The Ready-Made Garments Export Council (RMGEC) announced on Tuesday that exports of the sector increased by 12% during the first five months of the current year to reach 645 million dollars, compared with 575 million dollars during the same period in 2017.
In its monthly report, the council said that the exports of the sector to the US made an increase of 12% from January to May of 2018, recording 310 million dollars, against 276 million dollars during the same period in 2017.

With an increase of 16%, Egypt’s exports to Europe registered 219 million dollars, compared with 189 million dollars in 2017.
Egypt’s garment exports to African countries were notably up in the first five months of 2018 to reach 1.253 million dollars, against 855,000 dollars during the same period in 2017.
As for garment exports to Arab countries, they dropped by 16%, recording 30 million dollars in 2018, compared to 35 million dollars in 2017.
The report added that the top countries interested in the Egyptian garment exports are the US, Turkey, Spain, Britain, North Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Saudi Arabia, Belgium and the Netherlands.

www.egypttoday.com

It is a double whammy for the textile industryas the prices of cotton have firmed up on the one hand and the cost of dyes and chemicals has also gone up substantially on the other hand. The increase in prices of these key raw materials used in textiles manufacturing has pushed up the input cost of textile mills and processors. This will pinch the industry and dent its profit margins, say industry experts.
“Cotton prices have increased by 20% whereas the cost of reactive dyes has almost doubled. The price of caustic lye has also increased by 40% and even coal prices have increased by 60%,” said Naresh Sharma, vice-president, Ahmedabad Textile Processors Association. Costlier raw materials have led to an increase in input costs. “Our input costs have increased significantly and unfortunately, we cannot pass it on to our customers as the market demand is low. Increasing the costs would only mean losing out on business,” said Dhruv Patel, managing director of a city-based textile mill.
Echoing a similar view, Bhavin Parikh, CEO of a city-based textile manufacturing company, said, “Consumer confidence is overall down due to several reasons and thus, we will have to absorb the costs. This will dent our profits to a great extent. The same price competitiveness also hurts us in the global market; we might only be able to pass on a part of the cost to our clients.”
Higher imports of dyes raw materials by China from India has resulted in dyes prices in the domestic market surging by 30% in the last two months.
The price of Shankar-6 variety of cotton has currently settled at Rs 47,500 per candy (one candy is 356kg) after touching a six-year high of Rs 48,500 per candy this week. “The carry-over stock for 2018-19 is low both domestically and internationally. The price could firm up further if the US-China trade war continues. Based on the current scenario, the cotton prices may remain 15-17% higher in 2018-19,” said Arun Dalal, a city-based cotton trader.
He, however, also made it clear that the price trend would largely be dependent on cotton sowing and progress of monsoon in months to come.
Industry experts said that the government must intervene in the matter. “Even as cotton prices are up, they are in tandem with the global prices. This, together with an increase in prices of chemicals and dye due to a shut-down in Chinese production houses as well as crude oil price hike, will certainly have an adverse impact and the government must intervene,” said Sanjay Jain, chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI).

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Lower production of soybean could force India to raise imports of edible oils such as palm oil and soyoil, while a drop in cotton production could limit the world’s biggest fibre producer’s exports.
MUMBAI: Sowing of summer-sown crops such as soybean, cotton, corn and pulses has been delayed in India due to the slow progress of monsoon rains in central and western parts of the country, raising concerns over output, industry officials told Reuters.
Lower production of soybean could force India to raise imports of edible oils such as palm oil and soyoil, while a drop in cotton production could limit the world’s biggest fibre producer’s exports.
Cotton sowing has been delayed in western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, the country’s top two producers of the fibre, as rainfall wasn’t sufficient for sowing, said Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India.
“But sowing can pick up once monsoon covers these parts,” he said.
Farmers have so far planted summer-sown crops on 11.6 million hectares, down 9.7 percent compared with the same period a year ago, according to the farm ministry’s provisional data. Cotton sowing is down 16.3 percent, while soybean planting has lagged by 59 percent during the period.
Monsoon rains hit the southern Indian state of Kerala a few days earlier than normal last month and delivered good rainfall in southern states, but from the second week of June it lost momentum. Usually monsoon covers entire India by mid-July.
Monsoon rainfall was 9 percent lower than normal so far in June, but in some states such as Gujarat the rainfall deficit was as high as 93 percent, data compiled by the state-run India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed.
Monsoons deliver about 70 percent of India’s annual rainfall and are the lifeblood of its $2.5 trillion economy, spurring farm output and boosting rural spending on items ranging from gold to cars, motorcycles and refrigerators.
Conditions are becoming favourable for the advance of monsoon into more parts of central and western India in the next two to three days, the IMD said in a statement on Friday.
Usually monsoon covers the entirety of Gujarat and top soybean producer state Madhya Pradesh by the third week of June, but so far this year monsoon has not reached it, IMD data showed. Farmers can accelerate soybean sowing if monsoon delivers good rains in the next two weeks, said B.V. Mehta, executive director of Mumbai-based trade body, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA).
India is likely to get 97-percent rainfall of a long-term average in the June-September monsoon season, IMD forecast last month. The forecast for normal monsoon rains and an early arrival in Kerala prompted farmers such as Raghunath Patil from Jalgaon district in Maharashtra to cultivate cotton on four acres in first week of June.

www.ndtv.com

India trade officials plan meeting their US counterparts next week in New Delhi to negotiate access to American medical devices, people with knowledge of the matter said.
India’s government is inclined to accept a demand by US medical device makers for easing a policy on capping prices, they said, asking not to be identified as the discussion is private.
On Wednesday, India raised tariffs on a slew of US imports in retaliation to higher levies imposed on some of its products, but medical devices weren’t a part of it.
The capping of prices of more than 20 drugs, along with cardiac stents, drug-eluting stents, condoms, intrauterine devices and knee implants, was part of a separate policy to lower medical costs for Indians. Most of these products are imported and American companies dominate the $10bn market.
In return, New Delhi is hoping the US will not carry out a threat of reviewing a system that allows duty-free entry of about 2,000 products including auto-components, industrial valves, and textile materials, the people said.
Under President Donald Trump, the US said in April it will review India’s eligibility for its Generalized System of Preferences programme after some local companies said dairy and medical devices shipments were being hurt by non-tariff barriers.
Officials from the US will be in India next week to discuss the framework of the deal that, if finalised, would be one of the first signals of the trade partners returning to bilateral talks after Washington raised concerns over a trade surplus. India’s surplus – merchandise and services – with the US stood at $28bn in 2017 – marginally lower than the $30.8bn in 2016.
While India would also raise the issue of high duty on steel and aluminium, and visa issues among others, it is the GSP that is likely to be on top of the agenda.
The proposed meeting between officials of the two nations follows Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu’s visit to the US early this month to discuss the unilateral measures taken by the US against India.

www.gulf-times.com

The policy, which is likely to be unveiled soon, will bring in newer sectors into the economy to create jobs and develop infrastructure such as industrial parks, he said.
NEW DELHI: India’s new industrial policy will drive manufacturing to account for $1 trillion of the country’s economy by 2025-26, said Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu on Thursday.
The policy, which is likely to be unveiled soon, will bring in newer sectors into the economy to create jobs and develop infrastructure such as industrial parks, he said.
“Through implementing the policy, we want to increase India’s share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from manufacturing to 20 per cent to (a total GDP of) $5 trillion by 2025-2026. Currently, it is at a growth rate of 16 per cent,” said Prabhu at an event in Chennai.
“We are very sure that we will achieve $1 trillion of GDP coming from manufacturing, $3 trillion from services and the rest from other activities. This is the potential profile of India’s GDP in the near future,” he added.
The Centre, through its new industrial policy, also aims to partner with the state governments and lay emphasis in the growth of industrial development in districts.
The Union minister said that the policy’s thrust would be on bringing 2-3 per cent growth in the GDP of each district. The Centre is also in the process of laying certain parameters for ease of doing business and industrial development in districts.
“To make this happen, we have decided to select six districts in five states and to develop these districts and increase their GDP by 3 per cent. Once we succeed, it will take a few more months, we shall use this as an all-India parameter,” said Prabhu.
Centre will also set up a few offices globally to promote exports, while collaborating with the states to improve infrastructure, ease of doing business.

www.newindianexpress.com

Trichy: State minister of handlooms and textiles O S Manian has reiterated that the six-year proposal to open Co-optex outlets in foreign countries will be fructified soon.
Speaking after inaugurating a modernised renovated showroom of Co-optex at Junction here on Friday, Manian said, “Garments manufactured through the department of handloom and textiles are exported to foreign countries. Going further, Co-optex outlets will be opened in Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.” The showroom is the 50th modernised outlet inaugurated in the state at a cost of Rs 77 lakh on 6,150sqft.
Manian also said that Co-optex has set Rs 340 crore target for this year. “The Co-optex showrooms have been functioning in 67 places outside the state after 2015 taking the total number to 200. Several efforts are being made to increase the sale and equip the weavers. Further, plan is in the offing to make chudidars through weavers,” he said adding that the customers abroad can buy the products online.
While listing out the range of garments in the decked up showroom, the minister said that customers will be given 20% discount on all products.
The programme was attended by the minister for backward and minorities welfare minister S Valarmathi, managing director of department of handloom and textiles T N Venkatesh, AIADMK MPs P Kumar, T Rathinavelu and others.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday said Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) can provide the ignition required for a new India as this sector helps in fair distribution of wealth across the country.
“The Prime Minister made a profound statement that without participation, development and regeneration of small and medium startups, we cannot succeed ignition of new India,” Prabhu said after inaugurating the fifth India International MSME Start Up Expo at Pragati Maidan here.
“One of the fundamental and cardinal principles of the small and medium enterprises is that they take wealth to different corners of the country. They earn money and in process help wealth distribution of that unlike large industries.”
Apart from the young entrepreneurs, dignitaries at the inauguration of the three-day event included Uttar Pradesh Industrial Development Minister Satish Mahana, Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh, Ambassador of Thailand Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of Azerbaijan Ashraf Shilhalvyev, Ambassador of Uzbekistan Farhood Arziev and Japanese Minister Counsellor Kenko Sone.
There are 12 crore MSMEs that directly and indirectly engage more than 60 crore people of the country.
The agenda of the exposition is to promote entrepreneurship and self-employment to generate maximum job opportunities. The event will also provide one stop global platform to connect, network, partner and share information with domestic and international SMEs to find new business opportunities in either country.
The event will witness more than 20,000 visitors, 250 exhibitors, 100 B2G and B2B meetings, 50 embassies and global participants, 30 banks and investors, 15 PSUs and government departments and 10 concurrent summits.

www.business-standard.com

The Management of the garment and textile industries in the state are using the wrong estimates, in turn violating the Minimum Wages Act
The representatives of the Garment and Textile Workers’ Union (GATWU-Karnataka) met the representatives of the management in the sector on June 18, 2018, in a meeting coordinated by the Chief Minister of Karnataka, HD Kumaraswamy.
The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state had issued a draft notification on February 22, 2018, and it promised an increase in wages from Rs 8,500 per month to Rs 12,250 per month. This draft notification was welcomed by the workers; however, succumbing to the pressure of the management, the government had retracted the draft notification, stagnating the minimum wage at Rs 8,500 per month. This as Pratibha from GAWTU noted, has enraged the workers. The workers have been protesting against this anti-worker move by the previous government.
The meeting on June 18, 2018, was the result of these developments and at the meeting, the CM directed the officials to set up a committee involving labour department officials, textile manufacturers, central trade unions, and garment workers. The committee is said to study the “long-pending issues” of the garment workers including the minimum wage. One has to wait to witness the government and garment and textile industry management lobby in determining the minimum wage. The determination of the Minimum Wage is regulated by the Minimum Wages Act. The state labour Department, industry representatives and the representatives of the trade union work together to fix the minimum wage. However, it is very common for the management to take an upper hand in the process, or after the wage is notified, to create a pressure on the government to curb the increase in the wage.
The International Labour Organisation and National Law School, Bengaluru, based on the surveys conducted by GATWU and Centre for Workers Management (CWM) has compiled a draft report titled Critiquing the Statutory Minimum Wage: A case of the export garment sector in India. The extensive report that concentrates on the garment sectors in Karnataka and NCR, shows that, in the sectors like garment industry, where the minimum wage determines the wage rather than the bargain wage, “the violation of the regulatory process is endemic.”
According to this report, a large proportion of the manufacturing in the industry is for the export market. The garment export is mainly concentrated in urban regions around Bengaluru in Karnataka, Chennai and Tirupur in Tamil Nadu; and in the National Capital region (Gurugram and Faridabad in Haryana and Noida in Uttar Pradesh) around Delhi. There is a significant wage difference among garment workers in different states. For example, in the NCR region, there are two Minimum Wages covering Noida and, Faridabad (UP) and Gurugram (Haryana). As the report says, this difference is maintained by the garment industry and the representatives effectively to use low wage states as the reason to oppose Minimum Wage increase in states with higher wages.
This is exactly what the garment industries in Karnataka are doing. In the proceedings of the above-mentioned meeting, the management has reportedly argued that minimum wages in Karnataka were higher than that in other States and doubling it would have an adverse impact on an industry that is already facing tough international competition. Jayaram and Pratibha of GAWTU noted that the management in the state has been threatening of shifting the industry to Telangana. “They haven’t done it but keep bringing it up as and when the demand for the rise in the wages are brought in front of them,” remarked both.
THE DEMANDS OF THE WORKERS AND THE RESPONSE BY THE MANAGEMENT
GATWU and the workers had demanded the CM to address the retraction of the final notification of the revised minimum wages issued to the workers of textile industry, spinning industry and printing and dyeing industry. As noted earlier, the management has had the upper hand in determining the minimum wage.
The representatives of the GATWU had mentioned the role of Shahi exports, Raymonds and Arvind Ltd in the retraction of the draft notification issued by the former government. Pratibha also said that there are about 150 employers in the state currently and all of them have turned to the powerful Shahi Exports to file an official statement against the draft notification that had increased the minimum wages. Which the company did and was successful.
Shahi Exports is the largest readymade garment manufacturing company in India. The company had an annual turnover of Rs 5,200 crores. The company has an annual manufacturing capacity of 160 million pieces of garments. It has 51 manufacturing facilities, distributed around the NCR, Karnataka (Bengaluru and suburbs, Mysore, Shivamogga), Tirupur and Hyderabad and employs 70,000 workers. The ILO-NLS report has considered this data of the company and of Orient Craft in NCR with 32,000 workers, that had an annual turnover of Rs. 1600 crores in 2015. Based on this data the report arrived at the per worker production value:
“The per worker production value for Shahi Exports is Rs. 7.4 Lakhs per annum, while the estimate for orient Craft is around Rs 5 Lakhs per annum. According to data from Apparel Export Promotion Committee, the readymade garments exports from India in 2016-17 was $17, 479 million. If we estimate the average per capita production per worker in the apparel export sector as Rs. 6 lakhs, the total workforce in the sector is around 20 lakhs…Further, with wages in the sector around Rs. 1 lakh per annum, with the worker production at Rs 6 lakh the wage share per worker is around 16%.
This estimated wage share per worker is very close to the estimates of the union according to the report. It also observes that this estimation contrasts with higher estimates often put out by employers for both employment, and wage share in production. The Management of the garment and textile industries in the state are using their wrong estimates and arguing that they are incurring losses and are also violating the Minimum Wage Act.
The workers of one of the of the largest informal sectors in the state of Karnataka await the revision and fixation of their minimum wages.

www.newsclick.in

Readymade garments worth $2.345 billion were exported during 11 months of current financial year as compared to the exports of $2.075 billion of corresponding period last year. During the period from July-May, 2017-18, exports of readymade garments increased by 13 percent as compared to the exports of the same period of last year, according the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. In 11 months of current financial year, about 38,195 thousand dozens of readymade garments were exported as against the exports of 31,584 thousand dozens of the readymade garments of same period last year, it added. Meanwhile, country earned $2.480 billion by exporting the knitwear and about 98,783 thousand dozens of the above mentioned products were exported as compared to the exports of 93,644 thousand dozens valuing $2.106 billion in same period last year. From July-May, bedwear worth $2.055 billion was also exported as compared to exports of 1.927 billion of same period last year., showing an increase of 6.65 percent during the period under review.
During last 11 months of current financial year, about 338,377 metric tons of bed wear was exported, which was recorded at 320,998 metric tons during the same period of last year, the data revealed.
The exports of towels also increased by 1.66 percent in last eleven months of year 2017-18 as 189,793 metric tons of towels valuing $736.924 million were exported as against 178,953 metric tons worth $724.863 million of same period last year.
It may be recalled that textile group exports from the country during the period under review witnessed 9.82 percent increase as textile products worth $12.336 billion were exported as compared the exports of $11.232 billion of same period last year.
Pakistani exporters participate in Safety and Health Expo in UK
LONDON (APP): Pakistani exhibitors participated in the three-day Safety and Health Expo 2018 which concluded at Excel, London on June 21, 2018. A statement of the Pakistan High Commission London issued here said that the Commission facilitated the visiting exporters. This year, Emerging Pakistan brand was highlighted during the event which generated lot of interest amongst the visitors. Syed Ibne Abbas, the High Commissioner of Pakistan to United Kingdom (UK), visited the stalls of Pakistani exhibitors. During their interaction with the High Commissioner, Pakistani exhibitors appreciated the support extended by the Mission for their participation in the exhibition. On the occasion, the High Commissioner underlined the importance to focus on the quality, presentation and branding aspect of their products in order to enhance Pakistan’s market share in UK. He also offered full support to Pakistani exhibitors in order to promote Pakistani exports to the UK market. UK is Pakistan’s major trading partner.
Sindh governor invites Indonesian businessmen to invest in Karachi
KARACHI (APP): Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair Friday urged Indonesian investors to benefit from the friendly investment environment offered by the metropolis. Karachi was the commercial hub of the country and best city for investment, he said while talking to the newly appointed Indonesian Consul General to Karachi, Totok Prianamto, who called on him at Governor House. He, according to a statement, said investment in the city had increased after improvement in law and order in the metropolis. He also invited the Indonesian investors to invest in the city and assured to provide every possible assistance to them. Zubair said the relations between the two countries were strengthening with the passage of time and the Indonesian diplomats had also played an important role in that regard. He hoped the bilateral relations would further strengthen by Totok Prianamto’s appointment as the consul general. Totok said that the Indonesian investors were interested to invest in various sectors of the metropolis.
He informed the governor that he would play his role in promoting bilateral relations for enhancing the volume of investment and trade between the two countries.
Traders seek govt support to enhance export to China
BEIJING (INP): Pakistani traders, who recently participated in Fifth China-South Asia Expo in Kunming, have said they could enhance export to China, if they get due support from the government’s side. Pakistani side could only generate export orders by adopting a better strategy at the official level, said former president of FPCCI and executive committee member of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Zubair Ahmed Malik. Some drastic steps are required at the level of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), he added. A total of 266 contracts were signed at the Fifth China-South Asia Expo held in Kunming. Deals were concluded in sectors of green energy, green food and tourism, according to the provincial bureau of investment. Former DG TDAP Mir Nasir Abbas said that Expo is very fruitful and it is strengthening the trade bonds between Pakistan and China. He said that Kuming administration made untiring efforts and very good arrangements for expo and providing these stalls free of cost.
He suggested that participation of TDAP representative was necessary at the expo for handling the affairs regarding expo.
The traders from Pakistan, South Asian and South East Asian Countries and representatives of international organizations attended the weeklong expo.
The forum is holding 19 exhibition halls with around 8,500 booths, making it the biggest CSA Expo yet.
Pakistan’s traders also established stalls in a pavilion.
International contracts were also signed, involving parties from Germany, Japan and the Netherlands, among other countries and regions.
More than 3,800 companies from 87 countries and regions are attending the week-long exposition, with over 40 percent of enterprises from overseas.
Yunnan is a border province in southwest China and a gateway to Southeast Asia and South Asia.

nation.com.pk

In the latest salvo in the tariff war between the United States and China, the U.S. cotton industry is expected to receive a direct hit as China piles on an additional 25 percent tariff on U.S. uncombed-cotton imports.
The tariff, which goes into effect July 6, is already being felt in California—where farmers in the Central Valley region of the state cultivate highly prized long-staple American Pima cotton that is soft to the touch and durable. Most of the crop is exported to China and India.
“This is an issue that is going to affect the U.S. cotton industry rather significantly as China has traditionally been a larger buyer of U.S. cotton and a massive supplier of products back to the U.S. market,” explained Marc Lewkowitz, the president and chief executive of Supima, a nonprofit promotional organization in Arizona representing American Pima-cotton growers. It is also the owner of the Supima trademark for American Pima.
He noted that about 95 percent of the American Pima crop is exported every year, and typically China imports about 40 percent of that crop. For the crop year that runs through July 31, China has purchased 239,200 bales, or approximately 120 million pounds of the fiber, valued at around $200 million, Lewkowitz explained.
Already, some 205,000 bales have been shipped, leaving a balance of about 34,000 bales for this year in addition to some 34,000 bales of forward contracted cotton sales for the next crop year. “These existing sales along with the entire new crop are at risk relative to the proposed Chinese tariffs,” he said.
Roger Isom, president and chief executive of the California Cotton Ginners & Growers Association in Fresno, Calif., said his organization is hearing stories of China canceling contracts to purchase California cotton. And news reports are recounting how farmers in India are getting more inquiries about their cotton crops.
Cannon Michael, president and chief executive of Bowles Farming Company, which grows Supima and other cotton on land near Los Baños, Calif., said some speculators have pulled out of the market, which has put a damper on cotton prices.
His farm exports about 60 percent of its cotton crop to China and another 40 percent to India. “Any trade disruption is potentially negative,” he said, “especially for states like California that export a lot of agricultural products.”
The National Cotton Council of America in Cordova, Tenn., said it was laying low on the issue right now. But in April, when China first announced the cotton tariffs, NCC Chairman Ron Craft said he could not overstate the importance of China’s market to U.S. cotton farmers.
China is one of the principal buyers of U.S. cotton as is Vietnam. The United States is the second largest exporter of cotton, having shipped around 15 million bales of cotton overseas last year.
The tariff on uncombed cotton is part of a trade war the Trump administration launched earlier this year. The administration started out by slapping a 20 percent to 50 percent tariff on all solar panels and washing machines imported into the United States.
Then it piled on more tariffs on aluminum and steel, which prompted the European Union to place a 25 percent tariff on key imports coming from the United States. Those include men’s and women’s blue jeans, T-shirts, shorts, men’s synthetic woven industrial and occupational trousers, cotton woven bed linen that is not printed, and footwear with upper and outer soles of leather not covering the ankle. These items carry an estimated value of $88 million.
Then the trade war expanded in April when the Trump administration announced a long list of Chinese products that would be subject to a 25 percent tariff.
The proposed new tariffs amount to $12.5 billion on about $50 billion in goods. They affect hundreds of China-made products such as semiconductors, car and aircraft parts, and machine tools.
After that broadside, China threatened to place a 25 percent tariff on uncombed cotton and other U.S. items including soybeans; corn; pork; certain fruits including apples, sorghum and dried cranberries; whiskey; and some passenger cars.
And now the Trump administration is threatening to amp up the tariffs on as much as $200 billion or more on Chinese goods brought into the United States.
The National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C., recently conducted a study showing that the initial tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports would reduce the U.S. gross domestic product by nearly $3 billion and lead to the loss of 134,000 American jobs.
“Higher prices for everyday essentials and lost jobs threaten to sap the energy out of the strong U.S. economy,” said Matt Shay, the president and chief executive of the National Retail Federation. “This reckless escalation is the latest reminder that Congress must step in and exert its authority on trade policy.”

www.apparelnews.net