The latest surge in electricity prices would further increase the cost of doing business for textile sector and may further hamper the production capacity of export-oriented sector, observed a parliamentary panel. The concerns were also admitted by Federal Minister for Commerce and Textile Pervaiz Malik. He said that second LNG terminal will be operational within the next two months, which would help decrease power rates. The Senate Standing Committee on Commerce and Textile which met with Shibli Faraz in the chair on Wednesday called upon the government to take tangible steps and formulate policies aimed at boosting the textile sector of the country. The federal minister said that industry is demanding reduction in electricity prices, but Ministry of Water and Power has its own issues and limits. Furthermore, the industry is demanding uniform gas prices across all provinces, he added. Pervaiz Malik said that the Prime Minister has given a task to the Ministry for framing recommendations in consultation with all the stakeholders for reducing the cost of doing business and boost country exports. The committee would also consider whether the Rs 3.10 tariff rationalization surcharge should go away or not. After finalization of recommendations, these would be shared with the PM, he added. Members of the committee expressed concern over the decreasing trend of the cotton crop and urged for immediate intervention from the government to incentivise the cotton growing sector and introduce modern seeds with better results. The committee observed that Exim Bank is limited to documentations only.The chairman of the committee remarked that level playing field needs to be provided to the textile sector as it is being considered the backbone of the country's economy and contributing the exports. Shibli Faraz said that there is huge scope for research and development and a clear cut vision needs to be adopted to make with proper mechanisms to produce results and achieve goals. Senator Usman Khan Kakar observed that excessive use of pesticides and reliance on low quality seeds have affected the crop production and compromised quality of the product. "Quality seeds should be introduced for better results," he remarked. The Textile Division apprised the committee of the overall situation of textile sector. It was informed that Pakistan is the 4th largest producer of cotton. They informed that a major slump was witnessed in production of cotton crop during the last two years. However, the government has taken initiatives to address this challenge and during this year production of 12.6 million bales is expected. The Committee decided to further deliberate on the issues relating to textile sector. The committee also recommended to the textile division to improve infrastructure of the sector and bring dynamism for competing in the international markets. The committee was further informed that Rs 10 billion have so far been released against the claims of Rs 18 billion of textile sector under the Prime Minister Package of incentives for exporters. An amount of Rs 14.43 billion has been paid to the textile sector by FBR against RPOs issued up to April 30, 2017. Other competitors like Bangladesh, India, China and Turkey are subsidising their textile exports. From July 2016, five export-oriented sectors including textiles have been made part of zero rated tax regimes. The zero rating facility is available on purchase of raw materials, intermediate goods and energy. Duty free import of textile machinery is continued. Further the government has reduced the Export Finance Scheme (EFS) mark-up rate from 9.4 percent in June 2014 to 3.0 percent in July 2016. Textile Division recommended short term plans including implementation of the PM package, payment of sales tax refunds, Rs 30 billion as on June 30, 2017, payment of customs duty draw backs, Rs 7.5 billion, relief on electricity and gas tariffs and relief on sales tax on electricity bills for power-looms.
Source: Business Recorder
The powerloom sector in India is mostly an unorganised sector and has a large number of micro and small units. The Union Ministry of Textiles has introduced a technology upgradation scheme in association with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) to revive the ailing powerloom sector. The initiative, SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of Efficient Textile Technologies to Help Small Industries), entails complete replacement of age-old technology with the most modern one without any upfront cost to be paid by powerloom owners. EESL, a public sector entity under the Ministry of Power, would procure energy-efficient powerlooms, motors and rapier kits in bulk and provide them to the small and medium powerloom units at no upfront cost. “The unit owner neither has to allocate any upfront capital cost to procure the equipment, nor does he have to allocate additional expenditure for repayment. In fact, repayments to EESL would be made from the savings that accrue as a result of higher efficiency equipment, and cost savings,” said Sri Narain Aggarwal, chairman, The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC). “The aggregation of demand and bulk procurement will also lead to a reduction in capital cost, benefits of which will be passed on to the powerloom units so that their repayment amount and period would reduce,” he said. Aggarwal said the unit owner would be required to repay the amount to EESL in instalments over four-five years. “This is the aggregation, bulk procurement and financing model that EESL has successfully deployed in several sectors like LED bulbs, smart meters and electric vehicles,” he said. The initiative will be jointly implemented by EESL and the office of Textile Commissioner on a pan-India basis. To kick start the implementation, cluster-wise demonstration projects and workshops will be organised in key clusters such as Erode, Surat, and Ichalkaranji. The powerloom sector in India is predominantly an unorganised sector and has a large number of micro and small units which produce 57 per cent of the total cloth in the country. There exist 2.49 million powerlooms in this country, mainly in the unorganised sector, and most of them use obsolete technology. Dealing largely in cash with no official track record, the powerloom sector was first hit by demonetisation in November last year, followed by the goods and services tax (GST) roll-out. With a view to upgrading the technology, the government has been implementing the in-situ upgradation of plain powerlooms as part of Power Tex India. Under this plan, plain powerlooms are attached with process control equipment, leading to higher productivity, better quality and more than 50 per cent additional value realisation. So far, 170,000 plain powerlooms have been upgraded under the scheme, with a total government subsidy of Rs 186 crore.
Source: Business Standard
The government on Thursday extended the deadline by a month till November 30 for businesses to claim credit of transitional stock in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. "Form GST TRAN-1 (with revision facility) extended to November 30, 2017," said a tweet by GST@GOI, the official twitter handle of the government for GST. TRAN-1 is to be filed by those businesses that are keen to claim credit for taxes paid before the launch of GST on July 1. "The extension would aid in subsiding the anxiety among various industry players, caused on account of revision option of TRAN-1 not being available on the portal even 4 days prior to the due date," EY India Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said. The GST Council, in its 21st meeting in Hyderabad, had decided to extend the deadline for filing TRAN-1 form to October 31, from September-end earlier. It also allowed businesses to revise the form once in the case of any discrepancy. As much as Rs 65,000 crore out of the nearly Rs 95,000 crore tax collections in July -- the first month of GST -- have been claimed as transitional credit by taxpayers. Following this, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) had ordered a scrutiny of all such claims above Rs 1 crore.
Source: Business Line
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is creating a new business culture in the country, and in the long term, its biggest beneficiaries will be consumers,” Prime Minister Modi said here on Wednesday, adding that “increased competition due to the GST will lead to moderation in prices, and will directly benefit poor and middle class consumers.” The Prime Minister was speaking after inaugurating a two-day international conference on consumer protection hosted by the Consumer Affairs Department and UNCTAD. The steps taken by his government to protect consumer interests, Modi said the use of technology in the past three years had set in motion a “new ecosystem for grievance redressal”. The manner in which this government has used social media in a positive way to protect consumer interest is unprecedented and has never been witnessed in this country before, he said.
DBT gains
Citing the example of the direct benefits transfer scheme in the public distribution system, the Prime Minister said with use of technology the government had been able to prevent ₹57,000 crore from going into the wrong hands. Invoking Kautilya (who wrote Arthashastra and served the Mauryan Empire) and the ancient Hindu scriptures, the Vedas, Modi said thousands of years ago, the rules of consumer protection had been laid out, as even the scriptures mentioned how people indulging in fraudulent trade should be dealt with. “It is mentioned in Atharvaveda that nobody should be involved in malpractices of quality and measurement,” Modi said. He said: “You will be amazed to know that about 2,500 years ago, during the time of Kautilya, there were guidelines on how to regulate trade and protect consumer interest..... If we draw a parallel with the era of Kautilya, we can say that the system can today be defined by posts, such as the Director of Trade and Superintendent of Standards.”
New Act on cards
The Prime Minister said consumer empowerment would be the focus of the new Consumer Protection Act being formulated by the government, which would redress grievances in the shortest possible time and make more stringent norms for curbing misleading advertisements. “Protection of consumer interests is a priority of the government. This is also reflected in our resolution of New India. Moving beyond consumer protection, New India will have best consumer practices and consumer prosperity,” Modi said, adding that a Central Consumer Protection Authority would also be set up with executive powers.
Source: Economic Times
In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Bipeen Valame, CFO & Wholetime Director at Sutlej Textiles & Industry spoke about the results and his outlook for the company. Sutlej Textiles is the largest manufacturer of dyed yarn in India and operates in the B2B segment. Rupee has strengthened by 5-6 percent in the last nine months and it is a very competitive industry, it impacts the realisation on the export side, he said. The company continue to do good export in forex market but margins were under pressure, which is reflected in the results, he added. After goods and services tax (GST), the overall impact on the demand side was very significant which essentially was expected but the impact in textile segment is higher on account of unorganised markets, said Valame.Market should revive back and they should be on track by end of December and Q1 of next year, he further mentioned.
Source: moneycontrol.com
Days before the World Bank is set to bring out its flagship report assessing ease of doing business, government officials pinned their hopes on reforms in securing construction permits, starting a business and resolving insolvency, to push India’s rank higher. However, senior voices in the government as well as policy experts are divided over whether the country can finally crack the club of top 50 nations by 2018, which has remained Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aim. The World Bank is set to bring out the Doing Business Survey 2018 on October 31. On Thursday, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said that India’s position is bound to improve, owing to the significant number of steps taken by the government over the past year. India’s rank inched up by just one position to 130 in last year’s Doing Business Survey by the World Bank. This is the same as the year before, but qualifies for a single upward movement in rank as India’s position in 2016 has been revised to 131 by the World Bank. Therefore, India will have to improve its position by a whopping 80 places to meet the Prime Minister’s target in just one year. Last year, the government had argued that a series of reforms went unnoticed since those reforms only instituted till June 1, 2016, were taken into account by the World Bank. It had also pointed out that the multilateral body bases its report on feedback from users of government services such as traders, industrialists and the general public, who were unaware of these reforms. Since then, the DIPP has upgraded awareness campaigns about reforms implemented. “The same may happen this year as well. There is logically no way that we will be able to see such as significant jump in rankings, no matter the spectrum of reforms instituted by us,” a senior government official said. He alluded to the enterprise survey on ease of doing business, conducted by the NITI Aayog and Mumbai-based IDFC Institute, which was released in August and showed that it still takes 118 days on an average to set up a business in India. The findings of the Enterprise Survey were at sharp variance with the World Bank report, which showed that it took just 26 days to set up a business in India in 2016. “While the World Bank report takes into account only the metropolises of Mumbai and Delhi, the Aayog report mapped the whole country, the sharp difference across the country show that the overall pace of business reforms are slowing down,” said the above mentioned official. The Enterprise Survey also showed that it took 118 days on an average to start a business in the country with wide interstate differences. Tamil Nadu, the best-performing state, managed to do this in 63 days. However, this year, the government has been pushing reforms taken to improve the efficiency in granting construction permits, starting a business and resolving insolvency. It is also banking on reforms in trade infrastructure such as the introduction import data processing and monitoring system becoming active since then will help, a senior official said on condition of anonymity. Previous commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said the government had taken about 7,000 different measures to boost the ease of doing business. After cutting the number of action points to less than 300, the DIPP introduced sub-points, taking the total to nearly 680 reforms. In contrast, in 2016, states had to implement 340 reforms and the rankings were based on the outcome achieved. Apart from this, the government, in 2017, has drawn focus on specific sectoral reforms at the state level in areas such as transport, state excise, licences for health, drug, pharma, and fertiliser. The World Bank ranks countries on 10 specific parameters. Among these, India’s position had deteriorated in 2016 on all counts, barring the categories of getting electricity, enforcing contracts and registering property. The country continued to improve the most in getting electricity connection, with its ranking soaring from 51 last year to 26 in the latest report. However, the two other parameters recording positive movement – enforcing contracts and registering property – still place India at 172 and 138 places, respectively, among all nations.
Source: Business Standard
The Maharashtra government has asked the Centre to denotify the Bt cotton seed strain Bollgard II (BG II) as the genetically-modified seed has lost its resistance to pink ballworm, the main pest that affects cotton plants, reported Times of India. The Maharashtra government has asked the Centre to denotify the Bt cotton seed strain Bollgard II (BG II) as the genetically-modified seed has lost its resistance to pink ballworm, the main pest that affects cotton plants, reported Times of India. The Union agriculture ministry had invited state officials for a consultation on this issue on Wednesday. Farmers are also seen to be unaware of consequences of spraying insecticides on Bt cotton seeds. The state has earlier raised concerns about Bt cotton seeds as several farmers died due to the increased pesticides spraying following a major infestation of the pink bollworm. In July, the state had earlier written to the Centre asking for help regarding the vulnerable condition of Bt cotton. "We have written to the Centre to denotify BG II from the Bt cotton category due to loss of its efficacy against the pink bollworm," said state agriculture secretary Bijay Kumar. Around 96 percent of cotton farmers in Maharashtra use Bollgard-II seeds, a Bt cotton variant introduced in 2010. Since it is losing its resistance against pink ballroom, the farmers have complained to state's agriculture ministry regarding the crop failure for the second year. A large amount of cotton production was destroyed in Jalna last year, where farmers had asked the state government to compensate them for losses.To avoid similar losses this year, the state has suggested the Centre to downgraded the seed to a hybrid, which will lead to a drop in its price. "If BG II is denotified, it may result in a reduction in price from the present around Rs 800 a packet to Rs 400 a packet. Farmers can use the money saved in meeting the additional cost of plant protection," said Kumar.
Maharashtra is one of the leading cotton producers in the country, where a majority of farmers use Bt cotton seed because of its resistance to pesticides. However, a report by Central Institute of Cotton Research had confirmed last year that the seed was susceptible to the pink bollworm. "Farmers opt for BG II seed thinking crops will be protected from pink bollworm, but they need to be aware this is no longer the case," said agriculture minister Pandurang Fundkar. However, a spokesperson of Monsanto (India), the company which develops BG II technology seeds, claimed that "incidents of pink bollworm infestation have been reported in limited pockets of the state." The Bt cotton seeds, which are marketed in India through the joint venture firm Mahyco Monsanto Biotech India, are costlier than the traditional varieties. Thus, the decline in their resistance towards pests has increased the farmers' cost of production, which has pushed the government to take the move of denotifying these seeds, a move not welcomed by Monsanto. "The recommendation to denotify transgenic seeds and treat them as conventional seeds seems incredulous and may be in violation of applicable laws including the Environment Protection Act 1986," Monsanto spokesperson told the paper. Stating that the seeds have resistance towards pest as promised earlier, the spokesperson said that resistance management in pests was a joint responsibility. And it included the efforts of all the stakeholders such as farmers, seed companies, technology providers, trade, end-user industry, regulatory bodies, state agricultural universities and government departments.
Source: Moneycontrol.com
CHENNAI: A 100-member delegation from textile and garment industry would be visiting the United Arab Emirates next month. Federation of Indian Export Organisation Chairman A Sakthivel would be leading the business delegation to take part in the International Apparel and Textile Fair to be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre between November 1 and 3, a press release said. During the visit, the traders would be displaying fashion readymade and fashion garments at the Indian pavilion. Currently, India's textile and garment export is focused to Europe and United States markets. By the participation in the trade fair, "FIEO envisages to serve major GCC countries directly", it said. The United Arab Emirates ranks third in the world in terms of textile exports. It is also the fourth largest trading centre for fashion and apparel, it said.
Source: The Economic Times
Notwithstanding the decision to pump in ₹6.92-lakh crore for the development of over 83,000 km of roads in the next five years, industry experts said achieving ambitious targets will require much more than just addressing the financing issue.
Misses target
In 2016-17 financial year, for example, around 8,000 km were build against the target of 15,000 km. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had also set a target of 25,000 km of National Highways (NHAI) to be awarded, out of which NHAI was supposed to tender 15,000 km and MoRTH the remaining 10,000. This target was missed. “Construction activity in first 11 months of FY17 rose 18 per cent year-on-year given the lower base however, awarding activity has suffered given weak land acquisition during the year,” Motilal Oswal analysts noted in the report earlier this year. “However, our channel checks suggest that momentum should pick up significantly in FY18,” the report said projecting NHAI awarding activity during the current fiscal to reach 15km per day and the construction activity to increase from 6.5km per day to 10km per day.
Bottlenecks
The road sector has been facing execution delays, project cancellations, loss of lender confidence, leveraged balance sheets of developers and sluggish traffic growth for several years. Even though various policy measures undertaken by the government in past two years – including those dealing with land acquisition and various clearances have revived the sector and improved lenders’ confidence – the pace of execution still largely depends on government agencies, and there is a lot more to be done on this front, industry players believe. “Bid-ready projects with the necessary land in place with the authority, rigorous efforts at the time of project preparation and speedy dispute resolution will be the key aspects for achieving the target as set in the Bharatmala programme,” Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Director and Practice Lead – Transport and Logistics, CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory, told BusinessLine. He added that while public money does help in kickstarting and sustaining road development, the vibrancy in the sector would come in when the private sector starts taking the market risk by bidding for the build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects, which is unlikely to happen in the near future as analysts and industry players expect most of the projects to continue to be awarded through Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) or Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) routes. Shubham Jain, Vice-President and Sector Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA Limited, noted that the execution of the National Highways Development Project suffered both on account of funding and approval-related issues.“While the dependence on the private sector investments for Bharatmala Phase-I is low when compared to the twelfth five-year Plan, which could result in faster awards, securing right of way by complying with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act is going to be a challenge,” expert believes. “Therefore, the success of Bharatmala critically hinges on the pace of land acquisition along with other requisite approvals.”
Source: Business Line
The impasse in cotton trading at Adilabad Agriculture Market Yard was broken late on Thursday, the second day of protest by farmers, but the irritant issue remained to be solved. Opposition parties called for a bandh in the market yard from Friday demanding resolution of the moisture content question before trading resumes. The formula which was agreed to by the farmers was forged between the traders and representatives of the Congress, BJP, CPI and CPI (M) in the presence of Forest Minister Jogu Ramanna. The traders agreed to purchase cotton at ₹ 4,200 per quintal irrespective of the moisture content beyond 16 % by weight. In case the moisture content was below 16%, the farmers stood to gain ₹42 per percentage point. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary G. Sujatha had started her hunger strike on Wednesday demanding raising of the lower moisture content limit from 8 % to 12 %. As the issue had remained unresolved, she had stayed put in a tent near the AMC yard gate all night. BJP Adilabad district president Payal Shankar and State leader Suhasini Reddy joined her. Also present were representatives of the CPI and CPI (M) who participated in the negotiation held with the traders. At one stage agitated protesters had squatted on the railway line, which passes close to the market yard, in a bid to detain the Nagpur-Mumbai Express. However, railway police removed the protesters with the help of local police and the train had an uneventful passage. Earlier, farmers had resorted to a rasta roko at Punjab Hotel Chowk for about an hour throwing traffic out of gear. A large number of cotton laden vehicles were stranded on all roads which led to the market yard.
Source: The Hindu
HIGH POINT – Boutique textiles designer and distributor American Silk Mills announced it is being purchased by Sutlej Textiles and Industries Ltd. of Mumbai, India. American Silk Mills said following the acquisition, the company will continue in all of its current business lines but will have expanded operating and financial resources. “Sutlej recognized American Silk’s outstanding industry reputation, the quality of our brand and our market presence. This transaction will allow American Silk to grow and modernize while maintaining its stature as a heritage brand and industry leader,” said Chuck Cox, CEO of American Silk Mills. Founded in 1896, American Silk Mills designs, weaves and distributes textiles for the residential, contract, transportation and specialty markets. These products include indoor/outdoor performance fabrics, jacquard textiles, decorative silks and velvets. American Silk Mills also has exclusive U.S. distribution for Sensuede, a luxury brand of synthetic suedes. Sutlej Textiles and Industries Ltd. (STIL) is one of the largest integrated textile manufacturing companies in the world. The company said the acquisition will accelerate its entry into the American market. ChinaPlus Capital Ltd., acted as investment bankers to American Silk and in concert with executive management negotiated the terms of the acquisition. The Waxman Law Firm of New York City served as counsel to the company, and Fredrikson and Bryan of Minneapolis served as counsel to Sutlej.
Erin Berg |
Associate Editor
Erin Berg is an Associate Editor for Furniture/Today. After earning her B. A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Southern California, Erin began her career in marketing where she served clients in a wide variety of industries from film and television entertainment to aviation. Erin lived in Italy and four different states before landing in North Carolina in 2009.
Source: Furniture Today
In an effort to galvanize around collective action in the apparel and footwear industry a group of industry leaders on Tuesday launched the Apparel Impact Institute (AII) which is designed to work with brands and manufacturers to select fund and scale projects that dramatically improve the sustainability impact of the apparel and footwear industry. Despite widespread awareness of the environmental hazards within the apparel and footwear industry few of the pilot projects designed to reduce impacts are operating at the scale needed to meet the critical environmental and social outcomes brands and consumers are seeking. The AII will identify promising projects that are working in limited geography for example or are targeting a narrow problem yet show potential for broader application. By applying the appropriate resources the AII will help bring them to scale more quickly. “Through the Higg Index we’ve seen incredible industry collaboration when it comes to standardizing sustainability measurements ” said Jason Kibbey CEO of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. “It’s critical that we also take collective action to put that data to work. The Apparel Impact Institute allows us to act jointly on scaling practices that have a positive impact on people planet and the whole industry while simultaneously helping brands and manufacturers improve their Higg Index scores.” The AII’s first project will focus on Mill Improvement one of the most environmentally impactful segments of clothing production. Specifically the AII has selected the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Clean by Design program which reduces energy water and chemical use to scale mill improvement across the industry and across geographies. Later this year the AII will focus on how to support and expand mill improvement initiatives globally. “IDH strongly believes that the time has come for the apparel sector to join forces to have an impact at scale ” Ted van der Put Executive Representative IDH said. “By working as a sector initiative with a wide representation of leaders in the apparel sector and by aligning with existing initiatives we can accelerate implementation and avoid fragmentation and duplication of similar initiatives. This will scale the impact on Sustainable Development Goals related to environment and social conditions.” “At Target we know that our decisions have the potential to impact millions of people around the globe from the people who create our products to the families they support and the communities where they live and we’re committed to leveraging Target’s scale for good ” said Ivanka Mamic senior director of responsible sourcing Target. “Industry collaboration is vital to driving change and ensuring a sustainable apparel industry. We support the Apparel Impact Institute’s analytical approach to collaboration and think it will provide a solid foundation for tracking progress and measuring outcomes which will help propel the apparel industry forward.” The AII came together using seed funding from the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) and Target and with additional financial support from PVH Corp. Gap Inc. and HSBC Holdings plc. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) is providing industry support and access to Higg Index data. The parties have engaged San Francisco management consultancy Schaffer&Combs for project management support of the Apparel Impact Institute’s early stage activities. Future projects will include closed-loop recycling and worker well-being for example and will expand to include additional brands and manufacturers in the apparel and footwear industry.
Source: Tecoya Trend
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 56.92 per barrel (bbl) on 26.10.2017. This was higher than the price of US$ 55.79 per bbl on previous publishing day of 25.10.2017.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs. 3687.75 per bbl on 26.10.2017 as compared to Rs. 3699.13 per bbl on 25.10.2017. Rupee closed stronger at Rs. 64.79 per US$ on 26.10.2017 as compared to 65.14 per US$ on 25.10.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on October 26, 2017 (Previous trading day i.e. 25.10.2017) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
56.92 (56.79) |
|
(Rs/bbl) |
3687.75 (3699.13) |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
64.79 (65.14) |
Source: PIB
A lot has been said about design intervention in reviving heritage weaves and techniques in certain handloom clusters. Several well known designers, in recent years, have been striving to revive vintage Benaras weaves, for instance. On the other hand, textile revivalists are trying to give a new lease of life to ‘korvai’ and other techniques of the kanjeevaram. Hyderabad-based designer Shravan Kummar felt it’s imperative to bring back forgotten ikat motifs from the pre-1920 era. “The 1920s and 30s are when mechanisation began to creep in when the British wanted more volume in less time,” reasons Shravan, on choosing to research an earlier era. Shravan’s heritage collection takes us back in time with elegant motifs of butterflies, annapakshulu, horses, elephants, the erstwhile ‘vanashringaram’ or ‘nandanavanam’ and the mythical yazhi, the chakra ghummam, and beladhari among others. The saris in lotus pinks and Rama blues and their styling draw inspiration from royalty of yore, including the late Gayatri Devi. The vintage line extends to men’s kurtas as well. A blue-white ikat silk bears an intricate motif of Sun god and horses. The animal figurines subtly accentuate these special occasion kurtas. Talking of the effort that went into recreating motifs that go beyond the over-used geometric and jacquard patterns we’re habituated to seeing in ikat, Shravan says, “It took our looms 18 months to make just nine saris. We’ve used real silver for the zari. The challenge was to get weavers of today recreate these motifs. The yarn was also treated differently to ensure that the fabric had a good fall and the sari isn’t too heavy. Some of the silk yarn went through double and triple polishing. This also helps give a matt finish to the fabric.” There’s no dearth of ikat being used by established and new fashion labels to create contemporary work wear for men and women, extending from saris and kurtas to dresses and trousers, and waistcoats to jackets. In all this spiel about urban chic, Shravan feels one has to also understand ikat’s history. A keen interest in vintage textiles has always been there, but he felt compelled to recreate older patterns. The preparatory work began with Shravan reaching out to his grandmother’s saris, sourcing old saris from families in Chennai, Kerala, Bobbili and Patiala, and visiting Calico Museum of Textiles in Ahmedabad, palaces and museums in Gwalior, Bikaner and Jaipur among other places. Shravan observes that the younger clientele has also begun to show a keen interest in heritage weaves, “Young women come to me with their mother’s or grandmother’s sari and some of these are not maintained in a good condition. We have forgotten the older methods of preserving heirloom textiles in camphor and pepper and placing them in a wooden box covered by newspapers. Quite often we recreate an entire vintage sari for a bride.” Reviving vintage weaves is an ongoing process and Shravan is working towards extending his repertoire. He mentions with pride a few special saris which he worked on with ikat weavers from Orissa to bring alive Ajanta and Ellora imagery on the saris.
Source: The Hindu
|
PSF |
1347.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
VSF |
2326.31 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
ASF |
2650.03 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1305.44 |
USD/Ton |
0.23% |
10/26/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3568.51 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
5947.52 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1603.57 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
3688.97 |
USD/Ton |
0.41% |
10/26/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
5691.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1543.34 |
USD/Ton |
0.49% |
10/26/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
3312.54 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2785.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2966.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2017.64 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2875.89 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2153.15 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2439.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3146.91 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2424.18 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.42 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.88 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.22 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.72 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/26/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15057 USD dtd. 10/26/2017). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
|
Top 10 Rising Categories |
Top 10 Falling Categories |
||
|
1.Chemical Fiber Grey Cloth |
1.93% |
1.Viscose Fabric |
-3.08% |
|
2.Lining |
1.82% |
2.Natural Fiber Grey Cloth |
-2.07% |
|
3.Thread & Rope |
1.53% |
3.Linen Viscose Fabric |
-1.21% |
|
4.Lace |
1.03% |
4.Window Screen |
-0.95% |
|
5.TS Fabric |
0.72% |
5.Blended Fiber Grey Cloth |
-0.78% |
|
6.Polyester Fabric |
0.65% |
6.Household Textile |
-0.73% |
|
7.TR Fabric |
0.63% |
7.Viscose |
-0.32% |
|
8.Belt |
0.58% |
8.Fashion Fabric |
-0.23% |
|
9.TN Fabric |
0.47% |
9.Apparel Lining |
-0.10% |
|
10.Other Chemical Fiber |
0.32% |
10.Blended |
-0.06% |
Source: Global Textiles
Lack of innovation and not keeping abreast with global trends are just some the reasons emphasized time and again for falling textile exports. This was further highlighted by the recent SBP report which stated that US consumer preferences are changing from cotton-based apparel to man-made fibre apparel. A number of yarn, weaving and dyeing projects have restarted after a period of postponement due to the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). In 2014, for the first time in decades, the US’s imports of synthetic apparel overtook cotton-based imports with 51 percent of its garment imports made primarily of synthetic fibres. From 36 percent in 2006 to 54 percent in 2016, the share of man-made fibres as a percentage of US apparel imports has been increasing steadily over the last decade. The trend in the US indicates the global trend. Currently, oil-based synthetic fibers have the lion’s share of 60 percent of the world fibre market whereas cotton’s share is about 25 percent. In the US, the shift comes after years of high cotton prices and improving synthetic technology. However, the story is not as simple as man-made synthetic fibres replacing cotton based apparel. A paper by World Bank examined the co-movement between cotton and polyester prices and concluded that a strong long-run relationship exists between the two. Cotton and polyester are often blended since polyester is a cost-effective fibre and can improve functionality as well. In case of apparels, polyester dominates as a blend with cotton and viscose. On the domestic front, the textile industry is excessively cotton based. Pakistan’s share in US’s total textile and apparel imports in 2016 was 3 percent, as per the Office of Textile and Apparel, USA, and for cotton based products it was 5 percent. US’s total man-made fiber imports in 2016 were $52 billion of which Pakistan’s share was $200 million. Pakistan is missing the shift from cotton to man-made fiber apparel. As global oil prices have seen a general decline over the last decade, synthetic fibers have seen a surge in popularity. Other than the cost of raw material, technological advances in synthetic fibres offer textiles that are softer, hang better and have better moisture absorbency than cotton. But Pakistan’s polyester sector continues to be under pressure from cheaper and under-invoiced imports from China and volatility in raw material prices. With the absence of sufficient support and general awareness of international trends, Pakistan’s international textile market is eroding away. Domestic players need to adapt evolving requirements of its primary markets otherwise the GSP Plus status would later appear like a short-term bonanza.
Source: Business Recorder
Pyongyang (CNN)Step inside North Korea's largest textile factory and it's not long before you're confronted with a banner emblazoned with the slogan "Kill and tear apart the lunatic Trump." The less-than-subtle banner was just one of a number devoted to US President Donald Trump, whose threats of "fire and fury" over the region's nuclear crisis have earned him few friends in Pyongyang. But while the nuclear missile saga and Trump's feud with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continue to play out, those on the factory floor are getting on with life. This poster refers to US President Donald Trump and says: "Kill and tear apart the lunatic Trump." Following a series of nuclear tests carried out by North Korea, the United Nations imposed fresh sanctions on Pyongyang, banning countries from importing its garments or textiles. It was a move that was supposed to crush spirits and yet the workers are seemingly galvanized by a foreign enemy. "Didn't that lunatic of the US Trump make absurd remarks, absurd remarks that he would do something to our country?" Mun Gang Sun, a loom operator, asked CNN. "So with this burning hatred to destroy him and get rid of him under this sky, or rather in order to destroy him, we are working harder and harder to reply with the production output." Mun's rhetoric matches the language used on the inflammatory poster, which also features a longer propaganda message in smaller letters. "All the fighters at work achieve the everyday goal by over 200% with hearts to kill dotard Trump by cutting and tearing apart his body and cutting his head off! We storm ahead." Mun Gang Sun operates a loom inside the Kim Jong Suk textile mill. Mun is just one of 8,000 workers inside the country's largest textile mill in the east of Pyongyang and was carefully chosen by government guides to speak with CNN. Chief engineer Ri Yong Gun, who has been working there for four years, also selected to speak with CNN, says the factory mainly produces goods for domestic consumption, providing fabric to local garment and bag manufacturers. He said that in the past, exports were a big business, with around 20 to 25% of its output bought up by clients from Russia, China and Japan. With sanctions bringing an end to exports, the focus has shifted, but Ri says production is continuing at a similar pace.
Most of the raw materials such as yarn and dyes, which had previously been imported, are now sourced domestically. While Ri said the lack of foreign currency from exports was an inconvenience, he claimed sanctions were making staff work even harder. North Korea's textile trade was estimated to be worth some $700 million to the economy last year, and was one of the few remaining legal sources of foreign income following sanctions on the sale of coal and iron. Mun Gang Sun, 30, met her husband at the factory and has two children While it's too early to decipher just how much damage the loss of business in the textile sector will have on the economy, previous sanctions appear not to have prevented economic growth over the past few years, according to estimates provided by the Bank of South Korea. In fact, within the factory, there appears to be an almost defiant attitude or perhaps one of absolute denial, when it comes to the effect of sanctions. Mun, who has worked at the factory since she left school, was recently awarded the title of "meritorious worker" for her performance on the factory floor, where she operates a weaving loom that makes polyester fabric. N. Korea: Take hydrogen bomb threat 'literally'But Mun is also a ranking member of the ruling Worker's Party of Korea and was even a delegate at leader Kim Jong Un's party congress, a position afforded to only the most loyal of members. She is determined to serve the state -- just as her parents did before they passed away. Now, as a wife and a mother to two young children, she says she is focused on helping her country move forward and resist international interference. Asked whether she feared the impact of sanctions or a military attack by the US, she insisted that the threats from Washington don't register on North Korean workers and that they aren't motivated by financial gain. "We are only working so that our people can live a better life, to wear prettier cloth and live in a better house," she said. "It's nothing related to missiles and such at all. "As long as we have our leader, as long as there's the military as well as the power coming from our unified people, what is there to be scared and afraid of?"
Source: CNN
A number of yarn, weaving and dyeing projects have restarted after a period of postponement due to the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). However, the textile & garment industry still faces difficulties. Trillions Enterprise, an investor from Brunei, which has a dyeing and weaving factory in Tan Duc IZ in Long An province, has asked for five more hectares of land in the IZ to scale up its production. Long Thai Tu Yarn, a South Korean enterprise, has decided to invest $50 million more to expand the workshop in Long Khanh IZ in Dong Nai province. In Binh Duong province, Taiwanese Far Eastern has registered additional investment capital of $485.8 million, raising its total investment in Bau Bang IZ to $760 million after two years of operation. A representative of the group admitted that it registered investment in Vietnam in 2015 to take full advantage of TPP. However, the manufacturer won’t change its plan even though the US withdrew from the agreement. According to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), the project registered by Far Eastern is among five projects with largest registered investment capital licensed in the first eight months of 2017. Unlike three years ago, there have been not many large-scale new FDI projects in the textile & garment sector this year. However, investors are expanding their operating projects. Some Vietnamese enterprises have also stepped up investment. Bao Minh Textile has invested $75 million in a project to make high-quality cloth in Nam Dinh, expected to become operational by March 2018. According to Vu Duc Giang, chair of Vitas (Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association), the investment capital poured into the textile & garment sector this year has been $2 billion. Though enterprises no longer look forward for the tax cut to zero percent, Vietnam remains a big garment exporter globally. Vietnam textile & garment export turnover in the first seven months of the year reached $17 billion, up by 9.94 percent over the same period last year. Vitas, noting that the input material imports increased by 18.76 percent, valued at $11.1 billion, has predicted that total export turnover in 2017 may exceed the target of $30 billion. According to Vitas, besides TPP, Vietnam’s textile & garment industry still enjoys benefits from other FTAs, including ones with the EU, South Korea and Japan. Vietnam now holds only 3 percent of the market share in the EU, which means it still has opportunities to boost exports to the market. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has warned that export markets have increased their trade remedies against Vietnam’s products. India imposed a tax of 35-45 percent on Elastomeric Filament Yarn.
Source: VietNamNet
BUFFALO — Standard Textile’s presence and impact on Union County is continuing to grow with the opening of its new distribution center on Industrial Park Road. Standard Textile manufactures textiles for customers in the healthcare, hospitality, decorative products and industrial laundry markets. Since 2004, the company has operated a textile production facility in Union County at 100 High Point Drive in the H. Mac Johnston Industrial Park off US 176 in the Union area. Like the company itself, the Union production facility has grown over the past 13 years, both in terms of the physical plant itself and its workforce. The most recent expansion of workforce of the Union County facility occurred in 2016 when Standard Textile entered into an agreement with Marriott International to provide Marriott with “Made in USA” towels and bath mats in every guest bathroom in nearly 3,000 hotels across the United States. The agreement between Standard Textile and Marriott International resulted in the creation of 65 new jobs in Union County. Standard Textile’s growth, both company wide and in Union County, reached the point where it needed additional space for the distribution of its products produced at the High Point Drive facility. The company acquired that additional space in 2016 with the purchase of the old Greenleaf building at 100 Industrial Park Road in the Buffalo community. Once purchased, the company set to work to rapidly renovate and expand the facility to accommodate the distribution center it needed. On Thursday, during a ceremony attended by executives from the company’s corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, and its local production facility as well as local government, business, and economic development officials, Standard Textile formally opened its new distribution center. Company officials described the distribution center as being modern, clean, and state-of-the-art like its local production facility. For more about the opening of the Standard Textile Distribution Center see Saturday’s edition of The Union Times and online at our website (www.uniondailytimes.com) and our Facebook page.
Source: Union Daily Times
Karl Mayer, a technology and market leader as well as driving force for innovations in textile machinery building, is supporting the Vietnamese warp knitting sector along its path towards modernisation and refurbishment. Karl Mayer is assisting Vietnamese companies with the installation of more up-to-date machines and equipment in the warp knitting sector. Vietnam’s textile and clothing companies are currently being upgraded. Last year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) presented the government with a general restructuring plan for the period covering 2016 to 2020. The document cites numerous objectives, which relate to the geographic relocation of companies, as well as the closure of fibre- and textile-producing companies working with out-dated technology, and increasing the productivity of the Vietnamese textile industry by for example using fewer highly efficient machines. Karl Mayer, among others, has detected this increasing demand from the state of its order books. Many domestic manufacturers are currently modernising and extending their plants. Companies have specialised in the production of mosquito nets and are now looking for new applications. Italian, Korean, Taiwanese, and Chinese companies are also investing in Vietnamese subsidiaries. The company will host a workshop named “Karl Mayer Workshop Vietnam” in November 2017 to support the modernisation and expansion process, not only by supplying high-tech machines, but also by providing the necessary know-how. The event will be presented by the sole agent of Karl Mayer in Vietnam, ILLIES Engineering Vietnam Co., Ltd. The topic of the workshop will be the introduction to the principles of warp knitting on tricot machines with focus on HKS 3-M. The workshop will display Karl Mayer’s machinery, explanation of Karl Mayer’s machinery functions based on the Karl Mayer’s guidelines, guidance for installation services of Karl Mayer’s machinery, and guidance for exchanging spare parts of Karl Mayer’s machinery. (GK)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The OEKO-TEX Association, in commemoration of its 25th Anniversary, commissioned a global research study to assess consumer attitudes about textile sustainability. The results of this research project are being released this week. Entitled “The Key to Confidence: Consumers and Textile Sustainability — Attitudes, Changing Behaviors and Outlooks,” the study of more than 11,000 clothing and home textile consumers around the world examined topics ranging from concerns about climate change to harmful substances in textiles. The findings from the study were released to OEKO-TEX Institute clients through a series of webinars and will be shared with the textile, home fashions and apparel industry via speaking engagements at upcoming industry events, webinars and other communiques. “The OEKO-TEX portfolio of testing, certification, and label products has increased substantially since we first entered the market in 1992,” said Anna Czerwinska, head of marketing and communication at OEKO-TEX. “The world’s issues and consumer attitudes have changed just as significantly. As long-time leaders in textile sustainability, we felt that this unique global study to quantify consumer attitudes about textile sustainability was a fitting tribute to our past twenty-five years as well as a worthy undertaking to prepare us to succeed in the next.” OEKO-TEX engaged consumer products researcher Ellen Karp and her company, Anerca International, to conduct the project. Karp works on sustainability and other branding issues with a wide array of the apparel, personal care and luxury brands. The Key to Confidence project was about a year in the making and was fielded in June. The more than 11,000 clothing and home textile consumers in the study completed an online survey with a full spectrum of questions designed to gauge their attitudes about sustainability, harmful substances, environmental responsibility and the social welfare of textile workers. “The quantitative findings derived through The Key to Confidence study should serve as a call to action for the textile industry,” said Karp. “Consumers are fast learning that their textile buying decisions impact not only their families but also their communities and beyond. Brands, retailers and manufacturers need to be ready for this awakening. It is definitely coming.”
Source: SGB Media
“It’ll be great to see jeans straight out of our fields, but we’re excited because this could be a real shot in the arm for American cotton in general,” says producer Jerry Allen Newby.
Chris Bennett
Jerry Allen Newby plans on wearing his 2017 cotton harvest. As the Alabama farmer drives a picker into a sea of Alabama cotton under the painted blue sky of a clear October day, Newby is gathering fiber from his family fields, but he’s also collecting his clothes for 2018. “Made in the USA” and the American farmer just got a big boost from Wrangler. In an effort to highlight the sustainability of the cotton industry, Wrangler is purchasing 40,000 lb. of Newby Farms cotton to feature in a line of denim jeans. Wrangler’s Healthy Soils Platform is piloting with Newby Farms in Athens, Ala., but will expand to particular growers in all 17 cotton states. “I feel like Wrangler’s sustainability initiative is also an American initiative. Maybe this is cotton’s version of food to table,” seventh-generation producer Newby explains. “People will know where their jeans come from and they’ll know the jeans were literally grown in the United States.” Utilizing a mix of no till, variable rate application, soil moisture sensors and cover crops, Newby’s growing methods mirror the initiative driving Wrangler’s new effort. “No-till, crop rotation, cover cropping, soil grid mapping, variable rate, IPM, and water efficiency are all practices we want in our cotton products. Within 10 years, we want all our products to contain cotton grown sustainably,” says Roian Atwood, director of sustainability at Wrangler. Jeans made entirely from Newby cotton will be available in fall 2018. Atwood saysWrangler’ssustainability initiative will extend across the Cotton Belt: “We want to become familiar with the different cotton farming communities and never be overly prescriptive. Our soil health practices are going to vary from region to region and this will be a sampler’s platter. We want this program to encourage land commitment and stewardship.” The Newby family typically grows 3,000 cotton acres per year and is a partner in Moore and Newby Gin, which churned out 7,500 bales in 2016. “It’ll be great to see jeans straight out of our fields, but we’re excited because this could be a real shot in the arm for American cotton in general. A ‘Made in America’ tag shows the importance of farming and can help make the public realize the necessity of a strong agricultural backbone.”
Source: Farm Journal
