The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 29 SEP 2017

NATIONAL

INTERNATINAL

 

Exporters seek quicker refund, no GST for merchant traders

 

NEW DELHI: Exporters have sought faster refund of duties, exemption from tax payment for merchant exporters and simpler tax compliance for small exporters from the government. In a meeting with finance minister Arun Jaitley and chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian, exporters and industry representatives flagged the issues faced by exporters due to GST. The apex body of exporters, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), pushed for a complete exemption from import charges on inputs used in exports. “Indian exporters are losing out to their competitors from such countries. Ab initio exemption from IGST may be provided against such Advance Authorisation/EPCG and EOU Scheme,” FIEO said in its presentation. Merchant exporters account for over 30% of country’s exports, who usually work on razor thin margins of 2-4%. The imposition of GST has made their costing haywire, particularly for products having higher GST rate, as they have to pay GST and seek refund after some time lag, FIEO said as it asked for timely refunds from the government. FIEO also asked for refund of embedded taxes on account of taxation on the products kept out of GST. “The availability of credit and cost of credit are the biggest challenges for the MSMEs, which have become more alarming as money is borrowed for payment of GST on exports,” FIEO president Ganesh Gupta said. Filing returns is more challenging for small exporters and industry was unanimous on the issue that such exporters be allowed to file returns every quarter though they will pay tax each month. “The minister heard our concerns and said certain issues are still settling down. He said it is too early to say what is the impact of GST as two months is a short period of time,” said an official who attended the meeting. Representatives from CII and PHD Chambers, GST Suvidha providers, Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Institute of Cost Accountants of India and Institute of Chartered Accountants of India were also present at the meeting. Officials from accounting software provider Tally Solutions and e-commerce major Amazon too attended the stakeholder consultation ahead of the GST Council meeting on October 6. India’s exports have remained sluggish even as global trade has picked up pace. Exports were up 8.57% between April and August as against a 26.63% rise in imports.

 

Source: Economic Times

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Industry, exporters bring up GST concerns at meet with Arun Jaitley

 

New Delhi: Industry bodies and exporters raised their concerns related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST), including timely refund of duties, with finance minister Arun Jaitley at a meeting on Thursday. “The minister gave a sympathetic hearing to our concerns and assured all possible help. He has taken all our points positively,” Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president Ganesh Gupta told reporters after the meeting. FIEO pressed for exemption from GST for merchant exporters, immediate start of the refund process with exporters facing liquidity issues and allowing export benefit scrips for payment of IGST and CGST. “Small exporters are particularly hit with GST as they have to borrow money to pay GST. Availability and the cost of credit is adversely impacting them. The government should consider introduction of e-wallet for exporters,” he said. The industry representatives also brought up compliance matters on which the finance minister invited suggestions to improve the GST implementation. Traders, particularly SMEs, are facing issues in filing returns, which is increasing their compliance burden. Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council chairman Praveenshankar Pandya said the sector is faced with a huge problem as exports are declining. They also demanded exemption from Integrated GST (IGST) on procurement of precious metals from nominated agencies for the purpose of manufacturing and export of jewellery. “Small businesses are getting impacted more. Some have cut their productions also. We have raised the issue of compliance,” Pandya said. “We got a positive response from the minister. They would tabulate our demands to put that before the GST Council,” he added. Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) Council member Satwinder Singh said concerns related to reverse charge mechanism and refund were raised in the meeting. Representatives from KPMG, CII, Ficci, Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Laghu Udyog Bharati, GST service providers, ICSI, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Amazon were present.

 

Source: Livemint.com

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Jaitley takes on critics, defends govt’s record on economy

 

Taking on the criticism of government policies that are said to have impacted economic growth, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said that initially the government was criticised for taking “incremental reforms” and is now facing flak for “Big Bang” measures. “Post demonetisation and especially after the Goods and Services Tax, the biggest criticism was that why did I do it so quickly,” he said at the launch of a book ‘India @70 Modi @3.5’, written by NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy and Ashok Malik, Press Secretary to the President of India. Jaitley’s comments come soon after senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram criticised the NDA policies that have led to first quarter GDP growth slowing to a three-year low of 5.7 per cent. Referring to robust tax collection data, the Minister questioned criticism on the perceived slowdown in the economy. “The so called slowdown has now impacted the tax collections,” he said. While direct tax collections have risen 15.7 per cent over last year, receipts from GST are on anticipated lines and are expected to increase further. Jaitley said that with GST collections at over ₹90,000 crore in the first two months of its roll out and payments to States have been made. Noting that there have been teething troubles, he also promised easier compliance for small businesses under GST. Dig at CongressTaking a dig at the Congress, Jaitley blamed them of policy paralysis and said it was keen to delay the roll out of GST . Pointing out that India has been the fastest growing economy into the world, Jaitley said that every economy faces some difficulties. Noting that demonetisation has had some impact on the economy in the short run, he said that it will have a positive effect in the medium and short term. Another challenge has been some of the lagging private sector and promised that the government would take “decisive” measures to address it. “The space of bringing a blend between a fast moving economy and making sure benefits percolate even to the poor has been the basic tenor of the government in the past three and a half years,” Jaitley stressed, listing out schemes like Saubhagya, Ujjwala and Jan Dhan. The Minister said that the economic situation now is better than what was inherited from the UPA government. While the fiscal and current account deficit are under control, foreign investments have been encouraged through opening up sectors and dismantling the FIPB. On concerns over rising inflation, he said that some amount of inflation is good for the economy or else there would be recession. While retail inflation is now at about 3.36 per cent, Jaitley said under the UPA it was at about 9 per cent to 10 per cent.

 

Source: Business Line

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Textile processors demand uniform GST for MMF yarn, fabric

SURAT: The South Gujarat Textile Processors Association (SGTPA) has strongly demanded level playing field for the man-made fabric (MMF) sector. Currently, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) on MMF yarn is 18%, while that on fabric is 5%. Whereas, for cotton yarn and fabric, the GST rate is uniform at 5%. The SGTPA leaders met the sectoral co-convener of GST Council Yogendra Garg on Wednesday and demanded that the council must seriously consider providing a level playing field to the MMF sector vis-a-vis the cotton sector. The association said that polyester fabric is known as the fabric of poor. Surat's textile sector manufacture saris below Rs 200. On the other hand, the cotton fabric is for the elite class. However, the central government has divided the MMF and cotton sectors by keeping separate GST rates for yarns and fabric. SGTPA president Jitu Vakharia said, "We have strongly recommended the co-convener of GST Council to keep the GST rates uniform in both the sectors. If the GST rate in both the sectors are uniform, then the textile sector will have a level playing field in the consumer market."  Vakharia added, "At present, the textile sector is facing a lot of difficulties and challenges due to the differential GST structure for the MMF sector. Most of the weaving units doing job work has almost shut the shops . More than 50,000 workers have been rendered jobless in the last two months." President of the Pandesara Textile Association Kamal Tulsiyan said, "The government must seriously think about the MMF sector, otherwise it will be ruined in the coming days. The downfall of the sector has started. "

 

Source: Times of India

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Value-added textile sector seeks technology upgrade funds

KARACHI: Value-added textile sector urged the government to clear billions of rupees in refund claims under technology up-gradation fund (TUF) stuck for the past two years.  Jawed Bilwani, coordinator of Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) said ministry of textile industry had allocated Rs42.5 billion worth of mark-up support and other incentives in April 2010 to improve the sector’s technological configuration, remove critical imbalances in the value-chain and help it achieve compliance with.  TUF was announced under the textile policy 2009-2014, while the industry was asked to submit refund claims till 31 August, 2015. “Upon TUF’s scheme announcement, exporters had made further investments to upgrade their industrial units,” Bilwani said in a letter to the Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.  “Nevertheless, the government has not honoured its promises since no amount under the said scheme has been paid till date, which discouraged exporters and industrialists to make future investments.”   He said the exporters had timely submitted their claims with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for mark-up and investment supports. The industry’s reluctance to modernise production lines has long been biting the country's exports. Textile industry accounts for 60 percent of the country's total annual exports of $20 billion. Knitwear, bedwear and readymade garments are the key exports revenue spinners.  PHMA, the country’s premier trade body representing hosiery and knitwear industry, also bore the logistics expenses of textile ministry’s teams, which paid visits to physically inspect the upgrades required to qualify for incentives, he added.   “Exporters have not received claims amounts as the SBP is awaiting the TUF scheme’s fund release under textile policy 2009-2014,” Bilwani said. “We request the (issuance) of necessary instruction to ministry of finance to release funds to SBP for disbursement to exporters on immediate basis.” The association’s official further said the government announced second TUF scheme under textile policy 2014/2019.  He feared that the exporters who invested in upgrading plant and machinery between 1 July, 2014 and 30 June, 2016 “will be deprived from (benefits of the latest) TUF scheme.” “Moreover, the TUF scheme 2014-2019 still lacks the procedure to apply for the scheme,” he said. “The SBP has not issued (it) after lapse of almost one year.” Bilwani, who is also chairman of Pakistan Apparel Forum, however, questioned the usefulness of the new scheme until the previous claims are settled.  He urged the government to direct the textile ministry to revise up the application period of the current TUF scheme to five years from three years.  “It will support the exporters who are facing liquidity crunch amid stuck refunds and streamline cash flow, which will lead to increase in exports, reduction in trade deficit and generation of new employment opportunities.”

 Source: The News

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Institute e-wallet for SMEs, exempt exporters from GST: Traders to govt

Exporters have suggested the idea of instituting an e-wallet mechanism for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and complete exemption for merchant exporters, who have been hit by an unavailability of working capital in the goods and services tax (GST) regime. In a meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said the system may be instituted since a significant number of firms are still disproportionately affected by a capital crunch. "Government may consider introduction of e-wallet for exporters in which, based on the preceding year’s exports and an average GST rate, e-currency is credited to exporters’ accounts. Like a running account, money may be debited from the e-wallet when duty-paid supplies have to be undertaken and the amount may be credited when the proof of export is made available from ICEGATE," FIEO said in a statement to finance ministry officials.  Exporters were earlier allowed duty-free import of goods used for making products for export. With GST, they have to first pay the duty and later apply for a refund. As a result, their costs have risen by up to 1.25 per cent (freight on board value) since July 1. The idea had earlier been mooted by traders before the new tax regime was rolled out. Subsequently, it has been shunted back and forth between the ministries of commerce and finance until it fizzled after sustained opposition from the department of revenue, a senior official said. Also for SMEs, the provisional input tax credit period has been suggested to be increased by six months from the current two months by industry body CII. “This will help cross-matching of invoices through the GSTN portal and also avoid the blockage of working capital for the small players,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director-General of CII. Exporters have also asked for GST exemption against an electronic bond for merchant exporters, who account for over 30 per cent of the nation’s exports. Operating on low margins of 2-4 per cent, many of them have stopped entering into new contracts, which may see exports in the next quarters disrupted, Fieo has said. As a case in point, two months after the roll-out of the GST regime in July, the order books of exporters are said to have taken a hit, with estimates pegging the impact at up to 15 per cent across industries and product categories. According to an assessment by FIEO, the large drop was for export orders that were meant to be delivered until October. Beyond October, this may rise to 20 per cent, as exports during Christmas and New Year may be affected.  After growing in the single digits in the previous three months, exports in August had risen by 10.29 per cent, up from 3.94 per cent in July. But exporters and economists alike remain sure that the coming months would prove to be the real challenge for merchandise exports. This may lead to a Rs 65,000-crore worth of exports being stuck by the end of the year, said Ajay Sahai, director-general of FIEO. That is largely due to the tax refund issues continuing under the GST regime, even after three months of its launch and on expectations of the rupee witnessing a steady climb in the coming months. Industry bodies have also suggested changes in some of the existing provisions based on the feedback received from producers, traders and consumers. "Such changes will have to be made from time-to-time, based on the actual experience of the implementation of any new and radical scheme," said Ficci President Pankaj Patel. The Finance Ministry said that the proportion of the problem was being inaccurately depicted and that it was working out a solution to resolve all GST-related issues. "There are a lot of apprehensions expressed in the media about the problem of blockage of working capital for exporters post- GST. Various figures also being discussed on the blockage of such funds, which are wild estimates. Such media reports are not based on facts," the Finance Ministry had said in a press release.

Source: Business Standard

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Fearing huge losses due to capital blockage-duty rates, textile MSMEs meet NITI Aayog

 

Fearing huge losses due to capital blockage-duty rates, textile MSMEs meet NITI Aayog

New Delhi, Sept 28 (KNN) Responding to the panic situation due to the blockage of capital as well as the revision of duty drawback rates under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) involved in textile export called upon the NITI Aayog raising concerns, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) informed. Talking to KNN, H K L Magu, Vice Chairman and Regional In charge of AEPC said that the textile sector comprises of over 80 per cent of the MSMEs and these units are suffering huge crisis under the new taxation. Explaining the mechanism, Magu said that for a normal textile export MSME, the production cycle stretches for over 90-100 days followed by a months’ time for shipment. “For a small enterprise doing business of 1 crore – 10 crore, after the cycle is completed, the enterprise is supposed to ask for the rebate of over 60 lakh rupees that gets stocked up at the tax office, delay of which is a genuine problem that the sector Is facing at present,” he said.  While for a large enterprise, it is easy to move ahead even if a portion of their capital is blocked, but for a small and medium enterprise it is difficult to absorb the delay shock as these small units don’t even possess enough resources to apply for credit. Also the duty drawback rate revision has posed another big problem for the sector that is yet to stabilize under the One Nation One tax regime. AEPC recently met Amitabh Kant of NITI Aayog citing the concerns of the sector, responding to which he assured that the concerns will be raised at every possible level.

 

Source: Knn India

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Protesting textile traders to observe dark Diwali this year

Surat: The textile markets on Ring Road are decked up with colourful lightings during the Diwali every year. For the first time, these markets will not be decorated as a mark of protest against the central government for not accepting demands of the textile traders on the Goods and Service Tax (GST). Most of the textile markets on Ring Road have unanimously decided not to illuminate the buildings for Diwali. The traders have also decided not to burn fire crackers and distribute sweets during the festival season. Messages in this connection have gone viral on social media urging the traders to stay away from Diwali festivities. Former president of Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) Devkishan Manghani said, "For textile traders, Diwali got over with roll out of GST on July 1. The government is not supportive and traders have decided not to celebrate Diwali this time." Manghani added, "After the GST implementation, the textile business has gone down by almost 70%. Many small and medium traders have been hit hard. The demand for saris and dress material has gone down in the last two months." A textile trader Naresh Paliwal said, "There is no question of celebrating Diwali when the business has hit rock bottom from the last two months. The GST has ruined the textile trade. We have decided not to illuminate the market this diwali to register our protest." There are 165 textile markets housing more than 70,000 textile shops in the city. The textile traders have been doing turnover of saris and dress material to the tune of Rs 115 crore per day. The goods are supplied in different states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjba, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu. FOSTTA president Manoj Agarwal said, "We had organized the 'sadbuddhi hawan' in textile market against the GST. The hawan was performed by traders in order to appease the central government to provide relief to the traders in GST. The traders have decided not to illuminate the market during Diwali festival to mark their protest."

 

Source: Times

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Spinners face challenging times; improved cotton crop to provide some succour: ICRA

 

Improved supply of cotton fibre is expected to provide some respite to the domestic spinners during H2 FY2018. India’s spinning sector has been witnessing challenges on multiple fronts over the past few quarters. As per a recent report by ICRA, while exports continue to fall due to weak demand from one of the key markets, China; domestic demand also slowed down in the first quarter of FY2018 amid focus on inventory clearance prior to GST implementation, which affected offtake and hence production volumes. Q1 FY2018 was the fourth consecutive quarter wherein companies in ICRA’s sample reported a Y-o-Y decline in volumes. Besides the demand-side pressures, the challenges have been further accentuated by consistently firm cotton fibre prices resulting in subdued contribution margins, as well as strengthening of the Indian currency vis-a-vis currencies of the competing nations, thereby affecting realisations. As a result, Q1 FY2018 was the weakest first quarter for the domestic spinners during the past six years in terms of profitability. Nevertheless, the debt coverage metrics continue to improve on a YoY basis, given the secular decline in term debt level and decline in borrowing costs. Improved supply of cotton fibre is, however, expected to provide some respite to the domestic spinners during H2 FY2018. There has been a ~12% increase in sown area in Cotton Year (CY) 2018, driven by firm cotton prices, which made it remunerative for the farmers to choose cotton against competing crops. Although the weather conditions have been largely favourable, erratic monsoon rainfall in Southern and Central India, flooding in some regions of North Gujarat (the largest cotton producing state of the country) and pest problems in some areas may impact average yield for the season. Accordingly, the yields are expected to be lower vis-a-vis the yield of 531 kg/ hectare reported in the previous cotton season. Even with a yield of ~505 kg/ hectare, at a level close to the past 3-year average, the cotton crop output is expected to grow by ~5% to ~36 million bales in CY2018. Says Jayanta Roy, Senior Vice-President and Group Head, Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA, “The level of global cotton production in CY2018 is estimated to exceed consumption, after two consecutive years of shortfall. The resultant cotton surplus therefore will create a downward bias in prices which, besides easing pressure on contribution margins of the spinners, is likely to bring down their working capital requirements. This augurs well for the domestic cotton spinning industry.” Spinners’ contribution levels have remained under continued pressure averaging at ~Rs. 75/ kg in the past 15 months, ~7% lower than the average for the 4-year period prior to that. The exception to this was in July and August 2016 when the same declined sharply owing to a lag in price adjustments following a spurt in cotton prices; and in September 2017 when yarn prices declined. While the cotton-yarn prices were holding firm till August 2017 despite demand-side pressures, the same have corrected by ~5% in September 2017 in light of sustained demand-side pressures as well as in anticipation of softening of cotton prices. This has resulted in a contraction in contribution margins of the spinners during the month, as cotton prices did not correct correspondingly. “Decline in yarn realisations has preceded a decline in cotton-fibre prices, which has affected contribution margins of spinners in recent weeks and is likely to reflect in second-quarter performance of the spinners. However, with further correction in cotton prices expected with the commencement of harvest season in October 2017 onwards, ICRA expects the spinners’ profitability to improve during the second half of the current financial year,” Roy added. Cotton stocks in China continue to be higher than historical averages. As per the estimates, it will take about two to three more years for excess stocks to reach historical average levels, and therefore for imports by China to revive. Nevertheless, with conclusion of this year’s cotton auctions, a recovery in yarn demand from China is likely to help the Indian yarn exporters in the second half of FY2018. Further, Indian yarn exporters are trying to diversify export markets to increase their sales volumes.

 

Source: The Economic Times

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‘End commercial release of new Bt cotton seeds’

 

The Maharashtra government has asked the Centre to reverse its nod for the commercial release of genetically modified (Bt) cotton seeds grown using Bollgard II (BG-2) technology. The State claimed that the seeds lost their ability to fight diseases and reduced crop productivity. Sadabhau Khot, State Minister for Agriculture and Horticulture, in a letter requested the Union Agriculture Minister to acknowledge the BG-2 seeds as hybrid seeds, which will help bring down their prices. Maharashtra has around 41 lakh hectares of land under cotton, largely in Vidarbha and Marathawada. Around 98% of seeds used are of the Bt cotton variety. Around 1.65 crore packets of Bt cotton seeds are being used in the kharif season in the State.

 

Source:  The Hindu

 

Farmers planted 3.5 mn packets of 'illegal' cotton seeds this kharif season

 

The government might have approved only certain types of genetically modified (GM) cotton but the country's farmers have decided to ignore the rules and plant unapproved GM cotton seeds, that too bought at prices far higher than those mandated by the government, according to reports. In the current Kharif sowing season, farmers bought and planted close to 3.5 million packets, which amounts to a Rs 450-crore market for unapproved GM cotton seeds at an average price of Rs 1,300 per packet, of cotton seeds that incorporate unapproved "herbicide tolerance", or HT, technology, the Indian Express reported on Thursday. Currently, the report explained, the government has only permitted the growing of GM cotton that are hybrids or varieties containing the ‘cry1Ac’ and ‘cry2Ab’ genes, which are derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), and coding for proteins that are toxic to the bollworm insect pest. This development comes at a time when BT cotton's efficacy has fallen. As reported earlier, over the years, Bt cotton's resistance to pink boll worm (PBW) has reduced and during the last season alone the pest has caused 20-25 per cent loss to the crop across states. This year, the loss could go up, which could lead to a major agrarian crisis, experts say. To overcome this problem, the Union government has recommended a unique RIB (Refugia In Bag) concept, wherein 25 grams of non-Bt cotton seed is mixed with 450 grams of Bt cotton seeds. This enables the planting of non-BT cotton, which can host PBW wild insects and prevent resistance build-up in PBW. But, why are these farmers breaking the rules? According to the IE report, the farmers in question paid between Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 per packet for these unapproved cotton seeds, a price much higher than the Rs 800 government-fixed maximum sale price for a packet of approved Bt cotton hybrids. Even then, farmers appear to have placed a premium on the unapproved cotton hybrid's ability to resist the ill-effects of herbicides. For normal cotton, the report explained, farmers cannot spray herbicides once the plant has emerged from the soil since the chemical cannot differentiate between weeds and the crop itself. Test reports from at least two government research institutions, the Nagpur-based Central Institute for Cotton Research and the Telangana government’s DNA Fingerprinting & Transgenic Crops Monitoring Laboratory at Hyderabad, have officially shown that Indian farmers are illegally growing HT cotton, the report added. In fact, the Nagpur-based institute's study showed that illegal HT cotton cultivation had taken place last year too. As reported earlier, according to government statistics, cotton is grown on 10.5 million to 12.5 million hectares (or 25-30 million acres) across 11 major growing states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Tami Nadu. In peak years, the cultivated area can touch 12 mha. Boll worms are still the most dangerous pests for cotton, as they thrive on boll or fruit of cotton, which contains Kapas or fibre, thereby causing severe economic damage, said S B Patil, professor in the Department of Agricultural Entomology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad.

 

Source: Business Standard

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Ellemora- A Brand New and Exciting Apparel Shopping Portal, Just for Women!

 

Ideated in 2016 and launched in 2017, Ellemora (Elle – French for ‘She’; Mora –Slovenian for ‘Must’; Ellemora – ‘She must have’) is the brain child of Shanky Kumar and Shubham Kumar from Bareilly, UP. With a thought of catering to the experimental nature of women, Kumar brothers started Ellemora – a premium apparel brand, designed exclusively for women! Their USP lies in having complete control on sourcing, production, design and delivery for their products which naturally are high on fashion and quality. Their dedicated team of in house fashion and product designers have been handpicked from top fashion institutes of the country. This team strives hard to offer the latest fashion trends to their unique monthly visitors of more than 1, 26,000! In a short span of just 9 months, the brand has created its own niche by conceptualizing, designing and setting their own fashion trends. With the business growing by almost 30% month on month, the brand is rapidly becoming a favorite among the ladies. They offer a wide range of their products under various convenient categories like type (India/Western), size, silhouette, occasion, material, color and prints! Their team of more than 50 employees work hard to keep all their loyal clientele satisfied and offer them the best of fashion and apparel which cannot be found on any other website.

Shanky Kumar, Director, Ellemora speaks on plans to grow the brand in the online space and beyond. How to run a apparel startup amidst a cut throat competition from a Tier two city like Bareilly? It necessary to understand and appreciate that money saved is money earned. For any startup to survive, it is important that the cost of production is at minimum without compromising on the quality of the product. Bareilly is our hometown and that was the primary reason to set up the operations for Ellemora here. Apart from that, Bareilly possesses various operational advantages. Being a tier two city, the cost of operations isconsiderably less than any other city, which in turn gives us an advantage while deciding the price of the product. Secondly, the city is well connected to the country’s capital and state capital due to which the availability of raw material and human resource is not difficult. To combat competition, Ellemora has hired some talented designers from India’s top fashion schools to design our products that are high on fashion and quality. Our apparel is unique and stands out in the crowd that helps us with repeat customers thus helping the business grow. What are your Plans to combat the competition? What are the USPs that differentiate you from other shopping portals? Fashion and lifestyle industry is the one among many which has seen a rapid growth in the past few years, creating an opportunity for many young entrepreneurs to enter in to this space. It is however important to understand that the biggest impediment in the apparel industry is the ability to understand and meet the demands of the end consumer. We at Ellemora do not follow trends. We design new styles. We study, forecast, conceptualize and make them available on our website within few days of conceptualization. Having an in house sampling unit gives us a leverage as we can experiment quiet a lot which helps in bringing out the best for our customers. This is the only reason that the customer won’t be able to find the product of similar style and finishing elsewhere giving us the biggest advantage of being unique and one of a kind.

What is your business model and revenue plan? The business plan is simple where we wish to sell at a price that attracts customers and ensure that the apparel is high on quality and fashion to have a repeat value. We are also branching out from the uni-channel model of sales and have associated with bigger aggregators like Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal so more and more customers can experience and come back for more Ellemora products. What is your Pricing strategy? Shed some light on Funding do you have plans for raising more funds? Since Ellemora is a brand that designs new styles, we price our product depending upon the kind of fabric that has been used. Our products are high on fashion and quality, but we have ensured that our pricing is attractive enough to interest our target group to purchase our products. Also, being headquartered in Bareilly ensures our overheads aren’t too high allowing us to offer the prices that we do. Ellemora is self-fund at the moment and not in a hurry to raise funds.

What are your expansion and future plans for the brand? Ellemora is committed to set a new standard in the category of clothing by offering premium and exclusively designed apparels at a great price to our audience in the e-commerce category. In terms of growth, we plan to cater to the young market segment wherein the 20-35 year old women would find the clothing from Ellemora to their liking and taste. We plan to achieve this by displaying exclusive apparel that is high on fashionand quality. We also plan to eventually enter the app based model. Our ultimate goal in terms of expansion is to get in to the offline space.

 

Source: Business world

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Dress to save the planet

Known for their comfortably organic cotton outfits, Tula has given farmers, weavers and craftsmen a leg up by going back to basics. At the Kalakshetra Foundation’s annual “haat”, the assistant at the Tula shop stood wearing a lovely off-white kurta with just the right sliver of block-printed borders on the sleeves and front slit. I joked that I would buy it. “Everyone says that!” she laughed. “But I have run out of kurtas of this pattern.” In fact, she didn’t have kurtas of any pattern. That is the allure of Tula, the Earth-friendly-fabric marketed by OFM. Tula has a wonderful back story. “It began with our work for safe-food and sustained agriculture,” said VR Ananthoo of OFM. “We found that 70% of those pushed into agrarian crisis were cotton farmers. We opened urban food markets, but what about non-food products?” Starting in 2013, his team spoke to 30 small, marginalised, dry land farmers in the Thirumangalam area and collated facts. Cotton baling needs gallons of water and energy. Spinning and weaving exploded due to big garment factories, dyeing killed the rivers and water table with chemicals as in Thiruppur. With high investments, cloth mills threw working-from-home women out of jobs. Small farmers, spinners and weavers lost their livelihoods. It was clear: We had to go back to our old ways of making cloth, follow the Gandhian “distributed, decentralised” economy. Cotton cloth-making had to be rural and local. At all the areas they visited between 2008 and 2014, Ananthoo’s team heard the same statement: “I am the last person in my family/village engaged in spinning/weaving.” It was uneconomical, there was no respect for weavers, earnings were small. BT cotton was introduced in 2002 and by 2012, 95% of the cotton grown was BT. Suicide numbers had increased among Hubli and Vidarbha cotton farmers after they went BT. “And we were all wearing BT cotton! We needed an alternative at least for ourselves. So we travelled, documented, learnt and created Tula.” As a first step, the team would ensure the cotton was grown organically and handspun/handwoven locally. It would be dyed with natural colours and tailored manually, thus saving five livelihoods. Garment-making would turn non-polluting and non-exploitative. Spinning could be primary or secondary but the income would go back to the kitchen. “With an investment of one lakh each from 15 friends, we started our work as an experiment with 15 cotton farmers, 35-40 spinners, 15 farmers, five natural dyers and five tailors. We would prove that rural economy demanded only low investment per employment. We started in Madurai in 2013 and expanded operations to Karnataka where we would revive the traditional Jayadhar cotton — possible because of quick turnaround of money, effective marketing and high discipline. We sold Tula cloth and garments from suitcases at meetings we attended. We would say, ‘You heard what we said about farmers’ plight. So now buy these’.” People who buy Tula garments always return for more because of its feel, says Ananthoo. It is all word-of-mouth, people Google it. NRIs buy them as gifts. One family bought a whole range of outfits as wedding dresses — theirs became a Tula wedding. People sport Tula and post pictures on FB. The Tula value-chain leaves the lightest footprints, it revives the art of natural dyeing, where even the mordants are chemicals-free. “Our latest is the blue extracted from Aparajitha flowers (Sangupushpam).” Colours can be got from pomegranate, turmeric, vembadam and other plant derivatives. The buttons are from coconut shells, not plastic, so even after they are discarded, they bring no harm to the Earth. Tula follows ethical, eco-friendly practices, it tries to revive skills, restore traditional art and craft. Tula is now well-known in the alternative world. Tula garments are not cheap because it pays farmers, spinners and weavers well. Women are paid separately for starching and reeling. You have to make a conscious decision to buy this product. And it is happening. “A 20+ woman visited us, loved the fabric and sitting in the balcony, produced a book full of trendy designs for Tula.” Will someone come forward to get them tailored? Tula was born in the same garage as Restore and OFM. There was little space for clothes display, and the garments had to be protected from people handling them with “veggie hands” after shopping at OFM. So they were stocked in suitcases and cardboard boxes on a top shelf. A circle of volunteers/ambassadors/activists helps put up stalls in organic/craft melas and exhibitions. “Only one-third of the product is sold in the Indira Nagar showroom.” OFM and Tula co-existing (food-and-clothing) is a boon. Those who come for food items are exposed to clean, organic, livelihood-giving cotton. You get your Tula-buy rolled in paper or in paper bags. There is no brochure or visiting card. The Tula team’s dream is for people to come forward to add value to the garments, embellish the products, replicate this model, create an organic line and sell them. “We don’t mind even if people take them and run away, this is not bound by big investment.”

 

Source: The Hindu

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Promoting textile traditions

 

The five-day exhibition ‘Kala Silk Handloom and Handicrafts’ was inaugurated by upcoming Tollywood actresses Afia Bharadwaj and Aliya Abraham at Sri Satya Sai Nigamagamam in Srinagar Colony on Thursday. The exposition has handloom and designer sarees, fabrics, salwar suits, khadi wear, Pochampally saris, cholis, accessories and handicraft jewellery, paintings and home linen, jute bags, saharanpur furniture, crafted by designers and artisans from all across the country. “Kala Silk Handloom Expo is an effort to bring to the fore the textile tradition of India, handcrafted in the contemporary style by fashionista using traditional weaves, prints and embroideries to present customers with an elegant collection,” said oraganiser Vikas Pincha.

 

Source: The Hans India

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Global Textile Raw Material Price 2017-09-28

 

Item

Price

Unit

Fluctuation

Date

PSF

1351.72

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

VSF

2432.35

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

ASF

2409.76

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

Polyester POY

1272.65

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

Nylon FDY

3313.42

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

40D Spandex

5723.18

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

Polyester DTY

5693.06

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

Nylon POY

1528.69

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

Acrylic Top 3D

2982.08

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

Polyester FDY

2560.37

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

Nylon DTY

1641.65

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

Viscose Long Filament

3373.66

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

30S Spun Rayon Yarn

3027.26

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

32S Polyester Yarn

2030.22

USD/Ton

-0.15%

9/28/2017

45S T/C Yarn

2876.65

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

40S Rayon Yarn

3192.93

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

T/R Yarn 65/35 32S

2424.82

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

45S Polyester Yarn

2168.78

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

T/C Yarn 65/35 32S

2424.82

USD/Ton

0%

9/28/2017

10S Denim Fabric

1.42

USD/Meter

0%

9/28/2017

32S Twill Fabric

0.88

USD/Meter

0%

9/28/2017

40S Combed Poplin

1.22

USD/Meter

0%

9/28/2017

30S Rayon Fabric

0.68

USD/Meter

0%

9/28/2017

45S T/C Fabric

0.72

USD/Meter

0%

9/28/2017

Source: Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15061 USD dtd. 9/28/2017). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com.  SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.

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Pakistan : CCRI developing new cotton varieties

 

MULTAN: Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) is developing new cotton varieties with capability to survive extreme hot weather conditions and water shortage, its official said on Thursday. Zahid Mahmood, director of CCRI Multan said farmers would soon witness such varieties growing in the fields. “The country’s development and agriculture revolution depends on the prosperity of farmers,” Mahmood said, addressing a field day programme. He said cotton is passing through last stages of maturity, urging farmers to ensure picking of clean cotton and adopt proper techniques for its picking, storage and transportation to get premium price. The institute’s director said the government is making all-out efforts to make access of farmers easy to modern technology and agriculture equipment.

 

Source: The News International

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Cotton Market Update: What the Spate of Storms Has Meant for the Fiber

 

Agriculture is one of those areas that lends itself to old sayings, and there are a couple that seem appropriate at the moment. One is: don’t count the bales until they are in the barn. This is apt considering the recent hurricanes that swept through parts of the cotton belt. Given the nature of calculating crop damage, which involves the complicated process of estimating how much there would have been, it will still be a while until accurate damage figures are released. What is known is that producers along the Texas coast were looking at a good crop, supported by gentle growing conditions for much of the spring and summer. Strong yields and high quality were widely expected in that area when Harvey blew through. This was heartbreaking for producers, who had been able to watch a solid crop develop only to have it taken away at the very end. Nonetheless, southern Texas is home to the earliest harvested cotton in the U.S. and some of the fiber from the region had been pulled from the fields ahead of the storm. Whatever cotton that made it through gins and into warehouses should have been protected. While southern Texas was actively harvesting when the hurricane arrived, cotton in the southeast U.S. was less developed when Irma arrived. Cotton is most vulnerable to storms when bolls are open and the fiber is exposed. Being naturally absorbent, cotton in open bolls can become heavy with rainfall and winds can knock them to the ground making that fiber impossible to harvest. When hurricane Irma arrived, many of the states in its path had only 30 percent to 50 percent of bolls open. When bolls are closed, fiber is not exposed to the elements and fields are more likely to survive storm damage. In terms of area, Irma was a much bigger storm than Harvey. Irma’s initial power and projected path suggested it could have a major impact. Although a distant second to Texas, Georgia is the second largest cotton producing state in the U.S. (in 2017/18 Texas is projected to grow 9.3 million bales and Georgia is expected to grow 2.7 million bales). The majority of Georgia’s cotton is grown in the southern part of the state, which would have been in the direct forecasted path. Thankfully, Irma quickly lost steam after making landfall in southern Florida. The storm’s weakening, in combination with the fact that many fields in the southeast did not have bolls open, suggests that the damage to Georgia’s production was less than feared and that the combined effects from hurricanes Harvey and Irma were not enough to change the primary storyline for the 2017/18 crop year. That dominant storyline is that the U.S. is growing a lot of cotton.

With prices for corn and soybeans low, U.S. cotton growers increased planting by 15 percent last crop year and another 20 percent this spring. On top of the increase in acreage, and apart from the hurricanes, the weather has been generally good. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sends teams of observers into the fields each week, and throughout the summer and early fall those observers have consistently indicated that crop conditions are the best they have seen in a decade. Current forecasts indicate yield will set a new record, and with this year’s increase in acreage, the U.S. is projected to produce its third largest harvest ever (21.8 million bales in 2017/18, up from the large 2016/17 crop of 17.2 million bales). The forecast for a very large U.S. harvest brings to mind a second old saying in the cotton market, which is: big crops tend to get bigger. This saying is rooted in forecasters’ inclination to be cautious and to make incremental upward revisions, especially when confronting the possibility of new records, such as the record yield projected for the U.S. this season. However, this saying has implications for the market beyond the U.S. India, which has also enjoyed generally favorable growing conditions over the past several months, is already expected to collect the second largest harvest on record and recent revisions to crop forecasts have been moving higher. China, Pakistan, Australia, Brazil, West Africa, all of the world’s major cotton producing countries and regions are expected to have larger crops in 2017/18 and the world cotton harvest is projected to be nearly 15 percent larger than it was last year. While supply promises to be very large, an important feature on the demand side is that China is expected to continue to restrict imports near recent low levels. In the past, when China was importing 10-15 million bales from the rest of the world, China absorbed surplus production from the rest of the world. The combination of low Chinese imports and a big crop outside of China promise a significant accumulation of supply outside of China. Since supplies outside of China are generally able to be traded without restriction, this implies downward pressure on prices. The fact that current forecasts indicate that supplies outside of China will rise to a new record suggests that the downward pressure on prices could be heavy as the world’s cotton harvesting intensifies over the next several months. As the recent hurricanes highlight, it is important not to count all of the bales until they have been harvested, but it should be safe to assume that this big global crop will stay big and can be expected to keep a lid on prices.

 

Source: Sourcing Journal Online

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USA : South Carolina Cotton Crop Looks Promising

 

After rain damaged it in the last two years, this looks to be a bumper year for the South Carolina cotton crop, just as a Clemson University economist predicted before planting even began. Mike Jones, South Carolina cotton specialist housed at the Clemson Pee Dee Research and Education Center, said 250,000 acres of cotton were planted in the state this year, up from 190,000 last year. Jones said this year’s crop could produce record yields if the weather holds out. “Right now, we’re predicting 960 pounds per acre,” said Jones during the Clemson Pee Dee REC Field Day. “I’ve been driving around and talking with (Clemson) county agents in the cotton-growing counties. I haven’t seen nor heard of a bad crop in the state this year.” Jones credits this year’s bumper crop to the weather. “Summer temperatures were more moderate,” Jones said. “We’ve also gotten good, timely rainfall most of the growing season. Moderate temperatures and adequate rainfall, combined, have resulted in favorable conditions for an outstanding cotton crop in South Carolina this year.” The state’s cotton crop dodged Hurricane Irma for the most part and just suffered minimal damage, Jones said. During the South Carolina Cotton Growers’ annual meeting in January, Nathan Smith, Extension professor and economist at the Clemson Sandhill Research and Education Center, predicted the South Carolina cotton crop would increase this year. Prior to 2017, the highest-yielding cotton crop in South Carolina was 955 pounds per acre in 2012. Other high-yielding years were 2014 with 912 pounds per acre, 2010 with 898 pounds per acre, 2008 with 896 pounds per acre and 2004 with 875 pounds per acre. The USDA rates the South Carolina cotton crop at 98% good to excellent, which has never happened in South Carolina. About 80% of the South Carolina cotton crop is planted the first week in May. Cotton harvest begins in late September. USDA reports that 73% of cotton bolls in the state were open as of September 24. Some South Carolina fields have already been picked and filled with modules to be taken to gin yards. Harvesting and ginning are expected to be in full force in the next few weeks.

 

Source: Cotton Grower

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Economic Impact of Cotton Across South Plains

 

LUBBOCK, TX - More than just a job, cotton farming across the South Plains is a livelihood for some families, but its economic impact goes well beyond the farmers themselves. "We don't think about it on a daily basis, if we live in town, we live in Lubbock and we're not connected to it, but obviously all of the state's economic output supports jobs. It supports the purchases, and the other economic activity that goes on," said Dr. Darren Hudson, Larry Combest Endowed Chair for Agricultural Competitiveness and director of the International Center for Agricultural Competitiveness at Texas Tech University. Depending on the year and yield, Dr. Hudson explained west Texas makes up to 75 to 80% of the Texas cotton crop, and that the Texas cotton crops makes up anywhere between 35 to 50% of the U.S. crop. Last year, Lubbock County was the largest cotton producing county in the U.S. "The regional economy we think is somewhere around generally around 35 to 40 billion dollars a year in regional economic output, about 25 to 35 percent of that is agriculture and of course the big player is cotton in our region on that. So, cotton plays a really important role, we're talking a quarter of the economic output in the region is directly related to cotton," said Dr. Hudson, who also explained that much of the Lubbock economy will feel the effects of when farmers have a "good" season versus a "bad" season. "Car sales change, and just the regional economic activity changes, like tourism and other kinds of things, even attendees at football games," said Hudson. The products made from the cotton locally grown will travel the world, but what it all comes down to is a solid homegrown foundation found right here across the South Plains.

Third-generation farmer Mike Patschke says his family has been farming in west Texas since the fifties, but before that, his grandfather began farming in central Texas back in the thirties. "I have the fourth and fifth upcoming generations coming up, and hopefully we'll still be around to see that in the next 30 years," said Patschke. "I feel like it's the best life in this area to be out on a farm and raise your children with the crops and the cattle." Patschske shared that the recent rainy weather in the area has been slowing things down on his farm, especially since it's near harvest time leaving the majority of the cotton bolls still closed up. "It's not fully mature, we need the sunshine to fully develop this cotton out," explained Patschke, who despite the minor delay is remaining positive. "There's never a dull moment in the farmer's life. You get up and you never know what to expect. The weather changes daily, and if it's not up to your liking, wait another day or two, it will change."

 

Source: Everything Lubbock.com

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Technical Textile Growth Set to Soar—But Can We Sustain the Eco Impact?

 

Fibers are doing more than they’ve ever done before—from providing functionality to garments, to circulating in a closed loop cycle and being made from old to new again, to eliciting emotional responses from socially conscious consumers—there’s a lot to look at on the bright side of the global fiber sector. “It’s not a surprise that it’s really a very exciting growth industry,” Lenzing chief commercial officer Robert van de Kerkhof said speaking at the Dornbirn Man-Made Fibers Congress in Austria this month. Global fiber demand is expected to see growth a little above average GDP at least until 2020, and in that time, technical textile production should reach 42 million metric tons. “Almost all regions are growing in technical textiles,” van de Kerkhof said, adding that China has seen the greatest growth of all. “It’s a very good industry to be in and a huge opportunity for us.” But all of that growth in fiber demand comes with a dark side too: pollution. For one, polluted water runoff from factories and from consumers washing garments made from non-biodegradable synthetic fibers, have been a source of ocean pollution—which has become an ever-prevalent issue in the apparel sector as the industry starts to realize how much plastic actually pollutes the world’s waters. And having garments made from recycled polyester won’t matter much to a conscious consumer if they know that fiber will simply end up polluting the ocean. “If we are not careful, all the innovation, all the work we are doing…we really can turn consumers off from buying our materials because they’re very concerned about the long-term future,” van de Kerkhof said. “It’s the brands and retailers that decide which fibers they put into their garments, which fibers they put on the shelves for consumers to buy.” If things aren’t done to curb the pollution coming from the textile sector and elsewhere, Dr. Hugo-Maria Schally, who works on sustainable production efforts for the European Commission, said, “We actually will see an ocean in 2050 where there’s more plastic than fish.” Facts like that have fueled the transition to a circular economy, Schally said, and the European Commission is working to set goals for more sustainable development. By 2030, the Commission wants to reduce municipal waste in Europe by 65 percent, it is working on legislation to promote water reuse, and it is trying to get a better understanding of the uses of recycled raw materials and a clearer definition of the requirements that need to be met in order to use them. The Commission is also working to find a solution to the overuse of incineration for getting rid of wasted textiles and plastics that could possibly have been turned into textiles. As it stands, according to Schally, 40 percent of plastics get incinerated, and Commission wants to see raw materials designed for long life and recyclability from the start. In turn, all of these efforts will ultimately benefit businesses’ bottom lines. “Protecting the environment and boosting competitiveness go hand in hand,” Schally said. The need for less impactful textile process is an absolute one, Adidas senior director for sustainability strategy Philipp Meister added. “We are doing in total about 380 million pounds of apparel every year and yes, that makes us part of the problem,” Meister said. That’s part of the reason Adidas started its partnership with Parley for the Oceans, undertaking a project to turn plastic that would likely become ocean waste into functional footwear. The company has already committed to producing 1 million pieces of product for the project and the ultimate goal across its greater supply chain is to stop using virgin plastic altogether. Though some companies, like Adidas, have made firm commitments and are already progressing toward lowering their footprint, sustainability efforts thus far have largely been more talk than walk, according to Franz Josef Radermacher, a professor of informatics (information engineering) at Austria’s Ulm University. “We are all working on sustainability but it’s all words,” Radermacher said. “For most people in the world, development is more important than environment.” Though climate change has become a major issue, even the Paris agreement consists of voluntary pledges rather than binding commitments. But more than that, the industry needs to take a more macro look at the pollution problem in the textile sector. “The biggest problem we have,” according to Radermacher, “is always more people.” From 2000 to today, the number of people in the world grew by nearly 1.5 billion, according to Radermacher. “In 2050 we’ll be 10 billion people and if we do not do the right actions, then by the end of the century we’ll be 12 billion people,” he said. Those actions, Radermacher said, have to do with sources of wealth, creating opportunities for more people to have more money to in turn slow population growth. From there, the industry needs synthetic fuels, renewable energy and actions on climate control that will be required and not simply suggested, if the textile industry is to sustain itself. “We will survive, the question is under what quality of civilization,” Radermacher said.

 

Source: Everything Lubbock.com

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Messe Frankfurt’s Takeover of Source Africa Trade Show Points to Market’s Growing Potential

 

Messe Frankfurt, the market leader in trade shows for the textile and apparel industry, has acquired two leading African trade shows: Source Africa and ATF, the International Apparel, Textile & Footwear Import Trade Exhibition of Southern Africa. The two trade shows were sold to the Messe Frankfurt group, and the acquisition is expected to bring growth and attention to the shows centered around sourcing in Africa. The Source Africa trade show, based in Cape Town, South Africa, has become one of the most important pan-African textile, apparel and footwear trade shows, bringing together manufacturers, buyers, suppliers and services to showcase Africa’s capabilities for sourcing. This year, the trade show featured more than 150 exhibitors from 17 countries, including South Africa, Mauritius, Lesotho, Madagascar, Kenya, and also from Turkey, UAE, the U.S., the U.K. and Hong Kong. The sixth edition of the show will take place in Cape Town June 20-21, 2018. ATF, which will put on the 19th edition of its Cape Town trade show this Nov. 21-23, is designed for exhibitors to meet with trade buyers and other industry professionals. Economic growth in Africa has been robust in recent years, and according to World Bank, growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is forecast to go from 2.6% in 2017 to 3.2% in 2018, outpacing the growth in the Middle East and North Africa, and Europe and Central Asia. That growth coupled with the African Growth and Opportunity Act remaining intact for now, has meant more and more brands considering Africa as a sourcing locale. “Breakthroughs in trade require time, effort and persistence—in any region of the world—but the result for developing nations is sustainable, inclusive economic growth that creates jobs and new wealth. The privatizing of Source Africa is one such breakthrough,” said Bill Grant, global practice lead for market systems development at DAI, an organization that supports development in Sub-Saharan Africa. “It’s the kind of success—building local capacity to commercially fill market gaps by providing information and linked traders—that the global development community should be talking about.”

 

Source: Sourcing Journal online

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TIFE 2017 focuses on innovation & circular economy

 

Curtains fell on the Textile International Forum and Exhibition (TIFE) 2017 that focused on intelligent innovation and circular economy. The trade event was an exchange platform of a global level for Taiwan textile industry to grasp global trends, create core competencies, and consolidate the country's position as a stronghold for global textile supply. The two-day annual event hosted by The Taiwan Textile Research Institute with the support of ministry of economic affairs ended on September 27 in Taiwan. The exhibition showcased key technological advancements in the textile industry. The event hosted 9 seminars and 3 forums for in-depth understanding of the global textile industry. Experts from various countries including UK, France, the Netherlands, Finland and Japan shared their views on smart textiles, circular economy and functional textiles. Well-known local and international entrepreneurs, experts, and scholars delivered lectures on issues of common concern, such as technology, inspection, and marketing management in anticipation of such activities driving further innovation and sustainability in the domestic textile industry. Entrepreneur Frederic Chanay, cofounder and CEO of the Canadian startup OMsignal, talked about the future of bio-sensing garments, while Arlene Kidd of Ardmel Automation, a UK-based company, threw light on the scope of performance textiles in the outdoor and defence segments. Speakers shared their views on various topics including   trends of European outdoor market and opportunity for Taiwan functional textile, Smart electronic textiles: technologies, applications, opportunities and Circular economy: technology innovations enable next megetrend in global textile and fashion industries etc.  

 

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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ITMF conference concludes successfully in Bali

 

The International Textiles Manufacturers' Federation (ITMF) annual conference 2017 was a grand affair with participation of over 280 experts and delegates from more than 28 countries. The international conference held recently in Indonesia was themed on technology, trade, and climate in disruptive times, indicating where the challenges come from.  The four-day conference hosted panel discussions and Q&A sessions apart from presentations on various issues in the textile value chain.  On September 13, the conference kicked-off with a meeting of the directors of ITMF member associations, associate and corporate members. Dr. William Humphries of Humphries Scientific, Australia and Peter Kreitals of Kreitals Progressive Business Advise, conducted a workshop on 'Managing Innovation Risks' on the second day. It was an opportunity for the participants to get a better understanding of innovation risk and ideas to increase the chances of innovation projects creating value for their companies. The day witnessed meetings of the Spinners Committee, Joint Cotton Committee and Fibres & Applications (F&A) Committee and traditional Fibers Session on cotton and man-made fibers. In the opening session of the third day, Jas Bedi, president, ITMF, Kenya, talked about the changing global consumption patterns and the growing per capita consumption in developing countries such as China and India. "The per capita consumption of all fibres will further increase because China’s own consumption is expected to grow from current 18 kgs to 25 kgs (similar to Europe) and India’s consumption will rise from the current 5 kgs to 15 kgs. Whilst the US remains the largest consumer with 39 kgs per capita, the global consumption patterns will change by 2025," said Bedi. Indonesia’s textile-related exports are projected to reach $15 billion by 2019 and will employ 3.11 million people, said the country's industry minister Airlangga Hartanto on the general session on textile industry in Indonesia. The industry ministry predicted that textile and textile products exports will grow around 11 per cent annually. The sector is estimated to contribute $12.09 billion to the economy in 2017 and $13.5 billion in 2018. By 2017 end, this sector can absorb up to 2.73 million workers, and increase that to 2.95 million in 2018. The general director of ITMF Christian Schindler talked about the global textile (machinery) industry in disruptive times. "Since the last few years, the textile industry in Indonesia has experienced stable growth. It has the potential to grow efficiently in the future. However, textile production in Africa, America and Europe has more potential due to technology, fast trends, and reduced cost differentials and circular economy," said Schindler. "Fast fashion and e-commerce have transformed the textiles industry fundamentally, Industry 4.0 is becoming a reality much faster than expected, political patterns are undergoing fundamental change (nationalism and protectionism), and environmental challenges are more visible than ever," Schindler added. ITMF is an international forum for the world's textile industries, dedicated to keeping the world-wide membership constantly informed through surveys, studies and publications, participating in the evolution of the industry's value chain and through the organisation of annual conferences as well as publishing considered opinions on future trends and international developments.

Source: Fibre2fashion

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