LEATHER MARKET AND DUBAI CRISIS

LEATHER MARKET AND DUBAI CRISIS

V.M. KHALEELUR RAHMAN

LEATHER MARKET

Leather market in Chennai is somewhat active now as there is some demand for items like E.I. tanned goat skins, wetblue goat and sheep skins, sheep nappa for garments etc. Leather goods, garment and shoe manufacturers are in the market covering their requirements. While tanned goat skins are sold at slightly higher prices due to its limited availability, other items are sold at almost unchanged prices.

It is learnt that while tanned goat upper, suede and lining are sold at around Rs.50, 45 and 30 per sq. ft., wetblue goat suede and lining are sold at around Rs.40 and 25 per sq. ft. respectively. Some business is also taking place in goat crust garment suede at around Rs.46 per sq.ft. Tanned goat skins heel grip and Rejection are sold at around Rs.20 and 18 per sq.ft.

Wetblue cowhides are slow in movements even in popular centres like Erode, Ambur and Ranipet. Many shoe units are interested mostly in higher selections in this item which are not easily available and there are only a few takers at reasonable prices for lower selections available in plenty.

Many overseas tanners and agents are more interested in selling their hides and skins to India. A recent offer in wetblue goat skins is given below to indicate the state of affairs in the present market.

Wetblue ivory coast goat skins, tanned with Italian supervision,
Abour 30,000 skins, average size about 7 sq.ft. per skin and
About 10,000 skins, average size about 8 sq.ft. per skin
Thickness 0.8/+ mm - Lining / partial shoe upper selection.
Price : US$0.65 per sq.ft.

As far as export of finished leather is concerned, only a small volume of business is taking place as regular customers in Europe, Far East and other countries are not in full swing in their purchases. Exporters are quoting at around US$1.50 and 1.40 for goat upper and suede leathers and US$1.10 /1.00 / 0.90 for goat lining leathers TR1 /TR2 /TR3. Goat garment suede leathers are quoted at around US$1.60 (All prices are per sq.ft. C&F by sea).

The shoe and garment units are trying their best to increase their production and export as much as possible in the present difficult situation which has to be appreciated very much. Their service is great in keeping thousands of skilled and unskilled employees particularly in rural areas in their units without much retrenchment.

Many analysts and industrialists say that the leather and leather products industry deserve more and more support from the government to enable it to march forward and reach the targets in growth and export at the present difficult time when there is stiff competition from different countries like China in the world market.


“ DUBAI CRISIS ”

The Dubai crisis has shaken the world including of course our country India at the time when according to many reports it is recovering from the global recession and improving its economy. The Dubai crisis is that a government owned flagship firm Dubai World is in the doldrums with a debt of US $59 billion for which it has sought time till the middle of 2010 for payment. It only proves that all glitterings are not gold and we should be careful while dealing with other countries. Nobody expected that a Dubai based and government owned company like Dubai World would face the sort of crisis we are witnessing today.

Many economists and analysts have taken a serious note of the Dubai crisis. A Saudi economist says that it is a very serious and severe problem that is likely to shake up the Gulf financial system as a whole and analysts from the Bank of America caution that if the Dubai crisis spread to other emerging markets, the world economic recovery could see a major setback. The lesson we must learn is that a very big company in an advanced or oil rich country need not necessarily be a sound one.

The hon'ble finance minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has said that “ it will not affect India much as our stake is so small and the amount involved compared to the world economy is miniscule “. It is also noteworthy that 40% of Dubai’s population is of Indians even though our country’s financial exposure is not much. The assurance of the hon’ble minister to the country that “the government is keeping a close watch and will act to prevent any fallout” speaks a volume. It means that we cannot rule out its adverse effect at least to some extent on our country.

(Indian Leather, December 2009)
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PROBLEMS GALORE AS FINISHED LEATHER IS NOT CONSIDERED "FINISHED LEATHER" FOR EXPORT AT THE CUSTOMS

PROBLEMS GALORE AS FINISHED LEATHER IS NOT CONSIDERED “ FINISHED LEATHER” FOR EXPORT AT THE CUSTOMS

V.M. KHALEELUR RAHMAN

The Council for Leather Exports (CLE) deserves praise for taking a right decision at least now to work for revision of the existing norms for identification of finished leather for export. Better late than never. It says in a recent circular that it has been working for the revision of the norms as tanning technology and leather finishing processes have undergone many changes since its coming into force in 1992 and the revised norms would facilitate export of finished leathers from ports without any problem.

According to the CLE, the revised norms framed by the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) in consultation with the leather industry and other stake holders and sent to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in August 2008 have not been approved and notified despite its following up with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and DGFT because according to available information the Department of Commerce, which referred the matter to other departments like Animal Husbandry , Revenue, Industrial Policy and Promotion and also the Bureau of Indian Standards and received their feedback, is planning a joint consultation meeting of the said departments shortly before a final decision is taken on the revision of the finished leather norms for export.

Tanners and exporters are desperately waiting for the export friendly revised norms as the problems faced by them at the customs are galore and terrible and their disappointments know no bounds. As I said earlier in one of my articles in Indian Leather, there are many tanners who do not want to enter into contracts for exports as they do not know if their goods will be passed or not for export or show-cause notice issued. They don't want to take risk at all. Their argument is that a leather is a leather and there should not be any meaningless and rigid norms to define and approve it by the customs.

No doubt the government has come out with many measures and is implementing them to increase industrial growth and export but delays in taking decisions on issues such as the revision of the norms etc. disappoint and discourage the tanners and exporters. When I asked a tanner about export possibilities, he said "the situation is not conducive as the export prices are unworkable and the treatment at the customs humiliating, there is no understanding that we are exporting only leather and nothing else. We cannot waste time, take risk and run every time we do some new “light colours” to the CLRI to get a certificate ( paying the fee of Rs.2041/- per testing ) to the effect that the goods we are exporting are in conformity with the existing norms as otherwise pay fines".

Another exporter also narrated his experience with the customs: “We had an export order for goat suede leathers in many colours. We made the goods ready and submitted our documents to the customs for export. We had problems in shipping them as three of the colours were considered “light” and not approved. It will be clear even to a layman that they were only finished leathers. But according to customs authorities "light colours" do not come in the category of finished leathers as per the existing norms. We cannot dictate colours to our customers. We have to prepare goods according to their requirements. The problems are serious. You can imagine the predicament of the tanners whose goods were not approved for export.”

It is also learnt from reliable sources that many export contracts remain unexecuted because of the problems. There is a 20% decrease in the export of finished leathers. It will go down further if the problems persist unsolved. Small tanners are the worst sufferers now. They feel that they are let down by the CLE and other associations. It is a fact that there is nobody to represent their case.

Many tanners and exporters I interviewed are of the opinion that the Council for Leather Exports and other leather related associations should highlight the problems faced by tanners ( at the time of export at the customs ) to the government and demand for immediate suitable changes in the existing norms for identification of finished leathers so that every exporter – small or big – is able to do business smoothly without any problem and increase their production and export so vital for the country particularly at the present time of recession.

( VMK in Indain Leather, November 2009 )

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GIST OF THE SPEECH DELIVERED BY JUSTICE SUHAIL AEJAZ SIDDIQUI SAHIB AT JAMIA DARUSSALAM, OOMERABAD

GIST OF THE SPEECH DELIVERED BY JUSTICE SUHAIL AEJAZ SIDDIQUI SAHIB AT JAMIA DARUSSALAM, OOMERABAD IN APRIL 2007
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Respected ladies and gentlemen,

I am thankful to Janab Kaka Sayeed Ahmed sahib for giving me an opportunity to be present here ( Jamia Darussalam, Oomerabad). I start my speech from the place where Collector sahib (Mr. Dharmendra Pratap Yadau, honourable Collector of Vellore District) ended his speech by saying that parents do not even care if their children are going to school or not. If attempts are made to send their children to school, they oppose it.

This is the state of the Muslims who complain that they are not given their fundamental rights. They must remember that it is their responsibility to bring up their children well giving them good education in order to make them good citizens of this country. I want to draw their attention to the importance of education and hope that they will realise their responsibility and do the needful.

The century in which we are living is the century of education and science. Your happiness and power depend on the education and technology you have. I want to quote the example of the Jews here. If you read their history, you will come to know that they suffered zulm for long because of their own making. But they did not underestimate the importance of education even in these circumstances. The result of their principled life is that they received 180 Nobel prizes in 105 years and Muslims only 3 although the population ratio of Jews and Muslims is 1:100.

Some years ago American Jews collected one million dollars and donated it to their Spiritual Priest in Israel for constructing a grand place of worship there. The Priest said that who are we to construct a palace for that great Almighty who can be prayed anywhere and anytime but to understand him education is necessary and therefore you can establish an educational academy from this amount so that no Jew is ignorant. The result of their thinking and endeavours is that this small country is so powerful as to dictate its terms to the superpower America. Please think it over. Why is it that we could not do it despite far better available resources with us?

Madrasas have been playing an important role in the country for long. They are giving Islamic light to one and all. Their identity is necessary. It was not difficult for the Commission to recommend establishment of schools but it did not do so rightly. We have seen the state of affairs prevailing in government schools in some places. There are many vacancies for Urdu teachers in U.P. but teachers are not appointed. In M.P. and other places there are many schools where there are Urdu teachers but they do not know proper Urdu. I want Madrasa Board to avoid such things in schools, which will be managed by our Ulema, and there will not be any interference in them by the government.

Whenever Madrasa Board is discussed, some people give the example of Bihar. But they forget that the Chairmen of the Board were responsible for their mismanagement. Such people will create problems anywhere, even in your places.

Even if there are any mistakes in the Central Madrasa Board, we should try to rectify them instead of outright rejecting them. I tell this because I have the interest of the community at heart and I want to see all of them getting good education. You can see more Muslim children doing cleaning works in hotels and petty shops. I know that it is their difficulty. Is it not necessary for us to think about them for their bright future and arrange for their education? If you have any plan for this, please tell us as otherwise accept our proposal for Madrasa Board. We do not want big institutions like Darul Uloom and Nadwatul Ulema in this scheme. Let them have their own ways. We want small madrasas to be benefited by the Madrasa Board by becoming its members.

I have taken the oath that I will bring the educational awakening in the community and Insha-Allah I will endeavour my best for it. I am visiting your area since yesterday. It gives me great pleasure to know that there are people in our community who have established and are managing many institutions efficiently. Not only this. They have good plans for doing a lot for the community in future. If we have more people like Kaka Sayeed Ahmed sahib, we can benefit a lot. I am not disappointed with the community. Insha-Allah our community will make progress educationally and economically. It is unfortunate that in North India we do not see efficient people coming forward to establish and run good educational institutions as in South India.

I am happy to see this institution (Jamia Darussalam). I pray to Allah for its further progress. We require more and more people like Maulana Kaka Sayeed Ahmed sahib for marching forward in the educational development of the community. I believe that education is the key for happiness and there is no alternative to it.

(Re-produced from Al-Ameen, monthly newsletter edited by VMK)

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" AUSTERITY MANTRA " NEEDED FOR THE LEATHER INDUSTRY

“AUSTERITY MANTRA” NEEDED FOR THE LEATHER INDUSTRY
V. M. KHALEELUR RAHMAN

The leather market is on the move as ever but of course with a slow pace. While big exporters are having some orders, small exporters are endeavouring their best to get contracts for survival. The general feeling in the market is that getting orders at workable prices for shoe as well as garment leathers is not less than a Himalayan task. The overseas customers are choosy in their operations as their demand is restricted and confined to only some limited quantities in certain high quality leather items produced by well established leading tanners and exporters. The days of having orders for any items and by any exporter are gone.

The fact is that good demand exists only for certain items like sheep cabretta, nappa, lining etc. Goat upper and lining leathers are also in demand to some extent. In cow hides while there is good demand for higher selections, lower selections are very slow in movements despite considerable price reductions. The business concluded during the past one month for export can be considered only as insignificant. As reports indicate there is about 30% reduction in the total exports of our country. In spite of best efforts by the government and industry, growth and exports are not on expected lines.

The following are the price indications for some leather items which are of permanent interest and contracted regularly:

1) F/C goat upper leather, 3/5 or 4/7 sq.ft. ABC Price: US$2.00 / per sq.ft. C&F by sea
2) F/C goat lining leather, 3/5 or 4/7 sq.ft. TR1 Price: US$1.10 per sq.ft. C&F by sea
3) F/C sheep nappa leather, 5/7 sq.ft. ABC Price: US$2.50 per sq.ft. C&F by sea
4) F/C sheep lining leather, 4/7 sq.ft. TR1 Price: US$1.30 per sq.ft. C&F by sea

There are also reports of foreign customers preferring non L/C business at terms unworkable for exporters here. Indian exporters are also facing a stiff competition from their counterparts in countries like China, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Some exporters are also facing either delayed or non-payment of their export bills. The Council for Leather Exports can do well to publish the list of the overseas importers who are not trustworthy and creating problems in business as it will enable exporters to be cautious while negotiating contracts.

In the local market many small tanners have given up making E.I. tanned and crust leathers due to present unfavourable, rather difficult situation. They say that not only the business is unworkable but getting payment is also not easy as they have to wait for at least 3 to 4 months for cheques.

Tanners in places like Erode who are mainly producers and suppliers of wetblue cow hides are also in a tight corner with huge unsold stocks at their disposal. Shoe manufacturers who used to cover their requirements from these centres are now slow in their purchases.

As far as the shoe sector is concerned, there is good demand for shoes and shoe uppers from some of the regular customers but the business atmosphere is not what it was before. An industrialist pointed out that “we are yet to come out from the impact of the recession and perhaps it will be there till the world scenario changes for the better.”

Some shoe manufacturers are also planning to open their show rooms for marketing their products under their own brand names. It is well known that some big export oriented shoe units have already established and are running their show rooms successfully in some places in our country.

AUSTERITY MEASURES
Thanks to the controversy surrounding the external affairs minister Mr. Shashi Tharoor on his jovial and not serious "cattle class" comments about the economy class in flights, heated discussions are taking place about the important but neglected subject "austerity" which was once a laudable concept of Mahatma Gandhiji for liberating our country from the foreign yoke, maintaining its cultural and traditional heritage, safe-guarding its unity in diversity and making it self-reliant and self-dependent. Though we did not forget the name of this great man, the father of Indian nation, we forgot his ideals and started doing things in all spheres contrary to his noble thoughts and practices perhaps under the wrong impression that changed times do not require past notions. He was the real leader of the masses by leading a simple life with high thinking in accordance with our national ethos. It is necessary for our governments at the centre and in the states to revive his philosophy and see to it that at least some of his ideas like establishing cottage industries in villages are implemented for the benefit of the people. India is a country of villages. There are millions of people in our country whose daily earnings are unimaginably very low. The leather and leather products industry has the capacity and potentiality of playing an important role in this arena. Some inroads have already been made in some places. But it has to be done in a big way.

One feels that the austerity measures proposed by the union government for the ministers for preferring economy class etc. are in the right direction and should be welcomed by one and all particularly in the present recession hit period. It will be in the interest of the leather industry to follow it not only in foreign travels but in everything. A good planning and its proper implementation without any waste is also a part of austerity. We see even the developed countries like the U.S. and U.K. trying their best to cut their wasteful expenditures. During a discussion a tanner pointed out that there is an urgent need for all of us to be austere in every walk of life and more so in the industry related matters. The Council for Leather Exports and other trade associations can do well to plan and propagate austerity measures which are necessary for the leather and leather products industry. (VMK in Indian Leather, October 2009 issue)
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A HOT DEBATE ON THE MEDIA IN CHENNAI

A HOT DEBATE ON THE MEDIA IN CHENNAI
BY V. M. KHALEELUR RAHMAN
CHENNAI : The well-known large format book retailer LANDMARK organised a debate on the media at its Nungambakkam store on Thursday, 14th October 2009 with Sanjay Pinto,Head of the news operations of NDTV 24x7 in Tamil Nadu , efficiently moderating it. Media persons Sunil, Murari and actress Khushboo were in the team supporting the media and politician Jayanthi Natarajan, advocate Geetha and former commissioner of police Natarajan were in the team opposing the media.
Sanjay told the audience that Landmark has decided to arrange such programmes on important burning issues in future. The show was well arranged and also timely. As we know the media refers to various means of communication such as television, radio and newspaper. We also know how the present day media whether electronic or print is playing its role in its presentation of news and views.

Jayanthi Natarajan bombarded the media saying that it distracts, distorts and magnifies reality and creates its own “reality “. She pointed out various stories including Aarushi’s to tell the unfortunate state of affairs prevailing in the media. Her remark that in some states in our country the media provides “packages” for supporting a candidate in election and in one case it was Rs. 6 lakh was a news to the audience. In this part of the country nobody can think of it as all leading political parties have their own channels to propagate their policies. According to her the media has lost its credibility by presenting sensational news about sex, rape, murder etc and making a mockery of the freedom of expression guaranteed in the Constitution of our country.
Advocate Geetha criticised the media for its meaningless hype on non-issues, projecting women badly, indulging in character assassination of individuals, highlighting superstitious beliefs as if truth, etc. She also said that there are some newspapers in states like Gujarat and Maharashtra which are openly violating all moral, legal and constitutional ethics. She felt that market forces are guiding and monopoly houses are controlling the media and it projects things as it wants for its own selfish and commercial purposes.

K. Natarajan, former commissioner of police, made a forceful argument quoting Dr.A.P. J. Abdul Kalam that the media is degrading itself by highlighting things detrimental to the society.
Actress Khushboo said at the outset that she should have been in the other group. Branding the media as commercial and money making without observing journalistic ethics said that it is not what it was before. Her remark was that even in the Pakistan initiated terror attacks in Mumbai, the national channels were covering mostly the Taj incident. However she said that we cannot deny the importance of the media in the country. The two media persons Sunil and Murari expressed the view that the media reflects the society and what it wants. There was also mention about the Pulitzer Prize given for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition to draw the attention of the audience to the fact that Joseph Pulitzer, a “yellow journalist” was the person who initiated the Pulitzer Prize. Perhaps it was thought that the media has no alternative to what they are doing now to keep readers under its spell and increase readership. But this cannot be an acceptable argument.

We all know that journalistic ethics are based on truthfulness, honesty, impartiality, objectivity, fairness, accountability etc. But perhaps only a very few newspapers and channels follow them. The minorities particularly the Muslims are the worst sufferers of the media presentation. Even a small lapse done in a corner of the country by a Muslim is blown out of proportion and presented in such a way that he represents the whole community. I do not want to go into details just because it will be a propaganda again against the community. The whole world knows how Muslim issues and news concerning them are projected in the media. If we turn the pages of Saamna and other such periodicals and newspapers and see the channels of this category under the control of the dividing forces, we can understand how venomous they are. It is not possible for the people to take up their issues to the counts as it is not only time consuming but also waste of money and energy.

If a Muslim writes an article against the principles dearer to his community or Islam in the name of reformation or progressive thoughts, it will be immediately published in some newspapers and periodicals but take it from me any article in praise of our principles will have no takers in the media. The reason for this is communalism in some cases and hunger for sensationalism in the other. Take the latest issue of the hijab. There are attempts to distort its importance in the guise of discussing the fatwas of Al-Azhar University, Cairo and Darul Uloom, Deoband. But they forget that the more you impose something on people the more there will be opposition to it.
The government should try to make the electronic as well as the print media follow the journalistic ethics for the betterment of the people and country.

We welcome the Landmark’s decision to conduct debates on important issues in future. Such debates are the urgent need of the present time.

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CALENDAR FOR MANKIND : A SEMINAR CUM EXHIBITION IN CHENNAI

CALENDAR FOR MANKIND : A SEMINAR CUM EXHIBITION IN CHENNAI

Chennai: The Hijra Committee of India organised a day long Exhibition cum Seminar in Chennai yesterday on October 17. Many speakers from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and other states stressed the need for adopting a lunar calendar based on the teachings of Islam. They termed the calendar they evolved scientifically and on the basis of the Islamic principles as 'The Calendar for Mankind'.

Dr. Koya Kutty Farooqui, Dr. A. Mohammed Ali (Former Professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies International Islamic University, Malaysia), Saifuddin, Maulvi Mohammed Zubair, Captain Siddiqui, Masood and others expressed their views on the importance of the scientifically evolved lunar calendar during the seminar.

The speakers were of the opinion that there is no need to depend on anybody for starting the fasting during the month of Ramadan, celebrating the Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha or deciding any other important thing as Allah had fixed everything when the skies and the earth were created and it is our duty to follow them.

According to them the argument that we should do our religious duties only after seeing the moon with our eyes and start the month cannot be correct in the present modern scientific world. They insisted that we should take advantage of the astro physics, easily available to us now without necessarily seeing the vanishing moon after Maghrib prayers.

Musthafa Mohamed of the Hijra Committee explained that there are many verses of the Holy Quran and Ahadees (sayings of Prophet Mohammed - sal-am) which encourage us to adopt modern technologies. He quoted the Ayat of the holy Quran 2:189 which says inter-alia " they ask thee ( O Muhammed) of new moons. Say, they are fixed seasons for mankind and for the pilgrimage".

The celebration of Eids on different days even in a state and sometimes even in a town or district based on our sighting of the moon, according to the Hijra committee, is against the Islamic concepts and hence we should all celebrate the Eids on the same days and do all our religious obligations as per the lunar calendar. In his opinion even the NASA is following the lunar calendar system. Dr. Koya Kutty Farooqui was also with him explaining many things in this regard.

A calendar is a system of organising days for social, religious, commercial or administrative purposes. There are different varieties of calendars based on either solar, lunar or luni-solar systems and the popular among them are the Gregorian, Julian, Islamic, Hebrew, Iranian, Hindu and Chinese calendars. The example of a lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar whereas the Persian calendar is of solar system. There is also a luni-solar calendar based on the combination of both solar and lunar reckonings. The example for this is the calendar of China and the Hindu calendar in our country India. It is said that the Islamic calendar is used by most Muslims in the world.

The calendar which we use is called Gregorian. It has the international standard and is used almost everywhere in the world for civil purposes.

The Hijra committee is mobilising opinions in favour of a standard Islamic lunar calendar to carry out everything including Eids on the same fixed dates as per the calendar without landing in confusions under the existing practice of sighting the moon and celebrating the Eids - a practice not attested by the holy Quran or Ahadees.

Musthafa Mohamed also cited a letter written by Pandit Jawaherlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India, had written to Prof. Meghnath Saha, Chairman of the Calendar Reform Committee (CRC) to evolve a scientifically advanced calendar wherin he had said, "Government have entrusted to the CRC the work of examining different calendars followed in India and proposing an accurate and uniform calendar for the whole of India based on scientific study. I am told that we have at present 30 different calendars. Of course they are the natural result of our past history and partly they are due to the former political divisions in India. Now that we are independent, there should be a uniform calendar for our country's civic, social and other purposes, and our calendar should be evolved scientifically. For government and public work, we follow the Gregorian calendar, which is used in the greater part of the world. But even that calendar has its own defects. The fact that it is largely used does make it important. It has many virtues, but certain defects in it make it unsatisfactory for universal use. I do hope that our scientists will give a proper lead in making that attempt a success."

The Hijra Committee is of the opinion that the community, ulema and intellectuals should discuss this vital issue threadbare and celebrate the Eids on fixed dates and carry out all other religious obligations with unity as per the Islamic lunar calendar system.
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The importance of Islamiah College, Vaniyambadi

The Islamiah College, Vaniyambadi is the first Muslim college established by the Muslim community in Tamil Nadu more than 90 years ago with the noble objective of imparting modern education to the people living in and around Vaniyambadi. It has rendered great service to the people of all castes and religious communities. The Muslim educational society which established and has been administering this college along with many other primary and higher secondary schools is more than 100 years old. It is hoped that its centenary will be celebrated soon. We cannot forget the great people who founded the society and many institutions including the College in Vaniyambadi.

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