Textiles Minister Smriti Irani Saturday urged the industry to go for innovation and come forward in taking new initiatves. She said that the government is pushing for small size firms to become mid-size as 80 per cent of the companies in the textiles industry are in the MSME sector. "Big players are many", she said. Speaking at an interaction organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce here, Irani said "There is a need for innovation. The case of technical textiles is one such example." Technical textiles finds its applications in automobiles, interior decoration, healthcare, industrial safety among others. Irani said that the industry should work closely with the government so that the policies framed by the government could be implemented effectively. Stating that the trade war between the US and China has opened up an opportunity for India, she said that there were dramatic challenges like development of infrastructure and making the workforce productive. Regarding the jute sector, she said that India should go for more diversified products like Bangladesh. Irani warned the jute industry that if the workers and farmers did not get money which the government gives for buying jute bags then the concerned company would stop getting orders.
Source: Catch News
Import tariffs on wood and paper products, minerals and gemstones will be cut to 5.4 percent from 6.6 percent, the ministry said. China will cut the import tariffs on textile products and metals, including steel products, to 8.4 percent from 11.5 percent, effective Nov. 1, the finance ministry said on Sunday. Import tariffs on wood and paper products, minerals and gemstones will be cut to 5.4 percent from 6.6 percent, the ministry said.
Source: Business Standard
The British Council and IMG Reliance signed an agreement last month to help exotic indigenous textile products of the region get a global platform through the project. Fashion designers from the UK and India are set to come together to be part of a project aimed at benefiting women textile workers of the north-east. The British Council and IMG Reliance signed an agreement last month to help exotic indigenous textile products of the region get a global platform through the project - 'A Telegram from Tripura', a senior official of the Council said. "The project will bring UK designer Bethany Williams and Indian designer Aratrik Dev Varman together to explore new fashion systems and approaches with women textile workers of the north-east region in focus," Director of the British Council in India, Alan Gemmell, told PTI in an interview. IMG Reliance is a joint venture between IMG Worldwide of the US and Reliance Industries. However, it is not immediately known when the UK designer would reach India and meet Dev Varman, who hails from Tripura. The final work, to be presented at the Lakme Fashion Week in February next year, will showcase female textile artisans and demonstrate how design innovation can promote a fairer, more inclusive fashion industry, Gemmell said. "We want friendship between India and the northeast, in particular by bringing art and culture, and educational opportunities from our country," he said. The British Council would also give scholarship to 500 students from India for academic exchange programme in 44 universities of the UK. To mark the 70th anniversary of the Council in India, it awarded scholarships to 100 Indian women to study STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects at premier higher education institutions in the UK, Gemell added.
Source: Money Control
Trump often accuses India of imposing 100% tariffs on American products. President Donald Trump Saturday said that India wants to have a trade deal with the US because it does not want him to impose tariffs on their products. Trump's remarks, for the second time in recent weeks, comes days after Assistant US Trade Representative Mark Linscott returned from India where he had detailed discussion with senior Indian officials on bilateral trade and a possible trade deal between the two countries. Trump often accuses India of imposing 100 per cent tariffs on American products. "We have a country, take India. Good relationship. They want to make a deal now because they don't want me to do what I'm going to do, with I have to. So, they (Indians) call us. They didn't want to make a deal with anybody else," he said. Trump referred to India in the context of his repeated allegation that other countries have been taking advantage of America in the past. Trump in early this month had said India wanted a trade deal with the US despite the US administration's tough stance on the issue.
"Take India” You talk about free trade. So, let's say they (Indians) charge us 60 per cent tariff on a product. And for the same product when they send it in (America), we charge them nothing. So now I want to charge those 25 per cent or 20 or 10 or something," Trump said. "What do you think? That's not free trade. We don't like it. I said, where are these people coming from? So, think of it. Where are they coming from? You have no idea how difficult it is. Where are they coming?" Trump said on Saturday referring to the conversations he is having with India.
Trump told the crowd that he is using India just as an example.
The president said he can give examples of other countries which are "brutal" to what they do with the United States. "I could give you (examples of) others that are brutal, just brutal what they do to us, how they take advantage of the stupidity. We never even had people negotiate, they just do whatever they want," Trump said as he went back to the India example. "Remember this? A lot of the people that are fighting me in what I'm doing have ownership of companies in these other countries. Remember that please. Remember that, or they're represented by lobbies," Trump said, as he lashed out at those who are opposing his America First trade policies. Trump said nobody wants to talk about the jobs created and nobody wants to talk about all the money that's flowing into the coffers of the United States of America, he said. "The people that are against it are usually having companies...you know, you go to these other countries, they have companies there too," he alleged.
Source: Business Standard
New Delhi : Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu today made a strong case for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Bangladesh, saying it would boost trade in the South Asia region. "With Bangladesh we already proposed that we should try to sign a comprehensive economic partnership agreement and now we are going to start working on that and Bangladesh and India will actually take it forward," Prabhu said at a conference. The CEPA is a free-trade agreement under which two trading partners eliminate basic customs duties on maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, both sides liberalise norms to promote trade in services and investments. Prabhu, who returned from his trip to Bangladesh on Friday, said India has also proposed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Sri Lanka and is trying to push trade with African countries, terming it far below potential. The Commerce Ministry earlier this week said that considering the vision of Bangladesh to become a middle income country by 2021 and a developed country by 2041, both ministers agreed that a CEPA covering goods, services and investment would provide a sound basis for substantial enhancement of trade and commercial partnership. The minister said both countries have agreed to upgrade trade logistics for seamless movement of cargo. Elaborating on his trip to Bangladesh, Prabhu said he has proposed development of Sunderbans, mangrove forests lying between the two countries, as global tourist destination. "We have decided to upgrade the logistics on either side so that movement of cargo will happen. There are certain issues. At one point the cargo had been held up for a long time so we have decided that from October 15 we will provide a one-time push and clear this backlog," Prabhu said. The minister said he had invited the Bangladesh commerce minister and senior officials next month to identify the opportunities of investment from India to Bangladesh. He said India was willing to invest into R&D for value addition to jute, a natural fibre crop produced by both India and Bangladesh, as it has immense job creation potential for the garment industries of the two neighbours. India is willing to invest into R&D. We have almost USD 8 billion credit line with Bangladesh. We can use part of that for making this happen and we can actually promote this. He said, India would be willing to engage with its South Asian neighbours to reap the advantages emanating from similar agro-climatic conditions, topography and crop cultivation. "On October 8, we will have a major meeting with West Africa. We have already done that with Southern Africa and East Africa, later in November-December we will do Northern Africa. "India's exports to Africa is only 8 per cent. Can you imagine, with a population as big as India, with 54 countries in the African Union, our exports to Africa is only 8 per cent so we are trying to push that," Prabhu said.
Source: Business Standard
Sectoral export promotion strategies are meant to increase India’s exports of high-value items. At present, low-value items witness a higher quantum of exports. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu will chair an inter-ministerial meeting on Monday to discuss the implementation of sector-specific strategies to bring about a substantial and sustained increase in the growth of exports. Secretaries and other senior officials from ministries and departments such as textiles, electronics and IT, heavy industry, agriculture, animal husbandry, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, mines, defence production, commerce, industry, food processing and food and public distribution will share their action plans to increase exports, a government official told BusinessLine. “There have already been two inter-ministerial meetings earlier this year on sectoral export promotion strategies where various stakeholders shared the problems and opportunities related to their sectors. At the Monday meeting, it is hoped that concrete policies for export promotion will be agreed upon,” the official added. An analysis carried out by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade suggested that India’s share of exports is high in goods which are less traded, and low in goods in which trade is more. Moreover, most exports from the country are of items considered low in the global value chain. “The idea behind sectoral export promotion strategies is to reverse the trend and increase India’s exports of high-value items and products that are high in demand globally. This is possible with all departments and ministries contributing to the strategy,” the official said. In FY15, India’s exports declined 1.3 per cent to $310.33 billion from $314 billion the previous year. The following year, with continued global slowdown, exports declined at a sharper 15.48 per cent to $262.29 billion. Although in the last two fiscals exports have posted modest increases, overall merchandise exports worth $303 billion shipped in FY18 (10 per cent growth) were still below the FY14 level of $314 billion.
Growth in FY19
In the first five months of this fiscal, exports have increased about 16 per cent, said the official, adding: “This is encouraging. Through a focussed strategy for sectoral export growth the growth would be higher and more sustained.” In an earlier meeting, Prabhu said the Commerce Department would also take the assistance of the Ministry of External Affairs to implement the action plans through India’s commercial missions abroad.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Geneva: The World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Sunday issued an emergency call to reform the multilateral trading system as the US retreats from prior agreements. ‘The urgent challenge today is to harness the unique strength of the WTO,’ the bodies said in a joint report. ‘The slow pace of reforms since the early 2000s, fundamental changes in a more interconnected modern economy, and the risk of trade policy reversals call for urgency to reinvigorate trade policy reforms.’ President Donald Trump this week harshly criticized globalism in general and questioned America’s participation in multilateral institutions like the WTO during the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York. Meanwhile, fallout from the escalating US-China trade conflict led the WTO to cut its trade growth forecast this week, and WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo warned that a full-blown trade war ‘would knock around 17% off global trade growth, and 1.9% off GDP growth.’ The joint paper by the Washington-based groups outlined specific initiatives aimed at modernizing WTO rules, including a focus on increased market access for e-commerce, more flexible negotiating structures and better transparency of government trade policies.
EU, Canada
The recommendations echo many goals outlined in various WTO reform proposals offered this month by the European Union and Canada. Recognizing the dire state of the WTO, countries like Canada and the EU are preparing the groundwork to update the organization’s 23-year-old rule book. Though both China and the US endorse the need for WTO change, they have polarized views on how to do so. The WTO, IMF and World Bank jointly called for new rules to address theexpanding role of electronic commerce along with investment and services trade in the 21st century. ‘The opportunities provided by information technology and other fundamental changes in the global economy are yet to be reflected in modern areas of trade policy,’ the report said. The three institutions also advocated the more so-called use of plurilateral talks to help unblock trade negotiations that have failed to advance at the multilateral level.
Faster deals
Plurilateral accords are deals negotiated among a group of like-minded members that are limited to certain sectors of goods or services. Such agreements are typically easier and faster to negotiate than multilateral accords, which require a consensus among the WTO’s 164 members. The joint report urged WTO members to work together to fix the impasse in the WTO dispute settlement system, which risks paralysis due to the Trump administration’s refusal to appoint appellate body members. Over the past year the US has cited a pattern of judicial overreach at the WTO and has blocked the appointment of experts to the appellate body, which has the final say in WTO dispute rulings. After Sunday, the seven-person panel will have three members — the minimum required to sign off on appellate body rulings. If the US continues to oppose new appointments to the panel beyond December 2019, the body will not have enough panelists to sign off on rulings and the WTO will lack the ability to fully adjudicate trade disputes involving the world’s largest companies.
Source: Live Mint
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant Friday urged the Chinese firms to raise their funding in Indian start-ups and said instead of focusing on exports to India they should look for raising their investments. The Chinese companies should catch up in terms of investing more in India, he said. "China remains the 17th largest investor in India's start-ups and should become the first largest (investor). So instead of exporting, we would like Chinese companies to invest in India," Kant said at the third edition of the Chindia TMT Dialogue 2018 here. He said there is a lot in common between the Chinese and the Indian startup firms and India has a lot to learn from China. Kant said as much as 15 per cent investment in Indian start-up firms is from China and India would like to see it risingThe major investment from China (in start-ups) has happened in 25 start-ups, he said. "India has the world's second best start-up ecosystem and we are nearly 4,200 tech startups and the number should reach 12,000 by 2020. We need a lot of scale up funding. We have tried to develop an ecosystem that is conducive to growth of start-ups, and our startup schemes have promoted innovation," Kant said. Finance NSE 1.47 % , consumer internet, healthcare, food and beverages, Edtech and SaaS (Software as a Service) are the top areas of investment where the Chinese companies make their investment here, he added. China and India have remarkable similarities in terms of consumer spending behaviour, on the market-scale it is the China model that Indian entrepreneurs are finding success and depend on, said the NITI Aayog CEO. "Given the recent success of investments, FDI from China could potentially grow by 4-5 times in the next five years and Chinese companies could very soon become one of India's top foreign direct investors," he added.
Source: Economic Times
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1545.85 |
USD/Ton |
-0.75% |
9/29/2018 |
|
VSF |
2200.87 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
ASF |
3027.65 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
Polyester POY |
1596.79 |
USD/Ton |
0.18% |
9/29/2018 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3508.00 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
40D Spandex |
4978.15 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
Nylon POY |
5502.17 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1819.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
Polyester FDY |
3253.27 |
USD/Ton |
0.45% |
9/29/2018 |
|
Nylon DTY |
3202.32 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1790.39 |
USD/Ton |
-1.60% |
9/29/2018 |
|
Polyester DTY |
3668.11 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2882.09 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2183.40 |
USD/Ton |
-0.33% |
9/29/2018 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2998.54 |
USD/Ton |
-0.48% |
9/29/2018 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
3187.76 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2721.97 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2372.63 |
USD/Ton |
-1.81% |
9/29/2018 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2561.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.36 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.84 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.17 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.70 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/29/2018 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14581 USD dtd. 25/9/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Myanmar’s textile industry is incurring losses due to greenback appreciation, according to the Myanmar Textile Entrepreneurs Association. The value of US dollar rose from Ks1,500 in early September to Ks1,650 on September 20. Some textile units have suspended sales and will resume after the situation returns to normal, said association secretary Yin Yin Moe. The extent of losses cannot be accurately measured, a Myanmarese newspaper report quoted Moe as saying. Local companies have also stopped recruitment and some garment units have temporarily suspended workers.
Source: Fibre2fashion
NDO/VNA - Vietnam’s export value to the US reached US$4.89 billion in August, the highest level since January this year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. This figure rose 15% against July and 24% compared with that in August 2017. This was the third consecutive month in which the export value exceeded US$4 billion. Most of Vietnam’s major export products to the US maintained a positive growth rate over the same period last year, including textiles, telephones, footwear, wood and wooden products, machinery and equipment. Despite the rising US-China trade war, experts are still positive about the outlook of local exports to the US. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, so far, the structure of imports and exports between the US and Vietnam has not changed overall. Vietnam mainly exports seafood, textiles, footwear, wood and wood products, computers, electronic products and components, and agricultural products to the US. Meanwhile, it imports machinery, computers, electrical components, cotton, animal food and materials for animal food production, soybeans, machinery, equipment and tools.
Source: Nhan Dhan Online
Textile giant David Whitehead (DWTL) is seeking over $30 million to set up a new factory and procure critical spares, working capital as well as settle prejudicial obligations, Standardbusiness has established. Once Zimbabwe’s largest textile manufacturer, DWTL has fallen on hard times and was placed under provisional judicial management in December 2010 before confirmation of the final order in March 2015. It was delisted from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in 2009 following the acquisition of a controlling stake by Elgate Holdings, whose takeover has since been reversed after it failed to pay for the stake. Founded in 1950, DWTL used to produce 20 million metres of fabric per year while directly employing 3 000 workers. DWTL’s judicial manager Knowledge Hofisi, in a report presented to a creditors’ meeting last Thursday, said the company needed $20 million for the new factory; $2 million for spares; $1,5 million for working capital; $1 million for shares acquisition; and $6 million for prejudicial obligations settlement. “The process of identifying a new investor is currently underway, whilst one has been identified through a private treaty,” he said. “The option of competitive bidding remains open. If the competitive bidding route is pursued, an invitation for the expression of interest will be flighted in the print media towards the end of 2018.” Negotiations to secure additional funding for working capital and more critical spares are expected to be concluded before the end of the year. Hofisi said the investor was expected to acquire both existing and new shares. He said valuation of the company was necessary to facilitate smooth conclusion of the sale of shares. “The identification of the investor either through private treaty or competitive bidding process is expected to be done by year end,” Hofisi said.
“The receipt and application of additional funding is expected to be completed by March 2019 and the first phase of the acquisition of the new plant will be completed by June 2019.” DWTL said negotiations were being made to secure foreign currency for the procurement of spares and new plant for the fabric and spinning divisions which were likely to come from Germany and China. The acquisition of new machinery is envisaged to result in the increase of production capacity by 150% from 6 million metres to 15 million metres of fabric per annum and revenue of about $45 million. “The new machinery will enhance competitiveness through improved quality consistencies, higher efficiencies and economies of scale, thereby ensuring that the company will be able to consolidate its position on the local market as well as overseas markets,” Hofisi said.
Source: The Standard
BEIJING, China — Chinese factory activity slowed in September, official data showed Sunday, as the Asian giant’s trade war with the United States showed no sign of abating. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key gauge of factory conditions, came in at 50.8 for the month, down from 51.3 in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The figure was below the 51.2 reading tipped in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Although the numbers indicated a slowdown, they remained above the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction. A separate manufacturing index, calculated independently by the Caixin media group, also showed a deceleration. “Exports increasingly dragged down performance and continued softening demand began to have an impact on companies’ production,” said Caixin analyst Zhengsheng Zhong. “In addition, the employment situation worsened further. Downward pressure on China’s economy was significant.” US President Donald Trump last week imposed a further $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods and vowed to press on until Beijing buckles. His latest volley against China, which retaliated with more levies of its own, brings the amount of goods hit by duties to more than $250 billion, roughly half of China’s US exports. A brighter outlook could be found away from China’s factories, however, with an official gauge of non-manufacturing activity showing the sector expanding to 54.9 in September from 54.2 in August.
Source: Agence France Press
LAHORE: Newly-elected Chairman of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab Adil Bashir on Saturday resolved to take all the sectors of textile industry on board and evolve a joint strategy to double the exports and employment. Addressing the annual general body meeting (AGM) of the APTMA Punjab after assuming charge of his office at the APTMA Punjab, he appreciated the outgoing leadership of the APTMA Punjab for paving the way for long-awaited revival of textile industry in Punjab. He also appreciated efforts of outgoing APTMA Punjab Chairman Ali Pervaiz Malik and his team for hardwork put in throughout the year 2017-18 and thanked the APTMA Patron-in-Chief Gohar Ejaz and other senior members for their guidance and support. Adil Bashir said that his first priority would be to ensure earliest implementation of uniform energy price for the exporting industry (five zero rated sectors). He assured of leaving no stone unturned to revive the textile units, which were closed down because of the uncompetitive energy price in Punjab. He added that 70 per cent of the closed capacity would be revived in the next six months as the government was well-versed with the issues of textile industry in Punjab. He said revival of idle capacities would be his top priority and expressed his satisfaction over the government’s keenness to provide a level playing field to Punjab-based textile industry in order to boost exports of the country. The APTMA Chairman hoped that gas price would be rationalized for the textile industry throughout the country from October 1 and assured the members of availability of electricity at Rs9 per kWh for the exporting industry. According to him, the new government was keen to resolve industry issues to increase exports which would help in reducing the trade deficit. The APTMA management was further engaged with the government at various levels to obtain measures such as removal of upfront incidentals on the import of raw materials both cotton and man made fibre, liquidation of all pending refunds on account of sales tax, duty drawbacks and textile policy outstandings. He said that he would try his level best to get the other issues resolved such as Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) and cost of supply liabilities, restoration of previous duty drawbacks scheme (export led growth package) for the entire textile industry value chain. Enabling environment for the industry to undertake new investments to achieve growth and production of exportable surplus for doubling the exports in the shortest possible time will be the foremost priority of our management. He said that he would also take up the issue of stuck up sales tax refunds and duty drawbacks with the government for their early release.
Source: Business Recorder
