Garment exports growing fast
Garment exports growing fast
$17b earning this fiscal likely
Bangladesh has emerged as a fast growing garments exporting nation in the globe as the apparel industry is set to post highest ever export growth in the current fiscal.
Country's garment exports posted 42.49 per cent growth in the 11 months of the current fiscal (2010-11) compared to the corresponding period of previous fiscal with a growing global demand for local apparels, official sources said.
In the July-April period of the current fiscal year (2010-11), Bangladesh earned $14.17 billion from readymade garments (RMG) export while it stood $9.95 billion in the same period of previous fiscal, according to an official figure prepared by the Ministry of commerce.
In absolute term, RMG export grew by $4.21 billion in the July-April period of the current fiscal against the corresponding period of previous fiscal, show the data.
It also shows, of the total earnings from RMG export, $7.47 billion came from the shipments of knitwear and $6.69 billion from woven garments.
Besides, export growth of knitwear and woven garments recorded by 45.89 per cent and 38.58 per cent respectively during the period under review.
Bangladesh had fetched $12.39 billion from garments export in FY 2009-10, registering a poor growth of 1.21 per cent over the same period of previous fiscal due to global recession.
"Garments exports during the July-February period of FY 2010-11 grew sharply due to a growing global demand for local apparel products," Jalal Ahmed, Vice-Chairman of EPB told The New Nation on Monday. He said, "Apart from the traditional markets like the US and the EU, export earnings of garments from the new export destinations have increased significantly during the period." The growing trend of RMG shipments in the new export markets including India, Japan, China, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico helped to enrich the country's export basket, he added. "RMG export to the USA and the EU markets as well as new export markets rose significantly in the recent times as sale of local garments were increasing significantly due to competitive price," Md. Siddiqur Rahman, acting President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) told The New Nation yesterday.
He said fast declining competitiveness of China diverted global buyers to Bangladesh that helped local exporters in bagging enhance rate of export orders.
"Besides, other rival countries like India and trouble-torn Pakistan are struggling to compete with Bangladesh due to rapid increase in cost of production," said the BGMEA leader.
"High lending rates, load-shedding, lack of skilled manpower and skyrocketing price hike of raw materials pushed the industry into back foot," he noted.
Despite all odds the industry has been maintaining an average growth of 15 per cent over the last two decades and this time it is set to touch the highest ever export growth, he said.
The BGMEA leader upbeat about RMG export and said earnings from the sector would cross $17 billion mark by the end of current fiscal.
Bangladesh entered the export market of apparels in 1978 with only nine units and earned only $0.069 million. During the last two decades this sector has achieved a phenomenal growth, due to policy support of the government and dynamism of the private sector entrepreneurs, opined experts. Now the number of RMG units is over 5,000 and the industry employs nearly 4.0 million workforces, most of whom are women.
The industry now represents 80 per cent of the country's total export share.
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