The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 26 NOV, 2020

 

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

Govt to consider two proposals for setting up free trade and warehousing zones on Nov 27

NDR Infrastructure Pvt Ltd has proposed to set up an FTWZ in Raigad, Maharashtra, over an area of 50.98 hectares (125.96 acres), with a total proposed investment of Rs 700.81 crore. According to the memorandum, the developer has already procured 117.6 acres of land and for the remaining 8.36 acres they have done agreements for sale.

The government on November 27 will consider two new proposals for setting up free trade and warehousing zones (FTWZs) in Maharashtra. The proposals will be taken up for consideration by the highest decision making body for SEZ (special economic zones) Board of Approval (BoA) in its meeting on November 27, according to an office memorandum of the department of commerce.

NDR Infrastructure Pvt Ltd has proposed to set up an FTWZ in Raigad, Maharashtra, over an area of 50.98 hectares (125.96 acres), with a total proposed investment of Rs 700.81 crore. According to the memorandum, the developer has already procured 117.6 acres of land and for the remaining 8.36 acres they have done agreements for sale.

Similarly, Karanja Terminal & Logistics Pvt Ltd too has sought in-principle approval for setting up of an FTWZ in Raigad, Maharashtra over an area of 50 hectares, with a total proposed investment of Rs 528 crore.

The objective of these zones is to create trade-related infrastructure to facilitate the import and export of goods and services with freedom to carry out trade transactions in free currency. Further the BoA would also consider five proposals seeking more time to execute their SEZ projects.

SEZs are exports hubs which contribute to about 20 per cent to the country’s total outbound shipments. The commerce ministry is taking steps to revive investors interest in these zones. Exports from such zones grew by about 14 per cent in 2019-20 to Rs 7.97 lakh crore.

SOURCE: The Financial Express

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PM suggests state-specific export plan; reviews projects worth Rs 1.41 trn

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked states to develop a state-specific export strategy and reviewed development projects worth Rs 1.41 lakh crore spread across 10 states and union territories.

Reforms are beneficial only when one performs, and this is the way forward to transform the country, Modi said as he chaired the meeting of PRAGATI -- an ICT-based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation involving central and state governments.

In the PRAGATI meeting, multiple projects, grievances and programmes were reviewed, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

In the previous 32 such meetings, a total of 275 projects worth Rs 12.5 lakh crore have been reviewed, along with 47 programmes/schemes and grievances across 17 sectors that were taken up.

The projects, taken up at the 33rd such PRAGATI meeting on Wednesday, were of the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, and the Power Ministry, the statement said.

These projects, with a total cost of Rs 1.41 lakh crore, were related to 10 states and union territories -- Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

The Prime Minister asked the concerned secretaries of the Union government and chief secretaries of the state governments to ensure that they complete the work before time, the PMO said.

During the meeting, grievances related to COVID-19 and to the PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) were taken up, it said.

The PM SVANidhi, agriculture reforms and development of districts as export hubs were also reviewed.

Prime Minister Modi also asked the states to develop a State Export Strategy, according to the PMO.

The prime minister emphasised on the importance of grievance redressal, and said that focus should not only be on quantity of such redressals, but also on quality.

SOURCE: The Business Standard 

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Indian economy to escape recession early next year on vaccine hopes - Reuters poll

India’s economy is expected to recover early next year from recession, but at a modest pace, according to a majority of economists in a Reuters poll who said their upgraded growth predictions were based on the progress of COVID-19 vaccines.

The recent vaccine news has boosted Indian stocks to repeated record highs and fueled hopes of a pick-up in economic activity. That, coupled with festive-led demand, has lifted optimism amongst economists over the past month.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents, 26 of 40, to an additional question said their growth views - which have been raised from a month ago - were based on that vaccine progress.

“We expect growth recovery to strengthen...helped by continued normalisation in economic activity as incoming COVID-19 data remain benign and do not require large-scale shut-downs,” said Upasana Chachra, chief India economist at Morgan Stanley.

“We also assume vaccine availability in Q1 2021 would help reduce the tail risks and accelerate the pace of opening up of the economy.”

The Nov. 18-25 poll of nearly 50 economists showed the economy would contract in the July-Sept and Oct-Dec quarters by 8.8% and 3%, respectively, but less than the -10.4% and -5% predicted last month.

The median expectation for the July-Sept quarter was an upgrade for the first time since polling began for the period in April 2019.

While the economy was expected to return to growth, expanding 0.5% in the Jan-March quarter and come out of recession, the consensus of -8.7% for the current fiscal year would still mark the first full year of contraction in four decades.

The economy was then forecast to expand 9% and 5.8% in the next fiscal year and 2022/23, respectively, but it was not expected to return to pre-COVID-19 levels any time soon.

That is in stark contrast to stock market strategists polled by Reuters this week, who overwhelmingly expect company earnings to recover within the next year

But the recovery still faces several downside risks, including the availability and the distribution of vaccines to over 1.3 billion people in the country.

A resurgence in coronavirus cases in some parts of the country has led to renewed lockdowns, which is likely to further damage the ongoing supply-side disruptions such as transport, increasing the risk of high inflation for a prolonged period.

Indeed, retail inflation, which has remained above 4% - the middle-point of the Reserve Bank of India’s target range of 2%-6% - for more than a year, was expected to average above the upper-end of that target this fiscal year.

Asked how long the current trend of low growth and high inflation would last, 36 of 41 economists said over three months, including 14 who said six months to a year.

That gives little room for the central bank to ease and the poll showed economists have again pushed the timing of the next rate cut to the Apr-June quarter, from Jan-March predicted in the previous two surveys and Oct-Dec in the August poll.

While the consensus showed the repo rate would be lowered by 25 basis points to 3.75% in Apr-June, 24 of 38 economists with a view said the central bank should not cut rates.

“Recovery is faster than expected and inflation has been elevated for longer than expected. While both growth and inflation could ease somewhat in coming months, there is no space for the RBI to increase stimulus,” said Prithviraj Srinivas, chief economist at Axis Capital.

SOURCE: Reuters

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Indian refiners' October oil processing highest since March

Crude oil processed by Indian refiners rose to its highest in seven months in October as fuel demand picked up although throughput remained lower than a year earlier, hurt by the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on industrial and transport activity.

Crude oil throughput in October dropped 16.1% from a year earlier to 4.35 million barrels per day (18.39 million tonnes), but was the highest since March when the country went into a nationwide lockdown, provisional data issued by the government showed on Wednesday.

India's crude oil throughput hits 7-month peak

Pointing to a recovery in economic activity, India’s fuel consumption registered its first year-on-year increase since February last month, data showed earlier.

Daily coronavirus cases in the country have declined steadily since having peaked in September, although it remains the second-highest number of cases in the world, after the United States.

Crude oil throughput in October rose 0.5% from September’s 4.33 million barrels per day (17.71 million tonnes).

Indian refiners operated at an average rate of 86.7%, highest March, compared to 86.2% in September, data showed.

Refinery runs edge up as fuel demand crawls back

A major maintenance shutdown at Nayara Energy’s 400,000 bpd Vadinar refinery pulled down the nation’s average refinery run rates. Nayara’s plant operated at 33% capacity last month, the data showed.

The country’s largest refiner, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) operated its directly owned plants at 95.64% capacity, the data showed.

Reliance, owner of the world’s biggest refining complex, operated its plants at 94.33% capacity.

Crude oil production fell by 6.2% to 2.57 million tonnes (608,000 barrels per day), the monthly report showed.

SOURCE: Reuters

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INTERNATIONAL

Autoneum unveils Relive-1 carpet made with recycled PET

Autoneum has unveiled Relive-1, an innovative tufted carpet that matches the highest standards of sustainable mobility. The tufting technology for the compact to premium class, which has been awarded the “Autoneum Pure” label for its environmental friendliness, is also more durable than that common in these vehicle segments and provides easy cleanability.

Global demand for innovative cars of the future and sustainable forms of mobility is rising. Accordingly, automobile manufacturers and suppliers are increasingly focusing their vehicle development activities on resource-saving lightweight components and production processes. In addition, the look and feel of the passenger cabin is a decisive factor in the purchasing decision, as in the future the car will be used increasingly for work and recreation. Here, carpet systems play a key role in terms of quality perception because of their size.

With Relive-1, Autoneum provides a technology for automotive carpets that not only scores with its aesthetic appearance, but also has an exceptional environmental performance. Among other things, carpets made of Relive-1 feature a particularly sustainable use of raw materials. For example, only recycled PET bottles are used to manufacture the carpet yarns. Autoneum reuses this raw material, thus conserving natural resources and reducing plastic waste – while at the same time ensuring that new, high-quality carpet systems for future vehicle generations can be produced cost-effectively from used PET bottles. Moreover, Relive-1 is an important step towards mono-material constructions and consequently, zero waste tufted carpet production.

Relive-1 stands for the above-average product quality. Compared to standard carpets in compact to large class vehicles, Relive-1 carpets are more robust thanks to significantly higher abrasion resistance, and easy to clean thanks to the vertical alignment of the filaments and the water repellency of polyester. As a result, small particles such as wood splinters, dust or pebbles as well as liquids can be removed easily with no residual traces, which is a key benefit for recreational vehicles like SUVs. For premium class vehicles, the union of outstanding performance and sustainability defines nowadays the new luxury.

Source: Fibre2Fashion News Desk

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Italian textile machinery inaugurated a technology training center in Pakistan

Recently Italian Textile Machinery Association, (ACIMIT) inaugurated an Italy-Pakistan Textile Technology Center (IPTTC) in Faisalabad, Pakistan at the National Textile University (NTU). The training center, which is the first of its kind for Italian textile machinery technology in Pakistan, was inaugurated by the Italian Ambassador to Pakistan, Andreas Ferrarese, and by Rizwan Shafi, CEO of Crescent Bahuman Limited.

Intervening at the ceremony in a video conference call from Italy was Alessandro Zucchi, the President of ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, as a partner in the project together with the PISIE (International Polytechnic for Industrial and Economic Development).

Zucchi remarked that, “With the creation of the Italy-Pakistan Textile Technology Center, ACIMIT wishes to strengthen previously existing fruitful relations with the Pakistani textile industry”

Financed by the Italian Government, the project intends to support the development of the local textile industry, by equipping the technology center with Italian machinery that will allow the local denim industry to improve the quality of its products, through ongoing research and innovation.

The machines installed were supplied by the following companies: Brongo, Tonello and Triveneta Grandi Impianti.

In 2019, the Pakistani market was the sixth-largest destination for Italian exports (totaling 80 million euros), and in the first half of 2020, Pakistan was the third foreign market for Italian machinery manufacturers in the sector, just behind Turkey and China.

“I’m certain this initiative will reap benefits in terms of image, not just for the Italian manufacturers that have supplied the machinery, but for the entire Italian sector as well”, commented ACIMIT’s president.

Among the activities that ACIMIT and the Italian Trade Agency will develop in the upcoming future as a follow-up to the technology, initiative are the realization of seminars for students, professors and representatives of local manufacturers, as well as the training of local personnel by the Italian companies that supplied the center with its machinery, with the participation of professors, students and local operators in missions to our Country helping them become better acquainted with Italian technology.

SOURCE: Textile Today

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BD apparel exporters resist feeder vessel fee rise

Bangladesh’s readymade garment exporters have opposed the charge increase by feeder vessel operators for outbound and inbound shipments.

The feeder vessel operators increased rent for containers to and from Chattogram in the name of emergency cost recovery surcharge (ECRS) amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association claimed that the fee increase would impact the export competitiveness badly.

The BGMEA on November 19 in a letter to the Chattogram Port Authority termed the ECRS illogical and unacceptable and the trade body demanded withdrawing the surcharge.

The letter signed by the BGMEA first Vice-President Mohammed Abdus Salam said that the feeder vessel operators working in Chattogram-Colombo-Singapore and Port Klang routes had imposed $75 for each goods-laden container and $37.50 for each empty one as the ECRS became effective on November 15.

Transworld Feeders, one of the leading container feeder service providers, on November 4 informed its customers that the ECRS $75 for each loaded container and $37.50 for each empty one would be charged from November 16 on its Chattogram-Colombo-Chattogram route.

$70 for each loaded container and $35 for each empty one would be charged on its Chattogram-Singapore-Port Klang route from November 20, it also said.

Feeder service providers said that they had been forced to impose ECRS as most of the vessels were seeing a berthing delay of over 48 hours in Colombo and nearly 36 hours in Singapore due to congestion.

Apparel exporters said that the surcharge would hit hurt the export sector as they were struggling to recover their business from the COVID-19 outbreak.

The BGMEA requested authorities concerned to stop the additional charge collection by the feeder vessel operators saying that exporters would lose their competitiveness on the global market due to the charged amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Bangladesh has no deep-sea port and depends on feeder vessels to transport goods to and from transshipment ports located in Singapore, Colombo and Port Klang.

SOURCE: Textile Today

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Hygienix 2020: A great time to be in nonwovens?

The Alliance to End Plastics Waste, involving more than 50 major companies from across the plastics supply chain, has pledged to invest US$2 billion in fighting the problem of ocean waste.

Meanwhile, as a result of extremely low oil prices and continued demand from the developing world, the oil industry plans to invest US$400 billion in the supply chain for new plastics in the next five years.

This was one of the surprising revelations from a joint presentation by Colin and Pricie Hanna, of Price Hanna Consultants, at INDA’s Hygienix absorbent hygiene products (AHPs) conference held virtually from November 17-19th.

The changing nature of consumption in 2020, has if anything, only compounded the problem of plastic waste, Colin Hanna observed.

“People stayed at home and created more of this waste,” he said. “It’s not only about the huge amount of single-use face masks and PPE that have been consumed, but in shopping from home and take-out meals which have generated more demand for plastic packaging and single-use disposable products.”

“This year has been a better year for carbon emissions, but certainly a worse year for plastics in the oceans,” added Pricie Hanna.

Costly

In April, for example greenhouse gas emissions fell globally by 17% and an overall fall for the year is expected to be recorded of between 5-8%.

In real terms, Bill Gates observed in August, a fall of 8% means the equivalent of around 47 billion tons of carbon, instead of 51 billion being released into the atmosphere.”

“That’s a meaningful reduction, and we would be in great shape if we could continue that rate of decrease every year,” Gates said.

Price Hanna begs to differ.

“This year demonstrated exactly how not to do it,” said Colin Hanna. “The impact on air quality was immediate and striking, but the cost was phenomenal. The benchmark used by economists for the cost of climate change has been put at $100 per ton of greenhouse gas emissions. Estimates for the cost of the emissions reductions in the US and EU economies in 2020 come in at around $3,000-5,000 per ton.”

He also quoted a study by scientists funded by Pew Trusts, and published in Science magazine, which outlined a plan for a combination of significantly-funded but feasible interventions needed for a system-wide solution to the twin issues of virgin plastic production and of plastic in the oceans,

It would involve substantially improving both collection and landfill technologies, along with both plastic recycling, reduction and substitution measures.

The study calculated that if no action is taken, total plastics production will climb from 219 million tons in 2016 to 435 million tons by 2040 – an increase of 99%.

Aquatic pollution would meanwhile rise by 164% from 11 million tons in 2016 to 29 million tons by 2040.

Following the study’s recommendations, with all three suggested interventions adequately funded and implemented, it would be possible to lower an increase in virgin plastics production from 219 million tons in 2016 to 228 million tons in 2040, growth of just 4%. Further, the 11 million tons of plastic in the ocean in 2016 could be reduced to 5.3 million tons, a decrease of 52%.

Risks

“For the first time this year, the top five risks listed in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report related to the environment and climate-linked issues and as far as the absorbent hygiene industry is concerned, reducing the consumption of plastics should be the priority,” Colin Hanna concluded. “There needs to be significant investment in waste handling in Asia where most plastic production takes place and where some of the biggest rivers are sources for plastic getting into the oceans, but the major demand for plastics is still coming from the West, so every angle possible needs to be considered.”

In examining the resiliency of the AHP supply chains during 2020, Pricie Hanna also observed that new spunbonded and SMS nonwoven capacity installed for medical PPE in 2020 and 2021 may cause overcapacity in 2022, which would lead to beneficial pricing for AHP manufacturers.

With the latest figure for investments in planned nonwovens production in North America, Brad Kalil, INDA’s director of market intelligence and economic insights, confirmed the capacity hikes.

A total of 57 new lines will come on-stream in 2020 and 2021, of which 38 are meltblown lines initiated in response to the shortages for face masks and PPE production.

Combined, the new lines will add some 205,000 tons of annual new capacity, with five spunbond/spunmelt lines primarily for the AHPs adding 50,000 tons. The 38 meltblown lines will further add 39,000 tons annually, for face mask filters.

“Production growth is exceeding capacity growth at the moment, so this really is a great time to be in the nonwovens business,” Kalil said.

SOURCE: https://www.nonwovensnews.com/

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Oil prices keep rising after eight-month high on demand optimism

Oil kept rising after closing at a eight-month high on increasing optimism that recent Covid-19 vaccine breakthroughs will lead to a swift recovery in global energy demand next year.

Futures in New York climbed around 1 per cent to trade above $45 a barrel as a broader financial markets rally continued. Global benchmark Brent could reach $60 a barrel by the summer of 2021 as the easing of travel restrictions boosts demand for fossil fuels, according to Bank of America.

In another positive sign for consumption, Premier Li Keqiang said China, the world’s biggest oil importer, will likely return to a more “proper” range of economic development in 2021. China and Japan also agreed to restart some two-way travel by the end of November. Crude surged 4.3 per cent on Tuesday after the triggering of a formal transition process to US President-elect Joe Biden.

Oil’s value has increased by more than a quarter this month amid positive results for three Covid-19 vaccines. It’s reclaimed heights not seen since the pandemic devastated global demand in March even as a resurgent virus prompted more lockdown measures. Expectations that OPEC and its allies will delay an increase in production planned for January have also aided the rally.

The investor mood has been lifted by the developments around vaccines and the likely extension of the Opec+ output cuts, said Daniel Hynes, a senior commodity strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group. “The market is fairly well-priced and should continue gains in the coming days.”

Goldman Sachs Group said in a note that it expects Opec+ to delay its planned 2 million barrel a day output ramp-up by three months.

It forecast Brent would average $47 a barrel next quarter if this happens.

SOURCE: The Business Standard 

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US economy surges by record 33.1% in Q3

The US economy rebounded at a record pace of 33.1% in the July-September quarter, unchanged from the first estimate a month ago. But resurgence in the coronavirus is expected to slow growth sharply in the current quarter with some economists even raising the spectre of a double-dip recession. The overall increase in the gross domestic product, the country’s total output of goods and services, remained the same as its first estimate, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, although some components were revised.

Bigger gains in business investment, housing and exports were offset by downward revisions to state and local government spending, business inventories and consumer spending. The 33.1% gain was the largest quarterly gain on records going back to 1947 and surpassed the old mark of a 16.7% surge in 1950.

Still even with the big increase, the economy has not gained back all the output that was lost in the first six months of the year the output lost in the first six months of the year when GDP fell at an annual rate of 5% in the first quarter and suffered a record-shattering drop of 31.4% in the second quarter when the pandemic shut down much of the economy and triggered millions of layoffs. Economists are concerned that growth has slowed sharply in the current October-December and some fear that GDP could dip back into negative territory in the first three months of next year.

SOURCE: The Financial Express

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