The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 30 JULY 2019

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

 

.Government to set up a welfare board for traders

The industry ministry will set up the National Traders' Welfare Board to help improve access to funds, and suggest simplifications of the Acts and rules applicable to traders, an official source told FE.

The industry ministry will set up the National Traders’ Welfare Board to help improve access to funds, and suggest simplifications of the Acts and rules applicable to traders, an official source told FE.

Although recommending changes to the FDI rules on e-commerce is not explicitly mentioned in the board’s objectives, the board may also offer its views periodically on these key issues as well as these rules directly affect traders.

The creation of the board, which has been approved by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, was part of the BJP’s election manifesto for traders. The board will have a chairman to be nominated by the government, five experts having knowledge of technical and other aspects of the retail trade and 10 members from various trade associations.

The chairman will be a “person capable of representing the issues of traders”. It will make suggestions to trim the compliance burden by reducing the need for licences and will act as an intermediary between traders and the government, an official said. This apart, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade will soon come out with a national retail trade policy.

Keen to soften the twin blow of demonetisation and GST for traders, most of whom fall under the MSME category, the government has already asked chiefs of public sector banks (PSBs) to undertake an “in-depth analysis of the progress made and issues in availability of credit still faced by MSMEs”. RBI data showed credit to industry went up by just 6.9% year-on-year as of April 26, while overall non-food credit growth was as much as 11.9%.

Importantly, loans to industry were mostly cornered by large players and the growth in credit to micro and small units and medium enterprises was just 1% and 3.5%, respectively.

MEIS to be phased out, Centre to refund levies

The commerce ministry has circulated a Cabinet note to phase out the flagship Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and move to a more WTO-compatible regime, as countries like the US have challenged India’s export “subsidy” programmes, a source told FE.

The commerce ministry has circulated a Cabinet note to phase out the flagship Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and move to a more WTO-compatible regime, as countries like the US have challenged India’s export “subsidy” programmes, a source told FE. As reported by FE, the new scheme will refund both state and central levies on inputs consumed in exports and various sectors will be covered in phases.

As per the plan, exporters will be refunded levies that are not reimbursed through freely transferable scrips. The duty drawback panel under the finance ministry (with inter-ministerial representation) will fix the rate of scrips for various products. The scheme will be monitored by the ministries of commerce and finance (department of revenue). A source had earlier said: “The basic idea is to keep exports zero-rated in accordance with the best global practices, while ensuring that all our schemes remain fully WTO-compliant.”

Though the GST regime has subsumed a plethora of levies, some still remain (petroleum and electricity are still outside the GST ambit, while other levies like mandi tax, stamp duty, embedded central GST and compensation cess, etc remain unrebated).

Already, such a scheme for the remission of state and central levies has been implemented in garments and made-up exports. The next foreign trade policy (FTP), which will kick in from April 2020, could see the revamped architecture of various export schemes. Currently, the government’s potential revenue forgone on account of MEIS is estimated at Rs 30,810 crore a year.

As for the remission of state levies for garment and made-up exports, the government allocated Rs 3,664 crore in FY19. However, the compensation level under this scheme was expanded in March to include central levies as well, even some embedded taxes were factored in. So the potential revenue forgone is now estimated at around Rs 6,300 crore annually.

However, government officials have made it clear that the entire allocation or potential revenue forgone on account of various such schemes (including MEIS and duty drawback) doesn’t qualify as export subsidies, as in most cases, they are meant to only soften the blow of imposts that exporters have been forced to bear due to a complicated tax structure. MEIS was announced in the current FTP in 2015 by merging five different schemes.

Under this, the government provides exporters, especially in the labour-intensive sectors, duty credit scrip at 2-5% of their export turnover, depending on products and shipment destinations.

The US has dragged India to the WTO, claiming that New Delhi offered illegal export subsidies and “thousands of Indian companies are receiving benefits totalling over $7 billion annually from these programmes”. Indian officials have rejected such claims. However, to prepare exporters, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal last month asked the industry to stop relying on “crutches of subsidies” and improve competitiveness.

According to the special and differential provisions in the WTO’s Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, when a member’s per capita gross national income (GNI) exceeds $1,000 per annum (at the 1990 exchange rate) for a third straight year, it has to withdraw its export subsidies. According to a WTO notification in 2017, India crossed the per-capita GNI threshold for three straight years through 2015 — to $1,178 in 2015 from $1,051 in 2013.

However, India has argued that just like some others who were granted eight years to scrap export subsidies, it, too, deserves such a time frame to do so. Seeking incentives to stay competitive, exporters have long complained about India’s elevated logistics costs and inflexible labour norms, and also cried hoarse over a ‘strong rupee’.

Source: Financial Express

.Commerce ministry proposes a new export incentives scheme 


NEW DELHI: The commerce and industry ministry has floated a cabinet note for a new export incentives scheme that would be compliant with the World Trade Organization (WTO) norms. 
The Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme, which at present is available on export of garments and made-ups, will now be extended to all exports in a phased manner. The new scheme will replace the extant Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), which was challenged by the US last year in WTO. 
The new scheme will allow reimbursement of duties on export inputs and indirect taxes through freely transferrable scrips. Scrips are incentives that can be used to pay duties. “We wanted RoSCTL to be the template for all schemes,” said an official in the know of the details. 
In March, the Cabinet, approved the RoSCTL scheme to rebate all embedded state and central taxes for apparel and made-ups, through an IT-driven scrip system, and replace the existing Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) scheme that provided rebate of only certain state taxes. 
The RoSCTL rebates the embedded taxes include central excise duty on fuel used in transportation, embedded CGST paid on inputs, purchases from unregistered dealers, inputs for transport sector and embedded CGST and compensation cess on coal used in the production of electricity. While the MEIS will be withdrawn in phases, the scrips’ rate would be fixed three months after the Cabinet’s approval. 
As per the official, the revenue foregone would be monitored by the department of revenue, and the commerce and industry ministry. TIMING CRUCIAL The new scheme is crucial as the US has challenged India’s export schemes under the WTO’s Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. 
Pegging the quantum of subsidies at $7 billion, the US has dragged India to WTO for violating commitments under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) in five of its most used export promotion schemes — the export-oriented units scheme and sector-specific schemes including electronics hardware technology parks scheme, MEIS, export promotion capital goods scheme, special economic zones and duty-free import authorisation scheme. 
The agreement envisages the eventual phasing out of export subsidies and provides eight years for graduating countries (least developed and developing), which cross the $1,000 mark at 1990 exchange rate to phase out export subsidies. India had crossed this threshold in 2015 and it became known when the WTO Secretariat produced its calculations in 2017. 
Under existing WTO rules, a country can no longer offer export subsidies if its per capita GNI has crossed $1,000 for three years in a row. In 2017, the WTO notified that India’s GNI was $1,051 in 2013, $1,100 in 2014 and $1,178 in 2015. 
Source: The Economic Times

FY19 exports may be highest ever at $330 billion
NEW DELHI: Amid slowing global merchandise trade growth, India’s exports are likely to register an all-time high of $330 billion this fiscal. “The growth is propelled by higher exports of pharmaceuticals, petroleum and engineering,” said an official aware of the details.

India’s total outward shipments were $303.5 billion in 2017-18. The all-time high is $314.4 billion posted in 2013-14.
March exports are expected to be above $30 billion, buoyed by strong performances by engineering and harmaceuticals sectors. Services exports are likely to cross $200 billion in FY19, taking overall exports to over $500
billion.

Commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu is confident of India’s exports touching new heights this year. “This happened because we had our sectoral strategy, an institutional mechanism... a product-geography matrix,” he told ET in an interview As per official data, India’s overall exports (merchandise and services) in April-February 2018-19 were estimated to be $483.98 billion, exhibiting a growth of 8.73% over the year-ago period.
Exports have been hit by the muted growth of traditional exports such as gems and jewellery, farm and engineering as well as liquidity crunch stemming from the goods and services tax, and global factors.

The healthy growth in exports comes at a time when the World Trade Organization has cut global trade forecast to 2.6% in 2019 from 3% in 2018.

“World trade will continue to face strong headwinds in 2019 and 2020 after growing more slowly than expected in 2018 due to rising trade tensions and increased economic uncertainty,” WTO said. The multilateral trade watchdog
attributed slow trade growth in 2018 to new tariffs and retaliatory measures affecting widely-traded goods, weaker global growth, volatility in financial markets and tighter monetary conditions in developed countries, among others.
 

Raw silk production increased by 10.52 per cent: Smriti Irani 

NEW DELHI: India is the second largest producer of silk in the world and the total raw silk production in the country increased by 10.52 per cent during 2018-19 over the previous year, Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said in Lok Sabha on Friday. 

Irani said among the four varieties of silk produced in 2018-19, Mulberry accounts for 71.50 per cent (25,213 MT), Tussar 8.44 per cent (2,977 MT), Eri 19.40 per cent (6,839 MT) and Muga 0.66 per cent (232 MT) of the provisional total raw silk production of 35,261 MT. 
"The total raw silk production in the country increased by 10.52 per cent (35,261 Metric Tonne (MT)) during 2018-19 over the previous year 2017-18 (31,906 MT)," she said during Question Hour. 

The minister said the Central Silk Board (CSB), a statutory body under the Ministry of Textiles is encouraging production and export of silk.

 To benefit farmers engaged in sericulture, CSB is implementing a restructured Central Sector Scheme 'Silk Samagra', which mainly focuses on improving quality and productivity of domestic silk thereby reducing the country's dependence on imported silk. 

Under the scheme, assistance is extended to sericulture stakeholders for the beneficiary oriented components like, raising of Kissan Nursery, Plantation with improved Mulberry varieties, Irrigation, Chawki Rearing Centres with incubation facility, construction of rearing houses besides others, she said. 
 

Source: The Economic Times

Government clears scheme to rebate central, state embedded taxes for textiles sector

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet Thursday approved a scheme for rebate of all state and central embedded levies for apparel and made-up textile segments, which would make shipments zero-rated, thereby boosting the country's competitiveness in export markets. 

Addressing a press conference here, Textiles Secretary Raghvendra Singh said the decision was needed as incentives for apparel and made-ups under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) were not WTO compatible anymore. "The MEIS scheme offered 4 per cent support which was not available beyond December 31," Singh told reporters. 

He said rates under the Remission of State Levies (RoSL) have been revised upwards for garments and made-ups, and centrally embedded levies outside the ambit of GST have been added to the scheme, which will "more than offset" incentives not available under MEIS for apparel and made-ups. 
The decision assumes significance as shipments from neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam enjoy zero duty access to the EU, which is the biggest export market for India's apparel sector. 

"However, our exports to the European Union have to face a tariff disparity of around 9.6 per cent. We were facing acute competition in this business where profitability is quite marginal," Singh said. 
The made-up segment of textiles includes products like bedsheets, blankets and curtains. 
 

"Our endeavour will also be to extend these benefits to exports of fibre, yarn and fabrics. A committee will be set up to examine if similar incentives can be extended to these segments," Singh said. 

According to him, the revenue foregone estimate due to the decision has been pegged at Rs 6,300 annually. 
The inter ministerial committee as well as the norms committee of the Department of Commerce shall from time to time assess the impact of this decision and tweak it wherever needed, Singh said. 

Currently, Remission of State Levies (RoSL), which is to offset indirect taxes levied by states such as stamp duty, petroleum tax, electricity duty and mandi tax that were embedded in exports, is provided to textiles exporters. 
"The decision which also extends rebate up to March 31, 2020, will greatly benefit apparel & made-ups manufacturers/exporters," Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said in a tweet. 

She said the apparel and made-ups have a combined share of 55 per cent (around USD 21 billion) in the total Indian textile export basket and the decision to enhance rebate will have a direct impact on these segments, thereby increasing competitiveness of India's textile exports globally. 
 

The decision also entails change in disbursal mechanism whereby the rebate of all embedded state and central levies will be done through the Scrip System. 
"Fulfilling one of the primary demands of the industry, Rebate of State and Centre Levies/Taxes will be done through IT-driven Scrip System thereby preventing delay & ensuring speedy disbursal," Irani said in another tweet. 
The decision will enable the government to take various measures for making exports of apparel and made-ups zero rated. 
"The proposed measures are expected to make the textile sector competitive. Rebate of all embedded state and central taxes/levies for apparel and made-ups segments would make exports zero-rated, thereby boosting India's competitiveness in export markets and ensure equitable and inclusive growth of textile and apparel sector," an official statement said. 

A senior official said under RoSL, in apparel, previously there was a maximum rate of 1.7 per cent which has been revised to a maximum of 3.6 per cent. 
The rate of central levies on apparel was a maximum of 2.45 per cent which means effectively the rate on apparel has gone up from 1.7 per cent to 6.05 per cent. 

The official said for made-ups, previously the maximum RoSL rate was 2.2 per cent which has been revised to 5 per cent, plus central levies with a maximum rate of 3.2 per cent, taking the overall rate from 2.2 per cent to 8.2 per cent. 

Source: The Economic Times

 

Textiles, garment industry not out of the woods yet 
 

NEW DELHI: 2018 may turn out to be a challenging year for India's textile and garment industry, with exporters still reeling under the impact of GST and outward shipments likely to miss the USD 45 billion target for 2017-18. 
Garment exporters have been demanding that the duty reimbursement to them be retained at the pre-GST (Goods and Services Tax) drawback rate of 7.5 per cent, amid declining outbound shipments. 
India's apparel exports declined 39 per cent in value terms in October. 
However, India's cotton production could touch 37.7 million bales in the year that began on October 1, up from 34.5 million bales produced in 2016/17. 

The production of import substitute bivoltine silk in the country is expected to reach around 6,200 million tonnes (MT) in 2017-18 as compared to 5,266 MT a year ago, registering an increase of 19 per cent, according to the Textile Ministry. 

Meanwhile, 2017 turned out to be a mixed bag for the textiles sector. While initiatives were unveiled for power loom units and weavers, the much-awaited new National Textiles Policy is yet to see the light of the day. 

Towards the end of the year, a Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector to boost skill development and job creation was launched with an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore. 10 lakh people are expected to be skilled and certified in various segments of Textile Sector through the scheme, out of which 1 lakh will be in traditional sectors. 

The year also witnessed the first mega international trade event for the textile sector, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on 30 June. 

The event recorded participation from more than 100 countries and a total of 65 MoUs with an estimated value of over Rs 11,000 crore were signed during the exhibition. 

India Handmade Bazaar, an online portal to provide direct market access facility to artisans and weavers, was launched in January. 

In November, the Textiles Ministry notified post-GST rates under the scheme for Remission of State Levies (RoSL) on exports of readymade garments & made-ups. For garments, the rates range between 1.25 per cent and 1.70 per cent and for Made-ups, they range between 1.40 per cent and 2.20 per cent, with the rates effective from October. 

The government also enhanced the rates under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) on readymade garments and made-ups from 2 per cent to 4 per cent. The rates will ve applicable between November 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018. 

A comprehensive national policy covering all segments of the textiles sector is the need of the hour, to give a push to exports from the sector, which have remained stagnant for the past four fiscal years, mainly because of less demand in major markets such as the US, EU and China, and stiff competition from countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh which enjoy an edge over India. 
Source: The Economic Times

Cotton textile exports grew 26% in Apr-Sep; trade war to open new avenues

India's cotton textile exports grew by 26 per cent at USD 6,235 million in the first six months ended September 2018 and the on-going trade war between US and China will open up new export opportunities, the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) said here.

The country had exported cotton textiles (raw cotton, yarn, fabrics and made-ups) worth USD 4,917 million in April-September 2017-18, the association said in a statement.

However, exports of textiles and clothing declined by 3 per cent with exports of readymade garments registering a steep decline of 16 per cent during H1FY19.

India held a special place in global textile trade as the second largest textile exporter in the world. Today, cotton yarn & fabric exports account for over 23 per cent of India's total textiles and apparel exports.

Ujwal Lahoti, chairman of Texprocil, stated that the ongoing trade war between the US and China would possibly open up new opportunities for cotton textile exports from India and we should be ready to explore them.

The government was also in the process of putting in place alternative schemes to promote exports which would improve competitiveness, he said.

Lahoti welcomed the package for the MSME sector announced by the government. Interest subvention on pre-shipment and post-shipment finance for exports by MSMEs has been increased from 3 per cent to 5 per cent.

These measures would provide much needed support and encouragement to the MSME sector, which contributed significantly to the textiles exports. Under the package, GST- registered MSMEs would get 2 per cent interest rebate on incremental loan up to Rs 1 crore, he added.

He also noted that the jump in India's ranking in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business will help boost exports.

Lahoti acknowledged that for textiles exporters, remarkable improvements are visible at the ports, customs and regional offices of DGFT EDI systems.

Source: Business Standard

After two-year lull, garment makers expect revival in fortunes this year

High domestic demand and spurt in exports are expected to boost readymade garment companies’ revenues this calendar year.

Domestic sales, which account for 80 per cent of the sector’s revenue, logged a compound annual growth rate of 9.6 per cent in the last five years to Rs. 4.83 lakh crore.

The growth is set to increase to 10-10.5 per cent this year due to an increase in reach of both organised retail and brands in tier-II and -III cities and rising growth of value apparel retail segment.

A rebound in export growth to 7-8 per cent this year after a de-growth of one and two per cent, respectively in the last two years, will complement the domestic demand.

In the first six months of this year, garment exports were up over 10 per cent. Exports will benefit from a likely rupee depreciation, partial restoration of export incentives and revival of demand in the UAE, the third-largest exports destination after the US and the European Union. Exports to UAE, which account for 12 per cent of total Indian garment exports, are slated to recover after a significant drop in last two years.

The export incentives restored include an increase in rebate of State and Central taxes and levies by almost 200 bps in March, addition of merchant exporters in the interest equalisation scheme for pre- and post-shipment export credit and a 200 bps increase in the rebate offered to micro, small and medium enterprises under IES.

Crisil Ratings expects revenue growth of readymade garment makers to increase 300 basis points to 10 per cent this year, against 7 per cent logged last year.

Anuj Sethi, Senior Director, Crisil Ratings, said operating profit of garment firms focusing on domestic market is expected to remain stable at 10-11 per cent, whereas that of exporters, who will benefit from incentives, is likely to improve another 50-100 bps this fiscal, on top of the 100-120 bps increase seen last fiscal.

“Higher cash accrual, along with stable working capital requirement and prudent capital spending, will lead to a gradual recovery in credit metrics this year,” said Gautam Shahi, Director, Crisil Ratings.

Source: Business Line

Cotton imports set to double amid shortage

India’s cotton imports are set to double amid crop shortfall for the 2018-19 season which ends in September.

While cotton industry estimates imports to cross 30 lakh bales (each of 170 kg) for the season, double from 15.8 lakh bales reported last year, trade sources believe that cotton import shipments will be restricted to around 25 lakh bales as against estimated imports of 31 lakh bales.

Delayed shipments

“Out of the total contracted imports of 27 lakh bales for the season, about 14 lakh bales have already arrived at Indian ports till July-end, while additional 10-11 lakh bales are estimated to arrive by September. There is some delay in several shipments, due to which about 2-3 lakh bales are likely to arrive in October,” said Atul Ganatra, President, CAI. CAI had estimated 31 lakh bales of cotton imports for the year.

On the other hand, cotton prices will rule higher even amid increased imports as the shortage of fibre is likely to cause supply crunch till the beginning of the next season after October 2019. Trade estimates prices to hover between Rs. 44,000-46,000 a candy of ginned cotton (each of 356 kg).

The 2018-19 cotton crop is estimated at over a decade-low at 312 lakh bales. This prompted industry to look for cotton from global suppliers such as the US, Brazil and African counries.

Global stock

Globally, the cotton prices have remained under pressure due to higher production than mill-use. As per the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, global stock for 2019-20 is likely to be higher at 80.4 million bales, about 1.2 million bales more than previous year.

The ICE Cotton December futures quoted at 63.57 cents per pound on Monday, down by over 19 per cent from its high levels of 76 cents about three months ago. However, the Indian cotton prices have fallen by about 5-6 per cent from Rs. 46,000 to Rs. 43,500 a candy (each of 356 kg) despite the prevailing shortage conditions.

10% crop shortage

“The crop is short by more than 10 per cent. The prices were expected to go up by 10 per cent in India, but reverse has happened and prices have gone down by 5 per cent. Due to the US-China trade issue, New York futures have not gone up, else Indian cotton prices would have shot up,” said Vinay Kotak, director at Kotak Commodities.

He added that increased cotton imports have already affected Indian prices but there is no likelihood of cotton prices to come down till November 15, when the fresh arrivals will get fed into the market.

Imports provide an economical proposition to traders and mill users as it saves at least Rs. 2,500 per candy for them. J Thulasidharan, Managing Director of Coimbatore-based Rajaratna Group of Mills said South Indian mills are increasingly depending on imports as it is a beneficial proposition for them. “The estimation of very low crop has created panic. As a result, we are seeing increased imports. There is huge price gap between Indian and foreign cotton, making it cheaper to import. On the quality issues, the international cotton comes with little trash and higher realisation, resulting in additional 2-3 per cent cost benefit,” said Thulasidharan, who is also President of Indian Cotton Federation.

Recessionary trend

He attributed the current plight of the Indian cotton sector to the recessionary trend in textiles and bigger global crop for the coming year.

Even as the Union Agriculture Ministry has projected cotton sowing for the kharif 2019-20 at 109 lakh hectares as on July 19, 2019 against the normal sowing of 121 hectares, experts keep a close watch over sowing progress.

The Cotton Advisory Board (CAB)’s had projected last year's cotton sowing at 126.44 lakh hectares.

Source: Business Line

 

'Falling overseas-domestic price gap to boost cotton imports' 


The continuing contraction in international and domestic cotton prices following higher global production and a decline in domestic output is likely to boost imports further this year, says a report. The gap or spread between global and domestic cotton prices has been on a declining trend owing to higher production in Brazil and China, coupled with a fall in domestic production, says an India Ratings report Tuesday.

 
The decreasing price spread, along with a gradual improvement in demand, has come as a relief to the cotton industry, adds the report. With the contraction in the price gap, the agency expects increasing imports in FY20.

 Cotton accounts for 51 percent of the raw material cost in the textile industry, putting pressure on the margin, it said, adding raw material cost inflation is difficult to pass on due to subdued consumer demand. For the current sowing season began last October, output projection has been lowered by 0.6 million bales owing to scarcity of water in some of the key growing states and the resultant lower acreage and crop yield. This means that 1.5 million bales will need to be imported to meet domestic demand, the report said. 

Meanwhile, the report also said yarn production has been fluctuating over the past six months, although the production average has been maintained. As a result yarn exports have gone up to more than 30 percent in March alone. As cotton yarn prices are co-related to raw cotton prices, it has seen an upward movement in line with raw cotton prices, it added. 

Meanwhile, synthetic fabric has seen a gradual revival in demand due to a dip in cost of production, aided by a fall in crude prices, making it more competitive against increasing cotton prices, the report says. The report further notes that export of readymade garments has also declined as the world economy has slowed and removal of tax incentives for exports have made domestic textiles less competitive compared to Vietnam and Bangladesh, which have seen their market share improving in the global textile industry.

Falling exports following weak consumer sentiment have also impacted the industry's capacity utilization as a result capex has mostly been to replace machines/adopt new technologies or to shift to niche products in the existing line-up, it notes.. 
Source: The Economic Times

 

Anti-dumping duty imposed on PTA imports from South Korea, Thailand

The Finance Ministry has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty on all imports of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) from South Korea and Thailand.

PTA is primary raw material in the manufacture of polyester chips, which in turn are used in a number of applications in textile, packaging, furnishings, consumer goods, resins and coatings.

Based on the recommendations of the Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry in its sunset review findings, the Revenue Department has now imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty of $27.32 per tonne on PTA produced by Hanwha General Chemical Co Ltd and exported by Hyosung TNC Corporation.

For PTA exported by Taekwang Industrial Co Ltd, the Revenue Department has imposed definitive anti-dumping duty of $23.61 per tonne. For all other exporters from South Korea, it has been pegged at $78.28 per tonne.

In the case of PTA exported by Indorama Petrochem Ltd and TPT Petrochemicals Public Co Ltd, Thailand, the Department has now imposed an anti-dumping duty of $45.43 per tonne. For all other exporters from Thailand, the duty has been pegged at $62.55 per tonne.

The latest action comes in less than a month after the Designated Authority came up with its final findings on the sunset review.

It may be recalled that the petition seeking review investigations was filed by Reliance Industries Ltd and MCPI Private Ltd. There is one more producer of the country — Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

Source: Business Line

 

Major Egyptian Textile Industry Investment Announced

During ITMA 2019, a press conference was held to announce a very large investment by Egypt-based Cotton & Textile Industries Holding Co. The investment program, facilitated by

Brussels-based Werner International, is designed to modernize Egypt’s textile industry and will leverage the prestige of Egyptian cotton to restore Egypt’s textile industry to prominence. The investment is supported by Egypt’s President Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi and the Minister of Public Enterprises Dr. Hisham Tawfik.

The total investment of approximately 1.1 billion euros ($1.25 billion) will be used to modernize spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, finishing, printing and cut-and-sew manufacturing.

The investment will occur in phases and includes approximately 780,000 new spindles and 1,250 weaving machines. Dr. Ahmed Moustafa Mohamed, chairman of Cotton & Textile Industries Holding Co., reports as part of the investment, Egypt will construct a new state-of-the-art spinning mill for fine and extra-fine counts that will feature more than 180,000 spindles under one roof.

During the press conference, contracts were signed between Dr. Mohamed, and Rieter and Savio. Other companies that are part of this first investment phase are Benninger, including Thies and Brückner; EFI Reggiani; ITEMA; Karl Mayer; and Marzoli. Dr. Mohamed announced that a second phase will be signed within the next month.

“The Government of Egypt has decided to make a big investment into the textile industry of the public sector,” said Dr. Mohamed during the signing ceremony. “The program will have a major impact on the competitiveness and the success of the Egyptian textile industry in the future. It is an important step for our country. I am proud and happy that the leading machine suppliers are committed to support the holding company in the implementation of the program. We thank ITMA for having hosted the signing ceremony which gave us the opportunity to kick off our ambitious program so solemnly.”

Source: Textile World

 

Smart Textiles Terminology Defined In New ASTM International Standard

W. CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — July 29, 2019 — ASTM International’s smart textiles subcommittee (known as D13.50) has approved its first standard, a compilation of industry terms.

“The textile industry is currently experiencing a renaissance with the development of novel and emerging materials that provide opportunities for new consumer applications and markets,” says ASTM International member Carole Winterhalter. “This new smart textile terminology standard provides the ability to objectively classify and differentiate some of these new materials and products.”

Winterhalter, a textile technologist with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command-Soldier Center, notes the subcommittee developed terms and definitions that can be used by anyone involved in smart textiles, including manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, regulatory bodies, consumers, laboratories, and military personnel.

“The terms may be used to advertise and describe new products to consumers. They can also be used by regulatory and safety bodies to classify products and their intended performance,” says Winterhalter. “The standard will also help consumers understand exactly what it is they are buying.”

The new standard helps define everything from “smart textile” to “wearable electronic.” “This standard is building a bridge between two very different industries, the textile industry, and the electronics industry,” says Winterhalter. “It is helping to establish a relationship that never really existed before.”

The smart textiles subcommittee invites anyone to participate in developing definitions for revisions of the new standard. Winterhalter adds, “We plan to refine these terms and add more terms and definitions as the market continues to evolve, mature, and expand.”

The new standard will soon be available as D8248. The smart textiles subcommittee is part of ASTM’s committee on textiles (D13) and is featured in the recent Standardization News article “How Smart is Your Shirt?”

Source: Textile World

 

World merchandise trade up 3% in 2018, lower than 4.6% growth in 2017: WTO

​As per the report, over the 2008-2018 period, China, Vietnam and India were the most dynamic traders among all Asian economies.

The volume of world merchandise trade, as measured by the average of exports and imports, grew 3% in 2018, just above the 2.9% increase in world GDP over the same period but “significantly lower” than the 4.6% growth recorded in 2017, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said.

“This loss of momentum is partly due to increasing trade tensions and historically high levels of trade restrictions,” WTO director general Roberto Azevêdo said in the organisation’s World Trade Statistical Review 2019, released Monday.

“If trade is to pick up in 2019-20, trade tensions must be resolved,” he said.

The value of world merchandise exports was $19.48 trillion in 2018, up from $17.33 trillion in 2017, partly due to higher oil prices.

However, merchandise exports of developing economies grew 11% in 2018 while imports increased 12%, continuing the positive growth of 2017 after a decline in 2015-16. Merchandise exports totalled $8.22 trillion and imports $7.97 trillion in 2018.

Overall, developing economies’ exports and imports grew at a faster rate than those of developed economies and the world, according to the report.

Developing economies in Africa and the Middle East showed the strongest export growth in 2018 which on the import side, Latin America, Africa and Developing Asia had double-digit growth in 2018.


India-dynamic trader

As per the report, over the 2008-2018 period, China, Vietnam and India were the most dynamic traders among all Asian economies.

India entered the top ten global automotive exporters overtaking Brazil.

In services exports, India and Singapore have moved into ninth and tenth positions, overtaking Italy and Spain in the last ten years.

India was the second-largest exporter of ICT exports in 2018, with China overtaking the US as the third-largest.

In 2018, India was the eighth-largest services exporter and the tenth-largest services importer. The WTO attributed this to rapid export growth in other business services for three consecutive years (around 9%) and in telecommunications, computer and information services (7% in 2018) boosted the country’s performance.

“Strong domestic demand and high oil prices contributed mostly to this, with increases in imports of fuels and mining products, precious stones and electrical machinery being the main factors,” the report showed.