The ministry of finance has simplified the regulations to rectify the error made by the businesses during the filing of returns – GSTR-3B. Several representations were received by the government seeking clarifications on various aspects of return filing such as return filing dates, amendment of errors in submitting/filing of GSTR-3B and other queries. Now, the relaxation will allow the businesses to rectify the mistakes made during the calculation of GST liability which came into effect from July 1. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in a recent communication to field officers has said "as return in Form GSTR-3B does not contain provisions for reporting of differential figures for past month(s), the said figures may be reported on net basis along with the values for current month itself in appropriate tables…"Further, there can be no negative entries in the Form GSTR-3B while making adjustment in the output tax liability or input tax credit. "The amount remaining for adjustment, if any, may be adjusted in the return(s) in Form GSTR3B of subsequent month(s) and, in cases where such adjustment is not feasible, refund may be claimed," the CBEC said. There is a facility to edit the information in Form GSTR-3B which can be used only before offsetting the liability. The rectification cannot be made after offsetting the liability. In the previous circular released by CBEC on September 1, 2017, it was clarified that errors committed while filing Form GSTR – 3B may be rectified while filing Form GSTR-1 and Form GSTR-2 of the same month. (RR)
Source : Fibre2fashion
The next year also may turn out to be a challenging time for India's textile and garment industry, as exporters are still bleeding following the impact of GST and exports are probably going to miss the USD 45 billion target for 2017-18. Garment exporters have been repeatedly asking that the duty reimbursement should be retained at the pre-GST drawback rate of 7.5 per cent, following falling exports of the country’s apparel — recording a fall of 39 per cent in value terms in October. On the flip side of the coin, India's cotton production is forecast to reach 37.7 million bales in the year beginning October 1, up from 34.5 million bales produced in 2016/17. As per data from the Textile Ministry, the production of import substitute bivoltine silk in the country is forecast to touch around 6,200 million tonnes (MT) in 2017-18 as against 5,266 MT a year ago, registering an increase of 19 per cent, 2017 turned out to be a mixed blessing for the textile segment. While initiatives were implemented for power loom units and weavers, the much-awaited new National Textiles Policy is yet to see the dawn of the day. Recently, a Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector to enhance skill development and job creation was launched with an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore. 10 lakh people are expected to be skilled and certified in various segments of textile sector through the scheme, out of which 1 lakh will be in traditional sectors. The year also witnessed the first mega international trade event for the textile sector, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on 30 June. The event recorded participation from over 100 countries and a total of 65 MoUs with an estimated value of over Rs 11,000 crore were signed during the expo. India Handmade Bazaar, an online portal to provide direct market access to artisans and weavers, was launched in January. In November, the Textiles Ministry notified post-GST rates under the scheme for Remission of State Levies (RoSL) on exports of readymade garments and made-ups. For garments, the rates range from around 1.25 per cent and 1.70 per cent and for made-ups, they range between 1.40 per cent and 2.20 per cent effective from October. The Government also enhanced the rates under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) on readymade garments and made-ups from 2 per cent to 4 per cent. The rates will be applicable between November 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018. As India faces heavy competition from countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh, amongst other factors, the need of the hour is a holistic solution that encompasses all segments of the textiles industry. This, say industry experts will enhance the country’s exports which have remained stagnant for the past four fiscals.
Source: Fashion United
To document, archive and represent Mumbai’s textile legacy, the Indian megalopolis by the Arabian Sea, home to 20 million people, give or take a few, is all set to get its first textile museum. More than eight years after the initial proposal, the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation), Mumbai's governing civic body, will start with construction in February of this year. Apart from a museum celebrating the city’s mill legacy, the proposed structure includes a live, functioning mini-textile mill and a representation of the past chawl life - the city's former housing units for the working class, designed to provide cheap accommodation for the stream of migrants coming to the city since the early 1900s, many of them to work in the city's textile mills. In addition, landscaping is planned around a lake inside the compound as well as an amphitheatre and a musical fountain. The whole complex will be spread over 16.3 acres (61,000 square metres) of land at the defunct United Mill compound in the Kalachowki neighborhood in the city's eastern suburbs, of which 14 acres will be used for construction and the rest for beautification.“My note to the planning committee is to make the museum interactive for the public, accessible which is enjoyed by all the citizens of the city,” said municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta as quoted by Hindustan Times. Part of the United Mills compound are three ring and spinning structures, a chimney, a semi-automatic loom and a pond, all of which are protected by varying heritage status levels. Restoration work on some of the structures has already begun. “All the heritage structures will be restored to its past glory. I have asked the committee to restore the mills, the water body in the compound,”added Mehta. The BMC has appointed JJ School of Arts, Mumbai's premier art institute established in 1857, to prepare a vision document for the museum and to design its architecture. The new museum will include fashion galleries that display traditional Indian textiles as well as the life and culture of the mill worker communities over the ages and education about India's and specifically Mumbai's once thriving textile industry. Rather than catering to a small elite, Mumbai's new textile museum is meant for everyone - the descendants of the former mill workers and the average citizen. “The JJ School of Architecture, along with Fine Arts and Applied Arts, is working to give this museum to the citizens of Mumbai. Most museums tend to be elitist and are frequented only by the rich. We want this museum to be accessible to the public at large,” said Rajiv Mishra, principal of Sir JJ College of Architecture, director at the State Directorate of Art, Maharashtra and member of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC), according to the Indian Express. Mishra is currently leading a team of 15 experts from the school in planning the project.
New graduate students will get a chance to showcase their art works as the new museum will also have a dedicated exhibition space for them. “The space will be allocated to new graduates, from painters to sculptors, who will be able to rent the space for six months to one year, showcase their art and also sell it. After a year, their place will be taken by new graduates. The space will not be given to boutique stores,” said Mehta. A separate exhibition area is also planned. Given the heritage structure of the mill site, the project had to clear hurdles when getting the necessary clearances, initially facing non-approval of the plan by the MHCC and lack of funding. However, on 19th December 2017, the BMC held a pre-bid meeting for the first phase of the museum and the begin of construction is slated for February. The musical water fountain, as a technical project, is not included in the current tenders but an expression of interest will be invited during this month itself. The first cotton mill was set up in Mumbai by The Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company in the Tardeo neighbourhood in 1856. Ten more mills followed until 1865, employing over 6,500 workers. By 1900, the city already boasted 136 mills and was soon known as the “Manchester of the East”, employing hundreds of thousands of workers at its peak. However, the recession of the 1920s did not leave Mumbai's textile mills unaffected and led to stagnation. In 1925, there were only 81 active mills in the city and the number further declined after World War II, leading to permanent closure after the Great Bombay Textile Strike of 1982. In recent years, some of the mills have been redeveloped; the most popular being Phoenix Mills in Lower Parel, which is now a shopping mall. Under conservation efforts, more are planned to be turned into museums with one successful project completed, which is United Mills in Lalbaug.
Source: Fashion United
Summary: The year-long slowdown has wiped out capital, pushed Bhiwandi weavers into a debt cycle and created a shortage of labour. Unless there are specific policies to promote textile export, the future appears dark,” said Burhanpuri, whose family has been in the business for generations. (Express Photo by Prashant Nadkar) The year-long slowdown has wiped out capital, pushed Bhiwandi weavers into a debt cycle and created a shortage of labour. “Bhiwandi’s textile industry has become a casualty of volatile government policies that keep changing every few months. The family-owned textile manufacturing facility, located on a narrow alley of Narpoli in Bhiwandi, has not been operational for almost a year. The year-long slowdown has wiped out capital, pushed Bhiwandi weavers into a debt cycle and created a shortage of labour. (Express Photo by Prashant Nadkar) The year-long slowdown has wiped out capital, pushed Bhiwandi weavers into a debt cycle and created a shortage of labour. (Express Photo by Prashant Nadkar) Dust lifts off the ground as 50-year-old Yaseen Ansari walks into his textile manufacturing unit for the first time in two months , As Reported By IE. According to the Newspaper,Inside, 20-odd powerlooms sit silently, covered in dust and cobwebs. The family-owned textile manufacturing facility, located on a narrow alley of Narpoli in Bhiwandi, has not been operational for almost a year. A kilometre away, a handful of powerlooms weave ‘fancy’ fabric — white fabric with intricate borders of red and blue – at Iqbal Burhanpuri’s textile unit in Khadipar. A large part of the unit is not operational.
Source: Nyoooz
The government of Bihar has sanctioned a grant of Rs 60 crore for the set up of an advanced centre on sericulture in the state. The centre will come up at Abdul Kalam Agriculture College in the Kishanganj district. The establishment of the proposed silk farming centre will help in the development and growth of the silk industry in the state. The centre will encompass various departments to carry out in-depth study on various aspects of farming including mulberry production, silkworm, silk textile technology and the pests afflicting silkworms among others. "Sericulture is popular in Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Saharsa, Supaul and some other areas. The farmers at present hardly have any access to modern practices as there is no such institution in Bihar that can provide them the technical and scientific input," according to media reports. Aiming to help the farmers as well as the cultivators, the centre will have a total of 101 posts with 3 for chief scientists, 14 for senior scientists, 42 for junior scientists and the remaining for the non-teaching staff. The farmers will be trained with latest cultivation techniques and methods to control pests. The centre will boost employment opportunities in the rural areas. More than 25,000 farmers are engaged in sericulture in Bihar. Technical assistance will help them in increasing their output and improve economic condition.
Source : Fibre2fashion
In its December 2017 estimate of the cotton crop for the 2017-18 season beginning October 1, 2017, the Cotton Association of India (CAI) has maintained the forecast at 375 lakh bales, i.e. at the same level as in the previous estimate. The projected Balance Sheet drawn by the CAI estimates total cotton supply for the season at 425 lakh bales of 170 kg each. The total cotton supply projected at 425 lakh bales includes the opening stock of 30 lakh bales at the beginning of the season and an estimated 20 lakh bales of imports for 2017-18 crop year. The domestic consumption is estimated to be 320 lakh bales while CAI estimates exports for the season to be 55 lakh bales. Upto end December 2017, CAI estimates cotton arrivals at 147.75 lakh bales as compared to arrival of 108 lakh bales upto December 31, 2016. “Around 39 per cent of the total crop estimated for the year has already arrived in the market., and looking at the pace of arrivals this year, CAI is of the view that the projected crop of 375 lakh bales for 2017-18 crop year is very much achievable,” CAI president Atul S Ganatra said in a press release. CAI’s estimate of 375 lakh bales of cotton crop is slightly lower than Cotton Advisory Board’s recent forecast of 377 lakh bales for the 2017-18 crop year. Central zone comprising the main cotton growing state of Gujarat is expected to contribute 213 lakh bales, while south zone and north zone are likely to contribute 100 lakh bales and 57 lakh bales, respectively, according to CAI.
Source: Fibre2fashion
The rupee on Tuesday closed at almost a two-and-a-half-year high of 63.48 against the greenback with the dollar losing ground against most Asian currencies. Reports indicate there is a general consensus in the US that the Fed will be cautious on its rate hike stance if inflation does not rise to the targeted levels. As a result, the US market has been factoring-in two rate hikes in 2018 compared to the earlier assumption of three hikes. The rupee has been strengthening against the greenback for four consecutive sessions while the dollar index fell to a three-month low of 91.84. On an intraday basis, the currency touched as high as 63.43 before closing 19 paise higher than Monday’s closing. MV Srinivasan, vice-president at Mecklai Financial Services confirms that the rise in the rupee can be attributed to the weakness in the dollar and indicates that many participants are believed to have taken a short position on the greenback. “One other factor that is believed to have pushed the Rupee higher is the corporate bond investment limit auction for foreign investors on Tuesday. The market is anticipating good inflows into corporate debt and as a result, market participants are building up long positions on the rupee,” he said. On Wednesday, Rs 13,756 crore of investment limits in corporate bonds will be auctioned to foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). As a result, certain market participants are believed to have taken a short position on the dollar in anticipation of significant inflows. However, the rally in the rupee might be short-lived considering that oil prices are on the rise and inflation outlook remains bleak. As on Tuesday evening, Brent crude was trading at $66.86/barrel after having scaled to the level of $67.29/barrel in the afternoon. Since last week, Brent crude has continued to stay above the $66/barrel level. “It is likely that the rupee might see some weakening in the near future as high oil prices continue to remain a concern. The budget has factored-in the oil price at $55/barrel and the current levels are way above it,” Srinivasan added. The market is also watching out for the consumer price index (CPI) inflation data for the month of December which is set to be released next week.The Reserve Bank of India had stated in its fifth bi-monthly policy that the impact of house rent allowance by the government is expected to peak in December. “On the whole, inflation is estimated in the range 4.3-4.7% in Q3 and Q4 of this year, including the HRA effect of up to 35 basis points, with risks evenly balanced,” RBI had said.
Source: Financial Express
Nagpur: The pink bollworm crisis, which hit the state's cotton farmers, has taken a new turn. The companies that make Bt cotton seeds have threatened to stop manufacturing the genetically modified variety, which is supposed to be resistant against bollworm. A letter sent by National Seeds Association of India (NSAI) to joint secretary (seeds) in the union agriculture ministry says that its members may stop making the current version of Bt cotton seeds from this month, if their demands are not accepted. The seed makers are under fire from state government, which has announced that manufacturers would have to pay a part of the compensation payable to cotton growers for losses due to pink bollworm attack. The seed makers also hinted at plans to move the court against the state government order. There 300 companies using the technology offered by US multinational Monsanto. The American company has formed a joint-venture, Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Limited (MMBL), to operate in India. The technology is routed through MMBL for a charge of Rs49 per bag of Bt cotton seeds, says NSAI. As the state plans to penalize seed companies, the NSAI has said it is Monsanto or MMBL — the technology provider — which is to be blamed. At present, the BG II variety of seeds, which have two bollworm resistant genes, are available in the market. The NSAI said in its letter dated January 1 to the joint secretary that the second gene introduced in the seed is not effective against the bollworm. Since the seed companies cannot remove the second gene, even though it is not effective, the government should do away with the fee payable to MMBL on each bag. Once the fee component is removed, it can be treated at par with any other non-Bt hybrid cotton seed. No resistance against pink bollworm should be expected from it after that, the NSAI said. The letter further says that if the ministry of agriculture still decides to impose the fee, a clear notification may be issued that the developer — Monsanto or MMBL in this case — is completely responsible for the efficacy against the pest. "If such clarity is not brought about, we will be constrained to stop producing and marketing Bt cotton hybrids with the two gene trait," says the NSAI letter. The association has also asked the central department to clarify to the Maharashtra government that while seed companies are responsible for the quality parameters, they have no role in maintaining efficacy of the gene trait. The matter was brought to notice in February 2016 itself, but MMBL did not give it any importance, says NSAI.
Source: The Times of India
Reliance Industries on Tuesday said it has commissioned the world’s largest refinery off-gas cracker (ROGC) complex at Jamnagar which will use refinery process residue to produce feedstock used to make petrochemicals. The ROGC is part of the $11 billion capital expenditure RIL had announced in one of the largest brown- field expansion of energy and petrochemical projects globally. In a press statement, RIL said it has “successfully commissioned and achieved design throughput of the world’s first ever and largest ROGC complex of 1.5 million tonnes per annum capacity along with downstream plants and utilities.” ROGC uses off-gases from RIL's two refineries at Jamnagar as feedstock. “This innovative approach of integration with refineries provides a sustainable cost advantage, making ROGC competitive with respect to the crackers in the Middle East and North America which have feedstock cost advantage,” the statement said. ROGC design is highly flexible and energy efficient. It is the latest addition to RIL’s existing cracker portfolio, consisting of cracker facilities at Nagothane in Maharashtra and Hazira, Dahej and Vadodara in Gujarat. There are nearly 270 ethylene plants globally with a combined capacity of over 170 million tonnes per annum. RIL's combined ethylene capacity is now close to 4 million tonnes a year at five of its manufacturing sites. Ethylene from ROGC is used in downstream plants to produce Mono-Ethylene Glycol (MEG) and Polyethylene (LLDPE and LDPE). Similarly, Propylene from ROGC has enhanced output of the existing Polypropylene (PP) plants at Jamnagar complex to produce high-value co-polymers. “The commissioning of MEG plant marks completion of all- round expansion of the polyester value chain post successful commissioning of Para-Xylene (PX), Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA), Polyester filament and Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) plants over last 3 years,” RIL said. With the commissioning of LLDPE and LDPE plants at Jamnagar along with its existing PE plants at other manufacturing sites, RIL has capability to produce entire range of PE grades covering all end-uses in the Indian market. RIL said the ROGC complex was built in a record time with about 40 per cent lower capital cost compared to the similar projects globally. RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said: “The world’s first ROGC and downstream plants marks a paradigm shift in the profitability and sustainability of RIL’s petrochemicals business.” The ROGC complex is built on core philosophy of deep feedstock integration to establish industry leading cost and efficiency benchmarks. “This world scale petrochemicals expansion, once again showcases RIL’s unique competitive advantage in efficient execution of complex projects and flawless commissioning capabilities, adding yet another jewel to its crown,” he added.
Source: The Pioneer
The fibres to accessories trade show; YFA 2017 which was held from November 24‐27, 2017 in New Delhi, was Inaugurated by Mr. H.K.L MAGU, Vice Chairman, AEPC along with Mr. Lalit Thukral, Chairman EAC and NAEC and Mr. S.D. Chaudhary, Chairman, Kautilya Industries Pvt. Ltd. along with all the participants of YFA 2017. A majority of the 105 exhibitors participating at the show also expressed satisfaction with the numbers as well as the quality of the buyers. There was also a Chinese pavilion, in which 24 Chinese exhibitors showcased innovative yarns, fabrics and garment accessories. The expo witnessed 5418 buyers. The exhibitor list included the who’s who of the Indian and global textile industry from the textile value chain beginning from fibres till garment accessories, including the likes of Lenzing AG India, Kudu Knit Fab, Arvind Limited, RSWM Ltd, Nimbark Fashions Limited, Everflow Petrofils Ltd., National Textile Corporation, GTN Engineering India Limited, Nandan Denim Limited, Balavigna Weaving Mills, Kautilya Industries Pvt. Ltd., Gupta Exim India Pvt. Ltd., Nath Brothers Exim International Limited, Arisudana Industries Limited, Soundararaja Mills Limited, Shri Balaji Hosiery Udyog (KnitFab), Woven & Knit, Nataraja Textiles, K.C. Astir & Co., Texvalley and many others. These companies exhibited and a few even launched the most innovative and latest developments in value‐added textile products like speciality fibres, multifunctional yarns, melange yarns, embroidery yarn, bamboo fabrics, silk fabrics, modal fabrics, knitted fabrics, Indigo yarns, denim fabrics and several unique garment accessories. Among the visitors who visited YFA 2017, included decision makers like Sourcing Head’s, Purchase Manager’s, Head Merchandiser’s, Sales Head’s and Country Manager’s of Buying Houses and Export Houses. These esteemed visitors came from composite mills, spinning mills, knitters, weavers, yarn agents, exporters, buying houses, trading houses, designers, retail chains, etc. These visitors came from across India from various textile and apparel hubs like Delhi & NCR, Ludhiana,Panipat, Bhilwara, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Kanpur, Meerut, Banaras, Surat, Tirupur and Northern India, which includes. Punjab, Haryana, etc. There were also 50 foreign Buyers from Syria, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Brazil, Dubai, Argentina, Uzbekistan, Turkey and Iran. Speaking about his experience, Mr. Maheshwari, Director at Nimbark Fashions Ltd. said, “Despite the GST crisis, we have had genuine as well as decision makers visiting our booth. We also have been able to make new contacts through this show.”Mr. Surendra Kaushik, Head Marketing of Nandan Denim Ltd (Chiripal Group) added, We displayed Indigo Yarns and Denim Fabrics and very happy and satisfied with our participation at YFA 2017 show. We have seen a steady stream of buyers visiting our stall, not just from Delhi or North India, but also other parts of India, which includes, buying houses, exporters, etc.” “We met many new buyers. All the 4 days we were busy with buyers to show our innovative range of yarns and technical threads. It was satisfying to once again, revive relations with buyers who used to purchase from our mills earlier. We send our best wishes for the success of the next show in 2018,” Mr. Nepal Singh, Manager, Sales & Yarn Marketing at Arvind Ltd. Mr. Sunil Kumar Mandal, General Manager at National Textile Corporation Ltd (NTC), also added, we got many foreign buyers at our stall, “Overall, we are satisfied and happy with our presence at the YFA show as we have had a good number of buyers visiting our stall. Our products have been well received by buyers and most of those who visited our stall, were genuine and technically knowledgeable visitors, so it was a pleasure interacting with them.” “We are producers of various qualities of knitted fabric and are participating for the first time at the YFA Show. It is a good exhibition as we met a lot of existing, old and also several new buyers. We have had genuine and new visitors visiting our stall, due to which, we are satisfied which our participation at the show,” Mr. Manish Singla, Vice President (Marketing), Gupta Exim Pvt. Ltd., stated.
Mr. Luv Jain, RSWM Ltd, New Delhi observed, “We had a good experience at the YFA 2017 show as like last year. The response has been very encouraging for us, as we also met new buyers, who came from various parts of the country like Kanpur, Mumbai, Ludhiana, etc. I am sure this show will give the much needed boost to the textile industry.” Mr. Varun Mittal, Director, Kudu Knit Process Pvt. Ltd. The show was awesome for us. We got a great response for our knitted fabrics. There were many international and domestic buyers who were looking for our exclusive and wide range of knitted fabrics and we will be definitely receiving orders from many of them in the near future.” Mr. Pinkesh Jain, CMD of Everflow Petrofils added, “We are satisfied with our participation at the YFA 2017 show. We have seen a steady stream of buyers visiting our stall, not just from Delhi or North India, but also other parts of India, which includes, buying houses, exporters, etc.” We also booked orders from some of our buyers. “Our company is located in Suzhou which is near Shanghai and mainly produces knitted yarns. Our experience of the show has been good and we are very happy that we participated at YFA 2017. The facility provided in the expo was excellent and we had a good number of buyers visiting our stall. We met many buyers from buying houses, exporters, etc and we will definitely coming from 2018, 2019 and 2020 show,” said Ms. Lily, Sales Manager, Suzhou Rhz Textile Technology Co.,Ltd. China. “We thank all the participating exhibitors as well as those who visited the show for making this third edition of YFA extremely successful. The 2017 edition saw participation of 105 exhibitors. The show was visited by 5,418 buyers, which is a considerable high number at a time, when there is a GST effect on market,” the organizer duo of Abhishek Sharma and Ankur Goel said. “As in the earlier edition, this time too, we have noted all the observations made by exhibitors and visitors and will implement them in the 2018 edition, to make participation of exhibitors and visits of buyers more successful. We look forward to welcoming back all participating exhibitors and the buyers for the YFA 2018 show in Tirupur (26th‐ 28th April 2018) too,” they stated. Among buyers who came to show, I came across many new yarn, fabric and Accessories developments, Mr. Amit Aneja, Director, raw material procurement, PVH India said, “My experience has been good. I am very glad I have visited the YFA 2017 show.” “I came here looking for fabrics. My experience has been good. This visit will help us source raw materials for our manufacturing unit. The YFA Show has proved to be a one‐stop platform for all our sourcing needs,” Mr. Sivaraj, Senior Fabric Technologist, Sears Sourcing India stated. I would also like to see this show as a bigger fabric show next year for better sourcing of all type of fabrics which we need for our products he added. “I came here with my team looking for fabrics and accessories. My experience has been excellent. This show is excellent and I thank organizers for putting up this type of show in Delhi for better sourcing under one roof for buyers, exporters, domestic manufacturers and retail chains,” Mr. Ram Chandra Agarwal, MD, V 2 Retail Limited said.
Source: YarnsandFibers
The All India Coir Mattress Manufacturers Association (AICMMA) has urged the Coir Board to suggest to the central government to reduce the goods and services tax (GST) rate on rubberised coir mattress, the largest selling coir product in the country, from 18 to 5 per cent to stimulate sales and trigger a shift from the dominant unorganised sector. GST on most coir products have been reduced. The organised sector of the mattress industry is about Rs 6,000 crore at present while the share of unorganised sector is almost double,’ said AICMMA president S Sundareshan. The rubberised coir mattress industry has been on the decline for the past few years as costly latex led to dilution of latex in the product, according to a report in a leading business daily. With eroding quality of such mattresses, the sale of spring and foam mattresses increased, Sundareshan pointed out.
Source: Fibre2fashion
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1366.68 |
USD/Ton |
0.23% |
1/2/2018 |
|
VSF |
2195.91 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
ASF |
2318.76 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
Polyester POY |
1336.74 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3355.29 |
USD/Ton |
-0.23% |
1/2/2018 |
|
40D Spandex |
5758.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2533.74 |
USD/Ton |
-0.60% |
1/2/2018 |
|
Nylon POY |
1620.06 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
3624.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
Polyester FDY |
5804.57 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1566.31 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
3186.37 |
USD/Ton |
-0.48% |
1/2/2018 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2879.25 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2057.70 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2917.64 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
3040.49 |
USD/Ton |
0.51% |
1/2/2018 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2533.74 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2211.26 |
USD/Ton |
0.70% |
1/2/2018 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2456.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.43 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.88 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.23 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.72 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/2/2018 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15356 USD dtd. 5/12/2017). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Light industry enterprises of Uzbekistan exported products worth $1.1 billion to 50 nations in 2017 and the share of value-added products exceeded 40 per cent. The number of exporting enterprises rose from 293 in early 2017 to 350 by the year end. The country produces around 1.4 million tonnes of cotton fibre annually, of which about 60 per cent is consumed domestically. Thirty four investment projects on modernization of existing and creation of new enterprises with a total export potential of $151.7 million were completed in 2017 in the country’s light industry. Their total value exceeded $356 million. In addition, the growth of export indicators was facilitated by the activity of 64 trading houses which were opened in foreign countries,an Uzbek news agency reported quoting statistics from the Association of Textile and Clothing and Textile Industries Enterprises (Uztekstilprom). Experts have already created a draft concept of development for the medium-term perspective of cotton textile clusters, taking into account the experience of such facilities in the Navoi region. Around 7,000 industrial enterprises operate in the republic at present. The Uzbek textile industry is mainly focused on cotton, silk and wool. Further development of its textile industry is one of the policy priorities of Uzbekistan. The country grows about 3.5 million tonnes of raw cotton and produces 1.1 million tonnes of cotton fibre annually. The country plans to create 112 modern, high-tech industrial factories, expand, modernize and technologically upgrade 20 operating capacities. All this will increase the export potential of the industry up to $2.5 billion a year and create more than 25,000 jobs. (DS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
The knitwear, bedwear and readymade garments have outperformed all other products of textile sector, reporting significant exports growth significantly. This was led by volumetric growth of 21 percent YoY, 7 percent YoY and 9 percent YoY in knitwear, bedwear and readymade garments, respectively. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported textile exports for the month of Nov 2017, wherein textile exports have clocked in at $1.12 billion, (+7 percent YoY). This growth was primarily led by the value added segment (+12 percent YoY) that made up for the poor show by basic textile exports (-3 percent YoY). Experts attribute expansion in value added segment exports to (i) appreciation of Euro currency by 9 percent YoY, and (ii) improved competitiveness post implementation of textile package. On the other hand, cotton yarn exports recorded a steep decline of 11 percent YoY driven by 13 percent YoY volumetric downturn. This is likely a result of soaring raw material costs for the spinning segment as domestic cotton prices have shot up (+7 percent YoY in Nov’17) following lower than targeted domestic crop (10.1mn bales as of 15-Dec’17 vs initial target of 14mn bales) and increase in support prices in the region (+12 percent). On a cumulative basis, 5MFY18 textile exports were recorded at USD5.51bn, up 8 percent YoY, primarily driven by 11 percent YoY hike in value added segment. Basic textile exports followed with a meagre 1 percent YoY increment.
Source: The Nation PK.
Valley Cottage, NY -- As per the latest study conducted by Future Market Insights (FMI), towards the end of 2027, the global textile staples market will reach a valuation of US$ 201,197.5 Mn, reflecting a moderate CAGR of 4.9%. The global market for textile staples, which is currently valued at over US$ 124,915 Mn is also projected to witness a steady rise in terms of value during the forecast period (2017-2027). Around 55,782 KT of textile staples is expected to be produced by 2017-end. It is estimated that the volume-wise growth of the global textile staples market will showcase 4.8% CAGR, with China and India making significant contributions to the market. The FMI's report titled "Textile Staples Market Global Industry Analysis 2012 – 2016 and Opportunity Assessment, 2017 – 2027" has identified multiple factors influencing the global textile staple market throughout the ten years of the forecast period. In developed regions such as North America and Europe, manufacturers of textiles are shifting their focus from commodity goods to value added products. Therefore, manufacturing of generic textile products as compared to niche technical textile products is expected to slow down in the near future. In addition, the global market is anticipated to be majorly driven by growing application of technical textiles in large sectors such as construction and automotive. In emerging countries, rising disposable income is significantly boosting the market growth. The report has also assessed that both production and consumption of synthetic fibre will soar in near future. Further, the demand for special textile materials and products which are manufactured primarily for specific applications have gained considerable traction in recent years. Application of such textile is increasing exponentially in automobile industry owing to their superior quality and technical capabilities.
Based on natural fibre textile staples, cotton is expected to account for the largest share of the market over the forecast period. The cotton segment is expected to create a total incremental opportunity of US$ 34,924.5 Mn between 2017 and 2027. Retailers are labelling their products as being environmentally friendly to gain a competitive advantage in the market. By synthetic fibre, around 26,051.8 KT of polyester textile staples is expected to be produced by the end of the assessment period. Currently, polyester is the most preferred type of synthetic fibre for textile staples. Towards the end of forecast period, application of textile staple in manufacturing apparels is projected to contribute nearly US$ 93,974.4 Mn. However, demand for textile staple from the automotive and construction sections will be robust in 2017 and beyond. Among region, the Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is expected to emerge as the largest market for textile staple over the forecast period. Growth in sectors such as automotive & transportation coupled with increasing spending power is primarily favouring the market's growth in the region. Meanwhile, North America will retain is second spot and account for a sizeable share of the market over 2027.
Competitive Dashboard
Key players in the market are laying emphases on R&D activities to enhance wear-ability of E-textiles, fabrics that enable digital constituents and electronics to be embedded in them. E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, Lenzing AG, International Fibers Group, Invista, Thai Acrylic Fiber Co. Ltd. (Aditya Birla Group), Toray Group, Chori Co., Ltd., W. Barnet GmbH & Co. KG, Cellulose Cotton Wool Corporation of India, Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd., Belgian Fibers SA, Grasim Industries Limited, Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, Reliance Industries Limited, Synthesia, AS, The Woolmark Company are some of leading companies operating in the global textile staples market.
Source: Digital Journal
Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) Chairman Dr Khurram Anwar Khawaja has appealed to the government to withdraw duty on cotton yarn import in line with the proposed withdrawal of custom duties on raw cotton import from India.“PHMA appreciates the move to withdraw duties and taxes on the import of cotton to encourage the value-addition and also demanded the same relaxation for the import of cotton yarn, which is a raw material for value-added knitwear sector,” he demanded. Dr Khurram said that prime minister’s package for exporters was announced on January 10, 2017, wherein textile apparel sector was to be provided a number of facilitations, including withdrawal of customs duty and sales tax on the import of cotton yarn from January 16, 2017, but no such measure was taken so far. PHMA chairman demanded the liberal import policy for raw materials for re-export like duty-free import of fabrics and accessories in the same way as practiced by our competitor Bangladesh. “Besides improving the law and order, and providing non-stop gas and electricity supply, the government will also have to relax import policy to empower the value-added knitwear industry to get maximum benefits out of the GSP Plus Status, as the country has no raw material except cotton,” he added. Dr Khurram said that PHMA supported the relief package declared for spinning industry particularly easing cost of doing business and relief in power tariff but opposed duty on the import of textile raw materials. He said that the sharp increase in cotton yarn prices had hit the export-oriented value-added garment sector hard. He asked the government to take preventive measures, as the export target would not be achieved due to high energy cost and discriminating import duties on industry raw material. He appealed to the government to abolish additional regulatory duty on cotton yarn that should be imported freely from anywhere. He said that textile has become the most important sector especially after grant of the GSP Plus status by the EU countries but the artificial shortage of cotton yarn had put the ‘free market access’ status at risk.
Source: The Nation PK.
2017 was a strong year for the garment export sector. During the seven months between April and November, some $1.5 billion worth of garment products were shipped out of Myanmar, bound for warehouses owned by the likes of Uniqlo and Primark in Japan and Europe, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC). The pace of growth has been gaining momentum with labour costs picking up in former low-cost manufacturing hubs like China, and as demand from global clothes, lingerie and sportswear brands rises on the back of growing affluence in many parts of the world. Now, the garment sector represents Myanmar’s second largest export sector, and it is expanding fast. During the 2016-17 fiscal year, the industry exported a garments worth some $2.2 billion, which is up from $1.8 billion the year before, according to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA). During 2013-14 and 2014-15, garment exports totalled $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively.
International markets
Looking ahead into 2018 and beyond though, insiders said more has to be done for growth to remain sustainable. “The garment sector has grown significantly over the past three years. But to continue expanding, we are planning to reach more customers in international markets and raise demand,” said Daw Yin Yin Moe, secretary of the Myanmar Textile Manufacturers’ Association. Currently, about a third of locally produced garments are exported to Japan, while a quarter each is shipped to Europe and South Korea, respectively, according to the MOC. The remaining merchandise is shipped in smaller quantities to China and the US. To serve a wider range of markets, the industry will cooperate with the government to host the Myanmar Gar-Tex Expo in Yangon next March. The exhibition will promote. Myanmar-made garment products and expose local manufacturers to international competitors and customers, U Kyaw Win, vice-president of MGMA, said. The exhibition, which will showcase more than 80 garment exhibitors and host up to 3,500 trade visitors worldwide, will be organised by the Ministry of Industry in cooperation with MGMA, the Myanmar Textile Manufacturer Association, Textile Engineer Association, and Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association.
Long term growth
But the industry must also take steps to ensure growth is sustainable over the longer term. This involves Myanmar taking charge of the entire garment manufacturing and distribution process, from producing the garments in their entirety to arranging for shipments to retailers. In other words, adopting a freight-on-board (FOB) system instead (see chart). Currently, the vast majority of garment factories operate under the Cut-Make-Pack (CMP) system, under which foreign buyers pay contracting fees to a garment factory in Myanmar to carry out labour-intensive tasks at a low cost. These include cutting fabric, sewing garments together and then packing the finished garments for export. In addition, most factories in Myanmar work under CMP contracts of just six months, The Myanmar Times understands. The country’s garment workers are also among the lowest paid compared with key garment hubs like China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and India, making it among the most competitive manufacturers in the world, according to MGMA. Nevertheless, the industry should raise the quality of locally made products and negotiate for better contract terms to improve margins and employee wellbeing. Things are moving forward on this front. On December 29, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population at the 4th National Minimum Wage Committee meeting in Nay Pyi Taw decided to raise the minimum wage by 33 percent to K4,800 per day from K3,600 per day currently. The move comes after rounds of negotiations over the last year. The decision is now open for public comment or objection for a period of 60 days before taking effect. In Myanmar, employers with 10 workers of more are responsible for paying the minimum wage. Meanwhile, recent research by MGMA and Boston-based Tufts University has also showed that better employee welfare in the sector enhances the productivity and performance of garment factories. “The government, employers and employees have to work together in a fair manner so that we can enjoy a sustainable and growing garment industry,” said U Kyaw Win. If all goes well, the Myanmar garment sector could be worth as much as $8 billion - $10 billion in ten years’ time, according to MGMA. So far, some 500 garment local and foreign manufacturing companies have already opened factories in the country. These are mostly situated in Yangon, but quickly spreading to industrial zones in neighbouring townships like Bago, Hmawbi, Hlegu, Thanlyin, Thilawa Special Economic Zone as well as to other regions like Pathein and Mandalay.
Source: Myanmar Times
KIGALI, Rwanda — In Kenya, they are called the “clothes of dead white people.” In Mozambique, they are the “clothing of calamity.” These are nicknames for the unwanted, used clothing from the West and the Far East (China and South Korea), that so often end up in Africa (Malawi included). Now, a handful of countries in East Africa no longer want the foreign hand-me-downs dumped on them because these countries have embarked on manufacturing their own clothing lines. In the East African countries, (Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Burundi) have been trying to phase-out imports of second-hand clothing and shoes over the last year. They say the influx of used or second-hand clothing, undermines their efforts to build domestic textile industries. The countries want to impose an outright ban by 2019. All across Africa, second-hand merchandise is the primary source of clothing — much as it is for cars, planes, hospital equipment, computers, and sometimes sadly, even drugs that have passed their expiration date. Buses with Japanese lettering are ubiquitous. Planes in Congo have signs in Italian. Aspirin from Europe past its sell-by-date floods markets in Cameroon. Old medical equipment from the Netherlands lies idle in hospitals in South Africa. Ghana has become a dumping ground for huge amounts of electronic waste. Rwanda, in particular, is seeking to curb the import of second-hand clothes, not only on the grounds of protecting a nascent local industry, but also because it says wearing hand-me-downs compromises the dignity of its people. But when countries in East Africa raised their import tariffs on used garments last year — to such a high level that they constituted a de facto ban — the backlash was significant. The Utexrwa textile and clothing manufacturing factory is one of only two clothing manufacturing companies in Rwanda, and the only one producing clothes for the domestic market. In March, the Office of the United States Trade Representative threatened to remove four of the six East African countries included in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, a preferential trade deal intended to lift trade and economic growth across sub-Saharan Africa. (Burundi and South Sudan, gripped by upheaval, had already been expelled from the trade deal because their governments were accused of perpetrating a state violence.) Under the US deal, products like oil, coffee and tea are allowed access to American markets with low tariffs. But the White House has the right to terminate the agreement with a country if it feels that the relationship doesn’t benefit the United States. The dispute has thrown into relief the perennial debate among countries, especially developing ones, over how to balance protectionism with the risk of damaging their relationship with an interconnected world. The American response reflects a desire to both protect jobs in the US, and have open access to small but promising markets. The East African nations are trying to replicate the success stories in Asia and even the United States, where infant manufacturing industries were initially protected and nurtured before they were able to compete on the global market. Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, who has been the most vocal leader about the used-clothing ban among the East African nations, said that the region should go ahead with the ban even if it meant sacrificing some economic growth following the US threats. “We have to grow and establish our industries,” Mr. Kagame said in June. “This is the choice we find that we have to make. We might suffer consequences. Even when confronted with difficult choices, there is always a way.” East Africa imported $151 million worth of used clothes and shoes in 2015, mostly from Europe and the United States, where consumers regularly buy new clothes and dispose of old ones, often giving them away to charities. At least 70 percent of donated garments end up in Africa, according to Oxfam, a British charity that accepts and distributes second hand clothes to the poor and exports the rest to developing countries like those in Africa. In Malawi the influx of second hand clothing, that flooded the country’s economic activities led to frustrating the clothing industry up and down the production line. “The availability of inexpensive second-hand clothes, led to stores and tailors down-sizing their imports of garments of manufacturing; this has an effect on cloth manufacturers like David Whitehead and Sons; and since DWS was boasting and encouraging cotton growers in the Lower Shire region, it’s down-sizing, was a heavy blow to the cotton growing industry in Malawi. With that of course is the domino effect that impacted the transport sector,” an economist at Chancellor College said. “Put simply, the cheap, inexpensive second-hand dress or suit, means less or no job for the cotton grower or picker, no loads for the trucker to carry, no cotton to turn into cloth, nothing for the tailor to sew (a second blow to this industry after no uniforms), and less net income to the shop owner. Second-hand market kills the manufacturing, transport and cotton growing industries. This is on top of wearing used garments. Where is the pride we used to have for new clothes at Christmas?” The economist asked rhetorically. He said DWS alone used to employ 3,000 wage earners, with a spill-over effect of 3,000 more in the other sectors. The second-hand industry is a job-killer in Africa. Such is the psychological and economic impact on African countries.
Source: The Maravi Post
The window to take advantage of low costs while preparing for automation is not large. If India’s textile industry is to regain lost ground, it will have to do better than it’s done so far. The robots are coming, but not just yet. Hong Kong’s Crystal Group is the world’s largest clothing manufacturer. It’s the kind of labour-intensive industry that seems ripe for automation. But the company has now made it clear that it intends to continue betting on a human labour force. It contends that this is currently a more cost-effective option than machines in developing markets. This throws India’s textile export failure into particularly sharp relief. The sector accounts for about 10% of manufacturing production and employed 51 million people directly and 68 million people indirectly as of 2015-16. These numbers would have been higher if India had been able to up its game as China lost ground due to rising labour costs. Instead, export targets have been missed by large margins while countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh have capitalized on labour arbitrage. The window to take advantage of low costs while preparing for eventual automation is not large. If the industry is to regain lost ground, it will have to do better than it’s done so far.
Source: Live Mint
There is no denying the fact that Pakistan’s textile industry has become regionally uncompetitive, but it is not because of the industry’s inefficiency. Actually, businessmen who were efficiently running their businesses might become naïve and forget how to manage businesses post-2013. Consequently, more than 100 textile mills were closed due to various reasons. Power outages started in 2007/08 and kept on increasing. The power crisis adversely impacted the textile industry as well as the economy as a whole. Estimates by the World Bank and eminent economists have estimated that electricity load shedding shears GDP by at least 2 percent a year. Various governments did not give textile industry priority, which should have been a logical policy response if the industry of Pakistan was to be protected. When the textile industry as a response to load shedding started installing their own captive gas-based power generation plants, domestic gas started to get rationed with forced outages. Despite the shortage, domestic connections were being doled out at the rate of 500,000 per year, constraining gas availability even further. As a policy response, the present government started importing LNG in 2015. The regasified LNG was only provided to industry in Punjab, which constitutes 70 percent of the total installed industrial production capacity, at unaffordable rates. There is a discrepancy in rates at which gas is provided to provinces. LNG supplied to industry in Punjab is at Rs1,100/million metric British thermal unit (MMBtu). In contrast, gas is available to industry in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Rs600/MMBtu. Textile is a processing industry and outage of electricity or gas even for an hour or two disrupts the whole eight-hour working shift in a factory. Six to eight hours of load shedding a day remained normal for almost a decade in Pakistan. And, when load shedding was coupled with higher tariffs industrialists started making losses and there was no surplus created to invest in innovation and technology upgradation. When there is a do or die situation, the only fight is for survival. Industrialists tried to survive utilising all their resources and credit lines just to keep their factories running. Inevitably, investments are only made in good times and when businesses flourish and surpluses are made. Unfortunately, post-2008 were years of severe energy crisis and during the period even keeping the factory running was the best that could have been done. After 2014, when the government started giving industry priority, it increased the price through electricity surcharges which are fundamentally because of the system’s inefficiencies. Power sector’s regulator National Electric Power Regulatory Authority doesn’t consider the cost as prudent, yet it still constitutes 35 percent of electricity bill. Cost of doing business, which substantially increased after 2013, is another challenge facing the textile companies. Labor wage floors are much higher in Pakistan than India or even Bangladesh. In Pakistani rupee terms, minimum wage in India is little above Rs7,000 as compared to Rs11, 000 in Bangladesh, Rs12,500 in Vietnam and Rs15,000 in Pakistan. Energy price in Pakistan is also much higher than the regional competitors. Indian Punjab has frozen electricity price for industry at Rs5/kilowatt hour for the next five years. In times of crisis, this is how governments support their industries. In January last year, the Prime Minister’s Trade Enhancement Package announced incentives worth Rs180 billion in a bid to boost Pakistan’s sagging exports. This package was to be implemented over 18 months and also included duty free imports of cotton. The package was, however, reneged upon when duty got imposed just a few months later and after a passage of nearly 12 months the government has only released a total of Rs16.5 billion in financial rebates. Overvalued currency for the last two years has badly hurt export sector, including textile exports. The policy of pegging rupee to a fixed 100/US dollar made industry uncompetitive internationally as well as domestically as imported products were artificially kept cheaper. This is evidenced in an immense increase in imports to more than $50 billion, while exports fell to $20 billion. Pakistan’s exports grew only 27.3 percent from 2005 to 2016, while Bangladesh, Vietnam and India have posted 276 percent, 445 percent and 165 percent growth in exports, respectively, during the same period. In Pakistan, indirect taxes increased from about 14 percent of inputs in 2012/13 to 19 percent of inputs in 2017. The taxes when carried forward in the value chain multiply their impact and eventually render exports uncompetitive in international market. Delay in sales tax refunds to export sector has become a norm. Working capital for the textile sector remains blocked in stuck refunds, custom duty drawback and income tax refunds, squeezing the financial streams and compelling export sector to limit production. In contrast, progressive policies in China, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam have yielded very substantial results. In Pakistan, inadequate government’s response can be gauged from lack of implementation of the current textile policy. China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region announced multiple incentives for industry especially textiles in order to take advantage of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects. The Chinese government allowed rent-free factories in industrial parks and Xinjiang’s less-developed southern area, interest-free loans, electricity at six cents per kilowatt hour, transportation subsidies and maximum tax rate of 15 percent. In Pakistan, cotton, which is the basic input to textile, has five percent import duty and four percent sales tax in addition to non-tariff barriers, like quarantine inspection permit and phytosanitary certificates required for cotton import. Systemic inefficiencies, administrative delays, ever increasing cost of doing business in the country has led to downfall of once most efficient textile industry, which still contributes 60 percent of total exports and almost eight percent to GDP and provided employment to around 15 million people. Textile industry has $11.9 billion export potential with prudent policies and administrative support. Textile industry can create three million more new jobs. Implementation of prime minister’s export-led growth package in letter and spirit, immediate payment of drawback of taxes on realisation of export proceeds, withdrawal of surcharges to bring electricity tariff at par with region at Rs7/kilowatt hour and provision of gas at Rs600/million metric British thermal unit can help textile industry to regain its momentum. Shahid Sattar is ex-member Planning Commission and Hira Tanweer is research analyst.
Source : International News
Among agricultural commodities, cotton posted the most gains in 2017. Burkina Faso is one of Africa’s top cotton producers, but it’s also among the world’s poorest countries. It was also one of the first in Africa to try planting genetically modified cotton. But that experiment did not go so well.
CGTN’s June-wei Sum reports:
Burkina Faso had turned to a genetically modified stain of cotton produced by the global agricultural company Monsanto, after pests known as bollworms struck its crops in the early part of the decade. And while the harvest produced was pest free, the quality of the crop fell. Burkina Faso cotton had been known for its premium quality long fibers, but the new crop had short fibers that were made into lower-value products. As a result, the value of the country’s cotton exports fell from $439 million in 2013, to $285 million by 2015. By 2016, the country decided to phase out all genetically modified cotton. Monsanto acknowledges quality changes, but told Reuters that it stopped doing business with Burkina Faso because of a dispute over seed-licensing fees. The government said it may still return to genetic technology, but only if the breed produces both quantity and quality.
Source: CGTN
LAHORE - The government should announce and lay down the implementation mechanism for the agreed long-term policy for the revival and growth of the textile industry . An early announcement of the policy will help reverse trade account deficit and thereby contribute to the country’s progress and prosperity, said APTMA chairman Amir Fayaz. It may be noted that the Prime Minister, in his meeting with all textile industry stakeholders in September, had very wisely desired the Federal Textile Ministry and the textile industry to come up with a long-term policy for the revival and growth of the textile industry . The Federal Textile Board, in its follow up meeting with all stakeholders, had unanimously proposed various initiatives as a long-term policy to be announced at the earliest enabling requisite investment to generate exportable surplus and achieve additional $20 billion exports in the shortest time-frame to overcome the menace of growing trade deficit, the biggest economic challenge for the government. Chairman APTMA said the policy has been devised for the restoration of the international competitiveness of Pakistan’s textiles whereby 1000 garment and stitching plants are expected to materialize to make the best of the opportunity. “The expected outcome of the policy is an exportable surplus of $20 billion; development of a skill workforce of 0.7 million ; gender balance; achievement of Social Standards and GSP plus prescriptions; $9 billion new investment; revival of backward & forward linkages in the supply chain; which all will help reverse trade account deficit.” He said the policy would provide for existing duty drawbacks to be extended for 5 years and for increasing drawbacks annually by 1% for garments and made-ups; provision of gas at an all inclusive Rs.600/mmBTU to the industry across the country; withdrawal of Rs. 3.50/kWh surcharge on electricity to bring its tariff at par with region @ Rs. 7/KWh; establishment of commercial enclaves in major cities with provision of rent-free space and other facilities for facilitating foreign brands to establish their buying houses; for skill development of men and women provision of Rs. 0.1 million training cost per annum per worker to garmenting units; extension of LTFF scheme to indirect exports and for infrastructure for garment plants.
Source: PK Nation News
