FW
Underdeveloped infrastructure, restrictive environment and a lack of trade agreement with key markets have been identified as the main reasons for the unsatisfactory foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in the Indian textile sector, says a recent study commissioned by the Indian ministry of textiles. Stringent labour laws were also cited as one of the major challenges that hamper the FDI inflow.
In order to attract large scale investments, acquire global scale and bring India at par with other competing countries, there is an immediate need to review the labour laws to make them investor and labour friendly, adds the study. Labour laws restricting women from working in night shifts and the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 that stipulates that companies employing over 100 people must obtain necessary approvals for lay-offs need to be amended to rectify the situation. Despite India offering a large domestic market, competitive labour costs and a well working democracy, its performance in attracting FDI flows has been far from satisfactory. The country's weakness lies in underdeveloped infrastructure and restrictive operative environment and lack of trade agreement with key markets, notes the study.
Apparel and textile exporting nations like Bangladesh, Vietnam, Turkey, Cambodia and Pakistan have duty advantage ranging from 10 to 30 per cent for different products in the US and EU markets. This advantage enables them to achieve exports growth rates higher than that of India, according to media reports.
All eyes are set on the 2016 Autumn Edition of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics to be held from October 11-13, 2016. With close to 4,600 exhibitors from 29 countries and regions, the show will feature an all-encompassing selection of products across 10 halls in the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai.“After 22 years of development, Intertextile Shanghai has become the world’s most comprehensive trade and communication platform for the textile industry, providing an unrivalled range of fabrics & accessories and establishing its leading status in the industry,” said Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager, Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd.
All eyes are set on the 2016 Autumn Edition of Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics to be held from October 11-13, 2016. With close to 4,600 exhibitors from 29 countries and regions, the show will feature an all-encompassing selection of products across 10 halls in the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai.“After 22 years of development, Intertextile Shanghai has become the world’s most comprehensive trade and communication platform for the textile industry, providing an unrivalled range of fabrics & accessories and establishing its leading status in the industry,” said Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager, Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd.
To offer exhibitors and buyers an easy access to the entire event spread, the extensive array of products is grouped in various ways. International halls encompassing 5.2 & 6.2 will host over 1,100 exhibitors. The ever-popular SalonEurope features the finest European-made products in the France, Germany, Turkey and MilanoUnica Pavilions, as well as from individual exhibitors from the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. The Asia pavilion is also no less with participation from India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, plus the brand new Hong Kong Pavilion showcasing some of the most popular and innovative products in the Asian market.
Meanwhile, cutting-edge and creative textile materials and fabrics can be found in seven Group Pavilions organised by the industry’s leading firms and associations including DuPont, Hyosung, INVISTA, Lenzing and OEKO-TEX, as well as the Korea Textile Trade Association (KTTA) and the Korea Chemical Fibers Association (KCFA).
Aimed at fulfilling market demands, six distinctive product zones bring together the top suppliers from various spectrums to provide visitors extensive range of high-quality sourcing options. These zones include:
• Accessories Vision (hall 4.1): Over 500 international and domestic exhibitors will present the latest fashion and garment accessories. An Accessories Trend Forum is also included to display the next seasons’ fashion accessories under three domestic trend themes
• All About Sustainability (hall 5.2): Increasing by 10% in scale, all kinds of sustainable products and services will be demonstrated in three main sections: Educational Zone, eco Boutique and ForumSpace
• Beyond Denim (hall 7.2): Over 170 exhibitors will exhibit the newest denim products, such as denim yarns, fabrics, accessories and production machinery under the new concept ‘Brooklyn Today’,while the Beyond Denim Forum will illustrate the evolution of denim’s 200-year history.
• Functional Lab (hall 5.2): The returning INVISTA Pavilion, the debut Taiwan Pavilion, plus exhibitors from China, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan and Korea will present some of the world’s most advanced fabrics with various functions such as thermo-regulation, moisture wicking, increased durability, elasticity, windproof and more.
• Premium Wool Zone (hall 6.2): An exclusive platform to explore premium wool and cashmere fabrics brought by high-quality suppliers from France, Japan, Peru, the UK and elsewhere
• Verve for Design (hall 6.2): Well-known design studios from Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand and the UK will impress and inspire visitors with their newest original fabric designs.
Intertextile Shanghai is just not a platform for the meeting of minds, it offers learning experiences to the industry by way of Fringe Programmes. This programme aids visitors in exchanging technical know-how and discover different industry perspectives. Events in the programme include the A/W17-18 Intertextile Directions Trend Forum(hall 6.2), Trend Tours led by top trend forecaster I.S. Planning, theFrankfurt Style Award display (6.2-E02), Fabrics China Trend Forums (halls 4.1, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2 and 8.2), China International Fabrics Design& amp; Fabrics Creations Competitions, as well as a number of seminars, aDigital Printing Forum and panel discussions. Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics – Autumn Edition 2016 is co-organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd; the Sub-Council of TextileIndustry, CCPIT; and the China Textile Information Centre.
Paving the way for fixed-term employment in the apparel manufacturing sector, the Labour Ministry has notified the amendments in the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders). The decision on the part of the government would facilitate employment of workers in apparel manufacturing on fixed term basis in the backdrop of seasonal nature of sector and would also ensure same working conditions, wages and other benefits for fixed term employee in the sector as a regular employee.
On the termination of fixed term employment, the workman will not be entitled to any notice or pay, the notification reads. However, the move has been criticised by the central trade unions (CTUs) including the Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) that termed the same as anti-worker.
Fixed term worker will also be eligible for all statutory benefits available to a permanent workman proportionately according to the period of service rendered by him even though his period of employment does not extend to the qualifying period of employment required in the statute, the notification added. This is one of the measures approved under the Rs 6,000 crore package for the textile sector announced in June this year.
The Task Force on Commercial Standardization of Instrument Testing of Cotton (CSITC) with an active cooperation of the Bremen Fiber Institute (FIBER) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)- American Mathametics Society (AMS) has completed the Round Trial 3 with better results than ever before. It is headed by the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).
This again confirms the continuous trend towards better evaluations during the last years of the CSITC Round Trials. It also means that the variation of test results between the instruments is this time lower by 30 per cent than it typically was from 2007 to 2011.
It’s good news that all participating laboratories are benefiting from their participation in the CSITC Round Trials and improving their performance. One hundred six (106) testing facilities within more than 30 countries participating with their cotton classification instruments in this Round Trial are located in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America.
It so happens that four samples are sent to each participant laboratory an equal number of times a year. These are tested on their instruments. Based on the Accuracy for Micronaire, Strength, Length, Length Uniformity, Reflectance (Rd) and Yellowness (+b), an Overall Evaluation Grade is given for each instrument which confirms the participants’ ability to provide reproducible test results that are based on the established international standards.
Given the rise in Ice Futures at the New York Stock Exchange, Brazilian cotton prices continued to head North in late September. The prices of the commodity also grew on expectations of low cotton availability until the beginning of harvesting of the new crop. Cotton buyers too expressed higher interest in purchasing, while sellers remained firm in asking prices.
The Centre for Applied Studies in Applied Economics (CEPEA)/Escola Superior de Agricultura (ESALQ) Index for payment in 8 days for cotton type 41-4, delivered in São Paulo increased 2.77 per cent closing at BRL 2.5244 or $0.7764 per pound on September 30. Quoting data from the Brazilian Commodity Exchange, the CEPEA said 73.8 per cent of the Brazilian 2014/15 cotton crop forecast at 1.563 million tons had already been traded until late September. Of this, 50.8 per cent was sold in the domestic market and the rest in the international market.
As regards to the 2015/16 crop projected at 1.289 million tons, 60.4 per cent had already been traded in September. Of this total, 43.9 per cent was sold in the local market and the rest in the global markets.
Yarn Expo Autumn, one of the most important annual events in the Asian yarn and fibre industry, is all set to return next week. To be held from October 11 to 13 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center , Shanghai, the Fair would have a record number of exhibitors and exhibition space.
While the number of exhibitors has seen a rise from 258 in 2015 to over 270 this year, the exhibition area has been enlarged by 35 per cent to 11,500 sqm. Among the participants would be people from 12 countries and regions like Mainland China, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, Singapore, Switzerland, the US, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Yarn Expo has long been renowned for its product diversity, with a wide range of exhibitors from both established yarn and fibre producing countries as well as emerging producers. Among these are the India Pavilion and Pakistan Zone with the former consisting of 36 companies and the latter of more than 20 exhibitors showcasing competitively priced, high quality cotton yarns. One up-and-coming country is Uzbekistan, whose exhibitors have proved popular in recent editions and are bringing their cotton yarns to the Chinese market this edition.
Apart from cotton yarns, there also exists a strong demand for synthetic yarn and fibre products in China that overseas suppliers from Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand are looking to take advantage of the Expo. Last but not least, the Birla Pavilion will make its debut in Yarn Expo. Fourteen well known manufacturers specialising in Birla Modal, Birla Spunshades and Birla Viscose fibres will showcase their latest collections at the show. Given their advantages compared with traditional dyed products, including avoidance of dyeing, lower consumption of water, lower cost of production, and longer lasting and uniform colours, Birla Spunshades fibres are sure to attract much interest from buyers at the fair.
According to the Aditya Birla Group, the organiser of the Birla Pavilion, this product has a lot of potential in the Chinese market as it can provide new opportunities for manufacturers who are looking for new ways to grow their business. Birla Spunshades can be widely applied in woven wool fabrics, sweaters, leggings, home textiles, denim and even the non-wovens sector.
A surge in demand for 19 micron and finer wool helped lift the Awex benchmark Eastern Market Indicator 10 cents back to 1300 c/kg this week, said a report of the Australian Wool Innovation Market. Awex senior market analyst Lionel Plunkett revealed that delayed shearing due to widespread wet weather as well as a public holiday in three states contributed to a small national total of 27,627 bales this week.
Brokers passed in 5.4 per cent of the 36,849-bale offering with the $A-US exchange rate at US76 cents and the EMI in US dollar terms down 5 cents to US 988 cents. This is said to be the smallest total for a sale in the July-to-December period in three years, Plunkett added. After eking out a 3-cent increase last week, there was further recovery of this sale.
This lifted the Awex-Emi to a 10 cent gain and closing the week back at 1300 cents. Further, the report said that an unseasonal lack of quantity due to adverse weather conditions combined with a spike in demand for prompt to near-shipment has led to the evener pricing.
Vadodara-based manufacturer of organic, inorganic and fine chemicals, Deepak Nitrite Ltd (DNL) has received an order from the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) to close one of its three manufacturing units situated at Hyderabad. The company manufactures DASDA (diamino stilbene disulfonic acid), a chemical used in the manufacturing of optical brightening agents (OBA) at its Hyderabad facility. Incidentally, the unit regarding which the order has been received happens to be a processing unit.
As a fall out to the closure order, the company’s DASDA production will be affected. The company said that it is taking all the necessary effective steps to correct the anomalies pointed out by the TSPCB authorities in the manufacturing system in the said unit at Hyderabad facility.
The chemical is used in the production of optical brightening agents (OBAs), which are used widely by the manufacturers of paper, textile and detergent. DASDA has been in short supply as key production units were closed for environmental reasons in China, which is the leading producer of this chemical in the world.
Deepak Nitrite is the only fully-integrated manufacturer of fluorescent whitening agent (FWA). This is commonly known as optical brightening agents in India having vertical integration from toluene to para-nitrotoluene (PNT) and further into DASDA and OBA.
"In a major shock for the textile industry, Welspun India, a textile major witnessed a major slump on Dalal Street. The slump was inevitable as Welspun’s US-based client, Target Corporation, announced termination of business with India’s largest home textile exporter, as the later was accused of using another variety of cotton instead of Egyptian cotton in the production of sheets. Target sells luxury bath and bedding products under the Fieldcrest brand in the US."
In a major shock for the textile industry, Welspun India, a textile major witnessed a major slump on Dalal Street. The slump was inevitable as Welspun’s US-based client, Target Corporation, announced termination of business with India’s largest home textile exporter, as the later was accused of using another variety of cotton instead of Egyptian cotton in the production of sheets. Target sells luxury bath and bedding products under the Fieldcrest brand in the US.
Consequently Welspun India’ shares tanked reducing its market capitalisation by more than Rs 5,000 crores that week. To cope with the crisis in its sourcing from vendor Welspun has now appointed Ernst & Young to audit its supply systems and processes. However, this incident has prompted other US-based retailers, such as Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond, to investigate cotton products sourced from the company.
This incident however is not an odd one as there have been several such reports which hint at random mislabeling and counterfeiting in the industry. Recently, Cotton Egypt Association, the world’s only trademark and licensing authority for the commodity has found around 90 per cent of the products claiming to use Egyptian cotton did not contain the premium cotton variety at all.
Varied testing boosts counterfeiting
Experts believe rampant counterfeiting results from the lack of tools to verify the authenticity of Egyptian cotton. Cotton Incorporated, a US-based industry-funded body, says there is no physical test to determine the authenticity of cotton products once the fibre is converted into yarn. But agencies like the Cotton Egypt Association have turned to DNA testing of cotton products. The recently practiced the CTAB (cetyl trimethylammonium bromide) method requires DNA extraction from Egyptian cotton fibres throughout the supply chain, from farming till the finished product. The isolated DNA is then used to identify varieties of cotton, thus establishing the authenticity of the product. US-based company Applied DNA Sciences introduced a DNA authentication technology which can identify premium extra-long staple kinds of cotton that have been “blended” with shorter staple cotton. However it is still in its early stage of testing.
In fact, Egyptian cotton (Gossypium barbadense), a product of the country’s moderate climate and fertile soils of the Nile basin, is considered the finest variety of cotton in the world. Fabrics made from this extra-long staple (ELS) fibre are softer, more durable and fetch the highest prices. However, with increased global pressure on low cost production, much of ELS cotton manufacturing and final assembly has migrated to other countries, mainly China, India, Portugal, and Pakistan. Now the incentive to substitute lesser quality Upland cotton in place of the premium ELS cotton is high. It is encouraging mislabeling and counterfeiting. Also the declining supply of Egyptian Cotton has given way to labeling other less standard cotton as Egyptian Cotton. Currently, only 55,000 ha of land is under Egyptian cotton cultivation.
The production of Egyptian cotton has reduced from 345,000 tonnes in 1996 to an estimated 45,000 tonnes in 2016. In Egypt farmers now prefer to grow other summer crops. Egyptian cotton is a long duration crop compared to other varieties. Since it is susceptible to pests and depends on specific sowing, growth, and irrigation conditions which are not available everywhere, yield is almost half as that of other varieties. Though Egyptian cotton commands a higher price, the premium is not sufficient to make up for the lower yield. Not only in Egypt ,the slump in Egyptian cotton production has occurred in other countries, including India, China, Pakistan, and Brazil. Global production has decreased by 18 percent to 21.3 million tonnes in 2015-16.
USDA reveals the drop in production is primarily caused by changing customer preferences and availability of new technologies. Over time, consumer preference has shifted towards garments which require short- or medium-staple cotton such as denim and T-shirts and demand has overtaken that of clothing and bed sheets made of extra-long and long-staple cotton varieties. Overall, the scenario makes strong demand for ease of testing and stricter quality standard protocol.
Intex South Asia, a textile sourcing show, will be held in Sri Lanka from November 15 to 17. Intex South Asia is a meeting point for makers of the best fibers, yarns, apparel fabrics, denims and allied services from around the world to interact with buyers from the biggest manufacturing and consuming regions.
will showcase more than 200 exhibitors from 15 countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, Australia and the US. Buyers from countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Dubai, UK, Italy, Australia, Austria, Spain, Germany, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Uganda and Nigeria are expected.
The show will host multiple seminars with industry experts providing pertinent analyses for better understanding of global developments and their impact on the South Asian industry. Turkey and Switzerland will participate for the first time.
A networking reception will have 600 industry buyers from South Asia and other regions interacting with international exhibitors. A fashion extravaganza will focus on the transformation of innovative textiles into contemporary garments featuring collections from renowned Taiwan-based companies and top companies like Reliance, Bombay Rayon Fashions, Mekotex and Woolmark etc. Woolmark will make a presentation on merino wool.
