Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said there is a need to sensitise States to speed up refunds to exporters Commerce Secretary, CBEC Chairperson ask officials to expedite disbursals Exporters are continuing to struggle to get their refunds for the Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) paid on exports, with officials raising various issues over the required documentation in the absence of a checklist. With just about 30 per cent of the claims for refunds met so far by the government, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia expressed her concern on the delayed payments at a recent meeting of the National Committee on Trade Facilitation, which was chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. “The Commerce Secretary pointed out that there was a need to sensitise States on expediting refunds to exporters as a large amount of their working capital was stuck in the process,” a government official told
BusinessLine.
Exporters point out that in the absence of a prescribed set of documents, different officials, including State authorities, were asking for whatever documents they fancied, such as bank realisation certificates, and were rejecting claims if such documents were not available with exporters.
“The government needs to streamline the required procedures and give a checklist of documents that are required. Everyone, including State authorities, should be made to accept the checklist and no other documents should be demanded,” said Ajay Sahai from the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.
e-wallet
As much as ₹1,85,000 crore could get stuck with the government because of the present system, under which exporters pay duties first and then get refunds, according to industry estimates. The government plans to introducethe e-wallet system to help exporters get around the situation from April, but exporters say that the details of how it would work have not yet been shared. The Central Board of Excise and Customs has also asked its officials to speed up work on refunds to exporters. In a recent missive, CBEC Chairperson Vanaja N Sarna has asked Chief Commissioners to monitor the processing of pending claims and to set up a dedicated team of officials for timely disbursals.
States’ concern
“States are also now getting concerned about the delay in refunds and some have said they will raise the issue at the GST Council. State tax departments are setting up teams to look into timely refunds,” said a Finance Ministry official. Under GST, which was launched on July 1 last year, exporters have to pay Integrated GST for exports, which is then refunded. But as this can lead to cash flow problems, exporters had the option to provide an LUT or bond. The state of Input Tax Credit (ITC) refund – the money paid as GST on buying of inputs – is even worse, as exporters have only been able to carry out 5 per cent of the filing done electronically in the manual format, Sahai added. “There is a huge gap between electronic filing and manual filing and we believe that the Revenue Department is taking up the issue with the GST Council,” he said. Due to the non-availability of the refund module on the common portal, the CBEC decided two months back to allow applications, documents and forms pertaining to refund claims on account of inverted duty structure, deemed exports and excess balance in electronic cash ledger to be filed and processed manually. “Manual filing takes time and effort and adds to the cost of transaction,” said Sahai.
Source: Business Line
Besides, the prime rule of securing an e-way bill while ferrying goods worth more than Rs 50,000 within or outside a state through prior online registration of the consignment may be tweaked for the time being. GST’s e-way bill system, which promises to enable faster movement of goods through a seamless portal-driven payment system, may see the light of the day from March 7, after technical glitches aborted its mandatory full-fledged launch on February 1. While National Informatics Centre (NIC), the government’s nodal IT procurement arm, wants to implement a foolproof e-way bill system from April 1, the finance ministry is pushing for an earlier rollout in its effort to prevent revenue leakages, a senior government official told Moneycontrol. “We want e-way bill to be implemented from March 7, but it depends on the preparedness of the implementing agency (NIC). NIC is more comfortable if the rollout happens in April,” the official said. The e-way bill portal crashed on its launch day—February 1—triggering howls of criticism from traders and transporters as the movement of trucks criss-crossing on highways was severely affected. The disruption forced the GST Council, the finance minister Arun Jaitley-headed body including officials from states and centre, to push back the compulsory generation of inter-state e-way bill. While the system for both inter and intra-state bill generation was supposed to be ready on January 16, the Council had decided that states could choose their own timings for implementation of the document for intra-state movement of goods on any date before June 1, 2018. On February 1, the portal collapsed as it wasn’t ready to handle the large volumes of inter as well as intra-state bills that were being generated at the time. “The portal was capable to generating only 500 bills per minute, which was way too small a capacity as compared with the traffic on the day of launch. NIC has been asked to increase its capacity to at least a few thousands so that the system doesn’t collapse again,” the official said. The Centre has now asked states to rollout intra-state bill in a staggered manner so that it does not put immense pressure on the portal as the government’s priority is smooth and steady implementation. Besides, the prime rule of securing an e-way bill while ferrying goods worth more than Rs 50,000 within or outside a state through prior online registration of the consignment may be tweaked, for the time being, the official said. To generate an e-way bill, the supplier and transporter will have to upload details on the GST Network portal, after which a unique e-way bill number (EBN) will be made available to the supplier, the recipient and the transporter on the common portal. “The idea is to declutter the portal will less number of bills and reduce the load as much as possible,” the official added. For instance, a single transporter may have five different consignments worth more than Rs 50,0000. Yet, that transporter had to generate five separate bills despite the value of a single consignment being less than half a lakh rupee. The responsibility of developing an e-way bill system was given to NIC in September and it was decided by the GST Council on October 6 that the e-way bill should be made compulsory beginning April 1, 2018. However, the Council met via video conference on December 16 and decided to make the rollout of all-India electronic-way bill compulsory from February 1--two months ahead of the earlier plan to mainly plug revenue leakages.
Source: Moneycontrol.com
The operating profit margins of home textiles exporters is seen falling 300 basis points (bps) from this fiscal following pressure on export realisations stemming from a shift in the dynamics of US retail and a reduction in incentives after the implementation of the GST. Debt being raised for capacity expansion (net of repayments) and lower EBITDA margins are expected to result in aggregate debt to EBITDA ratio increasing to 3 times in the near term from 2.5 times in fiscal 2017. The operating profit margins of home textiles exporters is seen falling 300 basis points (bps) from this fiscal following pressure on export realisations stemming from a shift in the dynamics of US retail and a reduction in incentives after the implementation of the GST. This fiscal, the landscape is undergoing a sea-change. Many brick & mortal retailers in the US have pruned inventories and downsized stores to offset profitability pressures caused by the e-tail boom. That, along with pricing pressure, is expected to crunch EBITDA, or operating margins, to 16% starting fiscal 2018 from 19% last fiscal. Debt being raised for capacity expansion (net of repayments) and lower EBITDA margins are expected to result in aggregate debt to EBITDA ratio increasing to 3 times in the near term from 2.5 times in fiscal 2017. However, Indian exporters have been enhancing their share of the business with US e-retailers but at lower realisations, said Crisil in a note. Domestic home textile firms have had a good run since fiscal 2012 with India’s share of the US imports of cotton bedsheets and terry towels increasing from 34% to about 40% in fiscal 2017.
Source: Financial Express
The Uttar Pradesh government received what it said was an overwhelming response from business heads on the opening day of its ‘Investors Summit’, with 1,045 proposals worth Rs 4.28 trillion.The biggest announcement came from Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, who promised aggregate investment of Rs 350 billion over the next five years. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani promised extension of his Reliance Jio telecom venture, with fresh investment worth Rs 100 billion.Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, committed Rs 250 bn for the state in the next five years. Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, said his group could set up a manufacturing unit for electric vehicle if the state government came up a with a favourable policy in this regard.This is the first time that as many as 5,000 delegates, including foreigners, have participated in any investor summit held by the state government. So much so, that senior officer said: “We had expected investments only up to Rs 1 trillion. Now, implementation would be a challenge.” For, the past record of the government on implementing the big-ticket proposals signed during earlier such investor summits, such as those held by former chief ministers Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, has been dismal.What could work this time for the UP government is favourable support from the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre. Modi, selective about attending such meets held by various state governments, flew to Lucknow with many cabinet ministers. These included home minister Rajnath Singh (who represents Lucknow in the Lok Sabha), commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, textiles and information & broadcasting minister Smriti Irani, and food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.Modi assured the tycoons that state chief minister Yogi Adityanath would personally monitor and ensure speedy implementation of each project. And, that his government would support UP’s one district, one product policy through various central schemes, such as the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. A consultant, who works with various investors, said Modi throwing weight behind the state government had given confidence to the investors. “But, investors, mostly foreigners, are still worried about labour issues in UP. They are only interested in setting up businesses in Noida, Greater Noida and the Yamuna Expressway as only these areas have some infrastructure, beside also being close to Delhi.”Modi also tried to dispel apprehensions of the investors by informing them that UP would benefit from upcoming international airports, at Jewar and Kushinagar, and two dedicated rail freight corridors, the Delhi-Mumbai one and Amritsar-Kolkata, passing through Dadri, near Noida. “Not red tape but red carpet will welcome investors,” Modi said.He also exhorted Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to compete with each other in becoming the first trillion dollar economy in India.Modi also used the platform to reach out to the state's voters, who send 80 members to the Lok Sabha. He spoke on the success stories of flagship schemes run by the Union government and a 'defence industrial corridor' to the drought-hit Bundelkhand area.“There is a direct investment opportunity of about Rs 200 billion and it would generate over 250,000 jobs,” he said.Chief Minister Adityanath said his government was looking to generate additional job opportunities for around four million people through these investments.
Source: Business Standard
During the last cotton season, there were reports of the pink bollworm (PBW) not being effectively controlled, especially in some 700 villages of Maharashtra where the infestation of this insect pest was stated to be high. However, at a review meeting conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in October 2017, the participating scientists concluded that there was no case for “de-notifying” Bt cotton as demanded by some quarters. The PBW outbreak, it was emphasised, was confined only to certain areas, even while the technology continued to be effective against other bollworm insects. Moreover, there were prescribed agronomic methods for even managing PBW, as was successfully demonstrated in Gujarat during the recent season. Subsequently, Union Minister of State for Environment Mahesh Sharma said, in a written reply to a Parliament question on February 5, that Bt cotton had helped double India’s production and minimise the damage caused by bollworms since its introduction in 2002-03. A status paper published in January 2017 by the directorate of cotton development at Nagpur, too, clearly brought out the benefits from Bt cotton cultivation. Given all these endorsements, it is surprising to see the news of a few seed companies approaching the Union Agriculture Minister and seeking removal of the Rs 49-per-packet trait fee currently payable to the Bt technology provider. The logic for demanding “de-notification” of the technology is its apparent ineffectiveness to protect the cotton crop from PBW attacks. Even assuming that claim to be correct, can this be reason enough to make the technology free and eliminate the trait fee? The Bt cotton trait was approved primarily for the control of the American bollworm — a devastating pest of the crop prior to the last decade — while effectiveness against spotted bollworm, armyworm and PBW were added features of the technology. Even today, the control of these pests — barring PBW in certain pockets — through the trait has been pretty good. Proof of it is the undiminished demand for Bt cotton seeds from farmers. Since the trait fee is for control of all bollworms, not just PBW, what’s the rationale for its removal? If Bt technology is no longer delivering any value to farmers, why can’t seed firms, instead of demanding waiver/reduction of the trait fee, simply sell non-Bt cotton seeds? Why use a technology that has apparently ceased to be effective? Also, can the seed firms that have incorporated Bt technology into their hybrids absolve themselves of responsibility for resistance development by pests? Shouldn’t they also be accountable for the proper utilisation of the technology and following all the related regulatory and stewardship guideline? The ICAR meeting’s minutes revealed about 30 per cent of seed samples used to plant refugia non-Bt cotton around the main Bt crop to be of low quality. That could have been a major cause of vulnerability to PBW. The quality of seed used and trait purity have important bearing on the technology’s performance. These are the responsibility of seed companies. Blaming the technology provider shows the mala fide intention of a section of the industry that has profited on the back of Bt cotton technology. The distortions from price control and fixation of royalty by the government has, as it is, put off major global technology providers. Removal of trait fee will prove the proverbial last straw, when farmers themselves want newer technologies to bring down cultivation costs and yield losses from pest and disease attacks. Is this the way to achieve our mission of doubling their incomes? During the last two decades, Indian farmers took advantage of the shifting of cotton acreages out of the US. With Bt technology also coming at the right time, India was able to emerge as the world’s biggest cotton producer. But now with changing international dynamics and acreages slowly moving back to the US, we are in the danger of losing that hard-earned position. Denying farmers access to modern technology and pandering to the lobbying pressures of a handful of seed companies is akin to killing the golden goose. We shouldn’t sacrifice the interests of 60 lakh cotton farmers — not to forget our textile industry that has benefited from augmented supply of raw fibre — for the short-term gains of a selected few. At the time of Bt technology’s introduction in 2002, PBW wasn’t a major pest. It is a scientific fact that when the threat from one pest recedes due to control by a new pesticide or biotechnology trait, other pests tend to develop resistance. This happens because of reduced competition for the latter. Resistance development is a natural and evolutionary process — and it applies to all living beings, including insects and microbes. It shouldn’t surprise, therefore, if PBW were to develop resistance owing to lack of competition from other bollworms. No pesticide or biotechnology product can be eternally effective. But that’s also precisely why continuous research and development on new technology products is important. Even with regard to PBW, there are scientific methods to manage the pest while using the existing Bt technology. We saw this in Gujarat, where the state government kept the pest’s infestation under control during the recent season. The Gujarat experience should be extended to other states in the coming cotton season. A key factor behind vulnerability to PBW has been non-adherence to the planting of non-Bt cotton — as a refuge crop for the pest — by farmers. The poor quality of non-Bt refuge seeds supplied by some companies has only made things worse. The introduction of “refugia in bag” — supply of non-Bt seeds along with Bt seeds in the same, as opposed to separate, packets — should hopefully address this issue. One thing is clear: Reduction or removal of trait fee on Bt technology is not going to help the Indian farmer. On the contrary, he will be deprived of new technology innovations that would help lower his production costs and boost harvested yields. The government should not take any step that damages the long-term interests of our farmers.
Source: The Indian Express
The cotton trading season will end in a few months or so but banks in erstwhile composite Adilabad district have failed to register good progress so far as crop loan recovery from farmers is concerned. “The latter are a reluctant lot when it comes to repayment this instance as they are expecting another crop loan waiver announcement in coming months,” pointed out a bank manager of Telangana Grameena Bank as he gave a reason for the tardy repayments. Instead of bringing their produce to concerned agriculture market yards, a majority of farmers have opted for selling it to unlicenced private traders at mandal headquarter-level. Though this fetches them about ₹500 less than the going price for the day, they prefer trading with the unlicenced purchasers as they pay in cash. “If we were to sell cotton in the market yard, we get paid through bank accounts. This will have the banks deducting our crop loan amount,” says Chinna Ganganna, a cotton farmer from Donga Karanji in Tamsi mandal. Most of the banks have not achieved even 20% in terms of repayment of crop loans. Even at the busy Bheempur branch of Telangana Grameena Bank in Narnoor Agency mandal of Adilabad district, the recovery is less than 30% against advances of ₹ 32 crore to farmers. The quantum of trading through private purchasers outside agriculture marketyards is not quantifiable in exact terms. However, the method of transporting of cotton to yards by petty businessmen and traders from every corner of the four districts which made up undivided Adilabad can give a good insight into it. At the Agriculture Market Committee yards in Adilabad town, nearly 15 lakh quintals of cotton traded so far arrived in goods transport vehicles instead of bullock carts even from villages which lie within a few kilometres of the facility. Cotton was brought to the yards in 82,945 goods transport vehicles against 3,084 bullock carts between October 9, 2017 when the market opened and February 16, this year. The petty traders operating at mandal headquarter-level, there are at least five such businessmen operating in almost every mandal, own vehicles of different descriprion which are used to transport cotton even to distant markets. About 200 such vehicles transport the white gold mainly to Adilabad yard regularly. "We offer a price which is about ₹200 per quintal less than the day’s market price which has stayed higher than the minimum support price of ₹4,320 per quintal. This margin ensures our expenses on labour and diesel are covered and leave us with some profit,” revealed a trader from Jainoor mandal headquarter in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district which has the largest number of private traders in the region.
Source: The Hindu
A three-day India International Textiles Expo (IITExpo) of India began in Sri Lankan capital of Colombo today. It is being organized by Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) with the support of Union Ministry of Textiles & Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Inaugurating the event, Sri Lankan minister of Special Assignments Dr. Sarath Amunugama said that Sri Lanka sourcing of textile material from India and transforming it into apparel and garments for rest of the world, could lead to win-win situation for both the countries. He cited the rich textile traditions in both countries and stellar contribution of textile sector to Sri Lanka’s economy. Mr. Arindam Bagchi, Acting High Commissioner of India noted that India would encourage Sri Lankan companies to be part of the supply and value chains of large Indian companies. He also urged Sri Lanka to make use of fully-funded training opportunities in India, under Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, in which a number of slots is earmarked for textile related subjects. At the event, about 45 exhibitors from various textile clusters of India are displaying variety of fabrics, home textiles and traditional items suitable for apparel, industrial, technical application and general consumers.
Source: The Indian Awaaz
ISLAMABAD: The textile exports from the country increased by 7.18 percent during the first seven months of current fiscal year as against the exports of the corresponding period of last year. The overall textile exports from the country were recorded at $7.728 billion during July-January (2017-18) against the exports of $7.21 billion during July-January (2016-17), according to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The products that contributed in positive growth in external trade included raw cotton, the exports of which grew by 48.72 percent by going up from $36.95 million last year to $54.955 million during the current fiscal year. Similarly, knitwear increased from $1.373 billion to $1.555 billion, showing growth of 13.27 percent while the exports of yarn (other than cotton yarn) increased from $13.796 million to $17.925 million, an increase of 29.93 percent. During the period under review, the bedwear exports from the country increased by 5.62 percent, from $1.236 billion to $1.3 billion while the towels’ exports increased from 1.01 percent from $449.998 million to $454.537 million. The export of readymade garments increased by 13.93 percent by growing from $1.3 billion to $1.48 billion while the exports of art, silk and synthetic textile increased by 93.54 percent, from $105.48 million to $172.461 million. During the period under review, the exports of made up articles (excluding towels and bedwear) also increased by 6.72 percent, from $371.64 million to $396.27 million. Meanwhile, the textile products that witnessed negative growth in trade included cotton yarn, the exports of which declined by 1.42 percent, from $749.923 million to $739.267 million while the exports of cotton (carded or combed) decreased by 95.71 percent from $0.210 million to $0.009 million. The exports of tents, canvas and tarpaulin decreased by 33.39 percent, by declining from $85.55 million to $56.98 million, the PBS data revealed.
Source: Business Recorder
FAISALABAD - Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has welcomed the European Parliament's International Trade Committee's decision that voted to approve continuity of preferential duties on exports for the next two years under Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) scheme for Pakistan. In a statement here on Wednesday, Chairman PakistanTextile Exporters Association Shaiq Jawed termed the approval from EU's committee for International Trade as a good sign for textile exporters and the economy as well. He appreciated the Government's progress in promoting good governance and sustainable development that helped bring positive results of the second review of EU's preferential duties facility. GSP plus incentives helped Pakistan to build up its capacity to become more effective and competitive partner in international economics by opening new avenues of opportunities. With this facility, not only Pakistan's market share had increased but exports to EU had also jumped from 4.54 billion Euros in 2013 to 6.29 billion Euro, he added. GSP plus status had provided the Pakistan an opportunity to improve its relations with EU in terms of not only trade but also economic and political relations. This had contributed to reduction of poverty and promotion of sustainable development and good governance by giving a boost to the trading industry, he added. Terming textile export sector as major beneficiary of duty waiver facility, he said that overall textile exports surged to 4.87 billion Euroin 2016 from 3.14 billion Euros in 2013, which represented an increase of 54.8 percent. The exports of textile apparel and knitwear had grown from 1.4 billion euro to 2.47 billion Euros in 2016, indicating an increase of 76.4%. The second biggest share went to home textiles which surged to 1.56 billion Euros from 980 million Euros, representing an almost growth of 60%.The export of cotton, fabric and yarn also increased from 739 million Euros to 805 million Euros increasing by 9 percent, he added.
Source: Urdu Point
.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) is keeping its eye on industry activities that run afoul of the law, and the apparel industry is being called out for its indiscretions in a new report. International Trade Today’s “2017 CBP Ruling and Revocations Summary,” pointed out two apparel related cases that could change transaction values for importers. In one case, CBP ruled that design concepts and sketches performed in the Netherlands for a U.S. importer of wearing apparel, are assists that must be added to the price paid or payable of the imported sleepwear. So are the costs of sending “technical packages” with the final patterns and specifications derived from the Dutch designs to the Chinese manufacturer, it said. The U.S. importer, Miss Elaine, entered into consulting agreements whereby Netherlands-based designers design concepts, shapes, create sketches and select trim. The items are then shipped to Miss Elaine in the U.S., where the importer formalizes them into a pattern and technical package with a bill of materials and size specifications that are shipped to a Chinese manufacturer to create samples. The samples are then reviewed with the Dutch designers, who provide input before the Miss Elaine gives the go-ahead for the Chinese manufacturer to begin production. Costs incurred by Miss Elaine include consulting fees to the designers, and courier charges for shipping designs and samples to and from the Netherlands. None of the Dutch consultants is related to Miss Elaine, and no materials are shipped directly between the Dutch designers and the Chinese manufacturer. CBP found that the design consulting performed in the Netherlands is a dutiable assist. CBP has ruled that design work that is devoid of detail and leaves development of the final product to the producer is not “necessary for production” and is not considered an assist. But here, “we find that the design work provided to the vendor/manufacturer is necessary for production of the imported sleepwear,” CBP said. “Miss Elaine will incorporate” the designs “into the components of the technical package, and there is nothing to suggest that Miss Elaine will disregard or even modify them in doing so,” CBP said. In a second case, an apparel importer’s purported buying agent commissions, a cash advance to its supplier and indirect payments for fabric development and inspection fees should all have been included in the transaction value of the apparel for valuation purposes, CBP said. CBP found Key Apparel’s agent was not bona fide, partly because its payments to the agent were based on the apparel’s resale price rather than the price paid to the apparel supplier. CBP also found Key did not provide enough evidence that the indirect payments to its suppliers were not tied to the sale of the apparel. The ruling comes in response to a request for internal advice from the area port director of the Port of Savannah that was prompted by a 2014 Office of Regulatory Audit report finding Key guilty of undervaluation. The report said Key improperly excluded from transaction value payments to purported agents that were not bona fide buying commissions, as well as indirect payments for fabric development charges, inspection fees and advance payments. CBP’s Office of Regulations and Rulings agreed with the audit’s finding that the payments were dutiable. Unlike selling commissions, bona fide buying commissions are not included in transaction value, the ruling said. But Key failed to prove that its agent was actually a bona fide buying agent and that the commissions were tied to its purchases, the ruling said.
Source: Journal Online
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday suggested that the Ministry of Labour prioritise getting workers any missing wages in cases where owners of factories disappear after going bankrupt. Speaking to garment workers in Phnom Penh, Mr Hun Sen said the ministry should seek a budget from the Ministry of Finance to pay workers their dues first, and then move on to chasing the owners and selling off any assets left behind. “We must not let the workers go without wages and begin protests,” he said. “The ministry must borrow or find a budget first from the Ministry of Finance to pay the workers and then focus on finding further solutions like selling assets.” “Don’t let the problem of missing wages drag on and become a chronic disease,” he added. The premier’s comments came after more than 1,000 workers from the Yu Da Garment, Yu Fa Garment and S.R.E Garment factories in Por Senchey district recently staged multiple protests when the owner of the factory disappeared. Wages owed to staff were eventually partly paid after the Labour Ministry worked with unions and workers to sell assets left behind, mostly machinery in the factories, by the owner. Mr Hun Sen added that the ministry should also aid workers abandoned by their employers in finding new jobs. Labour Ministry spokesman Heng Sour said workers should get in touch with the ministry if they thought their employer might flee the country without paying wages. “Employers have escaped this year and in years before, but the ministry always finds solutions for the workers,” he said. Toun Saren, general secretary of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, said he supported the premier’s comments. Mr Saren noted that in the recent case of the Yu Fa Garment factory, not all workers agreed to the selling of machinery to cover their wages because the money earned was not enough to pay them in full. They received 65 percent of their missing wages. “Some workers are still waiting for their missing wages because of this,” he said.
Source: Khmer Times
Courtesy: Christian Wißler/University of Bayreuth/Steffen Reich M.Sc, doctoral student at the University of Bayreuth, producing a dispersion with tiny silver wires Scientists at the University of Bayreuth, Donghua University in Shanghai, and Nanjing Forestry University have made nonwoven materials that are electrically conductive as well as flexible and breathable. This means comfortable high-tech clothes such as those converting sunlight to warmth or supplying wearable electronic devices with electricity are possible. The scientists have published their findings in the journal npj Flexible Electronics. Textile materials capable of conducting electricity can be awkward for day-to-day use. These are uncomfortable, rigid, with low air permeability. Dr. Andreas Greiner's team of researchers at the University of Bayreuth and their Chinese partners have succeeded in producing electrically conductive nonwovens which have all the other characteristics one would expect from clothing that is suitable for daily use. The materials are flexible, and thus adapt to movements and changes in posture. In addition, they are air-permeable, meaning they do not interfere with the natural breathing of the skin. The combination of these properties is based on a special production process. In contrast to common methods of production, metal wires were not inserted into finished textiles. Rather, the scientists modified classical electro-spinning, which has been used to produce nonwovens for many years: short electro-spun polymer fibres and small amounts of tiny silver wires with a diameter of only 80 nanometres are mixed in a liquid. Afterwards, they are filtered, dried, and briefly heated up. If the composition is right, the resulting nonwoven material exhibits a very high degree of electrical conductivity. This opens up a whole range of possibilities for innovative applications, especially in the area of smart clothes (or wearables). Everyday clothing, for example, can be equipped with solar cells such that the captured sunlight is converted to warmth, heating up the textiles themselves. Mobile phones, cameras, mini-computers, and other wearable electronic devices could be charged by plugging them into the textiles. Sensors installed in the clothes could provide athletes and trainers with important fitness and health data or could give family and friends information on its location. "In addition to articles of clothing, similar functions could also just as easily be installed in textile materials for use in seats and instruments in cars or airplanes," explained Greiner, chair of Macromolecular Chemistry II at the University of Bayreuth. "Our approach, which takes the production of conductive textiles as its basis, can in principle be applied to many different systems," added Steffen Reich, doctoral researcher and lead author of the new study. As an example, he cites current Bayreuth research projects on microbial fuel cells, which could eventually be used as electrodes in such nonwoven materials. The research findings resulted from close cooperation between the University of Bayreuth, Donghua University in Shanghai, and Nanjing Forestry University. It was two years ago that the University of Bayreuth signed a cooperation agreement with Donghua University, which has had a research priority on the research and development of textiles since the establishment of the institution. (SV)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Mimaki is launching a new digital textile printer, the Tiger-1800B, in Australia, with the company saying it is a high production printer capable of direct to textile or transfer dye sublimation output. Mimaki is the latest wide format technology developer to launch a digital textile printing solution, as the market opens up for short run on demand work. The company says the Tiger-1800B can deliver large-scale production at manufacturing sites and small-scale production at on-demand sites, making it the ideal printer for digital textile applications. Mimaki says the Tiger-1800B brings operational efficiencies and reliability to large companies that are currently using analog screen-printing processes – or multiple, smaller digital units – to produce high volume textile runs for internal vertical markets sold via business-to-business or business-to-consumer avenues. The company claims the printer enables businesses to overcome quality, cost and time to market issues by offering more efficient operations, higher resolution printing, consistent quality for repeat orders, and reduced operating costs. The company says the 74.8-inch Tiger-1800B digital textile printer includes an adhesive belt transport system with belt washing technology and in-line heat drying unit for an all-in-one process for direct-to-textile printing. Mimaki says the Tiger-1800B is a production model featuring 16 print heads in a staggered array for the direct-to-textile model (or 8 print heads for the transfer dye sublimation model), resulting in print speeds of up to 4144 square feet per hour. The company says usable quality can be achieved even at these high print speeds to meet volume demands, or to quickly produce shorter-run projects such as for regional or seasonal fashion requirements. Brad Creighton, national sales and marketing manager of Mimaki Australia says, “We have got availability of the product, but it is being focussed more on the European, Asian and other markets. How we are approaching it is a bit more targeted, it will not have as widespread marketing and be at the demonstration level here. “It is a production oriented machine, we do not see multiple uses from a local perspective. For direct textile printing, we have two other machines that are more suited in the mid-tier market, and that are more suited to production capacities here.” Mimaki says digital textile printing has grown by an average of 30 per cent over the past five years, and says it is set grow even over the next couple of years.
Source: ProPrint
Bringing together suppliers and service organisations in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka, the Apparel Industry Suppliers’ Exhibition (AISEX) will be held from May 10-12, at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Centre (SBMEC). Organised and managed by Lanka Exhibition & Conference Services in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Apparel Institute (SLAI), the organisers hope it would be the platform in which the future development of the industry as a major sourcing and knowledge hub for the apparel sector by 2020, would come to fruition. Held biannually since the year 1998, the ninth edition of AISEX 2018 will bring together a wide range of players, big and small, focused on the development of the industry together. Reinvigorated by the provision of GSP Plus, the apparel industry is on the brink of taking every foreseeable step in a bid to take full advantage of the benefits allowed under the scheme. “This is a benefit that is time stamped. As the country develops and reaches a higher per capita income, we will lose this opportunity. The time is now to make full use of what is given to us,” Sri Lanka Apparel Institute Chairman Professor Lakdas Fernando said. Set in this backdrop, the Apparel Industry Suppliers’ Exhibition aims to bring all suppliers big and small and service organisations in the sector under one roof and will focus on a wide range of textile machinery, accessories and services from many parts of the world. AISEX will provide the manufacturers a platform of all sizes to expand the existing manufacturing methods and possibilities of increasing production volumes and efficiency through state-of-the-art innovative technology. AISEX will also focus on generating new opportunities closer to home for small-scale local designers and manufactures. The event will feature a sourcing market/pavilion where small to medium-scale manufactures, suppliers and designers can meet and source each other’s skills and products. The ninth edition of AISEX sets out to attract innovators and trend setters both domestic and overseas to access, meet, learn and experience, through a number of knowledge-sharing sessions, which will be held alongside the exhibition. Well-known personalities from the industry will speak and share their perspectives, followed by open panel discussions and forums. We hope that through these sessions the next generation of innovators, trend setters, designers and entrepreneurs will be inspired while in turn inspiring the current industry leaders with visions of the industry’s future.
Source: Daily Mirror
