Garment shipments to mostly non-traditional major markets grew by 29.92 per cent on a year-on-year basis to USD683.65 million in the July-August period of FY2019–20 compared to USD526.19 million during the same period in FY2018–19. This increase was due to an incentive package and access of duty-free markets. Other than the traditional markets like the US, Canada, and Europe, others are considered non-traditional markets. Among them are Chile, China, Japan, India, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, South-Africa and Russia. These are the markets where Bangladeshi apparel exports are vastly growing. Siddiqur Rahman, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA), told The Independent that the government had announced a 5 per cent cash incentive for exporting to non-traditional markets back in 2010. It is currently 4 per cent after a revision in 2018. Rahman said that apparel-makers earlier were reluctant to enter those markets because it took lot of trouble and time to enter a new market. A businessperson needed to talk to different people, do their own research and gradually penetrate the market. Also, when a manufacturer enters a new market, he/she needs to lower the product price below the average. Owing to these two reasons, garments manufacturer did not want to explore new markets . “But, since the government provided the cash incentive over a considerable period of time, garments factory owners started exploring new destinations and markets,” he also said. “These two prime reasons prompted the exporters to explore new markets which had grown dramatically over the four to five years,” he added. Another reason, said Siddiqur, was that most of the non-traditional markets offered duty-free access to Bangladeshi apparel exporters. “Presently, non-traditional markets are contributing 15-16 per cent of total export earnings,” he added. In July–August of FY2019–20, Bangladesh earned USD 85.07 million from China, registering a growth of 7.38 per cent, up from USD 79.22 million during the same period of FY2018-19, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). China, the largest apparel supplier of the world, has started importing products from Bangladesh because the Chinese government has allowed duty-free access to over 5,000 Bangladeshi products. According to Siddiqur, there are 40 to 50 crore people in China belonging to the high-middle income group. Inspections by Accord and Alliance have helped to remediate the factories and prompted factory owners to emphasise workplace safety, which eventually lifted the country’s image before the foreign buyers. Around 105 green garment factories are in operation, which are completely LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design)-certified and another 300 are in the process of getting the certification. Of the top 10 green garments factories in the world, the first seven are located in Bangladesh, said Rahman. In July-August of FY2019-20 financial year, Bangladesh earned USD112.63 million from India, recording a growth of 10.61 per cent from USD101.83 million during the same period of FY2018-19, according to the EPB. Former senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA), Faruque Hassan, said: “Famous international retail brands, such as Zara and H and M, have established their business in India and we are their biggest.” “Another reason is that the Indian domestic market has grown and the number of fashion conscious consumers has increased. We import readymade garments (RMG) raw materials like cotton and machinery from India. So, their exports are also increasing. It is a win-win situation from both the countries,” he said. In July-August of FY2019-20, Bangladesh earned USD 193.36 million from Japan, showing a growth 17.60 per cent from USD 164.42 million during the same period of FY2018-19, shows EPB data. An expert said: “The Japanese market is very niche. We need to send quality products to the Japanese market. We are successfully doing that and the trend shows export is increasing drastically.” In July-August of FY2019-20, Bangladesh earned USD 40.61 million from Mexico with a growth 11.35 per cent, up from USD 36.47 million during the same period of FY2018-19, according to EPB data.
