The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 07 NOV 2017

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

 

Need simplified tax structure, says GST Council’s invitee member

SURAT: GST Council invitee member Pravin Khandelwal stressed on the need for central government to urgently correct the basic structure of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and work to remove technical glitches affecting the GST portal's functioning. Khandelwal, who was speaking at an interaction session organized jointly by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) here on Saturday, said, "GST is successful worldwide and is a good law. Due to breakdown in the system and need for correction and simplification, GST in India could be a disaster."

Khandelwal, who is also general secretary of CAIT, said Diamond City houses country's largest MMF market. Hence, it is required that the government take into cognisance the issues being faced by weavers, traders, manufacturers, process houses and others due to GST.

"The polyester fabric passes through 15 different stages of production and reaches textile shops. Many small workers are involved at all the stages to give final touches to the fabric. It is our suggestion that the entire process of fabric manufacturing to finishing be kept out of GST. This will increase textile business in the coming days," Khandelwal said.

Khandelwal also touched upon some other issues concerning branded and non-branded food items. While branded food items come under 5 per cent GST, non-branded are out of GST purview. The 18 per cent GST on bakery items should be kept in the 5 per cent slab, as it is daily consumable item.

Khandelwal said, "We are of the opinion that tax consultants and advisers should be included for GST audit under the GST Act. This will provide a level playing field for tax consultants as well as chartered accountants."

(Source: The Times of India, November 06, 2017)

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Hasmukh Adhia is new Finance Secretary

Hasmukh Adhia, an old hand in the Finance Ministry, who drove two of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s biggest initiatives, Demonetisation and the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), has been designated as the new Finance Secretary.

With Adhia’s appointment, the Budget team for 2018-19 is now complete. A 1981-batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service from the Gujarat cadre, Adhia served as Principal Secretary to Modi from 2003-06, when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat, and, according to Reuters, led a small team that oversaw the demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes, taking out 86 per cent of the currency in circulation.

An MCom from Gujarat University and a Diploma in Public Policy and Management from IIM Bangalore, Adhia also has a PhD in Yoga from Swami Vivekananda Yoga University in Bangalore.

Adhia has been a key Finance Ministry official, serving as Secretary, Department of Financial Services, where he spearheaded the Indradhanush scheme for recapitalision of public sector banks and banking reforms.

GST spearhead

As Revenue Secretary, he was one of the key officials who worked on the final design, structure and rollout of GST. His latest position comes ahead of the GST Council meeting on November 10, as well as an expected meeting of public-sector-bank chiefs with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over the weekend.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved designating Hasmukh Adhia as Finance Secretary,” said an official release on Monday.

The post became vacant after former Finance and Expenditure Secretary Ashok Lavasa retired on October 31.

Traditionally, the senior-most Secretary in the Finance Ministry is designated as the Finance Secretary and is seen as the first among equals.

Source: Business Line

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Rupee likely to lose momentum

BL Research Bureau The resistance at 64.45 has held well and the rupee has reversed lower as expected. The currency which began the week on a strong note, appreciated to 64.48 against the dollar by Thursday. However, it failed to sustain at higher levels, giving back most of the gains notched up during the week. The rupee fell to a low of 64.74 on Monday before closing at 64.68.

BoE joins the race

The Bank of England (BoE) has joined the race with other central banks like the US Federal Reserve in beginning its rate hike cycle. The BoE meeting was in focus last week and, as expected, it increased the interest rate after almost a decade by 25 basis points. But lack of convincing signs on future rate hikes knocked down the British pound by about 2 per cent from around 1.33 to a low of 1.3030 against the US dollar last week. On the other hand, the US Federal Reserve meeting became more like a non-event as it left the interest rates unchanged as expected. This confirms a definite rate hike in December. On the data front, US non-farm payroll failed to meet the expectation. The payrolls increased by 261,000, less than the market’s expectation of an increase of 31,000. However, the higher revisions in the previous two months (August, September) payroll numbers restricted the downside in the dollar index, which fell initially on the back of the weak headline numbers.

Bullish dollar

The dollar index (94.86) is hovering around a key resistance level of 95. A strong break and a decisive close above this hurdle can boost the momentum. Such a break can take the index higher to 95.5 initially. Further break above 95.5 will pave the way for the next targets of 96.3 and 96.5.

Key support is at 94.4 is limiting the downside well over the last one week. The near-term view will turn negative if the dollar index breaks below this support. The next targets are 94 and 93.85. The region around 93.85 is a strong support and a break below it is unlikely. The possibility is high of the index sustaining above 93.85 and break above 95, eventually to target 96 and 96.5 in the coming weeks. As such, the strength in the rupee could be limited and a fall to revisit 66 or even lower is more likely.

Rupee outlook

The downward reversal last week from 64.48 is technically significant as it has happened from a key trend-line as well as a Fibonacci retracement resistance level of 64.45. This pull-back move also signals that the corrective rally that has been in place since the October low of 65.89 could have ended.

There is a strong likelihood of the rupee falling to 64.90 in the near term. A break below 64.90 can take it further lower to 65.10 and 65.20 in the short term. A decisive weekly close below 65.2 will then pave the way for a revisit of 66 levels thereafter.

Rupee will gain momentum only if it breaches the key hurdle of 64.45. Such a break, though less likely, can see the currency strengthening to 64.3 or even 64 thereafter.

Source: Business Line

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Ease of business: DIPP set for 1st public perception survey to rank States

The Centre is ready to carry out its first public perception survey to evaluate reforms related to ease of doing business claimed by States on the basis of which they would be ranked.

The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion hopes to come out with the States’ ranking for the current year in January 2018.

“All States have time till Tuesday to submit their inputs on steps taken to improve ease of doing business in their jurisdiction. The Centre will then start its first public perception survey on what businesses feel about the reforms that governments claim to have carried out and rank States accordingly,” a government official told BusinessLine.

Last year, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh topped the charts in the ease of doing business index for States published on October 31 by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP). States were evaluated by the DIPP and World Bank on a 340-point action plan such as single window clearance, tax reforms, labour and environment reforms, dispute resolution and construction permit.

New assessment

“This year things are likely to change considerably. We are no longer going to base our assessment solely on what States say they have achieved. We will approach businesses, ask them if they are satisfied with what the States have done and whether they agree with what is being claimed,” the official said.

The responses will be collected from the identified businesses mostly through questionnaires and in some cases through telephonic interviews and face-to-face interactions.

“We are very excited about the new process as it will be a true reflection of the changes taking place at the ground level,” the official said.

While the ranking of States (which is carried out and sponsored by the DIPP) is not directly linked to the World Bank’s annual exercise of ranking countries based on ease of doing business parameters, it has a bearing.

“If the spirit of competition unleashed by States’ ranking prompts them to improve their business climate, it will ultimately get reflected in how the country is perceived in terms of ease of doing business,” the official said.

In the World Bank’s latest global assessment published earlier this month, India jumped 30 notches to be ranked among the top 100 countries, out of a total of 190. The World Bank gives its ranking based on business environment in Delhi and Mumbai.

The States’ ranking this year will be based on 372 points which includes new areas such as hospitality, trade licences, weights and measures and pharmacy shops.

Last year the States that had achieved 90 per cent or more of the reforms also included Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and Punjab.

Source: Business Line

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ICE cotton inches up on spillover buying

Nov 6 (Reuters) - ICE cotton futures inched up on Monday supported by gains in other commodities markets, ahead of crop progress data from the U.S. government due later in the day and monthly world agricultural demand and supply estimates data later in the week. Cotton contracts for December settled up 0.13 cent, or 0.2 percent, at 68.85 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 68.23 and 69.12 cents a lb. "Cotton is moving up because all the commodities are going up," said Rogers Varner, president of Varner Brokerage in Cleveland, Mississippi. "Cotton is getting some spillover buying." The Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index , which tracks 19 commodities, was up 1.69 percent, its highest level since Jan. 23. Meanwhile, the market awaited crop progress data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture due later in the day. On Friday, speculators raised a bullish stance in cotton by 1,120 contracts to a four-week high of 50,042 contracts, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed. Total futures market volume rose by 1,180 to 32,580 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 260 to 235,300 contracts in the previous session. Certificated cotton stocks deliverable as of Nov. 3 totaled 32,922 480-lb bales, up from 27,995 in the previous session.

(Source: Reuters, The Times of India, November 07, 2017)

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Higher crude oil prices will worsen fiscal balance: Nomura

MUMBAI: Indicating adverse macroeconomic impact of rise in crude oil prices, global financial services major Nomura said every $10 per barrel rise in the price will worsen India's fiscal balance by 0.1 per cent and current account balance by 0.4 per cent of GDP.

"For a net oil importer like India, a sustained rise in crude oil price would have adverse macroeconomic implications," Nomura said in a report.

"Higher oil prices are tantamount to negative terms-of-trade shock that weakens growth, pushes up inflation and deteriorates the twin deficits (current account deficit and fiscal deficit)," it added.

The financial services firm noted that while brent oil price should on an average stand at $ 53-54/bbl in the current as well as next fiscal year, current prices have already risen by more than 10 per cent, driven by a mix of demand and supply side factors.

On the current account balance front, Nomura has estimated the net impact of rise in crude oil prices would be negative, with "every $10/bbl rise in crude oil price worsening India's annual current account balance by 0.4 per cent of GDP".

At the same time, it also estimates that every $10/bbl rise in crude oil price would hit the central government's fiscal balance by 0.1 per cent of GDP.

Source: PTI

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Century Textiles net profit up 18%

CENTURY Textiles and Industries has reported a rise of 18.42 per cent in its net profit at Rs 52.7 crore for the September quarter on account of lower expenses.

It had posted a net profit of Rs 44.5 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The company’s total income from operations, however, declined to Rs 1,844.57 crore, from Rs 1,997.04 crore in the year-ago period.

During the quarter under review, its total expenses reduced to Rs 1,734.53 crore, from Rs 1,952.13 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

Subsequent to the quarter-end, the Supreme Court vide its order dated October 13, 2017 has disposed of the company’s special leave petition related to contribution towards District Mineral Fund (DMF) in favour of the company. The company is carrying a provision of Rs 3,134 lakh with respect to such DMF contribution.

Source: Financial Chronicle

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8 panels to help Centre set standards for technical textiles

To expedite the process of developing standards for the technical textiles sector, eight committees have been formed at the Centre of Excellences in India to help identify the areas in which standards needed to be formulated, said Textiles Secretary Anant Kumar Singh.

“The market of technical textiles is expanding rapidly with new products being added by the users in various industries. Thus it is imperative to formulate standards to accelerate the growth of the textiles sector,” Singh said inaugurating the third edition of ‘ National conclave on standards on technical textiles’ organised jointly by the Ministry of Textiles, Bureau of India Standards ( BIS) and FICCI on Thursday.

India has the capability, resource and market in the area of technical textiles and the need was to capitalise on these strengths, according to an official release.

It is imperative for the stakeholders, including industry, policy makers and research institutes to work in close collaboration and also suggest ways to make the process of developing standards for technical textiles faster, Singh added. The eight committees will also include industry representatives.

Expanding market

The Secretary pointed out that the market of technical textiles was expanding rapidly with new products being added by the users in various industries. However, the share of technical tex-

The market of technical textiles is expanding rapidly with new products being added by the users in various industries.

tiles in the domestic textile sector as well as at the global level was very low as compared to developed countries and this needed to be addressed.

The government will also launch the new mission for technical textiles soon as the earlier mission has completed its period, Singh added.

The conclave, since its inception, has been instrumental in bringing together institutional buyers in various segments along with industry to discuss the standards that needed to be formulated by BIS on priority, the release said.

Source: Business Line

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Birla Cellulose to open design studio in New York

Indian firm Birla Cellulose will open a design studio in New York’s garment district this month to network with global fashion brands and plans to open studios in other cities like London and Hong Kong, according to the company’s president-marketing, Manohar Samuel. It had opened its first LIVA accredited partner forum (LAPF) studio in Noida early this year.

The LAPF programme is linked to the company’s fabric brand LIVA launched in March 2015. LAPF studios have samples of viscose, modal and excel with technical specifications and a variety of woven, knitted, and flat knitted fabrics on display under the LIVA brand.

The company is opening one LAPF studio at Tirupur to cater to the textiles hub in south India and plans presence in other cities like Jaipur and Bengaluru, Samuel told a news agency. It is also exploring adding more kiosks in its Indian network.

Birla Cellulose is the pulp and fibre business of Aditya Birla Group under Grasim. It has four units in India and fibre units in Thailand, Indonesia and China. (DS)

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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Modi hints at GST relief for small firms, traders

NEW DELHI: Thousands of Indian small firms and traders hurting from higher cost of doing business under a new multi-rate tax regime might receive some relief next week.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday if there is consensus at the next Goods and Services Tax (GST) council meeting on November 9 and 10 then necessary measures could be taken to help small and mediumsized businesses and traders.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), crucial to Modi’s plans to create a million jobs a month and many of whose promoters are traditional voters of his BJP, have been hurt by the massive tax overhaul that added layers of extra bureaucracy for firms and hit exports.

India has about 56 million small and medium-sized firms that account for some 110 million jobs in the country, official data show. “We have positively acknowledged all the issues and suggestions given by small businesses and traders,” Modi told industry leaders at a conference on business reforms.

“And I have confidence that if states don’t create any difficulty then all steps needed to strengthen the business world and the country’s economy will be taken at the GST council meeting.”

MSMEs with annual sales less than ~1.5 crore, which were earlier exempted from the central excise duty, have come under the GST regime on account of a lower ~20-lakh sales threshold for GST.

The new sophisticated IT-driven tax regime has put a compliance burden on small businesses as large businesses tend to prefer GST registered material and service suppliers.

The GST Council has already taken several measures to ease the compliance burden of small businesses. The next meeting of the council is expected to further liberalise the ‘composition scheme,’ a simplified tax payment plan for small businesses, and lower tax rates.

Prime Minister Modi also used the occasion to vow more reforms, leveraging India’s record jump of 30 places in the World Bank’s latest ease of doing business ranking. He said realising the country’s economic and social development was his sole purpose in life. “I am confident that with continuous efforts, we can improve further. After the ranking improved to 100 from 142 (in the survey published in 2014) I am not able to sleep. I wish to do more…I have one life and one mission,” Modi said.

Ease of doing business will lead to ease of life too, he said.

The Prime Minister also took a dig at the opposition leaders for doubting the World Bank ranking, saying those who worked with the bank were now doubting its survey.

“But there are some people who cannot understand this...,” Modi said in the presence of World Bank chief executive officer Kristalina Georgieva.

“They don’t want to work, but are quick to question those who do.”

Source: Hindustan Times

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Major rejig in GST rates for goods in 28% slab on anvil

New Delhi: In a comprehensive overhaul of the four-monthold goods and services tax (GST), the Centre and states are reviewing nearly half of items in the top bracket of 28% and allowing even larger firms to file returns once a quarter instead of every month.

A senior official told TOI that the fitment committee, which decides on product-specific rates, is looking at proposals to pare the rates on 150-200 items with a majority of them being from the top bracket. red by the small scale sector.

As reported by TOI on October 9, several states have petitioned for a reduction, which has prompted the review and a final call is expected at Friday’s GST Council meeting in Guwahati. For the Centre, the main concern is finances as it has committed to compensate the states for revenue, while ensuring that it sticks to the fiscal consolidation plan.

A smaller list of goods and services, many of which will face an 18% levy, will signal the Centre’s resolve to move to a three-tier rate structure.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley has already indicated his backing for single standard rate, which is currently split into 12% and 18%.

“A large number of items which were not part of any schedule faced 14% tax and all these have moved into the top bracket. The idea is to limit the 28% levy to sin and luxury goods,” said a source, who did not wish to be identified. The review comes amid a perception that the government has raised the levy on several goods and services and growing instances of evasion, where shopkeepers are insisting that the payment be made by cash instead of through electronic means.

To tackle this concern, a panel of five state finance ministers has suggested doing away with the detailed tax break-up in the bills issued to consumers and instead revert to the earlier system of saying that the price is inclusive of all taxes. Ministers, especially from states ruled by BJP, believe that the split between central and state GST in the bills has created an impression that tax rates have increased, when on most items it had come down. “The ministers have looked at the practice in other countries, such as Australia, and no one follows this model,” said an officer.

In addition, the ministerial panel has recommended that all companies be allowed to file returns on a quarterly basis to do away with complaints of higher compliance burden. At the last meeting, the GST Council allowed quarterly filing for entities with annual turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore. “This should be done for units with turnover of Rs 5-10 crore, if not for everyone,” said a source. The government had argued that 90% of the taxpayers paid less than 5% of the taxes. The panel has also suggested a steep cut in late fee paid by those who miss the deadline from Rs 200 to Rs 50, again a move to address concerns expressed especially by those who do not have a liability but are required to submit returns.

Several proposals are expected to go through as PM Narendra Modi has already indicated that the government is looking at further simplification.

Source: Times of India

 

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Pakistan : PYMA criticises NTC for levying anti-dumping duties on PFY

Pakistan’s National Tariff Commission (NTC) has been criticised by the Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) for imposing anti-dumping duties between 3.25 and 11.35 per cent on import of polyester yarn (PFY) from China and 6.35 per cent on such imports from Malaysia. Three-fourths of the domestic requirement of such yarn is met through imports.

silk The total annual requirement of such yarn of small and medium-sized units manufacturing art fabric is more than 220,000 million tonnes (MT).

The anti-dumping duties are unjustified as the domestic industry in Pakistan is incapable of meeting the yarn demand, Pakistani media reports quoted PYMA chairman Muhammad Usman as saying.

The association has also alleged that NTC member Robina Ather has complained to the commerce secretary about the improper functioning of the commission leading to undesired results. The commission does not hold regular meetings, there is no schedule or procedure for conducting the meetings and minutes of the decisions taken are not recorded, she wrote in her letter.

According to her, anti-dumping duties on PFY imports is the result of maladministration and mismanagement in the commission and shows that decisions are not taken keeping in view the impact on downstream user industry.

Art silk fabric is used by Pakistani women of middle and low-income classes and these duties impact their buying capacity.

Source: Fibre2fashion

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Pakistan cotton production recorded rise of 17.07 percent

Pakistan cotton production has so far reached 1.186 million more cotton bales than the production recorded up to Nov 1 last year, makes the target of 12.6m bales achievable for 2017-18. The latest report by the ginners’ body shows the annual increase of 17.07 percent only, while the last two fortnightly reports recorded the year-on-year growth in cotton production at 50.88 percent and 36.79 percent.

 

The early maturity of cotton plants is seen due to excessive heat in Punjab may possibly have increased phutti (seed cotton) arrivals for a short period, directly impacting the production of cotton.

 

According to Adil Naseem, director of the Karachi Cotton Association, who recently visited cotton fields in Punjab, cotton bolls opened up earlier than usual due to the heat wave, thereby adversely impacting the growth and quality of lint.

 

Although it can hurt the overall production, higher acreage brought under cotton cultivation this season may help growers achieve the production target. According to the fortnightly report by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) for Oct 15-Nov 1, the cotton production stood at 8.134m bales, up 17.07pc from a year ago.

 

Punjab produced 4.658m bales, up 18.77pc from a year ago. The year-on-year increase reported in the two preceding fortnightly reports was 112.83pc and 54.89pc. This means that Punjab has so far produced 736,230 more cotton bales on an annual basis.

 

Similarly, Sindh has so far produced 3.476m bales, showing a growth of 14.86pc over last year when the production stood at 3.026m. But the two preceding fortnightly reports showed cotton production growth was 24.56pc and 22.12pc.

 

Alarmingly, the fortnightly arrival of phutti recorded a steep fall to 2.149m bales from 2.573m bales. Another factor that points to rapidly falling phutti arrivals is that 723 ginning units are currently operating in Punjab against 736 a year ago. In Sindh, however, the number of active ginning units is 294 compared to 272 units last year.

 

Spinners have so far purchased 5.984m bales against 4.998m bales last year. Exporters booked 198,299 bales compared to 121,629 bales last year. Unsold cotton stocks held by ginners were 1.951m bales compared to 1.83m bales last year.

Source: Yarns & Fibre

 

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ASEAN textile exhibit to take place on Nov 7

The Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI), with support from the ASEAN Foundation, will hold a textile exhibit where the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional textiles will be featured.

Emphasis is laid on handwoven fabrics, natural dyes, and naturally dyed products that are being used by people all over the Southeast Asian region, exhibiting each country’s rich heritage, character, and culture.

The textile exhibit to draw attention of numerous textile industries thriving in the ASEAN region, from the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, and Malaysia, to Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Lao PDR, and Myanmar.

The ASEAN textile exhibit provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to promote and market their products of traditional textiles. The core of this exhibit aimed to preserve and promote the traditional textiles in ASEAN countries.

This includes sharing in the uses of new techniques in production, as well as to promote innovations that lead to increased demand for traditional textiles at the world market.

The textile exhibit will take place on November 7 to 8, 2017 at the SMX Convention Center Aura.

Source: Yarns & Fibres

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Bangladesh : Home textile industry in a fix

About 65,000 workers are currently employed in the USD-1.2-billion-a-year home textile subsector of Bangladesh's readymade garments industry.

One does not give much thought to the export market for home textiles and terry towels in this country. Yet this USD-1.2-billion-a-year export subsector in the readymade garments (RMG) industry occupies a special place in the garments sector of Bangladesh as raw material used in the making of products is local yarn made from cotton waste. Currently, it has some 110 factories (about 97 in operation) employing some 65,000 workers. Unfortunately for the Bangladesh Terry Towel and Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BTTLMEA), the industry has been in a state of decline since 2011 for a multitude of reasons, with the bulk of cotton waste being exported or smuggled out to India/China under the guise of waste clipping/garment clipping.

Going by a report published in a leading English daily, on October 23, industry insiders have alleged that certain parties are exporting cotton waste to other countries misrepresenting it as garment “jhute” (cutting waste) since there is no export duty on garment waste. The managing director of Towel Tex Limited was quoted as saying that “despite offering high prices, we are not getting the required raw materials.” We find that the export of cotton waste, nes (H.S. Code 5202.99.10) has jumped from USD 1,059,777 in 2013-2014 to USD 4,468,830 in 2016-2017, and hence the raw material crunch.

Other materials used as raw materials for the industry include used or new rags of textile materials – white and sorted (H.S. Code 631010) witnessed a rise in “export” from USD 8,946,803 in fiscal year 2013-2014 to USD 10,374,017 in 2016-2017. The coloured version of this material (H.S. Code 631090) posted an increase by about a third (USD 3,085,9324 to USD 4,197,0444) over the same period.

The government set the minimum export price for cotton waste at USD 4.50 per kg (25 percent export duty applicable). Since there is misrepresentation of these waste materials, it allows for them to be smuggled or exported as garment clipping. In effect, the export duty is bypassed depriving both the industry/local spinners of its raw material and the government of duty earnings. The shortage of both cotton waste and garment “jhute” is hampering the production of local yarn, without which we may well be sealing the fate of the home textile and terry towel sector. So, what is to be done? The industry, for one, has highlighted the problem in a letter to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on October 11 that unless steps are taken by NBR to halt the export of cotton waste/garment jhute/cotton clipping, the industry faces closure in the foreseeable future.

When we look up EPB data at the usage pattern for cotton waste (H.S. Code 5202.99.10) in other countries, we find that during fiscal year 2016-2017, the total value of export stands at USD 4,468,830 with Hong Kong, India and Nepal topping the list having consumed USD 377,646, USD 2,984,953, USD 906,796 respectively. These three countries constituted nearly 96 percent of total export value for this raw material. For used or new rags of textile materials (not sorted), China and India are nearly at par with the former importing USD 14,770,106 (35 percent of total export) and the latter importing USD 15,257,740 (36 percent of total export). The 2014-2015 data show that India's consumption has remained largely stagnant while China has recorded nearly a 32 percent rise in consumption of this raw material in the current fiscal year.

We can go on listing the rest of the raw material categories but there is hardly any need for that. According to industry sources, the price of yarn produced by these waste materials has increased by 20 percent over the last few years, largely due to chronic shortage of waste necessary for making yarn used by the industry to make finished products. There is a need for NBR intervention here because it is being deprived of revenue and the halting of such illicit activity could stall the decline of the industry in question. Though the sector employs 65,000 people, which pales in the shadow of the nearly 4 million people employed in the RMG sector, those workers support their families and their livelihoods are called into question every time a factory is shut because we have failed to protect a fledgling domestic industry.

An industry generating USD 1.2 billion in exports despite facing such an uphill struggle deserves more attention at policy level. What could be the potential earning if the subsector was 200-factory strong, employing so many more thousands of people? And protecting the raw material base for the home textile and towel industry has other benefits.

Rotor spinning mills in the country use cotton waste to produce the yarn; similarly, modern recycling mills utilise the “jhute” waste from RMGs to make another type of yarn—and both these yarns allow for making terry towels, home textiles, denim and other types of clothing that end up in foreign markets earning the country precious foreign exchange. So, when we take into account the combined workforce of all these different factories, the number is no longer 65,000—it is much higher. The NBR should seriously take a look at the proposal for putting into place barriers to export (for a year) of such raw material that is now taking place by misquoting them as something else. If after a year there is no improvement in the industry, the NBR is perfectly at liberty to change its decision regarding export of the items in question.

Source: Daily Star.

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Marimekko begins co-operation on development of wood-based textiles

Marimekko’s products were on display in the flagship store of the iconic design house in downtown Helsinki on 10 August, 2017.

Marimekko has expressed its confidence in the commercial potential of wood-based textiles by embarking on co-operation with Spinnova, a developer wood-based textile fibres based in Jyväskylä, Central Finland.

Spinnova is currently researching methods to increase the amount of textile fibre produced by its proprietary technology, according to Helsingin Sanomat.

Marimekko highlights in its press release that the wood-based textiles developer is currently the only one in the world that is able to convert pulp directly into textile fibre without using chemical solvents. Fabrics made out of the fibre, it adds, have a smaller ecological footprint than traditional alternatives as they can be reused, recycled and composted.

Chemical solvents are used, for example, in the production of viscose. Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko, the chief executive of the iconic design house, estimates that co-operation with innovative materials developers is key in introducing new materials to the market.

“We have been involved in material research for years and have paid close attention to developments in this area. It is great to see that such globally significant expertise and technology needed for material development exists in Finland,” she states. “We want to find new materials for producing fabrics and textiles for environmental reasons. Spinnova’s method, if successful, would be ground-breaking,” she added to Helsingin Sanomat.

The newspaper also reports that if the product development project progresses according to plan, the first major investment in a commercial-scale production facility will be made before the end of the decade.

Spinnova has developed its technology based on research conducted by the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT).

Marimekko on Thursday reported that its earnings continued to develop positively in the third quarter of the year driven, especially, by royalties and retail sales. Its third-quarter operating profit improved by 0.7 million year-on-year to 4.4 million euros and net sales by 0.3 million to 27.2 million euros.

“On the whole, I think we can be pleased with the third quarter,” commented Alahuhta-Kasko.

“We succeeded in continuing the improvement in relative sales margin which got underway in the second quarter. Cash flow from operating activities also strengthened.

This provides a good basis for proceeding with improvements.”

Source: Helsinki Times

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