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Why has a restriction on Chinese cotton harmed Noida's apparel traders?

1st Sep 2021, Mumbai:

Covid isn't the only company with ties to China. The country is also linked to recent losses in the clothing business in Noida. For the past seven months, the city's garment manufacturers have been accumulating production losses as a result of an unexpected worldwide ban on Xinjiang cotton.

Following claims of human rights violations against Uighur Muslims, who are mostly employed in cotton production, the United States and a few other nations have prohibited the import of cotton from China's Xinjiang region. According to reports, the group has been forced to work in Xinjiang, which produces a large portion of the world's cotton.

Chinese manufacturers have restricted production in their country as a result of the international boycott, and have ordered enormous quantities of cotton yarn from India and other parts of Southeast Asia. Because most Indian cotton is now exported to China, yarn and thread costs have risen dramatically for home dealers. Apparel producers in the city stated yarn prices in India had climbed by 70-80%, resulting in higher production costs. The losses have increased even greater as neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh export clothing at lower prices.

“Yarn exports have climbed by roughly 75% in the last six months, while our prices have increased by almost 80%. As a result, our production costs have grown. We are currently shipping a dress for $8 (Rs 588), which Bangladeshi producers can produce for $6.5. (Rs 478). We can no longer afford this pricing. According to Lalit Thukral, president of the Noida Apparel Export Cluster, “business is going to other countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam” (NAEC). 

Because yarn is not a labor-intensive business, boosting yarn export could result in job losses, according to apparel manufacturers. An industry expert estimates that a Rs 100 crore investment in cotton production will employ roughly 300 people, but a similar investment in garment manufacture will employ 70,000 people. “We're taking a look at ‘Make in India.'” However, it is evident that this tendency will not allow for indigenous production. In India, we grow cotton, but we buy it at a greater price. Our exports are deteriorating, and fewer people are finding work,” Thukral explained. He claimed that the garment export sector has dropped from $18 billion to $12.5 billion in the last three years.

First ever NAEC Export Awards; Dose of motivation to Noida Exporters -  Apparel Resources India

 

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Why has a restriction on Chinese cotton harmed Noida's apparel traders?

Retailers agree to renew a safety deal with Bangladeshi garment workers

26th August 2021, Mumbai:

The Bangladesh Accord, as it was known at the time, was set to expire on August 31. The new version, dubbed the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry to reflect its broader scope, goes into effect on September 1.

Major international retailers have reached a deal with Bangladeshi garment workers and factory owners for a two-year period, extending a previous accord that holds merchants subject to legal action if their factories fail to fulfil labour safety requirements.

The statement, which was signed by the deal's deputy director Joris Oldenziel and officials from UNI Global Union and IndustriALL Global Union, verifies the contents of a copy of the contract obtained by Reuters exclusively earlier on Wednesday. The statement stated, "This is a legally binding agreement between corporations and trade unions to ensure the safety of ready-made garment (RMG) and textile manufacturers." "The updated agreement builds on the foundations that made the previous deal effective." H&M, Inditex, Fast Retailing's Uniqlo, Hugo Boss, and Adidas were among the 200 shops who signed the agreement in 2013. On Sept. 1, a list of people who have also signed up for the extension will be made public, according to sources. 

Uniqlo has not yet seen the new deal, but they "generally welcome a new binding agreement... that has independent monitoring and may be expanded to additional countries," according to a spokesman. Requests for comment from H&M, Inditex, Hugo Boss, and Adidas were not immediately returned. The five-year agreement, which was reached in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, which killed over 1,100 garment workers, established an independent authority that conducted thousands of inspections and prohibited hazardous companies from supplying signatory buyers.

Fashion's biggest brands commit to new Bangladesh Accord

 

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Retailers agree to renew a safety deal with Bangladeshi garment workers

In the first half of this year, Bangladesh emerges as the favored destination for Indian garment consumers

1st Sep 2021, Mumbai:

In the first half of this year, India's garment imports climbed by 11.29 percent to the US $ 421.16 million, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The drop-in woven textile imports have persisted, with imports valued at US $ 220.62 million in the first six months of 2021, down 11.94 percent.

Knitted clothes, on the other hand, saw a remarkable gain of 56.81 percent on a year-over-year basis in H1 '21, reaching a value of US $ 200.54 million. According to Apparel Resources' analysis, China's apparel exports to India took a hit, with the latter importing the US $ 92.86 million worth of garments from the former, down 36.55 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Bangladesh remained the favorite importing destination for Indian customers, with the US $ 172.66 million worth of clothes imported from the neighboring country in the first half of this year, representing a 55.84 percent year-on-year increase. It's worth mentioning that China's garment shipping to India in H1 '20 was US $ 146.25 million, while Bangladesh's was the only US $ 110.79 million. The situation has changed dramatically in 2021, and Bangladeshi suppliers may continue to be optimistic in H2 '21 as well.

India may 'restrict' clothing imports from BD: HBL

 

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In the first half of this year, Bangladesh emerges as the favored destination for Indian garment consumers

1,565 Indian craftsmen benefit from 63 Samarth Training Centers

26th August 2021, Mumbai:

Traditional Hand Embroidery craft training programmes in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh and Khaperkheda, Maharashtra; cane and bamboo crafts training programmes in Betul, Madhya Pradesh and DakshinDinajpur, West Bengal are some of the good instances of how the industry's talent gap is being closed.

In this context, the Ministry of Textiles' Samarth Scheme for Capacity Building in the Textile Sector has played a key role in closing the skill gap.

Each of the 63 training centres has finished the first batch of the training programme, which has benefited 1,565 craftsmen. The second group of trainees will complete their course in August 2021, benefiting a total of 1,421 people. In addition, 65 additional handicrafts training centres are being built to expand the training programme and reach the largest number of craftsmen possible. The Ministry of Transportation said in a statement that it has adopted 65 clusters for the overall development of craftsmen in a time-bound way while assuring the self-sustainability of the artisans in these clusters. The craftsmen in these chosen clusters will benefit from the need-based interventions that are being implemented. 

The upskilling of handcraft craftsmen in these adopted clusters is being done through the SAMARTH initiative, which provides technical and soft skill training in order to allow sustainable livelihoods through wage or self-employment. The scheme's goal is to provide demand-driven, placement-oriented skilling programmes to support the industry's efforts to create jobs in the textile and allied industries, which span the full value chain of textiles (except spinning and weaving in the organised sector). It's worth noting that applications for training programmes under the Samarth plan were solicited from state government agencies, business, and industry groups.

The Indian Craftsmen – Story of Indian crafts and craftsmen

 

 

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1,565 Indian craftsmen benefit from 63 Samarth Training Centers

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