New Delhi: To ease exporters’ GST refund woes, revenue authorities will set up camps across the country for a fortnight beginning March 15, CBEC Chairperson Vanaja Sarna said on Saturday. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has already given refunds to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore but as much as 70 per cent of total refunds to exporters is still stuck even after eight months of GST roll out. Sarna said there are instances of exporters committing errors while filing refund claims and to help them, the department has started giving out refunds partially with manual intervention. “Now to solve it completely we have instituted a special fortnight campaign, starting from March 15 which will go on till March 29. There are going to be camps all over the country so that all exporters can come with refund problem and they will be explained what their problem is, they will be asked to rectify it and then the process will completed and refund will be given. “So we hope that by March 31 all pending refunds as far as exporters are concerned will be sorted out,” Sarna said. The issue of refunds to exporters has been hanging fire for over five months now, with exporters complaining that delay in GST refunds has blocked their working capital. The revenue department, on the other hand, has argued that there are discrepancies in forms submitted by exporters with the customs department and those with the GST Network (GSTN). The GST Council in its meeting today decided to implement e-wallet scheme for refunds to exporters by October 1. Under the e-wallet mechanism, a notional credit would be transferred to the exporters account based on their past record and the credit can be used to pay taxes on input. To ease exporter woes, the Council has also allowed exporters to continue to claim tax exemptions till October 1, 2018. Accordingly, merchant exporters can pay a tax at the rate of 0.1 per cent on goods procured for export purposes and obtain a refund for the same. Also, domestic procurement made under Advance Authorisation, EPCG and EOU schemes are being recognised as ‘deemed exports’ with flexibility for either the suppliers or the exporters being able to claim a refund of GST/IGST paid thereon. An official statement issued after the Council’s meeting said that the CBEC and GSTN have started detailed data analytics and preliminary data analysis has revealed that there is variance between the amount of Integrated GST (IGST) and compensation cess paid by importers at Customs ports and input tax credit for the same claimed in GSTR-3B. Besides, it has come to light that there are major data gaps between self declared liability in GSTR-1and GSTR-3B. “It was deliberated that this information may be further analysed and adequate action may be initiated accordingly,” the statement added.
Source: PTI
It observed that against the Textile Ministry's proposed outlay of Rs 101.09 billion during the year 2018-19, the Ministry of Finance have approved Rs 71.47 billion only The Textiles Ministry should impress upon the Finance Ministry to reconsider the overall GST structure for textiles sector and impose higher anti-dumping duty to protect the domestic industry, a Parliamentary panel has said. In its report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, the Standing Committee on Labour chaired by Kirit Somaiya said it desires the Textiles Ministry to impress upon the Department of Revenue/Finance Ministry to reconsider GST structure for textiles. The panel noted that the Textiles Ministry has also taken up the issues on inverted duties structure on man-made fibre, imposition of GST on job work, credit transfer documents issues, non refund of input tax credit, GST for weaving industry, lowering of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates for machinery used by MSME textile units, etc. It observed that against the Textile Ministry's proposed outlay of Rs 101.09 billion during the year 2018-19, the Ministry of Finance have approved Rs 71.47 billion only."The Secretary, Ministry of Textiles has deposed that though it appears that Budgeted Expenditure (BE) 2018-19 which includes Cotton Corporation of India's loss of Rs 9.21 billion is more than the BE 2017-18 by Rs 9.21 billion, in reality BE 2018-19 is Rs 30 million less than the BE of 2017-18," the Committee said in its report. It noted that the reduction of BE would adversely impact implementation of ongoing schemes of the Ministry of Textiles, particularly those aimed at benefitting the unorganised sectors of powerloom, handloom, handicrafts, wool and sericulture.
Source: Business Standard
Mumbai, Mar 14 (PTI) In order for the textile industry to achieve its goal of becoming a USD 300 billion market by 2025, there is a need for supportive policy, and public-private partnership, especially in areas like research and development (R&D), an apex textile industry body said. "Through policy measures by the government in partnership with the industry, India could achieve USD 80 billion textile and apparel exports at an annual growth of 9 per cent. The overall market is expected to grow at 11 per cent annually to reach USD 220 billion by 2025," according to a white-paper representation released today at at the 9th Asian Textile Conference (ATEXCON) here. The policy support required by the industry are R&D, schemes to enhance quality and productivity and labour law reforms among others, it said. Textile commissioner, Kavita Gupta who was also present on the occasion said, the government is planning to integrate the textiles industry through textiles parks to tie in all the value chains together. "We have 72 such parks, which has brought in a lot of investments, but there is still a lot more opportunities in this segment," she added. In order to encourage the industry, the government has several policies, including the Rs 6,000 crore apparel and made-up package, Rs 1,300 crore skill development and power textile scheme, which has eight components including up-gradation of power looms with government support of 50 per cent among others. The industry provides direct jobs to 45 million people and indirect 69 employment to million people, she added. This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.
Source: India Today
Washington: The United States, on Wednesday, challenged Indian export subsidy schemes at the World Trade Organisation, saying these programmes harm American workers by creating an "uneven" playing field, officials said. The US Trade Representative (USTR) argued that at least half a dozen Indian programmes provide financial benefits to Indian exporters, which allow them to sell their goods at a lower cost, to the detriment of American workers and manufacturers. These programs are: the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme; Export Oriented Units Scheme and sector specific schemes, including Electronics Hardware Technology Parks Scheme, Special Economic Zones, Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme and Duty Free Imports for Exporters Programme. "These export subsidy programmes harm American workers by creating an uneven playing field on which they must compete," said USTR Robert Lighthizer. "USTR will continue to hold our trading partners accountable by vigorously enforcing US rights under our trade agreements and by promoting fair and reciprocal trade through all available tools, including the WTO," Lighthizer said. The announcement from Lighthizer came while Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale was on his maiden visit to the US. He was scheduled to hold meetings with the USTR. In a statement, the USTR alleged that through these programmes, India is given exemption from certain duties, taxes, and fees which benefits numerous Indian exporters, including producers of steel products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, information technology products, textiles, and apparel. According to the Indian government documents, thousands of Indian companies are receiving benefits amounting to over USD 7 billion annually from these programmes. The USTR said export subsidies provide an unfair competitive advantage to recipients. A limited exception to this rule is for specified developing countries that may continue to provide export subsidies temporarily until they reach a defined economic benchmark. India was initially within this group, but it surpassed the benchmark in 2015. India's exemption has expired, but the country has not withdrawn its export subsidies, USTR alleged. "In fact, India has increased the size and scope of these programs," USTR charged. For example, India introduced the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme in 2015, which has rapidly expanded to include more than 8,000 eligible products, nearly double the number of products covered at its inception, it alleged. Exports from Special Economic Zones increased over 6,000 percent from 2000 to 2017, and in 2016, exports from Special Economic Zones accounted for over USD 82 billion in exports, or 30 percent of India's export volume. Exports from the Export Oriented Units Scheme and sector specific schemes, including Electronics Hardware Technology Parks Scheme, increased by over 160 percent from 2000 to 2016, it asserted. Noting that consultations are the first step in the WTO dispute settlement process, The USTR said if the US and India are unable to reach a mutually agreed solution through consultations, it may request the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement panel to review the matter. The House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady applauded the USTR's decision to challenge through the WTO. "The Administration's decision to challenge India's USD 7 billion worth of prohibited subsidies is a plain and unmistakable signal that we will not tolerate any failure by our trading partners to live up to their commitments at the expense of US manufacturers, service providers, farmers, and ranchers," Brady said. "Today's action highlights the value of ensuring that our trade agreements are fully enforceable through binding dispute settlement. We must continue to hold our trading partners accountable and ensure a level playing field for American workers and businesses," he said. "In responding to India's prohibited subsidisation of its steel industry in this manner, we prove the significance of the WTO dispute settlement process as a powerful, valuable, and appropriate tool in the administration's toolbox to address unfair practices that hurt our steel workers and companies. I join the administration in calling on India to end its unfair trading immediately," Brady said.
Source: PTI
Azerbaijan and India signed memorandums of understanding on March 13, which took place during the joint business forum in Baku. The memos were signed by Indian PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Azerbaijani Entrepreneurs, as well as the PHD and the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO). They were inked by Secretary General of the Indian Commerce and Industry Chamber Saurabh Sanyal, President of the Confederation of Azerbaijani Entrepreneurs Mammad Musayev and AZPROMO head Rufat Mammadov. The documents are aimed at expanding and strengthening the economic and trade ties, as well as business relations between Azerbaijan and India. Addressing the business forum, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Firdovsi Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is interested in expanding cooperation with India in several spheres, and of the priority spheres of cooperation is cargo transportation. “Indian cargoes are mainly delivered to Europe by sea via the Suez Canal. In this regard, the International North-South Transport Corridor project being implemented by Azerbaijan jointly with neighboring states will allow transporting cargo from India by land, which will significantly shorten the time and cost of the transportation,” Aliyev noted. He expressed the hope that the implementation of this project will give impetus to the development of relations between the two countries in the field of cargo transportation. The International North–South Transport Corridor is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Russia, Iran, Europe and Central Asia. The corridor is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo per year at the initial stage and more than 10 million tons of cargo in the future. Aliyev also noted tourism and pharmaceuticals as promising areas for cooperation. “We are in talks for the creation of direct regular and charter flights between our countries. I believe that this will make it possible to increase the tourist flow from India to Azerbaijan and vice versa,” he said. “It is also important to develop cooperation between the two countries in the field of pharmaceuticals. Several pharmaceutical plants are being created in Azerbaijan. It will be interesting for India with its rich history of pharmacy to invest in this sphere.” It is noteworthy that negotiations are already underway in order to establish a joint venture in the field of pharmaceutics by India’s Sun Pharma and Azerbaijan’s Gilan Holding in country’s Pirallahi Industrial Park, which also accommodates joint Azerbaijani-Russian and Azerbaijani-Iranian plants. Also, Ukraine and Belarus expressed interest in setting up joint pharma ventures. Rufat Mammadov, addressing the business forum, said that India has invested $200 million in Azerbaijan so far, while 15 companies with Indian capital work in Azerbaijan today. “Meanwhile, India is one of the biggest trade partners of Azerbaijan. In recent years, trade turnover with India has grown rapidly and amounted to about $0.5 billion in late 2017. This is a very important indicator,” he noted. Mammadov also mentioned that India is one of the biggest importers of Azerbaijani products – it accounted for 2.65 percent of Azerbaijani exports in 2017. Data of Azerbaijani State Customs Committee shows that of $462.5 million trade turnover last year, export from Azerbaijan to India amounted to $365.5 million. As for India’s exports to Azerbaijan, it rose by more than 60 percent in 2017 compared to 2016. The items of imports from India are mainly clothes and textiles, information technologies, food items and heavy machinery.
Source: Azerbaijan News
Kolkata: With a view to combining efforts towards growth and development of textile value chain participants in India and continuously pursuing the cause of creating awareness about cotton price risk management, Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) and Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has signed an MoU on Wednesday at the 9th Asian Textile Conference (ATEXCON). The MOU established between MCX and CITI, the apex industry chamber representing all the sub sectors of the textile sector with over 4000 direct and indirect members, envisages co-operation on a host of objectives such as jointly organising awareness events for cotton value chain participants including farmers, price ticker board installation at textile parks and joint representation to ministries and regulators for further development of the sector, among others. Mrugank Paranjape, MD & CEO, MCX said, “The tie up with CITI will help to foster greater cooperation between the two entities and enable us to work more closely on a number of shared goals. I am sure that with our partnership with CITI, we expect that the participation in our cotton futures contract will broaden furthermore, and bring more and more cotton stakeholders under the beneficial ambit of commodity derivatives market.” Sanjay Jain, chairman, CITI said, “We understand that the development of commodity market plays a vital role in the economic development of the country, and growth potential of the Indian commodities market is very high and, therefore, the establishment of an efficient commodities futures market is a pre-requisite to service such growth. We are delighted to partner with MCX, which has a highly successful and popular cotton contract. By virtue of this MoU, textile industry stakeholders would be imparted knowledge about the benefits of cotton futures mainly focusing on cotton price volatility and need for risk management through cotton futures, among working towards other important common goals.”
Source: The Economic Times
The Indian textile and apparel trade body, Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) has welcomed the Government’s decision to extend the exemption of Integrated GST on the imports of machinery, under Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme, and inputs and raw material under Advance Authorization Schemes for a period of six months. The decision was taken at the 26th GST Council meeting held on March 10, 2018. The extension period is valid up to October 1, 2018. Earlier, it was effective untill March 31, 2018, only. “Blockage of Government receivables like ROSL and Duty Drawback including delay in getting GST refund resulted in the financial crisis for MSME units. This IGST extension decision has brought much relief to the Tirupur cluster which is looking for import of machinery especially MSME exporting units,” said TEA President Raja M Shanmugham. However, he was a little upset as the Government did not entertain TEA’s demands to exempt payment of IGST for import of accessories as offered in the pre-GST era. Before the new tax regime, accessories were imported under Export Performance Certificate (EPC), issued by the AEPC (Apparel Export Promotion Council). The issue would be taken up again by the textile body before Government to address the matter. Notably, IGST, one of the three categories under Goods and Service Tax (CGST, IGST and SGST), is charged in case of movement of goods and services from one state to another. IGST falls under Integrated Goods and Service Tax Act 2016. Authorities have fixed rates to share the revenue out of IGST between State Governments and Central Government. IGST has been brought in place in order to ensure that a state has to deal only with the Centre in order to settle the interstate tax amounts.
Source: Apparel Resources News-Desk
India’s dependence on China for the import of high-quality silk is likely to come down in the next 3-4 years, with the country striving to become self-sufficient in silk production by 2022. In 2016-17, India imported close to 3,700 tonnes of high-quality silk from China, compared to close to 7,000 tonnes in 2013-14. According to KK Shetty, Joint Secretary, Central Silk Board, the decrease in import volumes has been primarily on the back of an increase in production of the ‘better quality’ bivoltine silk. “While the total production of raw silk recorded an annual growth rate of around 5 per cent, that of bivoltine silk [which is considered to be superior quality] has grown by 12-13 per cent. With the production of indigenous high-quality silk increasing, our imports are likely to come down,” Shetty told BusinessLine. The production of bivoltine, which is also an import-substitute-quality silk, increased from 2,559 tonnes in 2013-14 to 5,266 tonnes in 2016-17. Bivoltine production is likely to touch 6,200 tonnes in 2017-18. Once the production touches the targeted 12,000 tonnes by 2022, the country would no longer need to import Chinese silk, he said. The country’s total raw silk production increased to 30,348 tonnes in 2016-17 (around 26,480 tonne in 2013-14), and is expected to touch close to 33,000 tonne in 2017-18. Central Silk Board estimates total production of raw silk to touch 45,000 tonnes in 2022.
Govt allocation
The government has allocated close to ₹2,000 crore for a period of three years (FY’18-FY’20) under the Central Sector Scheme for undertaking development activities for silk. A portion of the funds would be utilised for improving production of high quality silk, he said. Despite a rise in production, the country’s exports declined in value terms – from approximately ₹2,500 crore in 2015-16 to close to ₹2,093 crore in FY’17. Exports are likely to remain close to ₹2,000 crore in the current year due to muted demand from key importing countries, including Europe and the US. Silk exports include natural silk yarn, fabrics and made-ups, ready-made garments, silk carpets and silk waste. “Our exports are declining on a year-on-year basis because we are not able to compete with Chinese prices and quality. We are slowly losing out our competitive edge and key markets,” said Dilip Agarwal, Treasurer, Silk Association of India. This has made the industry look at other geographies. According to Bimal Mawandia, Vice Chairman, The Indian Silk Promotion Council, the Centre has been also encouraging diversification into other markets to boost exports. “We are looking at new markets such as Egypt, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, among others, but it takes time to establish as the product requirement and specification is different in each of these markets,” he said.
Source: Business Line
The rupee today gained 6 paise to close at more than two-week high of 64.83 against the US currency as the dollar weakened against the major currencies following US inflation data and the 'Rexit'. The rupee traded almost flat in most part of the day but fag-end dollar selling helped the local currency extend gains for the third day in a row. The dollar fell against the euro and the British pound after a lower inflation data and the US President Donald Trump sacked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a development which was termed as 'Rexit'. The dollar index too fell by 0.1 per cent. The domestic currency had opened 2 paise higher at 64.87 against the US dollar today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on selling of the greenback by exporters and banks. It moved in a range of 65.06 to 64.83 in day trade amid losses in the stock markets. It finally settled up by 6 paise or 0.09 per cent at 64.83 per dollar, the highest closing level since February 27. "Rupee was trading mostly flat against the US Dollar with RBI's decision to ban banks from issuing LoUs, not prompting any major moves," Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said. "US Dollar looks to be stabilizing after widening fiscal numbers, but response to retail sales data will hold the key for directional moves in US dollar, and help rupee shift away from the 65 mark," he added. Inflation based on wholesale prices eased to a seven-month low of 2.48 per cent in February on cheaper food articles, including vegetables, official data showed. Meanwhile, foreign investors withdrew around Rs 258 crore from stocks today, according to the provisional exchange data. The BSE Sensex settled 21.04 points or 0.06 per cent lower at 33,835.74. During the day, the barometer swung almost 295 points. The RBI fixed the reference rate of the rupee at 64.9875 against the US dollar and 80.5845 for the euro. In the cross currency trade, the rupee closed lower at 90.59/61 per pound against last close of 90.13/15. It also fell against the euro to finish at 80.23/25 from 80.04/06 earlier. The Indian unit fell against the Japanese yen to 60.91/93 per 100 yen. In the forward market, the benchmark six-month forward premium payable in August moved to 121-123 paise against 122.50 -124.50 paise earlier. The fag-forward February 2019 contract were down at 239-241 paise against 241-243 paise previously. Crude oil prices dropped with the Brent North Sea declining 19 cents to USD 64.45 per barrel Oil - West Texas Intermediate falling 9 cents at USD 60.62 per barrel.
Source: Financial Express
Cotton farmers in parts of the district are worried about the declining market price. During the last season, one quintal of cotton fetched price ranging between ₹ 5,000 and ₹ 5,500. But, in the current season, a quintal of cotton had a price from ₹ 3,700 to ₹ 4,200. Crops were sown in October anticipating rainfall in parts of Ottapidaram, Kovilpatti, Kayathar, Vilathikulam, Pudur and Ettayapuram blocks, A. Varadharajan, a farmer from Ayan Vadamalapuram, Ettayapuram Block, said here on Tuesday. He said high yield of this crop triggered a decline in the market. The yield started in the middle of February. Unlike the last season, when the cash crop yielded about three to four quintals per acre, seven quintals per acre had been witnessed this season. Most of the farmers cultivated this crop after sowing 'Bt cotton' variety, which resulted in high yield of this crop. Moreover, he said consistent spells of rain during the northeast monsoon season was also one of the reasons for the growing yield. Mr. Varadharajan said that the government should modernise the old cotton ginning factories existing under cooperative marketing societies in Pudur, Kovilpatti and Ettayapuram. The output from the old factories was not good enough when the produce was given for processing. Hence, he demanded the State government to allocate adequate funds in the upcoming budget to modernise these old factories with the latest technology. K.P. Perumal, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association, said the Cotton Corporation of India had fixed minimum support price for the produce in the interest of farmers. If the produce was procured at price below the fixation of minimum support price, officials from Agriculture Department should ensure that action was taken against those concerned.
Source: The Hindu
The demerger comes at a time when Arvind Limited is looking to cross the Rs 100 billion turnover mark on the back of a 15-16 per cent growth that it has been witnessing the demerger is likely to conclude by October 2018. Even as it is set to touch the Rs 100 billion revenue mark for the first time in fiscal 2017-18, Arvind Limited is gearing up for demerger of its branded apparel & retail as well as engineering ventures into separate entities, as part of restructuring its business. The integrated textile company is working towards closing the demerger by October 2018 which will result in three separate entities, each of which will look at three key businesses including textiles (including fabric, garments and technical textiles), branded apparel & retail, and engineering. This will result in branded apparel and retail business being demerged into the current subsidiary Arvind Fashions Limited while the engineering will go under Anup Engineering. "The demerger would be over by October this year. Only the brands business is getting demerged under Arvind Fashions Ltd., which is a 90 per cent subsidiary of Arvind Ltd while engineering is getting demerged under Alok Engineering. The textile business is, however, going to remain in Arvind Ltd," Jayesh Shah, director and chief financial officer of Arvind Limited told Business Standard. Offering a rationale for the move, Shah said, "Textile and branded retail are two different businesses and it is the right time to demerge, giving investors options to choose between investing in textiles and branded retail business. "The demerger comes at a time when Arvind Limited is looking to cross the Rs 100 billion turnover mark on the back of a 15-16 per cent growth that it has been witnessing."Going by the nine months’ run rate we should be crossing the Rs 100 billion mark this year. Profitability is something which we will not comment but overall the profitability has been good, said Shah. The Rs 100 billion turnover would come on the back of a 15-16 per cent growth being clocked by Arvind. Of this, Rs 40 billion is from branded apparel and retail business which is entirely domestic, while Rs 60 billion would be from textiles, almost 50 per cent of which is export. While overall the company is growing at about 15-16 per cent, its branded apparel business is growing at about 20 per cent, followed by textiles at about eight per cent. Backed by some of the power and emerging brands such as US Polo, GAP, Arrow, Flying Machine, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, among others, Arvind's branded apparel and retail business has been spearheading profitability for the company."When looked at the various segments that we are present in, one segment growing rapidly within the brands is the youth wearing casual. Almost all our brands are in casual sportswear segment which is growing the fastest. Now that we have been through the initial years of investment, suddenly we are seeing a high surge in revenue and bottomline," said Shah. The group services in all 14 brands, of which four are power brands, while rest are emerging brands. According to Shah, all brands are out of investment phase and are or set to book profits. Further, the demerger will be followed by capex of anywhere between Rs 5 billion to Rs 10 billion in its three key businesses. "Every year we spend about Rs 4.5 billion, of which roughly Rs 1.5 billion goes into branded apparel, about Rs 2 billion into traditional textiles including garment expansion, and another Rs 0.50-0.75 billion go into technical textile year-on-year," said Shah.
Source: Business Standard
DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia plans to keep its crude oil production in April below 10 million barrels per day (bpd), and maintain exports under 7 million bpd, the energy ministry said on Wednesday, as the top OPEC producer wants to end a global supply glut and boost prices. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has been pumping below its OPEC target since January and reducing its crude shipments, particularly to the United States, as it turns its focus on cutting exports in an attempt to drain global oil stocks. “Despite nominations coming in at 100,000 barrels a day, higher than the previous month, allocations were maintained on par with their March levels,” the ministry said in a statement. A spokesman for the energy ministry said that Saudi Arabia along with the OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers participating in a global supply cut agreement “remain committed to pursuing the common objective of restoring inventories back to their normal levels.” The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers led by Russia have agreed to maintain oil output cuts until the end of 2018 aiming to reduce global inventories and support prices. OPEC has made the five-year average its main target and managed to reduce the glut to around 74 million barrels above that benchmark, from above 300 million when the cuts began in 2017. OPEC has delivered more than 100 percent of the output cuts that members pledged under the deal, according to figures from OPEC and other analysts, helped in part by an involuntary drop in Venezuela, where output is falling amid an economic crisis. “We are happy with the excellent overall conformity levels and look forward to all participating countries maintaining or exceeding full conformity with their commitments as agreed,” the Saudi energy ministry spokesman said. But the relentless rise in U.S. production has this year put pressure on oil prices. U.S. oil is also increasingly being exported, including to the world’s biggest and fastest growing markets in Asia, eating away at OPEC and Russian market share. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at around $64.93 per barrel on Wednesday, down from above $70 in January. [O/R] U.S. crude oil production, pushed up largely by shale oil drilling, has risen by almost a quarter since mid-2016 and output soared past 10 million bpd in late 2017, overtaking production by Saudi Arabia. OPEC meets next in June to decide its output policy. Global oil producers agreed they should continue cooperating after their agreement expires at the end of this year, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih said in January.
Source: Financial Express
A total of 13 Italian textile machinery manufacturers will be presenting at the Indo Intertex trade fair, in Djakarta, Indonesia, from 4-7 April, in the common exhibition area set up by the Italian Trade Agency and ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers. The textiles industry is a major driving force for Indonesia’s national economy. In recent years, the local government has thus supported a widespread modernisation programme of existing technology, allowing for increased exports in the garment industry, and making Indonesia the eight largest exporter in this sector worldwide, according to the latest data from the World Trade Organisation. Italy’s textile machinery sector has also benefitted from this increased demand in cutting edge technology on the part of textile manufacturers. “Over the course of the past few years, Indonesia has represented one of the primary markets in Asia for our machinery manufacturers, with roughly EUR 25 million worth of Italian machinery sold over the first nine months of 2017, a 19% increase over the same period for 2016,” said Alessandro Zucchi, President of ACIMIT. “Bearing witness to the interest in Italian technology on the part of the Indonesian market, an Italian exhibition area will be present at the upcoming edition of Indo Intertex, to be held in Djakarta, next month.” Among the companies exhibiting in the Italian area are the following ACIMIT associated members: Bonino, Busi, Caipo, Cognetex, Lgl, Mcs, Ms Printing Solutions, Red Carpet, Santex Rimar Group, Sei Laser, Sicam, Ugolini. Italy’s participation at Indo Intertex is part of an intensive programme of trade initiatives aimed at promoting the Italian textile machinery industry in Indonesia. In addition to participating in previous editions of Indo Intertex, recent activities carried out in partnership with the Italian Trade Agency include various technology symposia at major Indonesian districts and a variety of incoming missions in Italy by Indonesia’s textile operators. ACIMIT represents an industrial sector comprising around 300 manufacturers, employing close to 12,000 people and producing machinery for an overall value of about EUR 2.7 billion, with exports amounting to more than 85% of total sales.
Source: Knitting Industry
Looming global trade war may affect Bangladesh’s economy and trade particularly exports as the US administration under president Donald Trump is planning to impose additional tariffs on apparel imports. After imposing tariffs on imports of a number of products from different countries, the world’s biggest economy is now planning to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese imports targeting apparels, footwear, and technology and telecommunication sectors, according to a Reuters report. Experts and economists said that tariff imposition on readymade garment items would hurt Bangladesh’s export to the US market if the tariff was imposed indiscriminately on all countries. Though the US has kept some countries out of the new tariffs imposed on different products, it does not seem sure whether the tariff on RMG products would be imposed only on China or on all countries, they said. The USA has already imposed additional tariffs on different products including steel, aluminium and solar panel eying China, and paper and lumber targeting Canada by up to 30 per cent. European Union, China, Canada, Japan and some other big countries have already warned the US of retaliation through imposing tariffs on US products if they are not exempted from the tariffs. The EU has threatened to slap tariffs on products like Harley-Davidsons, Kentucky bourbon and bluejeans as revenge if the US doesn’t exempt the bloc from tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. The US also issued warning of counter retaliation by imposing tariffs on EU vehicles targeting Germany if the EU does so. The recent developments indicate that a serious global trade war is looming large as different economic blocs and countries will also follow trade protectionism if the US doesn’t retreats from its stance. Centre for Policy Dialogue distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman on Wednesday told New Age that global trade war would be bad for the global economy and trade. What would be the impact of the possible tariff on apparel products on Bangladesh would depend on how the US imposes it, he said. Bangladesh’s export will be affected if the tariff is imposed on all countries, he said. ‘If the tariff is imposed only on China and other big countries, Bangladesh may be benefited,’ he said. He, however, said that Bangladesh’s export might not be hurt so much even if the tariff was imposed on all countries as the US doesn’t have production of products Bangladesh exports to the market. Demand for RMG items may decline little as the prices of the products would go up due to the probable tariff, he anticipated. Mustafiz, however, hoped that affected countries would challenge the US moves at the World Trade Organisation’s dispute settlement mechanism and the US finally would be forced to withdraw the tariffs. He suggested that the Bangladesh government should remain vigilant. Policy Research Institute executive director Ahsan H Mansur echoed Mustafiz’s views about the issue, saying that the impact would depend on the manner of imposition — whether the tariff would be imposed indiscriminately or not. The tariff may be only on China and few other countries if the US imposes it on anti-dumping ground, he said, adding that the tariff might be imposed on all countries if it is imposed on other grounds. ‘Bangladesh’s export may be affected negatively if our goods also become subject to additional tariff,’ he said. On the other hand, Bangladesh’s export may be benefited if the tariff is imposed only on China or few other countries, he added. Exporters Association of Bangladesh president Abdus Salam Murshedy said that imposition of tariff by the US would be a matter of concern for Bangladeshi apparel exporters as they were currently paying around 16 per cent duty in the market. ‘We don’t know whether Bangladesh would be a victim of the planned tariff,’ he said. Murshedy hoped that the US would not put additional tariff burden on countries like Bangladesh.
Source: New Age BD.
China's industrial output expanded at 7.2 percent year on year in the first two months, accelerating from 6.2 percent growth in December 2017, official data showed Wednesday. The growth was faster than the 6.3 percent growth during the same period last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement. Industrial structure continued to improve, with production in high-tech industries and the equipment manufacturing sector expanding by 11.9 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively. Industrial output, officially called industrial value added, is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($3 million). Output of new energy vehicles saw a surge of 178.1 percent year on year during the period, while industrial robot production jumped by 25.1 percent, NBS data showed. While such rapid growth was partly due to a low comparable base, it indicated that emerging sector expansion is accelerating, according to NBS spokesperson Mao Shengyong. The mining sector grew by a modest 1.6 percent year on year, lagging behind the 7-percent growth achieved by the manufacturing sector. Amid the drive to restructure and optimize industry, the country aims to reduce overcapacity in traditional sectors such as coal, iron, and steel while facilitating growth in emerging areas. China plans to cut ineffective steel capacity of 30 million tons and coal capacity of 150 million tons in 2018, according to a government work report released earlier this month. Ownership analysis showed that industrial output of state-holding enterprises was up 9 percent, while industrial output of enterprises funded by overseas investors increased 5.9 percent. NBS data also showed that China's retail sales of consumer goods grew 9.7 percent year on year in the first two months, slightly slower than the 10.2-percent rise seen in 2017. Fixed-asset investment grew 7.9 percent year on year during the period, up from 7.2 percent for the full year of 2017.
Source: China Daily.
Vietnamese garment-textile sector inspite of huge challenges in the global market are eyeing eyeing for a growth of 10 percent in 2018. The sector earned 4.3 billion USD from exports in the first two months this year, up 22.3 percent year on year. To realize the target, the sector plans to improve product quality and ensure on-schedule deliveries at reasonable prices to enhance its competitiveness, said Le Tien Truong, Director General of the Vietnam National Textile Garment Group. The use of technology will also be enhanced to increase automatic production, as well as IT-based management and workers’ skills. Nguyen Xuan Duong, Chairman of the Director Board of Hung Yen Garment Corporate underlined the challenges faced by the sector, said that export prices may fall, while production costs increase. Duong said that enterprises need to devise measures to become more productive and reform their management. However, Vietnamese garment-textile sector is forecast to face huge challenges and fierce competitions particularly this year from China, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Source: YNFX.
AIER's Everyday Price Index (EPI) jumped 0.4 percent in February following a 0.7 percent surge in January. The EPI measures price changes people see in everyday purchases such as groceries, restaurant meals, gasoline, and utilities. As a comparison, the more widely known price gauge, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and includes less frequently purchased items, was up 0.5 percent in February. The EPI is not seasonally adjusted, so we compare it with the unadjusted CPI. Over the past 12 months, the EPI has risen 2.3 percent while the CPI is up 2.2 percent. Over the last five years, the EPI is up at an annualized rate of just 0.4 percent and the CPI is up 1.4 percent. The EPI increased 0.4 percent in February while the CPI rose 0.5 percent. The EPI including apparel, a broader measure, gained 0.6 percent in February after a 0.7 percent increase in January. Apparel prices were a significant contributor, jumping 3.5 percent in February and 1.4 percent in January on a not-seasonally-adjusted basis. Those gains added 0.28 and 0.11 percentage points respectively to the monthly changes in the EPI including apparel. Over the two-month period, apparel prices are up 5.0 percent. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, apparel prices increased 1.7 percent in January and 1.5 percent in February, resulting in a two-month gain of 3.15 percent, the largest two-month gain since 1990. Apparel prices have been generally weak for most of the past two decades, with the exception of brief periods in 1997 and 2009 and a somewhat longer period from mid-2011 through mid-2014. Over the last 20 years, apparel prices have fallen at an annualized rate of −0.3 percent.
Source: Seeking Alpha
LAHORE: Over the recent years, not only have our basic textile exports flatlined, but the value-added apparel sector has also petered out as local apparels fetch lowest per-square-meter value for clothing exported to the United States. Pakistan will have to come out of low value culture to make a mark in global textile market. It is understandable that yarn and fabric fetch lesser prices being basic raw materials for knitwear and readymade garments. But it is a pity that we are exporting most of our apparel for peanuts. Pakistan for instance is placed fourth in exports to the United States as far as the quantity is concerned; however in terms of value they are far behind than countries exporting lower quantities. The official export data of textiles by the US government reveals that in the month of February Pakistan’s small and medium enterprises (SME) sector (apparel exporters the world over are mainly SMEs) exported apparel equivalent to 222.6 million square meter of fabric against which they earned a foreign exchange worth $251 million. Bangladesh on the other hand exported apparel equivalent to 214.2 million square meter of fabric fetching $509 million. This is over two times what Pakistani exporters fetch for 20 percent higher quantity. Bangladesh is not the only country in this regard. In fact the top 14 exporters of apparel to United States fetch more dollars per square yard of fabric consumed than Pakistan. Indonesia for instances exported only 148 million square yard equivalent fabric in February 2018 and earned $428 million almost three times higher than Pakistan. India, Vietnam, China and Mexico all earned more through higher value-addition. Industry insiders say the low value-addition cannot be exclusively blamed on the private sector. The government policies in this regard also played an important role. Pakistan is a cotton producing country and its textile industry is cotton centric. The global trend is to blend 20-25 percent cotton with manmade fibers. The textile industry has conditional access to manmade fibers. The manmade fibers are subjected to import duties in order to safeguard the domestic industry. This is not fair as access to an exportable raw material should be zero rated. The government schemes that allow duty free import of raw materials used for exports are too cumbersome for the small and medium exporters. The inability to procure manmade fibers at globally competitive rates impedes manmade fibers’ use in the country. When the local spinners do not blend cotton with manmade fibers there is no possibility of producing various types of fibers popular globally. Since our fabrics lack the variety needed to produce high value-added garments our apparel exports fetch much lower prices than our competitors. Our planners makes make cumbersome policies fearing misuse of facilities provided to boost exports. The exporters particularly the smaller ones are almost always unable to fulfill the conditions required to obtain that facility and become noncompetitive globally. Out apparel exports also lack variety. In fact we are restricted mostly making shirts and trousers for men only. This way we leave out 50 percent of the total export market as women make up almost 50 percent of the global population. The government needs to take stock of the situation and allow import of manmade fibers, yarn and fabric at zero-rate for a period of five years. This would help us produce globally acceptable basic raw materials for our industry at globally competitive rates and the exporters could go for high value-addition. This would also impact the inefficient local manmade fiber industry and may result in loss of few thousand jobs and investment worth $2-3 billion but it would start creating a million jobs and an investment of at least $1 billion every year for next five years. The exports would then be on sustainable path. The local spinners, weavers and manmade fiber producers would be forced to improve their efficiencies and restart supplying yarn and fabric not only to local market but to the global markets as well. Protectionism has landed us in trouble but transparent free market approach would put Pakistan again on the global textile market.
Source: The New International
NAIROBI, KENYA: You have 30 days to submit your comments on genetically-modified cotton trial on nine research stations in Kenya. The National Environment Management Authority on Thursday issued a 30-day deadline for oral or written submission which will bar or allow Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Karlo) to proceed with trials in nine research stations across the country. Karlo is proposing to undertake national performance trials for bt-cotton at Mwea, Katumani,Kampi ya Mawe, Bura, Perkera, Kibos, Alupe, Kerio Valley and Matuga. “We have received Environmental Impact Assesment Study report for national bt-cotton trials in nine station, we invite public to submit their comments within one month,” said Nema in advertisement sponsored by Karlo. Bt-cotton is any variety of cotton, genetically enhanced with Bt-genes to protect it against caterpillar pests, especially the African bollworm, which is the most destructive pest in cotton crops. Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) is a beneficial bacteria that occurs naturally in the soil. It has been used commercially for more than 30 years to control vegetable caterpillars through biochemical insecticides such as Dipel®, Xentari® and Thuricide®. Kenya has a potential to produce 260,000 bales of cotton annually but currently, our production stands at 28,000, as we get about 572kg/hectare against a potential of 2,500kg/hectare.
Source: The Standard
