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Chairmans Word
Our organised industry seems to be running into
increasing stress because of a combination of market trends
and government measures. The steep decline in exports of
cotton yarn to China has created over supply and price
decline in the domestic market. While market trends cannot
be altered through policy interventions, restoring Chapter 3
benefits on cotton yarn exports and providing MEIS benefits
to all yarn and fabrics in markets where there is scope for
increasing export of these products are measures that
government can take to help the industry to tide over the
current situation. Timely disbursement of TUFS benefits would
also help, since the organised industry has huge backlogs
on this account.
In CITI's efforts to sort out some of the long pending
matters relating to TUFS, we could get a decision taken in
the last meeting of the Inter Ministerial Steering Committee
chaired by Textiles Minister that professional agencies would
be appointed to verify the actual amount required for clearing
the blackout cases and left out cases so that taking a proposal
to the Cabinet seeking funds for clearing these cases could
be considered. But these agencies have not been appointed
even months after the decision had been taken and lack of
funding seems to be the issue. In fact, TUFS is practically at
a standstill at present since the total funds provided in this
year's Central Budget can only cover the backlog of last
year. The delay in disbursements has been eating into the
working capital of the industry and there does not seem to
be any early end to this problem. For regular reimbursements
during the current year against existing liabilities, additional
allocations have to be sought in the Monsoon Session of
Parliament and for fresh investments there are no funds.
This is the situation after taking up these issues repeatedly
at various levels including the Finance Minister and the Prime
Minister. Textile industry's ability to play its legitimate role
under the Make in India programme and generate
employment in rural India is among the casualties of not
funding TUFS properly. Several Textile Parks being
established with substantial government funding will also fail
to attract investments if TUFS assistance continues to be
unavailable. I would request all industry bodies to come
together and join us in the efforts to sort out the serious
TUFS issues with government.
In CITI, we have been making concerted efforts to
diversify our textiles industry to MMF products which have
vast untapped potential both in domestic and global markets.
One of the major impediments is the duty burden on MMFs.

For years we have been unsuccessfully representing to

government to remove or reduce these duties. The steep
Anti Dumping Duties applicable on import of viscose staple
fibres from China and Indonesia are due for review and
domestic fibre manufacturers seem to be demanding their
continuation and even extension to filaments. We have
represented to the Designated Authority with data to show
that we have a healthy industry producing viscose fibres and
there is no case for any ADDs. I hope our request would be
heard this time.
I had written to the Washington based International
Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) offering to host its Annual
Plenary Meeting of 2015 in India and requested Government
of India to send a formal invitation to ICAC, which is an inter
governmental organisation of cotton producing countries. The
Ministry formally invited ICAC and it has agreed to hold the
event in India this year. The event is being hosted by Ministry
of Textiles, Government of India and the arrangements are
being made by a Committee which includes Chairman CITI.
We have had several meetings of this Committee during
recent months and it has been decided that the Plenary
Meeting will be held in Hotel JW Marriott, near the Mumbai
Airport in the second week of December 2015. Efforts are
being made to get participation from all cotton producing
and consuming countries as speakers and delegates. For the
entire cotton sector of India, including the textile industry,
this will be a great opportunity to interact with major players
from all over the world.
We have now received formal confirmation that
International Textile Manufacturers' Federation (ITMF), Zurich
have accepted CITI's offer to host the ITMF Annual Conference
of 2016 in India. The dates and venue have to be decided in
due course. Normally, ITMF holds its Annual Conferences
around September - October. We had hosted its Annual
Conferences three times in the past and the last one was in
New Delhi in October 2002. Next year's Conference will
provide an opportunity for our industry to interact with world
leaders in the textiles sector. CITI will keep the industry
informed of the details of the event from time to time. I
would request for full cooperation and active participation of
all the organisations and units in the textiles industry and
related sectors in the ITMF Annual Conference.

Prem Malik
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Contents

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TEXTILE TIMES

editorial
Competitive Fabrics Have to Drive Textile Growth
Among textile producing countries of the world, there are
some which draw their strength majorly from the garments
segment. Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka
belong to this genre as of now, though there are serious efforts
going on at least in the first two for establishing the whole
value chain from yarn onwards. Then there are several Latin/
South American and African industries that depend mainly on
duty-free access for garments in the US market. These
countries have practically no investment in the upstream value
chain and the conditions attached to duty-free access in the
US market would themselves tend to keep them that way.

and power loom segments was the major source for them
and the garment industry developed with its focus on casual
wear and low end fashion garments where such fabrics could
play an effective role. It is only after the turn of the millennium
that our garment industry has got into organized production
significantly, based on mill fabrics sourced both from the
domestic and global markets. But this segment of the garment
industry even now continues to be small and consequently
more than half of the fabrics produced in our organized mills
is still either sold as fabrics directly to domestic consumers or
exported to garment makers in other countries.

But when it comes to integrated textile industries like those

in China, India, Pakistan and Turkey, the sector is inherently
as competitive and efficient as its fabrics industry is. 'Inherently'
is the operational word here. The success of Pakistan in made
ups and China in the whole value chain comes from the
inherently efficient fabrics industries they have been able to
establish - especially organized weaving capacities with wide
width looms and modern and viable knitting capacities. India,
on the other hand, has managed to establish a large, modern
and growing spinning industry and fairly large capacities in
the garments and home textiles segments, without a fabric
industry that is inherently strong. That is why our spinning
sector is over dependent on yarn exports and profitability in
the segment is decided by import orders from China more
than anything else. In home textiles, we focus more on towels,
kitchen linen, table linen and mats and less on high volume
products like bed linen because of the infirmities in the fabrics
segment. In fact, only those companies that have been able
to establish in house wide width weaving have grown big in
production of bed linen in India.

Handloom fabrics are rarely used in export production of

garments these days because there is very limited demand
for such garments. The obsession of policy makers with the
handloom segment has been a major dampener on
development of India's textiles industry. Its rich heritage, the
livelihood issues of weavers and other social aspects relating
to the handloom segment surely need proper attention. But,
it is equally important to see that handlooms are not sought
to be sustained at the cost of the competitiveness of the whole
textile sector. The damages that Hank Yarn Obligation causes
to the spinning industry and Handloom Reservation Act causes
to the power loom sector are hugely larger than the protection,
if any, that these provide to handloom weavers.

A weak fabrics industry operating in the decentralized

sector and depending on manual production or obsolete
technology is forced to depend on government doles or
concessions for survival. It hampers demand for yarn as well
as proper supply for garments and home textiles. It also
hampers development of a proper fabrics industry in the
organized sector. The share of organized sector in the country's
fabric production has gradually come down from over 70% at
Independence to around 5% now and government doles to
the decentralized sector that produces cheap fabrics in small
lots is part of the reasons for this. Our garment industry got
established from the 1970s onwards - during the license and
control raj - when it did not have access to fabrics from global
sources. Therefore, the small lots available from the handloom

The way our textile machinery industry has grown has

also played a role in keeping our fabrics segment weak. We
do not produce weaving or knitting machines of contemporary
technology and the production of modern processing machines
is minuscule. Given its financial position, there are only a
limited number of units in our power loom sector that can
afford to buy modern looms from Europe or Japan. Thus most
power loom units are driven to using second hand looms or
Chinese looms. Huge efforts and investments are required
for producing world class machinery for the fabrics industry
and incentivising domestic manufacturers as well as attracting
collaboration from global players needs to be in focus.
Until our fabrics production is restored to the organized
sector and it becomes inherently competitive, the rest of the
value chain will continue to face a tough challenge in achieving
the desired growth.

D. K. Nair
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feature

Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20

Disappointing for Textile Sector
The foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20 incorporating provisions relating to export and import of goods and
services, came into force with effect from the date of notification issued on 1.4.2015 and shall remain in force up to
31st march, 2020, unless otherwise specified. All export and imports made up to the date of notification shall,
accordingly, be governed by the relevant FTP, unless otherwise specified.
Hon'ble Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman on April 1st, 2015 announced the
Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 in New Delhi. In her address, Hon'ble Minister said that the new five year Foreign
Trade Policy provides a framework for increasing exports of goods and services as well as generation of employment
and increasing value addition in the country, in keeping with the "Make in India" vision of our Hon'ble Prime
Minister. The focus of government is to support both the manufacturing and services sectors, with a special emphasis
on improving 'ease of doing business'.
There are various forces shaping India and its equation with the rest of the world. These challenges also present
opportunities for government, trade and industry. Government and industry must work in tandem to deal with
both. She further said, she is confident that the five year Foreign Trade Policy would enable India to respond to the
challenges of the external trade environment and take India to the next level in international trade.

Salient Features of the

Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020
Salient feature of the Foreign Trade
Policy 2015-2020 relating to textile
sector are given below:
Focus Market Scheme, Focus
Product Scheme, Market Linked Focus
Product Scheme and a couple of other
schemes have been amalgamated into
one single scheme called Merchandise
Exports from India Scheme (MEIS).
There is also a similar scheme for
services exports called Service Export
from India Scheme (SEIS). In the case
of MEIS importing countries have been
divided into three groups. Group A
covers 30 developed countries -EU 28,
USA and Canada.

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Group B has a total of 139 countries

which include China, Japan, Turkey and
Vietnam, among major textiles
importing countries. Group C has a total
of 70 countries which include South
Asian and some South East Asian
countries among others.
The rates of reward available under
MEIS have been indicated separately
for countries in Group A, Group B and
Group C. Some broad observations are
as follows:
Cotton yarn is not included for
reward under MEIS.
Manmade Fibre Yarn and Woven
and Knitted Fabrics of all fibres generally
have 2% reward in Group A countries
and Japan. This would mean that these
products would not be eligible for any

reward under MEIS in China,

Bangladesh, Turkey, Vietnam, South
Korea etc. which are the major markets
for these products.
In the case of garments 2% reward
has been provided for most of the
products for Group A countries and
Japan.
Made ups by and large have 2%
reward in Group A countries and Japan.
For a couple of specified products, 5%
has been provided in all the three groups
of countries.
Handloom products have 5%
reward in the countries in all the three
groups in the case of fabrics and made
ups, but not in the case of garments.
Jute products by and large have 5%
reward in countries in all the three groups.

Cotton Socks
Advt.

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feature
EPCG scheme continues with some
changes. Imports under the scheme will
not have exemption from anti dumping
duties or safe guard duties. Export
obligation continues to be 6 times of
duties foregone in 6 years, plus average
export performance of the past. But if
capital goods are sourced from
domestic producers against EPCG
authorisation, the export obligation will
be 75%, as against 90% earlier.
Status holders have been
regrouped. Instead of Export House,
Trading House etc., these will now be
called one star to five star Export Hoses
and their status will be decided on the
basis of their export performance in
Dollar terms as under:
One Star

- USD 3 million

Two Star

- USD 25 million

Three Star - USD 100 million

Four Star

- USD 500 million

Five Star

- USD 2000 million

The Foreign Trade Policy Statement

says that a programme for providing
interest subvention on identified sectors
for a period of 3 years has been worked
out and budget allocation in 2015-16 has
been made available. The sectors have
not been indicated and there has not
been any announcement as such of this
subvention - probably because that has
to be done by RBI/Finance Ministry. In
any case, it appears that only MSMEs
may be covered by this when the
announcement comes.
Textile and Clothing is the largest
employment
provider
in
the
manufacturing sector of the country
whose contribution to the country's
growth has been well recognised by the
government's Economic Survey.
However the Foreign Trade Policy aimed
to double the country's exports to US$
900 billion by 2020 from the level of
US$ 465.9 billion in 2013-14 has only
reduced export facilitation for this
sector. The industry players have
expressed their disappointment over
the FTP announcements as it does not

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address any of the industry's major

issues. The encouragement and
facilities required for this sector for
increasing exports are sadly missing in
the FTP.

products. In the case of made ups and

garments also, only 2% reward has
been provided for the same countries.
Manmade fibres used to get benefits
under Focus Schemes, but do not have
any under MEIS.

FTP disappointing for Textile:

CITI

Thanking the Commerce and

Industry Minister for continuing EPCG
scheme and reducing the export
obligation marginally for domestically
procured capital goods under the
scheme, Mr. Malik stated that this is a
welcome step both for the textile and
machinery industries.

A press release issued by CITI on

its reaction to the FTP has the following
points:
The new Foreign Trade Policy has
not provided any additional benefits to
the textiles sector, though measures
announced for improving ease of doing
business and simplified procedures
would be beneficial to the textile sector,
among others. In a statement here, Mr.
Prem Malik, Chairman, Confederation
of Indian Textile Industry (CITI)
welcomed the announcement of the
Minister that the policy will have
continuity during the 5 year period and
only a midterm review will be made.
But he noted that some benefits for the
textile sector have been removed or
scaled down.
While amalgamating Focus
Schemes and the other Chapter 3
schemes into Merchandise Exports
from India Scheme (MEIS), Cotton Yarn
has been completely ignored. Chapter
3 benefits on cotton yarn had earlier
been withdrawn when cotton yarn was
brought under Restricted List. After
withdrawing the requirement of
registration of export contracts, this
product had been brought under Free
List, but Chapter 3 benefits were not
restored under the earlier FTP. This
anomaly has not been corrected under
the new policy either.
Manmade Fibre Yarn as well as
Woven and Knitted Fabrics have been
provided 2% reward in the EU, the USA,
Canada and Japan. This would mean
that these products would not be eligible
for any reward under MEIS in China,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Turkey,
Vietnam, South Korea etc. which are
the major destinations for these

The Foreign Trade Policy Statement

talks about providing interest
subvention on identified sectors for a
period of 3 years. The sectors have not
been indicated and no definitive
announcement of the subvention has
been made. "I hope textiles will find a
place when the announcement comes"
said Mr. Prem Malik.
These anomalies will have to be
rectified immediately to ensure that our
exports which are already facing stiff
competition do not get impaired further,
denying us the growth opportunities in
the global market. A representation has
also been sent by CITI Chairman to the
Hon'ble Prime Minister and concerned
Ministries as well, requesting for certain
urgent measures to ensure growth of
Textile sector and its exports.
The Merchandise Exports from India
Scheme (MEIS) announced as part of
the FTP is annexed herewith:-

Annex:
I.

Merchandise Exports from

India Scheme

(i) Merchandise Exports from India

Scheme has replaced 5 different
schemes of earlier FTP (Focus
Product Scheme, Market Linked
Focus
Product
Scheme,
Focus Market Scheme, Agri.
Infrastructure Incentive Scrip,
VKGUY) for rewarding merchandise
exports which had varying
conditions (sector specific or actual
user only) attached to their use.

feature
(ii) Now all these schemes have been
merged into a single scheme,
namely Merchandise Export from
India Scheme (MEIS) and there
would be no conditionality attached
to the scrips issued under the
scheme. Notified goods exported to
notified markets would be rewarded
on realised FOB value of exports.
A. Country Groups:
Category A: Traditional Markets
(30) - European Union (28), USA,
Canada.

Industrial and other products

supported in Traditional and/or
Emerging markets only.
D. High potential products not
supported earlier:
Support to 852 Tariff lines that fit
in the product criteria but not provided
support in the earlier FTP. Includes lines
from Fruits, Vegetables, Dairy products,
Oils meals, Ayush & Herbal Products,
Paper, Paper Board Products.
E.

Category B: Emerging & Focus

Markets (139), Africa (55), Latin
America and Mexico (45), CIS
countries (12), Turkey and West
Asian countries (13), ASEAN
countries (10), Japan, South Korea,
China, Taiwan,

B.

Level of Support:

Marine Products

Higher rewards have been granted

for the following category of
products:

Handloom, Coir, Jute, products

and Technical Textiles, Carpets
Handmade. Other Textile and
Readymade garments have been
supported for European Union,
USA, Canada and Japan.

Agricultural and Village industry

products, presently covered
under VKGUY.
Value added and packaged
products.

C.

Markets Supported
Most Agricultural products
supported across the Globe.

352 Defence related Product with

export of US$ 17.7B consisting
of Core Products (20), Dual Use
products (60) ,General Purpose
products (272).
283 Pharmaceutical products of
Bulk Drugs & Drug Intermediates,
Drug Formulations Biologicals,
Herbal, Surgicals, and Vaccines.
96 lines of Environment related
Goods, Machinery, Equipment's.

Cereals preparation, shellac,

Essential oils

Eco-Friendly products that add

value to waste

Hi-tech products with high export

earning potential.

G. Other sectors supported under

MEIS

Tea Coffee, Spices

Products supported under MEIS

Industrial Products from potential

winning sectors.

iron, steel, and base metals,

products

Fruits, Flowers, vegetables

Processed foods,

Labour intensive Products with

large employment potential and
Products with large number of
producers and /or exporters.

Wood , Paper, Stationary

Global support has been

granted to the following
category:

Category C: Other Markets (70).

Eco-friendly and green products

that create wealth out of waste
from agricultural and other waste
products that generate additional
income for the farmers, while
improving the environment.

Steel furniture, Prefabs, Lighters

49 lines where mandatory BIS

standards are prescribed.
7 lines of Technical Textiles.
H. Participation in global value
chain of the items falling under
the scheme:
1725 lines of Intermediate Goods
- These goods become inputs in
the manufacturing of other
countries and will strengthen
backward manufacturing linkages
which is vital for India's
participation in Global Value
Chains.

Handicraft, Sports Goods

Furniture, Wood Articles
F.

Support to major markets

have been given to the
following product categories

1109 lines of Capital Goods

sector- will also strengthen
Manufacturing Base in India.

Pharmaceuticals,
Surgicals

1730 lines of Consumer Goods

sector- We hope a quantum jump
in export from this sector with
strengthening of Make in India
Brand in near future.

Herbals,

Industrial Machinery, IC Engine,

Machine tools, Parts, Auto
Components/Parts
Hand Tools, Pumps of All Types

I.

Technology based analysis:

Automobiles, Two wheelers,

Bicycles, Ships, Planes

572 lines-Low skill Technologyintensive manufacturing.

Chemicals, Plastics
Rubber, Ceramic and Glass

1010 lines-Medium skill Technologyintensive manufacturing.

Leather garments, saddlery

items, footwear

1309 lines-High Skill Technologyintensive manufacturing.

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TITAS participation Advt.

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feature
J.

Women Centric Products

supported under MEIS

(a) Women workers constitute 52% of

plantation workers-203 lines of Tea
Coffee, Spices, Cashew.
(b) 69% of the aggregate female
employment is concentrated in the
following sectors:
(i) Manufacture of other food
products -Jelly Confectionery,

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tomato ketchup, cooked

stuffed pasta, pawa, mudi and
the like, gingerbread , papad,
pastries and cakes.
(ii) Manufacture of wearing
apparel-396
lines
of
Readymade Garments
(c) Sectors that have a significant
proportion of female employment
(more than 25%):

(i) Agricultural and animal

husbandry service activities,
except veterinary activities263 lines of basic Agriculture
products.
(ii) Manufacture of footwear - 28
Footwear and Leather products.
(iii) Consumer Electronics and
Electronic Components, watches
and clocks - 483 lines.

focus

Trade Performance of
Indian Textile and Clothing Sector
An Update (April-March 2014-15)
Atul K. Mishra, Economist, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry

Exports from the textile sector,

consisting of textile fibers, yarns, madeups, garments, jut and jute products,
coir, handicrafts, carpets and handloom
products, reached to USD 38513.35
million during April-March 2015 which
was around USD 38467.01 million during
the same period of previous FY. In terms
of Indian rupee India's T&C exports
were to the tune Rs. 235553.53 cr.
during April-March 2015 which was
around Rs. 233366.41 cr. over the same
period of previous year. In USD and in
INR terms T&C exports went up by
0.1% in and 0.9% respectively in AprilMarch 2015 over the same period of
previous year. When we look at monthon-month growth of India's T&C exports
to world it is noteworthy that during the
first three months of FY 2014-15 exports
had picked up very fast and in the
subsequent months it started sliding
down and reached to the lower level of
1% in USD terms and 2% in rupee
terms in March. 2015. Though, global
economic upheaval was not in the
favour of Indian T&C exports, the delay
in FTP announcement and indifferent
attitude of govt. towards T&C
manufacturing sector compared to
other sectors have largely contributed
in the slowing down of T&C exports
growth in the last five months of FY
2014-15. Despite the prevailing
unfavourable
economic
policy
environment for textile manufacturing
in country and uncertain demand in
global market, India's T&C sector
exports have grown higher than the all
commodity exports growth during AprilMarch 2015. It is also pertinent to
mention that amongst the principle

textile export commodities around 16

commodities registered positive growth
and growth rate of all 16 commodities
was significantly higher than the India's
all commodity exports growth during the
entire period of April-March 2015.

Exports Performance
A. Exports of Textile Fibres:
Exports of textile fibres have declined
very sharply during April-March 2015
over the same period of previous year
and reached to USD 2469.8 mn. which
was USD 4251.1 mn. in April-March
2014. Exports of this textile group had
gone down by -41.9% in April-March
2015 compared to same period of
previous year. Highest decline was
registered by raw wool (-80%) followed
by raw cotton (-47.8%) and man-made
fibre (-7.7%). Share of textile fibres
exports in total textile and clothing
exports of India to world had also gone
down significantly in April-March 2015.
Textile fibres exports accounted for
11.05% share in India's T&C exports in
April-March 2014 to world which was
declined to 6.41% in April-March 2015.
B. Exports of Textile Products,
i.e. of Yarns, fabrics and madeups: Exports of textile products
contributed around 40.13% share in
T&C exports of country to world in AprilMarch 2015 which was 40.41% during
the same period of previous year
registering a marginal decline. Textile
products exports reached to USD
15454.16 in April-March 2015 which was
USD 15544.29 mn. in April-March 2014
slightly lower than the previous year.
Commodities falling under this category

of exports had registered mixed growth

trend as products like cotton yarn (13.5%), other textile yarn, fabrics and
made-ups (-5.4%) and silk yarn, fabric
and made-ups (-12.5%) registered
negative growth during April-March
2015 compared to previous year and
commodities like woollen yarn, fabrics
and made-ups (58.9%) followed by
cotton fabrics and made ups (7.8%) and
manmade yarn fabrics and made ups
(1.8%) have registered positive growth
in April-March 2015 compared to
previous year.
C. Exports of Readymade
Garments RMG exports contributed
around 38.97% share in India's T&C
exports during April-March 2014 which
was increased to 43.71% for the period
of April-March 2015. India's RMG
exports were to the tune of USD
14989.91 mn. in April-March 2014 which
reached to the level of USD 16832.48
mn. in April-March 2015 with a growth
of 12.3% for the same period. Amongst
all kind of garment exports from India
other textile garments (34.2%) have
registered highest growth followed by
silk garments (28.8%), man-made fibre
garments (26.9%), MMF garments
(8.1%) and cotton garments (1.9%).
Despite having strong raw material
presence and availability of high quality
cotton India's export growth of cotton
base garments has slowed down
drastically compared to other type of
garments, though India has performed
very well in other textile garments which
are basically blend fabric garments.
D. Exports of Coir, handicrafts
and Carpets: This subsector of India's

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11

PIS particiaption Advt.

12 MARCH - APRIL 2015

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ECGC
Advt.

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13

focus
T&C exports sector contributed around
7.85% share in India's T&C exports
basket to world during April-March 2015
which was 7.56% in previous year.
Exports of coir, handicraft and carpets
were to the tune of USD 3021.90 mn.
during April-March 2015 which was USD
2907.60 mn. last year. Exports of this
category of item have gone up by 3.9%
in April-March 2015 over the same
period of previous year.
E. Exports of Jute and Jute
Products: Exports of jute and jute
products together contributed around
0.95% in overall exports of textile
sector. There had been decline in the
exports of all sub-sectors of this
category except for jute yarn, and floor
covering of jute. Exports of this category
have declined by -8.9% during AprilMarch 2015 over the same period of
previous year and reached to USD
364.79 mn. in April-March 2015.
F. Exports of Handloom
Products: Exports of handloom
products contribute around 0.96% share
in exports of textile sector. Exports of
this category of items have decreased
from USD 373.01 mn. in April-March
2014 to USD 370.22 mn. in April-March
2015. A decline of 0.97% was registered
by this sub-sector of textile during AprilMarch 2015 over the same period of
previous year. This is the most labor
intensive sector and its most activities
are underpinning to rural economy of
India. Under the current FTP (2015-20)
there have been immense support
provided to bring in turnaround in this
sector through high duty credit scrip
under Merchandise Export Incentive
Scheme (MEIS) and coverage to all
markets of world compared to other
sub-sectors of textile export.

Imports Performance
Textile imports, consisting of textile
fibres, yarns, made-ups, garments, jute
and jute products, coir, handicrafts,
carpets and handloom products, were
USD 6030.8 mn. during April-March

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2015 which was USD 5253.71 mn.

during the same period of previous
year. Import of T&C in India from world
have gone up by 14.79% including all
textile items in April-March 2015 when
compared to the same period of
previous year in USD terms .
A. Imports of Textile Fibres:
India's textile fibres imports have gone
up by 18.81% during April-March 2015
compared to same period of previous
year and stood around USD 1427.26
mn. Textile fibres imports constituted
around 23.67% share in the all textile
commodity of imports of India during
April-March 2015, which was 22.86% in
the previous year. Amongst all subsectors of textile fibres imports all had
gone up during the April-March 2015
over the same period of previous year
except raw silk (-11.11%) and highest
import growth was registered by Raw
cotton (28.95%) followed by Man-made
staple fibres (23.91%), Raw wool
(7.20%) and Raw silk inclusive of waste
(5.47%).
B. Imports of Textile Products
i.e. of Yarns, fabrics and madeups: India's textile products imports
have gone up by 11.86% during AprilMarch 2015 compared to same period
of previous year and reached to the
level of USD 3245.19 mn. Textile
products contributed around 53.81%
share in India's T&C imports from world
during April-March 2015 which was
55.22% in last year. There have been
positive growth in all textile products
imports in April-March 2015 except for
products like cotton yarn (-23.86%),
cotton fabrics, made ups etc. (-0.65%)
and natural silk yarn, fabrics and madeups (-21.24%). Amongst the products
which have registered positive import
growth, highest import growth was
registered by other textile yarn, fabrics
and made ups articles (20.70%)
followed by woollen yarn, fabrics and
made-ups (15.54%) and man-made
yarn, fabrics and made-ups (13.63%).
C. Imports of Readymade
Garments: India's import of RMG has

also gone up by 20.77% during AprilMarch 2015 compared to same period

of previous year and reached to USD
523.8 mn. Imports of RMG contributed
around 8.69% share in India's textile
import from world during April-March
2015 which was around 8.26% last year.
Import of all commodities of RMG has
also registered positive import growth
during the same period however,
highest import growth was registered
by RMG of man-made fibres (38.62%)
followed by RMG of other textile material
(31.89%), RMG of silk (18.38%), RMG
of cotton inclusive of all accessories
(8.68%) and RMG of wool (5.73%).
D. Imports of Coir, handicrafts
and Carpets: Import of coir, handicraft
and carpets together stood around USD
640.22 mn. in April-March 2015 which
was USD 543.11 mn. last year. In AprilMarch 2015 import of this category of
textile had gone up by 17.88% over the
same period of previous year. This
category of textile items constituted
around 10.62% share in total T&C
import of India from world during AprilMarch 2015 which was 10.34% last
year.
E. Imports of Jute and Jute
Products: Jute and jute import has also
gone up during April-March 2015 and
reached to USD 184.17 mn. with an
increase of 18.26% compared to
previous year. Jute products constituted
around 3.05% share in India's T&C
imports from world which is marginally
higher than the previous year.
F. Imports of handloom
Products: Amongst the principle textile
import categories of India handloom
import category registered negative
decline both in value and share terms
in India's total textile imports from
world. India imported worth of USD
10.16mn. handloom products from
world in April-March 2015which was
46.04% lower than the previous year.
Import of handloom products accounted
for 0.17% share in India's T&C import
from world.

focus
India's Textile and Clothing Exports, April-March 2015
USD Million
S.

Rs. Crore

Commodity

%share in t&c

No.

Exports

Exports

exports of country

Apr-

April-

April-

April-

April-

April-

March

March

growth

March

March

March

March

gro-

2014

2015(P)

2014 2015(P)

2014

2015(p)

wth

-7.7

1.55

1.43

3,622.66

3,374.77

-6.8

3,637.53

1,900.19 -47.8

9.46

4.93

22,337.84

11,642.64

-47.9

0.04

0.11 175.0

0.00

0.00

0.27

9.9

0.04

0.05

99.3

109.12

9.9

Manmade staple fibre

Cotton raw incld. Waste

Silk,raw

Silk waste

16.25

Wool, raw

0.2

0.04 -80.0

0.00

0.00

1.19

0.24

-79.8

4251.81

2469.8 -41.9

11.05

6.41

26061.26

15127.46

-42.0

Exports of fibres

597.79

551.6

17.86

0.69 155.6

Cotton yarn

4,550.26

3,937.57 -13.5

11.83

10.22

27,617.48

24,104.13

-12.7

Cotton fabrics, madeups etc.

5,118.47

5,515.39

7.8

13.31

14.32

31,045.83

33,722.62

8.6

Other txtl yrn, fbric mdup artcl

422.09

399.46

-5.4

1.10

1.04

2,562.80

2,443.16

-4.7

Natrl silk yarn,fabrics,madeup

142.93

125.02 -12.5

0.37

0.32

865.53

763.24

-11.8

Manmade yarn,fabrics,madeups

5,183.47

5,274.79

1.8

13.48

13.70

31,395.09

32,253.09

2.7

1 0 Wollen yarn,fabrics,madeupsetc

127.07

201.93

58.9

0.33

0.52

768.53

1,234.61

60.6

15,544.29

15,454.16

-0.6

40.41

40.13

94,255.26

94,520.85

0.3

9,106.39

9,281.28

1.9

23.67

24.10

55,092.95

56,753.38

3.0

236.54

304.77

28.8

0.61

0.79

1,434.04

1,862.36

29.9

3,148.83

3,994.43

26.9

8.19

10.37

19,045.91

24,431.49

28.3

307.47

311.53

1.3

0.80

0.81

1,871.11

1,901.76

1.6

2,190.68

2,940.47

34.2

5.69

7.63

13,273.49

17,988.95

35.5

14,989.91

16,832.48

12.3

38.97

43.71

90,717.50

1,02,937.94

13.5

2,907.60

3,021.90

3.9

7.56

7.85

17,653.73

18,474.67

4.7

1 7 Jute and Jute Products

400.39

364.79

-8.9

1.04

0.95

2,428.44

2,228.76

-8.2

1 8 Handloom Products

373.01

370.22

-0.7

0.97

0.96

2,250.22

2,263.85

0.6

38,467.01

38,513.35

0.1 100.00 100.00

2,33,366.41

2,35,553.53

0.9

Exports of textiles
1 1 RMG Cotton incl Accessories
1 2 RMG Silk
1 3 RMG Manmade Fibres
1 4 RMG wool
1 5 RMG of other Textle Material
Exports of garments
1 6 Coir, Handicrafts and Carpets

Total Textiles

Source: Ministry of Commerce, GOI, Trade Data Analysis, May 2015

MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

15

Premium Textile Component

Advt.

16 MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

focus
India's Textile and Clothing Imports, April-March 2015
USD Million
S.

Rs. Crore

Commodity

%share in t&c

No.

Imports

Imports

Import of country

Apr-

Apr-

Apr-

Apr-

Apr-

Apr-

march

march

growth

March

March

March

March

gro-

2014

2015(P)

2014 2015(P)

2014

2015(p)

wth

Manmade Staple Fibre

328.29

406.78

23.91

6.25

6.75

1,985.02

2,484.01

25.14

Cotton Raw Incld. Waste

394.47

508.66

28.95

7.51

8.43

2,375.78

3,101.08

30.53

Silk,Raw

148.51

158.93

7.02

2.83

2.64

896.44

970.82

8.30

Silk Waste

4.77

4.24

-11.11

0.09

0.07

28.96

25.91

-10.53

Wool, Raw

325.22

348.65

7.20

6.19

5.78

1,961.72

2,125.74

8.36

1201.26

1427.26

18.81

22.86

23.67

7247.92

8707.56

20.14

54.28

41.33

-23.86

1.03

0.69

327.83

252.51

-22.98

Import Of Fibres
5

Cotton Yarn

Cotton Fabrics, Madeups Etc.

509.42

506.1

-0.65

9.70

8.39

3,085.43

3,094.69

0.30

Oth Txtl Yrn, Fbric Mdup Artcl

614.17

741.32

20.70

11.69

12.29

3,722.69

4,533.07

21.77

Natrl Silk Yarn,Fabrics,Madeup

65.67

51.72

-21.24

1.25

0.86

397.06

315.47

-20.55

Manmade Yarn,Fabrics,Madeups

1,659.69

1,885.84

13.63

31.59

31.27

10,029.19

11,523.92

14.90

1 0 Wollen Yarn,Fabrics,Madeupsetc

52.11

60.21

15.54

0.99

1.00

315.51

367.35

16.43

2901.06

3245.19

11.86

55.22

53.81

17549.88

19834.5

13.02

217.52

236.4

8.68

4.14

3.92

1,321.77

1,446.75

9.46

5.17

6.12

18.38

0.10

0.10

31.11

37.48

20.48

102.81

142.52

38.62

1.96

2.36

630.27

872.16

38.38

1 4 RMG Wool

15.19

16.06

5.73

0.29

0.27

92.83

98.19

5.77

1 5 RMG of Other Textle Material

93.03

122.7

31.89

1.77

2.03

567.44

751.64

32.46

433.72

523.8

20.77

8.26

8.69

2643.42

3206.22

21.29

1 6 Coirs, Handicrafts And Carpets

543.11

640.22

17.88

10.34

10.62

3289.16

3922.21

19.25

1 7 Jute And Jute Products

155.73

184.17

18.26

2.96

3.05

926.72

1123.37

21.22

18.83

10.16

-46.04

0.36

0.17

114.13

62.09

-45.60

5253.71

6030.8

14.79 100.00

100.00

31771.23

36855.95

16.00

450199.78

447521.79

1.3

2715433.90

2733935.40

0.68

Imports of Textiles
1 1 RMG Cotton Incl Accessories
1 2 RMG Silk
1 3 RMG Manmade Fibres

Imports of Garments

1 8 Handloom Products
Total Textile Imports
Total

-0.59

1.2

Source: Ministry of Commerce, GOI, Trade Data Analysis, May 2015

MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

17

focus
Quick Estimates of IIP for
Textile and Clothing Sector
(T&C)
The Quick Estimates of Index of
Industrial Production (IIP) for the
month of March 2015 have been
released by the Central Statistics Office
(CSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and
Program Implementation (MOSPI) on
12th May 2015.
In terms of industries, thirteen (13)
out of the twenty two (22) industry
groups (as per 2- digit NIC-2004) in the
manufacturing sector have shown positive
growth during the month of March 2015
as compared to the corresponding
month of the previous year
Amongst the manufacturing two
industry groups of T&C i.e. textile and
wearing apparel are part of IIP data;
both have registered increase in the
index at lower growth rates in FY 201415 compared to previous FY. In March
2015 T&C sector IIP has registered
positive growth and growth rates were
relatively higher than the previous year.
Following the previous year trend IIP
growth of wearing apparel was higher
than the textiles both for FY 2014-14
as well as for March 2015. In the month
of March 2015 IIP of Wearing apparels
were up by 9%, IIP of textiles were up
by 6.8% and combined IIP of T&C was
up by 7.6%. Cumulative change for
April-March 2014-15 for wearing
apparel, textiles and T&C was 5.4%,
2.7% and 2.3% respectively over the
April-March 2013-14.
Some observation from data:

Wearing Apparel
Apparel sectors production had
seen very unpredictable trend
throughout the FY 2014-15 as indicated
below in the table 2 where month wise
changes over the previous year are
indicated. IIP of wearing apparel in the
FY 2014-15 started with negative growth
but in the second month of fiscal it
picked up then it slide again and kept
declining until August 2015. Production
of wearing apparel rebounded back only
in Sept. 2015 and then IIP of wearing

18 MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

Table 1: T&C in Index of Industrial Production (IIP):

Growth rates (%, Y-o-Y)
Sector

Fiscal Year

Monthly

2013-14

2014-15

Mar-14

Mar-15

4.4

2.7

2.8

6.8

19.5

5.4

6.4

9.1

2.3

4.1

7.6

Textiles
Wearing Apparel
T&C Sector

Source: Estimates from CSO data

apparel kept moving up and reached to record high of 62% in Feb. 2015. In March
2015 IIP moved up by 9% continuing the path of positive trend of last fiscal. in
the FY 2014-15 out of 12 months 8 months wearing apparel registered positive
growth trends. In the FY 2014-15 IIP of wearing apparel was 5.4% higher than
the previous year though this growth was lower than the last fiscal.

Textiles
CSO data captures the production data of yarn, fabrics, made-ups and other
textiles excluding apparel, to make textiles production index. The change in indices
of March 2015 over same period of previous year had shown a positive growth of
6.8 per cent. Month wise textiles production changes were positive for ten months
of twelve months of FY 2014-15. Textiles registered a positive growth of 2.3 per
cent during April-March 2014-15 over the same period of last fiscal. In The last
quarter of the FY 2014-14 textile's production have gone up compare to the same
quarter of last year; however, the pace of production of textiles has gone down
when we compare the growth in last quarter of year 2014 (Jan-March 2014).
Table 2: Monthly Trend in T&C Production Growth
Textiles Wearing T&C
Apparel Sector

Textiles Wearing T&C

Apparel Sector

Apr'2013

5.2

86.8

29.9

Apr'2014

-22.4

-6.3

May'2013

2.1

16.4

6.4

May'2014

7.2

9.9

8.1

Jun'2013

3.4

33.2

11.6

Jun'2014

2.1

-5.9

-0.6

Jul'2013

46.6

12.9

Jul'2014

2.9

-7.4

-0.6

Aug'2013

6.3

25.8

11.7

Aug'2014

-1.7

-9.4

-4.2

Sep'2013

2.8

27.7

10.5

Sep'2014

1.7

2.4

Oct'2013

3.7

4.5

Oct'2014

-3.5

9.6

0.3

Nov'2013

7.3

14.7

9.4

Nov'2014

4.5

28

11.4

Dec'2013

5.1

19.7

9.9

Dec'2014

0.5

17.1

6.4

Jan'2014

14.2

Jan'2015

1.3

1.8

Feb'2014

7.2

-30.7

-7.2

Feb'2015

5.1

62

21.3

Mar'2014

2.8

6.4

4.1

March'2015

6.8

9.0

7.6

Apr-Mar14

4.4

19.5

9.1

Apr-Mar14

2.7

5.4

2.3

Source: Estimates from CSO data, May, 2015

Overall T&C Industry

Considering the one-third weight of apparel and two thirds weight of textiles
products excluding apparel for estimating the overall production index for T&C as
per CSO norm, this industry has grown by a rate of 2.3 per cent in productions
during FY 2014-15 over last FY. In the month of March 2015 T&C combined index
have moved up by 7.6% over the same month of last year. During the entire
period of FY 2014-15 there were eight months out of 12 months when combined
IIP for T&C was positive.

National NEWS
CITI brings out the 4th
edition of "The Indian
Textiles Directory"

Price:

Regarding man-made fibre, they

Cost of hard copy Rs.1500/- (US$

100) inclusive of postal charges.

Cost of Directory on CD Rs.1500/(US$ 100) inclusive of postal

charges.

Bundled cost- hard copy and CD:

Rs.2000/- (US$ 110) inclusive of
postal charges

For copies of the Directory, please

send a Cheque/Demand Draft in favour
of 'Confederation of Indian Textile
Industry', payable at New Delhi,
indicating preference for a printed hard
copy or CD or both.

The 4th edition of CITI's "The Indian

Textiles Directory" has just been
released.

...news in brief

Further details can be had from Mr.

S. Raswant, CITI, Mobile: 9811016731,
Email: sraswant@citiindia.com, Web.:
www.citiindia.com.

demanded that the Union rationalises

the duty structure of polyester and
viscose fibre to enable Indian textile
industry access man-made fibre at
international prices, so that the industry
could tap the vast opportunities in the
global MMF apparel market.
Hank Yarn Obligation
The present regulations mandate
that 40 percent of the total output of
textile spinning industry has to be hank
yarn. This rule was imposed with a good
intention of providing manufacturing
raw materials for handloom weavers.
But due to the Technology Upgradation
Fund scheme (TUF) and other initiatives
by the government, they have moved
to either power looms or auto looms,
and there is hardly any demand for hank
yarn.

The Directory is the only

comprehensive and reliable database
on Indian suppliers of the textile value
chain and the textile machinery industry.

Minister Urged to Solve

Textile Industry Woes

lead to huge corruption. This scheme

has to be dispensed. The percentage

(Source: The Indian Express,

of obligation may be reduced to a

The edition covers profiles of more

than 5200 units in Spinning, Weaving,
Processing, Home Textiles, Garmenting
as well as Garment and Textile
Machinery. Details of entries it contains
are:

May 25, 2015)

Segment

Units

Spinning

688

Weaving

730

Composite

60

Made-ups

729

Garments

2007

COIMBATORE: The entrepreneurs

of the Tamil Nadu textile industries have
requested Minister of State, Road
Transport, Highways and Shipping, to
help solve the burning issues in the
textile sector here, on Sunday.
The members also presented a
memorandum to Minister Pon
Radhakrishnan and Muralidhar Rao,
National General Secretary of the
Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP), at a
meeting held in the city on Sunday.

Textile Machinery

816

Garment Machinery

140

The members demanded the Union

Government to provide relaxation of

44

cabotage laws, access to man-made

Textile & Apparel Park

Total

5214

Persisting with this old rule will only

realistic figure around 10 percent.

Cabotage Laws
The spinning industries can save
`250 per bale which cumulatively will
work out to an overall saving of `175
crore per annum for the entire industry,
if cabotage laws are relaxed, and
foreign vessels are permitted to
operate cargo inside India.
The Tamil Nadu spinning industry
is the largest consumer of cotton in the
country, and annually around 7 million
bales of cotton is being transported from
Gujarat to Tamil Nadu mainly over road
and through domestic vessels.

fibres at international prices, and also

install mega solar power projects at the

Solar Power

spinning mills.

Power Corporation (NTPC) could tie up

The State-owned National Thermal

MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

19

national news
with the spinning units and install root
top solar plants and enter into power
purchase agreements with the
respective mills as long-term contracts.
If implemented, the mill will benefit with
continuous power supply during the day,
while NTPC will have assured buyers of
energy on a long-term basis.
"There is an opportunity to an
extent of 1,000 MW for installing roof
top plants in spinning industries, which
will be helpful for both, the stakeholders
and the government," the association
members pointed out.

Cotton Council
International Launches
Cotton USA In India
NEW DELHI (May 14, 2015) - Cotton
Council International (CCI) is all set to
launch its 25-year old flagship brand,
COTTON USA in India. COTTON USA
promotes U.S. cotton fiber and
manufactured cotton products in more
than 50 countries globally.
The COTTON USA trademark
promises to deliver: purity, quality, and
responsibility. In a competitive market,
people need a reason to choose one
product over others.

COTTON USA strives for absolute

purity, with no contamination. For
the consumer that means that a
product with the tag COTTON USA
is clean, non-irritating, and safe.
For the manufacturer, it saves time
and money, and helps create a
superior product.
COTTON USA assures quality.
Cotton straight off the plant is not
always as pretty as it looks in the
pictures. It's not "ready-to-wear."
The quality of COTTON USA is par
excellence as it is finished with
inventive techniques to keep its
natural qualities intact.
COTTON USA is committed to
responsibility and ever-greater

20 MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

sustainability. COTTON USA is

renewable,
recyclable
and
biodegradable, so it can be returned
to the earth from which it came.
The Indian textile industry is
primarily cotton focused, with cotton
accounting for nearly 54% of total fibre
consumption in 2014. However, the
industry has inherent challenges like
cotton price fluctuation, inconsistent
quality of indigenous cotton and overdependence on monsoons. In order to
meet the demand, there is a
requirement of high quality cotton in the
country.
"The Indian textile and apparel
market is now more than US$100 billion
and growing at a healthy rate, and it
has potential to double its export share
from present 5% to 10% in next 10 year.
We see a huge potential in this market
and hence bring the best quality cotton
to the Indian consumers." said David
B. Collins, Cotton Council International
Senior Advisor
"Consumers are well aware and
conscious about what they are wearing
and are looking beyond just the end
product; they want superior quality
fabric assurance. U.S. cotton is seen by
many as the best in the world, so when
this premier cotton is combined with
prestigious product developers, the
result is truly top-of-the line, the best
of the best," said Renu Aggarwal, India
Representative for Cotton Council
International.
She further added, "Premiumisation
is a well established term in India and
is happening across categories. The
textile industry is also catching up by
using premium quality - raw material,
fabrics & innovation to make quality
products in the country."
The brand logo design embodies the
idea that cotton is on a global journey.
It's the story of a single fiber, born in
the USA, from seed, sun, and soil-not a
refinery-that travels around the world,
touched at each step by those who care,
both in crafting and wearing. In the end,
this fiber that was born in the earth,

goes full-circle and returns to

the earth. For more information, visit
www.cottonusa.in.
About Cotton Council International
Cotton Council International in
conjunction with the National Cotton
Council works to promote U.S. cotton
exports through COTTON USA in more
than 50 countries globally. With offices
in Washington, Memphis, London, Hong
Kong, Seoul and Shanghai, and
dedicated representatives in numerous
other countries, CCI plays the lead role
in educating and strengthening the
market for U.S. cotton and U.S. cotton
products around the world. Since 1989,
over 50,000 product lines and 3 billion
products have proudly carried the name
COTTON USA. That translates into
about 100 million bales of cotton.
Neha Dhingra: +91-9811211335
Niyati Sharma: +91-9810804260

Fall in demand, not less

rainfall, bigger worry
for cotton growers
(Source: mydigitalfc.com, May 24, 2015)

Lesser imports by China may cut

shipments from India by 41%
this year

The southwest monsoon season

rains (June to September), which
account for over 70 per cent of India's
annual rainfall, are projected to be
below normal for a second straight year.
The Indian Meteorological Department
(IMD) believes the current weak El Nino
conditions prevailing over the Pacific
Ocean are likely to continue during the

Bishnu Export advt.

MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

21

national news
southwest monsoon season, thereby

Commodity Exchange of India (MCXI)

Shivakumar isn't exaggerating.

leading to a sub-normal rainfall in the

had earlier declined nearly 32 per cent

Suicides have in fact begun in

country.

from a record high in 2013.

Ramanagaram, India's Silk City that

houses the largest silk cocoon market

However, unlike other agricultural

The domestic textile industry is

crops, less rainfall is not really bad news

primarily cotton based, with the crop

for cotton. A below-average monsoon

may not hurt its output, as cotton is

accounting for nearly 54 per cent of the

total fibre consumption in 2014.

more resilient than most rain-dependent

However, the industry is facing

crops. In fact, experts point out that a

poor monsoon normally tends to benefit

challenges like price fluctuation and

inconsistent quality of indigenous

cotton, as it is a desert crop.

cotton. The demand can be met only

What is, however, worrying is that

China, the world's biggest cotton buyer,

through production of high-quality

cotton inside the country. Further, the

has been cutting down its cotton import

considerably. According to government
estimates, lesser cotton imports by
China may eventually lead to as high
as 41 per cent drop in shipments from
India this year. As a result, Indian cotton
export is expected to fall to a six-year
low.
Estimates of the cotton advisory

domestic textile and apparel market is

now worth more than $100 billion and
is still growing at a healthy rate. It has

in Asia. On May 8 this year, 28-yearold Ganesh and his mother

Lakshmamma killed themselves by
jumping into a nearby lake. The duo
had invested Rs 15,000 in breeding the
silkworms and cocoons. But the produce
fetched them a mere Rs 6,000 in the
market. Similar stories emanate from
the region. And for the past few weeks,
angry sericulturists have been laying
siege to the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway
and halting traffic, hoping that the Union

a potential to double the share of

government will pay heed.

exports from the present five per cent

to 10 per cent in the next 10 years. So

At the root of the problem is the

Centre's slashing of the import duty on

the need of the hour is to produce good

raw silk from 15 per cent to 10 per cent.

quality cotton at globally competitive

price.

This has caused an overnight 30 per

cent crash in prices of silk cocoon, that
is already seeing a glut.

board show that cotton export will

probably drop to seven million bales in
the 12 months ending September 30

Silk city loses lustre

At the Ramanagaram market, the

government officials are worried too.

from 11.79 million bales in the same

(Source: The Times of India,

The sericulture department is staring at

corresponding period a year earlier, the

lowest since 2008-2009. Cotton

May 25, 2015)

a huge influx of silk cocoons into the

market and further crash in prices. E T

shipments from India have been

recorded at around five million bales
this season.
The fall in demand from China may
also cause a drop in cotton acreages,
experts pointed out. Globally too
farmers are expected to cut down
cotton planting by about seven per cent
this year, leading to a nine per cent drop
in total output to 23.9 million tonnes in
the 12 months starting August 1, the
latest international cotton advisory
committee report said. However, the
good news for India is that cotton prices
have started bouncing back recently
and, therefore, there are hopes that the
reduction in planting area may not
exceed 10 per cent.
Farmers' groups feel that the cotton
area may not shrink during the 201516 season, as land conditioning has
begun in many of the cotton producing
states. Cotton futures on the Multi

22 MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

stares

Venkatesh, deputy director at the

despondently at his mounds of white silk

cocoons at the government-run

KB

Shivakumar

market, says, "We are seeing a surge

of silk cocoons daily and are running

Ramanagaram mar ket. The auctioneer

out of space," he says.

has sealed his fate: the produce will sell

for only Rs 165 per kg. "The same lot,
two to three weeks ago, would have
fetched me at least Rs 300 per kg," says
Shivakumar, a school dropout from a
village in Maddur, Ramanagaram, who
prided himself as a successful silk
farmer. Till a month ago, at least. Today
Shivakumar, who has been in the
business since 1972, is worried and
uncertain.
"This price fall is unprecedented.
When I started out, cocoons fetched Rs
15 per kg. I made huge profits then.
Today , breeding cocoons itself costs
Rs 200 per kg. If I sell at Rs 165 per
kg, how will I pay my loans and survive?
This will drive us sericulturists to
suicide," he says.

Karnataka produces half of India's

raw silk and has over 10 lakh people
associated with the sericulture sector.
The state government is understandably
concerned, with chief minister
Siddaramaiah sending letters to the
Union textiles ministry requesting to
reverse the import duty cut and sending
delegations to New Delhi.
Heavy-duty politics
Arun Jaitley says the move to cut
import duty is in tune with the
government's Make in India policy.
While the finance minister may be
alluding to the weaver community and
textile industry, especially in PM
Narendra Modi's constituency of
Varanasi, silk farmers in Karnataka
loudly wonder why the policy doesn't

national news
protect their interests as well. C

Farmers generally bear the brunt

The Ambassador cars come to

the

of misfortunes - the vicissitudes of

mind. India finds itself in a cleft stick -

Karnataka State Farmers Association,

says the Varanasi weavers' lobby has

weather, declining crops and failure due

to disease, shortage of water due to low

it can't argue for lower tariffs for its

exports while creating entry barriers for

much to do with the cutting of import

water tables in traditional silk cocoon-

imports. What are the possible

duties on Chinese silk.

producing areas of Kolar, Siddlaghatta,

Kunigal, Devanahalli, Ramanagaram,

solutions? One, silk farmers have to

improve their productivity and quality

Chikkaballapur, Kanakapura, Bengaluru

to be able to compete with the Chinese.

and Mysuru. Add to that lack of power

for irrigation and finally, the dumping

(Even after freight, handling, insurance

and various duties though reduced, the

weavers.

of silk yarn from China.

Chinese yarn is still cheaper and

Enter the dragon

The problem began many years

ago, when import restrictions on yarn

better). But improvement seems

unlikely as the agriculture sector is

Puttuswamy,

secretary

for

In 2011 too, when the import duty

was cut by a whopping 25%, farmers
in Karnataka had blamed the north
Indian lobby of silk traders and

Chinese silk yarn is preferred by

powerlooms as the yarn is smoother
and easier to handle than thicker and
fragile Indian silk. Till a decade ago,
Chinese silk had 40% of the share in
the market when much of the weaving
was on handlooms. The advent of
powerlooms

has

reversed

the

dominance. According to Habibullah, the

general secretary of Karnataka Reelers
Association, merchants are ready to
pay an extra Rs 900 to Rs 1,000 for
better quality Chinese silk.With bulk
buyers like Tamil Nadu too switching to
powerlooms, Karnataka is staring at
lower demand.

Silk farmers must move

to profitable crops
(Source: The Times of India,
May 25, 2015)

Silk farming goes back more than

along with other materials, began to

ease with the reforms set in motion by
the PV Narasimha Rao government. It
benefited other sectors but not farmers.
The issue is complex and has no easy
solutions.
On the one hand, with India joining
GATT and increasingly becoming part
of the global trade, India wants export
barriers to be dismantled to enable it
to export. This has already enabled
India to become a big exporter of
engineering goods, software, IT
services, automobile parts, leather
goods and textiles - both cotton and silk,
among other things. It is a two-way
street. On the other hand, textile
exporters lobby for lower duties to

infrastructure especially power, rising

labour and other inputs. Two, the
government, must devise prudent
subsidy mechanism to bail out silk
farmers.
But
again
delivery
mechanisms are full of corruption and
seepages. This is part of the larger
issue of India's agriculture.
Even though agriculture's share in
GDP is sliding, the number of people
employed in agriculture (now at around
60%) has not, condemning a large
population to poverty. The silk farmers,
in particular, must move to other
profitable crops and trades as they have
in many developed countries over the
years. Education is the answer.

import silk yarn to be able to be

competitive in their exports.
But the biggest bane? Imported
yarn from China is mixed by reelers
with the local Kunigal and Mysuru race
of silk worm. The cross-breed yarn

a thousand years in India. Karnataka

produces

accounts for over 60 per cent of

mulberry-based silkworm cocoon

Kanjeevaram, Benares, Dharmavaram

and other fabrics. This has hit local

production. The farmers who rear silk

farmers hard reducing demand for

worms and produce cocoons are in a

symbiotic relationship with the reelers

domestic silk cocoons and crashing

prices. There is a case for imports. If

and twisters who make the yarn from

import tariffs come down, the local

cocoons and sell it to weavers and

printers who make the saris later

industry which has always been

protected, will become efficient

passed on to wholesalers and reach the

benefiting consumers with quality goods

shops. The industry is akin to the

intricate warp and weft of the famed

at competitive prices, instead of

suffering low quality shabby domestic

silk saris, with miillions employed from

goods.

farm to shop floor.

neglected and beset with lack of rural

domestic

silk

for

Muktsar mechanizes
cotton sowing to beat
labour woes
(Source: The Times of India,
May 25, 2015)

Muktsar: To overcome the growing

shortage of human labour for sowing
and picking cotton, an effort is being
made in Muktsar district to go for
complete mechanization of the process.
The district agriculture officials have tied
up with three multinational companies
(MNCs) for sowing the fibre crop using
machines in Muktsar, which is part of
Punjab's cotton belt.
To start with, the agriculture officials
have selected 10 villages of Lambi,

MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

23

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24 MARCH - APRIL 2015

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MARCH - APRIL 2015

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25

national news
Gidderbaha and Malout blocks of the
district where sowing of cotton over
1,000 acres is being done using a
pneumatic planter. Companies
Monsanto, John Deere and Bayer are
providing the machines for sowing and
later picking cotton, besides the
technical knowhow for operating these.
Agriculture officials claim that
farmers would get more yield from
cotton sown using pneumatic planter
and would overcome the big problem
of labour as the machines would also
pick the bolls (flowers) on maturity.
Earlier, only sowing of cotton was being
done using machines, but pneumatic
planter will allow mechanical picking of
the crop for the first time.
Muktsar chief agriculture officer
Beant Singh said, "Cotton sown with
pneumatic planter doesn't get damaged
despite rains lashing and farmers will
get 20-30% more yield. The machines
are capable of picking cotton in one acre
in about one and a half hours. Farmers
will have to pay only Rs 400 per acre
whereas they have to spend Rs 3,000
per acre for manual picking."
Beant Singh said that to ensure
better results from the latest technique,
agriculture officials and representatives
of the companies would keep providing
technical knowhow to farmers. "Height
of the cotton plants will not be allowed
to grow more than four feet and to
ensure it four sprays will be done for
which chemicals will be provided by the
companies."
Cotton grower Harmesh Singh said,
"I have sown cotton over five acres
using a pneumatic planter and hope to
save money that I used to spend earlier
on manual labour." Another farmer
Mohinder Singh has sown cotton over
seven acres through the new technique.
'Is it for welfare of MNCs or
farmers?'
Concerned over the development,
labourer organization Punjab Khet
Mazdoor Union secretary Lachhman
Singh Sewewala said, "It seems that the
government is more concerned about

26 MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

the MNCs than farmers. The agriculture

department seems to provide a windfall
for the big companies to get a foothold
and making farmers dependent on these
and work as their designs."

Export gauntlet to China

- India moots joint supply chain
by setting up SEZ in Bangla
(Source: The Telegraph, May 25, 2015)

India has proposed to Bangladesh

that the South Asian neighbours jointly
build a regional export-driven supply
chain, which would allow them to
compete better with China's Pearl Valley
Delta that remains the world's leading
manufacturing hub for exports.
Modi
The plan
includes India
setting up its
first special
economic zone
in Bangladesh
and will likely
be formalised
when Prime
M i n i s t e r
Narendra Modi
travels
to
Dhaka early next month, senior officials
have said.
"I have already spoken to the
export processing zone regulators in
Bangladesh, and we are looking forward
to the idea of the Indian SEZ,"
Bangladesh state foreign minister
Shahriar Alam said here yesterday.
But building the proposed regional
supply chain will not be easy, the
officials conceded, because in key
sectors, including apparel, the nations
continue to compete.
"There will be some competition,
that is natural in business," foreign
secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
told The Telegraph on the margins of a
convention on India-Bangladesh
relations organised by the Bangladesh
high commission and a think tank, the

India Foundation, here. "But we believe

there is far more scope for cooperation
in trying to jointly build a supply chain
beneficial to both of us."
Publicly, Modi's "Make in India"
slogan has focused on high-end, heavyinvestment projects, including in the
defence sector, nuclear technology and
heavy machinery. But there is
recognition within the government that
China did not emerge as a
manufacturing hub depending on highquality, skill-intensive products, but by
developing an elaborate supply chain.
This supply chain, combined with
cheap labour and favourable
regulations, made China's Pearl Valley
Delta in Guangdong the world's export
engine, supplying everything from
garments to electronics items to brands
as diverse as Walmart and Apple.
Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh
Hasina
Bangladesh,
over the past few
years, has tried
to build its own
export-driven
supply chain.
From 2006, when
it stood behind
India and sixth
globally among exporters of apparel,
Bangladesh has now raced to second
spot - behind only China. The garment
industry employs more than four million
people in Bangladesh, and contributes
the bulk of the country's exported
merchandise.
"It is something we feel good about,
even though Bangladesh has overtaken
us," national security adviser Ajit Doval
said yesterday.
In recent years, Bangladesh has
also emerged as a key exporter of auto
components, a sector where India has
traditionally held an edge.
India is already unwittingly a party
to Bangladesh's supply chain - much of
the raw material like cotton used to
produce garments in Bangladesh is
sourced from India, Alam said.

national news
But a regional supply chain network
would allow India and Bangladesh to
jointly bargain for better prices at a time
wage rates in China too have risen
sharply, in a manner the European Union
has partly achieved, Doval argued.
"Why should we be selling so
cheaply?" Doval said. "Why can't we
jointly, as a region, manufacture and
export together to seek better prices?"

NIFT Celebrates Red

Letter Day
(Source: The New Indian Express,
May 25, 2015)

CHENNAI: All of Thiruvalluvar

auditorium was buzzing with energy and
excitement over the weekend. It was
the Red Letter Day of the National
Institute of Fashion Technology on
Friday, and 175 students passed out this
year. From Oriental, Goth, Bohemian
spirit, fringe bags, Cinderella glass
shoes, femme fatale, this day witnessed
some marvelous and interesting designs
showcased by students.
"We could only showcase a few of
our students' collections as the time
didn't permit beyond that," said a proud
Anitha Mabel Manohar, director of the
institute. Apart from the fashion show,
the director also spoke about their
association with the Khadi and Village
Industry Commission (KVIC) this year,
where the students will be working with
handloom weavers across the State for
two weeks and will be learning and
teaching them embroidery, stitching and
ways to make handloom saleable.
"It is impossible to do away with
handloom," she said. "Replacing it with
powerloom is not going to be of any
help. Everyone must learn and enhance
our traditional methods. We have been
asking more and more students to go
only for handloom and khadi. It is
irreplaceable," stressed Anitha.
Speaking of handloom, the students
of fashion design also showcased their
handwoven crafts. For instance, a few
of their designs were inspired from the

culture of Jharkhand and Awadh. "It is

a great platform to learn and modernise
your ancient clothing without having it
lose its charm. There is still a lot more
to learn and do," said Gaurav Kumar, a
student who won the award for 'Best
Outgoing Student' at NIFT Chennai.
''We have also focussed on making
use of recycled clothes, like denims,"
said Anitha pointing out to the recycled
denim collection showcased by a
student. "Till date we have sent 974
students to the apparel and design
industry. I hope the number increases
with each passing year," she added.

In 2014-15, garment exports grew

by 12.2 per cent to USD 16.83 billion.

Silk exporters eye

Madhya Pradesh for
raw material supply
With China gradually pulling
out of international market,
exporters have to explore
home-made silk
(Source: Business Standard, 23 May 15)

Apparel exporters
demand interest subsidy
(Source: Tecoya Trend, May 22, 2015)

Apparel exporters' body AEPC has

demanded interest subsidy scheme
among other things to boost exports.
Apparel Export Promotion Council of
India (AEPC) Chairman Virender Uppal
said exports grew by 9.24 per cent in
April this year but it was 13.4 per cent
in April 2014.
He said free trade agreement with
European Union and Canada would help
in mitigating "the duty disadvantage
suffered by India vis-a-vis our competitors
like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam,
Pakistan etc. in the major markets".
He also asked the government to
announce the 3 per cent interest
subvention scheme with effective from
April last year to "partially mitigate high
cost of lending, which is hovering
around 11-12 per cent as compared to
4.6 per cent in competing countries".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's

recent China trip doesn't seem to have
gained much for India's silk exporters
as theIndian Silk Exports Promotion
Council is looking for local options to
procure raw material. Exporters want to
tap the potential as China, India's main
competitor in silk business, is gradually
pulling out of the international market.
Exporters want to establish their position
in the vacuum which is likely to be
created after China's losing interest.

He also suggested for extension of

duty benefits to major markets like the
US, EU, Canada, Mexico, Australia,
Switzerland and Russia.

Council chairman T V Maruthi today

led a twelve-member delegation of
exporters to the small silk-farmers'
village ofMalakhedi (80 Km Southwest
of Bhopal) to explore whether the sole
government-run silk yarn making centre
here can cater to exporters' needs.

For improving ease of doing

business, the actual implementation of
24x7 clearances of import and export
at the ports should be ensured by
customs authorities, he said in a
statement.

"As China has switched over to

other sectors like infrastructure etc.,
after ruling the international silk market
for years, India is looking for new
options to procure raw material for silk
exporters. There is a wide gap in India
MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

27

Wazir Advt.

28 MARCH - APRIL 2015

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national news
in raw material demand-supply; 40
percent of the raw material demand of
Indian silk manufacturers is met by
China," said Maruthi.
"The Centre has no immediate
mechanism to develop capacity to cater
to what the Indian Silk Export Promotion
Council demands," said Rakesh
Shrivastava, general manager of the
centre. For the first time, the Council
initiated a dialogue with local farmers
at the centre.
Not only short supply of raw material
but escalating price, rising dollar and
recent increase in import duty on silk
have also put a pressure on exporters.
"The Government has increased
import duty from 5% to 15% recently
and added another dampener to the
exports. It looks simple in number, but
it has gone up 300 times," he said. "On
the other hand, prices of silk prices have
gone up three times in three years."
Hoshangabad revenue division
produces 64 metric tonnes of silk per
year against 243 metric tonne. A small
showroom located at the Malakhedi silk
reeling centre posts a sale of Rs onew
crore annually for its "Prakrit" brand
finished products made of silk fabric.

"We have aksed the government to

contribute to support in research and
design, processing house and brand
building to help silk industry rise. We
hope our demands would met as soon
as possible," Atul K Gupta past chairman
of the Council said.
The Council delegation observed if
government supports in developing
common facility centers for design,
research and development for making
silk fabric in accordance with the
international market norms, state like
Madhya Pradesh can do wonders.
"Not only Madhya Pradesh entire
India does not have a quality processing
house or common design facility. If
government offers soft loans to the
manufacturers, private players can
come forward set up silk reeling units,"
said Bimal Manwandia who is one of the
prominent silk exporter in the country.
Another
exporter
Rakesh
Shrivastava of Varanasi who mainly
exports silk to Russian countries said,
"India has art of making silk but does
not have organized market, which is why
we are not competing in the
International market."

But it cannot cater to huge demand

of exporters. "We do not have the
volumes. Also the exporters want
consistency and design besides volume.
It would be too tough for us though our
production and sale both are growing,"
said Satyanand, Commissioner state
sericulture department.

Hoshangabad revenue divisions,

with its highly fertile soil, has as many
as 7000 farmers who are directly
associated with the silk industry. On
government's part it runs 14 reeling
centers at eight districts in the division.
The state has 26,000 farmers who feed
32 silk reeling centers at various
locations.

Silk production in country,

according to the council, has gone up
from 18,370 metric tonne in 2008-2009
to 26,480 metric tonne in 2013-14, but
is still not sufficient to cater to the $550
million silk export industry of India.

Meghalya to set up
centre for promotion of
textile sector

Other exporters observe that

research and development, quality
processing house and brand building
hold the key for Indian exporters to
establish in Global market though it
continues to be the second largest silk
material producer.

(Source: The Statesman, May 23, 2015)

Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul

Sangma on Friday laid the foundation
stone of an apparel and garment centre
to be set up under the North East Region
Textiles Promotion Scheme.

The state government has been

working in tandem with the
Government of India to create multiple
opportunities for the youth workforce
with number of interventions which
include
various
skill
and
entrepreneurship
development
programmes, the chief minister said.
"The focus of the state government
has been to create job spaces for the
youth within the State rather than the
usual placement for jobs in other parts
of the country," he said.
Union Minister of State for Textiles
Santosh Kumar Gangwar, who was
present on the occasion, said that there
was a need to jointly work towards
growth and development stating that
handloom and handicraft is essential
everywhere in the world.
Referring to Narendra Modi who
after taking over charge as the Prime
Minister of India had expressed his
concern for the North East, he stated
the importance of working towards the
growth and development of the region
and also mentioned that Bangladesh
which is close to the state is also faring
well in the textile industry in the world.
Gangwar also said that with proper
availability of land, the Government can
work towards initiating textile industry
in the region, adding that is a fruitful
industry that can provide easy
employment for anyone and an
attractive form of employment for the
people of Northeast.
The Union Minister of State also
informed the gathering that the Union
Govt will be setting up silk industry in
the entire Northeast under Rs.30 crore
budget out of which the Union Govt will
pay Rs.29.9 crore and also increase
handloom clusters in collaboration with
NIFT with 72 clusters in Meghalaya
alone.
MARCH - APRIL 2015

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29

Global NEWS
Chinese support for
Bangladesh's growth
(Source: bdnews24.com, May 25, 2015)

China has promised all possible

forms of support to the Sheikh Hasina
government as it tries to turn
Bangladesh into a middle income
nation.

The Chinese Vice Premier Lio

Yandong met Sheikh Hasina on Sunday
during a visit to Dhaka.
"The Chinese leader was all praises
for Sheikh Hasina's leadership and
Bangladesh's economic performance
under her, specially the country's ability
to maintain GDP growth at 6 percent
plus," said the prime minister's Press
Secretary A K M Shameem Chowdhuri.
He said the Chinese Vice Premier
expressed the hope that Bangladesh
would become a middle income country
by 2021.
China would provide all necessary
support, Choudhuri quoted Lio Yandong
as saying.
He said the Chinese vice premier
proposed relocation of China's labour
intensive industries in Bangladesh which
could benefit both countries.
Lio also extended an invitation to
Sheikh Hasina to visit China at the
earliest on behalf of Premier Li Keqiang.
Bangladesh and China signed three

30 MARCH - APRIL 2015

TEXTILE TIMES

MOUs, two cooperation agreement and

one exchange of notes in the field of
education, media and trade. These
were signed in presence of the Chinese
vice premier and Prime Minister Hasina
at Ganabhaban to improve bilateral ties
between the two countries.
The MoU on Cooperation in
Education between the ministries of
education of the two countries was
signed by Education Secretary of
Bangladesh Md Nazrul Islam Khan and
Chinese Education Minister Yuan
Guiren.
The Ministry of Information of
Bangladesh
and
the
State
Administration of Press, Publication of
China signed a MoU for cooperation in
the fields of radio, film and television.
Information Secretary Martuza Ahmed
and Vice Minister of China Tong Gang
signed the MoU.
Another MoU between the Dhaka
University and Beijing Foreign Studies
University was signed for cooperation
in the areas of exchange of students,
faculty, scholars and administrative
staff, research collaboration and sharing
of academic materials and information.
Dhaka University Vice Chancellor
Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique and
President of BFSU Peng Long signed the
MoU.
Southeast University of Bangladesh
and Wuhan Textile University, China
signed an agreement for Cooperation
in joint undergraduate programme on
textile engineering. Southeast
University Vice Chancellor Prof Anwar
Hossain and WTU Chancellor Wei Yiliang
signed the agreement.
The other cooperation agreement
was signed between BGMEA University
of Fashion and Technology, Bangladesh
and Wuhan Textile University, China for
joint undergraduate programme on
fashion design. Founder chairman of

...news in brief
BGMEA University Muzaffar U Siddique
and WTU Chancellor Wei Yiliang signed
the instrument.
The lone exchange of notes
between Bangladesh and China on
container inspection equipment project
was signed by ERD Senior Secretary
Mohammad Mejbahuddin and Chinese
Ambassador to Bangladesh Ma
Mingqiang.

Iran unveils first

genetically modified
cotton
(Source: Press TV, May 24, 2015)

Iran has unveiled the first sample of

genetically modified cotton produced through
indigenous technology. (File photo)

Iran has unveiled the first

sample of genetically modified
cotton, which has been produced
through indigenous technology by
Iranian specialists.
The unveiling took place during the
First International and 9th National
Biotechnology Congress of Iran, which
was attended by Minister of Agriculture
Mahmoud Hojjati.
According to Persian media,
Dr. Mostafa Ghane'i, who heads the First
International Biotechnology Congress of
Iran, said the technology for the
production of genetically modified cotton
has been developed by an Iranian
biotechnology research institute in

global news
Alborz Province, west of the
capital city, Tehran.
"This technology has been
developed in about five years
by Iranian researchers and
suits the country's conditions,"
he added.
The official noted that the
genetically modified cotton is
considered as a solution to
existing problems with the
quality of cotton produce in
South Khorasan Province.
He added that by taking
advantage of the new
technology, the cotton crop
harvested across provincial
farms has been increased 5-7
times.
Explaining on the legal
aspects of the issue, Ghane'i
said taking advantage of any
new technology in farms would
need permission from the
Iranian parliament's Biosafety
Committee.
He
noted
that
the
committee is comprised of
representatives from Ministry of
Health, Ministry of Agriculture
Jihad, and the Department of
Environment.
During the past two
decades, Iran has broken new
grounds in the field of
biotechnology as a result of
which the country is currently
an exporter of biotech
medications.
The First International and
9th National Biotechnology
Congress of Iran opened in
Tehran on May 24 and will
continue until May 26. The event
is hosted by the Biotechnology
Society of the Islamic Republic
of Iran.
More than 20 foreign
specialists from Japan, the
Philippines, India, Pakistan,
Kuwait and Mongolia are taking
part in the congress.

WTO trade ministers to

meet next month in Paris
to finalise agenda for
Nairobi meeting
(Source: The Economic Times,
May 25, 2015)

A
crucial
meeting of trade
ministers of key
WTO
member
countries including
India and the US
will take place in
Paris next month to discuss the pending
issues of the Doha Round and finalise the
agenda for the Nairobi ministerial meeting
in December.
It will be held on the sidelines of the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development meeting in Paris on June
4 or 5, said a senior official at the
Commerce Ministry.
India has recently expressed concern
over slow progress in finalising the agenda
for the Nairobi ministerial meeting of WTO
members to resolve the pending issues of
the Doha Round.
Trade ministers of about 15 countries
including India, the US, EU, Australia, Brazil,
South Africa and China are expected to
attend this crucial meeting. WTO Director
General Roberto Azevedo will also
participate in the deliberations.
India will present its views on bringing
back issues related to the long-stalled Doha
Round including agriculture (export
subsidies, cotton and fishery subsidies),
market access and services, the official
said.
The ministers will finalise the agenda
for the Ministerial Conference, which is the
highest decision making body of the World
Trade Organisation (WTO), scheduled from
December 15-18 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Doha Round of negotiations
launched in 2001 have remained stalled
since July 2008 due to differences between
the rich and the developing nations mainly

over the subsidies given to farmers.

As per estimates, successful conclusion
of the Doha Round could boost global trade
by up to USD 200 billion a year.
Besides
attending
the
WTO
deliberations, Commerce and Industry
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would meet
European Union Trade commissioner Cecilia
Malmstrom on June 4.
Both the leaders will discuss trade
related matters including the proposed free
trade agreement.
"EU is expected to talk about resumption
of the Broad- based Trade and Investment
Agreement (BTIA). India may invite them
for the talks," the official added.
In May 2013, India and the 28-nation
bloc had failed to bridge differences over
critical differences including data security
and visa liberalisation related matters. After
that, no formal round of talks have been
held.
India and the EU are negotiating BTIA
that will include trade in goods, services
and investments since June 2007.
Commerce between the two sides was USD
101.5 billion in 2013-14.

Asia : Your clothes are

killing us
(Source: CNN May 22, 2015).

The True Cost, a new documentary, chronicles

the evils of the clothing industry and asks us to
stop buying so much cheap stuff

We buy too many clothes, and we pay

too little for them.
That's the message of "The True Cost,"
a new documentary on the perils of the
fashion industry, which is being released
next week.
The film is a sweeping, heartbreaking
and damning survey of the clothing
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31

global news
economy. It covers malformed children
of pesticide sprayers in India's cotton
belt, gruesome shots of the deadly 2013
Rana Plaza factory collapse in
Bangladesh, Indian rivers frothing with
chemicals, and mountains of discarded
clothing in Haiti.
"I believe these clothes are
produced by our blood," Shima Akhter,
a Bangladeshi factory worker, says in
the film. "I want the [factory owners]
to be aware and look out for us, so that
no more mothers lose their kids like
that."

Director Andrew Morgan said at a press

screening Friday. "I never thought twice
about a piece of clothing I wore."
Morgan said a photo of children -who were close in age to his own kids - hunting for loved ones near the Rana
Plaza rubble is what spurred him to
make the film.
He said systematic changes are
needed in this and other industries, chief
among them counting the costs of
pollution or unsafe working conditions
that are not currently factored into the
price of goods.
But for now, he urges consumers
to opt off the treadmill of purchasing
more and more cheap clothing -- what's
being referred to as "fast fashion" -and buy fewer, better-made items.

Textile waste in a Dhaka, Bangladesh

landfill.

The film interviews a factory owner

in Bangladesh, who says the constant
pressure to produce cheaply is partly
responsible for the unsafe conditions.
"Is it really ethical to buy a T-shirt
for $5, or a pair of jeans for $20?" asks
Livia Firth, creative director at the
sustainable businesses consultancy
Eco-Age.
The movie is filled with disturbing
facts. Here's a few:

250,000 Indian cotton farmers

have killed themselves in the last
15 years, partly as a result of going
into debt to buy genetically
modified cotton seeds.

There are 80 billion pieces of

clothing purchased worldwide each
year, up 400% from two decades
ago.

Americans throw out 82 pounds of

textiles annually.

Only 10% of the clothes people

donate to thrift stores get sold -the rest end up in landfills or flood
markets in developing countries.
"I came into this completely blind,"

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TEXTILE TIMES

"Let's back off this endless, constant

purchasing and invest in clothes we
love," he said.

Some AGOA Renewal

Supporters Call for
Amendments
(Source: Voice of America,
May 22, 2015)

The African Growth and Opportunity

Act - a trade provision that allows
thousands of products from African
countries to enter the U.S. tax-free - is
due to expire in September. While the
U.S. Senate has recently passed
legislation to extend the Act for another
10 years, it still has to go through the
House of Representatives. Meanwhile,
many say the program has only
benefited a few sub-Saharan African
countries and needs some revisions.
When President Obama visited
Africa two years ago, people were
visibly excited. But local business
owners such as Sadiya Gueye of
Senegal hoped the U.S. leader would
address export barriers, which, she
thinks, remain too high for small
businesses like her clothing design
workshop that exports to the U.S.

"In the textile sector, AGOA brings

with it lots of restrictionsm," said Gueye.
"Since we signed the agreement, people
are always holding meetings left and
right, but I believe that we have not
been able to do anything real."
According to Serigne Aliou Diop of
Asepex, the agency in charge of
promoting Senegalese exports including fisheries, agricultural and
artisanal products - AGOA has
benefitted the country.
"Today after 13 to 14 years of being
eligible, I don't think Senegal has really
benefited from AGOA," Diop told VOA.
"Some of it is due to the limited financial
capacities of our companies: the quasiinexistence of cargo flights to the U.S
and the strict rules regarding our
products."
According to the U.S Department
of Commerce, the top five AGOA
beneficiary countries are Angola,
Nigeria, South Africa, Chad and Gabon.
Among other leading beneficiaries:
Lesotho, which has one of the largest
textile industries with about 40 plants
mainly run by Asian businessmen.
While the program is working for
countries like Lesotho, it's not the norm
for all eligible countries.
"In its peak year, 2008, [the
program drove] $80 billion," in revenue,
said Rick Helfenbein, chairman of the
American Apparel and Footwear
Association. "However, 2014 finished
[with] $23 billion.
"Sixty seven percent was energyrelated," he added. "Where is the other
33 percent? Twenty of the 33 percent is
South African ... 13 percent of the 33
percent in non-energy coming from 35
countries. Underutilized, completely
underutilized."
Last year, U.S. imports from subSaharan Africa decreased by 32
percent, according to the U.S.
Department of Commerce. The reason
was mostly due to a 51 percent
decrease in U.S. oil imports from the
region. But Senatore Orrin Hatch (RUtah), who heads the Senate Finance

global news
Committee, recently praised the trade
agreement.

The new inks are compatible with

the Ricoh Gen 5 printhead.

"Since AGOA was enacted in the

year 2000, trade with beneficiary
countries has more than tripled, with
U.S. direct investments growing more
than sixfold," he said. "The program has
helped create more than 2 million jobs."

Marketing director Martin Swift said:

"It was what the market asked for.
These printheads are being used in
Ricoh machines and by other OEMs."

Hatch, who helped craft the

reauthorization language for the new
bill, says that in order to improve on
AGOA's past successes, it is important
to allow both sub-Saharan Africa and
the U.S. to benefit from expanded
market access.

Kiian unveils Digistar

range of textile inks
(Source: PrintWeek, May 22, 2015)

Kiian has chosen Fespa as the

launchpad of its new range of
digital inks developed for use with
Ricoh printheads..

"In many cases our customers are

producing for sportswear or fashion
brands. The whole thing about digital
print is it lends itself to short runs. In
many cases if it sells very well they
want to have another run. If the ink is
not of the same quality, consistency and
reliability their products will not look the
same."
Following reports that the soft
signage and textile industry has seen
double-digit growth, Swift said the
market for digital textile printing was
growing but it paid to be cautious.
"I hear lots of numbers being
bandied about. Yes, the market is
growing. I think it's very important to
understand who your customers are and
what they need."

Australia : Pigment
unveils direct-to-textile
device

2600 with a max print speed of 80sqm/

hour. Price is 65,000 and 82,000
respectively, including fixation. An
optional pre-treatment machine is also
available.
The closed-loop solution is designed
and engineered in Australia, and
manufactured in Singapore using
Japanese parts. The printers use Epson
DX7 printheads, arranged in a
staggered array, and work with
sublimation, pigment or reactive inks.
Target markets are any fabric,
including soft signage, fashion, home
furnishing and sportswear.
It has just installed two machines
at a Chinese customer.
Stephen Ball, sales executive at the
firm's UK distributor ITE, said: "There's
been loads of interest, we're the talk of
the show."

Unraveling TPPs Yarn

Forward Rule Effect on
Vietnam
(Source:

The Establishment Post,

May 22, 2015)

(Source: PrintWeek, May 22, 2015)

Kiian's Martin Swift

The Digistar range of water-based

inks for the soft signage and textile
printing industry follows the launch of a
range of fluorescent inks - HD-One, HIPro and K-One - earlier this year, which
were intended to capitalise on a trend
for fluorescent sportswear.
The new range features the Digistar
WR-500 water-based multi-purpose
sublimation transfer ink and the Digistar
Air, also for sublimation transfer. Air was
developed for printing onto lightweight
papers. Kiian said it was quick drying,
with high colour concentration.
Digistar Tex-R is Kiian's new waterbased pigment inks for direct printing
onto a wide range of fabrics.

Australian manufacturer Pigment

is making waves at Fespa with its
new low-cost direct-to-textile
printing system, being shown for
the first time in Europe.

Pigment's RoTx: "loads of interest"

The firm has two models: the 1.9mwide RoTx 2190, which prints at up to
60sqm/hour, and the 2.6m-wide RoTx

Vietnam's key garment manufacturing

sector could be seriously impacted by the
yarn forward rule of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP)

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),

a United States led trade agreement
involving twelve countries, is currently
under negotiation. A key part of the
proposed format of the TPP is a rule
known as "yarn forward". In essence,
"yarn forward" would require that only
fabric produced from yarn made by a
TPP country would qualify for the trade
agreement's duty-free status.
The rule is intended to ensure that
the trade benefits of the TPP only apply
MARCH - APRIL 2015

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33

global news
to signatory countries rather than
outside players such as China. However,
the rule also has significant effects on
signatory countries, such as Vietnam.
Upon completion the TPP trade area
will comprise a region with US$28 trillion
in economic output, making up around
39 per cent of the world's total output.
If the TPP is successfully implemented,
tariffs will be removed on almost US$2
trillion in goods and services exchanged
between the signatory countries. Thus,
Vietnam has much to gain from the
implementation of the trade agreement,
including drastically reduced tariffs in
some of the world's largest markets.
Vietnam's reaction
Yarn forward could have serious
effects for countries such as Vietnam.
The country is currently a key global
garment manufacturing location,
however, its factories often use
Chinese-made fabrics in their products,
and China is not a part of the TPP. In
fact, around 85 per cent of Vietnamese
textile and garment companies have
outsourcing contracts with foreign
partners.
What all this means is that, if
Vietnam wants to be eligible for TPP
benefits such as lower tariffs in the US
it will have to develop its own local
fabric industry or constrain itself to only
importing fabric from another TPP
country.
Vietnam is currently working to
have the "yarn forward" rule removed,
or its implementation delayed, from the
TPP. A number of other countries have
also pledged their support to Vietnam.
However, other actions that
Vietnam has taken show that it may be
ready to acquiesce to yarn forward, and
the country has so far expressed fairly
consistent support for the trade
agreement, since it will allow many of
its other products market access to
some of the world's biggest economies.
Therefore, it seems that the rule will not
be a fatal roadblock to the TPP's finalization.
The US Trade Representative (USTR) has
also stated that the US will not pull back
from its demand for yarn forward.

34 MARCH - APRIL 2015

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In a sign that the country has felt

which way the wind is blowing, a number
of Vietnamese companies are already
starting up, or expanding, their own
fiber manufacturing operations in order
to not be left behind when the TPP is
finally implemented. Key companies
include the Century Synthetic Fiber
Corporation (CSFC), Thanh Cong Joint
Stock Co (TCM), and the Vietnam Textile
and Garment Corporation (Vinatex).
Additionally, in a further bid to
enhance the competitiveness of the
country's fiber manufacturing industry,
Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade
(VMIT) has proposed levying a 2 perc
ent import tax on polyester staple fiber
(PSF). Currently PSF imports are not
subject to tax.
The US Argument For Yarn Forward
While yarn forward may have some
deleterious impacts upon Vietnam, US
textile makers are keen for the rule to
be implemented. This is because they
believe that the rule will help to
constrain China and Vietnam's entrance
into the US market. In turn, US textile
makers also believe that the rule will
make Vietnam more attractive to
American textile industry investment.
This is not the first time that a "yarn
forward" principle has been pushed by
the United States. During the North
American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) negotiations in 1993 the rule
was used as a way to protect US
markets. It was also used in the Central
American Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA), which stated that the yarn,
fabric, sewing thread, and the final
garment itself must be made either in
the United States or one of the six
Caribbean or Central American
countries party to the agreement.
Manufacturers have found the yarn
forward rule to be a strong tool in
ensuring their competitiveness on the
world market.
The TPP has garnered strong
support from many US manufacturers.
In a clear sign of this support, the
National Council of Textile Organizations
is pushing Congress to allow the

President to use fast track authority to

approve the trade agreement. When
this authority is given, Congress is
restricted to a simple yes/no vote on
the TPP and is not able to amend specific
sections of the agreement. If fast track
is granted, trade negotiations could be
finished in a matter of months.
"Short Supply" Rule Could Mollify
Vietnam
In their fight against yarn forward,
countries such as Vietnam have joined
forces with retailers such as Walmart
and Target in order to push for more
flexibility in the rule. The USTR appears
to be somewhat receptive to these
voices and, in its most recent "summary
of objectives", it has included a "short
supply" rule.
This rule would allow raw materials
"not commercially available in the
United States or other TPP countries to
be sourced from non-TPP countries and
used in the production of apparel in the
TPP region without losing duty
preference."
While the USTR says this flexibility
will be limited, others have criticized the
rule as once again opening the door to
China. If Chinese goods are allowed
into Vietnam and exported to the US,
then China will be accruing the benefits
of the TPP without having to give up
anything itself.
This problem can be seen in the
rules of origin related to other goods.
For example, some have rules stating
that up to 65 per cent of the product
can be manufactured outside of the
country, but the product can still be
deemed as having been made within
that country.
In reaction to this criticism the USTR
has strongly expressed its belief that
the short supply rule will not allow
countries to be able to launder their
products through TPP nations.
It would seem that only time can
tell what the true effects of the TPP will
be, but businesses would be wise to plan
for all eventualities and ensure they are
prepared to take advantage of such
rules as yarn forward.

global news

Bangladesh Catastrophes
Drive Ethical Sourcing
Initiatives
(Source: Logistics Viewpoints,
May 21, 2015)

Sourcing to low cost destinations is

not a new development and Bangladesh
has been a favored destination of
apparel brands and retailers. But
incidents like Rana Plaza disaster (an
eight-story factory collapsed, killing
over 1,000 workers) brought to light
non-existent safety measures. This
incident, and three others during 201314, challenged the sourcing strategies
of large apparel brand retailers and
compelled them to embrace socially
responsible procurement processes.
Almost all brands that source from
Bangladesh belatedly saw a need to
help ensure worker safety in the factory.
Companies like Wal-Mart and Macy's
report their progress in this area in their
annual sustainability reports. Two
initiatives in this area include "Alliance
of Bangladesh Worker Safety" and
Accord on Fire and Building Safety in
Bangladesh."
According to the Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA), in 2013-14 there
were 4,222 garment factories in
Bangladesh, employing a workforce of ~
4 million. Over 80 percent of Bangladesh's
exports are of readymade garments
(RMG). The total value of the exports was
approximately $24.5 billion, contributing
13.5 percent to the country's GDP.
The Accord was founded by a group
of over 190 apparel brands, retailers
and importers from Europe, North
America, Asia, and Australia. It also
includes two global trade unions, eight
Bangladesh trade unions, and four NGO
witnesses. The Accord covers 1,583
factories representing around 2 million
workers.
The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker
Safety was founded by a group of North

American apparel brands and retailers

and consists of 26 brands who have
joined forces to make an attempt to
improve safety in Bangladesh's
readymade garment factories. The
Alliance releases compliance information
for more than 648 factories representing
an estimated 1.2 million workers.
Both the initiatives have a five
years roadmap to improve the
conditions of Bangladesh's factories.
The Alliance and Accord conduct
assessments using the Alliance's Fire
Safety and Structural Integrity Standard
and Accord Building Standards. The
standard covers three areas - fire,
electrical and structural integrity. This
standard is at par with the standards
used by the National Tripartite
Committee. The two associations work
with seven local qualified assessment
firms that conduct the audits on their
behalf. The payment to the auditor is
done by an Alliance/Accord member
working with the factory. If multiple
members work with the same factory,
they divide the assessment cost
accordingly.
Milestones
for
5
Year
Commitments of the Alliance
The audit report focuses on three
aspects of the factory: Fire Safety,
Structural Integrity and Electrical
Repairs. All the three audit reports have
a general information section with
details like ownership, number of
occupants, construction type, and height
of the building area.
Fire assessment details are verified
on the criteria of Fire Protection
Construction; Fire Protection Systems
installed; and Fire Safety Programs.
Structural assessment deals with
Structural System Design; Structural
System Construction; and Structural
Safety Programs.
Electrical assessments are based on
Electrical System Information; Electrical
System Maintenance; current Electrical
System Conditions; Emergency Power
System; and Lightning Protection
System. In addition, the assessments

are also based on worker interviews, and

union representatives (where present)
interviews.
After the factory inspection, an
audit report containing Corrective
Action Plans (CAPs) is drafted. All CAPs
are dynamic documents with remedial
plans that evolve and change as the
individual member companies and
qualified assessment firms (QAFs) work
with each factory owner and
management. Together they come out
with detailed plans of action with clear
timelines and a financial plan sanctioned
by each party. During the first round of
audits, factories that were noncompliant were shut down. In addition
to improving fire and building safety in
Bangladesh's garment factories the two
associations have developed Basic Fire
Safety Training modules for employees.
More than one million workers are
trained on basic fire safety.
Though it is debated why two
associations of a similar nature are
needed, these organizations are
benefiting the employees in many
ways. Nevertheless, the two initiatives
together cover the safety of
approximately 80 percent of the RMG
work force in Bangladesh.
Retailers and brand owners who
wish to be socially responsible and
protect their reputations need to:
Get involved directly in choosing the
contract manufacturers.
Avoid relying upon a third party
agency to help with sourcing. They may
be involved in unethical subcontracting.
Only hire organizations who
participate in audit reports for safe
factories and measures for worker
safety. Organizations like The Alliance
for Bangladesh Worker Safety can help
in identifying such organizations.
In conclusion, ARC Advisory Group
is interested in producing a list of most
sustainable supply chains in the world.
If you have a comment or suggestion
on what metrics need to be developed
to select highly sustainable supply chains,
please write tonsing@arcweb.com.
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35

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