|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
|
PSF |
1312.26 |
USD/Ton |
-0.86% |
|
VSF |
2034.58 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
ASF |
2451.30 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Polyester POY |
1413.58 |
USD/Ton |
-0.86% |
|
Nylon FDY |
3072.30 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
40D Spandex |
6536.80 |
USD/Ton |
-0.50% |
|
Nylon DTY |
2598.38 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1626.03 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Polyester DTY |
3382.79 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Nylon POY |
5883.12 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1658.71 |
USD/Ton |
-0.49% |
|
Polyester FDY |
2925.22 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2696.43 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2075.43 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2990.59 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2206.17 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2565.69 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2859.85 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2745.46 |
USD/Ton |
1.20% |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.14 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
1.00 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.36 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.78 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.79 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
Source : Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.16342 USD dtd. 3/05/2015)
The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible.
The textile sector is the largest employment generating sector of India, especially for low-skilled workers, and needs to be supported. The Textiles Ministry held preliminary discussions on the matter related to textile industry with officials in the Commerce Ministry and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. They have forwarded all the complaints received from the industry. The Secretaries from the two ministries are also in touch.
The Textiles Ministry has demanded sops for the yarn and fabric sectors, which were ignored in the five-year Foreign Trade Policy announced early this month. It has also made a case for inclusion of garments in the interest subvention scheme being finalised by the Commerce Ministry to help the sector compete with Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, which get favourable access to developed markets. Man-made fibre yarn as well as woven and knitted fabrics, in addition to garments, have been extended a 2 percent incentive (in the form of fully transferable duty scrips) in the EU, the US, Canada and Japan. However, sops in these markets do not help yarn and fabric producers as they export very little to these markets.
The Merchandise Export Incentive Scheme (MEIS), however, ignores markets such as China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Vietnam and South Korea, which are major destinations for yarn and fabric from India. The official said that by excluding key markets, the policy has virtually ignored fabric and yarn producers, who also need support in the shrinking world market.
Also the garments sector which is facing a tough time competing with smaller economies such as Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, which get preferable access into the EU and US markets. Interest-rate subvention will give it some relief. The Textiles Ministry is making all effort to convince the Commerce Ministry to include garments and other sectors in the new interest subvention scheme being finalized by it. Under the scheme, exporters from select sectors will get credit at a 3 percent subsidy for the next three years.
Source : Yarn and fibres
To keep the tradition alive thousands of people from across India and some even from other countries are fighting the battle. Actress Lisa Ray tweeted in support of the Change.org petition that hopes to let the Prime Minister know of the discontentment. One supporter from abroad has even written that he has taken group after group of foreign tourists to Indian since 1997. It is an irreplaceable part of Indian culture. As the several petitions currently doing the rounds point out, handlooms is an integral part of Indian culture. And among those in the fashion industry fighting for the cause is popular designer and textile revivalist Ritu Kumar, who likens these textiles to historical monuments that we are gearing up to destroy.
She pointed out that the Handloom Reservation Act is in place to protect the weavers. Now to amend the Act and change the definition of it, just so that the powerloom lobby can get a piece of the pie, can prove detrimental to the huge community of weavers across India and the complete culture itself. Dr D. Narasimha Reddy, an activist and a member of the Cotton Advisory Board, predicts that close to 2.5 lakh weavers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will be affected. If the Act is amended it would be complete death of handloom.
For the consumers, however, their love to own and wear a beautiful piece of art is weighed against the high costs of the product as opposed to other cheaper varieties and options. This again is due to the policies in place that do not help the weavers and the wearers. And the saving of Handloom Reservation Act is just the tip of the iceberg, asserts Dr Naramsimha Reddy. India over the years has gone from the original stance of encouraging natural textiles to promoting man-made fabrics. Take for instance the taxes, there was 48 percent taxation on polyester and man-made fabrics. Over the years, the taxes came down for synthetic and man-made fabrics, while the taxes for natural fabrics went up. So now, a metre of polyester will cost in one or two digits as tax is just 4 percent, while cotton or other natural fabrics per metre will cost in three digits. And there are several levels to the issues that the handloom community faces, including the proper implementation of Handloom Reservation Act itself, he said.
The handloom industry also earns India huge money in exports. According to the Handloom Export Promotion Council, the export of handloom products during 2009-10 was Rs 1,253 crore (US $241m) and showed a steady increase during the consecutive three years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 with Rs 1,575 crore (US $303 m), Rs 2,624 crore (US $532 m) and Rs 2,812 crore (US $521 m) respectively. But there was a decline during the year 2013-14 and export of handloom products had registered Rs 2,233 crore (US $372 m). While the US and the UK top the list, France, Belgium, the UAE, the Netherlands and Canada are some of the other export destinations for Indian handloom products.While powerloom will reduce the cost of production as the products are machine-made and can be mass produced, that is not necessarily a good thing.
Designer Gaurang Shah, who is known for working largely with weavers and handloom products, said that the beauty of Dharmavaram saris have already been diluted as they have become semi-powerloom. The handloom saris get their beauty from the time-taking process of making them, the variations that the weavers or rather the artisans give each of them. For instance, the whole 6 yards of a sari can be uniquely designed by a weaver, while a powerloom can only replicate a small fraction of a design over and over again on the sari. Shah works with Jamdani Khadi and he knows the texture of the textile when woven by hand and the feel of the fabric that can never be replaced by a machine-made product.
When powerlooms make the saris, the production will increase, but the number of people buying saris is reducing. So if the demand doesn’t match the increased production, the day won’t be very far away when they will actually shut down the whole loom industry.
While the powerloom lobby is riding on the “Make In India” wave and the concern of “modernization to meet the global market demands”, the idea of these activists and the lovers of handlooms is simple, these looms are synonyms with “India”.
Ritu Kumar cautioned that if they go ahead with this, they won’t be very far from ending up like China. They have wiped out all their arts and crafts and they are on the same path. They need to understand that what they have in the form of handlooms is an actual monument. Talking from the fashion perspective, handloom is the USP of the country, internationally and nationally.
Hyderabad-based Dr Sharmila Nagraj Nandula, with a PhD in handloom textiles, in her research paper points out that the carbon footprint assessment clearly showed that every country in the world should start thinking in terms of buying local, which not only cuts carbon emissions but also helps the communities in the rural areas to take care of crafts and farming which is the need of the hour. The 100 per cent naturally dyed organic handloom cotton has the least impact on earth as it follows all the good earth practices in procurement, processes and disposal of waste.
Her research shows that handlooms do great things to your mental and spiritual health, besides improving your physical health parameters. When you hold a piece of handloom in your hand, it is an experience. The fabric has a story to tell, a journey that it has taken from the very start and in the hands of weaver, for whom it is almost a meditative experience. The art needs to be protected and more importantly, needs patronage.
According to her the solution is simple, let the handlooms and weavers be and not allow the powerloom guys eat into their pie.
Meanwhile, Dr Narasimha Reddy also has very simple suggestion of creating a labeling system, just like for food. If there is a labeling mechanism in place, then the consumer who can afford can pay for the hard work of the weaver but atleast the weaving industry will continue living.
Source : Yarn and fibres
Cotton farmers in Tamil Nadu find themselves in dire straits after unseasonal rain over the past few weeks submerged the crop in vast areas. Hundreds of farmers who had raised the crop on more than 5,700 hectares of land in Tiruvarur district this season are keeping their fingers crossed as the off-season rain has put paid to their hopes of a bumper harvest. The destruction of the crop drove a debt-ridden farmer to suicide in the district last week, according to media reports.
Thirty seven-year-old Rajaraman’s suicide has prompted farmers' association to demand compensation and cover them under National Crop Insurance Programme. Although cotton is not the traditional crop in the Cauvery delta, its acreage in Tamil Nadu has been growing steadily as paddy farmers opted for the cash crop the needs less water and fetches better returns.
In Tiruvarur district, remunerative returns had led many farmers in Valangaiman, Kudavasal, Koradachery, Nannilam, Kottur, and Mannargudi blocks to opt for the cotton crop knowing full well the risks involved. What they never bargained for was the off-season downpour last week. Last year, Tiruvarur cotton growers enjoyed bountiful harvest reaping between 12 and 15 quintals an acre and happily sold them for up to Rs 50 a kg. (SH)
Source : Fibre2fashion
India will keep its ‘national interest’ in mind while framing its new intellectual property rights (IPR) policy and not work under pressure of any country, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. Reacting to the US Trade Representative’s Special 301 report that placed India yet again on the ‘priority watch list’ of countries with an “unfavourable” IPR regime, the Minister said India would continue to engage with the US on the issue, but with its own specific interests in mind.
“We are engaging because we are confident of our position. We have all the relevant data in hand with which we can show upfront what is in our national interest,” Sitharaman told BusinessLine. While the Special 301 report for 2015 appreciated India’s increased engagement with the US on IPR, it warned that ultimately, it should translate into substantive and measurable action. “In many areas, IPR protection and enforcement challenges continue, and there are serious questions regarding the future of the innovative climate in India, across multiple sectors and disciplines,” the report said.
The report said the US continues to have concerns about Section 3(d) of India’s Patent Act, which disallows patents for incremental innovations. Earlier this year, the patent application of US-based Gilead for its Hepatitis B drug was rejected by India’s patent office on the grounds that it had no additional efficacy based on this particular section.
“Section 3(d) may have the effect of limiting the patentability of potentially beneficial innovations,” the report said. The Minister contended that India’s patent laws were in line with international norms. “India believes in a strong patent regime. We are compliant with international standards,” she said. However, Sitharaman added she was happy that the US had given its suggestions to the think-tank drafting the IPR policy, which includes highlighting its concerns on Section 3(d).
“Our think-tank has formulated its final version (of draft policy) taking all inputs it received in view.” India has been fighting attempts at ever-greening of patents by global pharmaceutical companies as it could go against the interests of its thriving generic (off-patent drugs) industry and prevent its population from accessing cheap life-saving medicines.
Generic advantage
On the US allegation that India was a hotbed for counterfeit drugs, Sitharaman said she would not comment on the charge, but pointed out that the good quality of the country’s generic medicines have been time and again recognised by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). “If there is one sector that has got approval repeatedly from the USFDA, it is the bulk drugs producers in India,” she said. The Minister said the final draft of the IPR policy will be sent to the Union Cabinet for approval after inter-ministerial consultations are over. Interested parties could keep sending additional comments and suggestions till then, she added.
Source : The Hindu business line
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) personnel have demolished two textile dyeing factories which were running without license and for discharging untreated effluent into the drains.
TNPCB, based on the information that two textile dyeing factories are functioning in the suburban Poosari Thottam without license and discharging untreated effluent into the drains, demolished it last evening. Cases were also registered against the factory owners.
Source : Global Textiles
Pakistan cotton market witnessed slow down in its trading activity on Saturday after staying active for entire week. According to floor brokers, they expected hiatus in activity due to limited stocks held by ginners. The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rates were steady at previous level.However, there was demand from some needy mills, but ginners demanded higher rates for their limited cotton stocks. Barring a few deals, which were mostly finalized on high rates, activity on the market remained devoid of enthusiasm. The textile industry are worried over the delay in new crop arrival as they feel that next three months would be difficult period as far as raw material is concerned.
The following deals were reported to have changed hands on ready counter: 600 bales from Vehari done at Rs4700 to Rs5275, 1266 bales Sadiqabad at Rs5500, 400 bales Chichawatni at Rs5500 and 2200 bales Khanpur at Rs5500. The following were Saturday’s new crop Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) official spot rates for local dealings in Pak rupees for base grade 3 staple length 1-1/16” micronair value between 3.8 to 4.9 NCL. On the global front, world cotton markets also turned easy where New York cotton market finished lower for all the future contracts.
Source : Fibre2fashion
According to the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), excess cotton stocks held outside China are likely to keep international cotton prices down in 2015-16. Stocks outside China are projected to surge 26 per cent to 9.4 million tons, the highest level in 35 years and also the reason, why ICAC forecasts that these stocks will keep global prices down. In its latest report, ICAC projects world acreage under cotton to decline 7 per cent from 2014-15 to 31.2 million hectares in 2015-16. Assuming a world average yield of 765 kg/ha, production in 2015-16 is forecast to be down 9 per cent at 23.9 million tons as against in 2014-15. After reaching a record acreage of 12.3 million hectares in 2014-15, acreage in India is forecast down 5 per cent to 11.6 million hectares and production is also expected to fall 3 per cent to 6.4 million tons in 2015-16.
The Chinese government announced a cotton subsidy price of 19,100 Yuan per ton for 2015, a decrease from 19,800 Yuan per ton in 2014. Accordingly, ICAC said, acreage in China is expected to contract 12 per cent to 3.8 million hectares and production could fall 16 per cent to 5.4 million tons.
According to ICAC, in the US, prices for some competing crops are likely to discourage farmers from planting cotton, and acreage is expected to dip 17 per cent to 3.3 million hectares. “Assuming an average yield of 912 kg/ha, production in the US could reach 3 million tons in 2015-16,” the cotton trade body informed. Pakistan’s production is on track to reach over 2.3 million tons in 2014/15, around 100,000 down from peak production of 2.4 million tons it achieved in 2004-05.
Pakistan’s average yield is expected to set a new record in 2014-15 and is projected to be higher by 14 per cent to 810 kg/ha. However, in response to low prices, cotton acreage in Pakistan is forecast down 6 per cent to 2.7 million tons and production to also descend 11 per cent to 2 million tons in 2015-16. ICAC said in the last two seasons, sales from China’s national reserve were well underway in April with around 1.3 million tons sold at the end of April 2013 and 1.4 million tons at the end of April 2014. Although China announced last spring that it was ending its reserve policy, the Chinese government still holds over 11 million tons and sales were initially anticipated to occur this spring. However, sales have not yet begun and the Chinese government has not announced an official date for sales to start this year.
To bolster sales of cotton from the current season’s crop and potentially sales from reserves, the Chinese government limited import quota in 2015 to the volume required under WTO rules of 894,000 tons. ICAC adds that although Chinese domestic prices have fallen, they are still relatively high compared to international prices and also to polyester prices.
Source : Fibre2fashion
China’s yuan edged down against the dollar on Monday after a private survey showed activity at the country’s factories shrank at the fastest rate in a year. The HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 48.9 in April — the lowest level since April 2014 — from 49.6 in March, as demand faltered and deflationary pressures persisted.
Spot rate
Spot market trade in the yuan opened at 6.2078 per dollar and it was changing hands at 6.2079 at midday, 51 pips weaker than the previous close and 1.49 weaker than the midpoint. The People’s Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.1165 per dollar prior to market open, weaker than the previous fix of 6.1137. The spot rate is allowed to trade with a range 2 per cent above or below the official fixing on any given day. Market participants are expecting more stimulus measures to shore up China’s sluggish economy. UBS expected an interest rate cut in the second quarter and at least another 100 basis points cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratios (RRR) this year.
Offshore yuan
The offshore yuan was trading 0.11 per cent weaker than the onshore spot at 6.2149 per dollar. Offshore one-year non-deliverable forwards contracts (NDFs), considered the best available proxy for forward-looking market expectations of the yuan’s value, traded at 6.2795, or 2.6 per cent weaker than the midpoint. One-year NDFs are settled against the midpoint, not the spot rate, and now that the trading band has been widened to 2 per cent in either direction, corporates are much warier of using the NDF to hedge given the basis risk inherent in them. As a result, the market has lost liquidity in recent years and has frequently proven an unreliable.
Source : The Hindu Business Line
Bangladesh is still the first choice for apparel sourcing after China, but other countries are fast catching up, McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, said in its latest report. The report styled 'Sourcing in a volatile world -- the East Africa opportunity' singled out Ethiopia, billing it as the one to watch out for -- for the first time.
The positive outlook on Sub-Saharan Africa is being spurred by anticipated long-term growth in the region's employable population, which will reach levels similar to those of China by 2035. “It is true that African countries are coming up in the global apparel trade, but it will take at least ten years for them to become our competitors as they are still in the very initial stages,” said Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. At the moment, Sub-Saharan Africa has only a 0.56 percent share, or $2.6 billion, of the entire global volume of clothing exports. Bangladesh is still the first choice for apparel sourcing after China, according to a report of McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm.
“We have an added advantage now as the Accord and Alliance [the two foreign building inspection agencies] have certified more than 98 percent of our factories to be safe after the inspection,” he added. Released last week, the report interviewed the chief purchasing officers (CPOs) of retailers from Europe and the US, whose combined sourcing stands at $70 billion. Asked to rank their most important future sourcing destinations, the respondents identified Bangladesh, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Ethiopia.
Around 74 percent of the CPOs said they are planning to decrease their sourcing value share from China, where the costs of production have spiralled in recent years for shortage of workers. They are looking at East African nations of Ethiopia and Kenya as possible alternatives. Some 40 percent of the buyers indicated that sub-Saharan Africa will become more important to the apparel industry in the next five years, in contrast to 24 percent in the last edition of the survey, which came out in 2013. Citing Africa as the new Asia for the apparel industry, the survey report said the CPOs on average plan to increase their currently very low levels of sourcing from Sub-Saharan Africa nearly tenfold by 2020 -- from 0.3 percent to 2.8 percent.
“There is extensive potential in Sub-Saharan Africa and it remains untapped. Nevertheless, it is essential to analyse the countries in this region at a granular level,” the report said. Scenarios show that even with exponential growth these countries will remain a small part of the global sourcing map in the next five years, but with investments from all the stakeholders involved, the future potential can be realised, the survey also said.
Of those surveyed, 28 percent expect to start sourcing in Ethiopia by 2020, while 8 percent are planning to increase their sourcing share in the African nation. For Kenya, the figures are 13 percent and 5 percent respectively. Approximately one-quarter of the companies surveyed said they have sourced from Sub-Saharan Africa in the past 12 months.
“These two countries now have opportunities to boost their share of the global sourcing market,” said Achim Berg, a partner of McKinsey & Company, in the report. While Ethiopia has benefits on the cost side, such as labour and energy costs, Kenya offers higher levels of productivity. But there are still some hurdles that both countries need to overcome: they must work to ensure social standards and legal security as well as fight corruption, according to Berg. Currently, Bangladesh is the second largest apparel exporter after China. It has a 5 percent share in the more than $450 billion global apparel market. In fiscal 2013-14, the country raked in $24.50 billion from garment exports, according to Export Promotion Bureau.
“China continues to dominate the sourcing market. Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Myanmar generate less than one-third of China's export value,” Berg said. At present, China accounts for 39 percent, or $177 billion, of the global clothing exports a year.“And yet, the trend of seeking out new sourcing destinations continues.” Three-quarters of the CPOs surveyed expressed a desire to shift at least a portion of their production from China to other countries. In 2011 and 2013, McKinsey carried out similar surveys, where leading CPOs tipped Bangladesh to export $42 billion worth of garment products by the end of 2020. But in December last year, the garment manufacturers set out a target to hit $50 billion in exports by 2021.
Source : Global textiles
India and the European Union will likely resume free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations in June, with New Delhi expressing willingness to accommodate the EU’s demands for lower duties on wines, spirits and automobiles, provided Brussels relents to grant India ‘data secure nation’ status besides facilitating easier movement of skilled Indian professionals in Europe.
PM Narendra Modi, official sources said, has asked the commerce ministry – the nodal government body for FTA talks – to take a “positive” stand, instead of the earlier ‘defensive approach’ that had stalled the talks since May 2013. Modi wants the ministry to “gauge the EU’s response” needed for a successful conclusion of the talks (known as India-EU broad-based Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement) as early as possible.
Related EU intensifying efforts for negotiations on India FTAMeanwhile, he tells EU: Wind of change, test it Narendra Modi-led BJP govt looks to address European Union concerns over market access.
The PM is keen to get the latest technology and expertise from EU to ensure that his ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiatives are successful. The FTA talks, to remove barriers to trade in goods and services and investment, began in June 2007 and 15 rounds of negotiations have been held so far. The commerce ministry recently asked the EU to get back with a date in June to resume talks either at the commerce secretary-level or commerce minister-level, the sources said. The ministry has informed the EU of the recent reform measures taken by the government in segments of their interest. This includes easing foreign investment ceilings and norms in insurance, defence, railways, construction and medical devices, besides a banking reforms agenda. It also cited the Centre’s ‘open mind’ to make public procurement transparent and allowing greater access to foreign players as well as getting parliamentary approval for the Public Procurement Bill. But India will push for relaxation of EU’s public procurement laws that automatically ‘favour’ European companies and eliminate competition from Indian firms, with provisions stipulating several years of experience in EU.
On Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), the ministry has said the government will soon release a National IPR Policy to strengthen its IPR laws for ensuring greater protection in turn incentivizing innovation and R&D. In automobile and auto-parts, the ministry, despite opposition from local industry bodies, is willing to reduce duties on certain high-tech components (eg: automotive microchips, which are difficult to make in India) to enable easier transfer of technology and at the same time protecting the components that can easily be made in India, the sources said. The EU, of course, wants duties on automobiles to be eliminated gradually from the current levels of 80-130 per cent.
Breakthrough possible: 15 rounds
Source : Indian Express
