India’s textiles and apparels exports for the fiscal 2019 just grew 1.66% to $35.969 billion as compared to $35.381 billion in the previous fiscal, mainly due to a sharp drop in the shipment of apparels. Textile & apparel exports grow just 1.66% in FY19Textile & apparel exports grow just 1.66% in FY19 India’s textiles and apparels exports for the fiscal 2019 just grew 1.66% to $35.969 billion as compared to $35.381 billion in the previous fiscal, mainly due to a sharp drop in the shipment of apparels. The export of textiles products grew 6.19% to $19.830 billion during the fiscal under review as compared to $18.674 billion a year ago and that of apparels declined sharply by 3.40% to $16.138 billion during the fiscal 2019 as against $16.706 billion in the previous financial year, said the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), citing government data. Among textile products, cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handloom products continued to be the largest export earner with a growth of 9.22% during the fiscal 2019 to $11.206 billion ($10.260 billion in last fiscal), man-made fabrics exports increased by 3.15% to $$4.978 billion as against $4.824 billion in the previous fiscal, CITI said. The next big segment under the category is carpet, which saw a growth of 3.63% to $1.481 billion as compared to $1.429 billion in fiscal 2018. According to CITI, the exports data in US dollar reflects that there has been a decline in exports of all textile products except those of cotton yarn/fabs/made-ups, handloom products and carpet in March 2019 as compared to March 2018. However, exports of total textiles have shown a slight increase during the same period. The March exports of textile products and apparel grew 6.96% to $3.550 billion as compared to $3.319 billion in March 2018. Interestingly, apparel segment, which saw a meagre growth in fiscal, ended March 2019 with 15.13% growth to $1.717 billion. The monthly index of industrial production (IIP) of textiles in February 2019 has declined (y-o-y basis), which is in sync with textiles exports of man-made yarn/fabs/made-ups; jute manufacturing including floor covering and handicrafts. Exports of apparels have registered a positive growth y-o-y in March 2019 which shows a positive correlation with increase in IIP of apparels in February 2019.
Source: Fibre2fashion
Investments in the textile industry are picking up, if IEMs filed with the DIPP in 2018 are an indication. As many as 269 IEMs were filed by various sectors of the textile industry in 2018. Around 79 IEMs were filed for yarn manufacturing. This was followed by fabric weaving (and to a much smaller extent knitting) sector proposals, with 49 IEMs. The third largest segment to file IEMs was the readymade garment sector with 48 proposals, followed by technical textiles with 44 IEMs, and processing sector with 31 IEMs. There were 6 IEMs for made-ups manufacturing.
Yarn manufacturing remained the strongest segment
An analysis of the IEM statistics shows that in 2018, the industry revealed its intent to add approximately 1.36 million tons of annual capacity. This would come into operation over the next 1-3 years. The 1.36 million tons capacity includes largely cotton and cotton blended yarns (around 80%), with the remaining being synthetic staple fibre and filament yarns.
Cotton dominates weaving
Based on the 2018 IEMs, around 566.9 million metres of fabric capacity could come up in the country over the next few years. This includes largely cotton and cotton blend fabrics, with synthetics accounting for a smaller share.
Processing capacity takes off too
IEMs filed in 2018, if fully implemented, would add around 700 million metres of processing – dyeing, finishing, printing capacity in the industry.
RMG capacities are picking up
As much as 285 million pieces of readymade apparel capacity could come up in the next couple of years, based on the 2018 IEMs alone. Growing exports, and an expanding domestic market are spurring demand for garments.
Techtex picking up slowly
In 2018, 44 IEMs were filed in the technical textiles segment. Three product categories dominate here – flexible intermediate bulk containers, disposal hygiene products, and coated, laminated, impregnated textiles. IEMs for around 40 million meters of coated and laminated textiles have been filed in 2018. The market, and consequently the production of disposable hygiene products – baby and adult diapers, sanitary napkins and tampons, is picking up noticeably. Almost 8590 million pieces of disposable hygiene products will be produced in the coming years, based again on IEMs in the 2018 calendar year.
Gujarat continues to attract investors
Gujarat attracts the most investments. As many as 98 IEMs out of the total 269 IEMs filed, were for investing in Gujarat. This was followed by Maharashtra (30), Madhya Pradesh (23), Tamil Nadu (19), Karnataka (17), and Rajasthan (16).
Source: Textile Excellence
The two-day mini-ministerial is aimed at reaffirming commitment to preserving a rule-based, multilateral trading system and will likely discuss key issues such as reforms at the Organization, special and differential treatment to developing countries, e-commerce and certain other topics relating to the Doha agenda. The move comes at a critical time when growing unilateral protectionist policies by the United States and some others, and a trade war involving the world’s top two economies have put to test the multilateral trading system represented by WTO. Citing soaring commercial tensions and tariffs, WTO this month trimmed its global trade growth projection for 2019 to the lowest level in three years. World merchandise trade growth will ease to 2.6 per cent this year and 3 per cent next year, after recording a 3 per cent rise in 2018, the WTO had said.
Source: Financial Express
Mumbai: The Indian rupee Tuesday lost another 18 paise to close at 69.60 against the US dollar, marking its third straight session of decline owing to sustained demand for the greenback from importers and rising global crude oil prices. The local currency has depreciated by 68 paise in the last three days. Besides, strong dollar against its rival currencies built additional pressure on the rupee. However, persistent foreign fund inflows and heavy buying in domestic equities supported the rupee and capped the losses to some extent. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the rupee opened lower at 69.55 and fell further to touch the day's low of 69.69. It finally ended at 69.60 per dollar, down by 18 paise against its previous close. The rupee on Monday had declined by 25 paise to close at 69.42 a dollar. "The strength in dollar index against basket of six currencies and delay of dollar inflow by Essar steel lead to weakness in the rupee," said V K Sharma, Head PCG and Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities. Moreover, there was caution in the market in a holiday-truncated week. Forex and equity markets will remain shut on Wednesday on account of "Mahavir Jayanti" while most of the major financial markets are closed on Friday for the start of the Easter holidays. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.04 per cent to 96.97. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.13 per cent to USD 71.27 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, putting in Rs 1,038.58 crore Tuesday, as per provisional data. Equity benchmark Sensex rallied about 370 points to scale a record closing high of 39,275.64 as investors' sentiment got further boost from forecast of a near-normal monsoon and a bumper start of corporate earnings season. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty surged 97 points to close at a fresh high of 11,787.15. Meanwhile, Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 69.5770 and for rupee/euro at 78.6489. The reference rate for rupee/British.
Source: Business Line
Textiles China is an important trading partner for India with imports of $65 billion and exports of $15 billion in the period April 2018 to February 2019, recording an all-time high in exports and sharp decline in imports from China. Trade balance between the two countries in the year 2017-18 was US$ 63.05 billion in favour of China, which has now shrunk to US$ 50.13 billion (from US$ 57.87 billion for the period April - Feb 2018-19). In a statement, Dr K V Srinivasan, Chairman, Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) complimented Suresh Prabhu, Hon'ble Minister of Commerce and Industry & Civil Aviation for this path-breaking achievement in reducing the trade balance. "Exports of cotton textiles had contributed to the reduction in trade deficit as export of these items during April-February 2018-19 had increased by 69 per cent (US$ 1,555 million) over the previous year similar period (US$ 919.76 million)", said Dr K V Srinivasan. "Export of cotton textiles can increase further if the tariff disadvantage of 3.5 per cent to 10 per cent suffered by India in comparison to Vietnam, Pakistan, Indonesia, etc on textile products is addressed by making further special efforts", he added. "Higher exports of cotton textiles including fabrics and made-ups can not only continue to significantly contribute to the reduction of trade imbalance but also lead to attracting investments from the labour intensive industries shifting out of China", he further added. More from Sify:
Source: Sify Finance
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1327.32 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
VSF |
1893.19 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
ASF |
2499.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
Polyester POY |
1361.75 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2877.05 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
40D Spandex |
4755.33 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
Nylon POY |
2683.26 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1535.42 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
Polyester FDY |
3160.28 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
Nylon DTY |
5634.85 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1583.12 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2727.98 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2556.55 |
USD/Ton |
0.59% |
4/16/2019 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2034.81 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2891.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2832.33 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2444.75 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2176.42 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2549.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.37 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.83 |
USD/Meter |
-0.18% |
4/16/2019 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.11 |
USD/Meter |
-0.67% |
4/16/2019 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.63 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.71 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
4/16/2019 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14907 USD dtd. 16/04/2019). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Vietnamese exporters of garments, textiles and leather shoes foresee Canada as a perfect destination because of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), experts there feel. Canada pledges to remove 94.5 per cent of tax lines on Vietnamese products, and after four years, some 96.3 per cent of the tax lines will cease to exist. The issue was discussed at a recent conference Ho Chi Minh City. According to Ngo Chung Khanh, deputy director of the ministry of industry and trade’s multilateral trade policy department, the CPTPP brings higher added value than the country’s other bilateral and multilateral trade pacts. Bui Tuan Hoan, an official from the ministry’s European-American Market Department, said import duties on garment and textiles will fall from 16-17 per cent to 0 per cent in four years while that on leather shoes will fall from 18 per cent to 0 percent in 7-11 years. Besides prices and product quality, Canadian customers look to exporters’ prestige, experience and ability to provide post-sale services when purchasing products, Trinh Thi Thu Hien from the ministry’s foreign trade agency told a news agency. According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam-Canada trade tripled from $1.14 billion in 2010 to $3.85 billion last year, with Vietnam’s trade surplus at $2.14 billion in 2018. In the first two months of 2019, Vietnam’s exports to Canada exceeded $506 million, up 36.6 per cent year on year. The CPTPP, which took effect in Vietnam on January 14, has 11 member states—Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. (DS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
There is negativity around, but one sector that is bullish in today’s so called gloom and doom environment, is textile. The value added sector is operating at almost full capacity and many big players are in the process of expansion. Unlike others, those who are in exporting businesses, are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The ministry of finance sources are expecting textile exports to grow to $7-7.5 billion in the April-June quarter – average monthly exports of $2.3-2.5 billion versus $2.0 billion in Jul18-Feb19, and $2.2 billion in Apr18-Jun18. Although industry players are not too bullish on immediate off-take, they certainly are seeing significantly high numbers in 2-3 years. For details read “Textile ready to take off“, published on 14th December 2018. One big textile group is eyeing its sales to grow by around 20 percent in the next two years, but is expecting all the increase in sales to come from exporting. On the flip, the higher concentration of sales growth in the past five years was in domestic sales. That is the story of a big player, which is reaching a size where big expansions are hard to come by without resolving the issues of basic raw material – cotton. However, there are many other companies that have the potential to grow at a much higher pace because of their relatively smaller size. The positive sentiments are across the board where many players are aggressively expanding. The potential is in value addition. There are multiple reasons for exuberance – currency devaluation, subsidy to textile, and availability of energy at regional competitive rates are known to all. One big booster is improvement in perception. The overall image of the country is improving and the opening up of visa regimes is helping as well. The buyers are visiting and new orders are being placed, and there is soft commitment of new businesses, given that the expansions are carried out. The textile exports, in volume terms, stopped growing, in the last decade. The problem of currency overvaluation is more of a recent phenomenon – started in 2014. Prior to that, energy and security started hitting the exports bad. Enough has been said on the energy, and its availability is paying dividends. The perception improvement needs to be highlighted. The textile and other exporters swayed away from exporting to domestic sector, before the currency was capped by Dar. Buyers were not coming and it was hard to get new business. There were fears of getting shipment delayed from Pakistan and that had helped Bangladesh to grow. Now the situation is changing. If the travel advisory from the US is relaxed, it would be a game changer for Pakistan exports – be it in goods or services. With recent tariff war between US and China, and protests against low wages in Bangladesh, buyers are thinking to diversify from these two markets. Pakistan has the opportunity to grab its lost share. However, building requisite backward linkages are required. Three big textile players resonated that without enhancing cotton production, it is hard for textile industry to reach its true potential. One of the reasons for competitiveness erosion is fall in cotton production, which has reduced from its peak of 14-15 million bales per annum to around 10 million bales. The long term strategy should be to take annual cotton production to 20 million bales in 5 years or so. The need is to work on our agriculture strength. The cotton seed market is orphan today with too many kids on the street – every district has multiple unregulated seed companies. The stewardship is missing. Industry players are of the opinion that the seed industry needs to be regulated and serious consolidation is required to improve the yield. The other factor is to do away with price support to other crops – such as sugarcane, which has resulted in substitution to sugarcane from cotton. Concurrently, the need is to find new markets. The FTA with China is being revised and industry players expect Chinese market to open for value added sector. These all will take time. The need is to move step by step. There is no magic wand to boost the exports right after correcting currency or by giving subsidy. The capacity expansion takes time, buyers’ perception improves slowly, and human skill set needs to be built. Importantly, the government has to do away with these cash subsidies – it’s not sustainable in the long run. And along with that, the refunds do not have to be just cleared, but their buildup should be stopped. The government role has to be in facilitation across the value chain, while the entrepreneurs will enter where they smell value.
Source Recorder
The department of economic development and tourism in South Africa’s Western Cape province will allocate R132 million to boost the garment and textile industry, once the employment backbone there. The province, once well known for apparel and textiles, wants to rebuild the industry, said provincial minister for economic opportunities Beverley Schäfer. South Africa imports too much apparel and textiles and produce too little, and its imports of clothing, textiles and leather goods have rocketed from just over R5 billion in 2000 to almost R60 billion now, Schäfer said. As South African labour in the clothing and textile sector is 45 per cent cheaper than in China, it makes no sense not to manufacture locally, a South African news portal quoted the minister as saying. The province needs to position local manufacturers to distribute goods that the Chinese market cannot, Shaun Kirby, senior project manager at the Cape Clothing and Textile Cluster, said. (DS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
Russia’s technical textiles industry may face a shortage of raw materials this year, after government and business plans have so far failed to resolve the country’s dependence on imports. This is despite the fact that the development of domestic production of synthetics fabrics has been declared as one of the government’s top priorities and is part of the ongoing state programme entitled On the support of light industry in Russia.
Reducing dependence on imports
Several years ago, the Russian government announced its plans to reduce the dependence on imports in the synthetic fibres segment by building a new large-scale production facility in the Ivanovo region – a leading textiles production centre in the country. The new facility was to focus on the production of polyester fibres, as well as other raw materials, which are used in domestic technical textiles production – especially textile grade PET chips. Known under the name of JSC Ivanovo Polyester Complex, the project was to have the capacity to produce up to 175,000 tons of polyester fibres and 30,000 tonnes of textile PET granulate per year. Construction was due to start 2017 and the plant was to be commissioned in 2020. Building costs were estimated at US$ 350 million, and the majority of funds were to be provided by one of Russia’s largest state-owned banks, most likely, VTB. However, the project was suspended, and It is believed that this was related to the lack of state guarantees to the lender. There is still a possibility that the decision will be revised in the coming weeks and that work on the project will resume. The new plant, however, will be most likely built in the Bashkiria Republic instead of Ivanovo, with machinery and equipment being ordered from the German company Uhde Inventa-Fischer, which is part of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions. The majority of its future output would be intended for the needs of the domestic market (130,000-140,000 tonnes), while the remainder would be exported, primarily to Italy, Germany, Poland, and Czech Republic.
Demand for synthetics fabrics
In recent years, the demand for synthetic fabrics in Russia has increased significantly and still continues to grow. According to data provided by Denis Manturov, the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade, at present, imports account for around 90% of the local market. Most of the products come from China (more than 47%). In value terms, annual imports are estimated at US$ 296.6 million, with annual growth rates of 10-12%. According to the Russian analyst agency Discovery Research Group, the market currently varies in the range of 250,000-270,000 tonnes per year in volume terms and has big potential for further growth, thanks to its rich raw materials base and well-developed petrochemical industry. Shamkhal Ildarov, President of the Association of Textile Workers of Russia, believes that in the near future, Russia will be capable of replacing up to 50% of imported synthetic fibres with its own production. “We have the needed raw materials’ base for the establishment of such production,” he explained. “There is only a need to add some missing components in these technological chains, which will allow Russia to produce synthetic fibres at a lower cost. The beginning our own production will make further imports unprofitable for domestic technical textiles and nonwovens producers.” Successful implementation of these plans, according to the government, should provide an opportunity for the launch of large-scale commercial production of innovative fabrics in Russia.
Source: Innovation Textiles
HCM CITY — More than 30 leading Vietnamese manufacturers of garments, textiles, handicrafts and fashion accessories will be showcasing their products at one of Asia’s largest exhibitions to be held in Hong Kong at the end of this month. Goods to be displayed at the show include apparel, fashion jewelry, underwear, swimwear, bags, luggage, scarves, footwear and fabrics all under one roof. The four-day Global Sources Fashion show will feature verified suppliers from major fashion manufacturing hubs, including Việt Nam, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. The exhibitors from Việt Nam include members of the Việt Nam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), Việt Nam National Textile and Garment Group, and Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City. With over 1,800 booths, the fair is expected to welcome 12,000 buyers from 150 countries and territories, including the US, the EU, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Middle East, and South Africa, among others. The one-stop sourcing show is expected to witness growing participation from branded firms, including more than 500 exhibitors worldwide promoting their own designs and brands. The event will also feature fashion parades and industry-related conferences, according to the organiser Global Sources. Phạm Thiết Hòa, director of Hồ Chí Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), told Việt Nam News prior to the event that the centre was supporting most of the exhibitors from Việt Nam to participate in the trade show as part of its mission to help businesses in the city as well as attract more foreign investment to Việt Nam. “Hong Kong is a major sourcing hub in Asia that helps connect buyers from the EU and the US and beyond,” he said. “Việt Nam has become a more attractive complementary garment and textile sourcing destination for buyers from around the world.” This year the textile and garment sector has set a target of US$40 billion in exports, up 11 per cent year-on-year, according to VITAS. The sector is expected to enjoy a trade surplus of $20 billion, and create jobs for around 2.85 million workers. Last year the sector earned $36 billion worth of exports, up 16 per cent year-on-year, making the country one of the three biggest exporters of textiles and apparel in the world. — VNS
Source: Vietnam News
HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam's yarn industry faces many challenges in production and export, especially to China, one of the largest export markets for local yarn products, according to experts. The Việt Nam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) said that in December 2018 and January 2019, Việt Nam's yarn production industry had to accept a drop in yarn price to $2.6 per kilo, as well as a kilo of cotton falling to $2.1, to maintain production and keep customers. Normally, in yarn production and trading, when the gap between raw material buying prices and product selling price is $1 per kilo, yarn producers can maintain operations. However, from October 2018 until January 2019, the gap was only 50-60 US cents per kilo. Therefore, the yarn manufacturers had to suffer huge losses from their yarn production, said Lê Tiến Trường, Vitas deputy chairman. In February 2019, the gap was nearly $1 per kilo with the cotton price at $1.9 per kilo and yarn price at $2.8 per kilo. This level was acceptable for the yarn production industry. However, the gap is unlikely to be sustainable due to the results of the US-China trade negotiations, according to the association. The difficulties faced by the domestic yarn production industry are partly due to the US-China trade war, because 25 per cent of Chinese goods facing taxes when exported to the US include yarn. For many years, Việt Nam’s yarn products have been mainly exported to two major markets – China and Turkey. However, Turkey has applied anti-dumping measures on Vietnamese yarn so 70 per cent of Vietnamese yarn products are exported to China, the largest fabric producer in the world, according to the Việt Nam Cotton and Spinning Association. Therefore, China’s reduction of yarn imports due to difficulties in exporting textile and garment products to the US has affected Việt Nam’s yarn production. Cao Hữu Hiếu, executive director of Việt Nam Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), was quoted by the Investment Review as saying that domestic yarn production faced difficulties from the end of 2018. In the last quarter of 2018, local producers saw yarn export orders fall and were forced to reduce the export price of yarn. Local enterprises expected the yarn market to gradually warm up from the second half of this year, Hiếu said. Trường said enterprises needed to manage risks to maintain production while waiting for the market to recover. "When the market has recovered and demand returns to normal levels, the producers need fibre for their production and storage because they are currently using inventory. The yarn market is expected to witness strong development after the trade crisis ends," he said. VNS
Source: Vietnam News
HCM City (VNS/VNA) - The textile and garment industry, aiming to take advantage of free trade agreements (FTAs) with a focus on green manufacturing, is upbeat about earning 60 billion USD from exports by 2025. Last year, the industry earned 36 billion USD in exports, up 16 percent year-on-year, making the country one of the world’s three biggest exporters of textiles and apparel, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). Vu Duc Giang, chairman of VITAS, said the association this year set a target of 40 billion USD in exports, up 11 percent year-on-year. Speaking at the 2019 Global Textile and Apparel Supply Chain Conference held last week in HCM City, Giang said the industry was expected to enjoy a trade surplus of 20 billion USD, and employ 2.85 million workers. Textile enterprises have seen positive signs for orders this year. “Many businesses have already received orders for the first six months of 2019 and even for the entire year,” he said. Because of increased capital flow to the industry, the country has gradually completed a textile and apparel supply chain, while the upcoming enforcement of new FTAs will also be a good factor for the industry this year. This year, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is expected to boost the development of many industries of Vietnam, including the textile and apparel industry. The industry is also expecting more orders to shift from China to Vietnam due to the ongoing US-China trade war. Vietnam is participating in 16 FTAs. Ten out of 12 signed agreements have been enforced, including the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, the ASEAN-China FTA and the ASEAN-Korea FTA, while the two remaining, the CPTPP and the ASEAN-Hong Kong FTA, have not yet come into force. Participation in various FTAs could help Vietnamese enterprises have more choices in exporting their products, but it also brings challenges to the industry, according to VITAS. The FTAs that Vietnam has signed all have environmental barriers with higher green standards, which require enterprises to improve not only product quality but also production processes. If enterprises fail to do this, they will face a risk of having orders stopped or rejected, especially orders from major international garment brands. Most Vietnamese textile and apparel enterprises do outsourcing, so they rely heavily on orders from other countries. Customers worldwide are now more environmentally conscious, which has forced global brands to improve operations to include higher environmental and social standards. Giang recommended that Vietnam should continue its efforts to ensure environmental protection in manufacturing to become a “sustainable supplier of choice” of textile and apparel. The country has committed to fully implementing 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to ensure economic, social and environmental benefits, according to Giang. “Implementing a shared responsibility to respond to the 21st century's biggest global challenge, Vietnam and the international community ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015. And the textile industry is part of that commitment,” he said. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, chief representative of VITAS office in HCM City, said that many provinces established their own industrial parks for textile and garment activities. The industrial zones have invested and put into operation wastewater treatment systems, helping businesses complete their responsibility to protect the environment during production. VITAS set up an Environment Committee three years ago and has taken part in an action programme for the Green the Textile and Apparel Industry group. In addition, last year VITAS and the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature launched a project to green the textile industry. The project aims to encourage players in the domestic textile sector to promote better river basin governance, water quality improvement and sustainable energy use. Marc Goichot from WWF-Greater Mekong said that greening the textile sector in Vietnam would help achieve its wider goal of addressing river governance and energy sustainability, which are top global environmental concerns. With 6,000 factories nationwide, employing some three million people, the textile and apparel industry contributes 15 percent of exports. The industry is, however, causing a serious environmental impact. Intensive water extraction, use and discharge of wastewater, and high-energy consumption for water heating and steam generation caused by the industry can seriously affect water resources and greenhouse gas emissions. As the industry continues to expand, improvement in practice will be required to reduce the impact.
Source: Vietnam News
ISLAMABAD-Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce and Textile Abdul Razzak Dawood on Tuesday said that China has agreed to offer Pakistan its market access similar to that offered to countries of Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) on Islamabad’s demand. He further said that Chinese government has also agreed to immediately reduce duties to zero percent on 313 tariff lines. Pakistan and China would sign the second phase of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Beijing later this month, the Advisor to Prime Minister said in National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce and Textile. He said that the second phase of FTA fell into internal politics of China, as some of their Ministers were not in favour to revise the trade agreement with Pakistan. However, Chinese Prime Minister and Foreign Minister were in favour. However, the Chinese government had accepted our main demand of giving market access similar to that offered to countries of Asean, he added. Dawood said that Turkey is not ready to give any incentive to Pakistan for exporting its textile and leather products. Turkey had imposed 27 percent duty on Pakistanis products. He further said that Afghanistan has destroyed Pakistan’s trade. The government is working to discourage the smuggling. He expressed hope that Pakistan’s exports would increase to China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Turkey due to the policies of the incumbent government. The 4th meeting of the Standing Committee on Commerce and textile was held under the chair of Syed Naveed Qamar MNA. The officials of the ministry of commerce informed the committee that government has successfully increased the exports and reduced the imports during ongoing fiscal year. The committee was told the imports had reduced by 8 percent in first eight months (July to February) of the ongoing fiscal year while exports had gone up during the same period. Secretary of Ministry of Commerce Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera briefed the Committee in detail on the exports of Pakistan. The committee was informed that Pakistan’s exports were declining during the period 2014-17. However, the exports had started increasing during the ongoing fiscal year due to the government’s policies. There is need for enhancing export competitiveness components particularly in the areas i,e PM’s Package, zero rating of 5-export sectors, rationalization of energy costs for export sectors, exemption of export sectors from load shedding, tariff rationalization on raw material and intermediate products. In new policy initiatives, strategic trade policy frame work 2019-24, national tariff policy, trade related investment policy framework and regulatory reforms may be revisited for future improvements and growth of export and decline in import. On WTO, Secretary informed the committee about the Structure and functions, current issues faced by the Pakistan, the basic principles of trade were briefed in detail along with advantages of WTO. The Multi-trade agreements, dispute settlement Body, reforms, transparency and the role of E-Commerce and norms of trade facilitation agreement (TFA) briefed to committee. The Chairman informed the members with regard to Sub-committee report on the visit Faisalabad Garment City, and JICA sponsored Faisalabad Garment City Training Centre. The committee identified problems therein due to which the projects could not achieve objectives of their establishment. Another Sub-committee was constituted for its circulation by the Sanding Committee with the composition of four members including convener with the mandate to hear the side of the State Life Insurance Company (SLIC) and the aggrieved employees of the Company. The Committee issued instructions to achieve objectives with the principles lay down for tariff policy and revisit the relocation of value added industry, resource intensive, agro and agriculture re-processing. The committee has decided that Ministry of commerce would brief the parliamentary panel on the WTO and export/import of Pakistan more conclusively in the next meeting. Meeting was attended by Syed Naveed Qamar, MNA/Chairman, Mr. Ali Khan Jadoon, MNA, Mr. Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh, MNA, Mr. Nawab Sher, MNA Mr. Raza Nasrullah, MNA, Mr. Khurram Shahzad, MNA, Mian Muhammad Shafiq, MNA, Ms. Sajida Begum, MNA, Mrs. Farukh Khan, MNA, Mr. Usman Ibrahim, MNA, Rana Tanveer Hussain, MNA, Mr. Rasheed Ahmed Khan, MNA, Ms. Tahira Aurangzeb, MNA, Ms. Shaista Pervaiz, MNA, Syed Javed Shah Jillani, MNA, and Advisor for Ministry of Commerce and Textile and Senior Officers of the Ministry and its Organization.
Source : Nation
South Asia holds on to its top spot as the world’s fastest growing region, with growth set to step up to 7 per cent in 2019, and 7.1 per cent in 2020 and 2021, but the region needs to increase its exports to sustain its high growth and reach its full economic potential, says the World Bank in its regional economic update release twice every year. The latest edition of the South Asia Economic Focus, Exports Wanted, finds that the region’s growth, while still robust, is mainly driven by domestic demand, which in turn swelled imports and far outstripped exports, further widening trade gaps and current account deficits, and triggering currency depreciation in some countries. “South Asia’s exports performance has dropped in the last few years to languish at far below its potential and while growth still looks robust we are concerned about whether this can hold up over the longer term,” said Hartwig Schafer, World Bank vice president for the South Asia Region. “To ensure growth in the long run, the region needs to integrate further into international markets to sustain its upward growth trajectory, create more jobs, and boost prosperity for its people,” a World Bank press release quoted Schafer as saying. Across South Asia, imports grew much stronger than exports in the last two years, reversing the region’s exports dynamics of the early 2000s. Strong domestic demand, fueled by a consumption and investment boom, resulted in high import growth of 14.9 per cent in 2017 and 15.6 per cent in 2018, which is nearly twice as high as the region’s export growth. In comparison, exports grew by only 4.6 per cent in 2017 and 9.7 per cent in 2018. “There’s no single solution that can unleash South Asia’s export potential and policymakers need to implement an ambitious range of reforms that can turn the region into the world’s next export powerhouse,” said Hans Timmer, the bank’s chief economist for the South Asia Region. The report offers a positive outlook based on recent months as export growth is picking up from its low levels, even outpacing imports growth in the third and fourth quarter of 2018. This recent acceleration of export growth, combined with a slowdown in import growth, is expected to continue in 2019 and beyond, with both rates eventually converging at an average 11 percent growth rate, it says. But despite this recent progress, South Asian countries still export only one-third of their potential, and the gap is widening. The report estimates that the region’s export gap widened over time, standing at over 20 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, as South Asia did not fully take advantage of a favourable international global trade environment and remained on the margins of global value chains. (DS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
Ahead of ITMA 2019 in Barcelona this June, a Swedish company Texo AB has reported a surge in demand for its specialised weaving machines for the production of paper machine clothing (PMC). “Rather surprisingly, given that China is now by far our biggest single market and the paper manufacturing industry has been gradually consolidating in Asia, we currently have new orders from both long-established North American and European customers,” said Texo President Anders Svensson. Texo’s TCR high-speed loom developed specifically for the production of forming fabrics for paper machines. © Texo “The current global political tensions in combination with insourcing to Europe and North America have been important factors for these projects and I’m sure the environmental benefit of significantly reducing transportation played a part too.”
Paper industry
Despite the on-going Digital Age, it is estimated that there are still approximately 7,000 paper machines operating worldwide, the most modern of which can run at approaching 2,000 metres a minute. These machines are responsible for manufacturing over 400 million tons of paper each year, in thousands of separate grades of paper, paperboard and tissue. All paper manufacturing machines require a regular supply of PMC, which as large continuous engineered fabrics, carry the paper stock through each stage of the paper production process. With technologically sophisticated designs, they employ fibres and other polymeric materials in complex structures and each paper machine has an average of ten separate fabrics installed on it. Although the PMC business represents just a small proportion of the total cost of manufacturing paper, it can have a significant impact on the quality of the paper, the efficiency of a machine and machine production rates. Yet due to many years of contraction and consolidation, only a handful of companies are now manufacturing PMC globally. “I find it quite staggering to consider that of all the paper that’s in the world today – and just think for a moment how much that actually is – around half of it has passed over fabrics manufactured on our machines,” added Mr Svensson.
Applications
Principal products in the PMC segment include forming, pressing and dryer fabrics, all of which convert the initially wet mass of fibres through the paper machine as water is progressively squeezed out of it, ensuring it is held in place and air can be effectively blown through it at the dryer stage, to ensure a regular shape and extremely even surfaces. PMC products can be up to 140 metres long and in the past have been made in extremely wide widths – the largest weaving loom manufactured by Texo had a working width of 31 metres. The TMR is an extra heavy-duty high-speed hybrid loom developed specifically for the production of forming and dryer paper machine fabrics, as well as industrial fabric. Nowadays, however, due to advanced seaming technology, such extreme widths are not necessary. Nevertheless, Texo’s PMC weaving machines are still generally supplied today in working widths of between five and 20 metres. The company’s TCR loom has been specifically developed for the production of very fine and tough forming fabrics where the highest quality is critical. The FSX model is designed for the production of both forming fabrics based on medium-to-coarse yarns as well as press felt base fabrics, while the TMR is an extra heavy high-speed loom developed for both forming and dryer fabrics, as well as industrial fabrics. All of these looms are characterised by advanced features based on Texo’s over 60 years of know-how and constant development, including the company’s Pozi Grip rapier insertion system, Disco dobby unit, LoCoMo control system and TDD direct drive.
On show
At ITMA 2019, Texo will be showcasing a section of one of its latest models with a more traditional cam drive, for which there is still market demand. “We introduced the first weaving loom with an electronic drive for this industry over a decade ago and it’s been very successful, but there are still some companies who want to go the traditional way,” explained Mr. Svensson. “At ITMA we will be emphasizing the fact that we have all alternatives available.” Texo is a member of TMAS, the Swedish textile machinery association. TMAS companies will have a significant presence at the Barcelona show, where their emphasis will be on the latest automation concepts and the use of advanced sensor systems for enhanced and more resource-efficient manufacturing.
Source: Innovation in Textiles
ISLAMABAD (APP) – The Pakistan’s exports would be increased by US $ 2 billion annually after signing the Sino-Pak Free Trade Agreement-II (FTA-II), Adviser on Commerce and textiles, Abdul Razak Dawood said Tuesday. He was briefing the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Commerce and Textile, chaired by member national assembly Syed Naveed Qamar. The committee was given detailed briefing on recent FTA-II negotiation, during which China had agreed to allow free market access to 313 Pakistan products. The adviser said Free Trade Agreement was signed between Pakistan and China in 2007, however, he added, after China’s FTA with Association of South East Asian (ASIAN) countries, Pak- China FTA needed to be reviewed to get same market access as ASIAN countries were getting. He said China also agreed to give US $ one billion free access to Pakistan into its markets, besides the relaxation would be given to Pakistan on 313 items under FTA-II. Razak said Pakistan would get free market access on textiles, leather, sports, surgical including the rice and sugar for increasing countries exports. He informed that Indonesia also agreed to give unilateral free market access on 20 items to Pakistan under Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which was signed between Pakistan and Indonesia in 2012. He said Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation was also continuing between Pakistan and Turkey and now the latter also agreed to give free market access to Pakistani textile products. Meanwhile, Secretary Commerce Ahmed Nawaz Sukhara also briefed the committee on current situation of trade and causes of trade deficit besides informing the committee about recent positive trends in exports. The ministry was working on Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2019-14 and National tariff Policy, he said adding that trade related investment policy framework was also being prepared for increasing the country’s exports. He informed that during fiscal year 2019 around eight per cent decline was observed in country’s imports. Among others, the meeting was attended by Nawab Sher, Sajida Begum, Mrs. Farukh Khan, Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh, Khurram Shaza, Shaists Pervaiz and Senior official of Ministry of Commerce attended the meeting.
Source: Dunya News
China has started showing interest in buying United States’ cotton.There has been some movement in the United States’ cotton to China, which is a positive signal. This is in anticipation of a positive trade deal between China and the United States. Cotton industry stakeholders who met this morning at Lubbock-based Plains Cotton Growers’ (PCG), Inc., focused their attention on the planting season ahead. With the ginning process completed this week in the High Plains of Texas, it is hoped that the High Plains’ cotton production will cross the 4 million bales mark. “Demand for cotton is there,” stated one merchant at the meeting. This is evident at the December Futures value for the new crop (77.60 cents). This is somewhat high, given the volume of cotton left to sell, somewhere about half to three-quarters of a million in the United States. China’s buying is certainly hampered with the 25% tariff and the future buying in volumes depends on a favorable trade deal, that needs to be accomplished sooner. While China normally goes for high-quality cotton, they are interested in lower grades (31 and 41 color grade) at a discounted price. The trade deal will enable to push these kinds of cotton into the China market. “Everybody is hopeful that a deal can be finalized sooner to clear the way for cotton to move into China,” stated Shawn Wade, Director of Policy Analysis and Research at PCG. On the quality note, this year’s average micronaire for the cotton bales classed at Lubbock USDA classing office has been 4.07, which is a good number compared with the last year’s average of 3.21.
Source: Textile Today
