Mumbai: SRTEPC delegation comprising of Shri Sri Narain Aggarwal Chairman SRTEPC Shri Ronak Rughani Vice-Chairman and Shri S. Balaraju Executive Director met Shri Suresh Prabhu Hon’ble Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Minister of Civil Aviation to appraise him on the GST issues being faced by the MMF Textile Segment and Export Promotion incentives. The SRTEPC Head thanked the Union Minister for his consistent support and handholding guidance towards the MMF textile segment. The SRTEPC Team submitted representations to the Union Minister on issues pertaining to GST RoSL MEIS etc. Besides the issue on undue delay of GST refunds Chairman SRTEPC insisted on exclusion of import of capital goods from the ambit of GST as it is adversely affecting investment in the textile sector and defeating the purpose of the “Make in India” initiative of the Government. For having due consideration in this matter the Union Minister called Shri Amitabh Dwivedi Deputy Secretary Department of Commerce and directed him to follow up the matter with DIPP for appropriate actions. Shri Ronak Rughani Vice-Chairman SRTEPC pressed on the issue of ITC Lapse mentioned by the Government through Notification No.20/2018-CTR dtd. 26-07-2018. Shri Rughani brought the issue to the notice of the Union Minister and informed the unutilised credit as contained in notification no.20/2018 will be a huge setback for textile exporters as this provision is against the basic settled principle that the right validly earned cannot be extinguished. He informed that the lapsed amount is leading huge losses in the books of accounts as the same has now become cost of business for the exporters. The Minister expressed his positive consideration on the issue. On the RoSL issue the SRTEPC Team informed the Minister that substantial amount of State taxes & duties still exists which are neither subsumed with GST not rebated. These State taxes & duties such as Stamp duty Electricity Duty Tax on fuel wheeling charges fixed charges Cross subsidy on electricity bills transmission charges Water Cess Green tax local body taxes road taxes labourcess etc. have been embedded especially on yarns and fabrics exports which is around 6% of FOB value of exports. Therefore the Council requested that RoSL Scheme needs to be extended to yarns and fabrics segment also and 6% RoSL rate to be considered for rebate on yarns and fabrics exports. During the Meeting the Minister was also appraised by the SRTEPC Team on the issues of surging imports from China as well as impact of high crude oil prices on manmade fibres and filament yarns segment (being petro chemicals based). The recent US sanctions on Chinese imports of fibres yarns and other textiles will make these items highly prone to dump in India by China. To set off this situation Chinese is considering further increase in its subsidies on the textile exports which will lead to further escalate the imports into India. In view of this recent Chinese development the Team requested the Minister for incentivizing the textile sector to increase competitiveness of the Indian textile industry globally. They also requested the Minister to increase the MEIS reward rates to 5% on all MMF textile tariff lines. Shri Ronak Rughani Vice Chairman SRTEPC informed the Minister that MEIS Scheme gives much needed cushion for increasing competitive edge of the MMF textiles that have been facing tough price competition from countries like China Taiwan Korea Indonesia Vietnam etc. He also informed that Governments of the South Asian countries incentivize exports through refund of duties as high as 17-21% apart from giving multi-layer subsidies. Therefore it was requested to the Union Minister that rewards under MEIS Scheme need to be extended to all MMF textile items including fibre yarns fabrics and made-ups and MEIS reward rates should be increased to 5% for all the MMF textile tariff lines. Shri Rughani stated that also requested that the Scheme (MEIS) needs to be continued till a WTO compatible alternative Scheme is designed to replace. On the GST front the SRTEPC Chairman Shri Sri Narain Aggrawal informed the Minister that it has been a real challenge for the Man-made fibre (MMF) textile segment to cope up with the GST regime. Being under inverted duty structure the MMF textile trade and industry has been receiving step-motherly treatment as compared to other fibres segments. More than 14 months passed since the new Tax regime was implemented in India but unfortunately there are various anomalies in the GST system that have been affecting the MMF textile segment. Therefore Shri Aggarwal insisted that the following major pending issues under the GST regime need to be addressed on priority basis.
Source: Global Textiles and Apparel
Surat: The man-made fibre sector in the country is worried over high crude oil prices and the US sanctions on import of fibres, yarns and other textile products from China because it fears these could lead to dumping of Chinese textile goods in India. Synthetic and Rayon Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) has drawn the attention of the central government to this possibility and on the need to incentivize the textile sector to raise its competitiveness. SRTEPC office-bearers said the US sanctions on Chinese fibres, yarns and other textile products will make these items highly prone to their dumping in India. China government is considering to further increase subsidies on textile exports, which may lead to escalation of imports of textile goods in India. SRTEPC chairman Narain Aggarwal told TOI, “Indian textile sector is facing tough price competition from China, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Yarns, fibres and fabrics dumped by China in India are very cheap compared to those manufactured by the textile sector here.” Textile industry leaders have urged the central government to increase merchandize exports from India scheme (MEIS) to reward rates under foreign trade policy of India to 5 per cent on all MMF textile tariff lines. SRTEPC vice-chairman Ronak Rughani said, “MEIS scheme gives the much-needed cushion for increasing competitive edge of MMF textiles that face price competition from China and other countries.” He said governments of South Asian countries incentivize exports through refund of duties as high as 17 to 21% apart from giving multi-layered subsidies. Therefore, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal was requested that rewards under MEIS be extended to all MMF textile items, including fibre, yarns, fabrics and made-ups and MEIS reward rates increased to 5% for all MMF textile tariff lines. Asked about input tax credit (ITC) issue, Rughani said, “The issue of lapse on unutilized ITC credit will be a huge setback for textile exporters as this provision is against the basic settled principle that the right validly earned cannot be extinguished. Lapsed amount is leading to huge losses as the same has now become cost of business for exporters.”
Source: Times of India
NEW DELHI: India's manufacturing sector output is expected to register robust growth in the July-September quarter on account of higher production even as the hiring outlook for the sector remains subdued, a survey said Thursday. Moreover, half of the participants in the survey expect exports to rise in the second quarter. The estimates are part of Ficci's latest quarterly survey which assessed the sentiments of manufacturers for the second quarter for twelve major sectors -- automotive, capital goods, cement and ceramics, chemicals, fertilisers and pharmaceuticals, electronics and electricals, food products, leather and footwear, medical devices and technologies, metal and metal products, paper products, textiles machinery and textiles. Responses have been drawn from over 300 manufacturing units from both large and SME segments with a combined annual turnover of over Rs 2.8 lakh crore. A total of 61 per cent respondents said output will grow during July-September 2018 quarter from 49 per cent in April-June 2018, the survey said. The percentage of respondents reporting low production decreased to 9 per cent in Q2 2018-19 from 13 per cent in Q1 of 2018-19. However, rupee depreciation has not led to any significant increase in exports during the first quarter as 83 per cent of the respondents reported that shipments were not affected much by a weakening rupee. According to the survey, high growth is expected in cement and ceramics, capital goods, automotive and medical devices and technologies in Q2 2018-19, whereas textiles, textile machinery, metal and metal products, electronics and electricals, chemicals, fertilisers and pharmaceuticals, food products and paper products may witness moderate growth. "Hiring outlook for the sector remains subdued in near future as 65 per cent of the respondents mentioned that they are not likely to hire additional workforce in next three months," said the survey. Besides, average interest rate paid by the manufacturers has remained same vis-a-vis the last quarter standing at 10.2 per cent per annum but the highest rate continues to be as high as 15 per cent. However, the cost of production as a percentage of sales for manufacturers in the survey has risen for 71 per cent respondents. This is primarily due to increased cost of raw materials, wages, power cost and rupee depreciation, it said.
Source : The Economic Times
The initiative can make coastal shipping more cost effective for bilateral trade, thereby shifting cargo from the costly land route, and create an opportunity for Bangladeshi garment exporters to reach European and American markets avoiding congestion at the Chittagong port. Indian customs authorities have already cleared the deck for Bangladesh to use Haldia as a transhipment port. However, Bangladesh is yet to approve the same. The proposal was reiterated at a ministerial meeting in Dhaka earlier this week. At the crux of the proposal is the growing need to augment handling capacities on either side, keeping in tune with growing trade volumes. India-Bangladesh trade grew 38 per cent to $9.1 billion over the last four years. On a year-on-year basis, the trade grew 24 per cent in 2017-18. This was followed by nearly 22 per cent growth in April-July 2018. Keeping in tune with the trend, movement of bilateral cargo through coastal shipping is also rising. During the first six months of FY19, the port handled approximately 4,000 containers traded between the two nations. This is higher than 3,700 boxes handled in the full year of 2017-18. But there is a problem. As the overall trade is heavily in India’s favour, the volume of return cargo from Bangladesh is abysmally low. The low capacity utilisation keeps the coastal freight rate — between Pangaon river terminal near Dhaka and Kolkata — at a high of $13.5 a tonne. According to Sharad Varma, Managing Director of the Kolkata-based shipping agent, B Ghose & Co, availability of return cargo can bring down the freight rate by at least $4 a tonne, helping both the sides to access each other’s market at a lower cost. For Bangladesh there are twin opportunities Lower trade costs will boost its garment exports to India. Categorised under HS codes 61 and 62 by the Ministry of Commerce, India’s garment imports from Bangladesh under the two categories increased by 52 and 88 percent respectively during April-July. The key to opportunities lies in transhipment. Majority of Bangladeshi garment exporters are concentrated in and around Dhaka and their main markets are located in Europe and America. Currently, goods are transported by road to Chittagong port from where it is shipped via Colombo or Singapore.
Congestion at Chittagong
The road movement and the 10-12 days waiting period at Chittagong due to congestion, makes this logistics costly. Moreover, international garment trade is highly time sensitive and the congestion at Chittagong adds to the export risks. Bangladesh is expanding the capacity of Chittagong port but it is bound to take time. If Dhaka responds to India’s proposal, Bangladeshi exporters can send their products from Pangaon to Haldia to be loaded on to Colombo or Singapore-bound ships.The whole process will be completed in a maximum of three to four days. While there is no available cost estimate, Indian officials expect shipping lines to tap the opportunity and offer competitive rates to make the proposition viable. “We are trying to create options to facilitate trade. As per our preliminary discussions with shipping lines, transhipment operations through Haldia will be competitively priced to attract users. The gains are shared,” said an Indian official.
Source: Business Line
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be under pressure to agree to a year-end partial conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact that India is negotiating with 15 countries, including China, when he attends the regional summit next month in Singapore. At the recently concluded special Trade Negotiations Committee meet in Jakarta attended by officials from member-countries, the 10-member ASEAN and most other members, including China, stressed on a year-end package deal despite India's protests that many issues in goods and services need to be sorted out first, an official source told BusinessLine. Other members of the RCEP include Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Once concluded, the RCEP is likely to result in the largest free trade bloc in the world covering about 3.5 billion people and 30 per cent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product. The package of deliverables, tentatively agreed to by Trade Ministers in their last meeting in August in Singapore, comprises four components — markets for goods, services, investment and intellectual property rights. In a joint statement released after the Ministerial meeting, the Ministers “expressed the hope that completion of the package would signify the substantial conclusion of the RCEP negotiations this year.” India, however, had opposed the language of the statement, as it does not want a conclusion of any part of the negotiations this year, another official familiar with the happenings said. It is of the view that there are many issues that are yet to be resolved, including the extent of commitments India would take in opening up its goods market, especially for China, and what it would get from other members in terms of increase in mobility of professionals. “There is an apprehension that if a package is agreed to in just two months’ time, India would be pushed into taking up commitments it might not be comfortable with and may not get anything worthwhile in services,” the official said. Giving substantial concessions to members, especially China, (Beijing is apparently seeking zero-tariffs on more than 80 per cent traded items) could lead to protests from a large section of the Indian industry which fears competition from cheap imports and this might also lead to political fallout with the general elections scheduled in 2019. The next RCEP Ministerial meet, scheduled on October 13, is crucial as most members would try to push the proposal for the conclusion of package of deliverables further. “If there aren’t sharp interventions by the Indian delegation at this point of time, there would be attempts to include the package in the official declaration of the RCEP Summit in Singapore next month to be attended by heads of states. Prime Minister Modi could find himself in a difficult spot if the situation is not handled carefully by New Delhi before the summit,” the official said.
Source : Business Line
Mumbai: The rupee climbed 9 paise to end at 74.12 per dollar Thursday after tumbling to a fresh lifetime low in intra-day trade amid a sharp sell-off in global markets. Softening crude oil prices and the greenback weakening against other currencies provided support to the home unit, brokers said. Asian and European equities sank deep into the red after US markets reeled due to concerns surrounding global growth and rising bond yields. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex), the rupee opened lower at 74.37 and lost further ground to hit a record intra-day low of 74.50 against the US dollar on strong demand for the American currency from importers amid unabated foreign fund outflows. However, the rupee clawed back lost ground and finally settled for the day at 74.12, up by 9 paise, posting a gain for the second consecutive day in an otherwise volatile market. On Wednesday, the rupee rose by 18 paise to 74.21. "Rupee gained due to falling oil prices and slide in domestic bond yield. Oil prices declined in expectation of increased production and if this trend continues, the rupee may find some stability," Geojit Financial Services Head of Research Vinod Nair said. Brent crude was trading at USD 81.54 per barrel, down 1.87 per cent. The BSE Sensex slumped over 750 points to end at a six-month low, while the NSE Nifty ended below the 10,300 mark Thursday as global indices witnessed across-the-board losses. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,892.94 crore, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulled out a net Rs 1,096.05 crore Wednesday, as per provisional stock exchange data. "Though the crude oil prices have eased overnight, it is temporary. As US sanctions on Iran begin from November, crude oil prices might continue to rise in the international market. This may pressurise the rupee in coming sessions," said Rushabh Maru - Research Analyst , Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers. The FBIL set the reference rate for the dollar at 74.3875 per dollar. The reference rate for euro was fixed at 85.9012 and for the British pound at 98.2961. The reference rate for 1 ..
Source : The Economic Times
MUMBAI : View of Container yard at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, popularly known as JNPT, Nhava Sheva, located around 50kms from Mumbai. JNPT spread across 6000 acres, handles 60% of India's total container cargo handling operation is building it's 4th terminal which will be known as Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal. Photo: Prashant Nakwe. Thus, more than half of the DPD containers were routed through CFSs by importers voluntarily for storage and onward transportation to hinterland and also because of non-clearance of some of the boxes within 48 hours under thescheme. In order to quicken evacuation from the ports and reduce the traffic and congestion, the proposed re-modelling of cargo evacuation system at ports by placing the container freight stations or CFS as the fulcrum of the entire planning is an innovative idea which is expected to be a win-win for all – these supply chain intermediaries, importers, port terminals and transporters. More importantly, it has the potential to further improve the cargo dwell time and reduce costs which were the two main reasons that led the government to introduce the direct port delivery (DPD) scheme with greater vigour from last year. The scheme also promoted ease of doing business and improved India’s ranking in the logistics performance index of the World Bank. What prompted the government to “re-model” the cargo evacuation system is to bring down the evacuation time and increase further efficiency and give a boost to the DPD scheme which has already gained acceptance among the stakeholder community despiteinitial concerns over its impact on the container freight station business, among others. To be sure, the DPD scheme is not being cast aside, though it has started to stagnate at about 40 per cent within a year of its implementation compared to a target of 70 per cent set by the government. Undoubtedly, there is every reason for the government to look at ways to up the DPD levels, particularly given its impact on smoothening trade across borders. “While that seems to be very much a goal that we should aspire for and we also set targets and raised the target for DPD from 40 per cent to 70 per cent, we found after a few months that it was stuck at 40 per cent. And then, when we were again trying to dissect this number, we found that actually what gets transported directly to the end user (factories) is only about 12 per cent, the balance 28 per cent DPD boxes continue to be routed through CFSs,” Shipping Secretary Gopal Krishna said. Thus, more than half of the DPD containers were routed through CFSs by importers voluntarily for storage and onward transportation to hinterland and also because of non-clearance of some of the boxes within 48 hours under thescheme. This was because, importers used CFSs as a storage point after DPD clearance due to their own inventory management and infrastructure constraints. With Customs department clearing the containers before exiting the terminal, importers cost for routing their DPD boxes through CFS came down substantially because of reduced work like moving the boxes from the port terminals to CFS, unloading and then loading the boxes onto the trailers of importers. The CFS industry, with Rs 4,500 crore revenue in fiscal 2018, had grown at 6-8 per cent annually over the past five years. Under the new plan, all DPD containers would be moved out to a CFS and that too within 24 hours of landing at the port compared with 48 hours window period available earlier. Besides, importers would need to pay DPD tariff for transporting the containers via CFS, making it a volume game for CFSs, with intense competition for boxes further driving down the prices. The ever-increasing ship size is becoming one of the “biggest disruptors” of the maritime sector. When the ship size keeps on increasing, the cargo volume will keep on increasing and the onshore logistics sector will only be “reactive” to what the offshore logistics sector will continue to do. This will increase the challenges on evacuation of cargo from the onshore side. “It was then we started re-assessing our thinking, that can we re-think the role and use of CFSs,” Gopal Krishna added.
Source : Business Line
Odisha’s investment promotion efforts over the past few years have resulted in the State emerging as a top manufacturing destination in India in Q2 of FY 2018. In the 72nd Survey of Projects Investment in India conducted by Projects Today magazine, Odisha has topped in fresh projects expenditure by contributing 11.68 per cent of the total fresh projects announced in the July-September period (Q2) of the current fiscal, followed by Andhra Pradesh (10.13 per cent), Karnataka (8.02 per cent), Maharashtra (7.45 per cent) and Gujarat (5.54 per cent).
Investments
Odisha attracted manufacturing investments from a variety of sectors to the tune of ₹35,861 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal alone. Andhra Pradesh attracted ₹31,104 crore, Karnataka ₹24,624 crore, Maharashtra ₹22,875 crore and Gujarat ₹17,020 crore in manufacturing investments. This accolade comes to the state on the back of a survey jointly conducted by Invest India and World Bank that ranked Odisha as an “Aspiring Leader” in terms of investment promotion preparedness in July this year. Earlier, Assocham had ranked Odisha as the No 1 State in terms of investment implementation rate and the state is consistently ranked amongst the top three States in terms of live manufacturing investments in India. “We are happy to note that Odisha’s investment promotion efforts over the past couple of years have resulted in the State emerging as one of the topmost destinations for manufacturing investments in the country. The domestic and foreign investors’ meets organised by the State government under the guidance of our Chief Minister have received very encouraging response,” said Sanjeev Chopra, Principal Secretary, Industries.
400th proposal
“The industry-friendly GO-SWIFT portal recently received the 400th investment proposal in a short span of 10 months. The latest ranking of Odisha by Projects Today is another accolade that would encourage us to strive further in our pursuit of making Odisha the manufacturing hub of eastern India,” he added. Odisha has seen over 118 large manufacturing projects approved with employment potential of 1,28,572 in the past 4 years alone in the State. The average time taken for approval of the projects is also reduced to 20 days from the date of receipt of completed project applications.
Source: Business Line
FICCI's latest quarterly survey on the Manufacturing sector portrays a positive outlook in Q-2 (July-September 2018-19) on account of higher production vis-a-vis previous quarter Q-1 2018-19. The output growth during July-September 2018 quarter has increased to 61% from 49% in April-June 2018, as per FICCI's Manufacturing Survey. This is the highest percentage of respondents expecting higher production since Q-2 of 2015-16 where 63% of respondents expected higher production- a twelve quarters high sentiment. The percentage of respondents reporting low production decreased to 9% in Q-2 2018-19 from 13% in Q-1 of 2018-19. FICCI's Quarterly Manufacturing survey assessed the sentiments of manufacturers for Q-2 (July-September 2018-19) for twelve major sectors namely automotive, capital goods, cement and ceramics, chemicals, fertilizers and pharmaceuticals, electronics & electricals, food products, leather and footwear, medical devices and technologies, metal & metal products, paper products, textiles machinery and textiles. Responses have been drawn from over 300 manufacturing units from both large and SME segments with a combined annual turnover of over 2.8 lakh crore. High growth is expected in Cement and Ceramics, Capital Goods, Automotive and Medical Devices & Technologies in Q-2 2018-19 whereas moderate growth is expected in Textiles, Textile Machinery, Metal and Metal Products, Electronics & Electricals, Chemicals, Fertilizers and Pharmaceuticals, Food Products and Paper Products.
Source: Business Standard
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1535.08 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
VSF |
2187.81 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
ASF |
3003.73 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
Polyester POY |
1624.61 |
USD/Ton |
0.90% |
10/11/2018 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3480.28 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
40D Spandex |
4938.82 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
Nylon POY |
3177.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1783.46 |
USD/Ton |
0.41% |
10/11/2018 |
|
Polyester FDY |
3639.13 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
Nylon DTY |
5458.70 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1841.23 |
USD/Ton |
0.79% |
10/11/2018 |
|
Polyester DTY |
3227.56 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2859.32 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2195.03 |
USD/Ton |
0.66% |
10/11/2018 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2974.85 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2339.44 |
USD/Ton |
0.62% |
10/11/2018 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2541.62 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3162.58 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2686.03 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.35 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.83 |
USD/Meter |
-0.35% |
10/11/2018 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.16 |
USD/Meter |
-0.12% |
10/11/2018 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.70 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/11/2018 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14441 USD dtd. 11/10/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Basic research for textile machinery, like those involving the quality of raw material and machinery components, needs improvement and the innovation level requires further enhancement, according to Gu Ping, vice president of the China Textile Machinery Association (CTMA). Some products, for example in the printing sector, have achieved a high-level of innovation. Machinery companies in China have also adopted more eco-friendly production technologies, Gu told Fibre2Fashion in an interview. (DS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
The 8th meeting of Federal Textile Board was held on Thursday in Textile Division, Ministry of Commerce and Textile, Islamabad. The meeting was chaired by advisor to prime minister on Commerce and Textile in his capacity as Chairman of the Board. It was also attended by Federal secretary Textile Division, joint secretaries Textile Division, Secretary to the board, and representatives of almost all the leading associations of textile sector. The advisor welcomed all the participants for their interest in the meeting and highlighted the importance of the textile sector. The advisor assured the participants that the government is cognizant of the problems faced by the industry and that steps are being taken to address them. Representatives of the associations appreciated the decision of the government to introduce a separate gas tariff for the textile value chain and that the price has been kept at Rs600/mmbtu. Furthermore, they highlighted the issues like pending rebates under PM package for exporters, energy prices and other issues faced by the ginners, spinners and value added sectors due to which our textile exports are uncompetitive and at disadvantageous position vis-à-vis other regional countries particularly India and Bangladesh. The advisor to PM assured the industry that sufficient funds would be released by FBR for refund of the claims submitted by the exporters to boost total exports in view of the on-going trade and current account deficit. The advisor desired that industry should import state of the art machinery and adopt scientific methods in their value chain to become more productive. Representatives of the industry thanked the advisor for his interest in the problems being faced by the textile sector.
Source: Tribune
Pakistan which has been going through some governmental growing pains over the past several 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 it’s home-oriented by products such as bed wear and towels. 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. Pakistan is the 4th largest producer of cotton with the third largest spinning capacity in Asia with only China and India ahead of it.;
Source: Global Textiles
Bangladesh: The Bangladesh denim apparel export from the country jumped 11.72 per cent in its largest export market USA to reach US $ 358.73 million during January to August 2018 period. Only China and Mexico are ahead of Bangladesh in terms of denim apparel exports to USA. Bangladesh’s export in all 4 major denim apparel categories skirts jackets Men & Boys (MB) jeans and Women & Girls (WG) jeans noted growth. MB jeans emerged as the biggest export category with export value of US $ 199.12 million (up 15.34%) whereas WG jeans export values at US $ 147.50 million growing by 5.76 per cent on the yearly note. Further the export of denim skirts USwere up by 25 per cent to clock US $ 4.46 million mark. Denim jacket segment too experienced growth of 42.35 per cent and hit US $ 7.60 million figure. USA denim apparel import valued at US $ 2 466.53 million in the said period and Bangladesh contributed 14.54 per cent in that. The share of China and Mexico the major competitors of Bangladesh in denim segment hovered around 24.33 per cent and 20.88 per cent in the period respectively. China fell 0.19 per cent Mexico grew marginally by 0.48 per cent giving indication that Bangladesh has been able to capture the shift coming from these two countries in denim segment.
Source: Daily E-paper
Showcasing the latest trends in textiles, the L.A. Textile show at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles brought together vendors and buyers to conduct business for Fall/Winter 2019/2020. From established industry veterans to new players who were planning to launch a brand, designers from every branding stage attended the Oct. 3–5 show. Lawyer-turned-designer Brennan Manuel moved to Los Angeles from New York two years ago with his nearly 4-year-old brand 6AM Brennan Manuel and plans to branch out and cultivate women’s pieces from this established menswear line. He found fabric resources during his first time at the show, particularly from Japanese brands such as Hokkah Co. Ltd. and Uni Textile Co. Ltd. “There are good resources here. I would tell other brands to give it a chance and be open to looking,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect.” Exhibitors were taking notice of the shift in demand for textiles that fit within the new normal of luxurious yet comfortable clothing. At the booth for Farmingdale, N.Y.’s Philips-Boyne Corporation, owner David Haber said he noticed a shift in the fabrics his clientele seeks. “Traditionally, they were doing custom men’s shirts and now they’re doing more casualwear, but they still want to have garments that are fitted to them,” he said. A show veteran, he saw the need for a change at the L.A. Textile show and was cautiously optimistic about the fresh atmosphere at this show, which he feels remains an excellent resource. “This show has a different, hipper vibe. Now we need to get people who will come to appreciate it. A change had to be made,” he said. “This is the perfect show for small manufacturers and designers. Everything is here, from trim to knits. Just look around at the variety.” While several established brands and designers were in attendance, there were also newcomers who were planning to launch or wondering how to begin. Former New York Giants wide receiver Chris Harper is planning to launch a men’s ready-to-wear line in Los Angeles. While he is still laying the groundwork for the brand, he was attending the show to find partners. “There are a lot of the manufacturers from the brands that I am really familiar with here, which is really helpful,” he said. “I am getting a lot of answers regarding the things I need.” Another first-time attendee, Jacqueline Wells of Akron, Ohio–based M/D Clothiers,is a former finance executive who decided to start a second career by launchinga women’s contemporary line with her daughter. Satisfied with her show experience, which yielded meetings with B. Black & Sons and Shindo, Wells had advice for other first-timers as well as seasoned attendees. “Stay focused and come in with a list because there is so much here,” she said. “Ask a lot of questions, and don’t be afraid to tell them that you don’t know about something.” Senior trend and business consultant Jennifer Karuletwa is based in West Hollywood, Calif., and represents Peclers Paris North America, whose artistic installations were seen throughout the show floor. She was pleased with how organizers channeled their new show vision through creative, artistic pieces. “The people who took over the show did a really great job of reimagining it,” she said. “I love the new creativity of the installations, but if they would have incorporated mood boards, the installations would really pop.” At KenDor, a Canadian firm that specializes in sustainable manufacturing and low minimums, sales representative Danielle Harrison was pleased with the show’s production team and the traffic generated at the event. “There are a lot of promising accounts that we might be able to work with,” she said. “The people organizing it are nice and extremely helpful. If we said that we needed certain things, they were on it right away, which was awesome.” Rather than showcase his company’s offerings with a standard booth, Texollini President and Chief Operations Officer Amit Bracha rented an entire room near the show’s entrance, which turned out to be a successful move. Bracha was happy about the traffic through the space, where he showed his Long Beach, Calif.–manufactured fabrics. “I saw a lot of traffic,” he said. “Business is good and positive.” When asked how the show remains a relevant component of his annual marketing plan, he revealed that exposure to industry decision-makers is key. “You need it for longevity,” he said. “You have to have your name out there so people know about you.”
Source: Apparel News
Japan’s Hosoo Corp., which has been producing Nishijin-ori, a traditional textile, for more than 300 years in Kyoto prefecture, has developed machines that can weave the silk textile with a width of 150 cm. Traditionally, the width has been set at 32 cm for kimono and obi (kimono sash). The firm also uses artificial intelligence to find weaving patterns. The 32 cm width is inconvenient for other uses like fashion and interior decoration, Hosoo president Masao Hosoo told a Japanese daily. The machines were recently displayed recently at the Global Innovation Value Summit in Tokyo organized by the Nagoya-based International Academic Forum. Decades ago, kimono had annual sales of about ¥2 trillion, but that has now shrunk to about ¥28 billion due to lifestyle changes, said Hosoo. This makes it important for the company to innovate so that the traditional silk textile can be used in new kind of apparel products, he added. (DS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
The 20 biggest fashion retailers in Brazil - where slave labour is a major problem - scored poorly on an index assessing their social and environmental practices, with almost half failing to disclose any information, UK-based campaigners said on Thursday. Brazilian retailers scored an average of 17 per cent in Fashion Revolution's first survey of the textile industry in Latin America's biggest economy, with German clothing retailer C&A winning a top place with 53 per cent. Eight out of the 20 brands scored zero because their websites and reports did not reveal any information and they did not respond to a questionnaire focused on five areas, including supply chain traceability, governance and policies. "Information about supply chains is often hidden on websites, or hosted on external websites that are difficult to find, in annual reports of more than 300 pages or simply not available," said Fashion Revolution Brazil's Eloisa Artuso. "How can we make better decisions about what we buy, when information is either totally absent or presenting in such varied and long-winded ways?" the project manager asked. A labour ministry spokeswoman declined to comment because she had not seen the survey but said the ministry has rescued more than 1,200 workers from slave-like conditions this year. The index comes as businesses face growing consumer pressure to ensure their global supply chains are environmentally-friendly, slavery-free and pay their worker's fair wages. Brazil has the world's fourth-largest garment production industry, with 1.5 million direct employees, mostly women, Fashion Revolution said. The textile industry is fragmented and informal, with thousands of immigrant subcontractors from Bolivia and Paraguay sewing clothes in sweatshops for well-known national retailers. Sweatshops in Brazil producing clothes for the Spanish store Zara - which came third in the index - were raided in 2011 after a supplier was accused of slave labour. Brazil officially recognised the use of slave labour in 1995 and started launching raids which have freed about 50,000 people from slave-like conditions, often in logging and sugarcane work. "We are in favour of global transparency, not only in the textile industry but in all sectors," said Fernando Pimentel, head of the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association. "Transparency is crucial to avoid informal business prevailing over the formal business." Fashion Revolution started the Global Fashion Transparency Index of 150 big brands in 2016. The average score in this year's edition was 21 per cent, with Sportswear giant Adidas and its subsidiary Reebok taking first place. The index is funded by the C&A Foundation, which partners with the Thomson Reuters Foundation on its human trafficking coverage.
Source: Devdiscourse.com
The European Commission has adopted restrictions for 33 carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR) substances used in clothing, textiles and footwear. The restrictions place maximum concentration limits on the substances and ban certain textiles that exceed the thresholds from being placed on the EU market. Product exemptions apply, including for natural leather and second-hand clothing. NGOs have expressed disappointment with the "limited scope" of the restriction. The Commission initially considered 286 substances, which were narrowed down to 33. Industry groups, meanwhile, have opposed the 'fast-track' restriction proposal. The restrictions will come into force 24 months after they are published in the EU’s Official Journal.
Source: Chemical Watch
