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AEPC feels the apparel industry was looking forward to a simplified tax regime under GST, with a single rate for the entire value chain, but that the multiplicity of rates announced will lead to interpretational issues.
For instance, while the cotton value chain was largely under the zero duty route, the introduction of five per cent tax would lead to an increase in production cost.
AEPC also says the 12 per cent rate for readymade garments above Rs 1000 is higher than the industry expectations. “Readymade garments are the historic growth engine of this industry and the maximum employment generator as well,” says Ashok Rajani, chairman, AEPC. “We hope that the government takes care of this segment’s interest by continuing with ROSL and the drawback rates.”
Tirupur apparel exporters fear the GST rates set for different segments of the knitwear production chain can create complexities and erode profit margins.
The differing GST scales fixed for various processes in the apparel production chain can have ramifications considering that the production chain in the Tirupur cluster remains mostly fragmented.
Complexity will arise as job work is going to be taxed at 18 per cent even though garments attract only five per cent. In Tirupur, processes like dyeing, knitting, fabrication and printing among many others are being carried out as job works.
GST says nothing about the duty drawback scheme. Exporters say unless the duty drawback rates are made clear, the profit margins can shrink. It is because the central excise and the service tax components in the drawback are going to get integrated with the GST and only the customs duty component that comes to just over two per cent will be outside the GST purview.
Exporters say the 18 per cent GST rate on manmade fiber and synthetic yarn would have an inverted duty structure problem as the fabric was under the five per cent rate. The high rates for manmade fiber and yarn would lead to an increase in input costs and adversely affect the synthetic sector.
There was a serious concern regarding the grave violation of labor laws by the The National Labour Council and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research. Especially on local brands such as Khaadithat do not provide safe working conditions to its workers and terminate the labourers when they demand their due rights. The workers have still not been reinstated in spite of ongoing protests and instructions of the National Industrial Relations Court. NLC and Piler leaders Karamat Ali, Latif Nizamani, Habibuddin Junaidi, Shafiq Ghauri, Saeed Baloch observed that local textile manufacturers often hire workers through the third-party employment system. The workers are paidRs15,000 per month which is less than the official minimum wage amount also, the wages would be deducted if the workers took any emergency leaves.
On the other hand the workers have been complain that they work for over 12 hours instead of the designated eight hours and are not paid overtime for the extra hours put in. The owners demand more productions per worker when they receive additional orders. A millions of rupees has been earned from their sales in local markets, especially during Ramazanand no proper payment is done to their employees. The working conditions in factories of the textile brands are unsafe as most of the companies often lock doors from the outside during work hours on the pretext of avoiding theft, the labour leaders maintained.
The labour inspection system is inadequate as the number of inspectors available with the department is far smaller than the number of industries. The labour laws has been exploited by the manufacturers the reason being the citing deaths of over 250 workers in the Ali Enterprises fire the officials continued that the high number of casualties occurred because the owners had locked all the exit points from the outside. The labour leaders further demands that the employers must ensure safe working conditions for laborers, provided with their respective rights.
London Textile Fair will be held July 19 to 20, 2017. It will feature a wide range of fashion textiles, accessories, print studios and vintage garments focusing on autumn/winter 2018 collections. The show will have a hall dedicated to fashion textiles accommodating about 50 new exhibitors. The fair was first organised in 2008.
Industry professionals who come to the event represent almost every fashion brand and designer within the UK - from high-street chains to independent women’s, men’s and children’s clothing retailers such as Top Shop, John Lewis, Dorothy Perkins, Tesco, Debenhams, Ted Backer, Missguided, All Saints, Coast, Marks & Spencer, Accessorize, River Island and many more.
The accessories and textiles halls have together more than 90 per cent of the total exhibiting space and, due to the increasing interest from new companies, the organisers have opened a new room which accommodates 50 new fabric manufacturers.
The July 2017 edition will have a wide selection of women’s wear, men’s wear, children’s wear fabrics and accessories with an increasing number of technical textile manufacturers.
The accessories hall has grown exponentially over the last five editions, showcasing an impressively diverse range of products from the best European manufacturers. The number of exhibitors has exceeded expectation, with about 30 per cent new companies registered for July.
The 18th edition of YiwuTex will be held during 13-15 June 2017 at Yiwu International Expo Centre, Zhejiang Province, PR China. To present their novel technology and intelligent production equipment they would aim to help garment manufacturers to enhance productivity and save cost, the “Functional Knitting Machinery Zone” will gather top-notch knitting and hosiery enterprises, including Zhejiang Yexiao and Hefei Opek.
With nearly two decades of rich experience in manufacturing knitting machinery, strong technical force and sophisticated production equipment, Zhejiang Yexiao has two manufacturing centers and a product R&D center. At YiwuTex, Yexiao will mainly display computerized hosiery machine and flat knitting machine, along with its star product “6F Computer Terry / Flat Machine”, It has a lot of features like every sock can be weaved in thirteen color, it can weave 3D pattern socks, it comes with sensor for automatic protection of computer and electronic parts and appropriate for producing functional socks such as football socks, varicosity socks, thickening socks, etc.
YiwuTex 2017 event features “Smart Apparel Machinery Zone” and “Digital Printing Machinery Zone” to help industry players to improve competitiveness. A series of conferences will be held during the show period and will cover topics on knitting industry. The well praised Knitwear Display Zone will showcase the latest knitting techniques, fabric technologies and printing patterns. For registration nd more information you can visit YiwuTex official website. YiwuTex has also recently transferred its Wechat to a new account and visitors could scan the QR code below to follow it for the latest show updates.
India’s cotton imports for 2016-17 are not expected to be more than 25 lakh bales.
They were expected to be higher because of constraints in domestic supplies, higher local prices due to the fall in arrivals after November 8 and cheaper availability of good quality cotton overseas.
However, because of good seed sales and the early arrival of rains, India may harvest a bumper crop. Cotton seed sales have been good and rains are also good. Cotton prices are better when compared to other crops.
The annual rains have hit the peninsular coastline ahead of schedule. This has prompted many Indian cotton millers and traders to cancel or settle their import contracts. Concerns about the adverse impact of El Nino on Indian monsoons began fading, making cancellations mutually beneficial.
Some import contracts have been mutually cancelled, possibly reducing the import quantity for this year.
India’s 2017-18 cotton production is expected to increase because of a rise in the area under cultivation. Consumption is forecast higher also, both in China and the rest of the world. Trade is forecast up as stronger imports by Vietnam and Bangladesh more than offset lower imports in India, Pakistan, and Mexico.
For 2016-17, global use is raised, while production is down marginally, resulting in lower global ending stocks.
Gerber Technology showcased its digital solutions at Texprocess 2017 tradeshow in Frankfurt, Germany that was held from May 9-12. Cutting-edge digital design tools will help garment manufacturers cut costs by millions of dollars, increase throughput, reduce waste and – most importantly – stay competitive in the age of ' fast fashion'. It showcased its digital solutions including the newest releases of YuniquePLM product lifecycle management software, as well as AccuMark the industry-leading pattern design, grading marker, making and production planning software, AccuMark 3D and AccuPlan.
Since Gerber’s digital solutions architecture uses common file structures, data can easily be passed to the cut room, where smart machines, like the GERBER spreader XLs series and Gerber Paragon line of multi-ply GERBER cutters, can process the order with a simple barcode scan.
A closed-loop, end-to-end digital solution, allows companies to automate their entire process and streamline data and workflow necessary to provide insight, maximise throughput, minimise errors and reduce labour costs to be competitive in mass production environments.
Mike Elia, President and CEO of Gerber Technology, said the shift is driven by a more tech-savvy customer base, a faster ' fast fashion' cycle and, the need to solve massive inventory and returns issues.
Elia further added that for many years the fashion apparel has been chasing the needle in pursuit of lower costs. At present, companies are getting crushed by having the wrong inventory and customer returns as fashion cycles get shorter and more customers buy online,. Now, with advances in technology, companies are turning to digital technologies to solve these problems.
The event in Frankfurt was an opportunity for Gerber to demonstrate to industry leaders how easy it can be to connect systems, allowing data to flow seamlessly from design and development all the way through their supply chain, leveraging software and IoT technologies to enhance visibility and efficiency. Gerber eveloped its Texprocess presentations around the theme of ' Embrace Your Digital Reality.
The new theme was developed as a way to show the industry that anyone can leverage digital technology and cutting-edge solutions and when it comes to technology all are different. But Gerber can help all companies work to embrace these new solutions and move forward reach The company’s aims in making technologies easy to buy, easy to consume, and easy to use, says Elia
India has surpassed China to secure the top position among 30 developing countries on ease of doing business.
The 2017 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), now in its 16th edition, ranks the top 30 developing countries for retail investment worldwide and analyses 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables.
India's rapidly expanding economy, easing of foreign direct investment rules and a consumption boom are the key drivers for India’s top ranking in the GRDI.
India’s retail sector has been growing at an annual rate of 20 per cent. Total sales surpassed the trillion dollar mark last year and the sector is expected to double in size by 2020.
In the past year, 100 per cent foreign ownership has been allowed in B2B e-commerce businesses and for retailers that sell food products.
India's retail sector has also benefited from the rapid growth in e-commerce. It is projected to grow 30 per cent annually and reach 48 billion dollars by 2020.
India’s effort to boost cashless payments and reform indirect taxation with a nationwide goods and services tax are also expected to accelerate adoption of formal retail.
Despite its slower overall economic growth, the market’s size and the continued evolution of retail still make China one of the most attractive markets for retail investment.
The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) has welcomed the Goods and Services Tax rates for textiles and clothing.
CMAI feels bringing the entire value chain of textiles under the GST regime will do away the fractured tax chain that exists in the current tax regime. Application of tax to the entire value chain in a fair and neutral manner will help this sector to comply with the tax laws of the country.
Availability of input tax credits under the GST regime will provide a boost to investment and job creation in the sector, which is the second largest employer after agriculture with a direct employment of over five crore and indirect employment of over six crore people.
CMAI has welcomed the decision to have two slabs of GST on garments. With input tax credits and local levies being merged with GST, essential garments having a selling price up to Rs1000 will save on the total applicable taxes, making the essential garments even more affordable. Though there would be a small increase in tax incidence on garments of a selling price above Rs1000, after accounting for all the input tax credits, indications are that manufacturers would absorb the same and there would be no change in customer selling prices.
CMAI is currently working with all stakeholders of the textile value chain to identify challenges that may need specific rules as the industry gets ready to adopt GST. CMAI has also setup a Helpdesk of GST experts.
Antimicrobial chemicals help to control the growth of microorganisms in textiles as well as maintain their physical strength.
Recent research and developments have brought superior antimicrobial chemicals in the market which can be used easily with high effectiveness in all application sectors, including indoor, outdoor, apparels, technical, and industrial textiles.
Textiles with large surface area such as carpets, apparels etc. under certain temperature and moisture conditions become vulnerable for microorganism growth. These microorganisms are not only harmful to human beings, causing various infections and diseases, but also lead to undesirable effects on textiles such as discoloration, odor and reduced strength of material.
In order to decrease the health risks associated with infections from microorganisms, textile manufacturers are increasingly using antimicrobial chemicals in their products. Antimicrobial chemicals are used in textiles in two different stages i.e. during the spinning and during the textile finishing process.
A growing number of health awareness programs, development of hospitals and surgical labs create a substantial platform for the use of antimicrobial textiles. Recently developed smart textiles, used for health monitoring, also utilize hygienic and bacteria-free textile materials. Increasing consumption of smart textile materials is further expected to push the demand for antimicrobial textile chemicals over the coming decade.
