Surat: With an objective to develop skills in the youths to help them get gainful and sustainable employment in textile sector, the ministry of textiles launched ‘Samarth’ scheme for them in the organized and traditional textile clusters on Tuesday. The scheme was launched following the approval of cabinet committee on economic affairs which recently met under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Synthetic and Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) chairman Narain Agarwal said, “The Samarth scheme aims at skilling nearly 10 lakh young Indians in organized plus traditional textile sectors over a period of three years from 2017 to 2020.” Agarwal stated that the Centre has earmarked an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore covering the entire textile value chain, except spinning and weaving. The objective of achieving $300 billion exports in the textile sector by 2025 will be realized once 10 lakh skilled youths will be employed in the textile sector. The scheme will have National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) compliant training courses with funding norms as per the common norms notified by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). According to Agarwal, the textile committee as resource support agency (RSE) will perform various functions to identify and finalize skill development needs, standardize and develop the course content, specify the training centre’s infrastructure, standardize the admission assessment certification and accreditation processes, empanel assessment agencies, conduct training of trainers and training of assessors etc. The scheme also will ensure 70 per cent placement of successful trainees. “The scheme will be using biometric processes in selection of candidates to be trained, thus mandating the necessity of having an ‘Aadhaar card’ and an attendance system that will be integrated with a centralized MIS to ensure real-time attendance of all involved,” Agarwal added.
Source : Times of India
According to data provided by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (Citi), of the total commodities exports from India, the textile and apparel exports share has come down by a percentage point to 12% in fiscal 2018 from 13% in the previous fiscal. According to data provided by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (Citi), of the total commodities exports from India, the textile and apparel exports share has come down by a percentage point to 12% in fiscal 2018 from 13% in the previous fiscal. New taxation regime, intense competitive pressures in the global market and uncertainty in the neighbouring markets, particularly in the Gulf region, have cast a shadow in the exports of textile and apparel, which saw a marked decline of 4% to Rs 2,27,902 crore in the just ended fiscal 2018 as compared to Rs 2,38,168 crore reported in the previous fiscal. According to data provided by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (Citi), of the total commodities exports from India, the textile and apparel exports share has come down by a percentage point to 12% in fiscal 2018 from 13% in the previous fiscal. While the textile exports declined marginally by 1% to end the fiscal 2018 at Rs 1,20,223 crore as compared to Rs 1,21,709 crore, and that of apparel exports saw a sharp drop of 8% to Rs 1,07,679 crore as against Rs 1,16,459 crore in the fiscal 2017, the Citi data said. In March 2018 alone, the apparel exports was down 19% to Rs 9,695 crore Rs 11,946 crore in the corresponding period. Similarly, exports of cotton yarn, fabs, made-ups, handloom products together declined marginally to Rs 65,969 crore as against Rs 66,160 crore in fiscal 2017. Made-made yarn, fabs, made-ups grew 2% to Rs 31,089 crore (Rs 30,559 crore earlier) and that of handicrafts (excluding handmade carpet) declined by 9% to Rs crore in fiscal 2018 as Rs 12,917 crore in the fiscal 2017, the Citi data said further. In US dollar terms, the textile and apparel exports for fiscal 2018 almost saw a flat growth or 0.4% decline to $35.364 billion as compared to $35.514 billion in fiscal 2017. Here too, the textile exports grew 3% to $18.65 billion ($18.146 billion earlier) and that of apparel exports declined by 4% to $16.714 billion ($17.368 billion), the data said. During the fiscal 2018, imports of textile yarn, fabric, made-ups grew 17% to Rs 11,838 crore (Rs 10,079 crore earlier) and in dollar terms imports grew 22% to $1.836 billion ($1.502 billion). Some of the reasons for decline in exports were owing to transition to the new taxation regime and intense competition from neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Taiwan, Indonesia as well lack of FTAs with major importers. The decline has been primarily driven by the sharp fall in exports to the UAE market, which had emerged as one of the prominent apparel export destinations for India, with its share increasing to 23% in FY17 from 12% in FY14. Particularly for the ten-month period ending June 2017, India’s apparel exports to UAE had grown at a sharp pace (56% year-on-year). Thereafter, apparel exports to the UAE have fallen at an equally fast pace, by as much as 45% since June 2017. Excluding the trade with the UAE, India’s apparel exports are estimated to have stood 3-4% higher in the ten months to FY18, the Icra analysis pointed out.
Source: Financial Express
India is likely to face greater pressure to eliminate duties on 90% of goods it trades with China under the mega trade agreement among 16 Asia Pacific countries that is in the works. Officials said that China, which has till now not aggressively pushed to fast track negotiations in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), has shown a new keenness to “engage actively” ahead of the next round of talks later this week, the first after it its trade standoff with the US. The talks are scheduled for April 28- May 8 in Singapore. “The current situation can influence our negotiations. China looks keen to engage actively,” said a government official. Beijing’s sudden interest in the closure of the RCEP is fuelled by Washington’s renewed interest in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, another mega regional trade partnership. Incidentally, seven countries-Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam-are common to both the agreements. RCEP is a comprehensive free trade agreement including goods, services, investment, competition and intellectual property rights between the 10 ASEAN countries and its six free trade agreement partners- Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. If the US revives TPP, then ASEAN will be more comfortable going with it instead of China. Therefore, China wants to benefit from that first mover advantage, said Biswajit Dhar, professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning in the School of Social Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Till now, only the ASEAN countries have pushed for expeditious completion of talks while India has grappled with divided opinion about the trade agreement. Many departments and ministries in including agriculture, defence and economic affairs have opposed the deal saying it would hurt India’s interest. The official quoted earlier said that all countries want to show there is some movement forward in the RCEP pact.
Source: The Economic Times
In March 2015, speaking at the global hydrocarbon meet ‘Urja Sangam’ here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a passionate call for time-bound reduction in India’s onerous import dependence for oil and gas. He also set a target for the stakeholders to reduce the country’s import dependence for oil from around 77% then to 67% by 2022 and 50% by 2030, with a commensurate increase in domestic production. Three years later, the high import intensity, which over long years has had a pronounced deleterious effect on the national exchequer, the current account and the economy as a whole, has only risen — worse, even the rate of increase hasn’t abated despite Modi’s urging; in fact, the rate has lately gone up a bit. According to official data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), against domestic consumption, India’s oil imports were 78.3% in FY15 (the year the prime minister laid the roadmap for cutting import intensity) and the figure has since grown to 80.6% in FY16, 81.7% in FY17 and further to 82.8% in FY18. The dependence had grown from 76.7% in FY13 to 77.3% in FY14. During all these years, domestic crude oil production has steadily fallen (see graphic). Of course, acceleration in consumption, aided by a softening of crude oil prices, also added to the pace of imports and, therefore, higher import intensity in recent years. Import dependence for gas too has risen steadily (from 36.2% in FY15 to 45.4% in FY18), although its domestic production touched a five-year high in FY18. The emphasis on a gas-based economy — as part of efforts to cut emission intensity of the gross domestic product — aided import of gas (LNG). And the future, at least the immediate one, doesn’t look brighter either. On Monday, the PPAC put out an estimate that the oil import bill is set to go up 20% to $105 billion in FY19 compared with $88 billion (provisional) in FY18. Although a spike in crude oil price — Indian basket pegged at $65 a barrel in FY19 against $57.50 a barrel in FY18 — is the main reason for the forecast of a surge in the import bill this year, obviously, the PPAC is not expecting any deceleration in import growth in terms of volume either. Clearly, there is no quick fix to the issue of high import dependence for hydrocarbons. Domestic production of both oil and gas needs to be augmented with appropriate policy interventions. While upstream oil companies have lately been freed from the obligation of sharing oil subsidies (thanks to the decontrol of auto fuels that slashed the government’s petroleum subsidy expenditure), ONGC, whose output has been stagnating over the last many years with annual oil production in the range of 25-26 million tonnes and natural gas output around 23 billion cubic metres, has put its producing fields under a plan for enhanced oil recovery. The state-run explorer had late last year announced the discovery of reserves to the west of its Mumbai High offshore fields, with initial estimates suggesting its size to be about 20 million tonnes of oil equivalent. “It (cutting import intensity) will be an uphill task despite some increase expected in domestic production over the next few years. The demand for oil and gas is galloping given the demography of the country and domestic supply would find it difficult to catch up. Nevertheless, the aim to reduce import dependency is a good directional policy,” said Anish De, partner and head, strategy and operations advisory (infrastructure) at KPMG in India. Both the public and private players in hydrocarbon production — the former’s relative share in crude production, according to PPAC, declined to 28.2% in FY18 from 29.2% in FY17 — are expected to increase their investments thanks to the new revenue-sharing (as against production-sharing) contracts offered under the discovered small-fields policy and the liberal open acreage licensing policy. On the gas side, production is expected to improve faster. Reliance Industries last week announced investments of Rs 40,000 crore in the Krishna-Godavari finds, which are expected to add 30-35 million cubic metres a day in gas production spread over 2020-2022. The Cabinet recently granted relaxation to Coal India along with its subsidiaries from applying for grant of licence for extraction of coal bed methane (CBM) in its coal-bearing areas. The total available coal-bearing area with CBM prospects in the country is around 26,000 sq km.
Source: Financial Express
The US-China trade war has taken a new shape after Trump administration evinced interests for re-joining the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership). Seemed to have been flattened by Chinese bellicose and domestic lobby by US farmers, Trump administration is likely to shift pressure on China by joining TPP. Joining TPP will help USA unleash bigger pressure on China, jointly with other member countries of the region, who are incidentally the major trading partners of China. Read This - Say no to plastics! Originally, TPP was a 12 nations Pacific Rim trade block, comprising USA, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Together the block accounts for 40 per cent of global trade. China is an export-based economy. Trade accounts for 37 per cent of its GDP. China depends substantially on TPP for its exports, which account for 49 per cent of China's global trade. The Trump's administration warning by imposing high tariffs on steel and aluminum and bringing US $100 billion worth of goods in the high tariff net seemed to have little impact on China's dumping goods in USA. China fumed to retaliate on the same velocity, arguing that its steel export accounted for barely 1.1 percent of USA's total steel import in 2017. Read This - The worrying problem of global debt To sully the Chinese obstinacy, Trump asked his administration to reinvent the scope for re-joining TPP, if the terms are renegotiated. Seemingly, he thought that 8 member countries of TPP (out of 12 members), who are largely dependent on imports from China and bear the brunt of large trade deficit with China, will vie for USA's support to dampen the Chinese exports. The 8 member countries of TPP, accounting for the concentration of China's exports, are USA, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Mexico, and Canada. They accounted for 97 per cent of China's exports to TPP in 2015. China's substantial exports to these countries created big trade deficits of these countries. Against these backdrops, can USA bring a major jolt to China after rejoining TPP? Can it play a lead role for trade diversion? Presumably, it can dampen China's exports to these countries by supplanting after reaping the benefits of tariff concessions within the trade block. It was observed that the major component of China's basket of exports to these 8 member countries were electric and mechanical machinery and equipment. Nearly one-fourth of Chinese exports to Japan relate to electrical machineries and equipment. In case of Vietnam, the share was 35 percent in 2015. This means that to wean away the Chinese predominance in these countries, USA has to supplant Chinese exports of electrical and mechanical machinery by offering competitive pricing after reaping the benefits of low or no tariff in the region. Besides tariff advantages, TPP provides exemption from non-tariff barriers to its member countries, which are imposed in case of imports from China. USA and Canada imposed TBT (technical barriers to trade) to several home electrical appliances imported from China. USA also imposes TBTs on children products (such as toys) imported from China. Textile products from China are subject to TBT by Canada. Japan imposes technical barriers on imports of furniture and construction machineries from China. TPP, without USA, would have unleashed more space for China to flex its muscle. Now, with USA rejoining, TPP will impart a big burden on China's exports. This is because USA is the main export destination for some TPP member countries, which are diagonally major importers of Chinese goods. For example, USA is the main export destination for Japan, Vietnam and Singapore, accounting for 20, 19 and 6 percent of their exports respectively. And USA, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore are among the top ten importers of Chinese goods. Together, they accounted for 29.5 percent of Chinese exports in 2016. This means that in the export-import balancing, USA has much power to influence these countries to buy more from USA. Against this backdrop, it is likely that USA will exert more pressures on these four nations in TPP region to reduce their imports from China and buy American goods. India is not a member of TPP. Threats of adverse impact loomed large as four TPP members, viz, USA, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, are the major trading partners of India. They account for one-fifth of India's global export. Given this, analysts raised an alarm on trade diversion. They feared that the rise in intra-regional trade in TPP due to tariff preferential and curbing the non-tariff barriers would squeeze India's exports to these countries. The biggest trade diversion feared for India's exports was textile products. Textile is the single major item of India's export in its total exports to the world. It accounts for 10-11 percent of India's world export. USA alone accounts for 40 percent of India's total export of textiles. With the duty preferences granted by USA to TPP members, concerns were raised on India's export of textiles to USA. Vietnam would have been the main obstacle to India's export of textile to USA. Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of readymade garments to USA (after China). It accounts for 12 percent of USA imports of garment. The surge in Vietnam competitiveness due to duty preference will deter India's export of garments to USA, trade analysts feared. But, there is a catch. In TPP, the duty preference for textile trade is governed by yarn forward rule. Under the rule, it is mandatory for the TPP members exporting textiles to procure yarn, fabric and other inputs from any or combination of TPP partner countries. At present, Vietnam procures yarn and fabrics mainly from China. Given the existing structure of logistics and low-cost procurement of yarn and fabrics from China versus TPP rules, it will not be an easy task for the Vietnamese exporters to divert procurement from China to domestic market or to any other TPP member countries. Further, none of the TPP members is globally known for manufacturers of yarn and fabrics. Nevertheless, in the cross-fire of US-China trade war and USA returning to TPP, India should have a relook at its trade pattern. India is already under US lens for its trade surplus with USA. It has already alleged that India's export subsidies as non-compliant to WTO after achieving the threshold of per capita income of US $ 1000 per annum. (The views are strictly personal)
Source: Subrata Mazumder
With the crisis in the textile industry becoming more acute on account of the heavy accumulation of stocks, the Southern India Mill-owners‘ Association to-day [April 24] directed its 175 member-mills in Madras, Kerala, Mysore, Andhra and Pondicherry to curtail their production by 33-1/3 per cent ―until the position improves‖. The member-mills will forthwith suspend production for two days in a week but will pay lay-off wages to their workers for the period of closure. The general body of the Association which met here [Coimbatore] to-day [April 24] under the Chairmanship of Mr. K. Sundaram, resolved also to close the mills for a day on April 27 as a token of protest against the high incidence of taxation imposed by the Union Government. The Association requested the Indian Cotton Mills Federation to press the Government of India to enact legislation for curtailment of yarn and cloth production on an all India basis to avoid regional imbalance. It decided to request the Reserve Bank of India to liberalise credit facilities for textile mills as well as yarn trade. The Association urged the Madras Government to license immediately the installation of 12,000 power looms allotted to this State to facilitate the consumption of yarn in the State to a great extent. The Association requested the Union Government to ban the installation of additional spindles for the present. Mr. K. Sundaram, Chairman of the SIMA, told Pressmen that the object of the two-day closure in a week was to keep the level of production at 60,000 bales a month which was considered ―normal stocking‖. The unsold and physical stocks with the member-mills which were of the order of 35,000 bales and 55,500 bales respectively at the end of February this year had mounted to 51,500 bales and 75,800 bales of 180 kg. each respectively on April 15. The value of the physical stock on hand to-day [April 24] was estimated at 12.3 crores. Asked how long he expected the two-day-a-week closure to last, Mr. Sundaram replied: ―It all depends on how the market reacts.
Source: The Hindu
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1418.13 |
USD/Ton |
-0.56% |
4/25/2018 |
|
VSF |
2186.61 |
USD/Ton |
-2.13% |
4/25/2018 |
|
ASF |
2852.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
Polyester POY |
1464.87 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3501.75 |
USD/Ton |
-0.45% |
4/25/2018 |
|
40D Spandex |
5704.20 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
Nylon POY |
1742.95 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
3707.73 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
Polyester FDY |
5989.41 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1719.18 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
3264.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2978.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
3010.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2202.46 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
3026.40 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2345.06 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2566.89 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3169.00 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2709.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.48 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.90 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.26 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.71 |
USD/Meter |
-0.22% |
4/25/2018 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.75 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
4/25/2018 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15885 USD dtd. 25/4/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Trainees at a garment factory work at Snowtex garment factory in Dhamrai, near Dhaka. Five years on from the industrial disaster that killed over 1,130 clothing factory workers in Bangladesh, experts say workers still often face dangerous working conditions and dismally low pay. The factory building had been expanded illegally, with additional floors stacked one on top of another. An engineer had declared it unsafe, and the thousands of people who worked inside, stitching garments for clothing brands from around the world, knew it was trouble. "That factory was very risky," said Khadiza Begum, who was working at Rana Plaza the day the complex collapsed, five years ago Tuesday. "It had weak pillars, it had narrow stairwells, it had no fire exits." "We saw cracks in the building before it collapsed on us," she said. The tragedy killed 1,134 people, many of them young women supporting extended families, and injured more than 2,500. It focused international attention on Bangladesh's role as the world's second-largest garment producer, and led the government and manufacturing associations to promise big improvements. Many of the world's top clothing brands said they would stop contracting with factories if they failed to improve safety for their workers. Five years later, the situation is complicated, according to a recent study conducted by the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University's Stern School of Business. "We have found tremendous improvement in the larger factories," that have signed onto two major safety programs organized by foreign brands, Paul Barrett, deputy director of the center, said in an email. "But two other categories -factories overseen by the government and subcontracting facilities not overseen by anyone -remain at risk." The center's survey of conditions at Bangladesh's textile factories, found that workers at about 3,000 of the country's 7,000 factories are still exposed to life-threatening risks, ranging from a lack of fire safety equipment to serious structural flaws. The dangerous factories are often small, but sometimes subcontract work from larger factories that deal with foreign brands. Those factories rarely allow access for journalists, though the best-equipped factories are eager to show off their workplaces. S.M. Khaled is the managing director of the Snowtex Outerwear Ltd. Factory, a $42 million complex built after the 2013 disaster in the industrial suburb of Dhamrai, outside the capital Dhaka. "The collapse of Rana Plaza was a wake-up call for us -for the industry and for the buyers," he said as he walked through the factory. "Look at my factory. Look around. I have done my best to keep it safe for the workers." Textile exports are a huge business for Bangladesh, bringing in $28 billion annually, mostly from to Europe and the United States. Industry insiders guardedly admit that subcontracting remains an issue in the garment industry, with larger businesses sometimes contracting some work to smaller, less-safe factories. They insist those deals are being phased out. Khaled said the established factories know they are being monitored by the international brands, and don't want to get in trouble by subcontracting. Worker safety should not depend on where the clothing is being worn, Roy Ramesh Chandra, president of Bangladesh's United Federation of Garment Workers, said in an interview. "Authorities need to address all the factories -whether it is producing for export" or for Bangladeshis.
Source: Daily Sabah
More than 19,000 buyers attended the ninth edition of the Hong Kong International Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair, a dedicated sourcing platform and an information exchange hub for home textiles. Over 300 exhibitors from nine countries and regions, with new exhibitors from Pakistan showcased their products at the four-day international fair. "Hong Kong has long been a cradle for entrepreneurs. Our innovative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit, which have contributed greatly to Hong Kong’s economic success, are crucial for the city’s future. We also organised a number of 'Startup•Smart Launch' sessions for start-ups to present their business ideas and explore opportunities," said HKTDC acting executive director Benjamin Chau. The Home Textiles and Furnishings Fair adopted the 'Interior' theme and showcased a variety of home textiles, upholstery and furnishing products. Highlight zones included the Hall of Glamour spotlighting quality brands and designer collections, Baby and Bedroom Textiles, Bathroom and Kitchen Textiles and Upholstery and Furnishing. Indian and the Chinese mainland set up a number of dedicated pavilions to showcase their products. To facilitate business matching and networking, a series of activities were held at the fair, including Product Demo and Launch Pad sessions, where suppliers introduced their latest products to buyers in an interactive and relaxing atmosphere. It was an opportunity for the participants to stay updated with the latest market trends and updates at the forums and seminars held by experienced professionals and experts in the industry. (RR)
Source: Fibre2fashion
KARACHI: With a share of 57% in Pakistan’s total exports and 8.5% in national economy, the giant textile industry is pressing the government to continue with its zero-rated tax facility and provide the incentives offered in the export package. “The industry is going through a cash-flow crisis as it has already extended the incentives promised by the government in its export package to overseas buyers in order to ramp up exports,” textile tycoon Zubair Motiwala, who also heads some textile bodies, told The Express Tribune. Textile manufacturers have been pushing the government to release the huge pending tax refund claims so that they could deal with liquidity challenges. Of the Rs180-billion prime minister’s incentive package for export industries, mainly the textile sector, the State Bank of Pakistan has processed Rs50 billion worth of claims, but the industry has received just Rs18 billion. In fiscal year 2012-13, when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government came to power just before the close of the year, total export receipts of Pakistan were recorded at $25.078 billion. However, exports dropped to $21.977 billion in 2015-16, registering a steep decline of 12.36%. Global exports also fell during the period but by just 1%.The decline came despite the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Plus status the European Union awarded to Pakistan in December 2013 that allowed exports at sharply reduced or zero duty. The status certainly gave an advantage to the PML-N government as exporters enjoyed greater market access to the 28-nation European bloc. In an attempt to give a boost to low textile exports and improve the country’s foreign currency reserves, then prime minister Nawaz Sharif announced trade enhancement incentives worth Rs180 billion. In the budget for fiscal year 2017-18, the export refinance facility was maintained at 3%, export-oriented sectors continued to remain zero-rated and the duty-free regime for machinery imports stood unchanged. A 5% regulatory duty was, however, imposed on the import of polyester filament yarn. Pak-Kuwait Investment Company AVP Research Adnan Sami Sheikh explained that domestic fibre manufacturers had opposed duty-free import of fibre, claiming the imported fibre was being dumped in the country. The domestic industry welcomed the imposition of regulatory duty on fibre imports. Now, the textile exporters expect more incentives in the upcoming budget for 2018-19 that could help boost their earnings.
Proposals
Ahead of the budget announcement, they have asked the government to reduce the cost of doing business by slashing power tariffs in order to enable the industry compete well with regional counterparts. They have sought tariff reduction from Rs11 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to Rs7. Industry players have also called for reintroducing the duty-drawback scheme and removing or at least curtailing the duty on the import of synthetic yarn and polyester staple fibre. They are seeking the removal of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) as well which will reduce the cost of production and improve competitiveness. Initially, there was no condition in the export package, announced in January 2017, for duty drawback for the first six months from January to June. However for the next fiscal year, the exporters must achieve 10% increase in exports in order to qualify for the incentives. The target was somewhat achieved as from July to February FY18 exports rose to $8.85 billion compared to $8.18 billion in the same period of previous year. However, some analysts point out that the exporters may have falsely shown the growth in an attempt to get incentives. According to Motiwala, exports went up after the incentives offered in the export package were extended to the buyers abroad. Lower prices of Pakistan’s products in the international market had been a main factor behind the rise in exports, he said. However, an analysis indicates that the international textile industry is highly competitive and Pakistan’s major competitors – China, India, Vietnam and Bangladesh – will not let it penetrate their established markets. These competitors are expected to respond to the price reduction by their Pakistani counterparts.
Cotton output shrinks
The textile sector has had a bad 2015 when cotton production fell 27.8% to 9 million bales – each of which weighs 176 kg. The output was significantly lower than the peak Pakistan hit in 2004 with production of 14.6 million bales. Experts attributed the cotton shortage to the imported genetically modified seeds that were prone to pest attacks. However, the government rejected the notion, blaming the fall in production on changing weather, excessive rains and insect attacks. An analyst pointed out that some farmers switched to sugarcane cultivation from cotton, but this year they struggled to sell sugarcane to the sugar mills, most of whom were not willing to offer the support price for sugarcane purchase. Many of the farmers are expected to return to cotton sowing again and with that the demand-supply deficit will contract. In the meantime, the textile industry has been pressing the government to remove tax from cotton import which is necessary in the wake of domestic production shortfall. According to experts, the textile manufacturers are also attracted by the long fibre of imported cotton compared to the cotton produced in Pakistan. The industry is not satisfied with government’s efforts as it has failed to implement the plans. “Exports didn’t get better due to government’s efforts, but it came because of depreciation of the rupee. This is not the right way to increase exports. It would have been an achievement had exports gone up with a stable rupee,” commented Motiwala.
Source: Tribune
Years of facing difficulties in the Textile sector, Pakistan is now looking to come out slowly from this bog. The country’s textile group exports collectively increase by 7.77% during the first three quarters of the current fiscal year 2017-18 as compared to the previous year corresponding period. Total textile exports were recorded at $9.99 billion during the period from July to March 2017-18. The exports were $9.27 billion in 2016-17 corresponding the same first three quarters according to the data revealed by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics PBS on Monday.
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Products that contributed most in the export revenue included raw cotton, grew by 35.76% nearly $55.82 million during the period under review as compared to previous $41.12 million. Knitwear exports also contributed in exports revenue which jumped from $1.7 billion to $1.98 billion, knitwear exports saw an increase of 14.12% during the first three quarters of 2017-18 as compared to the first three quarters of 2016-17. Yarn exports also increased from $17.75 million to $23.32 million, there was a whopping increase of 31.34% in yarn exports during the period. However, bed wear exports saw a marginal increase of 4.99% from $1.56 billion to $1.67 billion during this period, towel exports also increased by 1.18% from the total $591.28 million to $598.245 million during this period. Additionally, readymade clothing exports increased by 12.56% which is a good percentage as compared to other finished textile products. Readymade garments grew from $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion during the period under review. However, exports of Synthetic textile, silk, and art has phenomenally increased by 70.39% from $133.673 million to 227.771 million. Cotton cloth (unstitched) also saw some growth of 1.05% during this period which jumped from $161 billion to $1.63 billion during the period July-March 2017-18. Some textile products witnessed negative growth as well including cotton (carded or combed), the exports declined by 97.98%.
Source : Reserchnipers
With interest from a large number of major domestic and international players of the textiles industry, Heimtextil will be undergoing radical changes in 2019 by increasing the exhibition space and shorter walking distances. The world’s leading trade fair for home and contract textiles is scheduled to kick-start from January 8 in Frankfurt. "In the last few weeks, we have received positive feedback from our exhibitors on the new trade fair concept, which, above all, strengthens our resolve to arrange themes and product segments to attract the respective target groups. We can shorten walking distances in this way and make optimal use of synergies – all to the advantage of the fair’s visitors," said Olaf Schmidt, vice president, Textiles & Textile Technologies, at Messe Frankfurt, organiser of the fair. The organisers are also buoyed up by the high number of early registrations for Heimtextil. "The number of registrations is already on a par with that of the last event." "There are fantastic opportunities in Heimtextil’s new approach: it’s the Heimtextil of shorter walking distances. The most important thing for us is to offer our trade buyers a sector-focused exhibition that benefits all exhibitors. At Estella, we’re looking forward to the new Hall 12, the new approach, and many, many customers at Heimtextil 2019," Michael Mosch, CEO of Estella Ateliers, an exhibitor, saidThe world’s largest range of upholstery and decorative fabrics will be further enlarged and showcased now on all three levels of Hall 4. Architects, interior designers and hotel-furnishing specialists will find potential business partners and material solutions in Hall 4.2, in particular. With Trevira, Heimtextil will be welcoming a pioneer in flame retardant textiles. "After our successful participation at Heimtextil in 2018, we will be offering our Trevira CS customers a platform again next year on our joint stand in Hall 4.2. We are confident that we will be able to increase the number of partners exhibiting on our stand, thus expanding our overall presence", said Klaus Holz, CEO,Trevira. Dirk Hammes, who is responsible for marketing, purchasing and sales at Leder Schreyeck, is also looking forward optimistically to the next Heimtextil and his company’s appearance for the first time in Hall 4.2. "We are expecting a lot from the new concept, because it will appeal directly to our main target groups, for example architects and interior designers for the hotel and catering trade. They’ll make a point of visiting Hall 4.2." The newly planned Hall 8.0 promises strong synergies for buyers. Interior designers and decorators will find all the products relevant to them here – from curtains and decorative fabrics, to carpets, curtain poles and sun screening products. "I am pleased to see the two sectors, interior sun protection and curtains/decorative fabrics, appearing together at last at the fair in 2019, because their objectives are the same: to design a window on the inside in a practical and decorative way”, says Hendrik Unland, CEO of the company of the same name. Unland will be putting textile living trends on show, together with other partners in the decorative team. In particular, visitors from the German specialist retail and handicraft trade will benefit from the new hall layout. "An optimal structure awaits fair visitors from Germany, enabling them to do their purchasing quickly - it will provide a really compact overview of the trends and innovations in the sector," Unland added. Heimtextil 2019 will be focusing on 'Sleep' as a major lifestyle and wellbeing theme. A competence centre entitled 'Smart Bedding' will be set up on the theme of 'healthy sleep'. It will be aimed particularly at the specialist bed retailers target group, who will be able to enjoy shorter walking distances in future. "The distances that the fair has devised have been shown to be logical and workable. This is corroborated by our customers. We are sure we’ll have a positive visitor turnout again in 2019 - this time in Hall 11 - and we are already looking forward to the event," Stefan Sickenberger, sales manager, f.a.n. Frankenstolz, said. (RR)
Source: Fibre2fashion
The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) will enhance its supervision over the implementation of trade promotion programmes to improve their efficiency and provide training to associations and local agencies in organising trade promotion activities. Trade promotion programmes helped to generate more than US$ 200 billion from the exportation of goods and commodities in 2017, according to Vietrade. At a conference in Hanoi on promoting Vietnam‘s exports in 2018, on April 24, Vu Ba Phu, Director of Vietrade said that, in 2017, for the first time, Vietnam‘s exports surpassed US$ 200 billion. The country earned more than US$ 214 billion from exporting goods and commodities, up 21.2 percent compared to 2016. The national trade promotion programme helped export companies to enter new markets of significant potential and expand their exports to major markets. Vietrade‘s 2017 statistics showed that exports to ASEAN markets rose by 24.2 percent, reaching US$ 21.68 billion, while there was a surge of 61.5 percent to US$ 35.46 billion in China, and a rise of 14.8 percent to US$ 16.8 billion in Japan. At the forum, the delegates were directed to focus on two key export groups, including agro-forestry-fishery with the focus on cocoa and cassava, and industrial products with the focus on garments and textiles and steel products. Besides expanding new markets, exporters were advised to work to improve the quality of Vietnamese goods. Vietnam earned US$ 55.56 billion from exports in the first quarter of this year, a rise of 24.8 percent annually.
Source: Nhan Dhan online
The European Union and the United States appear reluctant to remove preferential trade access for Cambodia‘s vital garments sector, Fitch‘s BMI research unit said on Tuesday, despite calls from rights groups for targeted sanctions in the wake of a political crackdown ahead of a July general election. Concerns about garment exports have mounted ahead of the vote, which some Western nations say will not be free with rights groups accusing the government of intimidating its opponents and presiding over a decline in civil and political rights following last year‘s dissolution of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). Cambodia, a top garment-making hub, has been the sixth fastest-growing economy in the world over the past two decades, with an average GDP growth rate of 7.6 percent, according to the World Bank, thanks largely to garment exports. Around 30 percent of its garments are destined for the European Union. In its report, BMI said that the ―EU and the US appear reluctant to remove preferential trade access for Cambodia‘s crucial garment exports, which suggests that the worst-case-scenario of major industry disruption and factory closures is unlikely.‖ ―At this stage, it appears that the US and the EU will likely refrain from undertaking such punitive actions against Cambodia in the near-term,‖ said Raphael Mok, Senior Analyst, BMI Research. Rights groups and the opposition have repeatedly called on the United States and others to impose targeted sanctions in the wake of a wide-ranging crackdown on political dissent. But industry insiders have said that they oppose any cut to trade preferences, saying it would hurt garment workers the most. The Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC), which represents 600 factories, told Reuters in December that it expects exports this year to grow 3 to 4 percent. The European Union and the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia did not immediately respond to Reuters‘ request for comment on trade preferences. BMI maintained its forecast for real GDP growth to slow to 6.4 percent in 2018, from 6.9 percent in 2017, and added that rising wages meant economic diversification is needed. Last year, the government raised the minimum monthly wage of workers in its textiles and footwear industry by 11 percent to $170, higher than in Bangladesh, another garment hub, where the minimum wage for workers is 5,300 taka ($63.02) a month.
($1 = 84.1000 taka)
Source: Reuters
Cotton prices on Monday soared to a seasonal high as spinners chased quality lots which were in short supply. A deal of 1,000 bales from Ghotki was done at the season‘s highest rate of Rs8,200 per maund. As the current season is coming to an end, spinners are indulging in intermittent buying and lifting only good quality lots. However, overall trading activity is slowing down. According to market reports, around 300,000 unsold bales are held by ginners, with a limited quantity of quality cotton. Reports suggested that irregular supply of irrigation water in lower Sindh will affect cotton sowing. This is a cause concern for spinners who fear delay in the arrival of new crop. Meanwhile, world leading cotton markets were also firm, with Indian cotton recording a big jump in prices on gaining Rs300 to Rs400 per candy (356kg). The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rates were unchanged at Rs7,500 per maund. The following deals were reported to have changed hands on the ready counter: 1,000 bales, Ghotki, at Rs8,200; 1,000 bales, Liaquatpur, at Rs7,725; 200 bales, Khanpur, at Rs7,000; 200 bales, Vehari, at Rs6,600; 200 bales, Sadiqabad, at Rs7,800; and 400 bales, Rahimyar Khan, at Rs7,800.
Source: Dawn
The story of the textile industry in the second-largest clothing manufacturer in the world is one of the continued repression of workers. The shiny headquarters of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association – an organisation overseeing an industry that accounts for 82% of the nation‘s exports and is projected to make £35.5 billion by 2021 – stands tall in the capital, despite neither conclusive proof of ownership nor approved building plan. Fifteen miles away and five years ago to the day, an eight-storey building lacking approval, constructed on land illegally obtained by then Awami League MP Towhid Jung Murad for the party‘s pet thug, Sohel Rana, collapsed under the weight of textile factories housed in it, despite it not being built for such a purpose. About 1,135 workers, who entered the building that had visible cracks throughout, for a measly Bangladeshi Taka 100.00 (£0.80) for a day‘s work on April 24, 2013, were crushed to death. The survivors have spent the past half a decade in ever-diminishing hope of justice and the compensation they were promised. This was not the first man-made tragedy visited upon workers. The domestic story of the textile industry in the second- largest manufacturers of clothing in the world is one of the continued repression of workers.
Crushing dissent
Inspections were redoubled in the aftermath of the tragedy, but as the months passed, they became lax. Workers are coached, sub-contracting factories – such as the ones in Rana Plaza – are exempt, auditors transition to factory owners. Rana and the others indicted await full trials. However, seven labour activists arrested in January on questionable charges were sentenced to prison terms on April 1, unimpeded by the judiciary‘s glacial pace. They had been apprehended by the Industrial Police – a branch of the force created especially to protect economic interests, that is, suppress workers and serve the entrepreneurs. Conceived when peaceful labour protests for a wage increase in 2010 became an inconvenience to the elite class, its work has included forcibly dispersing survivors who congregated at the site of Rana Plaza to pay respect to their lost colleagues on anniversaries of the disaster, and violently quashing the peaceful workers‘ strike demanding a higher minimum wage in December 2016. Intimidation tactics include raiding labour organisations‘ offices, meting out physical abuse to workers who cross the line, and the threat of enforced disappearance. The bar is set high for the Industrial Police. When the decomposing body of labour activist Aminul Islam was found on April 6, 2012, it bore torture marks that fit the modus operandi of the Rapid Action Battalion – a British-trained paramilitary force comprised of the police and military, often operating outside the law. The climate of fear under which labour activists operated was intensified by this murder. They have since curtailed their activities and censored themselves, but wage rises in Bangladesh have never been achieved without worker agitation forcing the mandated review every three years. While it bore fruit in 2010 and 2013 – the latter due to the Rana Plaza disaster putting the industry under heavy scrutiny – the Industrial Police‘s successful drive prevented a similar outcome in 2016. Politicians and factory owners, often one and the same, keep labelling dissidents anti-state conspirators instigated by nefarious third parties. The minimum wage remains Bangladeshi Taka 5,300.00 (£44.73) per month – the lowest in the world – and the vast majority of workers continue to work without contracts and job security.
False narrative
Myths about wages abound, propagated by owners who pose as expert commentators and women‘s rights activists, the media, and economists at home and abroad. The first states that the benefits of growth in the industry and the GDP will lead to better pay. By the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association‘s own admission, the industry has grown exponentially in the past three decades, and GDP has grown steadily in the same period, yet workers‘ pay has failed to keep pace, outstripped by inflation, augmenting wealth accumulation at the top. Pace this evidence, the disproven theory of trickle-down economics, born of unbridled capitalist greed, will evidently work in Bangladesh. Second, that workers get food, accommodation and medical benefits. The allowances for these are accounted within the Bangladeshi Taka 5,300.00, which is why workers are only able to live in slums, eat less than their daily nutritional requirements, and go without medical care. Another – a favourite – is that workers take home more than the minimum wage. While this is true, owing to overtime pay, even if they exceed the legally allowed 10 hours of work a day, they cannot make more than approximately Bangladeshi Taka 15,000.00 (£126.58) in the most expensive city of a country where the living wage is over Bangladeshi Taka 25,000.00 (£211.00). Incidentally, the former was the amount the workers had asked the minimum wage to be raised to in 2016. Moreover, the only guaranteed pay is the minimum wage, with overtime beyond the statutory two hours at the employers‘ discretion, and accounting malfeasance commonplace. It is said that the resilient workers want to work more so that they may make more, but this overlooks the fact that no-one being paid a fair wage wants to work beyond the limits of exhaustion for fun. All of this amounts to entrapment in indentured servitude being presented as employers‘ benevolence and women empowerment. The lack of alternative and better jobs is solely due to the lack of evolution from entrepreneurs running an oligopoly, not a lack of will on part of the workers to improve their lot in life. The defences forwarded by factory owners are growth and development despite small margins decreasing annually, and unfair trade practices arising from buyers and brands having a clear advantage. In a business where the strong bully the weak, they are oblivious to the exploitation of those at their mercy: the workers. Those who add the most value are valued the least. A legalised cartel manufacturing a product that is a necessity worldwide oppresses the workers, not only with impunity, but with the endorsement of foreign clients suffering from selective blindness and amnesia, and complicity of the entire power structure of the country – anti-worker labour laws, political parties, law enforcement forces, the judiciary, the media and the capitalist class. Bangladesh must not be boycotted, but its disenfranchised workers must be helped, their humanity enforced. Ikhtisad Ahmed is a human rights lawyer turned writer from Bangladesh and a University of Nottingham alumnus.
Source: Scroll.in
The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) is pleased to announce an agreement with Business Co-ordination House (BCH) to provide representation of IFAI in India.
―We believe BCH is uniquely positioned to help IFAI expand the opportunities for our organization with the emerging Indian market for technical textiles.‖ Said Mary Hennessy, President and CEO of IFAI. ―One of the primary benefits IFAI members seek is the opportunity to network and collaborate with others in the industry. This strategic relationship will expand those possibilities for our members.‖
―IFAI can not only provide an open door to the Indian companies who are reciprocally seeking active partnerships overseas in the field of technical textiles but can also be an active answer to the information and knowledge seeking pattern of the Indian industry.‖ Said Samir Gupta, Managing Director of BCH.
Source: Textile World
