The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 07 OCT, 2020

NATIONAL

 

INTERNATIONAL

GST Council recommends revised requirement for HSN, SAC

India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has recommended extending the levy of compensation cess beyond the transition period of five years, i.e., beyond June 2022, for a period needed to meet the revenue gap and suggested revised requirement for declaring harmonised system nomenclature (HSN) codes for goods and services accounting codes (SAC) for services in invoices and in the GST returns form beginning April 1 next year. As a further step towards reducing the compliance burden, particularly on small taxpayers having aggregate annual turnover of less than ₹5 crore, the council’s earlier recommendation of allowing filing of returns on a quarterly basis with monthly payments by such taxpayers should be implemented with effect from January 1 next year, it was recommended at the the 42nd GST Council meet held virtually recently. Such quarterly taxpayers would, for the first two months of the quarter, have an option to pay 35 per cent of the net cash tax liability of the last quarter using an auto generated challan, according to an official release. The HSN/SAC code will be six digits for supplies of both goods and services for taxpayers with an aggregate annual turnover above ₹5 crore, while those will be of 4 digits for business-to-business supplies of both goods and services for taxpayers with an aggregate annual turnover of up to ₹5 crore. The government will have power to notify eight-digit HSN codes on notified class of supplies by all taxpayers, the meeting recommended.

Source: Fibre2fashion

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Indian textile companies to benefit from US-China trade war

The simmering trade war between the US and China is expected to throw open fresh opportunity for the Indian textile industry. The US recently issued a Withhold Release Order on cotton and apparel imports from specific producers in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region which may escalate global trade tensions. The US imported $7.35 billion of apparel products from China during January-July 2020, while China exported around 20 per cent of its overall apparel exports to the US in first quarter of this fiscal, said an India Ratings and Research report. On the other hand, China depends on the US for raw cotton. China may retaliate by cutting down on cotton procurement from the US, leading to favourable supplies from Brazil and India, both of which are likely to have high inventories. While demand from the US could impact the overall cotton demand in China, the value-addition could gradually move out of China to other geographies.

Competition

Indian yarn companies’ dependence on China had reduced to about 20 per cent in the June quarter due to growing competition from Vietnam and Pakistan. India Ratings and Research believes Pakistan and Brazil have a pole position compared with India due to their preferential status. India’s cotton yarn exports declined 28 per cent y-o-y in FY20 to ₹19,600 crore due to a 53 per cent fall in demand from China.Moreover, severing of ties by global retail brands such as H&M and Lacoste with China on account of labour issues, along with the ongoing US-China trade war, have benefited Indian ready-made garments exporters in the form of additional orders. The agency believes that the vacuum space created would be a positive for Indian garment exporters and help them tide over the impact of pandemic. Furthermore, the home textile segment has reported increased inquiries from the US for sourcing diversification.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

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Row over GST compensation: Centre to say no to voting

Even if one or more states don’t want to exercise the borrowing options proposed by the Centre for bridging the GST revenue shortfall, they can’t force an voting on the issue at the GST Council, sources in the Union government feel. The Council, according to them, has no jurisdiction to sit in judgement over such individual choices. The states that have agreed to exercise one of the borrowing options — 21 of them — can go ahead, even if a consensus remains elusive in the next Council meeting on October 12, the sources added. As many as 10 states remained defiant even at the 42nd meeting of the Council on Monday. At least two of these states asked for voting on the issue in the meeting. They even asked the Union finance minister to not take them for granted, indicating that they might even move the court for a resolution. With the Centre’s intervention, it was agreed to meet again a week later to discuss the issue further, state finance minister who attended the meeting said. Sources said that GST Council has jurisdiction to extend the levy of cess to compensate for the shortfall in the compensation, and it approved the proposal to extend compensation cess levy tenure beyond originally scheduled expiry of June, 2022. “The extension of compensation cess will ensure that states revenue is protected from the proceeds of this fund, and proves that Centre has carried out its legal and moral obligation of keeping the promise to states,” a source said. However, states’ entitlement to borrow is government by Section 293 of the Constitution which is beyond GST Council’s ambit. “Now the ball lies in the court of individual states, not the GST council,” another source said. He added that even if a single state is willing to borrow, the others in the Council can’t prevent it from exercising its right guaranteed in the Constitution. The Central government has also relied on attorney general’s (AG) opinion. The legal opinion held that states can borrow on the basis of future receipts of compensation and thus do not need Council’s recommendation to raise loan. Earlier on Monday, the Council’s marathon 8-hour long meeting couldn’t break the impasse over the proposed borrowing options meant for compensating states even after one of the two available choices was sweetened further as 10 states continued to demand that Centre should borrow and compensate the states fully for their GST revenue shortfall in FY21. At least 21 states are in favour of ‘option 1’ of the borrowing plan and states namely Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh are not on board with the proposal. The original ‘option 1’ of borrowing amount Rs 97,000 crore was revised to Rs 1.1 lakh crore after states the basis of calculating shortfall was changed. In the meanwhile, Council decided that the cess collection this year so far amounting to Rs 20,000 crore would be disbursed to states on Monday. Further, it was also decided to disburse Rs 25,000 crore to states that hadn’t received its due share in the first year of GST implementation.

Source: Financial Express

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WTO revises 2020 trade forecast up; world goods trade fall seen at 9.2% from 12.9% earlier

New Delhi: The World Trade Organization (TO) on Tuesday revised upwards its forecast for the decline in world merchandise trade at 9.2% in 2020 as against 12.9% drop projected earlier, based on a strong trade performance in June and July as lockdowns were eased and economic activity accelerated. “The WTO now forecasts a 9.2% decline in the volume of world merchandise trade for 2020, followed by a 7.2% rise in 2021. Strong trade performance in June and July has brought some signs of optimism for overall trade growth in 2020,” the Geneva-based organisation said in a report. The forecast for next year is more pessimistic than the previous estimate of 21.3% growth, leaving merchandise trade well below its pre-pandemic trend in 2021. “The current trade forecast of 7.2% for 2021 appears to be closer to the ‘weak recovery’ scenario than to a ‘quick return to trend’,” WTO said. However, it cautioned that these estimates are subject to an unusually high degree of uncertainty since they depend on the evolution of the pandemic and government responses to it. “There is some limited upside potential if a vaccine or other medical treatments prove to be effective, but their impact would be less immediate,” it said. In April, the WTO had presented two possible scenarios for global trade. In an optimistic scenario, it said global merchandise trade could fall 13% in 2020 and rebound 21% in 2021. In a pessimistic case, the volume of global goods trade could drop as much as 32% this year with the possibility of a 24% increase next year. It had also said the decline is likely to exceed the trade slump brought by the global financial crisis of 2008-09. However, on Tuesday, it said although the trade decline during the Covid-19 pandemic is similar in magnitude to the global financial crisis of 2008-09, the WTO said that the economic context is different and the contraction in GDP has been much stronger in the current recession while the fall in trade has been more moderate. “The volume of world merchandise trade is only expected to decline around twice as much as world GDP at market exchange rates, rather than six times as much during the 2009 collapse,” it said. Risks ahead as per the report, the pace of expansion could slow sharply once pent up demand is exhausted and business inventories have been replenished. The 14.3% quarter-on-quarter decline in world merchandise trade in the second quarter is the largest on record, but high-frequency data point to a partial rebound in the third quarter. The resurgence of Covid-19 requiring further lockdowns could reduce global GDP growth by 2 to 3 percentage points next year. Other downside risks include an uncertain outlook for fiscal policy and challenging job markets in many countries. Together, these risks could shave up to 4 percentage points o of world merchandise trade growth in 2021. On the other hand, rapid deployment of an effective vaccine could boost confidence and raise output growth by 1 to 2 percentage points in 2021 “One of the greatest risks for the global economy in the aftermath of the pandemic would be a descent into protectionism. International cooperation is essential as we move forward, and the WTO is the ideal forum to resolve any outstanding trade issues stemming from the crisis,” said Deputy Director-General Yi Xiaozhun. Asia’s exports are forecast to contract 4.5% in 2020 before growing 5.7% in 2021 while the projection for imports is -4.4% and 6.2%, respectively. The decline in services trade during the pandemic was at least as strong as the fall in merchandise trade. Trade in agricultural products fell less than the world average in the second quarter while the drop in manufactured goods trade (-19%) was comparable to the decline in merchandise trade overall. Trade in other types of electronics also held up during the crisis as households, businesses and governments upgraded computers and information technology infrastructure to facilitate working from home. Trade in pharmaceuticals rose during the pandemic as countries secured essential products from foreign suppliers, especially in personal protective equipment (PPE) which recorded explosive growth, up 92% in the second quarter and 122% in May.

Source: Economic Times

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Seeing opportunities in pharma, textiles, consumer durables: Birla MF

Because of the current crisis and developments globally and locally, opportunities are emerging for many sectors, Mahesh Patil, Co-CIO, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC said in an interview with CNBCTV18. “…those are the sectors which we would look at at this point of time, for e.g. in pharma sector because of the trade relations between US and China and the opportunities which open up for the pharmaceutical sector especially in the API space can be a long-term opportunity,” Patil said. “Domestically also there is a focus on ‘Make in India’ and government will incentivizing manufacturing, rolling out the production with incentive plan – that would also mean for companies which are trying to tap this opportunity and do a lot of import substitution in import consumer durable and that could be an opportunity, he said. Patil said there was a good uptick in the textiles sector too, because of the China factor. “We also see good uptick in textile sector because of China and a lot of Indian companies are now taking up market share,” he said. He is bullish on select banks, two-wheeler companies and export oriented companies.

Source: CNBC

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Indian Railways mulls private freight trains after private passenger trains

New Delhi: After private passenger trains, Indian Railways is busy preparing a detailed policy to run private freight trains on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC). The new policy is likely to include several special steps to woo private players, sources told Zee Media. Private freight trains will run on 2800 km of Western and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor. The preparations by Indian Railways are being made to attract big sector players from Steel, Iron Ore, Textile, and Auto. The key players from these sectors include Tata, Adani, Mahindra, and Maruti. Sources further said that 11 km DFC track will be ready by March 2021, to run the private freight trains. The target is to prepare and commission the entire 2800 km DFC track by March 2022. n the case of long-term contracts, e-commerce companies like Amazon or Flipkart can also come forward to run the private freight trains, sources said.Indian Railways still has a provision to run private freight trains or private containers, but so far, only a few big players from Coal or Steel sectors book entire trains or all containers in small numbers. The majority of private players are away from it, and only companies like SAIL and Jindal Steel book such private trains. Earlier in August this year, the railway took the initiative to invite private investment for running passenger trains. The project entailed a private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore.

Source: Zee News

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Rupee appreciates 14 paise to 73.15 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee strengthened by 14 paise to 73.15 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday, helped by positive domestic equities and weak American currency. At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.17 and gained further ground to touch 73.15, registering a rise of 14 paise over its previous close. On Monday, the rupee had depreciated by 16 paise to close at 73.29 against the US dollar. "Anticipation of US President Trump recovering from COVID and of Democrats and Republicans reaching a consensus on a fiscal stimulus package seems to be buoying risk sentiment," said Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, IFA Global. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.13 per cent down at 93.39. On the domestic equity market front, the BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 358.66 points higher at 39,332.36, and the broader NSE Nifty rose 97.30 points to 11,600.65. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 236.71 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.65 per cent to USD 41.56 per barrel.

Source: Economic Times

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Exclusive: Good news for Indo Rama Synthetics! Expert says buy this stock

In a big development, it has been revealed that the government has ordered investigation into the import of elastomeric filament yarn - a material used for manufacturing hosiery and other textile items. Zee Business' Chetan Bhutani revealed today to Managing Editor Anil Singhvi that the Director General of Trade Remedies will be investigating dumping of this yarn from Singapore and the period of investigation will be between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, he said, quoting sources. Bhutani further said that the government will also take decision on import duty as the demand of this material is very high among Indian manufacturers. This news has a positive impact on companies like Indo Rama Synthetics (India), one of the largest hosiery manufacturers in the country, he said. This sector is impacted majorly due to imports of cheap material, he said. He further said that Singapore is a hub of such hosiery products. The imposition of anti-dumping duty on this material will likely be beneficial for this company.  The stock of Indo Rama Synthetics was up 3 per cent when Zee Business broke the news. The stock, which is currently trading around Rs 24, ended down by 0.8 per cent on NSE.   Expert Kunal Saraogi said that the textile companies are in for a turnaround now. As for Indo Rama, he said that there is a base formation in the stock at lower levels. He said that investors can buy this stock with a trailing stop loss below Rs 24. He puts the target price at Rs 32. He said that the risk reward ratio is high in this stock adding that he recommended a buy on this stock.

Source: ZEE Business

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LAPF Studio conducts buyer seller meet at Tiruppur

LIVA Accredited Partner Forum (LAPF) is a consortium of world class spinners, weavers, knitters and processors committed towards quality and innovations using fibres from Birla Cellulose. "The 10-day meet showcased more than 150 innovations done by LAPF partners. The recently launched antimicrobial viscose fibre-based fabrics received an overwhelming response. Buyers appreciated the concept of injecting an antimicrobial agent at the fibre manufacturing stage, making the antimicrobial effectiveness an integral part of the fabric," an Aditya Birla Group press release said. At the meet, buyers also showed interest in eco-friendly, sustainable fabrics made using Liva Reviva and Livaeco, apart from collections made with Birla Excel, Birla Modal, Birla Viscose, and Spunshades by Birla Cellulose. Sourcing professionals and designers representing Tom Tailor, Marc O’Polo, Redefined & OVS Sourcing, Eastman Exports, Greetings Knitwear, Best Cotton Mills, Esstee Exports and other companies attended the meet, making it a grand success. "Sampling has been initiated for the requirements placed," the release said. “There has been a rise in the demand for sourcing quality and sustainable products and LAPF Studio will continue to play the role of an enabler and give our partners the platform they require to grow their business,” said Rajeev Gopal, group executive president and global chief sales and marketing officer, Pulp and Fibre Business, Aditya Birla Group. Partners from across 35 textile hubs such as Erode, Tiruppur, New Delhi, Ichalkaranji, Nagpur, Mumbai, Surat and Ahmedabad participated in the meet. Happy with the response, requests for another meet have already started coming in, according to LAPF Studio. “At TEA, we always work towards buyer engagement and we find LAPF Buyers Seller meets as one of the best engagement platforms. These meets surely generate enquires and help business growth of Tiruppur cluster,” said TR Vijayakumar, general secretary of TEA. This was the first innovation meet post lockdown at the LAPF Studio, and the Studio took all safety measures such as temperature check, frequent sanitisation and social distancing during the meet. Customers had pre-booked their appointments to maintain social distancing which enabled the hosts to pay exclusive attention to each of the visiting customers.

Source: Fibre2fashion

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USTR to investigate Vietnam's trade policies, practices

At the direction of President Donald Trump, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) recently initiated an investigation addressing Vietnam’s acts, policies and practices related to the import and use of timber that is illegally harvested or traded and those that may contribute to the undervaluation of its currency and the resultant harm caused to US commerce. USTR will conduct the investigation under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. USTR will consult the department of treasury on the issues of currency valuation and exchange rate policy, the agency said in a statement. USTR Robert E Lighthizer said, “President Trump is firmly committed to combatting unfair trade practices that harm America’s workers, businesses, farmers, and ranchers. Using illegal timber in wood products exported to the US market harms the environment and is unfair to US workers and businesses who follow the rules by using legally harvested timber. In addition, unfair currency practices can harm US workers and businesses that compete with Vietnamese products that may be artificially lower-priced because of currency undervaluation. We will carefully review the results of the investigation and determine what, if any, actions it may be appropriate to take.” The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) expressed its disappointment with the announcement, saying launching a Section 301 investigation on Vietnam could pave the way for imposition of new punitive duties on US imports from the country. Citing the negative impact of the administration’s tariffs on imports as a result of other Section 301 investigations, the association, in a statement, urged the government to refrain from sowing further supply chain disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. "This is not the time to impose new costs on U.S. supply chains, particularly on those job creators who are still recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, new punitive tariffs could make it even harder to source the personal protective equipment that our communities need to safely regrow the economy,” said AAFA president Steve Lamar. However, The National Council of Textile Organisations (NCTO) welcomed the announcement of the launch of a Section 301 investigation into the currency valuation practices of Vietnam. “NCTO strongly opposes foreign governments undervaluing their currencies, which puts US manufacturers at a disadvantage by inflating the cost of US exports and deflating the cost of US imports. This unfair trade practice displaces US production and jobs, as well as those of our Western Hemisphere trade partners utilizing US textile inputs,” said NCTO president and chief executive officer Kim Glas in a statement. “The US-Vietnam trading relationship suffers from many of the same problems that we have experienced with China. There are strong indications of a purposefully undervalued currency that warrants a full investigation. Further, the industries in the two countries are inextricably linked, as Vietnam sources much of its textile inputs from China,” Glas added.

Source: Fibre2fashion

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Bangladesh apparel industry-- from challenges to better prospects

The economic growth of Bangladesh, to a great extent, depends on the export of apparels which account for approximately 80 per cent of the country's total export earnings. It also constitutes approximately 12 per cent of country's GDP. It is the only sector that provides an employment of about 4 million people where about 85 per cent are women. The export of apparels increased tremendously during the last three decades from US $ 868 million in 1990-91 to US $ 30 billion in 2018-19. The journey started in 1978 with a shipment of 10,000 men's shirts worth 13 million Francs to a French company from Reaz Garments Ltd, although Desh Garments Ltd. was the first fully export-oriented garment factory in the country.  During the last three decades, this industry has rapidly grown due to policy support from the government, the availability of cheap labour, quota facility, cash incentives against export, and entrepreneurial skills such as dynamism of private sector entrepreneurs, among others. However, over the years the industry faced serious problems including legitimacy threats in connection with labour rights and factory working conditions, health and safety issues. Over and above, recently the industry is fraught with many disadvantages due to covid-19. However, it appears that it is trying to ride out the crises with strong commitment and dynamic approach.  This short op-ed article provides an overview of how this industry, overcame some of the major obstacles including the covid-19 and what would be its next export destinations and why. The first backlash this industry suffered was during the late 1990s, which was a threat arising from the use of child labour or so called 'sweat shop'. The industry was exposed to a serious threat of legitimacy from the Western buyers. However, with the help of ILO, BGMEA, Westerns buyers, local and international NGOs, and policy support of the government, it successfully regained its legitimacy and the RMG sector become child labour-free by the end of 2004. The second major obstacle it faced was due to the withdrawal of 'MFA quota'. Bangladesh had been enjoying the trade quota facility since 1985, and since it has enough manpower, it fully utilised its trade quota unlike its neighbours India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.  However, the industry remained competitive even after the withdrawal of export quotas by 2005 although at that time critics were opinioned that the garments sector will lose its market and would not survive in the quota-free global market. Surprisingly, the RMG sector overcame that 'withdrawal of quota facilities' successfully and even they were able to capture more market share in the quota-free global apparel industry. That was a major milestone for the RMG manufacturers which eventually increased the confidence of Bangladeshi garments manufacturers about the quality of their products in the global marketplace. The third occurrence happened when Rana plaza collapsed and caused the death of 1150 garments workers in 2013. After the 'Rana Plaza' collapse, there were huge international pressures to improve factory working conditions and therefore health and safety issues. As a result, two international bodies such as Accord (European retailers) and Alliance (North American buyers) started their activities in Bangladesh to improve the working conditions, and safety of the factory workers. By the end of 2018, both of the bodies were successful in implementing their objectives and improving the working conditions, health and workplace safety of the factories of Bangladesh. During this period, even some of the Bangladeshi garments factories implemented green manufacturing processes and are now ranked among the top in the global green manufacturing lists. A very recent report by USGBC (LEED) stated that out of top 27 environmental friendly establishments, 14 belong to Bangladeshi garments and textile factories. Having such recognition from the USGBC (LEED) is highly loadable for the garments and textile sector of Bangladesh and for its overseas brands and this will further enhance the credibility of the safety issue of the factories located in Bangladesh. At the onset of 2019, the BGMEA targeted US $ 50 Billion export by 2021. While these are very positive news and developments, this industry suddenly fell into the clutches of the most disastrous pandemic. Bangladesh traced the first covid-19 confirmed case on March 8, 2020 and it enforced a complete lock down from 23rdMarch, 2020. During this period, China closed its shipment of raw materials, as a result some factories were forced to shut down their operations. It is noted that most of the Bangladeshi garments factories are dependent on China for their raw materials and other necessary accessories for production of garments. As the customers also banned shipments or canceled orders, the factory owners faced problems from both supply side and demand side. In fact, the whole apparel supply chain was disrupted from top to bottom. Brands and retailers cancelled or postponed order as well as deferred payments. Primark, Arcadia Group, M&S, H&M, Nordstrom, American Eagle, VF Corporation, PVH Corp, Levi's, Target and similar high-end brands either cancelled or paused new orders. A total of 738 factories received order cancellation emails and as a result, orders for US $ 2.4 billion worth of products have been canceled as reported by newspapers quoting BGMEA sources. In this circumstance, many garments factories were closed and as the lockdown continued, the majority of the workers were not able to go to their homes. Some factory owners stopped making payment to their workers. However, the government took rapid action by declaring a stimulus package for export-oriented industries. The total amount of this package is BDT 5,000 crore (equivalent to US $ 5.90 billion). The allocated money from the package could only be disbursed in the form of salaries and wages for employees and workers of the export-oriented industries including the apparel industries. The needed amount can be availed from the package at 2 per cent interest. However, finally the RMG sector overcome this situation and now, most of the factories are operating in full scale. It is surprising to know how this industry overcome this pandemic. From my personal conversations with some of the garment owners, I came to know that their utmost dedication and changing of business models worked here a lot. For example, some of the factory owners started to manufacture different types of masks, personal protective equipment's (PPE), gloves and gowns for medical staff and so on. As the pandemic spread throughout the world, this provided further opportunity for Bangladeshi garments manufacturers to produce garment products essential for covid-19. Even some of the foreign buyers cancelled their original products and re-ordered for protective gears like masks, PPEs, gloves and gowns etc. Due to covid-19, many things in the world have changed like world geo-politics and bilateral and multinational relationships. We have already seen some growing geo-political tensions between the USA and China and between China and India which might open up further avenues of exports and joint venture opportunities for Bangladesh. Bangladesh can seriously think of its next best export destination as China. This is also stirred by the recent declaration of Chinese authority about the 'zero tariff access' to 97 per cent of its goods imported from Bangladesh, covering more than 8000 products. This implies that Bangladeshi manufacturers will now be able to avail this duty-free and quota-free facility after 40 per cent value addition to these products.  This would be a perfect stepping stone for Bangladesh to act on. Bangladesh can use this for further expansion of apparel exports to China. Currently, the major destinations of RMG exports are North America and Europe. Bangladesh exports 90 per cent of its garment products to the US and EU markets and ranks third in the EU markets, after China and Turkey. But due to covid-19, the target of export might not be achieved from these destinations. So Bangladeshi RMG exporters need to explore new and untapped market and China would be one the best target markets. There are many reasons for it. For example, China has a huge market of more than 1.4 billion people. China's share in global apparel market has declined following rising production costs, and transition to high-tech industries from labour intensive industry although it still remains the largest supplier of apparel items in the world. Since China is undergoing an economic transformation from labour-intensive to high-tech manufacturing, it is expected to relocate some of its factories to other low labour cost countries such as Bangladesh and then import those products under the zero-tariff facility. Also there are huge increase in consumer demand for high-end apparels. The shipment time is also an import factor for export as in comparison to USA or European countries, it will definitely take lesser time to deliver shipment to China due to its closer geographical location to Bangladesh. Bangladesh imports around US $ 5 billion worth of fabric annually from China. Moreover, since Bangladesh is dependent on China alone for more than 50 per cent of apparel raw materials, and about 40 per cent of the machinery and spare parts for this industry, using back to back L/C might be easier for both of the countries' to export/import their needful. Considering all of these factors, Bangladeshi apparels manufacturers might explore Chinese market as a lucrative destination for future exports. However, Bangladesh needs to concentrate on diversified and high-value products and need to focus on improving competitiveness as a matter of priority to enter into the Chinese market. On the contrary, China needs to relax some of its stringent non-tariff barriers such as Chinese Rules of Origin (RoO) in this regard. At the end, there might be a win-win situation for both countries. There is no guarantee that covid-19 like pandemic will not come again. So the lesson we learned for future is to redesign the business models. For example, apparel industry needs to make a backup of supply chain for basic raw materials and maintain provisions for lag time as well as looking for alternative sources of raw materials. For sustainable future expansion, Bangladeshi garments and textile sector need to explore some of the untapped markets globally and China would be the best one considering the present socio-economic and geo-political issues.

Source: The Financial Express

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Ex-Chinese diplomat details new WTO forecast on world trade

Deputy Director-General Yi Xiaozhun's presentation of the new WTO forecast symbolised a coming-of-age moment for China not yet a generation after it acceded to the trade body. The revision follows better trade performances in June and July, notably thanks to rising demand for health care goods and electronic equipment. A former Chinese diplomat took center stage Tuesday at the World Trade Organisation, announcing its revised prediction for a 9.2 per cent decline in world merchandise trade this year and cautioning that a further hit could await if the coronavirus continues to spread. Deputy Director-General Yi Xiaozhun’s presentation of the new WTO forecast symbolised a coming-of-age moment for China not yet a generation after it acceded to the trade body. It comes amid a punishing US trade war against China under President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly accused the country of unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft. WTO officials are required to serve the Geneva trade body, not their national interests. But the presentation by a former Chinese diplomat – Yi previously served as China’s ambassador to the WTO – could resonate for a US administration that has been withering in its criticism of the Communist government that oversees the No 2 world economy. Yi announced that WTO economists have revised to a 9.2 per cent drop in merchandise trade this year, down from their earlier prediction of a 12.9 per cent plunge .That forecast was presented in April, when COVID-19 case counts were soaring in major economic engines like the Europe Union and the United States. The revision follows better trade performances in June and July, notably thanks to rising demand for health care goods and electronic equipment. WTO now also predicts a 7.2 per cent rise in trade next year, far more ‘pessimistic’ than the April forecast for a 21.3 per cent bounce-back. The forecasts exclude trade in services, and focus only on merchandise. ”The COVID-19 pandemic is above all a public health crisis, and preventing further suffering is the WTO’s overriding concern,” Yi said. However, the outbreak has also disrupted the global economy in unprecedented ways. Health measures initiated to battle the pandemic have hit many service sectors that require in-person interactions, but such measures saved many lives despite the economic costs, he added. Yi specializes in economic research and statistics at WTO. ”Relatively fast action in many countries to provide fiscal and monetary support has helped mitigate some of the negative economic effects,” Yi said. ”The net result has been a deeper but less prolonged decline in trade, although considerable uncertainty remains about the strength of any recovery going forward.” He said this year’s trade slump would accompany a drop in GDP of 4.8 per cent, followed by a 4.9 per cent jump next year. ”A resurgence of COVID-19 requiring new lockdowns could reduce global GDP growth by two to three percentage points, and shave up to four percentage points off of merchandise trade growth in 2021,” he said. Yi pointed to some limited upside potential if effective vaccines or other medical treatments can be made available quickly. Yi is one of four WTO deputy directors-general along with others from Germany, Nigeria and the United States. Former WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo left the job in August, nearly a year ahead of schedule, and five remaining candidates are vying to succeed him in a process likely to be completed in coming weeks. Yi has spoken publicly in his role, but had never previously led a WTO news conference, according to the trade body’s press office.

Source: Financial Express

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Tangshan Sanyou removes risks in supply chain: report

Tangshan Sanyou has removed identified high risks in its supply chain, and initiated meaningful action to improve transparency and help fill information gaps when incomplete raw materials sourcing information was provided by some of its dissolving pulp suppliers, the second CanopyStyle audit assessing viscose raw material sourcing by the company says. Environmental not-for-profit organisation Canopy and third-party auditor NEPCon have released the independent verification audit results of Tangshan Sanyou’s pulp sourcing. This is the second CanopyStyle audit completed by the company. Tangshan Sanyou relies on more than a dozen suppliers of wood pulp, distributed in more than ten countries and various continents. Tangshan Sanyou is actively engaging its dissolving pulp suppliers and when required, is requiring risk mitigation measures in contracts with suppliers, including Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification and science-based conservation planning of ancient and endangered forests. “Tangshan Sanyou’s documented progress on raw material sourcing transparency, their support for landscape conservation planning, and their leadership in developing a new viscose product made from post-consumer recycled textiles are all clear demonstrations of the company’s strong commitment to CanopyStyle,” said Nicole Rycroft, Canopy’s executive director. “Our company appreciates the opportunity to learn about the impact of our supply on global forests,” said Dongbin Zhang, vice general manager of Tangshan Sanyou. “We are committed to continue to engage our dissolving pulp suppliers on science-based conservation solutions and to scale fibre innovations as demanded by the marketplace.” “NEPCon is pleased to be the independent auditing body for the CanopyStyle initiative, contributing to the conservation of ancient and endangered forests,” stated Jon Jickling, director of NEPCon Solutions. “We are pleased to evaluate and document the long-term efforts of company’s such as Tangshan Sanyou, who have demonstrated commitment and prompt actions to improve their wood-based sourcing practices.” Tangshan Sanyou has engaged its suppliers and, when applicable, is working to mitigate and remove potential risk in its supply chain in order to implement its policy commitments, the report says. The company has made significant improvements in its systems to comply with the CanopyStyle audit, particularly in the areas of training, leadership group engagement, risk assessment, and commitments to increase the percentage of FSC-certified materials. In addition to these system improvements, Tangshan Sanyou has also succeeded in producing viscose staple fibre with 50 per cent post-consumer recycled cotton textiles, the report says. Canopy recommends that the company adopts ambitious public targets and timelines for increasing the use of next generation alternative fibres in a commercially competitive way, and continues to use Forest Mapper and complementary guidance documents such as the advice note of ancient and endangered forests and the Dissolving Pulp Classification to complete and share risk assessment for all fibre supply inputs. For suppliers with potential risk of sourcing from key priority areas of ancient and endangered forests, the company should continue to engage dissolving pulp suppliers, with Canopy’s support, to gain clarity on risk level and/or risk mitigation measures and work towards elimination of all risk.

Source: Fibre2fashion

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Wise Protec launches face masks that destroy corona virus06

European fabric expert, Wise Protec, has launched the new washable and reusable face masks that is proven to destroy the killer virus and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Since the first product it designed, the antiviral mask, the innovation company, Wise Protec, has already been able to develop a wide range of protective clothing for the modern user. Each mask actively destroys 99.9 per cent of the COVID-19 virus after a few minutes of contact. The mask also effectively self-sterilises after an hour and the active antiviral agent is so strongly bonded to the mask’s fabric that it remains effective for up to 50 domestic washes. The antimicrobial fabric created by Wise Protec has been scientifically proven to destroy COVID-19 on contact, having passed a number of controlled antiviral tests at one of the first labs in Europe to have that capability, IMM (Molecular Medicine Institute, Lisbon). The antimicrobial formula used to treat the masks’ fabric is certified as skin safe and does not include heavy metals, such as silver or zink, which are often used in antimicrobial fabrics and which have unproven effects on the human respiratory system, according to a press release by Wise Protec.Wise Protec’s long lasting, positively charged antimicrobial coating attracts negatively charged virus and bacteria. On contact with the treated surface, COVID-19’s protective membrane ruptures, destroying the virus. This action can be visualised as like detergent bubbles popping on contact with a hard surface. Because the coating works physically, it is not eroded by chemical reaction with microbes and so lasts longer. Variations in the masks’ inner layer, offer additional benefits: skin repair and moisturiser, CBD for calming and wellbeing, eucalyptus and echinacea to relieve breathing problems and allergies as well as sun protection. These enhanced benefits are paving the way for people everywhere to adapt to the new norm of wearing a face mask. “In the early days of the pandemic we witnessed terrible photos of doctors around the globe with severe skin injuries due to the continuous wear of disposable masks. This triggered the idea that masks shouldn’t be something uncomfortable, but rather a comfortable accessory to wear. Therefore, we have designed a variety of masks with hidden benefits to appeal to a wide variety of consumers, each with the promise to kill COVID-19. In these uncertain times we want every wearer to feel safe and con¬fident when purchasing a Wise Protec product and believe that the additional benefits will help normalise mask wearing and aid each individual’s personal wellbeing,” Wise Protec founder and CEO Jorge Machado said.

 

Source: Fibre2fashion

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Next Expo 4.0 to be held during March 31-April 2, 2022

 

The next Expo 4.0, comprising three trade fairs - TecStyle Visions, GiveADays and wetec – will be held during March 31-April 2, 2022 in Stuttgart. The event attracts quality visitors with four out of five visitors being involved in purchasing decisions, 87 per cent showing concrete intentions to buy and 84 per cent likely to invest within the next year. Following the guiding principle "Print. Produce. Promote.", the combined trade fair Expo 4.0 provides the right platform for presentation of machines and technologies for printing processes, decoration technologies for textiles and advertising media, as well as promotion and merchandising, for every stage in the value-added chain. For many years, the quality of its visitors has been a reliable constant at Expo 4.0. Four out of five visitors are involved in purchasing and procurement decisions, 87 per cent have concrete intentions to buy and 84 per cent would like to make an investment within the next year. Every three out of four visitors intend to visit the trade fair again, which highlights the positive synergy effects from the coincidence of the three trade fairs. The exhibitors find visitors from trade, retail and industry, and benefit from the visitors in the network and the increasing international character of the visitors. The entire line-up of Expo 4.0 in 2020 attracted a total of 12,518 visitors from 50 countries to Stuttgart, 28 per cent of all visitors to Expo 4.0 travelled more than 300 kilometres. In order to emphasise the clear structure of the trade fair concept of TecStyle Visions, the abbreviation TV was dropped from the previous trade fair name. Forward-looking technologies and the latest textile trends emerged as the pillars of success, in the event held in January 2020. TecStyle Visions boosted its status as a leading European trade fair and industry get-together - 262 exhibitors, including all relevant companies from the exhibition segments textiles and technology, turned Stuttgart into the European industry get-together for the textile decoration industry. There were 126 exhibitors from 21 countries. The top five countries present at the event were Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Poland and Italy. The topics such as sustainability, customising and digitisation have been on the agenda at the trade fair for years. The constantly changing shopping worlds will come into focus for the trade fair in 2022 both in the training offer and in the exhibition area. The trade fair team is already in talks with partners and associations. As an industry get-together for the advertising technology community in southern Germany, wetec provides a complete overview for advertising technology, digital printing, signage and digital signage. Apart from the large product range, sampling new products and exchange of information and ideas are important pillars of the trade fair concept. The fair is appreciated not only in southern Germany, but it also sees visitors from Switzerland and Austria. In 2020, exhibitors at wetec came from 15 countries to Stuttgart. The radiance to the entire DACH region and the neighbouring European countries will be further expanded and strengthened for the upcoming event in 2022. In 2022, GiveADays will focus entirely on addressing the visitor groups marketing decision-makers and purchasers from industry, as well as agencies and creative minds. It positions itself clearly as "the leading advertising trade fair in the south" for the economy in southern Germany. The trade fair offers the entire range of advertising media and products, as well as the high-quality decoration and customising of the advertising products. The thematic overlap with the area of textile decoration at TecStyle Visions ensures good synergy effects for the visitors.

 

Source: Fibre2fashion

 

 

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