The country is doing well in exporting apparels and other goods in global markets taking the advantage of business friendly atmosphere following emergence of domestic political stability, observed business insiders. The country is now getting more work orders that shifted from China owing to the ongoing US-China trade war, said Faisal Samad, vice-president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). The global buyers are now more confident as the image of the country’s garment sector has become brightened because of remediation works that upgrade the industry’s capability to meet the buyers’ requirements both in terms of standard and capacity, he added. Inamul Haq Khan, a director of BGMEA and Managing Director of Ananta Garments, told Daily Sun that Bangladesh is lone country that supplies garments product in affordable prices within a short time. “The country will be more accepatble to international community following completion of the remediation programme for safety and security in RMG industries and we can break our export target this year if the present environment continues,” he hoped. The peaceful environment in garment industries and political stability at home also contribute to increase the export of garments product, he said. According to latest data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) the country’s merchandise export earnings grew by 10.55 percent year-on-year to $40.53 billion in the fiscal year 2018-19 riding on high volume of garment shipment. Of the export volume 84 percent comes from garment sector. Of the amount, the country earned $34.13 billion from garment exports marking a 11.49 percent year-on-year growth. Of the amount, $16.88 billion came from knitwear and $17.24 billion from woven garment products. Earnings from apparel shipment were 4.57 percent higher than the target of $32.68 billion. Some $30.61 billion was earned in fiscal 2017-18. Although garment shipments grew by 11.49 percent, international retailers and brands are not paying higher prices while purchasing garment items from Bangladesh, said industry insiders. The country’s garment export to the US market, the single largest export destination for garment, grew more than 10 percent in recent months because of the trade war, they said. “The exact value addition has not been reflected in the offered prices for Bangladeshi garment items by the international clothing retailers and brands although the cost of doing business is increasing every year for various reasons,” the businesses said. Moreover, an unhealthy price competition has been hurting the Bangladesh’s garment sector for many years as many small and medium factories have been receiving work orders for offering prices below the production cost only to keep factories running, they opined. Apart from apparels, some other sectors are also doing well. The shipment of agricultural products such as tea, vegetables, fruits, spices, dry food, and tobacco surged 34.92 percent to $908.96 million. Pharmaceuticals, furniture, petroleum byproducts, plastic goods, ceramics, handicrafts, cotton, cotton products (yarn and wastes of fabrics), carpet, terry towel, footwear, wigs, and furniture performed better in the last fiscal year. The leather and leather goods and jute and jute goods continued their poor show. Leather and leather goods fetched $1.01 billion, down 6.06 percent year-on-year. This is largely as many tanneries have been shifted to the leather estate in Savar have not embarked on full-fledged production yet.
