Apparel export earnings showed 2.56% growth in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, EPB provisional data shows, despite supply chain disruptions in last two months in the wake of the countrywide political violence.  Police escort has helped the RMG exporters to a large extent to ship their products on time.   Although the RMG manufacturers claimed that they had to face setback in sending products to Chittagong for shipment due to security problem. The figures, however, showed the positive growth in export earnings.  Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) sources said Bangladesh earned about US$16.55bn through exporting readymade garments in July-February of FY2014-15. This figure is 2.56% higher than $16.14bn of the same period in the last fiscal.  The knitwear exports during the period stood at US$8.13bn, while woven products earned $8.41bn growing at 1.22% as the previous year’s figure was $17.17bn, shows EPB data. “Though the export earnings showed about 2.56% growth, it was expected to reach 7%, and if the supply chain was not disrupted, the export growth could be even more,” BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune. Commenting on the negative impact on the ongoing political unrest Azim said: “The impact of the political turmoil will be reflected in May-June period as we’ve failed to grab the work orders as per our expectation.” “As we remained cautious about the possible negative impact due to the supply chain disruption, the RMG sector witnessed less impact than last year, thanks to the police escort for carrying our products safely to the port city for shipment,” he added.  Bangladesh has witnessed continues countrywide blockade and hartals since January 6, which was sponsored by BNP-led 20 party alliance. BNP and its allies called the blockade and hartals to mount pressure on government to hold a fresh election. Meanwhile, the business community, especially the export-oriented sector, demanded incentives and policy support from the government to recover losses incurred due to the political disturbance. The $24.5bn RMG industry alone employed over 40 lakh workers, of which 80% are women mostly from the rural area.

Many apparel makers are now resorting to cost-cutting measures to compensate for the losses that have been thrust upon them by the ongoing prolonged and disruptive political programmes, industry insiders said. One of the handy measures they have, allegedly, chosen is the downsizing their workforce. Some of the owners have also decided to cut a few other expenditures including one on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Owners of a number of apparel units have expressed their fear that they may not be in a position to pay the wages to their workers if the current political troubles persist further. They have claimed that the buy orders have declined even up to 50 per cent, in some cases, while the sector has already suffered a 25-30 per cent production loss over the last 45 days. Some factories located in Malibagh, Khilgaon, Mirpur, Savar, Ashulia and Narayanganj terminated a good number of workers during the last two months, alleged labour leaders. Sirajul Islam Rony, president of Bangladesh National Garment Workers Employees League alleged that each day there were two to five incidents of worker termination, especially in the capital city.  “While work order has been declining on the one hand, our cost of doing business has gone up on the other. And the situation has forced the manufacturers to compensate for their loss in various forms,” Md   Hatem, former vice president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) told the FE. He dismissed the allegation of workers’ termination but said instead of two helpers one operate now handles a single stitching machine. There are a good number of large units that offer many benefits which are not mandatory by law, Md Shahidullah Azim, vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said.  Some of them have suspended such programmes as part of their cost cutting measures, he said adding “We are now worried over payment of workers’ wages, future inflow of orders and image of the country.” If there is scarcity of orders, how the manufacturers pay their workers, Mr Azim said adding if such political turmoil does not end immediately, it would take a heavy toll on the sector. “Global apparel buyers and retailers are worried over sourcing garment products from us. They have a fear whether we will be able to make timely shipment as the ongoing situation has already affected the whole supply chain,” BGMEA president Md Atiqul Islam said. Some of them had postponed their scheduled visit to Dhaka while many others are choosing an alternative place outside the country like Bangkok, Hong Kong and New Delhi to negotiate their orders out of security concern, he added. Though the manufacturers are going abroad for negotiating orders, some of the buyers are cutting volume of orders and thinking of shifting the orders to other countries, garment makers said.  Mr Hatem said the prevailing situation forced him to accept a buy order from a European retailer at a discount rate of ten cents. “Last year I produced women’s items for the buyer at a rate of $1.80 per piece. This time I have accepted the rate at $1.70,” he mentioned.    On the other hand, the apparel exporters are not getting the required number of trucks or covered vans as the latter are not willing to go out in such an unstable situation, Rafez Alam Chowdhury, president of the Bangladesh Garment Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGAPMEA) said. Moreover, the carrying cost has also significantly gone up, he said adding that sometimes it is difficult to manage a transport offering high fare as the owner of the trucks or covered vans do not want to take risk following previous and recent arson attacks and vandalism. Meanwhile, 35 garment factories have suffered an estimated loss worth $23.23 million on account of order cancellation, discount, air shipment charges, delayed shipment etc., between January 14 and February 19, according to the BGMEA. BGMEA has drafted a list of demands including extension of instalment payment by two to three years for term/project loan and forced loan, 3 per cent cash incentive for export to EU market and fixing of lorry risk insurance rate at 0.02 per cent to remain competitive. The list would be sent to the government this week.

Most Japanese firms operating in China choose Bangladesh as the second best investment destination after India due to lower production costs here, according to a survey by Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro).Due to sluggish operations and struggle for expansion of business in China, firms are expanding their operations mainly in Bangladesh, India, Vietnam and Thailand.Some 71.7 percent Japanese-affiliated firms in China want to expand their operations in Bangladesh, with 78.2 percent favouring India, 66 percent Vietnam and 60.9 percent Thailand, according to the official trade and investment promotion agency of Japan. Jetro that has been conducting such surveys since 1987 took opinions of 10,078 firms from 20 countries. It also directly interviewed the chief executives of the firms between October and November last year to conduct the survey — A survey of Japanese Affiliated Firms in Asia and Oceania for the Year 2014. Bangladesh is offering the lowest worker wage levels among its competing countries. Workers’ wages in the manufacturing sector in Bangladesh is $100 a month, while Cambodia has the second lowest wages at $113, according to the survey.Japanese investors also think that Bangladesh has the widest room for cost cutting, according to some 84 percent of the CEOs in the survey.In comparison to Japan, the cost of production in Bangladesh is less than half (48.7 percent), while it is 77 percent in China and 71 percent in Vietnam.Japanese corporate heads feel that there are better trade opportunities in Bangladesh in 2015, as some 71 percent of the CEOs surveyed are expecting profits to rise in the country.Jetro’s Dhaka office published the highlights of the survey on Sunday.The survey, however, stressed improving worker efficiency in the country by providing basic education and vocational training.Among the countries surveyed, Bangladesh ranked the lowest in quality of employees. The average rate of workers’ productivity in Bangladesh is 31.6 percent, while it is 77.8 percent in Sri Lanka, 68.4 percent in Pakistan, 44.4 percent in China and 42.1 percent in India, the study shows.The study suggested the Bangladesh government focus more on signing free trade agreements (FTA) with countries under the Asia and Oceania region, to boost regional trade.The survey portrayed that the highest utilisation of FTA is made by firms engaged in the textiles trade.“FTA is the means to trade facilitation among the countries under the Asia and Oceania region, not only a generalised system of preference. In this context, it is high time that Bangladesh considers FTAs seriously,” it said.            Japanese entrepreneurs have been shifting their investments to other countries since its government announced the ‘China plus one’ policy in 2008 to reduce over-dependence on China.Investment from Japan rose three times to $94.37 million in 2013, compared to the previous year, according to Bangladesh Bank.The bilateral trade balance between the two countries is heavily tilted towards Japan, as Bangladesh imports vehicles, electronic goods and spare parts. On the other hand, Bangladesh mainly exports apparel items, leather and leather goods, and footwear to Japan.In fiscal 2012-13, Bangladesh exported goods worth $750.27 million to Japan, against $600.52 million in the previous year, according to data from Export Promotion Bureau.In 2012-13, Bangladesh imported goods worth $1.19 billion from Japan against $1.45 billion in the previous year, according to BB. At present, more than 180 Japanese companies have operations in Bangladesh.

A visiting delegation of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights has urged local RMG manufacturers to do more for ensuring workers rights and to continue progress in reaching at a sustainable level. The team made the call at a meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), International Labour Organisaion (ILO) and representatives from Bangladesh Labour Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) held at EU mission office in Dhaka yesterday. “Lots of things are yet to do to ensure labor rights in the RMG sector,” BGMEA President Shahidullah Azim told the Dhaka Tribune, quoting Cristian Dan Preda, team leader and vice president of the human rights sub-committee of the EU parliament. They expressed satisfaction over the changes in mind set of the factory owners on safety and workers’ rights issues, Azim said. “We urged the team to ensure ethical buying from the EU buyers as the production cost scaled up sharply due to the implementation of new wages and implementation of corrective action plan by the Accord and Alliance,” said Azim. He said the team wanted to know about the RMG progress, inspection update and labour rights status in the apparel industry. They also wanted to know whether the amended labour law is being implemented effectively or not. The team said there is no objection from the European people about the constructive trade union in the RMG sector, but if it is destructive it would not be welcomed, said Azim quoted the delegation members as saying. The country’s RMG sector witnessed many changes after the safety inspection, but Bangladesh has to maintain the efforts in future, said Preda. On the other hand, ILO Country Director Srinivas Reddy endorsed the progress and workers rights issues to the delegation.  The delegation arrived in Dhaka on Sunday to observe the human rights situation in Bangladesh. They will discuss the overall human rights situation including, labour rights, RMG sector, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Rohingya issues. The team will submit a report to the sub-committee after returning to Brussels. BGMEA President Md Atiqul Islam and Vice President Reaz Bin Mahmood were, among other present at the meeting. According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, in July-December period of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $7.29bn from the EU markets through exporting apparel products, which was 3.5% higher compared to $7bn of same period last fiscal year.

Belgium is on course to become the new billion-dollar export market for Bangladesh in the current financial year 2014-15 riding on the moderate growth of readymade garments and frozen food products. Exports to Belgium in the first seven months of the FY15 grew by 9.01 per cent to $608.97 million against $558.59 million in the same period of the FY14, according to the statistics of Export Promotion Bureau. The export earnings from Belgium in the FY14 totalled $970.53 million, which was 32.80 per cent higher than the earnings of $730.80 million in the FY13. The readymade garment export to Belgium in the July-January period of the FY15 increased to $459.15 million from $443.18 million in the same period of the FY14. The frozen food export to Belgium in the first seven months of the FY15 increased to $86.16 million from $62.03 million in the same period of the FY14. The country’s export earnings are mostly concentrated to the seven billion-dollar markets — the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Italy. Exporters hope that if the ongoing 9 per cent export growth rate continues in Belgium, Bangladesh will get a new billion-dollar export market in the current financial year. ‘We hope that the exports to Belgium will exceed $1 billion dollar in the current financial year and it is good news for Bangladesh that exports to the European markets are increasing,’ Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president Shahidullah Azim told New Age on Monday. He said that there was a strong possibility for Japan and Netherlands to be the two more billon-dollar export markets for Bangladesh but the ongoing political unrest was holding back the opportunity. Export earnings from Japan and Netherlands in the FY14 totalled $862.07 million and $858.13 million respectively. According to the EPB data, exports to Japan and Netherlands in the July-January period of the FY15 amounted to $540.77 million and $503.18 million respectively. Mahmudul Hasan, former vice-president of the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association, said Belgium was now the number one export destination of frozen foods. Export of frozen foods to Belgium exceeded $100 million in the FY14 and the first seven months of the current financial year maintained a moderate growth in the market, he said. Around 80 per cent of the total frozen foods that are exported to Belgium is shrimp, he added.

The United States of America (USA) continued to collect higher tariffs on Bangladeshi products during import from this country. Last year, the US collected 2.5 per cent of its total tariff revenue against imports from Bangladesh.  Data available with the US International Trade Commission (USITC) showed that they earned some $824.30 million (82.43 crore) as tariffs while importing Bangladeshi products worth $5276.16 million (527.61 crore) or $5.276 billion in 2014. Total import tariffs collected by US Customs last year stood at $324.84 billion.    US imports equal to Bangladeshi exports — by this calculation, it is Bangladeshi exporters who are actually facing tariff peak on the US market. On an average, Bangladeshi products are facing 15.6 per cent tariff. At the same time, average tariff rates on imports from the United Kingdom (UK) and France are 0.92 per cent and 0.96 per cent respectively in the USA.  Bangladesh is paying highest amount of tariff among the least-developed countries (LDCs).   Dr Mostafa Abid Khan, acting chief executive officer of the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI), termed the US practice ‘highly discriminatory’. “Main problem is the USA has imposed high tariff on low-end products and Bangladesh mostly export these kinds of products,’ he told The Financial Express (FE). For instance, products like clothes and shoes have to face 14.8 per cent and 12.7 per cent average tariffs while entering the US market against zero tariff on products like aircraft, furniture and toys and games. USITC data also show that tariff has increased following incremental exports of Bangladesh. But last year, total Bangladeshi exports to the USA declined slightly to $5.276 billion from $5.281 billion in 2013. The USA also scrapped GSP (generalised system of preferences) facility for Bangladesh in mid-2013. Thus, last year, there was no export under GSP scheme, although it covered only around 1.0 per cent of Bangladesh’s total exports. Analysis prepared by Progressive Economy, a Washington-based think-tank, revealed that 78 per cent of US imports from developing countries were duty-free. It also showed that 100 years ago, tariffs raised 30 per cent of US government revenue but now it came down to only 1.0 per cent.    The US is yet to provide duty-free market access to Bangladesh, along with Nepal and Cambodia. Only these 3 LDCs don’t get tariff-free market access to the world’s largest economy.   The US is denying full market access on the plea that the Hong Kong ministerial declaration of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) linked 100 per cent market access with “no later than the start of the implementation period” of the Doha-round trade talk. As the round is yet to complete, there is no binding to implement full market-access facility. Dr Abid, however, said that the WTO has finalised the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and it would be implemented in July this year. “This is the start of Doha Round implementation and now US has to provide tariff-free market access to Bangladesh.” The Bali Ministerial Declaration in December 2013 has asked developed-country members of the WTO to extend existing coverage of tariff-free market access, if not already covered 97 per cent of products originating from LDCs. Except the US, all the developed countries have already offered duty-free, quota-free market access to almost all the LDCs, including Bangladesh.

Global retailers will focus on safety standards and compliance in Bangladesh’s garment sector at the sourcing trend meeting in Hong Kong in mid-March.Rick Darling, executive director of government and public affairs of Li & Fung, the world’s largest supplier of clothes and toys to retailers, will present a keynote paper on these issues at the meeting on March 16, organisers said in a statement.SourceTrends is an annual event for apparel and footwear brands, manufacturers, retailers, agents and suppliers. This year, Bangladesh is on the radar for the Tazreen Fashions fire and Rana Plaza building collapse.American Apparel and Footwear Association, American Chamber of Commerce, Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, SGS, Oeko-Tex, Business Social Compliance Initiative, Sustainable Fashion Business Consortium and Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production are organising the meeting.Every year, retailers, brands and manufacturers from all over the world attend the meeting to discuss updates on safety standards, compliance and future plans in apparel and footwear sectors.“Darling’s presentation will focus on compliance and the effect of the issues in Bangladesh over the last two years and their relevant impact on the industry,” according to the statement.Darling will discuss the progress reports of the Alliance, a North American garment factory inspection agency, and Accord, another platform of 190 retailers and brands for factory inspection.Darling will also shed light on how the brands and retailers can use the experiences of both Accord and Alliance on factory inspection globally.In his current position, Darling oversees Li & Fung’s government relations, public affairs and supply chain sustainability on the global industry and multi-stakeholder initiatives, such as improving worker safety in Bangladesh.A full-day event is planned with five panel discussions that address product testing regulations, US customs and supply chain traceability.Each panel will be comprised of speakers from retail or brand organisations, product testing or audit/inspection companies, along with leaders from international trade associations from the textiles, apparel and footwear industry.Ian Spaulding, senior adviser of Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety; Larry Brown, head of global sourcing compliance of Espirit; Kitty Man, senior product safety manager of VF Corporation; and Alex Thomas, vice president of supply chain and manufacturing at VF Corporation, will also speak.

Italian fashion brand Benetton is facing renewed pressure to contribute to a compensation fund for victims of the Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza factory disaster in which more than 1,100 people died, reports The Guardian. Almost 1 million (10 lakh) people have signed a petition on Avaaz, the campaigning site, calling on the Italian company to contribute $5 million into a fund backed by the International Labour Organisation, a UN agency. Two months before the second anniversary of the collapse of the Bangladeshi factory complex, where clothes were being made for Benetton and a number of other brands including Britain’s Primark, the fund remains $9 million short of the $30 million required to fully compensate victims and their families. So far 5,000 people — injured workers and families of the deceased — have received only 40 per cent of the money due to them. There is enough in the pot to ensure they get 70 per cent. ‘The current funding gap is achievable if all brands that produced clothing at Rana Plaza step up and take responsibility. Without a contribution from Benetton, families cannot rebuild their lives,’ said Deborah Lucchetti from the Campagna Abiti Puliti, the Italian affiliate of the Clean Clothes Campaign that recently joined forces with Avaaz to ramp up pressure on Benetton. Despite pressure from campaigners and even government ministers, Benetton has so far held back from contributing to the ILO-backed scheme. The company chose to back a separate victim support scheme led by BRAC, a Bangladeshi non-governmental organisation, saying wanted to move quickly to support those affected. A spokesman said: ‘Through the programme with BRAC we have helped 280 victims and their families in a meaningful and constructive way with their immediate medical needs and to start new businesses so they can work on rebuilding their lives.’ But critics say Benetton’s work with BRAC does not amount to formal compensation. Campaigners are also calling on retailers that have made only small donations to the fund, such as US chains Walmart and the Children’s Place, as well as the Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s Fund to contribute more to the compensation fund. The biggest contributor is Primark, which is has paid out a total of $12 million in support for victims, $8 million of which counted as part of the ILO-backed scheme. It began making payments directly to workers more than a year ago.

The ongoing factory assessment and its post-inspection monitoring under the joint initiative of Accord, Alliance and govt-ILO for ensuring workplace safety and labour standards in the country’s RMG sector are facing hurdles due to the current political deadlock, sources said. The engineering teams could not move to the factories over security concern, they added. The Accord has recently hired three engineering companies — Arup, Woosun, and Hughes — to conduct its initial assessment in 200 more garment factories that were added to its list after completion of its initial assessment in September last. Factories that were added by the signatory companies to the Accord’s factory list after August 15 last year remained outside initial inspection purview. “Due to current political unrest this programme is slower than planned,” said the EU based retailers’ initiative Accord in its monthly update adding that its engineers have reduced their schedule of initial inspection visits each week. According to factory feedback, around 20 per cent of safety issues in the Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) have been remediated, it added. “The Accord engineering team was not able to conduct follow-up inspections to verify this remediation last month due to the political unrest,” it noted. However, the Accord expected to restart a reduced schedule of follow-up inspections soon following recent information from the government relating to increased security measures. After its initial assessment, the Accord said it had found more than 80,000 safety hazards in its assessed garment factories. The Accord inspections have also identified more substantial safety requirements, such as installing fire doors and automated fire alarm systems, establishing fire exits from factory buildings, and strengthening columns in the buildings. On the other hand, Managing Director of Alliance, another initiative launched by the North American buyers, retailers and apparel companies, M Rabin said though its initial inspection in 649 factories including the newly listed ones had already been done, the post-monitoring programme is progressing slowly due to the ongoing political deadlock. “So far, post-inspection monitoring has been done in 63 factories,” he said expecting to do the same in 100 units this month with a probable improved political situation. Similarly, the flaws finding programme by the government-ILO (International Labour Organisation) joint initiative is also facing problems as the two companies appointed recently under the initiative also reduced their number of factory visits following the continuous blockade and hartals, sources involved with the process said. They expressed their fear that if such situation is prolonged further, it might not be possible to complete inspection within the extended deadline of April next. Under the joint programme, some 1,500 garment factories that remain outside the purview of Accord or Alliance inspection will be assessed. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) assessed some 500 factories while the rest are expected to be assessed by TUV-SUD Bangladesh Pvt Ltd and Veritas Engineering and Consultant. The three initiatives were formed to ensure workplace safety in the country’s apparel industry for a period of five years following the Tazreen and the Rana Plaza tragedies that killed more than 1,200 workers.

Vietnam is likely to overtake Bangladesh in the global apparel export market share in next 10 years once the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) takes shape, according to a new study. The TPP is a proposed freed trade agreement, US-led trade pact involving 12 countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam that collectively account for 40% of the world GDP. It is currently under negotiation and is likely to take effect in 2015. According to a research report by Standard Chartered Bank released last month, the agreement is likely to benefit Vietnam’s apparel industry, while hurting South Asian competitors like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. “Vietnam could overtake Bangladesh in global apparel export market share by 2024, raising its share to 11% from 4% currently. Bangladesh’s market share would increase only marginally in this scenario to 7% from current 5%, while Sri Lanka’s would decline from the current 1%.” On this basis, Vietnam would beat Bangladesh to become the second-biggest apparel supplier after China when its apparel exports swells to US$115bn, it said. “If no TPP deal is struck at all, Bangladesh and Vietnam are likely to stand neck-and-neck by 2024, each with an 8% apparel export market share.” The news has added additional pain to the local manufacturers who have already been counting heavy losses every day due to the non-stop transport blockade and frequent strikes since January 5 that paralyses Bangladesh. “It will bring disaster for the country’s apparel industry, the mainstay of the economy, once the TPP is done,” President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Atiqul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday “To save the industry, we have to deal with the issue very smartly and diplomatically. We have no time to wait … we need to act right at this moment,” he said. The BGMEA president sees that the current political unrest may lead the American buyers earlier than expected to divert orders in Vietnam for taking advantage of TPP. “The US buyers might start to build relationship with Vietnam exporters right now due to the current political upheaval,” he said.   According to StanChart researcher Radhika Kak, the TPP trade pact, expected to be signed in 2015, will have wide-ranging consequences for the global apparel industry. Irrespective of the fine print, the agreement is likely to benefit Vietnam’s apparel industry, while hurting South Asian competitors like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, she said. The StanChart report, however, said a TPP agreement with stringent Rules of Origin (ROO) requirements would likely lead to limited immediate gains for Vietnam’s apparel manufacturers. “Rather, the benefits would accrue gradually as the domestic textile industry develops. A wave of foreign investment in Vietnam’s textile industry has already begun, ahead of a potential TPP deal.” The report suggested that Bangladesh and Sri Lanka need to take steps to protect their own apparel industries in the face of a potential TPP deal. In the near term, Bangladesh should focus on capturing more of China’s current market share in the EU. Compliance with global safety and labour norms could help it to achieve this, as it would ensure continued access to EU Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) privileges, even after it graduates from Least-Developed Country status, it said. “It should also work to regain US GSP privileges. In the long term, up-skilling of the labour force will be necessary for Bangladesh to move up the value chain.” Kak said the push for strict ROO requirements reflects the US government’s desire to protect its domestic textile industry from increased competition from non-TPP textile manufacturing countries. “While the agreement with stringent ROO would not provide immediate gains for Vietnam’s apparel manufacturers, benefits would gradually boost the domestic textile industry.” The report said Vietnam’s apparel industry has called for maximum flexibility via the “cut and sew rule” which would give apparel manufacturers the flexibility to source yarn and fabric from lower-cost destinations (including non-TPP countries), requiring only assembly of the final product to be done in the TPP country. Flexible ROO requirements would likely result in gains for Korea and Japan, the primary suppliers of textiles to Vietnam’s apparel industry while China and Hong Kong would likely see little impact, as they are big suppliers to all three countries (Vietnam, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), it said. Asian suppliers such as India, Pakistan and Thailand, as well as some European countries, would be likely losers, as they are preferred suppliers to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, it said.