Apparel export growth slowed last month as industry people say compliance requirement and recent political turmoil ate into income. Exports proceeds slowed down to 1.16 per cent in April, compared with the same period last year, the Export Promotion Bureau said. Exports of ready-made garment in July and August 2014 witnessed a 0.07 and 4.23 per cent growth compared to that of the same period of 2013 while the receipts fell by 2.06 and 9.69 per cent in the next two months-September and October, the bureau data showed . But earning from overseas sales rebounded in November with 9.71 per cent growth in the same year and slowed down to 2.38 per cent in December again in 2014 while it has been maintaining a moderate growth since January of the year. Income from exports of apparel products recorded a significant growth of over 7.0 per cent in the first three months of the calendar year. Knitwear earnings stood at $10.0 billion and woven fetched $10.55 billion during the July-April of the current fiscal year 2014-15. But both the sectors failed to achieve the targets by 6.31 per cent and 4.53 per cent set for the period. The overall earnings in April 2015 stood at $2.39 billion against $ 2.41 billion year-ago period marking a 0.55 per cent negative growth. The earnings also fell short of the target by 11.36 per cent, data showed. The total earnings during the first 10 months of the current fiscal stood at $ 25.30 billion showing a 2.63 per cent growth compared to the same period last fiscal. The country also failed to achieve the target set for the period by 5.71 per cent. Md Shahidullah Azim, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said the recent political turmoil and the compliance issues had a negative impact on April growth. Knit export fell significantly in April after the scarcity of orders mainly due to the recent political turmoil, he said, adding: “Buyers followed ‘wait and watch’ approach and placed work orders at a reduced volume at the end of last year as the safety drive went on.” But with the completion of initial inspection by Accord and Alliance, buyers are regaining their confidence in Bangladesh, he said. He added that buyers are gradually increasing work orders in recent times as political turbulence eased.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/13/92481

Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (TICFA) has turned into a meaningless arrangement as the country is yet to reap any trade facility from the US government, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said here yesterday. “Despite Bangladesh signed the TICFA, we are yet to get any sort of trade and investment benefits from the USA government under the framework,” he told the inaugural ceremony of a two-day Bangladesh Denim Expo held at a city hotel. The exhibition kicked off with an aim to fetch US$7bn of the brand fabric’s global market share within 2021. “It would be meaningless until and unless we can achieve something under TICFA, which has already become a platform for nothing but holding meetings only,” Tofail said. Strongly criticising the US government for not restoring the GSP facilities, Toail said, “Unfortunately we did not get any trade and investment benefit from the US government in the last five years, rather it suspended Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) of our products to the US market even after the signing of the TICFA.” EU Head of Delegation and Ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon said, “It’s not only about prices, rather the European consumers are very much directly connected with Bangladeshi workers and that is why we had reacted very strongly two years back.” He repeatedly called for compliance with the conditions set in the sustainability compact signed to improve workplace safety and workers’ rights in the RMG sector. Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Benoit Pierre Laramee said, “Price and quality are no longer factors for the Canadian customers.” Rather, what the customers want is that the workers are respected, treated with dignity and their rights and safety ensured, he added. Regarding denim, he observed: “As denim has tremendous potentials, investment is necessary to grab more market share. Bangladesh Denim can play a lead role in achieving the US$50bn target.” Criticising Accord’s recent activities in connection with the termination of workers in a factory, BGMEA President MdAtiqul Islam accused the Accord’s Executive Director Rob Wayss of over exercising his power, which is beyond his jurisdiction. He also alleged that Wayss asked the factory owner to re-appoint the sacked workers, or else, he warned the owner of blacklisting the factory by its buyers. Twenty-five exclusive denim and jeans manufacturers and enterprises from the USA, Spain, Japan, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, China, San Marino and Bangladesh are taking part in the exposition. “The show aims not only to promote denim trade in Bangladesh but also to encourage greater business practice to raise the living standard of the people in the country,” said Managing Director of Denim Expert Ltd and also organiser of the Expo MostafizUddin. According to the industry insiders, Bangladesh is the second largest denim exporter in European markets while it is holding the third largest position in the USA market. Around 400 factories are exporting nearly 180 million pieces of denim jeans to the world. Bangladesh currently has 25 denim producing factories with total investment of over $834m. After this show, the next Bangladesh Denim Expo will be held on November11-12 this year.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2015/may/12/tofail-ticfa-fails-bring-benefits#sthash.Lo4Fnu6c.dpuf

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed visits a stall after inaugurating the two-day Bangladesh Denim Expo at a hotel in Dhaka on Monday. Despite signing the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (TICFA), Bangladesh is yet to get the benefits as the US does not provide any major trade facilities for Bangladeshi products to its market, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed claimed. “TICFA was signed between Bangladesh and the US aimed at promoting trade and investment. But there was no major benefit for Bangladesh except holding of some meetings,” he opined. The commerce minister also claimed that the US has been depriving Bangladesh of providing duty-free quota free access of products though Bangladesh is enjoying it in many largest economies. All Bangladesh products are enjoying EBA scheme in EU market, duty free and quota free access in Canada and many other largest economies in the world. But the US market is not open for Bangladeshi garment items which share around 80 percent of the country’s export earnings. Bangladesh does not enjoy such facilities for ‘unknown’ reason, Tofail added. Tofail was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of a two-day Bangladesh Denim Expo which kicked off in the capital on Monday. Pierre Mayaudon, Head of European Commission Delegation and Ambassador to Bangladesh, Benoit-Pierre Laramee, High Commissioner of Canada to Dhaka, Atiqul Islam, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Abdus Salam Murshedy, President of Exporters Association of Bangladesh, and Mostafiz Uddin, Managing Director of Denim Expert Ltd and also organiser of the event, also spoke on the occasion. While speaking at the event, Benoit-Pierre Laramee said Canada has been working with the government of Bangladesh to ensure safe RMG sector and to bring a sustainable development in the sector. He also emphasised the necessity of implementation of labour law with a view to protecting the interests of the workers. Bangladesh has a huge opportunity to grab world denim market, said Abdus Salam Murshedy informing that Bangladesh’s denim industry has enjoyed 11 percent growth from 2009 to 2014. Praising the exhibition, Murshedy said such expo will not only encourage the local entrepreneurs but also bag recognition of its quality globally. BGMEA President Atiqul Islam said Bangladesh’s garment industry has been going through a critical time as prices of currencies have been fluctuating sharply against Bangladeshi taka. In addition, many other obstacles, including political instability and price competitiveness, have aroused Atiqul said calling the commerce minister to pay due attention to the sector in next budget. Expressing hope for making the exhibition successful this time, Mostafiz Uddin said they are going to arrange the fair largely in November next. He also said the profit gained from the exhibition will be spent in developing the country’s denim industry.

Source: https://www.daily-sun.com/print/business/2015/05/12/502675#sthash.2fmM2c85.dpuf

A two-day Bangladesh Denim Expo kicked off in the capital expecting the country to fetch $7 billion of the brand fabric’s global market share within 2021, says a press release. The expo is being at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel to showcase Bangladesh’s growth potential in the denim industry globally and share the local producers’ knowledge with international denim manufacturers and buyers. Twenty-five exclusive denim and jeans related manufacturers and enterprises from the USA, Spain, Japan, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, China, San Marino and host Bangladesh are taking part in the exposition. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, MP inaugurated the expo as the chief guest while Head of European Commission Delegation and Ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon, High Commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh Benoit-Pierre Laramee, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Bangladesh Gerben Sjoerd de Jong,BGMEA President Atiqul Islam, President of Bangladesh Exporters Association Abdus salam murshedi and Managing Director of Denim Expert Ltd, Mostafiz Uddin spoke as the special guests. The Commerce Minister expressed his hope that the exposition will help opening of new trade avenues between local denim and jeans producers and international buyers. “The show aims not only to promote denim trade in Bangladesh but also to encourage greater business practice to raise the living standard of the people in this country,” the key initiator of the expo Managing Director of Denim Expert Ltd, Mostafiz Uddin Mostafiz Uddin said. He said the primary purpose of the exposition is to create a platform for Denim stakeholders and to make Bangladesh as one Stop Sourcing Platform for denim industry. “Any surplus fund from the expo will be donated to a seed fund for establishing a Denim University in Bangladesh,” he added. A good numbers of turnout of apparel entrepreneurs, businessmen, fashion professionals and stakeholders of the industry from Europe, USA and UK also attended the expo. A total of four seminars including a special one with titled “Made in Bangladesh a new Reality-vision 2021” jointly organized with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA) & Bangladesh Denim Expo will be held on the sidelines of the exposition. The discussion in the seminar will focus towards devising a strategic action plan to overcome the existing challenges with a vision to increase Bangladesh’s share to $7 billion in the global denim market by 2021. According to the industry insiders, Bangladesh is the second largest denim exporter in European markets while it is holding the third largest position in the USA market. Around 400 factories are exporting nearly 180 million pieces of denim jeans to the world. Bangladesh currently has 25 denim producing factories with total investment of over $834 million. After performing the forthcoming May show, Bangladesh Denim Expo will showcase there Next Exhibition on November 11-12th this year.

Source: https://www.newstoday.com.bd/index.php?option=details&news_id=2410938&date=2015-05-12

The country’s trade deficit increased by 56.78 per cent to $7.14 billion in the first nine months of the current financial year 2014-15 compared with that of $4.55 billion during the same period of the FY14 due to a massive drop in export earnings against a higher import payment. Officials of Bangladesh Bank said falling export growth of readymade garment, the main export product of the country, dented the overall earnings in July-March of the FY15 while import of capital machinery continued to rise significantly during the period. The trade deficit had posted a growth of 4.94 per cent in July-March of the FY14, according to the BB data. The trade deficit was $4.86 billion in the first nine months of FY13. The export earnings registered a 2.96-per cent growth in the first nine months of the FY15 against 13.46 per cent growth in the same period of FY14. The export earnings stood at $22.61 billion in July-March of the FY15 while it was $21.96 billion during the same period of the FY14. The BB data showed that RMG exports from Bangladesh in the July-March period of the FY15 rose by 3.18 per cent to $18.62 billion against the last year export value of $18.05 billion, but the figure was 4.72 per cent less than that of the target of $19.55 billion set for the first nine months. The imports registered a 12.21-per cent growth in the first nine months of the FY15 compared with that of 11.09 per cent growth in the corresponding period of the FY14. The import payment stood at $29.76 billion in July-March of the FY15 and it was $26.52 billion in the same period of the FY14. A BB official told New Age on Monday that the decreased growth in export earnings had put an adverse impact on the country’s trade account. The lower export growth in the recent period has already created a worrisome situation for the country’s business sector, he said. The higher import growth in the period was apparently good for the industrial sector, but the trend also raised suspicion of money laundering due to a lower private sector credit growth in recent months, he said. He said, ‘The import growth of capital machinery was much higher than that of industrial raw materials, but the businesspeople took little initiative to expand their business in the period due to political crisis.’ He said importers might now be making over-invoicing to launder money abroad as the recent higher import growth had not put any major positive impact on the industrial sector. He said that the country’s commodity import would increase in the next few months ahead of Ramadan that would widen the trade gap more in the period. The BB data showed that the trade deficit in the service sector increased by 24.04 per cent to $3.58 billion in July-March of the FY15 from $2.89 billion in the corresponding period of the FY14. In the first nine months of the FY15, the country received $2.24 billion from the service sector but it paid foreign sources $5.83 billion for different services during the same period.

Source: https://newagebd.net/119005/trade-gap-jumps-to-7-14b-in-9-months/#sthash.3DiIIUn1.dpuf

A two-day Bangladesh Denim Expo kicked off yesterday in the capital expecting the country to fetch US$7 billion of the brand fabric’s global market share within 2021 from the existing $3.5 billion out of $ 60 billion global market. The expo is being held at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel to showcase Bangladesh’s growth potential in the denim industry globally and share the local producers’ knowledge with international denim manufacturers and buyers. Twenty-five exclusive denim and jeans related manufacturers and enterprises from the USA, Spain, Japan, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, China, San Marino and host Bangladesh are taking part in the exposition. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, inaugurated the expo as the chief guest while Head of European Commission Delegation and Ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon, High Commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh Benoit-Pierre Laramee, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Bangladesh Gerben Sjoerd de Jong, BGMEA President Atiqul Islam, President of Bangladesh Exporters Association Abdus Salam Murshidi and Managing Director of Denim Expert Ltd Mostafiz Uddin spoke as special guests. Criticizing the USA attitude towards Bangladesh, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said Bangladeshi products have to pay 16 per cent duty for entering the USA market that is second highest in the world. “No one can resist advancement of Bangladesh. Those who had termed Bangladesh bottomless basket once, now they are saying – Bangladesh is nothing but a miracle,” he said. “We signed on Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) deal to increase investment cooperation between US and Bangladesh which now becomes meaningless. Bangladesh has paid around $ 4.1 billion on export in US market as they imposed 16 percent custom duty”, the minister added. Mostafiz Uddin said the primary purpose of the exposition is to create a platform for Denim stakeholders and to make Bangladesh as one Stop Sourcing Platform for denim industry.

Source: https://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=257881:bangladesh-denim-expo-begins&catid=108:business-finance&Itemid=152

Meghna Group of Industries will build two economic zones on 325 acres of land at Sonargaon upazila in Narayanganj, the third in the private sector.The construction of the two EZs — Meghna Economic Zone on 245 acres and Meghna Industrial Economic Zone on 80 acres — will be completed within a year. Once all the factories are fully operational, they will create about 30,000 jobs.Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority yesterday handed over pre-qualification licences to the local conglomerate in Dhaka.Meghna Group will lease out plots mainly to foreign investors, said Mostafa Kamal, chairman of the company, adding that the zones will help the country attract foreign investment. “The two EZs have availability of gas, water and its own power plant. So I believe that establishing new industries in the zones is possible without facing any difficulty,” he said. The two zones are situated adjacent to the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. In addition, Meghna Economic Zone is situated on the bank of the river Meghna, he added. Meghna Group opened talks with some foreign investors to make the two EZs a success.“We have already signed MoUs with PM Group in Thailand and Chongqing Minmetal and Machinery Import and Export Company of China,” said Kamal, also managing director of Meghna Group. Besides, Meghna is in talks with Wilmar in Singapore and Suetech Engineering in Thailand to build partnerships.Industries such as pulp and paper, oil refinery, power plants, PVC, beverage, packaging film industry and petrochemicals will get priority in the two zones, he added. “Some 2-3 factories are expected to begin operations in the zones within a year.”The government is now paying special attention to the economic zones as it will help the country grab more foreign direct investment and create new jobs, said Paban Chowdhury, executive chairman of BEZA. “We are getting good responses to establish factories in the EZs from Japan, China and India.” Foreign and local investors have shown interest in the EZs, thanks to low labour costs, a large domestic market and government incentive packages, he added. The government aims to establish 100 economic zones in 15 years. The governing body of BEZA has approved the proposals for 22 economic zones and eight more sites have been primarily selected to set up EZs. The construction of the economic zones at Mongla, Anwara, Mirsorai in Chittagong, Moulvibazar and Cox’s Bazar is ongoing, according to BEZA. Exports will grow by $40 billion a year and one crore jobs will be created if 70,000-75,000 acres of land can be allocated to EZs, said Chowdhury.Earlier, BEZA handed over the first pre-qualification licence to AK Khan Company to build a 200-acre EZ in Narsingdi and a second to Abdul Monem Ltd to develop a 216-acre EZ in Gazaria, Munshiganj.The annual turnover of Meghna Group is about $2 billion. The group has 30 business units located on 350 acres in Sonargaon, according to Kamal.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/meghna-group-build-two-economic-zones-81738

Denimco Textile, a Turkish denim maker, will open an office in Dhaka soon to sell the fabric to Bangladeshi exporters directly, as Bangladesh is a major exporter of denim products to Europe and US markets.“Everything is ready and we will open the office within one and a half months,” said Oguz Aksoy, marketing officer of Denimco. “Bangladesh is an important market for us because its economy is growing rapidly,” Aksoy said, sitting at his stall at the two-day Bangladesh Denim Expo that began at Radisson hotel in Dhaka yesterday. Currently, his company produces 3.5 million metres of denim fabrics a month, of which 70 percent are exported and the rest are sold in the Turkish market, he said. Many posh retailers and brands are their customers as they produce a variety of denim fabrics, with their prices ranging from $3 to $350 a yard.Not only Denimco, many internationally renowned denim makers and importers now aim to increase business in Bangladesh, which has become a major supplier of denim products offering lower prices and high quality.“We are shifting to Bangladesh as China, the largest denim supplier worldwide, has become expensive,” said Marco Nava, export manager of Garmon Chemicals and Fashions, a chemical supplier based in Italy.Nava said his company supplies chemicals worth $28 million a year to denim makers worldwide, including $3 million to Bangladeshi businesses. “Bangladesh has a bright future in denim business,” said Nava, who also attended the first version of the show in November last year.The demand for denim garments is on the rise worldwide, said Vichai Phromvanich, managing director of Absolute Denim, a Thai company, which sells denim fabrics to Bangladeshi companies.“Bangladesh has a big opportunity in denim business as the country’s main export markets are Europe and the US,” Phromvanich said.So we think Bangladesh is an important country for us. In future, we may go for partnerships with Bangladeshi firms,” he saidWith the rise in business, local fabrics makers are also going for expansion or setting up new production units. “Production in our new factory will start from July. Initially, we have a target to produce two million yards of denim fabrics a month, but we will increase our capacity to six million yards from next year,” said Muhammad Zakir Hossain, deputy manager of Square Denims Ltd, a new entrant and a unit of Square Group.Hossain said they are in talks with major international brands and retailers to sell their fabrics. “We are also going to open a factory to make denim products,” he said.Bangladesh has 25 denim mills and five more are going into production by the end of this year. Bangladesh produces 20 million yards of denim fabrics a month and can meet 60 percent of the demand, while the rest is met through import.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/denim-makers-link-retailers-dhaka-81739

The two newly-elected mayors of Dhaka’s bifurcated city corporation, Annisul Huq of the North, and SayeeKhokon for the South, were both accorded a warm reception on Sunday from arguably the most powerful group of businessmen in the country – the garment factory owners.The reception was jointly organised by Bangladesh Garment Manufactures & Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Bangladesh Textiles Manufacture and Exporters Association (BTMEA) at Raowa Club in city’s Mohakhali.Besides the two mayors, leaders of the three manufacturers-and-exporters organisations, leaders of differentchambers of commerce and newly elected councilors were present at the reception programme.Speaking at the programme, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Annisul Huq said, “The commitments that I have made to change Dhaka city was not mine, the dwellers of Dhaka demanded the commitments from me.”“So, I am grateful to all the people who voted for me, as everyone living in Dhaka is equal to me,” he said.Seeking cooperation from the citizens of all walks of life, he said it is not possible to manage all the work alone; only cooperation from all will enable the mayors and councilors to solve the problems of Dhaka city.“I know what the problems of Dhaka South are as I campaigned throughout its length and breadth of the city during election campaign,” said newly elected mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Sayeed Khokon adding, “I am truly obliged to the people who voted to give me the opportunity to serve as mayor.”Promising to present an inhabitable city, he asked city-dwellers to step forward and present all the problems they face before him. In keeping pace with them, Sayeed Khokon will be able to take appropriate initiatives to solve all the problems.Referring to traffic congestion as one of the top problems in the city, BGMEA president Atiqul Islam said the mayors will have their work cut out to resolving these issues.Terming the new mayors ‘smart’, he said they would transform the city into a ‘smart’ one as well.BKMEA president Shamim Osman; BRMEA president Tapan Chowdhury; BGMEA vice presidents Shahidullah Azim and Reaz-Bin-Mahmood, and its former president Salam Murshedy, among others, were present at the programme.

Source: https://www.observerbd.com/2015/05/10/88097.php