FW
For its inaction to restrain increase in the numbers of default cases in the textile markets, the Federation of Gujarat Weavers Association (FOGWA) has taken a tough stand against Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA).
If fly-by-night operators are not eliminated, FOGWA office-bearers have threatened to stop delivering grey fabrics. A textile trader had defaulted on Rs 10 crore payments to over 80 power loom weavers some days ago and hence the tough stand.
FOSTTA had set guidelines for renting shops to traders in the markets according to FOGWA office-bearers and as per those, the traders have to deposit Rs 500 in FOSTTA office and fill out their personal details. The fly-by-night operators were successful in cheating the weavers and disappearing despite this.
In over 160 textile markets located at Ring Road, Rs 40 crores worth of unfinished fabric manufactured by the weavers is dumped on a daily basis. In a year, about Rs 300 crores worth of defaults take place in the market.
Ashok Jirawala, President, FOGWA said that it was the responsibility of FOSTTA to ensure that the racket of the fly-by-night operators gets removed, to create a healthy business environment. If not, he said, the weavers will stop delivering grey fabrics for an indefinite period. Most of the weavers are dealing through the agents, who are working in the industry for many years.
FOGWA plans to approach the state government to demand some guidelines to be issued to the police in tackling the economic offences being reported in the textile markets, added Jirawala. He also believes that the defaults are also due to FOSTTA office-bearers.
www.fostta.com
Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the US grew slightly during July-September in the current fiscal. Bangladesh fetched $1.55 billion from readymade garment exports to the US during July-September the current fiscal, up from $1.343 billion during the same period last year.
The US is the biggest customer for Bangladesh’s apparel products. That country suspended the GSP facility for Bangladesh in June 2013 after the Rana Plaza collapse.
Since that incident the readymade garment sector in Bangladesh faced massive scrutiny regarding workers’ safety and compliance issues. But the sector has made efforts to ensure worker safety and meet compliance standards.
This progress has helped the garment sector regain the trust of foreign buyers, which was severely hampered by the collapse and some fore tragedies. The country’s garment sector is getting greater appreciation from international buyers.
Bangladesh used to enjoy the GSP facility from the US for a handful of products but apparel items were not among them. And it can’t be said that withdrawal of GSP affected Bangladesh’s exports to the US in any significant way.
The China International Nonwovens Expo is being held from October 14 to 16, 2015. The three-day event will feature products including machinery and ancillaries for nonwovens, nonwovens and nonwoven products, raw materials and chemicals for nonwovens, and industry-related services.
Nearly 100 exhibitors are taking part across an exhibition area of 6,000 sq. meters. The increasing demand for nonwovens in medicine and hygiene, environmental filtration, infrastructure construction and new energy sectors in China over the last two years has led to this wide range of products being exhibited.
Exhibitors from mainland China are showcasing an extensive range of nonwovens. A number of these are prominent in overseas markets, such as Europe, North America and Southeast Asia, and produce high quality goods which are compliant with international standards. They are demonstrating their nonwovens in various fields, including medicine, hygiene, construction, biomedical, aerospace, radiation protection and more.
The concurrent forum will address the latest issues, both China-specific and global, in the nonwovens industry through seminars conducted by industry experts. Topics that will be covered include: development of the Chinese nonwovens industry and its position in the global market; development of the Chinese disposable hygiene products market and its consumption trends; the development and forecast of high temperature flue gas filtration materials.
Cine-shanghai.hk.messefrankfurt.com
India’s textile industry wants an extension of the three per cent interest subvention to all textile products so as to enhance exports. Textile products from India attract very high tariff rates in all major markets like China, EU, USA, Canada and Australia. In comparison, those from Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, South Korea, Indonesia or Cambodia either attract a very low tariff or have duty free access.
To offset this and boost exports, the industry wants low tariffs or duty free access. Bangladesh has a duty on Indian cotton yarn. Cotton yarn imports are subject to a customs duty of over 36 per cent in Bangladesh.
The industry wants the government to reduce the central excise duty from 12.5 per cent to six per cent. It wants anti-dumping duties withdrawn, and the excise duty on shuttle less looms like projectiles, air jet looms, rapier looms and water jet looms and on spares and accessories to be scrapped. It wants MEIS scheme benefits to be extended to cotton.
The textile industry in India which had been performing well till the end of 2013 started facing problems as competing nations like Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea and Bangladesh started getting larger benefits and an open window market access.
Anna Mitchell has been appointed as Managing Director of Coats Group’s UK Crafts business. The company is the world’s leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business.
Mitchell was Group Director of Communications, earlier, which also included overseeing investor relations and has been with Coats since 2013. By developing and implementing UK Crafts’ business strategy and activities, including financial and commercial metrics, customer and supplier relations, sales, marketing and distribution, Mitchell will be responsible for ensuring the profitable and successful operation of its business.
With the sale of the EMEA Crafts business to the Aurelius Group, recently, the Coats Crafts business has undergone change. The deal, which was announced in February and completed in July, excluded the UK Crafts business, which remains part of Coats, as does the Americas Crafts business.
CEO Crafts, Coats plc, Michael Schofer said that the UK is an important sales and distribution market for some of the best known textile craft brands and that they have strong relationships with large retail chains, online players, independent retailers and some exceptional designers. He added that Mitchell be a great asset to their business as they build and develop it further in this key market.
www.coats.com
Since India adopted genetically modified cotton in 2002, two states have been suffering the first major pest infestation since. This has raised concerns over the vulnerability of the lab-grown seeds that yield almost all the cotton in the world's top producer.
According to local officials and experts, in the states of Punjab and Haryana, damage from whitefly attack on the Bt cotton variety is likely to be extensive and has even been blamed for farmer suicides.
There’s debate over the usage of GM crops, though the country’s overall crop losses are expected to be low as the states are not major producing centres. At Monsanto, Bt cotton was tweaked by scientists to produce its own insecticide to kill pests such as bollworms. However, two years of drought have encouraged the spread of whitefly against which the strain has no resistance. The leaves of the cotton plant are damaged by the winged pest by sucking out fluid.
A spokesman for Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) said that Bt technology is effective only against specific type of bollworms that are known to cause maximum yield loss and economic damage to the cotton crop. To counter the infestation of whiteflies, at present there are no approved agriculture biotechnology solutions and farmers are recommended to spray approved pesticides as a solution.
Older cotton strains are cheaper than Bt seeds and these have to be bought new each year by farmers. Companies marketing GM cotton say that growers are better off as they get higher yields and save money on pesticide. However, some farmer groups are concerned about the growing dependency on the new varieties.
www.monsanto.com
The leading multinational conglomerate of Korea, Hyosung Corporation is introducing some trend right fabric concepts using specialty creora spandex at Interfilière Shanghai.
The new fabrics are thus—creora eco-soft low heat settable spandex with nylon for intimate apparels with fine gauge and light weight, creora Color+ dyeable spandex with MIPAN Aqua-X for cool touch for sports bras, creora Color+ for lace in colourful and delicate fabrics for moulded bras and shapewear, creora Black dope dyed black spandex for interesting effects, such as stripe and two-tone, and creora highclo super chlorine resistant spandex in 20,30 denier for lighter weight fabrics and 55 denier for more compressive performance.
Hyun-Joon Cho, President, said that Hyosung has a competitive advantage in its ability to develop new fabric concepts using their technical development centre in Jiaxing. He added that they could leverage innovations in creora spandex, combined with new Mipan nylon and Hyosung polyester fibres, to support their customers in new business development.
The company will be conducting customised business development workshops to help its creora partners growth their business at the Shanghai Interfiliere trade show, Cho explained.
www.hyosung.com
About 80 per cent of respondents said they expect the TPP to affect their business practices. However, the level of impact depends on the rules of origin and market access provisions, she said. Hughes concluded by saying that the final agreement contains a yarn-forward rule of origin and limited short-supply list, though they remain hopeful it will also include many opportunities for fashion brands, retailers, importers, and wholesalers to expand their global businesses.
Cambodia split over TPP
The successful conclusion of the TPP though, received different responses. In Cambodia, industry insiders are split over whether or not the new pact will limit the Kingdom’s trade growth potential in the US market and see future investments diverted to Vietnam.
The 12 members of the TPP agreed on a framework that would liberalise trade between the members and foster inclusive development and promote innovation across the Asia-Pacific region.
Secretary-General of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, Ken Loo, felt that while the agreement was expected, it could eat into the Kingdom’s already declining economic competitiveness, which is plagued by rising labour costs and logistical deficiencies.
He added that the TPP will remove most tariffs in the textiles and apparel segment, apart from a few sensitive products where tariffs will be eased off over a longer time frame. This, at the end, he said may act as an advantage for Vietnam with a rise in their garment exports.
Other important nations at advantage
Vietnam undoubtedly seems to be the biggest winner in this agreement, where the booming garment and shoe industries are set to benefit from the elimination of tariffs in the US and other major importing nations.
Besides Vietnam, experts feel that the Japanese car and auto parts and Malaysia’s electronics and semiconductor industry will also benefit from the trade deal. Eventually, China too could join in, if it meets the environment and labour standards.
South Korea too will be affected by the TPP. In free trade agreement (FTA) terms, the country has an edge over Japan, but there is a more positive side for Japan from TPP membership in terms of cumulation of origin (terms). Japan has an applied tariff rate of less than one per cent for South Korean exports there, while South Korea’s tariff rate on Japanese imports is over seven per cent. Japan’s non-tariff barriers are beyond resolution by an FTA, and South Korea’s has a technology edge in key parts and materials areas.
For Australia too, the benefits are immense. About A$9 billion of import taxes from Australian trade will be removed and the country will have access to the US sugar market. Also, tariffs will be reduced on iron and steel products, pharmaceuticals, machinery, paper and auto parts, which will help the Australian manufacturers.
For New Zealand, 93 per cent of the tariffs will be removed with its TPP partners representing annual savings of about NZ$259 million ($168 million). The dairy industry itself will save around NZ$102 million a year; this industry accounts for about a quarter of exports. Tariffs on beef exports will be eliminated with the exception of Japan where they will drop to 9 per cent from 38.5 percent.
Indian exports too would be affected by the TPP, though it has stayed away from the pact. India will now have to compete with regard to exports from other TPP members. FTA negotiations with the EU for maximum gains, is something India needs to relook into. Also, India’s strategic ambition of membership of APEC should factor in TPP. India’s foreign policy has been robust in this regard and has succeeded in creating strategic goodwill for the country’s entry in APEC. However, the country’s trade policy has to match up to the goodwill. Thus, TPP may have brought on its biggest challenge for convergence in foreign and trade policies for India.
The biggest trade agreement in history, the TPP, according to the White House, will eliminate 18,000 tariffs on U.S.-manufactured goods, while giving everyone from Vietnamese shrimpers to New Zealand dairy farmers’ cheaper access to markets across the Pacific. However, critics say, this will kill American manufacturing jobs, reduce environmental standards and raise drug prices.
Ustr.gov/tpp
At FESPA China 2015 to be held from October 21-23, 2015 in Shanghai, China, over 400 exhibitors are slated to show digital wide format, screen and textile printing technologies.
In stand N 1166, Kiian Digital will launch the latest product in their range of sublimation inks, Digistar Evo, and inks designed for Ricoh print heads, states a FESPA press release. While, the J-Lux, a new series of dye-sub inks with superior light fastness designed for polyester substrates and for applications such as fashion, home decoration, sportswear, flags and banners, will be at stand N 1064, J-Teck3.
Stand N 1361 will have Microtec, that will showcase its two flagship products—Wunderboard HD Aluminium Photo panels, and APEX UV Printers which are designed for industrial bulk production. Inkcups Now Corporation at stand N 1028 will demonstrate Tagless Printing or pad printing of neck labels directly onto garments.
Moreover, there will be a full day of conference sessions on October 22 in both Chinese and English, with seminars covering various topics including the growth of digital textile and screen printing across Asia.
Roz McGuinness, FESPA Divisional Director stated that they are anticipating a great event when FESPA China opens. Those visiting would discover applications and technologies, which will help them to grow their business, as exhibitors would be bringing their very latest equipment, he stated.
Besides, McGuinness added that visitors would be able to combine their time in the halls with attendance at educational sessions, which would give them insight and inspiration into how to evolve in a rapidly changing market.
www.fespa.com
Sales of outdoor clothing and footwear in the UAE are rising. Outdoor climbing, hiking and running are becoming popular in the country in the winter months. Sales are likely to grow by 15 per cent month-on-month from October to February.
The outdoor apparel and footwear market in Dubai is up six per cent year-on-year mainly driven by increasing awareness of health and wellness. Another factor driving sales of outdoor goods is the government’s investments in new running and cycling tracks, which encourage people to take part in outdoor activities.
This year, outdoor apparel is projected to amount to around 70 per cent of total demand. In the last few years sales of outdoor apparel and footwear in the country have increased due to rising consumer per capita disposable income, coupled with more health-conscious individuals, an increase in the population of the UAE and major international sporting events and championships being held in the country.
However while sales of outdoor goods will increase in the cooler months, they are expected to be softer than last year, as the retail sector’s growth slows down this year. The strong dollar, to which the UAE dirham is pegged against the euro and the rouble, has lowered spending of European and Russian tourists.
