Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani conducted a stakeholders' meeting for knitting & knitwear sector development on Wednesday at Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi. The announcements made during the meeting included Rs 50 cr sanctioned for the knitwear sector. Under the SAMARTH scheme, training of 1 lakh workers has been approved for the knitwear industry over and above Rs 50 cr in the Budget All pending cases of TUFS will be cleared expeditiously from the Office of the Textile Commissioner.
Source: Millenium Post
Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has reviewed India’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with partner countries such as Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and the 10-member ASEAN to identify problem areas for the Indian industry and the opportunities they could offer. “The Minister reviewed in details the impact of the existing FTAs on the Indian industry and the extent to which the partner countries had gained from it. The idea was to explore if there are ways in which concerns of the Indian industry could be addressed and what should negotiators look out for in future pacts,” a government official told BusinessLine. While the BJP-led government did not sign any new FTA in its first stint in the last five years, Indian industry has been complaining about the ones signed in the past as they gave access to products from competing countries to Indian markets at preferential interest rates. Indian exporters, on the other hand, have not been able to utilise the FTAs well because of lack of awareness, complicated rules of origin requirements and other technical issues. “Many sectors such as steel, electronics, chemicals, textiles and agricultural items like spices and vanaspati have been hit due to the existing FTAs and overall trade deficit with partner countries have also gone up,” the official said. It is important for India to come to grips with what its position on FTAs should be as there are a number of proposed pacts in the pipeline including long-pending ones with partners such as the EU, Australia and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). “The Indian industry is not totally opposed to FTAs. For instance, there are sectors such as textiles that want an FTA with the EU. A balanced view needs to be taken by the government on the matter,” the official said. Goyal, who took charge as the Commerce & Industry Minister recently, is yet to discuss in details the challenges that the proposed RCEPpose for India. “A clarity on RCEP and what India is ready to offer all members including China in terms of market access has to emerge. Once there is clarity, Indian officials can take a firm stand at the negotiations,” the official said.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Giving the industry a breathing time, the government has deferred implementation of the simplified returns to October from earlier deadline of July and came out with clear-cut phase-wise timelines for a transition. Trial of parts of new returns will start from next month and the whole process would replace the existing returns by January 2020. Currently, there are two forms that every registered unit has to file either monthly depending on their sales -- GSTR 1 for sale invoices and GSTR 3B which is summary of purchases and sales. GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B would be replaced by GST ANX-1 and GST RET-01 respectively. There would be another form GSTR ANX-2 which would be for purchases. GSTR 1 would be replaced by GST ANX-1 from October for large companies (having turnover of more than Rs 5 turnover) and from January for others. However, experts have cautioned about the capacity of GSTN portal to handle returns. "What would also be interesting to see is how the GSTN portal behaves with the new return format and its annexures," said Harpreet Singh, partner at KPMG. Meanwhile, the GST Council is also planning to implement e-invoicing system. "It remains to be seen as to whether the government would want the e-invoicing system to be implemented simultaneously in a phased manner and how the same would be integrated with the GST returns," Pratik Jain, partner at PwC India, said. Abhishek Jain, partner at EY, said with a concrete transition plan, businesses would now need to commence work on ERP system changes, business process changes for aligning disclosures with the new return.
Source: Business Standard
The previous high in industrial growth was recorded at 8.4 per cent in October 2018. India’s industrial output surged unexpectedly to a six-month high in April as it expanded by 3.4%, bringing some relief to policy makers gearing up to present the budget in July. Retail inflation inched up to a seven-month high in May but remained within the RBI’s comfort zone, leaving room for more rate cuts. Official data released by the statistics office on Wednesday showed industrial output accelerated in the first month of FY20 from 0.4% in the preceding month but slower than 4.5% in April 2018.
Experts Advise Caution
Retail inflation moved up to 3.05% in May compared with the revised figure of 2.99%, up from 2.92% estimated earlier, in April, remaining below the Reserve Bank of India’s target rate of 4%. The Reserve Bank of India last week cut the policy rate by 25 basis points for the third time in a row and shifted its stance to ‘accommodative’, hinting at scope for further reductions as part of efforts aimed at reversing a growth slump. India’s GDP slowed to a fiveyear low of 6.8% in FY19 and getting growth back on track will be one of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s prime objectives when she presents the budget on July 5. Food inflation, which has been accelerating since December last year, rose to an 11-month high in May, driven largely by the prices of vegetable and pulses. Vegetable inflation at 5.5% was also at an 11-month high while pulses saw inflation after a gap of 29 months. The government has already moved to contain the price of pulses by releasing additional buffer stocks. Prices of fruit and vegetable will likely track progress of the monsoon, which started a week late and has been interrupted by Cyclone Vayu, scheduled to make landfall on Thursday, according to the weather office. Experts warned against reading too much into the numbers. “IIP definitely is much better than we expected but a sudden change in direction in one month doesn’t make a story. Most of the advance indicators that we generally look at have been underperforming. It is very difficult to see whether these numbers would sustain for a significant period of time,” said Indranil Pan, chief economist, IDFC Bank. “For April, manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) had actually gone down but manufacturing numbers have actually gone up, so taking all this together, it is very difficult to see whether these numbers would sustain for a significant period of time.” A decline in core inflation, excluding food, fuel and light, and transport and communications, to a 23-month low of 4.37% indicates that demand conditions have weakened considerably. Even services inflation, a major driver of retail inflation in the second half of FY19, has slowed. “Caution must be exercised as this cannot be interpreted as a revival in consumption spending as the auto data released so far is not encouraging,” CARE Ratings chief economist Madan Sabnavis pointed out. Passenger vehicle sales fell 21% in May to an 18- year low.
RBI TO AID GROWTH
Economists said the central bank will likely continue with a policy that bolsters the economy. “Ind-Ra believes RBI may continue to pursue policy that would be supportive of growth,” said Sunil Kumar Sinha, principal economist, India Ratings. Although impact of monetary policy is felt with a lag, India Ratings believes there is still a scope for one more rate cut in FY20, Sinha said. “On the whole, the picture is not very encouraging on the industrial production front,” he said. “Given the fluctuation in the IIP growth data, it is difficult to believe that we are on our way or anywhere near to a broad-based and sustainable industrial recovery.” The jump in growth was mainly on account of an improvement in mining and power generation, government data showed. Mining expanded 5.1% compared with 3.8% in the year-ago month. Power generation rose 6% against 2.1% in the year earlier. However, the manufacturing sector, with a 77% weight, remains an area of concern, growing by just 2.8%. Capital goods, often taken as barometer for investment, slowed to 2.5% from 9.8% in April 2018. Reviving investment is seen as vital to economic recovery. Manufacturing segments such as motor vehicles, fabricated metal products, rubber and plastics products and paper products contracted. However, foods products, apparel, wood products, printing or reproduction showed double digit growth. Slower growth was recorded in infrastructure and construction goods, and the consumer durable and consumer nondurable segments.
Source: Economic Times
India, which is emerging as a global textile hub and aims to be a $350-billion industry by 2025 from $137 billion now, needs to focus on man-made fibres to stay globally competitive, according to Dilip Gaur, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) national committee on textile and apparel. Gaur is also the managing director of Grasim Industries. India also needs to create trade barriers for China to prevent it from dumping cheap textile products in the country, Gaur said at the recent CII Texexcel 2019, the National Textiles 4.0 Summit in Mumbai. The Indian textile industry should change its approach to move into the second growth phase with focus on quality and other aspects and aim for exports of around $100 billion from the current $40 billion, a news agency quoted textiles secretary Ajit B Chavan as saying at the summit. Companies should also look at reducing carbon footprints so that India can present itself as a competitive manufacturing nation, said Prashant Agarwal, joint managing director of Wazir Advisors.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Timely and efficient availability of export credit is a key driver to boost export growth, according to Indian minister of commerce and industry and railways Piyush Goyal, who recently held a meeting in New Delhi on issues related to export credit with representatives of exporters organisations finance ministry officials and heads of financial institutions. The time has come when India should move away from subsidies to easy availability of cheaper credit to exporters, the minister said. The share of export credit has come down in the last few years, which is a cause of concern, especially for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector that suffers due to demand of collateral from lending institutions, an official press release quoted the minister as saying. Greater transparency has to be brought into the work being done by government organisations, export promotion councils and financial institutions, he added. (DS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
India’s government has long claimed that the country is one of the fastest-growing large economies in the world. That boast was a crucial part of the ruling party’s message in India’s recent election campaign — that, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the economy was in safe hands. Competence and sincerity as an economic manager is central to the image Modi has sought to project. Unfortunately, that claim looks increasingly unsupportable. Earlier this month, official government figures revealed that the economy had been slowing for three quarters. After months of denial, the government also admitted that unemployment is higher than it has been for four decades. Now, Arvind Subramanian, a well-regarded economist who was till last year one of Modi’s most senior advisers, has argued in a Harvard working paper that India’s official figures overestimate growth by several percentage points. While the government claims that India is growing at 7%, Subramanian suggests it’s actually growing at closer to 4.5%.Subramanian’s methodology can certainly be questioned, and his estimate of actual GDP growth may be wrong. But, the fact remains that he has merely made explicit, through comparisons across time and with other middle-income economies, the central puzzle of Indian GDP data: If India’s growing so fast, why do most other indicators suggest the economy is stagnating or slowing? Whether looking at credit growth or vehicle purchases, exports or investment, there’s little support for the idea that India is enjoying breakneck growth at the moment. It’s past time that India’s government took this problem seriously — both the questions about India’s GDP data and the concerns about what the data reveals about the economy. So far, the government has denied that official data could be questioned, even though senior independent statisticians have quit after accusing politicians of concealing the unemployment figures. Absurdly, some officials have even tried to say that the unemployment data can’t be trusted because the economy is growing so fast. The government had better understand that this is a crisis of credibility. Its own senior officials don’t believe its numbers. Shortly, nobody else will either. This is an unprecedented humiliation for Indian officialdom, which has prided itself on the quality and independence of its statistics. It needs to be addressed quickly, whatever the political cost. Obviously, the first step has to be to set up an independent commission staffed with world-class economists and statisticians to go into Subramanian’s critique. The prime minister’s economic advisory council has already responded in a press release that essentially promises a “point-by-point rebuttal” to Subramanian — an indication that a real investigation is not on the cards. Then there are the larger questions about India’s economy that must be answered. If it is growing at less than 5%, then it is under-performing massively given its size and demographic profile. Yet, over a fortnight since Modi was re-elected, we still have no clear idea what his economic agenda for the next few months might be. This is a remarkable degree of hubris. Every single economist worth his or her salt agrees that India’s economy needs fundamental structural reform and has for years. Markets for land and labor are not flexible. Institutions are not sufficiently independent, the judicial system is so sclerotic that contract enforcement is a joke, and the financial system is too dependent upon state-run banks. All of these bottlenecks need to be addressed and they need to be addressed together. When India’s economy began its liberalization process in the 1990s, they were all on the agenda. Successive governments have set them aside as being politically problematic. Now there’s less excuse than ever for putting them off: No government in that period has had Modi’s political capital. It used to be said that India only reforms in a crisis. Well, this is a crisis. If India is enduring rampant unemployment, if it is growing at only 4.5%, then not since the 1990s has the economy been so in need of drastic reform measures. The government won’t able to avoid the facts for long. Whatever it may claim about growth, investors will make up their own minds. Confidence in India’s economy continues to be shaky — and a few more quarters of bad indicators will erode it completely. At that point, even a government obsessed with its image will have to accept reality.
Source: Financial Express
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), accorded by the US to imports from India since 1976, stood terminated as on June 5, 2019. The government of India has indicated that the fiscal impact of this withdrawal, which would impact approximately $5.6 billion of India’s exports, is not significant. Perhaps it is indeed not when seen against the overall exports to the US, valued at $230 billion. But the issue is not one of mere numbers, but one of legal principles as the systemic impact of US’s brazen unilateral actions. It is also of the impact that the move would have on exporters of several goods such as jewellery, building materials, solar cells and processed foods, which will face increases of upto 10% in the US tariffs, not all of which exporters can absorb by increasing prices of products in their struggle to remain competitive. Spillover effects in terms of downsizing in export firms, diversification, exploring newer markets, and all the accompanying uncertainties therefore seems inevitable. To begin with, there is no right or entitlement that India, or any other developing country, has to GSP benefits from any developed country. GSP is a voluntary exercise of preferential market access that developed countries have the discretion to provide. However, the laws of the World Trade Organization (WTO) provide very clear legal that a country that chooses to administer GSP needs to adhere to. This includes the legal requirement that GSP shall be available for all developing countries on a non-discriminatory basis, and they need to be accorded on a non-reciprocal basis, i.e., such preferences cannot be given or restricted on the ground of equivalence of some benefit from a developing country. The US has unabashedly also confirmed that the GSP benefits to India has been terminated solely on account of its unilateral assessment that India does not provide “equitable and reasonable market access” to it. This is an admitted violation of the mandate that GSP needs be based on the principle of non-reciprocity. The object of US’s trade concerns against India include requirements under Indian law for certification of dairy products, norms on pricing for medical devices, and India’s laws on patenting which apply, in the view of the US, strict criteria for grant of patents for products and also allow for compulsory licensing. Each of these is a legitimate exercise of sovereign legislative and policy choices by India. The US has also expressed concerns on imposition of high tariffs by India in various sectors, including automobile, textiles, pharmaceuticals and distilled spirits, which, again, are all within the realm of India’s WTO’s commitments. In other words, India’s actions are all WTO-consistent domestic policy actions. The US, however, perceives these as limiting market access, and instead of playing by the multilateral rules, which would require trade negotiations on a reciprocal basis, it is resorting to leveraging the one tool that it is mandated to provide on non-reciprocal basis, i.e., GSP benefits. The US action is an extension of its recent approach of unilateral action and strong-arm tactics to extract concessions. In a measured response, the government of India has indicated that, like the US, it too believes in maintaining its national interest and addressing development imperatives. It has also indicated the hope of arriving at a mutual resolution of the issues. While amicable solutions are always the desirable objective in international relations, the approach with the US cannot be pegged on this expectation alone. In fact, there is no better example than the US itself that has used a combined strategy of bilateral dialogue, coupled with unilateral action, and most interestingly, recourse to the beleaguered WTO’s dispute settlement system. This is the second time that the US has hit India with its unilateral measures. The first time was a year back when, on June 1, 2018, the US imposed tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium imported into the US. India has initiated a WTO dispute against this, as have several other WTO members. Some of these countries such as EU and China also imposed retaliatory tariffs on certain imports from the US, against which the US has initiated WTO disputes. While India announced retaliatory tariffs against the US several months back, it has been deferring the imposition of such tariffs. It is strategically important for India to raise a challenge against US’s GSP termination before the WTO. There are three reasons for this: (a) India is on a strong legal footing with regard to such a challenge; (b) the GSP issue is one of systemic significance within the framework of multilateral trade rules, and one country cannot be allowed derail the fundamental planks on which it stands; and (c) contesting a country’s action through dispute settlement, and simultaneously holding bilateral negotiations, are not antithetical to each other, and can often help a country leverage its advantages better.
Source: Financial Express
New investments in the powerloom sector in country’s biggest man-made fabric (MMF) industry has been affected with the textile commissioner’s office not holding Project Approval Committee (PAC) meeting for the last 16 months. According to the Federation of Gujarat Weavers Welfare Association (Fogwa), the PAC meeting is considered as an important one and should be held once every month. All the projects regarding new investment in the powerloom sector are approved in the PAC meeting. However, without even a single meeting held for so long, new investments and employment opportunities are getting stuck and delayed. President of Fogwa, Ashok Jirawala said, “Project investments to the tune of over Rs 2,000 crore has been affected in the textile sector sans PAC meetings. We have asked the new textile commissioner to hold PAC meeting every month so that projects under TUFS scheme get approved on time powerloom sector can take benefit from it
Source: Times of India
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 69.38 a dollar and advanced to a high of 69.28 during the day. The Indian rupee on June 12 appreciated by 10 paise to close at 69.34 to the U.S. dollar, marking the second straight session of gains driven by easing crude prices. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 69.38 a dollar and advanced to a high of 69.28 during the day. It finally settled at 69.34, up 10 paise against its previous close. The Indian currency has strengthened by 31 paise in the last two sessions. “Indian rupee trading higher amid fall in crude oil price. Market participants awaiting May retail inflation data to gauge the possibility of further interest rate cuts,” said V.K. Sharma, Head-PCG & Capital Market Strategy, HDFC securities. Retail inflation spiked to 3.05% in May from 2.99% in April, government data showed. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 2.49% to $60.74 per barrel. Besides easing crude prices, forex traders said the local currency gained strength following the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to pump in liquidity into the system. The RBI said on June 11 it will infuse ₹15,000 crore into the financial system through bond purchases on Thursday. “Based on an assessment of prevailing liquidity conditions and also of the durable liquidity needs going forward, the RBI has decided to conduct purchase of [six] government securities under OMOs for an aggregate amount of ₹150 billion on June 13, 2019 [Thursday] through multi-security auction using the multiple price method,” the central bank said in a statement. Meanwhile, the dollar Index which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.07% to 96.75. Foreign institutional investors net sold equities worth ₹1,050.43 crore on June 12, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed. The 10-year government bond yield was at 7.01% on June 12. The BSE gauge pared some losses to settle 193.65 points, or 0.48%, lower at 39,756.81. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 59.40 points, or 0.50%, to close at 11,906.20. Meanwhile, Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd. (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 69.4222 and for rupee/euro at 78.5799. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 88.0398 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 63.90.
Source: Financial Express
Global apparel retailer Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) today announced a new partnership with its longtime sourcing and franchise partner in India, Arvind Limited, to drive industry-leading solutions that address global water scarcity. The apparel industry is one of the most intensive users of water in the world and, in India, 54 percent of the population faces high to extremely high water risk. The two companies will open a new innovation center to promote the adoption of proven techniques and technology that reduce water use by the textile manufacturing industry. Further, Arvind and Gap Inc. are also investing in a new water treatment facility that will eliminate the use of fresh water at Arvind’s denim mill in Ahmedabad, India. The facility will save three billion liters of fresh water by the end of 2020 and preserve the local community’s vital freshwater resources. As water becomes increasingly scarce due to climate change and growing human needs, the apparel industry is facing pressure to reduce its demand for fresh water. When it opens in 2020, the new center will be an innovation hub for apparel companies, manufacturing suppliers and vendors, sustainability experts, academics, and other environmental stakeholders to advance and scale water stewardship across the apparel sector. The 18,000-square foot space will feature: installations that showcase water management best practices and recycling technologies; a library; lab space to develop water management solutions as well as classroom training and conference space. Once completed, the center will generate scalable solutions that can be replicated at other mills and laundries. Today, Arvind’s denim mill in Ahmedabad – the first mill in India to manufacture denim – consumes eight million liters of fresh water per day. Once constructed, the new water treatment facility will replace 100 percent of its freshwater use with reclaimed water. Specifically, the new facility will use Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR) technology to treat domestic wastewater drawn from the surrounding community without the use of chemicals in the treatment process, resulting in a cleaner, more sustainable process. The facility is currently under construction and is expected to be commissioned by September. Beyond eliminating the use of fresh water at the denim mill, the facility will also reduce business risk for Arvind, Gap Inc. and the other brands that source from the mill due to local water scarcity challenges. This effort brings together two major industry players. Arvind’s textiles manufacturing in India date back to 1931 while Gap Inc.’s global supply chain operates across more than 30 sourcing countries. “The world is facing a water crisis, and Gap Inc. is committed to finding meaningful, scalable ways to reduce our water use. Traditionally, manufacturing apparel has been a water intensive, water wasting process,” said Art Peck, president and chief executive officer, Gap Inc. “This partnership with Arvind Limited is an important step towards changing that, and we look forward to collaborating across the industry to accelerate the transformation to more efficient and sustainable water use practices.” “Arvind is committed to eliminating the use of fresh water from its textile production operations. We have made significant investments in water reduction and recycling activities over the past two decades,” said Punit Lalbhai, Executive Director, Arvind Limited. “Gap Inc. is our key strategic customer and this partnership is valuable for us to achieve our water goals collectively. The partnership will also help in expanding scope of water savings to the broader industry through Center of Excellence.” In 2018, Gap Inc. unveiled a new sustainable manufacturing goal to conserve a total of 10 billion liters of water by the end of 2020. Through product design innovation and partnering with fabric mills and laundries, the company has saved more than 5.7 billion liters of water. And because cotton is an extremely water-intensive fiber, Gap Inc. began sourcing cotton from the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) in 2016 to support the improvement of cotton farming practices globally. The company recently announcedit will source all cotton for its family of brands from sustainable sources by 2025. Helping communities improve access to clean water and sanitation is another core focus. In 2017, Gap Inc. and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the Women + Water Alliance in India, a partnership to improve and sustain the health and well-being of women and communities touched by the apparel industry. Arvind’s sustainability strategy, Fundamentally Right, revolves around an input management approach with the goal to make all key inputs 100 percent sustainable. Water is one key input, and Arvind plans to eliminate the use of fresh water from its textile production by the end of 2020. Currently, 65 percent of the company’s water use is from recycled sources. Once completed, the new treatment facility is expected to help the company achieve 90 percent from recycled sources. Arvind also has the largest sustainable cotton farm operation in India for a textile mill.
About Gap Inc.
Gap Inc. is a leading global retailer offering clothing, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta, Intermix, Janie and Jack, and Hill City brands. Fiscal year 2018 net sales were $16.6 billion. Gap Inc. products are available for purchase in more than 90 countries worldwide through company-operated stores, franchise stores, and e-commerce sites. For more information, please visit www.gapinc.com.
About Arvind Limited
Arvind is a U.S. $1 billion textile company with a focus on textiles, advanced materials, environmental solutions and omni-channel commerce. Arvind Limited is an integrated solutions provider in textiles with strong fibre to fashion capabilities for a global customer base. It is also a design powerhouse implementing innovative concepts and generating intellectual property. It ranks amongst the top suppliers of fabric worldwide. The company strives every day to create opportunities beyond conventional boundaries and believes that the possibilities are endless.
Source: Water Online
The Central Asia Trade Exhibitions will organize its 17th International Exhibition of Home textiles, Curtains and Carpets. The Exhibition is to be held from February 29 to March 3, 2020 in “Atakent” exhibition center, Almaty. Almaty is Kazakhstan's largest metropolis. Central Asia Hometextile provides a huge platform for business networking and give plenty of marketing information to the attendees. To build a business development, this exhibition will allow the professionals in establishing their business contacts in countries like Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Turkey, Turkmenistan, China, Poland, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and from other countries are participating in this event. Organizing company has invited all Indian stakeholders to participate in this exhibition with a hope of a fruitful cooperation for strengthening trade and economic relations between our countries. For every existing company in the market, the Central Asia Trade Exhibitions always provides great opportunities and advantages. It has an ample of experience in holding leading industry exhibitions in the main cities of Kazakhstan, Astana and Almaty. Annual international venues are created for professionals various areas. Sectors like Home Textiles, Advertising and Promotional Products, Housewares and Household Appliances, Furniture and Woodworking, Sport, Hunting and Fishing, Machinery and Equipment, Plastics, Safety, Electrical Engineering are included in it. With the support of the Ministers, Akimats, Branch Unions and Associations this exhibition is being arranged. Almaty is a major commercial and cultural centre of Kazakhstan, as well as its most populous and most cosmopolitan city. The city generates approximately 20 per cent of Kazakhstan's GDP (or USD 36 billion in 2010).
Source: Money Control
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1032.37 |
USD/Ton |
-0.70% |
6/12/2019 |
|
VSF |
1633.87 |
USD/Ton |
-1.31% |
6/12/2019 |
|
ASF |
2495.62 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
Polyester POY |
1091.65 |
USD/Ton |
0.33% |
6/12/2019 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2356.82 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
40D Spandex |
4366.62 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
Nylon POY |
5465.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1330.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2212.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2674.92 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1236.24 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2617.08 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2385.74 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1706.16 |
USD/Ton |
-2.48% |
6/12/2019 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2660.46 |
USD/Ton |
-0.54% |
6/12/2019 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1923.05 |
USD/Ton |
-0.75% |
6/12/2019 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2313.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2689.37 |
USD/Ton |
-0.53% |
6/12/2019 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2168.85 |
USD/Ton |
-0.66% |
6/12/2019 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.32 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.77 |
USD/Meter |
-0.38% |
6/12/2019 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.04 |
USD/Meter |
-0.14% |
6/12/2019 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.61 |
USD/Meter |
-0.24% |
6/12/2019 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.69 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/12/2019 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14459 USD dtd. 12/06/2019). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
According to Mr. Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), the core reason for the garment industry having to increase fabric imports is due to the current situation in some localities of being "allergic" to the textile industry, especially dyeing. The Ministry of Industry and Trade reported that Vietnam imported 21 commodities worth over US$ 1 billion, accounting for 80.3 percent of the total import turnover in the first five months of the year; in which some items increased compared to the same period last year such as electronic components, machinery, fabric, iron and steel, plastics, etc. It noted that, fabrics exported from China to Vietnam have increased sharply, accounting for 57.3 percent of total fabric import turnover of the country. Therefore, Mr. Vu Duc Giang proposed three recommendations to promote the domestic fabric industry. Firstly, industrial parks to invest in textile and dyeing industry have to be quickly established. Secondly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade must be the mainstay in the strategy of building the supporting platform with the textile industry. Finally, it is necessary to have transparency to create a legal foundation. Thus, the textile and garment industry would be rapidly independent on imported raw materials in general and the fabric sector in particular to improve the value added in exports and take the advantages of free trade agreements.
Source: Saigon Online
The UK government is inviting organisations to apply for funding under a multi-million pound grant scheme to boost recycling of textiles. This could include machinery for recycling textiles, technology for disassembling or sorting textiles, automated processes for removing items such as zips, and technology to sort textiles by fibre type and colour. There has been a 14 per cent drop in clothing thrown away in the UK since 2012, as well as a more than 11 per cent drop in carbon footprint per tonne of clothing, and a more than 17 per cent drop in water usage achieved by the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) signatories between 2012 and 2017. In addition to textiles, organisations in England can apply for government funding for innovative solutions to drive up the recycling of hard-to-recycle plastic packaging such as plastic trays, pots and tubs, plastic films and pouches. This could include innovative sorting or segregation equipment, and smarter systems to enable sorting of different polymers. The UK generates around 2.4 million tonnes of packaging waste per year. Around 40 per cent of all plastic produced in the UK is used in the packaging of goods. In 2015, there were 300,000 tonnes of clothing in the UK going to landfill or incineration. “We are committed to going further and faster to reduce, reuse, recycle and cut waste. Valuable waste ending up in landfill makes no sense environmentally or economically,” said UK environment minister Thérèse Coffey. “We are making progress but there is more to do, and I encourage organisations to apply for our multi-million pound grant to drive-up the recycling of these valuable materials,” she added. The latest announcement builds on the government’s landmark Resources and Waste Strategy—which sets out how following the overhaul of the packaging regulations which will see producers pay the full cost of managing their waste the government will place greater responsibility on producers to make their items easier to reuse and recycle. Textiles is a key priority area for action. (RKS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
Imports at Unites State’s major retail container ports are expected to continue to grow this summer as retailers stock up inventory to get ahead of higher tariffs, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association. “With a major tariff increase already announced and the possibility that tariffs could be imposed on nearly all goods and inputs from China, retailers are continuing to stock up while they can to protect their customers as much as possible against the price increases that will follow,” said NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy Jonathan Gold in a press release by NRF. “Tariffs are taxes paid by American businesses and consumers, not foreign governments. Retailers will continue to do everything they possibly can to mitigate the impact of tariffs on consumers, but if we see further escalation in the trade war, it will be much more difficult to avoid higher price tags on a wide range of products. It’s time to stop using American families as pawns in negotiations for better trade deals.” The Trump administration increased 10 per cent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 per cent in May, with the increase applying to imports that arrive in the US after June 15. The administration has also proposed to implement new 25 per cent tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods and recently removed India and Turkey from the Generalized System of Preferences programme, which allows certain items to be imported duty-free. In addition, the administration announced a 5 per cent escalating tariff on all imports from Mexico, but those goods travel by truck or train and don’t effect cargo numbers at US seaports. “One must wonder who the Trump administration is trying to punish with its growing enthusiasm for tariffs,” Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said. “The tariffs are offsetting much of the savings from tax cuts, and if this continues there could be tough months ahead.” US ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 1.75 million twenty-foot equivalent units in April, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available. That was up 8.4 per cent from March and up 6.9 per cent year-over-year. A TEU is one 20-foot-long cargo container or its equivalent. May was estimated at 1.88 million TEU, up 3 per cent year-over-year. June is forecast at 1.86 million TEU, up 0.3 per cent; July at 1.93 million TEU, up 1.1 per cent; August at 1.95 million TEU, up 3.3 per cent; September at 1.89 million, up 0.9 per cent, and October at 1.95 million TEU, down 4.4 per cent. The August and October numbers would be the highest monthly totals since the 2 million TEU record set last October as retailers rushed to bring merchandise into the country ahead of expected tariff increases. Imports during 2018 set a record of 21.8 million TEU, an increase of 6.2 per cent over 2017’s previous record of 20.5 million TEU. The first half of 2019 is expected to total 10.6 million TEU, up 3 per cent over the first half of 2018. Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by the consulting firm Hackett Associates, covers the US ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Despite the hue and cry by the five major zero-rated export sectors of the country, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has withdrawn the zero-rated facility, saying that the move will streamline revenue flow and prevent leakages. While announcing the federal budget for fiscal year 2019-20, the government withdrew the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) 1125(I)/2011, which offered zero-rated sales tax on inputs and products of five major export-oriented sectors ie textile, leather, carpets, sports goods and surgical instruments. “The objective behind the move is to resolve the problem of delay in refund payments. The zero-rating created a loophole and the benefit was being availed by unintended beneficiaries and non-exporters,” said Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar while presenting the budget for 2019-20. “The reduced rates for finished goods are also harming revenues.” In order to streamline revenue flow and prevent leakages, he proposed some measures including scrapping the SRO 1125, thus restoring sales tax at the standard 17% on the five zero-rated sectors. He also said the rate of sales tax on local supplies of finished articles of textile, leather and finished fabrics may be raised to 17%. However, the retailers opting for real-time reporting would be given a relaxation and will be charged 15% tax, he added. He stressed that zero-rating of utilities would be withdrawn and the refund of sales tax to these sectors would be automated, thus ensuring that the tax paid on inputs was immediately refunded.“Refund Payment Orders (RPOs) will be immediately sent to the State Bank for payment,” he said. He proposed a reduced tax rate of 10% on ginned cotton, which is presently exempted. “This decision is against the textile policy which the PTI government presented before general elections,” said Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) Chairman Jawed Bilwani while criticising the budget. “Exporters reject the government’s decision on withdrawing the SRO 1125.” Stating figures, he lamented that the withdrawal of zero-rated facility for the five export sectors would push down exports by 30%.He was of the view that the discontinuation of the zero-rated status would deal a blow to the export industries, lead to flight of capital, mass unemployment and huge foreign exchange losses. He expressed concern that after implementation of the decision, the exporters’ liquidity would get stuck with the government as it did not have efficient system to refund exporters’ money on time. “Exporters ship their products thrice a year because it takes four months from the production of garments to shipment,” Bilwani said. “If the government is going to charge 17% tax, 54% of their money will get stuck with the government in these three cycles, which will cause liquidity crunch for the exporters.” “This is how the discontinuation will cause plethora of problems for the export industry,” he said. He pointed out that this could also result in capital flight to foreign countries, which could trigger a spike in unemployment in the country. “The government is taking these steps to meet IMF conditions,” the PHMA chairman said. “Pakistan is a sovereign country and the government should take decisions in its own interest and not give in to external pressure.” The government already owed the exporters billions of rupees, how would it be able to pay new refunds, Bilwani asked. An amount of Rs200 billion of exporters in tax refunds, customs duty rebate, withholding tax refund, Duty Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies and Duty Drawback of Taxes are stuck with the government. “The withdrawal of zero-rating will definitely lead to the shutdown of small and medium export industries,” he said.
Source: The Tribune
China has been accused of mislabelling products as being ‘Made in Vietnam’ in order to dodge Donald Trump’s tariffs. Vietnamese customs officials said that “dozens” of products have been identified as having been subject to the fraud. Donald Trump has railed against China’s trade surplus with the US, imposing new tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods in an attempt to redress the imbalance. The tariffs have sparked a trade war, with the Chinese government imposing retaliatory tariffs worth comparable amounts on exports from the US. Chinese firms are now thought to be exporting goods including textiles, farm products, tiles, honey, iron, steel, and plywood via Vietnam, where a Vietnamese certificate of origin can be applied for. In one instance, a Vietnam-based firm was found by US customs officials to be importing Chinese timber products, relabelling them, and then exporting them to the US.
How did the spiralling US-China trade war start?
Donald Trump ran for president on a pledge to “Make America Great Again”, and is looking to fulfil it by attempting to redress China's trade surplus with the US. He wants to bring more production back to America and recover some of the country's lost manufacturing jobs. Before the 2016 election Trump accused Beijing of “raping” US workers. The Chinese Premier Xi Jinping does not want to be seen to back down. From July 2018, both sides began levying new tariffs worth hundreds of billions of dollars on exports from each other's economies. A ceasefire of sorts began in December 2018, when the two sides agreed to pause tariff hikes and start trade negotiations. Despite numerous rounds of talks, no agreement has yet been reached, and in May the US raised tariffs from 10 to 25 per cent on $200bn dollars woth of goods. China responded with its own fresh tariffs on $60bn worth of US exports, causing stock markets to tumble.
Trade talks between the two sides continue
Vietnamese foreign minister Pham Binh Minh reacted furiously to revelations of the practice, saying: “It will sabotage Vietnamese brands and products and it will also affect consumers. “We could even get tariff retribution from other countries, and if that happens, it will hurt our economy.” The Vietnamese government added that more stringent checks would be put in place on exports to the US, Europe, and Japan.
Source: The Sun
HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s textile and garment industry is striving to achieve export turnover of more than US$40 billion in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 14-15 per cent. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) showed that since the beginning of the year, the textile industry has achieved positive results. Compared to the same period last year, the industry has grown by more than 12 per cent. The industry has posted growth in production of costumes (up 8.8 per cent), fabric made from natural fibres (3.9 per cent), synthetic fibres (19.5 per cent) and casual clothes (8.7 per cent). So far this year, textile and garment export turnover is estimated at $9.43 billion, an increase of 9.8 per cent from the same period last year. According to Lê Tiến Trường, general director of the Việt Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), Việt Nam’s garment export industry is growing. Orders to Vietnamese enterprises have increased by 8-10 per cent over the same period in 2018. Trường also emphasised the initiative of textile enterprises in seeking new markets. A market tour by Vinatex and 10 other large businesses in May 2019 to seek importers in Canada – a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – shows the determination of industry leaders to increase Việt Nam’s market share abroad. “Meetings with importers have been taking place, and a number of importers with revenue of up to 1 billion Canadian dollars such as VF, Atlantic Sportwear and Giant Tiger have contacted Vietnamese textile enterprises,” Trường said. In April, the International Exhibition of Textile and Garment Industry - Fabric & Garment Accessories in HCM City served as another opportunity for textile enterprises to expand their market. With more than 1,000 international suppliers attending from 24 countries, the exhibition helped businesses get information about the latest production technologies and find ways to meet the needs of domestic and international buyers. Việt Nam’s textile and garment is appreciated by foreign partners for both its quality and order fulfilment time. Cao Hữu Hiếu, Vinatex’s managing director, said that medium and large textile enterprises in Việt Nam have worked to meet social responsibility and Green Label criteria from partners. However, the sector also faces of a number of challenges. For example, increased trade stress is affecting service prices. In addition, strong exporting countries consider Việt Nam a rival to curb. In order to continue growing at the same rate, enterprises need to innovate with specific solutions. They must develop a competitive tool set including focusing on technological innovation, saving energy and improving the productivity of synthetic factors through solutions such as automation. It is necessary to link businesses through common information, artificial intelligence and big data, Hiếu said.
Source: Vietnam News
