Staff Reporter :
The entrepreneurs of the country’s apparel sector are bracing for turbulence as many European buyers are postponing their purchasing orders.
The sector has been getting excellent flow of work orders since the end of the restriction on global business, after the Covid-19 induced lockdown.
Due to rise in orders, the entrepreneurs were stepping up with fresh investments in the apparel sector as the country witnessed a healthy export growth in last few months, they added.
But there are worries over the uncertainty for recessions in major economics caused by Russia-Ukraine war and uninterrupted power and gas supplies in the country and the export growth will cease from this month due to the global economic turmoil and record inflation affecting retail business, they added.
They said exports to the European markets reached $3.45 billion with 23.21 per cent year-over-year growth in first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year (2022-23).
The apparel export to Germany, the largest apparel import market in EU region, grew by 16.44 per cent during the mentioned period, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) released the country-wise export statistics for July-August period of the current fiscal year.
The data also showed that the export to Spain and France increased by 24.52 per cent and 37.73 per cent respectively during the aforesaid time. Other countries in the EU showed positive growth as per the data of EPB.
During the first two months of current fiscal year, Bangladesh exported $ 1.41 billion worth of apparel to USA which was 20.52 per cent higher than the same period of last fiscal year (2021-22), while RMG export to UK and Canada showed 35.64 per cent and 18.49 per cent growth respectively.
At the same time, the apparel export to non-traditional markets grew by 37.90 per cent and reached $1.20 billion.
Among the non-traditional markets, export to Japan and India increased by 25.81 per cent and 98.92 per cent respectively. On the other hand, export to Russia and China declined by 58.29 per cent and 13.21 per cent respectively.
“Though export kept growing during August 2021 to August 2022 period, the indicators and estimates suggest that growth will cease from this month due to the global economic turmoil and record inflation affecting retail business,” said Md Mohiuddin Rubel, Director of The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
“A number of global brands are suffering from decline in sales and unsold stocks and they are halting current orders and production at our end. The RMG industry is now bracing for turbulence ahead. So, we need continuation of the government support to face the situation,” he added.
