According to a notification of the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT), the new forum will remain as Board of Trade and will work with ten terms of references. The government has merged the Council of Trade Development and Promotion with the Board of Trade to bring greater coherence in consultation process with all stakeholders for promoting exports and imports. According to a notification of the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT), the new forum will remain as Board of Trade and will work with ten terms of references. The new board would provide a platform to states and union territories for articulating their perspectives on trade policy and help states to develop and pursue export strategies in line with the national foreign trade policy. Besides, the forum would advise the government on policy measures for preparation and implementation of short and long term plans. It would also review export performances of various sectors, identify constraints and suggest industry specific measures to optimise export earnings and to examine existing institutional framework for imports and exports. "To bring greater coherence in consultation process, it has been decided to merge Council of Trade Development and Promotion (CTDP) with the Board of Trade and the new forum will remain as Board of Trade," DGFT said. The board will be chaired by commerce and industry minister. Its members will include minister of state for commerce and industry and state ministers who are in charge of trade minister of state for commerce and industry and state ministers who are in charge of trade. The official members will include secretaries of different departments like revenue, commerce, health and agriculture besides NITI Aayog CEO, Deputy Governor RBI, and CBIC chairman. Further, the new forum would have presidents and chairpersons of industry chambers among others as ex-officio members.
Source: Economic Times
Impact of Demonetisation, GST on Textile Industry: PM Narendra Modi-led Union Government today said that no negative impact of demonetisation was observed by the Textile Ministry during its implementation of schemes and field visits. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani said, "Ministry of Textiles has not conducted a study on the impact of demonetization and GST on textile sector as no negative impact of demonetisation was observed by the Ministry during its implementation of schemes/field visits." Irani further said that GST rates for garments and made up articles is 5 per cent of sale value not exceeding Rs. 1000 per piece and 12 per cent for articles of sale value exceeding Rs. 1000 per piece. The GST rates are lesser than the pre-GST incidence of taxes on these goods. To reduce the cost of the garment industry, GST rate on manmade fibre yarns has been reduced from 18% to 12%. Further, the refund of accumulated input tax credit on fabrics has also been allowed to reduce the cost of fabrics which is a major input for garments, said Irani. The minister further said that under the Interest Subvention Scheme, it was announced in the budget speech that Rs 350 crore allocated for two per cent interest subvention for all GST-registered MSMEs on fresh or incremental loans. Irani also pointed out several steps taken by the Government for the promotion of investment, production exports and for creation of new job opportunities in the textile sector: The government has announced a Special Package for garments and made-ups sectors of Rs 6000 crore which was launched in 2016 to promote investment, boost exports and employment generation of around 1.11 crore jobs. The package offers Rebate of State Levies (RoSL), labour law reforms, additional incentives under Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme ATUFS and relaxation of Section 80JJAA of Income Tax - Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme is being implemented to upgrade technology/machinery of textile industry with an outlay of Rs. 17,822 crore during 2016-2022 which will attract investment of Rs.1 lakh crore and generate 35.62 lakh employment in the textile sector by 2022.
- Under the Scheme of Integrated Textile Park (SITP), Government provides 40% subsidy with a ceiling of Rs.40 crore to set up Textile Parks for creation of textile infrastructure and employment generation.
- A separate scheme for development of knitting and knitwear has been launched recently to boost production in knitting and knitwear clusters which provide employment to nearly 24 lakh persons.
- Government has approved a new scheme viz., ‘Samarth Scheme for Capacity Building’, to train 10 lakh youth for a period of three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20, at an estimated cost of Rs.1300 crore.
Source: ZeeBiz
On July 30 last year, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that India was being upgraded to STA-1 status which makes Indian firms eligible to import high-tech US defence products. US government experts on defence export licensing on Thursday completed a four-day visit to Delhi during which they held multiple briefings with the government and the defence industry about the benefits available to India from the Strategic Trade Authorisation — Tier One (STA-1) status that India was accorded last year. On July 30 last year, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that India was being upgraded to STA-1 status, making Indian entities eligible to import a range of high-tech US defence products without export licences. However, Indian importers do not.
Source: Business Standard
Latest export numbers in key sectors indicate a sluggish demand for made-in-India items globally. Despite both the Economic Survey 2019, and NDA-II’s first Budget, clearly establishing the importance of India’s exports in propelling India reach its ambitious $5 trillion economy mark by 2022, the latest trade number relating to country’s outward shipments show a-not-so-reassuring picture. For the first time in nine months, India's exports shrank 9.71% last month to $25.01 billion, while imports declined 9.06% to $40.29 billion. The latest numbers pertaining to the country’s exports in key sectors indicate a sluggish demand for made- in-India items globally. Among the major foreign exchange earners that witnessed one of the steepest fall in export growth, included: Petroleum (-32.85%), Rice (-28.05%), Gems and Jewellery (-10.67%), ready-made garments (-9.18%), engineering goods (-2.65%), revealed the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry. Only 9 out of the 30 major product groups were found to be in positive territory, including some plantation and agri sector, iron ore, ceramic products & glassware, drugs & pharma, electronic goods and jute manufacturing, observed Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). The industry body further stated that barring these 9 major product categories, all major sectors of exports, including almost all labour-intensive sector exports, besides petroleum for the first time in recent times, were in the negative with a decelerating trend. Commenting on a 41-month low degrowth in exports, FIEO president Sharad Kumar Saraf, said, "Sliding merchandise exports growth during June is a reflection of sluggish global demand and rising tariff war. The high exports base of June 2018 contributed in no less measure. The softening of crude and steel prices also pulled down exports".ND Further, citing US-China Trade war and developments in Iran as one key reason contributing to the existing woes of a global economy, the FIEO Chief maintains that the uncertainty attached to it [Iran-US slugfest] will further affect the flow of investment and add to currency volatility across global markets. With key exports sectors faring poorly and no immediate respite in sight, the crucial question cropping up here is where is the spillover benefit of the ongoing US-China trade tussle where exporters were hoping for a steep jump in the global demand for their items. Also, worth probing is what might have gone wrong with Indian exporters and are there structural weaknesses that prevent Indian exports from being competitive?
Global trade wars aftershocks
Satish Wagh, Chairman, Chemexcil, whose segment saw a dip of 8.17%, maintains that the USA’s withdrawal of GSP benefits on exports from India, does reduce the competitiveness of Indian exporters. He, however, adds that apart from duties, there are factors such as quality, delivery time, etc., which impact trade order flow. “In the coming times, it will have to be seen how this trade war shapes up”, says Wagh. He adds that there certainly exists a general perception that due to the ongoing US-China trade war, Indian suppliers will benefit and the government is also actively engaging with Indian exporters to take advantage of the situation and soon positive results will start showing up. According to HKL Magu, Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the apparel sector did not see any significant dip this time. However, any decline in allied sectors such as cotton yarn etc, is not due to recent India-US trade skirmishes, but mainly due to non-competitiveness of Indian players. The main reason for the decline in the latest export numbers is the fact that Indian exporters are not cost-competitive enough to encash on the opportunity arising out of the US-China trade war, feels Magu. “Although China, hit hard by the trade war, has so far vacated a significant space in the apparel domain, we are not able to capitalise on the opportunity and competitors such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam are able to better capitalise on the new opportunity created, both due to preferred trade agreements they have, and conducive policy frameworks in place,” he reasons. Flagging that the earlier announced duty drawback mechanism of the government needs to be reinstated efficiently, Magu highlights that post-GST implementation, apparel exporters are at a loss of 3-4% [of incentives benefits] since drawbacks and ROSL that the sector used to get at around 9-10%, has now been reduced to 3%, turning Indian items non-competitive at global marketplaces. To address the decline in trade, the AEPC Chief opines that India must have more Free Trade Agreements (FTA), not just with the US, but also with the EU - just as Vietnam and Bangladesh have.
Competition outsmarting Indian players
Among the worst-hit segments that registered a decline in export numbers is the country’s cotton yarn/fabrics/ made-up segment. The sector, covering items such as bed linen sheets, etc., witnessed a dip of 19.73%. KK Lalpuria, executive director and CEO, Indocount industries, blames the high input raw material cost for this dip. "As a raw material, the cotton turned expensive in recent times, and manufacturers eventually bought it a high price, but then the yarn prices nosedived, so there arose a disparity that negatively affected the exports of Indian items in this segment,” asserts Lalpuria, mentioning that a better trade framework employed by competing countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia have also led to a fall in Indian shipments this time. “Recently, inputs cost in raw material across segments have increased. Further, be it the power or labour costs, everything seems to have gone up. As a remedy, many of the sector-specific financial incentives schemes, thus, need to be executed and streamlined on an urgent basis,” says the representative of the textile brand, ranked among the top three exporters of bed sheets/ made-ups from India.
WTO norms - a double whammy
To meet WTO norms, the PM -Modi led NDA-II, right from its first term days, has been contemplating phasing out many of its export subsidy programmes. Many such schemes have so far provided the much useful cushion to a large section of Indian exporters that looked at the government for any kind of financial support to enhance their market competitiveness globally. However, in recent times, the US government has challenged India’s export subsidy programmes at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Keeping this into account, the Indian government plans to phase out its flagship Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) over the next 2-3 years. Working in this direction, a scheme for the remission of state and central levies has already been implemented in garments and made-up exports. While the government says that currently, its potential revenue foregone on account of MEIS is projected to be at Rs 30,810 crore a year, has the government's move led to the intended results on the ground, Indocount’s Lalpuria seems to differ. On the deployment of funds in Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFFs) - a scheme, specially designed for the sector, he says, “Out of more than 9000 cases, the financial support for only 150 cases have so far been considered in the last 3.5 years.” It’s noteworthy that the government launched a Special Package of Rs 6,000 crore in 2016 for garments and made-ups sectors. The package extends Rebate of State Levies (RoSL), additional incentives under ATUFS and a relaxation of Section 80JJAA of Income Tax Act. “RoSL refund of state levies and refunds of State and Central Levies is still pending since last November,'' Lalpuria rues, underlining that global trade is a game of quick decision making that calls for being ahead of the competition in terms of financial planning. However, with such policy glitches affecting cash flow cycle, many exporters in textile segment, being merchant exporters find it acutely hard to sustain the global competition. “Government needs to reward honest exporters with enhanced ease of business, encompassing every trading process, right from simplifying bureaucratic norms to easing inspection procedures, and from taxation glitches to the hassle-free customs,” sums up Lalpuria.
Source: Economic Times
But New Delhi is still undecided on its tariff-elimination commitments. China has dangled a carrot before India to make it improve its market liberalisation offer under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact by offering to open its own market even more, but New Delhi is cautious. In the one-on-one talks between the two countries, that are part of the 16-member proposed regional bloc, China has said that if India went beyond its current offer of eliminating tariffs on about 74 per cent items for the country, it would not only match it but commit to a higher number, an official told BusinessLine. India, however, is apprehensive that its industry will not be able to make as much gains from the tariff elimination under RCEP as the Chinese already have a head-start which is reflected in the $54-billion trade surplus China has over India. Most of the countries that are part of the RCEP, including the 10-member ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, are pushing India to decide on its market opening offer for China as early as possible as that was holding the rest of the negotiations back.
Members keen on pact
Members are keen to have the RCEP agreement in place by the end of this year and a three-member team comprising Trade Ministers from Indonesia and Thailand and the ASEAN Secretary General was in New Delhi last week to meet Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in order to fast-track decision making. Although India is also not eager to open its markets for Australia and New Zealand, to the same extent as for the ASEAN, Japan and South Korea with which it has bilateral free trade agreements, it is most cautious about China as the Indian industry feels most threatened by it. “Last fiscal, China exported goods worth $70 billion to India while India’s exports to the country was $16 billion. Following tariff liberalisation, exports of both countries would go up but the apprehension is that China’s increase would be proportionately much higher than that of India’s and the trade deficit would balloon,” he said. As per China’s latest offer, if India increased its offer to eliminate tariffs for substantially more items (Beijing is pushing for over 90 per cent) than its existing offer, it could eliminate tariffs on 5-7 per cent more goods for India. “The problem is that the Indian industry is more focussed on protecting its domestic market from Chinese goods rather than increase its presence in the Chinese market,” the official said. The Indian industry, especially the steel, textile, automobile and engineering goods sectors, has already requested the government to keep ambitions very low as far as China is concerned. In a recent meeting with the Commerce & Industry Ministry, industry representatives asked the government to stick to the initial offer of eliminating duties on 42 per cent of items imported from China. Once implemented, the RCEP could be the largest free trade zone in the world as member countries account for 25 per cent of global GDP, 30 per cent of global trade, 26 per cent of global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows and 45 per cent of the total population. Trade Ministers from all ASEAN countries will meet in China early next month to take stock of the current negotiations and put an informal time-line for its conclusion.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
China's economic growth slowed to 6.2% in the second quarter, its weakest pace in at least 27 years. A key gauge of China’s debt has topped 300% of gross domestic product, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF), as Beijing steps up support for the cooling economy while trying to contain financial risks. China’s total corporate, household and government debt rose to 303% of GDP in the first quarter of 2019, from 297% in the same period a year earlier, the IIF said in a report this week which highlighted rising debt levels worldwide. The IIF is a private global financial industry association, based in Washington. “While authorities’ efforts to curb shadow bank lending (particularly to smaller companies) have prompted a cutback in non-financial corporate debt, net borrowing in other sectors has brought China’s total debt to over $40 trillion - some 15% of all global debt,” the report said. “Of note, onshore bond issuance suggests a big pickup in borrowing by local governments and banks this year.” China’s economic growth slowed to 6.2% in the second quarter, its weakest pace in at least 27 years, as demand at home and abroad faltered in the face of mounting US trade pressure. To revive investment and protect jobs, Beijing has been encouraging banks to lend more, particularly to struggling smaller firms. It has also unveiled billions of dollars in tax cuts and infrastructure spending. In the first half of this year, local governments’ total net bond issuance reached 2.1765 trillion yuan ($316.5 billion), the finance ministry said on Tuesday. Chinese officials have said repeatedly said debt risks are manageable overall.
Source: Business Standard
India's external sector position in 2018 was broadly in line with the level implied by fundamentals and desirable policies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), noted in its latest External Sector Report. India's low per capita income, favorable growth prospects, demographic trends, and development needs justify running current account (CA) deficits. External vulnerabilities remain, as highlighted by bouts of turbulence in 2018. India's economic risks stem from volatility in global financial conditions and an oil price surge, as well as a retreat from cross-border integration. Progress has been made on FDI liberalization, whereas portfolio flows remain controlled. India's trade barriers remain significant. The IMF noted that whereas the external position is broadly in line with fundamentals, measures to rein in fiscal deficits should be accompanied by efforts to enhance credit provision through faster cleanup of bank and corporate balance sheets and strengthening the governance of public banks. Improving the business climate, easing domestic supply bottlenecks, and liberalizing trade and investment will be important to help attract FDI, improve the CA financing mix, and contain external vulnerabilities. Gradual liberalization of portfolio flows should be considered, while monitoring risks of portfolio flows' reversals. Exchange rate flexibility should remain the main shock absorber, with intervention limited to addressing disorderly market conditions. India's CA deficit grew to $68 billion in 2018-19 from $49 billion the previous year while India's Net International Investment Position marginally improved with the deficit coming down from $438 billion in 2017-18 to $431 billion in 2018-19. India's overall international reserves, though stood at $411.9 billion at the end of March this year, down from March last year by $12.5 billion, IMF noted.
Source: Business Standard
The textiles ministry had been implementing Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS) from 2010-11 to 2017-18 on a pan India basis. Almost 76% of the people trained under a key scheme of the textiles ministry were given employment in a span of seven years, the government said on Thursday. With a view to address the skilled manpower requirements of textile sector, the textiles ministry had been implementing Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS) from 2010-11 to 2017-18 on a pan India basis. “Under the scheme, 11.14 lakh persons were trained out of which 8.43 lakh persons were given employment,” textiles minister Smriti Zubin Irani informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Thursday. In order to address the skill gap in the textile industry, the government has approved a new scheme titled Samarth-Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS) for the entire value chain of textile sector, excluding spinning and weaving in the organized sector, for a period of three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20 with an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore, the minister said. The objectives of the scheme, which aims to train 10 lakh people, include providing demand driven, placement oriented National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) compliant skilling programmes to incentivize and supplement the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organised textile and related sectors and to provide skilling and skillupgradation in the traditional sectors. The scheme is crucial as a survey on skill gap analysis in textile and clothing sector of India, conducted by the Textiles Committee in May last year, estimated additional employment to the tune of 62.12 lakh in organised sector by 2020. The study also projected skilling requirement for 30.56 lakh persons in which 23.89 Lakh was for the apparel sector.
Source: Economic Times
The rupee depreciated by 15 paise to close at 68.97 against the US dollar July 18, amid heavy selling in domestic equities and rising crude oil prices. The rupee opened on a positive note but failed to sustain the gains and settled for the day in the negative territory. This is the third straight day of fall for the rupee, during which it has lost 43 paise. Forex traders said, foreign fund outflows and weak Asian currencies weighed on the local unit. At the interbank foreign exchange (forex) market, the domestic currency opened at 68.76 per dollar, but lost ground during the day and finally settled at 68.97, down 15 paise over its previous close. The rupee had settled at 68.82 against the US dollar Wednesday. "Foreign fund outflows, rebound in crude oil price and weaker Asian currencies weighed on Indian Rupee in Thursday's session," V K Sharma, Head PCG & Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities said adding "recent bottom registered at 68.29 in USD/INR would act as a strong support".Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.90 per cent to USD 64.23 per barrel. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.04 per cent to 97.18. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 16.97 crore Wednesday, provisional data showed. Snapping its three-day rising streak, equity benchmark BSE Sensex settled in the negative territory Thursday. The 30-share Sensex, remained subdued throughout the session and finally closed at 38,897.46, down by 318.18 points or 0.81 per cent. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty cracked below the 11,600 mark, ending 90.60 points or 0.78 per cent lower at 11,596.90. Meanwhile, the 10-year government bond yield was at 6.38 per cent Thursday. Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 68.8051 and for rupee/euro at 77.1434. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 85.3908 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen at 63.60.
Source: Financial Express
"The government has no intention at all of being the main driver of growth in the country" and this role will be taken up by the private sector, according to India''s Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar. The Indian government will give the private sector the space and the incentives to carry out this nation-building role, he said on Wednesday at the India Investment seminar at India''s consulate-general here. He said that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s first term a lot of the foundational work on the economy had been done with the focus on inclusion and now the consensus in the government is for accelerated growth, he said. India is on the cusp of a major transformation over the next five year, Kumar said. "You will see a decade plus of sustained high growth". This cannot be achieved by the public sector alone and the private sector has to play a key role as a massive amount of investment is required, he said. For the first time, invitation has gone out to the private sector to invest in the railways, he said giving an example. The government is willing to take its investments below 50 percent in what are now public sector undertakings, he said. Among the sectors that require attention to spur growth, he listed agriculture, mining, textiles and leather and mobility as well as the exports sector, which, he said, has suffered. India has to make better use of external demand and spur exports through small and medium enterprises while creating better opportunities for "Make in India", he said. He emphasised the role of the small and medium sector, which is where there was "the hunger" for growth. In agriculture, there have hardly been any investments and they were needed to shift to different kinds of crops and expand agro industries, he said. Answering an audience question about water scarcity, he linked the problem -- as well as the solution - to agriculture. At the moment about 90 percent of the water is consumed by agriculture, which utilises it for crops like rice, wheat and sugar cane of which there is an excess production, he said. If there is a shift to horticulture, with the processing needed for it, water could be freed up for other uses, he said. He said that moving agriculture labour out of agriculture while making India an agricultural exporter is another avenue for growth. Asked by an entrepreneur why he should invest in India, Kumar said that he would straight away have access to a huge market and he will be able to get the smartest brains anywhere and partner with the savviest entrepreneurs.
Source: Outlook
Can India become the new factory to the world with the US-China trade war forcing manufacturers to look elsewhere? Comparative foreign direct investment data among emerging markets and the World Bank’s various business environment indicators offer us a rough index of India’s poor showing as a desirable investment destination. The narrative is well established: Red-tape, corruption, policy uncertainty, inadequate personal security and so on. But how do potential investors and business people, who have to live and work here, really see us? Can India become the new factory to the world with the US-China trade war forcing manufacturers to look elsewhere? Given India’s size, the ...
Source: Business Standard
The District Industries Centre (DIC) was being equipped to act as a coordinating agency to meet the needs of various industries, said Collector T. S. Rajasekar at the inaugural function of Tex-Next 2019, an expo of textile industry, organised by the Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association here on Thursday. The three-day expo has 100 participants, who have displayed products ranging from yarn to readymade garments. There are stalls displaying recyclable coloured cotton to kurtis, carry bags and T-shirts. The main objective of the expo was to create awareness among entrepreneurs of the latest technology available in the textile industry, said B. Murugananthan, MADITSSIA secretary. This year, the focus was more on recyclable garments, said Karthick Babu, vice-chairman, Tex-Next 2019. The exhibition will have seminar on various topics, including online marketing and product development. “To ensure that online marketing is accessible to everyone, we are conducting the seminar in Tamil,” said Mr. Karthick Babu.
Source: The Hindu
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1181.21 |
USD/Ton |
-0.91% |
7/18/2019 |
|
VSF |
1732.93 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
ASF |
2262.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
Polyester POY |
1187.75 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2449.65 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
40D Spandex |
4303.25 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
Nylon POY |
1388.38 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2311.54 |
USD/Ton |
-0.62% |
7/18/2019 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2413.31 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1330.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2689.53 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
Polyester DTY |
5495.36 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2398.77 |
USD/Ton |
-0.60% |
7/18/2019 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1875.40 |
USD/Ton |
-0.39% |
7/18/2019 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2602.30 |
USD/Ton |
-0.56% |
7/18/2019 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2704.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2253.39 |
USD/Ton |
-0.32% |
7/18/2019 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2064.40 |
USD/Ton |
-0.70% |
7/18/2019 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2398.77 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.33 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.76 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.03 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.62 |
USD/Meter |
-0.24% |
7/18/2019 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
7/18/2019 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14538 USD dtd. 18/07/2019). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
A new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has been formed to analyse sustainability in the clothing and textiles industry. With the new APPG, which is supported by sustainability charity Hubbub, MPs from all political backgrounds will come together to review supply chains, materials used, and consumer behaviours. The APPG held its inaugural meeting this week, where it was joined by dozens of major retailers, industry bodies, and recycling experts. Over the coming months, the APPG will seek and analyse evidence from a wide base to inform recommendations to government for action in the clothing and textiles sector,” the group said in a statement. The formation of the APPG comes after the recent report by the Environmental Audit Committee titled: “Fixing fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability,” which looked at the environmental and societal cost of our clothes. Anne Main MP, the newly elected chair of the APPG, said: “I am delighted to be voted in to chair this group and I hope we can help to shine a spotlight on this important topic. We need to have a proper debate about the trade-offs of using man-made materials instead of sustainable natural products and only by seeking evidence and asking difficult questions are we going to get there. “We know that the current situation cannot continue and I was pleased to see that this was recognised by all the guests attending the meeting. Now is the time for constructive action to make the clothing and textiles industry more sustainable. The APPG will now look to take evidence from industry and others and will produce a report with recommendations for change. “I would encourage all parts of the industry, from farmers to retailers to industry bodies to engage with the work of the APPG as we look to bring sustainability to this important issue." CEO and founder of Hubbub Trewin Restorick also expressed his support for the newly formed group and its goal. He said: "We are proud to be promoting this APPG and hope that the group's work will complement and enhance our current fashioncampaigns. Creating greater sustainability in the clothing and textiles industry is increasingly important and with the founding of this APPG we hope that government policy can be influenced to deliver a real step change in how we think about what we wear.”
Source: The Independent
Consumers are key to a sustainable future for Earth, according to experts, who told the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) annual global forum on consumer issues in Geneva recently that a consumer with accurate information, effective protection and solid rights–online and offline–is a powerful force to achieve sustainable development goals. “In the face of the climate crisis threatening the survival of humanity, and growing inequalities that undermine social peace, consumers have a decisive power to weigh in and set a new course for development,” UNCTAD deputy secretary general Isabelle Durant said. She said consumption accounts for 60 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP), and so consumers are not just passive buyers and their choices determine the sustainability of economic development. Sustainable consumption is not only about middle-class consumers who buy in large supermarkets, as it affects all populations in developed and developing countries. “We don’t have time. We need to act now and shift the centre of gravity. In doing so, we need to adopt a future-sensitive posture and actively nurture sustainably minded consumers,” said Laura Best, deputy chair of the Consumer Protection Tribunal of South Africa. Consumers already recognize their responsibility for adopting sustainable lifestyles, said Consumers International’s director general, Helena Leurent. “We all feel an urgency to address sustainable consumption. Consumer attitudes are changing and more people want companies to design products that are sustainable,” Leurent said. “It would be both useless and unfair to require consumers to be more responsible and change their behaviour if the production pattern itself remains unchanged and unsustainable,” said Thierry Bourgoignie, professor of law at Quebec University in Canada. He said sustainable development and consumer protection policy were closely interrelated. The digital era has spawned challenges to existing national consumer protection regulatory frameworks, experts said. “Enforcement agencies are facing problems with social media, data protection, digital contracts and new kinds of cross-border fraudulent schemes,” said Claudia Lima Marques, professor of law at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. According to her, traditional consumer law and national laws are not enough to deal with the sweeping power wielded by the digital giants.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) in collaboration with Ethiopia’s labour and social affairs ministry, the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions, the Ethiopian Employers’ Confederation and the Ethiopian Industry Employers’ Confederation recently launched a programme on ‘Advancing Decent Work and Inclusive Industrialization in Ethiopia’. The programme was launched in Addis Ababa in the first week of this month in the presence of minister of labour and social affairs Erogie Tesfay, according to an ILO press release. ”The government of Ethiopia recognizes that an inclusive and job rich growth through decent work is the backbone for achieving the Growth and Transformation Plan vision of becoming a middle income country by 2025” Egogie said. The Ethiopian Government has set out plans to increase its textile and garment exports by $1 billion through its Second Growth and Transformation Plan II (GTP II). The sector is also expected to create more than 300,000 jobs during the planed period. ILO’s programme places decent and human-centred approaches as cornerstone of the future of industrialisation in Ethiopia with an initial focus on the garment and textile industry. At the national level, the project will facilitate dialogue among multiple stakeholders in developing a common vision and strategies to make Ethiopia an African hub of socially responsible production of garment for both global and domestic market. The programme will also support the partners for fixing minimum wage and enhance the capacity of government institutions to prevent and resolve labour dispute. At the regional and sectoral level, the project will assist labour administrations in strengthening the capacity of its inspectors. The programme aims to establish a robust, sustainable and inclusive compliance system and a sustainable system for work place injury prevention, protection and compensation.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
GOTS is set to host the ‘GOTS Bangladesh Seminar 2019’ (GBDS19), on September 8, 2019, with the theme ‘Connecting for Success’ at the International Convention City Bashundhra (ICCB) in Dhaka. The seminar will bring together key players of the organic textile industry, including brands, exporters, certifiers, chemical industry, and other stakeholders. Various topics will be covered in the seminar. This includes Sustainable Retail, where buyers from international brands and retailers sourcing in Bangladesh will share and discuss their experiences and trends with garment suppliers and other supply-chain partners. The requirements for the standard have consistently been evolving to keep pace with technical research and market requirements. In the GOTS Technical Criteria and its Implementation session, latest criteria will be discussed, and implementation partners will share their experiences with technical aspects of the standard. During the Connecting on the Job - Workers and Management session, working conditions at garment (and other) factories in Bangladesh will be explored. It will connect workers and factory owners to discuss relevant social compliance issues. In the ever-evolving market and compliance landscape, coordination between supply-chain partners is paramount to the success of textile supply-chains. The Connecting Supply Chain Partners session will connect key supply-chain partners including garmenting, wet processing, testing, certifiers, and chemical suppliers to discuss challenges and opportunities at every step of the supply-chain. GOTS has been organising international and regional events since 2015. The Seminar 2019 is the second GOTS-event held in Bangladesh and the fifth event in the Indian subcontinent region organised by GOTS. The first seminar in Bangladesh took place in November 2016, counting 180 people from 5 countries. The seminar will be conducted in English.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
