NATIONAL

• Gammon’s stalled box terminal at Mumbai port headed for termination
• The Goods and Services Tax did away with tax-on-tax prevalent in the previous system.
• Crude oil prices rise, but global economic concerns weigh
• Rupee up 16 paise to 71.74 amid weakness in US dollar against foreign currencies
• Two industrialists in textile sector get award

INTERNATIONAL

• Global Textile Raw Material Price 16-12-2018
• Business interview: ‘Yarn manufacturing facility is the first step in developing textile cluster in Oman’
• Nigeria’s textile industry gasping for breath, needs N1trn
• Bangladesh: Shipment falls for anti-export policy
• 'Made in America' can fade in America: Clothing manufacturers worry about trade tariffs
• US retail imports set new record in single month: NRF

Gammon’s stalled box terminal at Mumbai port headed for termination

Mumbai Mumbai Port Trust is set to scrap a contract awarded to a unit of the financially struggling Gammon Group for building a container terminal at one of India’s oldest state-owned ports after lenders failed to get bids to replace the original developer for default on repayment of loan. The facility, partly completed by Indira Container Terminal Pvt Ltd (ICTPL), a special purpose company formed by Gammon India Ltd, Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd and Spain’s Dragados SPL, owes some Rs 812.53 crore to a clutch of five banks led by Canara Bank. The lending consortium includes Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, United Bank of India and India Infrastructure Finance Co Ltd. A decision by the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) to reject a proposal to restructure the stalled terminal by changing its cargo profile to allow handling of automobiles and steel permanently has strengthened the case for termination of the contract that was awarded in December 2007. The terminal was contractually mandated to start operations in December 2010 on a 30-year period. Canara Bank called bids in October to identify a new developer to complete construction and run the terminal after the CCEA rejected a proposal forwarded by the shipping ministry to restructure the facility in a bid to help banks recover money given to the project. The CCEA rejected the restructuring plan by agreeing with the finance ministry’s stand opposing a change in cargo profile for public-private-partnership (PPP) projects at state-owned ports after the contract was awarded. An executive at one of the lending consortium said that the tender did not receive any offers when the deadline ended on December 15. “With the CCEA rejecting the restructuring proposal and the unsuccessful attempt by the lenders to find a new developer, Mumbai Port Trust has no other option but to terminate the contract,” a shipping ministry official said.

Mumbai Port Trust to seek legal advice

Mumbai Port Trust has mandated law firm HSA Advocates for advice on the financial liabilities arising out of contract termination. The contract was also stalled partly due to the default of the Mumbai Port Trust because it failed to meet its contractual obligations on dredging the approach channel and berth pocket on time and hand-over the entire back-up area required to store containers. The developer also lost time awaiting security clearance from the government for buying Chinese-made cranes used for loading and unloading containers at the terminal, which was eventually denied. “Mumbai Port Trust has sought legal advice on the extent of liability it would have to bear when the contract is terminated. On getting the advice, it would proceed with the termination,” the ministry official said. The eight-year delay in opening the Rs 1,015.66 crore facility that was designed to load 1.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), has escalated the project cost and affected the viability of the project because Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), also state-owned and located a few kilo-metres away, bolstered its stature as a preferred gateway for export-import containers shipped by the sea route, by doubling capacity. In July 2015, Mumbai Port Trust allowed ICTPL to handle automobiles and steel at the berth as an interim arrangement to help put idling resources to optimal use. ICTPL retained 45 per cent of the revenue earned from this arrangement and shared the balance with the Mumbai Port Trust.

Source: Business Line

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The Goods and Services Tax did away with tax-on-tax prevalent in the previous system.

New Delhi : An average Indian household is saving up to Rs 320 every month on purchase of commonly used goods including cereals, edible oil and cosmetics post Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation, a finance ministry source said citing an analysis of consumer expenditure data. The Centre rolled out the GST on July 1, 2017, amalgamating 17 different central and state taxes including excise duty and sales tax or VAT. The GST not only made India one market by levying uniform tax rates on goods and services, it also did away with tax-on-tax prevalent in the previous system. Also, GST rates have been lowered on an array of commonly used goods and services which resulted in monthly savings for consumers, the source said. An analysis of household expenditure pre and post GST rollout shows tax rates have come down on as many as 83 items including on food and beverages as well as daily use goods like hair oil, toothpaste, soap, washing powder and footwear. If a household spends Rs 8,400 a month post GST on 10 goods -- cereals, edible oil, sugar, chocolates, namkeen and sweets, cosmetics and toiletries, washing powder, tiles, furniture and coir products and other household products -- its monthly savings would come to Rs 320, the source said referring to the expenditure analysis. On a monthly spending of Rs 8,400 on these regular use items, the tax paid under GST is Rs 510. This compares to Rs 830 tax charged previously, resulting in a saving of Rs 320. In the old system, the central government would levy excise duty when a good is produced in a factory and the state governments would charge VAT on top of this. This meant that consumer not just paid VAT on the basic price of the good but also on the excise duty charged by the centre. With the introduction of the new indirect tax, that pattern has been eliminated. The GST is levied at the consumption end or when the final consumer buys the product or service. The source said an array of goods including milk powder, curd, buttermilk, spices, wheat, rice, nutrition drinks like Horlicks/Bournvita, pasta, idli-dosa batter and mineral water are taxed at lesser rate under the GST than previously. Household goods of daily use like curry paste, tooth powder and paste, hair oil, soap, cosmetics and perfumes, detergents, butter bans, sanitary ware and footwear too attract lesser tax now. The source said that wheat and rice have been exempt from tax under the GST as against 2.50-2.75 per cent tax incidence previously. Similarly, tax on milk power is down to five per cent from previous 6 per cent. Similarly, sugar confectionery is taxed at 18 per cent post GST, as against 21 per cent in the earlier indirect tax regime. The tax rate on sugar and edible oil has come down to 5 per cent under the new tax system, from 6 per cent earlier. Also namkeens and sweets are now taxed at 5 per cent, as against 12 per cent/7 per cent earlier. Also, the tax rate on washing powder and tiles has reduced to 18 per cent from 28 per cent earlier. In case of furniture, 5/18 per cent GST is applicable on various kinds of products, while in the earlier regime the tax rate was 12/28 per cent.

Source: Business Line

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Crude oil prices rise, but global economic concerns weigh

 “Oil is finding support as the drop in Baker Hughes rig counts points to a near-term slowdown in U.S. production,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia-Pacific at futures brokerage Oanda in Singapore. Oil prices climbed on Monday after U.S. drilling activity fell to its lowest level in about two months, but increasing concerns about weaker growth in major economies kept a lid on gains. International Brent crude oil futures were at $60.37 per barrel at 0134 GMT, up 9 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $51.44 per barrel, up 24 cents, or 0.5 percent. “Oil is finding support as the drop in Baker Hughes rig counts points to a near-term slowdown in U.S. production,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia-Pacific at futures brokerage Oanda in Singapore. U.S. drillers cut four oil rigs in the week to Dec. 14, pulling the total count to the lowest since mid-October at 873, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said on Friday. “This, when combined with (expectations) Saudi Arabia is … to cut exports to the United States to draw down inventory builds (there) should provide a short-term base despite global slowdown fears, which continue to resonate,” Innes said. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its Russia-led allies have agreed to curb output from January, in a move to be reviewed at a meeting in April. Saudi Arabia is OPEC’s de facto leader. However, some analysts said that oil markets were expected to remain oversupplied in the near-term as the OPEC-led planned supply cuts would likely help in some rebalancing only by the second-half of next year. Growing concerns about weakening growth in major economies such as China and Europe also dampened the mood in markets for oil and other asset classes. Chinese oil refinery throughput in November fell from October, suggesting an easing in oil demand, while the country’s industrial output rose the least in nearly three years as the economy continued to lose momentum. Meanwhile, French business activity plunged unexpectedly into contraction this month, retreating at the fastest pace in over four years, while Germany’s private sector expansion slowed to a four-year low in December.” “The potential for a significant movement in the U.S. dollar clearly has an impact on oil pricing with the Fed meeting (this week). We’re looking outside the oil markets for its next major move,” said Michael McCarthy, chief markets strategist at CMC markets. The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is set to start a two-day meeting on Tuesday

Source: Financial Express

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Rupee up 16 paise to 71.74 amid weakness in US dollar against foreign currencies

Rupee opened with minor gains Monday against the US dollar after amid weakness in the greenback against some currencies overseas and a higher opening of domestic equities. indian currency note ban in mepal, indian, nepal, denomination, government, india, business news in hindi, financial express hindi, PM ModiThe 10-year government bond yield stood at 7.438 per cent from its previous close of 7.441 per cent. (Reuters) Rupee opened with minor gains Monday against the US dollar after amid weakness in the greenback against some currencies overseas and a higher opening of domestic equities. The domestic currency opened at 71.85 a dollar against Friday’s close of 71.90. On Friday, the rupee plunged by 22 paise against the US dollar to end the day at 71.90. “Forex market is likely to remain volatile ahead of U.S, U.K and Japan meet for the monetary policy scheduled next week”, said VK Sharma, Head PCG & Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities. The 10-year government bond yield stood at 7.438 per cent from its previous close of 7.441 per cent. Also read: Share market live Updates: Sensex up 250 points; Nifty above 10,850; Vedanta zooms 6%Globally, Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading 0.13 per cent down at $60.36 per barrel. On net basis, foreign funds bought shares worth Rs 861.94 crore, while DIIs sold share to the tune of Rs 303.52 crore Friday, provisional data showed. Meanwhile, the domestic headline indices– Sensex and Nifty– opened in the green on Monday despite weak macro cues. Sensex rallied 256 points in the opening trade to 36,219.52, while the Nifty 50 was trading firmly above the 10,850-level. VEDL share price gained by more than 5% on Monday morning after NGT allowed the firm to resume operations in the Toothukudi copper smelter plant.

Source: Financial Express

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Two industrialists in textile sector get award

Two people in the textile industry were honoured by the Textile Association of India (TAI) Saturday for their contribution to the growth of the industry. The awardees were chairman of Premier Mills R Jagadish Chandran and chairman and managing director of Lakshmi Machine Works Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu. Chandran was presented with the life-time achievement award for service in the industry while Jayavarthanavelu got the industrial excellence award for his contribution to the field of machinery. Presenting the award during the two-day 74th All India Textile Conference on ‘Global Textiles, the Way Forward’, president of TAI T K Sengupta said the association aimed at promoting the use of scientific knowledge in the field ranging from fibre to garment and implementing programmes of continued education in the textile technology management. Felicitating the awardees, managing director of Thiagarajar Mills Karumuthu T Kannan said there was an immediate need for an institute to train textile managers, as the industry was not getting textile graduates who preferred other jobs. Industrial bodies like Confederation of Indian Industry, Southern India Mills Association and South India Textile Research Association should take measures to start such an institute, he said. In his address, president of Tirupur Exporters Association Raja M Shanmugham said Tirupur, the knitwear hub of the country, struggled over the last few years to make Rs 45,000-crore business, both exports and domestic, last year and aimed to touch Rs one lakh crore by 2022, if not the targeted 2020.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

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Global Textile Raw Material Price 16-12-2018

Source : Global Textiles

Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14477 USD dtd. 16/12/2018). 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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Business interview: ‘Yarn manufacturing facility is the first step in developing textile cluster in Oman’

Muscat - SV Pittie Sohar Textiles last week launched their textile cluster in Sohar with the inauguration of the company’s first cotton yarn production unit. SV Pittie Sohar Textiles is the subsidiary of ShriVallabh Pittie Group, which is one of the largest manufacturers of cotton yarn in India. In an exclusive interview with Muscat Daily, Chirag Pittie, managing director of ShriVallabh Pittie Group, talked about how their yarn manufacturing facility in Sohar could pave the way for setting up a textile cluster in the region. He said the availability of yarn could make it feasible for setting up fabric units in Oman and thus gradually may lead to setting up of a textile cluster. You advanced the commencement of production by several months, what are the key factors that helped you progress so well in the project? The rapid progress of the project was possible due to the support we received from Oman’s government. We are happy to be here as the support provided by the government and the cooperation received from other departments helped us to start the production one-year ahead of the schedule. We got very encouraging help from various stakeholders in terms of logistic facilities, planning and execution support that enabled us to receive the different kinds of approvals needed to start the production early. This support was vital in ensuring that there are no delays in getting all necessary connections whether it is electricity, water or roads. I would particularly mention here the logistic support, as you know all these machines were imported from different countries across the world. So, getting required custom clearance was a big support to us. Another advantage is that we are located near to the port, so machines and equipment can easily be moved from the port to the facility. All these factors helped us to complete the civil work much ahead of the schedule, and enabled us to start the production. Looking at the pace at which the project is being executed, what are your plans for the next phase or what would be your next milestone? Now we are commencing the production of the first unit of the first phase, and we are planning to start the operation of second unit in early 2019, may be in second week of January or latest by mid-February. So, the target is to start operating at full capacity by the end of March 2019. By that time, two units will be at production stage and the work on other two units will also be going on. As soon as the production from the second unit starts, we will begin construction of the second phase, which also will have two units. Our target is to complete the second phase by the end of 2019. December 2019 is the date by which the entire project worth entitling investments of around US$300mn should be completed. How sourcing of the raw materials and supplying of the finished product will be taken care as the unit is located in a place where neither input materials are available nor there are any demand for the finished products? For sourcing, we are looking at multiple countries such as the United States, Eastern African countries or Australia. For selling finished products, we will be looking at markets such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, European countries and India or China. The demand for yarn is very much there in almost every geography. The key thing here is that, we are located very close to the port and that makes it very easy for us to import raw materials and export finished products without worrying much about freight costs. How are you going to compete with other yarn makers, particularly Indian yarn makers who have access to raw materials, economies of scale and close proximity to end-users? We have manufacturing units in India also and have a very good understanding of this business. Logistic costs end up playing a very significant role in terms of calculating Ebitda margins in our business. One clear advantage here is the lower energy cost as compared to locations such as India or Bangladesh. Other big advantage is the close proximity to the port, which means we will not have any road-logistic costs and that is very expensive in India. All these factors make us confident about improving and maintaining our margins in Oman. Many people are predicting that the setting up of a large yarn manufacturing facility could be the first brick in developing a big textile cluster attracting billions of dollars in investments. Could you please elaborate on this? There are talks about building a textile cluster in Oman as the GCC countries import a significant amount of textile products. Manufacturing base here is very small compared to the demand for these products. Now, the idea behind this is that the presence of yarn - the basic ingredient required for making cloths or fabric - could make it feasible for setting up fabric making units, as a part of forward integration process. So, once the yarn production facility is in place, which is a very capital intensive industry, one can see significantly smaller investments enabling the fabric production units. It make sense also as everyone knew that the demand for textile products in the GCC region is increasing. I believe step-by-step, it could lead toward a textile cluster being set up here. The presence of a big oil refinery in Sohar makes a perfect case for setting up a synthetic yarn facility but still you opted for a cotton-yarn facility, which is prone to supply disruptions also. What do you say on this? In present times, the demand for cotton-yarn is significantly higher than synthetic one. The entire global synthetic-yarn probably would account for around 15-20 per cent of the overall yarn-making industry. So the whole yarn-making industry is dominated by cotton yarn. Besides this, we specialise in cotton-yarn only, but we do have synthetic-yarn production facility in India. The facility, which is being set up here is a compatible one, which means same facility can be used for producing synthetic yarn also. So far when Oman is considered, the principal raw material (plastic or nylon) is available here, but there are few processes, which need to be done before using that material in the textile industry. We have started with cotton-yarn but as we move towards setting up textile industry in future, we may also look at setting up synthetic-yarn making facility in future. Did anyone from your organisation held any discussion with the government officials about the possibility of growing cotton in Oman? From what we understood, farmers used to grow cotton in Oman but it was stopped as there was no significant demand for the natural fibre. We have a team in India that specialises in cotton cultivation and this team has visited Oman. And the team has carried out initial tests, which showed that it is feasible to cultivate cotton in Oman. We are looking to put some kind of arrangement by which cotton-cultivation can be promoted in Oman. In that arrangement, we would give assurance of the complete buyout of the harvest. So, we are trying but things are at very initial stage at present.

Source: Muscat daily

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Nigeria’s textile industry gasping for breath, needs N1trn

Nigeria’s textile industry in the 70s and 80s was the highest employer of labour in the country contributing about 15 per cent of the manufacturing sector’s earnings as well as accounting for over 60 per cent of the capacity of the industry in West Africa. In this report, PAUL OGBUOKIRIR examines the recent efforts at reviving it and concludes that government prioritise to the sector to improve the fortunes of the people and the economy

The boom era

The now comatose Nigerian textile industry was one of the booming sub-sectors of the nation’s economy post-independence years. Fed by locally grown cotton and with huge demand for clothing by a fast-growing population, it provided direct and indirect employment to hundreds of thousands of Nigerians and some expatriates for several decades. The industry played a dominant role in the manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy. With a record high of over 140 companies, the country witnessed a boom in the textile manufacturing in the 1960s to 1970s with companies such as Kaduna Textiles, Kano Textiles, United Nigeria Textiles, Aba Textiles, Texlon Nigeria Limited, First Spinners Limited, amongst others, employing about a million people, contributing about 15 per cent of the manufacturing sector earnings to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Nigerian economy and accounted for over 60 per cent of the textile industry capacity in West Africa. It also recorded an annual growth of 67 per cent and as at 1991, it employed about 25 per cent workers in the nation’s manufacturing sector. The story however, changed dramatically for the industry in the 1980s, as government shifted all its attention to the oil revenue, the government became reliant on oil and abandoned agriculture. The neglect of the agricultural sector had an adverse effect on the textile industry. The production of cotton, the basic raw material used for the manufacture of clothes regressed rapidly, as its production capacity declined by 50 per cent.

The collapse

According to the President of the National Union of Textile, Garments and Tailoring Workers (NUTGTWN), Comrade Oladele Hunsu, the textile industry in the 1980s was the second largest employer of labour after the Federal Government. “However, over the years, there was a steady decline in operations of the textile firms and then an eventual collapse of the industry, which has led to loss of jobs, dearth of skilled manpower, low capacity utilization and drop in government revenue due to lack of excise duties”, he said. He added that the dip in the fortunes of the industry was due to the influx of textiles and fabrics into the country from all over the world and mainly from Asian countries. He said the downturn in the sector was as a result of the government’s lack of political will to ban imported textile and poor monitoring of the country’s porous borders. “This will continue to impact negatively on the textile industry if not checked,” he said. Sunday Telegraph learnt that while the country imports over N300 billion worth of textiles and garments yearly, the government loses over N75 billion per year in unpaid duties due to massive smuggling.

Poor infrastructure, electricity

Also, the trade liberalisation policies adopted in 1986 following the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) saw the flooding of imported fabrics and finished goods, thereby degenerating the manufacturing capacity of the industry. By the 1990s, the degradation of infrastructure especially the lack of stable electricity supply affected textile manufacturers, as they could not keep up with the strains of production and this led to the closure of a number of textile companies with hundreds of workers rendered helpless. By 1998, the industry was operating at a capacity of just 28 per cent. The abysmal performance of the textile industry and indeed, the entire manufacturing sector is indeed a sad tale. The sector, which played a major role in boosting of nation’s economy and development, is suddenly a shadow of itself, as the country’s manufacturing capacity especially the textile industry is at an all-time low and its poor performance is having a bearing on the Nigerian economy. Despite the fact that the overall contribution of oil to the economy has reduced drastically, the manufacturing sector unfortunately lacks the capacity to provide relief to the ailing economy, as it only contributes a paltry 7 per cent to the GDP of the economy with the textile, apparel and footwear industry contributing about N1.8 billion of that in 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report.

Reviving textile manufacturing

According to the International Textile Manufacturers Federation, (ITMF) power supply accounts for about 15 per cent production cost in the textile industry. In Nigeria, it is almost 45 per cent for manufacturers in general and particularly peculiar to the textiles. Inadequate and high cost of energy in the textiles industry has been one of the major impediments to investment in the sector. In view of this, Comrade Hanusu said unless the combination of huge infrastructural deficits and cheap imports from Asia is tackled, the failure recorded by past attempts to revive the sector through fiscal policy and monetary interventions will befall the move by the Buhari administration to get the mills rolling again in the country’s cotton, textile and garment companies. This came as the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar, who is also the chairperson of the Committee on Resuscitation of the Cotton, Textile and Garment Industry, said that an estimate of approximately N1 trillion is projected for a complete turn-around of the nation’s textile industry. This came as it has been said that any success recorded in reviving the sector, will contribute towards actualising the goals of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).She said: “The revival of textile industry is not a lost cause as it will yield a veritable boost to the government’s agenda on diversification of the economy. It will create the much-needed employment opportunities for the teeming youths, across the value chain, save the nation the loss of invaluable foreign exchange and enhance the nation’s export potential.However, there is the good news that Nigeria is succeeding in forecasting her cotton sector to increase production by 20 per cent in 2018, as farmers are encouraged by better returns due to increasing cotton prices and improved yields. Also, Comrade Hanusu said stakeholders expect the government to build on the N100 billion intervention fund thrown at the problem in 2009 when the Umaru Yar’Adua administration formally inaugurated the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) Revival Fund currently managed by the Bank of Industry (BoI), through loans to textile companies. Meanwhile, BoI in 2013 said about N60 billion was disbursed to various beneficiaries under the intervention scheme and that resulted in the re-opening of United Nigeria Textiles Limited in Kaduna. The bank added that its intervention rescued over 8,070 lost jobs, even as the capacity utilization of most beneficiaries also rose sharply from below 10 per cent to about 60 per cent.” According to Comrade Haunsu, in reality, this is a far cry from the 500,000 job placements the industry when mills were rolling before the dip in fortunes, especially with the lifting of the official cover on importation of textiles. The situation has, of course, never been the same again.

Investment drive

Receiving the Chief Executive Officer of Vlisco Group of Netherlands, David Suddens, at the Presidential Villa, President Buhari welcomed the company’s proposed investment of $200 million in Nigeria, which will, in turn, create 700,000 jobs. “I am very much aware of your company’s effort especially your investments in the textile industry, and it is one area that we are trying to develop because it will create employment and boost agriculture,” he said. ”To get cotton to grow again in the country is like going back to the good old days when the textile industry used to employ hundreds of thousands of people. I am very excited about the prospects of reviving the industry because it will keep farmers busy, create employment which brings more security, help the economy, transfer of technology and of course we have a large market to absorb the products.”  President Buhari in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to forging a stronger economic partnership with the Netherlands, assuring the Dutch investor that Nigeria continues to do the utmost to keep smugglers at bay at borders. In his remarks, Suddens told the President that the 172-year-old company plans to use cotton grown in Nigeria for production.“I want a new strategy that brings Vlisco manufacturing to Nigeria,” he said. “I want to change the supply chain from Asia to Nigeria. For the total supply chain for cotton, textile and garment industry from weaving, spinning, printing to retail, we want to use Nigerian cotton and we have already started to encourage the creative industries in the country to find a voice and give them a platform across the world. I am convinced that it is time for the textile industry to move from Asia to Africa.”

Nigerian textile can’t compete

The Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and industry, Muda Yusuf. said that the problem with the Nigerian textile industry is high cost of production, smuggling, technology and logistics. According to him, the global textile industry has moved on from where it used to be years ago, “and we can no longer compete with bigger brands. We cannot continue to use obsolete technology and expect to compete effectively with the rest of the world. It has now become survival of the fittest. There is also no enforcement of fiscal policy to ensure protection of the industry. The whole country is flooded with substandard and even contraband textile materials. The exchange rate and even the interest rate are not helping matters”.

Last line

Founder and CEO, Africa Fashion Week Nigeria & London, Ronke Ademiluyi, said that given the importance of high productivity of the textile industry in boosting economic growth and the standard of living of the people as evident by the examples stated above, and with the glowing success of the country’s fashion designers today as seen in both local and international fashion shows, it is apparent that Nigeria must give priority to the textile industry and indeed, the entire spectrum of the manufacturing industry to improve the fortunes of the Nigerian people and the economy.The government must provide the enabling environment for the textile manufacturers and fashion designers to thrive. Provision of critical infrastructure such as electricity and good transport system needed by the manufacturers and designers should be made available to help them become truly productive. Also, the recently formulated policy road map for the creation of fashion clusters, the Integrated Textiles and Garment Parks (ITGPS), should be formally adopted by the present government and ensure it implements the policy provisions to the letter. Government should also provide funding and financial incentives for members of the textile industry, as it is done in other countries. Financial institutions of government such as the Bank of Industry (BoI) and Nigerian Export-Import Bank should endeavour to provide funds to both manufacturers and designers as this would help in the long-term to grow the economy. Finally, there is a need for sustained dialogue by all stakeholders in the country to ensure that they undertake a comprehensive study and solutions on how to modernize, strengthen and get the industry to perform competitively locally and ultimately globally. Only by enacting all these would the Nigerian people and economy truly benefits from a thriving textile, apparel and footwear sub-sectors of the manufacturing industry.

Source: New Telegraph

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Bangladesh: Shipment falls for anti-export policy

Despite being a promising export item, shipment of garment scrap, locally known as jhoot, fell last fiscal year mainly due to the government's anti-export policy amid rising local consumption and a Chinese ban on import, industry people said. Exports fetched $50 million in fiscal 2017-18, down 16 percent year-on-year, according to Syed Nazrul Islam Faruque, president of Bangladesh Textile and Garments Waste Processors and Exporters Association. “This is an indirect reflection of the government's anti-export tariff policy,” he told The Daily Star. He said export slightly came down as China stopped importing the textile waste from Bangladesh at the end of 2017. In the previous years, Bangladesh used to earn $60 million to $70 million per year by exporting garment scrap.Depending on quality, the export price of the apparel waste is $120 to $500 per tonne. However, Bangladesh Tariff Commission has fixed the minimum export price at $320 a tonne whereas the price hovers between $120 and $500 in the international market. “We can't export jhoot at a low price because of the tariff policy although there is a huge demand of the low-end textile waste in the international market,” Faruque added. About three lakh tonnes of garment leftovers are produced in Bangladesh every year. Of them, 95 percent is being exported, mainly to India and European countries. Cotton, yarn or even clothes are manufactured from the discarded fabrics and yarn through recycling. Industry people said the export volume would increase if the government does not fix the tariff. There are two categories of garment scrap: one is from woven fabric and another from knit. Woven scrap is cheaper than knit, as it is easy to recycle the knit waste to yarn or fibre after reprocessing, Faruque said. According to the chief of the association, they collect woven waste at Tk 25 to Tk 26 per kg and knit scrap at Tk 40 to Tk 45 a kg and then process them. About 10 lakh workers are involved in the waste processing industry and there are more than 1,000 waste processing factories in the garment industrial areas. More than 100 businesses are directly involved in exports. According to the exporters' platform, a record 192,975 tonnes of scrap were shipped in 2017-2018, 203,130 tonnes in 2016-17, 213,265 tonnes in 2015-16, and 228,902 tonnes in 2014-15. Separate data on garment scrap export is hard to come by as the National Board of Revenue considers the shipment as part of the overall garment export. There is no separate harmonised system (HS) code although the Tariff Commission has fixed the minimum export price, said Faruque. He said there is no capable spinning mill in Bangladesh that can recycle garment leftovers to manufacture yarn and fabric. So, most of the processed waste has to be exported. There are a maximum 20 millers which manufacture terry towel using garment waste as raw material, but the quantity is very low. About 40 percent of the garment leftover is exported to India, 40 percent to Europe, 15 percent to other countries, and the rest 5 percent is used locally to manufacture terry towel, according to Vhim Khetan, managing director of RL Trading, an exporter of apparel scrap. Bangladesh has huge potential to export the garment leftovers as most of them are not locally used and a huge amount is generated by garment factories. “If garment scrap is not exported, it will emerge as an environmental hazard.”

Source: The Daily Star

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'Made in America' can fade in America: Clothing manufacturers worry about trade tariffs

Tariffs haven’t hit them yet, but that’s cold comfort to clothing manufacturers who proudly display the “Made in America” label. Rick Helfenbein, president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, told Bloomberg News that the multibillion-dollar industry remains “deeply concerned” about the threat of Chinese retaliation for the Trump administration’s tariffs announced in June. China has imposed a 10 percent tariff that was expected to increase to up to 25 percent at the beginning of next year. Finished apparel so far has not been added to the list. Alen Lahiji, owner of Solid Fabric Textile and Islands Fabric in Los Angeles, told Apparel News that his cotton and poly/cotton blends are sourced from China and that he has seen a rush to import fabrics before the end of the year. “All the containers have been booked right before January. Everyone is ordering as much as they can,” he said. He also is finding new suppliers in other countries. The industry was given a 90-day reprieve early this month as President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping called a truce to try to work out a deal, though many analysts are skeptical.

Source : Washington Times

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US retail imports set new record in single month: NRF

Imports at major US retail container ports have set a new record in October reaching 2 million containers for the first time as retailers continued to bring merchandise into the US ahead of a postponed increase in tariffs on goods from China, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report of the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. US ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.04 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in October, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available. That was up 9 per cent from September and up 13.6 per cent year-over-year. A TEU is one 20-foot-long cargo container or its equivalent.The October number was the highest for a single month since Global Port Tracker began counting cargo in 2000, topping the previous record of 1.9 million TEU set in July, which in turn had beat a record of 1.83 million TEU set in August 2017. November was estimated at 2.01 million TEU, a 14 per cent year-over-year increase that would have been a new record if not for the October number. December – normally a slow month with holiday merchandise already on the shelves – is forecast at 1.83 million TEU, up 6.1 per cent year-over year. The numbers would bring 2018 to a total of 21.8 million TEU, an increase of 6.5 per cent over last year’s record 20.5 million TEU. Both year-over-year growth rates and total volume are expected to slow considerably in January, when 10 per cent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products that took effect in September this year, had been scheduled to increase to 25 per cent. But US president Donald Trump recently announced after a meeting with Chinese president Xi that the increase in tariffs on all Chinese products would be put on hold while the two countries conduct 90 days of negotiations. Official action to delay the tariff increase is yet to be announced. January 2019 forecast stands at 1.72 million TEU, down 2.1 per cent from January 2018, February at 1.67 million TEU, down 1 per cent year-over-year, March at 1.57 million TEU, up 1.7 per cent; and April at 1.7 million TEU, up 3.7 per cent.  “President Trump has declared a temporary truce in the trade war, but these imports came in before that announcement was made,” said NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy Jonathan Gold. “We hope that the temporary stand-down becomes permanent, but in the meantime there has been a rush to bring merchandise in before existing tariffs go up or new ones can be imposed. China’s abuses of trade policy need to be addressed, but tariffs that drive up prices for American families and costs for US businesses are not the answer.” “We see a significant slowdown in import growth in 2019 as the market adjusts to higher prices due to the Trump tariffs and the impact on consumer and industry confidence going forward,” said Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett. “We project that imports at our monitored ports will have grown significantly in 2018 but that there will be no import growth in the first half of 2019 compared with the same period in 2018.”While cargo numbers do not correlate directly with sales, the imports are also being driven by this year’s strong retail sales. NRF has forecast that 2018 holiday season retail sales – excluding automobiles, restaurants and gasoline stations – will increase between 4.3 per cent and 4.8 per cent over last year. Retail sales for all of 2018 are forecast to be up at least 4.5 per cent over 2017. (PC)

Source: Fibre2Fashion

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