FW
Century Textiles & Industries saw a multifold jump in its net profit at Rs 120.24 crores for the first quarter ended June 30.
The company posted a net profit of Rs 6.46 crores during the same period the previous fiscal.
Total income during the quarter under review stood at Rs 2,342.76 crores as against Rs 2,320.34 crores in the year-ago period.
The company recognised an income of Rs 28.46 crores on account of revision in estimates of future cash flows based on actual realisation of government grants.
Total expenses during the period were Rs 2,159.46 crores compared to Rs 2,308.01 crores a year ago, down 6.43 per cent.
Mumbai-based Century Textiles and Industries is active in textiles, viscose filament yarns, cement, and pulp and paper.
In the textile business, Century has two revenue streams: cotton fabric and denim units, The company has a vertically integrated plant at Bharuch for manufacturing cotton fabrics.
The cotton division of Century is one of the oldest players in India and manufactures a wide range of premium textiles and supplies to many international players, including Royale Linen, Ralph Lauren, DKNY, Belk and US Polo.
Century Textiles’ financial metrics have declined, mainly due to its high debt. Interest costs have corroded its profit after tax. Besides, due to falling demand and pressure on selling prices of cement, the financial performance of cement units has also suffered.
Bangladesh is pursuing an export-oriented industrialization with its key export sectors including textiles, shipbuilding, fish and seafood, jute and leather goods.
In 2016 Bangladesh’s exports grew at 7.1 per cent, driven largely by exports of readymade garment products.
However last fiscal Bangladesh’s export growth hit a 15-year low. Export earnings fell short of 5.85 per cent from the target.
The aim is to raise export earnings to 60 billion dollars by 2021.
Products will be exported at competitive prices. Steps will be taken to upgrade testing facilities to global standards. Efforts will be made to encourage the use of state-of-the-art, appropriate and environment- friendly technology, produce high value added exportable products and improve designs of products.
The export policy will remain in force till June 30, 2018. The policy will be applicable in all places in Bangladesh except export processing zones.
Updated information will be disseminated to exporters on export markets. They will be provided technology to facilitate diversification of exports. Workers’ rights will be given importance including workplace safety. Financial incentives will be provided to exporters including export credit at comparatively lower interest rates.
Initiatives will be taken for getting duty-free market access to developed and developing countries, including the United States.
Bangladesh has reduced income tax at source on export earnings to 0.70 per cent from the existing one per cent for the current fiscal year 2017-18. Export tax, has been lowered for all sectors except jute and jute goods with retrospective effect from July 1. Exporters will enjoy the benefit till June 30, 2018.
The benefit will be applicable for export of knitwear, woven garments, terry towels, cartons and accessories of garments industry, frozen foods, vegetables, leather goods, packed foods and any other goods and the banks will deduct the tax at the time of crediting the export proceeds to the account of the exporter.
The source tax will be considered as advance tax as well as the minimum income tax on export proceeds. Exporters would have to pay additional income tax if they show additional income from the export sector in the income tax returns. There has also been a reduction in corporate income tax for knitwear and woven garment manufacturers/ exporters to 12 per cent for the current fiscal year down from 20 per cent earlier. The rate of corporate tax, however, was reduced to 10 per cent for green factories which will have internationally recognised green building certification.
In an attempt to enhance exports to Japan, Textiles Committee under MoT is working hand in hand with experts from Japan Textile Products Quality and Technology Centre (QTEC). The Indian government year signed a MoU with QTEC through the Textiles Committee aimed at jointly establishing and encouraging quality compliance in the industry. The MoU is slated to bring in a new era in international trade of textile and clothing from India to Japan. Towards this goal, Textiles Committee recently organised an industry capacity building programme on quality compliance of Indian textiles and clothing for Japanese market in nine cities across India. Leading textile industry and trade personnel took part in the program. Out of India’s total textile and apparel exports of nearly $40 billion, only $0.5 billion (or less) goes to Japan, which imports nearly $35 billion worth textile apparel annually.
Towards a greater bilateral tie-up
At the event, Subrata Gupta, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, said Japan is one of India’s closest strategic and business partner, so we need immediate corrective action to increase textile and apparel exports to the country. Of the total apparel imports by Japan, only 1.2 per cent is from India. India should push it to at least 5 per cent in the next three years. Our quality is not poor, and technically too India is superior to Bangladesh and Vietnam, yet export is less.
Vijay Mathur, Additional General Secretary, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), gave the example of Gurgaon-based Neetee Clothing, which has done few improvements in its working, like creating worker manual, visual display of machine working etc, and now the company is doing good business with Japanese brand Muji. Other Indian exporters too should come forward. Apparel exporters willing to work with good Japanese buyers, should have their own environment policies and also ask workers about their future aspirations from their job.
Japan revising labelling norms
From April 1, 2017, Consumer Affairs Agency of the Japan has announced the partial revision of quality labelling system for textile and apparel products. Under this garment care symbols have been increased to 41 in terms of numerical digits, and some new care tags such as washing care labelling for mufflers, scarves and shawls have been added, while fibre composition of interlining for trousers made mandatory.
Apart from this, care symbols will be attached according to JIS L0001-2014 (care labelling code using symbols), and fibre name and percentage will be required to be mentioned as per the ‘Textile Goods Quality Labelling Regulation’. Manufacturers will also have to provide the expanded information to consumers on method of caring for the product. Also, all new labels should be permanently attached to the textile products, either printed directly on the product or sewn. The label must be visible, indelible and easily accessible to the consumer.
Knowledge sharing exercise
Toshiki Tasaka, Director, Overseas Coordination Department of QTEC; and Kei Funaki, ASEAN and South Asia Regional Manager, Overseas Coordination Department, QTEC deliberated in depth on: ‘Difference of quality requirements between Western buyers; ‘Quality and Compliance in Japan and JIS Overview’; and ‘The Banned Substance in Japanese Market’. The Japanese delegates also discussed their market requirements in terms of quality, make-up, benchmarking tools, Japanese industrial standards and various other compliances.
K K Agarwal, Textile Sourcing System/Relio Marketing Company, Delhi, highlighted there are few successful Japanese trading companies and they are working effectively among machine manufacturers. Being a government and an independent organization, the Textiles Committee should take similar responsibility and work as an Indian trading company with focus on Japan. It will help the industry from testing to overall sourcing as every exporter does not have capabilities, resources etc, to explore Japan. Through this, Japanese companies will have confidence to work with new companies in India.
In 2016-17, Pakistan imported over 78,000 tons of yarn compared to 51,000 tons during the previous financial year. From July 2016 to March 2017, total yarn imports were 61,000 tons; nearly 87 per cent of this import was made under Duties and Tax Remission for Export.
Presently around 35 per cent importers and over 80 per cent exporters are provided with the facility of green channel, which results in automatic clearance consignments at both import and export stages. In the first nine months of the current financial year, imports under the exemption schemes stood at 53,303 tons.
Much of Pakistan’s yarn imports come from China and India. Pakistan has imposed a regulatory duty on cotton yarn imports to protect the local industry. The idea is this will protect the rights of value-added exporters who could utilise the facility of duty and tax remission on exports. This policy has proved successful and garment exports registered a five per cent increase.
The industry wants the four per cent customs duty and five per cent sales tax on the import of cotton to be removed. This will enable the spinning industry to function properly and a free trade in cotton will serve the interests of all segments of the textile chain while protecting the interests of growers.
The US may reinstate GSP for Bangladesh this year. The trade privilege was suspended in June 2013 for poor labor rights and weak workplace safety. Since then, Bangladesh says it has made a lot of progress in improvement of workplace safety and labor rights.
The US too has expressed appreciation for the way Bangladesh has transformed its economy and diversified its exports -- from jute to textiles and heavy industry fields like ship building. After the suspension of the Generalised Systems of Preferences, Bangladesh signed up for a 16-point action plan to get it back. Bangladesh's main export item to the US, apparel, is excluded from GSP. Bangladesh's apparel exports are subjected to a 15.62 per cent duty upon entry to the US whereas the duty for other countries is much lower.
US importers paid nearly five billion dollars as duty to customs for their apparel imports from Bangladesh over the last five years. Bangladesh exported goods worth 23 million dollars under GSP in 2013, when the trade privilege was suspended. Bangladesh's exports to the US have doubled in the last 10 years. The US is hopeful Bangladesh will amend labor laws and export processing zone laws to bring these to international standards in keeping with the country's commitment at the International Labor Conference.
Mumbai-based textiles maker Welspun India reported a 38.39 per cent decline in consolidated net profit for the June quarter. Total income during the quarter was down 3.65 per cent. Total expenses of the company during the quarter were up 3.92 per cent.
Welspun India is part of the Welspun Group and is also gaining momentum in new channels such as hospitality and e-commerce. Welspun wants to be a $2 billion, debt-free company by 2020. Setting up Wel-Track, which traces cotton from its source to the point-of-sale, the company is bringing in traceability to the fore with plans to chart the brick-and-mortar route ahead.
The US continues to be a key market for Welspun which contributes around 65 per cent to its business, with 25 to 30 per cent coming in from the rest of the world, and five per cent from India.
In smart textiles, Welspun’s new initiative in home décor features augmented reality-infused duvet covers and rugs for children. Called Spin Tales, it has launched in Toys R Us in the US and on Amazon. It has also recently launched in Lifestyle stores in India and will be followed by Hamleys and QBC in the US.
On the eve of third National Handloom Day textiles minister Smriti Irani, inaugurated a camp for weavers MUDRA and Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata Schemes at Bijoynagar in Assam. She announced weavers will henceforth be able to avail a wide array of government services from Weavers’ Service Centres (WSCs).
Besides providing technical assistance, the WSCs will serve as a one-stop centre for weavers, providing various services, including banking, passport, insurance, PAN card, voter ID and AADHAAR. Weavers will also be able to pay their electricity bills and undertake online courses at WSCs. There are 28 WSCs under the Office of Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, functioning across the country. Weavers visit these WSCs frequently, to avail technical assistance.
The PM Jan Dhan Yojana has eliminated middlemen and enabled transfer of public money directly to the bank account of deserving citizens. The minister expressed her satisfaction that more than 250 women applied for MUDRA loans in just an hour after the camp started functioning. She informed the 600-odd woman weavers present, that loans ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh can be availed under MUDRA Yojana with no requirement for any security whatsoever.
MUDRA loan sanction letters were distributed to 50 weavers on the occasion, and appealed to all weavers to apply for the loan and improve their incomes. The Minister highlighted handloom weavers in Sambalpur, Odisha, were able to improve their earnings by more than 60 per cent within three months of availing MUDRA loan.
The US will investigate whether China’s intellectual property policies constitute unfair trade practices. That would pave the way for the US to impose sanctions on Chinese exporters or to further restrict transfer of advanced technology to Chinese firms. American business groups want their country to take a tougher trade line with China. They feel not much attention has been given to areas like intellectual property.
Discontent has intensified as China’s economy continued to expand and its computer and software sectors become bigger competitors internationally. Western firms fear China will use the regulations to bar foreign investments in areas that China targets for investment, including semiconductors, advanced machine tools and artificial intelligence.
China has a law requiring foreign companies to place data centers in China, find Chinese partners and transfer technology to the joint ventures. China says she is protecting herself from efforts by western intelligence services to tap into Chinese computer systems. But foreign businesses say this amount to surrendering their brand and operating control in order to do business.
However, US companies that want to keep their most advanced technology from Chinese hands would probably back a move to be tough on China while others that want to license technology to Chinese firms could find any such measures a hindrance.
In 2016, sales of organic fibers in the United States were up 9.2 per cent from the previous year. Sales of non-food organic products rose by nine per cent. Organic fibers, supplements and personal care products accounted for the bulk of sales. The organic fiber and textiles category continues to rank as the largest non-food organic category in the US market. Organic fiber sales accounted for almost 40 per cent of the total organic non-food sales in 2016.
There was an increase in the use of organic products in apparels, bedrooms and bathrooms of US consumers. Adequate supplies of organic textiles are a continuing challenge in the organic fiber market. However, US organic cotton farmers produced a record 17,000 plus bales in 2016, to help alleviate supply concerns. There are two main categories of fibers: natural fibers, which can be from plant or animal sources, and manmade fibers, also referred as synthetic or artificial fibers.
Organic cotton is now available in colorful new designs using ecosafe dyes and even color grown cotton. From colorful and whimsical baby crib sets to trendy new styles, organic cotton can be very fashionable. Farmers growing organic fiber follow standards that nurture the soil or animal from which it comes and do not use toxic insecticides, herbicides or fungicides.
