NATIONAL

• India has potential to achieve 7-8% GDP growth: Arun Jaitley
• Hry govt approves new policy for growth of textile industry in state
• Stable outlook for cotton textiles, synthetics in India
• GST caused loss of business, say traders
• Skill Development Corporation inks MoUs with 19 firms
• Silk Board-KR Puram Metro is taking shape
• Slash Bt cotton seed price: Swadeshi Jagran Manch

INTERNATIONAL

• Global Textile Raw Material Price 2018-02-27
• Cotton exports in Egypt decline by 36.7%: CAPMAS
• GMO cotton problems won’t recur in Africa – Monsanto assures
• GM cotton's return to Burkina Faso on hold over Bayer-Monsanto deal
• C&A commits to source more sustainable cotton by 2020
• PKLT to bring traceability in Uzbek cotton supply chain
• Americans are finally coming back to Macy’s to shop for clothes

India has potential to achieve 7-8% GDP growth: Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: The Indian economy has the potential to achieve a GDP growth rate of more than 7-8% in view of policy changes, accompanied by a supportive global environment, said finance minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday. Addressing the India-Korea Business Summit, he observed that, over the next 10-20 years, India will continue to remain one of the fastest growing economies in the world. “India has demonstrated in the last few years that it has, even in a global environment of adversity, a potential to self correct itself, to continue to take difficult decisions if necessary and maintain a high growth trajectory,” Jaitley said. He said the country has been able to blend its economic decisions along with political acceptability to the extent that “there is now a huge support, almost bordering on impatience, where people want India to reform and grow much faster”. According to Jaitley, most people in India believe that a 7-8% GDP growth rate is an absolute normal for the country but the real potential of India is to beat that. “Therefore with policy changes accompanied by a supportive global environment, India perhaps has the potential to achieve a little more than that,” said the minister. He said the Indian economy in the last few years has become very open, it is integrated globally; it invites investments in most sectors and has made its procedures for investment extremely simple. Jaitley said the government’s decision-making has made doing business in India much easier and whatever challenges and difficulties do arise, there is an extensive debate in the country as to why procedures must be further simplified and a combined national effort to move in that direction. “It’s a rule based decision making where governmental discretions based on individual cases have been virtually eliminated,” Jaitley said on the country’s regime. He said the government has been able to unify taxes and bring about a relatively simpler tax structure and for international investors, indirect tax structures have become extremely investor friendly. In an apparent reference to retrospective taxation, Jaitley said: “Whatever misgivings we had about our direct tax structures in the past including some erroneous decisions which governments have taken, we have completely eliminated those fears and added more predictability and stability as far as taxation is concerned.” He said the government is consciously encouraging some sectors. “The manufacturing sector is an area where India still has to achieve its best and therefore we believe that in the next decade or two, this is a sector which is going to expand very substantially and most policies therefore are now conducive to domestic manufacturing,” said the minister. He said there is a lot of potential for companies wanting to invest in infrastructure in India.

Source: Financial Express

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Hry govt approves new policy for growth of textile industry in state

Keen on making Haryana a global hub of textile manufacturing and a preferred investment destination, the state government has approved Textile Policy, 2018 to incentivise setting up of new units and ensure growth and modernisation of the existing textile industry in the state."The policy is packed with fiscal incentives and contains provisions for infrastructure augmentation, setting up of textile parks, promotion of Khadi industry and facilities for skill training. It aims at generating 50,000 new jobs by attracting investment in the textile sector to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore," Industries and Commerce Minister Vipul Goel said after the state Cabinet meeting here. He said the policy has been formulated with an eye on the cotton belt of Haryana. The state is one of the leading cotton producers in the country with Sirsa, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Hisar and Jind being the main cotton producing districts. The minister said that the policy proposes capital investment subsidy of 10 per cent subject to maximum of Rs 20 lakh for the eligible capital investment for Individual Textile Units set-up in Textile Parks in A' & B' category blocks. For bringing in women entrepreneurship in Haryana, the policy proposes 15 per cent capital subsidy subject to maximum of Rs 25 lakh. It aims to boost textile exports by Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent during the policy period. Goel said to support development of backward regions, the policy proposes support to individual textile units set up within and even outside textile parks in C & D category blocks. The policy also proposes 25 per cent capital investment subsidy at the rate of 25 per cent maximum up to Rs 50 crore on the eligible capital investment specially to promote anchor units. Goel said that under the policy, the state government will facilitate setting up of apparel parks exclusively for apparel manufacturing units in Mewat district. An Integrated Textile Park in Hisar District and a Textile Park exclusively for Dyers and Processors in Faridabad District shall also be assisted by the State government. The policy also envisages collaboration with premier engineering and research institutes such as IIT Delhi to promote entrepreneurship and new product development in textiles including technical textiles.

Source: Zee Business

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Stable outlook for cotton textiles, synthetics in India

India Ratings and Research has maintained a stable outlook for cotton textiles and synthetics for fiscal 2018-19 as margins may expand due to softening in cotton prices, better consumer spending outlook and the low base effect of the last fiscal. However, the possible impact of pink bollworm on cotton and rising crude prices on synthetics are the constraints. Better margins, modest reduction in working capital requirements and subdued capital expenditure in the next fiscal will lead to an improvement in the overall credit profile in India, according to a press release from the Fitch Group company. The slowdown in domestic demand growth for textiles due to demonetisation and the implementation of the goods and services tax seems to have bottomed out in the second half of the current fiscal. A higher-than-expected rise in cotton acreage at 19.0 per cent and a consequent 11.0 per cent increase in crop production in the current and last fiscals are likely to moderate cotton prices in the next fiscal, although domestic cotton prices increased in the last few months due to the pink bollworm issue. The global stock-to-use ratio for cotton, excluding China, increased to 56.0 per cent in fiscal 2017-18 from 47.0 per cent in the precious fiscal, although Chinese inventory declined by 17 per cent year-on-year. An increasing crude price is likely to narrow the spread between cotton and synthetic yarns, thereby moderating the pace of switch to synthetics from cotton textiles. Operating margins of synthetics manufacturers may witness volatile margins due to fluctuations in crude price and delays in passing on cost inflation, the company said.

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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GST caused loss of business, say traders

Industrialists in the city have alleged that the imposition of Goods and Service Tax (GST) has brought down the turnover of the textile industry and caused job loss for skilled and unskilled employees this fiscal year. Krishan Kumar Sharma, president, Processing and Dying Industry, said the primary impact of the GST was felt by the power textile industry and workers. The financial year is going to end soon but the centuries old textile industry is still struggling to adjust with the tax system, he said. Textile is the oldest and biggest industry in the city producing suitings, shirtings, ladies suits, tweeds, blazers, shawls and other varieties. There are about 45 processing units, scores of dying units, nearly 700 knitting, over 500 warp knitting, over 500 weavings and 1,000 embroidery units engaged in the industry. The combined annual turnover of the textile industry from different stages is around Rs 30,000 crore, he said. About 80 per cent of processing units remained closed for nearly three months, impacting the salary of thousands of workers, he added. Yarn manufacturer Kamal Dalmia said people were gradually shifting under a healthy business regime. He accepted that from July to October, manufacturing saw a decline. However, the positive impact of the decision was that the business houses, which were running multiple companies under one roof to escape tax net, had to close them down. Now, these are registered as one firm after obtaining the GST number.

Source: Tribune India

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Skill Development Corporation inks MoUs with 19 firms

Amaravati: AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) MD and CEO Sambasiva Rao said that the APSSDC made several key contracts at the joint convention held by the State government and Confederation of Indian industries (CII) in Visakhapatnam. In a press release on Monday, Sambasiva Rao said the APSSDC entered MoUs with representatives of 19 organisations from different sectors in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Minister for Law and Justice Kollu Ravindra to provide better training to youth. In addition, he said, plans have been prepared to provide employment opportunities, including training from the next year. Sambasiva Rao also said that Chief Minister Chandrababu hailed the training programmes of the APSSDC. Fields in which training will be available for youth are logistics, life sciences, security, retail, health care, IT and ITeS, electronics, telecom, fisheries, capacity building, pharma, biotechnology, greens jobs, hospitality, apparels, textiles, architecture, agriculture, aviation, media and entertainment sectors. Sambasiva Rao said employment opportunities would be doubled by 2020. He also said that people who were specialists in IT were doing certification courses with well-known institutions like Google and Amazon.

Source: The Hans India

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Silk Board-KR PuramMetro is taking shape

Here’s a piece of news that will put Bengaluru on the right track. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is inviting bids for the construction of elevated structures (viaducts and stations) between Silk Board and KR Puram on Outer Ring Road. It placed advertisements in newspapers on Tuesday for the 19-km stretch which will cost around Rs 1,200 crore. This project is under phase 2A and the government has already given its approval for the tender process as the BMRCL has reached the target in accumulating Rs 500 crore through innovative financing. To speed up the work, the construction work has been split into three parcels; in the first one, construction of elevated structures (viaducts and stations) of about 7.086 km from Silk Board (outer ring road) to Bellandur stations (exclusion) will be taken up. It includes four elevated metro stations and other allied works. The work will be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 427.29 crore. The second package includes construction of elevated structures of about 6.451 km length from Bellandur station to Doddanekundi (except the station) at a cost of 416.66 crore. In this stretch, five elevated metro stations are to come up. The final package includes the construction of elevated structures about 5.920 km from Doddanekundi station to KR Puram Interchange station and will continue up to Baiyyappanahalli depot. This stretch includes four elevated metro stations, structure works near Baiyyappanhalli depot, road widening works and other allied works and works will be taken up at an estimated cost of 386 crore.

Source: Bangalore Mirror

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Slash Bt cotton seed price: Swadeshi Jagran Manch

New Delhi : RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch on Tuesday urged the Committee constituted under Cotton Seeds Price (Control) Order, 2015 to remove trait value while setting the minimum support price (MSP) for genetically modified Bt cotton seeds ``since the Bt trait is not working for pink bollworm insect in cotton’’. The pink bollworm was a serious concern for cotton in India but BG-I and BG-II Bt cotton which contain two genes (cry 1 Ac and cry 2Ab) for controlling the pest have become ineffective. On the contrary, the SJM has requested the committee to impress upon seed giant Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Ltd, which collected about Rs 500 crore in 2016-17 and 2017-18 from farmers, to pay them compensation for the failed Bt trait. In a letter written to Joint Secretary (Seeds) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, National Co-Convenor of SJM Ashwini Mahajan said, ``As the Chairman of the Committee constituted under Cotton Seeds Price (Control) Order, 2015 (CSPCO), you have started collecting inputs for fixing the trait value and the MSP of Bt cotton seeds for the 2018-19. You are perhaps aware that the Bt trait for which the Government.

Source: UNI

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Global Textile Raw Material Price 2018-02-27

Source: Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15825 USD dtd. 27/2/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com.  SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.

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Cotton exports in Egypt decline by 36.7%: CAPMAS

Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) has announced that the country’s cotton exports declined by 36.7 per cent, falling to 128,300 kantars during the first quarter of the 2017-2018 agricultural season ending November compared to 202,500 kantars during the same period in the previous season. A kantar equals 45.02 kilograms. CAPMAS attributed the decline to decreasing area of cultivation, according to a report in an Egyptian newspaper. The quantity of cotton consumed domestically has reached 44,500 kantars during that quarter compared to 107,000 kantars in the same period of the previous season, declining by 58.4 per cent, as some cotton mills stopped production. The quantity of treated cotton, however, witnessed an increase of 95.5 per cent during the period due to the accumulation of the crop from the previous season, CAPMAS added.

Source: Fibre2fashion

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GMO cotton problems won’t recur in Africa – Monsanto assures

Agric firm Monsanto is assuring problems that have emerged with Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) cotton seeds in Burkina Faso leading to its withdrawal will not be repeated in other parts of Africa. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 2016 suspended field trials of GMO cotton following a decision by Monsanto to close down its office in Burkina Faso which was providing support for the work in Ghana. The closure was necessitated by Burkina Faso’s decision to phase out of the production of GMO cotton over concerns about poor quality of fibre from the novel variety. The GMO cultivar (Bt cotton) introduced in Burkina Faso in 2008 had been engineered with genes from a soil bacteria, giving it an inherent ability to resist attacks by the bollworm pests which has the potential to destroy up to 90 percent of yield on cotton farms. The new cultivar helped control pests on cotton farms, reducing the use of pesticides by up to 70 percent. But challenges with the shorter fiber length of the cultivar caused authorities in that country to pull breaks on the continuous planting of the variety in 2015, much to the displeasure of farmers there. A researcher at the Savannah Agric Research Institute (SARI) of the CSIR and Principal Investigator on the GMO cotton project in Ghana Dr Emmanuel Chamba says they are looking for a fresh source of funds to resume the Bt cotton project in the country. Nigeria and Malawi are also working on introducing GMO cotton cultivars in both countries. Edwin Baffuor of civil society group Food Sovereignty Ghana believes the Burkina Faso situation is a lesson for Ghana not to adopt the technology. “The Burkina case shows clearly that some of the expected outcomes as promised the farmers won’t be realized. And this is part of the red flag that we have been raising for a while now. And it can’t be closer to home than this. The outcomes of GMOs are unknown in the long term,” he told Joy News in an interview. But Monsanto says the right lessons have been learnt and this will inform how future projects are rolled out to avoid similar difficulties. Jonathan Jenkinson who is Asia and Africa Breeding Lead at Monsanto says the problem was because Burkinabe scientists did not have a continuous running programme to improve upon the cultivar, allowing undesired traits to re-emerge. “What happened is that Burkina had a biotech crop approved. They did not have an ongoing breeding programme to improve upon the variety. "So what was happening was, the trait was there and it was providing all the necessary benefits but the varieties that were being released were not new and improved ones every year,” Jonathan Jenkinson explained to Joy News. Asked what will be different in the other countries, Jonathan Jenkinson said the right conditions are in place to ensure the biotech cultivars are continually improved upon so undesired traits don’t emerge in future. “Part of the work in Nigeria and Malawi is that they have ongoing breeding programmes. So the lesson is a very simple one. It is that in order for a biotech crop to have an impact on the market, it has to be side by side with an ongoing improvement programme,” he said. Throwing more light on the issue, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Monsanto Dr Robert Fraley said, “the biotech traits work well but the cotton has to be continually bred for quality and yield and all the agronomic properties. It needs an ongoing commitment to both develop the technology, develop the breeding and provide the best system for farmers.”

Source: Myjoyonline.com

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GM cotton's return to Burkina Faso on hold over Bayer-Monsanto deal

ABIDJAN - Talks with Bayer to reintroduce genetically modified (GM) cotton in Burkina Faso are on hold pending the German drug and crop chemicals maker’s acquisition of U.S. rival Monsanto, the head of the West African nation’s top cotton company said on Tuesday. Burkina Faso - Africa’s leading cotton grower in recent years - became a showcase for GM cotton technology on the continent when it introduced varieties containing Monsanto’s Bollgard II trait in 2008. However, in 2016 it abandoned the Monsanto varieties, complaining they led to a drop in cotton fibre length resulting in around $85 million in lost earnings for Burkina Faso’s cotton companies. Wilfried Yameogo, the director of Sofitex, Burkina Faso’s biggest cotton company, said it initially approached Bayer in 2014 amid its troubles with Monsanto. Bayer produces cotton traits under the TwinLink Plus and TwinLink trademarks that, like Monsanto’s Bollgard II, also use genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to protect against pests. “We expressed our wish to establish a partnership with Bayer ... Bayer had shown its agreement in principle,” Yameogo told Reuters. However, it subsequently launched a $63.5 billion bid to purchase Monsanto and talks to introduce Bayer’s GM cotton traits in Burkina Faso were suspended, Yameogo said. “They said to wait because they were in the process of managing the purchase of Monsanto. So we’re waiting ... Bayer will get back to us,” he said. Bayer declined to comment on the talks. Faced with anti-trust concerns over the planned acquisition, which the European Commission has said risks reducing competition, Bayer agreed in October to sell a portion of its seed and herbicide businesses to BASF for 5.9 billion euros ($7.3 billion). Under that deal, which is contingent upon Bayer’s successful acquisition of Monsanto, BASF would take over Bayer’s global cotton seed business with the exceptions of the Indian and South African markets. Meanwhile, several African countries continue to test Monsanto’s GM cotton varieties. A representative for Bayer said both the Monsanto acquisition and the deal with BASF required regulatory approval and the company therefore would not speculate on their outcome. “We had problems with Monsanto due to the fibre length. If we work with Bayer or any other technology developer, that issue of fibre length must be corrected,” Yameogo said.

Source: Reuters

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C&A commits to source more sustainable cotton by 2020

Joining the Prince of Wales global 'Sustainable Cotton Communique', C&A has pledged to source more sustainable cotton by 2020. The pledge initiated at last year’s Textile Exchange Sustainability Conference, commits apparel brands and retailers to only procure more sustainable cotton. So far, 37 companies in the fashion industry have signed up to the pledge. This commitment is supposed to help to drive sustainable practices across the sector. In turn, it aims to alleviate the environmental and social costs that are too often associated with cotton production, including the over-use of pesticides, the release of greenhouse gases, the depletion of local water sources and rising costs of production. "By joining this initiative we - as the world’s No 1 buyer of certified organic cotton and the world’s No 3 brand sourcing more sustainable cotton - have the opportunity to share our learnings with the industry on how to source and accelerate the use of more sustainable cotton. Our 2020 goal is for 100 per cent of the cotton we use to be more sustainable. Today, already over 70 per cent of the cotton we sell meets this standard," said Jeffrey Hogue, C&A’s global chief sustainability officer. "The industry is awakening to the necessity of sustainably grown cotton. It is great to see additional brands joining this initiative to accelerate the momentum of cotton production in a way that will positively impact smallholder farmers, water quality and soil health," said La Rhea Pepper, managing director, Textile Exchange. The initiative is being endorsed by several non-governmental and civil society organisations and standards agencies, including The Soil Association, Fairtrade Foundation, The Better Cotton Initiative, Cotton Made in Africa, CottonConnect, Textile Exchange, Cotton 2040, an initiative convened by Forum for the Future and The Pesticide Action Network. (RR)

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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PKLT to bring traceability in Uzbek cotton supply chain

Supply chain think tank, has signed a joint initiatives agreement with seasoned cotton commodity transshipment handling and supply chain management firm, Deltabar Logistics, focusing on bringing more transparency and traceability in the supply chain of Uzbek cotton and related value added. A majority of cotton is grown in developing countries. Lack of transparency in cotton production leads to decreased product integrity, impacting the environment and the well-being of many people. The agreement comprises of several key milestones that are focused on primarily mapping out a supply chain process which is backed by policy and procedures, fully transparent. The digital documents will be filed into a dedicated OCR enabled ledger registry. "Cotton goes through many hands, from traders to spinners, and there are all sorts of transactions that happen. In the current form, it is not a very transparent supply chain. CIS's cotton supply chain cross borders by rail, trucks, and ocean marine modalities. Uzbek cotton and yarn are facilitated in transit from origin to consuming markets such as Bangladesh or Vietnam" Nasrollah Rahemi, director of operations, Deltabar Logistics. "The solutions to complex issues are not simple. Accelerators such as Blockchain Fintechs have the ability to impact positively from supply to value chain providing requires transparency helping the issue of supply chain transparency. A multi tiered effort with synergy is required," said Krishnan Ramamurthi from PKLT. "With this initial baby steps that have long term deliverables to concerned stakeholders, commercial and governments, premium on goods is a key motivating factor. That in addition to savings harnessed from supply chain optimisation will enable Uzbek cotton and its value added products over come market access related issues," PKLT said in a press release.

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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Americans are finally coming back to Macy’s to shop for clothes

Americans are buying more clothing, shoes and jewelry at Macy’s, helping turn around the retailer’s fortunes. The department store chain on Tuesday said a renewed emphasis on apparel helped bring in more shoppers and convinced them to spend more. Sales at stores open at least one year rose 1.4 percent in the most recent quarter, marking the first period of sales growth in more than three years. “Our customers have responded well to the increased focus on fashion and enhanced quality of the merchandise,” Jeffrey Gennette, chief executive of Macy’s, said in a Tuesday call with analysts. “The consumer was out spending, and that was great.” Macy’s has for years been dogged by many of the same issues facing its peers: changing shopping habits, excess inventory and a culture of deep discounts and promotions. It also faces increasing competition from Amazon, which is projected to surpass Macy’s this year as the country’s largest apparel seller. But on Tuesday there were signs that the retailer’s turnaround efforts were working. Sales of women’s dresses, tailored men’s clothing, winter coats and fragrances all rose during the critical holiday season, helping lift fourth-quarter sales 1.8 percent to $8.67 billion. Profits nearly tripled, to $1.3 billion, or $4.31 per share, from $472 million, or $1.54 per share, a year earlier. Shares of Macy’s stock rose nearly 12 percent Tuesday morning after the news, before closing at 3.5 percent. “Consumers had the ability to spend,” Dana Telsey, chief executive of Telsey Advisory Group, told CNBC Tuesday. “Retailers and brands were able to come out with products people wanted. We have a little bit of an apparel cycle: Whether it was fragrances, dresses, active or men’s tailored, it all seemed to work.” Macy’s said it boosted sales by dialing back discounts, adding exclusive products and investing in its private-label brands. Customers on average spent 3 percent more on each item they purchased during the quarter, according to Gennette. The company is also adding more exclusive products, which currently make up about one-third of its inventory. Last month, it began selling a line of “modest” clothing, including maxi dresses, jumpsuits and hand-dyed hijabs. Other exclusive brands include lines by Tommy Hilfiger and Martha Stewart. “Macy’s has realized it needs to focus on its sweet spot: clothing for adults and kids,” said Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the New York-based Luxury Institute. “This is a company that has always been about mainstream apparel, and I think they’ve found away to make that work for them again.” Macy’s has made a number of sweeping changes in recent months. The Cincinnati-based retailer has closed dozens of stores, invested in new businesses and revamped its loyalty rewards program. It is also increasingly looking beyond the mall for expansion. The company opened 36 Bluemercury beauty stores last year, as well as 30 off-price Backstage locations. It plans to add another 100 Backstage stores this year to compete with rivals such as Nordstrom Rack and Saks Off Fifth. “Macy’s is hot on the heels of a good fourth quarter,” said Stephen Beck, managing partner at New York consultancy cg42. “But there’s still a long way to go before we see a truly healthy turnaround.” Abha Bhattarai is a business reporter for The Washington Post. She has previously written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and the St. Petersburg Times.

Source: The Washington Post,

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