Shah Alam Nur :
Keraniganj across the river Buriganga is growing as an important apparel hub. It now meets 70 per cent of the demand in the local market.
Businessmen in the locality said, their outfits save millions of dollars by reducing dependence on imports as the mindset of customers towards local products is changing.
Apart from meeting the domestic demand, there is also a large potential for exporting products from this growing apparel hub if uninterrupted power supply can be ensured, they observed.
Readymade garments (RMG) meet now about 70 per cent of the domestic demand with the denim items accounting for 50 per cent, said Alauddin Malik, President of Bangladesh Avyantorin Poshak Prostutkarok Malik Somiti (BAPPMS) on Sunday
He said, the apparel makers at Keraniganj are producing denim and woven items, including T-shirts, jeans, shirts and undergarments for both male and female customers, belonging to the middle to high income groups.
“In and around the capital city, prominent shopping centres are selling clothes made by the production units of Keraniganj,” Akbar Ali Hatemi, owner of Youngmade Garments at Aganagar said.
He said, they sell normal jeans at Tk 250 to Tk 300 per piece and quality jeans at Tk 550 to Tk 2500 per piece.
He said, “The same products being sold in different outlets in the capital city at prices three to four times higher, many of the exporters buy items from us on a contractual basis.”
He said, there is not much difference now between foreign products and the garments made by the local businesses.
He said “In many cases, our denim is the best in the world. The people are now aware that the customers in the countries like the US, Canada and in the European Union (EU) appreciate the quality of Bangladeshi apparel, so their interest is growing.”
“We can make 40 to 50 per cent profit, if we get timely supplies of products from the traders. But power outages make it difficult to supply the orders timely,” he said.
Apparel products from Keraniganj are now being exported to more than 35 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Thailand, Singapore and India.
Cliff Garment Managing Director, Belal Akando said, “We want to raise our export volume to $ 4.0 billion from the existing $1.0 billion.”
He said, the traders sell products worth nearly Tk 600 million per day, Out of this volume, 35 per cent of products are meant for exports.
He said, the apparel items from Keraniganj are getting popular with customers of all age groups in the domestic market.
He said, customers are now more attracted to local products than before, because of the quality that is being maintained by the readymade garment (RMG) makers at Keraniganj.
A good number of producers have already started exporting their products. “It could increase four to five times if we get the required level of power and gas supplies,” he said.
BAPPMS Joint Secretary Md H Mustafa said, the higher lending rate on bank credits was hindering growth of the sector.
Loans should be made available to the apparel manufacturing units at Keraniganj at flexible lending rates to help boost their production, he said.
“With lending rates varying between 17 per cent and 19 per cent on bank loans, how we can expand our businesses?” He questioned.
Nearly 2.0 million people are employed in about 10,000 small and medium factories producing apparel items at Keraniganj.
Keraniganj across the river Buriganga is growing as an important apparel hub. It now meets 70 per cent of the demand in the local market.
Businessmen in the locality said, their outfits save millions of dollars by reducing dependence on imports as the mindset of customers towards local products is changing.
Apart from meeting the domestic demand, there is also a large potential for exporting products from this growing apparel hub if uninterrupted power supply can be ensured, they observed.
Readymade garments (RMG) meet now about 70 per cent of the domestic demand with the denim items accounting for 50 per cent, said Alauddin Malik, President of Bangladesh Avyantorin Poshak Prostutkarok Malik Somiti (BAPPMS) on Sunday
He said, the apparel makers at Keraniganj are producing denim and woven items, including T-shirts, jeans, shirts and undergarments for both male and female customers, belonging to the middle to high income groups.
“In and around the capital city, prominent shopping centres are selling clothes made by the production units of Keraniganj,” Akbar Ali Hatemi, owner of Youngmade Garments at Aganagar said.
He said, they sell normal jeans at Tk 250 to Tk 300 per piece and quality jeans at Tk 550 to Tk 2500 per piece.
He said, “The same products being sold in different outlets in the capital city at prices three to four times higher, many of the exporters buy items from us on a contractual basis.”
He said, there is not much difference now between foreign products and the garments made by the local businesses.
He said “In many cases, our denim is the best in the world. The people are now aware that the customers in the countries like the US, Canada and in the European Union (EU) appreciate the quality of Bangladeshi apparel, so their interest is growing.”
“We can make 40 to 50 per cent profit, if we get timely supplies of products from the traders. But power outages make it difficult to supply the orders timely,” he said.
Apparel products from Keraniganj are now being exported to more than 35 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Thailand, Singapore and India.
Cliff Garment Managing Director, Belal Akando said, “We want to raise our export volume to $ 4.0 billion from the existing $1.0 billion.”
He said, the traders sell products worth nearly Tk 600 million per day, Out of this volume, 35 per cent of products are meant for exports.
He said, the apparel items from Keraniganj are getting popular with customers of all age groups in the domestic market.
He said, customers are now more attracted to local products than before, because of the quality that is being maintained by the readymade garment (RMG) makers at Keraniganj.
A good number of producers have already started exporting their products. “It could increase four to five times if we get the required level of power and gas supplies,” he said.
BAPPMS Joint Secretary Md H Mustafa said, the higher lending rate on bank credits was hindering growth of the sector.
Loans should be made available to the apparel manufacturing units at Keraniganj at flexible lending rates to help boost their production, he said.
“With lending rates varying between 17 per cent and 19 per cent on bank loans, how we can expand our businesses?” He questioned.
Nearly 2.0 million people are employed in about 10,000 small and medium factories producing apparel items at Keraniganj.
