The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 22 MAY, 2018

NATIONAL

 

INTERNATIONAL

Cut in incentives led to 30% drop in textile exports

AHMEDABAD: Nearly a year after the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), exports of textiles as well as garments have been found to have declined significantly. Manufacturers of textiles and apparels in the state have indicated that exports have gone down by an estimated 30% in Gujarat, after the cut in export incentives that came with the implementation of GST. The export incentive has been reduced to 1.6% in cotton while the same for polyester is 1.8%. These have reduced roughly by 4%. This makes our products more expensive in the international market and reduces our competitiveness,‖ said Nitin Thaker, a textile exporter of Ahmedabad. The situation with apparel exports is no different, Exporters used to get duty drawback of 7.5% before GST implementation. This has been slashed to 2.5%, due to which there is a significant impact on exports. As incentives have been cut, the prices of our products have increased,‖ said Arpan Shah, vice-president, Gujarat Garment Manufacturers Association (GGMA). For apparel manufacturers, it was a double whammy, as some of the key global markets imposed value-added tax (VAT) on apparel exports from India. Sri Lanka and Middle Eastern countries are some of the key markets for garment manufacturers from Gujarat. Recently, UAE imposed VAT on apparels imported into their country, which further led to an increase in prices. With duty drawback slashed, exporters were already struggling to generate export volumes at competitive prices, and they now face a stiffer competition in these regions due to changes in tax rates,‖ said Vijay Purohit, president, GGMA. According to data provided by Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC), Gujarat accounts for 12% of the apparels exported from India. Manufacturers also indicated that they are facing stiff competition from their counterparts in Bangladesh and Vietnam. With a cut in duty drawback, there is stiff competition from international counterparts such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, both of which gets tax incentives in addition to export incentives. Besides, these countries are preferential importers for several global markets. With major slashing in export incentives here, it is tough to survive the competition,‖ said Bhavin Parikh, a textile exporter from the city.

Source: Times of India

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Textile ministry asks PSUs to buy locally

NEW DELHI: The textile ministry has asked all ministries as well as departments and public sector undertakings (PSUs) to buy their textile and fabric requirements locally, a move that is expected to boost earnings of artisans in the country. In a May 15 letter, the textile ministry asked all ministries to give “purchase preference” to local content in the textile sector under the ‘Make in India’ scheme. This order seems to be on the lines of a diktat on flying, where government mandates  its officials to fly state-owned Air India for official trips. The Make in India programme seeks to ensure growth of the manufacturing sector and, thus, create jobs. Though the programme did not achieve the desired result in its initial years, it is expected to in the future. The textile industry accounts for 2% of India’s GDP (gross domestic product) and 15% of the country’s export earnings. The textile sector, with over 45 million people employed directly, is one of the biggest employment generators in the country. The textile ministry has also asked ministries to furnish details on “how much of nonlocal content do the government and departments buy from textile sector”, a government official said on condition of anonymity. The textile ministry has also asked ministries to furnish details on “how much of nonlocal content do the government and departments buy from textile sector”, a government official said on condition of anonymity. The ministries will now ask the departments and PSUs to share their total expense on local and non-local buys with respect to the textile sector.“We do not think any company keeps a break up of textile or garments or other related things bought from local and non-local sectors. But we will ask them to share as much details as possible,” said the official quoted above. A senior PSU official, who did not want to be identified, said every government company, one way or the other, promotes local artisans. “Government companies promote art, culture as well as artisans by buying directly from them. I do not understand what more can a PSU do to ensure that local artisans are given preference in purchase,” said the official. Government companies like Air India promote local artisans by providing Khadi’s utility kit to business class passengers on their flight. While the Airports Authority of India also promotes local artisans in various ways, it is also planning to promote local artisans in various ways, it is also planning to promote local culture at upcoming airports.

Source: The Economic Times

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Indian textile markets firming up, says SIMA

The Indian Textiles and Clothing (T&C) industry has registered 5.37 percent export growth in 2017 as against 3.94 percent globally, despite the challenges of demonetisation and GST on the sector, Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) said here today. The Indian Textiles and Clothing (T&C) industry has registered 5.37 percent export growth in 2017 as against 3.94 percent globally, despite the challenges of demonetisation and GST on the sector, Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) said here today. "The Indian T&C exports increased from 35.5 billion US Dollars in 2016 to 37.4 billion USD in 2017 and textiles exports (yarns, fabrics and made-ups) were up by 7.82 percent. Clothing exports (garments) increased by 2.82 percent in 2017 compared to 2016," SIMA chairman P Nataraj said today. India remained the world's second largest T&C exporter in 2017, accounting for 4.95 percent global share, while China, the largest exporter, had 34.2 percent share in 2017, he said. Nataraj said countries like Germany, Vietnam, Spain and India are capturing the export space vacated by China, registering increase in exports in 2017. In 2017,India sustained itself as the largest cotton yarn exporting country with a 25 percent global market share. Yarn exports increased by 7.21 percent in the year compared to 2016, Nataraj said in a release. However, Vietnam with a 11.93 percent global cotton yarn trade in 2015, increased its share to 18.13 percent in 2017 and 23.93 percent growth this year as China shifted its major volume of yarn imports from India to Vietnam, where there is zero duty. Vietnam is not a cotton producer, but imports it and exports yarn to China, while Indian yarn attracts 3.5 percent duty in China. Nataraj said if the Indian spinning sector's demand of extending MEIS benefit for cotton yarn export was considered, it would enable them have a level playing field, use surplus spinning capacity and convert 60 to 70 lakh bales of raw cotton into value added yarn for export, thereby creating jobs for thousands of persons and increase Forex. Recently, the Government extended MEIS (Merchandise Export from Indian Scheme) benefits for all textiles and clothing exports beyond June 30 2018, except cotton yarn, he said. The stability and advantage in homegrown cotton prices in 2016-17 and 2017-18 cotton seasons had helped the industry mitigate the challenges, Nataraj said. The delay in releasing export benefits like RoSL (Rebate on State Levies), refund of GST accumulated credits, TUF subsidies and also in announcing enhanced duty drawback rates have caused financial crunch for the whole value chain, especially the garment sector, he said. The yarn market has gained momentum and unsold yarn stock level was one of the lowest in recent years. With increased fabric demand, yarn prices increased to some extent in mid May 2018 compared to the previous month, he said. Nataraj said demand for coarse and medium counts, especially open end yarn in the domestic and export markets has increased considerably and several mills have got advance bookings for a few months. "Early refund and clearing of government dues will strengthen the financial position of exports and all other textile manufacturing units to revive from the financial crisis and capture emerging market opportunities," he said.

Source: Money Control

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Andhra Pradesh govt plans MSME Parks in every Assembly segment

The Andhra Pradesh government has come up with an ambitious M-Parks (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Parks) Policy with the objective of creating at least 200 such parks across the State by the year 2023. The idea is to have one M-Park with an investment of ₹225 crore to create 1,500 jobs in each of the 175 Assembly constituencies, with a newly-created AP MSME Development Corporation overseeing the process. The overall target is to create around 200 parks by 2023 with 30,000 MSMEs with an employment potential for three lakh people and an investment of ₹45,000 crore, according to the Chief Minister‘s Office. But, financial crunch and non-availability of land have become major impediments in rolling out the policy, official sources said. We could so far identify required land in only 42 Assembly segments in different districts for the proposed M-Parks,‖ a senior Industries department official said. Revenue officials are still working on identifying land in each constituency for these parks and that process might take many more months,‖ he said. Each M-Park is proposed to be set up in an extent of 100 acres in each of the 175 constituencies with the state government providing ₹10 lakh per acre as subsidy for infrastructure development. The total fund required for this is ₹1,750 crore, while the government has earmarked only ₹100 crore towards this in the 2018-19 Budget. This apart, the M-Parks Policy also promises a 50 per cent grant of the total project cost (excluding land value) but no budgetary provision has been made for this, the official added. Anyhow, we are going to kickstart the MSMEs in June, initially where land is readily available. Other parks will follow,‖ he said. Focus of the M-Parks Policy will primarily be on manufacturing and the state government has identified sectors like small engineering, fabrication, plastics, automobiles and textiles that have large scope for employment creation. Hitherto, the so-called entrepreneurs used to get land allotted, raise a shed or so and never actually run the unit after availing the subsidy, the official claimed. Under the new policy, however, we will ensure that the units are functional with real employment creation. We are involving the local public representatives also to make the MSMEs effective,he added. The state government has mooted the idea of promoting large and mega enterprises as anchor investors in the proposed M-Parks so as to enhance the market prospects of the MSMEs. At least ten per cent of the total land in each M-Park will be earmarked for large and mega enterprises to give a thrust to industrial promotion across all regions of the state. The AP MSME Development Corporation will provide necessary business development support to MSMEs like improving quality, marketing, exports, access to warehouse facilities and skill development once the M-Parks are established.

Source: The Hindu Businessline

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Industry seeks cut in fuel excise duty as oil prices zoom

NEW DELHI: India Inc today urged the government to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel immediately, observing that rising oil prices pose a high risk to India's economic growth trajectory. Industry bodies Ficci and Assocham also pitched for inclusion of automobile fuel under the ambit of GST as a long-term solution to rising prices, which coupled with a weakening rupee would increase the country's import bill significantly and have a cascading impact on inflation. "With global oil prices once again spiralling upwards, the macro-economic risks of higher inflation, higher trade deficit and pressure on balance of payments with attended consequences for the rupee value have once again surfaced," Ficci President Rashesh Shah said. He said the weakening rupee will further add pressure on the import bill, highlighting that there is also a risk of monetary policy turning hawkish, which would in turn have a bearing on growth of private investments. "At a time when Indian economy is on a recovery path, rising oil prices are again posing high risk to India's economic growth trajectory," Shah said. "Unless swift action is taken to address the situation, economic growth will again head towards a speed breaker. Amongst the most immediate actions that can be taken by the government is to bring down the excise duty on fuel," he added. He said going forward, the Centre should also work with states to bring petrol products under the GST regime. "While cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel may provide temporary relief to consumers, the sustainable solution lies in the automobile fuel coming under Goods and Services Tax, which can happen only after the Centre and states together reduce their dependence on the fuel considerably," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said. He said the rising crude prices coupled with weaker rupee with cascading impact on inflation pose a big challenge for the Indian macro picture and ironically, there is little that can be done in the short term. In the long run, India needs to rework its energy security and ensure that petrol and diesel do not remain a huge revenue resource. Rather than being a revenue source for the government, the auto fuel should drive the economic growth, Assocham said. Brent crude oil prices went past the USD 80 per barrel mark last week. Today, brent touched USD 78.87 per barrel, up 0.5 per cent from last close. government said on Friday the recent spurt in global rates is a matter of concern as it could inflate import bill by as much as USD 50 billion and impact current account deficit (CAD). However, it remained non-committal on cutting excise duty to ease the burden from rising oil prices. Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg had said the spurt in oil prices will push up the oil import bill by USD 25 billion to USD 50 billion under different scenarios, adding that India spent USD 72 billion on oil imports last year. Asked if the government would cut excise duty on petrol and diesel, he said he has nothing to say on excise duty front. "Just watch."

 Source: The Economic Times

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India's GDP growth in Q4 of FY18 seen at 7.4%: Icra

NEW DELHI: Rating agency Icra expects GDP growth in January-March 2017-18 at 7.4 per cent on account of good rabi crop harvest and improved corporate earnings, up from 7.2 per cent in the third quarter. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is scheduled to come out with GDP estimate for the fourth quarter (Q4) of fiscal 2017-18 and provisional annual estimates for the year 2017-18 on May 31. "The domestic GDP growth rate is expected to improve to 7.4 per cent in Q4 FY2018 from 7.2 per cent in Q3 FY2018, exceeding the implicit forecast of 7.1 per cent embedded in the CSO's Second Advance Estimate of National Income for 2017-18," Icra said in a release. As per Icra, the growth of the Indian gross value added (GVA) at basic prices in year-on-year (YoY) terms is likely to record a considerable recovery to 7.3 per cent in Q4 FY2018 from 6.7 per cent in Q3 FY2018, thereby rebounding above 7 per cent after a gap of five quarters. This revival in the fourth quarter, relative to the previous three months, is expected to be broad-based, supported by an uptick in industry (to 7.7 per cent from +6.8 per cent), agriculture, forestry and fishing (to 4.5 per cent from 4.1 per cent), and services (to 7.8 per cent from +7.7 per cent), it said. "The uptick in economic activity that set in during the second half of 2017, is expected to have strengthened in Q4 FY2018, led by a healthy rabi harvest, robust volume growth in various sectors, an improvement in corporate earnings and a favourable base effect," said Principal Economist of ICRA Aditi Nayar. The rating agency further said it expects a mild pickup in growth in the services sector, reflecting the improvement in diesel and petrol consumption, service sector exports, passengers carried by domestic airlines, cargo handled at major ports and railway revenue carrying freight.

Source : The Economic Times

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Maharashtra Govt to help textile units set up solar plants

The state government of Maharashtra has formed a panel to help set up solar power plants at cooperative spinning mills and textile units. The committee will be responsible for formulating the criteria for declaring the units that are eligible for subsidy, finalising the details of the subsidy and planning the implementation process among other things. The committee has to submit its report in the next two months. The government has decided to give ₹3 per unit power subsidy to spinning mills for a period of 3 years, as per the new textile policy 2018-23 that was approved in February, said regional media reports quoting an official from the Maharashtra textile department. The subsidy is also being given to other textiles projects. These cooperative spinning mills and textile projects are expected to set up other power projects as complementary power sources. The subsidy will be reviewed every year, said another official. Power tariffs in Maharashtra are higher than that in the other states and this is one of the reason why spinning mills incur losses. Thus, the department is encouraging mills to turn to solar power plants to fulfil their power needs while reducing their bills. Textile director will be the head of the committee, which also comprise an official from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company and the director general of the Maharashtra Energy Development Agency.

Source: Fibre2fashion

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Rupee remains vulnerable to new lows; strong dollar keeps it under pressure

Gurumurthy K The rupee has been volatile in the past week. The outcome of the Karnataka elections dragged the rupee to 68.14 last Tuesday. However, it managed to recover from those levels to make a high of 67.58 on Thursday. Reports suggest that a possible intervention from the RBI might have been the trigger for the recovery in the rupee. However, the currency failed to sustain higher and lost momentum again. It fell below 68 again and made a low of 68.16 before closing at 68.12 on Monday, down 0.9 per cent for the week. The US dollar index is retaining its strength. Though the index fell in the initial part of last week, it managed to reverse higher. The index fell to a low of 92.24 but has clawed back and risen sharply, breaking above the key resistance level of 93. It is currently trading at 93.90. Immediate resistance is in the 94.10-94.20 region, which is likely to be tested. If the dollar index reverses lower from this resistance region, an intermediate pull-back to 93.5 or 93.3 is possible. However, the downside is expected to be limited as the overall bullish outlook remains intact. As such, an eventual break above 94.20 will increase the likelihood of the index rallying to 95.25 in the short term. Such a rally in the dollar index will drag the rupee lower to test the previous lows of 68.86. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) extended their selling spree into the fifth consecutive week. They sold $885 million in the Indian debt segment last week. The FPIs have sold $2.17 billion in the debt segment so far, this month. The selling pressure from the FPIs has played a vital part in dragging the rupee lower over the last few months. The bearish outlook remains intact for the rupee. Immediate resistance is at 68 and then a key short-term resistance is in between 67.60 and 67.50, which is likely to cap the upside in the rupee. A fall to test the previous lows of 68.86 is likely in the coming days. The region between 68.85 and 68.90 is a crucial support to watch. Whether the rupee manages to reverse higher from this support zone or not will be key to deciding the next leg of move.

Rupee outlook

If the rupee manages to recover from the 68.85-68.90 support zone, a relief rally to 68 is possible in the short term. Since the rupee has fallen sharply in a very short span of time, the probability of this relief rally is very high. A break above 68 can even see this relief rally extending toward 67 or 66.80. But from a medium-term perspective, the strength in the rupee is expected to be capped by the key resistances between 67 and 66.80. The rupee strengthening beyond 66.80 looks unlikely at the moment. As such an eventual break below 68.90 will see the rupee falling to fresh lows of 70 and 71 levels in the coming months.

Source: Business Line

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Global Textile Raw Material Price 2018-05-21

Item

Price

Unit

Fluctuation

Date

PSF

1407.70

USD/Ton

2.05%

5/21/2018

VSF

2205.61

USD/Ton

0.14%

5/21/2018

ASF

3041.14

USD/Ton

0%

5/21/2018

Polyester POY

1445.33

USD/Ton

-0.49%

5/21/2018

Nylon FDY

3401.69

USD/Ton

0.46%

5/21/2018

40D Spandex

5564.98

USD/Ton

0%

5/21/2018

Nylon POY

1740.04

USD/Ton

0%

5/21/2018

Acrylic Top 3D

3605.48

USD/Ton

0.44%

5/21/2018

Polyester FDY

5925.53

USD/Ton

0%

5/21/2018

Nylon DTY

1708.68

USD/Ton

-0.18%

5/21/2018

Viscose Long Filament

3119.52

USD/Ton

1.02%

5/21/2018

Polyester DTY

3135.20

USD/Ton

0%

5/21/2018

30S Spun Rayon Yarn

2947.09

USD/Ton

0%

5/21/2018

32S Polyester Yarn

2225.99

USD/Ton

0.35%

5/21/2018

45S T/C Yarn

3009.79

USD/Ton

0.52%

5/21/2018

40S Rayon Yarn

2351.40

USD/Ton

0.67%

5/21/2018

T/R Yarn 65/35 32S

2555.19

USD/Ton

0.62%

5/21/2018

45S Polyester Yarn

3119.52

USD/Ton

0%

5/21/2018

T/C Yarn 65/35 32S

2680.60

USD/Ton

0%

5/21/2018

10S Denim Fabric

1.46

USD/Meter

0%

5/21/2018

32S Twill Fabric

0.90

USD/Meter

0.18%

5/21/2018

40S Combed Poplin

1.25

USD/Meter

0%

5/21/2018

30S Rayon Fabric

0.70

USD/Meter

0%

5/21/2018

45S T/C Fabric

0.74

USD/Meter

0%

5/21/2018

Source: Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15676 USD dtd. 21/5/2018). 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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Egypt : Textile exports rise to $288 million in 4 months- group

CAIRO - The textile exports rose by 5.5 percent to hit 288 million dollars in the first four months of 2018, up from 273 million dollars in the same period in 2017, the Egyptian Textile Export Council said Sunday. The council said it has signed a cooperation protocol with Tunisia, aimed at boosting the trade exchange and investments between Cairo and Tunis.

Source: Egypt Today

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Pakistan : Research on textile

Islamabad :The Research & Development (R&D) Department of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has prepared a detailed document on the issues of Pakistan’s Exports. The study was conducted with the consultation of Export Advisory Committee of FPCCI which was formed in compliance of Prime Minister Directives to submit proposals for enhancing export from Pakistan. The report contains issues of the export oriented sectors including textile sector which has largest share in Pakistan’s exports. The report in textile sector highlighted the area of concern that is Pakistan’s Competitors have set targets for textile exports while Pakistan far behind them. Bangladesh set target to achieve textile exports US$ 60 billion, India set target to increase export U$30 billion, while Pakistan’s total exports has decrease from US$25 billion to US$20 billion nearly in which textile sector share 61%. The report also identifies various problems being faced by Textile Sector including high cost of doing business approximately 11 percent multiple taxes and surcharges. Low production of cotton bales, limited implementation of Government announced support in STPF and Textile Package, uncompetitive utility and raw materials to the textile sector.

Source: Pak observer

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China relieved US trade war is 'on hold' but US business ambivalent

A trade war was 'on hold' as the world's largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade deal.  China today praised a significant dialling back of trade tension with the US, with the government saying agreement was in the interests of both countries. China's state media also trumpeted what it saw as the country's refusal to "surrender". But the cooling of tension elicited mixed reactions from US business leaders dealing with China. Some were happy to see the prospect of damaging tariffs fade, while others said it would be difficult for Washington to rebuild momentum to address what they see as troubling Chinese policies. A trade war was "on hold" after the world's largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said yesterday. Beijing and Washington said over the weekend that they would keep talking about measures under which China would import more energy and agricultural commodities from the US to narrow the $335 billion annual US goods and services trade deficit with China. Speaking at a daily briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said both countries had clearly recognised that the reaching of a consensus was good for all. "China has never hoped for any tensions between China and the United States, in the trade or other arenas," Lu said. During an initial round of talks this month in Beijing, the US demanded that China reduce its trade surplus by $200 billion. No dollar figure was cited in the countries' joint statement over the weekend. Some in US business groups who had been pushing for tougher measures to pressure China to ease long-standing market barriers on US companies expressed disappointment.

Source: Financial Express

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Pakistan: Trilateral trade accord to boost global textile market share

ISLAMABAD: A trade accord between Pakistan, China, and Vietnam could help claim 50 percent share of the global textile market, a study suggested on Monday. China‘s share in the textile export was 36 percent, Vietnam contributed 12.4 percent, and Pakistan 7 percent, therefore a trilateral products‘ specific agreement between the three countries can make a huge difference,‖ Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce‘s (FPCCI) Research and Development Department said in a report. The study was conducted with the consultation of the FPCCI‘s Export Advisory Committee, which was formed in compliance with Prime Minister‘s directives to submit proposals for boosting export from the country.The report contains issues of the export oriented sectors including textile sector which has largest share in Pakistan‘s exports. The study said the regional competitors were upping the ante on textile exports to make inroads into more global markets, while Pakistan, which had almost fallen out of the competition, had even regressed in the worst possible ways owing a number of crippling hurdles. Bangladesh is eyeing $60 billion worth of textile exports, India is targeting an increase of $30 billion, while Pakistan‘s total exports have decrease from $25 billion to $20 billion in which textile sector‘s share is 61 percent,‖ the FPCCI paper said. The report also identifies various problems being faced by textile sector including high cost of doing business approximately 11 percent multiple taxes and surcharges. Low production of cotton bales, limited implementation of government announced support in Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) and Textile Package, uncompetitive utility and raw materials to the textile sector are also among the factors that weighed on the country‘s textile exports, the study said. Pakistan is the only country in the region that has seen its total textile exports declining by 10 percent between 2011 and 2018. Other economies like China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam have grown their exports at a compound rate of 20 percent or above during the same period. Vietnam, a relative newcomer, in the sector posted a compound export growth of 107 percent followed by Bangladesh with 61 percent. Pakistan predominantly being a textile export economy is struggling to keep the remaining share in global textile markets both in basic and value-added textiles. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data showed country‘s textile exports rose 7.2 percent to $8.79 billion during the first eight months of the current fiscal year of 2018 as value-added sector continued to post recovery in foreign earnings. Though, in February, textile exports ticked up 7.14 percent year-on-year, they went down 1.81 percent month-on-month owing to value-added sector‘s failure to sustain the pace of growth in the month under review compared to January 2018. Textile exports, which make up around 60 percent of the country‘s total exports, were recorded to be at $8.21 billion in the same period of the last fiscal.

Source: The News

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Pakistan: Textile exports jump 8pc

ISLAMABAD: Exports of textile and clothing products recorded an eight per cent growth year-on-year to $11.2 billion in the 10 months of 2017-18, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Monday. The partial revival in the export proceeds is the outcome of the cash subsidy offered under prime minister‘s exports enhancement package. The growth is recorded despite non-clearance of refunds/rebate of exporters. A hefty amount of refund/rebate has already been released in 9MFY18. Data show the main driver of growth was the value-added textile sector as exports of ready-made garments went up 11.96pc in value and 13.44pc in quantity while those of knitwear edged up 14.65pc in value and 3.7pc in quantity during these 10 months. Exports of bedwear went up 4.77pc in value and 3.17pc in quantity. The exports of towels posted a paltry growth of 0.52pc in value and 6.7pc in quantity while those of cotton cloth went higher by 1.12pc in value and 4.2pc in quantity during the period under review. In the category of primary commodities, exports of cotton yarn witnessed an increase of 7.2pc while those of yarn other than cotton recorded a rise of 33.7pc. Exports of made-up articles, excluding towels, increased 7.3pc whereas art, silk and synthetic textile exports grew 83.09pc during the period under review. However, exports of tents, canvas and tarpaulin dipped over 39.7pc while proceeds from raw cotton surged by 31.97pc. The total export proceeds posted a growth of 13.65pc to $19.2bn in July-April 2018 from $16.89bn over the corresponding period of last year. The non-textile exports went up by 21.2pc to $8bn in July-April 2018 from $6.6bn in the same period of last year. Data show a mammoth increase of 128.96pc in exports of petroleum products, which along with petroleum crude and naphtha, led the increase in overall sector sales. Exports of carpets and rugs fell by 5.12pc during July-April FY18 from a year ago. Foreign sales of sports goods went up by 7.3pc during the period under review, with football exports higher by 8.8pc. Tanned leather exports, however, shrank by 4.2pc in July-April from a year ago. Leather products‘ exports increased by 6.78pc during this period and were mainly led by sales of leather gloves. Footwear exports rose by 11.15pc during the period under review despite facing strong competition especially from Chinese exporters in Europe in spite of preferential market access. Exports of surgical goods and medical instruments grew by 14.42pc and engineering goods by 11.78pc during these 10 months. Foreign sales of gur (jaggery) soared by 26.76pc, handicrafts 40.28pc, jewellery 10.95pc and molasses 215.98pc while the exports of cement fell by 9.37pc, and furniture 12.28pc during the period under review. In the food basket, exports of rice witnessed an increase of 24.77pc owing to higher foreign sales of both basmati and non-basmati rice.

Source: The Dawn

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STATS Unveils New GPS Training Tool with Textile Sensors

STATS, a sports data and analytics company, announced a new GPS-based athlete training tool with textile heart rate sensors on Monday that will offer users new insights into performance. Stats GPS is a vest embedded with textile sensors that will measure an athlete‘s workout in real time based on data from GPS, heart rate and inertial measurement units. Using a 50-Hz sampling frequency (a more accurate version of some of Stats‘ previous GPS-based products), the device will measure up to 300 customizable metrics and be able to monitor up to 100 players simultaneously during practice. ―Teams and conditioning coaches need the latest technology to ensure players stay at peak health and fitness during long seasons, said Ryan Paterson, the chief global officer at STATS. Now, ―teams can instantly get performance information, allowing them to make in-the-moment decisions.‖ During practice, coaches will receive real-time information about acceleration, deceleration, energy expenditure, count of zone entries, and time, distance and power thresholds. After practice, coaches can access detailed session reports that are ready by the time players walk off the field via the STATS Dynamix online portal. Reports are fully-customizable and can include in-depth player summaries as well as information on imbalance and cardiovascular metrics, and explosive and braking symmetry. The system also allows sports scientists to apply results to historical data Objectively monitoring players in training and in-match is essential for us in order to optimally prepare them and mitigate injury risk,‖ said Pete Atkinson, head of performance at the Italian Rugby Federation. We are working closely with STATS to target individual players‘ needs utilising the latest technology.‖ Sport Techie Takeaway As STATS develops more sophisticated athlete monitoring technologies, it will push these new products onto the teams it has already partnered with and attempt to prove how analytics can greatly enhance a team‘s performance. Coupling an ever-increasing array of performance metrics with a digestible platform that helps coaches better analyze their players has become imperative now that a number of wearable companies are competing in the elite tracking space. Home Spanish envoy for organising single country expos (Source: The News, May 19, 2018) Bilateral trade between Pakistan and Spain stands around one billion dollars and we must take concrete steps to exploit its untapped potential by encouraging frequent exchange of trade delegations and organising single country exhibitions in each other countries, said Carlos Morales, ambassador of Spain. During a meeting with vice president Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) Usman Rauf; Chairman Diplomatic Affairs and Foreign Trade Delegation Committee Engineer Sohail Bin Rasheed and executive member Jawad Asghar, he told that Pakistan‘s exports had recorded a phenomenal increase of 44 percent immediately after the grant of GSP Plus status to Pakistan by the European Union (EU) in 2014. He said mainly Pakistani exports were restricted to textile, hence Pakistan should diversify its export base to further increase the exports particularly in IT and food sectors. He told that European countries, including Spain, have developed their agriculture sector which has now been declared as an industry. Pakistan produces a large number of agricultural products but it lacks processing and value-addition. Pakistan has a potential to develop its agricultural and livestock sector to give a boost to its exports, however, for this purpose efficient food processing is imperative,‖ he added. Morales said he will visit Faisalabad in the middle of July to personally review the investment opportunities in this city. He also welcomed a proposal of the FCCI to send a trade delegation to Spain and assured of fully facilitating them in addition to arranging their meeting with their Spanish counterparts. Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president Usman Rauf said Faisalabad was the third largest city of Pakistan and second in revenue generation. He told that the FCCI has 6,000 members within its fold and most of them belong to the textile sector but other sectors are also contributing their due share in the overall economic growth of Pakistan. Engineer Sohail Bin Rasheed requested the Spanish ambassador to help Pakistan in technology transfer and launching joint ventures in agriculture sector. Pakistan is the major producer of milk, meat, vegetables and fruits which can be used to produce a chain of other high value food products, he suggested.

Source: The News

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Spanish envoy for organising single country expos

Bilateral trade between Pakistan and Spain stands around one billion dollars and we must take concrete steps to exploit its untapped potential by encouraging frequent exchange of trade delegations and organising single country exhibitions in each other countries, said Carlos Morales, ambassador of Spain. During a meeting with vice president Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) Usman Rauf; Chairman Diplomatic Affairs and Foreign Trade Delegation Committee Engineer Sohail Bin Rasheed and executive member Jawad Asghar, he told that Pakistan‘s exports had recorded a phenomenal increase of 44 percent immediately after the grant of GSP Plus status to Pakistan by the European Union (EU) in 2014. He said mainly Pakistani exports were restricted to textile, hence Pakistan should diversify its export base to further increase the exports particularly in IT and food sectors. He told that European countries, including Spain, have developed their agriculture sector which has now been declared as an industry. Pakistan produces a large number of agricultural products but it lacks processing and value-addition. Pakistan has a potential to develop its agricultural and livestock sector to give a boost to its exports, however, for this purpose efficient food processing is imperative,‖ he added. Morales said he will visit Faisalabad in the middle of July to personally review the investment opportunities in this city. He also welcomed a proposal of the FCCI to send a trade delegation to Spain and assured of fully facilitating them in addition to arranging their meeting with their Spanish counterparts. Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president Usman Rauf said Faisalabad was the third largest city of Pakistan and second in revenue generation. He told that the FCCI has 6,000 members within its fold and most of them belong to the textile sector but other sectors are also contributing their due share in the overall economic growth of Pakistan. Engineer Sohail Bin Rasheed requested the Spanish ambassador to help Pakistan in technology transfer and launching joint ventures in agriculture sector. Pakistan is the major producer of milk, meat, vegetables and fruits which can be used to produce a chain of other high value food products,‖ he suggested.

Source: The News

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