FW
India’s largest textile park will come up in Telengana’s Warangal town. The cotton-to-garment park will be set up in an area of 2,000 to 3,000 acres. While textile parks in different parts of the country like Solapur, Tirupur and Surat are engaged in manufacturing specific categories of garments, the park in Warangal will cover all segments. The international standard park will also have an apparel park for readymade clothing.
The government will promote the park in collaboration with various companies. With a major railway junction in Warangal, and the possibility of an airport, the textile cluster is expected to have tremendous potential.
With a population of 10 lakh, Warangal is the second biggest city in Telengana after Hyderabad. The park with a township will increase Warangal’s population by four to five lakhs in three to four years.
About 70 parks have been approved under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks. The aim is to attract investment, generate employment and make the textile manufacturing industry globally competitive and India a world leader. However, textile parks face difficulties in getting environmental clearances in several states. In a number of cases, entrepreneurs face difficulties in getting land, in getting clearances, in getting electricity connections.
Considering the slowdown in India’s textile and apparel exports growth, the Ministry of Textiles has recommended several measures to improve the situation of the industry. As per the latest figures, textile and garment exports rose 0.6 per cent to almost $18 billion in the first half of the current fiscal from the previous year.
The textile and garment exports target $47.5 billion for 2015-16 with a projected growth rate of almost 14 per cent from a year before. However, the targets are set to be missed as Indian exporters are facing turmoil in global market not only because of the competition but also because of policies that have not rendered positive results. Most exporters, small, medium and big strongly feel that if the government works on improving some areas it will definitely bring positive results.
Some of these are: reduction of excise duty on man-made textiles from 12 per cent to 6 per cent; enhancement of market coverage under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS); upward revision of duty drawback rates as well as value caps; continuation of interest subvention scheme and expanding its scope; and providing working capital at 7 per cent to exporters under priority sector lending.
Of these, the government has taken action on recommendations related to MEIS, duty drawback (rates were raised by 2 per cent for textile products in November) and interest subvention. The Ministry of Textiles realising the potential impact of FTAs, including TPP, where the inclusion of a significant apparel producer, Vietnam, in TPP has the potential to shift global trading pattern, as Vietnam will get duty-free access to the US, Canada and Australia.
Suryalakshmi Cotton, the third largest denim fabric producer in India, has reported a 3 per cent dip in its Q2 revenues. The company recorded total revenue of Rs 180 crores in Q2 2015-16, down three per cent compared to the same quarter of previous year. However, profit before tax increased by a healthy 18 per cent and stood at Rs 9.50 crores, as against Rs 8.03 crores from the year-ago period. The company earned profit after tax and EPS of Rs 6.97 crores and Rs 4.18 respectively for the quarter as compared to Rs 5.85 crores and Rs 3.51 in Q2 of FY 2014-15, a robust growth of 19 per cent.
Growth is primarily attributed to the company’s strategic focus on product innovation, especially the value added denim range. They launched over 100 new denim fabric variants with a combination of new dyeing and fibre technologies. The new offerings received a positive response from existing as well as new customers with orders increasing. The company’s major capacity expansion of 26,000 spindles at Amravati in Maharashtra was completed during the quarter and production of value-added fancy yarns commenced.
The Amravati is equipped to meet the company’s fancy yarn requirements and 40 per cent of its production will be for captive use at the denim fabric plant in Nagpur. An annual revenue of Rs 150 crores plus is expected from this plant alone. Further, the unit also expands the company’s scope to invest in R&D, enabling it to be in sync with the latest global trends in denim and to cater to international and domestic fashion demands effectively. The balance 60 per cent production of these high-end yarns would be sold to global and domestic customers.
The recently concluded Garmentech Bangladesh 2016 at Dhaka, and International Yarn and Fabrics Sourcing Fair and GAP Expo-2016 witnessed global participation with almost 300 exhibitors and delegates coming together from all over the world.
The trade fairs gave a glimpse of the country’s growing production base which covers jean manufacturing and yarn and accessories. Sustainability and technology gained importance as major technology providers highlighted technology driven, high efficiency equipments like power-saving cutters, power-saving motors for sewing machines, boilers that run on garbage etc. In the sewing segment, advanced sewing machineries were showcased which do not require feed from the operator’s foot instead, the needlepoint is guided by a sensor for detecting the fabric plies and it is done based on the programmed stitch length and SPI, deskilling the operation and reducing the material handling.
To achieve better efficiency and volume, Bangladeshi exporters are now gradually moving towards backward integration. Hence, experts forecast a greater demand for yarn in Bangladesh in the coming years. Exhibitors say the new venue proved fruitful and the quality of visitors had also improved. From decision makers to procurement teams, merchandisers and technical teams of export houses the crowd was varied. Exhibitors were happy about the quality of visitors, as they got more time to spend.
Indian fabric manufacturing firm Siyaram Silk Mills which forayed into readymade garments with the brand Oxemberg, witnessed an exceptional rise of 169.3 per cent in net sales at its garments division during last five fiscals, according to the company's annual reports.
The net sales reported for the fiscal 2010-11 at the readymade garments division of Siyaram Silk Mills was Rs 898.915 million, which increased to Rs 2,420.793 million in fiscal 2014-15. Net sales at the readymade garments division increased by 29.75 per cent year-on-year during 2011-12 to Rs 1,166.372 million and by 76.05 per cent during 2014-15 to touch Rs 2,420.793 million.
Oxemberg sold 1.923 million pieces of readymade garments in fiscal 2010-11, which increased to 3.883 million pieces by 2014-15. exceptional growth in readymade garment division is due to high profit margin in the segment which caters to mass markets. Usually, demand for such goods in not affected by changes in market conditions, according to analysts.
The percentage share of readymade garment’s division in total turnover of Siyaram's was recorded at 17.82 during the fiscal 2014-15
West Bengal is looking setting up a dozen textile parks. The state hopes to emerge as a major textile hub. These parks would be provided land, infrastructure, single window clearance, environment compliant infrastructure, power, apart from a host of subsides (capital, land, stamp duty, labor, power etc).
With time West Bengal hopes to be a leading destination for globally competitive value-added textiles like readymade garments, processed power loom and knitted fabrics, technical textiles and apparel products for both domestic and international markets. The textile parks envisage a space of 22.7 million sq. ft. The government has received ‘Expressions of Interest’ for more than 50 per cent of the space offered.
West Bengal has many manufacturers, but there is no major brand except a few. The retail sector needs to be standardised. To provide an enabling ecosystem to support and nurture start-ups in the state, West Bengal has also launched the state start-up policy.
Bangladesh is planning to shift a large distribution depot from Gujarat to West Bengal. Industry has been invited to come forward and assist the government in achieving the desired goal with suggestions and ideas. Every plan and program will be institutionalised so that the process is not disturbed in future.
Jute prices are rising in India. Jute is one of the cheapest items India produces. But the jute industry is facing huge losses and a fall in production due to floods in West Bengal last year. Raw jute prices have already touched an unprecedented high of Rs 54,000 a ton, twice the level of Rs 27,000 per ton in the year-ago period. It is feared that raw jute prices may reach the level of Rs 60,000 a ton.
With jute products having become costlier, their prices may shoot up further as the Center is contemplating a decrease in subsidy on the golden fiber. Due to the current steep hike in price of raw jute, the price of jute bags has also increased, resulting in a higher burden of subsidy to be given by the central government for purchase of jute bags.
Even after the drive by West Bengal for de-hoarding of raw jute stock, prices have further increased since November 2015. In order to check the possible price rise of jute bags and reduce the burden of subsidy on the Central government, prices of raw jute bags may be capped at the level of average price of November 2015.
Dadabhau Bhuse, Maharashtra minister of state for co-operation urged the local weavers and entrepreneurs to create own brand so as to earn identity and reputation in the competitive market. The minister was inaugurating a Buyer-Seller meet in Malegaon, Maharashtra recently.
Bhuse highlighted the potential of grey and ready-to-wear fabrics manufactured in Malegaon to attract the global market. There fabrics and saris being sold in local and international markets are manufactured by people of Malegaon. But, since powerloom weavers in Malegaon do not have a brand name, the sellers are using their own name and selling these quality products and earning handsome profits, Bhuse observed.
He pointed out the skill and potential of local weavers and powerloom owners will be a great hit. Taking a cue from ‘Make in India’, ‘Make in Maharashtra’ campaigns, Bhuse said that they need to start ‘Make in Malegoan’ campaign. The minister further said that he earnestly wishes that local grey cloth and ready-to-wear sarees and fabrics are exported directly from Malegaon with their own brand names.
The three-day Buyer-Seller Meet was jointly organized by the Regional Textile Commissioner Office Navi Mumbai and Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL).
The port city of Chittagong in Bangladesh will have an apparel zone. It may be ready for operation by 2018. The move was largely prompted by the need for relocating a good number of apparel factories from various locations to Chittagong.
Setting up an apparel zone in the port city is a necessity in view of the need for restructuring the entire readymade garment sector with the required facilities given the emerging challenges as well as the 50 billion dollar export target by 2021. The facilities that the port city is potentially capable of offering far outshine those in any other part of the country.
Importing raw materials against back-to-back letters of credit and exporting finished materials - an unusual dual procedure on which the country’s export of apparels has thrived - can be better handled if the manufacturing plants are located close-by rather than having to operate from as far as in Dhaka and its adjoining areas where most of the apparel factories are located.
As the country’s main port city, it is Chittagong which should have prevailed as the prime location for export of apparels, especially in view of the intricacies involved in the back-to-back letter of credit system.
The age-old khadi sector is all set for a makeover. The spinning wheel will now run on solar power in its new avatar of solar charka. Solar charkas will lower strain on weavers and increase productivity. The newly-developed wheels have more spindles that can run on solar power. The objective is to increase wages of spinners since most khadi workers are women.
A spinner earns Rs 160 a day for eight hours of work on a hand-spun wheel while solar-powered charkas can spin material worth Rs 350 to Rs 380. Conventional wheels hold 3 to 8 spindles of khadi, which produce 25 hanks of yarn in eight hours. Solar-powered spinning wheels can hold 36 spindles to produce 100 hanks in the same time.
The original cost of a solar charka was Rs 70,000, which has been brought down to Rs 40,000. Developers are working at further towards reducing the cost. In remote and rural areas, where uninterrupted electricity is a distant dream, solar charkas will help boost the income of weavers. The quality of the yarn can also improve by the use of solar charka. It can help traditional spinning grow into an industry without involving human drudgery.
