International apparel retailers got back confidence in Bangladesh as the government has taken stern actions against militants. We feel just fine. We are satisfied with the security. This is why so many garment retailers and businessmen came to the trade show,” said Abdelkader Amouche, regional manager (Asia) of Vicunha, a Brazil-based denim factory, yesterday. Amouche is attending the two-day denim exhibition organised by Bangladesh Denim Expo, a non-profit organisation, at International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka. “The buyers are coming back as confidence has been restored,” he said. After militant attacks at a café in Gulshan in Dhaka, many international retailers either cancelled their trips to Dhaka or asked their local manufacturing partners to set the meetings in another country. However, the situation has changed now, he said. “Bangladesh is an important market for us. We export 5 million metres of denim fabrics worth $13 million to Bangladesh in a year. We have 30 percent year-on-year business growth here. ”He said, to supply denim fabric to Bangladesh in the shortest possible time, the company maintains a buffer stock of two million metres in Sri Lanka. “We have been supplying denim fabric to Bangladeshi garment makers for over six years now. We have potential to grow further as the country’s apparel export is increasing fast. ”Vicunha currently supplies denim to 30 apparel makers in Bangladesh, he said. His company produces 20 million metres of the fabric in a month from its three factories in Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina. The company also has an office in Dhaka to market its products here. Not only is the demand for denim fabric increasing, but also the demand for accessories used in denim items. Kasiv Leather Label from Turkey that mainly produces denim labels has also participated in the show. Aysegul Duzgun, a marketing executive of the company, said, “We were unsure about security in Bangladesh at first, but it is quite fine now. We do not see any problem here. ”Her company sells labels worth $300,000 in Bangladesh a year. “We started business with a Bangladeshi partner a few years ago. We see good potential here as our business is growing. ”Annually, the company sells leather labels worth $4 million, she said. Bangladesh is the second largest apparel exporter worldwide after China. With the rise of the garment sector, the denim sector has also grown a lot over the years, said industry insiders. Now, Bangladesh is a major player in the global denim business as nearly 30 denim fabric making factories are operating here. Total investment in the denim sector is more than $1 billion. In a few years, export of denim products will rise to $5 billion, from more than $2 billion a year now. Global denim sales amount to more than $56 billion a year now; the number is expected to reach $64 billion by the end of 2020. In 2015, Bangladeshi denim products had a 22.88 percent market share in the EU and 11.35 percent in the US, according to the US Department of Commerce. Production capacity of the denim mills in Bangladesh is more than 40 million yards a month against the demand for nearly 70 million yards. The rest of the demand is met through imports from countries like China, India, Pakistan and Turkey.Bangladeshi entrepreneurs supply denim products to major global retailers and brands, including H&M, Uniqlo, Levis, Nike, Tesco, Wrangler, s.Oliver, Hugo Boss, Walmart and Gap. Mostafiz Uddin, founder of Bangladesh Denim Expo, said many international retailers, buyers and sellers applied to participate in the show, but it was not possible to accommodate all of them. “The response from the international business community is amazing,” Mostafiz said. This time, a total of 55 exhibitors from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, South Korea and Vietnam participated in the show that ends today.
