Exports contracted 1.1 per cent in October year-on-year to $23.1 billion, the first fall in 14 months, as companies continued to struggle with issues related to the goods and services tax (GST). The decline was led by sharp falls in major labour-intensive sectors such as leather & leather products, gems & jewellery, handicrafts, readymade garments, and carpets. Exporters had earlier warned that the double-digit growth in outbound shipment between July and September despite roll-out of the GST might not present a true picture, as there were advance orders. Exports had soared by 25.7 per cent to $28.6 billion in September, its highest growth in six months, with expansion in shipment of chemicals, petroleum, and engineering products. Ironically, exports fell in a month when the GST Council addressed most of the complaints of exporters, though one important measure, e-wallets, would kick in only by the next financial year. Exporters grouse that the measures aren’t being implemented at the ground level. The latest trade indicator released by the world trade outlook indicator of the World Trade Organization shows that the global trade growth will slow down in the fourth quarter of 2017 (October-December), compared to the previous three quarters. This may have also affected the country’s exports to an extent. Imports in October rose 7.6 per cent, to $37.1 billion. Increasing crude oil prices led to the oil import bill rising 27.9 per cent in the month, from an 18.5 per cent rise in September. Despite total imports growing by the slowest pace this calendar year, the trade deficit increased to a 35-month high of $14 billion. It had stood at nearly $9 billion in September and $11.1 billion in the year-ago period. Gold imports dipped 16 per cent to $2.9 billion last month. Aditi Nayar, principal economist with rating agency Icra, says: “Gold imports contracted in October despite onset of the festive and wedding season, given the build-up of substantial stocks over the past few months.” As a result, non-oil/non-gold imports rose only 4.9 per cent, sharply lower than the 19.8 per cent in September and 20 per cent in August, indicating industrial production would suffer again in October. A silver lining is that non-oil, non-gold imports were led by industrial inputs such as coal, organic and inorganic chemicals, machinery, non-ferrous metals, iron and steel, and electronic goods. Cumulative exports during April-October (first seven months of this financial year) increased by 9.6 per cent to $170.3 billion, while imports grew 22.2 per cent to $256.4 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $86.1 billion.
Source: Business Standard
Politics is about power, the relationship between the state and the citizen, the more powerful and the less powerful. Tax is a primal expression of the state’s power over the citizen. To evade tax is to both defy the state and enfeeble it, eroding the state’s legitimacy. The politics of the goods and services tax matters, beyond parties. Tax too little, the state is left with too little resources to finance the citizens’ collective well-being; tax too much, invite popular rebellion, which, in a democracy, takes the form of the ruling party being voted out. The ongoing back-pedalling on GST, shifting many goods to lower tax slabs, and rationalising procedure, is an attempt to prevent rebellion. It is welcome as a sign of democracy at work.
Centre, States Must Work
It is encouraging that finance minister Arun Jaitley holds out the prospect of further changes in the tax. If some of the changes that are required call for legislative action to amend the GST law passed by Parliament and state assemblies, that should not be a major obstacle. There are certain aspects of GST that show an overbearing power of the state over the people. Take the need for an enterprise to register itself separately in all the states where it does business. Why is this necessary? If one Aadhaar is enough for a person to signify his identity across the length and breadth of the country, at all levels of government, why is one tax identifier, a GST registration code generated by the company’s registered office, not enough for different state governments? The states do not want to use a common tax database for the country as a whole. There is nothing in the inherent logic of GST that calls for separate registration in every state. All that a state needs to do is collect tax on supplies within its jurisdiction. Supplies outside its jurisdiction are taxed by other states or the Centre. Similarly, there are all kinds of restrictions on which kind of GST, state, central or integrated (the name given to GST levied on inter-state supplies), can be set off against the GST paid by a supplier. Why? It is a simple matter for the states and the Centre to figure out from the input tax claim filed by the taxpayer whose account has to be debited and whose credited, instead of making the taxpayer jump through hoops. The refusal by the states and the Centre to cooperate on tax setoffs, making the taxpayer worry about which kind of GST he can claim input tax credit on, amounts, once again, to treating the taxpayer like dirt. He needs to claim input tax credit on the tax he has paid. That taxes have been paid is what counts, the rest is accounting by state and central governments. Just do it, and spare the taxpayer the hassle.
To Ease Taxpayer Burden
The small and tiny sector of industry is the worst victim of ham-handed implementation of GST. Several automobile components continue to attract tax at 28%, even after last week’s pruning of goods taxed at this rate. This amounts to a jump in the tax burden of 10 percentage points on such goods in Tamil Nadu, for example, where a 5% VAT on top of 12.5% excise duty yielded a combined tax burden of 18.1% pre-GST. When a small enterprise faces a hike in the tax rate, what it does is to nearly kill it. Small units are major suppliers of credit to big units, who pay their small suppliers only after three to four months. Now, the small units have to borrow money to pay the tax and wait for the supplier to pay, to repay the principal. Interest payment at a rate ranging between 30% and 100% is his own headache. The way out is to stipulate that units with a turnover of at least .Rs 100 crore will deduct GST at source from their suppliers and pay this to the government. At least small units will be spared the agony of borrowing at usurious rates to pay tax, even if they have to wait to get payment for their supplies. GST is an excellent tool of transparency. It generates audit trails to corporate income, apart from to production volumes. The Central Statistical Office should tap GST filings to generate better estimates of industrial output than what its current Index of Industrial Production affords. What such transparency does is to end informality. If a company is part of the GST network, its accounts open up. The sum of gross profits and wages and salaries is the value added by an enterprise. This makes it difficult to cook books beyond a point. This could kill small enterprises or, if remedial action is taken, redeem them. Banks account for just about 10% of the credit needs of the small and tiny sector, according to their representatives. The bulk of the credit comes at exorbitant cost from informal sources, whether non-banking finance companies or professional money lenders who front for politicians, bureaucrats and tax evading businessmen, who, in the GST regime, run the risk of getting exposed as usurers. The way out is for banks to stop lending to infrastructure, leaving that to the bond market, and start lending to small businesses, based on business potential rather than collateral. Changing the behaviour of banks, too, is part of the politics of GST
Source: Economic Times
Assam Finance Minister and a member of the GST Council, Himant Biswa Sarma, on Tuesday said deliberation on tax rates relating to handicrafts, handloom and inclusion of real estate would be taken up at the next meeting of the council scheduled for January-end. According to him, there is scope for further pruning of rates. He cited the example of theatre and Bollywood movies both coming under the same tax slab of 28 per cent. However, the council will look at simplification of classification of goods under different tax brackets. “Pruning of rates is a continuous process and I believe that for some time pruning will continue. Overall picture you’ll have to see in terms of revenue (tax) buoyancy. As and when we establish a good revenue growth, scope of pruning is always there. But it is not that all items from the 28 per cent tax bracket will come down,” Sarma said on the sidelines of the inauguration of Emami Ltd’s plant at Pacharia in Kamrup district of Assam. According to the Minister, at the Guwahati meeting of the council, items such as paints and cement were kept in the 28 per cent tax bracket though these are goods of mass consumption. But, if we reduce the GST on cement by 10 per cent, government will lose ₹10,000 crore by tax collection. However, except paints and cement, GST on all construction inputs has come down and builders should pass the benefit to customers.
Inclusion of real estate
On inclusion of real estate, he said, an approach paper was already tabled at the Guwahati meeting. But it could not be taken up for discussion. Issues such as architecture, surrender of stamp duty, multiplicity of taxes (across states) have to be discussed and resolved before real estate is brought under GST. “It is a live issue before the council,” Sarma said. “Basically, the idea is to bring real estate under GST. So if it is brought under GST, then there cannot be multiple taxes (stamp duty). Now whether States will be ready to surrender stamp duty or whether stamp duty will be taken as nature of goods, this architecture has to be developed.” However, Sarma was not hopeful that the issue of inclusion of petrol and diesel would be taken up in the next meeting of GST council. According to him, the e-way bill system is unlikely to come in before next April. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been asked to develop a proper national e-way bill system. But it is yet to come up with the required software.
Source: Financial Express
President Ram Nath Kovind said today that the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) was a milestone and the new regime has reduced barriers between states, creating a more formal economy. Inaugurating the 37th India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan here, he said the country is recognised as a bright spot of the global economy and the world has acknowledged the change in its business environment. "Introduction of GST has been a milestone and it has broken down barriers between states. It has provided a boost to the creation of a common market and a more formal economy as well as a stronger manufacturing sector," Kovind said. Due to these efforts, he said, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country increased to USD 60 billion in 2016-17 from USD 36 billion in 2013-14. The President also said that the focus of India's economic reforms and policies is to eliminate poverty and enhance the prosperity of millions of ordinary families. "After all, trade must help common people. They are the ultimate stakeholders," he added. Listing the government initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India, Start Up India, Skill India and Smart Cities, he said that these steps are an attempt to make economic reforms more meaningful to those at the grassroots. GST, which subsumed more than a dozen central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT, was implemented from July 1. About the IITF, Kovind said as many as 3,000 exhibitors including 222 foreign companies, domestic firms, public sector units and states are participating in the fair. This year, 'Startup India Standup India' is the theme of the fair. The 'Partner Country' is Vietnam and the Focus Country is Kyrgyz Republic. These countries, the President said, are important trade and strategic partners of India.
Source : Financial Express
The goods and services tax (GST) Council may further prune tax rates on more goods under the new indirect tax regime depending on revenue buoyancy, according to Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, Sarma, the chief of the group of ministers (GoM) that had recommended the recent revision of tax slabs, said: “Pruning of rates (on goods) is a continuous process, but it has to be seen in terms of revenue buoyancy. As of when, a higher revenue growth or buoyancy is established, there is a scope of pruning of rates.” He clarified that it was not that all the items from the 28% tax bracket could come down as there were many luxury goods in that bracket and from there the government ensured revenues. “But pruning is still possible,” he said. According to him, the deliberation on tax rates relating to handicrafts, handloom and inclusion of real estate in the new indirect tax regime, would be taken up at the council’s next meeting, scheduled for January-end next year. “In the next GST Council meeting, there will be deliberation on handloom and handicraft and even on real estate,” he said on the sidelines of the inauguration of a manufacturing facility of Emami here, about 25 km from Guwahati. Asked whether the council would reduce the number of tax slabs in the GST, he said, “We do not see any reason why it should come down. Hundreds of taxes were handled just before five months…now four-rate structure itself is a big thing.” On inclusion of real estate, Sarma said an approach paper was already tabled at the recent meeting inGuwahati. “But it could not be taken up for discussion,” he said. Issues such as architecture, surrender of stamp duties and multiplicity of taxes (across states) had to be discussed, he added.
Source: Financial Express
India’s annual rate of inflation, based on monthly wholesale price index (WPI), stood at 3.59 per cent for the month of October 2017 over same month of last year. The index for ‘Manufacturing of Textiles’ group declined by 0.2 per cent to 113.2, while the index for ‘Manufacturing of Wearing Apparel’ group rose by 0.4 per cent to 137.1 in October.
The official WPI for all commodities (Base: 2011-12 = 100) for the month of October 2017 rose by 1.0 per cent to 115.5 from 114.3 for the previous month, according to the provisional data released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, ministry of commerce and industry. The index for manufactured products (weight 64.23 per cent) for October 2017 rose by 0.3 per cent to 113.7 from 113.4 for the previous month. The index for textiles sub-group declined by 0.2 per cent to 113.2 from 113.4 for the previous month due to lower price of cotton yarn (2 per cent) and woollen yarn (1 per cent). However, the price of manufacture of knitted and crocheted fabrics (2 per cent) and synthetic yarn (1 per cent) moved up. The index for ‘Manufacture of Wearing Apparel’ sub-group rose by 0.4 per cent to 137.1 in October 2017 from 136.6 for the previous month due to higher price of manufacture of knitted and crocheted apparel (2 per cent). The index for primary articles (weight 22.62 per cent) rose by 2 per cent to 133.4 from 130.8 for the previous month. On the other hand, the index for fuel and power (weight 13.15 per cent) rose by 3.1 per cent to 93.5 from 90.7 for the previous month due to higher price of LPG, naphtha, petroleum coke, ATF, furnace oil, kerosene, bitumen, HSD and petrol.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The quality of cotton that arrives from the agency areas of erstwhile undivided Adilabad district is considered to be the best, but it has attracted the lowest price thanks to exploitation of the poor aboriginal farmers. Though the price quoted by traders in these areas ranges between Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 4,200 per quintal, the Adivasi farmers get about Rs. 3,700 only owing to deductions imposed by purchasers, which is much below the minimum support price of Rs. 4,320 per quintal. This nevertheless, is not the whole story. Exploitation can be seen in the way the Government facilitates ‘access’ to markets for the ethnic people. Take for example the Indervelli Agriculture Market Yard or the purchase centres at Sonala in Boath mandal and Neredigonda in Adilabad district. The Government has permitted weighing of cotton, a few thousand quintals of which arrives from fields of Adivasis, at respective ginning mills instead of market yards.
Purchase centres
“This is to facilitate farmers so that they do not have to move their produce over the distance between a yard and the ginning mill,” a Marketing Department official provided a reason for the facilities remaining closed despite the Government having spent crores of rupees to construct these facilities. Traditionally, the period of cotton picking is rather long as the hands engaged in the picking are fewer when compared to fields of other farmers. Ruptured cotton stays longer on the plants thereby ensuring maximum exposure to sun and thereby drying up the produce to a desirable 8% and below moisture content. “The staple of 30 mm and micronaire of 4 to 4.5 in addition to a low trash content makes it good quality cotton,” concurs Deepak Birolia, a trader of cotton bales. As there was no incidence of unseasonal rainfall in the tribal belt this year, the cotton has stayed good in quality in terms of its colour too when compared to blackening of the produce wherever untimely rainfall occurred.“The Adivasi farmers are unaware of these intricacies,” conceded a licensed cotton purchaser at Indervelli mandal headquarters. “They just dump their produce and walk away with whatever they get or are assured to be paid,” he added, insisting anonymity.
Source: The Hindu
The Maharashtra State Khadi and Village Industries Board (MSKVIB) has rebranded khadi as ‘MahaKhadi’ to make the specific handloom industry a peoples’ movement once again and encourage the sector through new marketing tactics. A ‘MahaKhadi Yatra’ (march) was recently launched by the board from Mumbai to take khadi to the high street fashion scene. Rebranding seemed to be the perfect solution to attract youngsters and take khadi products to the international market, an Indian newspaper
Report quoted MSKVIB deputy CEO Bipin Jagtap as saying. The MahaKhadi Yatra will be held across Maharashtra from October 9 to December end and showcase a wide variety of products manufactured by rural entrepreneurs, such as honey, soaps, bamboo crafts, warli paintings and handmade artefacts. The first MahaKhadi outlet will open in Pune. MSKVIB has 120 sectors under the Gramodyog with around 7 lakh entrepreneurs. In Maharashtra, the sale of khadi products from its 23 manufacturing units was worth Rs 1043.84 lakh in 2015-16 and Rs 1097.71 lakh in 2016-17. (DS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Aditya Birla Group firm Grasim Industries Ltd today reported a consolidated net profit at Rs 799.03 crore for the September quarter. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,089.63 crore during the same period previous fiscal, Grasim Industries said in a stock exchange filing. The company said the results for the period are not comparable as it include the financials of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (ABNL) and its subsidiaries post its merger with effect from July 1, 2017. The results also include the cement plants acquired by Ultratech Cement from Jaiprakash Associates and Jaypee Cement Corporation. Total consolidated income during the quarter stood at Rs 13,935.18 crore. It was Rs 9,668.54 crore in the July- September quarter of 2016-17. The company said its EBITDA was up by 34 per cent at Rs 2,805 crore compared to Rs 2,098 crore in Q2 last fiscal. Total expenses during the period were Rs 12,354.92 crore against Rs 8,186.11 crore in the year ago quarter. On outlook, Grasim Industries said the VSF business will continue to focus on expanding the market in India by partnering with the textile value chain. The demand for caustic Soda in India is expected to grow with rising consumption from the alumina and textile sectors, it said adding that in cement, government spending on infrastructure, rural and affordable housing will be the key demand drivers. In financial services, Aditya Birla Capital Ltd is well positioned to provide universal financial solution to meet customers money need for life," the company added. Grasim Industries stock closed 1.06 per cent down at Rs 1,209.05 on BSE, PRJ MR.
Source: Times of India
The rupee retreated from its day’s high of 65.28 to close flat against the US currency due to fag-end demand for the greenback amid ballooning trade deficit of the country. Sustained unwinding by foreign portfolio investors and lacklustre stocks amid geopolitical disturbances largely dampened the forex market sentiment. Some caution adopted by currency traders ahead of the import-export trade data also weighed on the trading front. The home currency had lost 48 paise in the last two trading sessions to hit a one-month low due to strong dollar demand. The local unit opened on a firm footing at 65.33 from previous close of 65.42 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market on bouts of dollar selling and firmed up further to hit an intra-day high of 65.28 in mid-morning deals. It then swiftly lost upside momentum and pared initial strong gains to touch a low of 65.54 on bouts of dollar demand and also dragged down by losses in local stocks.
Source: Financial Express
Yarn from the renovated Trivandrum Spinning Mills (TSM) in Balaramapuram in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala is now exported to China and Thailand for manufacturing jeans and bed sheets. State industries minister AC Moideen recently flagged off the first such batch. Set up in 1962, the mill was closed in 1998 due to mismanagement and revived in 2010. The mill, equipped with the latest machinery imported from Germany, China and the Czech Republic, has increased its capacity to 360 rotors. From selling its yarn in Kolkata, the mill has shifted focus to South Asian markets where it gets better price, a report in a top South Indian daily quoted TSM chairman MM Basheer as saying. However, as the machinery purchased was not ideal for making yarns used by the local handloom industry for manufacturing sarees and ‘mundus’, TSM has sought Rs 15 crore from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board to buy air-jet spinning machine, which can produce yarns for the local mills, added Basheer. TSM also plans to make a depot to help other spinning mills in the state to procure yarn.
Source: Fibre2fashion
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 61.17 per barrel (bbl) on 14.11.2017. This was lower than the price of US$ 62.01 per bbl on previous publishing day of 13.11.2017. In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs 4007.56 per bbl on 14.11.2017 as compared to Rs. 4056.90 per bbl on 13.11.2017. Rupee closed stronger at Rs. 65.52 per US$ on 14.11.2017 as compared to 65.43 per US$ on 13.11.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on November 14, 2017 (Previous trading day i.e. 13.11.2017) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
61.17 (62.01) |
|
(Rs/bbl) |
4007.56 (4056.90) |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
65.52 (65.43) |
Source: PIB
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1385.98 |
USD/Ton |
2.45% |
11/14/2017 |
|
VSF |
2214.555 |
USD/Ton |
-1.34% |
11/14/2017 |
|
ASF |
2651.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
Polyester POY |
1353.59025 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3464.95 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
40D Spandex |
5950.675 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1687.28 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
Nylon POY |
3705.99 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
5694.57 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1593.877 |
USD/Ton |
0.28% |
11/14/2017 |
|
Nylon DTY |
3284.17 |
USD/Ton |
-0.68% |
11/14/2017 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2787.025 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2907.545 |
USD/Ton |
-0.52% |
11/14/2017 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2066.918 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2877.415 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2199.49 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2440.53 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3073.26 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2485.725 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.4115905 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.8722635 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.2127325 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.6703925 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.720107 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/14/2017 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15065 USD dtd 14/11/2017). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Blend Re:wind, a new process that recycles cotton and polyester, has been introduced in Sweden by Mistra Future Fashion. The process breakthrough came after six years of research in textile recycling and is an important milestone toward the future of global textile recycling systems necessary to enable circularity for fashion and textiles, said Hanna de la Motte, theme leader of Mistra Future Fashion and a research scientist at the Research Institutes of Sweden. “Our separation process, Blend Re:wind, is developed having existing industrial processes in mind, and our aim is to integrate as much as possible to minimize both environmental and economic costs, while boosting businesses,” de la Motte said. “Scaling up from lab scale is the biggest challenge at the moment and it is also costly. The integration possibilities of the Blend Re:wind process would, however, address these challenges in feasible ways.” Mistra Future Fashion is a research program on circular economy and serves for a future positive fashion industry.
She said there are various innovative recycling methods in progress globally at the moment that are “highly needed for successful future recycling systems. Different processes will most probably be needed and we hope that Blend Re:wind is one of these on the global market in the future.” In Blend Re:wind, new viscose filaments from cotton are produced by a chemical recycling process of polyester and cotton fiber blends. The process generates three circular outgoing product streams. Cotton is turned into new high-quality viscose filaments and polyester into two pure new monomers. Sigrid Barnekow, program director at Mistra Future, explained that the project focuses on chemical recycling of polyester and cotton fiber blends with the objective to separate and generate relevant outputs for future industrial use–polyester monomers and a cotton pulp suitable for regeneration into cellulosic textile fibers, like viscose. The key focus is on the cotton recycling stream to produce high quality viscose filaments from the separated cotton residue, which is crucial for further industrial processing toward recycled fabrics, Barnekow noted. So far, viscose filaments have successfully been obtained from cotton separated from worn-out polyester and cotton blend sheets. The filaments have the same quality as filaments made from commercial dissolving pulp used in existing viscose production. The separated polyester residue known as monomers, can be re-polymerized into high quality polyester. A strong benefit with this process is that the separation takes existing industries into consideration, and the aim is integration with existing forest and chemical industries, or other recycling options. The separation uses chemicals already utilized in the Swedish forest industry, and in the viscose industry, to facilitate possible integrations. Blend Re:wind was developed in the Swedish Mistra Future Fashion initiative by the Chalmers University of Technology, Research Institutes of Sweden and the international forest industry group Södra. The project budget is 600,000 euros ($705,000), which has been funded in Mistra Future Fashion with funds from the Mistra Research Foundation, RISE Circle Economy Centre of Excellence, and in-kind contribution from involved partners.
Source: Sourcing Journal Online
As many as 22 fire tenders worked 12 hours to douse a blaze that ravaged a garment factory in Konankunte late on Sunday. No one was injured in the fire. The first reports of the fire that broke out at the Loveable Lingerie at Guruprasanna Industrial Area in Doddakalsandara came around 8.30 p.m. on Sunday night. Fire tenders and water boozers were called in to douse the fire which had consumed three out of the four storeys of the factory, said officials. It took 70 Fire and Emergency Services personnel and police officials to battle the fire. By 6.30 a.m. on Monday, the fire was doused, while two fire tenders were still stationed to ensure that the still burning embers did not restart the fire. As it was a Sunday, workers were not present in the factory at the time of the incident. While the Kumaraswamy Police have registered a case, officials believe a short-circuit had caused the blaze. “Prima facie, it seemed like a short-circuit in the electrical panel in the ground floor had sparked the fire, which then spread to two other floors,” said an official. Though garment workers who gathered there told fire officials that over Rs. 20 crore of finished garments and raw materials were kept in the factory, officials were waiting for the arrival of the factory owner from Mumbai to present an official inventory. Meanwhile, charred samples from the site were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for testing.
Source: The Hindu
Bangladeshi garment exporters have fallen victim to fraudulence recently, with some 26 companies apparently manufacturing goods worth around Tk 600 crore for a non-existent British company. Two local garment buying houses, Vanguard and ASM Apparels Ltd, placed the work orders on behalf of the “importer”, Y&X, saying that the latter is owned by a Bangladeshi-born British citizen named Manjur Billah. The duo offered higher prices, on condition that the raw materials have to be bought from select textile factories in China. The deception came to light after the first batch of consignments were left unclaimed for over one month at a UK port. The Daily Star could not reach anyone from the two accused buying houses. “It is a big accident for our company as we never faced such fraudulence in our 20 years' garment business,” said a general manager of one of the victim export-oriented garment factory. “We have shipped garment items worth Tk 50 crore,” he told The Daily Star asking not to be named fearing that it would tarnish his company's reputation. A few consignments are in the factory and some are on the way to the UK port and some have already reached the UK, he said. The official also said his company started shipping the goods, such as denim shirts and trousers, in the last week of September and continued to do so in the first week of October. The company is part of a conglomerate which annually exports $80 million worth garment items. The group has already filed a case with Badda Police Station 20 days ago. Arrests are yet to be made as the accused are allegedly absconding. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has been trying to find a solution with 26 garment exporters having complained of being cheated by the two buying houses. Another 22 small Bangladeshi garment exporters suffered a similar fate in 2012 after Indian kidswear retailer Lilliput failed to pay $5 million with the excuse of becoming bankrupt. The goods had been sent without letters of credit (LCs). “The number of victims might increase further as many of the affected factories are yet to lodge complaints with the BGMEA,” said Mohammed Nasir, vice-president of the garment makers' platform. “The BGMEA has already started the initiative to recover the money. We will send letters to the Bangladesh embassy in the UK seeking information about the company and for lobbying with the British government for recovering payments for the exporters,” he said. If the goods are not received, the exporters will be asked to bring those back and go for stock lot sales in Bangladesh, he said, adding that if the exporters pay the freighters, they would bring the goods back. If the garment exporters do not get their money on time, the Chinese textile millers will also be affected as the garment makers would not be able to pay them, Nasir said. KI Hossain, president of Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association, said the accused two buying houses were not their members. A total of 8.5 million pieces of garment items were supposed to be shipped in favour of Y&X, he said. Some of the smaller factories affected have already started to feel the brunt of the fraudulence, he said. Mahmud Hasan Khan, another vice-president of BGMEA, said it was not exporters but importers who usually insured the goods. In the case of the 26, it is not clear whether the goods were insured. However, the goods were shipped following procedures of LCs. “If the goods are insured, by any chance, the exporters will get the money from the insurance company. But we have to check further,” said Khan. If, say, Y&X does exist but has gone into hiding on going bankrupt, the exporters will face further delays as the British court will have to declare the company bankrupt and sell its assets to repay the Bangladeshi exporters, he said. Talking to The Daily Star, an official of state-owned Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau said none had gone to their office to lodge complaints. “If any exporter comes and complains to us, we will go for finding a solution,” the official said asking not to be named. The UK is the third largest export destinations for Bangladesh after the US and Germany. Bangladesh exported garment goods worth $3.30 billion to the UK in 2016-17, which was $3.52 billion in 2015-16 and $2.9 billion in the fiscal 2014-15, according to Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau. Garments make up nearly 90 percent of Bangladeshi exports to the UK.
Source: The Daily Star
More than 160 signatories from various leading stakeholders have collaborated for the Social and Labor Convergence Project (SLCP) in an initiative to move the apparel and footwear industry from excessive audits toward sustainable social and labour improvements. SLCP recently launched its second prototype for a converged assessment framework. The updated framework will be pilot tested in over 175 facilities in 23 countries across the world, ranging from China to Myanmar to Lesotho to Honduras to Turkey, and in diverse conditions. The pilot will include facilities beyond Tier 1 and will cover a large range of facility sizes and product types. All aspects of the framework will be tested: the data collection with the tool by a facility assessment and the verification methodology by external parties. Simultaneously, the SLCP will collect input from external stakeholders in a round of public consultation. All feedback from the pilot and public consultation will be used to develop the third prototype of the converged assessment framework in early 2018. The final version of the converged assessment framework is expected to be launched in May 2018. The steadily growing number of participating signatories has gained confidence in the value and impact of the converged assessment framework and they have strengthened their commitments to replace currently used proprietary tools with the new framework. "Over the past two years, a critical mass of organisations from all relevant stakeholder groups have come together to create this common assessment framework for social and labour conditions in the apparel and footwear supply chain," Abhishek Bansal, head of sustainability at Arvind Limited, said. "With the current progress, I believe we are on the right track to achieve the objective of converging and eliminating the current practice of replication of efforts." "It’s amazing to see the progress since the first announcement, exactly two years ago. Few people believed this could be done," SLCP director Janet Mensink said. "Look where we are today, we’ve shown the industry can collaborate and the will to re-imagine current models is there. The conversation has shifted from building the framework, to planning on adoption and operation." SLCP is an initiative led by the world’s leading manufacturers, brands, retailers, industry groups, (inter) governmental organisations, service providers and civil society organisations. The first version of the framework was piloted in February 2017. The converged tool and verification methodology will be finalised and ready for use by Q1 2018. (RR)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
LAHORE: Stakeholders of the textile industry have expressed concern over the role played by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) in finding new markets for Pakistani products. They said failure to find new markets would further dent export revenues which were falling consistently over the past few years as the number of international orders fell because Pakistan’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Plus status was going to be revised in January next year. NA to discuss textile industry’s challenges “There is neck-and-neck competition in European markets and Pakistan’s exporters need new markets throughout the globe for sustaining their businesses; unfortunately both bodies (TDAP and Jica) are not playing their crucial role,” said Ijaz Khokhar, former chairman of the Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association, on Tuesday. He said textile manufacturers needed assistance in product diversification and were exploring those markets which may change the entire area of focus for them like Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia. “We got excellent help from Jica in terms of technical assistance both in manufacturing and training of human resources, but as far as their marketing department is concerned, it is a total failure,” Khokhar claimed, adding it was happening due to lack of knowledge. “How can Pakistan’s exporters believe the claims of finding new markets from the Japanese body when investors of that country avoid travelling to Pakistan due to bad perception or lack of overall marketing?” TDAP and Jica jointly organised a workshop on apparel exports, brand and design development in which key stakeholders participated. Jica has been implementing the Skill Development and Market Diversification Project in the garment industry of Pakistan since 2016 and it will continue till 2020. “Pakistan does have security issues which, despite significant improvements, still persist,” Jica Market Analyst Hideaki Shimizu said, adding business practices of local exporters also did not match international standards. “Many a time, the exporters ship half of the consignment due to different reasons which hurts the country’s credibility,” Shimizu said, adding such hurdles were the reason why Pakistan’s share in global textile market was just 0.3%.He suggested that brand creation was the key to success in global markets. “Pakistanis do have the creativity to design good products, but they do not match global standards, this is the major area that needs to be focused,” he added.
When TDAP espoused fashion
TDAP Director Zia Ahmad said there was difference between marketing a product and selling it. “If exporters want us to sell their product in international markets, we cannot do that as it is not our or Jica’s mandate,” Ahmad said. He, however, said the stakeholders should discuss their reservations first and specify the type of help required. “Once we receive the queries of exporters, only then we will be able to contact Jica and develop a programme which will address their concerns.”
Source: Tribune
President Donald Trump ended his swing through Asia, hailing progress toward his goal of reducing the U.S. trade deficit. Trump took off from Manila aboard Air Force One on Tuesday, skipping the final session of meetings hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The trip, which included stops in Japan, South Korea, China and Vietnam, brought Trump in contact with dozens of leaders, including the heads of Asia’s five biggest economies and a brief encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “After my tour of Asia, all Countries dealing with us on TRADE know that the rules have changed,” Trump said on Twitter on Tuesday. “The United States has to be treated fairly and in a reciprocal fashion. The massive TRADE deficits must go down quickly!” He echoed the point in a brief interview with reporters aboard Air Force One on the way back to the U.S. Summing up the trip, Trump said "one of the things we really accomplished big" in his Asia stops was “letting people know that from now on, things are going to be reciprocal.” “We can’t have trade deficits of $30, $40, $50 billion; $300 billion in the case of China,” Trump added. “We can’t do that. We have to have reciprocal trade.” The president spent the bulk of his public appearances emphasizing the need to reduce trade deficits, and also pushed for Asian nations to buy U.S. military equipment. He publicly advocated his “America first” policies, warning U.S. trading partners that he was ready to take more protectionist steps in a bid to help American businesses and workers. Trump announced on Twitter that he will be making a “major statement” when he returns to Washington. But while Trump made rhetorical waves during his first visit to the region as president, questions about how much he actually achieved continue to linger. Business deals announced by the president are tentative agreements that may not be fulfilled. And while the president railed against what he viewed as systemic flaws in the U.S. trading relationship with its Asian partners, he neither publicly requested nor received specific assurances to address issues like market access and intellectual property theft.
Instead, the president seemed to relish the efforts by Asian leaders to lavish him with state dinners and ceremonial welcomes. Each of his Asian hosts appeared eager to fete Trump with elaborate parades and entertainment, in efforts that solicited warm praise from the U.S. president -- without the expense of actual policy concessions. The president and senior White House staff say that the red-carpet treatment was itself a win, and underscored new deference and respect for the U.S. in relationships they say were worn thin by former President Barack Obama’s efforts within the region. And they argue Trump will be able to capitalize the relationships in the future, parlaying his warm ties with Asian leaders into major concessions on trade, military sales, and foreign policy. “I made a lot of friends at the highest levels,” Trump said Tuesday. Praising himself for a “tremendously successful trip,” he said said things had gone well from the moment he walked off the plane. Nonetheless, Trump left without attending the plenary session of the East Asia Summit, despite earlier extending his stay to include what he called the “the most important day” of the gathering. The summit provides a platform for leaders from the broader region to discuss a range of economic and security issues. The president returns to Washington facing a battle over tax reform and more congressional hearings probing his campaign’s ties to Russia. “Excited to be heading home to see the House pass a GREAT Tax Bill with the middle class getting big TAX CUTS!” he said on Twitter.
Source: Business Standard
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The euro zone’s annual economic growth rate outstripped that of the United States in the third quarter setting up 2017 as the best year for the currency area since financial markets crashed a decade ago. Germany was a major factor, but even some of the bloc’s laggards, such as Italy, showed signs of revival. Eurostat, the European Union statistics office, confirmed a preliminary estimate that euro zone gross domestic product (GDP)grew 0.6 percent from July to September from the previous quarter and on a year on year basis was 2.5 percent higher. This was higher than the 2.3 percent year-on-year rate for the U.S. economy, which had been growing faster than the euro zone. The U.S. quarterly numbers were slightly better than the euro zones at 0.7 percent, however. “A robust labor market recovery, growing export markets, an accommodative monetary stance, improving lending conditions and modest inflation are but a few of the tailwinds that the euro zone economy is experiencing,” ING economist Bert Colijn said. “Because of that, this could well be its strongest year for growth since 2007. The euro zone will likely outpace both the U.S. and UK in terms of GDP growth in 2017,” he said. Euro zone GDP grew 3.0 percent in 2007, and reached 2.1 percent in 2010 and 2015. Partly as a result of the growth, euro zone investments have turned in one of their best years since the single currency was born in 1999, confounding many who had bet on the bloc to be the disaster play of 2017.
Source: Business Standard
