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$ 56.09 per barrel (bbl) on 12.03.2015. This was higher than the price of US$ 55.01 per bbl on previous publishing day of 11.03.2015.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs 3509.55 per bbl on 12.03.2015 as compared to Rs 3451.88 per bbl on 11.03.2015. Rupee closed stronger at Rs 62.57 per US$ on 12.03.2015 as against Rs 62.75 per US$ on 11.03.2015.
The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on March 12, 2015 (Previous trading day i.e. 11.03.2015) |
Pricing Fortnight for 01.03.2015 (Feb 12 to Feb 25, 2015) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
56.09 (55.01) |
57.84 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3509.55 (3451.88) |
3598.80 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
62.57 (62.75) |
62.22 |
Source : MOT
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=115811
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
|
PSF |
1189.08 |
USD/Ton |
-0.41% |
|
VSF |
1841.94 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
ASF |
2430.00 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Polyester POY |
1198.80 |
USD/Ton |
-0.34% |
|
Nylon FDY |
2948.40 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
40D Spandex |
6885.00 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Nylon DTY |
5710.50 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1482.30 |
USD/Ton |
-0.54% |
|
Polyester DTY |
2705.40 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Nylon POY |
2575.80 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1425.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Polyester FDY |
3256.20 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2559.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1895.40 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2867.40 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2025.00 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2478.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2689.20 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2592.00 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.58 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.99 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.34 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.72 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.78 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
Source : Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.16200 USD dtd. 12/03/2015)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
http://www.globaltextiles.com/info/detail/002-19050/Textile-Raw-Material-Price-2015-03-12.html
Exporters from Tirupur especially hit, as they have huge exposure to the currency
The euro tumbled against the dollar — falling 3.6 cents — after the strong US jobs data released last week. With the euro at 1.06 to the dollar, the market is bracing for the currency reaching parity with the dollar — that would mean a further fall.
Businesses close to home are feeling the effects of euro’s troubles. Individual textile exporters in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, who have sizeable exposure to the currency, have been hit hard after the recent drop in the currency’s exchange rates.
Concerns about the Euro zone economy are not new, but the currency’s sudden plunge in December 2014 and now has caught the textile merchants unawares. The euro that was trading at around ₹85 last year slipped slowly to around ₹75 levels by early December. This shake-up was quite sudden, though there were signals that there may be trouble brewing.
“There was reluctance to hedge euro exposure, especially after the short rally in mid-December when the exchange rate went close to ₹80,” says Murali Rajagopalan, Director of Kalynda Financial Advisory.
But the currency nose-dived in a month to a low of ₹68 in late January 2015. This is a 20 per cent drop from the levels seen last year. So, if an exporter was expecting €300,000, rather than the ₹2.4 crore he would have got last year, the money he would receive now will be ₹30 lakh less. There has not been much respite since, as the euro held at 70-71 levels in January and February before the recent rout.
Rajagopalan however, notes that the suddenness of the currency’s movement and the subsequent losses suffered are creating more awareness on currency hedging. “In the past, textile exporters were not willing to do any risk management. Full currency hedging was not seen as a way to protect the cash situation of the business,” he notes. Hedging by making use of pre-shipment credit in foreign currency (PCFC) has been popular in the last two-three years, says Raja Shanmugham, an exporter and Chairman of CII, Tirupur.
“PCFC provides a natural hedge and the cost of borrowing is also lower. Interest rates on rupee credit are around 12 per cent compared with 2.5-3 per cent over Libor rates for foreign currency credit,” he explains. With Libor rates hovering near zero, borrowing in dollar or euro is much cheaper.
Still, a weak euro means low margin for manufacturers. “Garment prices are only revised once in every few years and due to heavy global competition, sellers are not in a position to negotiate better deals,” he explains. So the already wafer-thin margins have eroded further, says Shanmugham.
Source : Business Lines
Government of Assam state is taking up a lot of initiatives to improve the socio-economic condition of weavers, including creating the right market linkage for weavers. This was announced by the Minister for Handloom, Textiles and Cultural Affairs Bismita Gogoi.
Inaugurating the National Level Handloom Expo 2015 held at the Assam Engineering Institute ground, Chandmari, supported by Development Commissioner (Handlooms) and organised by the Directorate of Handloom and Textile, Assam, the Minister said that the department was concentrating on extending economic support to the weavers in various ways.
The Minister further said that to expand business it was important to maintain honesty while dealing with the customers. She said that the handloom sector has given economic empowerment to women. She also called upon the participants at expo to take advantage of the government schemes.
The department has of late undertaken many steps for improving the handloom sector, which is one of the major earning options for the rural people, next to agriculture. One such effort is holding expos inside and outside the State for expansion of business.
DK Nath, Director of Handloom and Textiles said that the department has been holding various expos over the years for the benefit of the weavers. Their efforts got an added drive under the North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme that was launched in 2013 by the Government of India.
Nath informed that last year, two expos were held outside the State under the scheme in Agartala and Delhi. This year expos were held in Kolkata, Agartala and Mumbai. In Assam, they already organised an expo at Sivasagarh. The present expo at Chandmari will continue till March 23.
Their attempt is to take the products of Assam outside the State. Expos give an idea to the weavers on consumers requirement. Through expos weavers are learning to cater to the demands of the customers outside the State. Also it becomes important for the weavers to maintain quality and to be open to innovative ideas so as to capture the market.
The Handloom Trade Centre has been opened in Dibrugarh this year to benefit the weavers as it will provide a platform for business as well as exchange of ideas.
Source : Yarn and fibres
Pramod Kumar Gupta, who is currently serving as a senior manager in Engineers India Limited (a Navaratna company), has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to minister of state for textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar.
According to an order issued by the department of personnel and training, Gupta has been appointed for a period of about one year and six months or on coterminous basis with the minister’s tenure.
Source : Yarn and fibres
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=171130
Industrial production growth slowed for a second straight month to 2.6% in January, compared with 3.2% in the previous month, while retail inflation inched up to a four-month peak of 5.37% in February due to a return of price pressure in food articles after the favourable base effect started to wane. Analysts predicted another round of rate cut before June, saying the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) might “frontload” the reduction in policy rates to spur growth, as inflation could still undershoot the central bank’s target of below 6% by January 2016.
The index of industrial production (IIP) data for January released by the Central Statistics Organisation on Thursday showed mining and power generation recorded their worst performances since October 2013 and expansion in manufacturing slowed further. Although capital goods output, a gauge for fixed corporate investment, rose to its loftiest since June last year with a 12.8% expansion in January, consumer goods production, which had grown 0.3% in December after six straight months of contraction, dropped again, this time by 1.9%.
While fluctuation is inherent in the way capital goods output growth is measured, the persistent weakness in consumer demand suggests a broad-based rebound in the economy is still far away. The slowdown in the IIP also showed while the efficiency of the corporate sector seems to be improving, as reflected in the projected economic growth rate of 7.4% for 2014-15, industrial output is barely expanding.
The government, however, sharply revised up its December growth in the IIP to 3.2% against 1.7% announced earlier, primarily due to a significant revision of manufacturing growth to 3.8% from 2.1%.
Importantly, radio, TV and communications equipment and apparatus — which has been witnessing negative growth this fiscal, especially after the disruption of Nokia’s operations in Tamil Nadu — contracted 51.3% in January. The contraction in this segment has shaved off 1.6 percentage points from the IIP, the data showed.
Moreover, according to the advance projection of GDP data for the 2014-15 fiscal, based on the new series, gross fixed capital formation is expected to grow just 4.1%, higher than the 3% expansion in the last fiscal but much lower than that of 12.3% in as laste as 2011-12.
ICRA senior economist Aditi Nayar said the disconcerting contraction in output of three of the five use-based categories – consumer durables, intermediate goods and consumer non-durables – in January highlights that the moderation in retail fuel prices is yet to manifest in a pickup in consumer demand.
Source : Financial Express
As cheaper jute products from Bangladesh flood the domestic market, the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) is set to file an anti-dumping case in the first quarter of the 2015-16 against subsidised exports from the neighbouring country.
“The association has been working on an anti-dumping case which should be filed with the Ministry concerned within the next quarter. A countervailing duty has to be either an anti-subsidy or anti-dumping duty, both will be pursued simultaneously,” said Raghavendra Gupta, Chairman, IJMA.
Bangladesh offers a 10 per cent cash subsidy on jute goods, such as bags and Hessian cloth, and a 7.5 per cent subsidy on jute yarn. The government also provides 40 per cent and 20 per cent of funding required by mills and exporters, respectively.
With import duty being nil under the SAARC treaty, according to industry estimates, nearly two lakh tonnes (lt) of jute finished goods flow into India from Bangladesh every year on the back of the “duty anomaly”.
The case will be filed with the Designated Authority heading the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), a body under the Commerce Ministry, which will investigate and recommend anti-dumping measures, if any, to the Centre.
India accounts for 70 per cent of the world’s estimated production of jute goods, with the majority being used for packaging domestically. Although a net exporter, Indian exports have been hit with no shipments to Syria and Thailand, a combined market of 70,000 tonnes, over the last two-three years due to political turmoil.
On an average, Bangladeshi jute products are estimated to be 10 per cent cheaper and imports surged by 35 per cent between April and December 2014. “Indian mills are working at almost 25 per cent below their production capacity due to stifled demand,” said Gupta.
According to data from the Textiles Ministry, exports of jute goods (Hessian, sacking, carpet backing cloth etc.) between April and December 2014 are estimated at 88,600 tonnes. For the 2013-14 fiscal (April-March), 216,000 tonnes of jute products were exported. “The volume of exports is $300 million annually, which accounts for 15 per cent of production. The subsidised export policy followed by Bangladesh, our main competitor, makes it difficult for Indian manufacturers to compete since it’s difficult to match their price,” he said.
Gupta also expressed hope that domestic orders, particularly by the industry’s biggest buyer – the Food Ministry – which declined by 35 per cent last year, would pick up in 2015-16 with sustained demand.
Source : Business Lines
As part of efforts to improve its ranking on ‘Ease of Doing Business’, India today reduced the number of mandatory documents required for import and export of goods to three in each case. The move will also lead to reduction in transaction cost and time. Currently, around 10 documents are needed to fulfil the official obligations.
The notification, issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, will take effect from April 1. Mandatory documents required for export of goods from India now include Bill of Lading/Airway Bill; Commercial Invoice cum Packing List, and Shipping Bill or Bill of Export. Besides, mandatory documents required for import of goods into India include Bill of Lading/Airway Bill; Commercial Invoice cum Packing List, and Bill of Entry.
For export or import of specific goods or category of goods, which are subject to any restrictions/policy conditions or require NOC or product specific compliances under any statute, the authority concerned may notify additional documents.
The Department of Commerce had set up an Inter Ministerial Committee under the Chairmanship of DGFT in July 2014 to study and recommend ways to reduce the number of mandatory documents required for export and import.
Based on the recommendations, the Reserve Bank has agreed to do away with the ‘Foreign Exchange Control Form (SDF)’ by incorporating the declaration in the ‘Shipping Bill’ (for exports) and dispensing with the ‘Foreign Exchange Control Form (Form A-1)’ (for imports).
Customs have also agreed to merge the Commercial Invoice with the Packing List and have issued a Circular for accepting ‘Commercial Invoice cum Packing List’ that incorporates the required details of both the documents.
The exporters and importers, however, have the option of filing separate Commercial Invoice and Packing List also, if they so desire. Shipping Ministry has also agreed to do away with the requirement of Terminal Handling Receipt and make the process online.
India ranked 126th in Trading Across Borders component of “Ease of Doing Business”, out of 189 countries ranked by the World Bank in its 2015 Report. It is expected that this step would improve India’s ranking. According to the World Bank, seven ‘mandatory documents’ were listed for export of goods from India, whereas 10 documents are required for import of goods into India.
Engineering exporters body EEPC India hailed the decision to reduce the number of mandatory documents required for imports and exports of goods to three each.
“These new measures will go a long way in reducing the transaction costs of exporters and importers. They would considerably reduce the turnaround time at the ports and for the banking channels as well,” EEPC India Chairman Anupam Shah said.
Source : Financial Express
The Teijin Group has announced tha Nantong Teijin, the group’s textile manufacturing and sales company based in Nantong, China, will be participating in Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Spring Edition 2015 where the company will exhibit high-performance fabrics and environmentally friendly solutions to promote further business in the Chinese clothing markets for sports/casual, fashion and uniforms, among others.
The company will present Microft, a moisture-permeable, water-repellent fabric produced with functional, high-quality microfibre.
The exhibit will highlight the laminated version, which combines soft texture with enhanced waterproof properties up to water pressure of 10,000 mm or greater. Another version, which features thinness and ultra-low weight, has a high reputation among makers of top outdoor clothing brands, according to the manufacturer.
The Nantong Teijin will also showcase environmentally friendly solutions, such as chemically recycled and recyclable materials marketed in collaboration with Zhejiang Jiaren New Material, a Teijin group company engaged in the chemical recycling of polyester. Also presented will be Solotex, a polytrimethylene terephthalate fibre that is highly soft, stretchable, shape-retaining and durable.
Teijin is a technology-driven group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare.
Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibres such as aramid, carbon fibres and composites, healthcare, films, resin and plastic processing, polyester fibres, products converting and IT.
The group has some 150 companies and around 16,000 employees spread out over 20 countries worldwide.
Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics event be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai from 18-20 March.
Source : Yarn and fibres
Turkey has imposed an additional 50 per cent customs duty on Pakistani handmade carpets, which can have tumultuous impact, since Turkey is the second biggest importer of Pakistani handmade carpets.
The imposition of the duty comes following the safeguard measure imposed on Pakistani apparel exports at 42.2 per cent in 2011, making exports to Turkey unviable.
In a letter written to the federal minister of commerce, the Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PCMEA) has criticised the decision of Turkish Ministry of Economy.
According to the trade body, this move will cause complete collapse of the Pakistani handmade carpet industry.
According to Pakistani media reports, after the imposition of the additional duty, exports orders pipeline for handmade carpets from Turkey has dried up.
As per government statistics, in the last seven years, handmade carpet exports have declined from US $300 million to just $128 million, although it has a GSP+ status in its exports from the sector. The PCMEA has urged the government to urgently take up the matter with the Turkish government to get the additional duty withdrawn.
The association demanded that handmade carpets should be included in the FTA under discussion with Turkey, so that the goods get duty-free access to the Turkish market.
The PCMEA is also of the opinion that handmade carpets should also be included in the FTA discussions, Pakistan is having with other countries. PCMEA observed that nearly 100 per cent of the carpets made in Pakistan are exported, providing employment to weaker sections of the society, mainly women. (AR)
Source : Fibre2fashion
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=171126
India and Mauritius have agreed to push forward their negotiations for a long pending revision of Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT), asserting that their objective is to prevent the “abuse” of the convention.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Sir Anerood Jugnauth expressed this resolve during their talks here last night even as India offered $500 million concessional line of credit to this key island nation for key infrastructure projects.
Negotiations to amend the bilateral tax treaty have been hanging fire for a long time amid India’s apprehensions that it is being misused to route unaccounted money and evade taxes.
The two countries also signed five agreements, including one on developing ocean economy, after talks between Modi and Sir Anerood on the first day of his two-day visit to Mauritius on the second leg of this three—nation tour that will also take him to Sri Lanka tomorrow.
On other key bilateral economic issues, Modi said the two countries should resume their discussions on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
In his response, Jugnauth said the Preferential Trade Agreement signed in August 2006 to further enhance market access should be reviewed and that the two countries have agreed on the way forward.
Addressing a joint news conference with Modi, Jugnauth said he had raised with the Indian Prime Minister issues related to the Mauritius—India Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).
“We appreciate that already India postponed the consideration of the GAAR until 2017. However, we have stressed on the initiatives taken by Mauritius to build substance within our offshore jurisdiction. I have requested PM Modi to give his full support on the DTAA as it is of prime importance for our global business sector,” he said.
Modi in his response said the two sides agreed to continue negotiations for a revised treaty based on shared objectives to prevent the “abuse” of the convention.
Source : Business Lines
Skewed in India’s favour even after 17 years of FTA
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi steps on Sri Lankan soil, the big question is whether the historic visit will improve bilateral trade between the two countries which, even after 17 years of free trade agreement (FTA), remains on a low key and skewed in India’s favour.
A recent study of the Centre for Economic Studies and Policy of the Institute of Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, validated the general impressionistic view that bilateral trade between the neighbours is being hampered by non-tariff barriers and the animosity between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu.
Trade between the countries touched a peak of $4.8 billion in 2011 (89 per cent in favour of India), but slid to $3.5 billion in 2013 (85 per cent).
Though these numbers compare well with those of 2000, when total trade was $655 million (91 per cent), experts believe it is far less than the potential and too much in India’s favour.
Further, only 13 per cent of the products that India sells to Sri Lanka are covered by the FTA, though 65 per cent of India’s imports from Sri Lanka are under the FTA.
“While concessions offered by India to Sri Lanka did enhance access to the Indian market, the converse did not hold for India’s exports to Sri Lanka,” said Prof Barun Deb Pal, who conducted the study.
Several non-tariff barriers crimp trade, the study said. One is the holding up of Sri Lankan foods at Indian ports — to check quality and labelling compliance — where the goods sit awaiting clearance. “There is a shortage of proper storage facilities at the ports, especially for items requiring cold storage, leading to loss of revenue to various traders,” the study noted.
The FTA specifies that Customs shall not keep goods for more than three days and shall obtain an undertaking from the importer and release the goods.
However, from time to time the goods arrives at the destination and samples are drawn by Customs for testing.
It takes 20-30 days to obtain a report from the lab and 40 days to release the goods. Exporters are charged $4.60-70 as testing fees for each sample representing every import consignment.
Meanwhile, importers have to pay heavy demurrage and storage charges.
The officials also take 500 gm of sample for testing from every import consignment, which exporters feel is grossly excessive, especially in the case of high-value products.
If India’s cap on pepper imports at 2,500 tonnes and the non-inclusion of rubber in the FTA are irritants for the Sri Lankans, Indian exporters complain that Sri Lanka imposes discriminatory tariff on commodities such as onion.
The surcharged political atmosphere in Tamil Nadu, where Sri Lankan goods are sometimes even burnt, has further dented trade, the study pointed out.
Source : Business Lines
