The central government has decided to increase the basic customs duty on polyester fabric to 20 per cent, from 10 per cent, with effect from last Friday. In the Goods and Services Tax regime, countervailing duty has been replaced with Integrated GST and Special Additional Duty (SAD) has been scrapped. Polyester fabric attracted 10 per cent basic customs duty, 12.5 per cent countervailing duty and four per cent SAD in the pre-GST regime. After scrapping of the SAD and levy of five per cent GST on the fabric, the imported variety attracted 10 per cent basic customs duty and five per cent IGST. This was a significant drop and the domestic manufacturing industry had petitioned in alarm, to stop cheaper import, especially from China. The industry had represented to the government and the GST Council to increase the basic customs duty. P Nataraj, chairman, The Southern India Mills’ Association said the price of man-made fibre in India was higher by 20-30 per cent, due to high incidence of duties and levies, than abroad. So, there was a threat from import. He added there was also a need to increase the import duty on cotton fabric, at par with polyester fabric, in the interest of the power loom and handloom sectors.
Source: Business Standard
The announcement by CITI has given the textile fabric industry a big relief as it was going through tremendous pressure post-GST regime and it will also help the industry to strengthen itself in the domestic as well as international marketsThe Chairman of The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), Sanjay Jain, appreciates the revision of customs duty on import of textiles goods from other countries. He stated that CITI has made a number of representations to the Finance Minister, Textile Minister and Commerce & Industry Minister, to increase Basic Customs Duty (BCD) to safeguard the fabric producers of India against increasing imports, post the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Countervailing Duty (CVD) and Special Additional Duty (SAD) applicable on imports had been abolished making imports cheaper by about 15 per cent. Jain thanked the Finance Minister, Textile Minister and Commerce & Industry Minister for increasing BCD to protect the fabric producers of the country. He said, “It's a very positive and welcoming step by the Government of India and will go a long way fulfilling Make in India, Skill India and India as a global textile hub.” The announcement has given the textile fabric industry a big relief as it was going through tremendous pressure post-GST regime and it will also help the industry to strengthen itself in the domestic as well as international markets, according to CITI. Jain stated that 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. “The duty increase is mainly in manmade fiber-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,” he added.
Problems:
Though it is a big relief to the industry, problems on imports are not fully over. There is a big issue of imports from FTA countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka where there is full exemption from Basic Customs Duty and hence it is a gateway for Chinese fabric entering India duty-free in the form of garments. This is because no Rule of Origin Rules is available for the duty-free imports from these SAARC countries. “We have FTAs with certain other Asian countries which allow certain duty-free imports which impact the domestic industry. Further duty increase in BCD still doesn’t bring the overall import duty rates to pre-GST level, hence the industry is relatively still at a disadvantage post-GST by about 5 to 7 per cent,” added Jain. CITI hopes that the problem of non-refunded GST on inputs for fabric manufacturers gets resolved at the earliest so that the disadvantage against imports is taken care of.
Source: Business World
The government on Monday once again extended the deadline for filing the goods and services tax (GST) returns for purchases and input-output transactions for July. The last date for filing purchase return, or GSTR-2, was extended to November 30, from October 31. That of input-output transactions, or GSTR-3, was put off to December 11, from November 10. “To facilitate trade, the last date for filing GSTR-2 and GSTR-3 for July 2017 has been extended to November 30 and December 11, respectively,” a government tweet said. Archit Gupta, chief executive officer, ClearTax, said, “The earlier last date for filing GSTR-2 coincided with the deadline for submission of audited income tax returns and as such was putting a strain on some taxpayers.”
GST, GSTR
GSTR-2 is the most important return for GST compliance since the availability of input tax credit depends on it. M S Mani of Deloitte said that the extension will enable many more taxpayers to file returns. “The challenges faced by some of the taxpayers in dealing with mismatches in GSTR-2 would hopefully get resolved in November,” he added. The GST Council had, in its meeting in September, extended the deadline for filing GST returns by a month, amid technical glitches faced by assessees on the GST Network (GSTN) portal. The extension of deadline will give more time to taxpayers to file input tax credits, take remedial action for mismatches, and enable accurate filing. The Council constituted a group of ministers (GoM) led by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi to look into taxpayers’ concerns with respect to return filing on the GSTN portal. The decision to extend the deadline comes after the GoM on GSTN met on October 28 in Bengaluru to review the issues faced during GSTN filings. Tejas Goenka of Tally Solutions said this is the first time everyone is dealing with the invoice matching process. “This is not going to be easy. It is important to get started on this early despite the extension,” he said. Goenka said most businesses will need to speak with their suppliers to ensure both parties are aligned. In the coming days, the big challenge for the GST Council and the GoM will be to review the invoice matching functionality of the GST. Infosys has already fixed some bugs, based on feedback from states. The GSTN vendor and software major had won the Rs 1,380-crore contract to implement the GSTN and maintain it for five years in September 2015.
Source: Business Standard
Maximum retail price(MRP) of goods must include the goods and services tax (GST)-component to effectively address consumer complaints, a high-level panel of state finance ministers has recommended. Many complain that some retailers charge GST on MRP of products. The group of ministers, headed by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, suggested the government make it amply clear in the present law that MRP is the maximum price of a product to be sold in retail and charging anything above this is an offence. This rule, sourcessaid, must be applicable to establishments like restaurants, eateries and malls that sell packaged goods such as bottled beverages, which already carry an MRP.
Source: Business Standard
The Indian Cotton Federation (ICF) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advise Cotton Corporation of lndia (CCI) for procuring 10 million bales during this season (2017-18). The ICF said it would help maintain stable prices throughout the year. ICF represents textile industry, cotton brokers and cotton growers. J Thulasidharan, president of ICF, said in the current season (begins in October) peak arrivals are expected till February 2018. During this period, about 70 per cent of the cotton is brought to the market. Estimated value is around ~5,300 crore. This year, India is expected to produce a record of 40 million bales and mill consumption likely to be round 30-31 million bales, he added. He said to stabilise prices for the benefit of the farmer, CCI should be advised to act as a stabiliser for prices and procure around 10 million bales during the peak season and make them available for mills during off season. The ICF has also asked the prime minister to advise commercial banks to finance the spinning mills to procure cotton for nine months requirement at 7 per cent interest and 15 per cent margin under Nabard agri finance scheme.
Source: Press Reader
The positive trend in textile machinery orders continues through to the third quarter of 2017, according to ACIMIT, the Association Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers. “Growth for the Italian market is progressing, albeit following a more contained rhythm. The extended measures for Industry 4.0 will serve to keep this thrust going towards the digitalisation of the entire Italian textile sector,” said ACIMIT president Alessandro Zucchi. According to data elaborated by ACIMIT, for the period from July to September, the orders index for textile machinery has risen by 6%, compared to the same period in 2016. The index has a value of 107.3 points (2010 basis = 100). Foreign markets have shown a 6% increase, with the index reaching a value of 119.4 points. As for Italy’s domestic front, the increase instead amounted to 8%, with an absolute value for the index of 51.5 points. “Orders have continued their growth trend, making us confident that we will close out the year on a positive note,” commented Mr Zucchi. The primary foreign markets for Italian textile machinery have elicited a constant demand, while growth has been ongoing for Italy’s domestic market, even if at a lower overall rhythm, compared to the quarter from April to June. “The measures relating to Industry 4.0, as envisaged in the upcoming Financial Budget Law, could very well keep the trend alive towards the digitalisation process necessary for the entire Italian textile sector,” said Mr Zucchi. ACIMIT represents an industrial sector comprising around 300 manufacturers, employing close to 12,000 people and producing machinery for an overall value of about EUR 2.7 billion, with exports amounting to more than 85% of total sales.
Source: innovations in Textiles
"This is the first time that a comprehensive loan waiver to benefit both handloom and powerloom workers was being implemented in TS", Handloom and Textiles Minister KTR said. Handloom and Textiles Minister K T Rama Rao holds a review meeting with officials on Monday. Hyderabad: In a major thrust to the handloom sector in the State, Handloom and Textiles Minister K T Rama Rao on Monday announced a slew of measures including a Rs 10.5 crore loan waiver, setting up of Handloom and Powerloom Corporations, deadline of November first week for implementation of subsidy for yarn, chemicals and dyes and administrative sanction for Gadwal Handlooom Park. The Minister, who held a review meeting on various initiatives and schemes of the Handloom and Textiles Department here, instructed the department officials to take immediate steps to process the loan waiver for weavers in the State. The government will release Rs 10.5 crore for the proposed loan waiver, which would benefit about 2,500 handloom weavers. Each weaver would be eligible for loan waiver up to Rs One lakh as assured earlier. The Minister asked the department officials to expedite the process of finalizing the beneficiaries list which was underway. This is the first time that a comprehensive loan waiver to benefit both handloom and powerloom workers was being implemented in Telangana State, Rama Rao said, who also reviewed the status of subsidy release towards purchasing yarn, chemicals and dyes. Officials informed him that the formalities had been completed, following which the Minister said the subsidy disbursal process should start by November first week. The Minister also reminded the officials that the Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s objective was that the incentives being announced to textiles and handloom sector should ultimately benefit the workers. A subsidy of 40 per cent was being extended to handloom sector and 10 per cent the powerloom sector in the State. Directing the officials to ramp up the Weavers’ Thrift Scheme (Nethannaku Cheyutha) launched recently, he said targets and milestones have to be set up and the department should conduct special drives to ensure that all weavers are enrolled in this scheme. As per the instructions of the Chief Minister, a Handloom Corporation and a Powerloom Corporation would be set up in the State soon. The Minister asked Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan and Shailaja Ramaiyer, Director of Handlooms and Textiles, to complete the formalities for the creation of these two corporations so that the government could allocate necessary corpus fund for them. Both the corporations would play a pivotal role in the development of both handloom and textiles sectors in the State and would help in implementation of various government initiatives intended for this sector, he said. The Minister, reviewing the status of the proposed Gadwal Handloom Park, said administrative sanction for the Park had been accorded and the works would begin within two weeks. It was also decided that a Mega “in situ” powerloom upgradation camp with modern loom manufacturers and powerloom weavers would be conducted at Sircilla on November 18. The “in situ loom upgradation” has to be completed by March 2018, the Minister said. During the meeting, the officials brought to the notice of the Minister certain unresolved issues of bifurcation of various organizations between TS and AP, under the department. They informed the Minister about the monies that are pending from the Andhra Pradesh government. The officials were asked to take up these issues with their AP counterparts immediately. If the issues still remain unresolved, the Minister said he would personally take up this issue with his AP counterpart.
Source: TelanganaToday
In recent days, the use of the KHADI trademark by a German company Khadi Naturprodukte GbR has got the Indian government very worried Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his monthly address to the nation "Mann ki Baat", said his appeal to the people of IndiaWe have in past months looked at some interesting cases that have come up in theto adopt Khadi yielded positive results as sale of Khadi on Dhanteras and Diwali spiked. Khadi and handicrafts sales have gone up by 90 per cent compared to last year which has helped all those who are employed in this sector. On the occasion of Dhanteras, Delhi's Khadi Gramodyog recorded sales of one crore rupees, and the sale of khadi products -which include garments and other items -shot up over 89% to Rs 814 crore during April-September 2017, compared to Rs 430 crore a year ago with Modi emerging as a brand ambassador of sorts. In today's BS special, the author discusses the urgent need to protect the Khadi IP. Intellectual Property (IP) domain as they intersected the marketing and communication of brands, and impacted the existence and longevity of these brands, and all that they stood for. In these very columns, we have carried pieces on, ‘Image trademark for Taj Mumbai: Smart or senseless?’ (June 21, 2017), ‘Blue border and IP: God bless (and protect) the Saint Mother Teresa and her stripes’ (July 10, 2017) and ‘Why ‘Brand’ Mother Teresa is surrounded by controversy’ (July 25, 2017). In the recent past an equally interesting case has surfaced on the legal ownership of Khadi, use of the word ‘Khadi’ and intellectual property rights surrounding it. In recent days, the use of the KHADI trademark by a German company Khadi Naturprodukte GbR has got the Indian government very worried, and the government now wants to take steps to prevent the Germans from using the Khadi trademark. The German company manufactures and sells shampoos, oils, soaps, and gels etc. that are made from natural ingredients primarily in the European Union. The Khadi Village and Industries Commission (KVIC) which comes under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has registrations for the mark KHADI and KHADI GRAMODYOG in classes 3 (soaps; perfumery, essential oils, cosmetics, hair lotions etc.) and 25 (clothing, footwear and headgear) in India.However, according to the online records these marks haven’t been renewed for long and one of the marks has actually been withdrawn. Interestingly, class 3 and 25 have a number of applications for the mark KHADI from individual applicants and even companies not affiliated to the government and some of them have even been actually registered. The German company doesn’t seem to have a trademark application in India though they have registrations in the EU and USA. While KVIC seems eager to take action against the German company in the EU it would be interesting to see if they are as enthusiastic about taking action against the other registrants in India related to the Khadi mark. But we will discuss that a little later. The German Company obtained registration for the mark KHADI in Europe (classes 3, 21 and 31) and USA (class 3) in May 2012 and February 2013 respectively. The Community Trade Mark (CTM) Database, which contains details regarding trademarks in Europe, indicates that the mark is pending cancellation, however, details regarding the same could not be accessed despite efforts. Also, the registration is limited to classes 3, 21 and 31 and the mark is not being used to the market the khadi cloth in particular. However, it is relevant to make note that KVIC manufactures and sells village oil, soap and other natural products and these overlap with the products being sold by the German company.What is even more interesting is that the packaging of some of the German company’s goods is almost identical to that of KVIC’s products sold in India making it a case not just of trademark infringement but also of ‘passing-off a likeness’ which in simple terms means copying.
Reports in Indian newspapers suggest that the Government’s course of action is to apply for cancellation of the mark in US and Europe (cancellation proceedings are already pending) and also to apply for the registration of the mark KHADI in these jurisdictions with a view to provide protection for this mark beyond India. Trademark rights are territorial in nature and one needs to have a registration in that particular country to oppose registration or even use of that particular mark. Some countries follow the first-to-file approach, thereby implying that the first to file a mark will have rights irrespective of usage of the mark and some countries like India, UK, and Australia etc. follow the common law system which places more reliance on prior usage of the mark than on the date of filing. CTM system in Europe is based on the first-to-file system and therefore it might be rather difficult for India while pursuing any legal action against Khadi Naturprodukte GbR. There are precious lessons to be learnt for the KVIC in this entire episode:
1. The Khadi name and appellation is very valuable and worth protecting through professional filings, and regular updations, of IP applications.
2. The KVIC needs to clearly delineate the brand Khadi and try to own it for posterity based on the lineage that the name has from the time of Mahatma Gandhi and the entire swadeshi movement. A good IP lawyer can work a persuasive argument in support and protection of Khadi for KVIC.
3. Protecting Khadi in India, and its application to categories such as cosmetics and cloth, will not suffice in global markets. Khadi IP has to be filed and pursued in all key world markets. Individual market by market. Though, now that India is a party to the Madrid Protocol, the process of applying to many countries has become easier because it can be done through one common filing.
In all fairness, the KVIC has been getting proactive in trying to protect the franchise and sanctity of Khadi at least in domestic markets.
On February 8, 2017 KVIC sent a legal notice to Fabindia’s New Delhi-based CEO alleging that a close scrutiny of garments sold by Fabindia revealed that while the labels stitched on the garments stated ‘Fabindia Cotton’, the removable price tags had the word ‘khadi’ on them. The notice mentioned that KVIC had corresponded with Fabindia earlier in August 2015 after the company advertised some fabric as ‘khadi’. In the correspondence, Fabindia had assured KVIC that,“As per directions issued by your office, we have stopped advertisement campaign in all media. We have also sent internal directions to stop selling the cloth with reference to khadi.”But as per KVIC, despite written assurances, Fabindia continues to sell products under the name of ‘khadi’ and has also put up prominent khadi display panels at their sales outlets, which could advertently or inadvertently mislead customers.
KVIC insists that any marketer seeking to sell ‘khadi’ garments must, in accordance with the existing legal framework, apply for a ‘Khadi’ mark Regulation Certificate. After launching the ‘Khadi Institution Registration and Certification Sewa’ on 2nd October 2016, KVIC has made the certification procedure simpler requiring payment of Rs. 10,000 as fee and a list of 25 spinners & 5 weavers. The grant of certificate usually takes up to 45 days. Last year KVIC had got into a similar spat and served a notice on Aditya Birla Group’s Madura Fashion & Lifestyle. The notice was triggered by an advertisement in a newspaper to promote apparel under the brand name ‘Peter England’. Within a week, the company apologized to KVIC for using the trade name ‘khadi’ without permission and assured that it has removed the word from all the promotional materials. KVIC is not just getting all itchy and picking fights to protect its turf on ‘Khadi’. Khadi and Village Industries Commission recently inked a deal with Arvind Ltd. to sell around one million metres of ‘khadi denim’ every year to it. An agreement between Arvind Mills Limited and Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) was signed in Ahmedabad and under the MoU, khadi denims and other khadi products made by Arvind Ltd. will bear KVIC’s certification mark. KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena actually went on record to say, “This deal will not only enhance khadi’s sales annually by Rs 40 crore but will also increase the economic stability of khadi artisans across India, by providing them Rs. 2 crore as extra incentives”. Parallely, fabric and apparel major Raymond has also partnered with Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to introduce a new line of clothing under the brand Khadi by Raymond, which will directly compete with the likes of Fabindia. KVIC will certify Raymond to use Khadi mark to sell ready-made garments and fabric, which will be available at KVIC and Raymond outlets across the country. According to KVIC this joint venture is also a step towards making a radical shift in people’s perception of Khadi from a fabric that stands for nationalism to a fabric that stands for fashion. The association will add an incremental employment of 2.1 lakh man-hours for spinners and weavers. Certainly good news for Khadi! Controversy meanwhile continues to surround Khadi. There is a pending application for Geographical Indication (application no. 492) on Khadi under Class 24 of goods categorized as ‘textiles and textile goods (handicraft)’. Section 11 of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 states that any association of persons or producers or any organization or authority established by or under any law for the time being in force representing the interest of the producers of the concerned goods, who are desirous of registering a geographical indication in relation to such goods can apply for a geographical indication (GI) tag. Despite there being a statutory body i.e. KVIC for the development of khadi, the GI application has been filed by the Intellectual Property Rights Association claiming to be acting on behalf of manufacturers/producers of khadi throughout India. Accordingly, in the Formality Check Report dated 10.12.2014, the Registrar pointed out the following deficiency in the GI application – How the Applicant represents the interest of the producers of Khadi? To which the Intellectual Property Rights Association replied stating that it had written letters to all Khadi movement and Sarvodaya Movements to join this application. As of today, no reply had been received from them. In fact in the Examination Report dated 16.09.2015, it was noted that the competence of the applicant in protecting the interest of the producers must be established by the applicant association. Also, the pre-application activity of the applicant association in relation to the protection and promotion of ‘Khadi’ is to be submitted. We are sure this space is going to see far more action in the days to come. Stay tuned. Carol Goyal is a lawyer by training. She is currently in New York pursuing her Masters at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Sandeep Goyal is an advertising and media veteran of 33-years standing.
Source: Business Standard
New Delhi, Government of Karnataka in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is going to organize "Vendor Development and Investors Summit 2017" on 23rd and 24th November 2017 at Bengaluru International Exhibition Center to promote investment in the State. The summit is expected to assist the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in planning production and product diversification. It will act as a common platform for Community and Public Sector Union, SPSUs, Mega and Large units in identifying vendors of their choice in terms of production capacity and quality standards. In order to promote the summit among Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) and MSME’s of Hyderabad, the Minister for Large & Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development Shri RV Deshpande met many industry leaders from MSME sector yesterday and invited them to attend the summit. He assured them that the state government will provide full support in implementing the investment projects of the companies. The minister said that the government is focused on providing momentum for imaging itself as the most industry friendly state in the country and is vouching for the sustainable growth. He also highlighted the potential for investments in various sectors in the state viz. Aerospace & Defence Equipment Manufacturing, Automobiles, Auto components & Electric Vehicles manufacturing, Biotech, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, Agriculture & Food Processing and Machinery, Textile and Apparels and Innovation & Start-ups among others.
Source: Knn India
COIMBATORE: An estimated record crop of 400 lakh bales of cotton in 2017-18 is expected to push the cotton farmer into a precarious situation. “The situation will neither benefit the farmer nor the mill sector,” said J Thulasidharan, President, Indian Cotton Federation (ICF). While hailing the crop size and India’s position as the “world’s largest producer of cotton”, the ICF President conceded that the remunerative prices that the white fibre fetched as compared to returns from alternative crops had lured farmers to grow more cotton in the last three years. The area under cotton during the 2017-18 season grew 20 per cent. Coupled with this, climatic conditions also proved favourable, leading to an estimated record production of 400 lakh bales (of 170 kg each). The ICAC’s (International Cotton Advisory Committee) latest report has predicted a similar situation in other cotton growing countries, resulting in 75 per cent surplus cotton globally in 2017-18. The season has just commenced. Arrivals are expected to peak over the next four weeks and this situation would normally last till end February. Between October-end and February, over 70 per cent of the produce is brought to the market by the farmers. The value of the cotton (brought to the market) is estimated to be over ₹58,300 crore. With the consuming mill sector in a tight liquidity situation, this abundance in supply could only make matters worse, observed Thulasidharan, adding: “not just in India, but globally as well.” The lack of buying support from spinning mills would result in a steep decline in the price level. (Against production of 400 lakh bales, mill consumption is estimated at around 300-310 lakh bales). According to Thulasidharan, the Government should advise Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) to procure a minimum of 100 lakh bales to maintain stability and avert a crisis. To support farmers’ sustenance in cotton, “CCI should act as a voltage stabiliser by procuring during the peak season and making it available to mills for consumption in the lean season. This strategy would help in stabilising prices and benefit farmers across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. A monitoring mechanism should be in place to ensure that the price does not dip below the MSP for the farmer,” he said. Thulasidharan added that the cottonseed market is also down due to poor demand for oilseed. The 20 per cent excess supply of cottonseed would pull prices down and this, in turn, would adversely affect kapas prices, he said. The ICF has appealed to the government to strengthen raw material security and competitiveness of the spinning industry.
Source: Business Line
India owes a lot to the cotton farmers of Maharashtra. Mumbai was made by cotton. Mighty business empires rose to the top on bales of cotton. Our status as being the world's most prosperous nation prior to the industrial revolution was built on cotton. Today, the same cotton farmers of Maharashtra are dying, either by their own hand or by state inaction, like recently in Yavatmal and surrounding areas. The recent deaths of at least 20 farmers and agricultural labourers due to pesticide poisoning in this cotton-growing district has shocked the country and earned the government the wrath of the country's top human rights body, the NHRC. The total number of deaths in all of Vidarbha over the period of July - October could be close to 50 and 1,000 other farmers are in hospital after inhaling the poisonous spray and falling ill. The incidents started being reported in July, but the government sat on its hands for weeks till the media picked up the news and deaths started making national headlines. Chief Minister Fadnavis finally found time to visit hospitals only in October. This is a case that has shocked the nation, since a central team reviewed the pesticidesavailable in 2015 and, in their report submitted last December, allowed the continued use of some which caused this latest outrage. Chairman of the state task force on farm distress, Kishore Tiwari, who heads the Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavalamban Mission said pesticides such as Monocrotophos, Oxydemeton-methyl, Acephate and Profenofos are believed to be responsible for the deaths and illness. These are classified as Class I pesticides by the World Health Organization (WHO) which are further categorized into extremely hazardous (Class Ia) and highly hazardous (Class Ib). The classification is based on acute toxicity of pesticide-active ingredient and since class I pesticides can be fatal at a very low dose, many of these are banned in several countries. Monocrotophos is banned in 60 countries, Phorate in 37, Triazophos in 40 and Phosphamidon in 49. "But India still allows the use of these pesticides," he wrote. Back in 2016, the chief of the central review team actually said as reported then, "There are no instances to directly link health hazards to the use of these pesticides in the field but they might be causing long-term health impacts. We recommended continuing pesticides which are extremely crucial for good production of crops. Where enough data is not available, we recommended further studies and review." This is not the only instance of government apathy. With worms developing resistance to many pesticides, farmers were brewing cocktails of pesticides, spraying them, without taking any precautions. The packaging and usage precautions in English were ignored since there was nobody to tell them what they meant. While the government remained happily unaware, companies and shops stopped providing protective gear for the farmers. The question then is will anybody at the centre or the state, both ruled by the BJP and both making pious commitments daily to improving the plight of the farmers, take any responsibility? One shouldn't set ones hopes too high on a government which spent almost a crore on its grand swearing-in at the height of the drought in 2014! Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar was right in pointing out recently that such incidents did not happen during the UPA era. He said: "Uncertified pesticides are available in the market and the ministry concerned is 100 per cent responsible for this the deaths." Coming from an Agriculture Minister in a number of Congress governments, it is a statement that those in power should take very seriously. Too busy determining whether the Taj was built by Indians or not, the centre's culpability also lies in its inability to revamp the Insecticides Act of 1968. Since the Act only allows states to impose restrictions on the retail and use of pesticides, the Maharashtra government has washed its hands off by ordering a 60-day ban on five pesticides. Will the state government keep the pressure on its own government at the centre to amend the law? There are many questions, but very few answers. Bandu Chandrabhan Sonule, a farm labourer from Manoli village in Yavatmal district, was reported as saying that he went to spray pesticides at the nearby village of Aamdi on September 19. He fell ill after the spraying and was admitted to the taluka. In a desperate situation like this, timely availability of compensation is paramount. But for most of these farm labourers the inadequate farm -level government hospital. The doctor there said that the poison was spreading in his body and asked him to go to a district-level hospital. On September 23, he died. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter. "My father used to pay our school fees by working as a labourer. Now I don't know whether I will be able to go to school," his daughter Geeta is reported to have said.
compensation of Rs.
A central team finds nothing wrong in farmers continuing to use pesticides that are banned across the world. Companies stop handing out free masks and gloves and officials remain mute spectators. And the NHRC has to tell the government to arrange free treatment for the farmers who have been hospitalised by its own apathy. 2 lakh has not come through. In this backdrop, the centre harping about doubling farmers' income by 2022 sounds like a cruel joke. For the moment, proper compensation and compassion will do. And a proper review of the Insecticides Act should happen as soon as the SIT's report into the current tragedy is delivered. That's the very minimum expected of this government if it does not want a repeat of the same crisis all over again.
Source: NDTV
Cotton farmers at a grain market in Bathinda on Monday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma Bathinda, October 30: While the area under cotton cultivation has gone up considerably in the state, the farmers arriving with their produce in the grain market here are dejected with the low prices. Talking to The Tribune here, former North India Cotton Association president Ashok Kapur said the prices had initially touched Rs4,800 per quintal, but now they had come down to Rs4,700 per quintal. He attributed the dip in prices to the current trend in the international market. He said the off take of yarn was sluggish and the inventory was piling up. He said private buyers were not very active, as they anticipated a further dip in the prices. On the other hand, well-off farmers too were now keen to hold back their stock, hoping for better prices in the coming months. Former Punjab Cotton Factories and Ginners Association president Bhagwan Bansal admitted that the GST had taken a toll on their business, stating that the banks too were not cooperating with them. He also blamed the “poor quality” of Punjab cotton this year for slow buying by the mill owners. He said the cotton crop needed rain in September, but the weather remained hot and dry, thus affecting its quality. He said a number of buyers had moved to Gujarat that had better quality cotton produce. Punjab Beopar Mandal president Ashok Kumar Dhunike said the cotton prices had come down, as China had curtailed its imports and spinning mills back home were grappling with the fund crunch. He said the mill owners did not have ample funds due to fiscal slowdown caused by the GST. He said the commission agents too were not giving cotton to the mill owners on credit as was the case earlier. Jagtar Singh, a farmer from Chuga Khurd village, said he sold off his cotton produce in little less than Rs4,700 per quintal. “Poor cotton prices have hit the small farmers hard. I had taken agricultural land on lease at the rate of Rs48,000 per acre. Besides, the input cost is Rs15,000 per acre. But, the current cotton prices have only fetched me around Rs38,000 per acre,” he lamented. Modan Singh from Virk Khurd village said the labour cost too had gone up this year. “I ended up paying Rs800 per quintal as labour cost, apart from their free transportation,” he said. Rajbir Singh, a farmer from Naruana village, who had taken four acres of land on lease, said they were hoping for cotton price of Rs7,000 per quintal. He said the successive state governments had resorted to mere lip service for the farmers.
Source: The Tribune
Warangal: The district administrations in the erstwhile Warangal district have responded to the woes of cotton farmers, who were facing trouble in getting profitable price to their produce. Following directions from Marketing Minister T Harish Rao, Special Officers (SOs) have been appointed to monitor the procurement at Enumamula agriculture market and other procurement centres. Warangal Urban District Joint-Collector S Dayanand has on Monday informed that along with the agriculture market, five ginning mills have been notified as procurement centres. Revenue Divisional Officer K Venka Reddy and Assistant Director, Agriculture S Krishna Reddy have been appointed as the special officers to monitor cotton procurement at six centres out of 17 centres. The special officers were told to regularly visit the allotted centres to supervise the purchases made by Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) and apprise the situation to the district administration every day, The Joint-Collector said. He asked the farmers to sell their produce at the CCI procurement centres besides Enumamula agriculture market. He said cotton picked in first round was being brought to the market and the district administration has made all arrangements to ensure profitable price to cotton. Jangaon District Collector A Devasena informed that an administrator have been appointed for each procurement centre. The produce was being procured at 12 notified ginning mills along with agriculture markets at Jangaon and Station Ghanpur. According to her, about 12,62,408 quintals of cotton would be produced in the district in the current season.
The farmers should ensure that the moisture content should be between 8 to 12 per cent, otherwise the CCI would not procure the produce. The farmers would be given bar coded identity cards. Those, who failed to get identity cards, need not worry as they would be exempted this time. The CCI was asked to deposit amount in farmers’ accounts within 48 hours of procurement. The marketing officials and Joint-Collector were asked to monitor procurement operations at all centres. The farmers should not approach middlemen selling the produce in distress but should sell the produce at notified procurement centres alone, Devasena suggested. She warned that action would be taken against unauthorised procurement centres run by private traders. Those intending to procure cotton must obtain market license and procure at market yards. 20 unauthorised procurement centres in Jangaon district were seized.
Source: The Hans India
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1345.27 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
VSF |
2299.74 |
USD/Ton |
-0.97% |
10/30/2017 |
|
ASF |
2645.46 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1305.44 |
USD/Ton |
-0.17% |
10/30/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3562.35 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
5937.25 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2780.74 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
1608.32 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
3682.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
5681.72 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1548.19 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
3321.85 |
USD/Ton |
0.45% |
10/30/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2956.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2014.15 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2870.92 |
USD/Ton |
-0.16% |
10/30/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
3111.42 |
USD/Ton |
-0.96% |
10/30/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2419.99 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2149.43 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2435.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.41 |
USD/Meter |
-0.32% |
10/30/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.87 |
USD/Meter |
-0.52% |
10/30/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.22 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.72 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/30/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15031 USD dtd. 30/10/2017). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Buoyed by higher shipments of apparel items, Bangladesh's exports to the UK are on the rise although British consumers have been hit hard by rising inflation amid Brexit pressure. The UK's key inflation rate hit its highest for more than five years in September, driven up by increases in transport and food prices. The Consumer Prices Index climbed to 3 percent, a level it last reached in April 2012, and up from 2.9 percent in August, according to BBC. Shoppers suffered a big jump in clothing prices, particularly for womenswear, plus pricier petrol at the pumps, the Guardian reported. The fall in the pound since last year's Brexit vote has been one factor behind the rise in the inflation rate, as the cost of imported goods has risen. But exports from Bangladesh increased 22.29 percent year-on-year to $1.03 billion in the July-September period of the fiscal year. During the quarter, garment shipment to the UK grew 10.47 percent to $862.28 million. Exporters say the shipment to the UK remained insulated because Bangladesh exports basic garments at lower prices, and consumers prefer cheaper products during tough times. The UK is the third largest export destination for Bangladesh after the US and Germany. Not only garments, some other local items like fruits and vegetables are seeing higher demand from the UK thanks to the presence of a sizeable Bangladeshi diaspora there. “Garment export from Bangladesh to the UK is increasing as British customers get cheaper products,” said Kutubuddin Ahmed, chairman of Envoy Group, a leading garment exporter. Recently, British retailers have increased the volume of sourcing from Bangladesh, he said. The upward trend in the exchange rate of the pound sterling against the taka is also a major cause for the rise in exports from Bangladesh to the UK, said Abdus Salam Murshedy, a former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. The pound sterling was trading at Tk 109.44 yesterday. Sometimes, the amount goes above Tk 110 per pound sterling. The exchange rate of the local currency hovered around Tk 95 and Tk 98 since Brexit vote in June 2016. “The exporters' confidence received a boost because of the higher exchange rate of the pound sterling,” Murshedy said. Moreover, Bangladesh was able to ride out an image crisis in the garment sector after factory remediation, he said. “Overall, European buyers are placing orders for higher volume of garment items as workplace safety has been ensured following the inspections,” he said. Although the UK market is attractive, it accounts for only 8-9 percent of total garment exports from Bangladesh, said Dhyana van der Pols, CEO of Nash International, which advises 200 European garment retailers that source $200 million worth of apparel items from the country every year. In an email interview, she said the average price level in the UK is extremely low in comparison with other EU markets and is under constant pressure. “Traditionally, UK buyers tend to pay far less for similar products than the other EU retailers. This situation will aggravate further with Brexit, the plummeting of the pound sterling and the absence of a bilateral trade deal with Bangladesh.” Bilateral negotiations with the UK should start as soon as possible to secure a future export position or to prevent the current position from sliding further, van der Pols said. The EU will shortly sign a free trade agreement with Vietnam and could reinstate GSP-plus trade privilege for Sri Lanka. “Those market dynamics will again cause an alteration of sourcing dynamics and country shifts. The sourcing caravan is out of options for cheap labour so future trade deals and benefits between nations are a factor that should not be underestimated.”
Source: The daily Star
If the traditionally low-tech and stubbornly low-growth apparel industry could start taking lessons from sectors outside of itself, it will likely happen upon a vast trove of inspiration surrounding performance improvement. That was the key point raised by a trio of thought leaders at a session called “Outside In: Tapping Other Industries for Innovation + Change,” at the recent Sourcing Journal Summit in New York City. The apparel industry is notoriously bad at taking cues from other industries, always pointing to reasons why apparel is different and why those cues can’t be similarly applied. However, had traditional retailers been paying attention to some of the trends in electronics, books, entertainment and transportation, it might have been better prepared for the disruption upending stores and supply chains today. Many of the savvy players, however, have finally started stepping outside the box and appling principles from other verticals to improve financial results.
How does Zara do it?
John Thorbeck, author of “The Zara Gap,” and an authority on how companies can enhance profitability by improving flexibility and speed to market, said while speaking on the Sourcing Summit panel that although many apparel brands and retailers are talking about reducing the time from design to selling floor, very few have managed to move significantly in that direction—even a decade after Zara showed the industry it can be done in 21 days. Although companies including H&M, L Brands, Gap and Amazon have managed to improve speed to market, they have failed to take the difficult and costly—but necessary—steps to completely change their culture to make reduction of lead times and uncertainty not just an operational issue, but also a merchandising, marketing and consumer issue.
Zara’s business model, in which most of its product is manufactured close to its stores and reaches the selling floor within three weeks of being designed, is based on the concept of postponement modeled after the production process first perfected in the electronics industry. The financial benefits are huge, with profitability that is many orders of magnitude higher than the next closest competitor. The opportunity to significantly improve economic performance is available to any apparel retailer today, provided they are willing to change their sourcing practices and mindset. For example, making product speed and supply flexibility, instead of margin and turn, key performance indicators will help focus an organization on the right metrics. “In an environment when everyone is thrilled with 1-2 percent growth, market caps have a 30-40 percent potential, even in an industry so out of favor as apparel,” Thorbeck said. “This is a dramatic point of view that comes from outside the industry.”
Be like Nike
Another view from outside came from Mike Dennison of supply chain solutions giant Flex, Ltd., a $26 billion tech company with 100 owned factories employing 200,000 people in twelve different industries including health care, automotive, consumer products, aerospace and energy. Two years ago, Flex, no stranger to sharing technology across industries (it used micro-dosing from the medical field to introduce new flavors at Pepsi) partnered to take on Nike’s manufacturing in Mexico. “What we saw when we looked at our partner Nike was a company going through a manufacturing revolution, realizing their consumer had changed and wanted something different, with a manufacturing solution that couldn’t keep up with new design and changing technology,” Dennison said. Using its Sketch to Scale process, Flex helped Nike get design and production to work more closely together to streamline tasks like design, sample-making and production, and to cut out a lot of dead time between steps, allowing Nike to respond in region “within days, rather than weeks.” “This isn’t a speed factory, this is a speed factory on steroids. A million square feet, 7,000 people, 15-20 million pairs per year,” Dennison said. “This is where the supply chain is going. It starts in Asia, but is localized in Mexico.” He added, “We think the disruption will continue. We think we can take Nike to a whole new place. And we believe when this matures that we can bring this technology to the broader apparel industry. And this is where the game starts to change.”
Flexibility + speed = fashion excitement
Citi Research’s Kate McShane, a leading retail stock analyst, was a bit ahead of her time when she first took a keen interest in supply chain as a route to growth. What started out as a reduction in cost of goods sold began to be recognized as a way to supply the right product at the right time in the right place.
“For a long time it was a margin conversation, which isn’t really very sexy, but now we’re starting to see speed to market and flexibility having an impact on product line and merchandise,” she said. “We are really at the beginning stages of what could be a very exciting time for the retail industry.” McShane admitted that retail investors today are in the doldrums, discouraged by the secular changes in the industry, and fearful of the impact that Amazon is having on hardline and broadline merchants and the brands that supply them. However, by adopting some of the new technologies available, brands and retailers can keep merchandise on-trend and exciting, stimulating consumer demand. “We all know that fashion is driven by the next thing, and by innovation, so you need something new and refreshing,” McShane said. “New technologies that innovate at the supply chain level offer the potential to see an uptick in unit velocity. Tightening the demand/supply equation while giving the opportunity for newness is very exciting.”
Miles of startups
Another disruptive force is what Thorbeck called the “tsunami of startups” that have entered the retail space in the past half-decade. “Between in-store, retail tech, AI, subscription, direct-to-consumer and other models, over $9 billion has been invested in 1,270 of these new companies over the past five years,” he said.Among these new entrants that want their place at the table and are trying to take market share from incumbents, there will certainly be winners. The potential to survive and thrive, however, may lie in which type of “mile” a startup addresses. Here’s how Thorbeck defined the types of “miles,” which correspond to stages in the product-to-market journey. The “last mile” refers to getting goods to their final destination, or the consumer’s home. If a company’s specialty is in this high cost area in which Amazon excels, it will run into formidable competition. Another difficult area is the “mid-mile,” the interim step of moving goods from vendor to a huge network of stores cheaply, efficiently and quickly. This is where Walmart dominates, with its distribution center-to-store advantage. In the “magic mile,” offline and online brands must create magic to attract and engage consumers. The economics are risky and challenging. Companies in this space focus on store experience, social media and other initiatives that drive traffic—all important, but hard to make money. According to Thorbeck, the economic potential of the “first mile,” which lives in the product supply chain, dwarfs that of the others. How will retail be defined going forward? The successful merchant of the future may very well be a hybrid of an apparel company with a seemingly unrelated company outside the industry. “We’ll see more tech companies merging with fashion players. This has moved way beyond wearables. The lines between fashion, entertainment, art and technology are blurring,” said Dennison, who cited the recent collaboration between Flex and musician and entrepreneurWill.i.am for i.am+, which is aimed at created fashionable wearables, as an example of how fashion and technology are intersecting with other spaces, a trend he feels will intensify going forward.
Whichever the path, nimbleness will be key?
“The game has changed. Many of yesterday’s small startups are rapidly becoming $50 – $100 million dollar businesses,” McShane said. “Stitch Fix, MM LaFleur, LeTote, they have different business models, but are taking share from the existing players who must respond quickly if they want to survive.”
Source: Sourcing Journal Online
Cambodia’s garment and footwear exports is expected to see a slower growth of around 5 per cent this year compared to 7 per cent in 2016. But the trend is a normal market occurrence and does not indicate an overall decline or is linked to the political situation, say industry experts. Twenty five new factories opened this year in Cambodia while 53 shut shop. As the base number gets bigger, the same rate of percentage growth cannot be maintained forever, Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) told the recent annual Cambodia Textile Summit, according to a newspaper report. Urged the government to help reduce the cost of doing business, Loo said the increase in the minimum monthly wage from $153 to $170 from January 1 would make Cambodia gradually lose its competitive advantage as a low-cost destination. Manufacturers will soon need to increase productivity to remain competitive in the industry, he added. The latest economic outlook released by the International Monetary Fund also predicted a slower growth for the country’s garment sector owing to increased competition from neighbouring countries. However, preferential US trade access for specific travel-related items could help prop up the sector in the near term, IMF said. The minimum wage hike would surely jeopardise the sector if worker productivity does not increase, said Enjoy Ho, president of the textile enterprise association at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia. (DS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Amazon has made great strides in apparel sales and has captured 29% of the U.S. online apparel market, but so far the site is viewed as a good source of basics and other apparel needs, rather than a place to discover fashion, according to research from brand intelligence firm WGSN published by Business of Fashion. Just 6% of respondents in the firm's new "Barometer" survey, which has measured brand perception since its March launch this year, singled out Amazon as a fashion destination, compared to 35% for J.C. Penney and Macy's, according to the report. Amazon does better when it comes to apparel purchases, but so do other retailers. More than a third (35%) of those who had visited Amazon had made a purchase, but in the same period 43% of visitors to Walmart and 39% of those who went to J.C. Penney bought something, the survey found.
Dive Insight:
These results in part expose the importance of brick-and-mortar retail, especially in apparel sales, and backs up previous research. "If you look at the statistics on consumer preferences, consumers actually like going to physical stores. There's emotion that goes into a purchase, and they want to see an item, feel it, touch it," Sam Cinquegrani, CEO of digital commerce solutions firm ObjectWave, told Retail Dive last year. "If I were a retailer, especially a predominantly online retailer like Amazon, I would be concerned about that advantage. Given their success, you might think they wouldn't be. But Amazon has always proven to be much smarter than everyone else, so it's not surprising that they'd push into physical retail." Indeed, an A.T. Kearney survey found that, among those who prefer to buy online, fully two-thirds say they still rely on a physical store either before or after their purchase, Andres Mendoza Pena, a partner in global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney’s retail practice, told Retail Dive last year. "That means that when you're buying a dress online, it's likely that you're going to be looking at that dress — the feeling, the color — and to do that, you leverage a physical environment prior to the purchase." There are other advantages to brick-and-mortar beyond that emotional pull, too. Physical stores have also proven to be integral to customer loyalty, returns, fulfillment and — believe it or not — a driver of online sales. "We found 'If I don't have a store near my house to make an eventual return, I don't make the purchase,'"Pena said. "So let's agree that a physical store adds value to consumers, even when they transact online." That is likely behind Amazon's more concerted push into brick and mortar, although so far the focus has been on selling books and electronic devices and, since its August acquisition of Whole Foods, grocery — and not apparel. Since buying Whole Foods, the e-commerce giant has also partnered with department store Kohl's to create "store within store" concessions in spaces staffed by Amazon employees and offering returns handled by Kohl's employees.
"Retailers that have a store portfolio do tend to have much more awareness. It is a way of reaching a lot of customers and talking to them about your brand in a space that you control," Francesca Muston, head of retail at WGSN, told Business of Fashion. For that reason, Muston said Amazon Fashion "still has a long way to go."
Source: Howland@daphnehowland
This cotton cellulose gel can be used in 3D printing and other casting applications. It potentially could make 3D printing more economical and accessible to the masses in future applications ranging from industrial manufacturing to healthcare, thus ushering in the next Industrial Revolution. (Journal photo by Jennifer M. Latzke.) Noureddine Abidi, managing director of the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, shows the gel that can be produced from cotton and then used in 3D printing. The FBRI is tasked with finding new and creative uses to add value to fiber for Texas growers. Abidi is the managing director of the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. Recently he and his colleagues discovered a patent-pending technology to create 3D printer “ink” from raw cotton cellulose. This revolutionary method can take non-textile appropriate cotton fibers, gin byproducts, even recycled cotton, and dissolve them with solvents. This creates a gel of long and strong chains of glucose that can be molded or cast into forms or used as ink in 3D printers that have been adapted to resist the solvent used in the gel-making process. “I’m a chemist, and so I look at how can I take one product and chemically make something else,” Abidi explained. Cotton is just cellulose, he added, and organic chemistry tells us how we can dissolve cellulose to make a gel. “Cellulose is a lot of glucose units stuck together,” Abidi said. “The challenge is in how to separate them, but not break them.” Imagine, cellulose in cotton as many sheets of paper stacked. You’d want to separate each “sheet” so they would remain whole and strong. If you tear the “sheet” when trying to separate it from the stack, you reduce the strength of that cellulose chain. In this instance, the gel from the Texas Tech process, since it’s composed of whole chains, is strong enough to be used in 3D printing and casting. “The idea is, once I have my solution or gel, I can then put it into the cartridge for a 3D printer, and then with the right software we can print things,” Abidi said. If you think of this gel as a soup, Abidi explained, you can add more materials to the pot to help you create materials with specific useful properties. For example, if you want to use it in construction applications, you’d create a specific ratio of cotton cellulose gel to some other component to add more strength or electrical conductivity. From there, the applications are practically endless. For example, in one proof-of-concept proposal to the National Institutes of Health, Abidi and his team want to research the application of a cotton cellulose-based transparent film in wound care and treatment.
“So, if we can make a film from cotton and it is biodegradable and biocompatible because it’s just glucose, we could add antibiotics to the film and put it on a wound and be able to see the wound healing,” Abidi said. The patient and his or her doctor could monitor the healing process better and the film could remain on the wound longer so that the patient wouldn’t have to undergo bandage changing as much. That’s just one potential healthcare aspect of this technology. The healthcare industry today already uses 3D printing in dental applications, Abidi said. There’s future potential for 3D printing replacement organs tailor made to an individual’s DNA and printing artificial limbs that fit better and work better for amputees, among other uses.
Huge potential
Many are calling 3D printing the next Industrial Revolution for the effect it could have on businesses. The current global 3D printing market is pegged at $4.8 billion and is expected to be worth $20.5 billion by 2020, according to a report from the consulting firm Deloitte Poland. Major manufacturers in the automotive and aerospace industry use 3D technology to create components today. Some businesses are even looking into how 3D printing could help manage inventories of replacement parts or on-time delivery of consumer goods in the future. It potentially could change manufacturing, warehousing, delivery and retail industries. The Harvard Business Review reported that 2014 sales of industrial-grade 3D printers in the United States were already one-third the volume of industrial automation and robotic sales and was expected to grow to 42 percent by 2020. Office Depot reported that technology of 3D printers is advancing both for commercial applications and consumer applications. In the future—in theory—it might be possible to purchase and use a code from a company to “print” an item on your home 3D printer or a nearby leased commercial-grade unit. The applications are potentially boundless. And cotton could have a role in bringing 3D printing to the masses. One of the restraining factors to the industry’s growth potential right now is high material cost for 3D printing. But in theory, any place that has access to cotton could have access to a ready supply of 3D printer ink using this Texas Tech process.
From waste to value
Cotton Incorporated reports that globally, the cotton industry generates about 3 million tons of gin waste. One 480-pound bale can produce as much as 150 to 200 pounds of gin waste that’s comprised of burrs, stems, immature bolls, lint and leaves. Even better, it could give another revenue avenue to shorter staple cotton that isn’t appropriate for every textile application. “The potential of Dr. Abidi’s research is definitely exciting,” said James Pruden, senior director, public relations, for Cotton Incorporated. “It could lead to new and unexpected uses of shorter staple cotton, which are not viable for every textile application, as well as for gin waste. While gin waste is already being used for a variety of applications from livestock feed to oil drilling, there is plenty of it available. At this point it would be difficult to project what the revenue opportunity for growers might be, but what Dr. Abidi is doing demonstrates the power of ingenuity and the possibilities cotton represents beyond jeans and T-shirts.” This is just one of the many research projects coming out of the Biopolymer Research Group at the FBRI, which looks at cotton and other fibers to try to find new useful properties that can be valuable to industry and consumers. Texas Tech is currently in the patent process for this and other breakthroughs that can be licensed to business and industry. High quality cotton will always find a market in the textile chain, Abidi said. But this application and others in the research pipeline will help add value to lower quality cotton and even add sustainability to the cotton use cycle by providing one more way to recycle cotton materials.And now, in the not so distant future, cotton won’t just be the “fabric of our lives,” but also the building material for things that make life even better.
Source: High Plains Journal
Uzbekistan the world’s sixth largest cotton producer has signed contracts with companies from Russia, Turkey, South Korea, Singapore, Moldova and many other countries for the export of finished and semi-finished textile products for more than $1 billion during the recent 13th International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair held in Tashkent. The 13th International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair was held in Tashkent on 23-24 October 2017. More than 1,500 specialists, who participated in the fair from different countries, received an opportunity to get acquainted with the work in this direction, defined acceptable standards for them. Also around 1,500 experts from around 50 countries participated in the four-day fair last week that was accompanied by the 76th plenary meeting of the International Consultative Committee for Cotton (ICCC). The country, which grows about 3.5 million tons of raw cotton and produces 1.1 million tons of cotton fibre annually, can ensure full processing of its cotton by 2020. By 2021 the production of textile and clothing and knitted products will increase by 2.2 times compared to 2016. Uzbekistan has planned to create 112 modern, high-tech textile factories and expand, modernize and upgrade operating capacities of 20 existing ones. Uzbekistan has adopted a programme of measures for further development of textile and clothing and knitted industries for 2017-2019. The program envisages implementation of more than 130 investment projects worth US$2.2 billion. The enterprises of the textile industry of Uzbekistan exported products worth US$1.146 billion in 2016. It is expected that this figure in 2017 will reach US$1.3 billion. Last year, during the fair, Uzbekistan signed contracts for sale of textile products for over US$1.32 billion and 550,000 tonnes of cotton fiber.
Source: YNFX.
Turkish textile industry, which closely follows all the fairs in the world and participates in the events, closely monitors fashion as a result they can easily bring the latest trends to consumers. This has helped Turkey's textile and apparel exports approach $30 billion annually, while $7.5 billion of this amount comes from Merter, a district in Istanbul known for its ready-to-wear textiles. According to Merter Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MESIAD) Chairman Yusuf Gecü, all medium and large textile and apparel manufacturers in Turkey have a store or showroom in Merter. There are 10,000 stores in the region and that the number of people directly employed in these stores has reached 100,000. As per the latest statistics district exports textile and apparel products to 215 countries around the world. 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. They 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, their producers are selling from here. Merter's exports amount to 25 percent of annual textile and apparel exports in the country. Turkey's average export value per kilogram is around $1.7 and that this figure reached $15 in apparel and $5 in textile. They will continue to work on further increasing these figures. 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. He emphasized that Turkey is among the few countries in the world in terms of producing quality denim jeans and knitted products. Gencü said that Turkish producers are also working their way to becoming top brands themselves. They will combine quality product with design and deepen markets. Turkish goods are perceived abroad as cheaper than Europe and much better quality than China. Gencü said that this perception was placed in the minds of consumers particularly in Russia, Turkic Republics, African, European, Middle Eastern and Gulf countries.
Source: YNFX.
