FW
To heighten engagement of many developing and least developed countries in global trade, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has suggested improved access to G20 markets as a way to further boost exports. According to UNCTAD, the world’s poorest countries are barely engaging in the global economy but are fully liberalising their trade for these countries into G20 markets could boost their exports by about 15 per cent.
While least developed countries (LDCs) account for about 12 per cent of the world’s population, their share in global exports stands at about one per cent, the report Key Indicators and Trends in Trade Policy 2016, shows. The report shows that boosting exports from these countries could help accelerate economic growth, generate jobs and provide financial resources for sustainable and inclusive development.
Recognising the importance of trade for LDCs, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) include Target 17.11 to increase significantly the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developing countries’ share of global exports by 2020. The report also finds that LDCs generally trade much less than the size of their economies would suggest. The export-to-GDP ratios of the 48 LDCs are on average about 25 per cent substantially less than the average for other developing countries of about 35 per cent.
This indicator has been on a clear downward trend since 2011 and it shows the LDC struggle to integrate into the global economy. It may be noted that G20 countries support LDCs through a range of mechanisms to facilitate trade such as duty-free and quota-free access. But removing all tariffs could boost LDC exports to G20 countries by about $10 billion per year.
At a meeting held in Ankara, the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) revealed the export figures for December and the 2016 financial year along with its goals for the New Year. Following TİM chairman Mehmet Buyukeksi's presentation in which he shared export data with participants, economy minister Nihat Zeybekci went on to evaluate Turkey's 2016 export performance in addition to the country's goals for 2017.
According to data announced in the meeting, while the share of exports in world trade stood at 0.87 per cent in 2015, it broke a record by hitting 0.89 per cent in 2016. Indicating that 2017 will be a more balanced year than last year, economy minister Zeybekci said that developments are expected to get better in Turkey's region. He noted that a poor growth performance in the global economy negatively affected global exports, adding that total exports, which declined by 13.5 per cent in value in 2015 decreased by 4 per cent in dollar terms in the first 10 months of 2016, according to data compiled by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet, despite the shrinking global trade, Turkey's share in world trade reached 0.89 per cent last year up from 0.87 per cent in 2015.
According to the country-based exports data released by the TİM, Turkey made the largest amount of exports to Germany in December with approximately $1.12 billion, seeing an increase of 3.7 per cent compared to December 2015. While Britain ranked the second with $737 million, exports to Iraq amounted to over $732 million with a 59 per cent increase in December, followed by Italy with 12 per cent and the U.S. with 8.7 percent. Exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bulgaria rose by 77 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively, in the same period.
Cotton arrival from the current crop has increased 11.72 per cent but remains below the revised output target for 2016, a industry data shows. In its fortnightly cotton arrival report, the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has said that a total of 10.36 million bales arrived in the country by December 31, last year against 9.27 million bales during the same period in the preceding year.
Analyst and president of Karachi Cotton Brokers Association Naseem Usman has revealed that the government had fixed the target at 14.1 million cotton bales which was later revised to 10.8 million bales. He further said that his Association doesn’t see cotton arrival going beyond 10.5 million bales of 170 kilogram each.
Fortnightly cotton arrival flow from December 15 to 31 remained at 218,762 bales but lower than last year’s arrival of 244,987 bales during the same period. Arrivals from Punjab increased by 18.71 per cent to 6.61 million bales as compared to 5.57 million bales during the same period in 2015. Flows from Sindh increased only 1.21 per cent to 3.74 million bales against 3.70 million bales.
The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma), citing the reason of shortage against consumption demand, has urged the government to withdraw four per cent custom duty on cotton import in the country. Pakistan’s total cotton demand is around 16 million bales. According to APTMA sources, the millers had imported 1.2 million tons of lint from African countries, Brazil and US earlier this season and purchased 1.0 million more bales from the local crop. Still they required 3.5 million bales to meet the consumption demand, which would now be fulfilled with import from India.
Nearly two months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetization of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, Ludhiana has started to get back on the track of normality with people coming back to view films, shopping malls and restaurants. On the other hand, factory outlets and garment shops are abuzz with customers coming in to make purchases. This has, in turn, brought smiles back on the faces of traders, many of who have fallen back on cashless solutions to facilitate shoppers.
The manager of a factory outlet on Malhar Road, Sanjiv Sood, admitted that they have had a good footfall since December 25. Earlier, the situation could be likened to black days when traders were not able to sell even a single piece of jacket. Thankfully, the sales are decent now.
Traders said when the government had scrapped the high-value notes in November, the absence of a card machine and an e-wallet were the biggest drawback for them. Many city residents are of the view that they are out shopping at this time because of the huge discounts and offers running at garment outlets.
More than 100 Sinosky Hejun Garment Co Ltd workers resorted to strike in Phnom Penh for a full four hours yesterday to urge the company to take back their leader Kim Chetra and allow him to get back to work. The concerned person was fired last month for forming a union.
Mom Seak, president of the Khmer Union Federation of Workers Spirit, said that the workers were demanding that Chetra be allowed to return to work since he was fired unjustly. The company fired their leader who had recently formed a union at the factory, he said.
He added that the union was formed to help workers experiencing problems. The Chinese-owned garment factory, located in the capital’s Por Sen Chey district, makes clothing such as pants, shirts, shorts and tank-tops.
The textile industry of Pakistan has been using every government forum to influence Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to announce a Rs. 200 billion grant for the upgrading of the textile industries. The industry already enjoys uninterrupted electricity and gas supply.
The particular industry enjoys these benefits on their claims to be the biggest export and job creating industry of Pakistan, but in reality, Pakistan’s exports are on the downslide. The country seems to be importing more textile products than exporting. The industry is also the worst tax-paying sector.
Interestingly a few textile industrialists have been named in Panama leaks having off-shore accounts containing millions of dollars. But, they have been declaring losses for the last many years.
Financial incentives should be withdrawn from the textile sector as it is a very old and established industry and instead the budget should be utilised in setting up new industries in Pakistan or to improve agriculture. It should especially be used for the cotton plantation industry which has one of the lowest yields for cotton farms in the region. A policy, whereby all incentives allowed to an individual industry should not be higher than 75 per cent revenue received to the government should be established to ensure Pakistan’s budget is not wasted on the failing industries.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Arshad Wathra on Tuesday reiterated the government’s resolve to revive the textile industry and pledged explicit support for all the stakeholders. He was addressing the Senate Standing Committee meeting on Textile Industry.
He asked the representatives of the banking sector to play their due role in rehabilitating the textile industry by extending loans to the exporters. He further said that it was a moral responsibility of the entire business community to bring back their foreign assets and liquidity so that the alarming situation of the textile industry could be neutralised. The meeting was held to highlight the problems duly faced by the textile industry in the country and proposals for its sustainability.
One of the members of the committee, Senator Nihal Hashmi, drew the attention of the members to the monopoly of private banks in terms of advancement of loans and urged that private banks should have been stringently regulated by the SBP. He further said that the government alone would not be able to bail out the textile industry. Rather the private sector would also have to come forward and extend financial support to the textile industry.
Expressing the concerns of the banking sector, Nauman Dar, the representative of the Habib Bank of Pakistan, said that the textile industry would have to prove its competiveness if they seriously expect the banking sector to come for their rescue. He further said that the government would have to offer subsidies to the exporters. Expressing his optimism about the future and potential of the textile industry in Pakistan, he said that the textile industry in the country was not dead.
In his concluding remarks, Senator Mohsin Aziz, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on the Textile Industry, highlighted the significance of textile industry in the economic stability of a country and the role of banking sector in its sustainability. He said that a sustainable textile industry ensured employment and optimum benefit to agriculture sector of a country.
With mass termination reportedly continuing following the recent labour unrest in Ashulia, Bangladesh, sacked workers of apparel factories at the industrial belt are in fear of not getting a job in another workplace. Moreover, those who are still working at the factories are of the say that their employers are forcing them to work extra hours without any overtime.
Since the labour unrest, at least 1,600 workers of a particular readymade garment factory lost their jobs. Around 1,500 unnamed sacked workers were also sued in separate cases filed for inciting the unrest, leaving most of them in fear of arrest anytime now.
One such worker is Jewel who was temporarily suspended as a sewing operator of IDS Group on December 26 without any reason. With a Taka 7,099 monthly salary, he used to work in the factory along with his wife who still continues with her job there.
When the factory opened, Jewel said he found his photo, name and address on the list of sacked employees. So much was he shocked at the suspension without any explanation that he talked to the admin officer of the company. The latter said that there was no chance of him getting back to his work there and not even in Ashulia by any chance.
Claiming innocence, Jewel said that he may get arrested if he searched for a job in the area since many most of his ex-colleagues were sued. Like him, a sacked female garment worker of another factory, Asma, expressed her grief saying that she was on sick-leave during the unrest and was not even involved in it. Despite the fact, she was dismissed.
Meanwhile, the government has resorted to a crackdown on the labour leaders and labour rights activists for their alleged link to the recent unrest in the area is going on as well. Amid the situation, the central committee of Garments Sramik Adhikar Andolan, a platform of 12 labour rights organisations, has written to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), seeking its interference to help resolve the crisis.
"One of the most awaited trade fairs for the apparel fabric and accessory industry, Spring Edition of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics returns from March 15-17 with close to 3,000 companies exhibiting at the fair. Going by the record number of exhibitors, an extra hall has been added. An increased number of women’s wear and accessories exhibitors, and to a lesser extent, functional fabrics suppliers, will feature at this edition. "
One of the most awaited trade fairs for the apparel fabric and accessory industry, Spring Edition of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics returns from March 15-17 with close to 3,000 companies exhibiting at the fair. Going by the record number of exhibitors, an extra hall has been added. An increased number of women’s wear and accessories exhibitors, and to a lesser extent, functional fabrics suppliers, will feature at this edition. Four concurrent textile fairs will occupy another seven halls, providing unrivalled sourcing options for buyers from around the world.
“We are pleased with the response so far from both our existing exhibitors as well as newparticipants for this edition,” Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager, Messe Frankfurt, explained. “They recognise this fair is a place where business is still conducted over the three days, and is unrivalled in its scale and coverage of the industry, thus providing exhibitors with new opportunities at each edition. Particularly for the Spring Edition, it is the ideal industry event to reach Chinese buyers, including a number of the biggest brands.” These brands are: Bosideng, Eral, Handu, JNBY, K-Boxing and Semir. In addition to domestic buyers, visitors from around 100 countries and regions can be expected at the 2017 edition.
An unbeatable accessories’ range
The majority of overseas exhibitors will feature in the International Hall (hall 5.2), which includes a number of distinct areas:
SalonEurope: Premium European suppliers as well as the Milano Unica Pavilion and France & Germany Zones Premium Wool Zone: exhibitors from France, Italy the UK and elsewhere will showcase their high-end wool and cashmere fabrics Verve for Design: design studios from around the world will display their latest original design collections All About Sustainability: a range of companies offering sustainability products, solutions and services feature in the eco-Boutique, while this area also includes an Educational Zone and Forum Space Functional Lab: housing exhibitors with products for the high-performance activewear market Asian Pavilions: pavilions from India, Japan, Korea, Pakistan and Taiwan return to Intertextile Shanghai Group Pavilions: the Lenzing Group Pavilion will feature for the first time at the Spring Edition, while the Dyetec Pavilion will also feature a number of their partner mills
Chinese exhibitors will be in halls 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 8.1 and 8.2, grouped by product end-use as well as in various pavilions..
Trend Forum
Intertextile Shanghai’s renowned fringe programs will once again feature information and inspirations to keep the industry ahead of the curve. The Intertextile Directions Trend Forum will be joined by a number of Chinese trend forums to display and explain the upcoming themes, colours, fabrics and prints for the spring / summer 2018 season. Leading experts and trendsetters will take part in a number of seminars and panel discussions under topics including design and trends, technology and solutions, market information and business strategies, and sustainability issues.
In addition, four other textile fairs occur concurrently in the same venue: Yarn Expo Spring (Hall 5.1), Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles – Spring Edition (Hall 4.2), CHIC (Halls 1, 2, 3 & 4.1) and PH Value (Hall 3). Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Spring Edition 2017 is co-organised by Messe Frankfurt; the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT; and the China Textile Information Centre.
When it comes to high-waisted, super black, skinny-fit jeans, Just Black is the brand to go to. This US brand sells denim for women that is a little bit thicker than normal skinny jeans and super high rise.
Customers of varying shapes and sizes love the brand. While for instance a brand like Rag & Bones may be too saggy at the waist and too tight at the ankles. Or a brand like Cheap Mondays may be a little too cropped for ankle boots.
As makers of handcrafted denim, Just Black believes each jean is sewn to mold for every type of body. Each pair is sanded by hand and hand sewn to ensure the authentic details are captured. Quality, value and comfort are all co-dependent to make the perfect pair.
The attention to detail of the stone wash, hand sanding and distressed hems are what make the brand’s denim stand out from the rest.
Each piece is created with classic workmanship. The denim collection is curated to combine modern details with versatile silhouettes creating an easy to wear jean. Luxuriously soft and stretch fabrics are used to create the most comfortable pant ever. Just Black Denim is sold in boutiques across Europe and North America.
