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Sighting decline in world cotton consumption and the demand for higher Minimum Support Price for cotton from some states, the Indian government is planning to introduce Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for the cotton farmers.
Speaking at the inauguration of the 74th Plenary of the International Cotton Advisory Committee in Mumbai, Union Minister of State for Textiles, Santosh Kumar Gangwar said that the Centre has kept the interest of cotton growers in mind and increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for long staple cotton to Rs 4,100 for the 2015-16 marketing season.
A pilot project under the Direct Payment Deficiency System (DPDS) for paying MSP guarantee for the cotton farmers has already been initiated at Hinganghat in Maharashtra, under which the farmers will directly get the amount which is the difference between the MSP and the market price, when the market price falls below the MSP. For availing of the benefit, farmers would have to present proof of cotton sold at Agriculture Produce Market Committee yards and ownership document, yield estimation and other details. If the pilot is successful, the DPDS would then be extended to all cotton growing regions.
Texmin.nic.in
The $41-billion Aditya Birla Group aims to scale up and expand the LIVA Accredited Partners Forum (LAPF) initiative to improve the textile value chain by reaching out to more players across India including those from the rural hubs and small towns.
“This is an attempt to bring all textile stakeholders on a single platform and promote innovation and quality, and make India the world’s leading cloth manufacturing hub in line with the Make in India strategy. India has the potential and can compete with any country including China,” said Prakash Nedungadi, President, Consumer Insights and Brand Development, Aditya Birla Group, adding, “This initiative is not just limited to cities, but it will also include small towns and rural players. He was speaking at a stakeholders’ conclave held on December 4, 2015 in Coimbatore. The summit, involving over 200 leading textile players mainly from the Southern States was held as part of the company’s efforts to support design development, technical skills, marketing and buyer link support, under LAPF initiative.
Birla Cellulose –the pulp and fibre manufacturing division of Grasim –has tied up with Mumbai-based Netcarrots to implement a customer relationship marketing programme for the stakeholders. LAPF members include spinners, weavers, knitters and fabricators, with major participation from textile hubs such as Tirupur, Erode, Ludhiana, New Delhi, Kolkata, Surat and Bhiwandi, among others. The LAPF programme is linked to Birla Cellulose’s fibre brand LIVA which was launched in March this year in line with the group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla’s vision of establishing connect with the end consumer.
The stakeholders also explained how they were benefiting from the collaboration with Aditya Birla Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of viscose staple fibre (VSF). The company has also tied up with Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA) to undertake quality improvement programs and stringent audits for the partners. The partners are shortlisted for the programme after they comply with eight stringent parameters. After the selection, the company will equip them with five major services, including design and development, technical services, vendor management, marketing and buyer link support and market intellegence. Leading brands in the country such as Pantaloons, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, People, Global Desi, Lifestyle, Melange, Shoppers Stop, Reliance trends, Wills Lifestyle, Desi Belle Chemistry, 109F, Fusion Beats, FBB, Etnicity and Max already use LIVA branded fabric.
www.adityabirla.com
Latest data suggests that India’s overall textile and garment exports including jute, coir, handicrafts and handlooms will not only miss the initial official growth target of 15 per cent for 2014-15 but fall short of the 5 per cent expansion rate. The government had initially set the export target at $45 billion for 2014-15, compared with the actual exports of $39.3 billion in the previous fiscal.
The latest official data points out that the overall textile and garment exports has grown by just 1.7 per cent touching $35.29 billion during the April-February period, compared with $34.72 billion a year before, while imports have risen by 14.2 per cent during the period. Exports of fibres declined over 36 per cent up to February last fiscal, while some other textile items witnessing just a 0.4 per cent rise, owing to low demand from China. Exports of raw cotton, including waste, dropped almost 47 per cent during the April-February period from a year before. The only major growth se4gment has been the garment exports, witnessing a 13.4 per cent rise between April and February from a year earlier.
Industry experts such as DK Nair, the secretary-general of the Confederation of the Indian Textile Industry suggest that Indian exporters should explore opportunities in countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia, who import textile items in large volumes for converting them into finished goods.
Imports of textiles increased to $5.57 billion between April and February, compared with $4.87 billion a year before. Declining textile export also impacted industrial production data. According to the index of industrial production data, the textile segment grew just 2.4 per cent from the April-February period from a year before.
www.citiindia.com
G-III Apparel Group announcing its operating results for the third quarter of fiscal 2016 ended October 31, 2015 said that net sales increased by 12 per cent to $910 million from $812 million in the year-ago period.
The company's net income for the third quarter increased to $87.2 million, or $1.87 per diluted share, from $80.6 million, or $1.76 per diluted share, in the prior year's comparable period. On an adjusted basis, excluding items resulting in other income equal to $0.02, per share in the quarter ended October 31, 2015 and $0.22 per share in the quarter ended October 31, 2014, non-GAAP net income per diluted share for the third quarter increased to$1.85 from $1.54 in the prior year's third quarter.
Commenting on the results, Morris Goldfarb, G-III's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, said, "We are pleased to report a strong third quarter. Our organic sales and profit increase clearly differentiate us as a leader in our industry. We achieved this performance in a challenging market environment. Although outerwear is off to a slow start at retail, our dress, sportswear and handbag businesses performed well in the quarter."
The company also revised its prior guidance for the full fiscal year ending January 31, 2016. It is continuing to forecast net sales of approximately $2.40 billion. It now expects net income to be between $124 million and $131 million, or a range between $2.67 and $2.82 per diluted share, compared to its previous guidance of net income between $129 million and $134 million, or a range between $2.78 and $2.88 per diluted share, and to net income of $110.4 million, or $2.48 per diluted share in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015.
The company is now projecting adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2016 to increase between 22 per cent and 28 per cent to between approximately $227 million and $238 million compared to adjusted EBITDA of $186.6 million in fiscal 2015 and from its previous guidance of adjusted EBITDA of between approximately$237 million and $245 million.
www.g-iii.com
Greg Constable, one of the world's most renowned cotton scientists, has been named ‘2015 Researcher of the Year’ by the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).
The announcement was made during the inaugural session of ICAC's 74th Plenary Meeting and recognised Constable for the advancements he has made in cotton breeding and crop management systems. His knowledge of cotton physiology has been instrumental in the development of many new cotton varieties, several of which are used extensively in cotton-producing countries around the world.
“Around the world, scientists have made great strides in reducing cotton's environmental footprint, which has been cut in half over the last 20 years or so," Constable said, adding, “I believe that reductions in the usage of pesticides and herbicides, combined with the major gains we've made in water use efficiency, have brought us to the point where cotton has a smaller impact on the environment than synthetic fibres like polyester do.
" Constable has spent much of his 46-years career working for The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), one of Australia's primary scientific research organisations, and has achieved an extensive list of accomplishments during that time including inaugural chair of the first World Cotton Research Conference, which was held in Brisbane in 1994, first and current Chairman of the International Cotton Researchers Association, and key organiser of the first meeting of cotton breeders and molecular biologists in Australia, which eventually became the International Cotton Genome Initiative.
www.icac.org
"Malaysian textile sector, which contributes only 1.4 per cent of total exports last year, will register the largest gains in exports within the first decade of the implementation of the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, according to a cost-benefit analysis. This is assuming that all tariffs are eliminated and non-tariff measures (NTMs) are reduced by 25 per cent to 50 per cent across the prospective 12 member countries, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) study on potential economic impact of TPPA on the Malaysian economy and selected key economic sectors."
Malaysian exports to gain with TPP
Malaysian textile sector, which contributes only 1.4 per cent of total exports last year, will register the largest gains in exports within the first decade of the implementation of the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, according to a cost-benefit analysis. This is assuming that all tariffs are eliminated and non-tariff measures (NTMs) are reduced by 25 per cent to 50 per cent across the prospective 12 member countries, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) study on potential economic impact of TPPA on the Malaysian economy and selected key economic sectors. As for the GDP, PwC says more than 90 percent of the cumulative gains would be attributable to the reduction in NTMs because an elimination of tariffs without any reduction in NTMs, would reap a cumulative gain of only $12 billion over 2018-2027.
In contrast, Malaysia’s non-participation in the TPP agreement is projected to incur a cumulative GDP loss of $9 billion to $16 billion over 2018-2027. In terms of the investments projection over the 2018-2027 period, the textile sector will register the largest increase in investment growth in 2027, followed by construction and distributive trade sectors. Malaysia’s non-participation in the TPPA agreement could result in a diversion of foreign investment away from Malaysia and a projected decline of $7 billion to $13 billion over 2018-2027.
Meanwhile, import growth is projected to increase by 0.65 percent to 1.17 percent in 2027, driven mainly by higher imports of intermediate and capital goods. According to the study, the increase in import growth is projected to outpace the increase in export growth, as the reductions in import tariffs and NTMs are larger for Malaysia relative to the other TPPA countries. On textiles, PwC explained that the yarn-forward rule of origin under the TPP is expected to increase the export competitiveness of Malaysia’s textile industry. The yarn-forward rule applies to textiles which originate from TPP member countries only.
Reduction in tariff lines to spur exports to the US
Higher demand for yarn produced in TPP countries is also expected to spur textile companies to expand their upstream yarn operations in Malaysia, which are higher value-added than downstream garment production, the firm said.
The reduction in tariff lines for textile products is expected to benefit Malaysia’s downstream garment producers, as 59 per cent of the country’s garment exports were to TPP countries last year. Exports to the US are expected to benefit the most, given that 34 per cent of the sale of made-up garments was to the US in 2014. A 10 per cent reduction in tariffs across all textile products exported to the US could result in savings of RM190 million per annum, assuming the yarn-forward rule is fulfilled. PwC said that the removal of non-tariff barriers, particularly in Mexico and Peru, was also expected to increase Malaysia’s textile exports. Presently, these countries impose special sector registry requirements for the import of textiles, which increase the cost of customs clearance.
Removal of these import requirements under the TPP is expected to encourage higher trade between Malaysia and the TPP countries in Latin America. Malaysia exported RM83 million worth of textiles to Mexico and Peru last year. In the event Malaysia does not participate in the TPPA, the trade balance is projected to remain largely unchanged from the baseline scenario.
www.pwc.com
The third international trade expo on 'Building and Fire Safety' has commenced in Bangladesh with an aim to provide a platform for garment makers and leading international safety equipment vendors and experts.
The three-day expo is being held at Bangabandhu International Conference Center and is jointly organised by Elevate Partners, Alliance, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Electronics Safety and Security Association of Bangladesh (ESSAB).
The expo will share information with the local apparel makers about the globally-recognised materials needed for the remediation and help them select the right ones for sustainable reform. Alliance has inspected a total of 837 garment factories, and has directed them to carry out some form of remediation, especially to tackle fire and electrical issues.
The expo will be the platform for vendors and factory owners, especially for the SMEs, to discuss the latest advancement of safety, especially fire detection and fighting equipments, organisers said. A total of 36 organisations, including 13 global vendors and four service providers are showcasing their products ranging fire door, hydrant and pump, sprinkler, fire alarm, detection and protection machinery and services.
www.bangladeshworkersafety.org
In protest against the Pakistan governments’ apathy towards the textile industry the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Punjab chapter has decided to shut down of mills once a week. However, the final verdict will be out next week as chairman APTMA Punjab Amir Fayez said some members were not present at the general body meeting.
Concerned with 40 percent depletion of cotton crop, Fayez feels it’s high time for the government to dismiss the head of cotton research institutions, instead it give authority to APTMA, which happens to be paying Rs 700 million in the shape of cotton cess. Fayez assailed the government for its negligence in taking appropriate measures to reduce deteriorating exports since July 2015. Surprisingly, the government has focussed on borrowed money from international sources. Whereas, textile exports have fallen down by $500 million per month which still remains unacknowledged. And as Fayez says electricity cost in Punjab and other provinces is relatively high which has led to closing down of about 70 mills. As a consequence, millers are left with no choice other than to sell mill to property developers or covert them into godowns.
After conclusion of the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and finalisation of trade deal between the European Union (EU) and Vietnam, Bangladeshi apparel exporters fear adverse impact on its exports to the US and EU. The local industry bodies in Bangladesh now aim to prepare themselves to face the crisis that may be result from the pact.
The FTA deal may remove nearly all tariffs between Europe and Vietnam, which will lead to many products from Bangladesh like apparel, leather goods, frozen fish and so on face stiff competition from Vietnamese players. Vietnam's main exports to the EU market include electronic products, footwear, textiles and clothing, coffee, rice, seafood and furniture, which will get a boost after trade deals with the US and EU.
In 2014, the EU-Vietnam trade in goods was worth over €28.3 billion, with €22.1 billion in imports from Vietnam into the EU and €6.2 billion in exports from the EU to Vietnam. The EU is one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam. In 2015, EU investors invested a total of $1.3 billion in foreign direct investment and thus became Vietnam's third-largest foreign investor-partner. On the other hand, Bangladesh's export to the EU amounted to $16.4 billion in 2013-14.
International sanctions have so far blocked the flow of textile machinery exports to Iran. Iran’s textile industry boasts of an ancient tradition, with a high number of manufacturers operating in a variety of different sectors along the production chain from spinning to finishing. Sanctions in recent years have delayed modernisation process necessary for the industry to remain competitive globally. Market shares for China and Turkey increased, to the detriment of countries such as Italy.
Iran has historically been Italy’s primary trading partner for textile machinery. Italian textile machinery producers boast consolidated business relations with Iran’s textile manufacturers. In 2004, Iran was the fourth largest market for Italian exports in this segment. In 2014, imports flow of machinery to Iran resumed, albeit not with the same intensity as earlier. Meanwhile ACIMIT (Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers) has planned a road show for 2016 in Iran, with the aim of promoting Italian textile technology in Iran’s major textile producing areas.
The agreement reached on July 14 concerning Iran’s nuclear talks with the United States, Russia, China, Great Britain, France and Germany opens the door to the resumption of investments in textile technology by Iran.
