NEW DELHI: Indian textile companies face higher trade barriers, compared to other competing countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Pakistan, in the US and European Union, Parliament was informed Wednesday. The average tariff on textile products faced by India in the EU and US is 5.9 per cent and 6.2 per cent, respectively. In comparison, Pakistan face zero per cent and 5.3 per cent average tariff in the EU and US, respectively for Bangladesh it is zero per cent and 3.9 per cent whereas Vietnam attracted 6.1 per cent and 5.5 per cent tariff. The US is the top export destination for textiles made in India with a share of 17 per cent, followed by the EU, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, UAE, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Brazil and South Korea, respectively, Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Source: Economic Times
The Indian Government recently introduced a bill to amend the Companies Act to further improve the ease of conducting business and ensure better compliance. The bill would replace the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, promulgated in November. The amendments will help reduce the burden on special courts and bring down penalties for small companies. The bill will amend 16 sections of the Act “so as to modify the punishment as provided in the said sections from fine to monetary penalties to lessen the burden upon the Special Courts,” corporate affairs minister Arun Jaitley said in the statement of objects and reasons, according to a news agency report. The bill will enhance the jurisdiction of the regional director for compounding offences and would empower the central government to allow certain companies to have a different financial year instead of being determined by the National Company Law Tribunal. The amendments followed recommendations by a government-appointed panel that reviewed the offences under the act. With the latest amendments, jurisdiction of 16 types of corporate offences would be shifted from the special courts to in-house adjudication. (DS)
Source : Fibre2fashion
India’s textiles sector will require 17 million additional workforce by 2022, the textile ministry said recently. The country employs over 45 million people in the sector now. In the last four years, 8.58 lakh persons have been trained in partnership with 58 government and industry partners to meet the sector's need for a skilled workforce. The ministry’s strategy involves boosting exports through diversification of markets, positioning India in value chain and promoting collaborative exports, according to a news agency report. Twelve markets in Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea, Australia, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia and Peru have been identified for export diversification. The ministry also plans to pursue strategic engagement with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on the Fabric-Forward Policy. (DS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
A delegation from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Tamil Nadu state’ Tiruppur visited Ho Chi Minh City last month to explore investment opportunities and meet representatives of enterprises there. The Indian delegation visited garment and textile units in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho and the southern province of Dong Nai. India and Vietnam have defined garment and textiles as a priority sector in bilateral ties, according to a report by a news agency. India is one of the major material suppliers of Vietnam’s garment and textile sector, but trade value between the two sides remains modest. Therefore, Indian firms are working to promote trade activities in the Vietnamese market. The Indian consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City coordinated with the Vietnam Cotton and Spinning Association (VCOSA) to organise a meeting In November between Vietnamese firms and their Indian counterparts joining the 18th International Textile and Garment Industry Exhibition. From April to August 2018, India earned $257 million from selling garment and textile products to Vietnam, up 59 per cent over the same period a year earlier. Under the free trade agreement between India and the ASEAN, most cotton and woven cotton fabric and knitted fabric imported from India will enjoy tax exemption from January 1, 2019, making India a competitive supplier of garment and textile materials and machines for Vietnam.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
To facilitate restructuring of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) accounts that have become stressed, the RBI has decided to permit a one-time restructuring of existing loans to MSMEs that are in default but ‘standard’ as on January 1, 2019, without an asset classification downgrade. The restructuring has to be implemented by March 31, 2020. “To be eligible for the scheme, the aggregate exposure, including non-fund based facilities of banks and NBFCs, to a borrower should not exceed ₹250 million as on January 1, 2019,” RBI said in a statement. “A provision of 5 per cent in addition to the provisions already held, shall be made in respect of accounts restructured under this scheme. Each bank/NBFC should formulate a policy for this scheme with Board approval which shall, inter alia, include framework for viability assessment of the stressed accounts and regular monitoring of the restructured accounts,” the statement said.
“The RBI decision will be a big relief to financially stressed knitwear exporting units in Tiruppur,” said Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA) president Raja M Shanmugham. He said the MSME knitwear exporting units were affected due to demonetisation and the subsequent implementation of the GST, in addition to the prevailing adverse factors both domestically and externally. TEA has been representing to the ministries and RBI to treat MSMEs separately and exclude them from following Basel III norms, which is meant for corporate units, Shanmugham said. Noting the positive garment exports trend observed in October and November months, Shanmugham said the latest decision to permit one-time restructuring would be helpful to the concerned MSMEs in exports business to get revived and continue in the business.
The RBI has allowed a one-time loan restructuring scheme for MSMEs accounts that have become stressed, the rule applicable to MSMEs with a total liability of up to Rs 25 crore.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a one-time loan restructuring scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) accounts that have become stressed, provided the total fund and non-fund based exposure to such a borrower does not surpass Rs 25 crore. Many industry watchers say the move will bring relief to troubled small businesses hit by demonetisation in late 2016 and implementation of goods and services tax (GST) in July 2017. “RBI has decided to permit a one-time restructuring of existing loans to MSMEs that are in default but ‘standard’ as on January 1, 2019, without an asset classification downgrade,” the apex bank said in a statement. The RBI stated that the restructuring has to be implemented by March 31, 2020. The issue of restructuring of MSME accounts was discussed in the meeting of the central board of RBI on November 19, 2018. It may be noted that the loan recast package for MSME was one of the sore points of the battle between North Block and Mint Road. According to a report in ET, financial services secretary Rajiv Kumar had made a three-hour-long presentation supporting the Centre’s stance for providing support to the MSME sector. The issue was also discussed during the banking regulator’s recent meetings with the lenders and other stakeholders.
According to the RBI statement, a provision of 5 per cent of the total outstanding loan, in addition to the money already set aside to cover potential losses, will have to be made for such borrowers. “Each bank or non-banking financial company (NBFC) should formulate a policy for this scheme with board approval which shall, inter alia, include framework for viability assessment of the stressed accounts and regular monitoring of the restructured accounts,” it said. Announcing the scheme, the central bank has clarified the loan recast scheme would be subject to the borrower being GST-registered on the date of implementation of restructuring. “A major step for MSMEs with a total liability of up to Rs 25 crore suffering from past issues and illiquidity, though delayed. Congratulations RBI for the restructure circular,” Swaminathan Gurumurthy, part-time director at the RBI, wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter soon after the guidelines were released by the central bank on Tuesday. The MSME sector contributes significantly to job creation, employs around 12 crore people, the second largest after the agriculture sector.
Source: RBI
India's textile and apparel exports stood at US$ 22.9 billion in April-Oct 2018. The Minister of State of Textiles, Ajay Tamta informed the Lok Sabha that government has taken number of steps to curb imports and promote domestic manufacturing, while carried out an import analysis of textile and apparel imports. Government raised the basic customs duty (BCD) from 10% to 20% on:
* 298 man-made fabric (MMF) fabric lines w.e.f. 27 October 2017
* 5 Silk fabric lines w.e.f. 2 February 2018
* 504 lines w.e.f. 16 July 2018:
- 22 Fabric lines
- 383 Apparel lines
- 75 Carpet lines
- 9 Made-ups and
- 15 other lines
Further, Government has imposed antidumping duty on import of linen yarn from China and nylon filament yarn from Vietnam and EU w.e.f. 19 October 2018 and 6 October 2018 respectively. As per India Ratings and Research Agency (Ind-Ra), the outlook for cotton and synthetic textiles is expected to remain stable for the year 2019. This is in view of stable cotton prices and improved consumer spending outlook in key user countries. During April-October, 2018, rupee has depreciated by 6.7% to 68.8 Rs/US$ (average) as compared to 64.5 Rs/US$ (average) during April-October, 2017. During April-October, 2018, India's textile and apparel exports stood at US$ 22.9 billion as compared to US$ 22.3 billion during same period last year.
Source: Business Standard
NEW DELHI: India’s manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace in December as growth in new orders and output moderated, despite factories cutting their prices, a private survey showed on Wednesday. The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index declined to 53.2 in December from 54 in November. A reading of over 50 on this survey-based index indicates expansion, below that contraction. The manufacturing PMI “indicated that the sector ended 2018 on a high, with growth stronger than seen at the start of the year,” said Pollyanna De Lima, principal economist at IHS Markit and author of the report. As per the survey, the upturn in jobs was the slowest in four months, while backlogs were accumulated to the quickest extent since May. “Meanwhile, job creation weakened, with companies perhaps cautious about making hiring decisions ahead of next year’s elections and a less upbeat optimism towards the outlook,” De Lima said.
Source: Economic Times
MUMBAI: The rupee weakened for the second straight session Thursday slipping by 2 paise to 70.20 against the US dollar on robust foreign fund outflows amid rising trade deficit worries. Meanwhile the yen surged to multi-year highs on safehaven buying following a ‘flash crash’ that spooked the global currency markets. Forex traders said rising domestic fiscal deficit worries firming crude prices and sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on the local unit. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market the rupee opened lower at 70.30 and fell further to touch the day’s low of 70.53. The domestic currency however pared some losses and finally ended at 70.20 per dollar down by 2 paise against its previous close. On Wednesday the rupee had tumbled 75 paise to 70.18 against the American currency. “Fiscal concerns around the government’s farm relief package has prompted 10 year Gsec yields to move up 20 bps over the past few days ” said Sunil Sharma Chief Investment Officer Sanctum Wealth Management. The rupee traded marginally lower “possibly due to rising trade deficit worries” he added. Reports said the government was contemplating direct transfers worth Rs 4 000 an acre per season for farmers among other incentives to address farm distress which will likely have a substantial financial implication on the exchequer.
Source: Tecoya Trend
NEW DELHI: In a big relief to millions of businesses, the government has decided to give more time to businesses to claim their input tax credit, which they can do until March this year. The earlier deadline for claiming input tax credit (ITC) ended on October 25, 2018. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), through a gazette notification, issued an order stating that ITC claims for the maiden year of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout (July 2017 to March 2018) will be allowed till March 31, 2019. However, they added the condition that it matches the return filed by their suppliers. Besides, the CBIC has also allowed businesses to correct any error or omission in the filing of the final sales return or GSTR-1 for the period July 2017-March 2018. Now businesses can correct errors in the returns to be filed for January-March 2019. The ITC claims were allowed for businesses earlier provided they generated the invoice, paid taxes and filed returns. However, in the recent order the CBIC has mandated that ITC claims would have to be matched with GSTR-2A, which is auto-generated by the systems based on sales returns filed by suppliers.The government’s move, is expected to benefit millions of taxpayers who would collectively claim tax credit worth billions of rupees.
Source: New Indian Express
Surat: South Gujarat Textile Processors’ Association (SGTPA) has urged state government to allocate 100 hectare land near Pandesara GIDC or Sachin GIDC for shifting of textile mills located in the Walled City, Ashwani Kumar Road, Katargam, Varachha, Kadodara and Udhana areas there. A meeting in this connection was held with industries minister Saurabh Patel in Gandhinagar on Wednesday. About 55 mill owners are willing to shift their units out of the city, provided the state government allots them the land. About 65 textile mills are operating in the city’s residential areas including Khatodara, Udhana, Ashwani Kumar Road, Ved Road, Bombay Market, Puna Kumbharia, etc. In these areas, Particulate Matter (PM10) level is exceedingly high than the national average at 184 per micrograms per cubic meter of air (UG/M3) per annum. SGTPA president Jitu Vakharia told TOI, “More than 55 textile mill owners are willing to shift their units out of the city. We have urged the state government to allot 100 hectare land to facilitate shifting of these mills. The state government is very positive on our proposal and we hope that sufficient land will be allotted for this. The mill owners are willing to pay the price for the land fixed by the state government.” When original development plan of Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) was prepared three years ago, a land at Pinjrat near Olpad some 35 kilometres from the city was earmarked for relocation of these textile mills. However, due to CRZ and severe opposition from villagers, the proposal had to be shelved.
Source: Times of India
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1265.79 |
USD/Ton |
-0.46% |
1/3/2019 |
|
VSF |
1973.69 |
USD/Ton |
-0.07% |
1/3/2019 |
|
ASF |
2358.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
Polyester POY |
1179.85 |
USD/Ton |
-0.61% |
1/3/2019 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2651.01 |
USD/Ton |
-1.62% |
1/3/2019 |
|
40D Spandex |
4763.08 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
Nylon POY |
2942.33 |
USD/Ton |
-1.46% |
1/3/2019 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
5491.38 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1449.32 |
USD/Ton |
-0.50% |
1/3/2019 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2505.35 |
USD/Ton |
-1.15% |
1/3/2019 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2490.79 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1391.05 |
USD/Ton |
-0.52% |
1/3/2019 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2672.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1959.13 |
USD/Ton |
-0.37% |
1/3/2019 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2884.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2112.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2490.79 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2986.03 |
USD/Ton |
-0.49% |
1/3/2019 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2476.22 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.34 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.81 |
USD/Meter |
-0.18% |
1/3/2019 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.09 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.64 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.69 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/3/2019 |
Source : Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14566 USD dtd. 3/1/2019). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Many textile and garment enterprises have improved operations to prepare themselves for the list on the stock market. Textiles firm race to list on the market, vietnam economy, business news, vn news, vietnamnet bridge, english news, Vietnam news, news Vietnam, vietnamnet news, vn news, Vietnam net news, Vietnam latest news, Vietnam breaking newsWorkers make apparel in a factory of Binh Minh Garment Joint Stock Company in HCM City. Hong Garment JSC debuted on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) in late November by listing more than 47.6 million shares with the code MSH. The company started trading at the price of VND45,000 (US$2) per share, making its market capitalisation up to VND2.14 trillion ($95.25 million) on debut day. As of October 1, the company had 511 shareholders including four institutional investors and 507 individuals. Song Hong, established in 1988 in Nam Dinh Province, has grown from a small company into one of the country’s leading garment and bedding manufacturers, with nearly 11,000 employees and more than 20 factories. It makes products for global brands such as Nike, Levi’s, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, Karl Lagerfeld, Hurley, Converse, Jordan, Columbia Sportswear, Gap, Bugatti, Dillards, and Express. It produces and exports 60 million products a year, including jackets, pants, shirts, dresses, t-shirts and polo neck shirts. Song Hong’s bedding products brand has been one of the leaders in the domestic market for the last 10 years and has expanded exports to markets such as Japan and South Korea. In the first nine months of this year the company reported profit before tax of VND335.5 billion ($14.6 million) on revenues of nearly VND3 trillion ($130.4 million), 107 per cent and 21 per cent up year-on-year. Since 2015 it has paid cash dividends of 45 per cent every year. A 35-40 per cent payout is planned for 2018 and 35 per cent for 2019. It plans to expand capacity by 30 per cent from 2020 by investing in another production facility in Nam Dinh Province. The Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) approved the listing of more than 15.4 million shares of Det May 7 JSC (DM7) on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) in late October with reference price of VND11,800 per share. DM7’s main business is producing ready-made apparel and textile products like yarn, string and mesh. In the first half of 2018, DM7 achieved revenue of more than VND431.4 billion ($18.7 million) and after-tax profit of VND20.7 billion ($900,000), up respectively by 42.8 per cent and 85.4 per cent over the same period in 2017. The company plans to pay 10 per cent dividend in 2018. Earlier on July 18, HNX officially put more than eight million shares of Investment and Development Joint Stock Company (TDT) on the northern stock exchange with a total listed value of VND80 billion ($3.5 million) and reference price in the first trading day of VND15,000 (65 US cents) per share. Since its establishment, TDT’s revenue has mainly come from the simple outsourcing activities - Cut, Make and Trim (CMT), meaning that the company is just responsible for cutting the fabric, and making and trimming the garments. Since 2016, the company switched their production methods to free on board (FOB) method, allowing the enterprise to involve in the selection of input material with the materials imported from an unit appointed previously by the firm’s partner. Since they applied the new production method, revenue of TDT has come mainly from exports. Domestic sales accounts for only 6 to 18 per cent, generating mostly from the outsourcing activities (CMT) for domestic partners like Duc Giang Garment Corporation, Viet Sun Investment JSC and Athena JSC. Last week, Binh Minh Garment Joint Stock Company put more than 5.29 million of its shares (BMG) with the total registered transactions value of VND52.9 billion ($2.3 million) on the UPCoM. The company was formerly known as Binh Minh garment factory established in 1975. At that time, the factory had a 2,500-metre factory, about 200 machinery and equipment and more than 300 workers. Its products were mainly exported to Eastern Europe and the Russian markets. In 1999, the company transformed itself into a joint stock company. As of 2018, Binh Minh had charter capital of VND52.9 billion ($2.3 million). Currently, the company has more than 2,500 employees, three branches with a factory area of more than 40,000 metres in HCM City, Ha Noi, the southern province of Binh Duong and the northern province of Hai Phong, with more than 3,000 machines and equipment. Binh Minh Garment processes garment products under FOB method, partnering with various brands like Owen, Uniqlo, Umbro, Vanhausen, Fila, Lee, Limeted too, American, Eagle and VHF. The main exported products of the company include high-end shirts, sportswear and jackets of all kinds, exported to Japan, America, Europe and other countries. BMG also has its own brands for domestic consumption named Gendai, providing shirts, t-shirts and sportswear. As of late December 2018, Binh Minh Garment completed 76.1 per cent and 77.8 per cent of the revenue and after tax profit plans for 2018. — VNS
Source: Vietnam Net
Bangladesh’s export earnings posted a robust growth during the first half of the current fiscal year(FY) 2018-19, rising by 14.42% to $20.50 billion during the period, riding mostly on apparel and agricultural products. Political stability, government’s economic support measures, and the US-China tariff war that forced global brands to change their sourcing destination to Bangladesh, are some of the reasons for the leap in outbound shipments, economists and industrialists said. Apparel items alone earned $17.08 billion, counting for 83.34% of total earnings. The sector made a growth of 15.65% during the period from July to December, according to data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). Among other sectors, agricultural products have been steadily making the stride in export business, as the sector with the lionshare of its value being added locally has posted a 66.80% growth to $517.64 million. The export figure of $20.50 billion is 9.13% higher than the target of $18.78 billion set for the half of the 2018-19 fiscal year, the EPB data said. In December 2018, Bangladesh's export earnings rose by 2.1% to 3.42 billion, which was $3.35 billion in December last year. Industry people and trade experts opined that the export performance showed a stable and sound growth due to political stability, continuation of government policy support,and safety improvement in the apparel sector. They said tariff tensions between the USA and China have expedited the growth as buyers chose Bangladesh as an alternative to China. “Global apparel buyers are looking for a safe sourcing destination due to the tension centring the US-China tariff war. They chose Bangladesh as an alternative option,” Abdur Razzaque, a director of Policy Research Institute (PRI), told the Dhaka Tribune. “A solid US economy and rise in their employment rate also created demands for Bangladeshi clothing products.” "On top of that, there has been a stable political situation in the country and policy consistency, which helped to deliver export orders timely," added Razzaque.
Apparel exports show better growth
The ready-made garments(RMG) sector was in the driving seat during the period to lead the export earnings high as the sector contributed $17.08 billion to the total export earnings. As per EPB data, during July-December, Bangladesh earned $17.08 billion, up by 15.65%, which was $14.72 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year. Knitwear exports went up 13.92% to $8.65 billion in the given period, which was $7.60 billion in the same period the previous year, while shipment of woven garments rose by 17.48% to $8.43 billion over the same period. “China, the largest exporter of clothing products, is shifting focus to higher end products and moving towards tech-based production. The gradual shift in business strategy by the Chinese manufacturers has created an opportunity for Bangladesh,” former BGMEA vice president Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune. Azim, also the managing director of Classic Group, said global buyers have placed more work orders due to rise in tariffs on Chinese goods by the US government, which helped Bangladesh to push up its export earnings. Besides, Bangladeshi apparel makers have spent huge amounts of money for years to improve safety standards in their apparel factories, said Azim. ‘Modern and compliant factories remain an attraction for global brands,” he added. Economists attributed the surge in export earnings largely to the US-China trade war. In the beginning of the year, export performance was slow, but it rose sharply in the second half of the year. Global buyers have changed their sourcing destination, which pushed Bangladesh's export earnings up, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Research Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem told the Dhaka Tribune. “One of the important side of the growth perspective remains the growth in non-RMG export sectors. It is a good sign for the country to diversify its export basket and reduce dependence on the apparel sector ,” said the economist. In the first half of FY18-19, the non-RMG export earnings registered an 8.64% growth to $3.41 billion, which was $3.14 billion in the same period last year.
Export performance of other major sectors
Among other major sectors, agricultural products have posted a sharp rise, making a 66.80% growth to $517.64 million in the first six months of the current fiscal year. In addition, export earnings from the pharmaceuticals sector rose by 38.42% to $70 million, and plastic goods by 21.25% to $56.54 million. Specialized textile sector saw a 49.53% growth to $72.3 million, while home textile products rose 0.3% to $405 million. However, earnings from leather and leather goods witnessed a 7.15% negative growth to $532.3 million during the period, which was $620.27 million last fiscal year. Jute and jute goods, the third largest export earning sector, registered a 6.66% negative growth to $421 million. Exports of frozen and live fish returned to positive territory and earned $314.73 million during July to December, which was $312.46 million over the same period the previous year.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
Export earnings increased 2.18 percent year-on-year to $3.43 billion in December thanks to higher shipment of garment items. The receipt is still 3.49 percent short of the month's target of $3.55 billion, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. In the six months to December last year, overall export earnings grew by 14.42 percent year-on-year to $20.49 billion, which is 9.13 percent higher than the period's target of $18.78 billion. In the period, garment shipment—which typically contributes over 82 percent of the country's export earnings—grew by 15.65 percent year-on-year to $17.08 billion. Of the amount, knitwear fetched $8.65 billion and woven contributed $8.43 billion, registering a 13.92 percent and 17.48 percent year-on-year growth in the period respectively. “The future outlook is even brighter for garment shipment,” Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told The Daily Star. The western retailers are coming to Bangladesh with increased volume of work orders, as over 90 percent of the work for factory remediation recommended by the Accord and Alliance is complete, Rahman said. The efforts for factory remediation improved workplace safety to a great extent, which brightened Bangladesh's image abroad, he said. Also the existence of political stability for a long time played an important role for smooth shipment of goods and peaceful operations of factories, the chief of the garment makers' platform said. The factory owners in Bangladesh spent over $3 billion in the last five years for the remediation work to strengthen the workplace safety after the devastating Rana Plaza building collapse in April 2013. “We are also taking efforts to raise productivity to be more competitive worldwide with the installation of state-of-the-art machinery in factories.” He, however, said the Chattogram port needs to perform better to boost exports. “Now we have the capacity to produce any quantity of garment items as we have expanded our operations over the years.” He stressed on the need for improving the condition of the roads and highways for smooth transportation of goods. Apart from garment, shipments of agricultural products like vegetables, tobacco, fruits, spices and dry food, rose by 66.8 percent to $517.64 million in the period. Ceramics shipment grew significantly by 157.98 percent to $50.77 million while furniture export grew by 40.56 percent to $33.72 million. Also, exports of frozen and live fish grew by 0.73 percent to $314.73 million, according to the EPB data. In the period, businesses sent an increased amount of pharmaceuticals, plastic goods, handicrafts and cotton and cotton products. Exports of man-made filaments and staple fibre, carpets, specialised textiles like terry towel, special woven and knitwear fabrics, home textile, wigs or human hair, headgear or cap and engineering products also increased. However, leather and leather products' shipment fell by 14.18 percent to $532.3 million while jute and jute goods' export dropped by 26.66 percent to $421.02 million. The shipment of leather and leather goods fell as a majority of the tanneries, which have recently been relocated to an estate in Savar, are yet to start operations in full swing, industry insiders said. Shipments of bed, kitchen and toilet lines fell 4.86 percent to $265.37 million while footwear shipment also dropped 2.2 percent to $127.19 million.
Source: The Daily Star
Scientists at the Applied Chemistry and Engineering Department in Rajshahi University (RU) have developed an environment-friendly technology that can be used by Bangladesh’s textile industry. The technology will play a role in creating an environment-friendly apparel sector. The textile industry damages environment because its uses huge quantity of water. The team was led by Dr. Mohammad Taufiq Alam. In a study, Alam revealed that textile industry in the country consumes double the water used by the people of Dhaka city. The textile industry also pollutes the environment. “We have invented a technology that is ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘environmentally friendly’. It will be less harmful for the environment and 45 per cent of water will be saved,” Alam said. Alam and his team had been working on the technology for the past four years. The technology involves an “enzymatic method”. Enzyme is a protein molecule that works to increase the speed of production at any level. “Once these proteins go into the environment they would be very useful both for the environment and fish. This is why it is ‘environment-friendly’. In this case, the quality of goods and prices will be taken care of,” Alam said and added that before the colouring of the clothes, a textile engineer’s first job is to remove the oil layer from the production line. For that, there is an enzyme for oil hydrolysis. Oil becomes fatty acid when it is hydrolysed. Fatty acids are very beneficial for animals and birds. However, before the clothes are dried, the clothes have to be a little white. The device to measure the whiteness can be observed by researchers for a certain amount of time. Many researchers can carry such research work at 51.05 per cent to 51.75 per cent. “But, through our ‘Enzyme Activator’, we were able to go up to 90 per cent of the research work. Scientists think that this is the highest level achieved,” Alam said. Regarding the weight of the cloth, Alam said, “If we lose less cellulose in clothing, the weight is also reduced. And in our ‘Enzymatic Method’, the weight of the clothes will be reduced. We hope the textile industries will be benefited from our technology.” He added, “Foreign buyers buy clothes from our textile industry by weight. Apart from this, many clothes have to be of light shades. If we do light shades, then the cloth gets a kind of yellowish look, which cannot be seen with naked eyes.” As a result, foreign buyers do not want to take those clothes. “But if we use these enzymes (which is 90 per cent), then there would not be any yellowish tint in that cloth. In this case, they (the textile industries) will be benefited greatly,” he added. Alam and his team have used the technology successfully in several textile factories of Bangladesh over the past few months. Apparel companies have expressed interest in testing the technology. (SV)
Source: Fibre2fashion
