The Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry Shri Piyush Goyal today held a video conference with representatives from various Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) from across the country, to assess the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown in the country, and get their feedback and suggestions in ameliorating the situation. The Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Commerce Secretary Dr Anup Wadhawan, Director General of DGFT Shri Amit Yadav were among those present in the meeting. The EPCs apprised of the impact of the pandemic on their activities and businesses, and made a range of suggestions to overcome the hardships. Shri Piyush Goyal said in the meeting that Export-Import is an important activity of the country, and at the same time, lockdown was necessary for the safety and health of 130 crore Indians. Therefore, a fine balance has to be maintained, and solutions found to reduce the difficulties. He said that the Government has been ahead of the curve in the recent times, as noticed in the recent announcements made by the Union Finance Minister and the RBI Governor. But in such difficult times, one can learn from the experiences of others and plan for the future. Shri Goyal said that the suggestions made in the conference will be taken up in right earnest, and action will be taken soon. He assured the Export and Import groupings that the Government will try to be accommodative with their reasonable demands, and come out with practical outcomes. The organizations which took part in the video conference included FIEO, AEPC, SRTEPC, GJEPC, CLE, CEPC, Shefexil, Pharmexcil, Electronic & Software EPC, Services EPC, Silk EPC, EEPC, EPCH, Project EPC, Texprocil, Telecom EPC, Cashew EPC, Plastic EPC, Sports Goods EPC, Capexcil, Chemexcil, EPC for EOU & SEZ, Wool & Woollen EPC, HEPC and IOPE.
Source: PIB
For any COVID-19 related Export or Import issue, a Helpdesk has been operationalized by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Exporters/importers may directly flag their issues through any of the following channels -
Contact@DGFT Platform ( http://rla.dgft.gov.in:8100/CRS_NEW/) :
Email : dgftedi@nic.in
Call at Toll free number : 1800-111-550
Source: PIB
Stoppages of a vessel at any port of the affected countries only for refuelling will not be considered for the calculation of 14 days. India has imposed a 14-day quarantine on shipping vessels arriving from any port in China and any nation affected from coronavirus. The vessels arriving after 14 days of departure from a coronavirus-infected country are, however, not required to comply with the additional precautionary measures. Stoppages of a vessel at any port of the affected countries only for refuelling will not be considered for the calculation of 14 days. These are part of the Directorate General of Shipping’s (DGS’s) guidelines for the ports in the country to deal with vessels and people on-board in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Shipping services are needed to be operational so that essential goods and commodities like fuel, medical supplies and food grains are delivered, and to ensure that the economic activity of the nation is not disrupted, the DGS said in its order. Ports that are not able to comply with the specified requirements have been told not to allow berthing for vessels arrived within 14 days from the infected countries. According to the order, the master of a vessel, before arrival at its first port of call in India, will ascertain the state of health of each person on board and submit a declaration to the health authorities of the port. If the maritime declaration of health given by the master is found to be incorrect and not reflecting the factual conditions of health of persons on board the vessel, the master is liable to be prosecuted in accordance with the applicable laws, it said. Also, the Maritime Declaration of Health will be forwarded at least 72 hours prior to arrival of the vessel at the port. If the voyage duration from the last port of departure is less than 72 hours, the declaration will be informed to the port immediately on departure from the port, said the order. Vessels having persons suspected of Covid-19 will necessarily be required to be monitored by the health authorities and put in quarantine, if the samples are tested positive. The vessel will remain in quarantine and the infected persons will be dealt with in accordance with the procedures laid down by the health ministry. Vessels with infected persons will also be sanitised according to the protocols for dealing with Covid-19 pandemic. Between April and January, India’s major ports have handled 585.7 million tonnes of traffic, up 1.14 per cent from the same period last year.
Source: Business Standard
The G20 nations have agreed to collectively inject $5 trillion into the world economy to counteract the social, economic and financial effects of the Covid-19 pandemic that has infected close to 5,00,000 people across countries and claimed more than 22,000 lives. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who represented India in a video-conference of G20 economies on Thursday, stressed on a new concept of globalisation that focusses on humanity and collective welfare rather than individual interest, a source privy to the meeting told BusinessLine. “Leaders from all participating countries agreed to make collaborative effort to develop therapeutic solutions like vaccines, make diagnostics more effective and make testing kits and other equipment more freely available, especially to countries that lack resources,” the source said. The nations also pledged to ensure flow of medical supplies and critical agricultural products across borders and work together to facilitate international trade. There was full support for strengthening the WHO’s mandate to fight the pandemic and the members agreed to provide resources to poorer countries and come up with a Covid Solidarity Response Fund. “Sherpas from all G20 countries would finalise the actionable points so that G20 countries can come together,” he added.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Niramla Sitharaman today announced Rs 1.70 Lakh Crore relief package under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana for the poor to help them fight the battle against Corona Virus. While addressing the press conference here today, Smt. Sitharaman said “Today’s measures are intended at reaching out to the poorest of the poor, with food and money in hands, so that they do not face difficulties in buying essential supplies and meeting essential needs.”
The Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs Shri Anurag Singh Thakur was also present besides Shri Atanu Chakraborty, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Shri Debashish Panda, Secretary, Department of Financial Services. Following are the components of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: —
PRADHAN MANTRI GARIB KALYAN PACKAGE
I. Insurance scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19 in Government Hospitals and Health Care Centres
II. PM Garib Kalyan Ann (अन्न) Yojana
III. Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, Benefit to farmers:
IV. Cash transfers Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana: Help to Poor:
V. Self-Help groups:
VI. Other components of PM Garib Kalyan package Organised sector:
Source: PIB
The Indian government has ordered a residential lockdown for 21 days from March 25, CNN reports. That’s likely to have a severe impact on manufacturing including downstream supply chains. There are already signs of disruptions to the logistics industry with Indian ports declaring force majeure and cutting activities according to S&P Global Platts. Panjiva data shows the largest Indian export lines in 2018 were energy – in particular refined fuels – worth $44.8 billion or 14.1% of the total after a 34.0% surge compared to 2017. Those shipments will likely already be in decline in dollar terms as a result of the collapse in the oil price. That was followed by precious metals as 12.4% as part of significant bilateral trade linked to household stores of wealth. Among manufactured goods apparel and textiles represented 6.6%, machinery 6.4% and vehicles (autos and capital) 5.7%.The largest export market in aggregate was the U.S. with $51.7 billion of shipments in 2018, or 16.2% of the total, followed by the UAE which accounted for 9.0% and China with 5.1%.In terms of U.S. imports the most exposed industry is vehicle chassis (HS 8706) where 72.3% of imports came from India in 2019, Panjiva’s data shows. Among the most exposed firms to vehicle chassis imports has been Deere & Co., as discussed in Panjiva’s research of March 25. Among consumer goods, India represented 32.1% of U.S. imports of carpets and 16.0% of textiles. The largest import to the U.S. by value is pharmaceuticals. While India only represented 9.4% of total U.S. pharma imports the supplies are concentrated in generic pharmaceuticals. As flagged in Panjiva’s March 4 report there was already a set of export restrictions imposed on a narrow range of drugs. Panjiva’s seaborne data shows pharmaceutical imports to the U.S. already dropped by 14.2% year over year in the first two weeks of March after falling 8.2% in the first two months of the year. Shipments from India were substituted for those from Europe and China with shipments from India having increased by 10.2% in the first two weeks of March and by 11.0% in the first two months of the year. Losing imports from India could therefore exacerbate the existing supply chain downturn. Leading seaborne shippers from India in the 12 months to Feb. 28 that have ramped up their shipments include Cadila – shipments associated with which rose by 80.4% year over year in January and February combined – as well as Dr. Reddy’s with a 65.7% surge and Amneal with a 58.8% increase. Not all shippers have boosted their supplies though, for example shipments linked to Aurobindo and Alkem fell by 18.9% and 27.0% respectively.
Source: S&P Global
Indian Industry has come up with a 10 point export boost plan for the beleaguered sector amid the lockdown effected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The plan drawn up by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) covers everything from extending the 5% interest subvention scheme to all exporters to one-time extensions of customs duty payments and filing bill of entry. “The short-term impact on exports has started showing up with exporters facing liquidity crunch as customer’s payments are not coming through and shipments of ready goods are not able to leave the factory or lying at the port because of lock-down situation globally,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of CII. At the top of the list, exporters suggest that consignments which are ready for shipment should be allowed to be transported from the manufacturer’s factory or warehouse to the customs facility. The lockdown has resulted in transportation delays leading to various costs and charges piling up for manufacturers, exporters and importers. With regard to the customs duty payments, they have asked that deferment should be extended from March to June to ease financial pressures. To address liquidity issues, the plan suggested expediting GST refunds and extending the moratorium on loan, interest payments, utility payments and declaration of NPAs by banks by at least six months. The sector also seeks the waiver of shipping line demurrage and container freight station charges as the import container clearance time has gone up due to the lockdown.Demurrage is a charge payable to the owner of a chartered ship on failure to load or discharge the ship within the time agreed. To ease the congestion resulting from compliance norms, the CII has suggested all bills of entries should be processed based on selfdeclaration of the importer. In case of any deficiencies, the importer’s undertaking should be accepted and cargo be released. A bill of entry is a declaration by an importer or exporter of the exact nature, precise quantity and value of goods that have landed or are being shipped out. For easy access to credit, the plan suggested packing credit be increased by at least 25% for exporters and the threshold for returning export packing credit be increased from 180 days to 360 days. It also asked banks to consider sanctioning and releasing at least 20% of contract value as special cash credit funding to companies executing export contracts. The CII also recommended all export benefits as per the current Foreign Trade Policy should be continued until June 30 or the announcement of new policy.
Source: Economic Times
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formed a high-level committee of 15 ministers led by defence minister Rajnath Singh to ensure unhindered supply of essentials across the country during the three-week lockdown following the Covid-19 pandemic. Modi on Thursday assigned each Cabinet minister to a minimum of 15 districts to obtain direct updates from local administrations, covering all the districts of the country. The new coordination team is in addition to the group of ministers chaired by health minister Harsh Vardhan, the economic task force led by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and an empowered committee for scientific response co-chaired by Niti-Aayog member Dr Vinod Paul and principal scientific advisor K VijayRaghavan. Between them, the task forces will address scale and spread of Covid-19, movement and screening of people who returned from abroad, R&D, lab testing, financialial issues caused by the lockdown and smooth supply of essentials. To prevent overlap, each task force has different ministers. The Rajnath committee has been holding meeting since Wednesday. The home ministry has been made the nodal ministry for ensuring supplies. Home minister Amit Shah is a member of the committee. Issues of goods laden trucks stranded on highways and suggestions on persuading automobile companies to manufacture ventila tors were discussed. Following the meet, a logistics committee was set up on Wednesday, which has on board secretaries to the ministries of aviation, health, drugs, textiles, consumer affairs, shipping, apart from the railway board chairman, and a senior official from the home and defence ministries. The logistics committee will make air, road and rail transport available for relief operations and ensure coordination of logistic and transport requirements of central and state governments and private institutions engaged in sending essential supplies. Each Cabinet ministers will have direct central oversight over the situation in districts entrusted to them and ensure timely intervention and assistance. Defence minister Rajnath Singh has charge over 20 districts in Uttar Pradesh, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman of 13 Andhra districts and 9 from Tamil Nadu. External Affairs minister S Jaishankar is in charge of 23 districts of West Bengal, commerce minister Piyush Goyal has 20 districts in Tamil Nadu and transport minister Nitin Gadkari 18 districts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai. Information and Broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar is in charge of remaining Maharashtra districts and Andaman & Nicobar, while Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan has districts in his home state Odisha entrusted to him. Madhya Pradesh’s districts have been divided between three ministers.
Source: Economic Times
The world trade is expected to witness a sharp fall due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis, and global solutions will be required to deal with the pandemic, according to the WTO. In a video message, World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo said cross-border trade and investment flows have a role to play in efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be vital for fostering a stronger recovery once the medical emergency subsides. He said global solutions are needed to address the global challenge brought about by the pandemic. WTO economists are analysing the fallout from the crisis and will report their findings and projections for trade in 2020 and 2021, Azevedo added. "Although the report is still a few weeks away, the economists foresee a very sharp decline in trade," he said. This does not augur well for WTO member countries like India which are not recording healthy growth in exports. "Once the medical crisis begins to recede, trade will allow countries to help each other grow, bringing faster and stronger economic recovery for all of us. The WTO will do its part," he added.
Source: Economic Times
The financial relief measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today has come as a sigh of relief for the ailing textile industry. The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) and the Tiruppur Exporters' Association (TEA) have hailed the measures stating that they would come as a great relief for the textile industry in the short run. SIMA chairman Ashwin Chandran has welcomed the announcement of three months moratorium period for payment of term loans and working capital interest, advising the banks to re-calculate the drawing power liberally and extending additional working capital facility, substantially reducing the repo rate thereby enabling the financial institutions to reduce the rate of interest, and making provisions to exclude the three months moratorium period for asset re-classification and credit rating. TEA President Raja M Shanmugam thanked the RBI governor for considering the major requisition and providing three months moratorium on payment installments of term loan outstanding and interest on working capital facilities to be deferred by three months. He also lauded the announcement that deferment will not be classified as NPA. Shanmugam appreciated the decision that in respect of working capital facilities sanctioned in the form of cash credit/overdraft, the banks may recalculate drawing power by reducing margins and/or by reassessing the working capital cycle for the borrowers. In a press release, Chandran appeal to the Prime Minister to advise RBI and banks to give clear instructions to provide additional working capital to the tune of 25 per cent without any additional collateral or margin money. He also felt that the PM should advise RBI to issue clear direction immediately for extending the moratorium for the payment of interest on term loans as the March 2020 quarter is fast approaching. He hoped that the Union government would review the situation in the days to come and announce suitable financial measures. He has also appealed to the state governments in South India to defer payment of current consumption charges for three months and waive the demand charges for electricity. Both Chandran and Shanmugam thanked the Prime Minister, Union finance minister, and Union textiles minister for making certain announcements on financial relief package through RBI. Shanmugam said he hoped other measures would also be announced soon to support and re-energise the knitwear sector.
Source: Fibre2fashion
In recent months, around half a dozen established agencies trimmed their GDP growth forecasts for India to the 5.1-5.4% range. Rating agency Crisil on Thursday slashed its FY21 growth forecast for India by as much as 170 basis points to 3.5%, citing the damaging impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, as it revised downwards its projection for the second time in a week. Even the latest forecast, according to Crisil chief economist Dharmakirti Joshi, assumes two benign things: a normal monsoon and the effect of the pandemic subsiding materially, if not wearing out, in the April-June quarter. “The slump in growth will be concentrated in the first half of the next fiscal, while the second half should see a mild recovery,” Joshi said. The agency said the Rs 1.7-lakh-crore package announced by the government, directed at the most vulnerable sections of the society in rural and urban areas, is well designed and targeted. But more measures are necessary to offset business disruptions, including loan forbearance for small and medium enterprises, and households whose incomes have been materially impacted, impairing their ability to service loans. In recent months, around half a dozen established agencies trimmed their GDP growth forecasts for India to the 5.1-5.4% range. However, given the current pan-India lockdown and the Covid-19 spread, these projections are expected to be slashed substantially. As for FY20, while the government last month predicted the growth at 5%, it is all set to be revised down, thanks to lower-than-expected expansion in the March quarter. The impact of social distancing and the decline in discretionary spending will aggravate the downturn in the April-June quarter, and the sharp slowdown in key trading-partner economies will slam exports.
Source: Financial Express
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
804.10 |
USD/Ton |
-0.87% |
27-03-2020 |
|
VSF |
1333.11 |
USD/Ton |
-0.11% |
27-03-2020 |
|
ASF |
1898.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
|
Polyester POY |
733.56 |
USD/Ton |
-3.70% |
27-03-2020 |
|
Nylon FDY |
1862.12 |
USD/Ton |
-0.75% |
27-03-2020 |
|
40D Spandex |
4020.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
|
Nylon POY |
895.79 |
USD/Ton |
-3.79% |
27-03-2020 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2130.16 |
USD/Ton |
-1.31% |
27-03-2020 |
|
Polyester FDY |
5332.45 |
USD/Ton |
0.80% |
27-03-2020 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1029.81 |
USD/Ton |
-2.01% |
27-03-2020 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1721.05 |
USD/Ton |
-1.21% |
27-03-2020 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2172.48 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
1904.45 |
USD/Ton |
-0.37% |
27-03-2020 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1516.50 |
USD/Ton |
-0.46% |
27-03-2020 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2271.23 |
USD/Ton |
-0.62% |
27-03-2020 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1664.63 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2144.26 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2087.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
1848.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.22 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
0.95 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.51 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.65 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
27-03-2020 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14107 USD dtd. 27/03/2020). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
HANOI (Vietnam News/ANN): Vietnam has taken full advantage of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to gain strong growth in exports to Canada and Mexico. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) these are the two CPTPP members that have yet to sign bilateral free trade agreement (FTAs) with Vietnam. In the first two months of this year, Vietnam’s exports to Canada rose by 20.39 per cent to US$578 million year on year. With over 37 million people, a high standard of living and an urbanisation rate at 80 per cent, Canada is considered a potential market for many key export items of Vietnam, including textiles, footwear, seafood, tea, pepper, cashew nut, coffee and wooden furniture. During the first two months, textile and apparel export value reached more than $100 million, up 5.86 per cent year on year. The export value of mobile phones and accessories surged by 104.22 per cent to $122.09 million compared to the same period last year. Other products with strong growth in exports included the group of iron and steel and plastic materials with rates of 153.69 per cent and 354.06 per cent year on year, respectively. Vietnam's export value to Mexico reached $497.2 million in the first two months. Of which, many products gained high export value, including computers, electronic products and components ($133.6 million), telephones and components ($122.6 million), shoes and sandals ($47.5 million), textiles and garments ($16.3 million), machinery, equipment and other spare parts ($34.5 million), vehicles and spare parts ($35.2 million). Assessing the implementation of FTAs to promote exports, especially the CPTPP, Lương Hoàng Thái, director of the MoIT’s Department of Multilateral Trade Policy, told the Đầu tư (Investment) newspaper reported that Vietnam's enterprises have efficiently exploited markets with which Vietnam has not yet signed FTAs. In fact, Vietnam’s enterprises have done more than expected, taking full advantage of the CPTPP, Thái said. In 2019, Vietnam gained high growth in exports from the CPTPP countries, especially Canada and Mexico, while the agreement came into effect on Jan 14,2019. The country gained a year on year growth of 26-29 per cent in export value to Canada and Mexico last year, he said. The CPTPP has partly contributed to the strong growth in exports of Vietnam so the country had a trade surplus of $1.6 billion with the CPTPP market last year. Before this agreement, Vietnam had a total trade deficit of $900 million with this market, said Thái. Meanwhile, the General Department of Customs said Vietnam still recorded a trade surplus of $1 billion in the first half of March 2020, even during the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. In the first half of March, Vietnam’s total trade value reached $21.47 billion, including export value of $11.2 billion and import value of $10.3 billion. Therefore, the country achieved total trade value of $97.85 billion in the period from Jan 1 to March 15, up 4.4 per cent year on year. It had a trade surplus of $2.74 billion. Of which, the total export value recorded $50.29 billion, up 6.8 per cent and the total import value was $47.55 billion, up 1.9 per cent. During the period from Jan 1 until March 15, goods with high export growth included phones and components ($10.2 billion); computers, electronic products and components ($7 billion); machinery, equipment, tools and other spare parts ($3.93 billion); seafood ($1.26 billion); textiles and garments ($5.88 billion); footwear ($3.42 billion); timber and wood products ($2.1 billion); and vehicles and spare parts ($1.76 billion). - Vietnam News/Asia News Network
Source: The Star
The Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) on March 25 informed that Vietnam’s garment and textile industry might suffer a loss of up to VND11 trillion if export orders continue to be halted, delayed and canceled. According to the report, from mid-March, the export orders of garment and textile enterprises were continuously canceled, suspended, and temporarily halted, leading to a shortage of jobs in April and May this year. The larger the brand is, the higher the reduction ratio is and there is no sign of recovery. This situation leads to high pressure on garment and textile enterprises in terms of both finance and labor. If there is no policy adjustment, many enterprises may lose liquidity by the end of April this year. The unemployment rate will be from 30 percent to 50 percent in April and May this year, according to the Vinatex. The estimated loss of Vietnam’s garment and textile industry will be up to above VND5 trillion if 30 percent of workers are unemployed in April and 50 percent of workers are unemployed in May. If the situation lasts longer, the industry will lose up to VND3 trillion every month.Besides, the industry has been importing around US$1.5 billion worth of raw materials every month. If 20 percent of orders are canceled, $300 million worth of raw materials will not be used that might become inventories that are difficult to circulate. It is estimated that the total inventory in April and May this year of the industry will lose 50 percent of the value, equivalent to around $300 million. Vinatex alone will lose about $24 million. The Vinatex assumed that if the Covid-19 pandemic ends at the end of May and the economy recovers from June this year, it is estimated that Vietnam’s garment and textile industry will suffer a loss of VND11 trillion and the group will lose around VND1 trillion. In the meeting on March 25, the Vinatex asked its members to seek opportunities to produce export products for the prevention of the disease, such as face masks, medical clothes using antimicrobial fabrics, and single-use clothes from nonwoven fabrics; apply a flexible working regime, reduce working hours to around 32 to 40 hours per week after reaching an agreement with workers; reduce expenses, delay investment; ask for exemption or delay of the payment of social insurance, unemployment insurance, and union dues. The group will propose the National Assembly, the Government and relevant ministries and departments to allow the export of face masks and clothes for the prevention of the disease; ask the State Bank of Vietnam and commercial banks to extend loans.
Source: Saigon Online
The government has decided to waive 50 per cent to 100 per cent tax on the textile industry for six months as a means of easing its financial burden, stated a Ministry of Economy and Finance prakas. Enterprises whose income is expected to experience 20 per cent to 39 per cent drop will benefit a 50 per cent tax exemption whereas companies which anticipate more than 40 per cent impact are given a full waiver. The prakas, signed by minister Aun Porn Moniroth, was issued to mitigate challenges in Cambodia’s largest economic sector. It listed several requirements companies must fulfill in order to qualify for the exemption. The companies must produce documents that show actual impact to their income due to the partial suspension of the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme preference when submitting their tax declaration forms, the prakas stated. Early this year, the European Commission decided to partially suspend the EBA starting August, which would affect 20 per cent of export comprising clothes, footwear and bags to the European Union. The total value of that export amounts to over $1 billion a year. Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia deputy secretary-general Kang Monica told The Post that the income tax exemption might not ease much of the industry’s burden which is already impacted by the loss of business from order suspensions due to the Covid-19 outbreak. “Garment enterprises do not expect to be profitable this year. The big challenge now and in the near future is cashflow as we cannot deliver the goods to the buyers and we might not receive any cash payments. Therefore, factories will not have money to pay salaries,” he added. Cambodian Labour Confederation president Ath Thon opined that the tax measure would partially offset the textile industry’s impact in Cambodia. “The sector is experiencing a poor demand due to the suspension of orders by buyers. I think that if there is no market [to sell, we do not know where products would go. This can lead to unemployment soon,” he said. Last year, Cambodia exported $1.2 billion worth of travel products compared to $600 million in 2018. Overall, the nation’s exports amounted to $14.6 billion in 2019, up 12.7 per cent from 2018, whereas imports grew 18.6 per cent to $22.3 billion from a year ago.
Source: Phnom Penh Post
The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab Chairman Adil Bashir has urged the government to immediately notify the already approved electricity tariff of 7.5 cents per kWh in order to avoid the negative impact of COVID-19 on the textile industry. He said the Economic Coordinating Committee has approved on 11th March that the five export sectors would be provided electricity at an all-inclusive rate of 7.5 US cent per kWh from January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, and all the applicable taxes issued from January 1, 2019 till date, which included surcharges, quarterly adjustments, and fuel price adjustments, financial cost surcharge and Neelum-Jhelum Surcharge, will be adjusted and considered as withdrawn. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan had also assured of freezing the tariff to provide relief to the electricity consumers. However, he pointed out that the textile industry is facing problem in payment of bills, as the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) are issuing provisional bills while deferring the surcharges in the absence of notification. According to him, the textile industry is already in disarray because of the cancellation of export orders from around the world on the one hand and the heavy burden of the salaries of factory workers on the other.
Source: Business Recorder
