The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 29 JAN, 2018

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Textile sector priority for govt

Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani has said that the government is committed towards development of the textile sector. Speaking at a function in Mumbai, Smriti Irani said that the Prime Minister has announced six thousand crore rupees package for the textile sector. Talking about the difficulties faced by the textiles industry, Union Textiles Minister said that if new technology is infused in making textiles and clothing apparels, then it will greatly benefit all right from small weavers to big traders.

Source: DD News

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Textiles sector seeks a leg up from the government

A couple of major issues have impacted the country’s textile and clothing sector in the past year. Expectedly, the industry’s aspirations for the Union Budget are related to the revival of exports and the GST. According to data available with the industry and the export promotion councils, readymade garment exports grew less than 1% between April and November 2016 in dollar terms and dropped 3.03 % in rupee terms. Fabric exports were to the tune of $230.37 million in April 2017 and slumped to $113 million in October. Yarn exports fared better in value terms at $267.33 million in April and $354.05 million in October last year. However, in terms of volume, yarn exports stayed almost flat. Apparel exports dropped 8% in December alone compared with a year earlier. “Between 2009 and 2015, the domestic market grew 10% every year for the Indian textile and clothing sector, and exports rose almost 8% year-on-year,” said P. Nataraj, chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association. “For the last three years, exports have almost stagnated. Countries such as Vietnam have overtaken India in yarn exports to China.” When the global economic slowdown hit the industry seven years ago, the Centre had come out with a time-bound stimulus package. The two major policy decisions of the government in the recent past, demonestisation and GST, have impacted the industry more than the economic slowdown, he said. “What the industry needs now is a stimulus package.” The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) pointed out that according to a study of 600 SME units, the number of units under the SME 2 category rose from 54 to 191 between March and September and the number of NPA units went up from 18 to 32 during the same period. A stimulus package will give relief to the units,said Sanjay K. Jain, chairman, CITI. Rebate of State levies (ROSL) is critical for revival of exports. Towards this, the government should sanction adequate funds for ROSL and extend it to all products instead of just garments and made-ups, said Mr. Jain. According to data available with the ministry, the allocation for ROSL for 2017-2018 was ₹1,555 crore and it has been exhausted. However, according to the industry, garment exporters got ROSL only for April and May and made-up exporters received rebates till July this financial year. India exports garments and made-ups worth $23 billion annually. The average tax rate after GST for garments and made-ups is 1.8%; it was 3.7% before GST.

‘Allocations must rise’

The industry estimates it needs about ₹2,100 crore to clear pending ROSL reimbursements and another ₹2,500 crore for the next fiscal. So, allocations need to go up substantially, sources said. The Centre should announce the drawback rates, restore the pre-GST level of incentives for exports and increase the import duty, said representatives of industry associations. The Apparel Export Promotion Council has said that under schemes such as Advance Authorisation and EPCG, applicants should get early approvals. This will lead to higher investments.

Officials in the ministry said thrust areas now were going to be powerlooms, technology and export promotion.

Source: The Hindu

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Government hikes duty drawback rates on 102 items to boost exports

In a major relief to exporters, the government today raised duty drawback rates on 102 items which will make Indian exports more competitive in the global market. As a step towards more efficient Input Tax Neutralization on exports, after considering various representations from the trade and industry, the government has enhanced the all industry rates of duty drawback for 102 tariff items, a finance ministry statement said. The export items mainly include marine and seafood products, automobile tyres and bicycle tyres/tubes, leather and articles of leather, yarn and fabric of wool, glass handicrafts and bicycles, it said. “It is a welcome move. This would provide some competitiveness to Indian exporters in global market,” the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai told PTI. He said duty drawback by and large has been enhanced in most of the items except for chemical items where there is some reduction. The statement said the “revised rates of duty drawback will help address the concerns of these export sectors and make India’s exports more competitive in the global economy”. The enhanced rates of duty drawback will be effective from January 25, it said. The revision of duty drawback is a welcome relief to the exporters and their cash flow should improve, which had been adversely impacted because of delayed refunds and increased input cost in GST, Bipin Sapra, Tax Partner, EY India said.

Source: Financial Express

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Rs. 6,000-cr. to boost apparel sector: Irani

Union Textiles Minister Says government support will help textile sector reach its full potential. The government’s package of Rs. 6,000 crore will boost the apparel and made-ups sector and strengthen the entire textile industry, Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said on Saturday.

Challenges to industry

Speaking at an awards function organised by the Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) here, Ms. Irani said, “The textile sector has huge growth potential. However, the industry faces challenges in terms of production and technology because a lot of small-scale players don’t have fiscal support.” She said the government was providing support so that the sector will achieve its full potential in the years to come. The country’s synthetic and rayon textile exports was expected to touch the $6-billion mark in fiscal year 2018, up from $5.7 billion in the last fiscal, said SRTEPC chairman Narain Aggarwal.

Global potential

Mr. Aggarwal said India is the second-largest producer of man-made fibres (MMF) and is poised to drive the growth engine in the MMF textiles globally. At present, India produces over 1,441 million kg man-made fibre and over 3,000 million kg man-made filament yarn. The global end-use demand for textile fibre was forecast to expand by an average of 2.8% per annum to 119.2 million tonnes by 2025, Mr. Aggarwal said.

Source: The Hindu

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‘TPP template could spell disaster for India’s free-trade pacts’

The provisions of the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) — which is fast becoming the template for many free trade pacts being negotiated around the globe despite the US opting out of it — could spell disaster for the Indian industry and generic companies if applied to the country, according to some economists. “As the existing provisions of the TPP could have a profound influence on the evolution of rules of international trade and the negotiations at the WTO forum and in bilateral trade negotiations, it is crucial to understand how its provisions could affect developing countries, particularly India,” said Abhijit Das, head of the Centre for WTO Studies, whose co-edited book with his colleague Shailja Singh, ‘TPP: A framework for future trade rules’, was released on Saturday. Although the US has walked out of the TPP, the 11 remaining members, including Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Vietnam, continue to be in talks to implement it. The US has indicated that it could use the rules contained in the TPP in its bilateral trade negotiations. With the threat of the TPP model looming large over the world, the book, which has a series of reports by economists and legal experts on various facets of the TPP, including market access for goods, intellectual property and government procurement, lays down how exactly India could be affected in each area. The TPP envisages a zero tariff regime for most of goods being traded. “If India were to conform to the template of rules on market access in goods …the domestic industry may not be able to face import competition in a duty-free regime. On the agriculture front, the farmers will be continuously exposed to the risk of being knocked out of the market by cheap and subsidised exports, particularly from the US, Australia and New Zealand,” the book cautioned. The intellectual property rights chapter has many WTO/TRIPS plus provisions. “The TPP rules on patents will lead to ever greening of patents which will have serious adverse impact on the generic pharmaceutical industry in India and outside,” the book pointed out. If India were to conform to the provisions on government procurement in the TPP, its export prospects in government procurement markets may continue to remain low, the book said. This would be on account of the low import penetration in government procurement markets in developed countries in general. On the other hand, India would lose the flexibility of using government procurement as a policy instrument for bolstering its manufacturing, undermining the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Source: Business Standard

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Traders say e-way bill may force them to shut shop

SURAT: Textile traders called a public meeting at Millennium Textile Market on Ring Road on Saturday in which they demanded simplification of the e-way bill which is proposed to be implemented by the central government across the country from February 1. Traders had invited Navsari MP C R Paatil and BJP MLAs from Majura and Limbayat assembly constituencies —Harsh Sanghavi and Sangita Patil — to put forth a strong representation to the Centre on the issues faced by the traders community because of the Goods and Servie Tax (GST) and the proposed e-way bill. Most of the traders, who addressed the public meeting, believe that the e-way bill's implementation from February 1 will force the traders to shut their shops. At every stage of delivery of goods, be it the supply to the job workers, textile mills, handwork or embroidery, the traders will have to prepare the e-way bill, which is practically a difficult process. A textile trader Sanjay Saraogi said, "The traders want simplification of the GST law. First came the GST, now the government is preparing to implement the e-way bill. The traders will not be able to do business in a free environment as they used to do earlier. The small traders will have to literally shut down their shops as they won't be able to generate e-way bill." The traders urged Paatil to strongly represent their concern to the central government. "At present, the business turnover in the textile markets is less than 30 per cent. This is all due to GST. We want the government to provide us with a free environment to do our business, otherwise many will shut their shops after February 1," a textile trader Rakesh Jalan said.

LATEST COMMENT

Wrong cry - for small traders whose single bill is less than 50000, e-way bill is not necessary -Paatil assured that the issues and problems of the traders community will be strongly represented to the ministries concerned in New Delhi.

Sushil Somani "I will definitely raise the issues discussed by the traders in the meeting. The government will try to simplify GST too for the traders," Paatil said.

Source: The Times of India

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FM Arun Jaitley says GST stabilised in short time, hints at further rejig of rates

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the Goods and Service Tax (GST) has stabilised in a very short time that provides an opportunity to widen its base and further rationalise the rates in the future. Also, he said the GST has brought about an entire change in the indirect tax system in the country. Jaitley further said the GST has “stabilised in a very short time in India” as compared to various other countries. “Therefore, it gives us an opportunity in the times to come to increase its base and rationalise the structure as it continues to evolve,” he said at an event to mark the International Customs Day. At present, the GST has four rates of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. It is to be noted that the GST Council in the November meeting had decided to keep only sin goods and white goods under the 28 per cent tax bracket and moved 178 items from the highest tax bracket to 18 per cent. Thirteen items were moved from 18 per cent to 12 per cent bracket; 8 items from 12 per cent to 5 per cent; 6 items from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, while 6 other items moved from 5 per cent to zero per cent slab. Following the reduction on more than 200 items, the GST collections hit lowest in November from Rs 80,808 crore in the previous month. However, halting two months of decline, the collections gathered momentum in December, rising to Rs 86,703 crore. Total GST collections in October were over Rs 83,000 crore. In September, the GST mop-up was over Rs 92,150 crore.

Source : Financial Express

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GST returns filing: After SMEs complain of complexity, Centre set to ease process

To encourage compliance in the face of most taxpayers, especially SMEs, complaining that filing GST returns is very complicated, GST Network has decided to provide free accounting/billing software to firms that also has the facility to auto-generate the necessary GST reports. The idea is to help SMEs not just file their GST returns but also manage their businesses better in terms of cash management, generating mismatch reports, process their payroll, do inventory management, etc. To do this, GSTN has invited developers to create this software, the best five of which will be uploaded on the GSTN portal, and users will be free to choose which one they wish to use. Developers will not be paid for the software but will bid for each GST return processed using their software—the concept was floated before Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani floated the idea of junking the detailed returns in favour of just uploading invoices, so the payment terms will probably need to be tweaked. These costs will be paid by GSTN for the initial two years for which the contract is valid for. In addition to the software, developers will have to provide tech support for users through call centres and email. So far, nearly 40 companies have submitted proposal to GSTN, an industry source said. The software is required to digitise sales and purchase invoice, automate matching of inward and outward supplies and generate tax liability along with available input tax credit automatically. At the end of the cycle, the software would be able to generate and upload tax returns onto the GSTN portal thus minimizing manual intervention. “It is a step towards automating and digitising return filing processes for those who rely on manual book-keeping,” Prakash Kumar, ceo of GSTN said. He added that the selected developers, which will be the top five lowest bidders, will put their products on GSTN portal for taxpayers to choose among them. To maintain consistency, qualified developers will be asked to match the lowest bid so that all the service providers have the same price. The government will pay the developers on every successful return filed. The basic software will be free of cost but a taxpayer can avail add-ons for a fee paid directly to the developer. “Once the final modalities of return process is decided, we will make changes in the software requirement but it is too early in the process as the selected developers would be required to put the software on trial for 90 days before its made available for assesses at large,” Kumar said. Companies like Marg ERP and Tally Solutions already have very similar products which are being used by their clients. An executive at a software firm said that they would need to make only minor tweaks in their products to qualify for GSTN requirements. This could provide an opportunity to acquire new customers, he added. “The government seems to have taken an initiative to bear the cost of using software services on behalf of small taxpayers, which is a practice in many countries” Prakash Maheshwari, national sales manager at Marg ERP said. Several countries including Singapore use this model of providing assessees with free software tools. GSTN’s effort to create an ecosystem of GST suvidha providers, who would use the application programming interface (API) to provide the link between taxpayers and the portal, hasn’t quite worked due to GSTN’s inability to provide APIs on time, a source said on condition of anonymity. He added that providing free software solutions to small taxpayers was an attempt to fill the void.

Source: Financial Express

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German firm ‘delays’ payment to local knitwear exporters

Tirupur: A Germany-based textile company has allegedly refused to settle payment of crores of rupees to three local knitwear exporters, citing lame excuses. The exporters had taken up the matter with the Arbitration Council of Tirupur, which directed the business head of the German firm to appear before it. The foreign firm, however, has sought a month's time. Now, the arbitration council would be convened on January 30 to discuss the issue. The Arbitration Council of Tirupur was constituted with the representatives of various textile associations and legal experts to solve the commercial disputes taking place in the Dollar City. Recently, an apparel exporter brought to the attention of the council that a German company was yet to make the payment of Rs 7.5 crore to it for the garments shipped to the firm in February last. Later, another two exporters also complained against the same foreign firm, saying it was yet to settle them payments of Rs 12.3 lakh and Rs 19 lakh, respectively, citing trivial issues. Though the arbitration council served a notice on the German firm, the latter didn't respond. Subsequently, the council sought personal appearance of the business head of the firm. Now, the company has represented before the council through an advocate and sought a month's time to file reply, a source said.

Source : Times of India

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Maharashtra to set up garment park, training centre at Solapur

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government will set up a garment park and a textile training centre with an investment of Rs 500 crore in Solapur. While inaugurating the 2nd International Uniform and Garment Exhibition in Solapur on Friday, state textile minister Subhash Deshmukh said, "the government has earmarked 50-acre land here to set up a garment park and textile training centre estimated to cost Rs 500 crore." "The government will provide all the required infrastructure to successfully complete and launch this unique garment park," he said. "The park will also help to generate employment," Deshmukh said. The uniforms industry including school, corporate wear and government forces is worth over Rs 18,000 crore, of which nearly Rs 10,000 crore is in the organised sector. Of the rest, Solapur contributes nearly Rs 1,200 crore with uniforms churned out from around 1,000 plus manufacturing units in the city, employing over 60,000 skilled workers. "Solapur is set to become a major textiles hub for providing uniforms for the armed forces and police personnel in the country," the minister said. The Bank of Maharashtra has also announced a special credit scheme which would help the manufacturers and traders, a senior bank official said. The minister further said all efforts would be taken to brand and market Solapur as uniform hub of the world. PTI AP PSK NRB BAS. This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India

Source: India Today

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Hyderabad: Make machinery cotton-centric

The imported machines can only take one variety of cotton which is the only thing grown now. Growing cotton, weaving it into fabric and clothing the people is something India has done for thousands of years. This fabric has clothed Rajas, Maharajas and paupers. Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Literary Festival played an unstinting host to many thought-provoking panel discussions. Cotton came in for a threadbare discussion and the participants unveiled its pre-Independence history when it enjoyed numerouno position in cotton. They also shed light on the cotton cultivation and the industry. Growing cotton, weaving it into fabric and clothing the people is something India has done for thousands of years. This fabric has clothed Rajas, Maharajas and paupers. So, what went wrong? I asked Uzramma. The culprit in this case is the revolution in machinery. Once we started importing machines, it became a game of matching the crop to the abilities of the machine. In her words, the imported machines can only take one variety of cotton, and that is what is being grown now. This variety requires more water and enormous amounts of fertilisers, not to mention the specific type of seeds. Her colleague chimes in, “The fertiliser and chemicals leach into the soil causing extensive health hazards, to such an extent that there are several villages that have high incidence of cancer.” What then is the solution to the problem? Uzramma continues, “We are searching for green investments, so why are we ignoring this green industry? It is a world-beating industry. China cannot compete with handloom weaving and its product diversity. All we need to do is to retool the machinery to accept the varieties of cotton that India grows.” Why does the outlook for the cotton industry look bleak? Successive governments have refused to invest in R&D to develop the appropriate machinery, her colleague added. In response to the criticism that cotton tends to be expensive, he says that cloth emanating from large mills contains embedded subsidies: in the form of soft loans, tax treatment of profit, and facilities for technological upgradation. Take these incentives away, he says, and cotton will beat all other fabrics! Arvind Acharya is a management consultant in New York. He is working on a film on the life of Princess Niloufer. He can be reached at arvindach@ gmail.com.

Source: Deccan Chronicle

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Cotton farmers stage protest

Cotton farmers staged a demonstration deploring the raids by agriculture officials and seizure of BT III cotton seeds and stoppage of seed processing, before the Kurnool Collectorate here on Saturday. A.P. Rythu Sangham district secretary T. Ramesh Kumar and president A. Rajasekhar, who led the protest, said it had been four days since cotton companies closed their processing units fearing the raids. The companies directed the farmers not to bring their cotton produce for processing.

Memorandum

Farmers had no option but to keep their unprocessed cotton produce at home, after spending Rs. 2 lakh per acre to cultivate the crop, they said. They submitted a memorandum to District Collector S. Satyanarayana to hold discussions with the seed and processing companies and mitigate the farmers‘ plight.

Source: The Hindu

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Ghana-India trade crosses $1.7 bn

Ghana’s trade with India continues to surge and reached $1.7 billion in the first six months of the 2017-18 fiscal, maintaining the rising streak that began in 2011 when the $1 billion mark was first crossed, Indian High Commissioner Birender Singh Yadav has said. “We have attached so much importance on trade with Ghana and it is for this reason that bilateral trade has become a partnership that has become strong and progressive” Yadav said while addressing the media on Saturday on the eve of India’s 69th Republic Day. Yadav said the latest report by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) listed India in the third place with 13 projects after China and the UK. China registered 25 projects last year and the UK followed with 19. However, in terms of FDI, India ranks second with investments of $411.75 million behind the Netherlands at $2.44 billion. Yadav said India has always treated its relationship with other countries on an equal basis. “We have never believed in political influences,” he added. This, however, comes at a time when there is growing resentment against the sudden rise of Indian soap operas on Ghanaian television channels. “Kumkum Bhagya” is one of such TV serial that had become popular here. Yadav disagreed that the Indian TV shows were an attempt by India to “colonise Ghana culturally”. “It is baseless to think India has undertaken to do such a thing. We believe in peaceful co-existence and believe in an open society,” Yadav added. Director of Creative Arts at the Ghana National Commission on Arts and Culture, Socrates Safo told IANS: “It cannot be true that there is any cultural colonisation because we have an open policy when it comes to receiving other cultural groups in the country.” “We also perform in other countries. So there should not be any fear with our interaction with the cultures of other countries,” he added. As part of the celebrations, the High Commission brought in a Kathak classical dance group from north India for a two-day performance. Yadav said the reason for getting cultural troupes to perform in Ghana was out of the desire to promote the cultures of both countries as Ghanaian troupes also had the opportunity to perform before audiences in India.

Source: Financial Express

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Bangladesh : Gazette to be published within 3 days: minister

The gazette notification for the wage board for garment workers would be published within three days, which would pave the way for a rise in their salaries, said the state minister for labour and employment yesterday. Md Mujibul Haque said the law ministry has already vetted and sent the draft copy of the gazette notification to the Department of Printing and Publications. “We hope the notice will be published within three days,” he told The Daily Star. Once the notification is published, Haque said, the wage board will call for discussions to recommend a new salary scale for the country's 3.6 million garment workers. On January 14, the government formed the wage board and ordered it to recommend a minimum salary scale for the garment workers in six months. The constitution of the board aims mainly at averting labour unrest. Massive demonstrations by hundreds of workers in Ashulia and Savar in December 2016 for a wage hike prompted nearly 100 factory owners to shut their production units. The factories were reopened after a negotiation with the labour ministry and trade unions. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association sent a proposal to form the wage board to the labour ministry in August last year. A four-member permanent wage board already exists. Whenever a board is announced afresh, two additional members representing owners and workers are usually included. The permanent board is led by Senior District Judge Syed Aminul Islam. The other three members are Kazi Saifuddin Ahmed, labour adviser to Bangladesh Employers' Federation (owners' representative); Fazlul Haque Montoo, executive president of Awami League's workers front Sramik League (workers' representative); and Kamal Uddin, a teacher of Dhaka University (independent member). As the new members, the state minister for labour appointed Begum Shamsunnahar, women affairs secretary of Awami League, as workers' representative, and Siddiqur Rahman, president of BGMEA, as owners' representative. The minimum wage was last fixed at Tk 5,300 in 2013, up from Tk 3,000 in 2010, Tk 1,662.50 in 2006, Tk 940 in 1994 and Tk 627 in 1985.

Source: The Daily Star

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Bangladesh : SMEs should get more attention: experts

The government should take measures for the development of the small- and medium-sized enterprises to help Bangladesh become a middle-income country, said speakers at an event yesterday. SMEs are playing a major role in generating employment so the government will have to give attention to the sector, said Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, chairman of the National Board of Revenue. Bhuiyan's comment came at the launch of a book -- Selected Reading on the Strategies for Inclusive Development in Bangladesh -- by Momtaz Uddin Ahmed, a professor of economics of Dhaka University, at the university's Lecture Theatre building. The book is a compilation of selected short essays on important development policy issues for Bangladesh, Ahmed said. “Government jobs are no more attractive to people and SMEs have had a say in that,” Bhuiyan said. The garment sector is leading the country's exports but most of the companies are medium-sized. The economy is growing but inequality is emerging as a big challenge, said Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre. The SMEs are driving the economy but they are not getting adequate policy support from the government. “Bangladesh could not uphold its competitiveness on the global platform properly,” he said, adding that cheap labour should no longer be the only selling point in the global market. The government should address the challenges of SMEs by conducting an insightful analysis, said Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue. While setting up special economic zones is a good initiative of the government, the SMEs do not have access there, said Selim Raihan, a professor of economics at Dhaka University. The economic zones will not yield the desired results if their door is not opened to the SMEs. Raihan also said the employment of female workers in the garment sector has declined drastically in recent times, which will have a negative impact on inclusive development. “The government should identify the causes behind the declining trend,” he added.

Source: The Daily Star

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Pakistan : productivity in the textile industry

The textile industry has been a major source of foreign exchange earnings for Pakistan. The industry was appeased by successive governments through various concessions such as grants and tax-breaks with the presumption that this would help sustain and boost exports in a sustained manner. However, this did not happen to be the case since concessions were not correlated with any technological parameters, such as improving productivity through the latest machinery and manufacturing techniques. While the time was good, our textile industry ploughed its profits into real estate and stocks, and failed to modernise its plants and manufacturing processes. The competitiveness of Pakistan’s textile industry has generally been based on local availability of high-quality cotton and experienced, cost-competitive labour. Thus, there was a notion that the textile industry would remain competitive. However, with time, old machinery and processes created inefficiencies in the industry affecting its competitiveness. Furthermore, nobody imagined countries such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would jump into the competition with better technology and improved productivity, and beat us at our own game. Recently, Pakistan was awarded GSP Plus status which raised hopes that it would help increase our exports. However, that too proved to be wishful thinking. Presently, instead of admitting their mistakes and putting their house in order, the industry is blaming the high cost of production for reduced competitiveness and stagnated exports at the international level. Pakistan’s textile industry has also generally been targeting low value-added markets in Europe and North America, failing to move into better-value added products, which could have meant more revenues for the country. To make the textile industry competitive again, certain steps need to be taken. First, general inefficiencies in operations need to be identified and rooted out. This might include using more efficient electric motors, wires, better-designed and routed piping, and better insulation of hot and cold pipes. Such improvements would help reduce operating costs. Better building design and a conducive work environment contributes to productivity. Government may provide incentives to firms which remove their operational inefficiencies. Second, productivity needs to be improved through modernisation. This means acquiring latest equipment from abroad, which requires monetary resources and trained human resource to operate it. To this end, the government would have to enter into a public-private partnership with the textile industry. An example was setting up the Sports Industries Development Centre (SIDC) at Sialkot with the support of federal government that provided Rs.436 million to execute the project to manufacture latest footballs. Third, industry needs to identify at macro level, higher value-added products which it can manufacture in a competitive manner at international level. Industry representatives should sit with government and identify the resources and capabilities required in producing higher value-added products. These resources and capabilities may be locally generated or imported through public-private partnership. Fourth, and most importantly, continuous government support is required but in a holistic manner which incorporates measuring performance at industry and firm level. Level playing field should be provided which provides equal opportunities. Similarly, monetary assistance should be given to tackle manufacturing inefficiencies and for the production of better value-added products. In sum, a concerted effort is required to make our textile industry competitive again. A roadmap may be drawn against performance parameters which need to be achieved. Various steps discussed above may be part of such a roadmap and a permanent public-private board may be set up to oversee the implementation and correction of such roadmap over time. Similar steps may be followed in other export-oriented clusters of Pakistan.

Source: Dawn.com

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Pakistan Closes Border To Cotton Exporters

The Afghan Ministry of Commerce and Industry confirmed Pakistan has enforced new regulations on the cotton industry and has stopped the import of Afghan cotton. Officials at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Saturday that Pakistan has imposed new laws and conditions for accepting imports of cotton to Pakistan. Meanwhile, a number of Afghan cotton exporters said that dozens of vehicles have been prevented from crossing the border with cotton in the past 20 days. They said that the drivers have since turned back and are now offloading cotton in Kabul and storing it at a warehouse. The businessmen in the cotton export sector said Pakistan has stopped all cotton trade across the border. “We have lots of problems, we have turned back dozens of trucks full of cotton to the country and lost a lot and we don’t know what to do,” said Mujibullah, a businessman, adding that government has done nothing to help. In addition, a number of Afghan economists said numerous cotton processing companies have started up in the country on the back of an increase is cotton cultivation. They said the decision by Pakistan to stop the cotton from being taken across the border will have a serious impact on Afghan businessmen. The ministry of commerce and industry admits that Pakistan has introduced new regulations on importing cotton. However, Musafer Qoqandi, spokesman for the ministry of commerce and industry said the ministry will soon solve the problems. “We have also begun discussions with the private sector on how to work on a fundamental solution to the problem with Pakistan, we know that this new procedure is very difficult and it is impossible to take our cotton to Pakistan,” said Qoqandi. According to the information provided, Afghanistan annually produces more than 60,000kg of cotton, a large portion of which is exported to Pakistan. A number of businessmen are worried about the challenges they face and said the Afghan government has so far failed to resolve its trade and transit issues with Pakistan.

Source: TOLO News

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Popular int’l brand Louis Philippe enters Nepal

KATHMANDU, Jan 28: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. announced its premium menswear brand, Louis Philippe’s foray into Nepal with the launch of its first exclusive brand outlet at Labim Mall, Lalitpur. After having established its presence across international markets such as UAE, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait & Sri Lanka, the brand is all set to launch in Nepal. India’s Ambassador to Nepal, Manjeev Singh Puri and Vikram Shivadas, Director, International Markets, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd inaugurated the store. Speaking on the occasion, Director Shivadas, said, that following the launch of Louis Philippe’s exclusive brand outlet, the company has pan plan to cater to the growing need for high-quality crafted menswear adding that Nepal is a growing apparel market with an increasing number of urban men inclining towards premium apparel that is fashionable, elegant, with superior craftsmanship and great quality. He said that with the launch of Louis Philippe, the company will be able to address this increasing demand with the right offering and we are confident that there will be a great response from the customers towards the brand. Louis Philippe is a leader in the premium menswear segment in India. An epitome of elegance, the brand epitomizes fine clothing offering a range of formal, semi-formal clothing and accessories. Addressing the needs of the style-conscious man, the brand’s clothing range boasts of a collection of suits, shirts, trousers, blazers, waistcoats, t-shirts and denims.

Source: My Republica

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USA : Textile not a sunset industry, says TAL Apparel CEO (Updated)

GEORGE TOWN: The textile industry which many may have now overlooked due to the emergence of electronics and electrical production here should not be defined as a "sunset industry". In reality, it continues to rapidly grow in this globalised era, as apparel and clothing remain an essential need. Making a point on this was none other than a Hong Kong-based personality who was instrumental in developing an apparel family empire in Asia under the brand of Pen Apparel Sdn Bhd, one of the oldest factories operating in the old industrial site of Penang-Sungai Pinang. He was now expanding the garment business to other Asian nations and to Africa, namely Ethiopia. In an exclusive interview with thesun, TAL Apparel chief executive officer Roger Lee revealed that growth continues to be recorded in the industry although the production cycle and market demands have changed somewhat. Pen Apparel has also received accolades and continued to bring in revenue; supplying to many global apparel brands. "It is booming," he stressed, and instead said the industry was on the right path and the company manufacturing well-known clothes across the world with production lines in Vietnam, China and Ethiopia. TAL based in Hong Kong is one of world's largest and admired apparel manufacturers which produces shirts, blouses, knits and pants at factories in Asia. Among its brands are Brooks Brothers, Under Armour and Bonobos. Its workforce is more than 25,000 strong globally and it has rapidly grown with a new establishment in Ethiopia. On whether there was any difficulty encountered when dealing with the labour workforce in Ethiopia, Lee merely said everything taught was the same. He said they did not face any hardship when dealing with the Ethiopian counterparts and they will continue to expand. The garment industry is not going to bleak as clothes are a basic industry in which many people could not do without. "This is because everyone needs to wear clothes," he added. To support this fact, Pen Apparel Sdn Bhd, considered to be the oldest garment factory in Penang, is continuously expanding its wings in the textile industry after its over 30 years of establishment. Although many may have forgotten about the symbolic presence of its company in Penang, many of its oldest workers including the senior citizens have remained loyal to the cause of producing materials for the garment industry. Therefore, it must be noted that garment industry must not be forgotten for its contribution in Penang.

Source: The Sundaily

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Iran : Textile Machinery Imports Exceed $300 Million

Iran imported $347 million worth of textiles and apparel production machinery and equipment during the nine months to Dec. 21, 2017, the director general of Textile and Clothing Department at the Industries Ministry told. Afsaneh Mehrabi added that last year’s (March 2016-17) imports stood at $194 million, Mehr News Agency reported. Garment manufacturing facilities in Iran are outdated and need to be upgraded, as a result of years of international sanctions imposed on Iranian industries over Tehran’s nuclear program. According to Amin Moqaddam, a member of the board of directors of Iran Textile Exporters and Manufacturers Association, Iranian apparel production meets less than 30% of domestic demand. Moqaddam put the value of Iran’s apparel market at $11 billion. Meanwhile, Iran exports apparel worth tens of millions of dollars every year. The latest statistics by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show about 3,000 tons of apparel worth $39 million were exported from Iran during the nine months to Dec. 21, 2017. 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. Last year’s textile exports stood at $48 million.

Source: Financial Tribune

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Bangladesh Fashionlogy Summit to be held in February

Bangladesh Fashionology Summit is set to be held on February 12 at the International Convention Center, Bashundhara (ICCB) inside capital Dhaka. The first of its kind on garment technology, the day-long Summit will bring together the next generation of global fashion experts and Bangladeshi apparel manufacturers in a discussion upon the latest trends that have arisen inside a tech-driven fashion industry. The summit aims to familiarize Bangladeshi manufacturers with and encourage them to use the latest technology currently trending within the clothing industry. A total of 16 renowned speakers from 10 countries will be speaking in the event. “Today, technology has become a big part of everyone’s daily life,” said the CEO and founder of Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) Mostafiz Uddin to the Dhaka Tribune. “Fashion and apparel industry are no exception to this. The global production and supply model that has been in existence for decades in the apparel industry has been replaced by fast fashion.” The objective of the summit is to make a bridge between the present and the future of the Bangladeshi apparel industry, said Mostafiz. “We are bringing the most inspiring and innovative thinkers from across the globe under one roof,” Mostafiz continued. “Our goal is to initiate the much needed conversations on technology, digitization and innovation inside the apparel industry.” In four seminars titled Factory of the Future, Virtual Reality and Digitization of Supply Chain, Fashion Tech and Sustainable Innovation and Mass Customization and on Demand Manufacturing, the speakers will share their experiences and knowledge to the Bangladeshi apparel manufacturers. The organizer of the event Bangladesh Apparel Exhange (BAE), a non-profitable organization to promote the RMG sector, is going to arrange the first ever Digital Tech Fashion Show during the event. The summit will also feature displays of some of the best technology based creative fashion designs. Chief among the speakers are Jonathan Zornow, inventor of Sewbo, a robot who sews garments, Pradeep David, General Manager of Universal Robots South Asia and a pioneer of Cobot concept, Vikas Raykar, an expert on Cognitive Fashion at IBM Watson, David Birnbaum, the Strategic Advisor to the World Bank, Sunil Shewakramani, the Executive Vice President of Li & Fung India Pvt Ltd, Muchaneta Kapfunde, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Fashnerd, Michael T. Fralix, the President and CEO of [TC2], Frederic Gaillard, Vice President of Lectra, Ms. Danit Peleg, Founder and Creative Director of 3D Printed Fashion, Richard Oliver, CEO of Theunseen, Ram Sareen, Founder and CEO of Tukatech, Amanda Cosco, Founder of Electric Runway; Magnus Sundgren, Chief Technology Officer of Eton Systems; Sonia Bashir Kabir, Managing Director of Microsoft Bangladesh, Eva Van Der Brugge and Pim Kneepkens, Innovation Manager of Fashion for Good are also going to be present in the event.

Source: Dhaka Tribune

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