Search more B2B News & Articles

HEPC's efforts to rescue handloom sector in crisis

| Monday, March 09, 2009

In the tough times of recession, one of the worst hit industries in India is handloom sector. In the time of crisis, HEPC is making an effort to provide marketing support to the Indian handloom sector, which is also biggest installation in the world.

TEXTILE INDUSTRY in India is largest employer of the nation after agriculture, yet it has a very small share in the global market. But a subset of it – handloom sector can take pride to be number one in the installed capacity. This is because India is the only country which produces handloom on a commercial scale.

The world's installed capacity of handloom is currently 4.60 million. Out of this 85 per cent are installed in India. India’s handloom sector with 3.89 million looms, employs 6.55 million people, accounts for 13 per cent of the total cloth production and nearly 16 per cent of the country’s total cotton textile exports of Rs 1,772 million, as per the latest official data.

These numbers are as per the last census, which is undertaken once in 10 years. The fresh National Handloom Census is in progress across the country and would be completed by December 2009.

The handloom industry produces a staggering variety of clothes and handloom products, with each state having its own specialties, due to the different ethnic traditions as well as craftsmanship. Banarasi and Kanjivaram Saries, Kashmiri Shawls and Moradabadi Carpets all are unique in themselves. Given the rich cultural heritage and uniqueness of Indian handlooms across various States, it could be further upgraded into a 'collector’s item' through well planned promotional efforts which HEPC is trying.

To help unorganised handloom sector survive the tough time Handloom Export Promotion Council has come out with the idea of bringing out Handloom Atlas of India and circulate it through various external affairs ministry missions.

The atlas is in four main international languages - English, German, French and Japanese along with an interactive CD,

The atlas will help people to source the right kind of products from the right manufacturers from various clusters in India. The atlas covers topics like production of yarn, number of spinning mills, weaver’s service centres and list of textile research associations. One can also get details of handloom clusters, exports of Indian handloom items and number of spindles across the country. It also provides information about each state’s products and specialisation.

The unorganised handloom sector suffers from three main problems - availability of timely and adequate credit; technology up-gradation; and marketing support. The government has announced to provide loans at rate of seven per cent. It is also considering a loan waiver of 26 thousand million rupees.

These measures might provide some relief to the handloom sector. Textiles as whole has grown at a compounded rate of around 10 per cent in last five years, but is currently under high pressure of dumping from China and insensitive government policies.

Source: http://www.merinews.com/

0 comments:

Engineering goods exports may decline next fiscal

|

New Delhi: Engineering goods exports may decline in 2009-10 as demand from the US and EU, reeling under economic slowdown, have dried up, while the EEPC has warned of four lakh layoffs in the coming months.

Engineering goods exports witnessed a growth rate of over 40 per cent in the first half of the fiscal over the same period last year to $22.12 billion .

But from November, exporters started feeling the pinch of slowdown in the economies of the US and Europe, which account for over 60 per cent of the sector's exports. “Given the current global economic situation, exports in 2009-10 are likely to dip about 15 per cent from the estimated $40 billion for the current fiscal,” Engineering Exports Promotion Council Chairman Aman Chadha said.

As per the EEPC's sample survey of about 35 engineering enterprises, about 2,000 people lost jobs between August and January 2008-09. “The study has revealed that close to 10 per cent, that is about 400,000 people, would lose their jobs by the end of 200 9,” Chadha said.

Source: http://sify.com/

0 comments:

Plastic manufacturers facing slowdown blues

|

KOCHI: The decline in demand for consumer goods, an offshoot of the slowdown in economy, has affected related industries. The plastic manufacturing industry is no exception. Food processing and textile industries need packaging material and carrybags made of plastic in large quantities. The cut in production of processed food and the decrease in sale of textile products have affected the prospects of the plastic manufacturing industry.

M.T. Thomas, president of the Kerala Plastic Manufacturers’ Association, told The Hindu that there was a drastic fall in the order placed by several food processing companies for plastic packaging material. The producers of curry powder had reduced orders by 30 to 40 per cent. There was a similar fall in the demand for bags used by textile shops, he said.

Low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, linear low density polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC resin are among the main raw materials used by the industry. The industry is in a fix over their fluctuating prices. The market price during October-November last year hovered around Rs.110. Though the prices have come down courtesy the slowdown, the manufacturers are wary of placing orders for the main raw materials.

While there are a few domestic suppliers belonging to the public sector, a private sector supplier dominates the scene. When the manufacturers start importing the raw material, the domestic producer cuts prices drastically, creating an imbalance in the market. For instance, the prices were reduced to less than half the imported price by the prominent private player last year. This forced the other players too to reduce the prices. But the trend was short-lived, as the prices were increased by the main private supplier within a week. The phenomenon is repeated often, leading to confusion, the manufacturers said. “Every time we import, there is a fear that the prices will come down in the domestic market,” Mr. Thomas said.

The current price of the raw material in the international market is around Rs.60 per kg, while the local price is around Rs.70. But the manufacturers are cautious. They have not placed orders for import because production is at a low. The demand has decreased and most manufacturers have shelved the launch of new products, Mr. Thomas said.

There are nearly 1,000 units in the State manufacturing plastic materials, with around 400 in the organised sector. The sector will continue to be under strain if the demand fails to go up, Mr. Thomas said.

T.H. Badarudeen, owner of a small-scale plastic manufacturing unit, said the Union government had ignored the demand of the small units to ensure the supply of the raw material. The small players were unable to import the raw material as the requests were redirected to the main private supplier in the country.

For instance, the naphtha-based raw material was unreasonably priced, though the price of naphtha had decreased drastically. From Rs.120 a kg a year ago, it had come down to Rs.34 recently, he said.

The monopoly of the private player might be checked with the production of raw material by a new venture of Hindustan Petroleum Company Ltd. by the year-end. Till then, the manufacturers have to depend on the available source. Not even one-tenth of the demand was being met by the supplier even after the manufacturers agreed to pay more. The issue had been taken up with the Union government but to no avail, he said.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/

0 comments:

Wills Lifestyle to tap smaller towns

|

KOLKATA, March 9: Global recession and slowdown might have compelled a number of companies to put their expansion plans on hold, but Wills Lifestyle, a premium fashion brand of the country, plans to go ahead with its retail growth schedule.
"We will continue with our expansion plans", Mr Atul Chand, divisional chief executive of ITC's Lifestyle retailing business division, said here today.
Speaking to The Statesman, Mr Chand said that as part of the plans, Wills Lifestyle will expand its presence to tier II and III cities. "We will almost double the number of Wills Lifestyle store from existing 55 to 100 in the next two years and most of them will come up in smaller towns", he said.
"We have good coverage in key metros and so our target is to tap the smaller towns where the demand for branded products is on the rise", Mr Chand said.
However, due to a slowdown in the pace of mall development, specially in smaller towns, the company plans to make franchise arrangement for rolling out Wills Lifestyle stores in those towns instead of opening company-owned retail stores.
He, however, did not put any figure as regards investment earmarked by the company to pursue its expansion plans.
Mr Chand said that Wills Lifestyle had renewed its contract with Fashion Design Council of India and it would continue as title sponsor of the company's biggest B2B fashion event ~ India Fashion Week ~ for the fourth successive year and present the seventh edition of WIEF scheduled to held from 18 to 22 March.
India Fashion Week is a pan-India event which takes place twice in a year, where designers across the country come to showcase their products. Buyers also come from different places.
"Partnering such a prestigious event also have a telling impact on the brand equity of the company which consequently helps garnering more business", Mr Chand observed.
Wills Lifestyle has also tied up with a number of designers to make their collections available in Wills retail stores under the segment 'designers' wear'.
"This ramp-to-rack initiative is a win-win situation for both the designers as well as us as they can access the entire retail infrastructure through us which increases the availability of theses products beyond metros.
On the other hand, preference for designers' wear is picking up very fast and it contributes around 15 per cent of our total sales", Mr Chand said.

Source: http://www.thestatesman.net/

0 comments:

Rice exporters to seek abolition of MEP, want DEPB benefits

|

New Delhi (PTI): India's rice exporters at an emergency meeting here on Monday decided to approach the government and demand an immediate reduction of the minimum export price to enable them compete with rival Pakistan.

It was decided that the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) would approach the Commerce Ministry to either abolish the Minimum Export Price (MEP) of Basmati rice or cut it to at least $ 800 a tonne level, an exporter said.

The meeting was called to discuss strategy as the ministerial panel on food last week deferred a decision on reducing the MEP from the current level of $ 1,100 a tonne.

Pakistan is currently selling Basmati at USD 1,000 a tonne to lure international buyers, exporters said. Rice exporters also demanded benefits under Duty Enititlement Passbook (DEPB) scheme as they have made losses of Rs 5,000 crore this season.

"If the government did not reduce the MEP, the losses would go up to Rs 7,000 crore," the exporter said, adding this is mainly due to lower export this year.

Under DEPB, exporters get the benefit of duty-free import equivalent to one per cent of their export value. They can sell the benefit to actual users as well since DEPB is transferable.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/

0 comments:

Garment exporters eye biz with falling Re

|

COIMBATORE: The tumbling rupee has brought some hope to beleaguered garment exporters, who are confident of cashing in on the opportunity to win
orders. "We have a good chance of getting more business now. If the dollar continues to stay firm, exporters stand to benefit a lot," says R Gopalakrishnan, chairman of the Tirupur-based Royal Classic Group (RCG).

"We can offer competitive rates now. Those doing high volume orders would be able to take advantage of the dollar appreciation," says P Sundar Rajan, managing director of SP Apparels, a large export house near Tirupur.

Especially, exporters working with Wal-Mart, who were facing a squeeze on the pricing front, would benefit from the weakening rupee. The rupee has depreciated by over 20% against the dollar in the last seven months, and by over 6% in 2009 alone. The sliding rupee would offer a 3% to 5% advantage to exporters, industry officials say. That means a lot for exporters, who work on 7% to 8% operating margins. Though the rupee has appreciated against the pound and the euro, majority of the orders are denominated in dollar.

Exporters say they are getting serious enquiries from those placing orders with competitors such as Bangladesh. "We are getting more enquiries. Buyers are asking us to match the prices offered by competitors. With the dollar appreciation we now have scope to offer competitive prices," says a Tirupur based exporter.

While it is not possible to reduce prices beyond a point, even a 5% to 10% difference in prices can result in winning orders, exporters say. Bangladesh-based garment makers quote 10% to 15% lower prices and even if exporters here price their garments 10% lesser they would be able to grab orders as India is seen as a more reliable supply base offering quality products, industry sources say. Competitive pricing would also help in arresting the continuous slump in orders, exporters say.

There has been a 20% to 30% drop in orders in the past three months and the rising dollar has had a positive impact, they say. "If this (strong dollar) continues, we would be able to win 15% more orders and bring down order losses significantly," says an exporter.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

0 comments:

Videogame Trade-in Store Launched by Amazon

|

b2b news - On Thursday, Amazon launched an online videogame trade-in store, granting credit at the online retail giant to customers who send in used games.

"Amazon Video Games Trade-In is a new service that enables you to trade in your games for an Amazon.com Gift Card," the Seattle-based company said in a statement on the company blog.

Customers use a prepaid shipping label to send a used videogame to Amazon and receive credit in return, which they can use to purchase items on Amazon.com.

Amazon's move could be a potential challenge to US videogame retail store GameStop, which has 6,100 stores in the United States and 17 other countries and offers a lucrative game trade-in service.

GameStop lost 14.07 percent on Wall Street on Thursday to close at 23.46 dollars.

Source: http://b2bnewz.com/

0 comments:

Videogame Trade-in Store Launched by Amazon

|

b2b news - On Thursday, Amazon launched an online videogame trade-in store, granting credit at the online retail giant to customers who send in used games.

"Amazon Video Games Trade-In is a new service that enables you to trade in your games for an Amazon.com Gift Card," the Seattle-based company said in a statement on the company blog.

Customers use a prepaid shipping label to send a used videogame to Amazon and receive credit in return, which they can use to purchase items on Amazon.com.

Amazon's move could be a potential challenge to US videogame retail store GameStop, which has 6,100 stores in the United States and 17 other countries and offers a lucrative game trade-in service.

GameStop lost 14.07 percent on Wall Street on Thursday to close at 23.46 dollars.

Source: http://b2bnewz.com/

0 comments:

Free-trade optimism despite US move

|

Trade Minister Tim Groser is hopeful negotiations on a free-trade agreement with the United States will be restarted by the end of the year despite the American decision to indefinitely delay the first round of talks.

The United States has put on hold scheduled talks with the grouping of Trans Pacific Partnership countries - including New Zealand - while key appointments are being made to the Trade Representative's office, including congressional confirmation of US Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

President Barack Obama's new Administration also wants to review its position on free trade before beginning talks which the US signed up to last September when George W. Bush was still in office.

The talks were due to begin on March 31 in Singapore and followed the United States' decision to begin negotiations with the initial grouping of countries in the partnership - New Zealand, Singapore, Chile and Brunei.

Australia and Peru then also joined in and Vietnam has expressed interest and was to attend the talks as an observer. The agreement is NZ's best chance to secure a free-trade arrangement with the United States.

Yesterday, Prime Minister John Key said he was "deeply disappointed" by the delay, and New Zealand would continue to push for the talks to begin.

Mr Groser said it was "prudent" to delay until the key political appointments in the new Administration were made and it had confirmed its stance. "It's really important that the United States is given a bit of space on trade issues. This new Administration is facing formidable problems on trade issues. I'm extremely confident they will come out the right side, but it's very important they make their own decisions."

Mr Groser said informal signs about the agreement were positive, and he "hoped and expected" the United States would give the green light for negotiations to begin by the end of this year.

He said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned the partnership during her acceptance speech, and several major lobby groups were also supportive, although there were expected objections from the dairy industry.

Labour leader Phil Goff - who signed the initial agreement with the United States as Trade Minister last September - said he also expected it would be a short delay and the United States would opt to go ahead with the talks.

"It would be keen not to be excluded from free-trade access to the most economically dynamic region in the world."

NZ-US Council executive director Stephen Jacobi said he was confident it was simply an administrative delay by the United States. "A short delay at this point will not affect the outcome."

Mr Jacobi said the agreement was supported by a number of major organisations in America, including the US Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Coalition for Service Industries and the National Foreign Trade Council.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

0 comments:

Essar Oil plans to shut its Gujarat refinery for 18 days in April

|

Essar Oil has announced on Friday that will shutdown its refinery in Gujarat for annual maintenance for 18 days from April 13.

In a statement, the company said that it will close its 10.5-million tonne refinery at Vadinar in Jamnagar district. It added that the shutdown is planned for maintenance and inspection of various process units.

This is the first planned turn since commissioning and beginning of commercial production in May 2008. The refinery is currently operating at 2, 40,000 barrels per day capacity.

The statement said, "During the shutdown it is proposed to take up certain jobs as part of ongoing refinery expansion programme requiring refinery shutdown."

Essar is increasing its refining capacity to 16 million tonnes that will be completed by December 31, 2010.

Source: http://news.jimtrade.com/

0 comments: