Textile mills of Indore are the worst hit across state owing to increased cost of operations, limited scope of incentives to old units and labour issues, industry experts from textile said on Saturday. Seven textile mills in Indore have been shut for decades and industry experts demanded a revival plan to start at least one of them at National Textile Summit held on the 75th anniversary of the Textile Association (India) MP unit. Raising concerns over shutting of textile units in the region, experts stressed on linking incentives and technology to old textile mills to help them upgrade and compete with new players. National Textile Association joint secretary Awadhesh Sharma said, “Across the state, textile mills of Indore have failed to perform well because of high finance cost and labour issues. Lack of skilled workers is also one of the deterring factors.” Leading industry experts and textile mills shared their views on uplifting textile production and revive dead units in state. National Textile Association has demanded a separate ministry for textile industry. National Textile Association secretary Ashok Veda said, “Mills can be made cost effective if units are established in the area, where raw material is easily available. Also cottage industry should be promoted to save them from shutting down.” There are 45 textile mills in state and 15 mills in Indore. Madhya Pradesh is the third largest cotton growing state in the country.
Source: The Times of India
Lack of skilled talent has weighed on efficiency and output of textile mills forcing units to spent thousands on training workforce and coming up with a separate workforce hunt department. Corporate human resource head HS Jha at a leading textile mill said, “We are imparting training to fresher’s to take them on roll. On an average we spent around Rs 50,000 on a single person before hiring. The cost of training and keeping a separate team to hunt for possible work force is very high.” Jha has over 5,000 workforce in his textile mill. According to National Textile Association MP chapter, most textile mills operating from Indore and nearby areas are running at loss while seven mills have been shut for decades. According to textile units, training period extends from 2 to 4 months depending upon job profile and background of candidate. Textile sector is the largest employment provider after agriculture. Industry participants said cost for training and exercise involved in reaching out to possible workforce escalates every year. A senior executive at another leading textile mill that exports 50 per cent of its garment said, “There is no provision by state government to provide training to people for textile mills despite state being a textile hub. The courses in ITIs are not updated.” According to industry experts, regional mills are hiring workforce from Haryana, Kanpur and Maharashtra. There are over 20 textile mills in Indore, Ujjain, Nagda and Khandwa, according to trade estimates while the state houses over 50 textile mills. Madhya Pradesh Textiles Mills Association secretary MC Rawat said, “To promote textile mills, the government should introduce proper skill courses. There should be provision to help industries upgrade and incentives for old units.”
Source: Times of India
The district magistrate has also ordered to disconnect the electricity supply to these units. According to officials, the dyeing units were allegedly releasing polluted water without treating it first. The district administration and the Uttar Pradesh pollution control board (UPPCB) on Friday sealed six textile dyeing industrial units in Sector 49 and 50, Barola, allegedly operating without any licence or pollution clearance certificate. The district magistrate has also ordered to disconnect the electricity supply to these units. According to officials, the dyeing units were allegedly releasing polluted water without treating it first. All dyeing units need permission for operation from the UPPCB, which is granted only after a function effluent treatment plant is installed at the site. “The effluent treatment plant treats acidic chemicals released by colour and other raw materials used in dyeing. All such industries have to submit proof that they have the plant installed. Additionally, these industries were set up in a residential area which does not conform to the prescribed norms,” Anil Singh, regional officer of UPPCB, said. He added that the team which inspected the site, headed by the city magistrate, was formed based on instructions by the National Green tribunal (NGT). Following complaints by residents in Barola, the units were inspected and allegedly found to be operating illegally. The units were allegedly engaged in dyeing jeans and the waste water was being dumped in drains nearby without being treated. “We are very serious about the issue of industrial pollution as the district has almost no polluting industries present. There is also full compliance by industrial units. We hardly find such transgressions and strict action is taken when such complaints come. We encourage that people report any such polluting units,” BN Singh, district magistrate, said. Noida and Greater Noida have several dyeing industrial units. However, according to UPPCB officials, all of them have obtained permission from the department and have installed an effluent treatment plant. Meanwhile, a team from the food safety department also inspected and sealed a spice manufacturing unit at the Kasna industrial area on Sunday. The inspected was carried out following a complaint, and it was found that the artificial colour being used to manufacture the spices was not food grade. The unit was sealed and the raw materials as well as colour samples were taken to be tested at a laboratory in Lucknow. The sample results will be available within a week, officials said.
Source: The Hindutan Times
India is a very high-tariff nation, U.S. President Donald Trump alleged on Saturday, stating that he wanted a reciprocal tax or at least some kind of tax. “India is a very high-tariff nation. They charge us a lot,” Mr. Trump said in his address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the Maryland suburb of Washington DC. In his speech that lasted for more than two hours, Mr. Trump touched a wide range of issues including domestic, global and bilateral relationship with countries like India. Referring to his often-cited example of the iconic Harley-Davidson motorcycles, he said, “When we send a motorcycle to India, it’s a 100% tariff. They charge 100% when India sends a motorcycle to us, we brilliantly charge them nothing.” “So, I want a reciprocal tax or at least, I want to charge a tax. It’s called the mirror tax, but it’s reciprocal,” Mr. Trump asserted. Early this year, at a White House event to announce his support for reciprocal tax, Mr. Trump had said he was satisfied with the Indian decision to reduce the import tariff on Harley-Davidson motorcycles from 100% to 50%. “Even this is not enough, this is okay,” he had said. “Look at motorcycles as an example. (In) India, it was 100%. I got them down to 50%, just by talking for about two minutes. It’s still 50% vs 2.4% (on imported motorcycles to the US). Again, other than that, it’s a very fair deal,” the president had told reporters at the White House on January 24. On Saturday, he used the Indian example of how other countries were imposing high taxes on American products and now it was time for the U.S. to impose a reciprocal tax. To prove his point, Mr. Trump said, he was using India as an example. “But India is a very high-tariff nation. And they charge tremendously. So they charge a hundred. So I say, I’m not going to charge you a hundred, but I’m going to charge 25%, and I hear this turmoil in the Senate because we are charging 25%,” he said. Mr. Trump told his supporters that there was resistance to his move from the Senate. “I say, fellows, listen, they are charging us a 100%. For the exact same product, I want to charge them 25%. I feel so foolish charging 25, because it should be a hundred. But I’m doing 25 only because of you. I want to get your support,” he said. Thereafter, Mr. Trump mimicked the response from the lawmakers. “Sir, that’s not free trade. Where did these people come from? Where do they come from? I need your help, I need your help, the voters’ help. Where do they come from?,” he said. Mr. Trump said the U.S. could not allow a country to charge it 100% while it got nothing for the exact same product. “For one thing, they don’t respect us. They think we’re stupid. They don’t respect us. But let me tell you something, the world respects our country again,” he said. “America is now booming like never before. Other countries are doing very poorly,” Trump said.
Source: The Hindu
If supply-side polices successfully reduce costs and inflation, macroeconomic policy can afford to be stimulatory. The key issue facing India is how to sustain high growth with low inflation. Its post reform growth has been volatile, and aborted by episodes of high inflation. A useful way to think about the problem is to understand how despite Indian output being below potential, as large numbers enter the labour force, it is still running a current account deficit (CAD) in the balance of payments. India is inside its production possibility frontier yet demand is greater than what it can produce domestically. If bottlenecks in specific sectors limit production and exports, there can be unutilised capacity together with demand that spills over into a CAD. China, a similarly large country with surplus labour, was also inside its production possibility frontier. Under-valuation of its currency aided an expansion in production of traded goods and of exports that absorbed underemployed labour. India, however, is dependent on primary energy imports. Depreciation in order to increase exports can raise the import bill and inflation. A big advantage for China was it started its catch-up growth in 1978 with reform that raised agricultural productivity. Low relative food prices are essential for sustained low-inflation growth in populous countries where food has a large share in the consumption basket. Major intermediate commodity imports, such as oil, also contribute to inflation. China used to export oil but became a net oil importer in 1993. By 2006 it imported 47 per cent of its consumption, and by 2013 became the largest oil importing country. But by then its exports had grown enough to finance imports without materially reducing its current account surplus. China started its reforms process with a very low share of oil imports, but in India this was high to begin with. India is the third largest oil importer. In 2009-10, crude oil imports amounted to 80 per cent of its domestic crude oil consumption and 31 per cent of its total exports compared to 14 per cent for China. India’s dependence on commodity imports implies limiting depreciation would help contain inflation. A real appreciation may help keep traded goods such as oil and food cheaper. Then on its growth path consumption of both traded and non-traded goods rises but production shifts relatively more towards non-traded goods, as their relative prices rises. India has seen higher inflation in non-traded services such as health and education. Even so, exports have to expand in sectors with potential. India’s outsourcing and other service exports helped finance its oil imports. Even if there is a CAD, better utilisation of resources and expansion of capacity in export sectors may eliminate it without having to reduce aggregate demand. A CAD also implies investment exceeds domestic savings. Financial savings largely fund investments involving goods that are tradeable, while physical savings are invested more in non-traded goods, such as in real estate. Estimates of physical savings in the household sector are identical to those of investment in the unorganised sector. It follows, then, that if organised sector investment exceeds financial savings, it will have to be financed by foreign savings that is, by running a CAD. In recent years although the savings-GDP ratio has fallen to about 30 as growth slowed, it is household physical savings that have fallen, while household financial savings have recovered from a low of 8 per cent in 2011-12. Savings of non-financial corporations that are held in financial assets have risen. Thus better financial intermediation of domestic savings also reduces the CAD and dependence on volatile foreign capital inflows.
Alleviation of constraints
Constraints in agriculture have been a major factor limiting India’s growth. For example, high food inflation triggered macroeconomic tightening and reduced growth after 2011. A large number of subsidies and price distortions were not able to adequately improve food production. By 2018, however, India seems to have entered a period of structural agricultural surpluses. World political economy also seems to be working to keep oil prices in the $60-70 range, which suits both oil importing and exporting countries, since it maintains future oil supplies thus reducing volatility. Moreover, with better pass through of oil prices, India’s oil intensity has been falling since 2005. Constraints are being removed but even so specific competitive sectors must be encouraged for the export expansion required to cover the oil import bill, which remains large.
Supply side policies
A constant or mildly appreciating real exchange rate has to be accompanied by focused sectoral and general supply-side measures to improve exports. The WTO bans industry specific subsidies as trade distorting, but developing and LDCs, with per capita incomes of $1000 (in constant US 1990 $) are allowed exemptions. India crossed the threshold in 2017. Therefore its support to traded goods sectors needs to be delivered in ways that do not distort prices. Targeted and limited direct benefit transfers to farmers, along with measures to improve productivity and marketing are all steps in the right direction. Allowing stable exports in organic and processed foods will also help farmers get better price realisation. It will not be inflationary since world food prices are also likely to remain soft. Despite the Central and State governments provinding over 60 different types of subsidies to textile exporters, there are complaints about delays and distortions. The government should therefore, in consultation with exporters, shift to other supporting policies some of which can specially benefit textiles and other export intensive sectors. These include export infrastructure, logistics, skilling, technology development and ease of doing business some of which is happening. General supply-side measures must focus on building capacity to participate in higher growth and on reducing costs. The current collapse in inflation is partly due to the success of such measures, in addition to the softening of oil prices. For example, GST has reduced transportation and logistics costs for companies, as well as many indirect tax rates.
Demand side policies
If supply-side polices successfully reduce costs and inflation, macroeconomic policy can afford to be stimulatory. Indian catch-up growth was unnecessarily volatile because neglect of critical bottlenecks made supply and external shocks relatively large, while policy rather than smoothing shocks tended to over-react to them. Inappropriate policies arose from incorrect macroeconomic stabilisation understanding. In a populous country with underemployed labour, sectoral bottlenecks and price shocks can cause inflation even without aggregate excess demand. On the Indian growth path, therefore, as long as focused sectoral and general supply-side measures improve exports and reduce costs, macroeconomic policies have space to stimulate growth and the absorption of under-employed labour. Such stimulus can be effective. The current structural view on fiscal consolidation as well as pressure from foreign investors reduces fiscal space, puts the onus on monetary policy to stimulate the economy in the current slowdown. As tax collections fall in a slowdown, a mild rise in fiscal deficits is an automatic stabiliser and should be welcomed. The writer is Professor, IGIDR, and Member EAC-PM
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Restore old GST norms on inverted duty
The Goods and Service Tax law was introduced with the intent to remove cascading effects of various taxes and to have free flow of input tax credits. True to its intent, enabling provisions were also incorporated in the GST legislation wherein refund of accumulated credit on account of inverted duty is permitted unlike Excise Duty/Service Tax legislations. Inverted duty structure means the scenario wherein the inward supplies are being taxed at a higher rate than the outward supplies. Such imbalancing tax structure results into accumulation of tax credits in the hands of the tax payers with no clear foreseen usage. Such issues of the erstwhile regime have been addressed in GST legislation and the manner of determination of eligible amount of refund on account of inverted duty structure has been prescribed. The refund of accumulated credit will be granted once it is established that the goods or services are covered under inverted duty structure. The intention of the legislation is to grant the refund of accumulated credit resulting on account of procurement of inputs and input services only. However, in April 2018, the relevant provision for granting the inverted duty refund were tweaked to restrict the scope of refund to inputs only and not to input services. Further, in June 2018, the said amendment was given retrospective effect i.e. from the date of implementation of GST, July 1, 2017. The rationale given for restricting the scope of refund is the legislative intent to grant the refund for inputs used in outward supplies only. These amendments have resulted in inconsistency between general principles provided in the GST legislations read with the manner of determination of refund as prescribed. In view of the retrospective amendment, several assesses who had received the refund of input services were served with notices to return the amount of refund along with interest, resulting in litigation. Also tweaking the provision with retrospective effect has created a lot of financial hardships to taxpayers with blockage of funds as GST credit. Restricting the refund for input services in such occasions will lead to higher costs which ultimately would be borne by consumers at large. Various representations have been filed to restore the earlier practice of granting refund of input services. However if we strictly abide by the legal provisions, it appears that draftsman have erred in amending the rules as the legal provision nowhere distinguish between inputs and input services. Further, differential treatment have been accorded in case of refund on account of exports and inverted duty structure even though parent provisions are same for both the refunds. Such restrictions have direct impact on the Make in India initiatives and ease of doing business since the taxpayer falling under lower tax brackets will be piled-up with ever increasing GST credits. The ideal solution is to restore the earlier provisions. However, as an interim measure the government should provide the refund on those input services which have direct nexus with the manufacturing activity like labour, job-work etc. In the era of ease of doing business, it is time to reckon that services are inevitable part of manufacturing activity. Trade and industry at this juncture need encouragement from the government through efficient and competent tax policies resulting into overall development of the country. Mani is Senior Director, Deloitte India; and Shah is Senior Manager with Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP
Source: The Hindu Business line
Slowing global growth will hit exports and the NBFC crisis has hit consumption, as has poor agriculture growth. UPA-2 , rbi, nbfc, opinion, financial express, nbfc crisis, IL&FS crisisIndeed, while RBI’s attempt was to ensure no NBFC lacked funds when the IL&FS crisis first erupted, RBI has now raised risk weights so as to ensure that banks don’t over-lend to NBFCs without taking into account the risks. Going into an election with GDP slowing for two quarters (it will be three once the Jan-March numbers come in) and at a 6-quarter low can’t be good news for a government, though the flipside is that the central bank can be expected to make another two rate cuts of 25 bps each over the next 2-3 monetary policy reveiews due to sluggish growth and inflation remaining below target. From 8 % in Q1FY19, GDP growth fell to 6.6% in Q3FY19—the last time growth was so low was in Q1FY18 when it clocked 6%. In fact, the quarter-on-quarter growth is the slowest in five years if you exclude the demonetisation quarter of FY17. Much of this, of course, was to be expected and, indeed, the signs of how the Jan-March 2019 quarter will turn out are evident from the sluggish growth in aggregate credit, automobile and property sales. Weak agriculture growth is an obvious problem area and, given close to half the work force is employed in the sector, has implications for how sustainable private consumption can be. With growth in agriculture in FY19 now likely to be around 2.7% according to the latest GDP numbers—just a month ago, the FY19 estimate of agriculture growth was put at 3.8%—as compared to the 5% growth seen in FY18, this is a 46% slowing of growth. Indeed, with agriculture growth in the four years of the Modi government just 2.9% as compared to 4.3% in the UPA-2 period, the consumption bump was never going to sustain; more so if the common perception of a slowdown in jobs growth, or even a contraction, is correct. The simmering NBFC crisis is another reason for the slowing of consumption since a lot of consumer durables were financed by this sector that is now paying the price for its scorching growth, while not paying enough attention to how sound the lending was. While the slowdown in NBFC lending appears to have been made up by a rise in bank credit growth, a lot of this is simply refinancing and so, the net availability of credit in the economy remains constrained. And with real estate sales far from picking up, and most real estate companies in trouble either because they overextended themselves or because the owners siphoned off funds, the NBFC crisis could get worse before it gets better. Indeed, while RBI’s attempt was to ensure no NBFC lacked funds when the IL&FS crisis first erupted, RBI has now raised risk weights so as to ensure that banks don’t over-lend to NBFCs without taking into account the risks. While a good exports performance, mostly due to the rupee depreciating, ensured that the drag from net exports reduced in Q3FY19—from 3.6% in the March 2018 quarter, exports growth jumped to 14.6% in the December 2019 quarter—this is unlikely to endure as global growth is slowing, and the world is also getting more protectionist. While the government could spend more in the fourth quarter of the year—growth in government expenditure fell to 6.5% in Q3 from 10.8% in Q2—it is unlikely that this alone can boost GDP growth. There has been, though, a slight pick-up in investment growth and the recent set of reforms—six airports were privatised, oil and gas pricing was eased and a new mining policy has been cleared, amongst others—is aimed at increasing this further. How soon this will take place, though, is not clear since sectors like telecom, for instance, are in trouble, and the power sector mess hasn’t improved either; indeed, as a proportion of GDP, FDI inflows continue to contract due to the unfriendly policy environment. In any case, no serious pick up in investment levels can be expected till the next government—even if it is the NDA coming to power again—is sworn in and investors get a sense that the investment regime is getting better.
Source: Business Line
For 15 months, the govt turned a deaf year to representations from exporters, before removing the pre-import condition in early January 2019. In a telling judgment, the Gujarat high court has, in the case of Maxim Tubes Company and Others vs Union of India, struck down the pre-import condition under the Advance Authorisation Scheme (AAS). The verdict says the said condition in paragraph 4.14 of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-2020, inserted by Notification 33/2015-2020 and via clause (xii) in Notification 18/2015-Cus vide Notification 79/2017-Cus, both dated October 10, 2017, are ‘ultra vires’ (the phrase for something done beyond one’s power to so act or authorise) the AAS as contained in the FTP and ...
Source: Business Standard
The government has approved a Rs 14,000-crore special economic zone (SEZ) project of Adani Power in Jharkhand, which will export the entire power generated to Bangladesh, an official said. The project was approved by the highest decision making body on SEZs - Board of Approval - chaired by the commerce secretary, in its meeting on February 25, the government official said. Adani Power (Jharkhand) Ltd has sought approval for setting up sector specific SEZs for power at villages - Motia, Mali, Gaighat and the adjacent villages in Godda district, Jharkhand over an area of 425 hectare. It has received formal approval for possession of 222.68 hectares, and in-principle approval for the remaining 202.32 hectares. Two supercritical units of 800 MW each would be set up with an investment of Rs 14,000 crore, which would include setting up of a water pipeline and a power evacuation system. It will be ready by the end of 2022. The company has already signed a power purchase agreement for supply of 100 per cent power generated from this plant to Bangladesh. The SEZs are major export hubs in the country, as the government provides several incentives, including tax benefits and a single window clearance system. The developers and units of these zones enjoy certain fiscal and non-fiscal incentives such as a no-licence requirement for import, full freedom for subcontracting, and no routine examination by customs authorities of export/ import cargo. They also enjoy direct and indirect tax benefits. Exports from special economic zones grew by about 15 per cent to Rs 5.52 lakh crore in 2017-18.
Source: Business Line
The 6th Asia Pacific Congress of Sericulture and Insect Biotechnology (ASPERI-2019), which began in Mysuru on Saturday, will delve into the scope for using silkworm and silk in frontier areas like industrial, pharmaceutical and nutritional sectors. Substantial R and D activities in this field were already being undertaken in different laboratories across the globe considering its organic nature. The global event is aimed at boosting worldwide sericulture growth and the participating scientists will be sharing their knowledge and expertise which is expected to catalyse the recent efforts on enlarging the use of silk beyond a mere textile fibre. With the global silk fraternity attending the event, innovations and developments in the field would be showcased and discussed for their practical applications. The previous ASPERI had been held in South Korea, Japan, China and Thailand and this is the first Indian edition of the Congress which chose Mysuru as the venue since it is known as ‘Silk City’. International Sericultural Commission, Bengaluru and the Central Silk Board, Bengaluru have jointly organised the three-day meet which has participation from over 18 countries. The theme of ASPERI-2019 is “Go for Silk, Go for Nature”. More than 250 delegates, including 75 foreigners, were attending. The ASPERI activities will be spread across six sessions including presentation of country reports, discussions on mulberry, wild silkworms, insect biotechnology, silkworm and post-cocoon technology. The participating delegates were mostly from the frontier areas of research like biotechnology, biomaterial, nutraceutical, industrial, pharmaceutical and other advanced areas, said a note from the organisers. S. Ayyappan, Chancellor, Central Agricultural University, Imphal, inaugurated the meet which was followed by a keynote address by Kazuei Mita from South West University, China, on the congress theme. Earlier, R.R. Okkandiar, Secretary General, International Sericultural Commission, welcomed the delegates. Central Silk Board Chairman K.M. Hanumantharayappa and Toru Shimada from Tokyo University were the guests of honour and Ashok Dalawai, CEO, National Rainfed Area Authority, New Delhi, was the chief guest. In his inaugural address, Prof. Ayyappan called upon the scientists to come out with applications of silk other than using it as a fibre as the produce has several application values that can explored. People engaged in sericulture need to look at both environment and employment as silk is produced in 60 countries. Production is about two lakh metric tonnes of silk annually with bulk of it coming from China and India. Mr. Hanumantharayappa said India is the second largest producer of silk in the world with about 32 tonnes produced last year. “It is time scientists develop new silkworm breeds and strategies for doubling the income of sericulture farmers besides improving the quality of the silk produced,” he suggested. As part of ASPERI-2019, a silk exhibition has been organised by the Silk Mark Organisation of India to help the delegates get to know various types of silk.
Source: The Hindu
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1286.39 |
USD/Ton |
-1.15% |
3/3/2019 |
|
VSF |
1995.91 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
ASF |
2446.07 |
USD/Ton |
1.86% |
3/3/2019 |
|
Polyester POY |
1218.57 |
USD/Ton |
-0.85% |
3/3/2019 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2891.76 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
40D Spandex |
4725.20 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
Nylon POY |
5634.47 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1520.41 |
USD/Ton |
-0.49% |
3/3/2019 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2683.08 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2548.93 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1445.88 |
USD/Ton |
-0.51% |
3/3/2019 |
|
Polyester DTY |
3130.26 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2742.70 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2019.76 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2876.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2161.37 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2548.93 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
3040.82 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2534.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.37 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.83 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.12 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.71 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
3/3/2019 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14906 USD dtd. 03/03/2019). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Farmers at a small village in western Xinjiang hardly had any days off this winter. Production at a walnut processing factory is going full throttle to meet demand. Yusup Tursun and his wife are walnut farmers in Kupchi Village in Yecheng County on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert. The couple has been hired by a new walnut processing facility in the village, with the husband a quality inspector and his wife working part-time cracking nuts. As a main base for walnut production, Yecheng has over 38,000 hectares of high-quality thin-shell walnut groves. "It used to be quite difficult to sell the walnuts. The factories, with so many products, have made it easier for the sales," Yusup said. Seven companies make products from the nuts -- walnut milk, walnut candies and edible oil. The shells are made into coloring agent and pollutant-absorbing carbon. Diversity in the walnut products pushed the industry output to a new high of 2 billion yuan (about 299 million U.S. dollars). Three in every five people work in the walnut industry in Yecheng, where 550,000 people live. Across Xinjiang, processing facilities are established to add value to agricultural products. Transport and logistical services are improved to boost the sales of Xinjiang's signature agricultural products such as Hami melons, Korla pears and Turpan grapes.
Up the value chain
Xinjiang is also moving up the value chain in two of its traditional industries -- cotton and coal. As one of the main cotton production bases in China, Xinjiang holds sway in the textile industry. By making full use of its cotton resources and geographical advantages as a portal for opening up, the region no longer sees itself as just a production base for raw materials. Starting from 2014, China's leading garment and apparel makers including Ruyi Group, HoDo Group, and Huafu Fashion Co. Ltd invested in the region and built factories. These factories have produced added benefits and created jobs for the local people. Xinjiang produces 1.5 million tons of yarn and over 40 million ready-made garments every year. More than 400,000 people work in the industry. In the eastern part of the coal-rich Junggar Basin, workers have found that the snow is cleaner than before. The Zhundong Economic Technological Development Park, about 200 km west of Urumqi, is home to China's largest coal field. A stringent environmental requirement is applied to the park, said Ren Jianpin, director of the management committee of the park. Coal enterprises are required to control coal dust, install equipment to recycle water and coal slags are processed into construction materials, he said. The park is focused on boosting high-end industries in aluminum and silicon materials, which generate more value and have less impact on the environment, he said.
Going hi-tech
Last year, a large-scale bio-based plant went into operation in Usu City to turn corn into nylon. The Cathay Industrial Biotech, a Shanghai-based biotech company, is the investor. Nylon is usually made from petroleum, and the use of crops such as corn and wheat to make recyclable and environment-friendly nylon has promising business prospects, said Wang Hongbo, vice general manager of the company's Usu branch. The Usu branch will have an annual output of 100,000 tons of bio-based polyamide, and it is expected to boost the development of downstream industries in the future, he said. The oil-rich city of Karamay has also received a hi-tech boost as cloud computing firms eye the dry and cold weather in the area. Karamay is home to many key state-level projects and IT-industry leaders, including a global cloud service data center for Huawei, data centers for the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and China Mobile. Xinjiang is making new breakthroughs in precision machining, new materials, manufacturing and textiles. Data from the regional statistics bureau show that the value added of the hi-tech manufacturing in Xinjiang rose by 32.1 percent year-on-year in 2018.
Further opening up
As a core area on the Silk Road Economic Belt, Xinjiang has maintained solid growth momentum in foreign trade. Foreign trade volume between Xinjiang and 36 countries and regions along the Belt and Road (B&R) totaled about 291.5 billion yuan (43.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, up 13.5 percent year on year. Economic observers say that there is still much room for Xinjiang to scale up its processing trade to raise the level of imports and exports. Xinjiang will further develop an export-oriented economy in 2019 and participate in economic exchanges with neighboring countries, according to the regional government's work report released in January.
Source: China.org
JAKARTA: Indonesia and Australia on Monday signed an economic partnership agreement aimed at stepping up trade and investment between them in areas ranging from cattle to education and cars to wheat. Though neighbors, the two countries are not top trade partners and the deal has been welcomed by Australian farmers looking to ship more agricultural commodities into Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, as well as by Indonesian companies producing footwear and textiles. In Jakarta, Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita and Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham signed the deal following completion of talks that started early in the decade and occasionally were stalled by diplomatic tension. Following Monday’s signing, the two governments “will work on an expedited ratification process toward the entry into force of the agreement”, a joint statement said. The Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will eliminate all Australian tariffs on imports from Indonesia, while 94 percent of Indonesian tariffs will be gradually removed, it said. Lukita said he hoped the agreement will be ratified before the end of this year. Negotiations were concluded in August and the deal had been due to be signed by the end of 2018, but diplomatic friction over Middle East policy delayed the signing. Australia’s recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital strained relations with Indonesia, which is the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country and supports a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian dispute. The trade deal “is a good step forward for the important bilateral relationship between these G20 nations, which has too often suffered because of political rows,” said Ben Bland, director of the Southeast Asia project at the Lowy Institute in Sydney.
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Monday’s joint statement cited Indonesia statistics saying that their two-way trade totaled $8.6 billion in 2018. Australia has said Indonesia is its 13th largest trade partner. Rosan Roeslani, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), said he expected his country’s textile and footwear industries to benefit the most from the agreement. The CEPA covers not just free trade in goods, but also services such as opening up investment in Indonesia’s university sector to allow up to 67 percent foreign ownership once a so-called negative investment list - showing what areas foreigners cannot enter - is revised. The deal should also open up ownership in Indonesia of hotels, power plants and companies providing mining services, according to the Australian foreign ministry’s website. Under the agreement, Australia will be able to export to Indonesia 575,000 head of cattle in the first year of the deal duty free, it said. At present, there is a 5 percent duty. Indonesia is already the largest buyer of Australian wheat, purchasing A$950 million in 2017-2018, while beef exports were around A$800 million last year and sugar exports $181 million. Andrew Weidemann, a grain farmer in the Australian state of Victoria, said the agreement was a rare bight spot for an industry crushed by prolonged drought on the east coast. “It’s a win-win for Australian grain and Australian farmers in general and the economy,” said Weidemann.
Source: The Edge Markets
BGMEA informed the ambassador that Bangladeshi spinners are keen to set up spinning mills in the USABangladesh will import more cotton from the United States if the American government offers duty benefits for apparel items manufactured of American cotton. BGMEA president Md Siddiqur Rahman made the proposal at a meeting with the US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Earl R Miller, at the trade body’s headquarters in the capital on Sunday. In addition, BGMEA informed the ambassador that Bangladeshi spinners are keen to set up spinning mills in the USA , if the US government would grant tariff benefits for RMG made with yarn imported from such factories in the USA. “Since Bangladesh is the largest importer of cotton, we could import more cotton from the USA. In that case, we need to know what kind of duty benefits the US government will offer on the export of clothing made of American cotton,” BGMEA president Siddiqur Rahman told reporters after a meeting with the US envoy. Bangladesh does not enjoy duty free market access facility for apparel products in the US market. According to Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Bangladesh imports nearly 8 million bales of cotton from across the world annually, of which 6.93% is from the USA. According to international trade administrator Otexa’ data, Bangladesh exports to the US market stood at $5.20 billion, up by 5.72% in January-November of 2018. Apparel exports to the US market saw a 6% jump to $5 billion in the period. The BGMEA will write a letter to the US government soon, expressing its interest and seeking duty benefits in exporting apparel goods, according to Siddiqur. “I told the US ambassador that a few spinners showed keen interest to establish spinning mills in your country and they will invest to produce yarn if the US government offers duty benefits for RMG goods exported to the US, made of US cotton,” said the BGMEA leader. The BGMEA underscored the need for restarting negotiations to restore the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) suspended in 2013 over workers’ rights and workplace safety. Citing the US envoy, Siddiqur said “Labor rights and human rights situation have improved in Bangladesh after the Rana Plaza collapse, but there was no evaluation of rights and safety issues in last two years.” But during the talks, he assured the ambassador that Bangladesh has met all the 16 conditions attached for the restoration of GSP trade facilities, said Rahman. The business leader also said that the duty free market access will ultimately benefit US consumers and increase bilateral trade as well as help Bangladesh in creating jobs, he added. At the meeting, the US ambassador also wanted to know about the termination of 11,000 apparel workers centering the recent unrest over a new wage structure, the BGMEA president said. However, he disputed the number and said that the figure was not more than 4000 and they were terminated as per the law.
Source: The Dhaka Tribune
