New Delhi : With export incentive schemes no longer viable for supporting falling garments exports, the Centre needs to design “smart”, alternative subsidies for textile manufacturers that cannot be challenged at the World Trade Organization linking them to employment, technology and services used, a recent study by a Delhi-based think tank has suggested. “Rationalisation of import duties on raw materials and machines used by the industry would also help in cutting down costs and making exports more competitive,” according to the study titled ‘Trade, Trade Agreements and Subsidies: The Case of the Indian Apparel Industry’ by ICRIER. It is a matter of concern that in spite of having tariff restrictions on imports (about 25 per cent) and perceived domestic competitiveness, India’s apparel exports are stagnating. During 2017-18, apparel exports declined 3.8 per cent in dollar terms and 7.6 per cent in rupee terms. In the current fiscal, while over-all exports posted a growth of about 12 per cent, garment exports fared poorly. Doing away with incentives for textiles exporters, as dictated by WTO rules, would make the sector totally uncompetitive unless alternative schemes are designed and implemented, the study said. “A number of developing countries, including Vietnam and China, give subsidies along with other fiscal and non-fiscal benefits to their apparel manufacturing firms to gain scale and for exports. Since export incentive schemes are no longer a viable policy option for India, the country needs to design “smart”, alternative subsidies that cannot be challenged at the WTO in the future,” it added. The study is co-authored by Arpita Mukherjee, Anusree Paul, Angana Parashar Sarma and Soham Sinha from ICRIER. Listing out the possibilities, the study said the government should remove the export contingency clause of the incentives given through the different schemes that have been challenged under the WTO’s Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement and instead link subsidies to other performance indicators such as requirement of employment or investment in technology, which focuses on scale expansion and growth. Since the WTO is yet to develop a discipline on subsidies in services, services used in the apparel export supply chain can be subsidised, especially in view of the increasing use of services in apparel manufacturing, it added. Apart from providing subsidies, the textiles sector could also benefit from reduced input costs, the study said. Countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam have imposed zero import duty for machinery and equipment imports. In India, after the introduction of GST, the import duties for machines have been reduced, but not eliminated. “It is important to do a detailed study on the costs and benefits of the removal of import duty on machines. If the benefits outweigh the costs, the government should lower or remove import duties,” the study proposed.
Source : Business Line
Net profit of Surat Textile Mills rose 64.42% to Rs 3.42 crore in the quarter ended September 2018 as against Rs 2.08 crore during the previous quarter ended September 2017. Sales rose 51.69% to Rs 63.89 crore in the quarter ended September 2018 as against Rs 42.12 crore during the previous quarter ended September 2017. ParticularsQuarter EndedSep. 2018Sep. 2017% Var.Sales63.8942.12 52 OPM %6.683.92 -PBDT4.762.21 115 PBT4.692.08 125 NP3.422.08 64
Source : Business Standard
Welspun India to invest Rs 4000 crore in three textile projects in Gujarat, shares gain Welspun Corp climbs 10% as nearly 58 lakh shares change hands. Welspun secures patent for new line of augmented reality home decor . Welspun secures patent for new line of augmented reality home décor Wal-Mart to stop selling Egyptian cotton sheets made by Welspun India Wal-Mart to stop selling Egyptian cotton sheets made by Welspun IndiaWelspun India, which reported 18.7% on-year growth in profit after tax at Rs 114.8 crore for the July-September quarter of this fiscal, saw its margins getting impacted owing to depreciating rupee against the dollar. A part of the $2.3 billion Welspun Group, the textile firm has taken a hit of around Rs 37 crore due to currency fluctuation in the second quarter. In fact, the top management expects the margins will continue to shrink by almost similar figure over the next few quarters. Responding to analysts’ concerns about the sharp reduction in the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margin, Rajesh Mandawewala, managing director, Welspun India, said the company’s hedging policy has been holding in good stead for the past four to five years. “Unfortunately, this is the time when payback time has come, so about 2.5% to 2.8% of margin was lost actually on account of our hedging rate. If we were not in our hedge position, we would have realised Rs 70.2 as against the Rs 68.25 that we are currently at. This translates to about 2.8%,” said Mandawewala during the earnings call. In fact, all the hedges between FY15 to FY18 had helped the company maintain a decent level of margin in the past. “Consequently, this year we are down by 2.5% to 3% in this quarter on account of the weak rupee. So the impact of hedging is about Rs 37 - 38 crore on a net basis. In fact, our profit and loss (P&L) could have looked better by that sum in the absence of hedging gains,” said Altaf Jiwani, global chief financial officer, Welspun India, during the call. He added that the (hedging) pain is likely to continue for the next two quarters as the company’s hedges were less than Rs 66 and there was a point when the currency came down to Rs 63. “We sell our exchange every week. In fact, there was a long period when the currency was languishing at about Rs 63 and with a 4% kind of a premium, we were selling exchange at Rs 65 - Rs 66. Unfortunately, this is the period when it is hitting us the most,” said Jiwani. While the exchange rate has had its impact, the company had various other one-off expenses that added pressure on the business, company executives said. “Besides, there are a few one-off expenses including about Rs 3 crore provision on investment of Rs 10 crore in IL&FS.”
Source: Zee Business
New Delhi : India is devising a plan to boost shipments of around 200 products to China and narrow the deficit with its biggest trading partner, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The plan includes seeking duty waiver on a raft of products under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement, the person said, asking not to be identified as the talks are still on. New Delhi wants China to scrap levies on items including uncombed single cotton apart from castor oil, menthol, granite, diamonds and glass envelopes for picture tubes when negotiations for expansion come up in April 2019. An analysis by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration shows that Southeast Asian nations, Australia, and South Korea among others have competitive advantage over India due to free trade agreements with China. In marine products, especially frozen shrimps and prawns, India loses its competitive advantage due to tariffs while shipments from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are allowed duty free. APTA, established in 1975, seeks to create a liberal trading regime between Bangladesh, India, Laos, Korea and Sri Lanka and China. Apart from seeking tariff concessions, the ongoing US and China trade conflict also presents an opportunity to cut down the $56bn trade gap it runs with China, the person said. India’s Commerce ministry spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to two phone calls to her mobile phone. China’s Ministry of Commerce didn’t immediately respond to a fax, seeking comments. But trade experts feel that it is not tariff concession alone that will help India, which lags many of its southeast Asian peers in competitiveness. Also, India shouldn’t lose focus on other trade pacts that are being negotiated including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in its bid to boost exports to China. “While APTA may be a good idea to pursue, RCEP is a complete package as it would give access to Japan, Australia and other markets too apart from China,” Amitendu Palit, a senior research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, said by phone. “Difference in competitiveness level and non-tariff barriers imposed by China is a major problem for India.” India has dragged its feet as RCEP doesn’t provide for free movement of skilled workers, a key concern for New Delhi given its large pool of tech workers, even as it opens its market to a clutch of nations known for their manufacturing prowess. It is facing pressure from member nations – including Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea – to conclude talks by end of 2019.
Source : Gulf Times
Crude oil prices have the power to shake the Indian economy. Lately, we have witnessed not only rise in petrol and diesel prices but pressure on current account deficit (CAD) and rupee due to volatile crude oil prices. With Iran sanction kicking in on November 4, the oil prices may, once again, breach $85 a barrel mark. While it is popularly known that Saudi Arabia is the king crude oil and a key member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), it is Venezuela that has biggest crude oil reserves, as per statistical review of World Energy 2018 by Care Ratings. However, due to the economic crisis, Venezuela’s oil supply was affected this year.
Top 10 countries with the biggest crude oil reserves
Venezuela – 303.2 billion barrels
Saudi Arabia – 266.2 billion barrels
Canada – 168.9 billion barrels
Iran – 157 billion barrels
Iraq – 148.8 billion barrels
Russia – 106.2 billion barrels
Kuwait – 101.5 billion barrels
UAE – 97.8 billion barrels
USA – 50 billion barrels
Libya – 48.4 billion barrels
Meanwhile, India, which is heavily dependent on oil imports to meet 80% of its domestic demand, recently gave in-principle approval for establishing underground crude oil storages in Odisha and Karnataka to increase emergency stockpile cover by 12 days to 22 days.
Source: Financial Express
Rupee opened weak in the early trade Thursday, losing 19 paise at 73.34 per US dollar versus 73.15 yesterday as a global equity rout is set to hurt domestic equities. On Wednesday, plunge in global crude oil prices supported the rupee as it ended 41 paise higher against Tuesday’s close of 73.56. “Falling-crude is assisting the Indian Rupee, even with a higher Dollar & declining equities. Global stocks are facing a grim situation, though U.S. markets would face more corrections than their emerging counterparts (as the latter have already been facing one since more a month now). EUR had a deep fall yesterday (almost 0.7%) on concerns over the pace of economic growth in Europe,” said Hiren Sharma of Portia Advisory Services LLP. Meanwhile, BSE Sensex plunged over 300 points to a low of 33,712.09 points in opening trade on Thursday. The BSE market breadth was bearish with 937 declines and 273 advances. The NSE Nifty gave up the 10,200 mark and opened at 10,135.05 points. All the sectoral indices traded in the red on the National Stock Exchange. The shares fell moderately in Asia on Thursday after another torrent of selling on Wall Street sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting more than 600 points, erasing its gains for the year.
Source : Financial Express
Surat: The construction of modeular air cargo terminal at Surat airport is in final stages and likely to be completed by January-2019. The facility is expected to benefit the agriculture and industry both. South Gujarat has agro and aqua export potential of more than 5,000 metric tones per annum for mangoes, chikoo, roses, gerbera, shrimp etc. About Rs 40,000 crore worth of polished diamonds are directly exported via the Surat Hira Bourse (SHB) custom house to Mumbai and around the world per annum. The terminal is being constructed on the land between the ATC and the terminal building. The ground base of the cargo will be 1,000 sqm and the first floor will have the same size. There will be cold storage facility for export of perishable items. “The cargo terminal will go a long way in expanding the cargo business in Surat and south Gujarat due to the huge potential of valuable cargo, perishable cargo and regular cargo,” said an official of Surat airport. Sources said that the major reason behind the city not getting the air cargo facilities for all these years was lack of air connectivity, especially to Mumbai. The textile exports per annum is pegged at Rs 1,200 crore. All the textile exports are done via the Mumbai ports and cargo terminal. A simple estimate of production and export of mango and chikoo from the region shows that the two seasonal fruits together constitute over Rs 700 crore worth of export market annually. Flowers of different varieties including roses worth Rs.150 crore per annum are exported to various parts of the world. Similarly, Rs 150 crore agro based perishable food items like jams, jellies, pickles and pulps has a big export market. At present, this whole lot of perishable items is exported via Mumbai. Surat is the hub of shrimp farming in south Gujarat. Shrimps to the tune of over Rs 700 crore is supplied to Mumbai via containers. “SGCCI have made tremendous efforts to bring cargo terminal facilities in Surat. We look forward to the day when Gulf countries like Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabhi, etc, will be provided with fresh fruits, vegetables and other delicacies of Surat on the same day,” said Manoj Singapuri of SGCCI’s aviation committee.
Source: Times of India
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1493.39 |
USD/Ton |
-0.43% |
10/24/2018 |
|
VSF |
2190.02 |
USD/Ton |
-0.26% |
10/24/2018 |
|
ASF |
3006.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
Polyester POY |
1523.65 |
USD/Ton |
-0.94% |
10/24/2018 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3414.70 |
USD/Ton |
-0.42% |
10/24/2018 |
|
40D Spandex |
4826.68 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
Nylon POY |
5446.22 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1764.98 |
USD/Ton |
-0.41% |
10/24/2018 |
|
Polyester FDY |
3140.94 |
USD/Ton |
-1.36% |
10/24/2018 |
|
Nylon DTY |
3169.76 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1700.14 |
USD/Ton |
-0.42% |
10/24/2018 |
|
Polyester DTY |
3558.78 |
USD/Ton |
-0.40% |
10/24/2018 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2852.78 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2154.00 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2968.05 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
3155.35 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2679.89 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2305.28 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2535.81 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.34 |
USD/Meter |
-0.21% |
10/24/2018 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.82 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.15 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.70 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
10/24/2018 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14408 USD dtd. 24/10/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
FAISALABAD:Comprehensive and long term policies are imperative to manufacture local substitutes of imports for value addition in textile chain. This was stated by Acting President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) Mian Tanveer Ahmed, while addressing a 'business Awareness Session' organized by the Faisalabad Dyes and Chemicals Merchants Association (FDCMA), on Wednesday. He underlined the importance of Faisalabad and told that this city was contributing 55% towards total textile export of the country. He said the textile was the mainstay of national economy and growth of textile sector was directly linked with the availability of cotton which was consumed by at least 16 sub sectors starting cotton ginning up to the manufacturing of fashion garments. He mentioned the progressive businessmen of Faisalabad and said, "Many of these are working as vendors for globally renowned textile brands', he said and added that at the same time the city is swarming with SME (Small & Medium Enterprises) units that were still using obsolete technologies and hence, their products could not be exported or marketed in developed countries. He said that these units must switch over to latest technologies so that the overall share of Pakistani exports could be enhanced. He said, "We should concentrate on manufacturing of local substitutes of imports as it will not only support our export sector but also stabilize our economy." He welcomed the guest speaker Dr. Khurram Tariq and said that he was versatile personality who was enhancing its export manifolds. He said that his practical experience would help new entrants in general and SME sector in particular to maintain their growth. Earlier, Dr Khurram Tariq Chief Executive Officer K&Ms delivered a thought provoking lecture which was highly appreciated by the participants of the seminar. Later, Atif Muneer President and Ahmed Yaseen Sheikh Secretary General Faisalabad Dyes and Chemicals Merchants Association offered vote of thanks to the guests as well as to the percipients of the seminar.
Source: Urdupoint.com
The Clothing and Textile Competitiveness Programme has helped sector exports grow from R7.1-billion in 2008 to R25.1-billion in 2017, and will receive its share of the R15.9-billion allocated to incentives and the Expanded Public Works Programme. In the past nine years, 22 new leather factories have opened, creating 2 200 jobs. To augment this process, government funds will be reprioritised to the clothing and textiles production incentive from special economic zones. Moreover, government is working with the Land Bank to accelerate land reform and maintain the productive use of transferred land. Under the Land Reform Programme, government will provide 30-year leases, which will enable the Land Bank to extend loans to emerging farmers. Similarly, the Land Bank will use a combination of loans and grants to increase production through the Black Producers Commercialisation Programme. Funding from the comprehensive agricultural support programme grant will be reprioritised to produce foot-and-mouth disease vaccines. Government is also allocating funds for the South African Isotope facility at iThemba Labs to aid in research.Meanwhile, the Small Business and Innovation Fund will help entrepreneurs and small businesses navigate the pre-startup phase and provide support as they scale up their enterprises.This will complement the work of the CEO Initiative’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Fund, which has raised R1.4-billion to date, with about R500-million expected to be committed for debt and equity investments in SMEs by the first quarter of 2019. The financial sector has committed to invest R100-billion over five years in black industrial enterprises and firms. The Financial Sector Transformation Council is working with the Department of Trade and Industry to finalise guidelines for the disbursement of this funding.
Source : Engineering News
BEIJING: Pakistan is looking forward to exporting textile and agriculture products to China through China International Import Expo (CIIE) scheduled to be held in Shanghai in the first week of next month November, Federal Secretary of Commerce, Younus Dagha Wednesday said. “We feel that Pakistan has a great potential to export its textiles, agricultural products to China and as we are in this government, we are focusing more on value addition,” he told China Global Television Network (CGTN) in an interview. “We want to keep increasing our exports and China being the regional economic superpower, we have lots of hopes, for this market to provide access to Pakistani products,” he added. When asked as the guest of honour country, how was Pakistan preparing to showcase at the mega event, he said. “We are very thankful to Chinese that they have given us a very special and privileged position in this fair, and we’ll try to match up to the expectations and try to build up Pakistan’s image, not only as an exporter of goods but also as a place of great culture.” About Pakistan’s hopes for participation in the expo and how did it view the Chinese market, he said, the government looked China not only as a great supplier of goods and services to Pakistan but also as a buyer of our services. Younus Dagha remarked that as the Chinese economy was growing, and the purchasing power of the people was increasing, Pakistani products could find a great market there, adding, “China is a market of one point five billion people.” While commenting on the overall status of bilateral trade between Pakistan and China, he said, “It has been difficult, frankly speaking, in the past we have had great, huge deficit with China, but as we are discussing with our Chinese partners, they are ready to give more market access in concessional tariff regime for Pakistani products and we feel this trade deficit will gradually come down.”
Source : Brecorder
ISLAMABAD: The exports in textile and clothing group recorded an increase of 0.86 percent during first quarter of current fiscal year (July-September) 2018-19 as compared to same period of last year. The textile group’s exports from the country increased to 3.285 billion during July-September (2018-19) against the exports worth of $3.257 billion during July-September (2017-18), according to data issued by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday. The products that contributed in positive growth in external trade included knitwear, the exports of which grew by 9.8 percent by going up from $646.8 million last year to $710.2 million during the corresponding period of current fiscal year. Similarly, knitwear increased from yarn other than cotton yarn also increased from $7.588 million to $7.9 million, showing growth of 4.35 percent while the exports of cotton cloth witnessed a nominal increase of 0.09 percent as it rose from $528.6 million to $529.1 million. During the period under review, bedwear exports from the country increased by 2.89 percent, from $567.224 million to $583.62 million while the tents canvas and tarpulin’s exports also increased by 3.54 percent from $16.13 million to $16.7 million. The export of made up articles (excluding towels and bedwears) also increased by 0.34 percent by growing from $162 million to $162.55 million. Meanwhile, the textile products that witnessed negative growth in trade included raw cotton the exports of which declined by 76.21 percent, from $29.6 million to $7.04 million while the exports of cotton yarn decreased by 2.25 percent from $320.9 million to $313.7 million, the PBS data revealed. The towels’ export also went down to $184.23 million in first quarter of current fiscal year from $185.23 million, showing a decline of 0.55 percent, whereas export of ready made garments decreased by 1.55 percent to $599.26 million in July-September (2018-19) from $608.69 million in same period of last year. On yearly and monthly basis textile exports in September however recorded a decrease of 4.91 percent and 18.53 percent when compared to the exports during September 2017 and August 2018 respectively. The exports fell to $1.024 billion in September 2018 from $1.07 billion in September 2017 and $1.258 billion in August 2018.
Source: Fibre2fashion
MILAN – Textile Exchange has confirmed that it will join forces with the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles in a bid to 'accelerate a shift towards a more sustainable and responsible textile sector.'Non-profit Textile Exchange and the multi-stakeholder Partnership for Sustainable Textiles – made up of businesses, associations, NGOs, trade unions, standards bodies and the Federal German Government – have today made public an initial agenda for its co-operative operations.
Source : Eco Textiles.
The biobased textiles segment still remains handicapped by uncompetitive prices, but it appears that after less than a century of market dominance by oil-based synthetic fibres, the textiles industry is returning to fibres made of biomass. Jozef De Coster reports from Ghent, Belgium, where the Third International Conference on Biobased Textiles was held on October 16. Many businesses in Europe have the ambition to introduce and use biobased polymers in textile applications. Biobased polymers (or, biopolymers) are increasingly commercially available and production capacity shows an impressive annual growth rate of almost 20 per cent worldwide. However, taking into account the still marginal market position of biopolymers, the current growth rate is too little to ensure a swift transition to sustainable textile production and consumption. The price of biobased textiles is mostly too high. Governments should develop policies to reduce the use of unsustainable fibres in favour of raw materials obtained from biomass, and preferably from waste. Belgian research institute Centexbel, which organised the 3rd International Conference on Biobased Textiles on October 16, invited some twenty researchers from several Euopean countries to present the problems and results of their work.
Source : Fibre2fashion
With cities being used by fashion companies as the cornerstone to map out their expansion plans, scoring 625 out of 1,000 points, New York is currently the world’s best city for conventional retailers, says a recent report. Los Angeles takes the runner-up spot with 556 points, while Singapore completes the podium at the third place with a score of 548. The Hot Retail Cities report has provided an inaugural list of the world's 100 most attractive cities for retail based on around 50 criteria measuring their economic, commercial, political and cultural landscapes. This first edition has found that New York offers an ideal location based on its socio-economic, demographic and political factors, as well as its tourist appeal and the quality of its infrastructure, among other points that all have an impact on retailers everywhere. The remainder of the top 10 hottest cities for retailers is rounded off by San Francisco, with 540 points, Chicago (538), Hong Kong (534), Boston (531), Tokyo (530), Shanghai (518) and London (513). The report drafted by Modaes.es and fostered by Tendam – one of Europe’s leading fashion retailers operating in the premium mass market brand segment and owner of Cortefiel, Pedro del Hierro, Springfield, women’secret and Fifty – in collaboration with the Instituto de Empresa, details the importance of the conditions in a city for retailers' strategic expansion decisions, as well as listing the world's 100 most attractive retail cities in 2018. The mission of Hot Retail Cities is to help fashion companies better understand where they operate and where they could set up shop going forward. The report provides an analysis detailing the retail conditions in 100 cities around the globe. Based on these characteristics, the report measures each city’s degree of merit for conventional retailers. "Spain represents a benchmark for fashion and internationalisation, and we must continue to lead the retail sector in a constantly changing world," said Tendam CEO Jaume Miquel. Demographics, the economy, politics, the socio-economic landscape, tourism, retail, fashion and trendiness represent the eight major areas analysed to give a score to these urban areas, underpinned by criteria such as population, wealth, GDP growth, minimum wage, tax barriers, airport passenger traffic, tourist figures and the entrepreneurial climate. The different indicators, taken from a wide range of renowned public and private sources (from the World Economic Forum to the United Nations and Heritage Foundation), are weighted according to their direct influence on retail activity, with the scores then apportioned accordingly. Based on the above, Hot Retail Cities has ranked the best 100 cities for conventional retailers from the circa 150 cities analysed. "Retailers are faced with the challenge of serving a global market with local tastes. Their success in ultimately establishing a footprint within a certain market will depend on how well they analyse the local landscape," Eduardo Ruiz, director of PD Retail at the Instituto de Empresa, said. "The hope is that this tool, which offers great insight into all aspects and trends to identify the hottest retail cities, will become a key driver over time to optimise each city’s retailing conditions," Pilar Riaño, director at Modaes.es, said. (RR)
Source:Fibre2Fashion
The Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (ECCSA) and the Ethiopian Investment Commission recently briefed a 30-person delegation from Hong Kong on business opportunities in the country. Manufacturing, textile and garments, pharmaceuticals, agro-processing and power generation are priority investment areas in Ethiopia, the delegation was told. The briefing covered land lease, tax, other investment-related services and the continental and international agreements the country has signed, according to an Ethiopian newspaper report. ECCSA secretary general Endalkachew Sime said Hong Kong investors can fully own companies or can have partnership with Ethiopian firms. The meeting was organized by the ECCSA in partnership with the Hong Kong Development Council. (DS)
Source:Fibre2Fashion
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that his administration has taken the toughest ever action to crack down on China’s “abusive” trade practices. Trump, who has been steadily hiking tariffs on Chinese exports to the US since June, is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Argentina on November 30 and December 1. Asking Beijing to bring down the billions of dollars of trade deficit, Trump has taken an unprecedented tough measure against the alleged unfair trade practices of China. The US has a nearly USD 500 billion trade deficit with China per annum, which Trump says is unsustainable for the US. “We’ve taken the toughest ever action to crack down on China’s abusive trade practices,” Trump told his cheering supporters at an election rally in Wisconsin. He claimed that due to the tough measures taken by the US, China wants to make a deal with America. “They want to make a deal. And I said, you’re not ready yet. It’s true. They want to make a deal. And President Xi is a great person, and, hopefully, we’ll do something soon or someday. But, you know, USD 500 billion has been taken out of this country for years every year,” Trump said referring to the massive trade imbalance between US and China. Trump blamed the previous American leadership as other countries exploited the US. “On trade, we lost USD 807 billion. Think of it. Who made these deals? And we’re the one with all the power, because we’re the piggy bank that all of these countries want to come in and rob, so we have all the power,” he said. Trump said he is now negotiating new trade agreements. “We did Canada and Mexico. We did South Korea. We’re doing a lot of them. Now they’re all coming and they all want to make a deal because they’re afraid of those tariffs. They don’t want those tariffs. They’ll sign anything but tariffs, please,” he said. “Don’t do that to me, President Trump. We don’t want tariffs. We don’t want tariffs, please,” Trump told his supporters quoting other countries. Trump said he wants to take care of Americans. “We’re taking care of our people. You know, we had these globalists. They didn’t care so much about us. They want to take care of the globe. I want to take care of the United States of America,” he said.
Source: Financial Express
Newtown Textile Museum will be joining museums from across the country for this year’s Welsh Museums Festival, which will be taking place from 27 October – 4 November. The annual event is an opportunity for everyone who lives in Wales, or visiting over the half term, to explore some of the fantastic museums we have to offer. As ever, this year’s event will have a varied programme to cater for all tastes, which include exhibitions, re-enactments and workshops, through to Halloween themed activities. During the Festival, an exhibition at Newtown Textile Museum will allow people to explore how water was at the heart of the local woollen industry. New displays will capture how the river provided water for the fulling mills, whilst the canal transported materials to markets far and wide. In collaboration with the River Severn Custodians, Open Newtown, Newtown Paddlers and a number of canal bodies an empty shop space next to Market Hall is being hired to extend the exhibition. It will present local waterways in their historical context, as well as explain their importance to current and future generations. Janet Lewis of Newtown Textile Museum said: “We are always looking for new perspectives on an industry that was so central to Newtown’s rich heritage, and this exhibition not only explores how local waterways were integral to the success of the textile industry, but also emphasises the important role our waterways play in our lives today. "By collaborating with other local organisations, and having a presence in the centre of town, the story of Newtown’s waterways, past and present, will reach a new audience.” The Welsh Government’s Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport, Dafydd Elis-Thomas said, “We are immensely fortunate in Wales to have such a wealth of museums that are filled with some incredibly interesting items. "I very much see the Festival as an opportunity for museums to reach out to their local community and help people immerse themselves in their culture and heritage. Hopefully this will help inspire a new generation of people to learn more about our fascinating history.” Victoria Rogers, President of the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales added, “The aim is to inspire visitors to learn more about some of the amazing arts and heritage stories on their doorstep through a variety of different experiences. "With half term and Halloween coinciding with the festival it provides an opportunity to do something with all the family, so I’d urge you to check out what’s on in your local area and get exploring."
Source: Mynewtown.co
Pakistan - Zahid Mazhar, newly elected Chairman of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Sindh Balochistan Region has appreciated that the new Government of Mr. Imran Khan is firmly committed to reduce cost of doing business and to improve the country’s exports. He also appreciated Mr. Imran Khan for inducting professionals team in his cabinet specially the Economic Managers like Mr. Asad Umar as Minister for Finance & Economic Affairs and Mr. Abdul Razzak Dawood as Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile Industry & Production and Investment. In a statement issued to the press Mr. Zahid Mazhar said that the measure taken for reducing gas prices of 5 export oriented industries is a step in the right direction to make our products internationally competitive. However, he pointed out that in order to encourage industrialization and revive the exports of textile sector, the government would have to address other major odds also hurting our industry and exports such as immediate payment of our long overdue refunds of Sales Tax, Income Tax and export DLTL which is severely hurting our liquidity, removal of duties from import of cotton and polyester staple fiber to ensure their availability at affordable price, removal of GIDC, low productivity of labour, shortage of water available for industries in Karachi, and high cost of doing business for which government has already assured its commitment. All these are hurting the viability of the industry by increasing the cost of doing business which cannot be passed on to the international buyers. Zahid Mazhar added and is leading towards de-industrialization and decline in Pakistan’s share in global textile trade, while the share of our regional competitors like Bangladesh is rising by leaps and bounds. He said that we were requesting time and again to the previous government in the last five years to address the above issues which are the real reasons of the present economic crisis of ballooning trade deficit, all time high Current Account Deficit and Fiscal Deficit, but to no avail. He hoped that the new government will not repeat the mistakes of the previous one. Mr. Zahid Mazhar expressed the hope that the Government of Mr. Imran Khan would implement the textile policy presented by his team during the visit to APTMA early this year in later and spirit so that the issues and problems faced by the textile industry the major export earner of the country may be resolved as the country has already suffered loss in exports of almost US$ 25 Billion during the last five years. Mr. Zahid Mazhar urged the new government to give attention to the cotton crop which has witnessed a massive decline over the last few years due to the lowest yield of cotton farming which needs to be addressed on urgent basis. He reminded that four years ago we had achieved the highest cotton crop of 14.87 Million Bales of cotton which has now fallen to 10.8 million bales as against the actual potential of 17.5 million bales annually. Due to the shortage issues the spinning industry has to import annually almost 3.5 million bales of raw cotton every year to meet its consumption requirement. Despite of the acute shortage of cotton, there is 3 percent custom duty, 2 percent additional custom duty and 5 percent sales tax imposed on import of raw cotton, which should be removed immediately. On the contrary government has reduced regulatory duty on the import of finished Cotton Yarns from 10% to 5% which was earlier levied to restrict strident increase in import of undervalue and subsidized cotton yarn entering in our domestic commerce and also against the cascading principle of tariff. He further demanded the Government to remove Custom Duty and Anti-Dumping Duty on import of Polyester Staple Fiber, which also acts as a substitute for cotton to enable the industry and its value chain to remain competitive in the international market. He also requested the government to review Free Trade Agreements and Preferential Trade Agreements in such a way that the exports of Pakistani goods to those countries be increased. He further demanded to give special attention towards FTA with China since China is providing zero custom duty facility on import of textiles from ASEAN member countries, while 3.5% duty is imposed on textiles from Pakistan. He said that the Textile Industry of Pakistan is capable enough to bring the economy out of the current disastrous condition. It can generate employment which is the prime goal of PTI Government and at the same time double its export in next five years provided immediate decisions and policies are made to support it. He said that the country in order to survive has to reach annual GDP growth of 7% or more which is only possible if the government immediately starts giving attention to the export sectors specially the textile industry.
Source: Dunya news
