The Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) has welcomed the initiative of the Government for increasing the Basic Customs Duties (BCD) on Fabrics and Made ups made out of Manmade fibres from 10% to 25%. Mr. Aggarwal informed that increasing the Basic customs duty on Fabrics and Made ups segment is in line with the Government’s “make in India” initiative and to protect the domestic industry that is providing employment to a large section of population in the country. Moreover these two segments are amongst the highest value-added segments in the textile industry. BCD on Man Made Textiles will help the domestic textile manufacturers he added. From the 3 Notifications issued by government for increase in Tariff rate of basic customs duty on textiles effective rate of specified fabrics and effective rates for fabrics/ garments/made ups respectively it is understood that there is no change in effective rate of polyester filament yarn/nylon filament yarn which is 5% and 7.5% respectively vide Sr.No. 289 and 290 of Notification No. 12/ 2012-CUS. There is also no change in staple fiber of 5503/5504 and effective rate for polyester staple fiber/Nylon staple fiber is 5% & 7.5% respectively vide Sr. No. 291 & 292 of Notification No.12/2012- CUS. Mr. Anil Rajvanshi Convenor SRTEPC has informed that it was a long pending plea of the Synthetic textiles sector of the country to the Government and it has been declared at the right time when imports of fabrics had become cheaper in the GST regime due to removal of the CVD which was existed earlier. Mr. Aggarwal informed that because of lower import duty huge quantity of manmade fabrics had been imported into India at cheaper rates from South Asian countries. Moreover the imported fabrics were highly undervalued which has resulted in closure of 30 to 40 percent of powerlooms in textile hubs like Surat Ichalkaranji Malegaon Bhiwandi Burhanpur Bhilwara Erode etc. Now the Import duty on man-made fabrics/ made ups has been increased to protect the interests of domestic manufacturers and Powerloom weavers he informed.
Source: Tecoya Trend
The Government of India has increased basic customs duty on polyester fabric from 10 per cent to 20 per cent with effect from October 27, 2017. After implementation of the GST, there was a significant drop in the import duty that threatened the survival of the domestic manufacturing industry due to cheaper imports from countries like China. In the pre-GST regime, polyester fabric attracted 10 per cent basic customs duty, 12.5 per cent countervailing duty (CVD) and 4 per cent Special Additional Duty. With the implementation of the GST from July 1 this year, CVD was replaced with IGST and the Special Additional Duty was scrapped. Consequent to the scrapping of 4 per cent Additional Duty and levy of 5 per cent GST on polyester fabric, the imported polyester fabric attracted 10 per cent basic customs duty and 5 per cent IGST. Subsequently, the industry had represented to the Government and the GST Council to increase the basic customs duty on fabrics to retain the competitiveness of the domestic manufacturing industry. Appreciating the revision (upward) of customs duty on import of textiles goods from other countries, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) chairman Sanjay K Jain said, “It’s a very positive and welcome step by the Government of India and will go a long way in fulfilling the Make in India, Skill India and India as a Global Textile Hub, initiatives of the Prime Minister of India.” Jain stated that the announcement has given the textile fabric industry a big relief as it was going through tremendous pressure post-GST regime. He further stated that the announcement will help the textile industry to strengthen itself in the domestic as well as international markets. “The announcement will help increase fresh FDIs, especially in the fabric sector, which will help the textile industry enhance its capacities to meet future challenges and opportunities arising in the domestic and foreign markets and penetrate new markets. The duty increase is mainly in man-made fibre based fabric, which is a weak link in the country and needs a lot of investment to increase Indian textile industry share in the MMF category,” Jain said. The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) has also hailed the Government’s decision to increase basic customs duty on polyester fabrics to 20 per cent and thus encourage ‘Make in India’ programme. “Since man-made fibre price in India is expensive by 20 per cent to 30 per cent due to high incidence of duties and levies, there was a threat of cheaper imports pouring in, especially from countries like China. The increased basic customs duty would reduce the quantity of imports,” SIMA chairman P Nataraj said in a press release. He added that “there is a need to increase the import duty on cotton fabric also on par with polyester fabric in the interest of powerloom and handloom sectors to sustain their competitiveness.” (RKS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
A high-level panel on the goods and services tax (GST) in its meeting on Sunday recommended major changes in the new indirect tax system that may ease the compliance burden for all assessees and make the composition scheme more attractive. It also proposed further easing the burden for restaurant owners. The group of state finance ministers (GoM), led by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, recommended that all GST payers be allowed to file quarterly returns, even as those with an annual turnover of above Rs 1.5 crore had to pay the tax every month, sources said. The GST Council in its previous meeting had decided to allow taxpayers with a turnover of up to Rs 1.5 lakh to file quarterly tax payment and return filing. Additionally, the panel suggested a reduction in late filing fees to Rs 50 per day, against Rs 200 at present. In a mega relief for small and medium enterprises, the panel recommended an overhaul of the composition scheme in the form of reducing rates, hiking the eligibility threshold to Rs 1.5 crore, from Rs 1 crore, and allowing interstate supply. It also proposed reducing rates to a flat one per cent for manufacturers and restaurants, against the current rates of two per cent and five per cent, respectively. For traders, it recommended a lower rate of 0.5 per cent in the case of a cumulative turnover of exempted and non-exempted goods, and one per cent for non-exempted goods. The composition scheme, which offers easier compliance, has received a lukewarm response, prompting the GST Council to give it a relook. “We have decided on a slew of measures to make the composition scheme attractive. It will be taken before the Council for a final decision,” said Sarma, after the meeting in New Delhi. Even job work under manufacturing will be allowed in the composition scheme. The other members of the panel are Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, Jammu & Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, and Chhattisgarh Minister of Commercial Taxes Amar Agrawal. The recommendations will be placed before the GST Council in its meeting in Guwahati on November 10. The GoM, constituted by the Council, has suggested allowing interstate sales for composition dealers. “The GST is one nation, one tax. Hence, dealers should be allowed to make interstate sales,” said Sarma. It also decided that restaurants outside the composition scheme — both AC and non-AC — must continue to get input tax credit even if their GST rate was reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. “We feel that restaurants must continue to get input tax credit. The rates in that case will be decided by the Council, considering the revenue implications,” said Sarma. However, the panel could not work out a consensus over allowing input tax credit for business-to-business transactions under the composition scheme. The Council will decide the issue. To date, 1.5 million registered entities, amounting to a sixth of 8.9 million GST assessees, have opted for the composition scheme so far. The Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, had raised the eligibility threshold for the composition scheme to Rs 1 crore, from Rs 75 lakh. The new window will be available till March 31. A composition dealer needs to furnish one return, i.e., GSTR-4, on a quarterly basis, and an annual return, Form GSTR-9A, as against three forms every month by a normal taxpayer. Besides, there is no requirement of invoice-wise details or Harmonised System of Nomenclature codes in their returns. The scheme is not available for manufacturers of tobacco and tobacco substitutes, paan masala, and ice cream.
Source: Business Standard
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) are in the fray for operating the proposed e-wallet system for exporters under the goods and services tax (GST) regime. The government is yet to decide on the agency that will develop the notional credit system to help exporters with working capital flow. GST Network (GSTN), the information technology backbone of GST, is also being considered for this. In the government’s push for a cashless economy, NPCI developed the Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app for making payments, available for customers of 55 banks across the country. NSDL, the country’s first and largest depository, handles most of securities held and settled in dematerialised form. It is also a GST Suvidha Provider, which facilitates filing of returns. The directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) is working out the amount of credit an exporter will initially need. E-wallet is essentially a notional credit and will not hit the exchequer, as it is not backed by actual money. “The government will not have to put in anything. It will be all notional, based on the exporter’s record with DGFT,” said Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia. Based on an exporter’s past record, DGFT will decide the amount of inputs he or she is buying, based on which how much tax one will have to pay on inputs will be calculated. “You can transfer it to anyone with an e-wallet. Even a trader can have an e-wallet and receive credit from an exporter and use it to pay GST. Notional credit can be used to pay CGST and IGST,” said Adhia. The account will be replenished when one gets the refund and will stay with him. “With this, there will be no working capital blockage and no interest liability for exporters,” Adhia added. Exporters have complained of working capital constraints. due to the slow rate of refunds on IGST by the government. In a relief for exporters till the ewallet becomes functional, the GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, decided to lower the IGST for merchant export to a nominal 0.1 per cent till March 31. In the preGST regime, no tax was charged at the time of export. Now, IGST needs to be paid, which exporters may claim as refund while filing returns. Amid constant complaints of working capital blockage, the GST Council decided to expedite refunds for exporters. Since October 10, the government has refunded around ~200 crore of IGST paid on export in July, of a total claim of ~750 crore. About ~67,000 crore has been collected as IGST, from which refunds to exporters are estimated at about ~2,000 crore for July and August.
Source: Business Standard
The GST Council has decided to make several changes in the GST law in respect of small businessmen and particularly the composition scheme. The GST Council has decided to make several changes in the GST law in respect of small businessmen and particularly the composition scheme. The GST Council has decided to make several changes in the GST law in respect of small businessmen and particularly the composition scheme. Small businesses were facing severe problems in complying with the existing GST provisions. Composition scheme is an alternative method of levy of tax on small taxpayers. Dealers opting for composition are required to pay tax at a fixed rate without input tax credit (ITC) and the basic objective of composition scheme is to reduce compliance cost for small businesses. As per the present rules, persons doing supplies only within the same state can opt for composition. Composition tax rate for traders is 1% and for manufactures 2%. In case of restaurants it is 5%. Some manufacturers are not eligible to opt for composition (like makers of ice-cream, pan masala, tobacco products). Previously, less compliance (regarding billing, record keeping, returns, etc.) was a major factor in favour of composition. However, now that returns to be filed by small taxpayers have been made quarterly instead of monthly, this aspect of less compliance is not much relevant for choosing between regular and composition options by small businessmen.
Changes proposed in composition
Increase in threshold limit: The threshold limit for availing composition option has been increased to annual aggregate turnover up to `1 crore as compared to the earlier turnover threshold of Rs 75 lakh. Similarly, threshold for special category states has been increased from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 75 lakh. This will make it possible for more number of taxpayers to avail the benefit of composition scheme. Monthly choice: The option of availing composition as per the increased threshold shall be available to all eligible taxpayers (both migrated and new taxpayers) up to March 31, 2018. Previously this was available up to Sept 30, 2017. The option shall become operational from the month succeeding the month in which the option is exercised. Exempt services eligible: Previously, dealers providing any exempt service were being considered ineligible for composition scheme. Now such persons who are otherwise eligible for availing the composition scheme and are providing any exempt service, shall be eligible for composition scheme. Reverse charge mechanism on hold: Compliance with reverse charge mechanism under Section 9 (4) of CGST Act was proving very difficult for small businesses. The same has been suspended till March 31, 2018 and will be reviewed by a committee of experts. While the composition scheme is simple, it may not be suitable for businesses with turnover below Rs 1 crore. The main factors to be considered are as follows: Nature of business: Composition dealer cannot claim input tax credit even if he makes taxable purchases from a regular registered dealer. Moreover, if a composition dealer is working on B2B model, his buyers (who are registered as regular dealers) will also not get any credit of tax paid which will increase their cost. Such buyers will naturally avoid purchases from a composition dealer. Broadly, it can be said that composition is more suitable for retailers supplying to ultimate consumers who are not bothered about ITC on their purchases. Tax cost impact comparison: The advantage of having a single rate in case of a composition dealer is that he need not worry about taxability/ tax rates for each product. But there is also a disadvantage as composition dealer has to pay tax at fixed percentage on his total sales including exempt goods. If a dealer also supplies goods which are exempt and the proportion of exempt goods is more (milk, curd, salt, bread, printed books, etc.) it may be better for him not to go for composition. If he goes for regular registration, he will pay tax as per rates applicable to each of the goods and hence he will not have to pay tax on exempt supplies. The best way to arrive at a proper decision will be to compare the tax impact for the dealer under the two options—regular and composition.
Source: Financial Express
NEW DELHI: In a big relief to exporters, the government is set to restore a majority of benefits under the drawback schemes, meant to reimburse taxes paid by exporters, the latest move aimed at fixing glitches that have emerged since the roll out of the goods and services tax (GST) almost four months ago. Exporters have been complaining that the new duty drawback rates have severely eroded their competitiveness, already hit by a higher working capital requirement due to absence of timely refunds, resulting in a massive shift in orders to other countries and causing widespread job losses in sectors such as textiles and leather. The distress has acquired a sharper salience ahead of the Gujarat election. Though a committee headed by former home secretary G K Pillai is looking at various options, including proposing refunds of some state levies, the government has decided to go ahead and revise drawback rates, sources told TOI. Several ministries such as textiles and commerce and industry have taken up the issue with finance ministry and a decision could be announced as early as next week, sources said. For cotton and viscose textiles, the change in the duty drawback rates and refund of state levies (ROSL), which was in the range of 11-13% has now come down by 8-9%, garment exporter H K L Magu told TOI. "There was a spurt in shipments since exporters had the option to use the earlier drawback rates till September. In October you will see a significant fall in garment exports," he said. A Noida-based garment exporter who deals with global firms such as Zara and other top brands said the change in the drawback rates has pushed up the cost of his products from $8 to $8.80, which led to some foreign buyers opting to turn to Vietnam and Bangladesh, which already have a labour advantage. "A lot of exporters had contracted based on earlier rates. Because of GST has come down drastically, many of them are complaining about loss of competitiveness affecting them as the orders placed in May or June will see supplies till December-January. As a result we have sought restoration of drawback. Plus, the problem with GST refunds is persisting and a restoration of the rates will reduce the pressure on GST refunds," said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Fieo).
Source: The Economic Times
Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) today thanked the Union finance and textile ministers and GST council for increasing the basic Customs duty on imported polyester fabrics from 10 per cent to 20 per cent. Since man-made fibre price in India cost 20 to 30 per cent more due to high incidence of duties and levies, there was a threat of cheaper imports especially from countries like China, SIMA chairman P Natarajan said in a statement. The increase in basic Customs duty would reduce imports, he said adding that there was a need to increase the import duty on cotton fabric also on par with polyester fabric in the interest of powerloom and handloom sectors to sustain their competitiveness. Consequent to the scrapping of four per cent additional duty and levy of five per cent of GSTon polyester fabric, the imported polyester fabric attracted 10 per cent basic Customs duty and five per cent IGST. Therefore, there was a significant drop in the import duty threatening the survival of the domestic manufacturing industry due to cheaper imports especially from countries likeChina. Thus, the industry had represented to the Centre and the GSTCouncil to increase the basic Customs duty on fabrics to retain the competitiveness of the domestic manufacturing industry, Natarajan said.
Source: Business Standard
A sceptical Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) will send a team to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to check how the West Asian country has become the top readymade garment (RMG) destination for India. Data made available by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics show 17.8 per cent growth in RMG export to the UAE for the April-July period, first four months of this financial year. The otherwise top destination, United States, saw only a 1.5 per cent growth in Indian shipments. Nor have any of the other top 27 large apparel exporting countries seen any significant jump in shipment to UAE, says AEPC. “We are sending a team to investigate why this trend has emerged and whether these are genuine exports,” Ashok Rajani, the body’s chairman, told Business Standard. “Everybody was clear (at a Friday meeting) that these figures are exaggerated.” In fact, over April-July, export of RMG to the UK, Germany and France saw a fall. Those to the UK fell 0.8 per cent to $583 million from a year before. Germany and France saw larger falls, of 2.6 per cent and 14 per cent. This trend of the UAE outperforming these destinations defies logic, Rajani said. The other puzzling trend has been for the month of September, showing a 25 per cent growth in RMG export, as against a declining trend in previous months. “The September growth is an aberration. Our committee has some of the largest apparel exporters and almost no one has seen any substantial rise in their export.We are awaiting the country-wise break-up for September,” Rajani said. These figures apart, the Indian apparel industry says it under stress for varied reasons. “Most of our neighbouring countries have FTAs (free trade agreements) with Europe and, so, we are outpriced. Second, our currency has strengthened, while competing currencies have weakened. In addition, (the) duty drawback and ROSL (rebate on state levies) schemes have stopped since October,” Rajani said. AEPC has petitioned on these matters and has been assured of some positive steps by the central government.
Source: Business Standard
Minister for Marketing T. Harish Rao has asked the cotton farmers not to resort to distress sale of their farm produce as good demand and price is expected for the fibre crop soon. At a meeting held here on Sunday with the representatives of ginning mills, the Minister said the State government had been repeatedly requesting the Centre to relax the quality norms for procurement of cotton by the Cotton Corporation of India and purchase the produce with moisture content beyond the specified percentage as B and C grade cotton, but to no avail. Mr. Harish Rao stated that the State government had explained to the Centre that the quality of cotton had been impacted adversely due to heavy rains in September-October and requested it to relax the norms. They were still pursuing the matter with the Centre, he said. At the same time, he asked the ginning mills to purchase high quality cotton at higher price than the minimum support price of ₹ 4,320 per quintal. He also told them not to collect ‘gumasta’ and other charges from farmers and warned that penal action would be initiated against the mills which would resort to acts causing loss to farmers. The Minister assured the representatives of ginning mills that he would take the matter of incentives to the notice of Finance Minister Eatala Rajender to find a solution. He stated that CCI had already opened 80 purchase centres and with the identification of 120 ginning mills as purchase centres, the number had gone up to 200 already.
Source: The Hindu
WARANGAL: Angered over lack of remunerative prices for their crop, scores of cotton farmers in Warangal, Karimnagar and Khammam districts destroyed their fields on Saturday. Some of them used tractors to level the standing crop, while others allowed cattle to graze in the fields. The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has so far purchased only 22 quintals from farmers inWarangal district.Farmers also complained that the crop was hit by pests, resulting in low yield. As against Rs 30,000 spent on growing cotton per acre, the returns did not cross Rs 10,000. The current price per quintal of cotton is Rs 3,500. This is against the minimum support price of Rs 4,320. The yield has also come down drastically, affecting the income of farmers. And with no help coming from the state or central government, farmers protested by damage their standing crop. In Warangal district, farmers allowed buffaloes and goats to feed on the crop while in Karimnagar district, they set it on fire. In Khammam, some farmers ran tractors over the fields. Farmers in Sriramulapally and Madipally in Jammikunta mandal of Karimnagar district burnt their crops. Their plantation had been hit by pink worm. Suram Ramana Reddy of Ammavaripeta village in Atmakur mandal bulldozed his crops. "I cultivated cotton on 10 acres and spent Rs 25,000 on labour employed for picking. The input cost per acre was Rs 30,000. For the total 10 acres, I had invested RS 3 lakh," he said, while mowing down the crop. Other farmers in the area soon followed suit. L Satish and Somaiah, farmers in Sriramulapally village, also burnt their crops. The CCI officials are refusing to purchase cotton if the moisture content is high. CCI has set a norm of eight per cent moisture. But due to rains that lashed the state till about two weeks ago, most of the crop has high moisture content. Many farmers have been pushed into debt trap. Cotton was grown on 6.20 lakh hectares in Warangal district. But seed failure and pest took a heavy toll on the yield.
Source: The Times of India
NAGPUR: When Amol Pusadkar walked into a cotton field in Saoner on January 4 this year he had a purpose in mind. He wanted to collect the seeds of herbicide tolerant (HT) cotton which was being grown illegally in the taluka as the state or centre had not cleared HT cultivation.
Pusadkar, an RSS worker and state convener of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM), has always been against Bt cotton cultivation. A farmer himself with 15-acre land in Bhandara district, he was aware of what was happening. He didn't ask the farmers about HT cotton seeds directly. While chatting with them, he picked up a few bolls from the field saying that he was taking the cotton for puja. Pusadkar took the seeds to the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) for testing, subsequently blowing the lid off the illegal cultivation of HT cotton in the region. When the seeds tested positive, he involved SJM volunteers to collect seeds from other talukas as well and managed to get samples from Parseoni and Narkhed talukas too. "My purpose was not to offend anyone but I wanted to wake up the government machinery against the cultivation of a crop which was not permitted officially. Since our approach to seek the seeds was very casual, no one suspected us and farmers readily gave some cotton to us," Pusadkar told TOI. A mechanical engineer by profession, Pusadkar didn't have difficulty in understanding the repercussion an HT crop could have on the environment. He sent the report from the three talukas in Nagpur district to the Prime Minister office as well as to environment ministry. "Being from SJM, we have always raised our voice against China or MNC products. My aim was just to warn the government about the seriousness of the issue," he said. Pusadkar, who has been addressing kisan melas for long now, tells that the deaths of farmers or farm workers due to pesticide is not a new issue. Twenty years back, when he was working as SJM volunteer in Yavatmal district, he had come across a pesticide spraying patient Vijay Bhoyar from village Dabha in Pandharkawdataluka, and took him to the government hospital. "It is really bad that no standard operating procedure (SOP) was in place then and it doesn't exist even today. Farmers must be educated about the SOPs as well as the effect of pesticides on body. I believe it is the responsibility of the government machinery to educate farmers about the right practices," said Pusadkar. Government has failed in its job but Pusadkar believes that a policy should be framed to make manufacturers pay compensation to the affected persons. He has been addressing farmers issues since last many years and telling them about Bt cotton too. "Bt cotton is not good for dry land area. It has to be grown in irrigated area. But farmers don't know all this. They don't realize that the BG-II has lost its effectivity and developed resistance to the pink boll worm. They are caught in a vicious circle from which government agencies need to bail them out," he said.
Source: The New Indian Express
HYDERABAD: Congress party former MP Ponnam Prabhakar has demanded that the state government prevail upon the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and see that the cotton farmers do not resort to distress sale.Prabhakar submitted a memorandum to Chief Secretary SP Singh at secretariat here on Saturday to this effect. Speaking to reporters later, Prabhakar alleged that the traders were offering below support price to cotton at several markets citing that moisture content was high in cotton. He said the cotton was drenched due to recent rains and that was the reason for high moisture. “The state government should spend the money allocated to market intervention funds and pay reasonable price to the cotton farmers,” Prabhakar demanded. The Congress leader disputed with marketing minister T Harish Rao’s claim that the traders and CCI were paying more than the support price to cotton farmers at 200 centres. “Let Harish Rao come to Karimnagar. I will show how farmers are selling the cotton for lesser prices,” he said.
Source: The New Indian Express
Nagpur: After pesticide poisoning, farmers in the region are now facing labour pains as farm workers are demanding double wages for spraying pesticides. Even the rates charged for cotton picking by village labourers have been hiked. The increase in labour cost has cut short the margins, say farmers. According to estimates given by farmers, an acre under cotton leaves a profit of Rs15,000. This happens if the produce fetched minimum support price (MSP) at least. "It will be now further cut by Rs1,000 to 2,000 due to higher labour cost," said farmers. As government procurement has not begun yet, cotton is being sold at nearly Rs800 below the MSP of Rs4,300 a quintal in some pockets. Rates of soybean are within Rs2,500 as against a MSP of Rs3,000 a quintal. There is a demand and supply gap for farm hands apart from the scare which has followed the spraying deaths. As against Rs400 to be paid for a couple of drums of pesticide mix earlier, farm workers are now demanding the same amount for a single drum. As much as 15 rounds of spraying with a 5 litre pump can happen from one drum. "The deaths have led to workers using safety gear. Apart from supply through agriculture department in some cases, farmers are bearing the expenses," said farmers. As against Rs5 to 6 per kg charged for cotton picking, this year the rates are Rs7 a kg at least. A week ago, it had gone up to Rs8 to 9 per kg, say sources. "Cotton picking is done by women. The rates are much more where the cotton bolls are still moist due to the recent showers. One of the reasons is that erratic rains has led to excessive growth of bolls in some pockets due which even the workers are charging more say farmers. In some areas the crop has been damaged," said sources. Vijay Jawandhia, a former Shetkari Sanghahtna activist, said in areas where cotton is moist, farm hands have changed the method of calculating wages. Instead of per kg of cotton picked, it is charged on basis of daily wages. "Normally a woman picks around 40 kgs in a day. But in a daily wage deal, the speed need not be maintained. As the actual quantity picked during the day is half, the wages, if calculated on per kg basis, come to Rs15 a kg," said Jawadhia. The cotton crop is facing a pink bollworm attack. The intensity increases when the cotton bolls are fully grown. In the 4-5 of villages in Yavatmal district, the infestation is beyond the threshold level of creating economic losses. "However, the pest needs to be controlled in other areas too," said a source in the agriculture department. "Even the tur crop needs spraying but there is a dearth of workers in the villages. Workers are not available for doing the job. For cotton picking, the rates are in the range of Rs7 to 8 a kg," said Gajanan Singewar of Patanbori village in Yavatmal district. Jainarayan Badki, director of Vividh Karyakari Sahkari Society, a rural cooperative in Maregaon Taluka of Yavatmal said, "The rates of both cotton and soybean are already low. So, the increased labour cost will hardly leave any profit with the farmers."
Source: The Times of India
Ahead of the Assembly elections, the Gujarat government has announced a slew of measures to woo rural voters. This includes waiver of GST on equipment used in micro-irrigation, 0 interest on loans up to ₹3 lakh for farmers, and a bonus of ₹500 per quintal on cotton. But these sops are not likely to make farmers in the State happy. The average growth in Gujarat’s agri-GDP between 2002-03 and 2013-14, when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister, was 8 per cent. In this period, all-India growth was about 3.3 per cent. But, growth has since declined in Gujarat. In 2014-15, its agri-GDP shrank by 1 per cent and there was not much improvement in 2015-16 either. As per the Centre’s Agricultural Statistics report, 2016, farmers’ income in Gujarat, at ₹7,926, is much lower than that of their counterparts in Punjab (₹18,059), Haryana (₹14,434) or Kerala (₹11,888). As of January 5, 2017, only one-fourth of the farmers in the State were insured under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Of the 11.9 lakh farmers with crop insurance, 11.89 lakh were farmers with a bank loan. The deficient monsoon in 2014-15 and 2015-16 intensified problems. In 2016-17, there were good rains, but a bumper harvest in groundnut and other crops made prices plunge. The interest waiver on loans is only short-term relief. With over 60 per cent being small and marginal farmers, informal channels still play a large role in credit. The State bankers’ committee report shows that against the RBI’s target of 8 per cent credit for small and marginal farmers, Gujarat’s farmers in this category got only 5.44 per cent as of September 2016. The large section of farmers who are dependent on non-institutional channels for credit, will get no relief from the interest waiver.
Procurement conundrum
The bonus over and above the Centre-announced MSP in cotton is a good move but not many are likely to benefit. An official from the Gujarat agriculture department told BusinessLine that from one hectare, 15.75 quintals of cotton will be procured at the higher State announced price. But farmers are sceptical about Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) procurement. According to Hari Bhai Patel, a cotton farmer from Banaskantha district: “CCI procurement has not started yet. I prefer giving the produce to the commission agent in my place as it is hassle free. At the CCI centre, there is a long queue. Also, they come only when the government gives them a quota…” Farmers in Banaskantha, Patan, Surendranagar, Morbi and Jamnagar districts, which were the worst hit by the floods in July, are also not going to benefit as they have suffered crop losses. Says Ishwar Bhai Patel, 59, from Palanpur, who has 22 hectares on which he sows castor seed, groundnut and kapas: “We had to re-sow seeds two times and the crop yield could also be lower than expected…the bonus on the MSP for cotton is good, but farmers in my district will not benefit….”
eNAM – slow progress
“The biggest worry for farmers here is there is no information about price. Also, the cost of transporting our produce to the mandi is high the nearest APMC (Agriculture Produce Market Committee) is 10 km away,” says Prabhat Ramjibhai Patel, 50, a farmer from Anjar Taluka, Kutch district. “The government announces MSP in cotton, but there is hardly any procurement. Unless the farmer is ensured a good price, he will continue to be in distress…,” he adds. The Centre’s eNAM initiative, originally conceived to give pricing power to farmers, is still in the initial stages of implementation on Modi’s home ground itself. Of the 200-plus APMCs, 40 have been connected with the platform.
Source: Business Line
Ludhiana-based winter wear manufacturers are reeling under stress as slowdown in export and domestic markets, hot weather conditions in north India and liquidity crunch have impacted the sales of winter clothing by almost 40%. Ludhiana caters to almost 90% of the domestic demand for winter garments. The total size of the domestic garment industry is around Rs 25,000-30,000 crore. Of the total garment industry, woollen garments constitute 10-15%, with Ludhiana contributing 90% of the winter line. “Slowdown in global market and moderation in commodity prices has impacted the exports. The exports of global markets are dwindling between 15-20%,”said RK Gupta, Executive Director, Wool & Woollens Export Promotion Council (W&WEPC). He said due to dwindling exports many of the exporters have diversified into domestic market. As a result, more manufacturers are catering to the domestic market than the demand. “There are a couple of reasons which has led to decline in sales. Firstly, there is a slowdown in the overseas market and demand in the domestic market has also decreased. Secondly, since many exporters are now catering to the domestic market, there is a problem of plenty i.e, production is more as compared to demand. Thirdly, delayed winter and liquidity crunch have also affected the sales. Roughly, the woollen garment industry is witnessing 40% decline in sales,” said Ajit Lakra, Managing Director, Superfine Knitters. Industrialists also maintained that a majority of the purchases are being done during Diwali. However, if we compare with last year, Diwali was early this year and winter season is yet to take off. Experts said earlier winter product lifecycle used to be between 45 and 60 days which had been reduced to 30 days now due to warm winter, resulting in decline in sales. There is also a changing trend as the industry is witnessing a shift from pullovers and wool to lighter jackets and sweat shirts. “In order to cater to changing trend, many of the manufacturers have also expanded their product portfolio to boost the sales. Since pullovers are out of fashion, many of them have added sweat shirts in their manufacturing line,” said a Ludhiana-based yarn dealer. The industry is also facing a problem of cheaper imports from China. This has also resulted in decline in sales.
Source: The Tribune
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1345.63 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
VSF |
2322.91 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
ASF |
2646.16 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1308.05 |
USD/Ton |
0.35% |
10/29/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3563.30 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
5938.83 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1608.75 |
USD/Ton |
0.47% |
10/29/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
3683.58 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
5683.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1548.61 |
USD/Ton |
0.49% |
10/29/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
3307.70 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2781.48 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2957.38 |
USD/Ton |
-0.15% |
10/29/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2014.69 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2876.20 |
USD/Ton |
0.16% |
10/29/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2150.01 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2435.67 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3142.32 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2420.64 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.41 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.88 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.22 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.72 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/29/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15035 USD dtd. 29/10/2017). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Myanmar SUMEC Win Win Garments Co., Ltd, Myanmar's largest Chinese invested exporter in garment sector, and a branch of SUMEC Textile and Light Industry Co., has officially started operating a new factory in Shwe Pyi Thar Industrial Zone in Yangon on Friday. Speaking at the opening ceremony, U Aung Htoo, Deputy Minister for Commerce, said that preferential policies and a vast labor market give Myanmar a great advantage for textile and garment industry and that the new factory will not only create more jobs, promote the garment industry, but also contribute to the country's economic growth. The new factory, with 40 production lines currently, is designed to own 50 production lines with the capacity to produce 4 million pieces of clothes every year, upgrading the company's yearly capacity to 10 million pieces of clothes in Myanmar, lifting its export to 100 million U.S. dollars. Chinese Ambassador Hong Liang said that with Myanmar economy becoming more opening up, more Chinese enterprises are investing in Myanmar.
Source: YNFX.
The 18th international exhibition on the textile industry - ShanghaiTex 2017- to be held during November 27-30, 2017 in Pudong, will highlight the latest textile technology and high-growth application sectors, aiming at assisting industry players to overcome challenges and make use of new applications to breathe new breakthroughs and values to the sector. Asia is now the world's fastest growing region for automobile, where textiles are widely applied on automobile production such as seat cover, carpets, roof, heat/sound absorption materials, etc. As British Textile Intelligence predicts, the total volume of textiles per vehicle is expected to reach 35 kilogram in 2020. Therefore, huge market potential should be highlighted in the automobile industry. Confronting the stricter requirement on technology, professionalism and customisation from automobile manufacturer, ShanghaiTex 2017 will feature a "Technology for Automotive Textile" theme zone which mainly demonstrates spinning, weaving, knitting, fiber, glass fibre, filtering material, etc. The show will focus on the latest fibre and technology with a wide range of production solutions to assist enterprises in industrial fabrics, automobile interiors, automobile parts, carpets, construction, electronics factory, etc. so as to grasp the opportunities in the high-growth market. Knitting technology is always evolving in accordance to our ever-changing lifestyle. Thus it penetrates our lives with evolving appearance, function and application. ShanghaiTex 2017 will explore the cutting-edge knitting technology and application from views of different lifestyles, stimulating innovation and inspiration among textile manufacturers. People are now tending to pursue fitness and healthy lifestyles, which leads to the emerging technology of functional fibre processing with better elasticity, air permeability, and softness properties. These new technologies can not only enhance sports performance, but also combine function with fashion for more aesthetic perception. Furthermore, the revolutionary integration of electronics and textiles has made Smart Textiles a market heat. It is able to respond to changing environments, communicate, detect and bear other interactive features. ShanghaiTex 2017 will uncover the wisdom by bringing conductive fabrics and soft batteries under the spotlight for sportswear, sport shoes, fashion and wearable electronics enterprises. Facing the pressure of strict environmental policy, the printing and dyeing industry is also keeping up the market pace. With high energy efficiency, precision and flexibility, digital printing developed rapidly and has made up many short comings of traditional printing technology. The "Printing, Dyeing and Finishing Machinery Zone" will focus on the characteristics of short production cycle, low-volume and on-demand production of digital printing. In order to provide solutions on increasing design flexibility, inventory problems and lowering cost and manpower etc, ShanghaiTex 2017 will help textile and apparel enterprises stand out from the traditional inefficient printing industry.
Source: Fibre2fashion.
The Australian cotton industry’s peak grower body, Cotton Australia, has come out in support of Kmart Australia’s new initiative to source 100 per cent “more sustainable cotton” by 2020. Kmart’s definition of ‘more sustainable’ includes Better Cotton Initiative cotton (BCI), myBMP-certified Australian-grown cotton, and organic and recycled cotton. “Kmart has been sourcing Australian cotton into its clothing and homewares ranges for a number of years, and we’re proud to be a supplier of sustainable, ethically grown cotton,” says Cotton Australia CEO, Adam Kay. “Almost 20 per cent of this year’s crop was grown under the fully certified myBMP (Best Management Practices) programme, and we’re active members of the Better Cotton Initiative, supplying the world market since 2014.” “Cotton Australia has been working with brands and manufacturers for a number of years to position Australian cotton as a raw material of choice based on our global leadership in sustainable cotton production. It’s encouraging to see an iconic Australian retailer set such a bold target, one that our farmers can help Kmart to meet,” Kay said. “Public targets like this send a strong signal to our farmers that retailers and brands are increasingly demanding cotton grown with the greatest care for the natural environment, workers’ rights and safety. This is great news for our growers who can provide fully-certified sustainable cotton, traceable back to the farm,” Kay added. “While the base-line sustainability benchmark for Australian cotton is already very high by global standards, these signals drive participation in our on-farm programmes and encourage more farmers to move to full certification. The personal effort and investment, over many decades, at an individual farm level cannot be underestimated and it is heartening to see Kmart support sustainable cotton production globally. We look forward to continue working with Kmart to ensure sustainable Australian cotton is available to Australian consumers for years to come,” Kay said.
Source: Fibre2fashion.
Turkey's textile and apparel exports are approaching $30 billion annually, while $7.5 billion of this amount comes from Merter, a district in Istanbul known for its ready-to-wear textiles. Merter Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MESIAD) Chairman Yusuf Gecü announced the latest statistics yesterday, adding that the district exports textile and apparel products to 215 countries around the world. Gecü noted that all medium and large textile and apparel manufacturers in Turkey have a store or showroom in Merter. He said that there are 10,000 stores in the region and that the number of people directly employed in these stores has reached 100,000. The chairman stressed that it is important to reach this employment figure in a region where only the promotion and sales of a labor-intensive sector, such as textile, are conducted. He also stated that the number of employees in the production of these brands is much higher and that 80 percent of the textiles and apparel manufacturers in Merter produce outside the region. Meanwhile, he pointed out that Merter welcomes 3,000 importers every day from 60 countries in the Middle East, Africa, the Turkic Republics, the Far East and especially from the U.S., Russia, Europe and Gulf countries. "We are the first to come to mind in terms of textile. Turkey is already the shining star of the world in the textile and apparel sector. No matter where in Turkey, our producers are selling from here," he said. Merter's exports amount to 25 percent of annual textile and apparel exports in the country. He said that Turkey's 2023 goal is to exceed $50 billion in exports, adding that they aim to make up $15 billion of this figure in Merter alone. Gecü said that Turkey's average export value per kilogram is around $1.7 and that this figure reached $15 in apparel and $5 in textile. He pointed out that they continue to work on further increasing these figures. He explained that Turkish goods are perceived abroad as cheaper than Europe and much better quality than China. He said this perception was placed in the minds of consumers particularly in Russia, Turkic Republics, African, European, Middle Eastern and Gulf countries. "We will combine quality product with design and deepen markets," Gecü said. Gecü noted that the Turkish textile industry, which closely follows all the fairs in the world and participates in the events, closely monitors fashion and that this is how they can easily bring the latest trends to consumers. He emphasized that Turkey is among the few countries in the world in terms of producing quality denim jeans and knitted products. To conclude, Gencü said that Turkish producers are also working their way to becoming top brands themselves.
Source: Daily Sabah With Anadolu Agency
Invista has entered into a definitive agreement with China-based Shandong Ruyi Investment Holding to sell its Apparel & Advanced Textiles business, one of Invista’s four major business units. Invista, which has operations in Delaware is part of Wichita, KS-based Koch Industries. Financial were not disclosed. Koch is a privately held company. Shandong Ruyi is one of China’s largest textile companies. The transaction include apparel-focused fibers and brands including Lycra fiber, Lycra HyFit fiber, CoolMax fiber and Thermolite fiber and insulation as well as other product lines, manufacturing, research and other assets. “Invista’ world-class assets and consumer-recognized brands are a perfect fit for our growing portfolio of textile-related products,” said Yafu Qiu, chairman of the board of Shandong Ruyi Investment Holding. “Over the decades, the Lycra brand has transformed the apparel industry, and continues to do so today. We are committed to taking this business to the next level through continued investment in innovation and the business’ portfolio of consumer-recognized brands.” “The Apparel business has always been a strategic and valued part of our portfolio,” said Jeff Gentry, Invista chairman and CEO. “We engaged the market because we want this business to be owned by the company that can create the greatest value for customers, employees and stockholders. In this case, we believe that Shandong Ruyi Investment Holding has the knowledge and capability that will enable this business to thrive the most and succeed over the long term.” INVISTA will retain ownership of its nylon, polyester, polyols and licensing businesses and related brands. This includes INVISTA’s world-leading nylon 6,6 intermediates business, its global nylon polymer and fiber portfolio, and widely recognized brands including Stainmaster and Antron carpet fibers and Cordura fabric. Invista will also retain its intellectual property rights for 1,4 butanediol (BDO), tetrahydrofuran (THF) and polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) technologies and will continue to license these technologies on a global basis. “We look forward to intensifying our focus on the nylon value chain,” Gentry said. “For nearly 80 years, we’ve delivered innovations to the nylon industry, including the most advanced adiponitrile technology in the marketplace. We have talented people with decades of know-how and you can count on Invista to continue building on this heritage of leadership and innovation.” Invista, owned by two multi-billionaire brothers best known for their support of conservative causes, purchased the DuPont nylon business and renamed it Invista. After lengthy litigation over the sale, Koch and DuPont settled the case. DuPont has moved on bio-based materials for textiles and fabrics, rather than petroleum-based feedstocks. Invista has a plant in Seaford, as well as research and other operations in northern Delaware. The impact of the sale on those operations was not immediately disclosed.
Source: Business Now
Indicating the growing preference for online shopping among consumers, clothing brands continue to pull shutters down at several retail locations across the US. Some like Gymboree and Bebe even went for complete financial restructuring this year. The trend, observed for last few years, is not likely to subside in face of declining retail footfalls. This year, teen specialty apparel retailer Rue21 closed approximately 400 underperforming stores in its 1,179 store fleet in order to streamline operations, better align the size of its footprint with market realities, and focus on its hundreds of highly performing locations. As on September 11, 2017, Rue21 operated 758 stores in 45 US states in shopping malls, outlets and strip centres. Women’s apparel chain The Limited closed down all its 250 stores across the US beginning January this year. However, it is continuing to sell online. Tailored Brands, which includes Jos A Bank and Men’s Wearhouse in its portfolio, saw its total number of stores reduce from 1,667 as on January 28, 2017 to 1,484 on July 29, 207. This includes the closure of all its 170 tuxedo shops at Macy’s. Meanwhile, Gymboree Corporation announced last month that it had successfully completed its financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 as a new corporation under the name Gymboree Group, Inc. The company which operates specialty retail brands closed several stores to eliminate “more than $900 million of debt from its balance sheet and right-sizing its store footprint”. Ascena Retail Group, Inc., a leading national specialty retailer offering apparel, shoes, and accessories for women, closed 55 stores in the quarter ended January 28, 2017, followed by another 36 stores in quarter ended April 29, and 56 in quarter ended July 29. As a result, the number of store locations under the Group decreased from 4,920 to 4,807 during the nine-month period. Except for Lou & Grey, all brands under the group have seen store closures this year. Global luxury fashion brand Michael Kors announced in May this year that it intends to improve the profitability of its store fleet by closing between 100 and 125 of its full-price retail stores over the next 2 years. It is anticipating 20 to 40 store closures in fiscal 2018, according to its latest quarterly financial result report. Announcing the completion of its reorganisation in June this year, Bebe Stores, Inc. said it has reached agreement with substantially all of its retail store landlords to terminate the existing leases. “Going forward, the company anticipates having no retail operations, and its sole operations will be the collection of royalty income from the JV (with Blue Star Alliance).” In its first quarter results report in May this year, global specialty retailer of apparel and accessories Abercrombie & Fitch Co said it anticipates closing approximately 60 stores in the US during the fiscal year through natural lease expirations. The company reiterated the statement in its second quarter results this August. The total store count of Guess?, Inc and its subsidiaries in the US decreased from 342 in July 2016 to 320 on July 29, 2017. Guess designs, markets, distributes and licenses a lifestyle collection of contemporary apparel, denim, handbags, watches, footwear and other related consumer products. In the 26 weeks ended July 29, 2017, Chico’s FAS, Inc, which also owns White House Black Market and Soma, closed 21 stores while opening only 2 new ones, thus reducing the total count to 1,482. In accordance with its fleet optimisation initiative, The Children’s Place, Inc., the largest pure-play children’s specialty apparel retailer in North America, closed 7 stores and did not open any stores during the second quarter of 2017. The company ended the quarter with 1,026 stores and square footage of 4.801 million, a decrease of 3.4 per cent compared to the prior year. A similar number of stores were closed in the first quarter. Since its fleet optimisation initiative was announced in 2013, the company has closed 156 stores. This list, however, is not exhaustive, and some companies that have closed its outlets this year might not have found mention here. But, the point remains that apparel retail outlets are facing a closure due to intense competition with e-commerce. At the moment, this trend is limited to the US, and it is not necessary that the same trend would be witnessed in other regions as well.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The garment and footwear industry is one of the main pillars of Cambodia’s economic growth, accounting for about 80 percent of the nation’s exports. Over the last 10 years, we’ve seen the growth rate of the country decelerate, going from double-digit figures to single-digit due to an increase in regional competition, low productivity and the rising cost of labour. The government recently approved a new minimum wage for the sector, set to come into effect in January next year, which will increase the minimum salary of workers from $153 to $170. To discuss these and other issues, Khmer Times’ May Kunmakara sat down with John Cha, an executive committee member of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC). Mr Cha is also the head of the organising committee of the recently held “National Career and Productivity Fair”, which sought to bring to the fore the challenges for the industry in the years to come.
KT: When it comes to garments, how do you define productivity?
Mr Cha: Productivity is about working smarter, not harder. It’s about doing new things or improving the way existing things are done to create value and results. There’s always future work to do to raise value. Productive organisations focus on increasing performance by changing the way people work to be more effective and achieve greater results.
KT: GMAC organised a productivity fair on October 27. What did this event mean for the industry?
Mr Cha: The fair was also a forum to hold discussions on the topic of productivity improvement. Experts from Japan, South Korea, India, Malaysia and Cambodia shared their experiences in productivity development strategies and how to implement them. Experts also lectured on Kaizen initiatives and techniques, which is a Japanese term that loosely translates to “continuous improvement”.
KT: What has your organisation been doing to improve productivity?
Mr Cha: GMAC, together with the government and other stakeholders, is working towards improving not just labour productivity but also total factor productivity, which refers to the portion of output not explained by the amount of inputs used in production. We need to create a work environment conducive to the implementation of productivity improvement initiatives at industry level as well as at factory level. GMAC, for example, is investing in capacity development for its member factories. Our Cambodia Garment Training Institute (CGTI) provides a full range of skill development courses tailored to the needs of our factories. I understand that governmental agencies in Cambodia are also doing their part with different strategies.
KT: Starting in January 2018, the minimum wage for the sector will increase by $17. What is GMAC’s view on the different raises the minimum wage has had over the years? How will the new minimum salary affect the industry?
Mr Cha:Wages will increase over the years. The challenge is to improve productivity levels to match this. Judging from feedback within the garment and footwear sectors, the level of productivity is still behind China and Vietnam. We, together with all other stakeholders, need to work hard on this.
KT: According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Commerce, export growth for garments and footwear products is decelerating. What do you think is causing this?
Mr Cha: That’s not exactly accurate. In fact, over the last few years, the growth rate of total exports has enjoyed a steady growth. However, of late, export growth for footwear and travel goods has grown much faster.
KT: Recently, the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) said there was a lot of room for progress in the garment sector and many opportunities for the government and buyer companies to work together towards a better future for the industry. What’s your view on this?
Mr Cha: There could be some misunderstanding in this regard. Cambodia is in fact at the forefront of upholding good labour practices in the area of ethics, particularly for the garment and footwear industries. For example, the country has rectified all core labour standards. In fact, most of these are actually incorporated into the Labour Law. Our program, which is being audited on labour and occupational health and safety practices by Better Factories Cambodia (BFC), has proven to be exemplary.
Our ‘tripartism’ approach in solving labour related disputes and our minimum wage negotiation process are definitely praiseworthy. Our efforts in eliminating child labour are another success story. Overall, we were not given credit where due. Of course, we can always improve further.
KT: With the elections coming up next year, many predict a slow year when it comes to business. What do you think the effect will be on the garment industry?
Mr Cha: For any country in the world, general elections are always a tough time. As business people, we hope for a peaceful and stable electoral process.
Source: ABC Online
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, the main opposition party in the National Assembly, is broadening its activities by reaching out to the business community which is battling dwindling exports. The party is set to announce its policy on textile industry by the end of next month and has prepared a draft document in this regard. On the other hand, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) has warned the government of closure of the entire textile industry if it continues to receive 40 per cent additional taxes through gas and electricity bills in the name of equivalence surcharge tax and implement wrong policies that already placed the industry at the verge of destruction. “Our meeting with the Aptma’s leadership will benefit the industry, particularly the textile sector. Our draft policy on textile has been prepared in consultation with industrialists and other stakeholders,” said PTI MNA Asad and National Assembly’s Standing Committee (industries and production) chairman Asad Umar on Saturday. Addressing a news conference at the Aptma office, he said, “We will circulate this policy within next 15 days and hopefully by end of November, PTI Chairman Imran Khan will announce it.” Criticising government policies, Mr Umar demanded of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to appoint a full time finance minister. He alleged that Mr Ishaq Dar is busy in his ‘personal engagements’ (NAB cases, etc) and has failed to deliver during the last four years. Mr Umar accused the finance minister of not paying refunds and rebate of billion of rupees to the textile industry just to show the increasing fiscal deficit minimum. He claimed that $5 billion foreign reserves declined only during the last one year, whereas the country’s external debts increased by $9bn. Aptma group leader Mr Ijaz Gohar said the cost of doing business increased a lot after the government imposed 40 per cent additional taxes on the industry.
Source: Dawn
Structural transformation and upgrading of the nation's industries, consumption and urbanization will produce a huge superimposing effect on its economy, driving the annual growth rate to expand no less than 6 percent in the next 5 to 10 years, said Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute of Reform and Development (CIRD). "More importantly, economic transformation and upgrading will help improve the quality of the nation's economic growth," said Chi, during an address at a two-day international forum on China's economic transformative development after the 19th CPC National Congress and its impact on world economy, which opened in Haikou, capital of South China's Hainan province on Saturday. "Over the past few years, against the backdrop of profound and complex changes in the internal and external development environment, China's total GDP grew from 54 trillion yuan ($8.12 trillion) to 80 trillion yuan. One important reason lies in the marked progress in economic transformation and upgrading," Chi told the forum, which was organized by CIRD and Gesellellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH from Germany and attracted more than 400 experts from home and abroad. He noted that new progress is promoting the optimization of the social structure while reducing dependence on resources and the environment. In the next 5 to 10 years, the size of the middle‐income group may well make up more than 50 percent of the total 1.3 billion population. By 2020, the scale of China's service sector was expected to grow from the 38 trillion yuan in 2016 to 50 trillion yuan, which will significantly optimize the economic structure and continuously expand economic growth. He said upgrading of the consumption structure will create a new growth momentum and release of the potential of 1 .3 billion people's consumption will generate a huge new market. Preliminary estimates show by 2020, China's total retail sales of social consumer goods may well be raised from 33 trillion yuan in 2016 to around 50 trillion yuan. Changes in the urban‐rural structure in the next 5 to 10 years will bring along an investment and consumption demand as large as 100 trillion yuan, which will be the biggest bonus for medium and long‐term development, Chi said. He said in the face of the contradiction between people's ever‐growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development, China must keep on advancing economic transformation and upgrading, building up a modern economic system, and pushing forward the country's economic development onto a better quality and more sustainable path. "As the world's second largest economy, the country's economic transformation and upgrading has great significance both domestically and internationally. While promoting its own transformative development, China also is contributing to global economic recovery and growth, and at the same time injecting new dynamism into global transformative development and global economic governance reform," Chi said, adding China's contribution to global economic growth will remain at around 30 percent. He said a two-way opening up pattern of mutual benefit should be promoted by prioritizing the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. At the new crossroads of economic globalization, the Belt and Road Initiative has provided a new driver and a new platform for economic globalization, regional integration and economic transformation. While China is comprehensively implementing the administration system of national treatment plus negative list, substantially relaxing control over market access, expanding the opening‐up of its service sector and experimenting free ports in some qualified regions, the international community in general and developed countries in particular, need to expand opening of the service trade market, including the high‐tech market, such as in environmental protection technology, Chi noted.
Source: China Daily
With the recent inclusion of the travel goods sector in the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the garments industry has the potential to employ up to 4 million workers like its counterpart in Asean. Ramon Lopez, DTI secretary, said this is possible if the country is able to attract more locators to produce in the country. The industry currently employs around 300,000. Lopez was at a regional gathering of key members of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and the Confederation of Wearables Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP) in Hong Kong recently as part of efforts to expand and bring more of their production capacities in the country. Easier market access to another country encourages producers and exporters to locate in the source-country. The GSP is trade arrangement that allows duty-free entry of specific Philippine products to the US. There are plans to explore further the possibility of having a more permanent FTA with US. The garments sector is labor intensive and can generate more stable and decent jobs. It also creates business opportunities for SMEs’ servicing the sectors, such as producers of key raw materials, indigenous woven products, accessories, service and logistics providers. “The industry currently employs around 300,000 and has the potential of bringing it up to over 4 million like in other Asean countries, if we are able to attract more locators to produce in the country. This is essential as the Philippine government pursues programs to help those at the bottom of the pyramid, highlighting that improvement in the manufacturing industry such as through garments and travel goods. Having the trade concessions will encourage more investors to put their production facilities in the country. More investment interests were generated as Lopez met with AAFA officials, led by president and chief executive officer Rick Helfenbein and Chairman Paula Zusi, to explore ways of enhancing trade between the US and the Philippines through commitments made through US GSP and the possible establishment of a bilateral free trade agreement. The group believes that, as US conducts FTA discussions with other countries, there is no reason why US will not do an FTA with the Philippines, which has been a strong partner and ally since the World War II. Following the successful collaboration of the DTI and the wearables industry for the inclusion of travel goods in the US GSP, the industry committed to develop designs that incorporate indigenous textiles in travel goods for export to the US. One leading exporter already bought samples of indigenous woven materials from Mindanao to be used in their bag designs. The immediate effect will be beneficial for the domestic industry as jobs will be created for the ordinary Filipinos. The garments and textiles sector has steadily declined since the mid-1990s, as export of the sector decreased from an annual average of $2.4 billion between 1995 and 2006 to an average of $1.6 billion over the past five years. “Now is the time to bring back the role of the sector as a contributor to job generation and economic development. Good relations will translate to good business, thus, generating jobs for the Filipinos”, Lopez added
Source: Business Insight
