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Kolkata: In a bid to accelerate exports and to remove the hurdles faced by the industries and exporters, the Bengal government is working towards the formulation of a comprehensive road map, which will not only ease out the process but also contribute towards the economic growth of the state. State Industry, Commerce & Enterprise minister Amit Mitra will chair a high level meeting with the industrialists and all the stakeholders on June 18, with an objective of providing them with a better platform and chalk out a road map so that the state’s export policy gets a further impetus. The export commissioner office of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) will organise the programme to work on the identified growth sectors and towards the promotion of various products from the state in the international arena. Mitra will hold the meeting to take stock of the steps that need to be taken to achieve the target.
When contacted, Vandana Yadav, Managing Director, WBIDC, said that the focus areas would be the sectors like textile and garments, metal and metallurgy, gems and jewellery, food processing, handloom and handicraft. Identifying the needs of the industries and issues relating to the exports would also be looked into. Exporters from Bengal will also get a platform to articulate the problems they might have been facing and get speedy remedies. The government will also listen to the needs of the industrialists and will also assess which areas need to be worked on, to scale up the export growth.
According to sources, one of the major problems for the exporters in the state is the lack of a certifying agency. All sorts of goods that are exported abroad need to undergo clearance from the certifying agencies. As there is no city-based certifying agency, the products have to be delivered to other cities for certification. Most of the certifying agencies are based in Mumbai and North Indian cities. As a result of this, exporters from the state face difficulties. It has been learnt that the state government might take up the issue with the Centre in this regard. For example, for food processing industries, there should be a testing lab. Otherwise, it becomes a lengthy process to get the tests done from outside. Scope of setting up a testing lab may also be discussed during the meeting. Exploring the potential markets in the case of textile and garments, gems and jewellery and others would also be worked on. According to a senior government official, the move will not only help the state’s economy, but also create demands of various products in the international market. “The government has already come up with an export strategy and now it is the time for preparing a road map to iron out the problems the exporters might have been facing,” the official said. It may be mentioned here that after coming to power, the Mamata Banerjee government has made significant improvement in the building of infrastructure and the state has been poised for a big spurt in export. Various sectors like micro, small and medium enterprises & textiles, leather, IT, food processing, horticulture and floriculture and energy have seen an unprecedented growth.
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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s trade deficit swelled to $33.89 billion during eleven months (July 2017 to May 2018) of the ongoing fiscal year (FY2017-18), putting pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which are already under pressure.
The country’s trade deficit went up by 13.4 percent in one year. The trade deficit was recorded at $29.9 billion during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year (FY2016-17), according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Pakistan’s exports increased to $21.3 billion during July-May period of FY2017-18 as against $18.5 billion of the corresponding period of the previous year, showing growth of 15.28 percent. Similarly, Pakistan’s imports also increased by 14.12 percent during the period under review. The country imported goods worth $55.2 billion during July-May period of FY2017-18 as compared to $48.3 billion of the same period of last year. The exports increased due to the government’s incentives package and rupee depreciation against the US dollar. The government had recently extended the export package worth Rs195 billion for next three years i.e. up to 30th June 2021 to further increase the country’s exports. The package aims at improving the competitiveness of the textile and non-textile export sectors to continue the export growth in the coming financial years.
In order to improve competitiveness and incentivize investment in export-oriented production, the Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) has been extended, on the same terms and conditions, for the commercial and manufacturer exporters. The zero rating of textile machinery imports and withdrawal of duty on manmade fibre other than polyester has been continued. Besides, in order to encourage more non-traditional sectors, electric fans, electrical appliances, electricity equipment and cables, transport equipment including motor bikes, sports bags, leather products e.g. leather wallets, auto-parts, stationery, furniture, fresh fruits & vegetables, meat & meat preparations including poultry, juices & syrups have also been included in the package. The federal government has extended the duration of Rs 3 per unit subsidy under Industrial Support Package (ISP) for another three months.
According to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan’s exports enhanced by 32.35 percent to $2.14 billion in May 2018 from $1.62 billion of May 2016. Meanwhile, the imports recorded a growth of 14.77 percent and reached $5.81 billion in May 2018 from $5.1 billion in the same period of the last year. Therefore, the trade deficit was recorded at $3.67 billion in May 2018 as against $3.45 billion of May 2017, showing an increase of 6.5 percent.
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Asia’s largest biennial event for the entire technical textiles and nonwovens sector will feature some of the industry’s biggest overseas machinery brands. Held on the earlier date of 4 – 6 September this year, the fair will feature an expected 500-plus total exhibitors from around 20 countries & regions.
As the world’s largest producer of technical textiles and nonwovens, China’s demand for production machinery is insatiable. As such, this September’s Cinte Techtextil China has attracted some of the world’s leading machinery brands, particularly in the nonwovens and weaving machinery sectors, ensuring a wide range of sourcing options for both domestic and international buyers.
Overseas producers respond to strong Chinese demand
As the Chinese domestic and export markets’ demand for quality technical textiles and nonwovens products continues to increase, overseas machinery brands continue to enter the country, using Cinte Techtextil China as their starting-out platform. ANDRITZ Nonwoven is just one of those who see the growing potential. “Chinese nonwovens manufacturers are increasingly requiring higher capacities and top-class quality for their nonwovens products for local and export markets,” Mr Laurent Jallat explained. “China is the biggest market in terms of installed capacity, and shows quite promising potential for the future. In the past years, we’ve seen rapid growth in products such as disposable face masks.” ANDRITZ responds to this demand with their neXline spunlace eXcelle line which features state-of-the-art TT card web forming and JetlaceEssentiel hydro entanglement units for high capacity and speed.
The DiloGroup also report an increase in demand for their products in China. “China is one of our biggest markets,” explains Mr Dominik Foshag. “We have procured huge orders from China, as Chinese customers are considering German technology more frequently nowadays. The visitor quality of Cinte Techtextil has been very good in this past, and we think this year’s fair will be also successful as we know many of our customers are going to visit.”
Oerlikon will introduce its spunbond technology to the Chinese market this year, and is expecting to conclude initial contracts at the fair due to increased demand for overseas products. “The Chinese market for nonwovens products is by far the largest and fastest growing national market. Chinese manufacturers are no longer satisfied with lower product quality, but want to exceed Western quality levels, for example. The products must now meet stricter customer requirements and legal standards, some of which are significantly higher than other international standards,” Ms Lena Kachelmaier said.
Truetzschler Nonwovens has also noticed this trend. Ms Jutta Stehr commented: “In the last two or three years, China became one of the pacemakers in the field of nonwovens used in beauty, skin care and hygiene applications. Asian markets have set new standards concerning quality in nonwovens. For instance, making disposable wipes from cotton fibres is a trend originating in Asia. The luxurious feeling of cotton combined with the requirement for eco-friendly products will further drive demand in China and elsewhere. Accordingly, Truetzschler Nonwovens anticipates more inquiries at Cinte Techtextil for its proven carding and spunlacing solutions for cotton nonwovens.”
Weaving machine supplier Itema has also noticed strong demand in China for products made in Italy. “Generally speaking, and especially for technical fabrics, imported machinery is highly evaluated and appreciated by Chinese customers. In recent years, Itema experienced significant growth in the sale of its Made-in-Italy weaving machines in China, and in other APAC countries. Imported machines are synonymous with quality and reliability, and we believe this positive trend will be constant in the future,” Mr Matteo De Micheli outlined.
Nonwovens machinery exhibitor highlights:
• ANDRITZ Nonwoven: their specialty is technologies for drylaid, wetlaid, spunbond, spunlace, needlepunch and textile calendering. At Cinte Techtextil, they will highlight their aXcess product portfolio, which has been especially designed for medium-capacity production. ANDRITZ has developed this range to fit the demands of producers with medium-capacity requirements, particularly in emerging markets. It includes lines and individual machines for needlepunch, spunlace, wetlaid and calendering processes.
• Autefa Solutions: visitors to their booth will experience the company’s expertise as a full line supplier for carded- crosslapped needlepunch lines, aerodynamic web forming technology, spunlace and thermobonding lines. Their nonwovens lines meet customers’ requirements for quality web formation, bonding, active weight regulation and minimal maintenance.
• DILO Systems: a leader in the field of staple fibre nonwoven production lines, DiloGroup will present their latest developments at the fair, including staple fibre production lines, card feeding and cards and crosslappers & needlelooms.
• Oerlikon: they will showcase spunbond solution lines for the production of polypropylene geotextiles. According to the company, spunbond geotextile applications are on the rise as the market is increasingly demanding more efficient processes and products, which means the product requirements are often the same or greater, but with a lower raw material input. Spunbonds are progressively replacing classical carded nonwovens due to their technical and commercial benefits.
• Truetzschler Nonwovens: concentrating on solutions for producing a broad range of hygiene nonwovens including wipes at the fair, they will focus on thermobonding & spunlacing processes and the respective machinery, from fibre preparation down to winding.
Weaving machinery exhibitor highlights:
• Itema: making their debut at Cinte Techtextil, they are a leading supplier of weaving machines for technical fabrics production. According to the company, they are the only weaving machine producer to offer technical textile manufacturers the top three technologies for weft insertion: Rapier, Projectile and Airjet.
• Picanol: they use their leading position as producers of weaving machines for other textile products to expand into machines for woven technical textiles by investing heavily in state-of-the-art technology, as well through the modular design of their machine platforms which allow them to serve different industry sectors effectively.
• Lindauer Dornier: featuring in the German Pavilion this edition, they offer a number of weaving machine varieties including rapier, air-jet, open reed weave (ORW) and more. Their rapier weaving machines have set the technological standard in the high quality wool textiles market for decades, and this quality will be on display at their booth with the DORNIER P1 rapier weaving machine.
Garment exports to the US grew 2.90 percent year-on-year to $1.87 billion in the first four months of the year as Bangladeshi manufacturers benefit from the Trump administration’s abandonment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The TPP was a sweeping trade pact between the US and 11 other countries — Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Chile and Peru — representing about 40 percent of the world economy.
Before the US formally pulled out from the TPP in January last year, many American retailers were placing billions of dollars worth of work orders in Vietnam — a major competitor of Bangladesh in global apparel trade — hoping to enjoy zero-duty benefit under the mega trade deal.
Now, American retailers are slowly coming back to Bangladesh, said Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). “I hope Bangladesh will continue to receive those work orders.”
In the January-April period of 2018, Bangladesh was the sixth largest garment exporter to the US, according to data from the US Office of Textiles and Apparel.
The US is the single largest export destination for Bangladeshi exports, with 90 percent being garment items.
Another reason for the retailers’ fresh patronage of Bangladesh’s garment factories is the near-completion of remediation works by the Accord and Alliance, the foreign inspection agencies formed in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 to tangibly enhance workplace safety in the country’s apparel factories.
“So, our image has brightened up a lot,” Rahman said, adding that the depreciation of taka against the greenback was another factor going in favour of the garment exporters. The garment makers now get Tk 84 for every US dollar, which was Tk 80 even a year earlier.
The rising export of value-added garment items was also another reason for the higher receipts in the first four months of 2018.
Last but not the least, American retail sales has started picking up from December last year, which also fuelled the increased work orders, Rahman added.
The failure of the other emerging garment-exporting nations like Cambodia and Ethiopia — apart from Vietnam — to successfully cater to the American retailers has sent the work orders flowing into Bangladesh again, said Kutubuddin Ahmed, chairman of Envoy Group, which exports nearly $150 million worth of garment items to the US in a year. This time, the local garment makers have been enjoying the benefit of shorter lead time as the sector’s backward linkage integration has adequately been established, he said.
“This factor has also been helping Bangladesh to achieve higher exports, a benefit that the other emerging countries do not have.”
As a result, the 15.62 percent duty that apparel exports from Bangladesh are subjected to upon entry to the US is not working against Bangladesh’s favour, he said.
As of April, China sent $10.92 billion worth of garment items to the US, which is the highest. It was followed by India ($2.67 billion), Vietnam ($3.99 billion) and Pakistan ($928 million).
The government will provide more support to local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which lack the technological knowhow enabling them to add value to finished goods, as this places them at a disadvantage to international peers and results in missed job opportunities for local residents.
“In Rakhine State, for example, bamboo is cut down and directly imported to India. Most crops are exported raw. No value is added, which results in lower margins for cultivators and fewer jobs for the people,” said Daw Aye Aye Win, Director General of the Directorate of Industrial Supervision and Inspection (DISI).
DISI falls under the remit of the Ministry of Industry and is responsible for helping SMEs gain access to technology, market access and financial support. DISI also conducts safety inspections at industrial workplaces.
It said SMEs in the food industry are among the firms most in need of technological support. Around 60 percent of SMEs involved in producing and processing food need help in generating and adding value to their products so as to build quality and scale.
“Even if demand is strong, raw or bad quality products will not gain much traction in the international market, where Myanmar products will be competing with goods from other countries. So, access to technology and training should be a priority for local SMEs that wish to gain international market share,” said Daw Aye Aye Win.
This is true of locally produced tomatos as well as green tea and coffee, she said.
As such, DISI will raise efforts to work together with the private sector to promote locally produced goods, including those made in the states and regions beyond Yangon.
This will also help to raise exports and narrow the trade deficit, which is in line with the National Export Strategy, which prioritises products such as beans, pulses and oilseeds, fisheries, forestry products, textiles and garments, rice and rubber.
Myanmar exports actually hit their highest level in 50 years in 2017-18, with rice exports estimated to have increased to 2.5 million-2.8 million tonnes compared to the previous estimate of 2.2 million tones. Garment exports also increased.
However, improving rice and garment exports were not sufficient to narrow the current account deficit, now 5pc of GDP compared to 3.9pc last year. Imports, driven by strong domestic consumption of overseas goods and demand for capital goods to supply infrastructure projects, grew 12pc during the year, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Based on estimates provided by the Asia Development Bank, the current account deficit will widen further to 5.4pc of GDP in 2018-19.
The Government may impose anti-dumping duty of up to $528 per tonne for 5 years on a Chinese polyester yarn, used in automobile and other industries, to provide a level playing field to domestic players and guard them against below-cost imports.
The Commerce Ministry’s investigation arm, Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), in its final findings of probe has stated that that the imposition of antidumping duty is required to offset dumping and injury on the imports of ‘High Tenacity Polyester Yarn’ from China.
“The authority recommends imposition of antidumping duty…For a period of five years, so as to address the injury to the domestic industry,” the DGAD has said in a notification.
The recommended duty ranges between $174 and $528 per tonne.
The decision to finally impose the duty was taken by the finance ministry. SRF Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd had jointly filed the before the DGAD for initiation of the antidumping investigation.
This yarn, also called as industrial yarn, is used for manufacture of tyre cord fabric, seat belt webbing, ropes, coated fabric, conveyor belt fabric and automotive hose.
Surat: The Confederation of All-India Traders (CAIT) has demanded that the Gujarat government follow other states in implementing district-level e-way bills for goods in transit for textiles and other sectors.
Pramod Bhagat, president of CAIT’s Gujarat chapter, wrote to state GST commissioner, P D Vaghela, stating that the Madhya Pradesh government has accepted the demand and implemented district-level e-way bills. However, Gujarat government is still continuing with city-limit e-way bills, which is proving to be a transport bottleneck for various sectors, but mainly the textile industry.
CAIT also demanded that e-way bill limits be increased from Rs 50,000 worth of goods to Rs 1 lakh. Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have implemented the Rs 1 lakh limit for e-way bills. This means that only traders dispatching goods worth more than Rs 1 lakh need to generate e-way bills.
Pramod Bhagat told TOI, “Gujarat is the hub of the textile sector in India. Tamil Nadu has exempted textile products like yarn, job work services, fabrics etc. from generating e-way bills. We want the Gujarat government to implement the same for the textile sector.”
It is only a matter of time before petrol and diesel are brought under the GST regime, though no state has stepped forward to propose this yet, union minister for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan said.
Under pressure due to high fuel prices, Pradhan’s ministry has been in favour of bringing petrol and diesel under the GST system as subsuming central and state taxes to one levy could ease the price. But the idea has not found any support with states, and a section section at the Centre, as they are reluctant to let go of their share of revenue, said the minister.
But he expressed optimism that petrol and diesel would eventually be brought under GST. He said companies in the energy sector were taking a hit as they were unable to claim input tax credit under GST.
The CBIC has allowed clearance of GST refunds based on PAN of exporters if such refunds are held up due to mismatch in GSTIN mentioned in shipping bill and return forms.
As much as Rs 14,000 crore worth of refunds due to exporters are stuck because of various reasons and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is organising a special refund fortnight from May 31 to June 14 to fast-track clearance of dues.
In a circular to the field officers, the CBIC has said the refund should be cleared if the Permanent Account Number (PAN) mentioned in shipping bill and returns form GSTR-3B/GSTR-1 is same.
Mismatch in GST identification number (GSTIN) happens when the entity filing shipping bills is a registered office and the entity which has paid the Integrated GST (IGST) is a manufacturing unit.
The CBIC said that the entity claiming refund would have to give an undertaking that it will “not claim any refund or any benefit of the amount of IGST so paid”.
It said the DG Systems have developed correction tool for sanction of refund in cases where PAN provided in the shipping bill is the same as in the return forms under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
AMRG & Associates Partner Rajat Mohan said the board has come out with a methodology whereby taxpayer would be sanctioned a refund even in case where a different registered taxpayer files shipping bill than from a registered taxpayer who has undertaken such export supply, provided both the entities are functioning under the same PAN.
Tax department agrees that pending refunds are a liability which needs to be paid off and thereby administration is putting in best efforts to resolve incongruities in handing out such refunds,” Mohan said.
The CBIC has also extended the facility for manual interface to correct the mismatch in invoice details in shipping bills and GST returns.
Exporters can opt for manual correction for shipping bills filed till April 30, 2018.
“Keeping in view the difficulties faced by the exporters in respect of SB005 errors (mismatch in invoice details in shipping bill and returns), Board has decided to extend the facility of officer interface to shipping bills filed up to April 30. However, the exporters are advised to align their export invoices submitted to Customs and GST authorities for smooth processing of refund claims,” the CBIC said.
Global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday predicted that a robust growth outlook of the Indian economy will support the credit quality of the country’s non-financial corporate sector.
Moody’s Indian affiliate ICRA said India’s power sector will continue to remain stable despite mixed success of its distribution utilities (DISCOMS).
It said that improved domestic coal availability is primarily responsible for ensuring a stable power sector and that India is taking steps to align its power generation mix with nationally determined contribution commitments under the December 2015 Paris Accord.
As regards the oil and energy sector, it said, “credit quality of state-owned oil and gas companies will remain positive but could change depending upon the government’s responses to increasing oil prices.”
It warned that there was need for having a balance between high dividends and earnings to ensure against a credit negative slip. It also said that credit ratings of state-owned upstream companies would remain well positioned so long as their net realized prices do not fall below the USD 50 per barrel mark.
“India’s focus on greening its energy mix would imply strong growth for renewable energy over the next many years,” said Moody’s Vice President Abhishek Tyagi
Vikas Halan, Senior Vice President of the ratings agency said, “As disruptions from GST implementation fades, economic activity will recover in India. GDP growth of 7.3 percent for 2018 in India, will result in higher domestic sales volumes, which along with new production capacity and supportive commodity prices, will EBITDA, growth for corporate over the next 12 to 18 months.”
Moody’s, however, cautioned that Indian non-financial firms will continue to face protectionism and tighter monetary controls in the United States because of the depreciating US-Rupee exchange rate (Currently pegged at six percent). It also said that ongoing volatility in international bond markets could make refinancing challenging, particularly for high yield corporate. It also said predicted a further weakening of domestic bank funding because of fresh asset quality and governance issues.
As far as the telecom sector is concerned, Moody’s pained a gloomy picture, saying it would remain under pressure because of intense competition between stakeholders.
“Capital spending will remain high for telecom operators as they expand and upgrade their (respective) network to service the exponential increase in high speed wireless data consumption in India,” it said.
Biddings for solar projects, it said, have seen a drop, given concerns over long-term tariff-related viability
It said that other sectors such as automobiles, consumer staples, durables and hospitality have witnessed a revival and marginal expansion because of rising consumer demand.
It was all praise for the highways sector, saying that government support for existing PPP procurement models has been a crucial factor in attracting private sector investment.
Going forward, it said that the corporate sector could be impacted by growing formalization and a tightening of regulatory norms. It cited the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) as an example of sectoral consolidation as also stricter emission norms in the automobile sector for this premise.
It said that rural demand would be critically dependent on having a normal monsoon, hike in minimum support price and emphasis on agri-economic policies in the run-up to next year’s general elections.
