There is no back-up nation to Bangladesh for the global garment business at this moment, said Dhyana van der Pols, a sourcing consultant for a group of European garment buyers. So, business will continue to grow in Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh needs to shift production to value-added items from basic garment goods, she said. Bangladesh is the most attractive destination to European retailers among the six nations due to its competence in the supply of quality products at competitive prices, according to a study. Garment exports accounted for nearly 85 percent of Bangladesh’s total products sold overseas in 2016. The country’s share in the global apparel market is about 6 percent. Kurt Salmon, a leading global strategy consulting firm focused on the retail industry, conducted the survey on the basis of Production Cost Indices (PCI) among six garment producing nations: Bangladesh, China, India, Morocco, Myanmar and Turkey. The firm analysed the import data of apparel items from the six countries between 2005 and 2015. Among the six nations, China is in the second position because of higher costs of production and dearth of skilled workers. India is the third most attractive destination, Morocco fourth, Myanmar fifth and Turkey sixth. Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said, Although we are passing a dull season now, the future outlook is very positive. However, in global comparison of Kurt Salmon, Bangladesh is the second most attractive destination after Cambodia. Globally, Cambodia is ahead of Bangladesh only because it uses more technology in production, the study said.
