The Sri Lankan free trade agreement (FTA) negotiators want India to implement interim remedies for the non-trade barriers that exist in the current Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) prior to the signing of the Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA), in order to build up the confidence on the ETCA among Sri Lankan stakeholders.
Speaking at a recent press conference at the International Trade and Development Strategies Ministry premises, Sri Lanka’s Chief FTA Negotiator K.J. Weerasinghe said the Sri Lankan negotiating team has taken up several key issues in the ISFTA, particularly with regard to non-trade barriers on food and processed food exports and the quota on apparel exports from Sri Lanka.
“India wants to implement the mechanism after signing the ETCA, however, we are insisting the Indian authorities to implement the measures early,” he said.
Weerasinghe pointed out that India currently doesn’t recognise the certificates issued for food and process food items by Sri Lanka laboratories, which acts as a major non-trade barrier for Sri Lankan food and process food exports.
The Indian authorities check each and every consignment of these export shipments to assess compliance with the Indian product standards and regulations at customs. According to exporters and analysts, the resulting delays, uncertainty and additional costs, such as storage and demurrage, act as a barrier to trade with India.
“We want five labs to be recognised by the Indian authorities as an interim measure until the Mutual Recognition Agreement is finalised,” he said
A delegation from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is expected to visit Sri Lanka to inspect the select five labs in mid-May.
“They will visit these five laboratories to evaluate the equipment, expertise and capacity and based on those criteria, they will recognise the five labs.”
Weerasinghe also said the Sri Lankan FTA negotiation team has taken a strong stance with the Indian negotiators in order to remove the eight million apparel piece quota imposed on Sri Lankan apparel export to India.
“We want the apparel quota to be removed. However, the Indian negotiators want to review the quota. We are maintaining the position that it should be removed.”
According to local apparel exporters, Lankan apparel exports to India have already reached the imposed quota at the end of 1Q18.

Weerasinghe noted that the removal of these bottlenecks would provide a big boost for Sri Lankan exports to India.
Speaking of the extent of liberalisation of tariff lines to India, he said, “One of the important elements of the Indian agreement is the acknowledgement of the asymmetry between the two countries so the extent of liberalisation that India is going to do will not be matched by us.”
According to Weerasinghe, Sri Lanka is likely to maintain a 30 percent negative list with India while protecting domestically sensitive industries.
The Sri Lankan FTA negotiators plan to conclude the technical negotiations of the ETCA by the end of the year. The 10th round of the ETCA talks is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka from May 23-25.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan FTA negotiators expect the Sri Lanka-China FTA talks to continue to beyond this year as there is a lot to be discussed with regard to the proposal made by the Chinese negotiators to liberalise 90 percent of tariff lines where the two parties have to thoroughly discuss the sectors and the timelines of liberalisation.
Weerasinghe said the government has proposed to hold the next round of FTA talks with China in June and Sri Lanka is currently awaiting a response from the Chinese government to continue the negotiations.

www.thedailystar.net

CHENNAI: As the mercury rises, it’s time to refresh your wardrobe with fabrics that can breathe. Head to ‘Cool Cotton’ – an eleven-day exhibition of cotton handloomand handcrafts by Central Cottage Industries Emporium India Ltd in Chennai. The exhibition showcases cotton saris, dress material, kurtis and home linen. It will also showcase jewellery, paintings and handicrafts from all over India.
The handloom saris on exhibit are sourced from Odisha, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Bhaglapur. “The exhibition aims at contributing to the Indian handloom and handicrafts sector by enabling direct participation of the artisans and weavers from across the country. Around 25 artisans are participating and since many of them do not have the means to market their products, we help them do it with this platform,” says Mahendra Kumar Behera, manager of the showroom.
Titled ‘Cool Cotton’, the exhibition will be held at Central Cottage Industries Emporium showroom, Temple Towers, 672, Anna Salai, Nandanam, till May 14.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

New Delhi: Japanese apparel retailer UNIQLO will foray in India next year with the first store in the national capital, a company statement said today.

This will also mark the brand’s entry in the South Asia region.

After the launch in Delhi, UNIQLO plans to expand in the national capital region (NCR) before considering other areas. “India will become the latest in a string of new markets for UNIQLO worldwide, following earlier announcements to launch in Sweden and the Netherlands in 2018,” it said.

Following the establishment of a wholly-owned subsidiary in India this month, UNIQLO said it will begin recruiting local talent as it prepares to open its first store in the country.
UNIQLO has around 2,000 stores in 19 markets worldwide including Japan, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the UK, US, among others.
The company reported global sales of approximately 1.8619 trillion yen (USD 16.87 billion) for 2017 financial year ended August 31, 2017.

economictimes.indiatimes.com

NDO – Vietnam has become an important supplier in terms of textiles and garments to the Australian market, with increasing growth in both value and supplier ratings, heard a workshop in Hanoi on May 9.
With imports of textiles and garments in 2017 reaching over US$6.2 billion, Australia is considered as a lucrative market for Vietnamese textile enterprises, particularly in the context that Australia has become a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
To provide further details on the Australian market, and the opportunities for the Vietnamese exporters in making use of the CPTPP, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) hosted a workshop on Wednesday, with the participation of several large domestic textile exporters and experts to offer them opportunities to expand their exports to Australia and the CPTPP market in general.
According to VITAS, the CPTPP was officially signed on March 9 between 11 countries, facilitating the promotion of economic growth and opening up one of the largest free trade blocs in the world, with a market of 499 million people and its GDP at approximately US$10.1 trillion, accounting for 13.5% of the world’s GDP.
Statistics show that the import value of textiles and apparel by the CPTPP bloc in 2017 reached over US$53 billion, of which Australia is the third largest importer with a value of over US$6.2 billion, accounting for 11.67%.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s textile and garment exports to the CPTPP market in 2017 reached over US$4.8 billion, accounting for 9.07% of the market share, posing great potential for the Vietnamese products to be exported to the CPTPP in general and the Australian market in particular.
According to Nguyen Phuc Nam, Deputy Head of the Asian – African Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Australia is a potential market for Vietnamese garments. As committed to in the CPTPP, from the date of the CPTPP coming into force, Australia will reduce its import duties to 5% in the first year and 0% in the fourth year for most of suits, jackets, and blazers (HS 6203 and 6204). Particularly, for HS 6205, tariffs will be 0% from the first year of the agreement. Meanwhile, the basic import tax rate for garment products is usually 5-10%.
In addition to the tariff advantages, retail prices of goods in general, and textiles in particular, in the Australian market are often very high, while Australia currently tends to import and order processing from Vietnam due to the cheaper labour compared to others, plus the preferential tariffs.
Australia has a huge consumption demand for textiles and apparel, but the market share of Vietnamese textiles is still negligible. According to Truong Van Cam, VITAS Vice President and General Secretary, Vietnam’s textile exports to Australia was just below 10%. However, with the advent of the CPTPP, the expected growth rate could reach double digits.
To boost exports to the Australian market, Cam suggested that Vietnamese textile companies promote trade connections and join trade fairs in Australia in order to introduce their products to local importers and customers, while forming links between Vietnamese and Australian enterprises. He also proposed to apply modern techniques and technology transfer to improve the product quality to meet the selective demand in the Australian market.
Tran Van Quyen, Australian Woolmark Representative for Vietnam, said that Australia’s buying power is even greater than that of consumers in the US and Europe. However, orders from Australia are usually small because the form of sales is mainly online business that is suitable for Vietnamese small-scale businesses. He suggested that domestic textile companies ensure quality assurance for their items exported to the Australian market, event with small orders.
Sharing the same view as Quyen, Rajesh Bahl from the Seam Consulting Group Australia, said that despite a small population with over 24 million people, the market is selective for textile and apparel products. If Vietnamese enterprises can satisfy their requirement on orders and product quality, they will gain a strong foothold in this market, he said.

en.nhandan.org.vn

The Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association (?HK?B) signed a deal with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to provide employment for Syrian refugees in Turkey.
The project aims to integrate refugees in the workforce. The ?HK?B and ILO will cooperate on the project in cities with a high population of refugees.
The Turkish association’s president Mustafa Gültepe says they would coordinate businesses’ recruitment of refugees, from the production process to their social adoption and management of human resources, in order to boost employment of refugees. ILO’s Turkey director Numan Özcan says the international body was working since 2015 for integration of Syrian refugees to the Turkish workforce and the project would be carried out in 10 cities including Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Gaziantep and ?anl?urfa. “We believe that collaboration with ?HK?B is highly important in the apparel industry where Syrians and host communities are, or have the potential of being, employed in large numbers. As a most important sectoral organization with more than 7,000 members representing the Turkish apparel industry, the ?HK?B makes significant contributions to the sector and Turkish economy,” Özcan said.
Under the deal, the association’s members will be informed on incentives for employment and on-site consulting services would be provided to companies for proper recruitment of refugees.
Turkey hosts more than 3.5 million refugees from war-torn Syria, the largest Syrian refugee community in the world. The country is praised for its continuous humanitarian aid to displaced Syrians and modern refugee camps in its border cities. Still, only a small fraction of the large refugee population live in these camps and others mostly depend on aid. With no end in sight to the conflict in Syria which broke out in 2011, Turkey seeks for ways for integration of refugees. It started issuing work permits to refugees two years ago. One-year permits that can be renewed are confined to the textile, construction and manufacturing sectors.

www.dailysabah.com

Statistics committee projects total cotton supply up to April 30, 2018 at 347 lakh bales
Retaining its earlier estimate of cotton crop at 360 lakh bales (each of 170 kg), the Cotton Association of India (CAI) has noted that around 86 per cent of the crop has already arrived in the market by April 30, 2018.
The apex cotton trade body has also made minor changes in the production figures for the states.
For Maharashtra and Karnataka, cotton production is estimated to be higher by 2 lakh bales and 50,000 bales, respectively, while the production in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is now estimated lower by 1.50 lakh bales and 1 lakh bales, respectively, thus retaining the crop at the same level as in the previous estimate last month.
The Statistics Committee of CAI has projected total cotton supply up to April 30, 2018 at 347 lakh bales. This includes market arrivals of 311 lakh bales and imports estimated at 6 lakh bales, the CAI statement said.
The country’s cotton consumption for the 7 months from October 2017 to April 2018 stood at 189 lakh bales with an average of 27 lakh bales per month. Exports are estimated at 61 lakh bales as on April-end.
Cotton stock at the end of April 2018 is estimated at 97 lakh bales, including 52 lakh bales with textile mills, while the remaining 45 lakh bales is estimated to be held by the Cotton Corporation of India and others, including multinationals, traders, and ginners.
As per the projected yearly balance sheet for the season 2017-18, total cotton supply till the end of the season by September 30, 2018 will be at 410 lakh bales, including the opening stock of 30 lakh bales at the beginning of the season.
Domestic consumption is estimated at 324 lakh bales, while the exports are estimated to be 65 lakh bales. The carry-over stock at the end of the 2017-18 season is estimated by CAI at 21 lakh bales. The Statistics Committee is scheduled to have its next meeting on June 11.

www.thehindubusinessline.com

Minister for Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development Gaurishankar Bisen said that Madhya Pradesh in one of the leading States in the country in organic cotton production. Madhya Pradesh produces one quarter of the total world’s organic cotton.
“Therefore, there is a need for better marketing arrangement for organic cotton being produced in the State at national and international level”, Bisen said while addressing the convention on Organic Cotton held at Academy of Administration on Tuesday.
Bisen mentioned that demand for organic cotton has increased in the field of medical science. Best cotton production of Nimar area of the state has carved its special niche in the country. Farmers of Nimar area have shown interest in organic cotton production during the last 3-4 years.
He stated that a policy has been prepared by the state government in 2011 to encourage organic products. Several facilities along with subsidy are being given to farmers. While deliberating on measures to double farmers’ income, Bisen urged voluntary organizations, working in the agriculture sector to work with the state government for effective implementation of government’s programmes.
The Principal Secretary Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development, Rajesh Rajora informed during the convention that first BT Cotton arrived in the state, but it did not prove worth enough for reducing the cost of the farmers. Discussing about the challenges of Organic Cotton, Rajora said that organic cotton of best quality is being produced in Khargone, Badwani, Jhabua and some districts of Nimar region.
He informed that the area of organic farming has increased seven times and become 6 lakh hectare approx. during the last 7 years in Madhya Pradesh. Besides, he said that export of organic products could reach Rs 1000 crore from Rs 600 crore owing to organic cotton.
The Principal Secretary further informed that Organic Farming Institute in Mandla, Organic Products Testing center in Jabalpur and Organic Cotton Research Institute in Khandwa are being started.
The convention was also addressed by the Chief Executive Officer of Pratibha Syntex, Shreyeskar Chowdhary and Executive Director of C&A Foundation, Leslie Johnston.
Agriculture experts and farmers expressed their views, during three sessions of the Organic Cotton Convention.
Director of Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development, Mohan Lal apprised of the cluster prepared for organic farming.
Agriculture Experts also tabled their views during sessions on ‘A collaborative industry approach besides improving farmers livelihood’, ‘A collaborative industry approach’ and ‘Support Systems in Public Institutions’.
The convention was organized jointly by the Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development and C&A Foundation.
Leading farmers were honoured in the convention. These farmers have undertaken remarkable steps in the field of organic cotton production. Staff Reporter n Bhopal
Minister for Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development Gaurishankar Bisen said that Madhya Pradesh in one of the leading States in the country in organic cotton production. Madhya Pradesh produces one quarter of the total world’s organic cotton.
“Therefore, there is a need for better marketing arrangement for organic cotton being produced in the State at national and international level”, Bisen said while addressing the convention on Organic Cotton held at Academy of Administration on Tuesday.
Bisen mentioned that demand for organic cotton has increased in the field of medical science. Best cotton production of Nimar area of the state has carved its special niche in the country. Farmers of Nimar area have shown interest in organic cotton production during the last 3-4 years.
He stated that a policy has been prepared by the state government in 2011 to encourage organic products. Several facilities along with subsidy are being given to farmers. While deliberating on measures to double farmers’ income, Bisen urged voluntary organizations, working in the agriculture sector to work with the state government for effective implementation of government’s programmes.
The Principal Secretary Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development, Rajesh Rajora informed during the convention that first BT Cotton arrived in the state, but it did not prove worth enough for reducing the cost of the farmers. Discussing about the challenges of Organic Cotton, Rajora said that organic cotton of best quality is being produced in Khargone, Badwani, Jhabua and some districts of Nimar region.
He informed that the area of organic farming has increased seven times and become 6 lakh hectare approx. during the last 7 years in Madhya Pradesh. Besides, he said that export of organic products could reach Rs 1000 crore from Rs 600 crore owing to organic cotton.
The Principal Secretary further informed that Organic Farming Institute in Mandla, Organic Products Testing center in Jabalpur and Organic Cotton Research Institute in Khandwa are being started.
The convention was also addressed by the Chief Executive Officer of Pratibha Syntex, Shreyeskar Chowdhary and Executive Director of C&A Foundation, Leslie Johnston.
Agriculture experts and farmers expressed their views, during three sessions of the Organic Cotton Convention.
Director of Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development, Mohan Lal apprised of the cluster prepared for organic farming.
Agriculture Experts also tabled their views during sessions on ‘A collaborative industry approach besides improving farmers livelihood’, ‘A collaborative industry approach’ and ‘Support Systems in Public Institutions’.
The convention was organized jointly by the Farmer Welfare and Agriculture Development and C&A Foundation.
Leading farmers were honoured in the convention. These farmers have undertaken remarkable steps in the field of organic cotton production.

www.dailypioneer.com

In an interview with ET Now, Ajay Sahai, DG & CEO, FIEO, says we can provide 3% to 4% more competitiveness to export by halving transaction cost alone
Edited excerpts:
How do you see the recent rupee weakness impacting exporters as well as importers? Which sectors do you think would benefit from the rupee weakness?
In fact., rupee has depreciated by around 5% in the current financial year and overall 6% in the current calendar year. This has definitely helped the competitiveness of exports but always keep in mind that currency is one of the factor which makes export competitive. There are other factors also which are equally important.

Coming back to the textiles, we have to keep in mind that Indian textile exports are more sensitive to the demand rather than to the price segment and the demand is not picking in the US and EU. In fact, in these countries, we are losing out our share to other competitors like Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar.

We have to be a little cautious. Rupee alone will not provide much comfort to the export sector. Definitely, it will be one of the factors and its impact will vary from sector to sector.
In import-intensive sectors like gems and jewellery, petroleum, electronic hardware or high-end engineering products, there is a natural hedge and therefore the rupee depreciation is more or less nullified.
But traditional sectors like handicraft, carpets, sports goods, marine products, agro and process sectors, textiles, footwear — where we are less import- intensive — will definitely be gainers.
Imports, definitely, will become costlier. There are issues with regard to increasing trade deficit, current account deficit and even inflation and therefore while it is good for the export sector, those who are receiving the remittances in the country and the other segments of economy may be adversely impacted with this depreciation.
In terms of competitiveness, what needs to be done? The rupee of course is one factor. It will help in the current situation but what are the other things that you would look at?
If you are talking about the textile sector, let us look at how we have performed over the last 10 years or so. In 2006, India’s share in global apparel export was 3%. In 2016, we have increased it by 1% to take it to 4%.

In the meantime, both Bangladesh and Vietnam they have increased their global share to more than 4%. Their global share of Vietnam in today’s apparel sector is around 5% and Bangladesh’s is 6.4%. UNIDO has recently carried out a study which clearly demonstrated that over a period of time, India is losing its competitiveness even in the traditional sectors of exports like apparel and textile.
While of course we should be happy with the depreciation of Indian rupee, first, I am not sure how long it will last. Second, we have to use this time to address some of the fundamental issues relating to infrastructure, skilling of workers etc.
The relaxation in labour laws has happened. That will be implemented by state authorities in true spirit. The transaction cost for exports needs to be looked into. This is the time where we should look into the long-term solutions for exports. However, let us drive on the waive and if it can provide competitiveness and better prospects of exports to India, we should be happy with but I personally feel that if we want export to be on a sustainable path, we have to look into the core issues.

Which sectors do we need to watch out for once rupee starts to depreciate or remains around these levels?

If rupee remains at 67 or little above 67, that all traditional sectors of export – textiles, footwear, marine, agro process sector, sports goods, traditional sectors will gain a lot. Maybe pharmaceuticals and some of the sunrise sectors also, IT and IT enabled services will also be benefitted.
We will have little concern about import-intensive sectors like electronic hardware where we are still at a very nascent stage.
In export of cotton yarn, where we were one of the leaders – our share is down by 40% to China and China’s overall imports. India’s cotton yarn share was 20% and it has come down to 8% in last two years.

There are countries which are becoming more competitive. They are providing better facility to their exporters. They are providing more facilitating approach to their whole export strategy and therefore if we want the Indian exports to be on a long lasting path, we have to look into the core issues.
In terms of traditional sectors, are any policy interventions needed to boost exports or is just a weak rupee is sufficient?

No, policy intervention will be needed there. In fact, with the US raising dispute over the continuation of the export promotion schemes, a big question mark has been raised over continuation of these schemes. The government should have a fallback position that if something goes wrong we should have something in place to support export

I personally feel that while on the one hand, government and the industry have worked together for some of the replacement of these schemes, let us look at how we can reduce the logistics cost for Indian exports. Our logistics cost is one of the highest.
A number of initiatives have been taken. The government is looking into overall infrastructure improvement also. Lot of reforms have taken place in the road and shipping sector. The e-way bill has been introduced. We hope that the toll plaza at the boarders will be electronic. Third, let us look into more input of technology into the government processing so that the processing become simple and transparent.
Even if we reduce our transaction cost by 50%, we can provide 3% to 4% more competitiveness to export.

economictimes.indiatimes.com

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi-led ministerial panel on incentivising digital payments under GST will meet on May 11 to assuage concerns expressed by some states, especially West Bengal.
To incentivise digital transaction, the GST Council had last week discussed giving a concession of 2 per cent in GST rate (where the tax rate is 3 per cent or more) to consumers making payment through cheque or digital mode. The ceiling for the discount would be capped at Rs 100 per transaction.
While most of the states in the GST Council were agreeable to the proposal, West Bengal had voiced concerns saying that the poor people will suffer because they still find cash as a viable mode for transaction, an official said.
“While 98 per cent of the states supported the idea, West Bengal opposed to it saying the poor would suffer. We will discuss the concerns and hope to achieve a consensus in the May 11 meeting,” the official added.
The Modi-led Group of Ministers (GoM) has been tasked with submitting its report to the GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising his state counterparts, within 15 days.
The five member GoM include Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patel, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Haryana Excise & Taxation Minister Capt Abhimanyu and Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal.
Jaitley, after the GST Council meet last week, had said that while most states were agreeable to the proposal of giving a concession in GST rate, some states wanted a small negative list.

www.business-standard.com

Industries and Textiles Minister K. T. Rama Rao has directed the officials to take steps to cancel permissions accorded to firms operating from the Gundlapochampally apparel park if they are engaged in activities other than apparel manufacturing.
Officials should explore options for setting up training and skill development centre for artisans engaged in production of handicrafts at the apparel park. The Minister, who reviewed the developments in textiles sector on Tuesday, wanted officials to ensure that basic infrastructure required for facilitating effective functioning of the firms located in the apparel park was developed and the government was in favour of constitution of a corpus fund for taking care of maintenance and related aspects.
The government was working out plans to attract more investment to the apparel park located at Pashamailaram and the officials of the TS Industrial Infrastructure Corporation should take steps for putting in place necessary infrastructure. The Minister said the demand for handlooms was on the rise and the Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society should, accordingly, draw up plans to enhance the number of centres operated by the society at different places and re-brand the products in tune with the increasing demand besides hosting the details of the products online.
According to an official release, Mr. Rama Rao reviewed the progress of the schemes launched for weavers, including upgradation of the looms, and wanted the officials to appoint community coordinators, if need be, for effectively taking these programmes to the beneficiaries. Officials informed the Minister of the steps being taken for distribution of Bathukamma sarees to eligible beneficiaries and said the sarees would be available for distribution by the third week of September.

www.thehindu.com