Project completion in cloth industry drops during 2013-14

Four projects worth Rs.5.5 billion commissioned during the year

The cloth industry witnessed a decline in project completions during the year ended March 2014. As per CMIEs CapEx database, four projects entailing an investment of Rs.5.5 billion got completed during the year. This was the lowest investment seen by the industry since the year 2005-06. Details of the projects that got completed during the year 2013-14 are given below.

Etco Denim invested Rs.3.2 billion on setting up a green-field unit located at Bijapur, Karnataka. At this unit, the company installed a capacity to manufacture 20 million metres per annum (mmpa) of denim fabric. This project got commissioned in May 2013. Siyaram Silk Mills implemented a capacity expansion at two of its existing units located at Tarapur, Maharashtra and Silvassa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The combined fabric manufacturing capacity at these units was augmented by 20 mmpa to 60 mmpa. This project, worth Rs.1.4 billion, got completed in March 2014. Siyaram funded the project through a mix of internal accruals and debt. The company raised term loans under the Technological Up-gradation Fund Scheme. With an outlay of Rs.1 billion, Jaya Shree Textiles enhanced the capacity of its plant located at Hugli, West Bengal. On completion in December 2013, the plants annual linen fabric producing capacity increased from three million metres to 10 million metres. Italian Luxury Garment set up a fabric manufacturing facility at Tirupur, Tamil Nadu in July 2013. An annual weaving capacity of three million metres was installed at this facility. The investment details of the project are unavailable.

Other than these, three projects were partially completed in 2013-14. Nandan Denim and OCM India commissioned phase-I of their respective projects. Nandam Denim augmented its annual weaving capacity by 22 million metres in September 2013. In June 2013, OCM India added 0.7 mmpa of fabric producing capacity. Nandam Denim is expected to commission its project in March 2015. Completion schedule of OCM Indias project is not available. Fairdeal Textile Park is in the process to set up an integrated textile park at Surat, Gujarat with an investment of Rs.1 billion. This park will accommodate 30 industrial units capable to manufacture 165 ttpa of texturized yarn and 198 mmpa of woven cloth. Eleven units got commissioned during the year 2013-14. The remaining units are expected to come up by March 2016. During the year 2013-14, fresh investment proposals in the cloth industry declined sharply. Just one project worth Rs.two billion got announced as compared to average project announcements worth Rs.15.5 billion made in the preceding nine years.

The only project announced in 2013-14 was by Mafatlal Industries. The company plans to expand the capacity at two of its existing units at Kheda and Valsad, both located in Gujarat. This project is scheduled to get completed in March 2017.

Cotton & blended yarn projects worth Rs.7.1 billion completed in 2013-14
Capacity to manufacture 229.5 thousand tonnes of yarn installed during the year
As per CMIEs CapEx database, the cotton & blended yarn industry witnessed a healthy capacity addition during the year ended March 2014. A total of seven projects envisaging an investment of Rs.7.1 billion got commissioned during the year. The industrys cotton yarn and blended yarn manufacturing capacity was augmented by 229.5 thousand tonnes per annum (ttpa). Details of the projects which got commissioned in 2013-14 are as follows:Oswal Woollen Mills green-field plant located at Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh went on stream in March 2014. The project got completed in two phases. In phase-I, which got commissioned in February 2013, the company added a cotton spinning capacity of 3.4 ttpa. It also installed 80 looms to produce denim fabric. In phase-II, the company augmented the spinning capacity to 8.6 ttpa and installed 24 additional looms. It also installed 864 denim rotors in this phase. The project, which is spread across an area of 97.6 acres, entailed an investment of Rs.3.6 billion. This was funded through a mix of internal accruals and debt. The company raised term loan under the Technological Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS). In January 2014, Shiva Fibres completed its cotton yarn project located at Ludhiana, Punjab. The company invested Rs.1.5 billion on this project. T T L doubled the cotton spinning capacity of its plant located at Amreli, Gujarat to 10 ttpa. The project, which got completed in April 2013, cost the company Rs.1 billion. The project will be able to avail of incentives like electricity rebate, VAT exemption, and seven per cent interest subsidy for a period of five years under the Gujarat Textile Policy, 2012. Nagreeka Exports invested Rs.730.5 million on setting up a new unit at Kolhapur, Maharashtra. At this unit, the company installed a yarn dyeing and cotton bleaching capacity of 16 ttpa. The project got commissioned in May 2013. National Textile Corporation, a Government of India undertaking, implemented capacity expansion programme at two of its existing facilities located at Bhopal and Burhanpur, both in Madhya Pradesh. The company added a capacity to produce five ttpa of cotton yarn each at these facilities. The project at Bhopal got completed in July 2013 while the one at Burhanpur was commissioned in October 2013. The company invested Rs.140 million and Rs.180 million, respectively, on these projects.

Vardhman Polytex augmented the yarn producing capacity of its plant located at Solan, Himachal Pradesh to 8.2 ttpa from five ttpa. This project got completed in July 2013. The cost involved in the project could not be ascertained. Besides the above mentioned projects, SEL Textiles and Winsome Textile Industries partially commissioned their units in 2013-14. Both these companies completed phaseI of their respective projects in April 2013. SEL Textiles installed a yarn manufacturing capacity of 37.6 ttpa at its new unit located at Muktsar, Punjab. Winsome Textile industries added a capacity to manufacture 8.2 ttpa of yarn at its unit located at Solan, Himachal Pradesh. It also added a yarn dyeing capacity of 8.6 ttpa. Although project completion in the cotton & blended yarn industry was healthy, four projects were stalled during the year 2013-14. Details of these projects are given below.

Shree Siddhivinayak Cotspin and Prag Bosimi Synthetics, both, put on hold their respective projects due to fund constraints. Prag Bosimi Synthetics canceled the expansion plan of its unit located at Assam. Investment details of this project could not be ascertained. A delay in sanctioning of loans by the lending bank forced Shree Siddhivinayak Cotspin to stall its project at Kolhapur, Maharashtra. The company had planned to add a spinning capacity of 1.8 ttpa at a cost of Rs.600 million.

Suryavanshi Spinning Mills shelved its Rs.800 million worth cotton yarn project at Warangal, Andhra Pradesh. The company had plans to install a capacity to manufacture 5.4 ttpa of cotton yarn. Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills deferred its intention of setting up a new spinning unit at Nagpur, Maharashtra. The company is currently focusing on some other projects due to which this project was stalled.

Fresh investment proposals in cotton & blended yarn industry rise sharply in 2013-14 Projects worth Rs.28.5 billion announced The cotton & blended yarn companies announced projects worth Rs.29.3 billion per annum during the three years ended March 2012. The average annual announcements dropped to almost Rs.1 billion in the subsequent year. However, a buoyant demand for cotton yarn and blended yarn in the domestic as well as the export market is likely to have revived the project announcements in the industry in 2013-14. As per CMIEs CapEx database, 10 projects entailing an investment of Rs.28.5 billion got announced during the year. Details of the projects that were announced during April 2013-March 2014 are as follows:

Among the projects announced in the cotton & blended yarn industry during 2013-14, the most prominent one is by Trident. The company is planning to invest Rs.16.7 billion on the capacity expansion of its plant located at Sehore, Madhya Pradesh. An additional capacity to spindle 38.8 thousand tonnes per annum of cotton yarn is likely to get added. Besides this, the company is

expected to set up 500 looms capable of manufacturing 42.3 million metres per annum of bed sheeting fabric. The project is scheduled to get commissioned by September 2015. K P R Mills and Abirami Amman Mills signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Tamil Nadu in February 2014 to come up with new manufacturing units in the state. Under this MoU, K P R Mills will invest Rs.6 billion for setting up a cotton yarn and hosiery yarn manufacturing plant at Palani.

On the other hand, Abirami Amman Mills proposed to invest Rs.2.6 billion on setting up a cotton yarn producing facility at Dindigul. Both these projects are expected to come on stream by March 2017.

Nitin Spinners announced its plans to enhance the annual spindling capacity of its unit located at Bhilwara, Rajasthan by 73 thousand spindles to 150 thousand spindles. The project entails a cost of Rs.2.8 billion and is expected to get completed by March 2015. Sutlej Textiles & Industries announced an investment of Rs.1.8 billion to expand the capacity of its dyed yarn manufacturing unit located at Kathua, Jammu & Kashmir. Post the expansion, the facilitys installed capacity will be augmented from 260 thousand spindles to 291 thousand spindles. The company is yet to announce the completion schedule of the project. Rajsamadhiyala Spintex is expected to come up with a rupees billion worth cotton yarn project at Rajkot, Gujarat. Under this project, the company is likely to add a capacity to manufacture 7.2 thousand tonnes per annum of cotton yarn by December 2014. Amitara Green Hi-Tech Textiles Park and D D Spintex Park, both, are planning to build a textile spinning park in Gujarat. While the former is expected to set up the park at Kheda, the latter will do it at Bharuch. The investment in these projects is pegged at Rs.920 million and Rs.820 million, respectively. The completion schedule of these projects could not be ascertained.

Both the projects received an in-principle approval from the Government of Gujarat in December 2013. The State government is likely to provide financial assistance to these companies under the Gujarat Textile Policy, 2012.

With an investment of Rs.600 million, Jolly Spinning Mills is likely to set up a cotton yarn facility at Surendranagar, Gujarat. The green-field facility is expected to have a capacity to manufacture 3.6 thousand tonnes of yarn per year. The plant is scheduled to get operational in October 2014. Arunoday Fibre to Fabric Development Services is in the process of setting up a cotton yarn unit at Dhule, Maharashtra. A capacity to manufacture 1.3 thousand tonnes per annum of cotton yarn is likely to get installed at this unit. The company expects to commission the project, worth Rs.250 million, in June 2014

Cotton and blended yarn projects worth Rs.32.8 billion to come on stream in 2014-15 Capacity to manufacture 169 thousand tonnes of yarn to be added during the year As per CMIEs CapEx database, project completion in the cotton & blended yarn

industry is likely to have dropped to a eight year low in 2013-14. Eight projects entailing an investment of Rs.8.1 billion are estimated to have come on stream during the year. These projects are likely to have added a capacity to manufacture 233.5 thousand tonnes per annum (ttpa) of cotton and blended yarn. The project completions in the industry are expected to gain momentum in the next couple of years. In the fiscal 2014-15, investments by the cotton & blended yarn companies are expected to quadruple to Rs.32.8 billion. This will be the second highest investment to be made in the industry in a single year. A capacity to manufacture 169 ttpa of cotton and blended yarn will be added during the year. In 2015-16, projects worth Rs.17.6 billion are expected to get completed. These will add a capacity to manufacture 38.8 ttpa of yarn. Trident is the largest contributor to the total investment to be made by March 2016. Of the companys total Rs.28.7 billion worth of investment, Rs.16.7 billion would be invested towards the capacity expansion of its manufacturing facility located at Sehore, Madhya Pradesh. Under this project, the company will install 176 thousand spindles which will produce 38.8 ttpa of cotton yarn. To diversify its product portfolio, the company will set up 500 looms with an annual capacity of 42.3 million meters of bed-sheets. The project is expected to come on stream by September 2015. The remaining amount i.e. Rs.12 billion will be invested to carry out expansion at two of its existing facilities located at Sehore, Madhya Pradesh and Sanghera, Punjab. The project is being executed in a phased manner. On completion of phase-II in September 2014, the project will add 26.9 ttpa of yarn manufacturing capacity and install 2,040 rotors. In phase-I, which got completed in March 2012, the company added 13.1 ttpa and 15.2 ttpa of yarn capacity at Sanghera and Sehore, respectively. It also installed 1,664 rotors at Sanghera. Vertex Spinning is in the process of setting up an integrated mega textile park at Dhule, Maharashtra by April 2014. The park, entailing an investment of Rs.5.1 billion, will have a yarn spindling and twisting capacity of 161 thousand spindles per annum. Along-with this, 1.5 thousand tonnes of yarn dyeing capacity, 18 million meters of yarn weaving capacity and 20 million meters of fabric processing capacity will be installed. Nitin Spinners is expected to invest Rs.2.8 billion on the capacity expansion project of its unit located at Bhilwara, Rajasthan. On completion in March 2015, the plants annual spindling capacity will be augmented from 77 thousand spindles to 150 thousand spindles. Nahar Spinning Mills Sangrur yarn project is in its last stage of completion. The company is scheduled to commission the fourth phase of the project in April 2014. On completion, 5.8 ttpa of yarn capacity is expected to get added. Previously, the company added a total of 6.2 ttpa of cotton yarn capacity in three phases. These phases got commissioned between March 2011 - September 2012. The cost of the project is pegged at Rs.2.3 billion. Winsome Textile Industries is implementing a Rs.2.2 billion worth brown-field project located at Solan, Himachal Pradesh. The company is scheduled to commission a

circular knitting capacity in April 2014. Earlier, in April 2013, yarn spinning and dyeing capacity of 8.2 ttpa and 8.6 ttpa, respectively, got added. Other cotton & blended yarn projects worth more than Rs.1 billion that are scheduled for completion during 2014-16 Project Cost Project Completion Company Name Project Name (in Rs.million) Location By Suryalakshmi Ramtek Ultra Modern Nagpur, 1,400 March 2015 Cotton Mills Spinning Project Maharashtra Vraj Integrated Bidaj Integrated Kheda, December 1,054 Textile Park Textile Park Project Gujarat 2014 Multi-location Government Of MultiDecember Spinning Mill 1,040 Tamil Nadu location 2014 Modernization Project Rajsamadhiyala Rajkot Cotton Yarn Rajkot, December 1,000 Spintex Project Gujarat 2014

Synthetic fibres manufacturing capacity to increase by 800.8 thousand tonnes in 2014-15

Projects worth Rs.5.6 billion to get commissioned
The man-made filaments & fibres industry is likely to have seen a completion of projects worth Rs.21.1 billion in 2013-14, the highest in a decade. This investment, spread across five projects, is likely to have added a capacity to manufacture 701.9 thousand tonnes of synthetic fibres during the year. Companies like Ganesha Ecosphere, Raj Rayon Industries, Sharmanji Yarns and Grasim Industries are likely to have contributed to this capacity addition. Project completion in the industry is expected to remain upbeat even in the year ending March 2015. According to CMIEs CapEx database, four projects envisaging a total investment of Rs.5.6 billion are expected to come on stream during the year. With this, the industrys annual synthetic fibre manufacturing capacity is expected to increase by 800.8 thousand tonnes. Further in 2015-16, two projects are expected to add 360 thousand tonnes of capacity to the industry. The investment for this is pegged at Rs.26.2 billion. This is expected to be the largest ever investment seen by the industry in a single year. Details of the projects that are expected to be commissioned during April 2014-March 2016 are as follows:Of the total investment to be made during 2014-16, nearly 55 per cent will be made by Nakoda. The company plans to invest a massive Rs.17.5 billion on setting up Indias only fully integrated yarn plant at Surat, Gujarat. At this facility, the company will have a combined capacity to manufacture 280 thousand tonnes per annum (ttpa) of

partially oriented yarn (POY) and fully drawn yarn (FDY) through continuous polymerisation and direct melt spinning. Around half of this production will be captively consumed at Surat super spun yarn park. Along-with this, the company will set up a research and development facility to develop speciality yarns. On completion of the project in March 2016, the company would be able to cater to an entire range of polyester yarns to the domestic and the international market. Nakoda plans to fund the project through a mix of equity, internal resources and long term debt. With an investment of Rs.8.7 billion, Lenzing Modi Fibres India intends to set up a new viscose staple fibre (VSF) manufacturing facility at Panvel, Maharashtra. The project is expected to add an annual capacity to manufacture 80 thousand tonnes of VSF. The project is almost five years behind its expected completion schedule due to difficulties in getting environmental clearances. The company is likely to commence operations at the unit by December 2015. Reliance Industries is in the process to set up a green-field unit at Silvassa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The capacity to manufacture 395 ttpa of polyester filament yarn (PFY) already got commissioned in January 2014. The company is scheduled to add a capacity to manufacture 140 ttpa of polyester texturised yarn (PTY) by May 2014. Investment details of the project could not be ascertained. DNH spinners plans to expand its synthetic fibre manufacturing unit at Silvassa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli by April 2014. This unit will have a combined capacity to manufacture 365 ttpa of POY, FDY and polyester staple fibre (PSF). Besides this, the company will add a PTY manufacturing capacity of 276 ttpa. The company plans to invest Rs.5.1 billion on the unit. In May 2014, Baid Industries is scheduled to commission phase-III of its capacity expansion project located at Surat, Gujarat. In this phase, the company will add a capacity to manufacture 14.6 ttpa of polyester yarn. The phase-I and the phase-II of the project got completed in March 2011 and March 2012, respectively. In these phases, the company added a capacity of 1.3 ttpa and 5.3 ttpa of polyester yarn, respectively. The entire project is expected to cost Rs.500 million. Indorama Industries is expected to commission phase-II of its capacity expansion project at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh in December 2014. In this phase, the company will add a capacity to manufacture five ttpa of spandex yarn. The plants annual capacity will be further augmented by five thousand tonnes in phase-III. However, completion schedule of this phase is unavailable. Indorama is expected to invest Rs.six billion on both these phases. The company commissioned an equal amount of capacity in phase-I of the project in April 2012. This phase entailed an investment of Rs.four billion.

Indias apparel exports to US grow by 4.3% y-o-y in February 2014

Market share improves for yet another month

According to the data released by the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Indias apparel exports to the US rose by 4.3 per cent in February 2014. During the month, the country exported apparels worth USD 301.5 million as compared to USD 289 million in February 2013. The growth in export earnings during February 2014 was driven by higher volumes. Indias apparel export volumes rose by nine per cent y-o-y to 82.8 million square meters during the month. This was the eleventh month in a row, wherein the apparel export volumes of the country improved on a y-o-y basis. The countrys share in total apparel exports to the US improved by 30 basis points to 4.8 per cent as compared to the same month a year-ago. Other than India, Vietnam was the only one among the top five countries which reported a rise in exports to the US in February 2014. While the Vietnams apparel export volumes rose by 6.5 per cent, its export earnings grew by a smart 11.8 per cent y-o-y during the month. This helped the country to improve its hold in the US apparel export market. Vietnams market share improved by 140 basis points to 11.7 per cent in February 2014 as compared to the corresponding month a year-ago. China, the largest apparel exporter to the US, reported a 12 per cent decline in, both, its apparel export volumes and earnings. This was the steepest decline reported by any apparel exporting country to the US during the month. Resultantly, the countrys market share eroded by 380 basis points to 33 per cent in February 2014. Indonesia and Bangladesh too witnessed a drop in their exports to the US. Their market share declined by 30 basis points and 50 basis points to 6.6 per cent and 6.4 per cent, respectively. During April 2013-February 2014, India exported apparels worth USD 2.9 billion. This translates in to a growth of 9.5 per cent. A 10 per cent increase in export volumes led the growth in earnings. During the said period, India shipped out 815.3 million square meters of apparels to the US. Average realizations remained flat at USD 3.6 per square meter. The countrys share in the US apparel market improved by 20 basis points to 3.9 per cent. During the 11-month period ended February 2014, Chinas market share eroded by 110 basis points to 37.9 per cent. Vietnam reported a 100 basis points expansion in its market share to 10.4 per cent during the aforementioned period. While the market share of Bangladesh improved by 40 basis points to 6.1 per cent, that of Indonesia declined by 30 basis points to six per cent.

Net profit of ready-made garments industry grows three-fold in December 2013 quarter
Sales up by robust 28.1%

The ready-made garments industry recorded an impressive growth in profits in the December 2013 quarter. While the industrys operating profit grew b y 62.1 per cent, its net profit rose by 199.4 per cent during the quarter. This was the third consecutive quarter of a triple-digit growth in net profit. A robust growth in sales and a tight control over expenses helped the industry to post a spectacular growth in profits. Aggregate net sales of the 23 companies, that declared their December 2013 quarter results, grew by a strong 28.1 per cent. The growth in sales was across the board with 18 companies recording higher sales as compared to the year-ago quarter. Total net sales of the five large-sized companies (quarterly revenues more than Rs.1 billion) grew by a robust 31.3 per cent. These companies contributed two-third of the industrys sales during the quarter. Net sales of the nine mid-sized companies (quarterly revenues between Rs.100 million to Rs.1 billion) grew by a smart 21.4 per cent. A pack of nine small-sized companies (quarterly revenues less than Rs.100 million) recorded a whopping 46.7 per cent growth in sales during the quarter. Net sales of Page Industries, the largest listed company, grew by a robust 39 per cent in the December 2013 quarter. Higher volumes and increase in realisations contributed equally to the growth in the companys top-line. Gokaldas Exports, one of the Indias largest garment exporter, posted a healthy 11 per cent growth in sales. Pearl Global Industries and Sudar Industries recorded a 49.3 per cent and 60.2 per cent increase in revenues, respectively. An increase in demand from, both, the domestic and overseas market gave fillip to the industry. Domestic demand improved on account of a festive season. Apparel off-take from the major export destinations like the US and European Union remained healthy owing to economic recovery in those countries. Besides, a sharp 12.7 per cent depreciation in the rupee against the USD is likely to have supported the growth in export earnings. According to the data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Indias apparel exports grew by a robust 39.6 per cent to Rs.214.4 billion during the quarter. Exports account for nearly one-third of the apparel industrys sales. Prices of key inputs, cotton and synthetic yarns, averaged 6-12 per cent higher in the December 2013 quarter. According to media reports, fabric prices too rose during the quarter. In spite of this, raw material expenses grew by 26.3 per cent, slower than the growth in sales. This is likely to be on account of an improvement in export realisations owing to rupee depreciation. Wage bills and other expenses too rose at a slower pace of 6.4 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively. Resultantly, operating expenses of the industry grew by 17.5 per cent, slower than the sales growth. However, the industry piled up inventories amounting to 3.4 per cent of sales as compared to 8.1 per cent in the December 2012 quarter. After adjusting for this, total operating expenses grew by 23.2 per cent. Nevertheless, this was still slower than the growth in sales. Consequently, the industrys core operating profit margin improved by 244 basis points to 11.7 per cent. Even in the preceding four quarters, the operating margin had improved by 130-440 basis points. The industrys interest outgo and tax provisions grew by 13.8 per cent and 15.3 per cent, respectively. This was much slower than the growth in the operating profit.

Moreover, depreciation charges declined by 10.4 per cent. This was due to a 19 per cent and 43 per cent fall in depreciation charges of Gokaldas Exports and Sudar Industries, respectively. This resulted into a 320 basis points expansion in the net profit margin to 5.5 per cent. This was the highest net profit margin recorded by the industry since the December 2007 quarter. Net profit of the large-sized segment rose by an extraordinary 645.3 per cent during the December 2013 quarter. This was primarily on account of Gokaldas Exports. The company reported net profit equivalent to 0.4 of total income as against a net loss equivalent to 18.7 per cent in the December 2012 quarter. Aggregate net profit of the nine mid-sized companies grew by a smart 28.9 per cent in the December 2013 quarter. The small-sized segment reported profits during the quarter as against losses incurred in the year-ago quarter.

Man-made filaments & fibres industrys sales growth accelerates in December 2013 quarter
Net sales up by 4.8% y-o-y
The man-made filaments & fibres industry began the year 2013-14 on a sluggish note. The industrys sales grew by a mere 0.6 per cent y-o-y in the June 2013 quarter. Nevertheless, the growth in industrys sales improved to 3.7 per cent in the September 2013 quarter. The acceleration in sales growth continued during October-December 2013 as well. Aggregate net sales of the industry rose by 4.8 per cent y-o-y during the quarter. The growth in sales was across the board. Of the 37 companies that declared their results for the December 2013 quarter, 25 reported higher sales. Moreover, 80 per cent of these companies posted a double-digit growth in net sales. Leading this pack were Filatex India, Sportking India, Ganesha Ecosphere, Deepak Spinners, Welspun Syntex, Suryaamba Spinning Mills and Premier Synthetics with a sales growth in the range of 15-32 per cent. Net sales of Indian Acrylics rose by an impressive 72.8 per cent. Grasim Industries, the largest company in our sample, also posted a strong 19.4 per cent y-o-y growth in sales the December 2013 quarter. Net sales from the companys viscose staple fibre (VSF) segment, accounting for 80-82 per cent of total sales, grew by 21.4 per cent. The company attributed this rise to higher sales volumes in, both, the domestic and export markets. Its sales volumes improved by 24 per cent y-o-y to 97,049 tonnes during the quarter supported by an increased capacity of VSF at its Harihar plant. Revenues of its chemicals segment grew by a modest 5.1 per cent during the quarter. Net sales of JBF Industries, a major polyester manufacturer, rose by a smart 11.1 per cent. This was completely a price driven growth. Polyester staple fibre prices (PSF) and partially oriented yarn (POY) prices averaged 6-12 per cent higher in the Mumbai

market in the December 2013 quarter. Among the 12 companies that reported a decline in sales Garden Silk Mills and Indo Rama Synthetics are large-sized companies having quarterly net sales above Rs.5 billion. These two companies together contributed 16.4 per cent to the industrys total revenues in the December 2013 quarter. Net sales of Garden Silk Mills slipped by a sharp 19.1 per cent during the quarter. Net sales of Indo Rama Synthetics fell by a sharp 16.1 per cent in the December 2013 quarter. This was on account of lower polyester volumes. The company had hiked the prices of PSF and POY by 20-26 per cent y-o-y in the December 2013 quarter. Had it not been for these two companies, the man-made filaments & fibres industrys net sales would have grown by a smart 10.8 per cent y-o-y in the December 2013 quarter.

Cotton & blended yarn industry reports triple-digit growth in net profit in December 2013 quarter
Operating profit up by 19.6%
The cotton & blended yarn industry reported a whopping 154 per cent growth in net profit for the December 2013 quarter as compared to the same quarter a year ago. This was the third consecutive quarter of a triple-digit growth in profits at the net level. Healthy growth in sales and a tight control over expenses pushed up the industrys profits during the quarter. Aggregate net sales of the 82 cotton and blended yarn companies that announced their results for the quarter ended December 2013 grew by 17.3 per cent as compared to that in the year-ago quarter. The industrys sales volumes increased on the back of a consistent demand in both, the domestic and the overseas markets. Sales realisation increased owing to a spike in input prices and rupee depreciation. Thus, higher volumes and improved realisations contributed to the growth in sales. Purchase of cotton and synthetic fibres make up for majority of the raw material cost in yarn manufacturing. During the quarter ended December 2013, prices of cotton rose by a sharp 20-25 per cent on a y-o-y basis. Synthetic yarn prices too remained firm during the quarter. A spike in input prices coupled with a low base in the year-ago quarter pushed up the raw material expenses by 24.6 per cent, much faster than the growth in sales. Its proportion in the net sales expanded by 373 basis points to 63.7 per cent during the quarter. However, the industry was able to keep its other expenses and wage costs under check. These expenses rose by 6.8 per cent and 9.8 per cent, respectively. This helped the industry to partially off-set the rise in raw material expenses. Moreover, the industry piled up inventories worth Rs.1.1 billion as against a liquidation of Rs.138.2 million in

the December 2012 quarter. After adjusting for this, the industrys total operating expenses rose by 17 per cent, slower than the growth in sales. Consequently, the industrys operating profit jumped by 19.6 per cent in the December 2013 quarter. This came over a 125.4 per cent growth recorded in the year-ago quarter. The industrys operating profit margin expanded by 24 basis points to 12.3 per cent during the quarter. This was the seventh successive quarter, wherein the industry reported an expansion in its operating profit margin. Among the non-operating expenses, the industrys interest outgo declined by 2.9 per cent y-o-y during the quarter ended December 2013. Total tax provisions of the industry rose by a steep 48.7 per cent. However, its proportion in the before tax earnings contracted by a significant 11.5 per cent to 45.9 per cent during the quarter. All these factors resulted in a 117 basis points expansion in the net profit margin. It stood at 1.95 per cent during the quarter. Net profit of the large-sized companies (quarterly sales revenue more than Rs.five billion) rose by 78.3 per cent during the December 2013 quarter. The segments net profit margin improved by 275 basis points to 9.4 per cent during the quarter. Vardhman Textiles, the largest company in the industry, posted an impressive 109.5 per cent growth in its net profit. Nahar Spinning Mills net profit rose by a robust 47.8 per cent during the quarter. On the contrary, KPR Mills, another large-sized company, reported a decline in its net profit. A sharp rise in raw material expenses and other expenses dragged down the companys profits during the quarter. The small-sized segment, comprising of 56 companies with quarterly sales revenues less than Rs.1 billion, turned around in the December 2013 quarter. As against losses equivalent to 3.2 per cent of total income in the December 2012 quarter, this segment managed to break-even during the quarter. A drop in all the expense heads barring input costs aided this turn around. In a complete contrast to the large-sized and the small-sized segments, mid-sized segment incurred losses in the December 2013 quarter. Aggregate losses of the 24 mid-sized companies (sales revenue between Rs.one billion and Rs.five billion) stood at Rs.775 million during the quarter. The segments loss margin widened to 2.2 per cent of total income during October-December 2013 from 0.5 per cent in the corresponding year ago period. In the mid-sized segment, net profit of the companies such as Maharaja Shree Umaid Mills, Rajapalayam Mills, D C M and Precot Meridian plunged in excess of 40 per cent during the quarter. While, two companies turned loss-making during the quarter, three witnessed an increase in their losses. Net sales of cotton & blended yarn industry up by 17.3% in December 2013 quarter Higher volumes and increase in average realisation boost sales growth The cotton & blended yarn industry witnessed yet another quarter of robust growth in net sales. Aggregate net sales of the 82 cotton and blended yarn companies in our sample grew by 17.3 per cent y-o-y in the December 2013 quarter. The growth in sales was broad-based with 60 companies in the sample reporting higher sales. Of these, more than 75 per cent of the companies reported double-digit growth in sales. A combination of, both, higher volumes and increase in realisations led the growth in

sales. During the quarter ended December 2013, demand for Indian fabrics and apparels remained strong in the domestic market. Export demand for apparels also improved on the back of a recovery in the US and the European Union regions. These resulted into higher off-take of yarn from the downstream buyers such as fabric and apparel manufacturers. Besides, outbound shipments of yarn to China also grew at a robust pace during October-December 2013. Owing to high raw cotton prices in the domestic market, restrictions on imports of (low-cost) fibre and increase in labour expenses, cost of yarn production rose significantly in China. As a result, Chinese companies focused more on imports of yarn from India. This pushed up yarn sales volumes during the quarter. Rise in sales volume was evident from the yarn production data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) for the three months ended December 2013. Total yarn production grew by 5.8 per cent y-o-y to 1.6 million tonnes. Cotton yarn production grew by a smart 8.3 per cent to 967 thousand tonnes. Production of synthetic yarn rose by 2.4 per cent to 651 thousand tonnes during the said period. Yarn prices rose significantly y-o-y in the December 2013 quarter owing to spike in input prices. During October-December 2013, prices of hosiery yarn (20s and 40s) rose in the range of 12-13 per cent in the Tirupur market. Prices of cotton cone yarn and cotton hank yarn rose in the range of 8-11 per cent. In addition to this, a sharp depreciation in the value of the rupee against the dollar helped improve export realisations. Aggregate net sales of the three large-sized companies (quarterly sales turnover greater than Rs.five billion) rose by a strong 26.2 per cent in the December 2013 quarter. Vardhman Textiles, the largest company in the industry, reported a 31 per cent rise in its net sales during the quarter. The growth in sales came from both, yarn as well as fabric division. Net sales of the companys yarn division, accounting for over 70 per cent of the total revenue, grew by 30.5 per cent. Its fabric division posted 45.8 per cent growth in net sales. The company has largely benefited from higher exports of yarn, especially to China. Export earnings account for 40 per cent of its total sales . K P R Mills also reported an impressive 41 per cent growth in its net sales. On the contrary, Nahar Spinning Mills (another large-sized company) reported a modest 5.4 per cent rise in its net sales. This can be attributed to slow growth in its yarn segment revenue. The pack of 23 mid-sized companies (quarterly sales turnover between Rs.1 billion and Rs.5 billion) reported a combined sales growth of 13.8 per cent in the December 2013 quarter as compared to the year-ago quarter. Among the mid-sized companies, 13 companies reported a more than 15 per cent rise in sales revenues. Leading them were TT, Patspin India, GTN Industries and Winsome Textile Industries with a robust sales growth in the range of 40-60 per cent. All these companies witnessed a healthy rise in demand for their yarn during the quarter. This segment contributed around 45 per cent to the industrys total sales during October-December 2013.

The small-sized segment, that accounted for 23.5 per cent of the industrys top-line, also reported a healthy 13.6 per cent y-o-y growth in sales in the December 2013 quarter. This segment includes 56 companies having quarterly sales turnover less than Rs.1 billion.

Polyester staple fibre production grows by 5.4% y-o-y in December 2013

Polyester filament yarn output falls yet again
According to the data released by the Office of Textile Commissioner, polyester staple fibre (PSF) production stood at 70.7 thousand tonnes in December 2013 as compared to 67 thousand tonnes in December 2012. This translates into a growth of 5.4 per cent. The growth in production during the month came after two consecutive months of fall in output on a y-o-y basis. Sequentially, the production grew by 3.5 per cent. As against PSF, production of polyester filament yarn (PFY) continued to remain sluggish for the sixteenth successive month in December 2013. PFY output remained almost at the year-ago level of 104.7 thousand tonnes during the month. However, production was up by 9.5 per cent when compared to November 2013. During the three quarters ended December 2013, cumulative production of both PSF and PFY was poor. While output of PSF rose by a tad 0.1 per cent to 638.7 thousand tonnes, that of PFY fell by 7.1 per cent to 926.9 thousand tonnes. Output of viscose staple fibre (VSF) stood at 30.9 thousand tonnes in December 2013, 7.1 per cent higher as compared to December 2012. On a sequential basis, VSF production rose by 3.1 per cent. VSF manufacturers have posted a healthy growth in production on a y-o-y basis since May 2013. Resultantly, the cumulative production of VSF grew by 8.4 per cent to 271.5 thousand tonnes during April-December 2013. Production of viscose filament yarn (VFY) grew by a meagre 2.5 per cent y-o-y in to 3.8 thousand tonnes December 2013. However, on a sequential basis, production rose by a smart 7.7 per cent. Cumulative production of VFY rose by 3.2 per cent to 33 thousand tonnes during the nine months ended December 2013. Acrylic staple fibre (ASF) continued to show a robust growth in production for the ninth month in a row. ASF output grew by 22 per cent y-o-y in December 2013 to 8.3 thousand tonnes. However, the production remained flat when compared to the previous month. Cumulative ASF production during April-December 2013 grew by an impressive 33.9 per cent to 74.7 thousand tonnes. Around 1.9 thousand tonnes of VFY was produced in December 2013, marking a growth of a mere 2.5 per cent. An equivalent growth was recorded even on a sequential basis. Cumulative NFY production grew by just one per cent to 17.3 thousand tonnes during the nine months ended December 2013. Cotton and blended yarn production to grow by 4.3% in 2014-15 Yarn prices to remain firm during the year

Indias total yarn production grew by a modest 5.7 per cent to 4,303 thousand tonnes during April-November 2013 as compared to the same period a year ago. This was solely driven by a smart growth in output of cotton yarn. Its production grew by 10.6 per cent y-o-y to 2,567 thousand tonnes. On the contrary, synthetic yarn production remained sluggish during the said period. The growth in cotton yarn production during April-November 2013 was backed by a healthy rise in demand from the domestic fabric and apparel manufacturers. A robust demand from overseas markets, especially, China also supported the growth in production. Chinese textile mills, hit by quota restrictions, are increasingly shifting their preference towards imports of yarn rather than raw cotton from India. This along with an improvement in demand from other overseas markets gave a boost to the export demand for yarn. As per media reports, export registrations for cotton yarn during April-November 2013 jumped by 42 per cent to 937.1 million kg from 658.7 million kg in the corresponding period a year ago. We expect the demand for Indian apparels to remain upbeat, both, in the domestic and international markets. This will result in higher off-take of yarn from the down-stream buyers such as fabric and integrated apparel manufacturers. This is likely to drive the growth in output of yarn. Total yarn production is expected to grow by six per cent in 2013-14. Cotton yarn output is likely to grow by a smart 9.3 per cent. Production of synthetic yarn will rise by a tad 1.4 per cent. A strong export demand, higher domestic consumption and increase in raw cotton prices pushed up the yarn prices during April 2013-January 2014. Hosiery yarn prices on an average rose by 10.6 per cent y-o-y during the said period. Prices of cotton cone yarn and cotton hank yarn averaged 4-6 per cent higher during April 2013-January 2014. We expect the prices to remain firm in the coming months as well. In 2013-14 as a whole, prices of cotton and blended yarn are expected to rise in the range of 6-11 per cent. In 2014-15, China is likely to discontinue its cotton stockpiling program. Besides, the country is expected to offload its cotton reserves which is equivalent to more than half of the worlds total cotton stock at concessional rates during the year. This will improve the availability of low-cost cotton in the country, thereby down-sizing cotton and blended yarn imports from India. China accounts for nearly 30 per cent of Indias total yarn exports. However, demand from the US and the European countries is expected to remain healthy. Also, domestic consumption of yarn is likely to see an upswing in the coming years. Higher disposable income and shift in lifestyles are expected to boost demand for fabrics and apparels which in turn is expected to support the growth in yarn production in 2014-15. We expect the cotton yarn production to grow by 9.3 per cent to 3,889.5 thousand tonnes during the year. Output of synthetic yarn is likely to improve as we expect a better domestic demand. It is expected to grow by 1.4 per cent to 2,621 thousand tonnes by March 2015. Globally, the supply for cotton is unlikely to outpace the growth in demand. Besides, auctioning of cotton by China is likely to create a surplus of cotton in the world market. These factors will put a downward pressure on the international cotton prices.

Subsequently, cotton yarn prices are also expected to come under pressure. However, a strong domestic demand for cotton and yarn is likely to lend support to the domestic prices. In 2014-15, average price of medium staple cotton is expected to rise by 1.4 per cent in the Abohar market. In the Kadi market, average price of long staple cotton is likely to firm up by 1.8 per cent. Hosiery yarn 40s prices are likely to average 2.2 per cent higher during the year. Average prices of cotton cone yarn and cotton hank yarn are expected to rise by one per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively. Indias apparel export to grow by 11.7% in 2014-15 Healthy demand from overseas markets to support the growth in export earnings The Indian apparel industry witnessed an upswing in outbound shipments on a y-o-y basis since the beginning of the current financial year. Consequently, cumulative apparel export earnings till November 2013 grew by a healthy 15.9 per cent to USD 9.3 billion. The jump in the apparel export earnings in the rupee terms was even higher due to rupee depreciation. It grew by a robust 27.2 per cent to Rs.555.4 billion during April-November 2013. Improved demand from the major destinations like United States and the European countries owing to economic recovery backed the growth in exports. Besides, a sharp depreciation in the value of the Indian rupee against the US dollar during AprilNovember 2013 helped the exporters to get better realisations. We believe, these factors will continue to boost the countrys export earnings in the coming months. Indian apparel exporters are expected to wrap up the year 2013-14 with a healthy 15.1 per cent growth. Ready-made garments worth USD 14.9 billion are expected to be shipped out of the country by March 2014. During the year, exports of cotton based apparels are expected to grow by 10 per cent to USD 9.2 billion. This will be backed by a healthy growth in volumes and higher export realisations. Exports of apparels made from synthetic fibres are expected to grow by a robust 20.2 per cent to USD three billion. Synthetic fibres are often considered as substitutes of cotton fibres. An increasing price difference between cotton and man-made fibres is likely to push up the demand for synthetic apparels. Exports of apparels made from other textile materials like silk, wool etc. are expected to grow by a strong 42.7 per cent to USD 2.8 billion on the back of a robust demand in the global markets. We expect the demand for apparels from the major export destinations to continue to rise in the years ahead. With the economic situation in the United States and the European Union expected to improve further, India is likely to witness more apparel export orders from these regions. In addition to this, apparel exporters from the country are exploring non-traditional markets like Middle-East, Latin America and Africa. At the same time, stiff competition from other apparel exporting countries such as Bangladesh and China is likely come down. China, accounting for over one-third of the worlds total apparel export market, is facing high labour costs. Moreover, strengthening of Yuan against the dollar has reduced the countrys competitive edge. Bangladesh, another major garment manufacturing hub, witnessed two fatal accidents

in textile units owing to unsafe working conditions. This raised concerns among global retailers over compliance of labour laws in the country. Besides, the country is expected to revise minimum wage rate upwards in the wake of rising unrest among the textile workers. This is likely to narrow down the gap in the pricing of apparels made in Bangladesh and India. As per media reports, garments made in the domestic market are on an average 20 per cent expensive than that manufactured in Bangladesh. Owing to these, western buyers are expected to divert their garment purchase orders towards Indian apparel exporters. This is expected to push up the export volumes of apparels. However, an expected appreciation in the Indian rupee against the US dollar is expected cap the growth in export realisations. In 2014-15, the Indian rupee is likely to average around 58.5 per dollar as against an expected 60.5 per dollar in 2013-14. The rupee is expected to further appreciate to 57 per dollar in 2015-16. Therefore, we expect Indias apparel export earnings to grow by 11.7 per cent to USD 16.6 billion in 2014-15. Apparels worth USD 18.2 billion are expected to be shipped out of the country during 2015-16. This implies a growth of 9.7 per cent over the previous year. Exports of cotton apparels are expected to grow at a compounded rate of 4.9 per cent during 2014-16. Synthetic apparel exports are also expected to grow by a modest 4.5 per cent per annum during the said period. Apparels made from other textile materials (including silk and wool) will continue to witness a strong demand in the overseas market. Exports of these apparels are expected to grow at a CARG of 15 per cent during the two years ending March 2016. Indias apparel exports to the US grow by 9.2% y-o-y in December 2013 Thus, the countrys market share improves during the month As per the data released by the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) of the US Department of Commerce, Indias apparel exports to the US had declined in November 2013. However, this was a blip and the countrys apparel exports to the US surged in December 2013. During the month, India exported apparel worth USD 217.3 million, 9.2 per cent higher as compared to the corresponding month a year ago. This was solely a volume driven growth. The country shipped 59.5 million square metres of apparels to the US in December 2013. This translates into a rise of 9.5 per cent as compared to December 2012. With this, Indias share in the US apparel market expanded by 20 basis points to 3.8 per cent. India is currently the sixth largest apparel exporter to the US in terms of value. Baring Indonesia, all the other top-five apparel exporters posted a rise in their earnings during the month. Leading the pack was Vietnam with a 19 per cent growth followed by Mexico with a 11.6 per cent growth. While China (accounting for over one-third of the apparel imports by the US) witnessed a tad 0.6 per cent growth in its export earnings, Bangladesh posted a 3.4 per cent growth in its export revenues. Indonesias apparel exports to the US fell by a sharp 16.6 per cent as compared to the corresponding month a year ago. Although China managed to report a rise in its shipments to the US, the countrys market share eroded in December 2013. It contracted to 36.1 per cent during the month from 37.2 per cent in the same month a year ago. Indonesias market share in

the US apparel market shrunk by 130 basis points to 5.4 per cent. While Bangladesh maintained its share at 5.1 per cent on a y-o-y basis, Mexicos market share expanded by 40 basis points to 4.7 per cent. Vietnam gained the most as the countrys share in the US apparel market improved by a 140 basis points to 10.9 per cent in December 2013. During the nine months ended December 2013, Indias apparel exports to the US rose by a healthy 10.7 per cent to USD 2.3 billion during April-December 2013. This was on the back of a 10.4 per cent growth in export volumes. India exported 650.5 million square meters of apparels during the said period. Average export realisation remained unchanged at USD 3.6 per square metre. The countrys share in the US apparel market improved 20 basis points to 3.8 per cent during April-December 2013. Other than India, only Vietnam and Bangladesh reported an improvement in their market share during the aforementioned period. Their market share improved by 100 basis points to 10.2 per cent and 50 basis points to 5.9 per cent, respectively. Chinas market share contracted by 100 basis points to 38.4 per cent. Investments in cotton & blended yarn industry to remain healthy during 2013-16 Projects worth Rs.54.4 billion to get commissioned The cotton & blended yarn industry witnessed a commissioning of projects worth Rs.14-18 billion in each of the preceding five year ending March 2013. The momentum in capacity additions is expected to continue during 2013-16. According to CMIEs CapEx database, 10 projects entailing an investment of Rs.10 billion are expected to come on stream during the year 2013-14. These will add a capacity to manufacture 126.8 thousand tonnes per annum (ttpa) of cotton and blended yarn. Project investment in the industry is expected to more than double in the year 2014-15. Nine projects worth Rs.26.8 billion are set to get completed during the year. In 201516, so far, two projects worth Rs.17.6 billion are expected to get operational. A total capacity to manufacture 140.2 ttpa of yarn is likely to come up during 2014-16. The largest investment during the three years ending March 2016 will be made by Trident. The company is in the process to expand the manufacturing capacity of its two facilities located at Madhya Pradesh and Punjab with an investment of Rs.28.7 billion. Of this, Rs.16.7 billion will be invested on its plant located at Budhni, Madhya Pradesh. On completion in September 2015, the plants capacity will increase to 176 thousand spindles which will produce 38.8 ttpa of cotton yarn. The company will also set up 500 looms with an annual capacity of 42.3 million metres of fabric. The balance investment of Rs.12 billion will be directed towards its brown-field expansion project at Barnala, Punjab. The company is in the process to raise the plants yarn spinning capacity in a phased manner. In phase-I, which got commissioned in March 2012, the company installed a yarn spindling capacity of 28.3 ttpa and 1,664 rotors. On completion of phase-II in September 2014, a capacity to spindle 26.9 ttpa of cotton yarn and 2,040 rotors are expected to be commissioned. Vertex Spinning is expected to invest Rs.5.1 billion for setting up an integrated mega textile park at Dhule, Maharashtra. This park will have a yarn spindling and twisting capacity of 161 thousand spindles per annum. Besides, 1.5 ttpa of yarn dyeing

capacity, 18 million meters of yarn weaving capacity and 20 million meters of fabric processing capacity will be installed. The new facility is expected to get operational by April 2014. Oswal Woollen Mills green-field cotton spinning and fabric manufacturing unit at Pillukedi, Madhya Pradesh will be ready by March 2014. The company will shell out Rs.3.6 billion to set this unit in a phased manner. The company completed phase-I of the project in February 2013 and added a yarn spinning capacity of 3.4 ttpa and denim fabric manufacturing capacity of 80 looms. On completion of the phase-II, another 5.2 ttpa of cotton yarn spinning capacity will be added. The company will also enhance its denim fabric capacity by setting up 24 looms and 864 rotors. Other cotton & blended yarn projects that are scheduled for completion during 201316 Company Project Cost Project Completion Project Name name (inRs.million) Location By Bhilwara spinning Bhilwara, Nitin Spinners & knitting 2,860 March 2015 Rajasthan expansion project Nahar Spinning Sangrur cotton yarn 2,300 Sangrur, Punjab March 2014 Mills project Baddi spinning, Winsome circular knitting & Solan, Himachal 2,210 April 2014 Textile Inds. yarn dyeing Pradesh expansion project Ramtek ultra Suryalakshmi Nagpur, modern spinning 1,400 March 2015 Cotton Mills Maharashtra project Vraj Integrated Bidaj integrated December 1,054 Kheda, Gujarat Textile Park textile park project 2014 Hisar cotton September DCM spinning expansion 1,050 Hisar, Haryana 2014 project Chhindwara C L C Textile Chhindwara, integrated textile 956.5 July 2015 Park Madhya Pradesh park project Kovilpatti cotton Lakshmi Mills Thoothukkudi, September yarn expansion 750 Co. Tamil Nadu 2014 project Kohara cotton yarn Ludhiana, Mukesh Udyog expansion (II) 680 March 2014 Punjab project Nayakund cotton Suryaamba Nagpur, yarn expansion 350 May 2014 Spinning Mills Maharashtra project

Healthy capacity additions lined up in cloth industry during 2013-16

Projects worth Rs.24.1 billion to come up
A healthy off-take of apparels from both domestic and overseas market is expected to boost the demand for Indian fabrics in the coming years. In anticipation of the rise in demand, domestic cloth manufacturers have lined up robust capacity additions over the three years ending March 2016. According to CMIEs CapEx database, 15 projects worth Rs.24.1 billion are scheduled to get operational during 2013-16. These projects will add a total cloth manufacturing and processing capacity of 216.2 million metres. Nearly 25 per cent of the incremental capacity has already been added during the April-December 2013 period. [see]. Some of the other prominent cloth projects that are expected to be completed during 2013-16 are as follows :

Nandan Denims is scheduled to make the largest investment during the three years ending March 2016. The company is expected to spend Rs.8.1 billion towards capacity expansion of its facility at Ahemdebad, Gujarat by January 2015. Under this project, the company will raise its annual denim fabric manufacturing capacity by 52 million meters to 112 million meters. Of this, 22 million meters of capacity has already got commissioned in September 2013. The company is also expected to install a capacity to manufacture 15 million meters of shirting fabric per annum. Etco Industries is setting up a Rs.three billion worth fabric weaving unit at Parbhani, Maharashtra. On completion in November 2014, this green-field unit will have a capacity to weave nine million metres of cloth per annum. GIT Textiles is investing Rs.1.5 billion to set up a new unit at Sanad, Gujarat in a phased manner. In phase-I, which got completed in November 2010, the company installed a capacity to weave 9.1 million meters per annum. In phaseII, the company plans to add an equivalent weaving capacity by March 2016. The project was announced in Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2009 and is running behind schedule by almost seven years. The reason behind the delay could not be ascertained. Siyaram Silk Mills in the course to expand the fabric manufacturing capacity of its plants located at Tarapur (Maharashtra) and Silvassa (Dadra & Nagar Haveli) by March 2014. Currently, the total installed capacity at these sites is six million meters of fabric per annum. Under this brown-field capacity expansion project, the company will expand the capacity to eight million meters of fabric per annum. The project will come with an investment outlay of Rs.1.4 billion. Nirbhai Textiles is setting up a new fabric weaving unit at Hedon, Punjab at a cost of Rs.1.3 billion. The plant is scheduled to get commissioned by March 2015 with a capacity to weave 21.8 million meters of cloth per annum.

Other cloth projects that are scheduled for completion by March 2016 Company Project Project Cost Project Project Completion

Name

Name

(in Rs.million)

Location

Type

By

Yavatmal Raymond Uco denim fabric Yavatmal, Substantial 1,200 April 2014 Denim expansion Maharashtra Expansion project Gundoj Nextgen integrated Gundoj, 1,014 New Unit March 2014 Textile Park textile park Rajasthan project Rishra linen Jaya Shree fabric Rishra, West Substantial November 1,000 Textiles expansion (II) Bengal Expansion 2015 project Andipatti hiVaigai Hi-tech Andipatti, tech weaving 610 New Unit June 2014 Weaving Park Tamil Nadu park project Amritsar fabric Amritsar, Substantial O C M India 450 March 2014 expansion Punjab Expansion project Pinarayi hiKerala State tech weaving Pinarayi, Textile 200 New Unit April 2014 factory Kerala Corporation project Bhilwara Sunglow Bhilwara, synthetic 200 New Unit May 2014 Suitings Rajasthan fabrics project Healthy capacity additions lined up in cloth industry during 2013-16 Projects worth Rs.24.1 billion to come up A healthy off-take of apparels from both domestic and overseas market is expected to boost the demand for Indian fabrics in the coming years. In anticipation of the rise in demand, domestic cloth manufacturers have lined up robust capacity additions over the three years ending March 2016. According to CMIEs CapEx database, 15 projects worth Rs.24.1 billion are scheduled to get operational during 2013-16. These projects will add a total cloth manufacturing and processing capacity of 216.2 million metres. Nearly 25 per cent of the incremental capacity has already been added during the April-December 2013 period. [see]. Some of the other prominent cloth projects that are expected to be completed during 2013-16 are as follows :

Nandan Denims is scheduled to make the largest investment during the three years ending March 2016. The company is expected to spend Rs.8.1 billion towards capacity expansion of its facility at Ahemdebad, Gujarat by January 2015. Under this project, the company will raise its annual denim fabric manufacturing capacity by 52 million meters to 112 million meters. Of this, 22

million meters of capacity has already got commissioned in September 2013. The company is also expected to install a capacity to manufacture 15 million meters of shirting fabric per annum. Etco Industries is setting up a Rs.three billion worth fabric weaving unit at Parbhani, Maharashtra. On completion in November 2014, this green-field unit will have a capacity to weave nine million metres of cloth per annum. GIT Textiles is investing Rs.1.5 billion to set up a new unit at Sanad, Gujarat in a phased manner. In phase-I, which got completed in November 2010, the company installed a capacity to weave 9.1 million meters per annum. In phaseII, the company plans to add an equivalent weaving capacity by March 2016. The project was announced in Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2009 and is running behind schedule by almost seven years. The reason behind the delay could not be ascertained. Siyaram Silk Mills in the course to expand the fabric manufacturing capacity of its plants located at Tarapur (Maharashtra) and Silvassa (Dadra & Nagar Haveli) by March 2014. Currently, the total installed capacity at these sites is six million meters of fabric per annum. Under this brown-field capacity expansion project, the company will expand the capacity to eight million meters of fabric per annum. The project will come with an investment outlay of Rs.1.4 billion. Nirbhai Textiles is setting up a new fabric weaving unit at Hedon, Punjab at a cost of Rs.1.3 billion. The plant is scheduled to get commissioned by March 2015 with a capacity to weave 21.8 million meters of cloth per annum.

Other cloth projects that are scheduled for completion by March 2016 Project Cost Company Project Project Project Completion (in Name Name Location Type By Rs.million) Yavatmal Raymond Uco denim fabric Yavatmal, Substantial 1,200 April 2014 Denim expansion Maharashtra Expansion project Gundoj Nextgen integrated Gundoj, 1,014 New Unit March 2014 Textile Park textile park Rajasthan project Rishra linen Jaya Shree fabric Rishra, West Substantial November 1,000 Textiles expansion (II) Bengal Expansion 2015 project Andipatti hiVaigai Hi-tech Andipatti, tech weaving 610 New Unit June 2014 Weaving Park Tamil Nadu park project Amritsar fabric Amritsar, Substantial O C M India 450 March 2014 expansion Punjab Expansion project Kerala State Pinarayi hi- 200 Pinarayi, New Unit April 2014

tech weaving Kerala factory project Bhilwara Sunglow Bhilwara, synthetic 200 New Unit May 2014 Suitings Rajasthan fabrics project Government restores export incentives on cotton yarn Industry lauds the move The Central government has restored the benefits on export of cotton yarn under the Incremental Export Incentivisation Scheme (IEIS). The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), on 23 January 2014, issued a notification stating that export of cotton yarn is eligible for benefits under IEIS for the financial year 2013-14. The scheme, introduced at the beginning of the year, was withdrawn on 25 September 2013. Under this scheme, cotton yarn exporters are entitled to receive duty credit worth two per cent of the cotton yarn shipments. Exporters can utilise the credits earned to import inputs duty free. The restoration of IEIS scheme is expected to help the textile mills to increase their cotton yarn export in the current financial year. Industry associations like the Confederation of Indian Textiles Industry (CITI) and Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) have acclaimed the governments move. According to Prem Malik, Chairman of CITI, withdrawal of IEIS had dampened the enthusiasm of cotton yarn exporters and the restoration of these benefits will reflect in the export performance during the remaining part of the year. However, the centres decision to discontinue the eligibility of cotton yarn to get benefits under the Focus Market Scheme (FMS) still stands the same. Under FMS, exporters were able to offset high freight costs existing in the international market. Both CITI and SIMA have requested the government to reconsider its decision of removing benefits on cotton yarn exports under FMS. Project commissioning in man-made filaments & fibres industry to scale a new high in 2013-14 Investments to remain healthy during 2014-16 The man-made filaments & fibres industry is set to witness a record-high commissioning of projects in 2013-14. Seven projects, entailing an investment of Rs.26.8 billion, are expected to come on stream during the year. These projects will add an annual synthetic filament and fibre manufacturing capacity of 962.7 thousand tonnes. So far, four projects worth Rs.3.1 billion have got completed. The capacity addition by these projects stood at 186.8 thousand tonnes per annum (ttpa).[see]. Details of the other projects that are scheduled for completion by the end of March 2014 are as follows:

Textile Corporation

Grasim Industries is expected to invest Rs.18 billion on setting up a viscose staple fibre (VSF) production unit at Bharuch, Gujarat. This facility will be able to produce 120 thousand tonnes of VSF per annum. D N H Spinners is expanding the manufacturing capacity of its Surangi plant in Silvassa in a phased manner. The company will expand the combined capacity of partially oriented yarn (POY), fully drawn yarn (FDY) and polyester staple

fibre (PSF) by 365 ttpa. Annual polyester texturised yarn (PTY) capacity will be raised by 276 thousand tonnes. These capacities will be added at a cost of Rs.5.1 billion. With an investment of Rs.500 million, Baid industries is setting up a new unit to manufacture polyester filament yarn (PFY). The first and the second phase of the project got completed in March 2011 and March 2012, respectively. In these phases, PFY capacity of 6.6 ttpa got commissioned. In the final phase, which is expected to be operational by March 2014, 14.6 ttpa of capacity will be added.

According to CMIEs CapEx database, capacity addition activity in the man-made filaments & fibres industry is expected to remain healthy even in the coming two years ending March 2016. Synthetic filament & fibre manufacturing companies are expected to add 400 ttpa and 360 ttpa of capacity during 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively. These capacities will envisage an aggregate investment of around Rs.26.2 billion. The largest project, in terms of investment, to come up during 2014-16 is by Nakoda. The company is in the process to set up a continuous polymerisation and direct melt spinning unit at Surat, Gujarat by March 2016. On completion, the green-field unit will have a capacity to manufacture 280 thousand tonnes of POY and FDY per annum. Along-with this, the company will set up a state-of-the art research and development facility to develop specialty yarns. The Rs.17.5 billion worth project will aid the company to manufacture the entire range of polyester yarns and cater to the domestic as well as international market. The company plans to fund the project by a mix of internal accruals and long term debt. Lenzing Modi Fibres India, a joint venture between Lenzing (Austria) and Modi Fibres, plans to commission a new VSF manufacturing unit at Panvel, Maharashtra. The company will shell out Rs.8.7 billion for the project and will add a capacity to produce 80 thousand tonnes of VSF per annum. The project got postponed from its initial commissioning date by 58 months due to hurdles in acquiring environmental clearance (EC). The company finally received the EC in January 2013 and the project is now scheduled for completion in December 2015. Reliance Industries is in the process of setting up a new synthetic yarn producing unit at Silvassa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The company intends to manufacture 395 ttpa of PFY and 140 ttpa of PTY at this unit. The project is scheduled for completion in May 2014. The company has not yet disclosed the cost involved in the project. Indorama Industries is expected to complete phase-II of its capacity expansion project at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh in December 2014. In this phase, the company will add a capacity to manufacture five ttpa of spandex yarn. Indorama plans to further augment the plants annual capacity by five thousand tonnes in phase-III. However, completion schedule of this phase is unavailable. The company is expected to invest Rs.6 billion on both these phases.

Titan to foray into womens wear, accessories in new expansion drive

Varun Sood, ET Bureau Apr 21, 2014, 03.04AM IST Tags:

womens wear| Titan company| Titan| net worth| markets| Insurability| distribution| capital expenditure| brands

(Titan, which describes) BANGALORE: Titan Company aims to grow to $5 billion (Rs 30,100 crore) in revenue by 2019 as the gold-to-watches listed unit of the Tata group looks to expand into new segments, including women's wear and accessories. The Bangalore-based company has outlined capital expenditure of Rs 1,000 crore as a part of the five-year plan, said a senior executive. "We aim to grow to 2.5 times our current size, in five years," managing director Bhaskar Bhat told ET in an interview. Titan's revenue for the year ending March 2013 totalled a little over Rs 10,100 crore.

Titan, which describes itself as the country's largest specialty retailer, would also double its presence to 2,000 stores in the country by 2019. The company expects its jewellery division

to contribute the most to company's profits while eyewear and perfume sales would record the highest growth in percentage terms in the coming five years. For now, the jewellery division accounts for more than two-thirds of Titan's revenue while eyewear, watches and accessories contribute about 20%. The precision engineering unit brings in the rest. "We have been able to read women well," said Bhat, adding the "creating aspirational brands for every segment in a category" is the company's aspiration. "We look at unorganised and underpenetrated markets. Our exploration continues in such spaces including women's wear, accessories and personal lifestyle products in general. For example bags, in which we have made an initial foray, does not have a national brand," Bhat said. Titan's optimistic outlook comes at a time when many companies, planning to expand in Asia's third-largest economy, have been holding back from making investment decisions in the backdrop of what is perceived as policy stasis. Earlier this year, "The India Attractiveness Survey 2014" by consultancy Ernst & Young said that unfriendly business environment and uncertainty ahead of the general election meant that 32% of the 502 global companies did not plan any investments in the country. Titan on its part maintains that it is necessary to make such growth plans, for the initiatives it takes today will help the company see the results in future. "We are in an emerging market; aspirations and populations are growing," Bhat said. The company aims to increase its presence in Africa, West and East Asia although it acknowledges that more than 90 % of its revenue in 2019 would still be from the domestic market. "Africa holds great potential. We are looking at watches and distribution for Africa," said Bhat, observing that the company does not have a plan right now for scaling up its presence in Africa. Related News

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Cotton yarn spinning mills are mulling a response to the fall in Chinese export demand. A serious matter, since mills had significantly raised their capacities in the past three years in response to rising demand from that country, for both cotton and yarn. Mills added a combined 500,000 spindles in the past five years, anticipating a consistently high demand from China. There certainly was a big jump in 2013 over 2012, from 77 million kg of yarn export to 1,107 mn kg.

However, the Chinese government has cut the reserve price for sale of cotton in the domestic market; it also plans to release more of cotton from its reserves than before. The Chinese currency, the yuan, is also depreciating, making imports costlier. Also, says a report from the International Cotton Advisory Committee, polyester is becoming cost-competitive in China as compared to cotton. Kamal Oswal, managing director of Ludhiana-based Nahar Spinning Mills, says exports to China have become sluggish, with demand down 30-40 per cent. His company exports yarn and fibre to China. Slack demand from China, he said, had to be offset by adding new export destinations. One hope for Indian exporters is the fact that Chinese garment units are considering moving to other places. Hardyal Singh Cheema, managing director of Cheema Spintex, says: High labour cost in China, coupled with the compulsion of using Chinese cotton stock (less competitive than imported cotton for these units) might drive them out of China. Vietnam and Cambodia are more cost-competitive for garment manufacturers, so we are mulling diversifying our export to these countries. This would need a little time, he said, which meant the coming months might be challenging for the Indian textile sector. Cheema says China is likely to cut on cotton sowing in the coming season, to increase the area under staple crops. This might help revive cotton imports from there. Indian mills, nevertheless, will have to foray into new markets to reduce dependence on China. D K Nair, secretary-general of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, said an appreciating rupee and depreciating yuan in recent times made Indian imports more expensive for China. So, theyve started releasing their own cotton stocks; a short-term measure, he added. Owing to Chinas high manufacturing cost, making of yarn and fabric would be unviable in the long run. Mumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Tuesday said it had commissioned a new polyester filament yarn facility at Silvassa in Dadra and Nagar Haveli. With the commissioning of this plant, Reliances total capacity of this yarn, including its Malaysian facilities, is now over 1.5 million tonne per annum, the company said in a statement. The entire production from this facility will be sold in both domestic and international markets. RIL has an existing texturizing facility at Silvassa that reduces the packaging and logistics costs. It is the largest producer of polyester fibre and yarn in the world.Shares of RIL declined 0.46% to Rs.948.50 apiece on BSE, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex retreated 0.64% to 22,484.93 points. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has commissioned its new polyester filament yarn (PFY) unit at Silvassa, capital of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the company said on Tuesday.

"The entire production from this facility has been successfully placed in the domestic and international markets," RIL said in a release. With this commissioning, RIL's total PFY capacity, including the Malaysian facilities, is in excess of 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), it added. "This expansion further strengthens RIL's position as the world's largest producer of polyester fibre and yarn," the company said. "The new PFY plant at Silvassa is the most automated and one of the most environmentfriendly plants globally. It is co-located with RIL's existing texturizing facility at Silvassa eliminating the packaging and logistics costs", the release added.

The government proposes to implement a revival, reform and restructuring package for the handloom sector to improve the condition of the sector and help access funds. According to a proposal floated by the Textile Ministry, the much needed relief to the sector is aimed to bring it out of the debt overhang and grow as it is the second largest employment provider next to agriculture. According to ministry officials, low productivity of the handloom sector that employs around 43 lakh handloom weavers on 27-28 lakh handloom household units contribute only about 11% of the total cloth production. This is major weakness of the Indian textile industry and underutilisation of the manpower and skills. A financial estimate has pegged the cost of the package at approximately Rs 2000 crores and the package will be implemented in six states with major concentration of handloom weavers benefitting almost 20 lakh handloom weavers in the first phase. According to the proposal, four handloom mega clusters at Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Siva Sagar (Assam), Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu and Murshidabad (West Bengal) have been taken for their integrated and holistic development. The package consists of various schemes and subsidy proposals. Under the package, the ministry proposes to revise the mill gate scheme. The objective of this scheme is to make available all types of yarn at mill gate price to the eligible handloom weavers so as to facilitate regular supply of basic raw materials to the handloom sector. Currently, National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC) is the implementing agency responsible for facilitating the supply of raw material to all eligible entities like handloom organisations, handloom development centres, exporters, export houses etc. It is proposed to be open up the scheme to include primary weavers society, apex society, Weavers Company for supply to eligible entities and help utilize the full employment potential of the sector Another proposal under the package is to issue large number of bunker credit cards and loan waiver scheme, provide margin money and interest subvention with credit guarantee. Market strategies include setting up of marketing complexes at 100 strategic locations while master weavers would be linked to markets, export houses and marketing organisations for selling weaver product. The marketing incentive will be shared 50:50 between the centre and the state government. In order to improve the payment from handloom houses to weavers a corpus of funds for each textile cluster may be set up so that 60% payment to weavers can be made immediately after receipt of goods from weavers along with acknowledgement from the buying houses.

There would be upgrdation and modernisation of Weavers Service Centres, Indian institute of Handloom technologies. Besides large number of weavers are proposed to be bought under social safety net under scheme like health insurance scheme or Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana. For seamless implementation of the schemes, handloom schemes will be converged with schemes of ministry of rural development and ministry of medium and small industry.

No progress on Deccan Infrastructures Akutotapally Textile SEZ Project

No progress is achieved for Deccan Infrastructure & Land Holdings Ltd's Akutotapally Textile SEZ Project. The project is still on hold. Arun Shourie- Company Secretary (CS), shared this information with CMIE's CapEx team. He added that the company will take decision on the project after June 2014. No update available for Asmeeta Infratechs Bhiwandi Integrated Textile Park Project No update is available for Asmeeta Infratech Pvt Ltd's Bhiwandi Integrated Textile Park Project. The company did not provide an update on this project when CMIE approached it. No information regarding the progress of the project was available in the public domain. No update available for GoI, MoTs Ahmadabad Composites Centre of Excellence Project No update is available for Government of India, Ministry of Textiles Ahmadabad Composites Centre of Excellence Project. CMIE approached the company for a progress update on the project. However, the company did not share any information regarding the progress of the project. No information was available about the project in the public domain. Jaya Shree Textiles Rishra Linen Fabric Expansion (II) Project still in preliminary stage Jaya Shree Textiles Ltd's Rishra Linen Fabric Expansion (II) Project is still in preliminary stage. Arup Kumar Roy- Senior Officer, shared this information with CMIE's CapEx team. Update unavailable for Government of Uttarakhands Jaspur Integrated Textile Park Project

No update is available for Government of Uttarakhand's Jaspur Integrated Textile Park Project. The company did not provide an update on this project when CMIE approached it. No information regarding the progress of the project was available in the public domain.

Acrylic fibre production grows by 30.2% y-o-y in November 2013

Polyester yarn and fibre output slips during the month
According to the data released by the Office of the Textile Commissioner, production

of most types of man-made filaments and fibres grew in November 2013 as compared to the same month a year ago. Highest growth in production was recorded by acrylic fibre (AF) manufacturers. AF output grew by a robust 30.2 per cent y-o-y to 8.3 thousand tonnes during the month. This was the eight consecutive month of a doubledigit growth in production. However, AF production slipped by 4.1 per cent on a sequential basis. Nylon filament yarn (NFY) production grew by a healthy 12.1 per cent in November 2013. Its output rose to 1.9 thousand tonnes during the month from 1.7 thousand tonnes in the corresponding year-ago month. On a sequential basis, NFY production grew by a mere half per cent. Viscose filament yarn (VFY) production stood at 3.7 thousand tonnes in November 2013 as compared to 3.5 thousand tonnes in November 2012. This implies a growth of 5.2 per cent. However, production fell by 3.7 per cent as compared to October 2013. Production of viscose staple fibre (VSF) was up by 3.9 per cent to 30 thousand tonnes as compared to the year-ago month. When compared to the preceding month, VSF production dipped by 3.3 per cent. In November 2013, output of, both, polyester staple fibre (PSF) and polyester filament yarn (PFY) declined on a y-o-y basis. Their output fell by 2.6 per cent to 68.3 thousand tonnes and 3.1 per cent to 95.3 thousand tonnes, respectively. On a sequential basis, PSF and PFY production fell by 4-6 per cent. Output of polyester filament yarn drops for fourteenth consecutive month ended October 2013 Production dips by 1.7% y-o-y As per the data published by the Office of the Textile Commissioner, production of polyester filament yarn (PFY) fell by 7.4 per cent to 100.2 thousand tonnes in October 2013. This was the fourteenth consecutive month of decline in output as compared to a year ago. On a sequential basis, PFY production fell by 1.7 per cent. Output of polyester staple fibre (PSF) too fell during October 2013 on a y-o-y basis. PSF production declined by 1.7 per cent to 72.7 thousand tonnes during the month. However, compared to the preceding month, production grew by a marginal 0.5 per cent. Production of PFY and PSF has been subdued since the beginning of the financial year 2013-14. Resultantly, production of both these polyesters have declined during AprilOctober 2013. While output of PFY output slipped by 8.6 per cent to 725.6 thousand tonnes, that of PSF fell slightly to 499.8 thousand tonnes during the said period. Production of, both, viscose filament yarn (VFY) and viscose staple fibre (VSF) grew by four per cent each to 3.8 thousand tonnes and 31 thousand tonnes, respectively, during October 2013. As compared to September 2013, production of VFY was up by 1.3 per cent and that of VSF grew by 4.7 per cent. Cumulative production of VFY grew by a modest 3.8 per cent to 25.8 thousand tonnes during the first-seven months of 2013-14. Output of VSF grew by a healthy 9.2 per

cent to 210.7 thousand tonnes during the above mentioned period. Acrylic staple fibre (ASF) production continued to grow at a robust pace for the seventh consecutive month ended October 2013. Production grew by 32.2 per cent yo-y to 8.6 thousand tonnes during the month. This was the highest production witnessed by the industry since September 2009. However, ASF production improved by a tad 0.6 per cent as compared to the preceding month. Cumulative ASF production during April-October 2013 grew by a smart 36.3 per cent to 58.1 thousand tonnes. Production of nylon filament yarn (NFY) grew by a mere half per cent to two thousand tonnes in October 2013. This came over a 48.2 per cent growth recorded for the same month a year ago. When compared to September 2013, production of NFY remained flat. Barring June-July 2013, output of NFY was weak in all the months since April 2013. This restricted the cumulative growth in output to 0.3 per cent during the AprilOctober 2013 period. Government of Gujarat provides in-principal approval to five textile parks Proposed parks to get benefits under Gujarat Textile Policy 2012 On 3 December 2013, the State Government of Gujarat gave in-principal approval to set up three textile parks and two spinning parks in Gujarat. This approvals are granted under the Gujarat Textile Policy 2012. The proposed parks entail an aggregate investment of Rs.3,380 million and are expected to create 37,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state. Details of the projects are as follows:

Gayatri Cotspin Park plans to set up a textile park in Bharuch, Gujarat. Investment in this project is pegged at Rs.1,000 million Amitara Green Hi-Tech Textiles Park is expected to set up a textile spinning park in Kheda, Gujarat. The company is expected to invest Rs.920 million on this project. D D Spintex Park is also expected to set up a textile spinning park. The companys Rs.820 million worth park is expected to come up at Bharuch, Gujarat. Karanj Textile Park is expected to invest Rs.320 million on setting up a textile park at Surat, Gujarat. Another textile park in Surat will be set up by Palsana Textile Park. This project is expected to come up with an investment outlay of Rs.320 million.

The Gujarat Government is also planning to provide financial assistance to all these textile parks under the Gujarat Textile Policy 2012. A total assistance of Rs.660 million will be provided for development of infrastructure of these parks. Under the Gujarat Textile Policy 2012, the government plans to provide financial assistance of Rs.300 million or upto 50 per cent of the project cost, whichever is lower for textile spinning parks. For textile parks, the assistance is capped at the lower of Rs.100 million or 50 per cent of the cost. In addition to this, the proposed parks are eligible to receive other incentives like interest subsidy and refund of value added tax paid. Other than the above mentioned parks, 28 textile units were granted interest subsidy during the meeting. Of these, 16 units were also given concession in value added tax

payment. Besides, approvals were granted for setting up of five apparel training centres across the state in-order to ensure a steady supply of trained manpower for the apparel industry.

PFY production falls by 8.6% in September 2013

Thirteenth consecutive fall on y-o-y basis
According to the data released by the Office of the Textile Commissioner, polyester filament yarn (PFY) production fell for the thirteenth successive month on a y-o-y basis. PFY output fell by 8.6 per cent to 102 thousand tonnes in September 2013. On a sequential basis, output fell by 3.4 per cent. In contrast to PFY, polyester staple fibre (PSF) production grew y-o-y in September 2013. Output stood at 72.3 thousand tonnes, 1.5 per cent higher than that manufactured in September 2012. However, it was lower than the production of 74.7 thousand tonnes recorded in the preceding month. Cumulative production of both these polyesters was weak during the first-six months of 2013-14. While output of PSF remained at the year-ago level, that of PFY declined by 8.8 per cent during the said period. Viscose staple fibre (VSF) production increased from 27.5 thousand tonnes in September 2012 to 29.6 thousand tonnes in September 2013. This translates into a growth of 7.5 per cent. However, on a sequential basis, production slipped by 5.9 per cent. Cumulative output of VSF grew by 10.1 per cent during April-September 2013. Viscose filament yarn (VFY) production grew by 6.8 per cent to 3.7 thousand tonnes in September 2013 on a y-o-y basis. As compared to August 2013, output was, however, down by 2.4 per cent. Cumulative VSF production increased by a modest 3.7 per cent during the first-half of the year 2013-14. After remaining flat in the preceding month, production of nylon filament yarn (NFY) grew by 2.6 per cent y-o-y in September 2013. However, at two thousand tonnes, NFY production averaged one per cent lower as compared to that produced in the previous month. Cumulative NFY production grew by a marginal 0.3 per cent during AprilSeptember 2013 period. Acrylic staple fibre (ASF) production grew by a robust 50.3 per cent in September 2013 as compared to the corresponding month a year ago. Output at 8.6 thousand tonnes was higher by 3.9 per cent as compared to that in the preceding month. Also, this was the highest monthly production since September 2009. Owing to a double-digit rise in each of the months since the beginning of the financial year 2013-14, cumulative ASF production grew by a smart 37.1 per cent during the first-half of the year 2013-14.

CCEA nod for Integrated Processing Development Scheme for textile units
New policy aims to establish environment friendly textile processing units
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), on 30th October 2013, gave its approval to Integrated Processing Development Scheme (IPDS) with a total investment of Rs.5 billion. The new scheme aims to address the environmental concerns faced by the Indian textile industry and set up four to six brown field projects and three to five green field projects. The Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram, had announced this policy in the Union Budget 2013-14. The projects eligible under the scheme will cover the following :

Common effluent treatment plant (CETP) Captive power generation plant (preferably renewable or green technology) Infrastructure for water and wastewater management Facility for testing and research & development centres

The Indian textile industry is losing out to competition owing to environmental compliances. IPDS is expected to help the domestic manufacturers to improve their global competitiveness by using environment friendly processing standards and technology. This scheme is not only expected to create new processing units but also support the up-gradation of existing textile processing clusters. Four projects get completed in man-made fibre industry during April-December 2013 Production capacity rises by 186.8 thousand tonnes According to the CMIEs CapEx database, the man-made filaments & fibres industry witnessed a completion of four projects during the April-December 2013 period. These projects entailed an investment outlay of over Rs.3.1 billion. Together they added a capacity to manufacture 186.8 thousand tonnes per annum (ttpa) of synthetic filaments and fibres. The project commissioning in the aforementioned period was significantly lower as compared to April-December 2012. Eight projects, worth Rs.8.7 billion, having a capacity to manufacture 819.3 ttpa got commissioned during the said period. The details of the projects that got completed during the April-December 2013 period are as follows:

Raj Rayon Industries completed its continuous polymerisation and modernisation project at Surangi, Dadra & Nagar Haveli in June 2013. The plant has an annual capacity to manufacture 153.7 thousand tonnes of fibre grade polyester chips and polymers. The project envisaged an investment of Rs.1.9 billion. Ganesha Ecosphere commissioned a new unit at Bilaspur, Uttar Pradesh in

November 2013. The company added a capacity to manufacture 5.2 ttpa of spun yarn capacity and 14 ttpa of partially oriented yarn through this project. The company invested Rs.1.3 billion on this project. The company also completed its Kanpur recycled polyester staple fibre project in November 2013. With the completion of this brown-field capacity expansion project, the company added a nine thousand tonnes of annual spun yarn production capacity. The investment details of this project are not disclosed by the company. Sharmanji Yarns Ludhiana synthetic yarn project got operational in April 2013. The companys new facility has a capacity to manufacture five ttpa of synthetic yarn. The cost of the project is unavailable.

Five projects commissioned in cotton & blended yarn industry during April-December 2013 Projects worth over Rs.600 million stalled during the said period The cotton & blended yarn industry witnessed a completion of five projects worth Rs.two billion during the nine month period ended December 2013. These projects together added a yarn spinning capacity of 88.5 thousand tonnes per annum (tpa). This was significantly higher as compared to 61.9 thousand tpa of spinning capacity added during the same period a year ago. Nine projects worth over Rs.1.9 billion contributed to the capacity addition during April-December 2012. Half of the investment during April-December 2013 (Rs.1 billion) was made by T T L. The company doubled the spinning capacity of its plant located at Rajula, Gujarat to 10 thousand tpa i.e. 50 thousand spindles per annum in April 2013. The project was initially announced with an investment of Rs.750 million. Nagreeka Exports commissioned the second largest project during the said period. The company invested Rs.730.5 million on setting up a green-field unit at Kolhapur in Maharashtra. This unit has an annual yarn dyeing and bleaching capacity of 16 thousand tonnes. National Textile Corporation commissioned two brown-field projects in Madhya Pradesh during July-October 2013. The company invested Rs.140 million and Rs.180 million to enhance the capacity of its plant located at Bhopal and Burhanpur, respectively. On completion, an additional five thousand tpa of cotton yarn spinning capacity was added at each of these facilities. Vardhaman Polytex completed its project at Solan, Himachal Pradesh in July 2013. With this project, the company raised the plants cotton yarn spinning capacity to 8.2 thousand tonnes per year from five thousand tonnes per year. Investment details of the project are not disclosed by the company. Apart from the above mentioned companies, two textile companies partly commissioned their projects during April-December 2013. Details of these projects are as follows:

Winsome Textiles Industries commissioned its spinning and yarn dyeing unit at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh in April 2013. The plant has an annual capacity of 16.7 thousand tonnes. The company is also scheduled to add circular knitting

capacity at this facility by April 2014. The entire project is expected to come at a cost Rs.2.2 billion. SEL Textiles commissioned the phase-I of its spinning project at Punjava Lambi in Punjab. In this phase, the company added a cotton spinning capacity of 37.6 thousand tpa. In phase-II of the project, the company is expected to commission denim fabric and denim garment manufacturing units. Completion schedule of the second phase is not yet disclosed by the company. SEL Textiles is expected to shell out Rs.15 billion on both these phases.

During April-December 2013, three projects were stalled in the cotton & blended yarn industry. Shree Siddhivinayak Cotspin put on hold its plan to set up a new cotton yarn spinning unit at Kolhapur, Maharashtra. The plant worth Rs.600 million was expected to have a spinning capacity of 1.8 thousand tpa. Prag Bosimi Synthetics and Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills also shelved their capacity expansion plans owing to various issues including fund constraints. While the former was expected to increase the capacity of its plant in Assam, the latter was scheduled to commission a new unit at Maharashtra. Cotton & blended yarn projects worth Rs.21.5 billion announced during AprilDecember 2013 Trident to make three-forth of this investment According to CMIEs CapEx database, four cotton & blended yarn projects got announced during the April-December 2013 period as against two projects announced during the same period a year ago. The investment in these projects is pegged at Rs.21.5 billion. Demand for cotton and blended yarn is on a rise in, both, the domestic and the international markets. We believe this has attracted the cotton and blended yarn manufacturing companies to make fresh investments. Details about the projects announced during April-December 2013 are as follows:

Trident announced to expand the manufacturing capacity of its plant located at Budhni, Madhya Pradesh by September 2015. With an investment of Rs.16.7 billion, the company will raise its cotton yarn spinning capacity by 176 thousand spindles per annum to 542 thousand spindles per annum. It is also expected to set up 500 looms with a manufacturing capacity of 43.2 million meters of bed sheets per year. Nitin Spinners is expected to invest Rs.2.9 billion to enhance the cotton yarn spinning capacity of its plant located at Bhilwara, Rajasthan. On completion in March 2015, the plants annual capacity is expected to increase by 73 thousand spindles to 150 thousand spindles. Amitara Green Hi-tech Textiles Park is planning to set up a spinning park at Kheda, Gujarat. The company is expected to invest Rs.920 million on this project. The company is yet to disclose the completion schedule of the project. D D Spintex Park is also expected to set up a textile spinning park. The companys Rs.820 million worth park is expected to come up at Bharuch, Gujarat. The completion details of this project are unavailable.

Amitara Green Hi-tech Textile Park and DD Spintex Park, both, had received an inprincipal approval from the State Government of Gujarat in December 2013. These companies are likely to receive financial assistance from the state government under

the Gujarat Textile Policy 2012. [see].

Indias apparel exports to US fall by 4.4% in November 2013

China and Vietnam eat into countrys share during the month
The data released by the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that the Indias apparel exports to US declined by 4.4 per cent from USD 228.2 million in November 2012 to USD 218.1 million in November 2013. Export earnings fell for the first time y-o-y since the beginning of the financial year 2013-14. The fall in earnings was on the back of a decline in export realisations. Average export realisation decreased by 5.6 per cent y-o-y to USD 3.5 per square meter (sq. meter) in November 2013. Export volumes rose by a tad 1.3 per cent to 62.3 million sq. meters during the month as compared to the same month a year ago. With the fall in earnings, the countrys market-share eroded by 30 basis points to 3.6 per cent during the month as compared to November 2012. India is the sixth largest exporter of apparels to the US. Among the top-six exporters to the US, Mexico also reported a y-o-y fall in export value in November 2013. Its export earnings slipped by 2.2 per cent to USD 296.7 million during the month. Unlike India and Mexico, other major exporters like China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh reported a growth in exports to the US during the month. While the former three countries posted a 1-5 per cent growth in their export earnings, Vietnam outperformed with a robust 23.9 per cent increase in its exports to the US. However, only China and Vietnam, the two largest apparel exporters to the US, reported a y-o-y expansion in their market share in the US apparel market in November 2013. While Chinas share rose by 50 basis points to 37 per cent, that of Vietnam improved by 170 basis points to 10.5 per cent during the month. During the first eight months of 2013-14, Indias apparel exports to the US rose by a healthy 10.8 per cent to USD 2,130.3 million. This growth was solely volume driven. The country exported 591 million sq. meters of apparels during April-November 2013, 10.5 per cent higher than that exported in the same period a year ago. Average export realisations remained stable at USD 3.6 million sq. meters. Higher export earnings helped the country improve its presence in the US apparel market. Indias market share in the total apparel exports to the US rose to 3.8 per cent during April-November 2013 from 3.6 per cent in the corresponding period a year ago. Other than India, Bangladesh and Vietnam witnessed an improvement in market share during the above mentioned period. Their market share rose by 50 basis points and by 90 basis points to six per cent and 10.1 per cent, respectively. China, the largest

exporter to the US, saw a 100 basis points erosion in its market share to 38.6 per cent during April-November 2013.

Indias apparel exports to USA grows by 16.3% in October 2013

Countrys market share improves during the month
After a marginal rise in apparel export volumes to the USA in September 2013, India reported a double-digit growth in export volumes in October 2013. As per the data released by the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, India exported 70.7 million square meters of apparels to the USA, 11.8 per cent higher than that recorded in the year-ago month. Coupled with a 4.1 per cent rise in realisations, Indias apparel exports rose by a smart 16.3 per cent y-o-y in October 2013 to USD 268 million. Among the countrys major competitors, only Bangladesh fared better than India during the month. Its apparel exports to the USA rose by a robust 35.1 per cent to USD 440.9 million. Relatively low labour cost helps the country to price its apparels at lower levels and thereby, provides a competitive edge. Average realisation of apparel exports by Bangladesh stood at USD 2.9 per square meter in October 2013. This is much lower than the average export realisation of apparel exports by India which stood at USD 3.8 per square meter during the month. Export realisation of Bangladesh are the lowest among the top six exporting countries to the USA. Indias competitiveness in the USAs apparel market was hit during the past two years. However, demand for the Indian apparels turned around in 2013-14. Indias apparel export volumes to the USA increased by a smart 11.7 per cent to 528.6 million square meters during April-October 2013 as compared to a year ago. Indias value of apparel exports grew by 12.9 per cent to USD 1,912 million during the said period. Resultantly, Indias share in the USAs apparel market rose during the first-seven months of 2013-14. Moreover, for the first time since April 2013 the countrys share in the USA apparel basket improved on a sequential basis. It stood at 3.5 per cent during October 2013 as compared to 3.1 per cent in September 2013. Among the top six apparel exporting countries, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Mexico reported an improvement in their share in total apparel exports to the USA. China (the largest exporter of apparels to the USA) reported a fall in its share in the USA apparel market. Chinas market share eroded by 3.9 percentage points to 40.1 per cent in October 2013. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has commissioned its new polyester filament yarn (PFY) unit at Silvassa, capital of the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the company said Tuesday.

"The entire production from this facility has been successfully placed in the domestic and international markets," RIL said in a release. With this commissioning, RIL's total PFY capacity, including the Malaysian facilities, is in excess of 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA), it added. "This expansion further strengthens RIL's position as the world's largest producer of polyester fibre and yarn," the company said. "The new PFY plant at Silvassa is the most automated and one of the most environmentfriendly plants globally. It is co-located with RIL's existing texturizing facility at Silvassa eliminating the packaging and logistics costs", the release added.
Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has announced the commissioning of its new polyester filament yarn (PFY) facility at Silvassa, 170 km from Mumbai. The entire production from this facility has been placed in the domestic and international markets, the company said. With this Reliances total PFY capacity, including the Malaysian facilities, has gone up to 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum. Special Correspondent Reliance Industries Ltd has informed BSE regarding a Press Release dated April 15, 2014 titled "Reliances Polyester Plant At Silvassa Starts Production". The American brand Arrow has introduced its latest innovation Superluxe: The Stitchless Shirts in the Kerala market. The shirts, a limited edition offering, are available in 10 designs and are priced at 5,999. Mouli Venkataraman, Brand Director, Arrow, said these premium range shirts use ecofriendly high polymer thermo-fuse adhesive material on the seams and this makes the shirt flawless and completely wrinkle-free. Terming it as a revolution in shirt manufacturing, he said it is going to change the industry.

New Delhi, April 15: American fashion major Ralph Lauren is in talks with the Aditya Birla groups Madura Fashion and Lifestyle for a 51:49 per cent joint venture, according to sources in the know of the development. The sources indicated that the two companies may sign a 10-year deal. New York-based Ralph Lauren designs and markets premium lifestyle products in the apparel, home, accessories and fragrances segments. A spokesperson for Aditya Birla Nuvo, of which Madura Fashion and Lifestyle is a part, said the company did not wish to comment on market speculation. In the past, Ralph Lauren has been in talks with several prominent apparel names, including Trent, Arvind Mills, and the Murjanis. Currently a supplier to Ralph Lauren, Madura Fashion and Lifestyle is keen on bringing in more premium brands as part of its strategy to retail high-margin products.

Maduras brand portfolio ranges from the affordable to the high-end. Its brands range from Peter England, Louis Philippe and Van Heusen to Allen Solly and Hackett London. In October 2013, Ralph Lauren had filed a case against Arvind and US Polo Association in a US District Court alleging breach of agreement by them over non-compliance with a condition requiring printing of disclaimers on US Polo products sold in India. Arvinds subsidiary company, Arvind Lifestyle Brands, holds a licence to manufacture and market US Polo products in India. Kolkata, April 11: Premium apparel maker Van Heusen, known mainly for its mens formal wear range, is looking to shore up its presence in both ladies wear and casual offerings. While ladies wear that include a mix of formal and semi formal offerings are sold as Van Heusen Woman; mens casual wear offerings are through VDOT (mostly club and party apparels) and Van Heusen Sport. According to Vinay Bhopatkar, Brand Head Van Heusen, apart from doubling its store presence (in its ladies and casual wear segments) would also focus on introducing new variants in the womens wear category. One such instance is its recent tie-up with actor Deepika Padukone to launch the premium womens wear range under the Limited Edition Spring Summer Collection. Similarly, it is also looking for tie-ups with Hardrock Caf chains and MTV for promoting the (mens) casual wear range. We intend to set up 20 to 25 stores; 10 for Van Heusen Woman and 10-15 for VDOT in 2014-15. Stores will be a mix of franchise and company-owned formats, Bopatkar told Business Line. Of the 250-odd stores, 10-odd are Van Heusen Woman stores; while, VDOT has around 10 exclusive outlets. Marketing spends, he added, will be between 4 and 5 per cent of the total turnover. Womens Wear Van Heusen, which introduced its womens wear range in 2005, has been trying to capitalise on the office wear segment. Currently, the segment contributes 8-10 per cent towards the companys net turnover. Considering the market potential, we would like to increase our share in the segment in both Tier-1 and Tier-2 towns. As a result, you will see a number of brand building activities taking place, Bopatkar maintained. Focus would, however, remain on the office wear category and accessories. There are no immediate plans to introduce either Indian ethnic dresses or expand the accessories portfolio to include fragrances and watches.

Chennai-based Anaka Narayanan has created a niche for fit and fabric What do you do if you do not like the fit or the fabric of the clothes you are wearing? Most people would find a store that delivers what they want, but Anaka Narayanan from Chennai started her own label so she could make garments on her own terms. Getting down to brass tacks or getting down to the fundamentals of a business is what defines Anakas Chennai-based label Brass Tacks. This is Anakas seventh year but the primary principles remain the same: fit and fabric. Narayanan, an economics graduate from Reed College in the US, says she never knew she wanted to become a designer or an entrepreneur. When Anaka started earning and spending money on clothes, she began paying more attention to the finer details.She says that is when she realised she preferred Indian handloom textiles. She gave up her job at an economic analysis firm in New York, interned with two designers in the US and returned home. Her plan was to work with a designer whose sensibilities matched hers. But on the advice of her mentor she started her own label: Brass Tacks. Basics 101 I spent a few months working out of my parents living room, hired a tailor, started making samples and got people to try them on, she says. Anaka made samples out of muslin as she wanted to understand different body types. She says she soon learnt that the size chart that most design students work with is typically meant for Caucasian women and doesnt work for Indians. So I made my own size chart based on research and fittings with over a hundred women, she explains. Fabric is a key factor at Brass Tacks, and Anaka primarily uses Indian handloom textiles. She has designed 26 collections (four each year) with fabrics such as ikat, ajrak, shibori, mud-resist prints, discharge prints, lehriya and, khadi. Tara Rachel Thomas, a customer at Brass Tacks, says what she loves is the attention to detail in the creation of every piece. The precise placement of darts, tucks and folds creates a great fit, and the unique feature of providing a range of sizes and fits is a big positive, she says. Another customer, who has been faithful to Brass Tacks for almost four years now, says the best things about the garments are the silhouette and the fabric. Reach Anaka says she started with two machines that were 20,000 each; no rent for the first five months because it was in my parents home; and the salaries of the tailor, which at that time was 6,000 a month, and a pattern-maker at 14,000 a month.

Today, Anaka employs nine tailors, one pattern-maker, a production manager, three sewing helpers, an ironing lady, a quality checker, an online store manager, an office administrator, four sales staff and two housekeeping staff. I have one store in Chennai, and I retail through Yellow Button in Bangalore. I also have an online store and we have done several exhibitions, she says and adds that Brass Tacks has seen a turnover of 60-70 lakh in the last couple of years, but this year it is likely to reach 1.2 crore with the online store and exhibitions. Brand Anaka says she is not interested in mass producing. I would be happy if I have 15-20 stores by the time I retire, she says. For Anaka, brands such as Fab India and Anokhi have done a lot by promoting and refining a sense of the aesthetic, which businesses like Brass Tacks rely on. According to her, Brass Tacks is not the middle ground between Indian brands such as Fab India and global players such as Zara or Mango. I think Brass Tacks is on another plane. It forms the third corner of the triangle. I would not say it is just the marriage of the two, she says. A lack of deftness in handling raw material costs and the economic slowdown have hurt the textile and garment sector, with the profitability of listed companies tumbling 33% in the first three quarters of FY14 despite an initial pick-up in exports due to the rupees depreciation. As many as 286 listed firms in the sector recorded a combined net profit of R1,900.17 crore in the first three quarter of 2013-14 compared with R2,822.97 crore a year earlier. Of these, the number of profit-making firms rose to 203 from 202 a year ago, which means many companies witnessed a higher drop in profit than a year before. Significantly, companies that are solely in the business of spinning have fared much better than those having a presence in weaving, processing or even composite segments. The profit of such only-spinning companies, 81 in number, more than doubled their combined net profit to R832.33 crore during the April-December period, compared with R353.81 crore a year before. Most major players either witnessed a drop in profit or recorded losses. Alok Industries, the country's biggest player, saw its profit plunge 59% to R228.18 crore during the AprilDecember period while Bombay Rayon Fashions saw losses of R538.07 crore compared with a profit of R140.4 crore in the previous fiscal. S Kumars Nationwide posted losses of R231.82 crore in the first three quarters of this fiscal compared with a profit of R15.25 crore a year before while Bombay Dyeing saw losses of R182.91 crore from R82.10 crore a year ago. However, some players managed to swim against the tide. Vardhman Textiles bucked the trend with a whopping 139% rise in profit in the first three quarters to R497.55 crore while Arvind recorded a 51% rise in profit to R266.50 crore. Page Industries witnessed a 33% rise in net profit to R118.66 crore during the period.

Neeraj Jain, executive director at Vardhman Textiles, said: With everything else remaining almost constant, our growth was mainly driven by our stocking up of cotton at the right time. However, our product mix and enhanced focus on customers also paid off, he said. Not just the volatility in cotton prices, even higher wage, power and manufacturing costs partly triggered by elevated inflation adversely affected the sector, mainly its labourintensive segments like garments, senior apparel industry executives said. The sector, as a whole, hasn't done well in managing its raw material costs. Those who handled it better reaped the benefits. The appreciation of the rupee since its lowest in August last year is also affecting our competitiveness in exports, said DK Nair, secretary-general of the Confederation of the Indian Textile Industry (CITI). Industry executives said cotton price volatility over the past year caught many mills off-guard as they couldn't pass on the entire rise in raw material costs to buyers. The average price of raw cotton rose from R99.45 per kg in April to a high of R122.49 in August before easing to R108.66 in November and jumping to R116 in January and February. On the other hand, average yarn (cones) price rose marginally from R214.19 per kg in April to R215.27 in August before dropping to R203.35 in November and rising to R214.08 in February despite a sharper gain in cotton prices. Cotton prices account for roughly 60% of yarn costs. Not just yarn, even the rise in other raw material costs couldn't be passed on to the buyers due to an overall slowdown in the economy, resulting in losses for many companies, industry executives said. Importantly, textile production during the April-January period gained just 4% compared with 5.8% a year before, according to the Index Of Industrial Production data, suggesting that exports had been driving the sectors growth this fiscal. Since the rupee has now appreciated 12.7% since its record low against the dollar in last August, export growth has come under pressure. If the rupee strengthens further to 57 in the short term, as forecast by some analysts, the profitability of the organised textile and garment sector could be further strained in the coming months, industry executives said. "We expect cotton-based manufacturers to witness moderate margin pressure due to higher cotton prices while synthetic fibre prices are stabilising," a Karvy report said. It cautioned against revenue growth in the apparel segment due to tepid consumer sentiment despite continued excise duty benefits extended in FY14. According to the provisional data, textile and garment exports alone hit $20.43 billion during April-December, up 13.4% from a year before. This is mainly because the rupee depreciated 11.6% between April and December this fiscal from a year before to an average of 60.79, making the shipments more remunerative. However, industry executives said after factoring in exports of raw cotton, handicrafts, jute, coir and handlooms, the overall textile and garment exports won't exceed $40 billion this fiscal, falling short of the $43-billion target set by the A plea by Reliance Industries

and Mitsubishis MCC PTA India Corp (MCPL) to impose an anti-dumping duty on imports of a key raw material for producing man-made fibre from select countries has come under fire from more than a dozen user companies. In a meeting with commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma last week, these companies said imports of the purified terephtalic acid (PTA) used in making polyster staple fibre (PSF), filament yarn (PFY) and film were already taxed at 5% despite a domestic shortage. Thus, an anti-dumping duty over and above the import duty would raise the import tariff to a higher level and would be disastrous for the industrial users, which are already struggling to pass on the rising costs to downstream consumers. The PTA users, including Indo Rama Synthetics, Filatex India, JBF Industries and Shubhalakshmi Polyesters, expressed fears that the high cost of this key input could further undermine Indias export competitiveness in synthetic textiles that form major chunk of the global textile and clothing market. Indias performance has been far below its potential in this mass-use apparel segment, dominated by China. The users wrote to Sharma that RIL, by attempting to get anti-dumping duties imposed on PTA only from China, the EU, Korea and Thailand, is also seeking to benefit its recentlyacquired PTA plant in Malaysia. Indo Rama Synthetics chairman OP Lohia said: This would be ironical, as RIL has been operating its PTA plants at more than 100% capacity. A questionaire sent on Thursday to RIL spokesperson Tushar Pania remained unanswered. Anti-dumping duties have been traditionally imposed on filaments and fibres, but PTA has been excluded in recent years. Of the three producers of the PTA in the country, RIL and MCPL have filed a petition before the directorate general of anti-dumping and allied duties for the impost, although IOC, the third producer, hasn't. RIL alone accounted for 60% of domestic PTA production in 2012-13, while MCPL made up for another 24%. India produced 3.47 million tonnes of PTA in 2012-13 compared with the demand of 4.12 million tonne and the same level of shortage continued through the last fiscal as well, users said. When RIL is running at more than 100% capacity and is undertaking expansion, how does it justify its claim of injury to domestic producers? Moreover, imports of PTA have come down from the 2010-11 level. Had it been a case of dumping, the imports would logically rise and vast domestic capacities would remain idle, which are clearly not the case here, Lohia said. The country imported 6,47,959 tonne of PTA in 2012-13, up from 594,913 tonne in 2011-12, which was a bad year for the textile sector, as it was reeling under huge debt and higher raw material costs. However, the country had imported 7,44,370 tonne of PTA in the 2010-11 fiscal.

RIL is setting up another plant with a capacity to produce one million tonne of the PTA a year, expected to be completed by first half of this year. This would be followed by another plant with the same capacity within six months. The landed price of imported PTA currently stands at approximately R61-62.5 per kg, while domestic producers are selling it even at a slightly lower rate of R60 per kg, industry executives said. China, too, imports PTA in large volumes from Korea and Thailand and the average imported price for China was 2.5% lower than India in 2013-14. In such a case, any anti-dumping duty on the raw material will further jeopardise Indian producers' prospects in the finished goods export market vis-a-vis the Chinese, executives from the user companies said. The users said RIL uses most of the PTA for its own consumption. So the duty, if imposed, will raise the costs only for others and distort competition by giving undue advantage to RIL, which also produces finished goods from the PTA. Wills Lifestyle, ITCs Lifestyle Retailing Division, says that wardrobe segmentation is driving up apparels as a category. The company says that being a partner in the justconcluded Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week organised by the Fashion Design Council of India has given the brand not just visibility but also helped strengthen its ramp-to rack initiatives. In an interview with Business Line, Atul Chand, Divisional Chief Executive, ITCs Lifestyle Retailing Business, identifies opportunities such as own ecommerce platform, expanding through shop-in shops and also making niche segment bigger in size. Excerpts: How has associating with fashion week given a fillip to the brand Wills Lifestyle? There is a huge awareness regarding fashion. When we started our association in 2006, it was for added brand visibility. However, it has helped us associate with different designers and create signature lines. Now our entire portfolio is built around fashion and we have about 6-8 collections annually against four a couple of years ago. You have said that segmentation of wardrobe is becoming sharper. What exactly does it mean? Segmentation of wardrobe to suit an occasion, for instance, job interview or marriage ceremony or a casual picnic have all led to demand for different clothes for specific occasions. To cater to this demand, we have created categories such as Wills Classic to Clublife and Eco Style, etc. We also notice that number of garment per individual has grown from 1.5 garments to nearly 2.2 garments on an average.

Wills Lifestyle has largely operated through company-owned-company-operated stores. Has that strategy changed? We have about 95 stores largely company-owned-company-operated. However, we are looking at expanding through franchisee model and also through shop-in shops as there are newer growth potentials with new malls coming up in tier-2 and -3 cities as well. We want to add 15 stores by next year largely through franchisee route. Several of your competitors are strategising to gear up to the e-commerce revolution. What about you? There is traction in the e-commerce space. We are looking at our own online platform as we believe that omni-retail channels will grow significantly. Currently, less than five per cent of our revenue comes from online verticals. We hope to double it. Has your ramp-to-rack initiative added to topline? We have associated with at least top ten designers and have seen 15-20 per cent sales coming from signature. The average ticket size per consumer stands at roughly 2,200. Also categories such as womens formal wear and high end mens shirt are showing growth. To boost domestic silk production, Assocham has urged the government to extend antidumping duty on raw silk imports from China, which have grown by 7 per cent during the last 12 years, till December 2015. The Government had imposed antidumping duty on imports of Mulberry Raw Silk of 2A grade and below from China in January 2003, which remained in force until January 2008 and was subsequently extended till January 2014 after a sunset review. Silk import restrictions have two facets; one is concern of sericulture farmers opposing cheap Chinese raw silk imports threatening their livelihood, while the other issue is of the weaving community which requires raw silk to meet the rising demand, Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said. There is a need to strike a balance between these two warring sections by periodically reviewing the import policy for raw silk, taking into account balanced interests of both sericulturists and export manufacturers, he emphasised. Indias silk industry provides jobs to over 7.6 million people across 51,000 villages operating over 3.28 lakh handlooms and over 45,800 powerlooms with over 8.14 lakh weavers, an Assocham study found. Clocking a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about eight per cent, Indias total silk imports rose from $ 124 million in 2000-01 to about $ 312 million in 2012-13, with raw

silk alone comprising about 73 per cent of these imports worth over $ 227 million, it pointed out. China is biggest exporter of raw silk to India accounting for almost 99 per cent of exported raw silk worth $ 224.5 million as of 2012-13. Raw silk imports from China grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 7 over per cent during 2000-01 and 2012-13. To boost domestic silk production, Assocham has suggested that state governments promote tie-up of weaver cluster with raw silk production units for establishing close linkage between forward and backward sub-systems. Besides, the state governments should also facilitate establishment of weaver centers to empower and enlighten the producers with latest information on research and development, technological advances and new designs related to weaving techniques. Mumbai: Private equity (PE) firm Everstone Capital on Tuesday said it will invest Rs. 100 crore for an undisclosed minority stake in Ritu Kumar , a fashion house for womens clothing. This is the third PE investment in the womens apparel space in the past seven months, indicating growing investor interest in such firms. Although womens wear dominates garment retail globally, in India, it is mens wear that leads the segment. An increasing number of working women with disposable incomes is now providing hope to investors that such brands will do well. Ethnic clothes have also seeped into the daily wear, and so local fashion brands will not see much competition from their global counterparts. For example, you will not see a Zara (a high street fashion brand) sari or a salwar kameez in the market, said Ankur Bisen, senior vice-president and head, retail at Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd, a New Delhi-based retail consultancy firm. This is a powerful story which makes these brands attractive, with investors realizing that consumption demand in this sector will not go down, Started in 1969, Ritu Kumar has three brandsRi, a premium bridal and formal wear line, Ritu Kumar, a traditional pret brand offering ethnic daily and semiformal wear, and Label, a fashion pret line. It runs 30 stores and the capital raised will be used to increase the number of outlets across India. The modern professional approach of any enterprise is to collaborate with companies such as Everstone, who bring to the table expertise and financial commitment to help in the growth of the brand, founder and director Ritu Kumar said in a statement. Combining Ritu Kumars great brand heritage, its strong management team and Everstones deep understanding and expertise within this space, Ritu Kumar will be poised for continued success and growth, Sameer Sain, co-founder and managing partner of Everstone, said in the statement. Langham Capital was the financial adviser on the transaction. In November, PE firm General Atlantic bought a minority stake in AND Designs India Ltd, a retailer, designer and manufacturer of womens apparel and accessories, for about Rs.150 crore. AND Designs has more than 100 exclusive stores and 300 shop-in-shops in India, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata. In December, PE firms Warburg Pincus and Faering Capital invested about Rs.300 crore in Biba Apparels Pvt. Ltd, a firm that makes women and girls ethnic wear. Diversification into related categories like handbags, shoes, accessories is a natural expansion for successful brands, the India head of a global fund, who has invested in such

firms said on condition of anonymity. Globally, we have apparel brands that do business of $1 billion annually. Why should one doubt that apparel business in India cant make it big? Mumbai: Private equity (PE) firm Everstone Capital on Tuesday said it will invest Rs. 100 crore for an undisclosed minority stake in Ritu Kumar , a fashion house for womens clothing. This is the third PE investment in the womens apparel space in the past seven months, indicating growing investor interest in such firms. Although womens wear dominates garment retail globally, in India, it is mens wear that leads the segment. An increasing number of working women with disposable incomes is now providing hope to investors that such brands will do well. Ethnic clothes have also seeped into the daily wear, and so local fashion brands will not see much competition from their global counterparts. For example, you will not see a Zara (a high street fashion brand) sari or a salwar kameez in the market, said Ankur Bisen, senior vice-president and head, retail at Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd, a New Delhi-based retail consultancy firm. This is a powerful story which makes these brands attractive, with investors realizing that consumption demand in this sector will not go down, Started in 1969, Ritu Kumar has three brandsRi, a premium bridal and formal wear line, Ritu Kumar, a traditional pret brand offering ethnic daily and semiformal wear, and Label, a fashion pret line. It runs 30 stores and the capital raised will be used to increase the number of outlets across India. The modern professional approach of any enterprise is to collaborate with companies such as Everstone, who bring to the table expertise and financial commitment to help in the growth of the brand, founder and director Ritu Kumar said in a statement. Combining Ritu Kumars great brand heritage, its strong management team and Everstones deep understanding and expertise within this space, Ritu Kumar will be poised for continued success and growth, Sameer Sain, co-founder and managing partner of Everstone, said in the statement. Langham Capital was the financial adviser on the transaction. In November, PE firm General Atlantic bought a minority stake in AND Designs India Ltd, a retailer, designer and manufacturer of womens apparel and accessories, for about Rs.150 crore. AND Designs has more than 100 exclusive stores and 300 shop-in-shops in India, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata. In December, PE firms Warburg Pincus and Faering Capital invested about Rs.300 crore in Biba Apparels Pvt. Ltd, a firm that makes women and girls ethnic wear. Diversification into related categories like handbags, shoes, accessories is a natural expansion for successful brands, the India head of a global fund, who has invested in such firms said on condition of anonymity. Globally, we have apparel brands that do business of $1 billion annually. Why should one doubt that apparel business in India cant make it big? New Delhi, March 25: Chinas move to slash cotton prices coupled with the appreciating rupee will slow down Indian shipments of both fibre and yarn in the near term. China is a major market for Indian cotton and yarn. Exports of both cotton and cotton yarn will get affected by the latest Chinese move, said DK Nair, Secretary-General, Confederation of Indian Textiles Industry. It is a double whammy for us. The Chinese currency is depreciating, while our currency is appreciating, making our exports unviable, he said.

From April 1, China plans to cut the floor price for the cotton auctioned from the state reserves by about 4.2 per cent. The proposed move is intended to reduce the accumulated stocks, which may in turn slow down imports into the worlds largest cotton consumer. Manikam Ramaswami, Chairman of Texprocil, said the appreciating rupee, high interest rates and inflation in the country were a major concern than Chinas move to cut cotton prices. Though Indian exporters are finding some demand from alternate markets, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and South America, it is unlikely to offset the decline in demand from China, he said. According to Texprocil, cotton yarn shipments in the April-February period of the current financial year were up by about a fifth to around $4.004 billion against $3.214 billion in the corresponding period last year. Suresh Kotak, Chairman, Kotak and Company, said the impact is bearish in the short-term but prices are seen firming in the long-term as the Chinese strategy to cut acreage and removal of stock restrictions on local textile mills would ensure demand for Indian cotton. MB Lal, Chairman of Shail Exports, feels that the latest Chinese move is unlikely to have any impact on Indian exports though a stronger rupee has slowed down the shipments. Secretary Textiles Reviews Progress of Powerloom Mega Clusters

The modified Comprehensive Powerloom Cluster Development Scheme (CPCDS) was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in October 2013 for implementation during 12th Plan period with a Budget Outlay of Rs. 110 crore. Four Powerloom Mega Clusters have been approved under the scheme.

The Project Approval and Monitoring Committee (PAMC) chaired by Smt. Zohra Chatterji, Secretary (Textiles) reviewed the progress of the four Powerloom Mega Clusters yesterday and approved the further action to be taken for implementation of the scheme.

Powerloom Mega Cluster at Erode:

Under the project, an Integrated Textile Market Complex consisting of two main components namely, Wholesale Market Complex (Daily Market) and Weekly Textile Shandy Market will be completed by 31.03.2014 and the Weekly Market will commence from April, 2014. The allotment of shops/showrooms to the entrepreneurs by the SPV will start at Wholesale Market in April, 2014. The Wholesale Market Complex is in progress and will be completed by December, 2014. A fresh proposal will be brought in the next PAMC meeting for setting up of Warehouse and Dormitory.

Powerloom Mega Cluster at Bhiwandi: A diagnostic study of the project is underway after which project report will be submitted for setting up facilities as per requirement of the weavers which will include Common Facility Centre, Pre-weaving Testing and Training Facilities, Marketing Complex and Group Workshed for shutteleless looms. Powerloom Mega Cluster at Bhilwara: Seven SPVs have been constituted for developing the Mega Cluster consisting of Processing Centre, Production Centre for Weaving and Apparels, Centre for Apparel Training and HRD, Production Centre for Weaving, Centre for R&D and Testing Lab, Centre for Warehouse Facility. The DPR has already been approved by the Ministry. The CMTA requested that they may be allowed to retain the SPV which is still in existence and that they may be allowed to follow the modified guidelines from the stage where they are at present. The PAMC agreed to the same and directed the CMTA to submit modified project for the already approved components of the project, as per the modified guidelines. Powerloom Mega Cluster at Ichalkaranji:

The Detailed Conceptual Report (DCR) for setting up of Mega Cluster consisting of Common Facility Centres, Mini Industrial Park with Ready to use Common Work Sheds, and Strengthening of Existing Marketing Centre & Industrial Estates. The DCR was approved by the PAMC in its meeting on 27.02.2014.

The support to the Powerloom Sector and modified guidelines specifying norms and clarifying project components was appreciated by the participants.
Louis Philippe has been making inroads in its efforts to shed its formal, older, serious image with the launch of its casual sub-brand LP, but the headway has given the company serious thoughts about becoming a larger player, especially in the denim category. The brand from the house of Madura Fashion and Lifestyle is now contemplating a new line of exclusive denim stores following the success of its LP Jeans. LP's line of denims is expected to garner Rs 50 crore for the brand this fiscal year, exceeding its own expectations by about 40 per cent at the time of the launch in 2012. The response to the denim range, priced between Rs 2,000 - Rs 5,000, has prompted thoughts of a larger play in the segment that has a large number of players in in India. "The initial response has been encouraging, in the first year, and that has made us think why we cannot be a serious denim player," says Jacob John, brand head of Louis Philippe. "We have already seen traction in this segment. Jeans as a category in our positioning has a good market." All multi-branded outlets like Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle and Central will have exclusive LP jeans

counters and exclusive LP jeans stores will follow that. LP Jeans are currently available only in its exclusive brand stores and select multi-brand stores. But what is Louis Philippe's potential in this segment that has enough and more players already Levis, Lee, Flying Machine, Mustang, Numero Uno and a dozen other fashion brands? "Denim is the fastest growing category within the apparel sector in India and this is because it caters to a whole range of needs - be it fashion and brand value or the long lasting value purchase that lends itself to a lot of experimentation," says Ankur Bisen of Technopak Advisors. "Louis Philippe has already reached out to a part of young India with LP, but if you analyse this segment is very keen on denims. In such a case, they can either sit on the fence and see what their younger customers are buying or get into the action - which they seem to be doing." Technopak estimates the denim category to be growing at a CAGR of 14 per cent to reach $2530 million in 2017 in India, from $1,290 million in 2012. The mid-premium and premium/luxury markets are expected to grow at about 20 per cent in the category. The Rs 2,000-Rs 5,000 range that LP Jeans plays in is considered as the sweet spot for retailers. Bisen says, "Louis Philippe as a brand stands for certain attributes that make it appealing to older men, LP helps them reach out to their target audience when they are younger. Hence, this will not alienate their existing older customers but complement that customer base." Louis Philippe's Jacob is targeting his existing customers for the sale of LP Jeans and is increasing the merchandise at stores. The launch of a casual brand has opened the brand to a larger section of the Indian market that has favourable demographics, especially young professionals with large disposable incomes. "LP will hit Rs 450 crores (at retail price) this year. It is growing by 50 per cent (in volumes) or more. A lot of focus is there as that is acquiring a new set of consumers," John says. "The classic Louis Philippe consumer is always there with us, but today, even the older men want to look younger, so this casual brand gives them that chance." "The disproportionate focus will be on how to acquire more consumers through promotions and awareness of LP Sport. Everywhere we are looking at dedicating more and more to this sub brand," he says. The brand which has grown at about 20 per cent in the last year to Rs 1,000 crore sales in fiscal 2013, is targeting a growth rate of 30 per cent this year, John says. To this end, the company has planned to expand its presence with a second store on every street it is currently present in with either a House of Louis Philippe store or an LP Sport store. However, the brand will maintain its ratio of 40 per cent company-operated stores and these will mostly be in the larger cities and its flagship stores. The reamining 60 per cent will be run by franchisees. Of the new

stores awaiting launch, LP Sport will have 20 stores by the end of this year and 30 in the next. To date, the brand has about 170 exclusive branded outlets stores, of which about 80 were opened over the last 18 years and the remaining added in the last 2 years. John asserts all of these stores are profitable and the brand's average same store sales have maintained a steady growth of above 10 per cent, clocking as much as 15 per cent in September. However, Louis Philippe has decided not to be present on the World Wide Web in a significant manner. "We have decided not to go online to preserve the niche and premium around the brand," John says. The brand is presently only available on Madura Garments' online shopping site. Marketing spends though have increased to close to 5 per cent of total revenue. "The best time to spend is after all during a downturn, as in the slow market there will be a winner and the brand that spends can be that winner," according to John.

Coimbatore, March 24: Tirupur exporters have urged the Union Finance Minister to order the release of duty drawback rates immediately and help maintain the growth trend of the knitwear clusters. Tirupur Exporters Association President A Sakthivel said the exporting units in this knitwear hub had not received duty drawback rates for the past four months. The total duty drawback amount pending to the exporting units in Tirupur alone works out to around 450 crore. This has affected the cash flow and production plans significantly. Exporting units are now caught between taking future orders confidently and allowing to let go the orders that come their way. Apparel firm Arvind Brands and Retail on Monday said the company has bought 49% stake in Calvin Klein India for around Rs 90 crore. According to the agreement with PVH Corp, the owner of the Calvin Klein trademarks worldwide, Arvind will distribute Calvin Klein jeans apparel and innerwear products in India. The company is targeting R500 crore turnover in three years from the brand as against the current R125 crore. The Rs 1,800 crore Arvind Brands already has a partnership with PVH that licences PVHs Tommy Hilfiger, Arrow and Izod brands in India. The company also owns 50% stake in Tommy Hilfiger's Indian unit. The deal is intended to maximise the market opportunities for these product categories in the country, the companies said in a joint statement. "With this deal, Arvind will have 90% market share in the super premium segment, which is the fastest growing in the apparel industry. With three brands of PVH along with our other brands like Gant and Nautica, we have a well entrenched brands portfolio to dominate this segment," J Suresh, managing director and CEO, Arvind Lifestyle Brands, told FE.

Arvind Brands, which is part of the R3,800 crore Arvind, plans to open 15 stores in the next three years to expand the total number of stores to 90. According to Suresh, the company has 50% market share in terms of value in the organised innerwear market dominated by Bangalore-based Page Industries' Jockey brand. "We are well-positioned to execute and expand on the growth strategy for the Calvin Klein brand in India, said Tom Murry, CEO of Calvin Klein.

Arvind buys Murjani's stake in Calvin Klein JV

Arvind bought 49% in the Murjani Group's stake in Calvin Klein's India business for Rs 88 cr Minister for Textile and Ports Baburao Chinchanasur has said that investors from China have expressed their willingness to invest in the proposed international textile park at Kadechur, a village in Yadgir district, and the stay obtained by a few farmers against the acquisition of land was dissuading investors from taking a final decision. Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Mr Chinchanasur said that several foreign banks had brought it to the notice of the State that a few foreign companies in China and Hong Kong had evinced interest in investing in the proposed textile park. However, they wanted the government to settle the land acquisition issue, at the earliest. The proposed textile park, with an investment of Rs. 10,000 crore on 3,200 acres of land at Kadechur and Badiyal, had been delayed due to the court stay obtained by farmers owning about 83 acres of land. The government had initiated measures to vacate the stay and make way for the acquisition of land. The government was also in talks with farmers, who had obtained the stay and seeking higher compensation. While the government had fixed Rs. 7.5 lakh an acre for land located on the roadside, Rs. 6 lakh an acre for lands located away from roads, the farmers were demanding a compensation of Rs. 15 lakh an acre. We are trying to work out a consensus and out-of-court settlement with farmers. The Chief Minister has been requested to intervene in the matter and find a solution by increasing the compensation amount. I am confident that a solution will emerge soon, he said. Benefits Mr. Chinchanasur said that once established, the textile park would provide direct and indirect employment to nearly 30,000 people and thereby the menace of migration of workforce from Yadgir district to elsewhere could be stopped.

According to an estimate, every year, about 50,000 people migrate to cities in search of employment. The proposed rail coach building factory at Kadechur would also help in bringing down the migration of workforce, considerably, he said. To a question, Mr. Chinchanasur said, out of a total of 3,200 acres, the government had already cleared the payment for 1,700 acres and taken possession of land. To another question, he said the work on the textile park in Gulbarga was progressing as planned, and it would be ready for inauguration in about 18 months from now. The Hampi Kannada University had completed the ethnographic study of the Koli and its synonymous communities for inclusion in the list of Scheduled Tribes, as required by the Union Home Ministry and the Regional Director of Tribal Welfare Department in Mysore. After going through the report, they had sought a few more clarifications and the Kannada University officials, who had taken up the study, were now redrafting the entire report, with clarifications. After completing it, the report would be submitted to the Tribal Welfare Department. Later, the report would be placed before the State Cabinet and sent to the Union Home Ministry, he said. During the three-day conference of the Karnataka State Nijasharana Ambigara Chowdayya Samaj Adyana Academy, to be held at Yanagundi in Yadgir district from February 7 to 9, the issue would be discussed and a detailed memorandum would be submitted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Railway Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge, who would be participating in the valedictory function on February 9.

The Rs. 10,000-crore investment proposal will come up on 3,200 acres in Kadechur, Badiyal Farmers owning a total of 83 acres have obtained court stay on land acquisition

Yarn exports to China plummet on pricing policy

Sutanuka Ghosal, ET Bureau Mar 24, 2014, 04.00AM IST Tags:

Southern India Mills Associatio| Indian yarn exports| India| Confederation of Indian Textile Industry| China

(Indian yarn exports have) KOLKATA: Indian yarn exports have come under pressure as China has slowed down yarn imports from the country. The dragon country is also offering a lower price for Indian yarn on ground that rupee has strengthened against dollar. Chinese price for Indian yarn has declined by 6 per cent to 7per cent over the past one month and is now quoting at $3.30 a kg.

"Till January, Chinese demand was in full swing. But from February onwards, the Chinese offtake started declining and in March we are seeing a distinct difference in their imports," said T Rajkumar, chairman, Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA). China, till January, was lifting about 110 -120 million kg yarn per month on an average. The SIMA chairman said that China is expected to announce its cotton pricing policy in the first week of April. "So, the importers are waiting now before they lift fresh yarn from India. Moreover, the country has built up a good stock of yarn. They will first liquidate that stock before new buying. We are expecting yarn exports from India to pick up from May provided the cotton pricing policy is in favour of India," he added. China had turned to India for huge purchase of yarn to make towels, T-shirts, jeans and stockings. The country is now focussing on high-value products instead of spinning yarn, which has opened up a huge window of opportunity for Indian suppliers of the raw material. "China is now looking at high-value products which will give them better margins," said DK Nair, secretary general, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI). India has produced 5,210 million kg spun yarn in 2013. Of this, 3,847 million kg is cotton yarn. In the same period, the country has exported 1,366 million kg yarn, which is 42per cent higher than that of 2012. However, though Chinese demand for Indian yarn has slowed down, there has been good offtake from Pakistan and Vietnam. "Though China is a big market for India, countries like Pakistan and Vietnam are also promising markets for yarn exports. Though figures are yet to

come out, we are hearing from the exporters that these two countries are placing good orders." Significantly, garment and textile exports from India are showing good growth. Tirupur, the knitwear capital of India, is flooded with export orders and the SIMA chairman feels that Tirupur will be able to achieve Rs 12,000-crore exports in the current financial year. Mumbai, March 19: Mayur Uniquoters plans to raise up to 70 crore in private equity from WestBridge Capital. The Jaipur-based company informed the BSE that it plans to raise the amount through a preferential allotment wherein the PE firm will acquire 1,486,000 compulsorily convertible participating preference shares at 471.06 a share. The fund would be used for expansion purposes. Mayur Uniquoters is a textile company engaged in manufacturing and export of artificial leather and poly vinyl chloride Related News

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Pakistan is going to hold a special Cabinet meeting on Friday to discuss trade normalisation with India. On the agenda are two broad issues - removal of the negative list of items for trade, which technically means giving India the most-favoured nation (MFN) status for trade, and allowing all goods to be traded through the Attari-Wagah border. The meeting has been proposed by that country's Commerce & Textile Industry Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan, believed to be pushing hard for grant of the MFN status, now also referred to as Non-Discriminatory Market Access, to India. At present, Pakistan maintains a negative list of 1,209 items that India cannot export there. This mainly includes agricultural goods, textile items and automobile parts, which are items of significant export interest for India. At the Cabinet meeting, Pakistan is likely to do away with this list, while maintaining only the sensitive list under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (Safta). The Cabinet, to also be attended by Pakistan's former commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim and former commerce secretary Zafar Mahmood, is going to give its much-awaited approval to allow all items to be traded through the Attari-Wagah land Customs stations. At

present, only 137 items are allowed to be traded through the land border. The trade normalisation process between the two neighbours had started in 2011. Minister Fahim and secretary Mahmood were instrumental in initiating a dialogue with India in 2011. Before that, Pakistan maintained a positive list and a negative list for doing trade with India. Under the positive list, there were only 1,946 items that India could export to that country. In 2012, the positive list was removed and the negative list trimmed. As a result, India was allowed to export over 8,000 items. Pakistan was to grant the MFN status to India by December 2012. But the process got delayed due to active lobbying by Pakistan's agricultural group and textile and automobile industries, which feared India would flood their markets, rendering them jobless. "Pakistan need not fear about India penetrating its sensitive sectors, as most of the important items will largely remain in the sensitive list under Safta. Granting the MFN status to India is the only logical solution to the blueprint agreed upon in 2011," said Icrier Professor Nisha Taneja. India, in turn, will prune its sensitive list of items from the present 614 to 100 for all leastdeveloped countries, including Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan will also reduce the list to 100 items under the Safta framework from 840 items but that will be done over five years. These steps were decided between the two countries during a commerce-secretary-level meeting in September 2012. However, following that meeting, Pakistan headed for an election and a new government was subsequently formed under Nawaz Sharif. In between, tensions along the borders also delayed the process. The new government has now given a fresh lease of life to the stalled trade normalisation process. Mumbai, March 19: Hardy Amies, London-based Savile Row brand specialising in modern mens luxury ready to wear, debuted in India through a partnership with The Collective, a Madura Fashion and Lifestyle retail chain. Through an exclusive made to measure event held in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, the brand introduced this seasons Spring Summer 2014 Collection for men. MUMBAI: Sanjay Lalbhai-controlled Arvind has finalised a deal to buy out 49% stake jointly held by the Murjani Group and the US-based private equity fund Matrix Partners in Calvin Klein India for close to Rs 100 crore, said three persons close to the transaction. The deal will help the denim major widen its ties with its existing joint venture partner American clothing giant Phillips-Van Heusen Corp for Tommy Hilfiger brand.

Phillips-Van Heusen Corp also owns Calvin Klein worldwide.

The negotiations, which started last year, culminated in a transaction five days ago and a formal announcement is expected soon, said one of the persons quoted above. Ambit Corporate Finance was the sole advisor to the deal. While a spokesperson for Arvind declined to comment, the head of Murjani Group Vijay Murjani and Matrix Partners did not respond to telephone calls and text messages. While the Murjani Group holds 25% in the joint venture, Matrix holds the rest 24%. The deal also signals Arvind Group's founder Sanjay Lalbhai's ambition to grow in the mid-premium segment of the apparel market by forging alliances with marque overseas brands. It all started in 2003 when Arvind struck a joint venture with Murjani Group to sell Tommy Hilfiger in India. Though the worldwide ownership of Tommy Hilfiger moved to PhillipsVan Heusen, Arvind continued to be the Indian partner. Two years ago, Arvind acquired the business operations of British fashion retailer Debenhams, Next and American lifestyle brand Nautica in India from Ramesh Tainwala-led Planet Retail. Though the move was an attempt to boost market share in kidswear, womenswear and sportsware segments, the economic downturn triggered a sharp fall in customer purchases, leaving some retail brands struggling. Experts feel that these alliances allowed Arvind to consolidate brands under a single umbrella and offer a one-stop platform for aspirational customers. "These joint ventures not only bring marque brands under a single platform, but also help Arvind to negotiate better for retail space. Instead of negotiating for a single brand, the company can now look at having more brands in a retail mall by paying lesser rents," said Harminder Sahani, founder and managing director, Wazir Advisors, a consultancy firm for retail and lifestyle companies. Despite the fallout of recession, the company's brands business grew by 25% in the last ninemonth period to Rs 1,412 crore. The company's profit before tax and interest from brands business grew by 17% to Rs 34.7 crore in the last nine months. The company's brands include Excalibur, Flying Machine, Colt and Newport. In addition to this, it owns the right to market brands such as Polo, Arrow, Cherokee, Next, Club America and Megamart. The premium end of the apparel market has been growing at a rapid 16-18% as aspirational customers are looking to buy better brands. "Customers now want to try out different things," Sahani added. In 2011, Murjani had struck a 49:51 JV with Warnaco which owned the rights for Calvin Klein globally. PVH Corp snapped up Warnaco in the largest deal in the clothing industry last year.
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Apparel manufacturer Ramraj Cotton has launched formal and casual shirts as part of expanding its product portfolio. The company, which has its presence in the four southern states, is planning to expand to North India through franchisees from April. It is set to reach a turnover of Rs 600 crore by the end of March and is expecting around Rs 1,000 crore by the end of the year, said K R Nagarajan, founder and chairman of Ramraj Cotton. We have been mainly into the traditional dhoti market so far. With the major share of the population below 35 years, we wanted to cater to them also, which led us to enter the shirt segment, he said. It has also announced cricketer Ashwin Ravichandran as brand ambassador for its newly launched segment focused on youth. The company has augmented its production, from making 10,000 pieces of shirts a day, to 30,000 pieces. It has invested around Rs 50 crore into its facility, he added. The company has now added diversified products like ready made pure silk shirts, ladies wear, linen shirts, new premium inner garments, T-shirts and kids wear, he said. The shirts are priced between Rs 600 to Rs 6,000. It would only sell white clothes and has around 6,000 people weaving 2,500 varieties of dhoties annually. At present, almost 50 per cent of the turnover comes from TN, while the rest is from the other three states. The dhoti business accounts for 70 %of the turnover while the rest is contributed by undergarments and others
In the December quarter, Raymonds apparel segment grew 15% from a year ago, compared with a fall of 7% a year ago. Photo: Hemant Mishra/Mint Mumbai: Textile company Raymond Group has initiated a number of measures, including the introduction of a ready-to-wear line and stake sales in two group companies, as it prepares to grow faster and reduce its borrowings. The Rs.5,000 crore company promoted by the Singhania family will look to take on rival brands such as Louis Philippe, Arrow, Van Heusen, Peter England and John Miller with its new line, which will be introduced under its Raymond brand thats known more for its suitings fabric range. The company is now moving from consolidation mode into the growth mode and will be offering a wide range of shirts and shirting fabric, trousers, suits and accessories under the Raymond brand, besides suiting fabrics, chief financial officer (CFO) M. Shivkumar said in an interview on Tuesday. Raymond already sells ready-to-wear clothes through its Park Avenue, Parx and ColorPlus brands that cater to the mid-market and premium segments.

The new Raymond line will have shirts priced from Rs.1,500 to as much as Rs.10,000, and suits from Rs.6,000 to Rs.46,000, Shivkumar said. The company will also integrate its Makers brand into the parent brand in six-nine months, he said. Growth in the apparel segment was muted in the last six- eight quarters until June due to inventory issues, he added. In the December quarter, Raymonds apparel segment grew 15% from a year ago, compared with a fall of 7% in the corresponding year-earlier period and a 9% growth in the preceding three months. In 2012-13, Raymond Ltds earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) contracted 18.9%, according to Bloomberg data. Raymond is also selling equity in its engineering arm JK Files Ltd and its fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business JK Helene Curtis Ltd to pare its debt of Rs.1,550 crore. It considers these non-core businesses. Raymond has initiated talks to sell stake in JK Files to strategic investors and has mandated Mumbaibased investment bank Avendus Capital for the transaction, according to two people familiar with the discussions, who declined to be identified. Talks are on with a strategic investor and are in an advanced stage, one of them said. The company has also initiated the process to sell stake in JK Helene Curtis, which holds the Park Avenue brand, to private equity firms. It has mandated Mumbai-based investment bank Lincoln International for the transaction. The two transactions could be worth Rs.600-700 crore, depending on the equity diluted, said an investment banker, who too did not want to be identified. The company is also in talks with developers and banks for its 125-acre land in Thane, a Mumbai suburb, either for outright sale or a joint development, the company said in an analyst call in January. Shivkumar refused to give specific comments about these transactions. Debt wise, our position is fairly comfortable, with a net debt in the range of Rs.1,550 crore. We have a net debt-to-equity ratio of 1:1. With some initiatives that we are currently contemplating, we are hopeful of paring some portion of the debt sooner than later, Shivkumar said. As regards unlocking value from real estate, our efforts continue and we await the right time to do the transaction, and in our view, the current market value is not in line with the fair value of the property, Shivkumar said. In 2011, The Times of India had reported that Raymond was eyeing Rs.2,000 crore from the sale of its Thane land. Shivkumar said they will consider the land sale only after the general elections. Among its other measures, Raymond has consolidated its sales and distribution activities, and closed non-performing stores and certain manufacturing operations.

It will renovate about 150 exclusive franchisee Raymond stores over the next three years and open another 80-100 exclusive stores in the next year, Shivkumar said. He added that capital expenditure on the renovation will be handled by the franchisees themselves. Indias textile and apparel market was estimated at about Rs.3.23 trillion in 2013, and is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 9% to Rs.7.75 trillion by 2023, according to retail consultancy firm Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd. The menswear segment has been extremely attractive and it is only prudent for a company like Raymond with their kind of a consumer reach to expand more and tap the growing market, said Amit Gugnani, senior vice-president, fashiontextile and apparel and engineering, at Technopak. About 42% of the total apparel industry is constituted of menswear and the organized market in the textile industry is small (around 19% of the total market in 2013), so there is a huge opportunity for existing companies such as Raymond, he added.

Texvalley project to accommodate 1,650 showrooms An integrated textile mall is coming up at the powerloom hub of Erode at an investment of about 450 crore. While the Centre has pitched in with a grant of about 40 crore, the rest is borne by the promoters and other stakeholders from textile industry, with the state offering partial stamp duty relief for the project land. Explaining the features of the Erode Texvalley project, C Devarajan, Vice-Chairman and P Raajashekar, Managing Director, respectively of Erode Textile Mall Ltd that is executing the project, said that after the announcement of a Comprehensive Powerloom Cluster Development Scheme in the 2008-09 Budget, the Ministry of Textiles appointed a Cluster Management and Technical Agency for studying the support needed for the Erode powerloom cluster. SPV formed The study revealed that to improve the marketing of the powerloom products produced within a radius of 70 km from Erode, a textile market complex at Erode was a imperative. A special purpose vehicle named Erode Textile Mall Ltd was formed and the Ministry cleared the proposal in 2009. Devarajan and Raajashekar said the citys wholesale daily textile market accounted for an annual business volume of about 4,000 crore and the weekly textile shandy generated about 200 crore. The Erode powerloom industry was known for its grey cloth (unbleached and un-dyed), yarn dyed fabrics for export garments, towels, lungies and dhotis, sarees and ladies dress materials, bed linen/home furnishings/made-ups etc. Devarajan said the project, coming up on18 acres close to Coimbatore-Salem National Highway, would have a built-up area of 16 lakh sq.ft and have three major components. While the main mart would have space for 1,650 showrooms to display the textile products from the Erode belt, there would be a separate weekly market complex to accommodate 4,000 tiny and small textile producers-cum-traders to sell directly their wares. This would be

open for one or two days every week. There will also be an international convention centre for conducting exhibitions. Raajashekar said the estimated cost of the project, when completed, would be 450 crore. While the Central Governments grant for the project was 40.05 crore, the share of the promoters and other stakeholders from the textile trade will be 300 crore. Two banks have offered loan assistance IOB with 60 crore and Bank of India with 50 crore. The Tamil Nadu Government has provided 50 per cent exemption from stamp duty in registering the project land (nearly 28 lakh in stamp duty value). Other facilities There will be transport facility from the mall to important centres in Erode and its neighbourhood. Integrated warehouse and logistics service providers and banking facility with ATMs would also be available. Devarajan said that the promoters have also planned to extend support to the traders to promote their products by conducting roadshows across the country. Raajashekar said the daily market was expected to generate business of more than 6,000 crore per year from the third year of commercial operation. The weekly market is likely to generate business in excess of 1,000 crore per year from the second year. The weekly market now provides a window to small and medium manufacturers to directly market their products and Texvalley would serve the interests of both categories. According to P Periaswamy, Chairman of Erode Textile Mall, the weekly market complex is slated to open in June this year and the daily market complex in September. The international convention centre will be opened in January next year. About the impact of the project on the existing textile business at Erode, they said at present in the weekly market nearly 4000 traders conducted business on Mondays and Tuesdays. Of them, 3,600 have expressed willingness to shift to Texvalley and around 3,000 traders have paid the advance for their shops.
Coimbatore-based Bannari Amman Group-controlled Bannari Amman Spinning Mills has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government for setting up a textile project near Dindigul, Tamil Nadu. While the company officials were not available for comment, the company in an announcement to the National Stock Exchange said its "wholly-owned subsidiary Abirami Amman Mills Pvt Ltd has inked an understanding with the Tamil Nadu government ." The company, however, did not disclose other details, including capacity and investment. A senior official in the know said the new project would have a production capacity of 15,000 spindles.To set up a such large scale project, around Rs 250 crore would be required. The vertically integrated Bannari Amman Spinning Mills currently has a capacity of around 160,000 spindles at Dindigul. It caters to Tirupur, Kolkata and Kanpur markets. The mill exports 24 per cent of the production to Israel, Mauritius, Egypt, Taiwan and South Korea. During the quarter ended December 31, 2013, the company reported a net profit of Rs 6.14 crore

when compared with Rs 6.05 crore a year ago. Total income stood at Rs 174.96 crore as against Rs 146.25 crore last year.

NASHIK: The work on the textile cluster project at Malegaon is in its final stages and is expected to be finished by the end of May. The Rs 15.84-crore project is coming up in the Malegaon co-operative industrial estate, under a scheme of the Union ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises. The central government is contributing 80% of the project cost, while the state is providing 10% and the rest is funded by other stake-holders. Malegaon has around 2 lakh traditional powerloom units, but they do not have adequate facilities for pre-weaving and post-weaving treatment. The cluster project includes a common facility centre, which will have advanced technology needed for powerloom units. The cluster will have a common processing house, common auto warping, common testing labs and common treatment plants. PB Daberao, joint director (industries), Nashik division said, "The building of the cluster project is almost ready and the tender process for buying machinery has also been completed. The project will start by May end." MUMBAI: Textile major Mafatlal Industries (MIL) has planned an additional investment of Rs 200 crore in its Nadiad and Navsari units over the next three years. Mafatlal Industries has already invested Rs 100 crore in modernisation of the two plants in Gujarat. It has chalked out plans for an additional Rs 200-crore investment in them in the next three years, MIL Chairman Hrishikesh A Mafatlal said in a release here.
Oravel raises fresh funding Delhi-based Oravel Stays, which runs short-stay accommodation portal Oravel.com, has received an undisclosed amount in funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, according to media reports, citing Oravel's founder and chief executive officer, Ritesh Agarwal. This comes a year after the firm secured funding from start-up accelerator Venture Nursery, Everest Flavours' Managing Director and angel investor, Anand Ladsariya, and Nirvana Venture Advisors co-founder, Amit Patni. Hello Curry raises Rs 3 crore Red Sprout Foods, a Hyderabad-based start-up that operates quick-service restaurant business under the Hello Curry brand, has raised Rs 3 crore from SRI Capital, a Rs 100-crore seed-stage venture fund founded by Sashi Reddi, founder and former chief executive officer of independent software testing firm AppLabs. IntelleGrow raises $4.5 mn Mumbai-based IntelleGrow, a financial services company that provides customised debt to small businesses, has raised $4.5 million (Rs 28 crore) in a new round of funding, led by impact investor Omidyar Network. Old investor Michael & Susan Dell Foundation also participated in the round. Omidyar Network is investing $4.04 million (Rs 25 crore), while the rest came from Dell. Ventureast invests in Polygenta Polygenta Technologies, which makes polyester filament yarn made with recycled polyethylene

terephthalate, has raised up to Rs 14.25 crore ($2.29 million) from Ventureast Life Fund III, a fund managed by Ventureast Fund Advisors. Denim manufacturer Mafatlal Industries has chalked out a Rs 200-crore investment plan in the next three years to expand capacity at factories in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The capital expenditure will be met through loans and internal accruals. Chairman Hrishikesh Mafatlal said the company had already invested Rs 100 crore in 2013, when the company turned 100. There is a new twist in the fight between Delhi-based Lilliput Kidswear and its Taiwanese lender, China Trust Bank. The staff of Lilliput would protest against China Trust Bank on Friday. The Lilliput staff would be holding a peaceful protest outside the premises of China Trust Bank office in New Delhi. The coercion & harassment faced by Lilliput Kidswear at the hands of China Trust Bank leaves us with no resort but to voice our plight & concerns, albeit in a peaceful manner, employees said in a statement. Sanjay Narula, chief executive of Lilliput, said the Taiwanese lender had never co-operated and had been trying to forcefully liquidate the company, though being the unsecured lender, it would not gain anything from this. All Indian lenders, led by Allahabad Bank, are co-operating to ensure that the company operates. They have given us a moratorium and additional loans for operations. Lilliput has been working according to the terms and conditions set by the lenders. As China Trust Bank has been harassing us, even other lenders have moved court. There is another case going on between Lilliput and China Trust Bank, said Narula. China Trust Bank could not be reached for comments. Last year, China Trust Bank had moved the Delhi High Court for failing to repay a working capital loan of Rs 15 crore.

New Delhi, March 4: The Directorate General of Safeguards has initiated safeguard duty probe on imports of bare elastomeric filament yarn, commonly known as spandex. Spandex or elastane is used in various applications such as denim jeans, sportswear, T-shirts, suitings, socks and other garments. A safeguard duty is a temporary measure brought in for a certain timeframe to avert any damage to the domestic industry from cheap imports. The petition seeking safeguard duty imposition on spandex imports was filed by Indorama Industries, which claimed to be the sole producer of bare elastomeric filament yarn in the country.

Raymond launches cool wool range in association with Woolmark

PTI Mar 5, 2014, 10.02PM IST

Tags:

Woolmark| Raymond Ltd| Peter Ackroyd| Gaurav Gupta| Bernard Philip

(Raymond Ltd, producer of)

NEW DELHI: Raymond Ltd, producer of suiting fabrics, today launched a complete all weather cool wool collection in partnership with the Australian firm the Woolmark Company. The new premium cool wool range has 100 per cent wool fabric as well as blends with natural fibres such as silk, cotton and linen and could be used as trans-seasonal fibre in India which has a tropical weather.

Raymond also launched 20 garments collection designed by Gaurav Gupta, which would be introduced in the market by March this year. The company would price the premium cool wool range starting from Rs 1,500 per meter and above, said Raymond officials. "India has tropical climate and customers avoid wearing wool garment in summers as they clearly identify the fabric with winters. Indian customers need to understand the true potential, versatility and the benefits of using wool in summers," said Woolmark Company Global Strategic Advisor Peter Ackroyd.

Raymond Chief Marketing Officer Lifestyle Business Mrinmoy Mukherjee said:" This cool wool offerings from Raymond is the output of product engineering that is aimed at widening the appeal of wool towards new consumption possibilities." Australia's Acting High Commissioner Bernard Philip, who was also present at the launch, said it would directly connect the 27,000 wool-growers of Australia owning the Woolmark to the Indian market, which is one the biggest in the world. The Woolmark, established in 1964 is owned by Australian wool Innovation (AWI), a non profit company owned by more than 27,000 wool-growers.
Mumbai: US-based private equity firm Carlyle Group has agreed to invest about Rs.200-250 crore in Credo Brands Marketing Pvt. Ltd, which owns Mufti, the casual wear brand. The investment is awaiting approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), according to three people who did not want to be identified. When the deal closes, it will be Carlyle Groups first investment in an apparel brand in India. Carlyle is buying the 35% stake that the companys existing investors own. FIPB approval takes four to six weeks, said one of the three persons cited above. In December, Mint had first reported that investors in Credo Brands are looking to sell their 33% stake to other private equity (PE) funds, and that Mumbai-based JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt. Ltd has the mandate for the transaction. In an interaction with Mint at the time, Credo Brands founder and managing director Kamal Khushlani said the companys investors are looking for an exit and are holding talks with potential buyers. Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd (BCCL), which publishes The Times of India and The Economic Times newspapers, and some friends own 35% in the company, he said. BCCL is a competitor of HT Media Ltd, the publisher of Hindustan Times and Mint. Repeated calls and text messages to Khushlani over the last two days did not elicit any response. Mails sent to Shankar Narayanan and Devinjit Singh, managing directors of Carlyle in India, did not elicit any response. Credo Brands, which was started in 1998, closed financial year 2013 with a revenue of Rs.235 crore and expects sales of nearly Rs.280 crore in the year to 31 March 2014. The firm, which focuses on shirts, jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters and jackets, has over 200 stores and a presence in 1,200 supermarkets such as Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle and Central departmental stores. Venture capital and PE firms have consistently shown interest in the apparel space, as a proxy of domestic consumption demand. Investors pumped in $115.4 million in 15 apparel firms in 2013. They have already invested $87.7 million in five such transactions in the first two months of this year, according to VCCEdge, an investment tracker. In one of the largest private equity investments in the Indian ethnic wear market, last year, PE firms Warburg Pincus and Faering Capital invested Rs.300 crore in Biba Apparels, a firm engaged in womens and girls ethnic wear. PE firm General Atlantic bought Kishore Biyani-led Future Ventures India Ltds stake in apparel brand And Designs India Ltd (AND) for an undisclosed amount. In 2012, L Capital and PremjiInvest bought a stake in Fabindia Overseas Pvt. Ltd. Currently, Avigo Capital

Partners is in talks with PE firms to sell its majority stake in casual wear company Spykar Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd. Typically, an apparel brand commands a double-digit Ebitda multiple in terms of valuation. Clarity on foreign direct investment rules for the single-brand retail segment has further strengthened PEs interest. In January 2012, India allowed 100% investment in single-brand retail. Apparel brands are a consumer play and PE investors are clearly preferring consumer product firms and brands that are into the B2C (business to consumer) business, said Srikanth Narasimhan, director, Veda Corporate Advisors Pvt. Ltd, an investment bank. Apparel companies need capital for scaling up as well as for marketing expenses and therefore, PE capital is in demand, he said, adding, There is a stronger brand loyalty in apparel segment. People go back to the same brands and often do repeat purchases. According to Narasimhan, brands can be good acquisition targets and are therefore seen more favourably by investors from an exit point of view. If one backs a decent brand, there is a possibility of generating good returns in three to five years, the typical investment horizon of PE firms, he said.

India's overall textile and garment exports will likely rise 17.6% in the current fiscal from a year before but will still miss the target of $43 billion despite the depreciation in rupee, sources said on Thursday. The exports are expected to hit $40 billion in 2013-14 from $34 billion a year before, mainly on higher shipments of garments, cotton yarn, fabrics and manmade fibre, said the sources. However, textile minister KS Rao said late last month that overall textile and garment exports, which also include shipments of products such as raw cotton, handicrafts, jute, coir and handlooms, would at best miss the target by just $1 billion. According to the provisional data, textile and garment exports hit $20.43 billion in AprilDecember, up 13.4% from a year before. This is because the rupee depreciated 11.6% between April and December this fiscal than a year before to an average of 60.79, making the shipments remunerative. Industry executives said after factoring in exports of raw cotton, handicrafts, jute, coir, handlooms, the overall textile and garment exports won't exceed $40 billion. "While rupee depreciation has helped, the rise in demand in the US despite a slow or fragile recovery in their economies resulted in the surge in exports," said DK Nair, secretarygeneral of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry. Moreover, demand from new markets has helped and "it seems after a long time we are back on track on garment exports", he added. Having slid by nearly 6% in the last fiscal and seeing a drop in 10 months of 2012-13, garment exports started picking up since March as the domestic currency continued to fall. Soaring costs in China and problems in compliance of global safety norms at Bangladeshi mills helped India's export growth, industry executives said.

Output of polyester filament yarn drops for fourteenth consecutive month ended

October 2013
Production dips by 1.7% y-o-y
As per the data published by the Office of the Textile Commissioner, production of polyester filament yarn (PFY) fell by 7.4 per cent to 100.2 thousand tonnes in October 2013. This was the fourteenth consecutive month of decline in output as compared to a year ago. On a sequential basis, PFY production fell by 1.7 per cent. Output of polyester staple fibre (PSF) too fell during October 2013 on a y-o-y basis. PSF production declined by 1.7 per cent to 72.7 thousand tonnes during the month. However, compared to the preceding month, production grew by a marginal 0.5 per cent. Production of PFY and PSF has been subdued since the beginning of the financial year 2013-14. Resultantly, production of both these polyesters have declined during AprilOctober 2013. While output of PFY output slipped by 8.6 per cent to 725.6 thousand tonnes, that of PSF fell slightly to 499.8 thousand tonnes during the said period. Production of, both, viscose filament yarn (VFY) and viscose staple fibre (VSF) grew by four per cent each to 3.8 thousand tonnes and 31 thousand tonnes, respectively, during October 2013. As compared to September 2013, production of VFY was up by 1.3 per cent and that of VSF grew by 4.7 per cent. Cumulative production of VFY grew by a modest 3.8 per cent to 25.8 thousand tonnes during the first-seven months of 2013-14. Output of VSF grew by a healthy 9.2 per cent to 210.7 thousand tonnes during the above mentioned period. Acrylic staple fibre (ASF) production continued to grow at a robust pace for the seventh consecutive month ended October 2013. Production grew by 32.2 per cent yo-y to 8.6 thousand tonnes during the month. This was the highest production witnessed by the industry since September 2009. However, ASF production improved by a tad 0.6 per cent as compared to the preceding month. Cumulative ASF production during April-October 2013 grew by a smart 36.3 per cent to 58.1 thousand tonnes. Production of nylon filament yarn (NFY) grew by a mere half per cent to two thousand tonnes in October 2013. This came over a 48.2 per cent growth recorded for the same month a year ago. When compared to September 2013, production of NFY remained flat. Barring June-July 2013, output of NFY was weak in all the months since April 2013. This restricted the cumulative growth in output to 0.3 per cent during the AprilOctober 2013 period.

Government of Gujarat provides inprincipal approval to five textile parks

Proposed parks to get benefits under Gujarat Textile Policy 2012

On 3 December 2013, the State Government of Gujarat gave in-principal approval to set up three textile parks and two spinning parks in Gujarat. This approvals are granted under the Gujarat Textile Policy 2012. The proposed parks entail an aggregate investment of Rs.3,380 million and are expected to create 37,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state. Details of the projects are as follows:

Gayatri Cotspin Park plans to set up a textile park in Bharuch, Gujarat. Investment in this project is pegged at Rs.1,000 million Amitara Green Hi-Tech Textiles Park is expected to set up a textile spinning park in Kheda, Gujarat. The company is expected to invest Rs.920 million on this project. D D Spintex Park is also expected to set up a textile spinning park. The companys Rs.820 million worth park is expected to come up at Bharuch, Gujarat. Karanj Textile Park is expected to invest Rs.320 million on setting up a textile park at Surat, Gujarat. Another textile park in Surat will be set up by Palsana Textile Park. This project is expected to come up with an investment outlay of Rs.320 million.

The Gujarat Government is also planning to provide financial assistance to all these textile parks under the Gujarat Textile Policy 2012. A total assistance of Rs.660 million will be provided for development of infrastructure of these parks. Under the Gujarat Textile Policy 2012, the government plans to provide financial assistance of Rs.300 million or upto 50 per cent of the project cost, whichever is lower for textile spinning parks. For textile parks, the assistance is capped at the lower of Rs.100 million or 50 per cent of the cost. In addition to this, the proposed parks are eligible to receive other incentives like interest subsidy and refund of value added tax paid. Other than the above mentioned parks, 28 textile units were granted interest subsidy during the meeting. Of these, 16 units were also given concession in value added tax payment. Besides, approvals were granted for setting up of five apparel training centres across the state in-order to ensure a steady supply of trained manpower for the apparel industry.

PFY production falls by 8.6% in September 2013

Thirteenth consecutive fall on y-o-y basis
According to the data released by the Office of the Textile Commissioner, polyester filament yarn (PFY) production fell for the thirteenth successive month on a y-o-y basis. PFY output fell by 8.6 per cent to 102 thousand tonnes in September 2013. On a sequential basis, output fell by 3.4 per cent. In contrast to PFY, polyester staple fibre (PSF) production grew y-o-y in September

2013. Output stood at 72.3 thousand tonnes, 1.5 per cent higher than that manufactured in September 2012. However, it was lower than the production of 74.7 thousand tonnes recorded in the preceding month. Cumulative production of both these polyesters was weak during the first-six months of 2013-14. While output of PSF remained at the year-ago level, that of PFY declined by 8.8 per cent during the said period. Viscose staple fibre (VSF) production increased from 27.5 thousand tonnes in September 2012 to 29.6 thousand tonnes in September 2013. This translates into a growth of 7.5 per cent. However, on a sequential basis, production slipped by 5.9 per cent. Cumulative output of VSF grew by 10.1 per cent during April-September 2013. Viscose filament yarn (VFY) production grew by 6.8 per cent to 3.7 thousand tonnes in September 2013 on a y-o-y basis. As compared to August 2013, output was, however, down by 2.4 per cent. Cumulative VSF production increased by a modest 3.7 per cent during the first-half of the year 2013-14. After remaining flat in the preceding month, production of nylon filament yarn (NFY) grew by 2.6 per cent y-o-y in September 2013. However, at two thousand tonnes, NFY production averaged one per cent lower as compared to that produced in the previous month. Cumulative NFY production grew by a marginal 0.3 per cent during AprilSeptember 2013 period. Acrylic staple fibre (ASF) production grew by a robust 50.3 per cent in September 2013 as compared to the corresponding month a year ago. Output at 8.6 thousand tonnes was higher by 3.9 per cent as compared to that in the preceding month. Also, this was the highest monthly production since September 2009. Owing to a double-digit rise in each of the months since the beginning of the financial year 2013-14, cumulative ASF production grew by a smart 37.1 per cent during the first-half of the year 2013-14.

CCEA nod for Integrated Processing Development Scheme for textile units
New policy aims to establish environment friendly textile processing units
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), on 30th October 2013, gave its approval to Integrated Processing Development Scheme (IPDS) with a total investment of Rs.5 billion. The new scheme aims to address the environmental concerns faced by the Indian textile industry and set up four to six brown field projects and three to five green field projects. The Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram, had announced this policy in the Union Budget 2013-14. The projects eligible under the scheme will cover the following :-

Common effluent treatment plant (CETP) Captive power generation plant (preferably renewable or green technology) Infrastructure for water and wastewater management Facility for testing and research & development centres

The Indian textile industry is losing out to competition owing to environmental compliances. IPDS is expected to help the domestic manufacturers to improve their global competitiveness by using environment friendly processing standards and technology. This scheme is not only expected to create new processing units but also support the up-gradation of existing textile processing clusters. Textile projects worth Rs.36 billion shelved in September 2013 quarter Land acquisition issue to be blamed Two textile projects were shelved during the quarter ended September 2013. These projects entailed an investment of Rs.36 billion. Although small in count, in terms of investment this was the highest shelving seen by the textiles industry since the December 1995 quarter. These projects belong to NSL Textiles and Orient Craft Infrastructure. Details about the projects are mentioned below :Orient Craft Infrastructure put off its plans to set up a Rs.21 billion worth textile special economic zone (SEZ) project at Jhund Sarai, Haryana. The SEZ board had granted formal approval to the company for setting up the textile SEZ over an area of 113.3 hectares in August 2006. However, since then the developer had requested for an extension of validity thrice and finally de-notified the SEZ in August 2013. The company sought for an extension of validity as its land, notified for SEZ, was acquired by the State Government for the construction of a toll plaza. Owing to this issue, the company also shelved its Gurgaon IT/ITES SEZ project worth Rs.5 billion. Orient Craft has challenged the state governments move in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana and same is still subjudice. Hence, we believe that land acquisition issue could be the reason behind the project getting shelved. Land acquisition trouble also restricted NSL Textiles Gunupur Shirts Project from going on floor. The company shelved its plans to set up a Rs.15 billion worth shirt manufacturing unit at Gunupur, Orrisa in September 2013. This green-field unit was likely to have a capacity to manufacture 198 thousand shirts per annum. The company had signed a Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum (IEM) in March 2010 and received state government approval in May 2011.

Investments in cotton & blended yarn industry to remain healthy during 201316

Projects worth Rs.54.4 billion to get commissioned

The cotton & blended yarn industry witnessed a commissioning of projects worth Rs.14-18 billion in each of the preceding five year ending March 2013. The momentum in capacity additions is expected to continue during 2013-16. According to CMIEs CapEx database, 10 projects entailing an investment of Rs.10 billion are expected to come on stream during the year 2013-14. These will add a capacity to manufacture 126.8 thousand tonnes per annum (ttpa) of cotton and blended yarn. Project investment in the industry is expected to more than double in the year 2014-15. Nine projects worth Rs.26.8 billion are set to get completed during the year. In 201516, so far, two projects worth Rs.17.6 billion are expected to get operational. A total capacity to manufacture 140.2 ttpa of yarn is likely to come up during 2014-16. The largest investment during the three years ending March 2016 will be made by Trident. The company is in the process to expand the manufacturing capacity of its two facilities located at Madhya Pradesh and Punjab with an investment of Rs.28.7 billion. Of this, Rs.16.7 billion will be invested on its plant located at Budhni, Madhya Pradesh. On completion in September 2015, the plants capacity will increase to 176 thousand spindles which will produce 38.8 ttpa of cotton yarn. The company will also set up 500 looms with an annual capacity of 42.3 million metres of fabric. The balance investment of Rs.12 billion will be directed towards its brown-field expansion project at Barnala, Punjab. The company is in the process to raise the plants yarn spinning capacity in a phased manner. In phase-I, which got commissioned in March 2012, the company installed a yarn spindling capacity of 28.3 ttpa and 1,664 rotors. On completion of phase-II in September 2014, a capacity to spindle 26.9 ttpa of cotton yarn and 2,040 rotors are expected to be commissioned. Vertex Spinning is expected to invest Rs.5.1 billion for setting up an integrated mega textile park at Dhule, Maharashtra. This park will have a yarn spindling and twisting capacity of 161 thousand spindles per annum. Besides, 1.5 ttpa of yarn dyeing capacity, 18 million meters of yarn weaving capacity and 20 million meters of fabric processing capacity will be installed. The new facility is expected to get operational by April 2014. Oswal Woollen Mills green-field cotton spinning and fabric manufacturing unit at Pillukedi, Madhya Pradesh will be ready by March 2014. The company will shell out Rs.3.6 billion to set this unit in a phased manner. The company completed phase-I of the project in February 2013 and added a yarn spinning capacity of 3.4 ttpa and denim fabric manufacturing capacity of 80 looms. On completion of the phase-II, another 5.2 ttpa of cotton yarn spinning capacity will be added. The company will also enhance its denim fabric capacity by setting up 24 looms and 864 rotors. Other cotton & blended yarn projects that are scheduled for completion during 201316 Company Project Cost Project Completion Project Name name (inRs.million) Location By Bhilwara spinning Bhilwara, Nitin Spinners 2,860 March 2015 & knitting Rajasthan

Nahar Spinning Mills Winsome Textile Inds. Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills Vraj Integrated Textile Park DCM C L C Textile Park Lakshmi Mills Co. Mukesh Udyog Suryaamba Spinning Mills

expansion project Sangrur cotton yarn project Baddi spinning, circular knitting & yarn dyeing expansion project Ramtek ultra modern spinning project Bidaj integrated textile park project Hisar cotton spinning expansion project Chhindwara integrated textile park project Kovilpatti cotton yarn expansion project Kohara cotton yarn expansion (II) project Nayakund cotton yarn expansion project

2,300

Sangrur, Punjab March 2014 Solan, Himachal April 2014 Pradesh Nagpur, Maharashtra Kheda, Gujarat Hisar, Haryana

2,210

1,400 1,054 1,050

March 2015 December 2014 September 2014

956.5

Chhindwara, July 2015 Madhya Pradesh Thoothukkudi, Tamil Nadu Ludhiana, Punjab Nagpur, Maharashtra September 2014 March 2014

750

680

350

May 2014

Healthy capacity additions lined up in cloth industry during 2013-16

Projects worth Rs.24.1 billion to come up
A healthy off-take of apparels from both domestic and overseas market is expected to boost the demand for Indian fabrics in the coming years. In anticipation of the rise in demand, domestic cloth manufacturers have lined up robust capacity additions over the three years ending March 2016. According to CMIEs CapEx database, 15 projects worth Rs.24.1 billion are scheduled to get operational during 2013-16. These projects will add a total cloth manufacturing and processing capacity of 216.2 million metres. Nearly 25 per cent of the incremental capacity has already been added during the April-December 2013 period. [see]. Some of the other prominent cloth projects that are expected to be completed during 2013-16 are as follows :

Nandan Denims is scheduled to make the largest investment during the three years ending March 2016. The company is expected to spend Rs.8.1 billion towards capacity expansion of its facility at Ahemdebad, Gujarat by January 2015. Under this project, the company will raise its annual denim fabric manufacturing capacity by 52 million meters to 112 million meters. Of this, 22 million meters of capacity has already got commissioned in September 2013. The company is also expected to install a capacity to manufacture 15 million meters of shirting fabric per annum. Etco Industries is setting up a Rs.three billion worth fabric weaving unit at Parbhani, Maharashtra. On completion in November 2014, this green-field unit will have a capacity to weave nine million metres of cloth per annum. GIT Textiles is investing Rs.1.5 billion to set up a new unit at Sanad, Gujarat in a phased manner. In phase-I, which got completed in November 2010, the company installed a capacity to weave 9.1 million meters per annum. In phaseII, the company plans to add an equivalent weaving capacity by March 2016. The project was announced in Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit 2009 and is running behind schedule by almost seven years. The reason behind the delay could not be ascertained. Siyaram Silk Mills in the course to expand the fabric manufacturing capacity of its plants located at Tarapur (Maharashtra) and Silvassa (Dadra & Nagar Haveli) by March 2014. Currently, the total installed capacity at these sites is six million meters of fabric per annum. Under this brown-field capacity expansion project, the company will expand the capacity to eight million meters of fabric per annum. The project will come with an investment outlay of Rs.1.4 billion. Nirbhai Textiles is setting up a new fabric weaving unit at Hedon, Punjab at a cost of Rs.1.3 billion. The plant is scheduled to get commissioned by March 2015 with a capacity to weave 21.8 million meters of cloth per annum.
Other cloth projects that are scheduled for completion by March 2016

Company Name Project Name

Project Cost (in Rs.million)

Project Location Yavatmal, Maharashtra

Project Type

Completion By

Raymond Uco Denim

Yavatmal denim fabric expansion 1,200 project

Substantial Expansion

April 2014

Gundoj Nextgen Textile integrated textile park Park project Jaya Shree Textiles

1,014

Gundoj, Rajasthan

New Unit

March 2014

Rishra linen fabric expansion 1,000 (II) project Andipatti hi-tech 610

Rishra, West Bengal

Substantial Expansion New Unit

November 2015 June 2014

Vaigai Hi-tech

Andipatti,

Weaving Park

weaving park project Amritsar fabric expansion project

Tamil Nadu

O C M India

450

Amritsar, Punjab

Substantial Expansion

March 2014

Kerala State Textile Corporation Sunglow Suitings

Pinarayi hi-tech weaving factory 200 project Bhilwara synthetic fabrics 200 project

Pinarayi, Kerala

New Unit

April 2014

Bhilwara, Rajasthan

New Unit

May 2014

Project commissioning in man-made filaments & fibres industry to scale a new high in 2013-14
Investments to remain healthy during 2014-16
The man-made filaments & fibres industry is set to witness a record-high commissioning of projects in 2013-14. Seven projects, entailing an investment of Rs.26.8 billion, are expected to come on stream during the year. These projects will add an annual synthetic filament and fibre manufacturing capacity of 962.7 thousand tonnes. So far, four projects worth Rs.3.1 billion have got completed. The capacity addition by these projects stood at 186.8 thousand tonnes per annum (ttpa).[see]. Details of the other projects that are scheduled for completion by the end of March 2014 are as follows:

Grasim Industries is expected to invest Rs.18 billion on setting up a viscose staple fibre (VSF) production unit at Bharuch, Gujarat. This facility will be able to produce 120 thousand tonnes of VSF per annum. D N H Spinners is expanding the manufacturing capacity of its Surangi plant in Silvassa in a phased manner. The company will expand the combined capacity of partially oriented yarn (POY), fully drawn yarn (FDY) and polyester staple fibre (PSF) by 365 ttpa. Annual polyester texturised yarn (PTY) capacity will be raised by 276 thousand tonnes. These capacities will be added at a cost of Rs.5.1 billion. With an investment of Rs.500 million, Baid industries is setting up a new unit to manufacture polyester filament yarn (PFY). The first and the second phase of the project got completed in March 2011 and March 2012, respectively. In these phases, PFY capacity of 6.6 ttpa got commissioned. In the final phase, which is expected to be operational by March 2014, 14.6 ttpa of capacity will

be added. According to CMIEs CapEx database, capacity addition activity in the man-made filaments & fibres industry is expected to remain healthy even in the coming two years ending March 2016. Synthetic filament & fibre manufacturing companies are expected to add 400 ttpa and 360 ttpa of capacity during 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively. These capacities will envisage an aggregate investment of around Rs.26.2 billion. The largest project, in terms of investment, to come up during 2014-16 is by Nakoda. The company is in the process to set up a continuous polymerisation and direct melt spinning unit at Surat, Gujarat by March 2016. On completion, the green-field unit will have a capacity to manufacture 280 thousand tonnes of POY and FDY per annum. Along-with this, the company will set up a state-of-the art research and development facility to develop specialty yarns. The Rs.17.5 billion worth project will aid the company to manufacture the entire range of polyester yarns and cater to the domestic as well as international market. The company plans to fund the project by a mix of internal accruals and long term debt. Lenzing Modi Fibres India, a joint venture between Lenzing (Austria) and Modi Fibres, plans to commission a new VSF manufacturing unit at Panvel, Maharashtra. The company will shell out Rs.8.7 billion for the project and will add a capacity to produce 80 thousand tonnes of VSF per annum. The project got postponed from its initial commissioning date by 58 months due to hurdles in acquiring environmental clearance (EC). The company finally received the EC in January 2013 and the project is now scheduled for completion in December 2015. Reliance Industries is in the process of setting up a new synthetic yarn producing unit at Silvassa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The company intends to manufacture 395 ttpa of PFY and 140 ttpa of PTY at this unit. The project is scheduled for completion in May 2014. The company has not yet disclosed the cost involved in the project. Indorama Industries is expected to complete phase-II of its capacity expansion project at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh in December 2014. In this phase, the company will add a capacity to manufacture five ttpa of spandex yarn. Indorama plans to further augment the plants annual capacity by five thousand tonnes in phase-III. However, completion schedule of this phase is unavailable. The company is expected to invest Rs.6 billion on both these phases. Cloth industrys net profit plummets by 94.9% y-o-y in December 2013 quarter Net sales up by 6.8% The cloth industry reported a lacklustre performance on the profits front in the December 2013 quarter. Its net profit plunged by 94.9 per cent during the quarter as compared to the same quarter a year ago. This was on account of a faster rise in total expenses, corresponding to goods sold, than the growth in total income. Aggregate net sales of the 56 cloth companies in our sample grew by 6.8 per cent y-oy in the December 2013 quarter. The growth in sales was broad-based with 38 companies reporting higher sales than the year-ago quarter. Moreover, 25 companies reported a double-digit growth in sales revenues. Net sales of Arvind, the largest company contributing around 16-18 per cent to the industrys top-line, grew by a

smart 24 per cent. This was led by a 20 per cent growth in sales of denim fabrics and woven fabrics during the quarter. Among the other companies, Prime Urban Development India, Minaxi Textiles, Hindoostan Mills and Bhandari Hosiery Exports witnessed a triple-digit jump in their net sales in the December 2013 quarter. Mafatlal Industries and Mudra Lifestyle reported a 42.8 per cent and 54.1 per cent growth in sales, respectively. Companies like Indo Count Industries, Mandhana Industries, Nandan Denim, Jindal Worldwide and Siyaram Silk Mills posted a sales growth in the range of 10-40 per cent y-o-y during the quarter. Raw cotton and yarn are the major inputs of the cloth industry. During the quarter ended December 2013, yarn prices rose by 8-10 per cent and cotton fibre prices shot up by 22-26 per cent on a y-o-y basis. In spite of this, the industrys raw material expenses rose by a mere 1.8 per cent. Its proportion in the industrys net sales contracted by 290 basis points to 61.1 per cent. This was on account of a steep 54.8 per cent fall in input costs of Bombay Rayon Fashions, the second largest company in the industry. During the December 2013 quarter, the company generated a substantial portion of its revenues from liquidation of inventories. It offloaded inventory equivalent to onefourth of sales as against a pile-up equivalent to 15 per cent of sales in the December 2012 quarter. Had it not been for Bombay Rayon Fashions, the industrys raw material expenses would have risen by 9.4 per cent, faster than the growth in sales. Besides input costs, the industry reported a less than three per cent rise even in its power & fuel expenses and other operating expenses. On the contrary, wage bills rose by a much faster 11.9 per cent during the quarter. The industrys total operating expenses (corresponding to goods sold) grew by 8.3 per cent, faster than the growth in sales. This dragged down the core operating profit by 2.9 per cent y-o-y in the December 2013 quarter. This was the third consecutive quarter of a decline in the operating profit. The core operating profit margin contracted by 124 basis points to 12.4 per cent during the quarter. Among the post-operating expenses, the industrys interest outgo rose by 13.1 per cent y-o-y in the December 2013 quarter. This was on account of a steep 62.2 per cent rise in interest expense of Bombay Rayon Fashions. The companys outstanding borrowings as on September 2013 stood at Rs.41.2 billion, 18.9 per cent higher than a year ago. Depreciation charges of the industry rose by 9.3 per cent y-o-y during the quarter. Thus, a sharp rise in post-operative expenses along with a deterioration in the industrys operating profits aggravated the fall in the net profit during the quarter ended December 2013. The cloth industry barely broke-even at the net level as compared to a net profit margin of 1.5 per cent in the year-ago quarter. The weak performance of the industry on the profit front was across the board. Of the 56 companies, 19 incurred losses at the net level in the December 2013 quarter. These included industry majors like Bombay Rayon Fashions, S Kumars Nationwide, Mudra Lifestyle and KSL Industries. Nearly 20 per cent of the companies reported a decline

in profits as compared to that earned a year ago. These included leading companies such as Mandhana Industries, Provogue (India), Aarvee Denims & Exports and K G Denim. However, on a sequential basis, the cloth industrys performance improved. The industry returned to profits in the December 2013 quarter after reporting losses in the preceding three quarters. This was on account of a drop in input prices during the quarter as compared to the September 2013 quarter. Prices of raw cotton and yarn declined in the range of 2-8 per cent during the quarter. The proportion of raw material expenses in the industrys sales contracted from 65.5 per cent in the previous quarter to 61.1 per cent in the December 2013 quarter. Indias apparel exports to US grows in January 2014 Market share improves to 4.3% According to the data sourced from the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Indias apparel export volumes rose for the tenth consecutive month in January 2014. During the month, the country exported 82 million square meters (sq.metres) of apparels to the US, 7.5 per cent higher than the year ago. In terms of value, exports rose by 6.2 per cent to USD 291.3 million. Indias market share in the total apparel exports to the US improved to 4.3 per cent in January 2014 from 4.1 per cent in January 2013. With this, India overtook Mexico and became the fifth-largest exporter of apparels to the US. Of the top four apparel exporters to the US, three countries reported a rise in their export value in January 2014. While China and Bangladesh recorded a modest 3.9 per cent rise in their apparel export value each, Vietnam posted a smart 16.2 per cent growth during the month. The growth in these markets were solely driven by rise in volumes. All the three countries witnessed an expansion in their share of exports to the US with Vietnam leading the pack. Vietnams market share rose to 11.5 per cent in January 2014 from 10.2 per cent in January 2013. Indonesia, the fourth largest exporter of apparels to the US witnessed a 4.3 per cent fall in volumes in January 2014 as compared to the same month a year ago. Moreover, realisations declined by 4.6 per cent. Resultantly, its apparel export value slipped by 8.8 per cent during the month. The countrys market share in the total exports to the US eroded by a sharp 123 basis points to 6.7 per cent. The quantity of total apparels imported by the US grew by 3.3 per cent in January 2014 as compared to the same month a year ago. Moreover, the volume of apparels imported by the US showed a y-o-y growth since the start of the current fiscal. During April 2013-January 2014, apparel import volumes of the US grew by four per cent yo-y to 21.2 billion sq.metres. The country witnessed an equivalent growth in import value to USD 68.3 billion during the said period. This growth was backed by a pick-up in demand for apparels from the US owing to an improvement in the countrys economic scenario. As a result, five of the six countries saw a rise in their apparel export volumes to the US during April 2013-January 2014. Vietnam registered the fastest growth in volumes followed by Bangladesh and India. Export volumes of India rose by 10 per cent to 732.5 million sq.metres during the period. As a result, Indias apparel export value to

the US grew by 10.2 per cent to USD 2,639 million during April 2013-January 2014. Indias share in total apparel exports to the US improved to 3.9 per cent during the said period from 3.7 per cent during April 2012-January 2013. Export volumes of China, the largest exporter to the US, rose by a modest 3.1 per cent to 9,107 million sq.meters during the ten months ended January 2014. However, the countrys realisations dipped by 1.4 per cent. This restricted the growth in its apparel export value to a sedate 1.7 per cent. China exported apparels worth USD 26.2 billion to the US during April 2013-January 2014. The countrys market share shrank by 88 basis points to 38.4 per cent during the said period. Man-made filaments & fibres industry delivers a poor profit performance in December 2013 quarter Profit margins contract during the quarter The man-made filaments & fibres industry delivered a disappointing profits performance for yet another quarter. Aggregate operating profit of 37 listed companies declined by 7.4 per cent in the December 2013 quarter as compared to the same quarter a year ago. The fall in operating profit came despite a rise in the industrys n et sales. It grew by a modest 4.8 per cent y-o-y during the quarter.[see]. Prices of key inputs like purified terephthalic acid (PTA), mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) and benzene declined by 3-10 per cent globally in the December 2013 quarter. However, a sharp depreciation in the rupee vis-a-vis the USD partially negated this benefit as the industry imports around 30 per cent of its total raw material requirements. In spite of this, the industrys raw material expenses rose by 4.1 per cent, slower than the growth in sales. This is because of an increase in realisations of synthetic fibres and yarns manufacturers. Domestic prices of polyester staple fibre, partially oriented yarn and viscose staple fibre averaged 3-12 per cent y-o-y higher during the quarter. The industrys total other expenses declined by 0.5 per cent in the December 2013 quarter. This was on account of a 24-30 per cent drop in other expenses of Indo Rama Synthetics and JBF Industries. Both these companies incurred foreign exchange losses in the December 2012 quarter. Absence of this one time expenses in the December 2013 quarter pulled down the other expenses of these companies. Consequently, the operating expenses of the industry rose by 3.4 per cent, slower than the growth in sales. However, the industry liquidated inventory worth Rs.427 million in the December 2013 quarter as against a pile up of Rs.1,277 million in the same quarter a year ago. As a result, the industrys operating expenses corresponding to goods sold rose by 5.8 per cent, faster than the sales growth. Resultantly, its operating profit margin contracted by 90 basis points to 6.9 per cent during the quarter. This was the third consecutive quarter of contraction in the operating profit margin. The industrys depreciation charges rose by seven per cent in the December 2013 quarter. This was on account of a sharp 38.4 per cent rise in depreciation expenses of Grasim Industries. The company commissioned a VSF unit at Harihar and epoxy & caustic soda unit at Vilayat during the current fiscal. Resultantly, its gross fixed assets assets stood at Rs.50.8 billion as on September 2013, up from Rs.29 billion as on

September 2012. Further, the industrys interest outgo rose by 12 per cent in the December 2013 quarter. Its tax provisions too rose by a sharp 29.9 per cent during the quarter. Tax provisions as a proportion of before tax earnings expanded by 880 basis points to 35.2 per cent. However, a robust 64.3 per cent rise in other income restricted the net profit from falling. Net profit margin contracted slightly to 2.5 per cent during the quarter from 2.6 per cent in the corresponding year-ago quarter. While the industrys net margin had contracted by 156 basis points in the September 2013 quarter, it had incurred losses in the June 2013 quarter.

Man-made filaments & fibres industrys sales growth accelerates in December 2013 quarter
Net sales up by 4.8% y-o-y
The man-made filaments & fibres industry began the year 2013-14 on a sluggish note. The industrys sales grew by a mere 0.6 per cent y-o-y in the June 2013 quarter. Nevertheless, the growth in industrys sales improved to 3.7 per cent in the September 2013 quarter. The acceleration in sales growth continued during October-December 2013 as well. Aggregate net sales of the industry rose by 4.8 per cent y-o-y during the quarter. The growth in sales was across the board. Of the 37 companies that declared their results for the December 2013 quarter, 25 reported higher sales. Moreover, 80 per cent of these companies posted a double-digit growth in net sales. Leading this pack were Filatex India, Sportking India, Ganesha Ecosphere, Deepak Spinners, Welspun Syntex, Suryaamba Spinning Mills and Premier Synthetics with a sales growth in the range of 15-32 per cent. Net sales of Indian Acrylics rose by an impressive 72.8 per cent. Grasim Industries, the largest company in our sample, also posted a strong 19.4 per cent y-o-y growth in sales the December 2013 quarter. Net sales from the companys viscose staple fibre (VSF) segment, accounting for 80-82 per cent of total sales, grew by 21.4 per cent. The company attributed this rise to higher sales volumes in, both, the domestic and export markets. Its sales volumes improved by 24 per cent y-o-y to 97,049 tonnes during the quarter supported by an increased capacity of VSF at its Harihar plant. Revenues of its chemicals segment grew by a modest 5.1 per cent during the quarter. Net sales of JBF Industries, a major polyester manufacturer, rose by a smart 11.1 per cent. This was completely a price driven growth. Polyester staple fibre prices (PSF) and partially oriented yarn (POY) prices averaged 6-12 per cent higher in the Mumbai market in the December 2013 quarter. Among the 12 companies that reported a decline in sales Garden Silk Mills and Indo Rama Synthetics are large-sized companies having quarterly net sales above Rs.5 billion. These two companies together contributed 16.4 per cent to the industrys total revenues in the December

2013 quarter. Net sales of Garden Silk Mills slipped by a sharp 19.1 per cent during the quarter. Net sales of Indo Rama Synthetics fell by a sharp 16.1 per cent in the December 2013 quarter. This was on account of lower polyester volumes. The company had hiked the prices of PSF and POY by 20-26 per cent y-o-y in the December 2013 quarter. Had it not been for these two companies, the man-made filaments & fibres industrys net sales would have grown by a smart 10.8 per cent y-o-y in the December 2013 quarter.

Cotton trades higher in Abohar

Market witnesses lower arrivals
Medium staple cotton traded in the range of Rs.4,741-4,743 per maund (40kg) in Abohar today. The price of the commodity moved up by Rs.26-28 per maund. As per market sources, slightly good demand for the commodity from exporters as well as yarn manufacturers in Ludhiana and Pakistan amidst normal arrivals pushed up the spot rate in the mandi. However, kapas futures traded in red on the NCDEX platform. Total arrivals were pegged at around 1,800 bales (170 kg) in Punjab; out of which around 100 bales were unloaded in Abohar mandi.
Cotton (Rs./Quintal) Variety 29 mm Rajkot Kadi Average Kalyan kapas Lint Cotton 28.5mm Surendranagar Surendranagar Gondal Kadi Rajkot Vijapur (GUJ) Long staple Kadi Akola Rajkot Guntur Market 21 Apr 14 11811.0 11760.1 3971.0 6830.0 11340.2 11331.5 11382.5 11614.5 11802.0 11661.5 11696.6 12038.0 22 Apr 14 11740.7 11768.9 4018.0 6895.0 11431.8 11340.2 11312.2 11593.5 11802.0 11675.5 11738.8 12054.9 6920.0 11474.0 11379.0 11474.0 11607.5 11867.5 11689.6 11816.0 23 Apr 14

Medium staple S-06(LS), shankar-6, 28mm fine Shankar kapas

Abohar Kadi

11708.8 11942.5

11786.2 11942.5

11861.2 11942.5

Gondal Kadi Rajkot Vijapur (GUJ)

5247.0 5228.0 5277.8 5297.0

5251.2 5263.0 5245.2 5304.0

Last 7 days price for Cotton

Kadi witnesses demand for quality cotton

Price moves up marginally
The spot price of long staple cotton rose by Rs.75-125 per candy of 356 kgs, from its last close, to rule in the range of Rs.42,075 to Rs.42,125 in Kadi today. Demand was witnessed

for quality cotton from domestic mills in the physical market amid decreased arrivals. However, overseas demand continued to remain sluggish, which capped an upside in the price. Moreover, demand from China is expected to remain lower in the upcoming days. This may keep the price range-bound in near future. Arrivals: Long staple cotton arrivals decreased today to 25,000-30,000 bales, weighing 170 kgs each, from 30,000-35,000 bales that arrived yesterday in Gujarat. Further, traders informed that supply decreased by 5,000 bales, to 0.75-0.80 lakh bales across India.
Cotton (Rs./Quintal) Variety 29 mm Rajkot Kadi Average Kalyan kapas Lint Cotton 28.5mm Surendranagar Surendranagar Gondal Kadi Rajkot Vijapur (GUJ) Long staple Kadi Akola Rajkot Guntur Medium staple S-06(LS), shankar-6, 28mm fine Shankar kapas Abohar Kadi Market 21 Apr 14 11811.0 11760.1 3971.0 6830.0 11340.2 11331.5 11382.5 11614.5 11802.0 11661.5 11696.6 12038.0 11708.8 11942.5 22 Apr 14 11740.7 11768.9 4018.0 6895.0 11431.8 11340.2 11312.2 11593.5 11802.0 11675.5 11738.8 12054.9 11786.2 11942.5 11861.2 11942.5 6920.0 11474.0 11379.0 11474.0 11607.5 11867.5 11689.6 11816.0 23 Apr 14

Gondal Kadi

5247.0 5228.0

5251.2 5263.0

Rajkot Vijapur (GUJ) Last 7 days price for Cotton

5277.8 5297.0

5245.2 5304.0

Cotton price to move up in Abohar

Good demand may push up price
The spot price of medium staple cotton is expected to settle above its preceding close of Rs.4,715 per maund (40 kg) in Abohar mandi today. As per market participants, good demand for the commodity from exporters as well as yarn manufacturers in Ludhiana and Pakistan, along with lower arrivals may push up the price in the physical market.
Cotton (Rs./Quintal) Variety 29 mm Rajkot Market 21 Apr 14 11811.0 22 Apr 14 11740.7 23 Apr 14

Kadi Average Kalyan kapas Lint Cotton 28.5mm Surendranagar Surendranagar Gondal Kadi Rajkot Vijapur (GUJ) Long staple Kadi Akola Rajkot Guntur Medium staple S-06(LS), shankar-6, 28mm fine Shankar kapas Abohar Kadi

11760.1 3971.0 6830.0 11340.2 11331.5 11382.5 11614.5 11802.0 11661.5 11696.6 12038.0 11708.8 11942.5

11768.9 4018.0 6895.0 11431.8 11340.2 11312.2 11593.5 11802.0 11675.5 11738.8 12054.9 11786.2 11942.5 11861.2 11942.5 6920.0 11474.0 11379.0 11474.0 11607.5 11867.5 11689.6 11816.0

Gondal Kadi Rajkot Vijapur (GUJ)

5247.0 5228.0 5277.8 5297.0

5251.2 5263.0 5245.2 5304.0

Last 7 days price for Cotton

Cotton arrivals increase in Gujarat

Market witnesses good demand for quality cotton
The spot price of long staple cotton rose by Rs.75-125 per candy of 356 kgs, to rule in the range of Rs.42,075 to Rs.42,125 in Kadi today. Despite increased arrivals, good demand for quality cotton pushed up the price, informed mandi participants. On the other hand, expectation of demand from China to remain lower in the upcoming days capped an upside in the price. Arrivals: Long staple cotton arrivals increased today to 30,000-35,000 bales, weighing 170 kgs each, from 25,000-30,000 bales that arrived yesterday in Gujarat. Further, traders informed that supply decreased by 10,000 bales, to 0.80-0.85 lakh bales across India.
Cotton (Rs./Quintal) Variety 29 mm Rajkot Kadi Market 19 Apr 14 21 Apr 14 11811.0 11760.1 22 Apr 14 11740.7 11768.9

Average Kalyan kapas Lint Cotton 28.5mm

Surendranagar Surendranagar Gondal Kadi Rajkot Vijapur (GUJ) 6795.0 11382.5 11266.5 11340.2 11459.8 11745.8 11577.2 11703.6

3971.0 6830.0 11340.2 11331.5 11382.5 11614.5 11802.0 11661.5 11696.6 12038.0 11606.2 11858.2 11708.8 11942.5

4018.0 6895.0 11431.8 11340.2 11312.2 11593.5 11802.0 11675.5 11738.8 12054.9 11786.2 11942.5

Long staple

Kadi Akola Rajkot Guntur

Medium staple S-06(LS), shankar-6, 28mm fine Shankar kapas

Abohar Kadi

Gondal Kadi Rajkot Vijapur (GUJ)

5247.0 5228.0 5277.8 5297.0

5251.2 5263.0 5245.2 5304.0

Last 7 days price for Cotton

Cotton registers uptrend in Abohar

Price moves up by Rs.17-19 per maund
Medium staple cotton traded in the range of Rs.4,701-4,703 per maund (40kg) in Abohar today. The price of the commodity moved up by Rs.17-19 per maund. As per market sources, slightly good demand for the commodity from exporters as well as yarn manufacturers in Ludhiana and Pakistan amidst lower arrivals pushed up the spot rate in the mandi. However, kapas futures traded in red on the NCDEX platform. Total arrivals were pegged at around 1,500 bales (170 kg) in Punjab; out of which around 100 bales were unloaded in Abohar mandi.
Cotton prices moved up on the back of fresh demand from domestic mills. On the other hand, export demand remained restricted. According to traders, demand for quality cotton improved from millers over the last few days and prices are likely to rise further. Super quality Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton was traded higher by 300-400 at 42,200-500 for a candy of 356 kg. B grade cotton quoted at 40,00041,000 and prices of lower quality were 35,000-36,000. About 30,000-32,000 bales (of 170 kg each) of cotton arrived in Gujarat and one lakh bales across the country. Kapas or raw cotton was traded higher as arrivals declined due to unseasonal weather in Gujarat. Kapas gained 10 to 900-1,060. Cotton seed was up 15 to 380-400 for a maund of 20 kg. Our Correspondent

Rajkot, April 18:

Cotton prices ruled steady on Friday on the back of limited demand. According to traders, buying by domestic mills is need-basedbut export demand was very nominal. Kapas or raw cotton was also traded flat. A broker said that ginning activity has been slow as arrival of quality cotton decreased. In such market conditions, cotton may decline next week. Gujarat Sankar-6 good quality cotton was traded at 42,000-200 for a candy of 356 kg. B grade cotton stood at 39,000-40,000 and C grade cotton 35,000-36,000 . About 35,000 bales (of 170 kg each) of cotton arrived in Gujarat and 90,000 bales arrived in India. Kapas was 860-1,060 for a maund of 20 kg in Saurashtra.
Raw cotton exports are expected to plummet around 20 per cent in the next crop year, with demand from China fading, as Beijing unwinds a controversial stockpiling scheme. That would be greater than the nearly six per cent drop touted for this year, with the change in Chinese policy coming on top of rising cotton consumption in India and a spurt in exports of finished yarn, industry officials said. Cotton markets around the world have been watching closely, as China abandons a stockpiling scheme under, which it has amassed more than 10 million tonnes (mt) of the fibre - around 60 per cent of global cotton inventories. The policy had driven up import demand by removing cotton from the domestic market and pushing up local prices. "Cotton exports have been falling year-on-year and we will not be able to export more than 7-7.5 million bales in 2014-15" said M B Lal, managing director of Shail Exports and former chairman of the Cotton Corporation of India. The country's cotton year runs from October to September. China, the world's largest cotton importer, accounts for more than 60 per cent of total raw cotton exports from India. The rest goes to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam. India, the world's no2 producer and exporter of cotton, has shipped a total of around 8.2-8.5 million bales so far in 2013-14, expected to grow to around 9.2-9.5 million bales by September, industry officials said. Due to harvest cycles, the vast majority of exports typically occur in the first half of the Indian crop year. The nation exported 10.1 million bales in the 2012-13 year, falling from 12.9 million bales the year before. China in February imported 147,317 tonnes of cotton from India, down 20 per cent from the previous month. Beijing in January announced it would scrap cotton stockpiling, instead trialling direct subsidies for farmers. "Chinese buyers have significantly reduced their buying from India in the past two months, as they

are waiting for more clarity on the cotton policy in their home country," said Rahul Jitendra Shah, managing director of Acme International. In a bid to speed up stockpile sales, China from the start of this month lowered the state sale floor price. Meanwhile, consumption of raw cotton by Indian mills has climbed to 25.8 million bales in 2013-14 from 25 million bales a year ago due to rising demand from textile makers as the global economy shows signs of picking up. "Consumption by cotton in mills is increasing sharply in India, as many new spinning units are coming up to meet rising demand from textile makers," said Arun Kumar Dalal, a cotton trader from Ahmedabad. "In the next crop year, mills' consumption is expected to touch 30 million bales." In 2011-12, demand from mills totalled 22.3 million bales. And Indian shipments of yarn, a value-added product used by textile mills, are likely to rise by around 10 per cent in the financial year 2013-14, market participants said, further crimping overseas demand for raw cotton. Some Chinese buyers have stepped up yarn purchases to avoid higher taxes on raw cotton imports. Cotton prices dropped on slack demand from domestic mills and exporters. Kapas or raw cotton remained steady. According to traders, cotton may fall in the coming days as international factors are not supportive. Best quality Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton was decreased 200-300 to 41,500-41,700 for a candy of 356 kg. B-grade cotton was traded on 34,000-35,000. About 30,000-32,000 bales of cotton arrived in Gujarat and 90,000 bales arrived across the country. According to traders, North India arrivals are in four figures only. Except Gujarat and Maharashtra, arrival will decline gradually as most of the stock has arrived in the market. Kapas was traded flat with limited buying by ginning industry. It was quoted 800-1,070 for a maund of 20 kg. Gin delivery kapas stood at 1,060-1,070 a maund. Local traders said that cotton prices may come down during this week as international factors are not supportive. Demand from China likely to decline and future market is also seen negative. Our Correspondent

(The High Court said that) BANGALORE: Agri-biotech and seed company Mahyco, which has been banned from selling two Bt cotton seed varieties in Karnataka but got no prior show-cause notice on the prohibition, has got an opportunity from the High Court to contest the state government's 'proposal' on ban. The relief came as the Karnataka High Court turned the state government's order on ban into a show-cause notice on the proposal to keep Mahyco away from selling Bt cotton seeds.

In its order dated March 22, the state government had banned Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) from selling Bt cotton seed varieties "MRC-7351" and "Nikkiplus" in the 2014-15 crop year, following reports of lower crop yields. The company was also blacklisted. The High Court said that the state government's order on ban "may treated as proposal" against which Mahyco will file objections within five days. The company had moved the High Court contending that no show-cause notice was issued before the government came out with the ban order on the ground that the two Bt cotton seed varieties did not perform as expected during the 2013-14 crop year, affecting yields across seven districts in the state. Taking note that the state government accepted there was no show-cause notice given to the company, a bench of Justice C R Kumaraswamy in its April 8 order directed the state government to receive objections from Mahyco and pass the final order by giving the company an opportunity. The court passed the order after accepting the submission of the state government that the order banning sale of Bt cotton seeds by Mahyco be treated as proposal.

It was in 2006, agri-biotech and seed company Mahyco had got permission from the Centre to sell Bt cotton seed varieties "MRC-7351" and "Bollgard-II" for commercial cultivation in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Mumbai-based company produces seeds for a wide range of crops including hybrid cotton, hybrid field crops and hybrid vegetables. It has 15 production units in India. Rajkot, April 11: Cotton prices ruled unchanged on the back of restricted demand from mills and exporters. On the other side, kapas or raw cotton was down as demand from ginning industry was decreased. Best quality Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton traded at 42,000-500 a candy of 356 kg, while B-grade cotton quoted at 38,000-40,000 and lower grade at 34,000-36,000. About 32,000 bales (of 170 kg each) of cotton arrived in Gujarat and 95,000 bales across the country. As demand from the ginning industry decreased, kapas prices declined by 10 for a maund of 20 kg. Best quality kapas 1,050-70 and lower quality kapas at 800-900.
The Karnataka government has banned Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (Mahyco) from selling two popular Bt cotton seed varieties in the forthcoming 2014-15 crop year (July-June), following reports of lower crop yields. "The sales of Bt cotton hybrids by Mahyco company is banned until further orders in Karnataka state," according to the order issued by the state Agriculture Department. Further, the company has also been "black listed" to prevent it from participating in any tender process undertaken by the Karnataka State Department of Agriculture until further orders, it said. As per the order-dated March 22, the two seed varieties "MRC-7351" and "Nikkiplus" did not perform as expected during the 2013-14 crop year,affecting yields across seven districts in the state. After field visit, the state government officials found that 58,195 hectares suffered loss in crop yields by more than 50 per cent in affected districts -- Haveri, Belgaum, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Dharwad, Bellary and Gadag. The order said, "Mahyco has not conducted any awareness campaign or training programme for effective management of pests and disease. Therefore, Mahyco has clearly voilated the instructions given by Government of India at the time of permission of commercial sales." It was way back in 2006 that the Centre had allowed Mahyco to sell Bt cotton seed varities "MRC7351" and "Bollgard-II" for commercial cultivation in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Agriculture experts said that the ban may not have a significant impact on cotton sowing this year in

Karnataka as farmers have a number of options and can source other varieties from other companies. However, the absence of these two popular varieties could cause some farmers to consider alternate crops, they added Currently, cotton that was sown during 2013-14 crop year is being harvested in the state. Mahyco had sold 5.63 lakh packets of MRC-7351 and Nikkiplus in 2013. Farmers had sown MRC7351 1.39 lakh hectares, while Nikkiplus in 0.12 lakh hectares

New Delhi, April 9: The delay in harvesting wheat in Punjab and Haryana is set to push back cotton planting in forthcoming kharif season. In Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, cotton planting starts in early May and this year it could be delayed by about a fortnight. Cotton area up However, cotton acreages are unlikely to be affected and on the contrary, they may see a marginal increase. Poor returns from guarseed last year may prompt farmers to shift back to cotton in the coming season mainly in Haryana and Rajasthan and to some extent in Punjab. Industry sources said that cotton was planted on about 3.5 million hectares in the northern region last year. We expect there will be a 2-3 per cent increase in cotton acreage in North India as farmers are seen shifting back to the fibre crop from guar, said Sovan Chakraborty, Business Head, Shriram Farm Solutions, a unit of DCM Shriram Ltd. Shriram is a leader in the Bt cottonseed market in North India and commands a 35 per cent share in the market, estimated at 55 lakh packets of 450 gm each. Sales of Bt cotton seeds are yet to start, Chakraborty said, adding that the company has been receiving a few enquiries. M Ramasami, Managing Director, Rasi Seeds, said that gains in cotton acreage may not be significant as farmers may not be enthusiastic to plant the fibre crop as yields were barely normal last year. However, he believes that cotton may gain acreage from guar, mainly in Haryana. Guar loses the race Further, Ramasami said cotton needs to be planted before May 20 for better results. It is a critical situation for farmers as wheat harvest has been delayed, he said. Cotton farmers in the north-west had planted more guar last year as prices of guarseed ruled at around 9,000 a quintal during May. However, with the lack of demand from key consumers in the US and Canada, prices of guarseed fell subsequently. Currently, guarseed

prices are ruling hovering around 4,500 a quintal, almost half the price that prevailed in corresponding period a year ago. Weather woes Wheat harvest has been delayed due to the prolonged winter and unseasonal rains. The grain is still turning yellow and it may take a couple of weeks to dry. We expect the harvest to commence by end-April and may push back cotton planting by 8-10 days, said Vikas Rai, a large farmer in Abohar. Besides, the lack of availability of water in canals at this point in time will also delay the cotton plantings, Rai said. New Delhi, April 6: Indias cotton exports are expected to decline 23 per cent to 7.7 million bales in the 2014-15 marketing year starting August due to tight domestic supplies following a likely fall in production, the USDA said. India, the worlds second-biggest cotton grower, is estimated to ship 10 million bales of the natural fibre in the current 2013-14 marketing year. Already 8.8 million bales have been exported, it said. One bale comprises 170 kg of cotton. 2014-15 exports are forecast at 7.7 million bales...India appears to be headed for a year in which exportable supplies will be constrained by domestic demand and lower production, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in its latest report on cotton. India is expected to again be a regional supplier to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia. However, China will likely be the key determiner of Indias export volumes, it said. The Indian government is likely to monitor the pace of exports and could seek to implement measures to ration exportable supplies to conserve supplies for the domestic textile sector, it added. According to the USDA, the countrys total cotton output is pegged lower at 36 million bales for the 201415 marketing year, as against 37.2 million bales in the current year, due to expected lower crop yields. India exports medium-to-long staple cotton (25-32 mm length) to China, Bangladesh and Southeast Asian countries. However, to augment domestic supplies for processing and re-export as high-end textiles, India will likely continue to import extra long staple and quality long staple cotton (2834 mm), with occasional imports of medium or short staple cotton (below 22 mm), the USDA said.

These imports typically occur from August to November, prior to the onset of the Indian harvest. Rajkot, April 4: Cotton prices dropped as demand from millers and exporters waned. Kapas or raw cotton also was in the negative zone due to low demand from ginning industry. According to traders, cotton price may decrease further in coming days. Gujarat Sankar-6 best quality cotton decreased by 200 to 42,000-200 for a candy of 356 kg. Medium grade cotton was at 39,500-41,000 and lower grade cotton price was 38,000-39,000. About 37,000 bales (of 170 kg each) arrived in Gujarat and 1.30 lakh bales arrived in India. Kapas was down 10 to 925-1,035 for a maund of 20 kg in Rajkot and gin delivery kapas at 1,050-65 a maund. COIMBATORE: India's cotton production this year is projected to be 376 lakh bales (170 kg each) 15 lakh bales higher than the earlier estimates on account of better yields in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, says the Indian Cotton Federation. The cotton year runs from October-September. Attributing the increase in estimates to better yields and quality in the two states, ICF President J Thulasidharan today said the crop in Andhra Pradesh has improved the yield and not suffered any damage as was anticipated, while in Maharashtra, quality and yield have shown remarkable increase. As demand remained limited from domestic mills and exporters, cotton price was remained unchanged. According to traders, demand for best quality cotton was there in the market. In present condition market may stable in coming days. Sankar-6 cotton for best quality was traded on Rs 41,800-42,500 per candy of 356 kg while lower grade cotton was stood at Rs 39,000-39,500 per candy. About 50,000 bales of cotton arrived in Gujarat and 1.60 lakh bales arrived in India. Similarly, raw cotton or kapas was traded flat as ginners buys as per their requirements. Kapas lower quality was traded on Rs 850-950 per 20 kg, average kapas was stood at Rs 9501,025 per 20 kg and best kapas was quoted Rs 1,030-1,050 per 20 kg. Gin delivery kapas was traded on Rs 1,060-1,075 per 20 kg. Traders said, export demand was limited and domestic buying was also seen bit poor. Arrival of cotton has decreased and quality cotton arrival is too slow but price may not increase from current level as there is no any expectation for fresh demand. According to traders, India has exported 74 lakh bales during the August-February period marketing year. But the pace of shipments is expected to taper in coming months depending upon demand from China. LONDON: More than half of cotton crop is grown in regions with high water risks, according to the WWF International. The expanded Water Risk Filter, started in 2012, now covers 122 commodities from almonds to cocoa and sugar and the countries where they are grown and shows historical instances of drought, pollution and "water footprint" in each area. Climate change, population growth, rising food demand and changing consumption patterns are increasing pressure on freshwater resources, according to WWF.

"Cotton is one of the thirstiest crops, it requires a lot of water and it's one of the most polluting crops given the high demand for fertilizers and pesticides," Jochem Verberne, head of corporate relations at WWF International, said by phone on Friday from Amsterdam. "The pollution of the Aral Sea in the former Soviet Union is almost entirely due to irrigation needs for cotton production in the surrounding countries." Global cotton output grew by 50 per cent in the past 20 years, data from the US Department of Agriculture showed. China is the largest producer followed by India and the US. About 40 per cent of the world's population lives in river basins that experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year and 780 million people lack access to safe drinking water, according to WWF. Some 2.5 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, it said Ranking System WWF's risk filter generates a score from 1 to 5 based on the physical, regulatory and reputational risk related to water in basins around the world. The higher the score, the bigger the risk. It was developed in collaboration with the German development finance institution DEG and is free online. "A lot of companies are picking water up as the next big environmental issue but have difficulties understanding the complexity of the topic," Verberne said. "This tool tries to explain that as well; and not only have the water risk assessment and the mapping in place but also the mitigation responses, what you can do about the specific types of risk. That's a great starting point for companies to take actions." The WWF's comments come a day before the UN sponsored World Water Day that this year highlights the interplay between water and energy. Cotton prices in the global market increased to a six-month high last week, but the domestic market is unlikely to be influenced by it. Prices in the Indian market are expected to rule at current levels. The rise in global cotton prices raises may questions. It looks oversold and we think the market is being manipulated by US shippers, said A Ramani, a cotton industry analyst and an official of the Indian Cotton Federation from Coimbatore. Globally, cotton prices have run up due to speculator interest. We dont think it will have any effect in the domestic market, said D K Nair, Secretary-General of Confederation of Indian Textiles Industry. Last week, cotton gained 1.05 per cent on the ICE US, New York, at 92.19 cents a pound (Rs 42,200 for a candy of 356 kg). On Monday, cotton futures maturing for delivery in May ruled at 92.24 cents on the ICE US. In the last one month, the natural fibre has gained 3.60 per cent. We think it is demand from China that is driving up global prices. US cotton quality is good and 80 per cent of the crop there has been sold out, said Anand K Poppat, an official of the Saurashtra Ginners Association in Gujarat and an exporter. According to the US Department of Agriculture, stocks in US warehouses will be at a fouryear low of three million bales (of 217.72 kg each) at the end of the season in July. Exports from the US is projected nearly two per cent higher at 10.7 million bales.

No doubt, US export sales are high but no one is sure if it is genuine sale or transfer of stock to the Far-East. This could have been done because US shippers would have wanted prices to drop, said Ramani. China, the largest importer, bought 35 per cent less cotton in February and since the beginning of the year, its cotton purchases from overseas are 36 per cent lower compared with the same period a year ago. Chinese imports are substantially lower since the beginning of its lunar New Year. There is a big question mark over the Chinese factor, said Ramani. One problem with regard to China is the huge cotton reserve it holds. Stocks with China are equivalent to what it consumes over one-and-a-half years, said Ramani. They (stocks) are a mind-boggling 70 million bales, said Poppat. That is almost equal to what India produced together in the last two seasons. Global stocks at the end of July are projected at around 95 million bales by the USDA. The current global rally is not sustainable and prices will come under pressure, said Ramani. It is borne by the discount to the nearly 11 cents discount to December futures on the ICE US. In the domestic market, prices could rule below Rs 43,000 a candy. Currently, prices are hovering around Rs 42,000 for Shankar-6 variety, the one in demand for exports. Recent rains could affect the last round of cotton pickings but prices are seen on leash because of a higher crop, said Nair. Cotton production this season to September has been projected at 375 lakh bales (of 170 kg each) against 365 lakh bales last season. Production could be higher, at least in Gujarat where the output is likely to be 130-135 lakh bales, said Poppat. The Cotton Advisory Board has pegged Gujarats production at 116 lakh bales this season. Despite higher production, prices will rule stable in view of exports, projected at 90 lakh bales. Last year, 101 lakh bales were exported. Till February, 78 lakh bales have been shipped out. Besides China, we are exporting to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam, said Poppat. Bangladesh and Vietnam are currently offering higher prices for Indian cotton compared to others since they hold the advantage of cheap labour. Bangladesh is offering up to Rs 44,600 a candy, while Pakistan is offering not more than Rs 44,100. The Chinese are paying less than Rs 42,200.

Current domestic prices are just helping spinning mills to make both ends meet. Any further rise will result in losses, said Nair. To beat and survive price fluctuation, the cotton trade and industry here says it is considering the commodity future as the only alternative in the present situation. J Thulasidharan,president, Indian Cotton Federation, said agro-climatic conditions and lack of a long-term cotton policy is the major reason for the problem faced by the cotton trade and yarn sector in India, particularly on the price front. To protect stakeholders buyers,sellers and consumers from volatility of the cotton price, the only alternative was to trade through commodity futures exchange, which would also provide a platform for risk management, he said, addressing a seminar on 'safety net against cotton price fluctuation.' T G Senthilvelan, assistant vice-president, Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), Chennai, said domestic demand supply scenario, inter-crop price parity, cost of production and international price situation were the major factors that influenced prices in the market. Once cotton was traded through MCX, the third largest exchange in the world, it will ensure trade guarantee, risk management, pricing issue and transacton efficiency and liquidity, he said. D Balasundaram, director, Coimbatore Capital, said though cotton trade in the country was Rs 70,000 crore, hardly Rs 200 crore worth cotton was traded through exchange, which needs to be increased Cotton prices dropped marginally on the back of limited buying at the higher level. Kapas or raw cotton prices also declined due to poor demand from ginners. Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton was down 100 to 42,500-600 a candy of 356 kg. Kapas for gin delivery was down by 5 to 1,060-70 for a maund of 20 kg in Saurashtra. Kapas were traded at 1,000-75 in various APMCs of Gujarat. About 55,000 bales (of 170 kg each) of cotton arrived in Gujarat against 65,000 bales previous week. Similarly, arrival across India decreased to 1.60 lakh bales a day. A broker said that as prices rose last week, demand from exporters and mills dropped marginally. The downfall, though, was limited due to restricted arrivals. Coimbatore, March 9: The Indian Cotton Federation (ICF) is keen on investing in cotton development in Africa. Senior ICF officials indicated this to the 16-member African delegation, which was on a visit to this part of the country to understand the mill sectors requirement. ICF Vice-President KN Viswanathan said: We are interested in investing in cotton development in Africa and improving trade relationship between African countries and India. The textile sector here is dependent on international merchants for sourcing cotton from African countries. The expression of interest by these African cotton farmers and

ginners would go a long way in establishing direct trade links between the mill sector and the growers of cotton in Africa, he said. The Federation sought production details from the members of the delegation from six African countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Nigeria, Uganda and Malawi. Late shipment, shade variation, contamination and delays in presenting documents are some of the major concerns that we face at present, said Nataraj, Managing Director, KPR Mills and Vice-President, ICF. KPR Mills, according to Nataraj, has been sourcing close to 40 per cent of the mills cotton requirement from Africa. We depend on merchant exporters, Nataraj said. This is the fourth delegation in three months. The delegations visit is said to be part of the Centres Cotton Technical Assistance Programme for Africa. It is a three-year project and is expected to come to an end in 2015. The initiative includes setting up of a knowledge cluster in Benin, bio pesticide lab in Uganda and skill development programmes in Nigeria in association with CICR and CIRCOT, said Milan Sharma, Head Africa Initiatives, IL&FS Cluster Development Initiative Ltd.

Sixteen-member delegation meets members of the Indian Cotton Federation

Members of an African delegation have urged the cotton traders and textile mill owners here to assist them in developing cotton trade from their countries. A 16-member delegation including Government officials and private players in cotton and textile sectors from six African countries met the members of the Indian Cotton Federation here on Tuesday. The delegates are visiting some of the textile clusters in India, including Tirupur and Coimbatore, and having a meeting with the textile industry in New Delhi. Vice-presidents of the Indian Cotton Federation K.N. Viswanathan and P. Nataraj told the delegates that textile mills in Coimbatore region are sourcing substantial volume of cotton from Africa. However, it is through international merchants and traders and they are interested in buying cotton directly from the African farmers and traders. Indian trade and industry will be interested in investing in Africa and buying cotton from the African nations. Textile mills in Coimbatore region need more than 10 million bales of cotton a year and they buy most of it from Gujarat now. In the case of African cotton, there were issues such as the time taken for delivery, contamination and shade variation. The shipments need to be regular and the infrastructure problems should be sorted out. They are willing to assist the African sector. However, they need to know more about the volume of production in each country, the marketing season, Government norms, taxation, and security. This is the fourth African cotton delegation to Coimbatore in the last three months.

Milan Sharma, head-Africa Initiatives of IL&FS Cluster Development Initiative, told presspersons that the visit is organised as part of the Central Governments Cotton Technical Assistance Programme for Africa. The IL & FS is the programme manager for the project that aims at capacity building and technology transfer for development of the cotton sector in seven African countries. Project The project is on till 2015. It includes establishing a knowledge cluster in Benin, bio pesticide laboratory in Uganda, and skill development schools in Nigeria and Malawi. These will be in association with agencies such as the Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology and the Directorate of Cotton Development. The programme has been extended for trade cooperation. An Indian delegation will visit the African countries this year, Ms. Sharma said. Exposure The visit is to give an exposure and create awareness on the cluster concept. The delegates were from Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Nigeria, Uganda, and Malawi. They explained about cotton cultivation in their countries, facilities available and steps taken to sell cotton directly to buyers in countries such as India. Coimbatore, March 4: An 18-member delegation from Africa is visiting Coimbatore and other textile clusters in the country to assess the potential of selling African cotton here. This is the fourth visit of a team from Africa in three months. International Cotton Trade, a joint agency of World Trade Organisation and the United Nations, is initiating the mission for promoting African cotton. Indian Cotton Federation sources said that the team would be going over to ICF after visiting the Tirupur knitwear cluster. The cotton federation's Vice-President KN Viswanthan said that the trade here is keen to source cotton from Africa. Since the domestic prices are high, it will make sense to import cotton from Africa, he said. Cotton crop estimates for the current season (2013-14) have been pegged at 375 lakh bales (170 kg a bale) compared to 365 lakh bales last season, an increase of 2.73%, the Indian Cotton Federation (ICF) said on Monday. The daily average seed cotton arrivals were around 2 lakh bales. The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) reported an arrival of 151.41 lakh bale in the current season as of now as compared to 182.23 lakh bale in the same time last season. In the north zone of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, the daily average arrivals are around 15,000 bales. Cotton lint prices remained steady with no major variations. In Gujarat, arrivals were less due to severe cold wave conditions, coupled with farmers' reluctance to sell kappas, anticipating better rates. Prices were ruling firm. S6 prices stood at around Rs 42,800 to Rs 43,000 for 29 mm staple length.

In Maharashtra, there is steady arrival of 50,000-55,000 bales daily. So far 30-35 lakh bales have arrived in the market. Cotton prices dropped on the back of poor export demand and limited buying by domestic spinning mills on Friday. Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton traded lower by 300 at Rs 41,700-42,000 for a candy of 356 kg. Kapas or raw cotton decreased 10-15 to 1,000-1,035 for a maund of 20 kg, while gin delivery kapas were traded at 1,040-1,050 a maund. About 55,000-57,000 bales (170 kg each) of cotton arrived in Gujarat and 1.80 lakh bales across the country. A Rajkot-based broker said that demand in the past few days was slack from exporters. On the other side, farmers are holding back their produce going by the fact that arrivals have dropped from 65,000 bales to 55,000 bales this week. According to traders, cotton price may not decrease further as farmers are holding back supplies. Rajkot, February 24: Weak export demand and limited buying by domestic mills pulled down cotton price on Monday. With this, slow demand from ginners dragged kapas or raw cotton price on Monday. According to a broker, demand from exporters was nominal. On the other hand, domestic mills demand was limited. Under the present conditions, cotton price may decline this week. Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton was down 200-300 to 42,500-700 a candy of 356 kg. Kapas shed 10 to 1,050-65 for a maund of 20 kg in Rajkot and gin delivery kapas was quoted at 1,070-85. About 60,000 bales (of 170 kg each) of cotton arrived in Gujarat and Indias cotton arrival was registered at 1.80 lakh bales on Monday. Traders said that during last week physical market was under selling pressure and particularly south and Maharashtra rate came down but Gujarat has not given any sign of pressure. Due to quality issue, Gujarat prices also will come under pressure.
www.bfa-india.org New Delhi, Feb 11:

Cotton industry body CAI has lowered marginally its production forecast of the commodity to 374 lakh bales for the current marketing year. In its earlier December estimate, the Cotton Association of India (CAI) had pegged the output at 376 lakh bales of 170 kg each. Cotton production in 2012-13 marketing year (OctoberSeptember) stood at 356.75 lakh bales.

The production of cotton crop for 2013-14 season beginning October 1, 2013, is estimated at 374 lakh bales, CAI said in its latest estimates. Acreage of cotton in the current season (2013-14) has come down slightly to about 118 lakh hectares as compared to 120 lakh hectares in the last season. Production will be higher in the current season despite lower acreage, as there was good monsoon this year and acreage in Gujarat has gone up substantially, CAI President Dhiren Sheth said. Arrivals till December in the current season were up by 16.8 per cent to 119.75 lakh bales compared to 102.50 lakh bales in the same period last season. Cotton production in Gujarat is set to jump to 118 lakh bales from 86.50 lakh bales during the period under review. The output is expected to go up in Maharashtra also, while in Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, it is estimated to come down slightly. The government has pegged cotton production at 353 lakh bales for 2013-14 and has raised minimum support price (MSP) for cotton to Rs 3,700 per quintal from Rs 3,600 per quintal in 2012-13. The government will launch a Rs.50-crore Tamil Nadu Cotton Cultivation Mission to boost the cotton production in the State, said Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam in his budget speech on Thursday. The Minister said cotton was cultivated on 3.34 lakh acres with a production of four lakh bales. But all the 1,948 spinning mills in the State required 110 lakh bales per year. Under the mission, at least 3.70 lakh acres will be brought under cotton cultivation in 201415 and ultimately the cultivation will be expanded to 6 lakh acres in the next five years. He said as part of the governments efforts to improve on-farm productivity and farmers income, various sub-projects would be taken up under the National Agriculture Development Programme (NADP) at a cost of Rs. 323 crore. Moreover, the crop loan target for the co-operatives would be enhanced to an unprecedented level of Rs. 5,000 crore. The allocation for crop insurance was Rs 242.54 crore. Earlier, the DMK and its allies staged a walkout from the House alleging that the time of tabling the budget was changed without consulting them. SIMA hails it Special Correspondent from Coimbatore writes: The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA), welcoming the announcement, it would enable the State to be self-sufficient in cotton.

The SIMA chairman, T. Rajkumar, said that textile mills in the State needed over 100 lakh bales a year. However, just five lakh bales of cotton were produced and the mills procured the rest from other States. The mills were paying high freight costs to transport cotton from other States.
www.hktdc.com Rajkot, February 17:

Cotton prices dropped on the back of limited buying by domestic spinning mills and exporters. With this, kapas or raw cotton decreased as demand from ginners has declined at the higher level. Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton lost 200 at 42,500-700 for a candy of 356 kg. Kapas slipped by 5-7 to 930-1,108 for a maund of 20 kg while gin delivery kapas ruled at 1,080-1,090. Maharashtra kapas were traded at 1,030-85 at Kadi in Gujarat. About 65,000 bales (of 170 kg each) of cotton arrived in Gujarat and 1.90 lakh bales arrived across the country. A broker said that as price had increased in the past week, demand was slack and as a result, prices declined. The trend is likely continue over the next few days. Cotton futures also slipped on profit booking. On Multi Commodity Exchange, cotton February contracts declined 0.34 per cent to 20,560/bale. Similarly, on National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, kapas February contracts decreased by 17 to 902 for a maund.
www.hktdc.com

Allocation of import quota by Beijing uncertain as it cuts base price to offload reserves
Chennai, February 12:

Chinas plan to sell raw cotton cheap in the domestic market to cut down its inventories may hit exports from the country. With massive reserves to offload, allocation of import quota by the country has become uncertain. China could cut the base selling price of 18,000 yuan/tonne (1.84 lakh) of cotton by about five per cent to spur purchases, according to trade sources. This may diminish the arbitrage advantage offered by Indian imports. Now, Indian raw cotton is available for Chinese mills are at around 12,301 yuan. Chirag M Pan, Chief Executive Officer of Rajkot, Gujarat-based Jaydeep Cotton Fibres, which shipped 40,000 tonnes of raw cotton, about 65 per cent of its exports, to China during 2012-13, says exports will come down significantly this year. Since the Chinese markets are closed for New Year, we are not able to get the indicators on whether more import quotas will be issued. We have been receiving reports about a price cut, but nobody can predict Chinese policy.

Unwinding inventory According to the Chinese Governments cotton news website cncotton.com, as on January 22, about 4.01 lakh tonnes of cotton found their way into the textile mills and garment factories jeopardising Indian exports. Why China is doing this is not far to seek: A 2011 procurement programme to allay fears of cotton growers and encourage planting boomeranged. It had set a high floor price of 19,800 yuan a tonne (2.03 lakh), at least 4,000 yuan higher than the prevailing global average, jacking up prices of domestic cotton yarn and making Indian imports attractive. Last month China said it is unwinding the inventory it built over the last three years, and support growers through a subsidy programme. The US Department of Agriculture estimates say by March 2014 China will be stuck with more than 58 million tonnes or 60 per cent of the global cotton inventory. Import quota DL Sharma, Managing Director, Vardhman Yarns and Textiles Ltd, said, With such high reserves, I wonder if China will issue more import quotas. It could cut back on duty-free import quota. The country has a complex sliding tax system, where imports above the quota attract duties in the range of 4-40 per cent.
Cotton imports are picking up in India, otherwise a net exporter. This is due to high local prices and transport costs, specially for southern states that bring cotton from western India. This cotton season (October 2013 to September 2014), imports are estimated at two million bales (170 kg each) against the target of 1.2 million set by the Cotton Advisory Board in October.

Mills in southern India find it easier to import cotton rather than buy it from the domestic market. Also they have the advantage of the 90-180 days credit facility which puts them in a better spot when it comes to payments.

Bhadresh Mehta, a Mumbai-based exporter, said, This cotton year, exports are estimated at two million bales as many southern mills are looking to importing. They find this cheaper (by Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 a candy) and enjoy the option of buying on 90-180-day credit facility. The Africa imports may not be as good as Shankar-6. However, the mills find contamination manageable.

The price difference is also around Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 per candy which makes importing cotton although the more a better option compared to sourcing it from the domestic market.

Mostly cotton imports are happening from some of the African nations as transportation is viable if imported material lands in southern posts.

K Selvaraju, secretary-general, South India Textile Mills Association, said, Tamil Nadu accounts for 50 per cent of the yarn production in India. It produces five-600,000 bales (a bale is 170 kg) and consumes 12 million annually. Most cotton is brought from Gujarat and Maharashtra. The cost of transporting 100 bales from Gujarat is Rs 10 lakh, unviable. Almost 50 per cent of the cotton consumed in Tamil Nadu is from there. The government should implement the Cabotage Rule (under the Shipping Act).

Some mills have resorted to import of cotton from West Africa that has a cost advantage over 5% over the cotton brought from Gujarat.

Cotton was removed from Essential Commodities Act in year 2008, this should be restored, he said.

The mills get credit from banks for three months. It should be extended to nine. The margin money requirement should be reduced to 10 per cent from 25 per cent.

The power situation in Tamil Nadu has improved over the last few years due to wind energy, but evacuation remains a hurdle. Grid connectivity has to be substantially improved to reap the benefits of additional power generation.

Rajkot, February 21: Cotton price remained unchanged on the back of limited buying by domestic mills and slow export demand. According to market sources, prices may hold around current levels in the coming days as cotton arrivals have slowed. A broker said that though there was demand from domestic mills, it was limited as prices are still high. Moreover, weak export demand capped gains in cotton price. Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton was traded flat at 42,600-700 a candy of 356 kg. Kapas or raw cotton was traded at 1,065-1,070 for a maund of 20 kg in Rajkot. Gin delivery kapas was 1,085-1,090. About 60,000 bales (of 170 kg) of cotton arrived in Gujarat and 1.80 lakh bales arrived in India.
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Cotton exports are picking up following exchange-rate stability. China, with buffer stocks, has started increasing imports from India. Demand from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam has also increased. So far this cotton year (October-September) six million bales (one is 170 kg) have been shipped and one million are expected to be in a month. Exports are expected to reach 10 million this cotton year. The Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) had projected nine million bales for this cotton year. A year ago, these were 10 million. In cotton year 2011-12, these were 13 million. Though China in the recent past had decided to increase cotton-yarn imports instead of cottons, it has resumed buying to a certain extent from India. Rupee in one month has stabilised around 62 a dollar, while cotton prices have also remained stable, though elevated, at Rs 43,000 a candy for the benchmark variety Shankar-6, during the period. Though China in the last couple of months had started to decrease cotton imports, stability in the rupee revived its purchases from India. Pakistan and Bangladesh have also started to import from India in a big way, said M B Lal, a Mumbai-based cotton exporter. Buying from our neighbours have picked up in a big way and also their need for cotton is very high which has caused exports of cotton to pick up.
China is expected to buy small quantities of cotton in the coming months as well and this

will also help push exports, as China is the biggest importer of the Indian cotton. Due to heavy demand from neighbours, this year exports are likely to pick up, said S P Oswal, chairman of Vardhman Textiles.

Cotton prices dropped on the back of weak buying by domestic spinning mills and exporters. According to market sources, demand decreased after price rose last week. Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton declined by 200-300 to 42,800-42,900 for a candy of 356 kg. Kapas or raw cotton was moved down 7-10 to 1,050-1,075 for a maund of 20 kg, while gin delivery kapas was traded on 1,080-1,090 for a maund in Rajkot. About 65,000 bales of cotton arrived in Gujarat and 1.92 lakh bales arrived across the country. On National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, kapas April contract was declined 10.50 to 987 for a maund, with an open interest of 17,517 lots Cotton yarn prices have increased recently because of the hike in prices of cotton, according to the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA). Its chairman T. Rajkumar has said in a press release here that the price of cotton was Rs. 47,500 a candy in September 2013, Rs. 39,000 in December 2013 and Rs. 43,000 now. The price of cotton yarn was Rs. 260 a kg last September, Rs. 241 a kg in December and Rs. 256 a kg now. Tamil Nadu produced just five lakh bales of cotton a year as against the annual requirement of 120 lakh bales. The remaining quantity is sourced from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Textile mills transport cotton from these States by trucks and the freight costs have shot up recently. It has gone up by Rs. 10,000 for a truck load of 100 bales during the last two months. Labour cost has increased by Rs. 20 a day in the recent months. Hence, yarn prices have also gone up. The mills have passed on only the increase in cotton prices, he said. Textile mills in India, the world's second-largest cotton exporter, are increasingly buying the fibre from Africa due to a pick-up in domestic prices, driving up imports beyond the official forecast of 1.7 million bales for this year, senior industry executives said on Monday. Most of the imports are being done by mills in southern India, said DK Nair, secretarygeneral of the Confederation of the Indian Textile Industry. The imports are expected to rise

to at least two million bales in the current marketing year through September, compared to 1.45 million bales a year before, he added. One bale equals 170 kg. For mills in south India, cotton from Gujarat is effectively more expensive than the African fibre, thanks to the recent spike in prices, South India Mills Association secretary-general K Selvaraju said. Although the landed cost of the African fibre in south India is almost equivalent of the price of Gujarat cotton at roughly Rs 44,500 per candy, the mills can produce more yarn out of the imported varieties due to better quality. This results in a benefit of around Rs 2,000 per candy, of 356 kg each, for a mill in Coimbatore if it imports from Africa, Selvaraju added. Moreover, on imports from West Africa, the mills are getting credit facility for six months, which can be rolled over to a period of one year, he added. Since getting working capital loans is a lingering problem with many textile mills, any such credit facility adds to the preferability of African cotton, he added. According to the November estimate by the state-backed Cotton Advisory Board (CAB), which firms up output as well as demand-supply estimates, cotton consumption by big mills could rise 3.1% to 25.8 million bales in 2013-14, while total demand, including small mill and non-mill offtake, was projected to inch up by 5% to 29.7 million bales. Although India usually buys some high-grade cotton varieties in small volumes from overseas, mainly from Egypt and US, this year mills are purchasing all varieties. Prices of the ICS-105 (28 mm) variety hit 42,000 per candy in Gujarat on Monday, up 4.7% from a month before, according to data by the Cotton Association Of India (CAI). While some textile industry executives feel farmers have held back the crop on anticipation of better prices and traders have hoarded stocks, some have blamed lower cotton arrivals in the market for the price rise. Cotton supplies in the domestic market, Cotton price remained unchanged on the back of normal export and domestic demand. Kapas or raw cotton also traded flat. Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton was quoted at 46,600-46,700 for a candy of 356 kg. Kapas was traded at 1,050-1,085 for a maund of 20 kg and gin delivery kapas stood on 1,085-1,100 a maund in Rajkot. About 60,000-62,000 bales of cotton arrived in Gujarat and 2 lakh bales arrived across the country. On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, kapas April contract increased by 4 to 980.50 a maund, with an open interest of 18,037 lots.

A Rajkot-based cotton broker said that demand was normal as buyers were buying hand-tomouth. Though there was some export inquiries, demand was likely to move up in the coming days Textile mills here have sought measures to control prices of cotton as it is the main raw material for the mills. This was discussed at a meeting held in New Delhi recently. K. Thirunavukarasu, president of South India Spinners Association who participated in the meeting, informed that the meeting was attended by officials from the Union textile and finance Ministries and banks and representatives of the textile spinning sector. Funds at lower cost The textile mills have sought additional funds from banks at lower cost so that they would be able to purchase cotton that would be needed for six months. This would enable the mills to purchase substantial quantity of cotton when the arrivals are good and thus, protect the units from the fluctuations in cotton price. The association had also sought removal of cotton from commodity trading and pointed out that since funds were available at a lower cost to the multi-national cotton companies, they were able to purchase large quantities of cotton at the beginning of the season and sell them later at a higher price. The officials asked the banks to prepare proposals and said it could be discussed with the industry. Though the proposal is not likely to take off this year, the process has started and it can be taken forward in the coming months, he said. The cotton season began in October 2013 and the prices have already crossed Rs. 40,000 a candy. The Southern India Mills Association sought the Centres permission to transport cotton from Gujarat to Tamil Nadu by foreign vessels. The mills here purchase 70 to 80 lakh bales of cotton every year from Gujarat. The cost to transport cotton (a 50-candy load) by truck from Gujarat to Coimbatore is nearly Rs. 80,000. It works out to Rs. 75,000 if transported by train. If the mills transport the cotton by Indian vessels, it costs about Rs. 65,000. In the case of a foreign vessel, the cost of transporting cotton from Gujarat to China is just 150 dollars. Hence, it is strongly felt that the Government should permit the mills to use foreign vessels. Cotton price ruled steady on Friday on the back of stable demand. Kapas or raw cotton prices ruled steady as demand from ginners was limited. Gujarat Sankar-6 cotton traded at Rs 42,900-43,000 for a candy of 356 kg. Kapas was quoted Rs 1,050-1,085 for a maund of 20 kg and gin delivery kapas traded at Rs 1,085-1,100 a maund in Rajkot.

About 60,000-62,000 bales of cotton arrived in Gujarat and 2 lakh bales across the country. On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, kapas April contracts decreased by Rs 11.50 to Rs 983 a maund, with an open interest of 18,478 lots. A Rajkot-based broker said that buying by domestic was hand-to-mouth. Export demand is limited at current price level. Prices may not drop in the coming days due to restricted arrivals. Traders and ginners said that arrivals are restricted since farmers are holding back their produce.
India might see the commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) jute in a month. Developed by the University of Calcutta, GM jute is set to be sent for commercial approval to the regulator, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), next month. If approved, GM jute will be the second crop of its kind after GM cotton was approved for commercialisation in 2002. GM jute is ready. The university is set to apply to the GEAC in a month, said Swapan K Datta, deputy director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), on the sidelines of a round-table on Addressing challenges of food security organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here on Monday. Farmers expect that the success of GM cotton will be replicated in jute. With jute being a non-food crop, GEAC should not have any problem in approving it. The regulator has concerns only on food items, Datta said. Almost 30 per cent of the 250 million tonnes of foodgrains produced annually are packed in jute bags worth around Rs 6,000 crore. Around 40 per cent of the jute bags produced are purchased by the Union food ministry through the Food Corporation of India, on behalf of different state food procuring agencies. The countrys jute sector manufactures around 1.2 million tonnes of bags in a year. The installed capacity stands at nearly 1.5 million tonnes. There are around 59 jute mills in West Bengal, employing close to 400,000 people, and almost all of them are currently making losses because of market conditions. Photo: Indranil Bhoumik/Mint Kolkata: At least eight jute mills in West Bengal have halted production over the past few weeksan unusual development in the light of the approaching general election. Despite pressure from local politicians to reopen these mills, the industry is crying foul over tepid demand and there are concerns that more mills may follow suit. Demand for jute bags has shrunk considerably, but it is difficult to say why so many mills announced a lock-out in such close succession, said Raghav Gupta, chairman, Indian Jute Mills Association (Ijma)a lobby group. The mills that have suspended operation are the weaker ones, he added.

There are around 59 jute mills in West Bengal, employing close to 400,000 people, and almost all of them are currently making losses because of market conditions, according to Ijma. Mill owners are under pressure from political leaders, especially those of the dominant Trinamool Congress party, to restart production, according to an entrepreneur, who did not want to be identified. Unless market conditions improve, the closed mills will not reopen, this person said, adding that this may take months. More mills would have closed by now had there been no pressure from politicians, said a key official at the ministry of textile. Once polling is over, many more mills will announce lock out, this person added, asking not to be named. Former rail minister and Trinamool Congress candidate from Barrackpore, Dinesh Trivedi, said there are two closed jute mills in his constituency. The owner of one has assured him that the mill will reopen before the general election, Trivedi claimed. The other one is a sick enterprise with legacy problems. I dont think the closed mills will become an election issue, Trivedi said. Even so, he admitted to persuading mill owners to restart production at closed units. A large number of jute mills are located in the states North 24 Parganas district on the outskirts of Kolkata. In the past few elections, jute mill workers have largely backed the ruling Trinamool Congress party. In 2009, for instance, the party had won in all the five Lok Sabha constituencies in the district. We arent entirely happy with the (Trinamool Congress-led) administration, said the mill owner cited above. Even among workers, the Trinamool Congress appears to have lost its appeal. Like always, mill owners blame the Centre for their woes. Former Ijma chairman Sanjay Kajaria said the government tweaked laws in 2012-13 to allow greater usage of plastic bags as packaging material for sugar and food grains. This was done based on the governments own projections about food grain production, but actual output fell short of estimates, according to Kajaria. The government allowed the sale of more plastic bags than was required in the market and the piled up inventory of plastic bags from 2012-13 is being used even this year, according to Kajaria. The fall in demand has resulted in the market price of jute bags crashing to Rs.46,000 per bale as against the governments own procurement price of Rs.55,000, Kajaria said. Typically, mill owners sell about 40% of their produce in the open market. Synthetic bags are cheaper than bags made of natural fibre, and the jute industry would have been routed by now had the government not made it mandatory under a 1987 law to use jute as packaging material for various commodities. This law is being diluted gradually, but most mill owners havent invested in their production facilities to prepare themselves to give up the crutch, said the government official cited above. The jute industry has confronted a crisis with the Punjab government raising a sudden demand for 30 kg jute bags instead of the regular 50 kg bags for packaging of wheat and other food grains. The demand was recently placed by the Punjab government before the Union food ministry under the National Food Security Act. The Act is likely to come into effect from June this year. Punjab has proposed to procure 30 kg jute bags for packing 0.87 million tonne of wheat during the Rabi

marketing season of 2014-15. The jute industry lacks the expertise to produce 30 kg bags. Presently, the industry is capable of producing and supplying only 50 kg bags with each bag weighing 665 gms. The bags are used for packing of sugar and food grains under the provisions of Jute Packaging Materials Act (JPMA), 1987. The Act provides for a mandatory 100 per cent reservation for jute bags for sugar and food grains for government procurement agencies. The requirement for 30 kg bags can also be derived by using the similar line of production used for manufacturing 50 kg bags, says a leading jute mill owner. It is only the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) that can decide if the 50 kg specification (BIS 12650: 2003) can be used for 30 kg jute bags. We have already approached the BIS regarding specifications for manufacture of 30 kg jute bags. I believe the industry can manufacture such bags. We will immediately supply the 30 kg bags on receipt of demand, said Raghav Gupta, chairman of Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA). Punjab is the largest purchaser of jute bags in each Rabi and Kharif seasons for packing food grains. Over a third of the one million tonne jute bags produced for government buying are purchased by Punjab through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in the Kharif and Rabi seasons. The current government price of jute bags is around Rs 52,000 per tonne. Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh are the other leading purchasers of jute bags for packing food grains and sugar. Almost 30 per cent of the 250 million tonne of food grains produced are, packed in jute bags worth around Rs 6,000 crore. Around 40 per cent of jute bags produced is purchased by the Union food ministry through Food Corporation of India (FCI) on behalf of different state food procuring agencies. The jute sector has the capacity to manufacture around 1.2 million tonne of jute bags. The installed capacity is around 1.5 million tonne

Geo textiles are permeable fabrics used as an agent to strengthen the road foundations and prevent soil erosion along the banks. Kolkata, Jan 5: Taking a cue from the success story in Karnataka, the Union Ministry of Textile is planning to promote use of jute geo textiles for construction of rural roads across the country. Geo textiles are permeable fabrics used as an agent to strengthen the road foundations and prevent soil erosion along the banks. Jute geo textiles are generally 25 per cent cheaper than other fabrics. However, being bio-degradable, it is low on longevity and is best used in rural or arterial roads, which do not attract heavy traffic.

According to a National Jute Board (NJB) official, jute-based textiles are currently in use in constructing 35 ongoing rural roads, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, across the country. While majority of the projects are in Karnataka; the practice is gaining popularity in at least three other states, including Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. Confirming the development Subrata Gupta, Jute Commissioner, said use of jute geo textiles is likely to move up substantially in the next two years. According to Gupta, project reports for nine roads spread across five states such as Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and West Bengal have also been prepared. Rough estimates available with NJB suggest that consumption of the fabric moved up by 10 per cent a year on an average since 2010. In 2010, approximately 60 lakh square metre of jute geo textile was used in road development, a top official of the cell added. Of the 80 odd jute mills operating across the country, 13 mills manufacture jute geo textile. Despite efforts to promote the natural fibre, absence of a regulation for mandatory use of jute instead synthetic textiles and lack of support from local administration pose challenges before the industry. Challenges It is an uphill task to convince various agencies and engineers the benefits of jute geo textile unless there is a mandate, the top official said. According to him, it will also be difficult to involve more jute mill owners in production of the fibre until the demand situation improves.
The Centre has hiked the minimum support price (MSP) for raw jute by Rs 100 a quintal to Rs 2,400 for the 2014-15 season. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday approved the higher MSP for TD-5 grade of jute at Rs 2,400, an official statement said. In order to incentivise farmers for production of higher grades, the premiums for TD-3 and TD-4 varieties will be maintained at 20 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively, in relation to the price of TD-5. The Jute Corporation of India will continue to act as the nodal agency to for price support operations. .

Chennai, Dec. 19: Exports of jute products from the country is expected to touch Rs 2,800 crore in value in 2013-14 on the back of an increase in demand from the West, said Beela Rajesh, Executive Director, Handloom Export Promotion Council, Ministry of Textiles. In 2012-13, exports stood at Rs 2,094 crore.

The global jute import market, which went through a lean period from 2011 to mid-2012, is picking up again as top markets Europe and the US restarted buying. Growing acceptance of jute bags as a personal accessory, and shopping bags made of the fibre for its eco-friendly nature, are brightening its prospects in the West, she said, adding that floor coverings, wall hangings, gunny bags, and gift articles are also being bought. Data put up by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics says export of floor coverings totalled Rs 142.9 crore during April-September 2013,while jute Hessian bags touched Rs 405 crore and other jute products hit Rs 475.4 crore, signalling strong demand. Jute, originally, was not used for purposes beyond covering floors. But with treatment and printing, it looks and feels as good as fabric, she said speaking at a buyer-seller meet organised by National Jute Board in association with Federation of Indian Export Organisations. National Jute Board and Jute Product Development and Export Promotion Council, set up in 2011, are funding entrepreneurs interested in jute product manufacturing, and helping manufacturers upgrade facilities. Traditionally based in West Bengal, the jute business is spreading to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. At the exposition, manufacturers from the South showcased printed wall hangings that were treated to smoothen the texture of the fibre, something that will find purchase in Western markets, said T. Ayyapan, Market Promotion Officer, NJB.
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The office of the Jute Commissioner has served a showcause notice on R C Tewary, former chairman and managing director of jute PSUs Jute Corporation of India (JCI) and National Jute Manufacturers Association (NJMC) for alleged misconduct and irregularities. The showcause notice has been issued to Tewary on September 23 with the Jute Commissioners

office threatening disciplinary action if no reply is received within 15 days. Tewary served as the chairman and managing director of both the jute PSUs between 2005 and 2011. He was appointed advisor of NJMC in 2011. During your tenure as advisor to NJMC, you committed several misconducts which were unbecoming of an advisor of NJMC board and amounted to lack of integrity and unprofessional conduct on your part, Jute Commissioner Subrata Gupta said in the notice. Tewary, however, denied the allegations. I have not received any such notice from the Jute Commissioner's office. There are no cases of irregularities against me, he told Business Standard. Earlier the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had pulled up Tewary for alleged financial irregularities and registered a case against him in 2008. Due to lack of evidence, CBI closed the file in 2011. Last year, the government decided to revive three mills of NJMC- Kinnison and Khardah in West Bengal and RBHM in Bihar. Tewary was appointed to overlook the revival functions. According to the Jute Commissioner, there are direct evidences to prove that Tewary had indulged in misconduct and irregularities. These include arbitrary decision making, going out of his way in engaging labour and works contractors and also availing personal benefits.

New Delhi, Sept 13: Except for cash crops like sugarcane, cotton and jute, area sown to other kharif crops such as paddy, pulses, coarse cereals and oilseeds has exceeded so far in the kharif season from over the year-ago. Sowing in the kharif season begins with the start of the south west monsoon from June and harvesting from October. According to a latest sowing data released by the Agriculture Ministry, paddy planting has increased to 37.17 million hectares as on today, from 36 million hectares in the same period last year. Area sown to coarse cereals has increased to 19.5 million hectares from 17.58 million hectares, pulses area has jumped to 10.37 million hectares from 9.82 million hectares and oilseeds acreage has risen to 19.25 million hectares from 17 million hectares in the review period. Area under the above crops has increased following early and good south west monsoon. However, sugarcane planting has declined to 4.87 million hectares as on today from 5 million hectares in the year-ago period. Similarly, area sown to cotton has fallen marginally to 11.35 million hectares from 11.44 million hectares, while jute area has dipped to 8,34,000 hectares from 8,46,000 hectares in the review period.

Area sown to all kharif crops has increased to 103.36 million hectares as on today as against 97.89 million hectares in the same period last year.
In a move unlikely to go down well with the jute industry, the Union commerce ministry has decided to abandon the three-decade old system of procuring jute bags through the Directorate General of Supplies & Disposal (DGSD). According to the proposed change that might take effect from November 1, the jute bags are going to be sourced through the Jute Commissioners office. If the new system comes into force, the Jute Commissioners office, apart from procuring jute bags for supply to food agencies, would also issue jute production control and supply orders. In a recent letter to textiles secretary Zohra Chatterjee, Union commerce secretary S R Rao said, The DGSD has been procuring jute bags without any statutory backing or executive power for the past three decades. Jute bags are sensitive items for food operations and, therefore, no rate contract or tendering is allowed on the item. The Jute Commissioner is the custodian of the jute industry dealing with all jute matters, including production, pricing, supply and control. The commerce ministry proposes to discontinue services of DGSD in the operation of procurement of jute bags with effect from November 1, Rao said in the letter. The ministry felt the Jute Commissioners office is the only authorised office empowered to deal with these matters. The industry has opposed the move. It argues that transition to the new system would not be smooth and the industry might lose out. The Jute Commissioners office, however, has welcomed the shift. It said there was no need for DGSD to procure jute bags, since the current practice was leading to wasteful expenditure through lengthy inspection of the bags.

There is a need to propagate the use of jute products in day-to-day life, according to Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district N. Prakash. Inaugurating the jute fair, organised by the National Jute Board (NJB) here on Wednesday, he said that jute products are a good alternative to plastic and they are biodegradable. T. Ayyappan, Market Promotion Officer of NJB, said jute as a natural fibre is finding acceptance as an environmental friendly product. It has biodegradable contents such as cellulose and lignin. The NJBs jute fair in Mangalore is an exhibition-cum-sale of lifestyle products of jute. The main objective of the fair in Mangalore is to create awareness among public about the ecofriendly products made from the natural fibre, he said. Ayyappan said that 25 entrepreneurs from different parts of the country are exhibiting their environment-friendly jute products at the fair. NJB is responsible for the market development for jute products, he said. The Indian jute sector, with a large number of small and tiny units, is the worlds largest and biggest producer of raw jute and jute goods, he added.

The sector exported goods worth $ 365 million in 2012-13 as against $383 million in 201112.