to the market. At current levels, a very general rule of thumb would be a one cent-plus price increase for every one million bale drop in Indian stocks. Additionally, as earlier stated, the USDA estimate of the U.S. crop will likely be lowered to between 19.5 and 20.0 million bales. This will influence USDA to lower its current export estimate of 14.9 million bales as the big Indian crop becomes more available to the export market. Yet, more importantly, U.S. ending carryover will be also lowered. Further price support will come from mill on-call sales, which set a record for the third straight week at 132,649 contracts (13,264,900 bales) – up 1,569 contracts (156,900 bales) on the week. Other bullish factors include the overwhelming success of daily auction sales by the Chinese National Reserve. The Chinese have been hard and true to their announced cotton market reforms. Too, coupled with the political economic power of the government, China is disappearing their stock level much more orderly and rapidly than any thought possible. One remarkable feature of this is that the Chinese are on the cusp of becoming a major world importer after a decade-plus period of building inventory through excessive domestic production. That is, the government has learned that it is at a comparative disadvantage in the production of cotton. This season’s Reserve sales have totaled slightly above 14 million bales. The sale period has just one week to go, and the yearly sales could climb to 14.6-14.7 million bales, some 2-4 million bales more than had been expected. Additionally, the Reserve stocks balance will fall to below 25 million bales – down to approximately 24.3 million bales remaining for the 2018 round of auctions. As stated several times over the past two years, the Chinese auction program has been very efficient, with the plus of maintaining stability in the world cotton market. Further, the program has proven to be an integral part in increasing Chinese cotton consumption, thus adding a spark to world cotton consumption. Finally, another bullish price factor on cotton’s side – again from China – is the increase in price of polyester. China has come to recognize the significant environmental damage caused by polyester production. Chinese polyester production has been centered in heavily populated areas. Water and air pollution has far exceeded acceptable standards. Too, developed countries are discovering more and more polyester micro particles in their drinking water, as well as their food supply. Because of this environmental bombshell brought about by polyester production, the Chinese government has shuttered some plants, reduced the capacity of others, and is now limiting the construction of new polyester production facilities. Thus, polyester prices have eased higher as supplies have been trimmed. China – accounting for the bulk of the world’s polyester production – has raised polyester prices over 6 cents since January 2017. The September 21 quote was 60.96 cents per pound, or 8975 RMB per metric ton. These bullish factors will not likely have much price impact until the nearby trading begins to focus on the May and July 2018 contracts and on the new crop 2018-19 contracts. Thus, for now, we must be content to trade the big world crop – even in the face of improving consumption – and fight the price battle between 65 and 71 cents.
Source: Cotton Grower
The Federal Trade Commission is taking further steps to ensure that clothing, fur and textile labels are accurate and effective in protecting consumers in the U.S. On Friday, the FTC announced that it will streamline requirements under the Fur, Textile and Wool labeling rules, as part of acting chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen’s regulatory reform plan. “Regulations can be important tools in protecting consumers, but when they are outdated, excessive, or unnecessary, they can create significant burdens on the U.S. economy, with little benefit. Private firms face constant market pressure to innovate and improve, and I see no reason why government should operate any differently,” said Ohlhausen. “American taxpayers should expect nothing less from us.” The FTC is updating the rules to apply web-based electronic filings of requests to cancel, obtain or update registered identification numbers (RN) used on fur, textile and wool product labels. The web-based RN system will foster a more seamless application process for participating companies and boost the agency’s label compliance services to consumers. FTC’s site now features real-time data validation for users and alerts them about potential errors in labeling to avoid delays. The system currently has more than 140,000 entries and the FTC urges industry members with RN numbers to visit the website to verify that their information is correct.
FTC rules dictate that most apparel, fur and textile products must contain a label that identifies the manufacturer responsible for handling and marketing the item. With the updated RN system, companies may easily obtain an RN without having to put extended company names on labels. Under the textiles umbrella, the FTC is also seeking public comment to remove obsolete provisions of its Textile Labeling Rules, which require marketers to attach labels to textile products that disclose the manufacturer or marketer’s name, the nation where the product was produced and the generic names and percentages by weight of fibers in the product. Marketers are also allowed to disclose a trademark used as a “housemark”— a distinctive mark used to identify a marketer or manufacturer’s products—on the tag instead of their business name. This exception is only available to companies if they first register their housemark with the FTC. Established in 1959, this provision is obsolete as trademark owners can now be found easily online or through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Website. The FTC published the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Textile Rule in June and alerted industry members to post public comments by Aug. 31 for review.
Source: Journal Online
