Coimbatore: A customs help desk has been set up at FIEO offices in Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and at the AEPC office in Tirupur for settling IGST refund issues of exporters. A Sakthivel, Regional Chairman, FIEO-Southern Region, while thanking the CBITC said, it will help expatiate resolution of IGST refund related issues. This help desk will be up till August 1, 2018. Urging exporters to make use of the opportunity, he said that the desk would handle the issues related to all ports, irrespective of the city the exporter is representing.
Source: The Hindu
NEW DELHI : In order to sort out the problems being faced by the exporters for refund claims of GST two ‘Special Drive Refund Fortnight’ were organized from 15.3.2018 to 29.3.2018 and from 31.5.2018 to 16.6.2018. As a result most of the claims filed till 30.04.2018 have been sanctioned. IGST refunds amounting to Rs. 21 142 crore and RFD-01A refunds totalling Rs 16 920 crore has been sanctioned by CBIC and State Governments as on 16.06.2018. Government has also taken other measures to expedite the refund of GST to exporters which include certain common errors hindering disbursal of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) refund and solutions thereof permitting manual intervention for corrections in figures by customs officers. Moving a step ahead for the ease of exporters in case of refund of IGST where there is a mis-match of invoice details as filed in the Shipping Bill and GST Returns cases an alternate mechanism with officer ’s interface has been developed and circulated. In order to ensure smooth operation of the prescribed procedure and clearing the backlog of refund of IGST paid on export of goods Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has directed Custom Houses to open a dedicated cell and e-mail address for the purpose of facilitating the pending IGST refund cases and Custom Houses have been directed to give wide publicity to this step. Over a period of time various pro-active measures have been taken in consultation with GSTN IT wing of customs and field formations as a result of which most of the errors have been rectified and IGST refunds have been sanctioned. This information was given by the Minister of State of Commerce and Industry C. R. Chaudhary in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
Source: Tecoya Trend
New Delhi : The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is likely to approve a proposal on Saturday to amend a law for raising limit for the Composition Scheme meant for smaller assessees. The meeting, to be chaired by the interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, will also take up the proposals to ease the return filing process besides lowering rates on goods such as sanitary napkins and handicrafts. The amendment, once cleared by Parliament, will take the threshold limit for the Composition Scheme to 1.5 crore from the present 1 crore. It means any traders or manufacturers, with annual turnover of ₹1.5 crore can be part of this special scheme. Under this, traders or manufacturers are required to pay GST just at the rate of 1 per cent of the total turnover. Similarly rate for restaurants not serving alcohol, will be charged GST at the rate of 5 per cent. However, assessees under the Composition Scheme can neither collect GST from their customers nor avail Input Tax Credit (ITC) and are required to file the return on quarterly basis only.
Return-filing process
The Council will consider various proposals to simplify the return-filing process. This includes approval of the final version of new single return form and timeline for filing it. The Council, in its earlier meeting did approve the new return form, but it needs to be given final touch after consultation with stakeholders and before putting for test. The Government aims to introduce the new form in three phases, all to be completed by next year. The new form will subsume GST 1, 2, 3 and 3B into just one single return form. There was also talk about making return filing only once during the year. At present, assessees of the Composition Scheme and with turnover up to ₹1.5 crore can file their returns once in three months while assessees having turnover more than ₹1.5 crore need to file return on a monthly basis. “We need to say what best can be done in this regard but only annual return filing may not be possible at this moment,” a senior Government functionary told BusinessLine.
Rate cuts
The Council is expected to consider lowering rates on some items, including sanitary napkins and handicrafts. These are the items which have lower revenue implications, but higher perception value. These items currently attract GST of 12 per cent. Though the demand for lowering GST on sanitary pads is getting louder, the Finance Ministry has maintained that lowering of rates will benefit foreign players as they will be able to flood the market with cheaper product because they will have to pay lower counter veiling duty (CVD). However, this argument has not served any purpose. Considering all these, there is a possibility that the GST Council may consider this proposal on July 21. Under the GST regime, there are mainly four rates 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent beside two special rates of 0.25 per cent (on rough diamond) and 3 per cent (gold and silver). In an effort to rationalise rates, the GST Council had, in its meeting in January 2018, decided to slash the GST rate on 54 services and 29 items. Similarly, in its November 2017 meeting, the council had removed 178 items from the highest 28 per cent category, while cutting tax on all restaurants outside starred-hotels to 5 per cent.
Tax collected
In the first year of GST, the government earned ₹7.41 lakh crore from the tax since its rollout in July 2017. The average monthly collection was ₹89,885 crore. In the current fiscal, the collections in April touched a record ₹1.03 lakh crore, followed by ₹94,016 crore in May and ₹95,610 crore in June.
Source: Business Line
The European Union and India have reportedly exhausted talks on a Free Trade Agreement – stalled since 2013. According to media reports in India, the end of talks may be officially announced in the coming days. The reports say India wrote to the European Union about the FTA. In response, the EU said it would decide in two weeks if they will return to the negotiating table. As reported by India’s First Post online, India’s Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu had said in March that New Delhi was still hopeful negotiations would resume shortly. “We have started working on an India-EU FTA again,” the minister told a Confederation of Indian Industry conference in New Delhi. According to EU officials, India has not showed enough flexibility in negotiations. On the other hand, India has accused the EU of being too rigid in giving access to services. In fact, The Times of India report said, the EU officials had told India in two years ago they were too busy negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the United States.
Source: European Interest
A weak currency is good for exports. In India’s case, the script is not so straightforward. While the rupee is Asia’s worst-performing major currency this year, a demand-killing trade war threatens Indian exports that have already been hurt by policy disruptions over the past two years. History shows the currency’s moves have hardly impacted shipments. If anything, a slide in the rupee has ended up inflating the nation’s import bill. “The situation for export prospects is weak given the kind of trade war happening in the world,” said N.R. Bhanumurthy, an economist at Delhi-based National Institute for Public Finance and Policy and a co-author of a 2013 paper on whether rupee’s weakness matters to Indian manufacturing exports. Unlike China, Taiwan and South Korea, India isn’t part of big supply chains globally. Trade tensions between the U.S. and China have prompted export-reliant countries like Vietnam to guard against Chinese products flooding their local markets. India’s goods exports contribute only about 12 percent of gross domestic product and government officials have blamed its poor showing on the rupee’s strength. The rupee slumped to a new low of 69.1275 per dollar on Friday as the Chinese yuan dragged most Asian currencies down, before reversing some losses to trade at 68.8613 level as of 12:23 p.m. The rupee’s level will adversely impact manufacturing as domestic prices of imports will go up, said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. Since many currencies like those of Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Russia and South Africa are depreciating at a faster pace, India may face increasing competition in markets where it’s competing with them, he said. The rupee continues to be overvalued on a real effective exchange rate despite the slide, and there was no question about being nervous about the depreciation, said Rajiv Kumar, vice chairman of think-tank NITI Aayog. Modi’s chief economic adviser, Arvind Subramanian, also welcomed the rupee’s decline, adding that it was a natural adjustment that was taking place. Along with rising oil prices and Indians’ love for electronic goods made abroad, adverse terms of trade position could widen the country’s current-account deficit. “The rupee’s weakness against the dollar along with rising oil prices has increased India’s import bill,” said Rohan Chinchwadkar, an assistant professor of finance at the Indian Institute of Management at Tiruchirappalli in southern India. “Despite the depreciation, export growth continues to be weak because of rising protectionism, sluggishly recovering global growth and disruption of domestic supply chains.”
Source: Business Line
New Delhi: Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia has said that a speedy and successful conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between the 10-member ASEAN and its six free trade partners, including India and China, would be possible only with a higher level of commitment in services and investment. “Today, the conversation is that the agreement on goods is easy and therefore the ambition should be to move from 86 per cent (of total traded items) to 92 per cent. On the other hand, the argument is not to go beyond 60 per cent of services and that too with several caveats,” Teaotia pointed out speaking at the plenary session on ‘ASEAN-India Trade, Investment and Technology’ at the tenth edition of the Delhi Dialogue on Friday. Teaotia stressed that services account for half of the GDP of the negotiating countries and therefore leaving services at a low level of ambition could not result in a balanced and complete outcome of the partnership agreement. RCEP, a proposed pact between the ASEAN and Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand, accounts for 25 per cent of global GDP, 30 per cent of global trade, 26 per cent of global FDI flows and 45 per cent of the total population. Dato Ramesh Kodammal, co-chair of the ASEAN India Business Council, said bilateral trade between ASEAN and India has crossed the $80 billion mark, which was the highest volume of trade in goods witnessed ever since the India-ASEAN FTA was signed in 2010.
Source: Business Line
With a sharp rise in payout for claims from banks, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation Ltd’s will hike the premium it charges to lenders for insurance cover for credit to exporters. The upward revision will be bank-specific, taking into account claims behaviour. Export Credit Guarantee Corporation Ltd’s (ECGC) payout for claims rose by 45 per cent at Rs 12.83 billion during the FY 2017-18, as against Rs 8.85 billion in 2016-17. The claims from banks for defaults in gems & jewellery, cotton covering fibre, yarn and fabrics, Textile and Garments sector had the highest share in payout in Fy18. The level of claims payment is expected to stay elevated in Fy19 due to continuing stress in the banking sector, said Geetha Muralidhar, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of ECGC. The government-owned insurer has told Indian Bank's Association (IBA) that it will revise premium rates and reduce the extent of cover for export credit for large borrowers. It will reduce export credit cover, for large borrowers for banks, to 50 per cent of the outstanding amount. Earlier, ECGC used to provide over 65 per cent export credit cover. At present, ECGC charges premium between six paise to 13 paise per month for Rs 100 of cover, depending on claims behaviour and stress in the sector. Rates would be within the upper-end of band (rs 13 paise). She said the gross claims payout during the year exceeded that of gross premium income owing to the settlement of claims to banks. The total claims paid during the year to both banks and exporters amounted to Rs 12.83 billion. In addition, provisions of Rs 60 billion have been set aside for future payouts. ECGC said the Gross Premium earned in Fy 2017-18 was Rs 12.40 billion as against Rs12.67 billion in the 2016-17. The investment and other income increased to Rs 6.96 billion in FY 2017-18 up from Rs 6.56 billion in the previous Financial year. Its Profit After Tax (PAT) available for appropriation in the FY 2017-18 dipped sharply at Rs 0.74 billion, against Rs 2.82 billion in FY2016-17. Appropriate risk mitigation measures were continued in respect of sectors with high claim ratios namely, Gems, Jewellery and Diamond sectors to protect the interest of ECGC as well as that of banks, she added.
Source: The Business Standard
India’s cotton textile sector is at an important stage, given the trade situation between other major cotton producing and trading countries. The unsettling trade situation between the United States, the world’s leading cotton exporter, and China, one of the world’s leading users, should place India’s cotton and textile sector in a better situation. Indian currency has been weakening against the dollar, which should also benefit textile exports. However, this positive sense is not felt by the textile industry in India. Earlier this month, the Indian government announced a 28% increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for important crops such as cotton and paddy to help support farmers. While the farm sector support is welcomed by the agriculture, textile and allied sectors, there is some feeling within the textile sector that the farm level support should not have come through market programs. The MSP increase will likely increase the price of domestic cotton and make the raw material relatively expensive, which will impact the textile sector. Mr. S. Velmurugan, general manager of a large cotton spinning mill in Aruppukottai, India, questions whether spinners will be in a position to absorb higher prices. His mill has about 70,000 ring spindles and produces fine count yarns catering to the home textiles sector. While the industry benefited due to its established presence as a leading yarn exporter and relatively less expensive skilled labor force, Velmurugan stated that those advantages have been slowly eroding due to countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and others. These current situations make it clear that the Indian cotton sector should focus on increasing its productivity, improving its quality, working on its contamination levels and diversifying its strength. Economically feasible and suitable projects that can attract both domestic and export markets are needed. Enhancing its product offerings, strengthening its downstream processing and developing value-added textile sectors such as technical textiles could offer near- to long-term benefits for India’s textile industry.
Source: Cotton Grower
A team from handloom, textiles and handicraft department of Odisha, comprising Shubha Sarma, commissioner-cum-secretary and senior officers heading different wings visited Telangana State to study the handloom sector. The visit was coordinated by Dr MCR HRD Institute of Telangana . The team held detailed discussions with BP Acharya, spl Chief Secretary & DG, Dr MCR HRD Institute of Telangana and Shailaja Ramaiyer, Director of Handlooms & Textiles, Government of Telangana. The team visited Pochampally Handloom Park, Textile Park & Powerloom Cluster at Rajanna Sircilla district, and the outlets of Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society Ltd. (TSCO) at Abids and Nampally. The team also interacted with Suraiya Hassan of Weaves & Crafts, Uzramma, director, Malkha, Trust and Dr NVR Nathan, former director, NIFT. Shubha was all praise of the handloom sector in Telangana, she further added, ““Women, including their younger counterparts, feel proud to wear handloom and considering this the Government of Odisha is committed to give a big boost to this sector and would stay in constant touch with its counterparts in Telangana State to conceptualize and implement similar initiatives in Odisha. Acharya, in his interactive session with the Odisha Officers at the institute, said that there was a serious disconnect between handloom products and their marketing and underlined the need for designing a professional marketing strategy.hailaja Ramaiyer said that the Department of Handlooms has undertaken a census of handlooms in the State in order to channelise the benefits of multiple welfare schemes through Direct Benefit Transfer to the genuine weavers in a transparent manner. “Such initiatives has 40% subsidy on yarn, dyes, and chemicals, loan waiver, special budget of Rs. 373 crores for handloom sector, skill upgradation training, increased wages etc. are aimed at improving the economic and social status of the weavers in Telangana State in a big way”, she added.
Source: The Hans India
Pune: The Nigerian High Commissioner to India, Chris Sunday Eze, on Friday said work permits and import licences should be given to Nigerians in India. Eze was speaking at a news conference here on ‘The Nigerian image in India’. Other Nigerian officials present at the function said students coming to India from Nigeria must be allowed to bring in food items and requested customs officials not to confiscate items which were not contraband. “Nigerians do not bring illegal goods. A Nigerian student, who came to India on Friday, was crying because she had spent too much money to buy food items which were not allowed. This needs to be looked into,” said Gbadebo Oluwafemi, senior counsellor, High Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Eze said, “Nigerians cannot import food and sell here. This is something the Indian government should look into. Secondly, Indian textiles have a ready market in Nigeria. However, for Nigerians to import textiles from India, they have to partner with an Indian and only, then, they can buy and take textile to Nigeria. But Indians can go to Nigeria, stay there and import textiles in Nigerian markets. Such policies need to be resolved on the basis of reciprocity.” “I know that our high commission issues about 500 work permits to Indians on a monthly basis. But I am not aware of Nigerians who have obtained work permits or import licences in India. With the opportunities Nigeria gives to Indians, a certain level of reciprocity should be shown, as that is only fair,” Eze said. Eze said since the Indian economy is much bigger than the Nigerian economy, parity is not possible immediately, but he hoped to start something even if it is just on a token basis. On racism, Eze said, “India was one of the countries that fought against apartheid and that is what you are referring to in a way. Relationships between governments are easier to change than relationships among people. It takes time to get used to what you are not originally used to. I would say that all are doing the best they can to fight prejudice. Whether it is racism, xenophobia, etc. I am hoping it is something that will gradually die down due to globalization. While the host country has its part to play, our citizens should project a good image of themselves and respect the host culture so that they begin to be accepted and vice-versa. Regarding drug abuse and other crimes in which Nigerian nationals have been arrested, Eze said, “We keep preaching that doing anything illegal, whether it is drugs or extortion are criminal acts. We keep saying don’t do it, if the law catches you, only the judicial process will handle it and the high commission will not step in.”
Source: Times News Network
Perhaps taking a cue from the climate of protectionism the world over, the Centre has decided to raise import levies on 50 items, from fibre to apparel. Most of the items will attract a rate of 20 per cent, against 10 per cent now. Readymade garments (RMG) imports increased from ₹2,643 crore in 2013-14 to ₹4,983 crore in 2017-18, which amounts to a CAGR of over 17 per cent — and these are just official numbers. Bangladesh and China, with whom India shares porous borders, accounted for about 64 per cent of India’s RMG imports in 2017-18 (26 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively). The hike in duty will contain direct Chinese imports, but not so much the influx from Bangladesh. Since India has free trade pacts in place with Bangladesh and our less significant RMG import origins, Vietnam and Cambodia, the higher tariffs are unlikely to come into force with respect to these countries. Lower RMG imports from China over the next few years will open up a section of the domestic market for local players. However, this window of respite may not last for long. China could step up its relocation of apparel making into Bangladesh and ASEAN countries, a process that is already underway as a result of rising labour costs in China and a larger move by its industries to move up the skills and technology ladder into sectors such as electronics. Despite the size of the Indian market, China has generally preferred to export its way into India rather than set up facilities here, with India too not being entirely comfortable at the latter prospect for strategic reasons. Hence, there can be no getting away from India’s RMG sector setting its own house in order. While China’s share in global apparel exports is on a gentle decline (it still controls over a third of the world market), India has been losing out to Vietnam and Bangladesh, with the respective shares of the three countries at 4 per cent, 5 per cent and 6 per cent. As Economic Survey 2016-17 implicitly suggests, India’s textiles and apparel industry has been impacted not as much by labour costs (it observes that monthly wages at $80-120 are on a par with those in Bangladesh but lower than in Vietnam, Indonesia and China) as by logistics and tax-related hassles. Besides, the price of cotton is a factor of concern in an industry where margins are under relentless pressure. The government could pitch in with housing costs for labour, as in China’s clusters. While staying competitive on the global stage, a large domestic market helps the garments sector to ride out shocks arising out of constantly shifting global market trends.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Kochi : A Rs 25.72 crore new cruise terminal having facilities to handle 5,000 tourists will come up at the Ernakulam Wharf of Cochin Port by February 2020, the port trust said today. The work order was issued today to the contractor for commencing the construction on the terminal, a release said. The facilities at the 2,253-sq metre terminal would include passenger and crew lounges, immigration counters, tourist information counter and duty free shopping. The estimated cost of construction of the terminal is Rs 25.72 crore and of this Rs 21.41 crore had been sanctioned as grant by the Union Tourism Ministry, the release said. Being one of the prime cruise tourism destinations in the country, Cochin Port had been getting around 40 cruise liners every year bringing tens of thousands of high net worth international tourists to Kerala, it said. Union Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam had recently visited the port and reviewed the progress of projects supported by his department, the release added.
Source: Business Standard
The Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) has decided to concentrate on contamination-controlled cotton from the source, said D. Prabhu Damodaran, convenor, here on Friday.
Awareness drive
To achieve this goal, the ITF will create awareness by way of short films, posters and education tours for the ginners and cotton producers to reduce contamination at source. For this purpose, select ginning members of ITF will closely work with the producers and introduce them to best practices in all possible areas. As part of this process, ITF cotton team will be handing over 10,000 caps and wearable cotton bags to the workers of the ginning factories to make them responsible partners.
Technical team
It also plans to send a technical team to the source aimed at better training, adopting standard systems of purchase and delivery, he added. ITF, a consortium of cotton mills and ginners had procured nearly 1.85 lakh bales during its first year of operation directly from the cotton growers, eliminating the middlemen to a certain extent. It has so far procured 3.8 lakh bales during the current cotton year (2018-19) and it hopes to procure further 20 lakh bales. Timely and good rainfall has raised the hopes of ginners that during next cotton year (2019-20), it could procure 4.5 lakh to 5 lakh bales. Maharashtra was the highest supplier of cotton with 45 % of the total supply to ITF and Telangana with 32 % and Karnataka with 20 %. This could be possible due to the building of trust by the ITF between the cotton mills and ginners, as they are partnering with the mills to get clear-cut information on market intelligence, Mr. Damodaran said. As part of the drive, 64 top ginners visited cotton mills to gain first-hand experience of cotton production. They also held interaction meeting with MD s of 32 cotton mills in the State.
Source: The Hindu
In a bid to provide quality cotton and boosting the supply chain, the ITF (Indian Texpreneurs’ Federation) Cotton Team has showcased the “power of collective buying of cotton”. From purchasing 1.85 lakh bales (of 170 kg) of cotton (on behalf of the 32 member mills that are partners to this consortium) during its first year of operation (2016-17), the ITF Cotton Team has doubled the volumes till date during the current cotton year to touch 3.8 lakh bales.
Quality awareness
“Our upcoming (2018-19) season target is to procure 4.5-5 lakh bales,” said Prabhu Damodaran, Secretary, ITF. Stating that the focus this year would be “contamination controlled cotton,” he said, “the quality of the Indian cotton is good, but it is spoilt due to wrong practices from farm to bale stage.” ITF Cotton Team is on a mission to create awareness about the effects of contamination and its impact in further process. The Federation has released a short film on introduction of best practices in all possible areas. Giving a copy of the video to the 64 ginners from Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka — who are now on a visit to the mills here — he said, “the trash content is now 3 per cent. There is scope for bringing it down further.”
Sourcing the fibre
Highlighting the benefits of collective buying, Damodaran said: “Members are able to share market information, get quality cotton as specified by each of the mills, avoid disputes such as weight shortage. There is payment security for ginners and round the year supply.” To a query on how spinning mills source cotton, he said, “mills generally call 5-6 agents on a daily basis and based on the rate that the agent quotes, place the order. In the process, the trade gets driven by price. This partnership with ginners has helped the mill sector source the fibre to suit their requirement. Repeated orders with the select ginners have helped eliminate mistrust in the system. They visit the mills to understand our requirement. This helps address some ground realities.”
Source: The Hindu Business Line
KARACHI: Textile exports rose around nine percent to $13.53 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30 as financial incentives improved competitiveness of the key export-oriented sector, official data showed on Friday. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed that textile exports amounted to $12.45 billion in the last fiscal year of 2016/17. Analyst Ahmed Lakhani at JS Global Capital said growth in exports was mainly due to higher volumes sold during the last fiscal year. “We believe this indicates higher competitiveness of Pakistan’s textile exports amid a weakening local currency against major currencies,” Lakhani said. Rupee lost around 20 percent against the US dollar since December last year. Last year, the previous government announced Rs180 billion of various tax concessions for export-oriented sector. PBS data showed that knitwear exports increased 15.2 percent to $2.719 billion in the fiscal year of 2017/18. Exports of bedwear rose 5.8 percent to $2.3 billion. Readymade garments exports fetched $2.6 billion during the last fiscal year, up 11.22 percent year-over-year. In June, textile sector’s exports clocked in at $1.194 billion, down 0.84 percent compared with $1.204 billion in May and falling 1.94 percent as compared to $1.217 billion exports in June. Zubair Motiwala, chairman of the Council of All Pakistan Textile Associations said production was low in June due to Ramazan effect while several transactions were delayed due to Eid holidays. “Going forward, we will be able to maintain the current export levels and might be able to register nominal gains,” Motiwala said. “However, unless government brings the cost of doing business down desired results would not be achieved.” Motiwala further said the government should follow the Chinese model and reduce cost of utilities through concessions and subsidies. Pakistan’s textile industry is the eighth largest manufacturer in Asia, contributing 8.5 percent to the country’s GDP, while employing about 45 percent of the total labor force – 38 percent of it being manufacturing workers. An exporter said the country is only getting spillover orders and that too would stop coming once the competitors increase their capacity. The government should come with a concrete and sustainable policy to facilitate exporters. “Due to weak global demand, the nation’s exporters were unable to boost margins significantly as a result of the depreciation of the local currency and had to pass on the benefits to their foreign customers,” Lakhani added. In June, cotton yarn exports increased 13.4 percent year-over-year to $124.023 million. Knitwear exports were up 0.97 percent to clock in at $257.423 million, while bed wear exports declined 2.35 percent to $205.49 million in June. Readymade garments exports declined 2.94 percent to $235.68 million in June over the same month a year earlier, while cotton cloth fetched $188.26 million, up 7.6 percent. Pakistan is the fourth largest producer of cotton with the third largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India and contributes five percent to the global spinning capacity. At present, there are approximately 1,221 ginning units, 442 spinning units, 124 large spinning units and 425 small units producing textiles.
Source: The News
Technical textiles weaver Arville will present its specialist capabilities directly to UK aerospace manufacturers as part of a major tour. The company is one of a small number of key suppliers handpicked to take centre stage in the two-week ADS Defence and Aerospace Technology Roadshow this September. The tour, calling at strategic UK defence and aerospace sites, is an opportunity to present the latest innovations and developments directly to high-level decision makers within the aerospace industry. Visits are planned to Rolls-Royce in Derby, Leonardo (Selex) in Luton, Thales in Crawley, BAE or Airbus in Bristol, Cobham Mission Systems in Wimborne, Ultra PALS in Cheltenham, Agusta Westland in Yeovil and GE Aviation in Cheltenham. Arville, which has been weaving fabrics for over 60 years, says it is looking forward to speaking directly with key personnel in research and development, technical and design roles about its capabilities to produce bespoke fabrics – which are engineered to be lighter, stronger and offer increasingly more sophisticated physical characteristics. The company’s expertise in technical textiles has contributed to a well-established reputation as a specialist in the field, with an extensive customer base covering more than 50 countries worldwide. “The ADS Roadshow event is a real opportunity to make supplier resource more accessible to UK aerospace players,” commented Andy Smith, Group Head of Marketing at Arville. “We anticipate that our involvement will help lead to further growth and integration of Arville fabrics at the initial design stages of major projects. Decision makers, designers and specifiers from the large players in these sectors are not always aware of just what can be achieved, in terms of textiles developed especially with their application in mind.” Arville has a long-established history of working with defence contractors in the aerospace industry, in the design and supply of high-specification fabrics and pre-fabricated textile components, which are used in a variety of complex applications in both military and civilian aircraft and helicopters. The company’s products are used in aircraft for a growing range of purposes, including hi-spec fire resistant and flame-proof fabrics for in-flight and structural applications including insulation materials, seating reinforcements, screens, covers, ducting, flexible fuel cells, ballistic and crash protection systems.
Source: Innovation in Textiles
Exhibitors reported mixed results at the autumn 19 edition of the London Textile Fair, as market concerns and nervousness were offset by the presence of good-quality buyers and a strong British showing. The exhibition, which ran on 18-19 July at the Business Design Centre in London’s Islington, recorded an increase in exhibitors – 472, compared with 462 last season – and had stands sprawling throughout the main hall and numerous smaller side halls. In the sweltering heat of the venue’s Victorian arches, there was a gentle buzz in the aisles. Visitor numbers were slightly down compared with the spring 19 edition, which took place in January: 5,270, against 5,790. However, several big names were spotted browsing the halls: Topshop, Debenhams and Urban Outfitters attended, as well as some of London’s top designer names and contemporary brands, among them Shrimps, Simone Rocha, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy and Cefinn. Although some exhibitors reported lower footfall compared with previous seasons, the quality of buyers won praise. “There has been fewer people than the winter edition, but the visitors are all high quality and people really are looking for something specific,” said Pauline Guesné, co-founder of French technical fabric manufacturer Induo. “We may have had fewer conversations, but conversations have been longer and more about actually doing business – which is positive. This is one of the most important shows for us.” Visitors were overwhelmingly British: most exhibitors reported 90% UK buyers on the stands. Event organiser John Kelly reported a general feeling of unease pervading the UK market: “It has not been the most vivacious of shows. What with the struggles of some of the big names on the high street, people feel like they are in a bit of a quandary, and there is a lot of indecisiveness in the market.” This sentiment was mirrored by several exhibitors. British mills highlighted struggles around rising costs, while international exhibitors noted that the UK market had cooled in recent seasons. “The footfall at the show is similar to last season,” said Isabel Costa, owner of Portuguese mill Burel. “However, the UK market has been decreasing since the Brexit vote, while other markets are on the rise. Nevertheless, we have to be here to show our products to our British customers.” Kenneth Forsyth, designer at Yorkshire manufacturer Joseph H Clissold & Sons, agreed that the market is challenging: “Visitors have been designers and independents – no high street names. We find that they choose to source from overseas to cut costs. If they are coming to the show, they’re not looking for UK.” He continued: “Brits are finding the market very challenging. For example, the price of wool has gone up by 30%, and while we don’t pass on all that cost to the end product, we have to add something. The price of wool is rising and rising.” As sustainability becomes a buzzword across all levels of the industry, the show launched a section dedicated to sustainable and eco-friendly fabrics, as part of a collaboration with The Future Fabrics Expo. The area featured showcases from 16 sustainable mills, where visitors could discover more about the materials before visiting their official stands in the main hall. There was also a sustainability seminar programme and trends board. Almost all – 98% – of exhibitors were from the Europe and Turkey, the latter of which increased its delegation of suppliers this season, reflecting increased demand. “There is a strong textile market in Turkey, and a strong garment manufacturing market,” explained Kelly. “Because of the small distances people choose to do both in the same place to save transport costs, and lots of mills now are also manufacturers.” Kelly also looked ahead to London Textile Fair’s sister show in New York, Texfusion, which will take place on 16-17 January 2019 in the middle of Manhattan’s Garment District: “People love the format of the show, as it’s more accessible and open than some.” The next edition of London Textile Fair is on 9-10 January.
Source: Drapers
New York – Microplastic pollution in the water supply might not be on retailers’ radar yet, but some state legislators are already moving on it. And several stakeholders in the textiles industry are working toward a solution of their own. The shedding of microfibers from synthetic textiles during routine washing is turning up in oceans around the world. A study by the Marine Pollution Bulletin last year found that New York’s Hudson River alone dumps 300 million clothing fibers into the Atlantic Ocean each day. This year, three U.S. states have introduced legislation targeting the problem, although none have been enacted. The action is part of a larger global trend, according to Kristen Kern, government relations representative for the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA). “The [textiles] industry is already an active party and engaged on sustainability at large, and microfibers are the newest area we have to address,” she said during a July 10 webinar, “Microplastic Pollution: The Hidden Problem with Microfibers.” The first challenge: accurately measuring the problem. The Hohenstein Institute is already investigating the impact of industrial laundering on the types of microplastic fibers appearing in waste streams and the environment. Synthetic fibers accounted for 62% of global fiber consumption last year, and textiles producers are concerned about actions like the U.S. government’s ban on microbeads. “That sets an interesting precedent on what could happen in the future,” said Kern, who noted that fibers are just a portion of the larger microplastics conversation. Tricia Carey, Lenzing’s director of global business development, said most textiles purveyors remain unaware of the gathering momentum concerning marine pollution. “I speak with many retailers and brands around the U.S. and many suppliers around the world, and it’s not really a topic,” she said. At the same time, she said, consumers are seeing social media about impacts on the water supply – such as the story last month about the dead whale that was found with 17 pounds of plastic in its stomach. “What I really see is an education and learning process that’s happening, and the industry has to figure out where to begin to solve some of the problems around marine pollution,” she added. Kern and Carey will take part in a deeper discussion about the microfibers situation and industry efforts to mitigate during a session at Texworld USA on July 24 at 3:00 p.m. at the Javits Center in New York.
Source: Home Textiles Today
Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) recently withdrew sales tax zero-rating facility on the import of raw and ginned cotton and imposed 5 per cent sales tax on this item at import stage, according to Pakistani media reports. The government had withdrawn sales tax and customs duty on cotton imports beginning January 8 to meet the shortfall of silver fibre. Silver fibre is a key input in the textile industry. Despite being the world’s fourth largest cotton producer, Pakistan relies on import of cotton to meet local demand, which is estimated at 15 to 16 million tons per year. Cotton production is expected to be around 11.1 million bales of 170 kg each during the 2017-18 crop year. (DS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
Bangladesh will set up a Tk10,000-crore Jute Sector Development Fund (JSDF) and the textiles and jute ministry has finalized a draft policy for low-cost loans from that fund. The management of the 20-year revolving fund will be under the central bank. A committee headed by Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) chairman Mohammad Mahmudul Hassan prepared the draft. Jute farmers, traders, entrepreneurs and exporters of jute and jute products are eligible for loans from the fund at a 5 per cent interest rate at the most — 2 per cent to cover the operational costs of the Bangladesh Bank and a 3 per cent margin of profit for the commercial banks disbursing the loans, according to newspaper reports in the country. A budgetary allocation will provide the funds at a single go or in phases. BJMC director Shahed Sobur, also a member of the committee, said technology needs to be upgraded and jute sector exporters should get more low-rate loans as they use local sources for raw materials. Exporters of readymade garment, knitwear, textiles, plastic, leather and ceramic get special government incentives but there is no such facility for the ailing jute and jute products industry. Bangladesh primarily exports jute and jute products to India, China, Nepal, Germany, Korea, Brazil, Russia, Vietnam, Ivory Coast, the United States, the United Kingdom, Iraq and Iran. In the last fiscal, Bangladesh earned over a billion dollars from the export of jute and jute products. Around 200,000 people in Bangladesh work at 176 public and private mills, which process two-thirds of the country’s annual jute production of 1.4 million tons, according to the Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association. Of the total production, 836,000 tons are exported while the rest is consumed locally. (DS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
