Claiming that the Surat textile industry appears not to have stabilised a year after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented, with at least 40,000 workers jobless, the Federation of Gujarat Weavers Association (FOGWA) and its subsidiary Pandesara Weavers Association has written to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take up their issues with the finance minister and PMO.
The letter, sent on Tuesday, mentions that more than 5 lakh people from Odisha work in the powerloom industry, and post-GST 40,000 workers had become jobless.
On July 14, the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) had organised an open discussion between GST officials in Surat and textile industry members. State Industries Commissioner Mamta Verma, SGST Commissioner P D Vaghela and Additional Commissioner of GST Yogendra Gard were among those present at the meeting, where a report by FOGWA on the impact of GST on textile industry was presented.
According to the report, post-GST over 1 lakh powerloom machines were scrapped and 6,000 powerloom factories shut down, while over 4 lakh powerloom workers had become jobless. The existing powerloom units were operating at 50 per cent capacity. The daily production of grey fabric, which was 4 crore meter pre-GST, had come down to 2.5 crore meter post-GST. The powerloom industry faces problems of costliest yarn even after reduction of GST from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. After GST, import garments in India had increased, it said.
It mentions that the Man-Made Textile Fabric industry of Surat accounts for 60 per cent of total synthetic textile produced in India, with a production of 1,300 crore meter of cloth and annual turnover of Rs 50,000 crore, with over 18 lakh people associated with this industry. The industry is struggling with issues related to GST, it said.
The GST on MMF yarn is 12 per cent while GST on the final product ie fabric is 5 per cent. “This discriminatory policy had adversely impacted three types of neutralities (Fibre neutrality, Scale neutrality and Trade neutrality), which are essential for efficient GST…”, the letter said.
The letter mentions that FOGWA members had made representation to the Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Finance. The finance ministry had argued that the powerloom industry should undergo vertical integration to absorb accumulated input tax credit.
For vertical integration, high value of investment is necessary, which powerloom industry cannot manage, FOGWA argued. The MMF industry is labour intensive in comparison to vertical integrated composite mills, which do not have much employment. Due to this, the Surat Man Made Fabric is losing its edge, both in domestic and exports markets, and many powerlooms are shutting down, they said. More than 40,000 workers in the industry are already unemployed and numbers are rising, they added.
As per the data from FIST, there are over 5 lakh workers from Odisha (Ganjam and Berhrampur) working in the powerloom industry in Surat. Apart from this over 3 lakh women are engaged in value added work like mirror and stone work and hand embroidery on fabric. The workers from Odisha are mainly from tribal areas.
FOGWA managing committee member Ashish Gujarati said, “The reason for writing to the Odisha CM is that majority of the labour force in the powerloom sector hails from Odisha and their condition is really pathetic. Many of them have become jobless while some of them are partly jobless, as production had gone down to 50 per cent in powerloom factories. The CM should put the issue before the finance ministry and PMO for an amicable solution.”
He added, “We will also put forward a demand to the central government for a special package to factory owners who have scrapped their powerloom machines.”
Source: Indian Express
In its upcoming meeting, GST Council is expected to take up issues related with simplification of returns, creation of appellate tribunal, revenue position of states and laws related to the indirect tax structure. The 28th GST Council meet is scheduled on Saturday. Along with this, Council may also take up with rate cuts and clarification for 40 handicraft items, 32 services and 35 goods, The Indian Express reported citing an unidentified source.
For lithium batteries, a rate cut to 18 percent from 28 percent has been recommended. For water coolers, ice cream machinery along with reduction from 28 percent to 12 percent for fuel cell vehicles; for bamboo flooring from 18 percent to 12 percent and handloom dari from 12 per cent to 5 percent, The Indian Express reported citing same source.
“There are many listed items for the meeting, so only if time permits, natural gas/ATF could be discussed. The inclusion of natural gas is not contentious, but ATF may be a tricky item given that it contributes majorly to revenues of Delhi and Mumbai,” The Indian Express reported citing sources.
“Smaller states do not earn significantly from ATF, whereas for places like Delhi and Mumbai, it is a major contributor. Allowing credit would result in the revenue stream from ATF getting split among all states instead of the current concentration in these two places. Mumbai may even recover from alternate revenue sources but for Delhi, it could mean a significant loss of revenue,” The Indian Express reported citing source.
Since taking charge of the portfolio, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal will chair the GST Council meet for the first time.
Other than this, the council may also discuss reports of six committees and ministerial panels on creation of ecosystem for seamless road transport connectivity, digital payments, imposition of sugar cess and reverse charge mechanism, the report said.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The Goods and Services Tax Council is likely to reduce the rates on a handful of products at its next meeting this Saturday. That on sanitary napkins is likely to be cut from the present 12 per cent to five per cent. Lower rates are also possible on handicrafts, handlooms and e-books, among others.
“The rationalisation of rates will be taken up for smaller items that do not have major revenue implications but are commonly consumed. However, we would not be touching the items in the highest slab,” said a government official. It is unclear if the issue of levying a cess on sugar will be on the agenda but the GST on ethanol is likely to be reduced to 12 per cent from the current 18 per cent.
A panel headed by Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has not favoured the sugar cess, proposed by the Centre to ease payments from mills to sugarcane farmers.
An alternative could be to instead impose a cess of one per cent on luxury goods. The Council will be having a full-fledged meeting after a little over three months. Sanitary napkins, handlooms and handicrafts are currently taxed at 12 per cent; e-books attract 18 per cent.
Women’s groups have campaigned for less GST on sanitary napkins. Also last year, the high court here had asked the government why this product had not been exempt from GST when items such as bindis, sindoor and kajal were.
“The proposal before the Council will be to reduce the rate to five per cent for sanitary napkins; reducing it to nil will deprive domestic manufacturers from input tax credit. That will put them at a disadvantage as against import,” said a government official. Rate reduction for handlooms was discussed in the past few meetings as well but the Council could not agree on a definition acceptable to all states.
“The discussion is centering around whether the reduction should apply to the cloth or products made out of handlooms. It could be products that contain at least 50 per cent handloom,” said an official.
As for handicrafts, it could be items priced up to a certain limit that might see a rate cut, such as Rs 500 or Rs 1,000. The Council might also take up rate reduction on e-books, taxed at 18 per cent as against a nil rate for normal books.
“Normal books are exempt. An e-book is nothing but a book; only the mode of delivery is online. Hence, there should not be any distinction. In no other GST regime anywhere in the world has there been a distinction between normal books and e-books,” said Pratik Jain, partner at consultancy PwC India.
The Council will also take forward the issue of return simplification, approved by it at the earlier meeting.
“It is essential to simplify returns and provide staggered timelines for return filing,” said M S Mani, partner at consultants Deloitte India.
Source: Business Standard
The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), Mumbai, the apex Export Promotion Council of MMFT exporters organized first Road Show/Seminar on “Source India 2018” on 5th July in Bhiwandi at the Hotel Regent Garden with the support of our member-exporters and other textiles associations in and around Bhiwandi. Source India 2018 is the second edition of the council’s flagship event Reverse Global Buyer Seller Meet. It is being organized from 21st to 23rd September at the Surat International Exhibition and Convention Centre, Surat.
The Roadshow was intended to create awareness amongst the textile community in Bhiwandi about the prospects for further growth of Man-made fibre textiles and bring more textile manufacturers to the Road show under the export umbrella.
Mr. S Balaraju, Execuitve Director opened the session by welcoming the gathering of about 50 guest and invited distinguished guests Mr. Ronak Rughani, Vice Chairman, SRTEPC, Mr. Naresh Kumar, Director of Regional office of the Textile Commissioner, Navi Mumbai, Mr. M.Y. Momin, Chairman of Bhiwandi Power Loom Federation, Mr. Purshotam Vanga, Chairman of PDEXCIL, Mr. Vinod Khetrapaljee, from Bombay Crimpers, Mr. Rajesh Kumar Mody, COA.
Presentation was made by SRTEPC Vice Chairman Shri Ronak Rughani. The Vice-Chairman informed the gathering the benefits and advantages of Participation at Source India 2018, the prospects for exports of Man Made Fibre (MMF) Textiles from Bhiwandi, Emerging Trends in Global Textiles - Opportunities for India, scope of Indian Man Made Textiles Exports & Role of SRTEPC in promoting Exports.
Mr. Momin, a legend with loads of experience spoke about his many years of relationship with SRTEPC and about huge potential for Indian MMFT products in International market. He also said that we are lacking far behind in exports compared to our neighbouring countries. In his opinion the government needs to do lot more to support exporters by reducing taxes. He extended full support to SRTEPC on behalf of his association and requested the entrepreneurs to participate in Source India 2018
Mr. Rajesh Kumar Modi said that Bhiwandi is an important centre, our companies are competent and produce products of high standard. However, he said that they need to work on improving quality so that they can excel in the international market. He also pointed out that unfortunately the basic infrastructure in Biwandi is not in place. Getting international buyer to visit factory in Bhiwandi is a big challenge.
Mr. Naresh Kumar, appreciated various initiative taken by SRTEPC. He has noted all the grievances came up during the interactive session and ensured that he will raise them with higher authority and do all he can within his capacity to help growth of MMF Textiles. He also assured that he will disseminate the information of Source India 2018 in Maharashtra and mobilize maximum exhibitors.
Presentation was also made by Private company Alibaba on e-commerce to help exporters understand how on-line medium can be used to promote their exports.
Mrs. Barbara Mendes, Senior Executive from SRETPC gave brief presentation on activities of the Council and how the Council can help its members. She urged the audience to become members of the Council and avail the benefits.
While speaking on the occasion, Shri Ronak Rughani, Vice Chairman mentioned that Indian MMF Textiles Industry is vibrant and rapidly growing. India is the second largest exporter of MMF Textiles in the world with exports to nearly 150 countries. Exports of yarn and made-ups have performed well and shown a positive growth. Value added MMF textiles are primarily manufactured in decentralized sector.
Bhiwandi a key textile center of western India is also an important centre for manufacturing of textiles items including Man made textiles. Nearly 30% of the national production from the power loom sector is contributed by this township. However, with changing International trends and dynamics of the textile industry, the local industry has to shift to other forms of textiles to survive the competition. Hence, MMF Textiles offers an opportunity of transition and growth to the local industry during these challenging times.
With its motto ‘To link Indian MMFT exporters to the Global Buyers’, Source India 2018 in its 2nd edition aims at bringing visitors and exhibitors from all sectors of the industry within India and selected buyers from more than 40 countries in order to transact business.
Source India 2018 aims to offer conducive business platform to generate business for the assembled exporters and buyers. SOURCE INDIA 2018, the mega event of the Council, is being held during 21-23 September 2018 at Surat. The Council proposes to host more than 200 buyers from more than 40 leading countries based in Asia, Africa, Middle East & Gulf, Latin America, CIS Countries and Europe, Trade Visitors. Domestic & International Buying Houses, Procurement Managers from Large Retail Brands, Sourcing Agents, CEO’s, Industry Heads and Business Leaders
Visitors from Bhiwandi and Mumbai attended in large numbers for the Road show. “It is certainly an interesting feeling to come and interact with the industry and have such quality business discussions here at Bhiwandi” said Shri Ronak Rughani, Vice Chairman of SRTEPC.
SOURCE: Textile Value Chain
Advent of the digital economy has helped improve access to services and information where traditional channels have not been able to deliver. Earlier this week, Facebook and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) entered into a strategic partnership in Bhubaneswar to empower youth and entrepreneurs with digital skills in India.
The partnership will enable the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship to incorporate Facebook’s training on digital marketing skills in its courses besides providing trainees with access to local, domestic and international markets. The programme includes courses on digital marketing, online safety and financial literacy in regional languages with Facebook master trainers nominated by the NSDC. This will upskill job seekers and increase their prospects of employment.
Addressing a key challenge faced by NSDC, the partnership will also enable trainees to have access to Facebook’s Jobs tool to search easily for job openings through their mobile phones while controlling the sharing of information with prospective employers.
Dharmendra Pradhan, minister for petroleum and natural gas and for skill development and entrepreneurship, said, “Under the Skill India Mission we are able to annually skill/reskill/upskill close to one crore youth in the country through central government programmes. This partnership with Facebook aims to leverage the digital opportunity which can assist in creating a market place for many businesses and service offerings for candidates getting trained under our skill ecosystem, and also act as an information kiosk for knowledge sharing.”
SOURCE: The Financial Express
Despite multiple import duty hikes by New Delhi in the first half of 2018 that attracted criticism from the United States and China as being examples of ‘protectionism’, India hasn't broken the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) yet.
As soon as New Delhi's higher import duties against the US kick in on August 4 – effectively breaching WTO mandated 'bound rates' for the first time – India will enter a long list of nations that have broken their commitments to WTO, Abhijit Das, trade expert and head of the Centre for WTO Studies, said.
The country may officially then be open to criticism for being protectionist as under the norms of the WTO, the bound tariff rate is the customs duty rate committed by a country to all other members under the most favoured nation principle.
This global trade law for the 164 WTO members prohibits discrimination on the basis of tariffs.
India raised basic customs duties on 43 broad categories of goods, including electronics, in this year's Budget. It also raised import tariffs on 76 textile products and announced higher safeguard duties on solar cells imported from China and Malaysia.
“All the tariff increases that India implemented so far are within the bound rates, unlike US President Donald Trump's global tariffs on steel and aluminium as well as the ongoing tariff measures being taken by Washington DC and Beijing against each other,” Das added.
India, US trying hard to douse tariff flames
On the other hand, the most talked about trade measure has been the raising of import duties on 29 import items (mainly agricultural) from the US. New Delhi's move is in 'retaliation' to Trump hiking tariffs on aluminium and steel. Announced in June, the measure targets high value imports such as apples and almonds, aiming to rake in $240 million worth of duties through higher tax up to 100 per cent.
Trade experts say the move was warranted owing to Donald Trump’s tactics. “India had informed the WTO of its plan to raise tariffs through safeguards measures. But existing norms do not allow a country to take safeguard measures against just one nation, as India has done. The US has not respected the multilateral system recently, but if it feels that the tariffs are unjust, it should go to the WTO,” Biswajit Dhar, a trade expert and professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, said.
But others remained cautious. “This increase will be in addition to raising new trade barriers, making domestic manufacturing more attractive as steep increases in customs duties may make imports unaffordable.
For agri products, such as pulses, which have witnessed an increase from 30 per cent to 70 per cent, this would provide encouragement in increasing the cultivable area, on the back of good pulses production,” M S Mani, indirect tax partner, Deloitte India, said.
While New Delhi has justified the move as a response to the Trump administration's decision to raise import tariffs in steel and aluminium earlier in the year, it is also hopeful of resolving the issue amicably.
“Implementation of the tariff hike is from August 4 and we are hopeful of resolving the issue before the deadline.
During the visit of Assistant US Trade Representative Mark Linscott in June, it was decided that both the nations will identify the final list of products in which some announcement can be made by the political leaderships on both sides,” another official said.
Currently, a team of officials from India are camping in Washington DC, trying to secure an exemption from America's aluminium duty hike, following which India may also roll back its own import hike.
Fear of trade deficit and industry pressure
"We have also taken the highest number of measures among major economies to facilitate trade," a senior Commerce Department official added. According to a report released by the WTO earlier this month which tracks trade policy changes by G20 economies, India has been shown to have implemented 28 reforms facilitating trade, much higher than the 2 taken by China.
However, the same report has pointed out that New Delhi has initiated a number of measures that are widely considered to be 'trade restricting' since last year, when the United States and China began locking horns in a global trade war spanning hundreds of billions of dollars. Between mid-October 2017 to mid-May 2018, India led the pack among G20 nations in imposing tariff increases, stricter customs procedures, imposition of taxes and export duties. The report shows it initiated restrictive measures on 16 separate occasions while similar measures from China and the US were just two each.
A majority of these has been argued as necessary due to the growing trade deficit which widened to a whopping 61-month high in June. Led by a sharp rise in the crude oil bill and a possible turnaround in gold imports in the near future, the deficit is set to rise despite sustained growth in engineering and pharmaceutical products that boosted exports by 17.57 per cent.
"The current account deficit is likely to widen to $16-17 billion or around 2.5 per cent of GDP in Q1 FY2019, from US$14 billion in Q1 FY2018, with higher crude oil prices negating the contraction in gold imports," Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist at ICRA said.
On the other hand, domestic industry across varied sectors such as steel, apparel and electronics have complained of foreign goods flooding the market. "A substantial drop in import duty was observed after implementation of GST which has encouraged cheaper imports. Imports in 2017-18 grew at a rate of 16 per cent. Therefore the decision to increase import duties on many apparel items comes as a relief," Sanjay Jain, Chairman, at Confederation of Indian Textile Industries said.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
Knitwear garment exporters in Tirupur have always maintained they operate on wafer-thin margins. Under-cutting of rates to bag export orders is rather rampant. Industry insiders agree the tactic “is not healthy, but a route they are compelled to take to strike a deal.”
“This cut-throat competition in rate fixation has, over time, started to work against the interests of individual units,” observed Raja M Shanmugham, President, Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA). “A good number of units did not understand costing. They were content to clinch an export order, and buyers were taking advantage of the situation.”
For the first time, TEA has decided to take a call on this issue, and requested its members to ask their buyers to consider a 10 per cent increase in garment prices while finalising orders.
“It is not binding on our members to effect an increase, but we want to ensure that after confirming the order, the units do not incur losses,” Shanmugham told BusinessLine, adding: “Yarn prices have gone up 20-25 per cent and so have dyeing rates. At this juncture, units cannot afford to ignore input costs. They can instead show this message to the buyer when negotiating a deal rather than relent/budge.”
Asked if the timing was right for an upward price revision, considering that the government has effected a 10 per cent increase in basic custom duty on specified textile products from July 16, Shanmugham maintained that it was a separate issue. The industry had been requesting the government to curb the back-door entry of Chinese textile goods, he added.
Source: Business Line
GENEVA: The credibility and survival of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is under "serious threat" as major economies put up protectionist barriers, independent experts warned on Tuesday.
The report issued by the Bertelsmann Foundation comes amid a deepening trade dispute between China and the United States which has engulfed other major trading partners.
US President Donald Trump has warned he may ultimately impose tariffs on more than $500 billion worth of Chinese goods - nearly the total amount of US imports from China last year – to combat what Washington says are Beijing's trade abuses. China has sworn to retaliate at each step.
The 14 experts, led by Bernard Hoekman, urged WTO's 164 member states to agree on a new work programme that will address trade-distorting policies and preserve the multilateral rule-based trading system.
"Sticking to status quo modes of operating is a recipe for the institution’s gradual demise," they said in the report, "Revitalizing Multilateral Governance at the World Trade Organization".
It is urgent to avoid "further erosion of the WTO’s credibility", they said, adding: "This includes preventing backsliding by WTO members towards unilateral use of protectionist trade policies and ensuring that disputes are resolved effectively and efficiently."
In a statement, WTO director general Roberto Azevedo welcomed the "very timely" report.
The United States told the WTO last week that a "reckoning" over China's unfair trade policies is urgent and is too big for the WTO to handle.
The experts said that problems go beyond the failure to conclude the WTO's stalled Doha round, launched in 2001, with some national policies distorting trade and threatening to undermine the system.
The report cited the U.S. invoking national security concerns to impose tariffs and quotas on imports of selected products as a prime example.
"Such measures create systemic risks given the prospect of tit-for-tat imposition of trade-distorting measures and greater use of national security justifications by WTO members for the imposition of protectionist measures," it said.
China and India also feel that the WTO is unbalanced and treats them unfairly, the report said.
Failure to clinch new WTO agreements has led states to set up more than 400 preferential trade agreements since 2000, it said.
"Care must be taken that the baby is not thrown out with the bathwater," it said. "All countries, large and small, have a major stake in an effective, rules-based multilateral trading system."
More than 500 disputes have been brought to the WTO since 1995, the report said.
Under Trump, the United States has demanded that the WTO's dispute system is changed to stop Washington getting what he regards as an "unfair deal".
Trump has also blocked appointments to the WTO's appeals chamber to replace judges as their terms expire.
"If this matter is not resolved, the Appellate Body will be down to 3 members in September 2018, the minimum needed to consider an appeal, and will cease to be operational at the end of 2019 when two more vacancies arise," the report said.
Source: Indian Express
Shoppers will have to shell out more for high-end jackets, suits and dresses of international brands as the government has doubled import duty on over 50 textile products to 20 per cent in line with its 'Make in India' initiative. The imported products which have become more expensive include woven fabrics, dresses, trousers, suits, carpets and baby garments. This will have an impact on international brands like Burberry, Chanel, Fendi and Gucci which sell here garments made in other manufacturing hubs.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) notification on the duty hike issued on Monday night to boost the domestic garment manufacturing sector, comes at a time when India has lost out its garment manufacturing edge to neighbouring countries of China, Bangladesh and Vietnam. The government has also raised the ad-valorem rate of duty for certain items.
The Indian fashion fraternity, while hailing the move to boost domestic apparel, has mixed views regarding the impact that the duty increase will have on the market. Their fear is that even the prices of domestic apparel which use foreign inputs could rise.
As designer Suket Dhir shares, "A lot of products like ribbons and tape used in lingerie and trims get imported from either China or Hong Kong because their highest quality manufacturing doesn't happen in India. As a result, the designers will be compelled to import them regardless, which will lead to an increase in prices.''
Fashion Design Council of India president, Sunil Sethi said, "From a patriotic point of view it does seem that we should promote our own industry. But right now our biggest problem is increasing our exports, so these sort of additional tariffs are not very friendly tariffs with the countries to which we want to export."
That said, they are hopeful for the long-term impact that this move will have. While Sethi believes that trade restrictions aren't the only way to promote domestic goods, he continues, "It seems that the government is taking a right call in trying to promote the domestic manufacturing. The patriotic Indian in me says we must do this, but the customer in me understands the extra load on my pocket. But yes, in the apparel segment, it will definitely help the domestic market and I am all for it."
Dhir also states, "In the long run it might be a good thing. For the time being it will be very difficult, but we should soon see some manufacturing in India in six months to a year. Those who are currently suffering competition from products from abroad will be encouraged to produce better and service Indian customers."
"The duties have been doubled on most of the textile products. It will help boost domestic manufacturing but least developed countries including Bangladesh would continue to enjoy duty free access to Indian markets," FIEO DG Ajay Sahai said.
The duty has been doubled to 20 per cent on 23 knitted garments items and one knitted fabric item as well, Tirupur Exporters' Association (TEA) president Raja M Shanmugham said. "This will help in protecting the industry and also employment," he added.
On some items, the rate would be 20 per cent or Rs 38 a metre, whichever is higher. India last increased import duties on textiles in October 2017, which was for a broader set of products. However, apparel exports are witnessing downtrend since then. Exports of all textile readymade garments dipped by 12.3 per cent to $13.5 billion in June 2018. Meanwhile, imports of textile yarn, fabric and made-up articles into the country grew by 8.58 per cent to $168.64 million in June.
Source: Business Today
The talks have been held at the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan with the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in order to discuss issues of further development of and cooperation in the sphere of trade-economic relations between the two countries, the Ministry of Foreign Trade stated July 18.
The observed positive dynamics in mutual trade were noted at the meeting. The bilateral trade turnover increased by 19 percent to $ 617.1 million last year.
Uzbekistan and Afghanistan have the opportunity to continue this trend, provided that all necessary favorable conditions for the development of trade and economic cooperation are created, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade Sahib Saifnazarov stressed.
The Uzbek side made a number of proposals during the talks, including the involvement of Afghan investors into joint activities based on the principle of public-private partnership, as well as the creation of a border trade zone.
In addition, the Afghan side was invited to start working on the issue of establishing a free trade regime between the countries. The delegation of Afghanistan also expressed hope for the assistance of Uzbekistan in the restoration and development of the textile industry, namely in the exchange of experience and in training of specialists in this field.
Source: Azer News
DENVER — July 17, 2018 — Taiwan’s leading textile brands will showcase the latest trends in sustainable textile and performance fabrics at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Denver, Colo., Room 303, on Monday, July 23 at 2pm MST/4 pm EST.
“We have worked with Taiwan’s leading textile manufacturers to provide retailers the best in the industry and to meet the needs for their performance gear,” said Jessica Lin, Director of Taiwan Trade Center, Los Angeles. “We are excited to share how these products are not only cutting edge, but are ecofriendly and sustainable.”
Some of the key discussion points at the event include new sustainable textiles and performance fabrics, and the hottest industry trends, such as:
The latest trends in eco-textiles and performance fabrics Evaporative cooling and thermo regulation of wool blends for performance enhancement Reduce your carbon footprint by choosing the right fabric Sustainable and functional natural-fiber blended fabric collection
Taiwan’s competitive advantage in functional, environmental and smart fabrics includes strong development and integration abilities for functional artificial fibers, and an excellent ability to provide a wide variety of differentiated and customized fabrics in small quantities. It also includes low pollution and energy consumption in the production process, innovative technologies in its semiconductor and biomedical industries, electronic components, and cross-industry integration.
The following speakers will present welcome remarks and provide guests with the vision for Taiwan’s textile industry including:
Jessica Lin, Director, Taiwan Trade Center, Los Angeles
Jerry Chang, Director General, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Denver
David Wang, Director, Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Los Angeles
Tony P. Yeh, Managing Director, Evertex Fabrinology Ltd.
Chris Chiang, Senior Manager, SINGTEX® Industrial Co., Ltd.
John Strasburger, President, Tex-Ray Industrial Co., Ltd.
Richard Yu, Marketing Manager, Toung Loong Textile MFG. Co., LTD.
Taiwan’s leading textile manufacturers below will be presenting new products including:
Evertex Fabrinology Ltd., founded in 1986, is dedicated to producing highly technical knit fabrics with heavy emphasis on durability, performance and comfort for the outdoor enthusiasts during extreme excursions. Evertex has always shown a strong passion for exploring the wonders of nature and whether it is hiking, rock-climbing, skiing, canoeing or even clean up campaigns along the beach or riverside, they remain fully committed towards the enjoyment and well-being of our natural environment.
Singtex Industrial Company, Ltd., provides ecofriendly functional textiles in Taiwan. Since its establishment in 1989, Singtex has invested in innovative R&D to become a sustainable supplier of ecofriendly textiles to international clothing brands. In addition to winning Taiwan Excellence awards, Singtex was also named a Top 100 Taiwan Brand, winner of the Taiwan Mittelstand Award and numerous international accolades.
Tex-Ray Industrial Co., Ltd., has integrated yarn dyeing, fabric and garment production. Established in 1978, Tex-Ray manufacturing is based across Asia, Africa and North America, with sales and service centers in Taipei, Shanghai, New York and Los Angeles. TexRay has been developing innovative products to satisfy various climates, functions, and environmental protections, actively establishing continuous production from fabric to clothing, and adjusting the operational structure of the global layout.
Toung Loong Textile MFG. Co., founded in 1960, Toung Loong has contributed to the global textile industry by developing and producing functional synthetic Yarn Dye, ATY, DTY and high-end sewing thread. By collaborating with international premium raw material and machine manufacturers and adopting advanced technologies, Toung Loong Textile MFG. produces various functional yarns that satisfy the demand of innovations of the global textile industry.
According to estimates of the Taiwan Textile Research Institute’s ITIS research team (April 2017), the output value (including overseas production) of Taiwan’s functional fabrics accounted for roughly 50 percent of the global output value of functional fabrics, making Taiwan the world’s largest functional fabric production base.
Source: Textile World
Apparel manufacturers need to showcase their products on a platform to draw the attention of global buyers and brands.
The global fashion business is still heavily influenced by expos—gatherings of buyers and sellers.
International trade shows – such as: Kingpins, Premiere Vision, Magic Show, and Sourcing Connection – attract hundreds of manufacturers in search of buyers. These events are successful as they create opportunities for both groups.
Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest apparel exporter with $30.61 billion in earnings, and a sourcing hub for global retailers, does not host expos that would create opportunities for smaller manufacturers to display their clothing products for global buyers.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) used to organize the Bangladesh Apparel and Textile Exposition (BATEXPO) to create opportunities for its members. However, no expo has taken place since 2013. Large businesses take part in global expos, but smaller companies cannot participate in the shows due to expenses and other complications.
“Since there is no platform on which to display products – or meet buyers or their representatives –we have to depend on buying houses or foreign agents to get work orders. And it costs more due to commission,” Shakil Rizvi, managing director of Rizvi Fashion, told the Dhaka Tribune.
He further said: “For entrants like me, a domestic platform is very important to get in touch with buyers. Since it has not happened, I am trying to join global shows in foreign countries to meet my target buyers.”
However, manufacturers alleged that they are not getting equal opportunities. Sometimes influential entrepreneurs get chance at reduced rates to participate in global expos.
Why Bangladesh needs expos
Bangladesh needs aggressive promotional activities to tap into global opportunities—given the fact that it has only a 6.4% share of the global market. Around 85% of exports are still concentrated in the European Union and North American markets.
Bangladesh has opportunities and abilities to explore them, by organizing expos in the country.
“An exposition is an effective means that brings buyers and sellers closer to each other and finds the best match. So, there is no alternative to promotions as long as we are in the market, because there are always untapped opportunities,” Mostafiz Uddin, founder and CEO of Bangladesh Denim Expo, said.
He said organising expos in a domestic venue means more opportunities for businesses— especially smaller factories, which have less exposure and financial ability to participate in international expos.
“There is a strong need for domestic expositions to create a space for small-scale entrepreneurs to showcase their products. It should be in line with the latest update happening across the fashion world,” Md Fazlul Hoque, managing director of Plummy Fashions Ltd, the greenest knitwear factory of the world, said.
Expos to show strength
Bangladesh needs positive branding and to inform the world about its capacity and industry strength—to increase the global base for its export market. Traditionally, expos perfectly create this opportunity.
“After a complete turn-around from the Rana Plaza accident, Bangladesh is now an example for safe workplaces. In terms of eco-friendly manufacturing, Bangladesh is the first with 67 green factories, the highest amount in the world,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, managing director of Envoy Textile, a green factory, told the Dhaka Tribune.
He said Bangladesh is manufacturing valued products for several countries such as Japan and EU member-states.
“To make it tangible to global retailers, we need to organize international shows to display products and arrange visits to the production floor—to show industry strength,” Murshedy added.
Challenges for expos
In its 35-year journey, Bangladesh has marched a long way, through ups and downs, and reached today’s position. In terms of value added, it is a newcomer to global buyers.
Since the industry was more focused on expansion, it could not concentrate on developing infrastructure to organize an international-standard expo. Neither the government nor trade associations like BGMEA and BKMEA have taken initiative on this subject.
“Marketing trends have seen a lot of changes in the global arena. Now people take part in the expo, not only to find buyers but also, to explore the latest trends and products,” Fazlul, a former president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said.
He said Bangladesh lacks the quality to arrange international-standard shows. “We have to bring a new dimension to expositions, based on research and innovation, to attract global visitors.”
On the other hand, there is not enough space and infrastructure to arrange an international- standard exposition in Bangladesh—and the old tradition is not an effective one, he added.
“As an apex trade body of the garment sector, BGMEA is farfrom its role in promoting the sector to the international arena. It has lost its glory, in recent years, due to a lack of proper leadership,” an apparel manufacturer, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune.
However, the BGMEA denied the allegation, saying that it is focusing on the branding and image of the sector.
Earlier, BATEXPO needed to showcase products to attract buyers. But now, the buyers are well-informed about Bangladesh.
“Now Bangladesh needs branding and strategy, which we focused on during the Dhaka Apparel Summit,” BGMEA Vice President Mohammed Nasir said.
However, the BGMEA is considering organizing an exposition at the apparel summit in the next edition if the board of directors agreed, said the leader.
“As an organisation to promote export, we are ready to take any kind of initiative. But do the people of the sector want it?” Bijoy Bhattacharjee, vice chairman of Export Promotion Bureau, said.
“We are helping exporters to take part in the international expo at a discount rate,” he added.
Ways forward
Bringing buyers to expos is a process that may not produce immediate results but could generate momentum over time.
To this end, Bangladesh has to restore the confidence of buyers and ensure their time, investment, and efforts make it worthwhile to join the expo..
Mostafiz, who already successfully arranged eight editions of the Bangladesh Denim Expo, a special international expo dedicated to Denim goods, said: A quality presentation; ensuring the right combination between suppliers and buyers; a congenial atmosphere with modern amenities; and most of all, safety, security and comfort for the visiting buyers–are some of the necessities for an expo
Furthermore, regular marketing, promotion and social media campaigns are crucial for global outreach and creating brand value for an expo. But it is a gradual process and needs to start at ground zero with consistent efforts and perseverance, he added.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
Eco Spindles, a wholly owned subsidiary of BPPL Holdings Ltd (BPPL) yesterday inaugurated Sri Lanka’s first ever polyester yarn plant at Horana Export Processing Zone with a Rs.800 million investment. The facility will manufacture polyester yarn from recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottle flakes.
Addressing the inauguration event BPPL CEO/Managing Director, Dr. Anush Amarasinghe said the state-of-the-art plant will bring Sri Lanka’s apparel industry one step closer to the backward integration process, while noting that the global apparel industry is increasingly moving from supplying cotton-based apparels to polyester, as it’s more versatile and less expensive.
“Most of the fabric plants are utilising cotton, but the growth is in polyester yarn,” he said. He also highlighted that this plant is one of two plants in the world that create yarn directly from flakes circumventing the polymerization where flakes are first converted to chips and then to yarn.
“The factory’s state-of-the-art spinning and texturing machinery from Europe will make it a game-changer for the industry,” he stressed.
Speaking to Mirror Business, Dr. Amarasinghe revealed that BPPL is planning to invest around Rs.1-1.5 billion in another state-of-the-art yarn production plant at the same premises expanding production to meet local as well as to meet export demand. Meanwhile, BPPL expects to double the used PET bottle collection to 400 tonnes per month within the next 12 months. According to Dr. Amarasinghe, BPPL collects nearly 200-250 tonnes of PET waste amounting to approximately 20 percent virgin PET imports into Sri Lanka.
He noted that 70 tonnes of recycled PET waste will be utilised for manufacturing synthetic yarn while around 150 tonnes of PET waste for the production of synthetic brush filaments. Dr. Amarasinghe said the newly launched polyester yarn production plant can produce 15 percent of the polyester yarn demanded by the local apparel industry. However, with the yarn plant in the pipeline, he said BPPL will significantly increase yarn production for the local apparel sector in future.
“By sourcing polyester yarn from Sri Lanka, fabric manufacturers can significantly reduce lead times and also lower inventory costs,” he said. According to BPPL, the polyester yarn of 10 recycled PET bottles is sufficient to make a t-shirt. The BPPL has targeted the fabric mills of industry leaders such as MAS, Hirdaramani, Brandix as well as Hayleys while it is also looking at exporting to countries such as Taiwan.
The polyester yarn plant is also equipped to produce recycled yarn, which is considered a niche segment with a good growth potential. “Depending on the customer requirement, this plant can produce either virgin or recycled yarn,” Dr. Amarasinghe said.
In addition, BPPL also had earlier invested in a Rs.200 million bottle-washing plant at the same premises and it has also installed a water treatment plant where used water is treated and re-used with only 5 percent of water being discharged. According to the latest BPPL annual report, it had secured a term loan to the value of Rs.536.34 million from HSBC and another to the tune of Rs 40.65 million from HNB for the yarn plant and machinery.
The BPPL hopes the diversification of its business lines into synthetic filament extrusion for other brush manufacturing and polyester yarn production for fabric mills for both local and export markets would become dominant contributors to group’s financials over the medium term.
Source: Daily Mirror
Nepal has sought withdrawal of Bangladesh’s restriction on yarn import through the Banglabandha land port in Bangladesh saying that the ban was causing financial losses to the Nepalese manufacturers of the product. Bangladesh commerce ministry has also requested the National Board of Revenue to consider Nepal’s proposal to allow yarn export by the landlocked Himalayan nation through the port in Tetulia of Panchagarh.
Commerce ministry officials said Nepal had repeatedly been seeking permission for export of yarn, particularly acrylic yarn, to Bangladesh. The issue was also discussed at the secretary-level talks between the two countries, they said. Commerce secretary Shubhashish Bose sent a semi-official letter to the NBR in this connection, they added.
On various occasions, Reliance Spinning Mills Ltd, a Nepalese yarn manufacturer, requested Bangladesh foreign minister and Bangladesh ambassador to Nepal for taking necessary steps to relieve the restriction for them. It argues that Nepal exports only acrylic yarn and it has no production of cotton yarn.
Bangladesh imposed the restriction of yarn import through land ports back in 2002 to safeguard the local cotton yarn industry from Indian export. After few years, the NBR withdrew the ban for the Benapole land port but the ban remains in place for the Banglabandha land port. Bilateral trade between Nepal and Bangladesh takes place through Banglabandha and Fulbari (Shiliguri of West Bengal in India) land ports.
In this context, the NBR on July 7 arranged a meeting with stakeholders at its conference room to examine the Nepalese proposal. NBR officials said that most of the participants from both private and public sectors opined that the NBR should examine related issues very carefully before taking any positive decision. Participants from the private sector were also against lifting the ban, they said.
At the meeting, the representative of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association expressed concern that there was a possibility of coming yarn from third country if the NBR permits import of the product through Banglabandha from Nepal. There is also no laboratory for measuring the quality of yarn (yarn count) at Banglabandha, unlike Benapole land port, that may cause duty evasion through misdeclaration and providing false information about the rules of origin, he said.
The representative of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said that they found no necessity of import of yarn from Nepal. The representative of jute and textile ministry suggested examining some issues including the number of spinning mills and quantity of yarn export of Nepal and the possibility of exporting yarn of third country misusing the permission before taking any decision on the issue.
A foreign ministry official who attended the meeting said that though the issue had been discussed on many occasions at the diplomatic channel of the two countries, the NBR would have to take the decision considering the physical infrastructure, manpower and other facilities including laboratory at the port, and the interest of the country.
A senior NBR official told New Age that at the meeting stakeholders opined against withdrawal of the restriction. So, the meeting decided to take written opinion from jute and textile ministry, foreign ministry, BTMA, BGMEA, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, he said, adding that the NBR would also seek directive from the finance minister.
Source: Newage Business
The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production. The Second used electric power to create mass production.
The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production. Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.
Rwanda has realized that it has the potential to raise local income levels and improve the quality of life for its populations if it adopts technology. This will speed up industrial growth through development and integration of science, technology and innovation into enterprises.
Rwanda’s National Industrial and Research Development Agency (NIRDA) is a government institution at the forefront of implementing this, by aligning its activities with national priorities.
NIRDA has embarked on consulting Small and Medium Enterprises in banana industry and textile and garments value chain so as to help them upgrade their technology and technical expertise in order to improve production and products’ quality.
After the findings from the Banana and the textile and garments value chain technology audit commissioned by NIRDA, the discovery of the low levels of acquisition and adaptation of technology by Rwandan industrial firms induced a new demand driven technology intervention approach referred to as the Open Calls Program that will be used by NIRDA.
NIRDA is calling on such businesses to apply for technology and technical expertise support.
Through collaboration between government and the private sector, different firms engaged in specific value chain sectors will be invited to apply for specific technology support, geared at increasing their productivity.
Through NIRDA, government will support the acquisition and adaptation of technology, thereby reducing the cost of adoption for firms, whilst ensuring that appropriate technology is sought to boost their competitiveness.
In the Banana Wine (and Beer) Value Chain key findings from the audit carried out by Apollo Segawa the Banana Wine Value Chain Consultant showed that Half the surveyed firms rely on traditional methods of production
“Half of the industries use basic equipment and most firms have a major ‘tech gap’: poor administration, management quality control, inventory management etc while all firms need support to improve: better production systems, quality control, informatics, training equipment and certifications” explained Segawa
He advised that there is need to improve banana beer, wine, juice and liquor production with better equipment and technical advice in pressing and filtration, distilling and pasteurising.
According to Abdoul Razzak, a consultant who carried out the audit on textile and garments chain, there are so many opportunities for the businesses to upgrade their garment production.
The study found that of companies audited ,less than 20 small scale enterprises have under 50 workers , only three companies have more 100 workers while only one was found with 500 workers.
“There is still limited exports as only one company which is C & Garment can export. The small enterprises cannot export because they are unable to invest in technology and most of them suffer from imports,” he said.
He said that problems that are still hindering competitiveness include poor design, lack of upgraded technologies, and reliance on imported fabric as 90 per cent of garment production in Rwanda still relies on costly imported fabrics which increases prices on garments and affects delivery deadlines.
Razzak added that there are no existing skills in printing, embroidery, washing and dyeing while manual pattern making methods are still used by 85 per cent of the companies. Cutting using manual manner result in poor quality and low efficiency of products, he said.
“Only 15 per cent of such small enterprises use software to ease operations. There is need of automatic cutting technology,” he said. The study also revealed that 90 per cent of them have no merchandizes and even those who have operate at basic level with no ability to handle direct export orders,” he said.
According to Kampeta Sayinzonga DG of NIRDA, the gap was presented so that they look at the step to move to industrial production.
“We will help those small enterprises in textile and garments with modern equipment depending on what they do. It is in line with curbing second hand clothes and create jobs for the local people. They still meeting challenges to compete on the market, their products are not well marketed. We have to support them with both production and marketing potential,” she said.
We are also promoting exports and we wish some raw materials are sourced locally. This will help reduce imports of clothes and second hand clothes and promote exports. There are potential to exploit as we have not yet even satisfied ¼ of local market with locally made clothes.” she said
She added the criteria for benefitting from support include being innovative and committed to quality improvement, work with NIRDA and committed to the growth of business.
Gloria Kamanzi, the director of Grow Creations Company said they still need skills improvement while raw materials import still affects prices on the products.
“We import raw materials from Egypt and Turkey. They are expensive to transport them. That delays to deliver on clients’ orders. We need experts to train us in different categories because we have different talents and specializations,” she said.
She said that tax exemptions on all raw materials and other incentives, training in modern technologies or reduction of raw materials as well enough finance will enable mass production and prices reduction on locally made clothes.
Source: New Times
