According to BGMEA, from statistics compiled by the International Trade Center (ITC), trousers worth more than $84 billion are imported annually in the global market. Bangladesh’s export-oriented garment factories supply about 15 percent of this. On March 18, BGMEA published the statistics of top garment products exported from Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has been gradually pursuing a strong position in the export of trousers due to the increase in local capacity in overall apparel production. Product quality is also better than before and factories in Bangladesh are also doing very well in producing medium and high-end products in terms of design and value addition.
According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) statistics, in 2021, the import of men’s (men’s/boys’) cotton woolen trousers was worth $22.65 billion and Bangladesh’s share in this import was 21.3 percent. In the same year, women’s (women’s/girls’) cotton woolen trousers were imported worth $18.93 billion. Bangladesh’s share in this import was 16.12 percent.
In 2021, the value of the import of women’s cotton knitted trousers in the world was $9.3 billion and the Bangladesh share was 15.19 percent.
At the same time, the import value of men’s cotton synthetic trousers was $8.1 billion and Bangladesh’s share was 15.98 percent. In the same year, the import value of men’s cotton knitted trousers was $5.94 billion where Bangladesh’s share was 9.83 percent.
The women’s synthetic woolen trousers were imported in 2021 worth $6.3 billion where Bangladesh’s share was 3.87 percent. At the same time, the import value of women’s non-cotton oven trousers was $3.6 billion and Bangladesh’s share was 5.54 percent. The import value of women’s synthetic knitted trousers was $9.3 billion in 2021 where the share of Bangladesh was 2.24 percent.
According to stakeholders, the trousers were previously produced on a large scale mainly in China, Vietnam and Cambodia where overhead costs have increased. Washing is another essential part of trouser production. In China, the obligation to follow environmentally friendly washing processes is now very high. Many washing factories of the country have been closed due to this issue. Compared to that, it is easier to run washing operations in Bangladesh. These factors played a significant role in transferring trouser production to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s export sector has lacked of diversified products for a long time. The exporters have started to come out of this situation slowly. Exporters are increasing production diversification while maintaining the capacity of basic products because demand for such basic products does not decrease even in economic recession.
The trouser production process is relatively long and complicated. At each step there is an opportunity for value addition which also increases the supplier’s revenue. Many entrepreneurs in Bangladesh are now deploying technologies such as manufacturing high value added products and are also focused on how to add better value to trousers.
However, we lack capacity in high end apparel like sportswear, outerwear etc. To increase our share in the global market we need to increase our skills, technological know-how and investment in our backward linkage industry.
