"Six groups will be formed to prepare the groundwork for that meeting. They would submit their reports to the minister, which will be discussed on October 6," the government official, who did not want to be named, said. Suresh Prabhu to meet stakeholders on ways to boost exports Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu will hold detailed deliberations with the stakeholders concerned on October 6 on ways to boost exports of goods and services, an official said. "Six groups will be formed to prepare the groundwork for that meeting. They would submit their reports to the minister, which will be discussed on October 6," the government official, who did not want to be named, said. The groups will consist of members from trade, the industry and the government. The reports will be prepared on how to integrate India with the global value chain, compatibility of export schemes with the norms of World Trade Organisation (WTO), promotion of exports of labour-intensive sectors, facilitating exports of knowledge-based industries like IT and pharma, services exports and the e-commerce segment. The meeting assumes significance as exporters are facing issues over implementation of the Goods and Services tax (GST) and other matters including those of WTO. According to a WTO rule, when a member country's per capita gross national income breaches the cap of USD 1,000 continuously for three years, it will not be able to extend export subsidies to traders. Similarly, WTO member countries, including the US, Turkey and Japan, have asked India to phase out export subsidies on textiles and apparel sectors because as per WTO data, India's export has crossed the 3.25 per cent threshold of the world trade consecutively for two years. The commerce ministry is also working on reviewing the foreign trade policy (FTP), which is unlikely to be released this month. There were plans to announce it this month. The country's exports recorded a double-digit growth of 10.29 per cent after a gap of three months to USD 23.81 billion in August. Key sectors which recorded healthy growth last month in exports include petroleum, engineering and marine products. However, handicraft, gems and jewellery and fruits and vegetables saw contraction.
Source: Money Control
Traders may get IGST exemption on imported inputs that currently don’t face basic customs duty
Exporters may get an outright exemption from the integrated goods and services tax (IGST) on imported inputs that currently don’t face basic customs duty to help perk up the sector, which has been hit hard by rupee appreciation, said government officials. Also under consideration is a refund mechanism for taxes paid on local inputs used by exporters, they said. A final call on the matter will be taken by the GST Council, when it meets on October 6. “A scheme is under discussion... It could be taken up by the council,” said one of the officials. The proposal is under close examination, said another official. Exporters had access to duty-free inputs under the previous tax regime. Some of these inputs continue to be exempt from basic customs duty, but face IGST. Industry wants at least these inputs exempted under the GST regime to begin with. The industry says outright exemption would provide long-term solution to its woes. Exporters had access to duty-free inputs under the previous tax regime. Some of these inputs continue to be exempt from basic customs duty, but face IGST. Industry wants at least these inputs exempted under the GST regime to begin with. The industry says outright exemption would provide long-term solution to its woes. “The biggest issue for exporters at present is liquidity. Firstly, there is issue of blocked refunds and the other is that payment of taxes has to be done upfront. Banks do not provide loans for payment of taxes… Exemption will help provide a solution on a long-term basis. Expeditious refunds will help address the immediate problem of liquidity,” said Ajay Sahai, director-general of the lobby group Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). Embedding of taxes makes Indian products uncompetitive as other nations do not levy any tax on goods meant for export. The problem has been compounded for exporters as there has been a delay in the refund of taxes they paid on inputs, leading to working capital issues. If the GST Council decides on such a framework for exporters, it will resolve the issue of cash flows and bring them on par with their foreign counterparts. The government is keen to address issues concerning exports expeditiously since the sector contributes substantially to job creation, as it seeks to revive growth that slumped to to a three-year-low in the June quarter. “The issue is being looked at with a sense of urgency,” said the second official. The government will ensure that the local industry isn’t put to any disadvantage on account of the strategy to help exporters. Finance ministry officials have been holding intensive deliberations on the framework of the scheme. They discussed the matter on Monday and will meet on Tuesday with commerce department counterparts. Exporters, particularly the smaller ones, have begun to face working capital issues with tax refunds getting stuck after the rollout of GST on July 1. They are also unable to price their products for advance Christmas orders as there is no clarity on refunds yet, in what could have ramifications for the broader exports sector.
RUPEE’S CLIMB HURTING EXPORTS
The rupee’s climb has eroded export competitiveness, with the currency strengthening more than 4% against the dollar since the beginning of the year, prompting intervention by the central bank, experts have said. The rupee closed at 65.12 versus the dollar on Monday, the lowest in six months amid global and domestic worries. Excluding the fall in the local unit’s value in the past few trading sessions, the rupee has gained about 5.50% this year. According to FIEO, the cumulative order book position is down 15-20% from the year earlier. India exported goods worth $274.6 billion in FY17, just 4.7% higher than $262.2 billion in FY16. Exporters have claimed that refunds worth Rs 65,000 crore in the July-October period are stuck. The government has disputed this figure. According to another government official, refunds worth only about Rs 600 crore for July have been held up. Moreover, over 60% of exporters have opted for the previously available duty drawback scheme. The refunds issue has cropped up largely due to the extension in the filing date for returns following technical glitches in the GST Network. At its last meeting on September 9, the GST Council had set up a committee headed by revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia to look into the issues faced by exporters and draw up a plan for their resolution. The panel held detailed discussions with exporters and is now working on a framework to resolve them.
Source: The Economic Times
Uion Government to implement it from October 1
Reduction in drawback rates will be a blow to textile and clothing exports, according to industry sources here. The Union Government has announced revised drawback rates that will come into effect from October 1. The Apparel Export Promotion Council said it was in consultation with the drawback committee and the ministries concerned for consideration of several embedded and blocked taxes that are not covered in GST or drawback. The industry was expecting continuation of the present drawback rates till the consultations were completed. The low drawback rate announced for apparels is a blow when the industry is facing continuous decline in exports, said the council in a press release. The Union Government announced a special package in 2016 to boost garment and made-up exports and enhanced the drawback rates and ROSL under it. The reduction in drawback rates now removes the benefits for exporters. The levies have undergone changes under GST and the Government should take into consideration these too. It should refund all the blocked, embedded taxes and levies and also the accumulated input tax credit. The Government should have a re-look at the drawback rates for textiles, said chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association, P. Nataraj. There is 7%-8% month-on-month drop in readymade garment exporters and the main reason cited is appreciation of rupee against the dollar. When exports are already under stress and when the industry is not clear on the input tax credit that would be available, the industry should be supported, added Prabhu Dhamodaran, secretary of Indian Texpreneurs Federation.
Source: The Hindu
Reacting to the drawback rates announced by the Government in the wake of GST regime Mr. Ganesh Kumar Gupta President FIEO said that the new drawback rates basically factors the basic customs duty on the inputs used in export production. However lot of embedded taxes like taxes on power & electricity taxes on petroleum & diesel products embedded taxes on products which are exempt also add to the burden of the exporters. He urged that Government of India should look into offsetting these taxes suitably. President FIEO said that merchant exporters are exporting goods procured from EOUs and SEZs while paying the basic customs duty on the inputs used in such products and therefore the duty drawback rates should be made available to them by amending the Notification providing drawback irrespective of goods manufactured by the 100% EOUs/ SEZs. President FIEO said that since the facility of composite drawback would not be available from 1st October 2017 the refund to the export sector may be allowed expeditiously as stated by the Ministry of Finance in its Press Release today. Meanwhile while welcoming the Press Note issued by the Ministry of Finance on the blockage of working capital of exporters Mr Ganesh Kumar President FIEO said that he is extremely happy that Government is sensitive to the liquidity problem of the exporters and looking at the options to resolve it. Mr Gupta welcomed the decision to allow refund to the export sector based on GSTR1 & 3B as proposed by FIEO in its meeting with the Ministry of Finance. The expeditious settlement of pending refund claims of Central Excise as well as VAT will also add to the liquidity flow of the exporters observed FIEO Chief. FIEO said that the projection of the refund was taken looking into the merchandise as well as the services sectors. These figures were based on estimation of blocked refund from July to October 2017. Mr Gupta said that the proactive approach of the Government in resolving the working capital requirement will give much required support to the export sector and will assure the exporters about Government’s commitment to provide the refund in a time bound manner.
Source: Tecoya Trend
The Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) is highly disturbed by the latest Duty Drawback rates announced by the Government. The SRTEPC had been appealing to the concerned authorities in the Government at various forums justifying the need to enhance in Duty Drawback rates. Mr. Narain Aggarwal SRTEPC stated here that Government is well aware about the prevailing conditions in the textile industry that had been in the negative territory for more than previous two years and hence should have shown some more positive gesture by increasing the Drawback rates. The current global competition is neck to neck and business margins in textiles are the thinnest than ever. If Government does not support the exporters letting them receive refund of the various un-rebated duties paid by them by way of compensating Drawback rates then exports are likely to fall further and more than 30% of textile manufacturing units will be closed done. This will create both employment and foreign exchange crisis in the country Shri Aggarwal has added. There is however a positive ray in the latest Drawback list with a slight upward change in the rates but that’s too only for seven manmade fibre items SRTEPC Chairman pointed out. Post implementation of the GST regime Mr. Aggarwal said there has been an overall blockage of working capital across the textile industry. The 18% GST on spun textured fully drawn warp & knit yarns and 5% GST on fabrics with no Input Tax Credit (ITC) refund mechanism have created huge accumulation of unutilized ITC. This has left the huge embedded tax of 13% (18% - 5%=13%) which needs to be compensated to weavers in terms of Duty Drawback. Moreover there are still various unadjusted duties/taxes such Transmission charges Electricity Duty Cross subsidy on electricity bills Water Cess Green tax local body taxes road taxes labour cess etc. Average percentage of such blocked un-rebated State input taxes and duties is about 5% of FOB value of the textiles exported. Therefore according to Mr. Aggarwal government should consciously consider revision of the Duty Drawback rates upwards to 5% for fabrics and made ups and this will certainly help is generation of more employment growth in production and exports and foreign exchange earnings he added. He also stated that as per WTO rules no country should export taxes and the Duty Drawback is the WTO compatible mechanism for refund of taxes and duties paid by the exporters.
Source: Tecoya Trend
Exporters had access to duty-free inputs under the previous tax regime. Some of these inputs continue to be exempt from basic customs duty, but face IGST. Exporters may get an outright exemption from the integrated goods and services tax (IGST) on imported inputs that currently don’t face basic customs duty to help perk up the sector, which has been hit hard by rupee appreciation, said government officials. Also under consideration is a refund mechanism for taxes paid on local inputs used by exporters, they said. A final call on the matter will be taken by the GST Council, when it meets on October 6. “A scheme is under discussion... It could be taken up by the council,” said one of the officials. The proposal is under close examination, said another official. Exporters had access to duty-free inputs under the previous tax regime. Some of these inputs continue to be exempt from basic customs duty, but face IGST. Industry wants at least these inputs exempted under the GST regime to begin with. The industry says outright exemption would provide long-term solution to its woes. “The biggest issue for exporters at present is liquidity. Firstly, there is issue of blocked refunds and the other is that payment of taxes has to be done upfront. Banks do not provide loans for payment of taxes… Exemption will help provide a solution on a long-term basis. Expeditious refunds will help address the immediate problem of liquidity,” said Ajay Sahai, director-general of the lobby group Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). Embedding of taxes makes Indian products uncompetitive as other nations do not levy any tax on goods meant for export. The problem has been compounded for exporters as there has been a delay in the refund of taxes they paid on inputs, leading to working capital issues. If the GST Council decides on such a framework for exporters, it will resolve the issue of cash flows and bring them on par with their foreign counterparts. The government is keen to address issues concerning exports expeditiously since the sector contributes substantially to job creation, as it seeks to revive growth that slumped to a three-year-low in the June quarter. “The issue is being looked at with a sense of urgency,” said the second official. The government will ensure that the local industry isn’t put to any disadvantage on account of the strategy to help exporters. Finance ministry officials have been holding intensive deliberations on the framework of the scheme. They discussed the matter on Monday and will meet on Tuesday with commerce department counterparts. Exporters, particularly the smaller ones, have begun to face working capital issues with tax refunds getting stuck after the rollout of GST on July 1. They are also unable to price their products for advance Christmas orders as there is no clarity on refunds yet, in what could have ramifications for the broader exports sector.
RUPEE’S CLIMB HURTING EXPORTS
The rupee’s climb has eroded export competitiveness, with the currency strengthening more than 4% against the dollar since the beginning of the year, prompting intervention by the central bank, experts have said. The rupee closed at 65.12 versus the dollar on Monday, the lowest in six months amid global and domestic worries. Excluding the fall in the local unit’s value in the past few trading sessions, the rupee has gained about 5.50% this year. According to FIEO, the cumulative order book position is down 15-20% from the year earlier. India exported goods worth $274.6 billion in FY17, just 4.7% higher than $262.2 billion in FY16. Exporters have claimed that refunds worth Rs 65,000 crore in the July-October period are stuck. The government has disputed this figure. According to another government official, refunds worth only about Rs 600 crore for July have been held up. Moreover, over 60% of exporters have opted for the previously available duty drawback scheme. The refunds issue has cropped up largely due to the extension in the filing date for returns following technical glitches in the GST Network. At its last meeting on September 9, the GST Council had set up a committee headed by revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia to look into the issues faced by exporters and draw up a plan for their resolution. The panel held detailed discussions with exporters and is now working on a framework to resolve them. ET View: Refund Exporters Swiftly. An outright exemption may not be in line with GST law. In any case, there’s provision for exporters to provide a bond or letter of undertaking to avoid IGST. There’s also much scope for faster refund of taxes already paid, by better leveraging IT for instance. Shipping bills having IGST invoice need to be deemed as application for prompt refund of taxes paid along the value chain.
Source: The Economic Times
According to a report by Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India (ICRA), disruptions caused by demonetisation and transition to GST regime has narcotised the Indian apparel and fabric industry The Indian textiles and apparel industry which accounts for almost 24 per cent of the world’s spindle capacity and 8 per cent of global rotor capacity has been struggling due to the impacts of demonetisation and goods and services tax (GST). According to a report by Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India (ICRA), disruptions caused by demonetisation and transition to GST regime has narcotised the Indian apparel and fabric industry. The production declined by one per cent in the first quarter of fiscal 2017-18 in the highly fragmented fabric segment, which witnessed a de-growth — a phase of planned and equitable economic contraction — of two per cent in the previous fiscal. The report also adds that ‘India's apparel exports continue to remain volatile with the global trade not showing any signs of improvement amid subdued demand trends in the key importing countries’. Shweta Sharma, Founder, Ombrelane.com, told BW Businessworld, “GST rollout will likely have a negative impact on the fashion/textile Industry in the short term shopping for clothes will become expensive and is bound to have an impact on the top line. However, in the longer term, things should smoothen out and fashion industry should benefit from a more efficient value chain and streamlined tax structure.” Stating the causes for this volatility and de-growth, the report says, ‘Apart from the demand pressures, high raw material prices and currency movements continue to weigh on the industry's performance, which has been visible in the profitability of manufacturers over the past three-quarters.’ “Demonetization had an impact on both organized and unorganized sectors of the fashion industry. In the short term, both offline and online retailers experienced a dip in sales however, at the same time adoption of cards and digital wallets increased. While demonetization brought a temporary slump in the fashion market, the effects seem to have already been neutralized,” added Sharma. The textiles industry has been a major contributor to the national economy in terms of direct and indirect employment generation and net foreign exchange earnings. The sector contributed about 14 per cent to industrial production, 4 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP), and 27 per cent to the country's foreign exchange inflows, the previous year. The employment to over 45 million people also rests on it. Thus, reviving the sector must be on the government’s priority list.
Source: Business world
Siwerloom capital of Maharashtra, crawls back to life after the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), it is still struggling to deal with several issues such as capital, return filing and unsold stock. “The shutdown after GST has resulted in lower capital with weavers who have exhausted their earnings during the shutdown. With little left for buying raw material, not many are able to restart the looms to full scale,” said Tahir Momin, a former MLA whose family owns around 500 looms. He said a large part of the textile industry in Bhiwandi was busy figuring out the three different tax returns to be filed. “We are not well-versed with the new tax system and neither are we comfortable with technology. Most of my time is spent trying to understand the return filing system,” said Momin. Ehsan Ansari, another weaver, said even as the government had relaxed the tax on job works or intermediary works involved in the conversion of yarn to cloth, challenges remain as the sale of cloth was yet to pick up. “Dealers and traders are unwilling to buy from weavers without a GST number even if their (weavers’) annual income is below Rs 20 lakh. Business is dull as most of us are sitting with unsold stock,” said Ansari, who has so far restarted 60 per cent of his 700 looms. Since GST came into force on July 1, an entire ecosystem of the textile industry — weavers, technicians, daily wage workers and labourers — was hit as looms were forced to shut down. As an immediate aftereffect, around five lakh powerlooms closed in Bhiwandi in 20 days, according to estimates by owners or “master weavers”. The industry, which had remained exempt from taxation since Independence, reeled under the impact of GST regime. Now, the master weavers have to pay taxes for buying yarn — 18 per cent on man-made fibre yarn and 5 per cent on cotton yarn. They had raised concerns over the tax on job works —5 per cent on cotton yarn and 18 per cent on man-made fibre yarn. On August 7, the GST Council decided to cut it and adopt a uniform rate of 5 per cent. Despite the relaxation, the looms are still struggling to go back to normalcy. Bhiwandi’s textile industry is decentralised where master weavers own powerlooms but sublet most work to contractors. The conversion of yarn to cloth requires at least 10 levels of work, including transport, sizing, warping, weaving, mending, folding and packaging, each needing special set of skills. “We are encountering several challenges as we go. Accounting has become one of the biggest challenges,” said Momin. State GST Commissioner Rajeev Jalota said workshops are not being conducted anymore but regional offices are helping traders with filing. “We are helping traders with the process. Anybody having trouble can approach us and we will help them. We are also appealing to local trade associations to help traders and weavers,” he said.
Source: The Indian Express
Inia and South Korea have agreed to work on upgrading the existing bilateral comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) to ensure better utilisation of the current provisions and expand the number of items covered under the pact. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu and his South Korean counterpart Hyun Chong Kim also agreed to cooperate in the fields of standardisation and conformity assessment and developing mutual recognition agreements in a recent meeting in Seoul. “Both Ministers agreed to work towards finalising the CEPA upgrading negotiations at the earliest, if possible within 2018,” a government official said. Indian businesses have not been able to satisfactorily utilise the CEPA with South Korea, which allows market access for large number of items duty-free or at low import duties, because of a number of issues including stringent rules of origin norms.“The existing rules need to be tweaked so that the Indian industry is able to utilise the concessions extended under the CEPA. The review needs to urgently address this issue,” the official said. Expanding CEPA Both countries also want to expand the coverage of the CEPA. While India wants greater market access for a number of industries including IT, education and healthcare, South Korea is keen on more concessions for items such as steel, beauty products and household appliances, the official added. South Korea is also likely to ease visa requirements to enable Indian teachers to teach in Korea under the English Program in Korea initiative. The bilateral trade between South Korea and India, which stood at $16.8 billion in 2016-17 is skewed in South Korea’s favour with the country exporting goods worth $12.58 billion during the year. To give a push to investments, the two Ministers agreed to consider favourably the requests made in the joint committee meeting related to investment cooperation between the two countries.
Source: Business Line
The rupee on Monday closed at a six-month low of 65.12 against the greenback led by dollar demand from importers, a sell-off in the equity markets and a general strengthening of the dollar against most peers. The rupee fell as low as 65.17 during the day and breached the 65 level on a closing basis for the first time since April.“The dollar has been trading strong against most of its peers. Importers were seen hedging their exposures with an expected strengthening of the greenback in coming times,” said a currency dealer. FPIs have sold $965 million of equities on a net basis in September so far while Monday saw an outflow of about $192 million. The greenback has also been on a strong foot post the FOMC meet, where the US Fed hinted at a rate hike later this year and decided to trim its balance sheet starting October. On Monday, the dollar index was trading at 92.56. The euro had weakened post Angela Merkel’s party winning the German elections with a drop in vote share, while the yen fell against the greenback after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared snap elections. Currency dealers believe the rupee might continue to be weak in the coming days with the greenback on the rise and with corporates having large positions of unhedged exposure. Till mid-September, the rupee had been on an upmove led by strong fund flows into debt and equity — so much so that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shored-up its forex reserves to a lifetime high of over $402 billion. Although the weakness in the rupee started after the FOMC meet, it was accentuated on reports that the government might be considering a fiscal stimulus package worth Rs 40,000 crore that the market feared might widen the fiscal deficit. The currency has given a year-to-date return of 4.3%. Compared with that, the Chinese renminbi has given a YTD return of 4.86%, the South African rand has provided a return of 3.6% while the Indonesian rupiah’s return stands at 1.11%. The rouble has provided a return of 7.35% while the Malaysian ringgit has given a return of 6.7%. Some of the weakness in the rupee might be countered beginning October considering that the central bank has opened up FPI investment limits in corporate bonds by separating the masala bond segment from the overall limit.
Source: Financial Express
The share of export in India’s gross domestic product (GDP) declined to a 14-year low during the first quarter (Q1) of the current financial year (FY18). Growth in export of goods and services has remained below overall economic growth since FY15. Exports were up only 1.2 per cent at constant prices during the first quarter of FY18, against 5.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in GDP during the period. In value terms, India’s exports has been stagnant at around ~24 lakh crore (at 2011-12 prices) in the past three years, against 24 per cent cumulative growth in GDP during the period. Export of goods and services accounted for 19.4 per cent of India’s GDP at constant prices during April-June 2017 period, down from 20 per cent during FY17 and 20.2 per cent during the corresponding quarter a year ago. At its peak, exports accounted for a little over a quarter of India’s GDP during the financial year 2013-14. On the eve of economic reforms in 1991, exports accounted for just seven per cent of the country’s GDP. Experts say the sluggishness in exports has been one of the prime reasons for the slowdown in the economic growth in the past three years. “Acceleration in export growth was a key component of India’s faster GDP growth during the post-1991 period. Exports have now crashed, pulling down India’s overall GDP growth. Merchandise exports that used to be around $27 billion per month three years ago are now down to around $23 billion a month, creating an equivalent hole in the economy,” says G Chokkalingam, founder and managing director, Equinomics Research & Advisory. After liberalisation in 1991, exports have Export share in India’s GDP (% YoY) grew at twice the pace of underlying growth in the country’s GDP for a significant period. For example, exports (at constant prices) grew at an average annualised rate of 13 per cent between FY91 and FY14, against 6.5 per cent annualised growth in GDP during the period. India’s exports are struggling despite a strong rebound in global trade. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has raised its forecast for 2017 trade expansion, following an acceleration in global trade growth in the first half of the year. Global merchandise trade volume is now estimated to grow by 3.6 per cent, against a previous estimate of 2.4 per cent. In comparison, the volume of global merchandise trade was up only 1.3 per cent in 2016. Stronger growth in the current calendar year is attributed to a resurgence of Asian trade flows and a recovery in North America’s import demand. Goods exports from Asian countries are expected to grow by 6.4 per cent in the current calendar year, a sharp rebound from 1.8 per cent YoY growth last year. Similarly, global services exports were up 2.6 per cent during the first quarter of 2017 calendar year, against 0.4 per cent growth last year, according to the data from the WTO. Services, including software services, are one of India’s biggest exports, valued at around $161 billion in the 2016 calendar year. India’s inability to participate in the global trade boom is largely attributed to the country’s export basket becoming increasingly uncompetitive due to a steady appreciation of the rupee, besides the economic disruption caused by demonetisation and the goods and services tax (GST). “There is a sense that the recent appreciation in the rupee is hurting India’s export, especially in the price-sensitive segments. Besides, economic activity in farm products, textiles, and gems and jewellery has been impacted by the note ban and the roll-out of GST, hurting exports further,” says Dhananjay Sinha, head of research, Emkay Global Financial Services. At the same time, exports of information technology services and generic drugs have been hurt by growing protectionism in the US, their biggest market. Analysts don’t expect the trend to change in the near-term, given the government focus on using fiscal stimulus and consumption demand to boost growth rather than exports. “No one is losing sleep over the slowdown in exports. We expect an uptick in GDP growth during the second quarter of FY18, boosted by higher government and consumer spending,” adds Sinha.
Source: Business Standard
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the Deendayal Hastkala Sankul, a trade facilitation centre for handicrafts at Varanasi, to the nation last week. Its foundation stone was laid by him in November 2014 at and the first phase of the project, comprising a crafts museum, an entrance plaza and a shopping arcade, was inaugurated by him in December 2016. Inaugurating the centre, Modi said it would help artisans and weavers showcase their skills to the world, facilitate a better future for them, attract tourists and boost the local economy. With a cost of about Rs 300 crore, the project covers 7.93 acres, according to press release from the textiles ministry. The centre will help boost incomes of weavers and artisans, textiles minister Smriti Irani said on the occasion. The Varanasi centre will help weavers, artisans and exporters to promote handlooms and handicrafts in both domestic and international markets. The crafts museum will preserve the traditional products of Varanasi. The complex is equipped with automated building management systems, central air conditioning and ventilation systems, power back-up, fire protection and public address systems and centrally monitored CCTV system.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
S Hari Shankar, joint managing director of Coimbatore based Lakshmi Card Clothing Mfg Co Pvt Ltd, a complete card room solutions provider, has been elected as the chairman of India International Textile Machinery Exhibitions Society (India ITME Society) for 2017-2021. Shankar is also on the board of directors of Prathishta Weaving & Knitting Co Ltd. An alumnus of Philadelphia College of Textiles & Sciences, US, Shankar is also a Governing Council member of The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore. An enthusiastic athlete and an avid and well-known wildlife photographer, Shankar is active in many associations. He is on the board of Executive Council of Textile Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (India) (TMMA) since 2001 and held the position of chairman of TMMA from 2011-2013. He is part of India ITME Society since 2001 and held the position of honorary treasurer from 2013-2017. At the AGM held in Mumbai last week, Mehul Trivedi of The Indian Card Clothing Co Ltd, Kaizar Z Mahuwala of Gurjat Gravures Pvt Ltd, Sanjay K Jain of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, Arvind Sinha of The Textile Association (India) and Surina Rajan of Bureau of Indian Standards were elected vice chairmen. Ketan Sanghvi of Laxmi Shuttleless Looms Pvt Ltd was elected as honorary treasurer.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
American footwear major Skechers is looking at opening up to 400 more exclusive outlets in India within five years as it expands operations as well as launches apparel and accessories collection in the country. Skechers, which entered India in 2012 through a joint venture with Kishore Biyani-led Future Group, is also looking at launching apparel and accessories collection by the middle of next year. It operates 100 exclusive outlets in the country that are company-owned as well as franchises. “In the next five years, we should have 400-500 outlets in India. That’s the journey we want to embark on. We should be adding anywhere between 25-35 more outlets by end of this year,” Skechers South Asia Pvt Ltd CEO Rahul Vira told news agency PTI. Skechers, which entered India in 2012 through a joint venture with Kishore Biyani-led Future Group, is also looking at launching apparel and accessories collection by the middle of next year. As a pilot project, the company had tested the market for its apparel line with a small range. “We plan to launch apparel and accessories by mid of next calender year. It will be full range in apparel and accessories such as bags, socks and caps,” Vira told PTI. “Launch, however, depends on lot of things…such as our supply chain, structural changes at the stores which are primarily designed for selling shoes,” he was further quoted as saying. The company, which follows calender year as its financial year, is looking at closing the current year with sales of over Rs 500 crore. “We are growing at the rate of 100 per cent year-on-year. In the first half of this year, we have already done sales of Rs 300 crore. We are looking at closing the year with sales of Rs 500 odd crore,” Vira told PTI. Skechers had reported sales of over Rs 220 crore in India in the previous year. At present, the company fully imports products sold in the country.
When asked if the company is looking at manufacturing locally in the near future he told PTI: “Once we reach a certain scale and size, the company would look at options of manufacturing locally.”
Source: India Retailing
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1360.25 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
VSF |
2447.69 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
ASF |
2424.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1295.84 |
USD/Ton |
-0.81% |
9/25/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3288.85 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
5759.28 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
5728.97 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
1538.33 |
USD/Ton |
-0.49% |
9/25/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2970.58 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2576.52 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1659.58 |
USD/Ton |
-0.45% |
9/25/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
3394.94 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
3046.36 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2030.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2894.80 |
USD/Ton |
0.53% |
9/25/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
3213.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2440.12 |
USD/Ton |
0.62% |
9/25/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2167.31 |
USD/Ton |
0.70% |
9/25/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2440.12 |
USD/Ton |
0.62% |
9/25/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.42 |
USD/Meter |
0.11% |
9/25/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.88 |
USD/Meter |
106.76% |
9/25/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.22 |
USD/Meter |
0.12% |
9/25/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/25/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.72 |
USD/Meter |
0.42% |
9/25/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15156 USD dtd. 9/25/2017). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The US Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has released the new annual limit on duty- and quota-free imports of apparel articles assembled from regional and third-country fabric under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in the next fiscal beginning October 1. The figure is a 2.9 per cent rise over the limit in the current fiscal. For apparel articles fully assembled in any beneficiary African country from fabric wholly manufactured in any beneficiary country from yarn originating in the United States or any beneficiary country, the new annual limit is 2,022,822,376 square metres equivalent (SME), Apparel articles entered in excess of these quantities will be subject to otherwise applicable tariffs, according to a recent US Federal Register notice. Of this limit, 1,011,411,188 SME is available for apparel articles imported under the AGOA third-country fabric provision, a special rule for lesser-developed countries that offers preferential treatment for apparel articles assembled in one or more lesser-developed beneficiary African countries, regardless of the country of origin of the fabric used. The AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004 mandates that the quantitative limit for the 12-month period beginning October 1, 2017, will be an amount not to exceed 7 per cent of the aggregate square meter equivalents of all apparel articles imported into the United States in the preceding 12-month period. (DS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
ISLAMABAD: Pervaiz Malik, the federal minister for commerce and textile, on Saturday said that a new textile package will soon be announced to give the country's exports a much needed upward thrust. “Textile is an important sector and it will be fully supported,” the minister told Radio Pakistan in an interview. Malik also said that efforts were afoot to enhance the production of by focusing on crop research in collaboration with textile mills associations. Meanwhile, Haji Muhammad Akram Ansari, state minister of commerce and textile, on Friday night said that the ministry seeks concrete and comprehensive proposals from the representatives of all the textile associations, especially from the value-added sub-sector, for strengthening textile industry and boost its exports. “I will soon arrange a meeting between the representatives of the industry and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi focusing on resolving problems and improving policies with regard to textile exports,” Ansari said while addressing an interactive session hosted by Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA). “During the meeting, along with other issues of the textile industry, the condition of ten percent incremental increase in exports for the exporters to qualify for the PM’s exporter incentive package would be taken up and revoked.” Ansari continued that persistence of seven percent duty drawback on the exports would be sought and the funds granted. “The third core issue of utilities' tariffs for the textile industry will also be addressed there,” he said. Giving his input, Muhammad Zubair Motiwala, chairman council of textile associations, maintained the exports have increased by 13 percent in the last couple of months owing to the duty drawback incentive, which should continue to be given beyond June this year. “Under the PM’s package, the seven percent incentive to exporters was linked to a 10 percent increase in their exports -individual case to case basis- against that of 2016-17 exports, after six months of grace period up to June 2017, “Motiwala said. To this, the state minister advised the industry officials that for long-term policies for promotion of textiles and the exports of the country, all the associations especially the value-adding ones should submit their well-conceived and target-oriented proposals with the ministry. “The government is committed to and is also doing its best to boost trade and industry with a focus on textiles by reducing tariffs and price of inputs,” the state minister said. Ansari added that he had already discussed with the Prime Minister the ways and means on how to cut the cost of doing business to make Pakistan's private sector competitive in the region. He agreed with the exporters that the exports package, announced last year by then prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, should be fully implemented at the earliest to support the exports, which had declined to $ 19 billion from $25 billion in the fiscal year 2016-17. "I along with federal minister for commerce held a meeting with Prime Minister and convinced him that a boost in the exports was tied to the implementation of PM’s package," he informed the participants. Moving ahead, Ansari underlined the need for formation of an implementation committee for the PM’s package, which should include representatives of all the stakeholders from the private sector and the concerned federal government secretaries.
Source: The News International
MULTAN: The government should frame a five-year cotton policy without any further delay to enhance cotton production to 22 million bales and exports to three million bales in the proposed cotton policy by giving incentives of crop insurance and quality premium to farmers. At present, average cotton production stands at 13 million bales and exports at one million bales per year. These views were expressed by Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) Chairman Dr Jeso Mal T Leemani while addressing a press conference on Sunday. Haji Muhammad Akram, Shehzad Ali Khan, Suhail Mehmood Haral, Mian Javed Tariq and Ashiq Ali Babar Rehmani were also present.
Curious case of Pakistan’s falling cotton production
He said that cotton policy should be finalised with the consent of all stakeholders. He added ginners would not let anyone to make a policy at the cost of farmers’ interests. Jeso Mal said that the government and private enterprises failed to supply qualitative, well germinated, heat resistant and virus resistant seed to the farmers. “To enhance production, the area sown with cotton crop must be increased to 4.2 million hectares from the current around 3.2 million hectares,” he said. The country will have to strive to achieve a better yarn recovery rate of 90% compared to the existing 85%. “Though Pakistan is the fourth largest producer of cotton after China, United States and India, yet it ranks second in terms of contamination in cotton,” he maintained. “Pakistan’s cotton fetches a low price because of contamination and this issue must be addressed in new cotton policy. The farmers producing clean cotton should be offered a premium as an encouragement,” he pointed out.
Drought-tolerant cotton crop best for high yield
The PCGA chief suggested that a cotton investment fund should also be raised for such schemes and programmes. He said the government should be pressed to set aside funds for research and development, capacity-building and infrastructure development. He said in an attempt to minimise the role of middlemen and ensure direct contact between farmers and buyers, the government, in the first phase, should set up a model cotton trading house, which should work as a hub for sale of cotton. He said the federal government should take all provinces and other stakeholders on board while seminars should also be organised on the proposed policy to create awareness and seek suggestions. Jeso Mal said, “The key crop failure should be taken seriously also because it did not occur in any of the cotton-growing countries except Pakistan. The cotton crop failure has far-reaching impact in the country where 60% population lives in rural areas.” He added a short crop resulted in job losses to rural workforce, particularly women cotton pickers. “Pakistan’s cotton production stood at 15 million bales in the 2013-14, which dropped to around 12 to 13 million bales during the last two seasons. It translated into a shortfall of 10 million bales in the last two years which, according to experts, cost the country around Rs500 billion.”
Source: The Express Tribune
ZIBABWE’S cotton production increased 150 percent this year, largely driven by Government’s free input support programme, according to official statistics.Cotton output increased to 70 000 tonnes, up from 28 000 tonnes produced during last season, latest figures from the Agriculture and Marketing Authority show. AMA has not yet declared the selling season closed but deliveries buying points have slowed. Production of the “white gold” slumped to about 28 000 tonnes last year, the lowest since 1992. The Presidential Input Scheme however saw an upward of 155 000 farmers returning to production. Government, through The Cotton Company of Zimbabwe, injected in excess of $42 million into the cotton sector and has scaled up the financial support to $60 million this year. The Presidential Free Inputs Scheme also helped Cottco to reclaim its position as the market leader after buying more than 54 000 tonnes of the total crop delivered. Farmers in Gokwe, who produced 50 percent of the crop hailed the Presidential Inputs Programme, saying it had managed to empower thousands of farmers who had abandoned the crop due to exploitative financing models by private contractors. They were speaking at an event to express appreciation of the free input programme. “What was happening is that private companies were giving us inputs at inflated prices and buy the commodity at very low prices. So at the end of the day, we were essentially providing free labor because all the income would go towards debt repayment. “In certain instances, some farmers ended up losing their property or livestock after failing to repay,” famer Ishmael Chacha said. “But we are happy the President has come to our rescue.” Another farmer, Barnabas George said: “We are happy for what the President is doing. Cotton is a dominant commercial commodity in Gokwe and the collapse of the industry had thrown thousands of families in poverty. The impact of this programme on the livelihoods of people is so huge. Farmers have managed to upgrade their homes, buy cattle some even cars, animal drawn ploughs and parents are paying school fees. Service providers such as transporters are back and most grocery shops in the village have re-opened. Commercial activities have grown.” The local leadership said the programme has helped boost cotton production, tame poverty among the rural people and created jobs. Gokwe Mapfungautsi Member of Parliament Miriam Makweya said the scheme was “well-coordinated and successful.” “This is a wonderful programme, which was extremely well managed and we are just hoping that the next season will be a success just as the previous one,” she said. “Despite some logistical challenges, the management at Cottco did so well to timely distribute the inputs. It also swiftly responded to challenges we encountered during the season. “We are happy some of the inputs are already at the depots and distribution should immediately begin before the rains. “In terms of cotton production in Gokwe, we are now stable and our people are very happy. “We are really appreciating efforts by all stakeholders including the Minister (of Agriculture Dr Joseph Made) as well as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Gokwe-Gumunyu MP Melania Majovan said the programme offered good opportunity for improving farm productivity and livelihoods especially for rural women. “We are very happy that the programme has empowered the disadvantaged women,” she said. Gokwe-Kana legislator Owen Ncube said the programme helped to create jobs, improve livelihoods and would go a long way in reviving downstream industries such as the textiles. While cotton production was initially estimated to reach 110 000 tonnes, several downgrading factors, including excessive rains, diversion and abuse of inputs by some farmers as well as smuggling of the commodity to Mozambique saw missing the target.
Source: The Herald
KARCHI: Cotton market remained in grip of selling pressure on report of better influx of cottonseed in ginneries of Punjab and Sindh stations. Better grades of lint remained in demand and mills and spinners consolidated their long positions by making deals while demand of second grade of lint remained on higher side.Secondary buyers bought all grades of lint while dealings in second grade of lint changed hands on premium price at around Rs 6,500 per maund to Rs 6,550 per maund. The physical prices remained firm during trading session in Sindh and Punjab stations. Around 9,000 cotton bales changed hands in a range of Rs 6,000 per maund to Rs 6,600 per maund in parts of Sindh and Punjab stations. Ex-gin price per maund cotton remained intact after correction at Rs 6,100 per maund. In Kerb market buyers and sellers remained entangled in price war on fine grades. New York Cotton December Futures 2017 contract closed at around 70 cents per pound, and Cotlook A Index was hovering at 85 cents per pound.
Source: Daily Times
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - Storms that rolled through in mid-September left crops damaged in several parts of the South Plains. Plains Cotton Growers estimates that tens of thousands of acres were likely damaged, and now it seems mother nature strikes again with the possibility of negatively affecting more crops along the way. "The rain, especially if we could get a couple of inches, even maybe up to the three, and if it falls right, there's been some areas that are pretty dry," said Steve Verett, Vice President at Plains Cotton Growers. But the rain is not the problem. "This cool cloudy weather, for an extended period of time and the weather forecast showing its going to last up until about Thursday anyway, Wednesday to Thursday, and there are areas that are predicting up to eight inches of rain, we do not need that," Verett said. If the weather stays cool enough… it could affect the maturity of the cotton. A cotton boll needs to be as mature as possible before defoliation starts. "We would have liked to held on another week, got this last week of September as good open weather, but doesn't look like that's gonna happen right now," said Verett. If the weather ends up affecting some of the crops, insurance won't do justice this late into the season. "You know when you get to late September, about the only cost you have left in the crop is defoliation and harvest. Every other possible cost is in the crop," Verett said. As soon as the weather dries out, farmers will be busy getting ready for Harvest. "They'll be defoliant going out as soon as it dries up and the weather forecast looks like it's got 10 days or two weeks open weather. Harvest should be well under way by the middle of October," said Verett. Even with the tens of thousands of acres damaged from the previous storm… it's still very likely that this is one of the better cotton crops we've seen in the area. "In the big scheme of things, we know we still have close to 3 ½ million acres of cotton to harvest and for the most part, that cotton is in good shape," said Verett.
Source: KCBD
Cotton acreage is up 19.3 per cent in 2017-18 compared to previous year, at 121.51 lakh hectares, according to government figures. India's forward export contracts of cot t o n fo r N ove m b e r December delivery have halved compared to the pre vious year amid lower international prices, as traders fear domes tic prices may re main high with the government of fering mini mum support price to growers. The forward export contracts have declined to about 7 lakh bales from 15 lakh bales contracted by September last year, said an industry executive. "International prices are ruling low everywhere. Though our domestic prices are also likely to decline, possible MSP operations by government will keep prices from falling. Hence traders are cautious while entering into forward export contracts," said BS Rajpal, a Maharashtra-based ginner. Cotton acreage is up 19.3 per cent in 2017-18 compared to previous year, at 121.51 lakh hectares, according to government figures. India, which became the world's largest cotton production in 2016-17, has retained the position this year too. Though there are concerns about production losses due to floods in Gujarat and prolonged dry spell in peninsular India in August, the industry is upbeat about production and expects 2017-18 output at 375380 lakh bales of 370 kg each. Traders expect domestic cotton prices to decline by October or November, when arrivals of new kharif crop begin in full swing. According to US Department of Agriculture estimates for 2017-18, global cotton production at about 120.8 million bales is expected to be 13 per cent more than in the previous season as farmers shifted from other crops to cotton due to more attractive prices.
Source: The Economic Times
The UbiTEX tag, from UBI Solutions, was developed by Fenotag with an Impinj Monza chip to prevent folding, fit unobtrusively on small linens and still provide a long read distance. Two French technology companies have developed a small, high-power, textile UHF RFID tag for use in linens and uniforms, designed to be unobtrusive and unlikely to be folded. UBI Solutions is selling the tag, provided by Fenotag as part of its laundry and hospitality solutions for customers throughout Europe. The passive UHF UbiTEX 1358 textile tag offers a read range up to 5 meters (16.4 feet), with a small footprint—it measures 13 millimeters by 58 millimeters (0.5 inch by 2.3 inches), is 0.5 millimeter (0.02 inch) in thickness with the exception of the chip area, and is designed to be used in spaces RFID tags previously would not fit. The tags come with a built-in Impinj Monza R6-P chip.
UBI Solutions' UbiTEX 1358 textile tag
When it comes to technology for hospitality and health care, says Renaud Munier, UBI Solutions' business-development director, "The industry is always looking for smaller tags." Most textile-based UHF RFID tags can be sewn into or glued to linens, such as towels and table cloths, but are more difficult to attach to very small items, like some garments, pillow cases and napkins. They are also often visible to those handling the linens due to their size. In addition, Munier says, large tags are often folded when a garment or other linen is washed and folded, which can make the tags difficult to read. UBI Solutions recently began working with Fenotag to develop a tag that would be small enough to fit on previously untagged items, would be unobtrusive and aesthetically pleasing, and would be unlikely to be folded. Fenotag, Munier says, is not only located in France along with UBI Solutions, but manufactures its products in-house, which makes production more flexible. If a specific material or size is required, the company can accommodate, he says, adding, "We worked with different suppliers, then we decided to partner with Fenotag" to create a smaller tag that can be read well at any orientation and would be unlikely to be folded. Most textile tag manufacturers sell textile tags measuring 60 to 80 millimeters (2.4 to 3.1 inches), says Didier Elbaz, Fenotag's president. UBI Solutions asked Fenotag to reduce both width and length in order to lower the risk of having a tag folded with linens, thus significantly decreasing reading performance. But the company also wanted better readperformance. "They asked me to increase the reading-writing performance even if the size was reduced, which was really a big challenge," Elbaz says. "The target was to have a reading performance higher than 5 meters in the European and U.S. bandwidth [UHF]." The laundry environment poses unique challenges in terms of performance, since between 400 and 1,000 linens are typically interrogated simultaneously while stacked or thrown into a trolley or cart. Such a high density can result in a tag being detuned, Elbaz says. "With our tag, the Impinj Monza 6RP chip, and the hardware—the system from UBI Solutions—we have been able to achieve the 'holy grail': a reading rate close to 99 to 100 percent and good reliability."
Source: RFID Journal
Epson America, a pioneer in inkjet printers and digital textile printing systems & technology and Epson’s headquarters for the US, has unveiled its latest wide-format textile printer, the 64 inch Epson SureColor F9370, designed to deliver high-speed, reliable productivity for digital dye-sublimation transfers for polyester textile and apparel applications. The Epson printer delivers industrial-level production with speeds up to 1,169 square feet/per hour and features an integrated new fabric wiping system coupled with a highly accurate roll-to-roll media support system to handle economical lightweight transfer papers. Designed to support high-speed, economical, medium to large volume dye-sublimation transfer printing, the SureColor F9370 replaces the SureColor F9200 to join Epson’s complete line of SureColor F-Series printers, including the SureColor F6200 and SureColor F7200. Winner of the 2017 SGIA Product of the Year Award in the “Roll-to-Roll Dye Sublimation on Textile” category, the SureColor F9370 leverages dual PrecisionCore TFP printheads, and Epson’s latest dye-sublimation ink technology – Epson UltraChrome DS with High-Density Black – to produce output with exceptional colour saturation and high contrast. A true turnkey solution, the printer features a new fabric wiping system that cleans the printhead to ensure reliable output quality and continuous production. In addition, its highly accurate roll-to-roll media support system features advanced auto paper-tension control to ensure consistent paper feed movement, regardless of paper weight and core shape or diameter. The new media feed system also provides support for heavier media rolls and transfer paper as thin as 40 grams to support a range of production needs – from fabric production and customised promotional production to soft signage, cut-and-sew sports apparel and home decor applications. The new SureColor F9370 is built to improve print performance and increase reliability for the production dye-sublimation transfer market with a range of productivity features, like breakthrough productivity, brilliant image quality, true roll-to-roll support, predictive reliable performance, and affordable scalable solution.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
