At $43 billion, the EU —including the UK — made up for 17.6% of India’s goods exports in the first 10 months of the current fiscal, while imports from the bloc stood at over $39 billion. Garments were India’s biggest exports segment, followed by engineering goods and gems & jewellery. With threats of a global trade war looming, commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday hinted at an early resumption of negotiations over the long-stalled free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union. With threats of a global trade war looming, commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday hinted at an early resumption of negotiations over the long-stalled free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union. “We have started working on the India-EU FTA again. We have invited them and are looking at it,” the minister said. Access to the EU market is crucial for a number of Indian sectors, especially textiles and garments and IT. Similarly, India is a lucrative market for the European auto and pharma companies. At $43 billion, the EU —including the UK — made up for 17.6% of India’s goods exports in the first 10 months of the current fiscal, while imports from the bloc stood at over $39 billion. Garments were India’s biggest exports segment, followed by engineering goods and gems & jewellery. Similarly, the country imports capital goods and gems and precious stones worth billions of dollars from the EU. As many as 16 rounds of negotiations took place between the two sides for the proposed FTA — officially dubbed as Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) — from 2007 to 2013 before formal talks were stuck. Senior Indian and EU officials had met late last year to explore a way forward for the long-pending negotiations. Inflexibilities from both the sides and Brexit delayed resumption of formal negotiations. Differences have persisted on the broad contours of the proposed FTA, including EU’s insistence that India cut import duties on auto parts and wine and strengthen intellectual property rights regime and the Indian demand for more liberalisation in services and greater flexibility on data privacy. India also feels the flexibility shown by it in further opening up to foreign investments in more than a dozen sectors should be considered positively by the EU. The matter is crucial as it will have a bearing on Indian IT companies wanting market access. On India’s strategy in view of rising trade protectionism, Prabhu said: “We have decided that we will be a country which will engage with all of our traditional friends, and at the same time, start making new friends.”
Source: Financial Express
India finds itself positioned well in terms of economic and commercial relations in the comity of nations. It has established great relationship with regions and countries like Africa, Latin America, North America, and several others. Industry associations play an extremely significant role in this context as they are creating the real spirit of development by benefiting India along with all others. The inter-connectivity along with intra-connectivity will benefit all, said Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. He was speaking at the inaugural session of the first edition of ‘The Global Industry Association Summit’ organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at New Delhi today. The Minister emphasized that there should be reciprocal roles between the Government and the associations. The associations need to work out how to offer solutions alongside the problems, by collaborating and complementing each other, the Minister added. The Minister launched a new portal for the Associations Council (www.ascon-india.com). The portal aims to create a single point of reference for stakeholders to sectors across the manufacturing, services and agriculture spectrum and provide access to resources. The Associations’ Council (ASCON) consists of more than 110 national level associations. Speaking at the summit, Ms. Shobana Kamineni, President, CII said, in today’s globalized world, rapid changes in technology, policy and markets are constantly creating new opportunities and challenges for industry. The six mega trends that are shaping the world today are, globalization and future markets, digital revolution, the rise of knowledge economy, urbanization, climate change and resource scarcity and increasing focus on responsible behaviours. Adding further, Ms Kamineni said, there are interdependencies and larger effects which require strategic and collective interventions to ensure a positive outcome. Towards this, industry associations, both individually or collectively navigating the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world will go a long way in crafting a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities of different developmental actors. Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII said that new stories are shaping the Global, Regional and Industry agendas. The collective role of associations will be crucial in promoting India, forging global collaboration on innovation and expanding outreach.
Source: CII Media Release
New Delhi: India’s oil import bill is likely to jump by a quarter to $87.7 billion in the current fiscal year which ends this weekend as international oil prices have surged. India had imported 213.93 million tonnes (MT) of crude oil in 2016-17 for $70.196 billion or Rs4.7 lakh crore. For 2017-18, the imports are pegged at 219.15 MT for $87.725 billion (Rs5.65 lakh crore), according to the latest data available from oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). India relies more than 80% on imports to meet its oil needs. During first 11 months of current fiscal (April 2017 to February 2018), the country imported 195.7MT crude oil for $63.5 billion. The basket of crude oil that India imports averaged $55.74 per barrel in the April-February period as compared to $47.56 a barrel in 2016-17 and 46.17 in 2015-16. “April 2017-February 2018 crude oil imports are based on actuals and for March 2018, crude oil imports are estimated at crude oil price $65 per barrel and exchange rate Rs65 to a US dollar,” PPAC said. Every dollar per barrel change in crude oil prices impacts the import bill by Rs823 crore ($0.13 billion). The same is also the impact when currency exchange rate fluctuates by Re1 per US dollar. Domestic crude oil production was almost flat at 32.6MT in April-February. It was 36MT in whole of 2016-17 and 36.9MT in the previous fiscal. As against this, domestic consumption has been rising—from 184.7MT in 2015-16 to 194.6MT in 2016-17. It was 186.2MT in first 11 months of 2017-18, according to PPAC. Data also showed that the share of high sulphur crude in total crude oil processed increased to 75% during April-February, from 72.4% in the corresponding period a year ago. The trend indicates the increasing complexity of state-run refineries.
Source: Livemint
China has yet again promised to address India’s concern on the growing bilateral trade deficit — which has now ballooned to $51 billion — and agreed to focus on preparation of an action plan. In a meeting with Chinese Trade Minister Zhong Shan on Monday, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu stressed on the need for greater market access for Indian agricultural products, including rapeseed, soyabean, basmati and non-basmati rice, fruits, vegetables and sugar, according to an official release. “Another commodity which could be exported from India to China is high quality pharmaceutical products. Export of India’s IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) to China and cooperation in the sectors of tourism and healthcare need to be focussed on,” the release added. The two ministers held their dialogue as part of the 11th meeting of the India-China Joint Group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science and Technology. In 2016-17, India’s trade deficit with China was over $51 billion, which was almost half of the country’s total trade deficit with all trade partners. While India imported goods worth $61 billion, its exports were at $10 billion. The Chinese Minister promised to address the trade deficit, the release said. In the past, China has agreed to work towards more balanced trade with India several times, but failed to take any concrete steps.
RCEP push
Detailed plans, including a five-year plan, had been made in 2014 to increase market access in farm products, including buffalo meat, pharmaceuticals and ITeS, but very little has been executed. At the meeting, Beijing urged New Delhi to also focus on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) being negotiated by 16 countries, including the 10 Asean nations. While China has been pushing India to eliminate import tariffs on most traded products as part of the RCEP, India has been hesitant as its industry is not ready for increased competition from Chinese companies. Shan, who urged India to start an e-dialogue with the country, said the candid and effective discussions with India on trade relations could propel growth not only between the two countries but also the entire region.
Source: Business Line
Pending GST refund claims, a major concern for exporters, could soon be a thing of the past with the government promising to address the issue before the close of this fiscal, FIEO said. “Most of exporters have started getting refunds... the situation is not so alarming,” A. Sakthivel, chairman, FIEO’s Southern Region said. Of the Rs. 10,000-crore refunds claimed by exporters in the south, Rs. 4,000 crore had been cleared. The government had assured exporters that the balance Rs. 6,000 crore would be cleared by March 31, disclosed Mr. Sakthivel during an interaction on the sidelines of a meeting on pending IGST/ITC refund claims organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). He said with delay in refunds pushing exporters into a cash crunch, the FIEO engaged with the government regularly seeking an early solution. According to federation’s estimate, the pending refund claims nationwide had touched Rs. 30,000 crore.
Export growth
An early disposal of the claims is bound to cheer the exporters, he said, pointing out that the 3.2% global growth forecast for world trade in 2018 by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) would be a good sign for India’s export growth. In 2017-18, India’s exports are expected to grow at 7-8%, he said, pointing out that the rate had been lower in the previous fiscal on account of sluggish market conditions. Hyderabad Customs Principal Commissioner A.K. Jain, said 10,000 shipping bills, seeking Rs. 760 crore, were filed with his office by exporters since July. Of these, Rs. 480 crore, pertaining to 5,700 bills, had been disbursed. The remaining include 3,800 shipping bills, relating to Rs. 260 crore refunds that were yet to come to the CBEC from GSTN (GST Network). Principal Commissioner, Hyderabad GST, Naresh Penumaka said 285 applicants had filed for input tax credit refund of Rs. 124 crore of which 150 applicants, involving Rs. 100 crore, had been cleared.
Source: The Hindu
Maintaining its bullish trend for a third straight day, the rupee today strengthened by another 14 paise to end at a near two-week high of 64.87 against the US currency on sustained dollar unwinding by exporters and banks. A spectacular relief rally in local equities further supported the forex sentiment amid extreme bearish dollar overseas cues. Robust capital inflows against the backdrop of solid macro-economic environment also weighed on the currency trade despite mounting expectations that the Federal Reserve will further speed up interest rate hikes this year. The rupee resumed today on a positive note at 64.93 per dollar against last Friday’s close of 65.01 at the inter-bank foreign exchange here. It traded in a tight range of 64.80 and 64.95 for most part of the day before ending at 64.87, a gain of 14 paise, or 0.22 per cent.
Source: Financial Express
The Tirupur garment exporters are perturbed by the manner in which the government machinery was insisting them to pay advance tax at a time when the huge volumes of entitled refunds and export incentives meant for them under government schemes were pending. Raja M. Shanmugam, the president of Tirupur Exporters Association, told The Hindu that the exporters had sent a communication on the issue to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in which the annoyance was expressed over the hurriedness shown by the Income Tax department to issue notices and attach bank accounts of the companies which did not pay advance tax. “Demand notices asking for payment of advance tax are now being issued to exporters here which too based on the previous financial year’s cumulative tax remittance figures. “This act is a pure dichotomy because how can government ask for the advance tax at a time when the government dues to the tune of ₹1,200 crore under various schemes like Remission of State Levies and duty drawback, and Goods and Service Tax refunds, were pending disbursal for Tirupur cluster alone. Moreover, advance tax is not mandatory but only an optional tool”, he pointed out. “Cash flow is very important for MSME-dominated cluster like Tirupur without which the enterprises would perish”, said S. Dhananjayan, chartered accountant and consultant to various textile bodies. The TEA president, through his social media platform, had also pleaded with the PMO to help the cluster survive.
Source: The Hindu
COIMBATORE : Exporters in Tirupur say that only importers of capital goods will be affected because of the RBI’s ban on LoUs. Knitwear exporters largely bank on getting limits sanctioned by the bank to cover exports. Yet the decision to scrap all LoUs (Letters of Undertaking) is “unwarranted”, they say. Calling it a “knee jerk” reaction and a totally unwarranted stand because of the fraud committed by Nirav Modi, the President of Tirupur Exporters’ Association Raja M Shanmugham said: “this is more like Tughlaq governance.” The knitwear exporting community’s exposure to LoUs “is not much, excepting those that have invested in capital goods,” he said. He further said that the cost of funds was only 2 per cent on the ₹5.60 lakh crore capital investments (on power infrastructure and capital goods) across the country. “This will shoot up now and this is bound to have a cascading effect. “Project promoters would not have factored this cost. Now conversion of the LoU into a loan will add another 10 per cent load to the project cost and make life difficult for the business community,” he said. Exporters feel that the Centre should step in and resolve the issue instead of remaining silent. The industry is already bleeding as the GST refund claims have not been settled yet, barring few units that have managed to get the refund. The government should take the industry stakeholders into confidence, discuss and debate before taking major decisions, as it has started to impact the trade adversely, TEA president said, voicing concern over the present state of affairs.
Source: Business Line
The city of Tirupur was always known as an entrepreneur’s paradise — a place where unskilled labour arrived from across the country to receive on-the-job training before ultimately starting their own micro to small units to service India’s largest knitwear export cluster. Demand was always growing, labour was continuously learning and moving up into higher skill jobs and credit, secured only by trust within the fraternity of over 20,000 small to medium units, was extended freely within the value chain. So, why then are there reports of young entrepreneurs committing suicide in Tirupur? The reasons for Tirupur’s woes are both external and internal. On the external side is the emergence over the last several years of strong competitors such as Bangladesh and Vietnam. Rupee appreciation in real terms has hurt Tirupur’s exporters, making it hard to compete on a cost basis with lower income countries such as Bangladesh. Further, in the new era of bilateral free trade agreements where countries across south and east Asia are rushing to sign agreements with the biggest export markets, India has faltered. This has been primarily due to the FTA-related revenue losses for domestic manufacturers in sectors such as auto and winery. Bangladesh has already signed an FTA with the EU which has given them a 10.5% cost advantage over India. Similarly, Vietnam is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU and is already part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
1-2 punch combination
While Tirupur’s exporters managed to overcome external shocks in the past, and ride through periods of slowdown such as the 2008 crisis, the cause of Tirupur’s pain this time is domestic policy. The 1-2 punch combination of demonetisation and a hurried, faulty GST implementation has brought Tirupur to its knees. Demonetisation completely decimated domestic demand by removing all liquidity from the market. GST has increased costs, not only of compliance but also of materials, services and working capital. Prior to GST implementation, the sum total of export incentives amounted to 13.65% of FOB value. Subsequent to GST, this fell to 8%, a steep reduction of 5.7 percentage points. Of this, exporters can claim GST paid, which will be 2 percentage points, assuming it is paid on time by suppliers to exporters. So, the net loss in incentives is 3.7 percentage points. The Centre had promised 90% of GST would be refunded within 9 days from the date of export, with the remaining being refunded in 90 days. However, most have still to receive their GST refunds or the promised refund of State levies that were part of the incentive package. This has led to a severe tightening of liquidity for exporters which, in turn, has led to a contraction in demand for downstream processing units, leading to their inability to pay back loans on their capital. If this wasn’t enough, the e-way bill bogey continues to hang over Tirupur’s textile manufacturers. The many complications of a badly implemented GST are slowly eating away at India’s largest cotton textiles export cluster. One can only hope the Centre expedites payments and institutes a mechanism for faster rebates in future. If not done soon, a labour-intensive industry that generates 2,400 jobs per ₹1 crore of investment will leave lakhs of low-skill workers unemployed, leading to a demographic disaster.
Source: The Hindu
Surat: Surat was one of the first few cities in India to have gone open defecation free (ODF) in 2016. However, a new study on the labour conditions in Surat’s textile industry by Vadodara-based Peoples Training and Research Centre (PTRC) revealed that urinals don’t exist in 30% textile units including power loom, textile processing, as well as embroidery and garment units. Survey carried out at 48 textile units in various industrial areas across the city, which included 28 textile processing units, 10 powerloom units, seven embroidery units and one each of hosiery, garment and a composite mill. About 50 respondents filled up the questionnaire, among which three were female workers. The study reveals that 10% units do not have toilet facilities and most units do not have separate toilet facilities for women workers. In hosiery units, there are restrictions on how many times workers can visit toilets in a day. In textile processing units, where number of female workers are 20 against 680 males, they do not have separate toilets for females. The situation in the powerloom units is worse as only few number of industrial areas have toilets and urinals, while most do not have urinal facilities and workers are forced to defecate in the open. Jagdish Patel, director of PTRC, told TOI, “A female helper in a processing unit working told us that since past 10 years, the workers defecate in the open as there are only two toilets and no urinals. This unit employ 68 male and 20 female workers. This is a blatant violation of the Factory Act.” tnn
Source: The Times of India
Earlier this month, the government cut royalties that local seed companies pay to Monsanto, for the second time in two years. This follows previous attempts to defang Monsanto. In February, for instance, the anti-trust regulator, the Competition Commission of India, decided to probe into anti-competitive practices by Monsanto. At the centre of all this is the pink bollworm infestation plaguing cotton farmers. Even though Bollgard 2, or BG-2, Monsanto’s second generation insecticidal technology for cotton, was supposed to protect crops against the pink bollworm, the pest has grown resistant to the toxins produced by this trait. As a result, farmers now spend more on pesticides to control infestations. This, along with the high cost of Bt seeds, is driving farmers to indigence. One solution suggested by the National Seed Association of India is for the government to encourage a move back to Bollgard, the first iteration of Bt cotton, as Monsanto hasn’t patented BG in India. Both BG, which has a single bacterial gene called CryA1C, and BG-2, which has CryA1C and Cry2AB2, are designed to protect against pink bollworm. BG began failing against the pest in 2009, while BG-2 began failing in 2014. Interestingly, none of the other 14 Bt cotton-growing countries have seen this resistance. China still successfully controls pink bollworm with first-generation Bt cotton. The U.S. and Australia are moving on to third-generation BG-3 without having faced this problem. Why did India suffer this unique misfortune?
A unique problem
Cotton researchers broadly agree on the reason: the pink bollworm grew resistant because India restricted itself to cultivating long-duration hybrids since the introduction of Bt cotton in 2002. Hybrids are crosses between two crops that often see higher yields than their parents, in a genetic phenomenon called heterosis. All other Bt cotton-growing countries mainly grow open-pollinated cotton varieties rather than hybrids. A couple of factors led to India’s unique trajectory. First, when Monsanto licensed its BG and BG-2 traits to Indian seed companies, the agreement restricted the introduction of these traits to hybrids only. Second, hybrids are financially more attractive to Indian seed companies because they offer a “value capture mechanism”. India is the only country whose intellectual property laws have never prevented its farmers from either saving or selling seeds, says K.V. Prabhu, chairperson of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority of India. Other countries restrict saving and selling of seeds in various degrees. Over 70 countries that are members of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, for example, allow farmers to reuse seeds from a protected plant variety, but not to sell them. In the U.S., where plant varieties are patented, the patented seeds cannot even be reused. Without such protections, several seed companies in India prefer hybrids because unlike open-pollinated varieties, hybrids lose their genetic stability when their seeds are replanted. This compels farmers to repurchase seeds each year, protecting corporate revenues. When Monsanto introduced Bt cotton in India, the technology was so popular that cotton farmers shifted to it en masse. But because there was no open-pollinated Bt option, they were also forced to shift en masse to hybrids. From 2002 to 2011, the area under cotton hybrids rose from 2% in north India and 40% elsewhere to 96% across the country. This shift had consequences, says Keshav Raj Kranthi, former director of the Central Institute for Cotton Research and currently at the International Cotton Advisory Committee in Washington, DC. Not only are hybrids expensive, they are also bigger and bushier, forcing farmers to cultivate them at low densities — 11,000 to 16,000 crops per acre. This is suboptimal — countries like the U.S. and Brazil plant cotton at 80,000 to 100,000 per acre. What’s more, to make up for the low densities, Indian farmers grow them longer so that they produce enough cotton. Mr. Kranthi also says that the introduction of the Bt gene into only one parent of Indian hybrids, as is the practice, is itself a problem. The resulting hybrids are hemizygous, which means that they express only one copy of the Bt gene. So, they produce cotton bolls that have some seeds toxic to the pink bollworm and some that are not. This can be contrasted with the homozygous seeds of open-pollinated varieties in the U.S., China or Australia, which have 100% toxic seeds. The problem with hemizygous hybrids is that they allow pink bollworms to survive on toxin-free seeds when they are vulnerable newborns. This is only a hypothesis, but other pink bollworm experts say it’s reasonable. Bruce Tabashnik, at the University of Arizona, who studies pest resistance, adds that experiments are needed to confirm this. When all these factors combine with the pink bollworm’s biology, this creates a perfect storm of conditions for resistance. The pest does its most damage in the latter half of the cotton-growing season and does not consume any other crop that grows then. So, the long duration of Indian cotton crops, between 160 and 300 days, allows this pest to thrive and evolve resistance more quickly than it can for short-duration crops. Contrast this with other cotton-growing countries which strictly terminate the crop within 160 days. Mr. Kranthi says the only solution to the problem is to move swiftly to short-duration varieties. This is where Monsanto’s first-generation Bollgard comes in. Seed companies cannot develop open-pollinated varieties with BG-2, but they can with BG, since Monsanto didn’t patent BG in India.
Step forward or two steps back?
However, not everybody agrees with this strategy. Govind Gujar, who retired as the head of entomology at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, says moving back to BG is a bad idea because the problem was not with the BG trait but with long-duration cotton. And even if BG-2 doesn’t fend off the pink bollworm, it still protects against other pests like the tobacco cutworm and the American bollworm. The presence of two Bt genes in BG-2 means it will be more effective than BG in delaying resistance against these pests. He asks: “When the whole world is moving to BG-3, why do we want to go back in time?” The more critical question is, even if the government incentivises a return to BG, will all seed companies stop making BG-2 seeds? Some, like the Hyderabad-based Nuziveedu Seeds, say they will. But others, like the Aurangabad-based Ajeet Seeds, prefer BG-2 because of the superior stacked gene technology. If India cultivates both BG and BG-2, simultaneously, that can accelerate resistance among pests, studies predict. This could trigger the emergence of new cotton pests. India erred by not clamping down on long-duration crops when Bt cotton was first introduced. At least now it must base its policy on sound science and implement it stringently.
Source: The Hindu
COIMBATORE: Despite the Centre’s support to the Indian textile industry, the sector, stakeholders say “has been losing its sheen” on various fronts. From scale of operation to poor expansion or investment in post-spinning operations — be it weaving or processing, rising labour costs, inconsistent fibre policy, lack of level playing field to remain competitive on the export front, inordinate delay in signing of FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) and the inefficient supply chain seems to have pushed the cotton textile industry in the country to a tight spot. Such issues were discussed at a panel discussion on “Is Indian Cotton textiles losing its competitiveness?” The event — the second in the Agri Conclave series — was powered by BusinessLine in association with Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX).
Garment exports hit
Prabhu Damodharan, Secretary, Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), said the garment sector in the textile value chain is at its lowest ebb, losing out to low cost countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh, as they enjoyed LDC (Least Developed Countries) status. “The LDC has given these countries an edge over our exports. Exports from these countries are cheaper 10 per cent at the threshold level and there is no social compliance.” Could the scale of operation be our detriment considering that most of the factories in the textile value chain, in the post-spinning area are small and medium units? “The spinning sector has established a benchmark, but scaling is required in post-spinning operations, particularly in weaving, processing, knitting and garmenting. Though not at the scale of operations in China, there is a need to scale up in garmenting. Lack of access to capital and the size of operation has put them in a disadvantageous position,” observed Susindaran, Chief Executive Officer, Kay Ventures.
Effluent discharge norms
Suresh Manoharan, Secretary, Perundurai SIPCOT Textile Processors’ Association, said in processing, the challenges faced by the industry are innumerable, on account of zero liquid discharge (ZLD). “We are now converting water pollution to air pollution,” he said in a lighter vein, before adding that the ZLD had pushed the cost of production northward by 20-25 per cent. “This condition (of ZLD) is imposed only in western Tamil Nadu. Further, the processing sector is capital intensive, and the margins – practically nil.” S Dhananjayan, senior auditor and advisor to Tirupur Exporters’ Association, said the knitwear cluster had to conform with various compliances such as ZLD and social compliance, which, in turn, resulted in a 10-15 per cent rise in production cost, making the operations unviable. “After the roll-out of GST, and with the government extending some cushion by way of ROSL (Rebate of State Levies), we thought the sector would get some breather. But post-GST, the sector has started to choke for want of working capital. This is expected to hit our bottom line by 4-5 per cent. It is a devastating blow.”
Market size, demand
Deepak Mehta, Head – Agri & Energy, MCX, stressed that price risk management is important for the cotton sector. “The market size is huge at ₹65,000 crore and in 2017-18, the risk cover was only to the extent of ₹9,000 crore,” he said, urging the participants to utilise the MCX platform more aggressively. Earlier, delivering the key-note address, G Chandrasekhar, commodities market specialist, said that rising income and the “natural” fibre status would increase the demand for cotton. “The domestic demand is given, but the challenges in supply could impact. As India integrates with the global market, the stakeholders must take a 360 degree vision, as the cotton prices here will be decided by what is happening globally.” J Thulasidharan, President, Indian Cotton Federation, said there is no specific quality standard on cotton quality in India, but quality per se of the cotton produced here is good.
Source: Business line
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1398.93 |
USD/Ton |
0.11% |
3/26/2018 |
|
VSF |
2343.43 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
ASF |
2770.95 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
Polyester POY |
1397.35 |
USD/Ton |
0.46% |
3/26/2018 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3673.49 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
40D Spandex |
6016.92 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
Nylon POY |
2976.79 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1678.40 |
USD/Ton |
0.47% |
3/26/2018 |
|
Polyester FDY |
3839.75 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
Nylon DTY |
5985.25 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1643.57 |
USD/Ton |
0.29% |
3/26/2018 |
|
Polyester DTY |
3404.31 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
3055.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2162.92 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
3024.29 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2327.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2549.27 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3198.47 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2723.45 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.48 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.90 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.26 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.71 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.75 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/26/2018 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15834 USD dtd. 26/3/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
West Auckland nanofibre producer Revolution Fibres is tripling production to meet increased international demand from a range of industries, from cosmetics manufacturers through to Formula One teams. The company uses electrospinning technology to create nanofibre out of a range of materials, including polymers and natural sources, such as collagen from hoki fish skins. Traditionally, nanofibre has been used in air and water filters, and in lithium batteries. However, a growing number of applications means Revolution Fibres’ products are finding niche uses across a vast range of industries. CEO Iain Hosie says international demand has meant tripling production, with more growth expected this year as nanofibre is used increasingly for large scale manufacturing, as well as niche application areas, such as the aerospace industry. The lift in production levels comes at a time when Revolution Fibres has renewed its AS9100d certification, a quality assurance requirement, which allows it to continue to develop an even wider range of products for its aerospace clients. The company is the only nanofibre producer in the world to meet aerospace industry standards, says Mr Hosie. “We are now working right across multiple sectors, using both synthetic and bio-based materials. We are ramping up production to ensure we can supply a wide range of new clients and opportunities.” Mr Hosie says there are endless applications for nanofibers, and this is reflected in the growing demand for products. Of prime value is Revolution Fibres’ skincare and natural health product actiVlayr, a NZ marine collagen skin treatment, which looks like a dressing yet acts as a cream. “There’s now a steady stream of industries embracing the characteristics of nanofibre material. This will only increase as research uncovers even greater opportunities in life sciences, and so the potential for nanofibre becomes even more limitless,” added Mr Hosie. He says companies are constantly searching for ways to enhance and make products better and stronger or to enhance existing products. “That’s the beauty of nanofibre, it can give those in highly competitive industries, where innovation is key, a crucial edge over the competition.”
Source: Innovation in Textiles.
ZÜRICH, Switzerland — Already a strong producer of raw cotton and yarns, Uzbekistan is now ready to take its textile manufacturing capabilities to the next stage, by investing in latest-technology for downstream processes of fabric manufacture, finishing and making-up. The appetite for progress in these segments was demonstrated at a recent two-day symposium in Tashkent, staged by the Swiss Textile Machinery Association (Swissmem), showcasing the technology and know-how of 14 leading textile machinery manufacturers from Switzerland. The event was opened by the Swiss Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Olivier Chave, and Bakhodir Alikhanov, the First Deputy Chairman of Uzbekistan Textile and Garment Association. It was attended by hundreds of delegates from the Uzbek textile and clothing sector, as well as a large contingent of students from the textile faculty of Tashkent University. Welcoming the delegates, Ernesto Maurer, President of the Swiss Textile Machinery Association, said it was clear that recent actions by the Uzbekistan government signalled its intent to foster advances in both the technology level and the extended range of textile-producing activities by its textile manufacturers. “The fact that the Uzbek currency is now convertible for international exchange is the foundation for a significant increase in foreign trade,” he said. “And the presence at the symposium of many important representatives of the Uzbekistan textile industry is proof that there is great enthusiasm to take advantage of the new opportunities, especially in the development of business in the value-added areas of textile production, downstream from the established raw cotton and yarn sectors.” The member companies of Swissmem taking part in the symposium were: Amsler Tex, Benninger, ITEMA, Jakob Müller, Loepfe Brothers, Luwa, Maag Brothers, Rieter, Rieter Components (Bräcker, Graf, SSM), Saurer, Stäubli Sargans and Steiger. According to Cornelia Buchwalder, Secretary General of Swissmem, the machinery manufacturers presenting their technology at the event were gratified at the level of interest shown: “As well as the industrialists, it was especially pleasing to welcome many textile students to learn about the Swiss companies and their products,” she said. “After all, we are planning to create new partnerships and project for the future, and these are the people who will be involved in this process in the years to come.”Further positive reactions came from the individual Swiss company representatives. Boyd Higgins, Uzbekistan Sales Manager for Jakob Müller AG Frick, said the organisation of this event helped to create the right impression among attendees: “There was a very distinct recognition of Swiss quality and precision from the industry delegates present. This will certainly help us all in convincing customers that investing in Swiss Textile Machinery is always the right decision.”
Source: Textile World
Cambodia has become more autocratic and its government’s claim of stable economic development rests on uncertain basis, according to a comprehensive new report. The Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index (BTI), published on Thursday, claims that the quality of Cambodia’s democracy, market economy and governance performance has deteriorated since its 2016 report. The biennial index assesses transitioning countries and ranks Cambodia 103rd out of 129, with a score of 4 out of 10. Though the latest report only covers events through January 2017 – before a widespread crackdown on the political opposition – the report’s authors still found that the “government drastically increased repressive measures against critics of the government”. This repression was conducted mainly through judicial persecution and intimidation of politicians, they write, but the murder of political analyst Kem Ley was cited as an example of physical force used to intimidate. Markus Karbaum, author of the chapter on Cambodia, said in an email that the recent developments, including the dissolution of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party in November – which he called a “dramatic cut and a very crucial factor” – fell in line with the regressive trend. But, he added, Cambodia “has always been a façade democracy which has just been torn off”. Phay Siphan, Council of Ministers spokesman on Sunday rejected the assessment as “biased”. “It’s not fake democracy. It’s from the people.” The report also questions the sustainability of Cambodia’s economic growth. It attributes this to deep corruption, over-exploitation of natural resources, reduced competitiveness of the rice sector and a lack of skilled workers. The risk of a real estate bubble in Phnom Penh had increased, while growth in tourism declined, they write. “Massive social inequalities and the country’s large number of people living in poverty pose a serious challenge to the sustainability of economic growth,” the report adds. A lack of substantial welfare-state policies, they write, increased poverty risks. Siphan, however, rejected this assessment. “We feel confident about economic growth,” he said. “Inflation is under control, we never ask a foreigner to pay a salary . . . We don’t depend on the garment factory.” But Miguel Chanco, lead Asean analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, agreed that Cambodia’s economic growth seemed unsustainable. “I certainly agree that Cambodia’s current rate of economic growth is unsustainable – owing in large part to the narrowness of the economy (ie it’s reliance on garment exports) and the threat posed by nearby countries that boast much lower labour costs,” he said in an email. Decreasing competitiveness in Cambodia’s garment industry, he wrote, is expected to lead to a decline to 6.5 percent GDP growth by 2022. Stephen Higgins, managing partner at Mekong Strategic Partners, explained that although Cambodia’s growth was mainly owed to the garment industry, the sector could not support such growth long-term. “As Cambodia becomes wealthier, income expectations also increase, which will price Cambodia out of the global garment industry, along with other sectors that rely on low wage costs,” he said.
Source: The Phnom Penh Post
SIALKOT-Federal Secretary for Textile Division (Ministry of Commerce and Textile) Hassan Iqbal has said that the government will ensure technological upgradation of the textile industry. He said that advanced technology had become vital to flourish Pakistan's textile sector by encouraging the textile and garments' exporters at every level. He stated this while addressing an "Interactive Session of Business Community" held at the PRGMEA House Sialkot under the auspices of Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA). Central Chairman PRGMEA Ejaz A Khokhar presided over the session. A large number of the textile and garments exporters also attended the session. The federal secretary announced two percent cash bonus for the textile and garments exporters for developing new product for the international markets. He said that the government was striving to boom the country's textile and garments sector. He said that the government would also encourage the products under Prime Minister's Incentive Package. He also stressed a need that all the processing of the textile material be done in Pakistan. "We could produce the best cotton in Pakistan by utilising the advanced research and technology," he added. He said that Pakistan was enriched with the world's best human and natural resources. He also urged the exporters to ensure early diversification of their traditional and non-traditional export products with the competitive prices in the international trade markets. He also asked the exporters to improve the quality and standard of their export products of textile and garments following the international standards to explore and capture the new international trade markets. He said that the government was encouraging the national and foreign investors to establish new industries in Pakistan by getting all the benefits and incentives announced by the government to encourage the investors. He also pledged his full cooperation for the early clearance of Sialkot exporters' sales tax refund claims. He said that the govt would encourage the exporters at every level to increase the textile exports from existing 60 percent. PRGMEA Central Chairman Ejaz A Khokhar highlighted the issues and perturbing problems being faced by the textile and garments sector in Pakistan and sought their solution.
Source: The Nation
Ethiopia knows its current potential for apparel sourcing, and it’s working to build up the more robust supply chain necessary to reach that potential. Benefitting greatly from the attention major companies like PVH and H&M have brought to the country in their moves to establish supply chains there, Ethiopia has been top of mind when it comes to talk of sourcing in Africa. But, as some have noted, the country is not quite yet ready to accommodate the demands of the modern-day apparel supply chain, where speed is vital and verticality is necessary to deliver it. “Right now, we more or less have every supplier in the supply chain, but not with the quality level we need, particularly on the accessories,” said Abebe Abebayehu, deputy commissioner for the Ethiopian Investment Commission, during an interview at Sourcing at MAGIC. As such, the Ethiopian government has placed an emphasis on bringing in more fabric manufacturers, more that make interlinings and more suppliers for things like zippers and labels to complete the sourcing ecosystem. “I think within 12 months or so we should have a fully integrated supply chain,” Abebayehu said. “We are very proactive in our approach.” Ethiopia’s ascent as an apparel making nation has been a quick one, fueled in large part by major companies’ commitments to developing manufacturing capabilities there. For Roy Ashurst, international consultant for textiles and apparel, who led PVH’s mission to establish sourcing in Ethiopia, the country showed potential when he first visited in 2012—thanks to its low-cost labor, some of the cheapest renewable energy in the world and a government on board with expanding on Ethiopia’s manufacturing potential—but there was little there at the time. “Before I got there, H&M was there, and after six years they were only working with one factory because they couldn’t find the factories that could meet their standards,” Ashurst said. So PVH, in its desire to reduce dependency on Bangladesh for manufacturing, set out to build a supply chain in Ethiopia. “We didn’t just want to build factories. What we wanted was to build a sustainable, compliant supply chain,” Ashurst said. PVH focused on working with three of its supplier mills that were interested in doing something in Ethiopia, and in partnership with the government and other donor groups, broke ground on the Hawassa Industrial Park in 2015, finishing it in 2016. And things have been fruitful since then. “We’ve taken Ethiopia from less than $100 million in 2016 to potentially $1 billion in 2018, and the objective now is $30 billion by 2025,” Ashurst said. China, long considered the world’s manufacturer, has been part of fueling that growth, as major manufacturers from the country have been keen to establish operations in Ethiopia. Jiangsu Sunshine Group, one among them, is investing upward of $945 million to set up a wool factory in Ethiopia. China’s Kingdom, one of the world’s largest linen suppliers, has also made its way to Ethiopia. For cotton textiles, China’s Wixu Jinmao is there too.
Why the extra interest from China?
According to Ashurst, “Local demand in China means they don’t have capacity to export anymore. They are not closing down their businesses in China, they are using their mills in China to produce for the local market and they are building new mills to support their exports.” Wuxi Jinmao is the investing Chinese parent for JP Textiles, a mill that became operational in the Hawassa industrial park last July and became fully operational in January. The facility can now produce 900,000 yards of yarn dye fabric each month. And that number is expected to increase substantially once the company completes phase two of its development in about a year’s time. “It’s all geared to support the wide range of fabric demand of manufacturers who are in the industrial park as well as in other AGOA countries,” William Narva, director of strategic planning and business development for Wuxi, said. “We could reproduce the same ranges in Ethiopia that we produce currently in China. This does not replace our China production, this complements it.” For JP Textiles, the biggest opportunity in Ethiopia has been the duty free trade status it enjoys with the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and with the European Union as part of its Everything But Arms trade privilege program. What’s more, Narva said, “By investing in fabric production to complement the garment production, it largely offsets concerns that any customer might have about longer lead times in terms of fabric transit from other countries to Ethiopia.” Beyond being able to improve lead times, there was a lot that made Ethiopia a draw for China’s Sunshine Group. “Ethiopia now has a rich labor source and they are duty free to developed countries—to the U.S., EU, Japan—and these are our main markets, so I think this is also the big advantage for Ethiopia,” said Sunshine’s Henry Jiang, who works in the company’s foreign trade department. “Made in China now is not cheap anymore, the cost in China has become higher and higher, so I think this is the main reason we want to invest in Ethiopia to be more competitive.” Sunshine’s Ethiopia setup is still under construction and expected to be complete by the end of this year. Once fully operational, the facility will be able to produce 10 million meters of worsted wool fabrics and 1.5 million sets of suits. “That will mean almost every major fabric manufacturer will have a fabric mill in Ethiopia,” Abebayehu said. “We have almost everything that Bangladesh has plus a stable government.” Now, for Ethiopia, it’s just about filling in the blanks in its supply chain. “We’re trying to get all the support in place,” Ashurst said. “I don’t want to have my fabric come from 50 meters away and then have to import labels from China.” If the country’s growth in manufacturing thus far is any indication of where it’s headed, it may not be long before Ethiopia has everything the industry needs. “From 2014 to where we are in 2018 in terms of building an industry is no time at all,” Ashurst said. “We turned sourcing on its head. It’s a brand-drive initiative partnering with the government and that’s really what’s made the difference. That’s why Ethiopia will overtake every other country in terms of exports.”
Source: sourcing Journal Online
Cotton USA, which promotes US cotton fibre and manufactured cotton products around the globe, showed the global home textile industry ‘What’s new In Cotton’, including five new innovative technologies to drive sales growth, at its booth at the Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles, Asia’s leading home textile event, which was held from March 14 to 16, 2018. Karin Malmstrom, Cotton Council International (CCI) director of China and Northeast Asia, said, “At the Intertextile Home show, our ground-breaking What’s New In Cotton section showcased innovative technologies that has inspired brands with new ideas for cotton and cotton blended fabrics. The objective is to inspire everyone in the textile business to think about the many opportunities in US cotton.” Cotton USA invited attendees to visit the booth to learn about its collaboration with leading brands and retailers around the world, as well as how to license the Cotton USA Mark, which quantitative consumer research proves is of high value to consumers and can drive both preference and higher prices. Additionally, Cotton USA highlighted US cotton’s sustainability, quality, transparency, and premium value, as well as the findings of current market and consumer studies and its ongoing Sourcing Programmes that match US cotton buyers and suppliers throughout the supply chain. Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles is a comprehensive platform for home textiles and accessories. It is currently one of the most important home textile exhibitions in the world. Gathering more than 200 exhibitors from eight countries and regions and nearly 20,000 buyers/visitors from more than 69 countries, it is the perfect platform for Cotton USA to promote US cotton and its global marketing and licensing programme. Eleven Cotton USA licensed manufacturers from China also displayed at the show. (GK)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
