Export orders for high value RMG products increasing

FE Team | Published: January 03, 2013 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Shah Alam Nur High value apparel industry is booming in the country thanks to increasing orders from the global buyers turning from countries like China and Turkey to Bangladesh. Competitive price range with better quality products helped increase the orders, industry insiders said. A recent study by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)'s Research Cell showed that around 100 ready-made garment (RMG) industries have turned into high value apparel production units in last three years. Export orders for high value RMG products like blazers, trousers, suit, jackets, and women's underwear and nightwear etc are rising in the country, the Research Cell confirmed. Now many of the buyers for high value products (HVPs) have been turning to Bangladesh from China and Turkey thanks to better quality and competitive price, it said. The research revealed that the percentage of HVPs among the overall RMG export has increased to 15-16 per cent from 7-8 per cent three years back. "We have seen from our experience that buyers always demand pants and shirts, but interest in high value products like blazers, trousers, suit and jackets are on the rise," Managing Director of Evince Group Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez told the FE. Mr Parvez, also former president of BGMEA said buyers from the European Union, US, China and Russia are top listed countries who are showing keen interest in buying high value apparels from Bangladesh. "Competitive price and better quality---two major causes are behind the increasing orders," he said. He also emphasised on creating better environment in the industries to fetch more and more orders. Managing Director of Saasco Group Atiar Rahman Dipu said prices of high value garments in China, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Vietnam have gone up due to higher production costs. Bangladesh's diversified products with a fair price have been attracting the buyers for the last few years, he added. "We get maximum $8 for a normal t-shirt but a HVP t-shirt would give us $15," Mr Dipu said. President of Exporters Association of Bangladesh Mr Abdus Salam Murshedy said that the industry is still not satisfied with the volume of high value products export. "The industry will be satisfied when it will export HVPs more than 60 per cent of the total RMG export," he said. He said most orders for high value RMG goods once came from Scandinavian countries including Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, but new orders are coming from many other countries. Mr Murshedy, also Managing Director of export based 'Envoy Group' said buyers' shifting to Bangladesh is a big prospect for country's RMG sector, but we are yet far from availing the opportunity due to power and gas crises. "If we get regular supply of gas and electricity, we would be able to fulfil the current demand of HVPs", Mr Murshedy said. BGMEA Research Cell data showed that in the July-November period in 2011-12 fiscal the export earnings from HVPs amounted to almost $1.13 billion with around 15 per cent growth. The knitwear sector fetched nearly $4.66 billion during July-November period in current fiscal, registering a 1.74 per cent growth over the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.