According to those in leadership positions within the business, home textiles, agricultural products, and leather and leather items are increasingly emerging as prospective export industries.
Despite the fact that these industries performed well according to the export outlook for the fiscal year that just ended (FY22), experts believe that their growth curves are still below the potential that can be realized. This is in part because of the increase in freight costs, which hampered export. Export compliance has proven to be a significant roadblock to expansion for the leather and leather goods industries.
The price of raw materials increased over the prior fiscal year, which resulted in a negative growth of around 3 percent for jute and jute items. The provisional data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) indicate that during the period of July to June, the country’s diversified export basket contributed approximately 19 percent to the total export earnings of $52.08 billion, while apparel shipment alone accounts for more than 81 percent, which once went up to 84 percent. The total export earnings for the country were $52.08 billion.
According to data provided by the EPB, the market for home textiles increased by 43.28 percent to $1.62 billion year-on-year, while the market for leather and leather goods increased by 32.23 percent to earn $1.24 billion in the most recent fiscal year. Agricultural products posted a revenue of $1.16 billion, representing an increase of 13.04 percent year over year, while earnings totaled $1.02 billion in FY21.
According to statements made by Kamruzzaman Kamal, director of marketing for the PRAN-RFL company, given to The Business Standard, the sectors have the potential to expand more; however, the pandemic caused an increase in freight costs and a crisis with vessels, which hampered their growth. He went on to say that some exporters were unable to ship their goods on time, while others had to cancel customer orders.
He stated that the PRAN-RFL group had achieved greater success than the previous year and went on to say, “We have diversified our export basket by adding some new product lines — bakery and confectionery items.” Jute and jute items, which were formerly considered a valuable commodity, have fallen on hard times in recent years, as seen by a decline in market value of almost 3 percent, from $1.16 billion in FY21 to $1.12 billion in FY22.
Sheikh Nasir Uddin, chairman of the Akij group, stated in an interview with The Business Standard that the industry was unable to maintain its market share as a result of the increase in the cost of raw materials that occurred in the previous year, which also encouraged the development of alternative products. “Turkey is Bangladesh’s primary market, but they have developed two alternatives to jute: recycled cotton yarn and plastic yarn,” he continued. “These are products that may be used in place of jute.”
According to Sheikh Nasir Uddin, who is also the chairman of the Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association, approximately fifty percent of the smaller and medium-sized firms have already shut down, while the remaining factories are operating at up to sixty percent of their capacity.
A syndication of local jute pricing was invited for the industry this fall, according to Mridha Moniruzzaman Monir, vice-chairman of the Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association and managing director of Golden Jute Industries Ltd. In spite of increases in logistic costs and the cost of imported chemicals, Shaheen Ahmed, President of the Bangladesh Tanners’ Association (BTA), stated that the industry experienced growth.
He went on to say that without a fully functional Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) at the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate, the industry would not be able to advance any further. The expansion of leather exporter Picard Bangladesh Limited is evidence that buyers have faith in the company, according to Md. Saiful Islam, managing director of Picard Bangladesh Limited.
He also made the observation that Bangladesh has not been successful in diversifying the products made from jute, despite the fact that in the past, jute was one of the primary export items along with raw leather and tea. According to Rashed Mosharaff, executive director of marketing at Zaber & Zubair Fabrics Ltd (Home), the home textile industry has experienced an organic growth of approximately 15 percent each year, and last year it was approximately 25 percent. Mosharaff stated that this growth has continued for the past several years.
“We are also investigating new markets and potential customers, he added, adding that the Spanish company Mango Home had joined forces with the company in the current year. Brazil is currently being investigated as a possible new market for our company.”
Reference:
Uddin, Jasim. “Home Textiles, Agri and Leather Emerge with Major Export Potentials.” The Business Standard, 3 July 2022, https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/home-textiles-agri-and-leather-emerge-major-export-potentials-452386.
Image Courtesy:
- https://jantetextile.com/here-is-what-you-need-to-know-about-home-textiles/
- https://textilelearner.net/home-textile-types-classification/
