The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 23 APRIL, 2018

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

 

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to Conduct National Sizing Survey 
 

INDIAsize, a National Sizing Survey will be conducted by the National Institute of Fashion Technology(NIFT), New Delhi, under the Ministry of Textiles, Govt of India, to develop a comprehensive size chart for ready-to-wear industry based on the body measurements of the Indian population. It is a scientific exercise where anthropometric data will be collected from a sample population in the age group 15 to 65 years to create a database of measurements that will result in a standardized size chart which is representative of the Indian population and can be adopted by the apparel industry. 
A large percentage of shoppers face difficulty in finding clothes that fit perfectly according to their body measurements. The reason is differences in anthropometric built of people in different geographical regions across the country. Till date 14 countries have successfully completed national sizing surveys: USA,Canada,Mexico,UK, France,Spain,Germany,Korea,China and Australia. The surveys entail measuring statistically relevant sample size pan country using human safe technology of 3D whole body scanner, a non-contact method of taking body measurements and analyzing the collected data to create size charts. Indian apparel industry uses size charts which are tweaked versions of size charts of other countries so returns of the garments are in the range of 20% to 40% and is increasing with the growth of ecommerce and the main reason for returns are poor garment fit.  Providing well fitting garments in the absence of standardized size chart is proving to be a big challenge for the domestic textile and apparel industry which is projected to reach USD 123 billion by 2021 and holds 5th position in apparel imports.  The findings of the study will impact various other sectors like automotive, aerospace, fitness and sport, art and computer gaming where insights from this data can produce ergonomically designed products which are suited for the Indian population.  The project has been approved by the Govt. of India and will entail measuring of 25,000 male and female Indians in 6 cities in 6 regions of the country: Kolkata(East), Mumbai(West), New Delhi(North), Hyderabad(Central India), Bengaluru(South) and Shillong(North-East). Using 3D whole body scanners,computers will extract hundreds of measurements from a scan. The data created as part of this project will be confidential and secure. The duration of the project will be around two years from the date of commencement. NIFT is the implementing agency for the National Sizing Survey.

Source: PIB

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Fin Min examining issues in converting GSTN to Govt Company

The Finance Ministry is examining various issues including overhaul of procurement procedures and the salary structure of employees as part of the proposal to convert GST Network (GSTN) into a government company. These two issues, along with other transitional and operational nuances, would be placed before the Union Cabinet for consideration once the GST Council clears the proposal of turning GSTN into a majority or fully-owned government entity, a source told PTI. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier this month asked Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia to "examine the possibility" of converting GSTN into a majority government company or a 100 per cent government company. GSTN provides the IT backbone for the new indirect tax regime. Currently, five private financial institutions -- HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, NSE Strategic Investment Co and LIC Housing Finance Ltd -- hold 51 per cent stake in GSTN, which was incorporated on March 28, 2013, in the erstwhile UPA regime. The remaining 49 per cent stake is with the centre and states. The current structure of GSTN where financial institutions hold the majority 51 per cent stake gives the entity flexibility in quick procurement through tendering process. However, turning it into a government entity would mean that procurement -- that currently occurs on a real-time basis -- will have to be in sync with those of PSUs and state-owned companies, a source said. Another aspect that would come into play could be salary structure. Currently, the employee remuneration is at par with those in the private sector, but transforming GSTN to a government entity would change that, the person privy to the development added. These issues are currently being discussed by the officials within the Finance Ministry, the source said, adding the ministry is hopeful of a seamless transition given that the goods and services tax (GST) collections have stabilised over the last 9 months and businesses are familiar with the systems. The government stake in GSTN was initially kept at 49 per cent and incorporated as a private company to "allow adequate flexibility and freedom" to "ensure timely implementation of the IT infrastructure" prior to the GST roll out. GST, which subsumed over a dozen local taxes, was rolled out on July 1, 2017. Over one crore businesses are registered on the GSTN portal. GSTN is a Section 8 company under the new Companies Act and hence is a not-for-profit entity. The source said that there are no hindrances from the private shareholders in selling their stake to the government because GSTN does not give dividend. The Finance Ministry is in favour of making GSTN a wholly-owned company with 100 per cent share holding, but a final call would be taken by the GST Council, headed by Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, in its next meeting.

Source : Money Control

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24X7 Customs clearing fails to boost trade at Petrapole

“Baichung Parking” reads the sign on a gated compound near Bongaon on Jessore Road, approximately 10 km ahead of the Petrapole land border with Bangladesh. The owner must have been a fan of former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia. Inside the compound, nearly a dozen trucks are lined up. They are carrying export consignments to Bangladesh but detained due to heavy congestion at the entry point. There are numerous such private parking and warehousing facilities in Bongaon and more are springing up, indicating strong demand. Nearly seven months since the introduction of round-the-clock Customs clearance by India and Bangladesh on August 1, there is no visible improvement in cargo movement at Petrapole-Benapole (Bangladesh) border, the most preferred route for bilateral trade. At ₹18,501 crore, Petrapole-Benapole (Bangladesh) border accounted for 35 per cent of the $7.5 billion bilateral trade in 2016-17. While the total for 2017-18 is not known yet, trade through this gate increased marginally to ₹18,798 crore.

24X7 a failure?

Land port officials say that the pace of clearance has increased lately as nearly 450 trucks are currently entering Bangladesh a day as against 300 trucks year ago. However, that is very small compared to the daily arrival of 3,500 trucks with export cargo. Moreover, much of the incremental volume of clearances reportedly went to serve a few in the name of priority cargo, claim Kartik Chakrabarti, representing the C&F agents’ association. Ideally, perishables are due for preference treatment at the gates. But, beginning last year, Petrapole gives preference to 40-plus sealed containerised export cargo, mostly cotton fabric. Bangladesh insists on priority clearance for its import of truck chassis, approx. 100 a day. In all, roughly, 200 consignments are now getting priority status, leaving a small window to serve majority exporters. Naturally, congestion is a rule here. And, many starting from Bomgaon Municipality to private parking lots, are making a killing. For an average detention of 10 days on Indian side of the border, trucks pay in excess of ₹4,000 as a parking fee. Extortion fees extra.

Nexus at Benapole

The source of the entire trouble seems to be in Bangladesh which suffers from capacity constraint to clear cargo. Bangladesh has invested in passenger terminal but its cargo operations are in dismal shape vis-a-vis modern cargo handling facilities on the Indian side. While Indian land port ensures unloading of import cargo from Bangladeshi trucks in flat 12 hours, Indian trucks carrying export cargo are detained for six days on an average in Bangladeshi land port. According to Indian users, infrastructure inadequacy and poor warehouse management are also to blame for the longer wait for trucks in Benapole. The clue lies in tariff structure. The Indian land port charges ₹5,000 a day penalty for occupying space beyond 24 hours. Bangladesh didn’t introduce this progressive tariff and influential Bangladeshi importers use Benapole land port as a low-cost warehousing solution. Commodities imported from India are often stored at Bangladeshi land port for months, allegedly to be cleared depending on domestic market conditions. International trade slows due to capacity constraint. Professor Selim Raihan, Executive Director of the Dhaka-based South Asian Network of Economic Modelling (SANEM), points out that Bangladeshi land port suffers both from infrastructure inadequacy as well as poor utilisation of the existing resources. This slow pace of clearing cargo and the resulting congestion, however, helps rent seeking. While private warehouses and parking bays thrive on Indian side, truckers allege that they are forced to pay ₹3,000-4,000 goonda tax in Bangladesh on every trip. “The 24X7 Customs clearing makes little sense for general traders. Making Benapole cargo-handling efficient will pace up the trade,” said an Indian source.

Source: Business Line

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IT makes ports more efficient

Use of technology has begun reflecting in the performance of the logistics chain, with shipment, warehousing and cargo consolidation witnessing improved dwell time over the last six months. Instrumental in this process has been the Logistics Databank System (LDB), a flagship technology solution of DMICDC Logistics Data Services, a special purpose vehicle of the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT), a government entity, and Japan’s NEC Corporation. Dwell time, the time taken for exports to be loaded onto a ship and imports onto a truck or train, has a direct impact on terminal congestion, besides the storage charges cargo owners pay to the port authorities. With respect to shipping, overall dwell time in January, 2018 at JNPT’s five terminals saw an improvement of 29% over December last year. This was the result of a reduction in export cycle dwell time for both truck-and train-bound containers. Rohit Chaturvedi, CEO of TransportHub.in, says that with the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, LDB provides a near real-time digital visibility on container movement. “LDB is an internet of things (IoT), big data and cloud-based solution that provides users a single window interface to check the location of the container along its entire journey, from ports to inland container depots (ICDs) and container freight stations (CFSs),” he says. Following its launch in December, 2017 and implementation at ports on the western corridor, the service is now being extended to three ports on the southern corridor — Krishnapatnam, Kattupalli and Ennore, as well as at JNPT’s new terminal, Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal Pvt Ltd. Real-time tracking has helped reduce dwell time for cargo at ICDs and CFSs as well. Dwell time at ICDs and CFSs on the western corridor has gone down by 26.7%. For import-bound containers, it has improved by 42.86% while for export-bound containers, the figure is 15%. LDB analysis has also helped reduce transit time from ports to CFSs by around 12%.In what may reduce the cost of logistics significantly, RFID sealing tags are also likely to be used at the manufacturer’s site for factory-stuffed exports. Even with respect to the domestic express industry which comprises shipments transported and delivered within India, technology is emerging as a key driver. According to Vijay Kumar, COO, Express Industry Council of India, technological advance has led to automation of critical functions such as tracking, scheduling, and handling of consumer conversations. He says, “the industry is now poised to make significant investments in infrastructure, technology, data analytics, security and automation. In fact, by providing logistics links to customers, express providers today play the role of an enabler. They help businesses reach out to their customers and partners by providing simplified and reliable shipment services, using technology.” To be sure, the technology is still at early stages of development. Although it has penetrated the sector, it only helps post facto in its present form, Chaturvedi avers. The use of internet of things for preventive measures has not been adopted by companies yet. He also warns that IoT-based systems need to be protected from malicious attacks as an unprotected system can expose entire logistics chains to vulnerabilities. All the same, once fully operationalised, the technology is expected to minimise the cost of logistics as well as streamline operations. Significantly, at around 13-15% of total product cost — the developed world’s average is 6%, with the figure at 8-10% for China — high logistics costs in India place its products at a disadvantage in the global market. Aiming to reduce it, the Centre recently granted the logistics sector infrastructure status. Recent initiatives have seen India’s ranking on the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI) improve from 54 in 2014 to 35 in 2016.

Source:  Financial Express

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Export growth may falter in Financial Year 2019; here’s why

Merchandise exports hit a three-year high in 2017-18 but slowing growth in shipments of manufacturing goods and raw materials, collateral impact of a global trade war, unfavourable base effect for roughly half the year and temporary discomfort to traders due to last month’s ban on the widely-used letters of undertakings (LoUs) pose risks to export growth in the current fiscal year. GST refunds, unless expedited, would be an additional dampener for exporters to sail through in 2018-19 and sustain the almost double-digit growth achieved in the last fiscal. Manufacturing export growth eased to 4.1% year-on-year on a three-month moving average basis in March, against 8.3% in February, while expansion in farm exports contracted by -3.1% from 2.3% while growth in other commodities (mostly raw inputs) continued to decelerate, according to an estimate by Nomura. Within manufacturing exports, while engineering goods performed better in March than the previous month, drugs and pharmaceuticals, electronic goods and garments moderated while gems and jewellery registered an even sharper contraction in growth compared with February. Overall, goods exports dropped 0.7% in March from 4.5% in the previous month. Partly driven by an unfavourable base, the sequential contraction in exports in March comes at a time when the blockage of working capital due to delayed GST refunds, ban on LoUs and letters of comfort (which could hit trade temporarily with a lag) and rising oil prices have threatened to undermine India’s already fragile export competitiveness. A looming trade war between the US and China and resultant uncertainties in global trade growth just heightens the risks for Indian exports. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has forecast trade growth at 4.4% for 2018, down from 4.7% in 2017. Although the IMF has raised its trade growth by 50 basis points for 2018 from an earlier prediction, it has flagged risks from protectionism. “We expect the current account (CA) deficit to widen to 2% of GDP in 2018 from 1.7% in 2017 (given the domestic cyclical recovery and elevated commodity prices). The basic balance of payments is already negative, making funding vulnerable to global risk sentiment,” Nomura said. According to Nomura, only Rs 3,000 crore of the Rs 13,000 crore of GST refunds have been cleared. Exporters continue to struggle with working capital as GST refunds remain unprocessed. “Indian trade remains vulnerable to global trade tensions, as the US is India’s largest export market, and China is its largest import partner. Finally, rising oil prices will worsen the current account (CA) balance; every USD10/bbl rise in oil prices deteriorates the CA by 0.4% of GDP,” said Nomura. Even in services, with the high 20.3% growth in exports being overshadowed by the sharp 40.2% expansion in imports, the services surplus declined to a four-month low $5.6 billion in February 2018, according to Aditi Nayar, principal economist at ICRA.

Source: Financial Express

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Endgame for garment exports?

Every Indian city has one or several colourful, buzzing roadside or footpath markets. These have stalls festooned with trendy-looking clothes, often sporting surprisingly familiar global labels. India’s ‘export surplus’ markets — or, to be more accurate, ‘export reject’ markets — have been ensuring that youngsters (as well as the hard-working poor and the ever-thrifty middle class) can actually buy fashionable clothes at pocket-friendly prices. But these markets are only a side note to the real story. India’s huge $100 billion-plus textiles and apparels industry, which employs more than 45 million people, accounts for almost 14% of exports and over a quarter of foreign exchange earnings. It is the second-largest employment sector after agriculture. Of this, the apparel sector alone accounts for more than 12 million jobs and a chunk of the exports.

Alarming data

However, all that may soon become a thing of the past. Not that India’s apparel sector is going away or anything — a nation of 1.3 billion people needs a lot of clothes — but India is quickly losing its place at the top of the table of apparel-exporting nations. Last week, some alarming confirmation of this came by way of official export data, which went by somewhat unnoticed amidst the incidents of rape and a widespread shortage of cash which sparked nightmare flashbacks of demonetisation and sent people scurrying to ATMs to hoard more cash and worsen the situation. Apparel exports in February (the latest month for which data are available) stood at $1.44 billion, a decline of 10.25% compared to the year before. In fiscal 2017-18 (April to February), overall apparel production declined 10.4% , while garment exports fell 4%. Worse, the trend is clearly downwards. Garment exports have fallen for six months in a row now and, except for a spike in a couple of months, have been mostly negative. There are no signs of any immediate turnaround. The sector got hit with a double whammy: demonetisation and the goods and services tax (GST). Meanwhile, the rupee has also been appreciating, gaining 6.4% against the dollar through 2017. This means that an exporter who quoted, say, ₹100 per piece last April and quotes the same rate this April is already 6% more expensive to his buyer. And the industry simply does not have the margin to take this 6% hit and still stay competitive with countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam which are eyeing India’s already shrinking share of the pie. Apparel exports from Bangladesh crossed India’s in 2003, while Vietnam passed India in 2011. Both nations enjoy the same advantage that India does —an abundance of cheap, skilled labour. In addition, they also enjoy favoured access through treaties to major markets like the U.S. and the European Union, while India is under intense pressure from the World Trade Organisation to phase out subsidies and incentives given to the textiles sector as the sector has already achieved ‘export competitiveness’. The trouble is that while India’s garments sector is large in the aggregate, it is comprised mostly of tiny units. Almost 90% of India’s garment manufacturing units are in the unregistered sector. About 78% of the firms employ less than 50 workers and only 10% more than 500 workers. This means that individual entrepreneurs have severe limitations on the kind of capital they can invest in capacity and technology. So, most Indian garment exporters tend to compete at the bottom end of the market where competition is toughest.

Other challenges

With margins already wafer-thin, exporters also have to struggle with other challenges of doing business in India. For example, the Economic Survey 2016-17 made a strong case for focusing on the textiles and apparels sector as a job creator. Apparels are 80 times more labour-intensive than automobiles and create 240-fold more jobs than steel, the Survey pointed out. The Chief Economic Adviser’s team also highlighted the key issues: “Logistics, labour regulations, and tax and tariff policy, and disadvantages emanating from the international trading environment compared to competitor countries.” In other words, trade treaties. Logistics costs are also high: around $7/km by road transport, while it is just $2.5/km in China and $3/km in Sri Lanka. Add onerous tax issues and huge difficulties in even claiming one’s legitimate dues. The biggest impact of GST has been that refunds due to exporters have been stuck for months, leading to locking up of working capital. What this needs is a holistic policy response rather than temporary band-aids and piecemeal incentives. The tax policy needs to be aligned with global trends, while the scale problem needs to be met through aggregation of individual units in large clusters, preferably with quick access to export points, thus curbing logistics costs. Technology upgradation needs serious funding, while trade treaties need to be reviewed to ensure that India gets access for its competitive products in major markets. Above all, Indian entrepreneurs need to also focus on creating their own global brands rather than simply producing for other labels.

Source: The Hindu

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Single Page GST Return will be introduced in 3-6 months, says Hasmukh Adhia

The Union finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia has confirmed that the Government will introduce the newly proposed single GST Return by the Group of Ministers (GoM) recently will be implemented within three to six months. Adhia was addressing the convocation of the 70th batch of the Indian Revenue Services at the National Academy of Direct Taxes. On 17th April, a panel of ministers led by Bihar Minister Sushil Kumar Modi finalized a simplified, single page return, as per which the taxpayers will get credit on a provisional basis once the concerned supplier uploads the sales invoice. Replying to a query on the leakages being reported in GST-1 and GST-3(b), the top finance ministry official said, “we are checking GST-1 and GST-3b. It is coming to the fore that there is leakage and we will plug it. “There are leakages but there is no perfect matching until the new system gets in place. Within three to six months a new system will be in place, making the whole process smoother,” he said. The GST Council, headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, last month discussed on two models of GST returns and asked the GoM to discuss on further simplification of returns. One of the models presented before the council was provisional credit should not be granted unless the taxpayers file returns and pay taxes. The second model stated that provisional credit could be granted to a taxpayer, but returns have to be filed within 3-4 months and taxes have to be paid or else the credit amount would be reversed. The meeting decided that businesses would have to file only one return every month, instead of GSTR-1, 2 and 3 as was conceived earlier. Also, there was unanimity that there would be no system based matching and purchaser would have to verify the invoice uploaded by the seller. The number of returns filed by both small and large taxpayers would be 12 in a year, instead of current 36.

Source: Tax Scan

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Aeropostale to enter kidswear & athleisure, tap youngsters online & offline

Run by Arvind Fashions in India, the firm is also adding denims, wovens and other non-apparel merchandise to the brand in order to woo the youth. After over two years since its launch, American youth fashion brand Aeropostale, known for its graphic logo t-shirts and hoodies, is set to enter the kidswear and athleisure (athletic+leisure) segments. In a bid to cater to its predominant young consumers, Aeropostale, run by Arvind Fashions Limited in India, is also adding denims, wovens and other non-apparel merchandise to the brand. Having built around 33 exclusive stores and over 120 shop-in-shop (SIS) stores since its foray in India in November 2015, Aeropostale is also now ramping up online and offline presence. "We are building multiple categories on the product side. Denims are a big category in India, and we are working on creating a big line of denims called Aeropostale Denims, which will help us to grow on the product side. There are also plans to launch kids wear next year for Aeropostale and get into athleisure a year after that," Sumit, Dhingra, Chief Operating Officer-Heritage Brands Division, Arvind Fashions Limited told Business Standard. In the non-apparel categories, the brand is building its presence in jewellery, footwear, eyewear, and backpacks, among others, even though apparel continues to lead the revenue share for Aeropostale. On the retail front, having focused on top six cities in the last two years, the brand is now looking to build its presence where its young consumers are, including online through omni-channel and other partnerships. "Firstly, there is a huge amount of distribution opportunity available. We have not entered many cities, we have not even penetrated to all the malls available to us. Online, we have just begun which we will explore deeper this year. We entered department stores last year such as Lifestyle, Central, and Shopper's Stop. We will continue to expand in Pantaloons." Backed by Arvind Group's own omni-channel portal Nnnow.com, Aeropostale is looking to builds its online presence through multiple ways. All its 33 stores, which Aeropostale plans to take it up to 45-50 by the end of fiscal 2018-19, are connected to the omni-channel network. "We also are tapping into the existing partners which are leading e-commerce portals like Myntra, Jabong, Amazon and Flipkart. We believe that this channel would grow faster than others given that our consumers are tuned to e-commerce," said Dhingra. The brand's expansion plans are motivated by the target of doing Rs 5 billion worth of business in the first five years of its existence that it has set for itself. Having already achieved Rs 1 billion of it so far, Dhingra said that the company has set a target of 60 per cent growth for Aeropostale this year. "It is the first month of the financial year, hence it is too early to comment. But we are very confident we will be able to meet and surpass that number." Meanwhile, even as it looks to enhance its online presence, Aeropostale expects share of online sales to grow from current 15 per cent to 18 per cent in next three years, with 82 per cent still coming from offline channels aided by omni-channels.

Source: Business Standard

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From 'sui-dhaaga' to sustainable fashion: Rural women weavers find new identity

What happens when women from "silai schools" in rural India up the ante under the expert guidance of fashion designers? They not only hone their skills and amplify theirearning potential but also learn about fashion, gain confidence and respect and the permission to move out of their homes. Consumer durables company Usha International Ltd, in collaboration with IMG Reliance, has launched Usha Silai, an ethical and sustainable fashion label which has clothes sewn by women from Usha Silai School and mentored by designers. The label is a movement to eliminate gender disparity and bring rural women into the world of high street fashion garment construction. Four clusters were identified for this initiative -- Kaladhera in Rajasthan, Mastikari in Bengal, Dholka in Gujarat, and Puducherry -- and select women from these clusters were mentored by designers Amit Vijaya and Richard Pandav, Sayantan Sarkar, Soham Dave and Sreejith Jeevan. The initiative aims to reverse the migration of skilled workers by empowering them with skills and resources to create clothes and accessories that can be retailed in the urban fashion market as well as create the go-to-market strategy for them. Rinku Mandal and Devdasi Mondal from the Kolkata cluster feel that their standing in their community has grown manifold after working on this venture. "We got to know about new skills and we have learned how to work as a team," Rinku told IANS. Devdasi said that in addition to the usual silhouettes, they have learned texturing hand-embroidery and how to dye products, which have helped them create high-end fashion garments. Irudhayamary and Metildamary from the Puducherry cluster feel their confidence has grown immensely ever since they began working on the label, and that they now take pride in showing their work around. "There is an increase in confidence, increase in respect from the customers at Silai School since we have begun making quality garments," Irudhayamary told IANS, adding that they feel proud that the dresses made by them are used at fashion events. The first collection from each cluster under the Usha Silai label was showcased at the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) in February this year. Metildamary said they have got "more exposure to the fashion world"."We are now able to make any new design by seeing the garments. We are making garments that reflect our Puducherry culture -- with waves, window, pintucks and glass panels," said Metildamary. Sunita Devi from the Kaladhera cluster in Rajasthan is proud she has her "own identity outside my home and in the home"."Now my family does not stop me from going outside my home. My decision also has value in my home. Before being associated with this fashion label, I didn't know about fashion. In fact, the first time I heard the term fashion was when I underwent the fashion label assessment in Kaladhera. "I had never seen fashion clothes in my life. I have only seen clothes which are sold in the local market," Sunita told IANS. The same is the case with Rekha Ben from Dholka cluster in Gujarat. "I have felt a lot of change in my life. I got a new identity after working on this fashion label. People (in my community) did not know about me before the training, but now many people know me as a good member of society. I am getting good work orders from local markets because my skills have improved," she said. Priya Somaiya, Executive Director, Usha Social Services, says the idea behind Usha Silai was to facilitate the manifestation and expression of the creative potential in rural women. "To recognise their ability to learn and hone their skills to sew and stitch, and later cut, draft, and patter-make to a level that could cater to the demands of the fashion industry. By empowering them with the skills to tailor high fashion garments, Usha Silai has grown their earning potential manifold while ensuring continuity of work," Somaiya told IANS.

Source: Business Standard

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Wind power capacity addition still stuck in the doldrums

State’s story of solar power looked very good till March 2017 but turned dull this year; authorities confident of overcoming the present problem. The last five years marked an extremely lean phase in wind power capacity addition – a little over 1,000 megawatt (MW) – for Tamil Nadu. Not long ago, between April 2010 and March 2012, the State saw a whopping addition of over 2,000 MW. The State’s story of solar power looked very good till March 2017 as more than 1,500 MW was added through solar power in the two years ending then. The last one year witnessed a modest increase of 353 MW. At the beginning of the current financial year (2018-19), the figures of installed capacity for wind and solar power were 8,152 MW and 2,046 MW respectively.

Land size

In the case of wind energy, for most of the last five years, factors such as shrinking size of land, prolonged delay in settlement of bills by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) to suppliers of wind power and inadequate capacity for power transmission came in the way of capacity addition. The migration from the preferential tariff regime to tariff determination through competitive auctions in early 2017 was a significant development for the wind power sector at the national level. Since then, there has been a “steep fall” in the procurement prices. In February last year, when the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) conducted the auction, the price quoted was ₹3.46 per unit. Later in the year, when the Tangedco floated reverse bids, the rate came down by four paise. A week ago, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC), in its generic tariff order, fixed the rate at ₹2.86/unit without accelerated depreciation. If the depreciation had to be considered, the rate will be ₹2.80/unit. K. Kasthurirangaiyan, a veteran wind power developer, is quite bitter about the order. “I do not foresee even incremental addition hereafter. The order’s terms as well as tariff rate are “unreasonable.” However, whatever wind power developers have committed to will materialise, he says, referring to wind power projects of 450 MW, which are being implemented in response to the reverse bidding process of the Tangedco. He is also unhappy about the Commission reducing the period of energy banking to one month [for all new projects] from the earlier practice of allowing the facility up to the end of the financial year concerned. Even though Ramesh Kymal, a leading wind turbine manufacturer, feels that the State has the country’s best wind potential and good infrastructure to support capacity addition, he is also of the view that the reduction of the banking period “has come as a huge setback and will be a deterrent to attract wind installations in the state from captive users.”

GST woes

K. E. Raghunathan, a long-standing player in solar energy, refers to a number of factors that have come in the way of capacity addition, many of which are relevant for the rest of the country too. The “confusion” following the introduction of Goods and Services Tax for solar modules and “undue crash” in the price of solar power are among the factors. In Tamil Nadu, the rate fixed was ₹3.47 per unit through auctions last year. In its March 2018 tariff order, the TNERC brought the price further down to ₹3.11 per unit for solar power without accelerated benefit. Also, litigation in respect of MW-scale projects and the virtual suspension of distribution by the Tangedco of net meters, required for those who put up roof top solar power units, have contributed to the sluggish growth, Mr Raghunathan says. Notwithstanding the industry’s not so favourable perspective, the authorities seem to be confident of overcoming the present problem. Pointing out that the Central government has fixed a target of 175,000 MW of renewable capacity by 2022, a senior government official says the target accomplishment will have to be met through “enormous contribution” from Tamil Nadu which, the authorities hope, will certainly take place.

State’s potential

As for the State’s potential in wind energy, the National Institute of Wind Energy has assessed it as 33,800 MW which means that only one-fourth of the overall potential has been tapped. Even now, Tamil Nadu is ahead of many others in the overall renewable energy production. The targets fixed by the Central government and the TNERC for wind and solar in terms of share of gross energy consumed are being met with every year. “Though the targets are becoming stiffer and stiffer, we are taking every step to fulfil them,” another official says. Apart from its proposal to establish a solar plant of 500 MW in Kadaladi of the Ramanathapuram district, the Tangedco has plans to procure 1,500 MW each from solar and wind power producers. The facilities for power transmission are being upgraded annually, the officials say, recalling how about 5,000 MW of wind power was evacuated in July last year.

Source: The Hindu

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Global Textile Raw Material Price 2018-04-22

Item

Price

Unit

Fluctuation

Date

PSF

1421.53

USD/Ton

0.85%

4/22/2018

VSF

2263.33

USD/Ton

-0.35%

4/22/2018

ASF

2858.94

USD/Ton

0%

4/22/2018

Polyester POY

1468.38

USD/Ton

0.82%

4/22/2018

Nylon FDY

3541.91

USD/Ton

-0.89%

4/22/2018

40D Spandex

5717.88

USD/Ton

-2.70%

4/22/2018

Nylon POY

1747.13

USD/Ton

0.92%

4/22/2018

Acrylic Top 3D

3748.39

USD/Ton

-0.84%

4/22/2018

Polyester FDY

6003.77

USD/Ton

0%

4/22/2018

Nylon DTY

1723.31

USD/Ton

0.93%

4/22/2018

Viscose Long Filament

3303.66

USD/Ton

-1.42%

4/22/2018

Polyester DTY

2986.00

USD/Ton

0%

4/22/2018

30S Spun Rayon Yarn

3033.65

USD/Ton

-0.52%

4/22/2018

32S Polyester Yarn

2207.74

USD/Ton

0.36%

4/22/2018

45S T/C Yarn

3033.65

USD/Ton

0%

4/22/2018

40S Rayon Yarn

2334.80

USD/Ton

0%

4/22/2018

T/R Yarn 65/35 32S

2557.16

USD/Ton

0%

4/22/2018

45S Polyester Yarn

3192.48

USD/Ton

0%

4/22/2018

T/C Yarn 65/35 32S

2715.99

USD/Ton

0%

4/22/2018

10S Denim Fabric

1.48

USD/Meter

0%

4/22/2018

32S Twill Fabric

0.91

USD/Meter

0%

4/22/2018

40S Combed Poplin

1.27

USD/Meter

0%

4/22/2018

30S Rayon Fabric

0.71

USD/Meter

0%

4/22/2018

45S T/C Fabric

0.75

USD/Meter

0%

4/22/2018

Source: Global Textiles

 

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15883 USD dtd. 22/4/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com.  SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.

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Trump’s next $100 bn tariff poser: hit Walmart or Apple?

U.S. consumers may be about to directly feel the effects of the trade fight started by U.S. President Trump with China and other countries this year when a new list of Chinese imports to be taxed is announced in coming days. After imposing import tariffs on solar panels and washing machines in January, Mr. Trump moved to levy steel and aluminium in March along with about $50 billion in other goods. After China responded with a list of U.S. goods that would be subject to tariffs, Mr. Trump raised the stakes on April 4 by directing the U.S. Trade Representative to consider $100 billion in additional levies. But a Reuters analysis of Chinese imports shows that to quickly reach $100 billion worth of goods to tax, Mr. Trump may have to target cellphones, computers, toys, clothing, footwear, furniture and other consumer goods, prompting price rises at U.S. retailers.

‘No way to avoid’

“There is no way to avoid consumer products when you’re thinking about how to hit $100 billion worth of imports coming from China,” said Hun Quach, vice president of international trade for the Retail Industry Leaders Association which represents U.S. retailers. How much the new tariffs would hit wallets depends on variables that make calculating the impact of the tariffs on individual products hard to measure. Companies can absorb some of the costs, and some companies can shift production in China to other countries, cutting the final bill for America’s shoppers. After washing machines imported by LG Electronics’ were hit with a 20% tariff in January, the company raised U.S. prices by about $50 per machine, or 4% to 8%. LG opted to absorb part of the tariff cost, which was imposed at a time when construction was already well underway on its new U.S. factory that will begin producing washers in late 2018, avoiding U.S. tariffs. Companies with complex supply chains, mainly those in high technology industries, can also change how their internal costs are charged among subsidiaries to lower their tariff bill. Mr. Trump’s first round of import tariffs deliberately left most consumer electronics untouched, but out of the $506 billion in U.S. imports from China last year, finding another $100 billion to tax without hurting U.S. shoppers will not be easy. The USTR could quickly find $100 billion but at the cost of targeting three broad categories of consumer electronics —cellphones at $44 billion, computer equipment at $37 billion, and voice, image and data recorders at $22 billion. U.S. supply chains would also be hurt as many consumer electronics products depend on the export of American semiconductors, software and other inputs to China for assembly before being imported back. U.S. allies South Korea, Japan and Taiwan also supply cellphone parts for companies like Apple Inc., including displays, cameras and fingerprint scanners, and would feel the impact.

‘China’s big toe’

“You end up shooting yourself in the foot, shooting your allies in the foot, and maybe you wound China’s big toe,” said Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Mr. Trump could get a quarter of the way to $100 billion in goods taxed by levying toys, games and sporting goods, categories with little U.S. content that totalled about $25.5 billion from China in 2017. But China made up 81.5% of all U.S. imports in this group, meaning that there would be few alternative sources for importers that could blunt the tariff impact. Adding in apparel, footwear and furniture to the list would get the rest of the way to $100 billion, but price rises for those goods would be seen clearly by consumers. According to Census data, there are about 7,600 consumer and industrial goods still available for tariffs with a combined value of $101 billion where China accounts for 40% or less of U.S. imports and so could possibly be sourced elsewhere. Most involve small-scale production and a range of goods sold in U.S. chain stores like Walmart, including clothing, pet food and lighting fixtures. While availability of these items in other nations may curb price rises, there would still be disruptions for retailers with long-established supply chains.

Source: The Hindu

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Prices for Australian wool have been at a record high

Australian wool prices increased by almost 30 per cent compared to last year. It’s being driven by China’s unstoppable appetite for Merino wool. China’s wool imports increased 4.5 per cent from the previous year. Domestic consumption of woolen products in China has grown dramatically in the last five years. Previously most processing was for export, while today at least 50 per cent is for domestic use, and this is growing year on year. Consumers in China were previously driven by price. But today quality and color come first. This is mainly because the average Chinese consumers have higher disposable income. Unemployment is low, salaries are rising, and pension schemes have given people a greater security of income and more money to spend. Although wool only represents 15 per cent of fibers consumed in China, volumes are so large that even 15 per cent represents a huge quantity of wool. Even in Mongolia, women wear woolen coats. Apart from China, steady demand from buyers in Europe and India will see wool prices firm up for some time.

Source: Textile Focus

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The global silk market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.6 %

The global silk market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.6 per cent from 2017 to 2025. Growth can be attributed to technological advancements in sericulture, which directly increases silk yield. Moreover silk is a low capital investment industry in terms of technology and labor. Though demand for silk products is growing in Europe and North America, the Asia-Pacific region is the largest market for silk. It has a large number of textile manufacturers and growing demand from the domestic market. China dominates the silk market in the Asia-Pacific region followed by India. Raw silk is easily available in the two countries. China is the largest producer of silk yarn and textile products. The Asia-Pacific region remains the fastest growing market for silk in terms of value and volume. Based on type, mulberry silk segment is projected to lead the market. Owing to its high strength, durability, and flexibility, mulberry silk is used in the production of textiles such as apparel, wedding dresses, gowns etc as well as in interiors such as pillows, wall hangings, and upholstery. The growing textile industry in the Asia-Pacific region is driving the demand for mulberry silk in the region.

Source: Textile Focus

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Bangladesh: BGMEA critical of ‘propaganda’ against industry

Dhaka- Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Siddiqur Rahman said on Saturday that a vested quarter continues to criticize and spread propaganda against a safe and transparent industry in the name of ‘so-called’ research. He made the remark at a press conference held at BGMEA conference room ahead of the fifth anniversary of Rana Plaza disaster on April 24. Mentioning the incident as a wake-up call and turning point for the industry, he said “BGMEA is working more to ensure safe, risk-free and build sustainable industry. So the whole world has recognizing our garment industry as the ‘role model’ for the safe and transparent industry.” “Garments are now being established after fulfilling the conditions of Alliance and following the directions of BNBC. BGMEA is now more alert in providing new membership to ensure the safety at high level though every garment gets the certificate from the government providing all necessary things. Even we have established a directive for the sub-contracting garments too,” he said. He informed that a ‘Transitional Accord’ for six months will start their work from June 1. There will be monitoring committee with equal numbers of representatives from Brands, BGMEA and also trade Union. Safety Monitoring Organisation (SMO) will be another platform for checking the safety after the completion of the six month period of Accord. A signing ceremony will be held very soon between BGEMA and Alliance. “Though we are working to develop our industry relentlessly, a vested quarter is also trying to spread propaganda in name of so called research. Any type of negative campaign will affect the labourers much more than the industry,” he added. He also added that any type of accident is unexpected, casualty is more unexpected. Though accidents are happening across the world, huge criticism and propaganda are made during the Rana Plaza Collapse. The vested quarters are only highlighting the negative aspect, not discussing the positive side, he alleged. The Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 was a structural failure where a five-story commercial building named Rana Plaza, housing several RMG units, collapsed leaving 1,134 people dead and over 2,500 others injured.

Source: UNB news

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Bangladesh: BGMEA critical of ‘propaganda’ against industry

Dhaka- Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Siddiqur Rahman said on Saturday that a vested quarter continues to criticize and spread propaganda against a safe and transparent industry in the name of ‘so-called’ research. He made the remark at a press conference held at BGMEA conference room ahead of the fifth anniversary of Rana Plaza disaster on April 24. Mentioning the incident as a wake-up call and turning point for the industry, he said “BGMEA is working more to ensure safe, risk-free and build sustainable industry. So the whole world has recognizing our garment industry as the ‘role model’ for the safe and transparent industry.” “Garments are now being established after fulfilling the conditions of Alliance and following the directions of BNBC. BGMEA is now more alert in providing new membership to ensure the safety at high level though every garment gets the certificate from the government providing all necessary things. Even we have established a directive for the sub-contracting garments too,” he said. He informed that a ‘Transitional Accord’ for six months will start their work from June 1. There will be monitoring committee with equal numbers of representatives from Brands, BGMEA and also trade Union. Safety Monitoring Organisation (SMO) will be another platform for checking the safety after the completion of the six month period of Accord. A signing ceremony will be held very soon between BGEMA and Alliance. “Though we are working to develop our industry relentlessly, a vested quarter is also trying to spread propaganda in name of so called research. Any type of negative campaign will affect the labourers much more than the industry,” he added. He also added that any type of accident is unexpected, casualty is more unexpected. Though accidents are happening across the world, huge criticism and propaganda are made during the Rana Plaza Collapse. The vested quarters are only highlighting the negative aspect, not discussing the positive side, he alleged. The Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 was a structural failure where a five-story commercial building named Rana Plaza, housing several RMG units, collapsed leaving 1,134 people dead and over 2,500 others injured.

Source: UNB news

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Plan to revive leather, textile industries in top gear after Uhuru's order

Leather and textile processing firms have reaped benefits following President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive for the revival of the industries. The President said all military boots should be bought from local manufacturers and the government plans to process hides and skins before exporting them. There is a plan to set up 5,000 cottage industries, invest in four leather parks and expand existing tanneries. Industrialisation PS for Betty Maina has started visiting the industries to inspect activities at firm level. The government plans to offer support via capacity building, training, creation of a common manufacturing facility and policy frameworks. Among the factories visited was Reddamac Leather Industries which is owned by Robert Njoka, Chairman of the Tanners Association of Kenya. In an interview with journalists, Njoka said he was happy about the directive and appreciated that his factory was among those the Principal Secretary visited. Only two of the 16 tanneries across the country are owned by locals. Reddamac was founded 18 years ago and started with 15 staff. It now has 150 employees and the number is expected to rise to 500 with the revival. The PS visited with officials including Kenya Leather Development Council CEO Issack Noor.

She said the government is ready to help leather industries and that officials will visit 11 of factories to check their capability of manufacturing military boots. Those that meet requirements will do the work. The government's target is the production of 20 million shoes by 2022 and the increase of export revenue in the industry to Sh50 billion in the next five years. Kenya buys 30 million pairs of shoes a year yet it has the third-largest cattle herd in Africa. Njokasaid the Sh1 billion set aside to build a treatment plant should be distributed well to help expand the market. On textiles, the government is targeting the development of cotton production using hybrids for three times the production yield. It is also planning incentives for investors to build modern ginneries and textile manufacturing plants. Some of the challenges the industries face are high operational costs, including those of electricity and licenses. Last year, Reddamac trained 14 warders from Kamiti and Athi River prisons in the hope that they would pass leather handling and production skills to inmates. Last month, Noor said work on the Machakos-based leather park had started with fencing and construction of the wastage treatment plant. The government is working on power supply lines and water provision and investors will lease space for industries and tanneries.

Source: The Star

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Vietnam: UNDP project to reduce textile emissions in Vietnam

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Vietnam Chemicals Agency, ministry of industry and trade recently held the inception workshop of a project called the ‘Application of Green Chemistry in Viet Nam to support green growth and reduction in the use and release of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and hazardous chemicals’. The project will reduce the use of POPs and release of Unintentional Persistent Organic Pollutants (U-POPs) through the introduction of green chemistry in various industrial sectors in Vietnam including textiles. It aims to create an enabling environment for the introduction and the application of green chemistry to relevant sectors as part of Vietnam’s commitment to the Stockholm and the Minamata Conventions. "This is the first green chemistry project that aims to minimise the use and emission of chemicals that are not in the Multilateral Environment Agreements list to be implemented in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia. The project has three objectives: create a legal framework, raise awareness, and piloted practices that will help reduce emissions and the use of POPs,” said Dao Xuan Lai, UNDP assistant country director, head of the environment and climate change unit. At the workshop, Christine Wellington Moore, UNDP programme advisor Montreal protocol unit/chemicals, Asia Pacific regional centre, introduced the overall project activities, result framework and components to be implemented in Vietnam. "Green chemistry is not new, but it is not easy to do, so we want to get stakeholders’ opinions present in the workshop today." With the support of GEF and UNDP, this 3 year-project will also promote awareness on green chemistry, its benefits, and its guiding principles. These principles are: prevent waste; maximise atom economy; design less hazardous chemical syntheses; design safer chemicals and products; use safer solvents and reaction conditions; increase energy efficiency; use renewable feedstocks; avoid chemical derivatives; use catalysts, not stoichiometric reagents; design chemicals and products to degrade after use; analyse in real time to prevent pollution; and minimise the potential for accidents.

Source:Fibre2Fashion

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Pakistan: Pak ministry proposes extension to PM package for 2018-19

Pakistan’s textile ministry has reportedly proposed extending the prime minister’s export package worth Rs 180-billion to the next fiscal, which starts this July. The suggestion was said to be part of the ministry’s budget proposals. Announced in January 2017, the package’s first part ended on 30 June last year and the second part will conclude this June end. Most part of the package dealt with the textile sector. The Pakistani Government has so far paid around Rs 20 billion against claims of Rs 41 billion in both phases, according to a report in a Pakistani newspaper. The ministry also recommended reduction in tariff rationalisation surcharge by 50 per cent and immediate payment of the sales tax liability and custom duty drawback refunds of Rs 35.5 billion and Rs 7.5 billion respectively. The surcharge is now Rs 3.10/KwH and it will cost Rs 26 billion per year. Zero rating of packing material may be extended to export-oriented sectors, the ministry proposed.

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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