Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday met representatives of Surat’s textile industry and assured them that the government will look into their concerns, a move that came just days ahead of Gujarat elections in December.
Surat textiles industry body made representation before Jaitley seeking ease in procedures related to goods and services tax (GST). Both the association and Jaitley said that the meeting was positive.
The finance minister, who was in Surat to attend the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mann ki Baat, Chai Ke Saath programme, took time out to meet the textile traders and heard their concerns regarding GST, which they said was hurting the industry. Jaitley later said the textile industry in Surat is “very positive about government’s economic policies and supports GST”.
According to Jaitley, the textile industry want GST procedures to be made simpler, especially for small textile traders. He has invited their representatives to meet concerned officials in Delhi to sort out their problems.
“I’m happy that the textile industry of Surat, which is very progressive and which has made a name for itself in the entire world, are very positive about government’s economic policies and are in support of GST,” Jaitley told reporters. “I have invited a small representatives in Delhi and put their facts before the concerned officials. The GST Council is trying for the same and we will also certainly do our best,” he said.
Jaitley said the GST Council has solved issues raised with the “historic tax reform”. “Other countries have praised India for addressing issues regarding GST at a very fast pace,” he said.
According to Manoj Agarwal, president of Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association, the Surat traders told Jaitley said they want GST but are not able to follow GST rules.
“We told Jaitleyji that Surat’s textile industry is badly hurt due to GST and asked him to address our problems. He assured us to solve our problem and asked four of us to meet him in Delhi regarding this along with Surat MP Darshanaben Jardosh who was also present in the meeting,” said Agarwal. Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari, Navsari MP C.R. Patil, and union minister Jitendra Singh were also present for the meeting.
Agarwal said textile traders raised issues regarding GST for saree processing and expressed concerns over e-way bill and reverse charge mechanism. “We are glad that the finance minister listened to our concerns and assured us that he will try to address them. He even invited us for discussions. We have made several representations before as well, but this meeting was very positive, may be because of the upcoming Gujarat elections,” he said.
Source: The Mint
Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta today said maximum benefits of government’s promotional schemes for powerloom textile industry have been taken by entrepreneurs from Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
“The ministry of textiles has announced several promotional schemes for powerloom textile industry but there is hardly any awareness in the industry. The maximum benefit of these schemes have been taken by the entrepreneurs of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu,” Gupta said at the Buyer-Seller Meet and Textile Exhibition here.
The textile ministry has recently announced Solar Energy Scheme for small powerloom units, on-grid solar PV plant (without battery back up) and off-grid solar PV plant (with battery back up), where government will provide Rs. 2.50 lakh subsidy per unit.
She said this scheme will help the unit to pay back bank loans within 3-4 years, after which the unit shall get practically free electricity.
Currently, there are 25 lakh powerlooms in the country out of which 50 per cent are in Maharashtra. Also, there are 108 powerloom clusters in the country and 72 textile parks.
Meanwhile, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) President Rahul Mehta said the apparel export for 2016-17 was 16.8 billion dollars and the target for 2017-18 is 20 billion dollars.
“However, the export target for 2017-18 will not be attainable and is likely to remain at the last year’s level.
Also the new duty drawback rates, that ended on September 30 are not yet announced. If these rates are around 2-3 per cent, the total incentive will be around 8 per cent, which was 11.50-12 per cent earlier,” Mehta said.
Source: Business Line
Despite the central government enhancing the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Remission of State Levies (RoSL) for the textile sector, the latter is critical.
The country’s second-largest job generator says the incentives are still less than the pre-goods and services tax (GST) era. In a notification on Saturday evening, the Centre said the post-GST rates of RoSL were up to a maximum of 1.7 per cent for cotton garments, 1.25 per cent for manmade fibre (MMF), silk and woollen garments and 1.48 per cent for apparel of blends. And, up to a maximum of 2.2 per cent for cotton made-ups, 1.4 per cent for MMF and silk made-ups and 1.8 per cent for made-ups of blends. For sacks and bags of jute, the rate is 0.6 per cent. All these apply with effect from October 1.
Further, the directorate-general of foreign trade enhanced the rates under MEIS from two to four per cent on readymade garment (RMG) and made-ups from November 2017 to June 2018. Allocation for the scheme is Rs 1,143 crore for 2017-18 and Rs 686 crore in 2018-19.
Textile exports had dropped due to competition from countries having duty-free access in the European Union and other major markets. Since the transitional provision of pre-GST drawback rates and RoSL benefits were extended only up to September, export of RMG had fallen by 40 per cent in October, top the lowest level in 42 months.
Ashok G Rajani, chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council, says he’s disappointed at the RoSL rates, as it was “far below our recommendations and central taxes rebate was not considered at all. Trade is in a dire state”.
M Rajashanmugham, president, Tirupur Exporters Association, says there’s still a 2.7 per cent shortfall compared to incentives drawn before GST implementation.
P Nataraj, chairman, the Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), said they’d been expecting at least two to three per cent increase in the RoSL rates, considering the various embedded or blocked taxes, central and state. He said he hoped these would be considered while announcing the revised duty drawback rates and ensure the same level of competitiveness the industry had under the special export garment package. He urged the new duty drawback rates be announced without further delay, with effect from October 1.
Source: Business Standard
Amid a sharp fall in exports, especially in October 2017, the Indian government has increased the incentive under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) for readymade garments and madeups. The incentive has been increased from two per cent to four percent of value of exports made during the period from November 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.
“The estimated annual incentives will be Rs 1,143.15 crore for 2017-18 and Rs 685.89 crore for 2018-19,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in its Public Notice no. 42 for 2017-18.
“This measure will incentivise the exports of labour intensive sectors of readymade garments and made ups and contribute to employment generation,” the DGFT notification said.
“The announcement of MEIS increase is a relief to the ailing knitwear garment export sector,” said Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA) president Raja M Shanmugham in a press release.
Under MEIS, exporters are given duty exemption scrips that are pegged at a certain percentage of total value of their exports. These scrips can be used by exporters to pay duties on inputs including customs duties.
India’s apparel exports fell by 40.75 per cent in October 2017 to Rs 5,398.08 crore compared to exports of Rs 9,110.75 crore in same month of the previous year. This includes garments of all textiles, according to the quick estimates of India’s foreign trade during the month, released by the ministry of commerce and industry. (RKS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Responding to the the Ministry of Finance decision of increasing the Merchandise Exports from India scheme rates for Readymade Garments and Madeups from 2% to 4%, Mr. Raja M. Shanmugham, President, Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA) said that the announcement of MEIS increase is a relief to the ailing knitwear garment export sector and he thanked Mr. Arun Jaitley,
Union Minister of Finance, Ms. Smriti Irani, Union Minister of Textiles, Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and PMO office for this crucial support at this hour of crisis. Mr. Shanmugham further said he has also requested to incorporate the embedded tax and announce the revised ROSL and Duty Drawback rates as these lifeline support are desperately needed to bring back the exports growth and boost the confidence of garment exporters to take up fresh orders and sustain in the global business. TEA President was hopeful that the Government would also consider the requisition immediately.
Source: Tecoya Trend
New Delhi, Sunday, November 26, 2017: Shri Sanjay K. Jain, Chairman, CITI welcomes the decision of enhancement of export incentives for garment and made ups sector under Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) and Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) to check the declining export of textile products. The Ministry of Commerce has enhanced the export incentives to 4% from 2% for the garment and made up sectors under MEIS. Similarly, under RoSL the government has increased the refund of state levies on the average of 0.5%.
(Rate in %)
|
RoSL Rate Pre & Post GST Description |
Before Revision |
After Revision (1st Oct 2017) |
|||||||
|
Cotton |
Blend |
MMF |
Cotton |
Blend |
MMF |
||||
|
T-Shirts |
1.22 |
0.75 |
0.75 |
1.70 |
1.16 |
1.16 |
|||
|
Night Dresses |
0.97 |
0.86 |
0.75 |
1.45 |
1.30 |
1.16 |
|||
|
Briefs |
0.97 |
0.86 |
0.75 |
1.60 |
1.38 |
1.16 |
|||
Shri Jain stated that he would like to thank the Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu and the Hon'ble Textile & Broadcasting Minister, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani for addressing the issue of declining exports of textile goods. He further stated that the exports of readymade garments had declined by 39% to $829 million in October 2017. He observed that the move will boost the garment exporters to accept bigger orders from the global buyers which they were unable to accept due to competitiveness reducing in wake of reduction in drawback & ROSL rates post GST. Textiles is the largest employer in the country after agriculture and has immense possibility to provide additional jobs in the coming years. It is important to realise that Indian export especially garments is facing severe competition from neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam and Sri Lanka as they enjoy duty free access in European markets.
Shri Jain stated that CITI had highlighted the issue of declining exports of textile goods in its recent representations to the Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Finance and requested the Government to take immediate steps to support the textile sector by enhancing export incentives under MEIS, Drawback and RoSL. He further pointed out that textile industry issues are not yet fully over and it needs further support from the government to equally support the entire value chain (no relief provided to yarn & fabric sector) for the holistic growth of the textile industry. Unfortunately yarn and fabric which have also seen steep fall in exports, have not been given any relief. Even in garments and madeups, the overall incentives and refund of duties on exports is still about 3% less than pre GST levels.
Indian cotton yarn sector is badly impacted by the lower demands from the domestic sector as well as international markets and fabric sector, which is also the weakest link of the value chain is also marred by the high incidence of centre and state levies. Shri Jain observed that until and unless MEIS and IES are not extended to the cotton yarn sector and RoSL benefits are not extended to the fabric sector India’s competitiveness in the international markets will remain less in comparison to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, China and Sri Lanka. It is pertinent to note that cotton yarn exports this year till August is 29% lower than last year.
Shri Sanjay K. Jain felt that the government will immediately address the unresolved issues of the textile sector to make the sector globally competitive. The sensitiveness of the Government to the industry problems is very encouraging and gives the industry confidence to grow strongly by enhancing capacities and making inroads in various international markets.
Source: CITI
In a bid to boost exports from ready-made garments and made-ups as well as employment generation in these two segments, the government has notified post-Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates under the scheme for Remission of State Levies (RoSL) on exports of ready-made garments, made-ups and under Advance Authorization-RoSL for garments.
Post-GST rates of RoSL are up to a maximum of 1.7% for cotton garments, 1.25% for man made fibres (MMF), silk and woollen garments and 1.48% for apparel of blends, an official statement said. “Rates are up to a maximum of 2.20% for cotton made-ups, 1.40% for MMF and silk made-ups and 1.80% for made-ups of blends. For sacks and bags made of jute, the rate is 0.60%. The RoSL rate for garments under AA-All Industry Rates combination is 0.66%,” it added. These rates shall be effective from October 1, 2017.
Rates for incentives
On Friday, the government said that the DGFT had issued a public notice by which rates for incentives under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme for ready-made garments and made-ups had been enhanced from 2% to 4% of value of exports with effect from November 1, 2017 till June 30, 2018. “The estimated annual incentives will be Rs. 1,143.15 crore for 2017-18 and Rs. 685.89 crore for 2018-19,” it added.
Source: The Hindu
India’s exporters are a worried lot. Four months after India’s biggest tax overhaul, traders are still waiting for 500 billion rupees ($7.7 billion) they say the government owes them in refunds, leaving them short of operating capital as overseas sales suffer.
“It’s an alarming situation,” said A. Sakthivel, regional chairman of the Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation in southern India. "Our working capital is stuck, we’re losing revenues and now we’re having to let workers go." More than 10,000 workers have lost their jobs in the Tirupur export hub that employs half a million in the state of Tamil Nadu, according to Sakthivel.
India’s exports dipped for the first time in 15 months this October, falling 1.1 percent to $23.1 billion, even as the government tinkered with ways to simplify the hurriedly implemented nationwide goods and services tax. While last month’s trade deficit widened the most in three years to $14 billion, exports are expected to fall further in November if prices of crude oil, India’s biggest import, continue to climb, traders say.
The decline in exports combined with the slowing of India’s $2.3 trillion economy contrasts with the accelerating global economy. With elections due in key states over the next few months, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat -- India’s second-most industrialized state with annual exports worth $60 billion -- his government faces the twin challenges of restoring business and saving informal sector Nitin D. Wakankar, a spokesman in the commerce ministry, didn’t respond to calls seeking comment.
Small, unorganized businesses -- especially in traditionally dominant textiles and jewelry sectors -- have witnessed the worst supply chain disruptions since July, exporters say. Two-thirds of India’s exports basket comprises traditional product groups, including gems and jewelry, pharmaceuticals, textiles, engineering goods, food and fuel. In spite of extended deadlines for tax filing and large-scale reviews that eased rates for merchant exporters, the flow of cash refunds remains slow, accordiing to traders.
Although exports are likely to stabilize after the GST-driven distortions subside, the traditional product mix will hinder the country’s ability to participate in the ongoing trade upturn, according to Radhika Rao, Singapore-based economist at DBS Bank.
"Idiosyncratic drags from GST-related uncertainty and the effect of duty drawback" have added to trade headwinds, Rao wrote in a report on Nov. 22.
The government’s efforts to address exporters’ concerns will begin to show results shortly, according to Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. But in the meantime, many of the smaller exporters had to stop accepting fresh orders for lack of funds after paying taxes, he said.
The liquidity crunch has worsened with banks unwilling to lend exporters for GST payouts while they wait for refunds. Having to borrow more was further hurting profitability, said Ganesh Kumar Gupta, Mumbai-based chairman of Akaash Textiles Pvt. Ltd. and Vijay Silk House Group.
"GST will help the whole nation but the system is just not working,” Gupta said. "We’d rather the government kept exporters out of the GST completely."
Source: Economic Times
Despite government's decision to promote Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Remission of State Levies (RoSL) for textile sector, textile exporters said they continue to witness a shortfall of 2.7 per cent in incentives compared to pre-GST era. In a notification on Saturday late evening, Centre said post-GST rates of RoSL rose to maximum of 1.70 per cent for cotton garments, 1.25 per cent for MMF yarn, silk and woolen garments and 1.48% for apparel of blends.
"Rates are upto a maximum of 2.20 per cent for cotton made-ups, 1.40 per cent for MMF yarn and silk made-ups and 1.80% for made-ups of blends. For sacks and bags made of jute, the rate is 0.60%. The RoSL rate for garments under AA-AIR combination is 0.66 per cent," the notification said. These rates shall be effective from October 1, 2017. Further, DGFT has enhanced the rates under the MEIS from 2% to 4% on RMG and made-ups from November 2017 to June 2018. For MEIS, Rs 1,143.15 crore was allocated for 2017-18 and Rs 685.89 crore in 2018-19.
This is to boost exports and employment generation in the labour intensive textiles and apparel sector, government said. Exports dropped due to the acute competition from countries that enjoy duty free access in EU and other markets. Since the transitional provision of pre-GST drawback rates and RoSL benefits were extended only up to September, RMG exports reduced by 40 per cent during October 2017, lowest in the past 42 months. Ashok G Rajani, chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council said: "Disappointed with ROSL rate as it is far below our recommendations and central taxes rebate has not been considered at all. Trade is in a dire state".
M Rajashanmugham, president of Tirupur Exporters Association said the industry is witnessing a shortfall of 2.7 per cent in incentives compared to the pre-GST era. P Nataraj, chairman of the Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA), said that enhancing MEIS benefit has given some relief to the industry. "The industry was expecting at least 2-3% increase in the RoSL rates considering the various embedded / blocked taxes of Central & State levies," he added. He hoped the government would consider the remaining embedded taxes while announcing revised duty drawback rates to ensure the same level of competitiveness that the industry had when the special export garment package was in force.
"The drawback and RoSL rates notified by Centre are only interim relief as these benefits have not considered various embedded taxes and also inverted duty on fabric stage," Nataraj said. Nataraj also urged Centre to announce the new rates of Duty Drawback without any further delay with effect from October 1, so that the financial stress caused to the exporters could be minimised during this critical juncture.
Source: Business Standard
It will take another three months for Bharat Gadhiya, a farmer in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region, to sell his 10 quintals of groundnut at the government’s procurement centre for the promised minimum support price (MSP) of Rs4,500 per quintal.
Every day, the centre collects groundnuts from only 25 to 30 farmers, forcing hundreds such as Gadhiya to either hold on to the produce or sell it in the open market. In the open market, groundnuts fetch Rs3,250 a quintal, barely enough to cover input and livelihood costs. “It’s not just development that has gone mad, agriculture arithmetic has also stopped making sense. Input costs from fertilisers and labour are increasing, while market prices for produce have come down. Our net income is just enough for us to survive and often not enough to invest in next year’s tilling,” said Gadhiya, a Patidar farmer from Pithadiya village in Rajkot, referring to a viral social media campaign against the BJP, Vikas Gando Thayo Che (Development has gone mad). “The government talks a lot and does little. BJP toh idhar nahi ayegi iss saal (BJP will not come to power from here) 100%,” he added.
He is not alone. Falling market prices of cash crops such as cotton and groundnut, the mainstay of Saurashtra’s farmers, on the back of two consecutive years of failed rains has left farmers angry and desperate. Favourable global conditions saw a jump in cotton prices from Rs2,200 a quintal to Rs5,000 between 2002-03 and 2013-14.
Since then, the MSP has averaged around Rs4,000 a quintal with the market prices even lower. In an election year, the government has announced a bonus over the MSP with cotton now fetching Rs4,500 a quintal.
In the same period, input prices of fertilisers, pesticides and labour have at least doubled. For instance, daily labour costs have increased from Rs150 a person to Rs300 now.
“When Narendrabhai (Prime Minister Modi) was in Gujarat, he would say cotton is white gold and the Centre should guarantee a price of Rs1,500 for every 20 kgs of cotton and Rs1,200 for every 20 kgs of groundnut. We have been waiting for such promises to be delivered for three years now . But no development has come our way,’’ said 80-year-old Bhiku bhai Gathiya, Gadhiya’s neighbour who is another backward class (OBC) Ahead of the assembly polls next month, farmers’ discontent is widespread and may threaten the BJP, which is aiming to stretch its 22-year-long rule over the western state.
Besides falling market prices, there are complaints about inconsistent power supply, non delivery of crop insurance for cotton, insufficient irrigation facilities, water polluted by industries and an overall apathy from the government.
Across Saurashtra, it is evident that Gujarat’s stellar agriculture growth story — clocking over 10% from 2002 to 2012 — is declining. In the last two years, agricultural gross state domestic product has shrunk, according to state government data.
“This year, 50% of my BT cotton sown on seven bigha (2.5 acres) of land is lost due to pink bollworm attack. What remains on field is threatened by attacks by wild boars but I don’t quality for the fencing subsidy offered by the government. And I am not expecting any crop insurance because I haven’t got a penny from last year,’’ said Kishore Patel, a Patidar farmer from Pithadia. His brother Janak is clear his vote will not go to BJP. “We will vote for any party but not BJP.’’
Pithadia falls in Jetpur assembly constituency that has been with the BJP since 2002 (except for one year between 2012 and 2013). It is in BJP’s bastions like these that the party now faces a tough contest. Saurashtra sends 48 legislators to the 182-member Gujarat assembly.
“Since I started voting, I have voted for BJP. But I have to accept that not enough work has been done for the farmers,’’ said Ashok Gadhaliya, a farmer from Derdi village and a BJP worker.
In Mahendranagar village in neighbouring Morbi district, also a BJP bastion, there are similar complaints of government apathy. Ramji Mohanji, a big farmer owning 50 acres of land points to a trajectory of lower yield with initial BT cotton boom flattening out and increased likelihood of pest attacks. “We have been getting less yield per acre progressively over the years even as our input costs have soared. Unless there is an independent agriculture commission to work out pricing of crops and to give inputs on exports and imports to the centre, farming cannot be viable,’’ he said. He said earlier one acre of BT cotton could fetch a yield of 700kg, which had come down to 400kg.
“The agriculture growth story of Gujarat is embellishment. Our farmers are facing problems like not getting viable market rates or MSP for crops and adequate irrigation facilities…our land acquisition policies are stacked against farmers,” said Sagar Rabari, secretary of the Khedut Samaj (Farmers Organisation) that took out a rally across the state this week to raise farm demands.
Source: The Hindu
In 2016, Vietnam’s textile and apparel exports reached US$28 billion, standing at below 6%, is now projected to achieve 10% growth as set for this year’s target.
In eight months leading up to September, the clothing industry grossed US$23 billion in export turnover, including yarn exports at US$2.6 billion, materials and non-woven fabrics at US$1.1 billion and clothes at US$19.6 billion.
APEC among top five US$ billion market
To fulfil the export target of US$31 billion for 2017 set by the Government, another US$ 8 billion is needed before the year ends. With the average growth rate in August and September, this year’s targeted export turnover of US$31.2-31.3 billion is achievable, enjoying 10%-11% growth when compared to one year earlier, says Mr Le Tien Truong, general director of Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex).
The textile and apparel industry continues to maintain high export turnover, just behind the telephone production industry.
Mr Truong notes that the Vietnamese clothing industry has experienced exponential growth in key markets. Of the five main destination markets for Vietnamese clothing goods, four are APEC members (the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea and China) and the other is the EU.
These four nations combine to make up 70% of Vietnam’s apparel and textile export turnover contributing remarkably to its export growth in 2017.
Exports to the US market have so far grew by 6.5% and are expected to reach roughly US$13 billion this year, making up 13-13.5% of market shares in the US.
Exports to Europe and Japan have posted slower growth at 4-4.5%. Meanwhile, export growth was at 14.5% in Europe and 12% in Japan. Exports to the Korean market are expected to hit nearly US$2 billion this year.
Apart from the foresaid four markets, China is seen as a lucrative market for Vietnam.
In the first eight months of the year, apparel and textile exports to China rose 30% to US$670 million. Although Vietnam primarily imports raw materials from China, about US$6 billion worth of fibres, the country sees significant growth in its export turnover to this vast market.
Vietnam has also recorded a staggering growth rate of 90% to nations within the Eurasian Economic Union and Russia, also a member of APEC. Export turnover to the Russian market will likely exceed US$200 million this year making it among the top 10 markets with the most Vietnam has exported apparel products to.
Seizing opportunities to develop profitable markets
According to Mr Truong, out of the world’s five largest apparel exporters-China India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Turkey, Vietnam has achieved the highest growth in the context that the global market is still facing tough competition this year.
The outsourcing costs for the apparel industry remain low due to lower absolute price in US$ and the global aggregate demands have not increased. Therefore, to increase export turnover, it is essential to seek new customers and new market shares. This is proving to be a thorny issue for export businesses.
Pham Xuan Hong, the President of Ho Chi Minh City's Association of Garment, Textile, Embroidery and Knitting (Agtek) is in agreement. He says that despite facing difficulties, Vietnam’s apparel and textile industry has delivered positive results in 2017 and foresees good signals in 2018.
However, the sector will encounter hurdles due to the fluctuations of the world market and the internal economics of partner countries.
More focus should be focused on developing markets within the ASEAN, Eurasian Economic Union and India alongside the traditional markets, Hong states, noting that businesses need to establish links to distribution systems in the countries of residence.
Russia is regarded as a potential market for Vietnam over the next 4-5 years, Truong says, while hoping that that this market will become a major destination for Vietnamese apparel products, with US$1 billion in export turnover. By that time, APEC member economies will become a major market of Vietnam’s garments and textiles, constituting 74-75% of the country’s total export turnover.
Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association says that the key import markets are coping with unpredictable fluctuations as trade protectionism is running counter to the trend of WTO trade liberalization.
For the reason, the market expansion should go along with technological development, particularly the adaption to the fourth industrial revolution and brand name building to bring more goods to the global market, he adds.
Source: Vietnam News
HCM CITY – There is a lot of potential for co-operation between Việt Nam and India in the textile and garment sector, a Việt Nam –India business meeting heard in HCM City on Thursday.
K Srikar Reddy, the Indian consul general in the city, said Việt Nam is among the top five textile and clothing exporting countries along with India.
But it has to import a lot of the raw materials, while “India’s textile industry has developed a complete product supply chain and India is also one of the suppliers of high-quality materials and fabrics at competitive prices in the world.”
Co-operation between the two countries would help Vietnamese enterprises diversify their raw material sources and sell high-quality products in the international market, he added.
Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Mai, deputy general secretary of the Việt Nam Textile and Garment Association, concurred with him, saying Việt Nam has a shortage of cotton, fabric and yarn while India has an abundant supply of these products, making them perfect partners.
The General Statistics Office estimates that Việt Nam spent US$18.5 billion to import cotton, un-spun fibre, fabric and auxiliary materials last year and around $15.5 billion in the first nine months of this year.
Việt Nam imported all is cotton needs, with the US and India being the largest suppliers, besides also importing fabric and yarn from India.
Shailesh Martis, joint director of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council, said last year India was the sixth largest supplier of textiles to Việt Nam, but only accounted for a 1.83 per cent market share, while China and Korea, the largest suppliers, accounted for 65.4 per cent.
India’s export of textiles to Việt Nam, especially fabrics, is very low but it is the second biggest supplier of cotton yarn after China, according to the director.
“Việt Nam has established itself as one of the leading garment makers to the world, not only to major markets like EU and the US but also to newly emerging large importers China and Korea.”
India is the world’s largest producer of jute and the second largest producer of cotton and silk, and accounts for 22 per cent the world’s spindle capacity, he said.
“Việt Nam needs huge quantities of right-priced, quality woven and knitted fabrics to continue its growth momentum.
“India could be an economical source of quality yarns and fabrics to bridge the gap and make Việt Nam’s garments even more competitive.”
He also suggested ways to increase bilateral trade, including exchange of technical know-how, trade-related information and demand – supply trends for important product groups on a regular basis.
The event attracted nine Indian companies that export cotton, fancy yarns, viscose/blended yarns, fabrics, staple fibre and others, who are also participating in the Vietnam International Textile & Garment Industry Exhibition in HCM City from November 22 to 25, besides local firms. — VNS
Source: Vietnam News
Bangladesh has decided to amend its labour law and the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) law to comply with the European Union (EU) recommendations. The decision was announced by law minister Annisul Huq after a recent meeting of stakeholders and will be conveyed to the prime minister and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
countryThe amended laws will be introduced in parliament this winter, Huq said. Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed, junior minister for labour and employment Mujibul Haque, representatives of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) were present in the meeting, according to media reports in the .
The EU had earlier called on Bangladesh to show tangible progress on labour rights to avoid temporarily losing the generalised system of preferences (GSP) benefit that allows the country duty-free export to the 28-nation economic bloc.
Bangladesh exported goods worth $18.68 billion to the EU in fiscal 2015-16, which was 54.57 per cent of the total receipts for the year. (DS)
Source: Fibre2fasion
Cambodia’s private sector is worried over the uncertainty created by the proposed universal minimum wage law, according to Sok Lor, secretary general of the Cambodian Federation of Employers, who said recently that new labour laws, including a national social security scheme and a higher minimum wage for garment workers, have already put businesses on edge.
The government is also planning to introduce a new minimum wage law, rather than solely focusing on the garment sector, and the labour ministry is likely to send a draft of the same to the council of ministers by 2017 end, he said.
As it is politically incorrect to say employees should not have increased wages and new regulations are a result of populist government policies, wage has to be attached to productivity, a newspaper report in Cambodia quoted Lor as saying.
The private sector under any situation cannot fight any government decision, he added.
Moeun Tola, director of labour rights group Central, said that if a universal minimum wage is adopted, it should reflect the increased cost of living, not an employer’s perception of productivity or profits. (DS)
Source: Fibre2fasion
