The apparel industry, like most others, has constantly been complaining about the lack of labour flexibility, so critical in an export-driven industry that is inherently seasonal in nature. The apparel industry, like most others, has constantly been complaining about the lack of labour flexibility, so critical in an export-driven industry that is inherently seasonal in nature. The apparel industry, like most others, has constantly been complaining about the lack of labour flexibility, so critical in an export-driven industry that is inherently seasonal in nature. So, during the UPA tenure, it even suggested a double-NREGA package to the government—it would guarantee 200 days of employment in a year at a minimum wage of Rs 200 in return for flexibility. The plan didn’t fly and, among others, was a big reason for India’s poor exports performance. Unless there is labour flexibility, firms won’t grow, and unless that happens, this robs them of some of their competitiveness. In order to fix this, the chief economic advisor and the textiles secretary came up with a plan to eliminate as many of the hurdles to formal employment—among others, this envisaged the government defraying the mandatory provident fund contributions for the first three years and introduced the concept of fixed-term employment, obviating the need for messy solutions like dealing with contractors. The plan, as reported by FE on Monday, didn’t fly and just 655 units have availed its provisions so far. That, however, is not the result of the plan being faulty, but of circumstances. Demonetisation was a big blow to the industry that largely had cash transactions, and once things stabilised, GST hit it hard. While many of the state levies were subsumed within GST, this shouldn’t have been a problem since the refunds the industry got for taxes paid by it earlier would now come via GST. Except, that hasn’t happened and most exporter refunds remain stuck. So, for the plan to really work, the government has to either ensure GST refunds come on time or find an interim solution; some solutions have been found and industry feedback needs to be taken to see if this is good enough. Fast-tracking the FTA with the EU is also critical as this will ensure Indian exports get duty-free status as is already the case with competitor nations like Bangladesh and Cambodia. Given the jobs-creating potential, it is critical this be resolved at the earliest. It is only when there is complete certainty that industry will invest since orders takes 6-8 months to materialise and investment horizons are even longer. Now that there is enough proof that the scheme is a workable one, the government needs to extend it to other areas as well. The government had announced a leather package along the lines of the apparel one in the last budget, but it is best to announce it for all industries, not just the labour-intensive ones. Right now, thanks to pressure from the labour unions, the government is loath to announce more flexible labour laws—it had earlier planned that any units which employed under 300 persons would be free to shut down without requiring government permission. When this was shelved, it was hoped individual states would do this on their own, and while some like Rajasthan followed, important industrial ones like Maharashtra just back-tracked as well. Fixed-term employment doesn’t really affect the existing work force—indeed, it offers more stability and higher salaries than the existing contractor system since the middleman’s commission is eliminated. In which case, it may be relatively easier for the government to push this plan—and even if there is some resistance, in an election year, when generating jobs is critical, it is the government’s only hope.
Source: Financial Express
NEW DELHI: The , which had allocated a sum of Rs 126.76 crore for the scheme, is planning to seek an additional Rs 33.27 crore for 2017-18, textile minister said earlier this week in the Rajya Sabha. The Rs 33.27 crore would be in the form of supplementary demand for grants, the minister said, adding that of the Rs 126.76 crore allocated for 2017-18, Rs 83.08 crore has already been spent till now. The information came in response to a question by of , who also sought to know if the government is considering to enhance the capital subsidy for powerlooms in the country. Irani said that there was no proposal as yet on enhancing the capital subsidy from the present 10% to 30 per cent. Irani also said that in the period 2017-18, 48 yarn bank proposals and 118 group work shed proposals have been approved. “Only two applications for group work sheds are pending,” the minister added. The ministry of textiles announced the yarn bank scheme under Power Tex India with an objective of providing interest free corpus fund to special purpose vehicles or consortiums to enable them to purchase yarn at wholesale rate and give the yarn at a reasonable price to small weavers.
Source : Kaplanherald
NEW DELHI: India has imposed antidumping duty on as many as 98 products, as on December 27 last year, imported from China, Parliament was informed today. The products on which the duty was imposed include flax fabrics, vitamin C, certain fibres and chemicals, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. He also said trade deficit with China stood at USD 36.73 billion during April-October this fiscal. "Increasing trade deficit with China can be attributed primarily to the fact that Chinese exports to India rely strongly on manufactured items to meet the demand of fast expanding sectors like telecom and power," he said. Countries initiate antidumping probes to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by a surge in below-cost imports.
Source: The Economic Times
NEW DELHI: Trade ministers of India and the UK would meet in London on January 11 as part of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) deliberation to boost bilateral commerce. "Next India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting, co-chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu, to be held in London on January 11," the department of commerce said in a tweet. In the last meeting, both sides reviewed the progress held in joint working groups on areas like smart cities and advanced manufacturing. The bilateral trade between India and the UK dipped to USD 12.2 billion in 2016-17 as against USD 14 billion in the previous fiscal.
Source: The Economic Times
India’s largest knitwear and readymade garment exporters organisation, Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA), has sought exemption of the IGST levy on imports of accessories, early clearance of accumulated input tax credits, permanent deletion of Reverse Charge Mechanism (under Section 9(4) of GST) and incentives for investments made in labour accommodation infrastructure. A delegation of TEA, which met Union finance minister Arun Jaitley recently with a memorandum, pointed out that till June 30, 2017, apparel exporters were importing accessories such as zips and tags without payment of customs duty, using the Export Promotion Certificate (EPC). But post implementation of GST, imports using EPC is being subjected to IGST. As most of the accessories are being taxed at 18%, this is causing huge working capital blockade, resulting in significant hardship to the industry. Explaining the issues in detail, the memo said that similar problems were faced by exporters in import of capital goods under the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme and raw materials through the Advance Authorisation Scheme, and the government had redressed these issues by issuing a notification, dated October 13, which exempted imports under the two schemes from levy of IGST. However, the EPC scheme was omitted, and should also be included, argued TEA. It has requested for a separate notification to be issued in line with the notification exempting imports of accessories using Export Promotion Certificate from the purview of IGST levy, the TEA memorandum said. Expeditious release of refunds which are due to exporters is another issue before the union finance ministry. The original plan under the GST compliance framework was filing of GSTR 1, 2 and 3 by all taxpayers resulting in matching of tax credits, thereby facilitating release of refunds due to exporters expeditiously within seven days of the claim. However, due to various reasons, filing of GSTR-2 and 3 are dispensed with till March 2018 and substituted by a self-declaration in Form GSTR 3B, but there is no possibility of matching of credits till March 2018. In this scenario, a manual procedure for claim of refund by exporters was prescribed through a notification dated November 15, followed by a detailed circular dated November 15, prescribing the procedure to be followed for release of manually processed refunds. Hence, in order to avoid inordinate delay in release of refunds, it is requested that a clear-cut procedure may be prescribed listing out the evidences required to be furnished to the authorities along with the RFD-01A form, said the TEA memorandum.
Source: Financial Express
The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) in collaboration with 3M, Association of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Alumni set up new incubation facility which was recently inaugurated. The facility will be a platform for the startups to connect with the investors as well as mentors that could help them achieve efficiency in the production. The centre to act as a launch pad for the startups – Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), a release from the council informed. The facility besides training and mentoring, it will also provide information to the industry with regard to creation of new knowledge, fashion trends, marketing techniques and management. Ashok Rajani, Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council said that textile and clothing sector contributes to over 5 percent in country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is important to handhold the units to stand as well as to face the global market and competition, with the facility in place, AEPC aims to achieve the same,
Source: YarnsandFibers
Kay Ventures Private Limited, an apparel manufacturing firm based in Karur, Tamil Nadu, has proposed to set up an apparel park on the outskirts of Telangana’s Sircilla town that will generate over 10,000 jobs. Company CEO S Susindran and vice president Sampath Kalirajan recently inspected space for the proposed park and the existing textile park in the town. They also met district collector D Krishna Bhaskar to discuss their plans and told him about their intentions to impart training in sewing and apparel production to women so that products can be exported to leading firms, according to a report in top south Indian daily. The company plans to provide 5,000 sewing machinesto the 10,000 employees. The firm plans to include knitted garments in its park. A comprehensive project report would be submitted to the collector by January 10.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a slew of steps to spur private investments via the public-private partnership (PPP) route in the country’s ‘major’ (state-run) ports, a sector that hasn’t seen as much fixed assets creation as required to bring in the level of competition needed to fast-track cargo movement and pare the country’s high logistic costs. Although the changes fell far short of freeing of tariffs for assorted port services, new investors will have a major relief as future contracts will allow them to share royalty with the port authorities on discounted tariffs, rather than as a percentage of gross revenue based on tariff ceiling fixed by the regulator at the time of bidding. Other steps announced include easier exit akin to what investors in highway projects enjoy, immunity from post-model concession agreement (MCA) threat to project viability from regulatory (Tariff Authority on Major Ports) orders and changes in environmental and labour laws and imposition of or hikes in indirect taxes. A dispute resolution mechanism — Sarod-Ports — has also been provided for, again on the line of the one for PPPs in the highways sector. New developers will also be allowed to commence operations before the commercial operations date (COD), a move that could lead to better utilisation of assets leased out by the port before the formal completion certificate. Further, a new refinancing facility will make available low-cost long-term funds to concessionaires. Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said the Centre has set up a ministerial panel headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley to look into the issues revolving around a dozen stalled port projects involving cumulative investments of Rs 20,000 crore. Apart from the shipping ministry, the committee will also have representatives from the law ministry and NITI Aayog, he said, adding that issues to be handled by the panel would include those related to terminals, land lease, storage capacity, etc. One reason why investment in port services via the PPP route is not very attractive is the high revenue share — close to 40% in some cases — which inflates the costs. A better model, analysts have argued for long, would have been to treat the revenue share as a fixed component (say, at 20%) and tariff as the variable for bidding so that operators have higher incentive to be more efficient. The latest amendments have not met this demand. According to the revised MCA, developers can exit a project by way of divesting equity up to 100% after completion of two years from the COD. Under the extant contracts, the developer can exit all but 26% stake after three years from COD. In another measure that would help cut costs, rent on “additional land” has been reduced from 200% to 120% of the applicable scale of rates. BVJK Sharma, joint managing director and CEO, JSW Infrastructure, welcomed the latest move by the government and said it would draw wider participation from international players. “For instance, post-COD, those with less risk appetite can come; those with higher risk appetite can even come during the greenfield stage. So this could be a new phase in the ports sector in India,” he said . However, he added that “if the government wanted to unlock capacity before building new capacity, it should allow transition to the new MCA for existing players also”. On the facility to exit projects completely in two years from COD, Sharma expressed the apprehension that this could encourage engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies that could bid aggressively to bag the contracts, rather than long-time operators. “One will need to ensure that quality is adhered to with strict monitoring of such EPC contracts,” he said. Manish Sharma, partner at PwC India, however, said: “Considering that the risk appetite of a developer is significantly higher than that of port operators, who are generally averse to construction and development risks, the decision to allow 100% exit in two years of achieving COD is a welcome step that will provide the much needed liquidity to PPP developers and enable more transactions in port sector.” “concessionaire would pay royalty on ‘per MT of cargo/TEU handled’ basis which would be indexed to the variations in the WPI annually. This will replace the present procedure of charging royalty which is equal to the percentage of gross revenue, quoted during bidding, calculated on the basis of upfront normative tariff ceiling prescribed by TAMP. This will help resolve the long-pending grievances of PPP operators that revenue share is payable on ceiling tariff and price discounts are ignored. The problems associated with fixing storage charges by TAMP and collection of revenue share on storage charges which has plagued many projects will also get eliminated,” the government said in a statement issued after the Cabinet meeting. Until a few years earlier, an auction was conducted before tariffs were fixed — that is, the operator was selected on the basis of the royalty he would give the port authority and TAMP then fixed the tariff using a cost-plus method under which the operator was allowed 15% return on the capital employed. That system allowed the bidders to inflate expenditure and get the tariffs fixed accordingly for three years. This set-up was later improved upon and under the current system, TAMP first fixes the tariffs upper limit for the relevant port services in consultation with the potential bidders and the bidding takes place subsequently, with the revenue share as percentage of tariff as the variable. The return on equity is 16% now. While private-sector ports are thriving — some of them have capacities higher than the so-called major ports in the government sector — private investments in PPP projects in the 12 major ports have been stagnant. Except PSA International, which is investing Rs 3,500 crore in JNPT for a terminal of about 4 million TEU capacity, no worthwhile investments have taken place in the sector over the last three years. According to PwC’s Sharma, the changeover from revenue share to royalty at actuals would on one hand protect the revenues of operators operating in a multi-terminal or multi-port system who are exposed to tariff competition while, at the same time, when coupled with changes proposed on deployment of efficiency improvement measures, would also incentivise efficiency in operations whose gains could now be retained by the operator. “The decision to introduce dispute resolution system which will also include existing terminals within its ambit is a very welcome step and would incentivise investment sentiment in the sector. Likewise the changes in ‘change in law’ provisions would address a long standing demand of sector players and provide a positive fillip to investment sentiments in this sector,” he added. The country’s logistics costs account for as much as 15-16% of the consignment value, eroding its trade competitiveness, according to a recent paper by Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, and Kishore Desai. It said despite progress made in the past three years, it takes more than six days to export and more than 13 days to import. India’s logistics costs are higher than those of around 10% (of consignment value) in developed nations. In fact, around 70% of the delays (both in exports and imports across Delhi and Mumbai) are on the account of port or border handling processes, which essentially pertain to the multiplicity and complexity of the overall procedures at ports, said the paper. The logistics sector contributes to more than 13% of India’s GDP and employs more than 22 million. The existing port capacity in India is a trifle more than the throughput, but the capacity-to-traffic ratio is less than the 1.3:1, the global norm for efficiency, leading to congestion at many large ports. According to a maritime expert who doesn’t wish to be identified, the changes have helped address long-pending issues that were bothering private investors at major ports. “In any case, for the duration of the concession agreement, whether 10, 30 or 50 years, it is practically impossible to forecast the business model in the current global environment and, hence, to attract more investments in the ambitious Sagarmala programme, such steps were the need of the hour,” he said.
Source: Financial Express
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1373.29 |
USD/Ton |
0.28% |
1/3/2018 |
|
VSF |
2208.03 |
USD/Ton |
0.35% |
1/3/2018 |
|
ASF |
2323.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
Polyester POY |
1339.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3362.06 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
40D Spandex |
5770.13 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2538.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
Nylon POY |
1631.02 |
USD/Ton |
0.47% |
1/3/2018 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
3631.33 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
Polyester FDY |
5816.29 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1569.47 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
3192.80 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2885.06 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2061.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2923.53 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
3046.63 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2538.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2215.73 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2461.92 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.44 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.88 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.23 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.73 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/3/2018 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15110 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.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday made it clear that all arrangements for using Chinese yuan for bilateral trade as well as financing investment activity between Pakistan and China are already in place. On Dec 19, 2017, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said that the government was considering a Chinese proposal to use renminbi (RMB or yuan) instead of the US dollar for payments in all bilateral trade between China and Pakistan. The decision was taken after rejecting a Chinese proposal to allow yuan as legal tender in Gwadar, Balochistan. “The SBP, in the capacity of the policy maker of financial and currency markets, has taken comprehensive policy related measures to ensure that imports, exports and financing transactions can be denominated in yuan,” said a statement issued by the SBP. It further said both public and private sector enterprises (ie both Pakistanis and Chinese) are free to choose yuan for bilateral trade and investment activities. The RMB is an approved currency for denominating foreign currency transactions in Pakistan. The SBP has already put in place the required regulatory framework which facilitates use of yuan in trade and investment transactions such as opening of letter of credits (LCs) and availing financing facilities in yuan. In terms of regulations in Pakistan, yuan is on a par with other international currencies such as dollar, euro and Japanese yen, etc. In FY17, Pakistan exported goods and services worth $1.62 billion while the imports from China were $10.57bn reflecting a great imbalance. The two countries have yet not finalised a free trade agreement (FTA). The FTA may benefit exports from Pakistan as the country critically needs to improve its exports due to huge trade deficits. After signing a Currency Swap Agreement (CSA) with People’s Bank of China (PBoC) in 2012, the SBP had taken a series of steps to promote use of yuan in Pakistan for bilateral trade and investment with China. The central bank has allowed banks to accept deposits and give trade loans in yuan. For onward lending the proceeds of CSA, the SBP has put in place the loan mechanism for banks to get the yuan financing from the SBP for onward lending to importers and exporters having underlying trade transactions denominated in the Chinese currency. In 2012, the SBP issued a circular that said the authorised dealers may open foreign currency accounts and extend trade loans under FE-25 Scheme in US dollar, pound sterling, euro, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, UAE dirham, Saudi riyal, Chinese yuan, Swiss franc and Turkish lira. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) Pakistan has been allowed to establish a local yuan settlement and clearing setup in Pakistan enabling it to open yuan accounts of the Chinese banks operating in Pakistan and to facilitate settlement of yuan-based transactions such as remittance to/from China. “With the opening of Bank of China in Pakistan, the access to onshore Chinese markets will strengthen further. Apart from the above, several banks in Pakistan maintain onshore yuan nostro accounts,” said the SBP. The SBP said considering the recent local and global economic developments, particularly with the growing size of trade and investment with China under CPEC, the Bank foresees that yuan denominated trade with China will increase significantly and will yield long term benefits for both the countries. When asked, the SBP spokesman said the statement on yuan was issued due to many queries from media about the use of the currency for bilateral trade. He said it seemed there was confusion about the use of yuan for bilateral trade which was clarified with this detailed statement.
Source: Dawn.
Recycling experts predict growing chaos in the United Kingdom as materials build up at recycling plants around Britain following China's global ban on importing millions of metric tons of plastic waste. Simon Ellin, chief executive of the UK Recycling Association, a group that represents more than 80 UK recycling organizations, has called for urgent action, saying his members are already seeing lower-grade plastics pile up. China was the main destination of the world's recyclable plastic but, since Monday, Beijing has banned 24 types of imported waste, including plastic and mixed paper. The move was part of the Chinese government's campaign against "foreign garbage", which it has described as harmful to the environment and public health. Ellin said the ramifications of the ban are already apparent in some of his members' yards. "Plastics are building up," he said. "If you were to go around those yards in a couple of months' time, the situation would be even worse." A border guard in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, inpects bundles of waste textiles smuggled into China. Previously, the UK exported almost two-thirds of its total waste to China with UK businesses shipping more than 2.7 million tons of plastic waste to China since 2012, according to data from environmental group Greenpeace. Ellin said many UK recyclers stopped shipping plastic to the world's second-largest economy in the autumn because of fears it might not arrive before the deadline. "We have relied on exporting plastic recycling to China for 20 years and now people do not know what is going to happen," he told the Guardian newspaper."A lot of (our members) are now sitting back and seeing what comes out of the woodwork, but people are very worried." He warned that local authorities' recycling efforts in the UK will bear the brunt of the ban in the short term. "If it no longer pays for our members to take this waste and sort it once it has been collected by councils, then that might stop," Ellin said. "This might mean that councils no longer collect recycling in the same way. It could be chaos, it really could." Workers check a load of imported leather scraps in Xiamen, Fujian province. The recycling business will now have to look to alternative destinations, such as Malaysia and Vietnam for their exports. But some industry experts believe China's decision to shut its doors could be an opportunity for the UK to develop its recycling infrastructure. Ellin said there is a need to look at the "entire system from producing less, to better, simpler design, to standardized recycling".
Source: China Daily.
China and the United States have met a bumpy start to 2018 as scepticism about Chinese investment and trade are clouding over Washington. The US government rejected a merger by China's Ant Financial with US money transfer company MoneyGram International Inc over national security concerns on Tuesday. It is not surprising that a number of Chinese companies have hit the buffers in Washington as trade tensions between the two countries are flaring. The bonhomie that grew between China and the United States in Beijing in November, when the two signed hundreds of billions of dollars of deals, seems to be fading away as the US side is stuck in a zero-sum mentality. In the last 30 days of 2017, the US government launched a Section 301 investigation into Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer, self-initiated probes into Chinese-made aluminum products, and rejected China's market economy status at the World Trade Organization. The hawkish turn became ear-piercing when President Trump described China as a strategic "competitor" in his first national security strategy in December, accusing the China of pursuing economic aggression designed to weaken America. Are there reasons for optimism in 2018? An injection of hope is urgently needed for the world's top two economies to sail the charted course. The first batch of prototype subway cars to be eventually manufactured in Massachusetts arrived in Boston days before Christmas. The new prototype was built by a China-based plant of CRRC, the country's largest rail car maker. Mass production will begin at the company's factory in Springfield, Massachusetts to serve the Orange Line of the Boston metro, the world's oldest transit system. This story highlights a shift in the economic relationship between the world's top two economies: "Made in China" is increasingly being replaced by "Made by China in America." According to a report by the National Committee on US-China Relations and Rhodium Group, employment by Chinese-owned firms across America jumped nine-fold from 2009 to 140,000 in 2016. Stephen Orlins, President of the National Committee on US-China Relations, said that for years US companies invested in China, made profits and built communities, becoming strong supporters of constructive US-China relations. In the face of a rising China, the United States, however, feels uneasy. China has not hesitated to make it clear that it is not seeking global dominance, rejecting a zero-sum mentality between countries, especially between the United States and China. Cooperation is the only correct choice for both. China's case is not well received by the United States. With deep-rooted strategic mistrust toward China, US politicians have failed to catch up with China's understanding of cooperation and adopted an increasingly protective and isolationist approach. When China proposes building the world into a community of shared future, it does not distinguish between competitors and partners. At this moment, the real test facing policymakers is whether or not they can maximize cooperation and manage competition so that it does not escalate into conflict. Cooperation is essential for China and the United States to handle growing common challenges and interests. Narrow-mindedness and rigidity will lead to a zero-sum game. But both will be better off if they come together, since their common interests are greater than their differences. China and the United States are about to ride a bumpy journey in trade in 2018 if the US government goes it own way, and retaliatory measures by China could be on the table. But the price is too high for the two peoples to pay if skepticism grows and tension escalates. Composure and pragmatism are needed to steer trade ties safe and sound.
Source: China Daily.
The Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the UN has shared details of recent textile imports from North Korea, in compliance with UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on the DPRK textile industry. The details were released in the Russian implementation report for Resolution 2375 – adopted on September 11, 2017 – which prohibited member states from procuring North Korean textiles. Shipments, however, were permitted to be imported from North Korea up to 90 days after the resolution’s adoption in cases in which written contracts were finalized prior to the adoption of the resolution. According to the Russian implementation report, dated December 7, it was under this provision that the textiles were imported from the DPRK. “On 18 October 2017, the following goods were imported into the territory of the Russian Federation (Primorskiy Territory) from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: 14,340 items of men’s apparel, knitted from wool (pullovers, turtleneck sweaters, cardigans and sleeveless cardigans),” the report reads. “These goods were supplied under a foreign trade agreement dated 16 December 2016 between Korea Huangamchon Trading Co. (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and the entrepreneur Vladimir Alexandrovich Kurkov (Russian Federation) for the production of knitted items,” it added. The timing of the notification for the October 18 shipment is also in compliance with Resolution 2375, which stated that details of such imports must be shared with the UN’s 1718 committee no later than 135 days from the adoption of the resolution. The report of the shipment correlates with trade data seen by NK News reporting the business between Kurkov and the Korea Hyangamchon Trading Corporation, but does not mention a possible second shipment between the two on October 29. A bill of lading shows that the October 18 shipment, originating from the port of Rajin, was for textile goods amounting to just over USD$76,746 at under 20 cents per unit. A second bill of lading is present for an October 29 shipment, also originating from the port of Rajin, for textiles costing just over USD$76,068. While the weight of the two shipments is identical, the differing costs and dates on the bills of lading suggest separate shipments. According to trade data, the company has been involved in textile transactions regularly with Kurkov: a total of eight bills of lading seen by NK News reveal shipments between 2015 and 2017 amounting to USD$263,493. Ports of origin for the shipments include Sinuiju and Dandong. The company also sold textiles worth just over USD$195,000 to another Russian individual within that time period – all of these transactions were conducted prior to sanctions. The Korea Hyangamchon Trading Corporation and has previously been identified as being involved in the export of marine products and agricultural produce – both sectors now subject to international sanctions. UNSC Resolution 2371, passed in August last year, and Resolution 2397, approved on December 22, ban North Korean exports of North Korean seafood and agricultural products respectively. It is not uncommon for North Korean companies to exhibit diversified interests and be involved in multiple sectors. Hyangamchon Trading Co is also involved in the shipping industry, managing the Myo Hyang San 1 ship, having been its registered owner until 2013 when the DPRK entity “Nationality Economic” took ownership on behalf of Korea Hyangamchon. The NK Pro ship tracker shows the vessel operating mainly between North Korean ports on the country’s west coast and Chinese bulk ports. Russia’s implementation report also identified another arrangement signed prior to the passage of resolution 2375 between Krukov, the DPRK, and a third party from Italy. The agreement, dated March 28, 2017 was “between the entrepreneur Vladimir Alexandrovich Kurkov (Russian Federation) and Filivivi SRL Con Unico Socio (Italy) for the supply of yarn to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” it read. According to its website, Filivivi Srl was established in 2005 as a joint venture between the Gruppo Marzotto and the Gruppo Verzoletto. 2014 saw the Gruppo Verzoletto acquire 100% of Gruppo Filivivi. According to a 2012 article by Italian online news website Affaritaliani.it, Filivivi provided fabrics to well-known brands around the world including Banana Republic, Zara, Mango, Marks and Spencer, and the American store Macy’s. Filivivi and Vladimir Alexandrovich Kurkov could not be reached for comment when contacted by
Source: NK.News
The services that will be offered at the processing zone will make the price of Nepali products competitive in the international market. The government of Nepal has initiated the construction of the Rs 2.5 billion garment processing zone within the Simara Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The project expected to complete by 2018-19, will lower the cost of production by while increasing the scope of exports. The production cost in Nepal is considered to be relatively high in the region. The facility located in Bara district, likely to be spread in more than 300 bighas, will house at least 30 production units of apparel, Nepali media quoted Chandika Prasad Bhatta, executive director of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) development committee as saying. Garment manufacturers can purchase the plot at the rate of Rs 20 per square metre with infrastructure such as electricity, drainage and other such logistics at an affordable price. Firms exporting at least 75 per cent of their production can also benefit from the services. "Companies with a history of being a large exporter, providing jobs to a large number of people and making large investments will be given priority to operate their production units inside the processing zone," Bhatta said. The garment processing zone is expected to compensate high transport and shipment costs due to Nepal's landlocked status because the proposed zone is located near the country's only rail-linked dry port in Birgunj. The garment processing zone concept gained traction after the US extended zero tariff preference for 66 products, including apparels, into its market through 'Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act'.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The textile company Makyta plans to eliminate some jobs due to the cancellation of the deductible levy item and increase in minimum wage, the Pravda daily wrote on January 3. These factors will increase company costs on human resources by €351,000. The firm’s profit in 2016 was around €45,000 while the revenues stood at €7.9 million, according to Finstat data. These figures prove that the company must reduce its staff. “In the business plan for the year 2018, we had to opt for cost-cutting and naturally, the major part of these cuts concern the number of employees,” the chairman of the company’s Board of Directors, Marián Vidoman, said as quoted by the daily. The health-insurance levies for a worker with minimum wage will cost employers twice as much as last year; in December, levies equaled €16.50, much less than the current €48. This price increase results from the cancellation of the deductible levy item, effective as of beginning 2018. Who will be affected most? Makyta is unable to cover the increased labour costs – the expenses on salaries will be €351,000 higher due to the 10 percent increase in minimum wage. Labour costs keep rising, and this must be reflected in the prices of products. “Labour costs have been rising for several years, and so we have regularly been filing requests for price increases, which some of our business partners refuse to accept,” Vidoman explained for HN. Along with the natural increase in labour costs, the recent changes “are artificial raising the cost of labour, and consequently what the employer is obliged to pay to the state,” CEO of the Slovak Business Alliance (PAS), Peter Kremský, said for the daily. A representative of small businesses and other opposition opines that it is mostly the smallest companies that employ up to ten, or, at most, 50 people with the lowest wages. Small businesses and small entrepreneurs will be affected the most by these changes, Hospodárske noviny summed up.
Source : The Slovak Spectator
Viet Nam’s textile and garment industry targets a year-on-year increase of 10 per cent in export value, to US$34 billion, in 2018. In 2018, Viet Nam’s textile and garment industry will face more competition, while other textile exporting countries in the world plan to maintain their market shares in the world garment market, as well as expand their market shares further, Truong said. The local textile and garment industry must be careful with the anti-dumping story, he said. To achieve the target of more than 10 per cent growth in 2018, Vinatex’s general director said that the textile and garment industry must make great efforts to focus further on solutions to increase labour productivity. He said that Viet Nam’s textile and garment industry stands at a good position in the world garment market. The major buyers of the world consider Viet Nam as the supply centre and give priority to Viet Nam in supplying garment products to them. Vietnamplus quoted Truong as saying that "Viet Nam is the world’s largest producer of men’s and women’s suits.” “Moreover, Viet Nam has had experience in converting from a production method of processing to an FOB (free on board) and ODM (original design manufacturer). Now, the processing has reached only 30-35 per cent of production, while FOB has accounted for 55-60 per cent and ODM producing textile and garment products, from designing to finished-products, has occupied 10 per cent," he said. In addition, the industry should continue to invest in technology development to create stability, sustainability and efficiency in development of the textile and garment industry, he said.
Exports in 2017
Last year, the textile and garment industry gained a year-on-year increase of 10.23 per cent in the export value of textile and garments to $31 billion, higher than its target set at the beginning of the year at $30 billion. Major markets of the United States, the European Union, Japan and South Korea maintained good growth, while there were breakthroughs in exports to other markets such as China, Russia and Cambodia, according to Truong. The South Korean market jumped to the fourth position, close to the Japanese market, reaching an export value of $2.7 billion in 2017. Viet Nam’s textile and garment exports to China in 2017 reached $3.2 billion, the same as the export value to Japan. Meanwhile, Truong said the domestic textile and garment market also gained a year-on-year growth rate of 10 per cent in 2017. The balance in development of the domestic market and the export market has been an important point for the local textile and garment industry to ensure jobs for the employees and to maintain development of the enterprises, he said.
Vinatex’s total revenue increases
During the meeting, Vinatex reported its total revenue in 2017 was estimated to have increased year-on-year at 10.7 per cent to VND45.55 trillion ($2.02 billion). Of this, domestic sales reached VND10.39 trillion, accounting for 22.8 per cent of the total revenue, 10.6 per cent higher than the revenue in 2016. The pre-tax profit in 2017 reached VND1.43 trillion, according to the group. Vinatex set a revenue target of VND48.5 trillion, a year-on-year surge of 6.5 per cent and a pre-tax profit of VND1.45 trillion in 2018. This year, the group will also implement the divestment, according to the decision of the Prime Minister. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will withdraw its investment at 53.5 per cent of Vinatex’s shares from the group this year.
Source : Vietnam Net
