When exports from most sectors are impacted severely due to the Coronavirus pandemic, home textiles seem to be the rare lucky one. An analysis of the July-October period shows Bangladesh’s home textile export soared by 47.86 per cent to US $ 354.25 million this year from what was US $ 239.59 million last year.
According to industry insiders, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for hospital bed sheets, medical gowns and curtains have increased significantly.
Export of medical gowns and patient gowns and towels for hospitals increased a lot from Bangladesh lately, says President of the Bangladesh Terry Towel & Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association Shahadat Hossain Sohel, who also thinks some work orders have shifted from China to Bangladesh as well on account of the trade war between USA and China, which also helped increase exports.
When exports from most sectors are impacted severely due to the Coronavirus pandemic, home textiles seem to be the rare lucky one, which seem to have to a great extent managed to ward off the COVID-19 fallouts.
As per Bangladesh’s Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the country’s export earnings in November posted 0.76 per cent year-on-year growth although the country missed the target by 8.2 per cent even as readymade garments, which fetches more than 84 per cent of total export receipts, reportedly posted a decline.
In November the growth of knitwear export was 4.9 per cent while export of woven garments fell by 10.48 per cent as overall export of readymade garments fell for the second consecutive month in November year-on-year. As per EPB figures, earnings from apparel exports in the five months of FY ’21, fell by 1.48 per cent to US $ 12.89 billion from US $ 13.08 billion in the same period of FY ’20 even as the country’s garment exporters underlined that consequent to reinstatement of cancelled orders by global buyers, exports witnessed a meagre growth in August and September before marking a decline again in October due to the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic.
In the July-November period, around 45 per cent earning reportedly came from knitwear export while the contribution of overall apparel export, including woven and knitwear, was 81 per cent.
Further, of the total earnings from the garment export in July to November, US $ 7.13 billion reportedly came from knitwear (knitwear registered 4.8 per cent year-on-year growth) while woven items reportedly fetched US $ 5.75 billion, registering a decline of 8.29 per cent.
Somewhat similar has been the fate of leather sector as well, which has long been touted as the second most promising sector after RMG in terms of export potentials. As per EPB reports, in July-November of FY ’21, export earnings from leather and leather goods reportedly fell by 8.32 per cent to US $ 358.57 million from what was US $ 391.09 million in the same period of FY ’20.
However, even as earnings from the two most potential sectors registered a decline, thanks to the increased use of bed sheets (in hospitals), medical gowns and curtains, home textile exports seem to be on the way up.
It may be mentioned here that Bangladesh is one of the major exporters of home textile products globally and some of the major export destinations for Bangladeshi home textiles include Europe, the USA, Japan, Canada, and Australia, in which Bangladesh is regularly exporting different types of home textile products such as terry towels, bedspreads, pillow covers, cotton table napkins, furnishing fabrics, cushion covers, bath linen and other home furnishing items. In fiscal 2017-18, the export of Bangladesh’s home textiles grew by nearly 9.95 percent year-on-year.
Some of the major importing companies of home textile products from Bangladesh include IKEA, Carrefour, Asda, Littlewood, Maurice Phillips, Walmart, Redcats, etc.
Meanwhile, an analysis of the July-October period shows that Bangladesh’s home textile export soared 47.86 per cent to US $ 354.25 million this year from what was US $ 239.59 million last year and the list does not solely comprise everyday items required at homes such as bed sheets, curtains, kitchen linen, napkins and covers for quilts, blankets, comforters and cushions but bed sheets and gowns as well, as demands of such products in hospitals have risen significantly with the rise in the number of Coronavirus patients, flooding hospitals and healthcare centres across the globe, for medical attention.
The export figure is also 18.24 per cent higher than the quarterly target of US $ 299.61 million set by the Government earlier.
Meanwhile, another factor, which according to industry insiders, is leading to increase in export of home textiles is the so call trade spat between the USA and China , which has forced many US buyers to look for alternatives to China even as China is also losing out on some work orders for home textiles as well as apparels due to higher production cost in the country, said many. Thanks to the ready and cheap availability of manpower and its manufacturing prowess, Bangladesh seem to be making the most of this opportunity.
According to Shahadat Hossain Sohel, who spoke to the media, spurt in home textiles export in the recent times has a lot to do with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Export of medical gowns and patient gowns and towels for hospitals increased a lot from Bangladesh lately, claimed Shahadat while adding that it is just not China but some work orders shifted from Pakistan to Bangladesh earlier this year and he himself claimed to be a beneficiary of the same.
Also, entrepreneurs in Bangladesh are reportedly making massive investments to increase their ability to cater to buyers’ demands for quality home textiles in vast quantities.
According to the Secretary of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Monsoor Ahmed, in the last 20 years or so more than Taka 25,000 crore has been invested in the home textile sector in Bangladesh, who went on to express hope that in a year or so, the country will be in a position to export more than US $ 1 billion worth of home textiles.
Bangladesh’s increasing the capacities seems quite in line with the global home textiles market outlook; as per some studies, in the period between 2020 to 2027, global home textiles market is expected to reach US $ 146.23 billion by 2027 growing at a growth rate of 4.70 per cent. However, adding a new dimension to it is the Coronavirus pandemic, which might push demands for home textiles further up and in such a scenario, Bangladesh making stronger and deeper inroads in the global home textiles market seems very much on the cards.
