The despairs and woes of Indian MMF industry continue to pile up. The growth of MMF industry is heavily hampered by high rates of domestic duties on MMF raw materials import parity pricing of MMF raw materials and cheap imports of MMF fabrics among others. And now the proposed 8% anti- dumping duty on polyester staple fibre (PSF) may just end up being the proverbial last straw. This is precisely the reason MMF yarn spinners are up in arms over the proposed anti-dumping duty on PSF. The anti-dumping duty on PSF will put more pressure on the already stretched man-made fibre yarn spinners who are working on wafer-thin margins and also on man-made fabric industry which is floundering over the years. The Indian MMF : Cotton fibre consumption ratio is 40:60 while it is reverse globally. If the anti-dumping duty on PSF is imposed the Indian MMF: Cotton ratio will become more skewed and will prove to be the death knell of the MMF value-chain according to Mr. Rakesh Mehra President Indian Spinners Association (ISA). The demand of anti-dumping duty on PSF he said is unwarranted and unjustified. The duty will end up inflicting damage on the Indian MMF value chain and the entire supply-chain will be faced with uncertain future he pointed out. Mr. Mehra informed that the structure of the Indian PSF industry permits them to charge prices much higher than import parity from the yarn spinning mills. The domestic PSF prices are higher by 7% to 9% than international prices. The PSF landed prices today works out to Rs. 84per kg as against domestic PSF price of Rs. 90 per kg – a difference of Rs. 6 per kg. And if 8% anti-dumping duty is imposed the price difference will increase further he stressed. If the proposed anti-dumping of 8% is levied it will only make the domestic PSF prices more expensive thereby enriching handful of manufacturers’ at the cost of growth in downstream industries. The duty imposition will also encourage imports of MMF yarns and fabrics thereby halting the growth and leading to closure along the MMF value chain Mr. Mehra noted. The governments’ goal of achieving textile business size of US $ 350 billion by 2025 from the current size of US $ 125 billion is possible only with the robust growth of MMF industry. Similarly the governments’ vision of creating 2.2 crore new jobs by 2025 can only be achieved with unfettered growth of MMF textile value chain Mr. Mehra pointed out. Considering the above he hoped that in true business spirit better sense prevails and the government instead of lading more duty on PSF allows free import of PSF to empower the Indian manmade fibre value chain to scale new heights in domestic and global markets.
Source: Tecoya Trend
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said GST and demonetisation are not the only achievements of his government and there are many others like financial inclusion toilet construction and electrification that can be talked about for days together. On expectations of a populist budget being in the offing ahead of the next general elections Modi said the only focus of his government is “development development and development whether it is the first or the last budget and whether there are elections or not”. “Sabka saath sabka vikas (development for everyone) is my mantra” and whatever is required for that his government has been doing and will do the Prime Minister said. Modi said the discussions on Goods and Services Tax (GST) began during the first NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee but the UPA regime could not address the concerns raised by different states. “I raised issues about Gujarat as the state’s chief minister at that time but the central government did not listen to it. Similar issues were raised by Tamil Nadu and even Maharashtra ruled by Congress at that time ” he said in an interview to Zee News channel. Replying to a query on big decisions like GST and demonetisation the prime minister said these are not the only achievements of his government and there has been significant work in different areas. “If you consider only these two things (GST and demonetisation) as my government’s work it will be a big injustice to me ” he said. He listed bringing unbanked people into the banking network construction of toilets in over four lakh schools cooking gas connections to three crore families electrification of left-out villages ramping up of urea supply low-cost insurance for poor LED bulbs to save power bills and environment as the other areas his government has focused on.
Source: Tecoya Trend
With the US government shut-down remaining in effect on Monday and efforts on in full swing to reach a temporary truce, Indian exporters are keeping a close watch on the developments. They fear that a failure to reach an agreement on the crucial issue of immigration between lawmakers could affect shipments in the days to come. While exporters are hopeful that a vote to end the shut-down with a short-term spending bill for three weeks will take place as scheduled on Monday, only a long-term solution would put minds to rest. “If the disagreement amongst US lawmakers on immigration is not sorted out and a situation similar to the October 2013 shut-down gets replicated, Indian shipments to the US will definitely get affected. Although we are given to understand that about 90 per cent of the workforce in the US customs and border protection will work, there might be disruption in other allied services that would lead to delays of our consignments and possible demurrage charges,” said Ajay Sahai from the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. The current uncertainty in the US is due to the Democrats not agreeing to support a temporary funding Bill to keep the government open as they are unhappy with the Trump administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which gives legal protection to a category of young immigrants called the ‘dreamers’. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, on Sunday night, promised to bring immigration legislation up for debate after February 8 so long as the government remained open. The Democrats did not agree to a vote on ending the shut-down on Sunday night leading to the crisis continuing on Monday, but there is a possibility of the short-term funding Bill getting passed on Monday noon (US time). The situation, however, may be back to square one if the immigration issue does not get handled satisfactorily in the weeks to come.
Engg goods exports
Engineering goods exporters, who have witnessed a surge in demand from the US recently, are apprehensive that the present situation could act as a dampener to export growth. “We are apprehensive about the developments in the US. If the shut-down continues and essential services including ports get affected, our exports would get hit,” pointed out Suranjan Gupta from the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC). “If the disagreement amongst US lawmakers on immigration is not sorted out and a situation similar to the October 2013 shut-down gets replicated, Indian shipments to the US will definitely get affected,” says Ajay Sahai of FIEO.
Source: Business Line
Revive incentives for exports of apparels which were available before the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout, sector leaders have urged the government ahead of the Union Budget next month. They have warned that if the competitiveness is not regained, Indian exporters will lose buyers and it would be difficult to get them back. In a letter to Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said that before the rollout of GST, exporters of cotton apparel got total duty drawback of 11%, while exporters of Man-Made Fibre (MMF) garments got 13% duty drawback. Post-GST, they get 3.5% and 4.0% duty drawback. This created a loss of 7.5% and 9.0% respectively. After a hue and cry by exporters, the government had increased the duty drawback by 2%, which is applicable from November 1, 2017 onwards. "Still there is a deficit of 5.5% for cotton garment exporters and 7.0% for MMF garment exporters. This is increasing the cost of Indian exports and players are losing business," said HKL Magu, chairman of AEPC. Duty drawback is available if the raw materials are imported. According to AEPC data, exports dropped by 10% in November 2017 compared to the same month a year ago and by 8.8% for December 2017. Meena Kaviya, chairperson of Textile Committee of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) said that while the government has raised import duties on fabric, it is not the case with garments, resulting in cheaper imports.
OTHER DEMANDS
• Consider product innovation as R&D; 5% I-T exemption
• Extend facility of govt paying PF with UID number to all
• Exempt apparel buying agents from paying 18% GST
• Ensure 24x7 clearance by customs
• Exempt IGST on import under Export Promotion Certificate scheme
Source: DNA
SURAT: Power loom weavers and textile traders are upset over a tweet by CMO-Gujarat on GST rate cut on polished diamonds. In a tweet, CMO Gujarat has posted an artwork carrying pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the top and chief minister Vijay Rupani and deputy chief minister Nitin Patel at the bottom, congratulating the diamond industry of Surat for the major benefit due to GST rate cut on polished diamonds and valuable gemstones from 3% to 0.25% on Friday. This tweet has gone viral on WhatsApp groups of the textile fraternity in the city asking Rupani and his government whether they considered Surat a textile city or not? Power loom weavers and traders in the country's largest man-made fabric (MMF) sector in the city are highly disappointed that the GST Council has again slashed GST rates on many items, but chose to ignore the textile sector. The weavers and the traders have been lobbying hard with the Centre since many months for relief and simplification of the GST law, but in vain. Many in the textile sector feel the Centre may have showered its blessings of GST relief on the diamond sector to reciprocate its thanks for the astounding victory of BJP candidates in all the four assembly constituencies of Surat, which fell under Patidar-dominated areas.
Source: The Times of India
Exemption of 5 per cent goods and services tax (GST) on raw cotton, reduction of 18 per cent GST on manmade fibres (MMF) and recycled polyester staple fibre to 12 per cent and 5 per cent respectively, and levying GST on petroleum products are some of the key pre-budget suggestions offered by the Southern India Mills’ Assocaition (SIMA) to the government. Cotton may be exempted from GST when purchased directly from the farmers under reverse or forward charge mechanism to reduce blockage of working capital at the time of procurement of inputs. As cotton enters the commercial stream only after raw cotton is ginned, GST may be applied from the ginned stage, SIMA said in a press release. SIMA feels it is essential to reduce GST on manmade fibres from 18 to 12 per cent as these fibres provide more jobs and fetch higher value addition. All petroleum products should be brought under the GST net to reduce production cost by permitting seamless flow of input tax credit. Though the GST law permits refund of credit accumulated due to the inverted duty structure with regard to goods and services, restriction with regard to fabric increases the cost of the product during its value addition. As fabric and its value added final products are goods consumed by the public, credit may be permitted to be availed or refunded, thereby reducing the negative impact on the product, according to SIMA chairman P Nataraj. The government should also reduce the rate of corporate tax from 34.6 per cent to 25 per cent in a phased manner, the association said. Cotton yarn should be included under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES) benefits to arrest the decline in cotton yarn export and a stimulus package is needed for small and medium enterprises in the spinning sector that have been badly affected by demonetisation and GST implementation, it added. (DS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Rising disposable income, a large young adult consumer base and growth in the middle-income segment also make India a ‘favourable market’ for fashion retailers, it said. The Fitch group company also sees India's improved 100th position on the World Bank's 'Ease of Doing Business' index among 190 countries to boost foreign investment in the country, according to a news agency report. The Indian Government recently permitted cent per cent FDI in single brand retail, a move towards allowing foreign players to set up own shops in India without government approval for investments. It also relaxed mandatory local sourcing requirement of 30 per cent. With rising disposable income, Indian consumers will be able to spend a greater share of their incomes on non- essential goods and services, the report added. (DS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Mumbai, Jan 22 (PTI) The domestic cotton prices expected to decline to Rs 105-110 per kg in cotton season (CS) 2017-18, from Rs 117 per kg in last season, due to 11 per cent increase expected in cotton production, a report said. "The 11 per cent jump expected in cotton production at 375 lakh bales may bring down cotton prices to Rs 105-110 per kg in cotton season (CS) 2017-18, from Rs 117 per kg in CS 2016-17. The acreage has also risen as farmers have switched back to cotton following the price surge witnessed in the last season," Crisil Research said in its report here. According to estimates, the planted area under cotton has increased 19 per cent to 123 lakh hectares compared with 103 lakh hectares in CS 2016-17. It is also 7 per cent higher than the 5-year average of 115 lakh hectares. However, overall yield is expected to fall 7 per cent to 520 kg per hectare due to erratic monsoon rains and anticipated pest-related losses, Crisil said. A sharp increase in cotton production in CS 2017-18 will be a shot in the arm for spinners in the last two quarters of this fiscal. Also, demand normalisation after demonetisation and GST-led disruptions will improve utilisation. The rating agency said that the falling cotton prices will also improve prospects for cotton yarn exporters in the second half of this fiscal. India is the largest producer of cotton, which improves competitive advantage of local mills for fibre procurement. Further, rising synthetic fibre prices amid inflationary pressure on crude oil will drive substitution demand towards cotton yarn manufacturers. The second quarter of fiscal 2018 was the least profitable in five years for cotton yarn mills as their margins touched 10.3 per cent as compared with a peak of 18.8 pe cent in the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2014. Nearly 70 per cent of the cotton produced in CS 2017-18 are expected to be used in the next financial year by spinners, giving confidence that raw material cost would remain low in fiscal 2019, Crisil said. This, coupled with stabilising cotton yarn prices amid better demand both in the domestic and export markets, and higher crude oil prices on average compared with the past fiscal will widen the differential between cotton yarn and cotton and support EBITDA margin improvement. While domestic demand will be supported by a consumption recovery for the Indian economy, a better economic outlook for most textile trade partners and restoration of export incentives, though lower than the pre-GST period, would also support higher growth and firm up yarn prices next fiscal, the report said. PTI AP DSK DSK
Source: PTI
Silk production in India needs to be increased as inadequate production is leading to silk imports from China, Japan and Korea, Central Silk Board (CSB) chairman KM Hanumantharayappa said recently while inaugurating a sericulture fair in West Bengal. The fair in Behrampore attracted silk farmers from Birbhum, Murshidabad and Nadia districts. The fair was organised at the campus of Central Sericulture Research and Training Institute (CSRTI) in Behrampore, according to a reportin an east Indian English-language daily. Sericulture research institutes in the country have developed farming implements, which will be marketed at a subsidised rate, said Hanumantharayappa. CSRTI has developed a new variety of Bivoltine breed for production of quality silk, said CSRTI director Kanika Trivedi. (DS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
New Delhi, January 22: Net revenues and net profit of DCM Shriram have gone by 31 per cent and 56 per cent to Rs. 1,784 crore and Rs. 213 crore, respectively, during the third quarter of the current financial year compared to the corresponding period last fiscal, a company statement said. For the first nine months of the year, DCM Shriram registered net revenue of Rs. 5,334 crore at y-on-y growth of 28 per cent and the impressive performance was on 68 per cent y-on-y growth from its chemicals business. Gross debt at the end of the third quarter stood at Rs. 631 crore against Rs. 964 crore in the same period last year.
Source: Business Line
KARACHI: Value-added textile sector has urged the prime minister to abolish all duties and taxes on cotton yarn imports for re-export with value addition to earn the much-needed foreign exchange for the country and to reduce trade gap, a statement said on Saturday. Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, chairman of the Pakistan Apparel Forum, and chief coordinator, value-added textile export sector said that the sector has the largest share of 53 percent in the total textile exports of Pakistan worth $11.08 billion of the total exports of $20.44 billion and 89 percent of the total textile exports of $12.45 billion. Cotton yarn, being the basic raw material of the value-added textile export industry, is not easily available in the domestic market, owing to low cotton yield or substandard quality with higher rates, he added. The cotton yarn prices have increased 30 percent, making the value-added textile export sector uncompetitive in the international market, Bilwani said, adding that this will lead to negative impact on exports, which have increased during the current fiscal year. The value-added textile exporters fear that if the government does not take prompt action to ensure easy availability of quality cotton yarn at best prices, exporters will fail to meet their export orders, which were booked six months ago, he said. He emphasised on the fact that globally duty-free raw materials import is allowed, while exports of raw materials are restricted to benefit value addition to earn more foreign exchange. Bangladesh’s value-added textile exports have reached $30.24 billion (FY16/17), as it allowed duty-free import of raw material – cotton yarn and always encourage value addition, which is their key to success. The value-added textile export sector was already facing stiff competition in the global market due to highest cost of inputs – gas, electricity and water as compared to regional competitors such as Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka. Moreover, stitching units registered with the Ministry of Textile Industry cannot import yarn for the manufacturing of garments meant for export under the DTRE scheme, Bilwani said. The value-added exporters have requested the prime minister to abolish all duties and taxes on cotton yarn import and its import should be allowed freely from anywhere for re-export with value addition in the light of free market mechanism.
Source: The News International
FAISALABAD: State Minister for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan on Monday said that gas prices would be further decreased for textile industry to reduce cost of production to maximum extent. Addressing a meeting at All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA) here, the state minister said the government had planned to provide electricity at rate of Rs.7 per unit to textile industries besides introducing weighted average price of RLNG across the country. He said that owners of textile units had to go in refund claims system due to imposition of sales tax on coal if they used it during gas shortage. Therefore, the government was considering a proposal to launch easy process of zero rated coal for textile industry to save it from additional burden of sales tax refund claims, he added. The state minister further said that Faisalabad Airport had witnessed heavy rush of air passengers as this was not only third largest city of Pakistan but also textile capital. Therefore, expansion of Faisalabad Airport was need of the hour so that at least three flights could land at a time in addition to facilitate 118 fights in a week here, he added. Earlier, Chairman APTPMA Sheikh Khalid Habib in his welcome address said that due to high energy cost, textile business was being shifted from Pakistan to India, China and Bangladesh which also caused substantial decrease in textile exports of the country. He demanded immediate payment of refund claims in addition to provision of cheap gas and electricity for textile industry. APTPMA members Mian Aftab Ahmad, Engineer Rizwan Ashraf and Engineer Ehtisham Javaid also addressed.
Source: Business recorder
Line-workers make trousers and jackets for international brands at a garment factory in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, on November 21, 2017. Photo courtesy of Oxfam. ‘One pair of shoes that we make is valued more than our whole month’s salary.’ Vietnam's garment sector accounts for the country's largest workforce, but many of its employees are forced to work hard to fill the pockets of rich shareholders, Oxfam has said in a new report on the global inequality crisis. In Vietnam, as well as Indonesia, Kenya and Morocco, wages have failed to keep pace with increased productivity and economic growth, and profits are often returned to wealthy shareholders, leaving workers to suffer a “relentless squeeze,” Oxfam said. The organization used the garment sector in Vietnam as an example of inequality in the global economy, which is serving the rich and powerful and not the ordinary working people. According to Oxfam, the minimum wage in Vietnam is currently not enough for people to escape poverty. To increase the salaries of all 2.5 million Vietnamese garment workers to a living wage, employers would have to spend $2.2 billion a year, which is equivalent to just a third of the amount paid to shareholders by the top five companies in the sector. The year 2017 saw the biggest increase in billionaires in the world’s history, with one more every two days. Billionaires saw their wealth increase by $762 billion in 12 months, an amount which could have ended extreme global poverty seven times over, said Oxfam. As much as 82 percent of all wealth created in the last year went to the top one percent, while the bottom 50 percent saw no increase, it said. “Poorly paid work for the many is supporting extreme wealth for the few,” it said. “Women are in the worst work, and almost all the super-rich are men.” A garment worker from Vietnam, only identified as Lan, has been stuck between long hours and low pay, and has been unable to go home to see her son for nine months, Oxfam said. Lan, 32, works in a garment company in the southern province of Dong Nai, 30 hours south of her home in Thanh Hoa. She works six days a week for at least nine hours a day, sewing together the heels and soles of shoes for around $1 per hour. Every day, she works on 1,200 pairs of shoes for multiple global brands. Lan, 32, on a bus to visit her family in Thanh Hoa Province for the first time in nine months. When she became pregnant a year ago, she was put to work in a warehouse stamping shoe boxes. She remembers thinking that her son would like a pair of the shoes, but she would never be able to afford them. “These shoes would fit my son perfectly, they are very nice,” she said. “I’d like my son to have shoes like these, but he can’t.” “You known that one pair of shoes that we make is valued more than our whole month’s salary,” she said. To make Lan’s dream of a pair of shoes more feasible, Oxfam said Vietnam and other governments need to end inequality. Governments should make sure the income of the top 10 percent is no more than the income of the bottom 40 percent, and executives should earn no more than 20 times their median employees’ pay. All multinational corporations must ensure workers are paid a living wage, it said. Vietnam’s minimum wage now ranges between VND2.58 million and VND3.75 million ($113-165) per month, depending on region. The government has approved a 6.5 percent wage increase for later this year. The minimum wage is used by businesses to calculate salaries for workers by multiplying the base level by a coefficient assigned to each worker, based on their skills and experience. But a study by the International Labor Organization, published in August 2016, found workers in the garment sector actually earned 6.6 percent less than the minimum rate in 2013. Vietnam’s Institute of Workers and Trade Unions questioned 2,600 workers in March 2017, and a third of them said their incomes were low and barely sufficient to live on, while 12 percent said their wages simply did not cover living expenses, forcing them to work extra hours.
Source: VnExpress International
The Pakistan government to enhance cotton production next season is likely to announce a Rs10 billion research development fund, as the harvest remained unimpressive for the past few years. This was disclosed that a high level meeting on Wednesday. In the huddle, the idea of creating the research development fund was floated which was welcomed by Punjab and Sindh. Representatives of major cotton-producing provinces – Punjab and Sindh – attended the meeting held at the Planning Commission. Other stakeholders were also present. The government official said that it was a 10-year plan, which would be sent to the federal cabinet for approval. It is likely to be formally announced in next fiscal year’s budget in May this year. Under the plan, the government will spend Rs1 billion every year on research activities to find out ways of increasing the production of cotton, which feeds the massive textile industry of Pakistan. The plan came after spinning mills went to court challenging the cotton cess amounting to Rs400 million that they had been paying every year for spending on research work. However, for the past two years, they had refused to contribute and went into litigation with the federal government. According to the government official, it was decided in the meeting that the research fund would be disbursed in the form of competition grant to the researchers. Absence of a support price has also pushed cotton farmers towards planting other crops such as wheat and sugarcane for which the government has been announcing support prices to ensure a fair return to the growers. In recent years, the cotton plantation area has shrunk in the wake of setting up of sugar mills in the cotton zone of south Punjab. Cotton farmers have not been able to notch up satisfactory earnings and have switched to sugarcane cultivation in areas where sugar mills have been set up. Country’s economic managers had decided last year to frame a national sugar policy in a bid to secure the cotton belt that had come under threat from the growing number of sugar mills and planting of sugarcane in such zones. Almost 70% of sugar mills are located in the core cotton zone of the country, especially in Punjab. The presence of mills in top cotton-growing areas and their increasing crushing capacity have caused a 26% decline in cotton-sowing areas, especially in south Punjab including Rahim Yar Khan and Muzaffargarh. The Ministry of Textile Industry has also demanded that provinces should stop granting permission for establishing new sugar mills in the cotton-growing areas. Cotton production has been estimated at 11.1 million bales in the ongoing season against the target of 12.6 million bales. The harvest was even lower at 10.7 million bales last year.
Source: YarnsandFibers
Garment sector stakeholders yesterday mulled over a strategy to tackle the high number of road accidents involving factory workers, an issue that has been a matter of concern to labour rights advocates for years. The new strategy is being put together by the road safety group AIP Foundation under the auspices of the International Labour Organization’s Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) program and focuses on four major areas: road safety management, safer infrastructure, better transportation options and educating road users. A large portion of Cambodia’s more than 700,000 garment and footwear workers commute to their factories standing in the backs of open, flatbed trucks that are frequently involved in sometimes fatal accidents. Some of the suggested safety improvements include registration of garment worker transportation drivers, improved safety around factories and phasing out the flatbed trucks and replacing them with vehicles with seats and seatbelts. The group also looks to improving adherence to road traffic laws. The government in 2016 had tried to better monitor truck drivers and to check if they had licences and were following the traffic law, but implementation of the measures was patchy. Yesterday’s meeting was chaired by Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng, who acknowledged garment worker accidents were an issue that needed to be addressed, and pointed to an initiative in Koh Kong province where factories in the Neang Kok Special Economic Zone were using newer and safer trucks. “We will encourage the import of more safe transportation to replace the old transportation methods,” he said. While previous attempts have been made to address such accidents, BFC Program Manager Ester Germans said there was some momentum from the government, brands, factories and workers to reduce the number of traffic fatalities and injuries. But given the complexity of the issue, she said, tangible results could take some time to materialise. Still, she added, “If there is more control on the drivers and the type of transportation that is being offered, then I am much more hopeful.” However, truck driver Phon Vanna said he was already earning the bare minimum from workers, around $400 a month, to keep his operation running, and switching to a new truck was out of the question. “To replace the transportation to a bus or van is unaffordable because the price [for a new vehicle] is about $30,000 to $40,000. It very expensive for us,” he said.
Source: The Phnom Penh Post
This strong statement was issued by Minister of Agriculture Moses Vilakati when reacting to what the government’s official stance was following the series of applications presented before the Swaziland Environmental Authority (SEA) for evaluation prior to the granting to either grow genetically modified cotton or import GMO maize into the kingdom. MBABANE – The importation of genetically modified crops into the kingdom remains banned. “As a country we have not approved genetically modified crops it is still being canvassed. No one is legally allowed to import GMO’s into the country,” clarified Vilakati. The minister explained that there was still no law allowing any company or individual to import GMO’s into the country.
Import
He further explained that as far as he was concerned there had to be a legal instrument approved by Parliament before GMO’s could officially be allowed into the kingdom. It should, however, be mentioned that the minister’s stance on GMO’s comes in the wake of two recent applications currently under review by the SEA prior to granting of approval to commercially plant GMO cotton by Cotton Board, which is an entity led by the same minister who has clarified that GMO’s remain banned in the kingdom. So far, there has only been an application to trial GMO’s at Malkerns and Big Bend that was granted by the SEA Board on the basis of a recommendation by the National Bio-Safety Advisory Committee whose decision also gets informed by a risk assessment. An application to import GMO maize from South Africa has also been recently filed by Premier Foods.
Source: Times of Swaziland
In Uzbekistan, almost all silkworm breeding occurs within individual farms, where most of the cocoons are still bred as they have been, perhaps, since the 4th century. Although today, the production of silk fiber and making of clothes are basically automated. Overall, about 30,000 tons of cocoons are produced in Uzbekistan every year. The biggest silk weaving factory is in Margilan. Uzbekipaksanoat Association is aiming to modernize production facilities, increase the volume of competitive and export-oriented products, and create a sufficient fodder and raw materials base which will gradually transferred it to the cluster method of production organization. The association was created in accordance with the resolution “On measures to organize activity of the Uzbekipaksanoat Association” adopted March 29, 2017 by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The document approved a list of investment projects, a schedule for commissioning new capacities, a list of commercial banks attracted as sources of concessional lending, and a mechanism for determining irrigated land plots for mulberry plantations. Among other things, the Uzbekipaksanoat Association is responsible to open the Center for Innovative Research, Standardization and Certification of Silkworm cocoons and silk products on October 1, 2018. Another provision of the decree brings pleasant news for seasonal workers engaged in silk production. The period of their work at the Association's enterprises will be taken into account in the length of service. Enterprises belonging to the Association will receive benefits and preferences for the period from 2018 to 2023.
Source: YarnsandFibers
DuPont Industrial Biosciences partners with Wools of New Zealand (WoNZ) which will bring together patented technology from WoNZ with DuPont’s leadership in bio-sustainable, high-performance materials to create a platform of yarns for home textiles that will offer enduring performance characteristics with a more sustainable, eco-friendly profile. DuPont Sorona global segment leader John Sagrati said that Wools of New Zealand is truly a leader in responsible wool supply. This level of care, along with their devotion to innovation and quality control is exactly what they at DuPont seek in partners. They occupy a premium position in their market and have a proven track record of performance and sustainability with the unique capability to deliver consistent, tailored fibres. WoNZ chief executive Rosstan Mazey said that they are genuinely excited to partner with DuPont Industrial Biosciences, a business that has been able to bring biomaterials to market on a commercial-scale. Like them, DuPont is committed to delivering added value innovation without compromising the planet or its inhabitants. The combined resources and know-how in order to create this exciting, brand-new yarn is a perfect fit with their mission to change the game through innovation and to connect the people who grow our fibre with the end consumer. DuPont’s global leadership in bio-sustainable, high-performance materials inspired this collaboration of expertise and products, scheduled for release in 2018.
Source: YarnsandFibers
