Mr. Ronak Rughani Chairman Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) has termed the Union Budget 2020-21 as an inclusive and progressive budget He congratulated Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman Union Minister for Finance for encouraging industry and commerce of the country through the Union Budget presentation. One of the prime focuses of the Budget 2020-21 is to extend restructuring MSME NPAs for one more year. The Budget has also increased the MSMSEs turnover threshold for audit to Rs 5 crore from existing Rs 1 crore. Shri Rughani lauded the initiatives for the MSMEs in the Budget and informed that the various announcements and deliverables announced by the Government in the Budget for the MSMEs will substantially empower the segment wherein most of the textile units operate. Another milestone of the Budget 2020-21 is the National Technical Textiles Mission with a four-year implementation period from 2020-21 to 2023-24 at an estimated outlay of Rs. 1480 crore. The Technical Textiles segment is the Sunrise sector in the entire textile industry in which nearly 90% of fibres used is of Manmade fibres. “I am confident that with the commencement of this National Technical Textiles Mission the Indian Manmade fibre textiles segment will be lifted to a greater height and per capita consumption of Manmade fibres in India will grow substantially. At the same time this initiative will help in generating more employment in the country” Mr. Rughani stated. The investor friendly initiatives taken in the Budget by abolishing the Dividend distribution tax is also likely to promote more FDI in the MMF segment including processing textile machinery manufacturing etc. in the country Mr. Rughani informed. Steps initiated towards boosting infrastructure will suitably address the existing infrastructural gap for export and structural issues in the country. The Budget has also taken steps for encouraging “Make in India” initiatives by protecting domestic manufacturing units. Moreover digital refund of State and Central taxes to exporters will help the entire textile industry.
Source: Tecoya Trend
Abolition of anti-dumping duty on PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid) is a step in the right direction, say textile industry sources. The industry has been demanding abolition of anti-dumping duty levied on PTA, the basic raw material used in the manufacture of polyester staple fibre and filaments, to remain globally competitive. PTA attracts anti-dumping duty ranging between $27 and $160 per tonne, depending upon the country of origin. It is imported from countries such as China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Iran and Malaysia. The shortage of PTA curtails capacity utilisation of the polyester segment industry. “This announcement would be a boost for PTA users and the entire man-made fibre textiles and clothing segment,” said the Southern India Mills’ Association Chairman Ashwin Chandran. Allocation of Rs 1,480 crore for the next four years towards the National Technical Textile Mission is yet another welcome move, considering that the country has been importing technical textiles to the tune of $16 billion a year. This would help strengthen the technical textiles sector, which would be able to take advantage of the benefits extended under different State Textile Policies and the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme. SIMA has appealed for a special scheme for Cotton Development. The Apparel Export Promotion Council Chairman, A Sakthivel, while welcoming various proposals, said the Council is studying the proposed scheme for revision of duties and taxes on exported products, wherein exporters would be digitally refunded - duties and taxes levied by the Centre/ state. This is crucial as there has been significant shrinkage in policy support in the last few months. The Council is looking forward to the effective substitution of the EIS Scheme that was withdrawn. While the ROSCTL scheme for refund of embedded taxes is available, it is not adequate for providing a level playing field to countries that enjoy preferential market access, he said.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget on Saturday announced a National Technical Textiles Mission, which is expected to give thrust to production of a wide variety of textiles used in sectors such as healthcare, infrastructure, automobiles, defence, and agriculture. The ₹1,480-crore Mission, to be implemented from 2020-2021 to 2023-2024, aims at positioning India as a global leader in technical textiles.
Huge imports
“India imports significant quantity of technical textiles worth $16 billion every year. To reverse this trend and to position India as a global leader, a National Technical Textiles Mission is proposed,” she said. According to K.S. Sundararaman, chairman of the Indian Technical Textiles Association, the size of the technical textile industry in the country is approximately ₹12,000 crore, excluding the hygiene industry. The last time the sector received focus was a few years ago to set up six centres of excellence across the country. With the need to create a domestic base for raw material production, push for manufacture of high end technical textile products, boost investments, and increase per capita consumption, there is a need for a Mission.
Nodal office
“We need to see how this Mission will be implemented. There should be an empowered nodal office that will coordinate all the efforts and make the Mission beneficial to the industry,” he said. Another major announcement in the Budget, which is expected to give a thrust to the polyester fibre sector, is abolition of anti-dumping duty on PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid). This is the raw material for production of polyester fibre. T. Rajkumar, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, said this was one of the long-pending demands of the industry. “Abolition of anti-dumping duty will bring polyester price in India on a par with international price. Polyester will be the future engine of growth for the Indian textile industry.” The Budget estimates for the textile and clothing sector for 2020-2021 is ₹3,514.79 crore against ₹4,831.48 crore for 2019-2020.
Source: The Hindu
PM Modi said agriculture, infrastructure, textiles and technology are the main areas of employment generation. In order to boost employment, these four areas have been given a lot of emphasis in this Budget. Hailing the 2020 Union Budget as a budget that will strengthen foundations of the Indian economy in this decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said Budget 2020 has both vision and action. PM Modi said agriculture, infrastructure, textiles and technology are the four main areas where jobs can be generated, and the Budget has given lots of emphasis to them. "The main areas of employment are agriculture, infrastructure, textiles and technology. In order to boost employment generation, these four areas have been given a lot of emphasis in this Budget," PM Modi said. He said the reforms that have been announced in Budget 2020 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will "make every citizen economically stronger"."The Budget has adopted an integrated approach to boost agriculture. This approach will not only strengthen the traditional agricultural practices but also help by value addition in horticulture, fisheries and animal husbandry. This in turn will generate employment in marketing and processing," PM Modi said. He said to ensure that farmers' income is doubled the Budget has prepared a 16-point action plan. "These will generate employments in rural areas," he said. PM Modi said reforms announced in the Budget will push employment in the country and help in doubling farmers' income. He said the Budget has further strengthened the government's commitment of minimum government, maximum governance.
Source: India Today
The textile industry on Saturday said the Budget proposal to offer a scheme for remission of duties and taxes on exports will improve their competitiveness in global markets. The budget proposal to launch a scheme for remission of duties and taxes on exported goods to refund the duties and taxes levied at the Central, state and local levels, like electricity duties and VAT on fuel used for transportation that are currently not getting exempted or refunded," Texprocil chairman KV Srinivasan said. The budget has abolished the anti-dumping duty on PTA (purified terephthalic acid) is an important decision as it is a critical input for the textile fibres and yarns, and removal of anti dumping duty will make its availability to the industry at competitive prices and give a boost to downstream value added product, he noted. On technical textiles, Srinivasan said, "the proposed National Technical Textiles Mission with a four-year implementation period from FY21 to FY24 at an estimated outlay of Rs 1,480 crore, will give the much needed encouragement to this sector and provide breakthrough in product development".Garware Technical Fibres' Shujaul Rehman said the National Technical Textile Mission can boost the industry by way increased exports. Confederation of Indian Textile Industry Chairman T Rajkumar welcomed the abolition of anti-dumping duty on PTA, which is a basic raw material of the MMF (man-made fibre) segment. He pointed out that if the domestic textile industry has to become USD 350 billion by 2025, it couldn't have been done by without making our raw material available at“. The above decision is a very welcome step in the right direction as it will help the downstream textile value chain to strengthen its position in the textile world map," he added. On the fund allocations for the textile sector for 2020-21, Rajkumar said this year, the government has given special emphasis on infrastructure, research, capacity building and ATUFS by enhancing allocations by 98.1 per cent, 79.8 per cent and 54.1 per cent, respectively over last year.
Source: Business Insider
Reacting to the Union budget proposals 2020-21, Mr.Ashwin Chandran, Chairman, The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), Coimbatore, in a Press release issued here today, has thanked the prime minister for favourably considering the long pending demand of the industry and abolishing the anti-dumping duty being levied on Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) imported from different countries including China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Iran, Malaysia. The textile industry has been demanding for the abolition of anti-dumping duty levied on PTA, the basic raw material used for the manufacture of polyester staple fibre and filaments, to remain globally competitive. The Ministry of Textiles has envisaged to increase the textile business size from the current level of around US$ 169 billion to US$ 350 billion by 2025 and to US$ 650 billion by 2030 in its draft Textile Policy being formulated by the Government. This target could be achieved only by making the polyester fibre and filaments available at international price as the country has limitations to increase the fibre base within the country. The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), Coimbatore, in a Press release issued here today, has thanked the Prime Minister for favourably considering the long pending demand of the industry and abolishing the anti-dumping duty being levied on Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) imported from different countries including China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Iran, Malaysia. He has stated that the PTA attracts anti-dumping duty from US$ 27 to US$160 per metric tonnesdepending upon the country of origin and the country often faces shortage of PTA that curtail the capacity utilization of the polyester segment industry. He has said that this announcement has come as a boost for the PTA users and the entire man-made fibre textiles & clothing segment. He has stated that this would greatly help the country to enhance the global competitiveness, boost exports and also enable the domestic manufacturers to compete with the cheaper imports. Ashwin also welcomed the proposal of curbing cheaper imports by imposing Rule of Origin and other safeguard measures on the FTA countries. SIMA Chairman has welcomed the announcement of National Technical Textile Mission by allocating Rs.1480 crores for the next four years. He has said that as the country has been importing technical textiles to the tune of US$ 16 billion per year, this Mission would help the industry to strengthen the technical textile segment taking advantage of benefits already extended under different State Textile Policies and also the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme. He has also appreciated the enhanced allocation of Rs.761.90 crores for A-TUF Scheme as against Rs.700 crores allotted during the previous year. Ashwin has hailed the announcement of the Schemes for Remission of Duties & Taxes levied on export products and NIRVIK for extending competitive credit facilities and higher insurance coverage with lesser premium and also simplified procedure for claim settlements. He has also welcomed the announcement of addressing inverted duty structure in the GST as textile industry has been suffering with huge accumulation of inverted duty of capital goods and certain services. The various announcements made including the abolition of dividend distribution tax paid by the companies, significant reduction in the personal income tax rate, Vivad Se Vishwas scheme enabling dispute settlement without any interest and penalty, simplification of appeal provisions, GST returns, income tax returns, etc., are also the welcoming features of the budget, says Ashwin. SIMA chief while appreciating the various benefits and schemes announced for the farmers to double the income by 2022, has appealed to the government to announce a special scheme for cotton development. He has said that the Ministry of Textiles has already submitted a proposal for Technology Mission on Cotton – II in this direction. He has also appealed to the government to extend the corporate tax reduction extended for companies and cooperative societies to the partnership firms to have a level playing field and boost investments.
Source: Economic Times
The textile and clothing industry has welcomed the announcements in the Union Budget calling it growth-oriented and positive. K.V. Srinivasan, chairman of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council, has said in a press note that implementation of the Remission of Duties and Taxes and Exported Products will go a long way in improving the competitiveness of the textile products in the export market. He also welcomed the measures announced for the MSME sector. According to T. Rajkumar, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, the Government has considered one of the long-pending demands of the industry to review the Rules of Origin and FTA to curtail cheap imports from other countries. This decision will help the sector in the long run. He thanked Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani for taking forward the demands of the industry.Chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council, A. Sakthivel, said in a press release the Finance Minister has effectively addressed some of the key issues of the sector especially in areas such as ease of doing business. The refund of duties and taxes is an important step as there was significant shrinkage in policy support in the last few months. The Government should expedite FTAs with countries such as Australia, Canada and the EU, he said. Ashwin Chandran, chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association, pointed out that PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid) attracts anti-dumping duty from $ 27 to $ 160 per tonnes depending upon the country of origin and India often faces shortage of PTA. This has curtailed the capacity utilisation of the polyester segment industry. He has said that this announcement has come as a boost for the PTA users and the entire man-made fibre textiles and clothing segment. Mr. Chandran also appealed to the government to announce a special scheme for cotton development. He said the Ministry of Textiles has already submitted a proposal for Technology Mission on Cotton – II. The Indian Texpreneurs Federation said in a press release that the Budget has brought in structural reforms for the textile industry. With the abolition of anti-dumping duty on PTA, the Indian textile sector can move towards capturing 10 % share in the US market as against the current share of 2.5 %. Reviewing the Rules of Origin will help the textile sector in a big way. The Tiruppur Exporters’ Association president Raja M. Shanmugham said the launch of NIRVIK will support small garment exporters. According to the South India Spinners Association, while several measures announced in the Budget will help the small-scale spinners, the demand to reduce the margin money for purchase of raw material using cash credit has not been met. Similarly. the need for long term loans has not been met.
Source: The Hindu
The Government has announced a National Technical Textiles Mission at an estimated outlay of ₹1,480 crore that can help the industry take advantage of the growing demand in the domestic market and reverse the trend of increasing imports. “The announcement of the Technical Textiles Mission is fantastic. It will lead to capacity building and import substitution. There is tremendous scope here,” said Sanjay Jain, former head of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry. India imports significant quantity of technical textiles worth $16 billion every year. “To reverse this trend (of imports) and to position India as a global leader in technical textiles, a National Technical Textiles Mission is proposed with a four-year implementation period from 2020-21 to 2023-24 at an estimated outlay of ₹1,480 crore,” said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget 2020-21.
Anti-dumping duty
The Government has also decided to abolish anti-dumping duty on PTA, a chemical which is a critical input for textile fibres and yarns. “Its easy availability at competitive prices is desirable to unlock the immense potential in the textile sector which is a significant employment generator. Therefore, in the larger public interest, anti-dumping duty on PTA is being abolished,” she said. Technical textiles are used in a wide range of applications such as in agriculture, medicine, industry, sports, protection and environment conservation. Use of technical textiles has benefits of increased productivity in agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture fields, better protection of military, para-military, police and security forces, stronger and sturdier transportation infrastructure for highways, railways, ports and airports and in improving hygiene and healthcare of general public. The market size in India for technical textiles in the year 2017-18 was projected at ₹1,16,217 crore. “Although, there is no projection in the last baseline study with regard to the projections for the 2020-21, taking into account the current trend of growth and various initiatives of the Government, domestic market size of the technical textiles is expected to cross ₹2 lakh crore by the year 2020-21,” a Textile Ministry release said.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) producers such as Reliance Industries Ltd, Indian Oil Corp, JBF and MCPI face a hit on their margins as the government has abolished anti-dumping duty on the chemical, which is a raw material for synthetic textile. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said chemicals are vital feedstocks for downstream users. “PTA, for example, is a critical input for textile fibres and yarns. Its easy availability at competitive prices is desirable to unlock immense potential in textile sector, which is a significant employment generator,” she said in her budget speech. For PTA producers, the elimination of anti-dumping duty would cut current margin of about $120 per tonne by about 20%, said K Ravichandran, analyst at rating agency ICRA. The anti-dumping duty, imposed by two orders in July 2016 and July 2019, has been revoked on PTA imported from China, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea RP and Thailand. Reliance is the biggest PTA manufacturer in the country with a domestic capacity of 4.4 million tonnes per annum. Indian Oil makes 550,000 tonnes per annum.
Source: Economic Times
The government’s proposed scheme to provide enhanced insurance cover and reduce premium for small exporters is timely amid India’s slowing exports, industry said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced NIRVIK (Niryat Rin Vikas Yojana) scheme to provide enhanced insurance cover and reduce premium for small exporters. “To achieve higher export credit disbursement, a new scheme NIRVIK is being launched which provides for high insurance cover, reduction in premium for small exporters and simplified procedures for claim settlements,” she said while presenting Budget 2020-21 here. The commerce and industry ministry is working on the scheme also called the Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS) under which the insurance guaranteed could cover up to 90% of the principal and interest. At present, the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation provides credit guarantee of up to 60% loss. “This is most timely as during the period of uncertainty and slow down, higher default in payments are likely to increase,” said Ajay Sahai, director general, Federation of Indian Export Organisations, adding that it will immensely help the small exporters by increasing the insurance cover given to banks and reducing the premium for exporters. The scheme comes at a time when India’s exports declined for the fifth month in a row at 1.8% in December to $27.36 billion as 19 of the 30 exporting sectors showed a decline in outbound shipment. During April-December 2019-20, exports slipped 1.96% to $ 239.29 billion while imports declined 8.9 % to $357.39 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $ 118.10 billion. The development assumes significance as exporters have raised concerns over availability of credit. Export credit disbursement declined 23% in 2018-19 to Rs 9.57 lakh crore from Rs 12.39 lakh crore in 2017-18.
Tax reimbursement scheme
Sitharaman also said a scheme for exporters will be launched this year to reimburse taxes and duties paid by them to digitally refund duties levied at the centre, state, and local levels. These taxes include value added tax, electricity duties and fuel used for transportation, which are not getting exempted or refunded under any other existing mechanism. This scheme for remission of duties and taxes on “exported products will be launched from this year itself,” she said. The move comes in the wake of Merchandise Export from India scheme found violating global trade norms. Under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, certain duties like state taxes on power, oil, water, and education cess are allowed to be refunded). She also said that to develop each district as an export hub, “efforts of the centre and state governments are being synergised and institutional mechanisms are being created in order that every district becomes an export hub”.
Source: India Today
The government will soon clarify that the $300-billion exports sector would not be covered by the proposal for 1% tax collected at source (TCS), introduced by the budget. Officials told ET that the budget has an enabling provision to provide exclusions. “The intent is not to tax overseas buyers of Indian goods. Since these entities are based abroad, they do not have any tax liability here. The idea is not to bring them under the tax net. There is an enabling clause that allows the government to notify entities that would not be covered, and exporters will be excluded,” said a senior government official. A seller of goods has to deduct TCS at the rate of 0.1% before making payments in excess of Rs 50 lakh. In cases where the buyer doesn’t have a Permanent Account Number (PAN) or Aadhaar — which is the case with exports — the rate will be 1%, says the budget proposal. Tax experts said the provision means that export of goods could attract this levy, and since overseas buyers of Indian goods would not have PAN or Aadhaar, the tax rate would be 1%.
Tax Net Widened
"Proposed TCS provisions apply even to exports, and Indian exporters (who receive more than Rs 50 lakh in a financial year) will need to collect 0.1% TCS from buyers. However, the proposed Section provides a mechanism for the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) to exempt certain classes of people. And in all probability, exporters will be exempted,” said Amit Maheshwari, partner at Ashok Maheshwary & Associates LLP. Only sellers whose total sales, gross receipts or turnover exceed Rs 10 crore during the preceding fiscal year shall be liable to collect such TCS. “Central government may notify person, subject to conditions contained in such notification, who shall not be liable to collect such TCS,” the budget says. This means exporters can be excluded by a simple notification. TCS provisions were introduced to widen the tax net. They are being gradually expanded to include more entities and businesses. The budget has introduced TCS on overseas remittances through the liberalised remittance scheme (LRS) and even overseas tour packages. The person on whom the incidence of TCS falls can set off the tax against his financial liability. The deduction of tax creates a transaction trail and helps check evasion. At the least, it accrues some tax to the government in case it is not claimed or adjusted.
Source: Economic Times
Importers claiming preferential rates of duty under any trade agreement will now have to declare that the goods qualify as originating goods and must possess sufficient information about their origin criteria, and regional value content. The government has inserted a new chapter in the Customs Act on administration of rules of origin under trade agreements giving the government the power to suspend and refuse the preferential tariff treatment in case of incomplete information or verification and noncompliance. It also states that a submission of a certificate of origin “shall not absolve the importer of the responsibility to exercise reasonable care”. “In the coming months, we shall review Rules of Origin requirements, particularly for certain sensitive items, so as to ensure that FTAs are aligned to the conscious direction of our policy,” said finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman while announcing the budget. In certain cases, the certificate of origin shall be marked inapplicable. The move comes in the wake of the government trying to curb imports through tighter origin norms in trade pacts as the trade deficit was a whopping $118.1 billion in the April-December period. As per industry, this move is protectionist and gives sweeping power to the customs officials. “It might lead to corruption at the field level,” said a Delhi-based exporter.
ANTI-DUMPING, SAFEGUARD DUTIES Sitharaman also said that provisions relating to safeguard duties, which are applied when surge in imports causes serious injury to domestic industry, and for checking dumping of goods and imports of subsidised goods are also being strengthened to ensure level-playing field for domestic industry. A provision has been incorporated in the Countervailing Duty Rules to enable investigation into case of circumvention of countervailing duty for enabling imposition of such duty. The budget has also said the assessment must take into consideration the conditions of competition between the imported products and the conditions of competition between the imported products and the like domestic products while imposing antidumping duty.
Source: Economic Times
A National Logistics Policy, which will create a single window e-logistics market and focus on generation of employment, skills and making micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) competitive, will be announced soon, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. “It will clarify the roles of the Union Government, State Governments and key regulators,” Sitharaman said in the Budget. The cost of logistics in India is about 14 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product and is much higher than many other countries such as Japan where it is 11 per cent of GDP and the US where it is 9-10 per cent. India’s target is to reduce it to about 10 per cent by 2022 which could increase exports by 5-8 per cent, as per government estimates. “The National Logistics Policy formulated by the Commerce and Industry Ministry will improve India’s trade competitiveness, create more jobs, improve performance in global rankings and pave the way for India to become a logistics hub,” according to a release circulated by the Commerce & Industry Ministry. The logistics sector is complex with more than 20 government agencies, 40 partnering government agencies, 37 export promotion councils, 500 certifications and 10,000 commodities and a $160-billion market. It has a 12 million employment base and involves 200 shipping agencies, 36 logistics services, 129 ICDs, 168 CFSs, 50 IT ecosystems and banks and insurance agencies. Moreover, there are a total of 81 authorities and 500 certificates are required for export-import trade. Other Budget announcements such as viability gap funding for warehousing and their geo-tagging, village storage schemes, cold chains for fish and perishables and refrigerated vans for perishables in passenger trains will also give a boost to logistics, the statement said. “The National Logistics Policy, with the creation of a single-window e-logistics market, is another initiative that will help organise and streamline the sector, contributing to efficiency, cost reduction, and optimisation of resources,” according to Aditya Vazirani, CEO, Robinsons Global Logistics Solutions.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented union budget for 2020-21, today on Saturday, February 01, 2020. The budget addressed following important points related to textile, apparel and fashion industry, as:
1) Anti-dumping duty on PTA abolished
2) National Technical Textiles Mission to be set up
3) Review of the Rules of Origin in FTAs
4) Schemes for Remission of Duties & Taxes levied on Export Products (RODTEP)
5) Budget Grant for Procurement of Cotton by Cotton Corporation under Price Support Scheme has reduced to Rs 0.01 Cr for 2020-21 compared to Rs 2,017.57 Cr in 2019-20
6) Customs duty raised on items like footwear (from 25% to 35% on footwear and from 15% to 20% on parts of footwear)
Removal of Anti Dumping Duty on PTA-A potential game changer
The Union Budget proposed to abolish anti-dumping duty on PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid). The Finance Minister said that PTA is critical input for textile fibres and yarns. It’s easy availability at competitive prices is desirable to unlock immense potential in the textile sector which is a significant employment generator. The textile industry has been demanding for the abolition of anti-dumping duty levied on PTA, the basic raw material used for the manufacture of polyester staple fibre and filaments, to remain globally competitive. The Ministry of Textiles has envisaged to increase the textile business size from the current level of around US$ 169 billion to US$ 350 billion by 2025 and to US$ 650 billion by 2030 in its draft Textile Policy being formulated by the Government.
To achieve this ambitious target this step is being possibly seen in the right direction to make the polyester fibre and filaments available at international prices as the country has limitations to increase the fibre base within the country.
All the industry leaders across the board have applauded the removal of anti dumping duty on PTA. “This shall give a major boost to Indian textile industry and will go a long way in helping downstream industry staying competitive” says T Rajkumar, Chairman, CITI. Elaborating further on the same, says Rahul Mehta, Chief Mentor, CMAI , “The most important step in this budget for the textile industry is the removal of the anti-dumping duty on PTA, which was a long standing demand of the Textile Manufacturing ValueChain, as PTA is a crucial input for polyester production. This will potentially open up the MMF Value Chain, and give a fillip to the entire MMF industry and enhance its global competitiveness. Technical Textiles, Home Furnishing, Sportswear Industry, Sarees, Dress Materials etc, will all benefit greatly from this move. This move has the potential of being an important game changer for the MMF segment of the Industry. Reacting to the Union budget proposals 2020-21, Ashwin Chandran, Chairman, The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), stated that the PTA being imported from different countries including China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Iran, Malaysia, attracts anti-dumping duty from US$ 27 to US$160 per metric tonnes depending upon the country of origin, while India often faces shortage of PTA that curtail the capacity utilization of the polyester segment industry. He said that it shall greatly help the country to enhance the global competitiveness, boost exports and also enable the domestic manufacturers to compete with the cheaper imports.
National Technical Textiles Mission: Will boost investments, cut down on imports
FM proposed a National Technical Textile Mission to be set up with four-year implementation period from 2020-21 to 2023-24 at an estimated outlay of Rs 1480 crore. “This can position India as a global leader in Technical Textiles, which includes development of rainwear, sportswear, retarded Apparel, fire resistance garments”, says Dr A Sakthivel, Chairman , AEPC. Adding on this, Sanjay Jain, Past President CITI stated, “This is a fantastic announcement, it will lead to capacity building and import substitution. It has a tremendous scope, however we are waiting for the fine prints. Elaborating further on this says T Rajkumar, Chairman CITI, “Announcement of mini mission on technical textiles is welcome, technical textiles has to be encouraged, lot of fabrics that we have been used in the sector are being imported, the move shall help in starting production of such specialised input in our country, a lot of investment will come and it will also boost employment in the sector. Ashwin Chandran, explains that the country has been importing technical textiles to the tune of US$ 16 billion per year, this Mission would help the industry to strengthen the technical textile segment taking advantage of benefits already extended under different State Textile Policies and also the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme. He has also appreciated the enhanced allocation of Rs.761.90 crores for A-TUF Scheme as against Rs.700 crores allotted during the previous year. Ujjawal Lahoti, welcomed the base support given to Technical Textile saying It will result in to setting up production of import substitute textiles items.
Review of the Rules of Origin in FTAs to curb imports from Bangladesh
All the industry leaders have welcomed the intent to review the rules of origin in FTAs. It was being observed that imports under Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are on the rise. Undue claims of FTA benefits have posed threat to domestic industry. Such imports require stringent checks. As per the announcement made in budget, in this context, suitable provisions are being incorporated in the Customs Act and in the coming months review of Rules of Origin requirements, particularly for certain sensitive items, shall be done, so as ensure that FTAs are aligned to the conscious direction of our policy. A lot of Chinese fabrics and raw materials after getting converted into garments were entering into Indian market through these FTAs. The move will help reduce imports from Bangladesh etc that is plaguing textile industry. However, a complimentary step in this direction would be expediting the FTAs with EU, Australia, Canada & initiating FTA with UK, added Dr Shaktivel
Industry hails RODTEP, NIRVIK and other measures taken
As per Dr A Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC, “ The council is studying the proposed Scheme for Revision of duties and taxes on exported products in which Exporters to be digitally refunded duties and taxes levied at the Central, State and local levels, which are otherwise not exempted or refunded. This is an important area where there has been significant shrinkage in policy support in last few months. The new NIRVIK scheme for higher export credit disbursements with greater coverage, reduced premium and simplified procedures for claiming settlements is a welcome step given the increased uncertainties in the global market. We look forward to further details of the scheme. AEPC also congratulated the Finance Minister on effectively addressing some of the key issues of the sector especially in the areas of Ease of Doing Business, National Logistics policy for making MSMEs competitive, simplified return with features like SMS based filing for nil return and improved input tax credit flow, enhancing digital connectivity, support for working capital, financing for MSMEs, 5 year exemption from audit for MSMEs & easing of tax filing for startups are some import steps towards easing the day to day functioning of MSMEs as also providing a conducive ground for investors. Talking on the same lines, Ashwin Chandran, SIMA Chairman has hailed the announcement of the Schemes for Remission of Duties & Taxes levied on export products and NIRVIK for extending competitive credit facilities and higher insurance coverage with lesser premium and also simplified procedure for claim settlements. “Happy to note that FM announced again that Refund of Taxes scheme (RODTEP) will be soon implemented for Exporters. As exporters of Cotton Textiles products are suffering due to sharp decline in exports of cotton yarn, and retrospective removal of MEIS, it is important to get this scheme implemented for exports all Textile products at the earliest.” Says, Ujjwal Lahoti SIMA also welcomed the announcement of addressing inverted duty structure in the GST as textile industry has been suffering with huge accumulation of inverted duty of capital goods and certain services. Prem Mallik, a veteran in textile industry and past president CITI, states, “The announcement on refund of taxes including electric duty, mission on technical textiles and intent to incorporate rules of origin in FTA,S are welcome steps. I request government to implement the positive steps announced, immediately. “Disappointing budget, a very little has been done for textile industry”, feels R D Udeshi, President Polyester Chain , Reliance Industries. “More concrete steps were required for the growth of textile industry. Vision of $400 bn will remain only on paper” adds Udeshi.
Source: Fashionating World
The US government on Sunday launched a programme for extending export credit guarantee to facilitate import of US agricultural products by Bangladeshi businesses. US mission in Dhaka deputy chief JoAnne Wagner launched the programme at a seminar organised by the US Department of Agriculture in Dhaka. According to USDA officials, the programme offers $5 billion in credit guarantees worldwide each year to support commercial export sales of US agricultural goods to markets, like Bangladesh, that have sufficient financial strength. Eligible commodities for the programme includes cotton, textile fibres, live animals, edible meat, fruits, cereals, oilseeds, sugar, organic chemicals, wood and articles of wood, wool, paper and paperboard. It is a quadrilateral programme involving an importer in Bangladesh, a local bank in Bangladesh, a local bank in the US and an exporter in the US, under which the US will extend guarantees for payment for purchases of US food and agricultural products by importers in Bangladesh. The programme has mainly been announced to protect the US exporters from non-payment by foreign banks, enhance borrowing capacity to overcome cash flow constraints by assigning credit guarantees to eligible US financial institutions, and develop and maintain business in new markets. Participating local bank in Bangladesh can access US dollar financing for up to 12 months from the US banks at potentially lower interest rates to facilitate the trade. Bangladesh is one of about 130 countries eligible for the credit guarantee programme. USDA officials Maria Dorsett and Elisa Wagner spoke on the occasion. US embassy agriculture attaché Tyler Babcock hoped that many banks in Bangladesh would enrol in the programme.
Source: New Age Business
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1007.26 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
VSF |
1368.95 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
ASF |
2024.61 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
Polyester POY |
1033.20 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2233.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
40D Spandex |
4135.67 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
Nylon POY |
2067.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2276.78 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1188.83 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2471.32 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
5403.75 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1289.70 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2010.20 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1635.54 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2420.88 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2175.91 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
1945.35 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1786.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2219.14 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.27 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.69 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
0.97 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.54 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/3/2020 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14410 USD dtd. 03/02/2020). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The Myanmar kyat has strengthened against the greenback and is now trading at K1465 per US dollar, according to the Central Bank of Myanmar. In comparison, the exchange rate was more than K1500 per US dollar in November 2019. Yet, export volumes have been rising, indiciating that Myanmar goods are still affordably priced. For the first four months of fiscal 2019-20, which is between October 1, 2019 to now, export volumes hit US$5.7 billion, up more than 28 percent from the same period in the previous fiscal year, according to official data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC). Imports for the same period totaled US$6.3 billion, which is up by just 19 pc year-on-year. That’s led to a trade deficit of around US$600 million in the current fiscal year, compared to more than US$1 billion in the previous corresponding period. The rise in exports was driven by higher demand for manufactured goods like garments, agriculture commodities and minerals, the data showed. But due to the upcoming general election and a slowdown in the global economy, foreign investors are expected to become more cautious when channeling foreign currency into Myanmar, said U Maung Maung Lay, vice chair of the Union of Myanmar Federation Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He added that local businesses have also been making fewer investments and are now importing less. This implies that the kyat could lose steam against the USdollar in the months ahead. The MOC is expecting total exports for the year to hit US$15.5 billion and for imports to reach US$17.5 billion this fiscal year. That’s lower than in fiscal 2018-19, when exports were valued at US$16.9 billion compared to imports of US$18 billion. This is also, in part, due to an expected weakening in overall demanddue to slowing global trade and moderating economic growth in China, according to the World Bank. Under the National Export Strategy 2020-2025, the priority sectors are agro-processing, textile and garment, electrical components, fisheries, forestry products, information technology, logistics services, quality management, trade information, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Source: Myanmar Times
In Nigeria, almost every government since independence has launched one type of special intervention programme or the other to revive the textile industries. All the interventions seem to have been failing as the reality points to the fact that the industries, not only textile are disappearing. Some of the existing ones are now ghost of what they used to be. There is no gainsaying the fact that over the years the Nigerian textile industry has been on its deathbed, in need of some form of protection or genuine intervention. The comatose state of Nigeria’s textile manufacturing industry is a far cry from that of the 21st Century’s industrial evolution and productivity demand of any serious nation. Nigerians should have every reason to be tired of “stories” of every government’s move to revive the textile industry since 1999 when democracy returned with some promise and glimmer of hope. But despite all the noise and vaunting about restoring and overhauling the industry, it is still in a sorry state. The sector used to be investors’ delight in the 1960s when businessmen mainly from Asian countries and other parts of Africa found it very attractive to commit their capital given the large market the Nigerian economy presented to them then. This is the same industry that used to provide employment to myriads of skills and cadres of staff ranging from the very low, semi and highly skilled, which led to immense boom in the national economy, particularly the economies of cities such as Asaba, Aba, Ikeja, Kaduna, among others where textile production was well located and was a success story. Gone are the days when Nigerians embraced the products of the likes of the International Textile Industry (I.T.I) at Mushin, Lagos Texlon at Amuwo Odofin Enpee at Oshodi Aswani at Isolo Boujson Mercedes at Oyingbo Sunflag at Surulere Five Star at Isolo and many others. Virtually all the above-mentioned textile companies except one have stopped production of clothing materials and even the one that is still in the business not only has few staff, but has its production reduced drastically. In the 60s and years later, these cities were centres of excellence of some sort with many trooping in from the hinterland, to eke out a living for themselves, through small and medium-sized industries that sprang up, by forward or backward linkages with these textile firms, with tremendous positive effects on general commerce, increased tempo in economic activities and enhanced living standards generally. What we have these days is quite different or at best pathetic, a far cry from the glory days of the past. Workers in such industries, including the former Edo State governor and current National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole indeed have had reminiscences of such situations that laid the foundation for vibrant labour unionism in the country. Those days could aptly be referred to as the days of yore. It was no surprise at the enthusiasm expressed by the representatives of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers, NUTGTW led by its President, John Adaji at the promise by President Muhammadu Buhari to the union, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, recently to revive the textile industry and thus enhance job creation, as one of the key pillars of his economic agenda in his second term in office. This promise by the president is cheery news, not only to members of the NUTGTW, but to the generality of Nigerians who would be glad at the return of those days of the boom. However, on second thought, it must be clearly expressed that good wishes are indeed good and that “if wishes were horses then beggars might ride.” Industry analysts who spoke with Sunday Sun think that the only way to achieve a good result, given Buhari›s promise, is for the government and stakeholders to migrate from cheap rhetoric to action that the nation can feel. Commentators are also in agreement that there is the need to ensure that smuggling is dealt a heavy blow in any revival effort else domestic textile production will be a mirage, as these firms will find it tough to survive in an uncensored economic environment. Focusing on producing for the local market would also revive the cultivation of cotton which used to blossom in the Northern parts of the country. That will also create jobs in the agricultural sector. No country’s industrial sector can ever flourish without the provision of a stable, reliable, quality supply of electricity. There is without controversy of unscrupulous elements whose stock in trade is to profit from the present horrible situation of non-availability of sufficient electricity supply. The same goes for the poor functioning of textile manufacturing companies in the country, which in the first instance is the fallout of lack of adequate and quality supply of electricity. Therefore, the real enemy of development and progress particularly in this industrial sector may not necessarily be the need to set up hydro-plants for electricity, among others, but, indeed, to muster the willpower and unyielding resoluteness with which to confront or displace those who would not let go. The textile industry, which is powered by quality electricity, is a tremendous source of employment. It can absorb millions of persons, if and or when it is functional. It has prospects to generate foreign exchange thereby mopping up revenue for the federal and state governments. This is true when other African countries begin to depend on Nigeria for the supply of clothing materials for their fashion businesses and other purposes. Research has shown that since the days of the structural adjustment programme, which commenced in 1986, Nigeria has gone through a series of economic policy frameworks that have had negative effects on its competitive relations with the rest of the world such that production capacities for various sectors such as textile manufacturing has been lost, leading to the setting in of de-industrialisation in the country. Also, Nigerian firms do not currently have the necessary comparative advantage in the production of many exportable commodities, even in producing for the local market. With adjustments in the exchange rates, among other changes in the macro-economy, which are different from what obtained in the days of the textile industry boom, imported textile products have become much cheaper than those produced locally thus making local industries largely unprofitable in production and thus very difficult to sustain the existence of these firms. Former Deputy President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero told Sunday Sun that, perhaps, unknown to the government, there is a de-industrialization agenda of most African countries with the signing of the WTO agreement as most African countries lack the needed ingredients to stay afloat in the liberalisation platform that requires the power of comparative and competitive advantage. Ajaero, who is at present the president of Nigeria Electricity Employees noted that the inability of the government to provide adequate and effective power supply, as well as the needed policies also pose a problem for the dying textile sector. He told Sunday Sun: «The cause is not farfetched, you can trace it to the programme of de-industrialisation of some African countries, Nigeria inclusive, especially when most countries signed to WTO Agreement and then their borders were let loose and then if you are signing the WTO agreement of liberalisation and then you don›t have the competing power and a product that has a comparative and competitive advantage to compete in the international market it then means you will be at receiving part, you will be a dumping ground and the Federal Government if there were no restrictions for products as low as textile products people will begin to patronise those coming from outside our shores, which are cheaper. “Also, with the high cost of charges in our nation’s ports, it became easier to bring such products closer to the ports of nearby countries like Cotonou and then smuggle it into the country. And such products when they come in, as we are all aware they are usually cheaper in the market so why will anyone then patronise the products that are made locally when the ones that are smuggled in are cheaper. “If you go further there were efforts of late, but not too strong where they are trying to propose the use of locally made fabrics for the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Navy, Air Force etc, as a way of thinking Nigeria, but I don’t think that has really paid out, it’s still a promise, so if people could set up their companies in places like Cotonou, Ghana etc, and make it cheaper because they still have cheap labour it pays them better. “When you compare that or look at our case, having very corrupt Customs and immigration officers who allow these products to come into the country with the least offer of gratification the problem will continue. “If you recall in the early 80s, if you go through Aswani, and other textile areas it was booming, Nigerians had jobs, even banks were in operation, but Nigeria didn’t have any policy of industrialisation then they started the policy of deregulation and then left everything to vagaries of market forces and you are not establishing more industries, and the environment is hostile, gradually the existing ones will begin to vanish, unemployment will begin to set in then there will be problem, that is where we find our self today. As far as those companies are not functional even the states where they are located are not making revenue through taxes from them so there is a problem. “Closely related to that is the problem of electricity because the power sector has not been doing well just like any other sector, so when people now get cheaper and regular power supply like in Ghana, Cotonou etc, they prefer to then move over there to establish their businesses. That was what led to the exit of companies like Michelin etc, it is easier for them to produce there and cheaper too, in a friendlier business environment then bring them back here, but at a costlier price then”. To change this narrative, experts say much work would need to be done in combination with good policy articulation and thus bring the return of the good old days of the textile industry boom in Nigeria. What the president and his economic team should be focusing on in the interim, according to industry commentators, is the revival of production for the domestic market by the textile firms. This can be backed up by appropriate government policy pronouncements compelling officials of government ministries, departments and agencies to patronise locally made textile wear and adorn them at public functions. This is feasible and has been clearly demonstrated in our neighbouring country, Ghana, where it is common to see government officials wearing their local “kente” fabrics at public and private functions. The consensus among industry players is that creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive is one sure way that will lead to the revival of most industries on their deathbed, leading to massive job creation, which will, in turn, develop the economy. Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Asue Ighodalo, disclosed recently during a visit at Rutam House, headquarters of The Guardian Newspapers in Lagos that the country requires about $100 billion (N36 trillion) to get the right infrastructure. To get this huge sum, Ighodalo had urged the Federal Government to encourage investors by granting incentives and creating the right policy framework to secure investments. “Since Nigeria does not have $100 billion to tackle infrastructure deficit, so we must encourage those who have it. We must create an enabling environment that would generate jobs, have proper infrastructure and develop the economy. “Investors will only bring their money where they get good results. All these will form a template for the country’s development plan. Any other way, we are only deceiving ourselves.” For Ighodalo, there is a need for a strategic shift to a competitive private sector economy by 2050 through a renewed focus on economic growth, competitiveness and inclusive development. He said the time was ripe to address issues on achieving rapid industrialisation, transforming education, managing demography and sustaining peace and security. According to him, it has become critical for industry leaders and policy-makers to create a realistic way of achieving desired goals that will move the nation forward. Noting that Nigeria’s economic prosperity depends on the productivity with which human and natural resources are employed, Ighodalo said: “Competitive economies have stable macroeconomic conditions and their business climate keeps transaction costs low, thereby encouraging savings and investments, as well as enabling vigorous competition. Such economies create a private sector than can effectively compete for opportunities in regional markets. “For Nigeria to rank among them, we must have the capacity to modernise in a way that Nigerian firms achieve more sophisticated competitive advantages and higher productivity.” Abiodun Joshua, a textile union executive in Lagos, lamented over the neglect of the sector by the government, arguing that the government refused to create an enabling environment to sustain the textile industry. Joshua who was livid with anger over the neglect of the sector, when approached for comments told Sunday Sun: «The sector is on its deathbed and government is simply making bogus statements that they are bent on reviving the sector, but in reality, there is nothing practical on the ground to see. “Is the government doing anything on improving power supply? All are mere rhetoric. What of the harsh economic policies and regulations of government? How can you close the country’s borders when you have not encouraged local production that can take care of the citizens’ compulsory needs? It’s a pathetic situation because when you have a government that does not listen, does not take advice, but operate on the spur of the moment, no concrete planning, that is what you get”. One fact the government must make clear to the operatives of the textile industry is that it would take a lot of hard work to revive the industry and that all hands must be on deck. A curious mix of good policy formulation, tariff measures and border control, exchange rate management and good industrial incentives would have to be deployed to achieve this great dream most Nigerians would want to be realized. The least the country can do in this regard, according to experts, is to satisfy the domestic market and have a total reorientation of the populace in the preference for locally made fabrics to those imported.
Source: The Sun News
In a welcoming development, Africa having 54 countries in it and population of 1.2 billion people with the size of economy at $2.4 trillion has positively indicated to using CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) and Gwadar Port to ensure access for its products to the markets of Central Asian Republics (CARs) and China. And more importantly Africa has also shown its willingness to start negotiations with Pakistan on Early Harvest that will stimulate the growth of Pak-African trade volume up to $8 billion in the next five years’ time. Kenya’s central bank has also agreed to allow Pakistani banks to open up their branches to facilitate the country’s exporters in Africa. Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce, Industries & Production, Textile and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has disclosed this to The News in an exclusive interview on Sunday at his Ministry’s office. Pakistan’s CPEC and Gwadar are a low hanging fruit that African countries want to pluck by exporting their products to Central Asian States and China and increase their trade with them. The use of Gwadar and CPEC in big way by African countries will stimulate the Pakistan economy manifold too. Pakistan under its Look Africa Policy Initiative is seriously aiming to tap the maximum share in economy of Africa that currently stands at $2.4 trillion, which is estimated to further go up to over $4 trillion in the next 10 years and to this effect we have decided to double the Pak-Africa trade volume to $8 billion from existing $4 billion in the next five years’ time. Mentioning the successful two-day seminar held in Kenya under the Look Africa Policy that concluded on January 31, the adviser said that apart from government-to-government level interactions, business-to-business (B to B) interactions proved very productive as Pakistani businessmen managed to attain export orders of millions of dollars worth for rice, fruits, vegetables, processed food, confectionery, pharmaceuticals, sports goods, tractors, cement and light engineering sector companies. He said that huge attendance by business delegates and top officials from 20 African countries was witnessed. President of Kenya also attended the seminar and he himself met with Pakistan businessmen. Dawood also mentioned that about 100 businessmen from Pakistan attended the conference in Kenya on their own expenses. And to this effect, the adviser said Pakistan and Africa have decided to immediately start negotiations for early harvest on at least 10 products to make inroads into Africa’s market to stimulate the growth in Pak-Africa trade. To a question if Pakistan is going to ink Preferential Trade Agreement or Free Trade Agreement with African countries, he said there are 4-5 economic zones such as East Africa, West Africa, North and South Africa and whole Africa economic zone and the commerce ministry would first hire top class consultants and carry out a study to know should Pakistan go for trade agreement either with whole Africa economic zone, or with East Africa, West Africa, North and South Africa zones. To a question, he said that the Early Harvest will be inked with the East Africa economic zone. The adviser also mentioned about that Bohri and Gujrati communities that left the Subcontinent in 1920s and settled in Africa since then. ‘They were very interested to go for trade with Pakistan.’ He said that Africa’s annual global trade was $1.075 trillion in 2018. On the other hand, Africa-Pakistan trade has remained stagnant at a meagre US$3 billion for many years. It only crossed US$4 billion during the last two years, reaching US$4.28 billion in 2018-19, which still is a fraction of the total trade. With a collective GDP of $2.45 trillion (2018) and projected to be 4.1 percent in 2020, it’s time for the world to acknowledge this robust economic performance. He said that Pakistan has increased the number of commercial councillors from 4 to 14 which will further be increased in the time to come to ensure tapping of maximum potential of African countries for Pakistan’s exports. The adviser said that Pakistan is opening six new Trade Wings at our embassies in Africa. These include Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Senegal, Sudan and Tanzania. This has increased the number to 10. They will be mandated to increase engagement with African countries at ministerial level. He said that Pakistan will form bilateral Joint Working Groups on trade and establish the Africa Cell in the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan to enhance facilitation for exchange of delegations with Africa and increase facilitation for companies’ participating in trade fairs in Africa. He said that in Pakistan, there has been no progress when it comes to issues such as implementation of decisions and follow-ups. The adviser said that Pakistan would attend the Commonwealth Conference to be held in Rwanda in June 2020 to explore more trade avenues in Africa. Pakistan under the Look Africa Policy will also hold a conference in Karachi somewhere in October where a large number of business and official delegates from Africa will be invited. ‘‘And the third seminar will be held either in Nairobi or in Morocco for interaction with West African countries,” Dawood added.
Source: The News
Amid the extreme hype of the ICO boom, many corners of the blockchain sector seemed convinced that enterprises would rush to embrace the technology. Blockchain was touted as the solution to any and all business problems, finding use cases across almost every industry sector. Now, as the new decade dawns, it’s fair to say that distributed ledger technology has caught on in a few notable industry sectors. Supply chain and finance are two areas where the benefits of blockchain quickly became evident. Walmart, Nestlé, and Unilever are all now using IBM’s Food Trust solution to track and trace products in their supply chain. In the financial sector, trading platforms, including the Australian Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, have leveraged Digital Asset’s distributed ledger solutions for faster trade settlement without compromising counterparty risk.
A Slow Pace of Change
Despite these achievements, the vast majority of use cases that were being discussed in 2017/2018 haven’t yet yielded the results they initially promised. Enterprise adoption has been slower than anticipated. However, the hype was always unrealistic when the pace of change in large corporations tends to be painfully slow. After all, it took around a decade for the internet to become embedded into modern corporate society. However, perhaps the biggest challenge is that blockchain technology in its current state comes with several barriers to enterprise adoption. Many of the barriers to adoption are intertwined. From an enterprise perspective, blockchain still doesn’t offer much in the way of “plug and play” solutions, so it’s difficult to use. There’s a shortage of developers, meaning experienced developers can demand premium salaries, which in turn pushes up the cost of implementing a blockchain solution. Furthermore, many public blockchains still aren’t scalable. A platform must be able to accommodate the transaction speeds demanded by a modern enterprise, or it will be rejected as not fit for purpose. Data security is also another concern, as many public blockchains offer too much transparency for the comfort of the average CEO. However, these barriers don’t mean that widespread enterprise adoption of blockchain is a lost hope. Technology moves quickly, and there are many companies and projects with solutions that help enterprises to overcome the challenges.
Big Tech Steps Up
Along with developing permissioned solutions for corporate implementation, many of the big tech firms have invested heavily in blockchain technology in other areas. IBM offers a Skills Gateway portal where would-be developers can access training and information about blockchain. Many big tech firms are also collaborating with blockchain projects in various ways, helping them to build their profile and increase exposure. For example, Google published a blog post last year illustrating how Chainlink could be used to link a public blockchain such as Ethereum to its enterprise cloud data warehouse. The post gave an immediate boost to Chainlink, both in terms of visibility and token price.
Blockchain-as-a-Service
Blockchain-as-a-service is another way of making the technology more accessible to enterprises. It enables companies to outsource the challenge of implementation, overcoming the need for in-house expertise and developers. Ardor’s solution, which it called Consensus-as-a-Service, is one example.
Ardor
Ardor offers many of the benefits of a permissioned blockchain while remaining public, through the use of child chains. The parent chain is responsible for network security and processing, whereas the child chains have segregated duties for specific operational tasks. This reduces bloat on the blockchain, enabling higher throughput while maintaining data security. Jelurida, the company that operates Ardor, has established several enterprise partnerships. One of the most notable is with Henkel, a German company managing several household brands with annual sales €20m ($22m.) Henkel engaged Jelurida to work with its IT and product team in understanding, approach, and implement blockchain solutions. The effort is part of Henkel’s 2020+ digitalization strategy and underscores the kind of commitment that large enterprises are making to including blockchain in their digital transformation effort. Jelurida has been involved in blockchain since 2013, meaning Henkel can leverage this experience without needing to hire their own developers or build their own solutions.
Dragonchain
Dragonchain, which originated from The Walt Disney Company, offers a similar service. The Dragonchain Foundation maintains access to the overall code base, which was open-sourced in 2016. However, the commercial enterprise offering blockchain-as-a-service is managed by Dragonchain Inc. Dragonchain has been working to bring blockchain into several industries. For example, the company has partnered with YokImpex, which has an 80% share of the Singaporean textile recycling market. YokImpex is using Dragonchain’s blockchain-as-a-service and platform to bring traceability and transparency to textile recycling in a similar way to how many companies are using blockchains in their supply chain.
Bloq
Bloq is another example. The company operates a subscription model so that enterprises can access its BloqEnterprise and BloqCloud solutions on-demand. It also offers a consultancy service called BloqThink, designed to help organizations set up and implement their blockchain strategy. Unlike Ardor and Dragonchain, Bloq doesn’t run its own platform but operates across multiple others. The company has its roots in Bitcoin, as it was founded by former Bitcoin core developer Jeff Garzik. Perhaps these credentials account for Bloq’s impressive client lineup, which includes PwC along with banking giants Barclays and Citigroup.
Multi-Party Financing Solutions
Even despite Ethereum’s ongoing scalability woes, ConsenSys has made significant strides in working with enterprises on Ethereum-based solutions. One of the best known is trade finance platform Komgo, which is a blockchain-based solution for the commodity trade ecosystem. The global commodities sector involves complex, cross-border shipments of goods, which is traditionally highly paper-based. This makes it vulnerable to many issues, such as fraud, miscommunication, and payment delays. Komgo leverages blockchains multi-party features to automate commodity transactions, eliminating paperwork and ensuring a single source of truth for all participants. The platform is backed by global industry players, including BNP Paribas and ING. It’s thanks to initiatives like the ones listed here that enterprise blockchain adoption has continued to move forward, even despite the initial hype from the ICO boom dying down. Many of these developments happen behind the scenes, as the reality of implementation tends to be less headline-grabbing than the initial news. However, now that the technology has started to develop and blockchain firms and projects continue to break down the barriers, enterprise adoption will start to become evident across more sectors and use cases, bringing the “internet of value” to its initial promise.
Source: Cryptoglobe
