Textile Raw Material Price 2015-02-09
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1167.87 |
USD/Ton |
0.28% |
2/9/2015 |
|
VSF |
1832.21 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
ASF |
2594.82 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
Polyester POY |
1193.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2956.23 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
40D Spandex |
7471.78 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2680.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2745.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1405.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
Nylon POY |
3248.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
5717.54 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1453.75 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2533.91 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1859.82 |
USD/Ton |
0.44% |
2/9/2015 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2875.01 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2696.34 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2598.88 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2014.13 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2485.18 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.58 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.99 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.35 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.72 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.79 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
2/9/2015 |
SOURCE: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1US$=0.16243 CNY dtd. 09/02/2015)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Textiles ministry has suggested extension of subsidy scheme for up gradation of power looms in the country to improve quality of powerloom products, a top official said today. Moreover, the ministry has also sought the removal of restrictions on the number of units eligible for receiving these benefits, Kiran Soni Gupta, Textile Commissioner said. "We want to give the benefit across the board to improve the quality of the product and also to remove restrictions," Gupta said at a programme organised to distribute subsidy under the in situ upgradation of plain powerlooms here.
At present only a maximum of eight powerlooms can receive a subsidy of Rs 15,000 each under the scheme, which is also available only in select weaving clusters, like Erode and Salem, she said. Stating that the idea was to help poor weavers, Gupta said Indian textile industry can make a difference on the global stage only if weaving was able to contribute significantly to its growth. Of the over 20 lakh looms, only 1.25 lakh were fully mechanised, she said. Since 95 per cent of the textile machinery was being imported, there was a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurs and the demand for looms can be met by the domestic players, Gupta said.
The ministry has sought additional funds for Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme, as the allocated money has already been utilised, she said. The ministry has received 10 proposals from this city for setting up yarn banks of which two have been approved. Yarn banks have already been launched in Surat in Gujarat,Gupta said.
SOURCE: The Niti Central
The Union ministry of textiles to provide powerloom weavers yarn at concessional rate has formed two special purpose vehicles (SPVs) namely Ved Road Art Silk Small Scale Cooperative Federation Limited and Pandesara Weavers Cooperative Society Limited for setting up India’s first yarn bank under the Integrated Scheme for Powerloom Sector Development (ISPSD).
With the initial corpus fund of Rs 1 crore each, of which 50 percent allocated by the central government and 50 percent by the SPV these yarn banks will start for purchasing yarn from the open market and selling at concessional rates to its initial 1,000 member weavers. With the setting up of yarn banks at the powerloom clusters of Ved Road and Pandesara, hundreds of small and medium powerloom weavers in Surat, the largest man-made fabric ( MMF) centre of India will have direct access to polyester yarn at concessional rates.
Both the yarn banks will be inaugurated in the presence of textile secretary Sanjay Panda and joint secretary Sujit Gulati at a function on Friday. According to the textile experts, the yarn banks will provide an opportunity to the weavers to arrest the price fluctuations and curb the presence of the middlemen, known for hoarding the yarn stocks and engineering artificial price hikes and shortages. Moreover, the yarn banks will allow the weavers to procure yarn on credit and repaying the amount in installments or adjusting against the quantity of yarn bought every month.
Devesh Patel of Ved Road Art Silk Small Scale Cooperative Federation Limited said that there are more than 1 lakh weavers in Ved Road and Pandesara. Initially, the yarn bank will be catering to only 100 units from both the areas. They have urged the textile ministry to increase the corpus fund to a minimum of Rs 5 crore each to the banks, so as to cater to a large section of weavers. They have started approaching the frontline spinners like Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for the bulk procurement of yarn on concessional rates. If this works out then they will not have to depend on the local suppliers and weavers would be getting yarn cheaper by 7-8 per cent.
According to Ashish Gujarati of Pandesara Weavers' Federation, as there are several kinds of yarns produced across the world through the yarn bank domestic industry can get access to various yarn samples of global standard which will be stored there to do further research and come out with innovative products. The yarn bank will also provide price benefits. There are 5.5 lakh powerloom machines in Surat producing around three crore meter of fabrics every day. The powerloom sector employs around seven lakh textile workers.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
The Union Ministry of Textiles has sought additional funds for the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) in the current financial year, Textile Commissioner Kiran Soni Gupta said here on Monday. Ms. Gupta told The Hindu that apart from the budgetary allocation this fiscal, Rs.1,500 crore was required for applications that had been received already and had bank sanction for the project, and also for applications that would be received till the end of this financial year. The total allocation for the scheme in the XII Plan was about Rs.11,900 crore.
Further, in an effort to bring in transparency to the scheme, a software solution was being developed, and it was likely to be launched on a pilot-basis by the end of next month. Applicants would be able to track the application using the software.
The Textile Commissioner added that the technical textile industry was registering an annual growth of 11 per cent, and it was expected to grow at about 20 per cent by 2017. Its value was $18 billion now, and would reach $26 billion by 2016-17. The Union Government had launched two schemes for technical textiles in the northeastern States at a total cost of about Rs.480 crore. Demonstration centres would be set up in these States for agro textile products, and the other scheme is to promote use of geo textiles in these States.
On the cotton front, she said that with cotton prices under pressure, the Cotton Corporation of India had opened 341 centres across the country, and had procured 50 lakh bales of cotton from the farmers so far at the minimum support price. The Cotton Advisory Board had estimated cotton production this year to be 400 lakh bales.
SOURCE: The Hindu
India’s cotton cultivation is estimated to drop by 20 percent in 2015-16 if low price and lower demand continue to remain will discourage farmers to reduce cotton cultivation, after having witnessed a year of record production. In 2014-15, cotton area under cultivation was around 13 mn hectares about 1.5 mn hectares higher than the previous year. While global demand for cotton and cotton yarn dropped in recent months, cotton prices also dipped owing to lack of good quality cotton in the market.
In fact prices fell due to several reasons, including oversupply and reduced demand. Add to that, prices also fell due to non-availability of good quality cotton. This has discouraged farmers heavily. If the situation remains more or less the same till April, cotton cultivation for 2015-16 in India could fall by 15-20 per cent, said Arun Dalal, a leading cotton trader and exporter.
K Selvaraju of South Indian Mills Association said that global factors like decline in cotton yarn exports and overall global demand for cotton being low, cotton prices took a hit globally. From an average 90 cents per pound, cotton prices globally ranged between 50 cents and 60 cents per pound in some cases. Moreover, China also stopped importing cotton that impacted global cotton markets. Also, demand from mills also came down drastically due to reduced exports. All these factors led to fall in cotton prices. If prices do not improve much or global as well as domestic markets do not improve, then there could be fall in cotton cultivation by at least 10 per cent. This year, cotton yarn exports too have come down, from 140 million kg last year to about 100 million kg this year.
According to International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), cotton cultivation is projected to be down by six percent globally in 2015-16 as low cotton prices are expected to continue through the rest of 2014-15 when farmers in the northern hemisphere make their planting decisions. As a result, world cotton area in 2015-16 is projected down six percent to 31.6 million hectares.
Due to drop in cotton cultivation, the world cotton production is forecast to drop l six percent to 24.6 million tones assuming a world average yield of 777kg/ha, which will be the lowest volume since 2009-10. At the same time, world cotton consumption is likely to see increase by two percent to 24.7 million tonnes, making 2015-16 the first time in five seasons where consumption will overtakes production but this will only be a small reduction in the large cotton stockpile.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
India is the second largest textile exporter in the world. Indian traditional textile has a unique combination of handspun fabrics and the inherited skill of weavers is the USP giving an edge in a mechanized world. Idiosyncratically, the handlooms of Benaras and khadi are among India’s greatest sartorial contributions to the world. They are a rarity in the world of textiles and need to be looked at with a fresh perspective.
The Benaras Brocade can put the country on the textile map of the world and can also become a tourist attraction just as Thai silk. Thailand has carved out an identity for itself in textiles with the simple dupion silk, which is now sold as Thai silk around the world with enormous success. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to choose Varanasi as his constituency in the 2014 general elections has renewed the hope that it will lead to the revival Benaras Brocades, city’s mythical craft. These patterned gold and silver silks have been woven in the city since ancient times, but unfortunately there has been a sharp decline in the demand for this fabric in recent years. This is a sad situation as these saris are associated with the erstwhile royal courts and religious traditions, and represent the exotic in Indian couture.
Several government bodies have been set up to save this heritage. But they are directionless when it comes to dealing with the fast-changing world of design and fashion. All economic packages are aimed at getting subsidies for handlooms under the assumption that the fabric is used largely by the poor. This is surefire way of ensuring its irrelevance.
In India, there are amazing varieties of fabrics and with these the country can produce a hundred Thailand-like stories projecting India and its weavers in the highly competitive world of fashion fabrics. In addition to this, India is organic in production. But India is now in the process of imitating China to produce inferior saris. China is doing its best to replicate what is made by hand in their mechanized units and selling them both to India and the rest of the international fashion community. China is managing to get away with this because though there is a huge market for handcrafted goods, India has not been able to take advantage of this and improve the lot of its weavers.In fact, India can also do much more with Ahimsa silk. They could make a splash in the international arena with this incredible fabric produced from yarn in the Terai regions. They produce the rarest of tussar and moga silks. The other product that needs to promote is pashmina. The wool comes from the Pashmina goat, a special breed indigenous to the Himalayas. Pashmina shawls are also hand-spun and are synonymous around the world for their superb quality.
Indian textiles sector is the largest provider of employment after agriculture. It is a vertically integrated industry and produces everything from raw materials to finished products. Handloom production is uniquely environment-friendly, being a source of employment generation for unskilled rural workers, especially women, who are traditionally employed in hand-spinning. India has a plethora of institutions like the Khadi Gram Udyog set up specifically to cater to the needs of this sector. But the Udyog, which has a great network of outlets across the country, is in a comatose state and is doing the bare minimum to promote the production of khadi. While, the
Weavers Service Centres, set up in the 1970s, are in a state of disarray and the handloom boards and other such organizations are only accountable to themselves. As a new emerging economic power, India needs to attract investment in fashion and textiles. But for that it must encourage one of the most unique textiles the world has known. India has been leaders in this sector and still can hold the pole position in dyeing, printing and weaving. India has exported the most magnificent textiles to the world for thousands of years. It is time that India should place itself in a position where they are a cut above the rest of the world which is not a difficult proposition, considering the vast resources at hand. Time has come for India to review its unique textile heritage.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Almost 1,100 delegates from all across India participated in Textile Association (India) - Vidarbha organised 12th International & 70th All India Textile Conference from January 17-18, 2015 at Nagpur. “The theme of the conference was “Cotton, Textile & Apparel Value & Supply Chain: Global Opportunities & Challenges” covering whole gamut of textile & clothing industry,” a statement from TAI informed. “Cotton can play an important role to develop Vidarbha,” said Nitin Gadkari, union minister of road transport and highways at the inaugural function.
Gadkari said that people need to change their mind set and think of ways to develop cotton industry in Vidarbha. “Farmers need to fight poverty and unemployment by using new technology and they could start by setting up ginning and pressing units in villages,” he added. “Also, by adopting new techniques of farming the yield per acre and quality of cotton could be increased,” he observed.
Maharashtra industry minister, Subhash Desai said the government will issue a list of just 25 permits required to start an industry, and that 52 have been done away with. He said the state will also announce a new textile policy, which shall have major focus on developing the sector in Vidarbha.
Additional chief secretary – textiles, Sunil Porwal said this conference will create positive environment to attract growth in all segments of textile value chain by using effective supply chain management techniques. President TAI – Arvind Sinha said fall in crude prices has hampered economies in Russia and Venezuela, which may impact exports from Indian apparel industry. He added that the Middle-East countries are also in a cautious mode, with the demand already low in the US. However, there has been no cut in capacity utilisation yet, as reducing or shutting down, means more losses.
Past TAI president DR Mehta said the potential growth of Indian textile and clothing industry lies in an effective vertical integrated value chain structure. “Industry growth is dependent on driven operations like branding, marketing communications, strategic planning, human resource management and logistics management,” he informed delegates.
Conference chairman, Hemant Sonare was of the opinion that in order to envisage Vidarbha as a future textile and garment hub, farmers and entrepreneurs need to bring in value added products to sustain development. He said the objective of the conference foresees a desired development at every stage from fibre to fashion & will successfully translate the thought process into action to achieve added growth for Vidarbha industry. He showed confidence that the outcome of the conference will certainly boost confidence of existing & budding entrepreneurs to act as change agents and develop integrated framework to make Vidarbha a textile hub.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley could set the ground for goods and services tax in the forthcoming budget by rolling out measures to facilitate this levy led by rationalisation of special additional duty (SAD) while shifting some products to a higher excise duty bracket. "Some steps have to be taken in line with the GST," said a government official, sharing the likely changes in the budget.
SAD is levied on imports over and above the basic Customs duty in lieu of central sales tax. Though the central sales tax was cut to 2% as part of the GST roadmap, SAD was left untouched. Besides impacting cash flow, SAD pushes up the duty for the manufacturing sector along with countervailing duty to 17 per cent compared with output excise duty of 12 per cent.
The Narendra Modi government is looking to give a big boost to manufacturing sector in the upcoming budget that is being woven around the 'Make in India' theme. Tax experts say there is little logic in continuing with the duty since as it is to be refunded. "SAD is available as a credit to manufacturers and refund to traders. Therefore, a large part of duty collected doesn't really accrue to the government," said Pratik Jain, partner, KPMG.
A final call on the issue will be taken closer to the budget in line with revenue considerations, the official cited earlier said.The government could also look at moving some goods attracting nil or lower rate of excise duty under duty regime to the median rate of 12 per cent in line with the thinking on GST. A number of items such packaged as cheese, yoghurt and butter could attract excise duty.
"Exemptions have to be pruned. There cannot be many exemptions under GST. Besides, a number of items already attract value-added tax in the states," said another official. There may be some giveaways in the form of a reduction in indirect taxes as the government looks to correct the inverted duty structure, making revenue raising measures imperative. The government could also indicate movement towards place of supply rules for services tax as also rationalise the input credit mechanism that will be crucial to implementation of GST. "The budget needs to remove the inefficiencies in the system like inverted duty structures to pave the way for an efficient GST," said Bipin Sapra, partner, tax and regulatory services - indirect at EY.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
An additional one per cent tax on inter-state supply of goods in the constitutional amendment Bill on a goods and services tax (GST) has left industry worried. “An additional tax on the supply of goods, not exceeding one per cent, in the course of inter-state trade or commerce shall be levied and collected by the government of India for a period of two years or such other period, as the Goods and Services Tax Council may recommend,” says the Bill, tabled in the Lok Sabha in the winter session of Parliament.
It has been proposed proceeds from the tax will go to states in which the supply originates. The tax is aimed at wooing states such as Gujarat and Maharashtra, which are miffed at destination-based GST, saying it would work against manufacturing states. Market players say this provision defeats the purpose of a national GST, as it will lead to supply-chain inefficiencies. The additional tax will remain non-creditable against the GST and will constitute additional revenues to producing states, over and above the GST in destination states. “This is going to be a bombshell for industry and will have a negative impact on the common market of India. More, it will be a blow to domestic manufacturers. Rather than promoting ‘Make in India’, it might become a tombstone for manufacturers in India,” said a market player.
Sources say industry is planning to send a formal representation against this provision to the government. It is also seeking it be made a part of the discussion on framing GST regulations and the Centre engage in dialogue with it. Another market player said the proposal would require restructuring of business and supply chains. The chain, already hit by various deficiencies, would become more complex, he added.
Complexity would result from the fact that supply of goods from a company’s office in a particular state to a different office in another state will also be taxed at one per cent. “The one per cent additional tax will be an issue, as this is an origin-based tax, non-creditable, contrary to how GST functions. Efficiency of the supply chain will be compromised; more so, when there are multiple movements. This really needs to be thought through before implementation,” said Pratik Jain, partner, KPMG.
Some experts term this a necessary evil. “It is a concession and restricted for the first two years. Considering it is the last allowance while still a dampener, it is worthwhile because it gives industry a GST, which it wants. However, if it is one of the many concessions, it is a cause of concern,” said Vivek Mishra, leader (indirect tax), PwC. Another industry concern is whether or not the measure will be temporary. While the intent is to restrict the tax to two years to get states on board, there is concern because of the way it is worded in the constitution amendment Bill. “As a provision the Centre could extend the tax if required,” said a market player.The industry is pegging this tax as a distortion and if the centre wants to adequately compensate the states for any loss in revenue then the GST rate should be kept high, they argue.
SOURCE: The Business Standard
The rupee slipped past the 62/$ mark to nearly a month low on Monday after offshore dollar/rupee rates rose on worries of an early tightening of policy by the US Federal Reserve based on a strong US payroll data. The currency weakened 0.75% to close at 62.17/$ on Monday, down from 61.70/$ on Friday. The US added 257,000 jobs in January, taking the tally of payroll accretion in November-January to a million, which is the biggest three-month increase in 17 years. “The movement is purely on external situation and since local equity market was also in a slump today, the rupee has weakened,” said NS Venkatesh, head of treasury at IDBI Bank.
The dollar strengthened across currencies after the jobs data and the one-month dollar/rupee non-deliverable forward rose by about 30 paise in the offshore market to 62.36/$ after the data release late Friday. On Monday, the NDF rate was trading around 62.30/$. The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading around 94.40 on Monday. On Friday, the dollar index had gained 1.2% in New York trade.
Currency dealers said that barring overseas news or data that could indicate tightening by the Fed, the rupee is likely to gain on the back of strong dollar inflows into debt. However, most market participants expect the rupee to trade in a narrow band of 61.80-62.40/$ in the coming days as any large dollar inflow is likely to be absorbed by the Reserve Bank of India. The local currency has gained 1.35% so far in 2015 on the back of dollar inflows of $7.3 billion from foreign institutional investors into local bonds and shares.
RBI governor Raghuram Rajan recently said that the rupee has strengthened as shown by the 36-currency real effective exchange rate. The RBI has been a net buyer of dollars for the last 10 months and has bought a massive $75 billion in the spot and forward markets in April-December. “The RBI has been a buyer nearly every day in the past weeks and going ahead too it looks like they will soak up large dollar inflows,” said a currency dealer with a foreign bank.
SOURCE: The Financial Express
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 55.90 per barrel (bbl) on 09.02.2015. This was higher than the price of US$ 55.62 per bbl on previous publishing day of 06.02.2015.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs 3473.63 per bbl on 09.02.2015 as compared to Rs 3433.98 per bbl on 06.02.2015. Rupee closed weaker at Rs 62.14 per US$ on 09.02.2015 as against Rs 61.74 per US$ on 06.02.2015.
The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on Feb 09, 2015 (Previous trading day i.e. 06.02.2015) |
Pricing Fortnight for 01.02.2015 (Jan 14 to Jan 28, 2015) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
55.90 (55.62) |
45.32 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3473.63 (3433.98) |
2796.24 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
62.14 (61.74) |
61.70 |
MJPS/Rk/Daily Crude oil price- 10.02.2015
SOURCE: PIB
After a delay of around four months, the government on Monday finally announced textile policy 2014-19, promising to spend around 64.15 billion under different schemes to boost textile sector of the country in next five years. Federal minister for textile industry Abbas Khan Afridi, while addressing a press conference at the committee room of his ministry, jam packed with media, announced the salient features of the new policy briefly mentioning some new schemes and incentives for the sector. Afridi flanked with Secretary and Director, Knawar Usman, explained that for next five years his ministry has allocated only 65 billion as compared to last allocation of 1.88 billion, out of which only 28 billion was released during last five years.
Considering the tight situation of national kitty, we have allocated the amount which could actually be spent on the uplift of the sector and which not only remain on papers, Afridi said, adding, the finance division will provide Rs 40.6 billion, whereas the rest Rs 23.5 billion will be financed through Planning Commission and Textile Development Fund. He announced some new schemes including drawback of local taxes and levies, reduction in markup rate from 9.4% to 7.5% under export refinance scheme, long term financing facility for technology up gradation at the rate of 9%, and duty free import of machinery and vocational training.
During his address he vowed to some new ambitious targets, stating that his ministry would focus on value addition and would explore new markets. We would not limit to Europe only but would focus Russian and Chineses markets also, an in next five years, we would increase exports from 13 billion present to 26 billion dollars, he said. He admitted that in last five years plan the target was missed by a large margin. We had power issues, which we solved somehow, and in new policy we would make sure that ample electricity and gas is provided to the textile industry, so that the industries run on maximum potential, and with value addition our workforce earn money, he said.
Secretary textile industry Amir Marwat apprised that the textile policy 2014-2019 aims to double value addition from $ 1 billion per million bales to $2 billion per million bales in next five years, double the textile exports from $13 billion to $ 26 billion, facilitate investment of additional $5 billion in machinery and technology, improve fiber mix in favour of non-cotton i.e from 14% to 30%, improve product mix especially in garment sector from 28% to 45%, promote use of ICT , development and strengthening of clusters.
The officials further briefed that Rs 40.6 billion have been reserved for incremental DLTL, Technology upgradation Fund, Brand Development Fund and drawback on deemed import basis, for next five years. Planning commission would cater for the rest Rs 23.40 billion through PC-1 to be allocated for skill development of hand loom workers, textile exhibition , hand knotted carpets , hand knotted carpet training , SME, trainings, product development & innovation fund , skill development program, textile universities, world textile centre, weaving city, mega and minor cluster development and better cotton initiative.
Textile industry is the most important manufacturing sector of Pakistan and has the complete production chain with inherent potential for value addition at all stages of processing. Textile sector provides employment to about 40 % of industrial labour force, consumes more than 40% banking credit and accounts for more than 8% of the GDP. During the press conference the minister had no answer when media pointed out that along with shortage of electricity and gas, the textile units were under severe threat from the gangsters, who were extracting huge amounts as “bhatta” from different units all across the country. I can only say those textile owners should not be afraid of the gangsters and they should only fear God, he said, adding, providing protection to business as well as textile is the responsibility of the state. The poor law and order situation in the country is one of the major hurdles for local business. According to a joint investigation report, failing to pay extortion money, gangsters put a garment factory in Baldia town Karachi, the biggest cosmopolitan city of the country, on fire, killing more than 280 factory staff and workers.
SOURCE: The Nation
Hundreds of workers marched the streets in Rangoon’s Shwepyithar Industrial Zone on Monday morning to demand better pay and working conditions. The employees came from five garment factories: Ford Glory Garment, Costec International, E-land Myanmar Garment, Red Stone Garment and Han Jen Textile and Garment. The workers marched out of their factory compounds where they have been staging a sit-in since 28 January.
“We are marching around Shwepyithar and we plan to assemble in protest camps in front of the police station if we do not reach negotiations on our demands in one week,” said Thein Moe Lwin, a factory worker in the march. The demands of the workers include a basic salary increase; permission to form labour unions and to set up a labour office in their workplace; days off on public holidays; paid medical leave; and the issuing of welfare cards for all workers.
Since the relaxation of stringent laws on labour unions since President Thein Sein took power in 2011, allowing the formation of trade unions in Burma for the first time in half a century, the country has seen increased industrial action as workers demand more pay and better conditions. In 2012 strikes spread from Rangoon to Mandalay after originating at a factory sit-in by textile workers.
SOURCE: The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB)
For the Italian textile machinery sector, the year’s fourth quarter resulted in a decline in orders, according to ACIMIT, the Italian industry association, which conducted an economic survey indicating a 4% drop over the previous quarter. The value of the orders index for the period from October to December 2014 came in at 85.0 points (basis: 2010=100). This decline in the index can be blamed on the overall negative performance recorded for this period in markets abroad, where orders effectively came in at an index value of 92.7 points (-6% over the previous period). On the other hand, domestic orders rebounded compared to the third quarter (+34%), for a value of 50.8 points.
Growth in orders
“The growth in orders in Italy over the last segment of 2014 appears to be a good sign for 2015, during which we will reach an apex with ITMA, the premier trade fair in the industry, to be held in Milan from the 12th to 19th of November,” commented Raffaella Carabelli, ACIMIT President. “This climate of greater confidence at a macroeconomic level seems likely to become contagious for various sectors of our economy,” continues Carabelli. “I’m certain that the entire textile industry can benefit from the current global economic trends, and I’m referring especially to the weaker European currency and lower interest rates.”
Optimism at ITMA
Optimism is the key word for Italy’s textile machinery sector on the eve of hosting ITMA, the association believes. The Milan edition that takes place in November will exceed the 100,000 square metre threshold (the previous edition held in Barcelona in 2011 covered 80,000 sq. m of exhibition space). By end of January, 388 Italian exhibitors had confirmed their commitment to participate in the event, out of a total of 1500 participants, for an overall growth in acquired exhibition surface area of 48% compared to the previous edition. Lastly, requests for increased exhibition space already optioned and demands put forward by new exhibitors continue to pile into an already crowded waiting list.
SOURCE: Innovation in Textiles
Cotton prices rose above the psychological barrier of Rs5,000 per maund on Friday as buyers rushed to replenish their stocks at higher level. The buying surge is believed to be due to rise in the dollar’s value against the rupee which has improved export parity of textile goods. Besides, firming up prices on world markets, including that of New York, also induced buying activity. It is interesting to note that Indian cotton market, which is glutted with cotton, also stood steady. Though the cotton yarn market remained sluggish due to slow demand from value-added textile sector, spinners looked confident about revival of economic activity and higher demand for yarn in the coming days.
Due to sustained buying, lint prices throughout the proceedings kept moving higher with much of the demand generating around quality cotton. Therefore, after a long time prices crossed Rs5,000 per maund, brokers said. The world cotton markets were firm with New York cotton making fresh gains for all the future contracts. The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) raised its spot rates by Rs100 to Rs4,850 per maund. Major deals finalised on ready counter: 600 bales Pano Aqil at Rs5,000, 400 bales Vehari at Rs4,625, 400 bales Fort Abbas at Rs4,700 to Rs4,775, 1,000 bales Mianwali at Rs5,000, 600 bales Yazman Mandi at Rs5,050, 600 bales Ahmedpur at Rs5,050, 600 bales Lodhran at Rs5,050, 3,000 bales Bahawalpur at Rs5,050, 2,000 bales Sadiqabad at Rs5,050 to Rs5,100, 4,500 bales Rahimyar Khan at Rs5,000 to Rs5,100 and 5,000 bales Khanpur at Rs5,050 to Rs5,100.
SOURCE: The China TexNet
Gain in upstream and downstream product prices in the region helped Asian PTA prices lift in the last week ending Feb 6, 2015. In FE Asia, average prices grew by US$ 10/ton or 1.74 per cent and were assessed at US$ 585/ton last week, as compared to its previous week.
In SE Asia, average prices too rose by US$ 5/ton and were quoted at US$ 605/ton last week, up 0.83 per cent from its previous week. In China also, average prices climbed by US$ 5/ton and were spotted at US$ 580/ton last week as against its previous week, an increase of 0.87 per cent.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Inditex, the world's largest clothing retailer is to ban angora wool products permanently — and is to send 20,000 brand-new angora sweaters, coats, and other garments with a value of almost US $900,000 to Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The move from Inditex, the parent company to Zara and Massimo Dutti, follows talks with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), which has achieved some notable results on the angora issue. Late last year several high street clothing retailers including H&M, Esprit, ASOS and Topshop halted their production of garments containing angora in response to a video from Peta, which revealed the inhumane treatment of rabbits at angora farms in China. PETA visited ten angora farms in China and released footage showing fur being ripped out of live rabbits to ensure the angora fibres were long and thick.
SOURCE: The Eco Textile
The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association demanding for 15 percent Regulatory Duty on import of subsidized fine count yarn, mainly from India as India is capturing Pakistan’s domestic market of fine cotton yarn by design which can be controlled without disturbing the DTRE scheme or import under manufacturing bond.
According to a spokesman, APTMA is itself major stakeholder but it is still asking for imposing regulatory duty on a specific product in the larger interest of domestic industry. He said that APTMA have repeatedly being clarifying that it is in favour of free market mechanism and seeking countervailing/ regulatory duty on domestic use of imported fine count cotton yarn.’ It is alarming to note that import of fine count cotton yarn has reached to 30,000 tons in 2014 against 6,500 tons in 2012. The import data of first six months of current fiscal reveals that 3000 tons per month fine count cotton yarn is entering Pakistan from India, further added that 90pc of imports are originating from India on the basis of unstructured rebate to its manufacturers.
According to the official data Pakistan produces 200,000 tons fine count cotton yarn annually, out of which only 65,000 tons is exported while 135,000 tons is consumed in the domestic market. However, India has offered 10 percent rebate on export of fine count cotton yarn simply to dump it in domestic commerce of Pakistan. Due to this, the future of 30 mills manufacturing fine count cotton yarn is at stake and employment of hundreds and thousands of workers is under threat.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Pakistan cotton market witnessed decline in trade turnover of cotton as several textile mill-owners remained on the sidelines on ease in panic-related to anticipated price hike. The decline was by 43 percent to 11,500 bales (155 kilograms each) on Saturday.
According to Naseem Usman, a broker at the Karachi Cotton Exchange, the ease in cotton price worldwide influenced mill-owners to remain on the sidelines at the local markets. The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) kept its official rate for cotton unchanged for the second working day at Rs4,850/maund. The KCA reported traders bought 11,500 bales at Rs4,700 to Rs5,100 per maund (37.324 kilograms) as compared to 20,100 bales bought at Rs4,625 to Rs5,100 per maund a day ago. On Friday, trade activities spiked on panic buying on speculation that the inflated cotton price may go further up at the world markets, including New York, China, and India.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has demanded immediate restoration of gas supply to textile industries in order to save this precious foreign exchange earning sector from collapse. Expressing resentment over the gas suspension to textile industry in Punjab here on Monday, Sohail Pasha Chairman and Rizwan Riaz Saigal, Vice Chairman of the Association termed it unilateral and arrogant. They appealed that Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif should intervene and restore gas supply to precious forex earning sector as this would lead to missing export orders, capital flight, labour lay-off, worsening of law and order and decline in government’s revenue.
Sohail and Rizwan said that sudden cut in gas supply would push the textile industry to the wall that was already facing huge problems owing to high input cost and other issues. Unilateral policies and decisions without taking stakeholders into the loop should be stopped as the country, at present, is going through a very serious economic crisis in terms of escalating cost of production, they added.
PTEA Chairman expressed that textile industry is already running below the capacity due to energy constraints, ultimately affecting industry’s potential to grow fast and earn foreign exchange. He said that suspension of gas supply would hamper production of textiles and halt the industrial activities. It would not only hamper the industrial growth, but also put jobs of millions of workers at stake. PTEA chiefs called upon the government to take cognizance of the matter and take progressive steps to endure the industry and focus should also be on the value-addition as textile sector need to enhance quality and production capabilities.
SOURCE: The Nation
Vietnam apparel industry to benefit from Trans Pacific Partership agreement (TPP) according to a research report by Standard Chartered Bank. A wave of foreign investment in Vietnam’s textile industry has already begun, ahead of a potential TPP deal. On this basis, Vietnam likely to overtake Bangladesh in the global apparel export market share to become the second-biggest EM apparel supplier after China when its apparel exports swells to US$115 billion.
Based on StanChart’s forecast, Vietnam’s market share in apparel could rise to about 11 per cent from 4.0 per cent currently. A TPP agreement would also affect textile suppliers to the three economies. Negotiations have yet to reach a conclusive level although it is targeted to be tied up in 2015, after two year-end misses. The TPP free trade grouping consists of Vietnam, along with 11 others namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and the US.
According to StanChart researcher, TPP would be negative for Central American apparel manufacturers that are currently subject to “triple transformation” rules under NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and CAFTA-DR ( Dominican Republic- Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement) to access the US market. Negotiations between the US and Vietnam are underway on the terms of the trade agreement on apparel. The US is understood to favour “yarn forward” rules, which implies that all stages of production, starting with yarn spinning, must take place within a TPP country. The push for “yarn forward” or strict Rules of Origin (ROO) requirements reflects the US government’s desire to protect its domestic textile industry from increased competition from non-TPP textile manufacturing countries.
Vietnam’s apparel industry has called for maximum flexibility via the “cut and sew rule” which would give apparel manufacturers the flexibility to source yarn and fabric from lower-cost destinations (including non-TPP countries), requiring only assembly of the final product to be done in the TPP country. While the agreement with stringent ROO would not provide immediate gains for Vietnam’s apparel manufacturers, benefits would gradually boost the domestic textile industry.
Flexible ROO requirements would likely result in gains for Korea and Japan, the primary suppliers of textiles to Vietnam’s apparel industry. Whereas, China and Hong Kong would likely see little impact, as they are big suppliers to all three countries (Vietnam, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) and Asian suppliers such as India, Pakistan and Thailand, as well as some European countries, as they are preferred suppliers to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka would be likely losers.
SOURCE: Yarns&Fibers
In the Chinese domestic market, prices of Cotton Linter were assessed at RMB 2700/ton in the last week ending February 6, 2015, which were unchanged as compared to the previous week ending January 30. In the last updates from market, offer prices were in the range of RMB 2800/ton to RMB 3000/ton. Trading prices were around RMB 2700/ton to RMB 2800/ton.
Prices of Dissolving Pulp were quoted at RMB 6000/ton in the last week, which were stable as compared to the previous week. Prices of imported Dissolving Wood Pulp were quoted in the range of US$ 795/ton to US$ 800/ton. Prices of Pulp imported from the US and Europe were in the range of US$ 830/ton to US$ 840/ton and US$ 810ton to 830/ton respectively, while those from Canada were in the range of US$ 750/ton to US$ 780/ton. Prices of Pulp imported from Sweden were between US$ 800/ton and US$ 810/ton.
VSF prices were at RMB 11300/ton in the last week, which were steady as compared to the previous week. During the week, VSF market opened at RMB 11300/ton and closed at the same level. In the Chinese market, offers for imported VSF hovered in the range of US$ 1.55/kg to US$ 1.57/kg. Market analysts expect VSF prices to remain stable in the ongoing week.
In the last week, VFY market was steady and prices were quoted at RMB 35040/ton. VFY market sentiment was steady and there was mute buying during the period. Producers kept stable offers in the range of RMB 35000/ton to RMB 35040/ton. In the Chinese market, offers for imported VFY remained steady in the range of US$ 5400/ton to US$ 5500/ton.
SOURCE: Fibre2fashion
Seeking to strengthen bilateral trade ties and explore more business opportunities, chief executive of UK Trade and Investment Dominic Jermey will meet key government and business representatives during his three-day India visit starting Monday.
Jermey, who took over the post last year, said these are exciting times for businesses in India. "The UK, as the biggest G20 investor country in India, is keen to further strengthen bilateral trade ties," he said. Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that the UK-India partnership was an 'unbeatable combination', he said there is so much the UK and India can achieve together. "During my visit to India, I am looking forward to discussing opportunities for further collaboration with government and industry leaders to achieve our joint ambition of making 'GREAT' things together," he said.
The New Year saw the launch of a 'GREAT Collaborations' campaign to showcase and promote collaborations of mutual benefit to India and the UK across a range of sectors, such as energy, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial services and infrastructure. His visit will cover Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi during which time he will meet Infosys co-founder and ex-chairman N R Narayana Murthy, top representatives from Tata, RelianceADA Group, Lodha Group, Mahindra Partners, UK investors in India and top business representatives from HCL, Tech Mahindra and WiproBSE -0.74 %.
In New Delhi, he will call on officials at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and follow up on the UK/India Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting held in London this January. Jermey will meet a delegation of the UK's top biotech and health companies working in oncology, drug discovery, regulatory compliance, IP, formulations, molecular diagnostics and medical devices.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
The visiting Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here on Monday. The two sides had wide-ranging discussions on enhancing bilateral relations and strengthening cooperation on regional and international issues so as to raise the partnership between the two countries to a higher level, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry after the talks, the discussions covered new focus areas that will directly feed into the development process. These include specific initiatives to develop smart cities and urban rejuvenation, promoting skill development, measures to speed up connectivity and coastal and port development, strengthening linkages with the North East of India, projects to scale up investments in the new development initiatives launched in India and enhancing exchanges with the Indian state.
The Singapore President is on a state visit till February 11 and has a large delegation accompanying him that includes the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Environment and Water Resources and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Communications and Information Lawrence Wong, Parliamentarians and senior officials.
President Tan will inaugurate the Singapore Festival in India tomorrow, launch a commemorative book titled Singapore and India: Towards A Shared Future , open the Peranakan exhibition at the National Museum and host a Food Festival themed on ‘Flavours of Singapore’ during this visit. A year-long Festival of India in Singapore is underway since August 2014.
SOURCE: The Hindu Business Line
Economic growth is set to pickup in Germany and the eurozone, according to leading indicators released Monday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Paris-based research body said its gauges of future economic activity—which are based on information available for December—also suggested growth in most of the world’s other large economies will remain at current rates over coming months, including the U.S. and Canada. The main exceptions are the U.K. and Russia, which are set for slowdowns, and India, where growth is likely to accelerate.
The OECD’s leading indicators are designed to provide early signals of turning points between the expansion and slowdown of economic activity, and are based on a wide variety of data series that have a history of signaling changes in economic activity. The leading indicators for the eurozone suggest growth will pick up in the early months of 2015, an encouraging sign for the European Central Bank as it prepares to launch its new program of quantitative easing, under which it will buy more than 1 trillion euros of mostly government bonds between March 2015 and September 2016. “Composite leading indicators…point to tentative signs of a positive change in growth momentum in the euro area, particularly in Germany and Spain,” the OECD said.
The European Union’s statistics agency will Friday release its estimate of growth in the eurozone economy for the final quarter of last year. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect that estimate to record an expansion in gross domestic product of just 0.2%, a rate of growth unchanged from the third quarter. The OECD’s composite leading indicator for its 34 members rose to 100.5 in December from 100.4 in November. The leading indicator for the U.S. was unchanged at 100.4. A reading of 100.0 indicates an economy will grow at its trend rate of growth, or the average over recent decades. The leading indicator for the U.K. continued its decline of recent months, falling to 100.2 from 100.3, while the indicator for Russia dropped to 99.4 from 100.0, pointing to a slowdown in growth over coming months in both countries.
SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal
Poland today said it is keen on expanding and deepening economic ties with India and wants to be part of 'Make in India' mission that focuses on expanding manufacturing base in Asia's third largest economy. "Trade volume between India and Poland has been growing steadily and it now stands at USD 2 billion. We want it to reach up to USD 20 billion in the next few years," said Ambassador of Poland in India Tomasz Lukaszuk here. "Poland's trade volume with China is USD 20 billion and efforts are being made to achieve the same level with India," he said and stressed on greater cooperation between New Delhi and Warsaw to achieve the ambitious target.
Lukaszuk was here for inauguration of International Indian Summer School at a private educational institute, where 44 students from two universities in Poland and Germany have come to study engineering, nursing, management and pharmacy under an exchange programme. He had an informal interaction with industrialists in the city before inaugurating the school. Recalling his meeting with Gujarat Chief Minister Anandi Patel in Gandhinagar in November last year, Lukaszuk said, "Polish companies have accepted invitation of Ms Patel to set up manufacturing facilities in Gujarat to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' mission."
Polish companies are interested in cooperation in the renewable energy sector such as solar and wind power, he said. Speaking at the school event, the envoy recalled long standing ties between the Central European country and what is now Gujarat. "We remember historical ties between Poland and Gujarat during the World War-II when Jam Saheb, ruler of erstwhile Nawanagar-Jamnagar state, gave asylum to Polish refugees, widows and children. We have not forgotten that gesture and for that we are grateful to you."
Poland will invite Modi to pay visit to the country, Lukaszuk said but did not elaborate. He asked Indian companies to invest heavily in Poland to reap the benefit of a fully liberalised economy. Poland is now part of the European Union and expanding its manufacturing base. Poland is keen to have a strong business relationship with India and will explore the possibility of foreign direct investment in agriculture, power and mining in multiple Indian states, Lukaszuk added.
SOURCE: The Economic Times
China's trade performance slumped in January, with exports falling 3.3 percent from year-ago levels while imports tumbled 19.9 percent, far worse than analysts had expected and highlighting deepening weakness in the Chinese economy. Largely as a result of the sharply lower imports - particularly of coal, oil and commodities - China posted a record monthly trade surplus of $60 billion.
The data contrasted sharply with a Reuters poll which showed analysts expected exports to gain 6.3 percent and the slowdown in imports to slow to 3 percent, following a better-than-expected showing in December. The poll had also forecast a trade surplus of $48.9 billion. The slide in imports is the sharpest since May 2009, when Chinese factories were still slashing inventories in reaction to the global financial crisis. Exports have not produced a negative annual reading since March 2014.
The dismal trade performance will increase concerns that an economic slowdown in China - originally considered a desirable adjustment away from an investment-intensive export model toward one based on domestic consumption - is at risk of derailing. The government is expected to lower its GDP target to around 7 percent this year, after posting 7.4 percent in 2014 - the slowest pace in 24 years.
Chinese economic indicators in January and February are typically viewed with caution given the distortions caused by the shifting week-long Lunar New Year holiday, and while the analyst median estimate was for a rise, the range of estimates was extremely wide. However the data - in particular the import data - is worrisome even after accounting for cyclical factors; last year the new year holiday idled factories and financial markets for a week in January, but this year the holiday comes in late February and January was a full month of business as usual. "It's a very strange data print," said Andrew Polk, economist at the Conference Board in Beijing, noting that exports tended to be less effected by the holiday than other indicators, but added he was more concerned by the implications of the startlingly negative import figure. "The import data suggests a substantial slowdown in the industrial sector. The first quarter looks to be pretty horrible."
Investors had hoped that the announcement of domestic stimulus spending plans, combined with moves to ease monetary policy, including a reduction in banks' reserve requirement ratios on Wednesday, would restore confidence and boost demand in China's struggling manufacturing sector. However, many analysts believe measures taken so far to boost yuan liquidity are insufficient to do much more than offset surging capital outflows. Advocates of more aggressive action will seize on the weak January trade data to support their case.
Chinese imports have fallen every month since October, seen as reflecting weak domestic demand, and the scale of January's drop was mostly due to an across-the-board fall in import volumes of major commodities. For example, coal imports dropped nearly 40 percent to 16.78 million tonnes, down from December's 27.22 million tonnes, and China also appeared to cut back on its strategic stocking of crude oil imports, which slid by 7.9 percent in volume terms. Imports from Australia and the Russian Federation, both major fuel and commodity suppliers, slid by 35.3 percent and 28.7 percent, respectively.
EUROPEAN HEADACHE
Chinese officials had predicted that monetary easing measures in Europe would boost demand for Chinese goods, and analysts polled by Reuters had also been optimistic that signs of economic strengthening in the United States would support exports. However, the data showed that while exports to the United States rose by 4.8 percent year-on-year to $35 billion, exports to the European Union slid 4.6 percent to $33 billion in the same period. Exports to Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan were also down, with exports to Japan slumping over 20 percent. During 2014, China's total trade value increased by 3.4 percent from a year earlier, short of the official target of 7.5 percent, and some analysts have raised questions about whether export data was inflated by fake invoicing as firms speculated in the currency and commodities markets.
SOURCE: The China Tex Net
Oil prices steadied on Monday as falling U.S. oil rig counts and conflict in producer Libya were balanced by a slump in Chinese imports, pointing to lower fuel demand in the world biggest energy consumer. "Weak China trade data are likely to weigh on industrial commodity markets," ANZ Bank analysts said in a note to clients.
Global benchmark Brent crude oil for March was up 30 cents at $58.10 a barrel by 0140 GMT after rising as high as $59.06 earlier in the session. U.S. crude was up 60 cents at $52.29 a barrel, having hit a session high of $53.40. Brent rose more than 9 percent last week, its biggest weekly rise since February 2011. The North Sea oil futures contract has climbed more than 18 percent in the past two weeks, its strongest showing since 1998. The move ended a six-month slide that saw oil prices lose more than half their value. The number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States fell by 83 this week to 1,140 - the lowest since December 2011 - a survey showed on Friday, a clear sign of the pressure that tumbling crude prices have put on oil producers.
Stronger-than-expected growth in U.S. jobs in January also helped support oil, as non-farm payrolls increased 257,000, outstripping Wall Street forecasts. But data over the weekend showed further economic weakness in China, the world's No. 2 oil consumer, helping cap oil gains.
China's trade performance slumped in January, with exports falling 3.3 percent from year-ago levels while imports tumbled 19.9 percent, far worse than analysts had expected and highlighting a deepening slowdown. Chinese crude oil imports slid by 7.9 percent in volume terms in January. "Oil demand growth is slowing," said Michal Meidan, director of London-based consultancy China Matters. "With less new refining capacity coming online, upside for demand is also limited there."
Andrew Polk, economist at the Conference Board in Beijing, said he was concerned by the implications of the startlingly negative import figure. "Import data suggest a substantial slowdown in the industrial sector. The first quarter looks to be pretty horrible," Polk said. Elsewhere, a strike by security guards has closed Libya's eastern oil port of Hariga, the country's last functioning export port apart from two offshore fields, a port official said on Sunday.
SOURCE: The China Tex Net
