The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), an arm of the commerce ministry, has cautioned exporters and importers against "fake" websites and platforms which are allegedly charging fees and collecting their confidential data. It has been brought to the notice of the directorate that certain vested interests/personsare using multiple websites and e-mail IDs mimicking and resembling official website ande-mail of the DGFT for misleading and duping exporters and importers, it said. "In order to contain these issues, trade stake holders are advised to avoid accessing andengagement with such websites and platforms. Trade stake holders are also requested to avoid sharing any information and making payments on these platforms," DGFT said ina trade notice. It has also initiated steps to make systematic changes to establish secure communication with its stake holders. A Exporters and importers are requested to "avoid sharing their details with private/unrelated/unknown persons/entities etc which may have a potential for misuse and fraud," it said. The fake websites and e-mails claiming to be officials responsible for DGFT refunds have been sending communications to trade stake holders and "falsely" claiming to provide services rendered by DGFT such as issuance of the import and export code (IEC) number .These websites appear to charge large fees from applicants besides collecting their confidential data, it added. Some of these fake websites are registered in the domain names of ''.org'', ''.in'' and''.com'', it said. Exporters and importers have reported that they have received mails from e-mail IDs such as dgft-email.nic.in, contact@dgft-in. email, im1@dgftcom-in-icu, Info1@in-gov.email, and dgft3@mail-govt.email. These email IDs, being similar to government IDs, may potentially result in misleading and duping of the applicants, the directorate said. "With the furtherance of digital mode of services delivery by DGFT and its regional authorities, the proliferation of impersonation/fake website, platforms, providers etc needs to be continuously checked and reported," it said. It has asked traders to bring to notice such persons/ websites/ platforms/providers to the DGFT helpdesk at the toll free number 1800-111-550 or via e-mail at dgftedi@nic.in. DGFT regional authorities are also being directed to spread awareness among exporters/importers about these matters.
Source: Outlook India
In the first trial, India will carry goods to Tripura and adjoining states via Bangladesh’s Akhaura and Bibirbazar land ports after they arrive at the Chittagong port, they said. Such an arrangement would help India ship goods to and from its north-eastern regionby waterways and then by road through Bangladesh. Dhaka is expected to benefit from fees charged on the movements of cargo. While Nepal continues to act tough over a land bridge, India’s eastern neighbour Bangladesh has decided to open a new chapter in regional connectivity, enabling easy access to landlocked north-eastern states. A trial run of trans-shipment of Indian goods through Bangladesh will take place this month notwithstanding the pandemic, officials in the know told ET……..
Source: Economic Times
Under the scheme launched by Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS), duty credit scrip is extended which enables the holder to import freely importable goods without payment of basic customs duty. A host of services exporters have claims worth crores pending under a key export incentive scheme, compounding liquidity problems of the sector hit hardest by Covid-19, even as the government is yet to take a call on continuing the scheme beyond April. Launched in 2015 to boost services exports, the Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) offers….
Source: Economic Times
Exporters' body FIEO has urged Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to fasttrack the process of engagement with the European Union on the longpending free-trade agreement (FTA) with India and conclude it in an expeditious manner. India and the EU are negotiating a comprehensive FTA, officially dubbed as the Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), but the talks are stalled since May 2013 due to differences on several matters. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President S K Saraf said Vietnam, a strong competitor of India, has already signed a similar agreement with the EU, which is likely to be operational by July-August 2020. "The EU is the largest market of our exports accounting for 18 per cent of our exports. Vietnam is a close competitor of India in the market as our exports to the EU stood at USD 58.4 billion, while Vietnam exports were USD 52.2 billion in 2019," Saraf said in a letter to the commerce minister. With the signing of the agreement, Vietnamese products will get further edge in the EU markets as the landed price of their products would become cheaper as compared to Indian products, he said. "This does not augur well for many Indian products, particularly apparels, footwear, leather goods, furniture, tea, coffee and marine products. Since India is gaining traction in electrical and electronics goods, concession to goods manufactured in Vietnam will pose a challenge to our products," Saraf said. He said the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement has also been signed and, due to this, Vietnam will be attracting a lot of investments moving out of China particularly those with the EU as their market. He added that due to these developments, Indian exporters are quite concerned and would request for acceleration in the process of completion of a similar agreement with the EU. "We request you to kindly hasten the process of engagement with the EU to close India EU BTIA expeditiously," the FIEO president said. Citing certain data, he said that in 2019, India exported apparels worth USD 7 billion to the EU, while Vietnam shipped worth USD 7.10 billion. Similarly, India exported electrical and electronics worth USD 4.9 billion in the same year, Vietnam shipped USD 22 billion. Earlier, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel also urged the government for early conclusion of the proposed FTAs of India with countries such as EU and Australia to boost exports. "There is an urgent need to have a level-playing field in terms of market access and margin of preference in the biggest global market for Indian apparel that is the EU," Sakthivel has said.
Source: Economic Times
“We have not abandoned the principle of free and fair trade. The government is very clear that ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ is neither protectionist nor isolationist. India hasn’t shunned efforts to forge “balanced” trade agreements despite renewed push for self-reliance, and talks with key partners, including the US, the EU and Australia, willgain momentum once the impact of the pandemic wanes considerably, an official source told FE. “We have not abandoned the principle of free and fair trade. The government is very cleart hat ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ is neither protectionist nor isolationist. It’s about getting our act together to improve domestic production of finished goods, gain from better intergration with the global value chain and ensure fair trade,” the source said. “Every country tailors its policies to suit its best interest, and we are no different,” he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month announced a Rs 21-lakh-crore relief packge, with the theme of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. After its pull-out from the China-dominated Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in November last year, New Delhi had decided to step up talks for a slew of “balanced and fair” trade pacts, in contrast with earlier FTAs that “worsened India’s trade deficit”. It had aimed at a “limited” deal with the US, which had been in the works for several months, and a broader free trade agreement (FTA) after the presidential elections there in November. Similarly, India wanted to clinch a trade deal with Australia—an RCEP member—this year and revive stalled talks with the EU. It had also planned to launch or fast-track bilateral talks for FTAs with the UK, South Africa and Mexico. With Brexit formally over, talks with the UK were to be launched early. Also, New Delhi wanted to speed up talks with European Free Trade Association members– Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Leichtenstein – for a separate trade pact in parallel to its discussions with the EU. It was also seeking to rework its existing FTAs with Asean, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea to trim its trade deficit with these nations. However, as the outbreak of Covid-19 forced governments worldwide to shift their focus to tackling the unprecedented health and economic crisis at hand, New Delhi, too, deployed much of its apparatus for this purpose. Also, given that the pandemic canpotentially alter the course of world trade (as anti-China sentiments surge), it makes sense for India to wait and capture post-Covid realities in negotiations, analysts say. Earlier this year, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal had held bilateral meetings with EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan, Mexico’s secretary of economy Graciela Márquez Colín, South African trade minister Ebrahim Patel and Japan’s state minister of economy, trade and industry Makihara Hideki to boost prospects of bilateral trade. India’s tactical shift from multilateralism to bilateral engagements had come at a crucial time. Even before Covid19 caused a havoc, world trade was witnessing heightened uncertainties. A trade war between the US and China, and a collapse of the WTO’s dispute appellate system had only multiplied challenges for India that had been a staunch advocate of the multilateral trading system. The WTO has now forecast a 13-32% contraction in global trade for 2020, and economic growth is expected to hit the nadir since the Great Depression in 1930s. These will weigh on India, with analysts predicting an up to 6.8% contraction in its GDP in FY21, before a smart recovery next year, partly due to a favourable base. While retreating from the 16- nation RCEP, New Delhi had said the pact, in its existing form, was unbalanced and was “really not fulfilling the guiding principles on which it started”. Importantly, the Economic Survey for 2019-20 has pointed out that generally FTAs have been beneficial for India. Between 1993 and 2018, India’s exports of manufactured products grew at an annual average of 13.4% to partners with which it has trade agreements and such imports grew 12.7%, it says. In comparison, its overall goods exports grew at an average of 10.9% and imports 8.6% during this period. However, amid growing protectionism across the globe, India, too, has raised imposed duties on a host of products, including shoes, toys, wooden furniture, kitchenware, appliances and certain food items, this year, which will only increase its average import duty from the already elevated level of 17.1%. Although some other countries, including China, Japan and South Korea, boast of lower tariffs than India, they have erected massive non-tariff barriers to discourage imports that they deem non-essential.
Source: Financial Express
The Goods and Services Tax Council on Friday decided to further ease compliance burden of businesses by providing relief on late free and interest payable on late payments. It reduced late fee and interest for those with tax liabilities and waived off late fee completely for those with no tax liabilities. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that GST collections had fallen to about 45%, aggravating the problem of compensation to states, even as states demanded they be funded through market borrowing. The Council will meet again in July to specifically discuss this issue. “For all those who have no tax liabilities but have not filed their returns between July 2017 and January 2020 there will be zero late fees,” FM Nirmala Sitharaman said. “For people who have tax liability, maximum late fee for non-filing of GSTR3B returns for period July 2017 - January 2020 has been capped to Rs 500,” she added. Companies having no tax liability will not be fined any late fee if they have not filed returns, since July 1, 2017. Those with tax liabilities will now be able to pay a late fee of Rs 500 per month, per return, far lower than Rs 10,000 per month. During Covid period of February, March and April 2020, interest rate on late return filings by small taxpayers with turnover up to Rs 5 crore, will be reduced to 9% from 18%, if returns of inward supplies are filed till September 30. The late fee and interest will be waived for the months of May, June and July, if returns are filed by September 30. “Providing compliance relief, even beyond September if required, to all businesses is essential at the present stage where the primary focus has to be on business revival and working capital management,” said MS Mani, partner at Deloitte India. Taxpayers can file for restoration of GST registrations that have been cancelled till June 12, 2020, through a one-time extension being offered till September 30.
Compensation Cess
The GST Council will meet again in July to discuss exclusively compensation cess which has to be given to the states. The fund shortfall remains an issue even with the Centre having released Rs 36,400 crore to states as compensation cess for December to February period, while states have asked the GST Council to raise money through market borrowings. “If there has to be a borrowing, how and who’s going to pay for it... it will be discussed,” Sitharaman said. The total outgo to states stands at Rs 1.51 lakh crore for FY 2019-20, with installment of March remaining. Between April and November 2019, the government had released Rs 1.15 lakh crore as funds to states. About Rs 12,500 crore more needs to be paid to states for the month of March.
GST Collections
The impact of coronavirus followed by the lockdown has hurt GST collections, with the April and May collections falling well short of targets of Rs 1 lakh crore per month. “States understood what the collections are, they’re at 45% only,” Sitharaman said. The Government is faced with a tough balancing act, as on one hand it needs robust GST collections to help meet its regular and extraordinary expenses during the pandemic, while on the other hand, businesses are looking for relief to help them tide the major disruptions, loss of revenue and uncertainties. “Collections are done by states as well, and every state is fully aware of how much money they’re getting every month. Discussion is happening together, revenues we got are not final,” said revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey. A complete picture will emerge after collections for April, May and June are taken into account, he added.
Rate rationalisation
The Council however postponed rationalisation of GST rates for textiles, footwear and fertiliser, even though principally all members agreed that the duty rates need to be corrected as these products faced inverted duty structures. “The minister for UP wanted to take call on brick-klins and pan masala. This meeting will be taken up in the next GST Council meeting,” Sitharaman said.
Source: Economic Times
The GST Council is considering the correction of the inverted duty structure as it has impacted revenue collection, along with resulting in higher outflow of refunds. On Friday, the council, headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, discussed extensively on correcting the inverted duty structure for textiles, in specific. Briefing the media, through video conference, Sitharaman said that there was unanimity among the members of the council regarding the need for correction of the structure, but the question was when it needs to be corrected. "That''s a festering issue for a very long time. Because of inversion, we get less tax revenue and end up giving a lot more of refunds, because of the accumulated ITCs (input tax credit). Therefore this issue of correcting inversions has been discussed in almost three to four GST council meetings. This time, we took it up," she said. "There was discussion on when do we want to correct, meaning when do we want to rationalise the rates to correct the inversion related problems." Although there were two more items other than textiles to be discussed regarding the inverted duty structure, they were not taken up on Friday as no clarity prevailed over when the correction should be made, she said. ''Inverted duty structure'' refers to a situation where the rate of tax on inputs purchased is more than the rate of tax on outward supplies or the finished product. A registered person may claim a refund of unutilised ITCs on account of the inverted duty structure at the end of any tax period where the credit has accumulated due to the rate of tax on inputs being higher than the rate of tax on the finished products or the output. Correction of this structure has been a long standing demand of several manufacturing sectors.
Source: Outlook India
New registrations under goods and service tax (GST) have been getting delayed to as much as 60 days or more during the lockdown period, compared to the regular turnaround time of about a week, said industry insiders. While several applicants have faced delays going up to a few weeks, some of the applications filed before the lockdown began on March 25 are yet to be issued registration numbers. The issue, which is being faced by taxpayers across different states, has been raised by many businesses with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Besides new businesses starting up, interim resolution professionals (IRPs) or resolution professionals managing companies undergoing corporate insolvency resolution have been grappling with getting new registrations. Rules mandate IRPs to file for fresh registrations in all states where the company was earlier registered. “Delay in grant of registration is acting as an active restraint for IRP/RP’s appointed under IBC laws, slowing the revival process for debt laden companies,” said Rajat Mohan, senior partner at AMRG Associates. Last week, CBIC enabled a separate registration facility for IRPs on the GST portal. According to officials, the delay in issuing new registration numbers has been due to far fewer number of tax officers across various jurisdictions having remote or virtual private network (VPN) access to process the applications. “In many places the jurisdictional officers of the area where a business is situated are working from home, and may not have VPN access or digital signature certificates,” said an official, asking not to be named. GST Network had said in April that it had provided secured access to over 1700 tax officers in 18 states and union territories to work remotely. Over 10,000 new registrations were issued between March 25 and April 3, it had said. GSTN did not respond to ET’s queries on new registrations post this period.
Source: Economic Times
The Centre must help States tide over the pandemic crisis by giving GST dues. Meeting for the second time since the pandemic took hold in the country, the GST Council, last Friday, decided to relax late fees and interest payable for those taxpayers failing to file returns on time. For businesses with no tax liabilities under the indirect tax regime, the late fees were completely waived. This is in line with similar relaxations announced by the Centre in March, before the lockdown was declared, to ease compliance deadline worries of small businesses in particular. Since the full lockdown lasted longer than initially envisaged, and only began to unwind this month, the forbearance on offer was a necessary step. But given the extent of economic damage as well as the States’ fiscal positions in the period between these two meetings of the Council, its decisions are far from sufficient. In March, GST collections had slipped to ₹97,597 crore after surpassing the ₹1-lakh crore mark over the previous four months, and the numbers for April and May will not be known before July. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has told State representatives in the Council that just 45% of the indirect tax target had been met in the past two months. Although aware of the dwindling tax kitty during the lockdown, States have had their hands full managing the pandemic. It is for this reason that several States have been urging the Centre to extend emergency fiscal support and release past GST compensation dues enshrined in the pact that allowed the new tax regime to take off three years ago. In its stimulus package, in May, the Centre enhanced States’ power to borrow, but only part of that was completely unconditional, and a large chunk was contingent on States undertaking specified reforms. These reforms may be long-pursued ideals, but whether this is the right time for prioritising them has been questioned. GST compensation (for revenue shortfalls in the first five years of GST) due to States for December 2019 to February 2020 was only released on June 4. Perhaps, it was timed to pre-empt discontent in the Council’s meeting. Yet, Centre-State ties could turn more fractious, especially in the GST Council where things have usually evolved with consensus so far — thanks to the failure to finalise the way forward for paying States the compensation. One of the ideas on the table, officially discussed for around two months, is to raise loans against future GST cess accruals in order to recompense States. Any decision on this front, along with proposed GST rate rationalisations in the textiles, footwear and fertilizers sectors that were on the Council’s agenda, can now only be expected at a special meet in July. Procrastination is not an appropriate response at this arc of the curve — be it the pandemic or the economy.
Source: The Hindu
The Directorate of Textiles has planned to provide interest free working capital loan to the organisations which have been entrusted with the task of extending a helping hand to the weavers, especially in market linkage. The Directorate has decided that Boyanika, Sambalpuri Bastralaya, and Odisha Cooperative Tassar and Silk Federation Ltd (SERIFED) should be given the interest free working capital to boost their capacity to help the weavers and artists engaged in handloom works in the state. Data from the National Handloom Census says that there are 65,391 weaver households with a total of 1,22,335 weavers and ancillary work forces engaged in 55,970 handlooms. However, the COVID outbreak has severely affected the sector. Boyanika and Sambalpuri Bastralaya are said to account for 75 per cent of the total sales of cooperative sector. The department officials opine that these organisations need to take extra efforts during the coming years to liquidate the unsold cloth lifted in the current year. Some officials believe that the recovery process may take four to five years to bring back the situation to normalcy. According to the department— sales of Boyanika was down by Rs 608 lakh in March 2020 (YoY) due to the lockdown during second fortnight. In April and May, its sales were down by Rs 647 lakh owing to lockdown in comparison to the corresponding period in 2019-20.It is said that it could not procure finished clothes from its weavers, SHG workers and others but it released all outstanding cloth dues and also provided raw materials in advance. This has lead to dearth of funds with the agency. Sambalpuri Bastralaya, which provides engagement to around 3,000 weaver households in the state, is also hit by similar sales figures. It is said to have lost Rs 315.59 lakh in March 2020 compared to last year and sales were done down by Rs 559.13 lakh in AprilMay 2020 compared to the corresponding period last year. According to the interest free capital loan system, these organisations will have to submit their proposals and the department can sanction them the loans for their works. The proposal of interest free working loans is now with the higher officials in the Handloom, Textile and Handicrafts department for approval.
Source: Orissa Post
Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and MSME Shri Nitin Gadkari has vehemently denied the reports in a section of media which have falsely quoted him as having said that MSP is likely to be reduced. He dubbed such reports not only as false but also malicious. Making a statement on the issue, Shri Gadkari has said that he always stood and advocated looking for various ways & means to increase farmers’ income including through alternative usage of their crops like paddy/rice, wheat, sugarcane. The Minister went on to assert that he himself was present when increase in MSP was announced hence there was no question of him standing for MSP reduction. He expressed that providing better income to farmers was always the priority of the Government of India and it is in the same spirit that MSP has been raised. He further emphasised the need for exploring changes in crop pattern to provide better prices to farmers, for example growing edible oil seeds holds bright prospects since India spends about Rs 90000 crore on its import. Similarly, production of ethanol from rice/paddy/wheat/ corns will also not only give them better returns but also help save on import bill. Besides, these Biofuels are also more environments friendly, Shri Gadkari underlined.
Source: PIB
India needs to re-evaluate the existing know your customer (KYC) norms to make it more simple and cost effective as we strive to become a role model for the world through quantum jump in financial integration, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said. “Availability of products and services, ability to customise and offering of localised products vernacular languages will lead to greater financial integration,” Kant said while addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) seminar on Fintech and Digitisation. Kant is of the view that India needs low cost, high volume products, interoperability of accounts and flow based lending to give a push to financial integration. “Closed ecosystems with barriers if exit will be detrimental to financial integration,”he warned. Stating that India records more than three billion digital transactions in a month, Kant said, “We are targeting a billion trnascations in a day and pushing for it.” Currently, the highest number of transactions are done for payments, billings and merchant payments. “We are in the midst of challenging times because of Covid-19 and going forward we’ll be increasingly doing faceless transactions,” Kant said. Citing the benefits of digital payments, Kant said India directly transfers Rs 11.1 lakh crore under 426 schemes through 56 ministries through DBT with not a single leakage in the system, thus improving efficiency and preventing leakages. According to Kant, as India’s fintech market matures there will be a huge opportunity for existing as well as new fintech companies to adapt and grow. “There is a huge opportunity for India to emerge as fintech’s globe of choice,” he concluded.
Source: Economic Times
The government's Rs 20.97 lakh crore rescue package for the coronavirus-hit economy is not cast in iron and there is scope to finetune it, the PM's economic advisory council member Ashima Goyal said on Saturday. She also said the government has to kickstart demand to stimulate the economy. "The (economic) package is not cast-iron...there is scope to finetune the economic package," she said while addressing a virtual seminar organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Goyal, a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EACPM), added that much of the stimulus pertained to the financial sector and "sequencing of demand and supply is very important to stimulate the economy." The government last month unveiled a Rs 20.97 lakh crore economic package, which includes RBI's Rs 8.01 lakh crore worth of liquidity measures. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the package in five tranches, which included Rs 3.70 lakh crore support for MSMEs, Rs 75,000 crore for NBFCs and Rs 90,000 crore for power distribution companies, free foodgrains to migrant workers, increased allocation for MGNREGS, tax relief to certain sections and Rs 15,000 crore allocated to the healthcare sector. On revival of India's growth, Goyal said the COVID-19 pandemic is a temporary exogenous shock for the economy. "We see a whole range of economic growth forecasts... when human capital is intact then you see a sharp recovery after the real shock," Goyal, also a professor of economics at IGIDR, said. The Indian economy grew at its slowest pace in 11 years at 4.2 per cent in 2019-20. The COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdowns have severely disrupted economic activities. S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings have said India's economy will shrink by 5 per cent in the current fiscal, while Moody's has projected a contraction of 4 per cent. Commenting on India's foreign exchange reserves crossing the USD 500 billion mark, Goyal said, ''Our foreign exchange reserves are borrowed reserves. Best way to increase foreign exchange reserves is to attract investment."
Source: Economic Times
Countries across the world are working on restarting trade exhibitions with new safety protocols, including contactless entry and cashless transactions. Managing the health crisis and reviving the economy are the two biggest priorities for governments around the world today. Trade shows, especially, are critical in rebuilding economy, as these offer a chance to companies to sell and source, a vital component of the business calendar and a key factor in building a network. In its 2019 exhibition report, France-based organisation UFI The Global Association for the Exhibition Industry had estimated that approximately 32,000 exhibitions happen every year, featuring 4.5 million exhibiting companies that attract over 303 million visitors. Exhibitors and visitors combined spend around $137 billion every year on exhibitions, making exhibitions a significant industry. Globally, the tourism segment MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) was projected to reach $1,439.3 billion in 2025, registering a CAGR of 7.6% from 2018 to 2025, as per Allied Market Research. The Indian Exhibition Industry Association (IEIA) estimates the market size of the exhibition industry at `23,800 crore. More than 550 such events are conducted annually in the organised sector. However, the outbreak of the pandemic has resulted in an estimated loss of Rs 3,570 crore in Q1 2020 for the sector, which may further escalate if the crisis continues. Under strict health screening conditions, China’s Hunan Province in May held its first major Hunan Auto Show, attracting 100 auto brands, nearly 600 vehicles and 60,000 sq m of stand booths with over 62,000 visitors in six days. Germany has now become the second country in the world to take a big step forward towards reopening the trade fair business. AUMA—Association of the German Trade Fair Industry has presented the country’s policymakers with proposals for regulations. The German government has exempted exhibitions from the rules barring mass gatherings, opening the door to business-to-business events. Moreover, the #safebusiness project, launched by IEG (Italian Exhibition Group), has devised a plan to work with outfitting and catering companies, technicians and international operators and focus on every phase in the trade show and conference experience. Meanwhile, UFI has released guidance on reopening trade shows and B2B events post Covid-19. The earliest shows likely to take place are the Dallas Total Home & Gift Market, starting August 19 (rescheduled from June), and the Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles fair, starting August 24. As India deliberates on the post-Covid era, the exhibition industry is geared up to lead by example. In a virtual event organised by the trade body Indian Exhibition Industry Association (IEIA) last month with Nitin Gadkari, minister of MSME and road transport & highways, the members of the trade association suggested to develop SOPs/safety guidelines such as distance protocols between visitors, mandatory masks, sanitisation, etc, for exhibitions and trade shows to resume in India. Reopening trade shows with new safety protocols in a ‘controlled environment’ will make the entire process safe for a visitor, allowing contactless entry, cashless transactions and contactless face-to-face meetings. The presentation submitted to the ministry contains the scale and impact of the Indian exhibition industry and how it is geared up for gradually opening again under well-thought-out safety guidelines. While exhibitions are known to generate business and enable knowledge and technology exchange within individual economic sectors, they also play a significant role in supporting trade and employment opportunities for many allied sectors such as service providers, hospitality sector (including restaurants, bars, hotels), transport (especially local cabs and taxis in case of tier I cities in India) and the incredibly hard-hit aviation sector, as business travel gets activated together with MICE tourism. “Restarting exhibitions with health and safety guidelines is key to restarting the economy,” says Raj Manek, managing director, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India, a subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH, one of the largest event organisers in the world. These allied industries are the backbone of the exhibition industry, but lack of business is putting many of these at immediate risk. “Trading and networking platforms under safe and controlled business environment are critical for every business sector… exhibitions play a crucial role in reconnecting and rebuilding business communities and vital supply chains, which, in turn, will have a domino effect across multiple allied sectors by creating employment and opening up the service industry sector,” shares Manek. Messe Frankfurt is gearing up for the 2020 Frankfurt Book Fair in October and is working in close cooperation with the Health Department of the city of Frankfurt to intensify safety and hygiene measures. Enhanced technology integration in everyday exhibition processes like online registrations, digital on-site registration process, cashless transactions will be the new normal for the industry in India. “We are exploring a combination of live virtual events and webinars to create a balance between the digital platform and face-to-face interactions, which will always hold value,” says Manek. Exhibition apps will help set up and schedule visits and meetings in advance, and digital scanning and exchange of data will replace visiting cards, brochures, catalogues and reference material at exhibitions.
Source: Financial Express
With the coronavirus pandemic hitting businesses globally, home textiles major Welspun India Ltd is looking at how can it re-purpose its businesses to align with the changed ecosystem, with e-commerce emerging as one of its priority areas to reach end consumers, according to a top company official. The company, which has been a supplier of towels to the prestigious Wimbledon tennis tournament, said that despite the cancellation of this year's event, its orders have been honoured and overall, with big retailer across the globe coming back, it expects two of its plants to run at least 70-80 per cent of full in the ongoing year. "This is the time to look at how we can re-look at our businesses, the purpose of business, what we are looking at, and if we can really continue to do what we are doing. And we have our heads up. That's something that we are doing," Welspun India Ltd CEO and Joint Managing Director Dipali Goenka told. She was responding to a query on how the company is reacting to the challenges thrown up by the global health crisis. Goenka said the company reacted swiftly to the changing situation. "We got to work as corona virus struck with a sense of purpose of looking at how we can re-purpose our businesses...how can we re-purpose our factories and be prepared to work with the protocols of COVID19? We did that. How do we re-purpose our product, that was done. How do we look at ecommerce as a different channel?" she said. Elaborating on how the company is looking to ramp up activities on the online channel, Goenka said, "We are working on a whole line of reaching out how do we go about it... We want to look at innovative ways to go to our customers. Can we work on e-catalogue, targeting customers and work with our distributors as partners and reaching out to the customers directly through them?" She further said that has become a real opportunity for the company. "This is something in inception right now but the whole idea is, the bottomline is, we all will have to re-purpose ourselves. Think innovatively and look at doing businesses in a different manner."Commenting on the potential of the online space, she said the company's existing portals in India and the UK have witnessed exponential growth in traffic during the pandemic. When asked if the company is looking to partner with existing online marketplaces, Goenka said, "We work with Amazon, we work with Flipkart in India, we are working with Myntras of the world. We are working on marketplaces, but we also have our websites." On the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of events like Wimbledon tennis championships this year, Goenka said, "Wimbledon has been cancelled but the kind of commitment that Wimbledon has, they are taking all our stock and they are meeting all our targets. What they have committed to, they have taken that." She further said that as the global impact wears on the whole world, the whole economy was disrupted. "For us, the big retailers who we are working with globally, they are coming back to working. We have been supplying them. Our plants have been chugging along since May. Exuding confidence that Welspun India will recover better, she said, "We can see visibility coming soon though it is not what we had planned for. The COVID-19 impact is there everywhere but our plants, if I look at the annual picture, we look at least 70-80 per cent of both our plants full." She also said the company has insulated its workers and employees from the impact of the pandemic. "We have taken care of our people. All salaries are paid on time. We continue to do so for our people. The only thing I would say is that this is also the time for Welspun India to look at how we can work efficiently. That's something which we definitely are working on. Looking at automation, digitisation, looking at upskilling our people that's where our energies are focussed on."
Source: Economic Times
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Date |
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PSF |
848.37 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
VSF |
1249.27 |
RMB/USD |
-0.56% |
14-06-2020 |
|
ASF |
1638.87 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
Polyester POY |
808.14 |
RMB/USD |
-0.78% |
14-06-2020 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2046.82 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
40D Spandex |
3994.83 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
Nylon POY |
1778.62 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1002.24 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2329.14 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
Nylon DTY |
5194.69 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1030.47 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1926.83 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
1732.03 |
RMB/USD |
-0.24% |
14-06-2020 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1411.60 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2180.92 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1679.80 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
1595.11 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2018.59 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
1905.66 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.12 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.64 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
0.93 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.48 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.64 |
RMB/USD |
0% |
14-06-2020 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14116 USD dtd. 14/06/2020). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The country's textile mills are reportedly in a difficult situation. While the Covid-induced decline in demand for fabrics from exporting garment factories has already taken a long toll on the entire textile industry, export of low-cost yarn allegedly at dumped prices from some competing countries, like Pakistan and India, is seen as a potential threat to its survival. Textile mills of the country that besides meeting domestic demand serve as the main backward link to manufacturing and exporting garments have been voicing their concern for sometime now over the very low priced export of yarn from India and Pakistan that they think not only adversely affects their production and marketing but also defies international trading practices under the WTO rules. The common perception is that yarn producing countries like India and Pakistan are exporting their stocked yarn to Bangladesh at dumping rates due to the pandemic. It has been learnt that Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) in a letter to the finance minister said that Bangladesh's competitor countries like India and Pakistan had taken different undue initiatives, including exporting yarns, fabrics and other textile raw materials at dumping prices to retain their market shares in the global market during the coronavirus pandemic. The letter said India sits on a stockpile of yarns as export remained almost halted due to coronavirus and now the country has started to export the item to Bangladesh at dumping prices. Considering the international prices of cotton and the cost of other components for production, the BTMA claimed that India was exporting its 40- count combed yarn at rates lower than the production cost. The letter further said Bangladeshi manufacturers were facing undue competition due to the below-cost import of yarn from India. Bangladesh's primary textile sector, estimated to be worth $8 billion in investment, is working as a dynamic backward linkage industry and supplying 80 per cent of knit and 35 per cent of woven fabrics to the export-oriented readymade garment sector. According to industry insiders, due to the use of local inputs, the value of RMG export had increased to $35 billion from $26 billion in the last five years. However, lately, with the coronavirus hitting the industry hard, exports of garment and textile products are feared to slump by as low as 40 per cent to the European Union alone, the largest export market for Bangladesh. In such a situation, if the backward linkage factories, such as the textile mills, are adversely affected by dumped imports, this key feeding-industry would be fraught with untoward barriers to produce even on a limited scale. What the textile millers now want the government to do is initiate anti-dumping duty on yarn import. It is a common practice globally to go for such actions as an ad-interim measure to protect the local industry against aggressive promotional policy of exporting countries. There is a definite merit in their demand as the concern expressed by the sector appears to hold ground. The authorities should look into the matter, especially the alleged below-cost pricing of yarn and do the needful.
Source: The Financial Express
IF you had suggested to Ahmed Jahangir, the executive director of Nishat Mills, a few months ago that textile masks will be his company’s new product, he would have snickered and retorted: “Why? What has happened? Did I miss something?” Today he says masks will now be a permanent part of his future business. “The global demand for textile masks will not dry even when the virus contagion is over,” Mr Jahangir, told this correspondent. Masks are now the latest fashion accessory and part of the lifestyle worldwide, not just another healthcare item. “We are receiving large orders for all types of textile masks from major American and European brands,” he said. Textile masks are the new garment for Pakistan’s apparel manufacturers who have been hit hard by the unprecedented slump in the global demand amid the Covid-19 contagion that forced economies to shutter to halt the spread of the infection. The garment manufacturers are tweaking production lines as global demand for masks spikes with governments ordering their citizens to cover their faces when they get out of their homes as the first line of defence against the virus. Pakistan has only recently allowed export of textile masks as orders from abroad pour in. “There is a huge demand for textile masks out there at a good price. The demand is set to phenomenally rise when the countries lift lockdown restrictions and businesses reopen,” Mr Jahangir elaborated. ‘Garment exporters are receiving serious inquiries for millions of pieces of caps, isolation gowns, overalls and other cotton-based protective gear from foreign retailers, governments and militaries every day. This is a big opportunity for us to partially make up for our export losses’. His is the first company to start mass production of textile masks in mid-March. “We were trying to procure masks for 60,000 people working for different businesses, including MCB Bank, of the Nishat Group but couldn’t find any supplier,” he said. It was then he decided to manufacture masks. Initially, they thought of using non-woven material. But it’s shortages made them look for other materials. He soon discovered that countries like Germany prefer masks made from woven materials for daily use by healthy people as protection against microorganisms and pollution. Non-woven materials or breathers like N95 are recommended only for hospital use by frontline health workers and caregivers working in a hazardous environment. “Ours is the country’s first garment company to start production of textile masks and also get export orders,” Mr Jahangir boasted. The company has in the last one month or so received significantly large orders for the barrier masks from a number of global brands and the French military, which it will start shipping from this month. The Covid-19 pandemic has been disastrous for the textile and clothing industry, which accounts for 60 per cent of Pakistan’s export revenue and 9pc of its GDP. Garment factories are reported to have terminated the employment of thousands of workers as foreign buyers cancelled or put on hold their shipments. The industry fears many small factories could shut permanently with medium to large factories facing significant losses. The nation’s exports in April plunged steeply by 54pc to $957 million from a year ago. Textile and clothing exports, which jumped nearly 17pc in February before declining 4.5pc in March, are believed to have suffered massively last month. “The garment industry has suffered the most in this crisis. In my view, 20-25pc of total production for both domestic and foreign markets is lost permanently. Home textiles and other value-added products will bounce back but it will take years before apparel sales pick up to their pre-Covid-19 level,” argued Mr Jahangir, adding his company was able to save over 500 stitching jobs by opening the new production line for masks. But textile masks are not the only item that has seen a massive upsurge in demand in the wake of the Covid-19 contagion. The pandemic has also opened up an opportunity for garment exporters in the field of personal protective equipment (PPE). Nishat Mills, along with a few other major garment producers, has got an export contract from an American importer for five million non-disposable, blended textile hospital isolation gowns that can last 30 washes. Mr Ijaz Khokhar, a sports garments exporter from Sialkot, believed global shortages of masks and other personal protective gear could open new avenues for Pakistan’s struggling textile industry. “Garment exporters are receiving serious inquiries for millions of pieces of masks, caps, isolation gowns, overalls and other cotton-based protective gear from foreign retailers, governments and militaries every day. This is a big opportunity for us to partially make up for our export losses,” he asserted, calling for the restoration of the zero-rating regime for the textile and clothing exporters. “The shift to PPE can save thousands of jobs and bolster export revenues. We should not restrict ourselves to manufacturing cotton-based products only. If we start using nonwoven materials we may be able to increase our exports faster and fetch more revenue. For this, the government will have to move fast, remove bureaucratic bottlenecks and allow duty-free import of melt-blown materials as Bangladesh has done. We need the prime minister to personally oversee this behavioural change for a faster decision-making process.” “The growth in global demand for cotton-based protective gear is the biggest opportunity that this pandemic has thrown our way. It’s a vast field. Pakistan is not known for these products. We should take full advantage of this opportunity. If we don’t others will,” Mr Jahangir concluded.
Source: The Dawn
Official data showed that the exports of textile and garments of China posted a decline of 1.17 percent in the starting five months of the current year to set a total of USD96.16 billion in comparison with the earlier year. Data released by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said that the decline has narrowed 8.8 percent in comparison to the decline reported in the starting four months of the year. The exports of textile rose 21.3 percent in the period from January to May compared to a year earlier to set at a total of USD57.95 billion, as the exports of garment declined 22.8 percent to reach USD38.21 billion. The exports of textile stood at 20.65 billion in May alone, an increase of 77.3 percent since the earlier year as it was mostly led by face masks, the data showed.
Source: Menafn
Textile factories in Turkey recently reopened in the industrial cities of Kocaeli and Sakarya after a brief, mandatory break due to the novel coronavirus outbreak and are operating at over 80 per cent capacity while preparing for new investments because of a rise in orders. The country lifted restrictions related to the pandemic on June 1. Textile manufacturers underwent a quick revival and now foresee an even quicker recovery after the shock they experienced, sector representatives told a Turkish newspaper. Talu Tekstil, located in the first Organised Industrial Zone (OIZ) in Sakarya, is currently working again at full production after its factories produced nothing but medical masks during April. Demand has significantly increased with the reopening of stores in Europe, said company chief executive officer Mustafa Gültepe, who is also the chairman of the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters Association (ITKIB). The company opened its third factory in Adapazari last year to keep up with increasing orders and is now planning to move its factory to a new giant factory in central Turkey at the end of the month. Its production capacity is planned to increase by 30 per cent after moving to the new factory. The company aims to reach the pre-pandemic production level of a million pieces per day in August. Turkey's three largest state lenders—Ziraat Bank, VakifBank and Halkbank—recently announced that they will extend a new loan incentive scheme with reduced rates to invigorate the transition to normalisation and revive social life, as economic activity steps up following a slowdown due to the pandemic.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
