The Taiwanese manufacturers of apparel fabrics, especially polyester and accessories, plan to increase their market share in Bangladesh. They think there are “huge potentials” of fabrics business in Bangladesh as the country is a global “hot-spot” of RMG products which use fabrics as raw materials. “I already have a buyer of my (accessories) products here, but I want to find more buyers as Bangladesh is a hot-spot of apparel products sourcing,” said Miranda Pan of Immense, a manufacturer of RMG accessories in Taiwan. Otto Hsu, director of Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Dhaka office said: “In near future, the Taiwanese companies may invest here in fabrics production as there is a space to grow.” They were talking with the Dhaka Tribune at the “Taiwan Textile Fairs South Asia 2015” in Dhaka yesterday. The first-ever single country expo on Nov 23-24 is designed to explore new market, where the manufacturers show the best of Taiwan’s innovative and value-added fibers, yarns, fabrics, trimmings and apparels. The Taiwanese producers of RMG accessories, sports wears and zippers attended the event to find new buyers and form business ties. The fair has been organised by the Taiwan Textile Federation and the Bureau of Foreign Trade and represented by Worldex India Exhibition & Promotion Pvt. Ltd., with support from Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Otto Hsu said the fair is designed to develop more business relations with Bangladesh and to explore market for fabrics and accessories. He, however, asserted that making investment here is still not easy due to unfavourable situation, calling on the authorities to ensure a business-friendly environment. Taylor Liao, director of Colorful Textile and Apparels Co., said Bangladehs is the second largest RMG supplier to the global market with a volume of $26bn annually. He said twenty per cent of his customers of fabrics are from Bangladesh. Liao sought cooperation from Bangladesh authorities to find new buyers. Tareque Shibly, a marketing agent, said the economic recession in the export destination countries cast a negative impact on the use of high-end products, which might have led to the rise of demand of low-end products. “But there are ample opportunities for investment in fabrics sector in Bangladesh which also produces low-end products.” Monzur Murshed Ahmed, country manager of Louis Raphael, showed a favour towards the Taiwanese products. “As a buyer, I would choose Taiwanese fabrics due to its quality and price competitiveness.” He said Taiwan also produces high quality fabrics, especially non-cotton for the high-end products and others. Monzur said the Taiwanese makers offered fabrics at relatively low prices, which are 10-20% less than those of other countries. He said his supplier also participated in the expo to explore new market here “as the country is a big sourcing hub for low-end products.” According to the BGAPMEA, the deemed export of packaging and accessories items in the last fiscal year was some $4bn, which is about 20% of the country’s total apparel exports.
