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Textile and clothing sector exports have increased marginally to USD 39.2 billion in 2017-18 from USD 39 billion in the previous fiscal, Parliament was informed today.
On the other hand India’s imports of textile and apparel have increased by 17 per cent from USD 6.3 billion in 2016-17 to USD 7.3 billion in 2017-18, Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
He said that government has increased customs duty on different types of fabric, apparel, made-ups and carpets from 10 per cent to 20 per cent to curb textile and apparel imports in the country.
In a separate reply, he said that the Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) has estimated the cotton production for the current cotton season 2017-18 (October 2017 to September 2018) at 370 lakh bales.
“From October 2017 to April 2018, the total amount of cotton exported from India was 51.21 lakh bales,” he said adding CAB has estimated that during the current cotton season 2017-18, the export of cotton is likely to increase by 20 per cent over last year and is expected to touch 70 lakh bales by September this year.
Domestic prices of cotton are ruling below the international cotton prices,” he added.
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A consultation meeting with entrepreneurs in MSME segment to get a better understanding of issues they are grappling with under the GST regime is being organised here on July 27. Scheduled for 3 p.m. at the office of Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, in Nampally, the meeting is expected to provide inputs to be highlighted at the next GST Council meeting.
Announcing the proposed meeting with MSMEs, Principal Secretary Revenue Somesh Kumar said GST Council would meet next in Delhi on August 4. MSMEs and the challenges they are facing under GST would be focus of the meeting. The official was speaking at a conference on ‘Imperatives of GST – the way forward’ of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Tuesday.
He also sought to highlight how Telangana migrated rather smoothly when GST was rolled out a little over a year ago. There, however, were issues that MSMEs faced, he added.
The Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) has estimated that during the current cotton season of October, 2017 to September, 2018, the export of cotton from India is likely to increase by 20% over last year and is expected to touch 70 lakh bales by September, 2018, a release from the Press Information Bureau said.
From October, 2017 to April 2018, the total amount of cotton exported from India was 51.21 lakh bales. CAB has estimated that the cotton production for the current cotton season will be 370 lakh bales.
Domestic prices of cotton are ruling below the International cotton prices. domestic sale prices of the representative variety of S-6 cotton vis-à-vis international prices of its equivalent variety was lower by 7.18% as on July 14.
The Narendra Modi government may have significantly hiked the minimum support prices (MSP) for kharif crops this year, pegging them at 1.5 times their estimated paid-out cultivation costs plus the imputed value of unpaid family labour.
But the move hasn’t resulted in higher plantings by farmers. The total area sown to crops in the current kharif season so far is not only 9.3 per cent lower than last year’s corresponding coverage, but also below that of 2016 and 2015. This is notwithstanding a normal monsoon, with the area-weighted rainfall for the country as a whole from June 1 to July 25 being just 2.8 per cent less than the long-term average for this period. It is true that the rains have been deficient in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam, which has, in turn, led to progressive acreage under rice falling by over 22 lakh hectares (lh). However, rice/paddy accounts for only a third of the nearly 65 lh reduction in the overall kharif crop planting reported as on July 20. The accompanying table shows that the acreages are down even for pulses, coarse cereals, oilseeds, cotton and jute. In none of these — barring jute that is primarily grown in West Bengal and Bihar — could the monsoon have been a major impeding factor this time.
So, why have farmers planted less? One reason might be that the MSP announcement came quite late, on July 4. Farmers usually make sowing decisions before the monsoon’s onset, giving adequate time to arrange seeds of the particular crop/variety. For kharif MSPs to have the desired impact, the announcement should ideally be by early-June.
But a more important reason for lacklustre plantings may have to do with the low price realisations in recent marketing seasons. Having seen open market prices consistently rule below MSPs, farmers aren’t probably convinced of any real turnaround in fortunes.
It explains why arhar (pigeon-pea) area has shrunk in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (relative to last year and even more vis-à-vis 2016, when prices were good). Urad (black gram) sowing has, likewise, been lower in MP, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The only pulses crop whose acreage hasn’t slumped is moong (green gram). For farmers in the main growing states of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and MP, its key attraction is short duration — just 65-75 days, compared to 80-90 days for urad 160-180 days for arhar.
The lack of confidence in prices is also reflected in reduced planting of groundnut, sesame seed and bajra (pearl-millet). On the other hand, there seems to have been a significant shift in urad to soyabean in MP, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Soyabean may have also gained at the expense of moong in Maharashtra, arhar in Karnataka and bajra in Rajasthan. Farmers are clearly seeing better price possibilities in soyabean and cotton. The prospect of the Chinese market opening up for Indian soyabean and tightening global cotton stocks should hopefully work in their favour. Farmers have also planted more maize — especially in Karnataka, MP and Maharashtra, which have had good rains — despite current market prices of around Rs 1,300 per quintal being lower than even last year’s MSP of Rs 1,425, leave alone the latest Rs 1,700.
Either way, MSPs don’t appear to figure in farmers’ calculations.
SEEKING to build on the rapid growth in trade between Taiwan and Myanmar, industry bodies from the two sides have signed two memorandums of understanding at a Taiwan-Myanmar Industrial Collaboration Summit.
Myo Thet, vice president of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), said the agreements would help boost bilateral economic ties, reflecting Taiwan’s pledge to support Myanmar with capacity building and technical assistance in core sectors including textile and food processing.
The agreements were signed at the event on Tuesday with the Chinese National Federation of Industries.
“Taiwan is very well-known for their advanced technology in agro-based food products. By using the latest technology, they manage to produce a wide range of value-added products. So, we are happy to cooperate with them,” Myo Thet.
He said technology transfer from Taiwanese counterparts is the main priority, as Myanmar plans to expand its manufacturing capacity in export-oriented sectors like garments and textiles.
Cheng-Wai Yu, deputy director general at Taiwan’s Industrial development Bureau, considers it is the right time for Taiwanese businesses to trade with Myanmar. He believes in the future of Myanmar, though it is now facing international pressures on the government’s handling of conflicts in some ethnic areas.
Chun-Fu Chang, a representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Myanmar, said both chambers have agreed to prioritise two sectors: textiles and food processing. He said the cooperation would be strengthened through a number of training programmes in the pipeline.
“We do have a very long history of cooperation. As we enter the digital era, we need to strengthen our industrial collaboration for mutual benefits. Taiwanese investors’ interest in Myanmar is also on the rise, so we need more efforts to make sure the bilateral cooperation reaches a new height,” he said.
Chau-Chyun Chang, deputy general director at the Industrial Technology Research Institute’s industrial economics and knowledge centre, said vegetables and textile products were the top two categories that Taiwan imported from Myanmar last year. Mostly, Myanmar imported machinery, mechanical and electrical products from Taiwan.
According to Myanmar’s Ministry of Commerce, the bilateral trade volume has increased five-fold over the past three years. In the 2015-16 fiscal year, the total trade volume was only US$34.1 million. It rose to $81.7 million in fiscal 2016-17, and to $189.1 million in fiscal 2017-18, ending in March.
As of June 30, 17 Taiwanese firms have been approved to invest US$42.2 million in Myanmar, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.
“We are looking to a broader cooperation with Myanmar. It will not only stimulate the industrial upgrading of Myanmar but also extend the market for Taiwan’s industry, achieving mutual benefits on a win-win basis,” said Chang.
According to Chang, Taiwan has successfully transformed itself from an agricultural society into an industrial one with incessant efforts by both the public and private sectors.
“The experience accumulated has allowed us to build up our unique industrial capacity, which we are happy to share with Myanmar,” he said.
Myint Soe, chairman of Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, said the nation’s garment industry could yield tangible benefits from the training programmes for workers, supervisors and technical staff at factories across the country. Than Lwin, senior consultant at KBZ Bank Ltd and a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar, also welcomed the move. He foresees more successful talks between the two sides. He expects the cooperation agreements will help Myanmar to draft a carefully crafted industrial strategy.
China has filed a complaint against the US at the World Trade Organization after Donald Trump’s threats to place tariffs on an additional $200bn (£150bn) worth of Chinese goods. The one-sentence announcement by the ministry of commerce comes less than a week after the US president called for a second round of tariffs on China, in retaliation for Chinese tariffs placed on American goods.
On 6 July, the US imposed 25% tariffs on $34bn in Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to hit back with levies on the same amount of US exports to China. In response, the White House last week released a wide-ranging list of Chinese goods, from tobacco to pet food, worth $200bn it would target with a 10% tariffs. Beijing said it would “fight back as usual” and would file a complaint with the WTO.
The latest round of tariffs would not come into effect until September, making China’s response uncharacteristically quick. Up to now Beijing has waited for Washington to “fire the first shot” in the escalating trade war.
The National Cotton Council (NCC) appreciates the Trump Administration’s plan to assist US farmers and ranchers facing trade disruptions from retaliation tariffs. USDA has announced that farmers and ranchers will be given up to $12 billion for a market facilitation programme, a food purchase & distribution programme, and a trade promotion programme.
USDA senior officials said payment calculations and other details of the plan would be provided in a few weeks.
NCC chairman Ron Craft, a Plains, Texas, ginner, said, “We support the administration for taking this interim action to help at least partially offset impacts until better trade relationships can be restored and improved. The negative effects of the retaliatory tariffs are being felt at multiple points in the US cotton and cottonseed industry from the farmgate on through the distribution and marketing channels. Our industry thanks Agriculture Secretary Perdue for exercising his authority to provide this much needed relief.”
The Memphis-based NCC’s mission is ensuring the ability of the US cotton industry’s seven segments to compete effectively and profitably in the raw cotton, oilseed, and US-manufactured product markets at home and abroad.
Fort Worth, Texas – Pier 1 has matched its assortment against the Trump Administration’s proposed tariffs on Chinese goods and measured the potential impact.
The company issued a statement after reviewing the proposed 10% tariff on additional classes of products imported to the U.S. from China that announced by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on July 10.
Consistent with recent years, approximately 59% of the company’s fiscal 2019 net sales are expected to be derived from merchandise produced in China. Of that amount, approximately half is expected to consist of product classes subject to the proposed tariff,” the retailer said.
While Pier 1 is evaluating strategies to mitigate the impact of the proposed tariff, it said it does not expect financial results in fiscal 2019 to be materially affected.
“There can be no assurance as to the final scope of the proposed tariff or the course or timing of trade negotiations between the United States and China to resolve the issues which led the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to announce the proposed tariff,” it noted.
With goods stagnated in godowns due to the ongoing lorry strike, power loom owners has decided to close their units and go on an indefinite strike from July 25.
Members of the Veerappanchatiram Power loom Owners’ Association held an emergency meeting on Monday night to discuss on the ongoing lorry strike. They said that there are about 20,000 power looms functioning in Veerappanchatiram, Periya Valasu, Ashokapuram, Manickampalayam and Chithode that produces about 40 lakh metre rayon and gada cloth materials. The materials were usually transported to North India in lorries. However, due to the indefinite lorry strike, about two crore metre of cloth materials were stocked in godowns and could not be transported. This resulted in non-delivery causing loss to us, they added. Hence, until the lorry strike is over, all the units will be closed, they added.
Over 5,000 lorries in the district were off the road since July 20 as textile materials, turmeric and other products could not be transported from the district. This resulted in loss to the owners as workers could not be paid due to the non-operational of lorries.
The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)-Coimbatore has developed a new cotton culture – TCH 1819, which is now being tested for performance through Adaptive Research Trial (ART).
It is a high-yielding, shorter-duration variety, suited for mechanised harvesting of cotton bolls.
This culture (it is referred to as a culture as it is still at the experimental stage) was laid out for performance at Kumaraguru Institute of Agriculture (KIA), Sakthinagar on 3.5 acres. The crop is about to be harvested.
Highlighting the features of TCH 1819, K Ganesamurthy, Director, Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, TNAU, told BusinessLine that the pre-release culture is suitable for high density planting with duration of 125 to 130 days.
The plant is compact and erect (90-100 cm) with zero monopodial and short sympodial branches, with about 15-20 large-sized bolls (weighing more than 5 gm) per plant. The culture has been developed by crossing Khandwa 2 with LH 2220.
“It has given an average seed cotton yield of 2,140 kg/ha.
The highest recorded was 2,587 kg/ha. Results from 52 locations out of the 200 ART conducted over the last two years are available,” he said.
To create awareness about this culture amongst farmers in Erode district, KIA — in association with TNAU and State Department of Agriculture — organised a Field Day.
Over 300 farmers from the neighbouring taluks attended the event. Seed mini kits of TCH 1819 were distributed to the farmers during the programme.
TNAU sources explained that a certain number of adaptive research trials will be conducted to understand the farmers’ acceptance and multi-location trials by researchers, before it is screened and approved by the government for release as a variety.
