NATIONAL

• Powerloom sector SMEs from Ichalkaranji to promote textiles and garments during IITExpo
• GST dues: Exporters want Govt to organise 4th tranche of special refund fortnight
• Govt to soon come out with air cargo policy : Prabhu
• Iran sanctions: India ups imports from Saudi
• Rupee's fall has a surprising new reason: RBI
• Rupee rebounds from lifetime lows, gains 18 paise

INTERNATIONAL

• Global Textile Raw Material Price 10-10-2018
• Support arrives for Myanmar’s traditional textile sector
• ­Pakistan Overcomes Odds to Keep  Textile Sector Moving Ahead  
• Chemical textile recycling unveiled in Taiwan

Powerloom sector SMEs from Ichalkaranji to promote textiles and garments during IITExpo

New Delhi:  Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) has again come up with a grand Reverse Buyer Seller Meet (RBSM) to promote export of textiles and garments, connecting the international market with Indian textile exporters and traders. IITExpo Ichalkaranji 2018 will be a one stop source for all textiles requirements of worldwide buyers and a unique platform for Indian participants where they can gather information on all latest developments and trends in order to gear the development and manufacture of their products in future. The main objective of conducting this RBSM is to provide a direct platform to Indian textiles exporters to interact with buyers from all over the world in their home country at a very low participation charge. The SME sector is highly motivated to participate in it and increase their export activity. Also it will showcase India as a reliable source of supply with such varied product range. Under one roof About 100 Indian textile exporters will be displaying a wide range of products with latest trends and qualities. The exhibition is happening in Ichalkaranji, a city in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra and one of the India’s important textile/fabric manufacturing clusters with over 1,50,000 powerlooms. It is having 35 spinning mills many of which are 100% Export Oriented Units producing a wide range of counts, ply yarns, ring and open end yarns and fancy yarns, more than 20 power processes and about 50 hand processing units. The Cluster will be now set-up by a Mega Processing Cluster to address the environmental norms. With the vision to provide a reliable international network platform and practical know-how on all key sourcing markets, latest trends and standards in export, buyers from various countries are invited such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, U.A.E, Vietnam, Korea, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Mali, Malaysia, Australia etc.

Source: KNN

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GST dues: Exporters want Govt to organise 4th tranche of special refund fortnight

New Delhi : Exporters have asked the government to organise the fourth tranche of its special refund fortnight to clear all the dues under the Goods & Services Tax (GST) regime as the pending claims were affecting their cash flow and competitiveness in the global market. “Refund of IGST (Integrated GST) worth ₹ 8,000 crore and input tax credit (ITC) worth ₹ 15,000 crore are yet to be paid to exporters and it is causing a liquidity problem. In our meeting with Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu and senior officials from the Ministry, we have urged that urgent steps should be taken to clear the dues such as organising another clearance fortnight,” FIEO President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said at an interaction with the media on Wednesday. With the government looking at ways to reduce the widening trade deficit, exporters are of the view that improving their liquidity position could go a long way in improving exports. “The government is looking at an export growth of 16 per cent this year. With timely refund, we could try to achieve a growth rate of 21-22 per cent,” Gupta said. Last year, India’s exports grew 9.7 per cent to $302.84 billion. In the April-August 2017-18 period, exports had posted a growth of 16 per cent, which the government is hopeful of maintaining it for the entire fiscal. Gupta said that while the refund process has improved over the last six months, refunds can only be claimed after manufacturing of goods and exports with a lead time of about 3-9 months depending on the production cycle. “If the EU has worked out an exemption regime for exports, there must be some merit in it and we should also provide the same to our exporters to create a level-playing field,” he said. For Indian exporters, ITC refund is a great problem as it is partly electronic and partly manual. The exporter files refund application on the portal, takes a print out along with an acknowledgement and carries it to the GST authority together with the required documents, the demand for which varies depending upon the official handling the matter, FIEO said. “The GST Network may be asked to develop a complete EDI processing for ITC refund as has been done for IGST refund so that there is no human intervention and the process becomes seamless,” Gupta said. By the end of the third edition of the special refund fortnight on July 31,2018, organised by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the total amount of IGST refund claims disposed was worth ₹ 29,829 crore taking the disposal rate to 93 per cent, as per government figures. IGST refund worth ₹ 3,391 crore were sanctioned by CBIC during the fortnight.

Source: Business Line

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Govt to soon come out with air cargo policy : Prabhu

New Delhi: The government will soon come out with an air cargo policy, and a vision document is being proposed to ensure "sustainable growth" of the domestic aviation sector for all times to come, Union Minister Suresh Prabhu said Wednesday. India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world and has been registering double-digit growth for nearly four years. Emphasising that security, safety, convenience and affordability are the key aspects, the Civil Aviation Minister said the aviation vision for 2035 would address all the issues so that "we will have a sustainable growth in air travel in India for all times".The ministry is preparing 'Vision 2035' document for the civil aviation sector. "We are very soon bringing an air cargo policy...," Prabhu said at a seminar on international aviation security organised by the CISF. The minister also mentioned about using new technologies to protect a person and his privacy. "I think we should think about new technologies on how we should protect privacy and the person... How we are going to do that will be another interesting challenge in the future. I am sure we will be able to address it," he added. Noting that technology itself is not a solution, Prabhu pitched for bringing in best of technology use with best of human mind. While there has been good growth in passenger numbers, Prabhu said growth itself is a cause for concern because "more the number of people travelling... it becomes challenging to ensure safety of each of them". Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha stressed on the importance of having a unified command, use of technology and cost effectiveness of security solutions. "Probably, we are going to fly drones of all types, including passenger drones, in 15 years," he noted.

Source: Times of India

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Iran sanctions: India ups imports from Saudi

Indian refiners have sought additional four million barrel of crude oil from Saudi Arabia in November, a move that might partly compensate for any fall in their imports from Iran consequent to the US sanctions on the Persian Gulf country to be effective November 4. India’s oil imports from Saudi Arabia have been to the tune of 25 million barrels per month in recent past. Saudi Arabia was India’s second largest source of oil imports in FY18, accounting for 15% of the country’s overall oil imports  Iraq is the top crude oil exporter to India with a 20% share in India’s overseas oil purchases. While reports had said India might reduce oil imports from Iran to nearly zero due to the US sanctions, the government had said earlier this week that two state-run refiners — IOC and MRPL — have contracted 9 million barrel for crude from the country for November. Reliance Industries, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and MRPL are the companies which are looking to procure additional one million barrel each from Saudi Arabia, according to agency reports. The development comes close on the heels of Saudi Arabia claiming it can replace Iranian oil which will be unavailable due to renewed US sanctions, a claim Iran has termed ‘exaggerated’. Iran, which has emerged as the third largest exporter of oil in recent quarters, exported 8.1 million tonnes of crude to India in Q1FY19, compared with 5.6 mt in the year-ago quarter. Private refiners have been more aggressive in sourcing Iranian crude than the state-run firms. US President Donald Trump had withdrawn JCPOA, also called the Iran Nuclear Agreement, which was agreed upon in 2015 with the UK, France, Germany, Russia, China wherein Iran was to curb its nuclear programmes in return of lifting financial sanctions. This also means that oil imports from the Persian Gulf country will be affected starting November 4. However, two Indian refiners have already placed orders of 9 million barrel of crude from Iran for November. India has been hit by both rising crude oil prices and a weakening rupee which have also resulted in sharp spike in domestic retail auto fuel prices. While the retail fuel prices are determined taking into account international product prices, these prices move in tandem with crude oil prices. To keep the Iranian oil flowing to India, a payment mechanism in rupee terms is also being explored as was done during the last sanction regime on Iran which ended in 2015. Last week, an inter-ministerial panel under commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu asked the ministry of petroleum and natural gas to explore payment mechanism to Venezuela, Russia and Iran in rupee terms in order to curb the currency’s volatility. India imported 220 mt of crude oil in FY18, roughly 80% of its total consumption.Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said he spoke with Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih last week and reminded him that OPEC and other major oil producers had promised to raise their output at a meeting in June. India imports an average of 25 million barrels per month from Saudi Arabia. Reuters last week reported that Russia and Saudi Arabia, the world’s two biggest oil producers, struck a private deal in September to raise output to cool rising prices and had informed the US about the decision.

Source: Financial Express

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Rupee's fall has a surprising new reason: RBI

Rupee's fall has a surprising new reason: RBI The worst run of rupee losses in 16 years is set to extend. Only this time, the declines might not be triggered by oil but by the surprise move by India’s central bank to hold rates despite the currency’s free fall. The rupee, which has fallen for six straight months in the longest stretch since 2002, is seen sliding to 75 per dollar by year-end, according to median of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The December-end estimate has inched up from 69 at the start of September. Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel’s comments Friday that the rupee’s drop is moderate in comparison to emerging market peers and that the central bank doesn’t have any target in mind unnerved investors who were expecting the authority to boost its defense of Asia’s worst-performing major currency. The rupee fell 0.4 per cent on Tuesday to a record low of 74.3950 per dollar. “Governor Patel has effectively left the rupee out in the cold and insinuated that it is not his job to determine the appropriate level for the currency,” said Charlie Lay, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Singapore. “RBI has seemingly opened the floodgates for further rupee weakness.” The rupee fell past the 74 to a dollar mark for the first time soon after the RBI’s decision, and analysts, whose year-end estimates have been obliterated by the meltdown, cut their targets further. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB said the rupee could test 75 in the near term while ING Bank NV said the bank’s recent downgrade to 75 wasn’t enough. To be sure, the RBI has for long maintained that it steps in only to curb undue volatility and doesn’t target any currency level. That stance places the authority behind counterparts in Indonesia and the Philippines, which have been actively supporting their currencies, Madhavi Arora, an economist at Edelweiss Securities Ltd., wrote in a note Tuesday. “We expect the weakness to persist, with the rupee heading toward 75-plus levels against the dollar, unless some additional assertive policy steps come through,” she said.

Source: The Economic Times

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Rupee rebounds from lifetime lows, gains 18 paise

Mumbai: The rupee snapped its six-session losing streak to end 18 paise higher at 74.21 against the US dollarNSE -3.66 % Wednesday after the American currency weakened overseas. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex), the domestic unit opened higher at 74.18 and advanced to 74.05 on fresh dollar selling by exporters amid weakness in the greenback against some currencies overseas. However, the rupee erased some gains and finally settled for the day at 74.21 -- up by 18 paise, registering its first rise after sixth straight sessions of losses. On Tuesday, the rupee tumbled 33 paise to finish at a fresh lifetime low of 74.39 against the US dollar. Traders said a relief rally in domestic equity markets also boosted sentiment. The BSE Sensex Wednesday settled for the day at 34,760.89, higher by 461.42 points, or 1.35 per cent. The broader Nifty too reclaimed the key 10,400 mark. It finished at 10,460.10, showing a significant gain of 1.54 per cent. Traders said RBI's decision to inject Rs 12,000 crore liquidity into the system through purchase of government bonds on October 11 to meet the festival season demand for funds supported the recovery in rupee. Sentiment also got a lift after the SBI, coming to the rescue of cash-strapped NBFCs, Tuesday decided to buy their assets to the tune of Rs 45,000 crore, a move that will provide liquidity support to non-banking financing companies (NBFCs) facing headwinds after a series of loan defaults by IL&FS group firms. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,526 crore, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out a net Rs 1,242 crore Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data. The FBIL set the reference rate for the dollar at 74.1316 per dollar. The reference rate for euro was fixed at 85.2637 and for the British pound at 97.6284. The reference rate for 100 Japanese yen was 65.60.

Source: The Economic Times

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Global Textile Raw Material Price 10-10-2018         

Source: Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14440 USD dtd. 10/10/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com.  SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.

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Support arrives for Myanmar’s traditional textile sector

Three international organisations will invest more than US$ 750,000 in Myanmar’s textile industry over the next two years. This will involve Myanmar Artisans, a social enterprise, Turquoise Mountain, a non-government international organisation and DaNa Facility, which is under the UK Department for International Development, DaNa Facility announced on October 10. “The variety of hand-woven arts in across Myanmar is very astonishing. We’re proud to support these products and ensure they reach value-added market by cooperating with local weavers,” said Harry Wardill, representative of Turquoise Mountain’s Myanmar operation. The Myanmar Artisans Project, which will initially be carried out in Kachin, Chin and Shan States and later expanded to the other states and regions. The aim is to improve and preserve the local textile market and improve the global market share of Myanmar-made products. As such, the project will include training and better market connections for local weavers so they are able to reach value-added markets and increase their family incomes. At the opening ceremony of the project at Myitkyina, Kachin State, DFID’s leader Dr. Gail Marzetti said that by “investing in textiles we are betting that this project can play an important role for the long term success and sustainability of Myanmar’s traditional textile business.” Myanmar Artisans, which is committed to preserving and promoting Myanmar’s traditional crafts, was founded in 2016. In cooperation with international design professionals, training courses on designing and production are being conducted for Myanmar Artisans’ staff, interns, cooperation agencies and those playing in handicraft sector. As a result, high-quality handicrafts are being produced and sold to local and foreign markets. Turquoise Mountain has worked in Myanmar from the end of 2014 with an aim to preserve Yangon’s landmark urban heritages and re-create the traditional craft industry. It expects to make a huge socioeconomic impact in Myanmar by supporting vocational schools and preserving historic heritage.

Source : Myanmar Times

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­Pakistan Overcomes Odds to Keep  Textile Sector Moving Ahead  

Challenges such as high energy costs and reduced investment in technology  has stymied  but not broken  Pakistan’s leading industry.  By Joanne Friedrick  Pakistan  which has been going through some  governmental growing pains over the past sev-  eral years  is still a significant player in the textiles  industry. Even with concerns about the reliability  of its power grid and the cost of electricity  gas  and water  Pakistan continues to produce cotton  and its home-oriented byproducts  such as bed  wear and towels.  According to an article in  Pakistan Today  in July  the Pakistan textile industry combined is the 8th  largest manufacturer in Asia and employs about  45% of the country’s total labor force  with most  of that being attributed to manufacturing.  Cotton dominates the scene: Pakistan is the 4th  largest producer of cotton with the third largest  spinning capacity in Asia  reported  Pakistan To-  day  with only China and India ahead of it. When  the article was written in mid-July  textiles were  responsible for 62% of Pakistan’s national exports.  On its website  the Towel Manufacturers’ As-  sociation of Pakistan reported that for July-August  2018  exports of textiles totaled $2.26 billion  which was up 3.7% over the same period a year  ago. Towels on their own experienced a volume  increase of 9.3% and a value increase of 7% over  the same period a year ago.  Looking at the different categories that make  up the total textiles picture for Pakistan  knitwear  accounted for 22% of the export market during  the July-August period  followed by ready-made  garments  18%  bed wear  18%  cotton cloth  16%  cotton yarn  9%  and towels  6%. The remainder  is made up of tent  canvas and tarps  art-silk and  synthetic textiles  made-ups  and others.  While Pakistan’s exports were up in July-August  its business with the United States in bedding and  was unsettled over the previous year. According  to information from the Department of Com-  merce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA)  U.S. imports of towels from Pakistan were down  about 8.5% and pillowcases were also down  about 4%. Sheets were up slightly at 1.5% and  bedspreads and quilts also saw an uptick  rising  by 4% over 2017.  For the most part  Pakistan ranks second or  third to India and China in overall U.S. imports  in bedding and towels. It garnered a 21% share  of the cotton terry and other pile towel market  for the year ended July 2018  with only India and  China ahead of it and fourth place Turkey far  behind at about 7%. In bedspreads and quilts  Pakistan was second with a 16.7% share.  Although Pakistan is a significant exporter of  textiles  The Express Tribune  reported in September  that All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA)  figures show sales within the country for 2106-2017  still outpace exports. APTMA reported that of the  combined local and foreign sales of $26 billion  exports accounted for $12.3 billion and local sales  $13.7 billion.  And even that figure was below potential  the  report said  because it constituted just 32% of all  textile items bought by consumers in Pakistan.  Imported goods (44%)  the newspaper reported  account for the majority of textiles sold.  APTMA cited several reasons for Pakistan’s tex-  tile industry challenges  ranging from investment  in new technology to increased competition from  India and Bangladesh to the cost of utilities.  Yet Pakistan’s textile industry continues to seek  ways to improve. In an article from the  Business  Recorder  in mid-September  a delegation from  Faisalabad visiting the embassy in Sweden talked  about collaborating with Sweden on ways to  modernize its textile sector.

Source: Home Textiles Today

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Chemical textile recycling unveiled in Taiwan

TAIPEI – Taiwan textile supplier Far Eastern New Century (FENC) will unveil a raft of new environmental advances at next week’s TITAS exhibition, including an ‘all-in-one’ chemical recycling solution for mixed-stream post-consumer polyester textiles – along with a range of nylon fabrics dyed without the use of water. “During the chemical process, polyester is dissolved, and the mixed polymers or dyestuffs are filtered out,” said the company, “cellulose is then converted into energy dense fuel rods which can be used to generate electricity.” The new process can also handle spandex-blended polyester fabrics. Saying the time is now right for the launch of its new recycling technology, the company told Ecotextile News : “Since mainland China no longer accepts any form of waste, as of today, that secondary stream for down cycling (textiles) has nowhere to go – even for reusable waste grades shipment to third-party nations meets with tough restrictions.” Visitors to FENC booth will also be able to handle 100 per cent nylon 6 fabrics dyed using supercritical CO2 as a solvent instead of water. The company has been dyeing polyester fabrics with supercritical CO2 for around 5 years using DyeCoo technology, but it’s now also offering dyed nylon 6 fabrics using this method for the very first time.

Source: EcoTextiles.com

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