The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 20 JAN, 2018

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INTERNATIONAL

GST may be cut on handicrafts such as carpets, shawls, bamboo furniture

Kolhapuri and jute chappals, hand-embroidered shawls, bamboo furniture, hand-woven carpets and tapestries are among the 40 items identified as handicrafts and will attract lower goods and services tax. The proposal was cleared by the GST Council at its meeting on Thursday, after a committee of officials sifted through a list of over 500 handicrafts items that were sent by States.

Nil or 5 per cent levy

Sources indicated that these are also likely to be taxed at nil or 5 per cent, like most other handicraft items. Further, the prevailing concessional rate of 5 per cent for job work on handicraft items will also be available. However, hand-woven sarees and dresses, leather bags and wooden furniture have not been classified as handicrafts. Officials said that it was felt that sarees are already taxed at a concessional rate of 5 per cent under GST, while leather handbags and wooden furniture were seen as items of mass consumption. However, handbags, pouches and purses made of textiles, as well as kitchen and tableware made of clay and terracotta, will be considered handicrafts. The list also includes embroidery strips, silver filigree work, handmade imitation jewellery, hand-drawn paintings such as those from Mysuru, Rajasthan and Thanjavur, toys and dolls and even gamochas or traditional stoles as handicrafts.

Rates to be decided

The Fitment Committee of officers is now expected to finalise the rates on these items, and the matter will be taken up by the GST Council at its next meeting. The Committee has also proposed a definition of handicraft items as those that have a visual appeal, ornamentation, and possess distinctive features of artistic and cultural value. While these goods mostly enjoyed exemption from central excise and value-added tax, many of them are now taxed at higher rates, of 12 per cent to 18 per cent. Over the last few months, States had repeatedly flagged the issue before the GST Council as the higher tax rates were hurting small industries and also impacting employment. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who chairs the GST Council, also said that the decision to lower rates will have a marginal fiscal cost but will protect and boost jobs.

Source: Business Line

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GST is still a work in progress

The GST Council’s move to cut rates of tax in 80-odd goods and services, which range from packaged drinking water in 20-litre bottles, second-hand vehicles, diamonds, low-cost housing and construction services and legal services to the government, along with the plan to reintroduce the reverse-charge mechanism to track transactions is pragmatic. Rightly, it is also examining alternate ways to make filing returns simpler. The rejig shows the GST Council is willing to ascertain and fix the post-rollout glitches in the tax system to help lower retail prices and ease compliance. Mandating larger buyers of inputs to deduct GST at source on their procurement, so that they can take credit for it while depositing tax on their forward sales, would take care of their worry over small suppliers not doing their paperwork and give the government better collections. This reverse-charge mechanism would provide relief to small suppliers as well. The council has made the e-way bill, generated from the GSTN portal with the bill number being made available to the supplier, the recipient and the transporter, mandatory for interstate transactions from February 1. Whether an e-way bill is a remedy to curb evasion is debatable. It could raise the scope for corruption that was rampant at border checkposts in the pre-GST regime. A robust GSTN that ensures automatic matching of the details of inward supply with the corresponding details of the outward supply, obviates the need for such instruments. Reportedly, traders are evading taxes using the so-called composition scheme that allows them to pay a flat nominal levy and are out of the credit chain. This is unacceptable. Traders must face the penal consequences for violation, that includes under-declaration of the turnover, of the composition scheme. The council must work towards bringing large swathes of the informal sector under GST, lowering and converging rates, and simplifying procedures. More course corrections may be warranted. The goal should be to raise tax collections from GST to 12% of GDP, about 50% higher than at present, when the bulk of the unorganised sector evades taxes.

Source : Economic Times

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Strong rupee, demonetisation and GST continue to hurt, badly-Here is how

Though it is not clear whether the government, or sections of it, continue to believe a strong rupee is good for the economy since they make imports cheaper, a combination of the currency and ongoing disruptions due to demonetisation and GST continue to hurt the economy. While India’s exports grew by 11.2%, imports surged in April-November 2017, showing a growth of 22.4%—in FY17, in contrast, imports were almost flat and grew by just 0.9%. Certainly, hardening crude oil prices resulted in imports growing at a faster rate than in FY17—for two years before that, oil imports contracted in value terms. While oil imports rose by $11.7 billion in April-November, overall imports grew by $54.5 billion. Take out both gold and oil, and it turns out that, for the April-November period, FY18 imports grew by a whopping 29.8%; in contrast, for all of FY17, non-oil non-gold imports rose a mere 1.4%. Since consumer demand hasn’t surged in the first eight months of FY18, it is logical to assume that increased imports have largely replaced domestic supplies, either because local supply chains continue to be hit and/or because, with the rupee continuing to strengthen, imports have become 5-6% cheaper; in FY17, by contrast, the rupee was more stable—the rupee was 66.2 to the dollar on January 3, 2016, 68.14 on January 2, 2017 and 63.69 on January 1, 2018. With the current account deficit now looking worrying and most estimates putting it at over 2% of GDP for FY18, this has to be an immediate cause of concern for the government. This is where issues like India’s high interest rates come in since they make India more attractive for foreign debt money. The same supply-chain issues, along with the rupee, are clearly affecting India’s exports as well. While India’s exports grew 9.5% in April to October 2017, as Crisil points out, Vietnam’s exports rose 23.8%, South Korea’s 18.5%, Indonesia’s 17.8% in the same period… at 7.4%, China’s exports grew slower than India’s but the base is so dramatically higher. Among the exports, farm exports grew 14.8%—within this, basmati rice grew 18.9% and non-basmati 47.3%—and marine products 29.5% while traditional areas like leather products grew just 0.9%, gems and jewellery contracted 3.8% and textile and apparel grew just 3.85%; petroleum products grew 17.6% and contributed to around 18% of total exports growth. The government has tried to come up with more attractive exports incentives as well as schemes to ensure GST credits are not delayed—exporters will no longer have to pay GST and then wait for refunds. While this may help exports grow faster now, it is difficult to see how exports can grow dramatically until the domestic industry is more competitive. As Crisil points out, in the decade between 2006 and 2016, the ‘revealed competitive advantage’ of India’s traditional exports has been falling steadily—the RCA of gems and jewelry fell from 6.38 in 2006 to 3.96 in 2016, from 3.12 to 1.97 for leather and from 2.43 to 2.22 for readymade garments. In the apparel sector, India’s tiny manufacturing units—2 million establishments, on average, employ 1.5 persons while another 2,800 hire 118 workers each—simply cannot compete with countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam on either quality or prices since they have much larger units; apart from the older SME reservations policy, this is a direct result of India’s labour laws that make it difficult to run larger units. Unless this is addressed quickly, India is not going to be able to really cash in on the global exports boom.

Source: Financial Express

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GST compliance: Easier system in the works but no blunting of anti-evasion tools

The easier returns-filing system being put in place by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council may even dispense with the summary return form GSTR 3B eventually. In the new system, verification of businesses’ tax liabilities by revenue officials will hinge a lot on the supply invoices that will necessarily have to be uploaded on the GST Network portal. Other anti-evasion measures like e-way bill and reverse charge mechanism will complement the effort to plug revenue leakages. Tax experts said the proposed regime, much simpler than the tried-and-failed mechanism of filing returns in three comprehensive forms, would still allow invoices-matching on a real-time basis, though the onus of this process will shift to the assessees themselves. Small businesses, however, fear that they could find it difficult to get their suppliers to comply promptly and save them the hassle of tax credits getting blocked. The new system, mooted by Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani in his presentation to the GST Council on Thursday, is akin to what many states employed for value added tax (VAT), but is superior for its ability to present the invoice mismatches on a real-time basis. Even as over 1 crore businesses have registered themselves on the GSTN and the new tax is into its seventh month, just 1.5 crore detailed returns (GSTR-1) on outward supplies have so far been filed, showing the low level of compliance. While the supply-invoices-only system appears to be much simpler, there are concerns that it will increase the need for businesses to interact with the tax authorities as well the units they transact with.“The absence of GSTR-2 would mean that in case an invoice is not uploaded or a mistake is made, an assessee will have to physically take the matter up with the supplier, which could be onerous in many cases. This will defeat the purpose of end-to-end IT system as in the current system GSTR-2 (purchase returns that get auto-populated once supply returns are filed) provides the ease of fixing a mistake online for an assessee,” Rajat Mohan, partner, AMRG associates, said. Earlier this month, a committee headed by GST Network chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey had submitted a report to the Council proposing to merge the triplicate returns into one to ease compliance. This proposal had retained most of the extant return-filing attributes but sought to simplify the processes and cut down on time required for firms to comply. Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said both the proposals of the Pandey panel and Nilekani would be discussed by the group of ministers on IT along with GSTN and Infosys before finalising a mechanism. This would then be brought before the GST Council for approval before the month-end. He added that the summary return GSTR-3B, which is a self-declared statement of tax liability and ITC, will continue to be used in the initial few months before it is phased out in favour of the new system.”While the return filing process is expected to be simplified by adopting a single-stage filing process instead of a three-stage one, it should be ensured that the verification process that is key to GST’s success is not done away with. Further, the anti-evasion steps which commence with the e-way bill introduction from February 1 are expected to increase the responsibilities of the taxpayers, ” MS Mani, partner at Deloitte India, said. A government official said that the proposed mechanism could make the system supplier-driven, giving them leverage over buyers as credits could be blocked for the latter without the invoice uploads by the former. “Till the summary return is not done away with, a firm can avail input tax credit for at least two months even if the supplier doesn’t upload invoices in time but this facility will not be available in the new mechanism,” he said. The system should have a mitigating mechanism so that smaller firms aren’t denied prompt ITC if a supplier fails to upload invoices, he added. Since GST was rolled out in July, the Council deferred several measures intended to plug tax evasion including e-way bill, reverse charge mechanism and invoice-matching. This led to a sharp decline in GST revenue in October and November compared with earlier months. While the e-way bill will be rolled out from February 1, the Council is looking to bring back RCM for composition-scheme dealers as well as invoice-matching in a more taxpayer-friendly form.

Source: Financial Express

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India's ICRA seeks more budget fund to raise textile export

Indian rating agency ICRA recently sought adequate allocation for schemes like refund of state levies and interest subvention benefits in the next budget to improve textile exporters’ competitiveness. The textile sector, one of the major contributors to the country's export earnings with a 13 per cent share, is under pressure, ICRA said in a pre-budget note. Intense competitive pressures have led to apparel exports growing at a slower pace and decline in demand from China led to pressure on yarn exports, according to a news agency report. The budgetary allocation for the Technology Upgrade Fund Scheme (TUFS) was lowered by 23 per cent from Rs. 2,610 crore in 2016-17 to Rs. 2,013 crore in 2017-18, a level even lower than in 2014-15, ICRA senior vice president Jayanta Roy said in the note. As India continues to be highly dependent on textile intermediaries for export earnings, indicating a potential for further value-addition, investment is needed in the downstream segments, like apparel and home textiles, said the note. A higher allocation towards TUFS subsidy for 2018-19 would attract investments in the downstream segments, facilitating higher value addition and an even higher contribution by the sector to the country's gross domestic product and foreign exchange earnings, Roy said. ICRA estimates apparel exports may go up by 3-3.5 times, if raw materials and intermediaries currently being exported, get processed further into apparel. This has the potential to double the cotton-based apparel exports and increase total textile exports from the country by 50 per cent in value terms.

Source : Fibre2fashion

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Garment exports nosedive by 8% in December

LUDHIANA: In another fall out of reduction of incentives like duty drawback and rebate of state levies (ROSL) on garment exports, total exports of ready-made garments from India has yet again registered a fall of more than 8% in December 2017 as compared to same period in 2016. According to fresh data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI & S), exports in December 2017 fell to $1,336 million from $1,454 million in December 2016. This is for the third month in a row that exports of ready-made garments has taken a hit. As garment factories of Ludhiana constitute a major chunk of total exports, city businessmen are demanding that if government still did not announce relief to them in terms of enhancement of incentives and introduction of new subsidies, recovery was not possible in exports. According to president of Ludhiana Business Forum Dinesh Kalra, "This is a warning sign for the economy and the government as well. The garment manufacturers and exporters are already under immense pressure to compete with low rates offered by exporters of other countries in the international market and reduction of subsidies has made export business more tough for us. The only way to save us from the turmoil is revising the rates of incentives that were reduced by the government recently." Speaking to TOI, finance secretary of Knitwear Club Harish Kairpal said, "This is perhaps for the first time that ready-made garments exports from India is taking such a severe beating that too for a third month in a row. It is direct outcome of the reduction of incentives by the Union government and if no corrective measures are taken by the government to tackle the situation, it will only get severe in the coming months."

Source: The Times of India

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Central Silk Board chief stresses need to boost silk production

Silk farmers of Birbhum, Murshidabad and Nadia districts participated in a silk and sericulture fair here today. The chairman of Central Silk Board, K M Hanumantharayappa, today inaugurated the fair at the campus of Central Sericulture Research and Training Institute (CSRTI) in Behrampore, Murshidabad. The chairman stressed the need for sensitising the silk farmers all over the country about the probitability of sericulture. “The sericulture research institutes of India have developed farming implements, which will be marketed in a subsidised rate. A new device worth Rs 14 lakh is being offered at Rs 10 lakh,” said the chairman of Central Silk Board. “We need to increase production of silk because the amount of silk produced in India is not adequate. This makes room for import of silk from foreign countries like China, Japan, Korea etc.,” said Hanumantharayappa. The CSRTI at Behrampore, which commands jurisdiction over the east and north-eastern states, has developed one new variety of Bivoltine breed for production of quality silk, said Kanika Trivedi, director of CSRTI. “Farmers from Nadia, Birbhum and Murshidabad got a chance to see the works of our sericulture scientists displayed at the exhibition of Resham Krishi Meal-2018 today. We awarded 18 farmers from three districts for excellence in production.” A woman farmer, Shankari Mandal from Nalhati in Birbhum got the first prize.

Source: The Statesman

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Home Textiles market top key players in 2018

The report, titled “Global Home Textiles Market Research Report 2018,” further states major drivers manipulating industry, the possibility of development, and the challenges going up against the administrations and industrialists in the market.. This research study portrays an all-encompassing valuation of the Global Home Textiles Market, taking several market verticals, such as the dynamics of demand and supply, sales volume, production capacity, revenue, product pricing, and the growth rate of this market into consideration. The global market can be evaluated on the basis of the type pet, product type, and geography. For a stronger and more stable business outlook, the report on the global Home Textiles market carries key projections that can be practically studied. The report highlights major technological developments and changing trends adopted by key companies over a period of time. To achieve this, the research segments and sub-segments the global Home Textiles market by using many criteria. The growth predictions for each of these segments are included in the report.

Top Key Operating Vendors:

Welspun India, Springs Global, Sunvim, Luolai Home Textile, Ralph Lauren Corporation, Fuanna, Shuixing Home Textile, Mendale Hometextile,Loftex, American Textile, Evezary, Shandong Weiqiao, Beyond Home Textile, Zucchi, GHCL,Veken Elite, Violet Home Textile, Sheridan, WestPoint Home, Mohawk. The research report on global Home Textiles market offers a clear understanding of the market, focusing on the key growth factors and potential opportunities. It presents future projections of the Home Textiles market on a global as well as on regional level. The research study further presents the past performance of the global Home Textiles market, coupled with the statistics from 2016 to 2021 on the basis of volume and revenue. A Porter’s five forces model analysis has also been provided in the report to determine the competitive scenario of the global Home Textiles market.The research on the global Home Textiles market will be useful to investors, regularity authorities, and policy makers, state the analysts. Independent research institutions, commercial entities, and non-profit organization in this sector can also benefit from the report. Key companies operating in the global Home Textiles market are profiled by considering factors such as capacity production, products/services, applications, cost, gross, and revenue.Finally, the research directs its focus towards the possible strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that can affect the growth of the global Home Textiles market. The feasibility of new projects is also measured in the report by the analysts.

Source: satprnews.com

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Telangana minister pitches for investments in S Korea

Industries and information technology minister of India’s Telangana state KT Rama Rao has met several leading industrialists in South Korea during his ongoing visit to the country, urging them to invest in the information technology, automobile, textile and pharmaceutical sectors in the state. He assured them all cooperation from the state government. Rama Rao explained representatives of South Korean textile associations about Telangana’s initiatives in promoting the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park being constructed. He also sought technical cooperation from the Korea Dyeing and Finishing Institute in human resource management, water treatment and other aspects of the park, newspapers in Telangana reported quoting an official press release. The state minister also called on Hyundai Corporation working vice president Nam Geunho , OCI CEO WooHyun Lee and Mobile Internet Business Association of South Korea CEO Choi Dong Jin. The delegation included state government’s advisor G Vivek and information technology department principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan. (DS)

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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Centre urged to check spread of BG-III cotton

Telangana government has requested the Centre to formulate protocols and guidelines at the earliest to take steps to check the spread of herbicide tolerant variety cotton seed, popularly known as BG-III, which is not cleared by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), and is harming the biodiversity in the country. A detailed presentation was made on the unauthorised spread of the unapproved cotton variety by Director of Telangana State Seed and Organic Certification Authority K. Keshavulu here on Friday before the visiting team of Field-level Inspection and Scientific Evaluation Committee (FISEC) appointed by the Centre on the issue of BG-III. He also explained the initiatives taken by the State government in bringing the issue to the Centre’s notice constantly. The high-level team comprising officials from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University visited Jogulamba-Gadwal and Vikarabad districts on Thursday and Mancherial district on Friday before meeting the stakeholders, including seed growers, dealers, national and State seed associations at a meeting here. During their field visit, the team interacted with cotton farmers, examined the standing crop, visited ginning mills and seed purification plants and collected seed samples. Leader of the visiting team, chief scientific officer in DBT, V.S. Reddy, complimented the efforts of Telangana government in highlighting the issue at national-level. The team arrived in Telangana after studying the issue in Gujarat and would be in Andhra Pradesh for the next two days.

Total confusion’

Agriculture Production Commissioner C. Parthasarathi said all the stakeholders are in total confusion on the issue of BG-III in the absence of any guidelines from the Centre since the seed was unapproved. He explained that the State government had already collected the seed samples of the unapproved cotton variety which have the potential of polluting biodiversity. Representatives of seed associations and growers demanded that the variety be controlled completely and expressed dismay over the silence on sale of BG-III variety cotton seed for the last few seasons. Seed dealers told the visiting team that they are living in fear due to mistakes committed by some growers and wanted stern action against them. They urged the team to formulate protocols and train dealers and growers. Leader of the Central team, Mr. Reddy, stated that the notification on private hybrid varieties of cotton had become a hurdle in certifying the seed after finding genes of herbicide tolerance.

Source: The Hindu

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Focus on variety of cloth weaving to sustain business: Director

Gadwal: Gadwal handloom workers were told to focus their concentration not just on making Sareers but also to make other cloths which are commercially moving in the market. While addressing a meeting of Handloom Workers Association at Collector’s chamber in Gadwal, Sailaja Ramaiayer, Director of Handlooms, said “The Handloom workers, apart from weaving their traditional brand of Sarees should also concentrate on weaving other fast-moving clothing’s in the market for them to sustain their business.” The Director along with district Collector Rajat Kumar Saini participated in the meeting of Handloom Workers Association in the district to finalise handloom policy and establish the rules and regulations governing the of Handloom Workers Association. Speaking on the occasion, the Director said as part of government’s initiative to establish hand loom park in Gadwal, both State and Central governments are funding 20:80 per cent respectively. However, while taking the issue of lack of loan availability from the banks to the hand loom workers, Govind Rao, President of Gadwal Handloom Workers Association said that the banks were asking for guarantee from the organisation, however till date the government has not yet registered land meant for the park on the name of Handloom association and the name of the Association is also yet to be registered. For this the Director said that as there was yet to do a lot of construction works in the park, the government regulations would not allow the process of registration of the park land in the name of the Association in advance. “We are giving the land on lease for a stipulated amount of time and rules do not allow to register the land in the name of Association,” replied the Director. Additional Director Hand loom, Srinvias Reddy said that the hand loom weavers can now avail 40 per cent subsidy on Yarn. Any handloom worker or associations who are buying the yarn from recognised organisation can avail the subsidy under Handloom Mitra Yarn Subsidy scheme. “Of this subsidy 5 per cent will be given to master viewer while 35 per cent will go to the workers. Under this scheme every handloom worker will get the benefit,” said the Additional Director.

Source: The Hans India

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After Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh To Go Vibrant By Holding Global Investors’ Summit

Taking inspiration from the biennial Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit, Uttar Pradesh has decided to hold its own global investors’ summit to attract investment in the state. A delegation of UP ministers and officials met industrialists in Gujarat on Thursday seeking investment in their state. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said they received encouraging response from the Gujarat industry for investment in his state. “We are looking at industries from Gujarat to invest in Uttar Pradesh. Textile and pharmaceuticals are two specific sectors from Gujarat apart from logistics, gems and jewellery,” Sharma said after the meeting. A roadshow was organised in the state as part of the investors' summit that Uttar Pradesh plans to hold on February 21and 22 and will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. UP representatives had meetings with investors from companies like Arvind Ltd, Welspun, Adani, Cadila, DNP Infrastructure, Shalby Hospitals among others. The Uttar Pradesh government is organising Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit on February 21and 22 in Lucknow. The two-day event aims to showcase the investment opportunities and potential in the various sectors of Uttar Pradesh. As part of the summit, state government representatives have carried out road shows in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore before coming to Ahmedabad to meet investors. Stating that Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh share a “close relationship”, he said, “We have received encouraging response from investors from the State. We have given a preference to Gujarat industry for investment in the state." Sharma also said, “UP has undertaken number of reforms and policy changes to add to the growth.” He was here with UP industries minister Satish Mahana and others. Sharma further added that, “we have also adopted a zero tolerance policy towards corruption and law and order issues.” Mahana said law and order situation and power supply scenario in Uttar Pradesh has improved and the state intends to provide 24x7 power supply. "UP will be a preferred area for industry from Gujarat looking for expansion," Mahana Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh, Anup Chandra Pandey said, “Uttar Pradesh has one of the largest IT hubs at Noida and Greater Noida which have earned recognition as major IT /ITeS destinations in the country with 25 plus Special Economic Zones and Software Technology Parks. The state plays host to major companies from all across the globe which is an evidence of the conducive business environment present in Uttar Pradesh. To foster growth of the Industries, State government is planning Pharma Park and Textile Park, further extension of Expressways to provide better connectivity not only within the State as well as with neighbouring states of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.” UPIS 2018 will offer a global platform, which will bring together heads of states and governments, ministers, leaders from the corporate world, senior policy makers, heads of international institutions and academia from around the world to further the cause of economic development in the state and promote cooperation. It will mainly focus on Civil Aviation, Dairy, Electronics Manufacturing, Tourism, MSME, Infrastructure, Renewable Energy, Film, Handloom and Textile and Agro and food procession sectors.

Source: Ahmedabad Mirror

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Mini textile park, a far cry from reality

Trichy: While SIDCO's trade centre near Panchapur and SIPCOT's industrial park near Manapparai have attained crucial stages in attracting and promulgating investments in Trichy, the other long pending demand to establish a mini textile park (MTP) seems far from becoming a reality. Even though the scheme to establish a MTP in Trichy was announced in 2015, no headway has been made to identify the required land. Sources in the state handlooms and textiles department said that Sethurapatti near Srirangam appears to be a possible site for establishing the park. With the western districts like Coimbatore, Karur and Tirupur considered as the belt renowned for textile manufacturers reportedly reaching a saturation point, sources in small-scale industries said that investors are looking forward to expand their presence in non-textile manufacturing districts such as Trichy by citing the availability of land and manpower. Also, Trichy witnesses a floating population touching two lakh people per day mostly due to its geographical location and also for the iconic temples situated here. Earlier in 2017, officials with the regional office of textile commissioner, functioning under the Union ministry of textiles asserted that Trichy holds vast potential to market textile products. Considering the positives, though the state government in 2015 announced that mini textile park sprawling over 10 acres would be established in Trichy, but little has done till now. "In Puthanampatti village near Manapparai, units with readymade manufacturing cluster are even exporting their products. Provided we establish a proper platform with financial and technical support for interested investors in textile sector, not just in Trichy but in central districts there is a possibility for textile industry to flourish," president of TIDITSSIA, N Kanagasabapathy said. "Ten acres of land required for the textile park is yet to be identified and also the investment potential is yet to be studied," an official source with handlooms and textile department said. Suggestion made for earmarking 10 acres of land in SIPCOT industrial park in Manapparai: Provided no appropriate land was identified, industrialists here suggested the handlooms and textile department to seek adequate lands from 1,050 acres SIPCOT industrial park to come up in Manapparai.

Three major investment catalysts for Trichy:

1) SIDCO trade centre, 9.4 acres in Panchapur

Status: SIDCO awaits enter-upon permission to commence construction works

2) SIPCOT Industrial Park, 1,050 acres, Manapparai

Status: Land acquired but environmental clearance needed to prepare layout for site

3) Mini textile park, minimum 10 acres needed.

Status: land yet to be identified

Source: Times of India

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APCO showrooms to sell designer-clothing, jewellery: Minister

Minister for Handlooms and Textiles K. Atchannaidu on Friday said that APCO showrooms in major cities will be renovated and will sell designer clothing and jewellery for the benefit of the modern-day customers. Speaking at the inauguration of Amaravati APCO Handloom House air-conditioned showroom on Karl Marx Road here, he said the State Government was taking several steps to improve the living conditions of the weaving community. “Through handloom clusters, we are training weavers on modern designs and providing 20% rebate on thread through handloom societies,” he said. Mr. Atchannaidu said marketing played a significant role for the prosperity of the weavers and added that government was exploiting several ways to generate clientele both domestic and foreign.

Insurance coverage

He said the weaving community was provided with insurance coverage and loans through MUDRA schemes to the tune of ₹50,000 were offered to them. “Our aim is to transform the APCO showrooms on par with corporate malls”. He advised the general public to use handloom and cotton wear as they portrayed the Indian culture. “These cotton and handloom garments are eco-friendly and as they mix with soil easily. They (cotton and handloom wear) are also all-weather friendly” APCO Divisional Manager T.N. Murthy said that 30% rebate was being offered for the purchases in the new showroom. Zilla Parishad Chairperson Gadde Anuradha, APCO Managing Director Srinivas Sri Naresh, APCO chairman Gujjula Srinu, and APCO General Manager N.M. Naidu were present.

Source: The Hindu

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APCO handloom expo inaugurated in Vijayawada

VIJAYAWADA: Minister for Handlooms and Textiles, Atchannaidu Kinjarapu inaugurated the APCO Amaravati handloom expo, here in the city on Friday. He said that the new swanky showroom of APCO would soon be selling jewellery, along with designer and handloom wears.Addressing the gathering present on the occasion, the minister said that the State government was taking various initiatives to support the handloom weavers in the State. “A financial assistance - upto Rs 50,000 - will be given to the weavers under Mudra loans. By developing handloom clusters we would be able to train the weavers in manufacturing designer clothing. We will also provide looms and other material free of cost for all the trained weavers. We are also providing 20 percent subsidy to the weavers on the purchase of threads,” he said. Divisional manager of APCO T Narasimha Murthy said, “We built the new showroom with an investment of close to Rs 50 lakhs and it is fully air-conditioned. We had also introduced the latest designs in Uppada, Venkatagiri, Dharmavaram, Mangalagiri, Pochampally sarees and bed sheets. We are also selling the ready-made shirts and other clothing items at a discount of 30 percent.”

Source: Indian Express

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Around 70,000 visitors from 135 countries at Heimtextil

Around 70,000 visitors from 135 countries witnessed design innovations by 2,975 international exhibitors at Heimtextil, the international trade fair for home and contract textiles. The fair which saw urban design becoming the hot topic also provided an international platform for more than 50 young designers and start-ups with its newcomer programme. “With growth on both the visitor and exhibitor side, Heimtextil has convinced across the board and underpinned its unique position as a world-leading trade fair,” says Detlef Braun, CEO of Messe Frankfurt. Around 70,000 visitors, including representatives from the retail and wholesale trade, interior decorators, design, architecture and interior design, the hotel industry and industry, benefited from the fair’s unique range of products and inspiration. For the eighth time in a row, the trade fair, held during January 9-12, increased the number of participating companies; these now total 2,975 international exhibitors. In addition to global market leaders and industry leaders, Heimtextil also provided an international platform for more than 50 young designers and start-ups with its newcomer programme “New & Next”. One of the focal points of the trade fair was contract furnishing and the associated focus was on the target group of architects and property planners. “For us it was a fantastic trade fair première,” says Tom Puukko, owner of the wallpaper manufacturer Feathr from Finland. “We were able to generate new and excellent contacts from all parts of the world. A special highlight for us was a group of architects who stopped by our stand, enabling us to present our products to them.” With a first-rate lecture programme, topic-specific guided tours and a prominent presentation area, Heimtextil expanded its commitment to textile contract furnishings. Numerous architects and interior designers, hoteliers and furnishers took advantage of the diverse information and networking opportunities. “I considered a visit to Heimtextil as a valuable incentive for my work, that is for the interior furnishings and design of shops and restaurants at the airport. I was able to make interesting contacts and discover exciting, very high-quality products,” says Jun-Florian Peine, project manager Retail Development Fraport. In the immediate vicinity of the new area, carpet suppliers were able to present themselves as part of a joint presentation by the Association of German Home Textiles Manufacturers (Heimtex) entitled “Carpet by Heimtex”. Volker Knieß, responsible for International Sales at Toucan-T, said: “We found the new concept of a joint presentation interesting and are very satisfied with how the fair went. With the main focus on acoustics, flexibility and design, we appeal particularly to the architects who we encounter here at Heimtextil. The guided tours for architects in particular bring us into contact with this target group and open up interesting contacts for us.” With the “Theme Park” trend area, Heimtextil gave an outlook on the design and furnishing trends of the future. Under the title “The Future is urban”, international design experts visualised the megatrend of urbanisation. Based on the statement that more than half of the world’s population already lives in major cities, the area not only showcased the colour and material trends of the coming season, but above all real future prospects in the field of textile interior design. The London-based studio FranklinTill received great acclaim for a trend presentation that was both progressive as well as tangible and clear. Glamour factor was also once again present at Heimtextil. Barbara Schöneberger for Tapetenfabrik Gebr Rasch and “die Maus” for P+S International presented their first wallpaper collections. Enie van de Meiklokjes and Alexander Herrmann enriched the DecoTeam’s programme with workshops. And Laura Chaplin, granddaughter of the world-famous comedian, as brand ambassador for the Cotton made in Africa label, drew attention to the use of sustainable cotton in the textile industry. Based on discussions with exhibitors and visitor surveys, Messe Frankfurt has developed a new Heimtextil concept for 2019. “From the perspective of buyers in particular, we are repositioning Heimtextil 2019 and grouping themes and product groups according to target groups. In this way, synergies can be better recognised and exploited,” says Olaf Schmidt, vice president Textiles and Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt. In addition, the demand for stand space on the exhibitor side has grown sharply in some product groups in recent years. The next Heimtextil, international trade fair for home and contract textiles, will be held in Frankfurt during January 8-11, 2019.

Source : Fibre2fashion

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Iran : Apparel Exports Earn $39m

About 3,000 tons of apparel worth $39 million were exported from Iran during the nine months to Dec. 21, 2017, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration announced. The main export destinations were Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, the UAE, Turkey, Oman, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Armenia, Georgia, Yemen, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, the UK, Lebanon, India, Norway, Japan, Spain and Australia, IRNA reported. A total of $48 million worth of apparel were exported in the last Iranian year (March 2016-17). The Iranian apparel market is worth $8.13 billion. More than $5.54 billion of this sum are supplied by domestic producers, $95 million by legal imports and the rest is smuggled into the country.

Source: Apparel Tribune

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Pakistan : PCCC restructuring likely to start taking shape next week

ISLAMABAD: The restructuring body, constituted to streamline Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC), is likely to meet next week to deliberate and authorise remedial measures proposed by a panel of experts, an official said on Thursday. “A sub-committee has finalised its recommendations and proposals, which would be submitted in the meeting of the main committee for approval,” Khalid Abdullah, cotton commissioner at ministry of textile industry, told APP. “The Restructuring Committee of the PCCC aims at reviving the apex cotton body for improving the yield as well as quality of this major cash crop, while developing textile industry especially value-added sector further.” Abdullah said the committee has recommended the collection of cotton cess from textile mills through collectors of the respective district as per Cess Act 1923 in order to streamline the financial matters of the committee. “Besides, it has also proposed to keep other testing fees and charges unchanged to promote the textile value-addition sector as well as output across the crop growing areas of the country,” he added. The cotton commissioner said the committee also proposed the PCCC to multiply only early generation seed of popular varieties and multiplication may be done through provincial authorities or through private sector to ensure availability of seed for cotton growers. “Another suggestion was that the PCCC should auction its seed varieties through open competitive process to multiply the seed varieties to increase the yield,” Abdullah said adding that the committee also advocated for hiring a consultant to finalise the auction process and frame the details in this regard. He further said that All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) was asked to share the name of a candidate for the consultant to develop the programme, and discuss the matter of non-payment of cess with their members and resolve the issue on priority. “The committee has urged that the posts of vice president and chief executive officer should not be separated and for this office an expert having vast experience in cotton and cotton research, should be hired through open competitive process,” he said. The Pakistan Central Cotton Committee, he said, was also asked for focusing on making cotton crop more profitable and competitive by exploring the possibility of sowing wheat in cotton areas by introducing agriculture economic and large-scale planting techniques. Meanwhile, the committee has directed Cotton Research Institute Multan to prepare a concept note for the popularisation of sowing wheat along with cotton within 15 days with the consultation of other stakeholders.

Source: The News International

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Ghana : GSA seeks improved standards to increase access to AGOA

The Ghana Standards Authority is spearheading efforts to seek effective ways the Textile industry in Ghana can improve market access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) through adherence to standards. Since the introduction of AGOA in 2000, Ghana has been unable to make effective utilisation of the benefits from the preferential scheme that has the potential to help Ghanaian businesses expand and create jobs, while also promoting the growth of entrepreneurship with a special emphasis on young Ghanaians. The United States is the world’s largest consumer and importer of wearing apparel, bringing in $90 billion worth of apparel products in 2015. This represents an increase of 33 per cent in just six years, compared to the depressed import levels caused by the 2009 global recession. Already, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has taken the opportunity to develop a new strategic approach for utilising Ghana’s preferential market access to the US markets through the AGOA, which was renewed for a ten year period in 2015 through 2025 by an act of the United States Congress. Speaking at a stakeholders meeting on the textile and garment sector in Ghana, Professor Alex Dodoo, Director General of GSA, said the textile and garment sector was a big growth area for Ghana and it could help create jobs and wealth for practitioners in the sector. “We‘ve had AGOA but a lot of our activities have been more technical and this does not transform into business to lift our people out of poverty,” he said. Prof Dodoo said a key factor inhibiting access to AGOA was lack of adherence to standards, adding that GSA as the national metrology institute has the ability to support industry to be able to develop world class standards to ensure that practitioners can sell their textiles anywhere else. “The GSA knows what it takes to test fabrics to ensure they do not contain banned substances, including dyes and to ensure that the products are acceptable in the US and the European market,” he said. “The GSA has men and women in place and the skills to come out with sizes for Ghanaian clothes, necessary dress sizes reflect,” he added. Prof Dodoo said the GSA would support dressmakers and tailors to understand the reasons why measurement was critical in their job to enable them to capture the global market. He said it was important for Ghana to have its own standards but matched them to global standards and it is in this direction that the GSA would establish an equipment hub because the equipment needed for accurate measurement are expensive for manufacturers. Mr Kofi Nagetey, Deputy Director General Operations GSA, said to be an effective player in the International market, textiles and garment manufacturers need to get the necessary equipment to give them accurate and precise measurement. He said the equipment must also be calibrated constantly to ensure the attainment of accurate measurement. Mr Charles Amoako, Deputy Director General Conformity Assessment, urged the manufacturers to ensure that they complied with domestic and international market standards before exporting their goods. This, he said, would enable them to compete effectively in the market, adding that compliance to standards also assure buyers of the quality of the product. Other issues touched on were the need to address the size factor for the clothing to meet the demands of the international buyers.

Source: GNA

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Nigeria: Textile manufacturers decry non-implementation of FG’s order

THE Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA), has decried the non-implementation of the Federal Government’s Executive Order on the patronage of Made-in-Nigeria goods. The Director-General of NTMA, Mr Hamma Kwajaffa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Lagos that in spite of government’s intention to revive the textile sector, the reality on the ground remains worrisome. He said that Ministries, Departments and Agencies, were yet to heed government order to patronise locally made products, towards enhancing the growth of the manufacturing sector and the nation’s economy. NAN recalls that the Federal Government on May 25, 2017, signed the Executive Order in Support for Local Content in Public Procurement by the Government. It said that the Order would boost local production, improve the business environment, promote entrepreneurship and give the country a positive trade balance. Kwajaffa said that based on the Order, many textile manufacturers stocked up their inventory in expectation of a sales boom but were yet to get patronage from the various ministries. “We expected the purchase from the Ministry of Defence, the Police, Immigration, Prisons and others, but they have not contacted us. “Our people geared up for mass production, our stores are filled, we expected a boom but nobody is buying the fabrics and other requirements,” the director-general said. He urged the government to expedite the passage of 2018 Budget, adding that officials from some of the ministries attributed to lack of patronage of textiles to the paucity of fund. Kwajaffa said that even the 2017 Budget had to be shored up through borrowing. The director-general noted that the country currently spends over $4 billion annually importing textiles and ready-made clothing, stressing that patronage of local goods would reduce the import bill, create jobs and boost the economy.

Source: Nigerian Tribune

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New York cotton futures rise

ICE cotton futures gained nearly 1 percent on Wednesday, after falling in the two previous sessions, supported by mill buying. The most active ICE cotton contract for March expiry settled up 0.71 cent, or 0.87 percent, at 82.14 cents per lb. It traded within a range of 80.96 and 82.22 cents a lb. "It has been the rather significant on call positions held by the merchants here. They bought a bunch of cotton," said Jack Scoville, vice president with Price Futures Group in Chicago. "We've been on a pretty strong uptrend. Until these guys are done buying the market here which might take another week or two, it's going to be very hard for this market to crack," Scoville said. Cotton futures touched their highest level since March 2014 at 84.65 cents last week. Total futures market volume fell by 12,547 to 22,428 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 3,957 to 303,537 contracts in the previous session. China's agriculture production costs are set to rise fairly quickly in 2018, pushed up by higher fertilizer and pesticide prices, an agriculture ministry official said on Wednesday.

Source: Business Recorder

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Portugal : Tintex Introduces Naturally Advanced Cotton With Raw Material Strategy

Portugese mill Tintex is switching from conventional cotton and has launched a new fabric range called Naturally Advanced Cotton by Tintex using four different premium and responsibly grown cottons. The collection, introduced this week at Premiere Vision New York, is made from Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) cotton, Ecotec by Marchi & Fildi recycled cotton, GOTS certified organic cotton and Supima cotton. Tintex said these new fabrics maintain and upgrade the transparent, hi-tech and sustainable organics that are at the heart of its DNA. Tintex chief executive officer Mario Jorge Silva said, “This new launch is confirming once more the commitment of Tintex to its ‘Naturally Advanced’ position. meaning advancing beautiful, organic and natural materials to the next level combined with unique, hybrid ‘nature-tech’ smarts, with added value and creativity, thanks to dedicated investments that serve and secure our customer’s demands both now and in the seasons to come.” The BCI cotton helps to reduce the environmental impact of cotton production and improve the livelihoods and economic development in cotton producing areas. Ecotec by Marchi & Fildi is a range of full-color yarns made from pre-consumer clippings that reduces water usage up to 77.9% during manufacturing. This season, Tintex is also introducing a new, finer Ecotec yarn called Phoenix made from 50 percent Ecotec cotton and 50 percent recycled polyester. The GOTS Organic Cotton criteria measures environmental, technical quality, toxicity and social impacts and is backed by independent certification for the entire supply chain. U.S.-grown Supima cotton offers luxury, quality and craftsmanship and offers 100 percent Supima fabrics and blends with Tencel. Brands that have adopted the new collection include Jan’n June, a German brand that offers styles that are “fashionable, affordable and environmentally responsible.” Produced by a family owned company in Poland, Jan’n June operates a strong transparency policy. The Jan’n June collection featuring Naturally Advanced Cotton by Tintex for spring has a minimal look with clean cuts using a color palette of blacks, grays and whites accented with a contrasting red and a tropical print. Key features are wide cut sleeves, open edges and subtle stripes. The designers have used material contrasts as an important feature of the collection, combining flowing fabrics with more rigid, stiffened qualities topped off with light knitwear pieces.

Source: Sourcing Journal Online

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EFI launches Fiery Textile Bundle

EFI has launched a new version of Fiery targeted at users of its Reggiani industrial digital textile printers. The EFI Fiery Textile Bundle includes a raft of textile-specific capabilitiesThe EFI Fiery Textile Bundle comprises new Fiery DesignPro Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop plug-ins and version 6.5 of the Fiery ProServer digital front-end (DFE) for high-quality textile production. The bundle was made commercially available last month, following an introduction at the ShanghaiTex tradeshow in China. EFI said Fiery DesignPro provides the ability to accurately match colours to the printed result, share colour palettes across the design team in real time, design professional repeat patterns and create multiple colourways from one design. The new Adobe plug-ins are said to result in "reduced learning curves" and provide shorter design time, enabling users to create professional textile designs more efficiently. Version 6.5 of the Fiery ProServer is an advanced offering for use with wide- and superwide-format inkjet printers that brings Fiery performance and colour technology to the Reggiani printer portfolio. EFI said the DFE provides colour consistency in the production workflow with colour profiles that can be used across the design and production process.Version 6.5 includes textile-specific capabilities such as support for multiple ink types and colour technology to ensure high print quality with saturated black, fine details and smooth gradients. Additionally, improved halftoning technology is said to keep pastels and light tones clean, and reduces graininess in highlights and large solid areas. EFI Fiery wide-format senior product marketing manager Elli Cloots said: “A lot of the features in ProServer version 6.5 are completely brand new and have been developed to address the needs of the textile market. “A lot of colour presets have been put in there to support textile, because it’s completely different inks and post-process. “So there are a lot of new features around measuring colour, and getting that fed back into the system so you actually have accurate colours. There’s also new features around step and repeat for textile, because it needs to be seamless.” Version 6.4 of the Fiery ProServer did not drive the Reggiani printers, Cloots added. “In the past, users of Reggiani printers had to point to an external vendor for the RIP part to drive their machines. “At EFI we want to support the complete eco-system so it’s a seamless connection between the Fiery and the printer, so we had colour specialists from Fiery work together with the specialists from Reggiani to get this down to an art to really get good high-end quality.”

Source: Printweek.com

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