Al Amin :
The country’s apparel export growth witnessed a big jump in December due to rise in prices and excessive shipment of postponed orders, signaling a better recovery in the sector in key American and European markets.
The sector insiders said the growth shows a promising turnaround in apparel export from the grip of the pandemic but it is not a sustainable growth.
According to the latest export data revealed by Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the RMG export grew by 52.57 per cent in December 2021 compared to same period of 2020.
The last month ended with $4.04 billion of RMG export and the half yearly export of FY2021-22 (July-December) reached $19.90 billion, which was 28.02 per cent higher than the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year (2020-21), the data said.
In terms of product category, knitwear exports saw 56.57 per cent growth in the December 2021, while woven garment export increased by 48.17 per cent during this time, the data added. Shahidullah Azim, Vice-President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told The New Nation, “Rising in exports of value-added items (Woven) and price adjustment with the production cost are the major reasons behind the export growth.”
Besides, Bangladeshi apparel exports have been increased to American markets in recent time due to USA-China conflict, he added.
Mohammad Hatem, Executive President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said price adjustment is main reason behind the export growth.
“Buyers, who are following a cautious step since the first wave of the pandemic, will certainly be more cautious now. Europe, particularly, will take more time to recover from the retail industry slowdown, which is worrisome for us,” he added.
BGMEA’s Director Mohiuddin Rubel, said, “The challenges are mounting, although the export data looks promising.”
“The prices of the raw materials including textile, freight cost, dyes and chemicals prices are at the peak and there are manifold pressures on the price as it did not increase to the extent of cost hike,” he said.
“Moreover, the new variant of Covid-19 has started as a tsunami in our major markets, and countries are adopting measures to flatten the curve. This may impact the retail industry further affecting new and existing orders,” Rubel said.
“So, the new year has actually started with another uncertainty, while opportunities can clearly be seen through the export trend in past few months and it is difficult to predict the immediate future of the market as recovery from the pandemic being faltered,” the BGMEA director said.
