Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
Bangladesh’s apparel export registered a negative growth for the second consecutive months (September and October) of the current year due to fall in orders from the global buyers, exporters said.
They said the buyers remained shaky to place orders in Bangladesh due to safety concern following Rana Plaza tragedy and the ongoing factory inspection by the Alliance and Accord resulting fall in export orders.
According to a data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the country’s apparel export recorded a 2.06 per cent negative growth in September while it grew further in October reaching 9.69 percent compared with the same months of the previous year, causing concern to the industry leaders.
Export growth of woven garments in September plunged to-4.87 per cent and -10.84 per cent in October while knit garments recorded a 0.55 percent growth in September and -8.59 percent growth in October this year.
Bangladesh’s apparel export totaled at $3.20 billion during September and October of the current year as against $3.72 billion of the same months of the previous year.
The apparel export growth in September last year was 41.58 percent while it was 2.93 percent in October in the same year.
“Export growth of ready-made garments (RMG) went to negative territory in September and October after 12 months causing concern to the exporters,” Reaz-Bin-Mahmood, Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) told The New Nation yesterday.
He said: Dearth of export orders is the main cause behind the subdued export growth.
The country’s apparel industry is now going through a major restructuring to maintain compliance issues and ensure workplace safety as demanded by the global buyers and retailers. “Western buyers and retailers have stopped placing orders with the factories housed in shared buildings and engaged in sub-contracting to follow the globally accepted safety standard resulting drought in export orders,” Reaz said.
He further said many apparel units have shut their operation due to loss in export orders, inability to cope with increased wages and production cost, workers unrest, political violence and suspension of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) by the US authorities, leaving a negative impact on the overall RMG exports.
Referring to a BGMEA statistics, Reaz said, about 450 small and medium RMG units, including 239 BGMEA member factories, faced closure in the last one-year, forcing around 1.5 lakh workers jobless.
Reaz mentioned that many foreign buyers have shifted their orders from Bangladesh to other apparel manufacturing countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan and India in the wake of the Rana Plaza tragedy and Tuba factory fire. Besides, the buyers, who moved to other countries during the pre-election political turmoil, did not return to Bangladesh and the impact of this now reflected on the export growth.
The BGMEA leader also pointed out that Bangladeshi basic apparels are no cheap compared to other global players as production cost of factories has moved up significantly following a 75 percent rise in wages, high electricity and fuel prices and lending rates.
Apart from these odds, the prevailing condition of communication infrastructure, gas and energy crisis and labour related problems have also made the industry vulnerable.
He also said that the government should take immediate steps to improve the condition of road communication and other infrastructure and reduce the cost of doling business to maintain the competitiveness of the apparel industry.
When asked, he said,” We are worried over the present trend of export growth. But the export growth would rebound in the second half of the current fiscal year when the buyers are expected to place additional orders to enrich their summer inventory. Bangladesh, the second largest apparel exporters after China, earned $24.49 billion from garments export during the fiscal year 2013-14.
Bangladesh’s apparel export registered a negative growth for the second consecutive months (September and October) of the current year due to fall in orders from the global buyers, exporters said.
They said the buyers remained shaky to place orders in Bangladesh due to safety concern following Rana Plaza tragedy and the ongoing factory inspection by the Alliance and Accord resulting fall in export orders.
According to a data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the country’s apparel export recorded a 2.06 per cent negative growth in September while it grew further in October reaching 9.69 percent compared with the same months of the previous year, causing concern to the industry leaders.
Export growth of woven garments in September plunged to-4.87 per cent and -10.84 per cent in October while knit garments recorded a 0.55 percent growth in September and -8.59 percent growth in October this year.
Bangladesh’s apparel export totaled at $3.20 billion during September and October of the current year as against $3.72 billion of the same months of the previous year.
The apparel export growth in September last year was 41.58 percent while it was 2.93 percent in October in the same year.
“Export growth of ready-made garments (RMG) went to negative territory in September and October after 12 months causing concern to the exporters,” Reaz-Bin-Mahmood, Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) told The New Nation yesterday.
He said: Dearth of export orders is the main cause behind the subdued export growth.
The country’s apparel industry is now going through a major restructuring to maintain compliance issues and ensure workplace safety as demanded by the global buyers and retailers. “Western buyers and retailers have stopped placing orders with the factories housed in shared buildings and engaged in sub-contracting to follow the globally accepted safety standard resulting drought in export orders,” Reaz said.
He further said many apparel units have shut their operation due to loss in export orders, inability to cope with increased wages and production cost, workers unrest, political violence and suspension of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) by the US authorities, leaving a negative impact on the overall RMG exports.
Referring to a BGMEA statistics, Reaz said, about 450 small and medium RMG units, including 239 BGMEA member factories, faced closure in the last one-year, forcing around 1.5 lakh workers jobless.
Reaz mentioned that many foreign buyers have shifted their orders from Bangladesh to other apparel manufacturing countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan and India in the wake of the Rana Plaza tragedy and Tuba factory fire. Besides, the buyers, who moved to other countries during the pre-election political turmoil, did not return to Bangladesh and the impact of this now reflected on the export growth.
The BGMEA leader also pointed out that Bangladeshi basic apparels are no cheap compared to other global players as production cost of factories has moved up significantly following a 75 percent rise in wages, high electricity and fuel prices and lending rates.
Apart from these odds, the prevailing condition of communication infrastructure, gas and energy crisis and labour related problems have also made the industry vulnerable.
He also said that the government should take immediate steps to improve the condition of road communication and other infrastructure and reduce the cost of doling business to maintain the competitiveness of the apparel industry.
When asked, he said,” We are worried over the present trend of export growth. But the export growth would rebound in the second half of the current fiscal year when the buyers are expected to place additional orders to enrich their summer inventory. Bangladesh, the second largest apparel exporters after China, earned $24.49 billion from garments export during the fiscal year 2013-14.
