Exports to Japan may suffer
Talha Bin Habib | Sunday, 20 March 2011
Talha Bin Habib
Bangladesh's move to make inroad into the multi-billion dollar Japanese clothing market may suffer a jolt after the country was ravaged by triple disasters of an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown. Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said it may postpone an apparel fair scheduled to be held in Tokyo in July amid fears the exposition would not draw much interest from the Japanese retailers. With a recession looming large in the world's third largest economy, the Bangladeshi manufacturers have expressed doubt whether they can even sustain the export momentum to the far eastern country in Asia they built over the last three years. "The three tragedies came out of nowhere. The Japanese consumers may face the burden of these disasters for months or years to come, Md Habibur Rahman, first vice-president of BKMEA, said. "We are now very sceptic whether our single-country knitwear exposition can take place given the scale of the disasters. Japanese people and the government will be busy with rebuilding efforts for a long time," he told the FE Saturday. The association which represents the country's 1,300 knitwear manufacturers had hoped the exposition would catapult Bangladesh as a leading apparel exporter to one of the world's biggest clothing markets. According to the BKMEA, knitwear market in Japan is alone worth over US$25 billions. The market for woven and synthetic garments is believed to be more than the size of knitwears. "We had set a target of US$1.0 billion knitwear export to Japan by 2014. But now it appears the Japanese retailers may cut import from Bangladesh because they don't know how their consumers would react to the crisis," he added. In 2008 Bangladeshi exporters first targeted Japan to diversify its export base away from the United States and European Union (EU) market. Together the US and the EU made up 90 per cent of Dhaka's $16.2 billion export last year. Experts have repeatedly voiced concern that this over-dependence could make the economy vulnerable to any calamitous events in the two markets. Because of the local exporters' intensive marketing drive, several Japanese retailers including its largest apparel seller Fast Retailing set up buying houses in Bangladesh in last couple of years. Mr. Rahman said his association is maintaining regular contact with the event organsier in Japan and commercial counselor of the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo so that the fair can take place some time later this year. "Japanese buyers have shown interest in our exposition. But now everything looks uncertain. We still hope we'll be able to hold the fair any time later this year or in January next year," he said. He said Japanese buyers have slowly turned their eyes on Bangladesh as part of their long-term efforts to cut back over-reliance on the Chinese-made clothing items, which last year accounted for 84 per cent of Japanese clothing market. In 2010, Bangladesh exported knitwear items worth US$ 70 million to Japan, posting a 60 per cent growth over the previous year, according to BKMEA.
Bangladesh's move to make inroad into the multi-billion dollar Japanese clothing market may suffer a jolt after the country was ravaged by triple disasters of an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown. Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said it may postpone an apparel fair scheduled to be held in Tokyo in July amid fears the exposition would not draw much interest from the Japanese retailers. With a recession looming large in the world's third largest economy, the Bangladeshi manufacturers have expressed doubt whether they can even sustain the export momentum to the far eastern country in Asia they built over the last three years. "The three tragedies came out of nowhere. The Japanese consumers may face the burden of these disasters for months or years to come, Md Habibur Rahman, first vice-president of BKMEA, said. "We are now very sceptic whether our single-country knitwear exposition can take place given the scale of the disasters. Japanese people and the government will be busy with rebuilding efforts for a long time," he told the FE Saturday. The association which represents the country's 1,300 knitwear manufacturers had hoped the exposition would catapult Bangladesh as a leading apparel exporter to one of the world's biggest clothing markets. According to the BKMEA, knitwear market in Japan is alone worth over US$25 billions. The market for woven and synthetic garments is believed to be more than the size of knitwears. "We had set a target of US$1.0 billion knitwear export to Japan by 2014. But now it appears the Japanese retailers may cut import from Bangladesh because they don't know how their consumers would react to the crisis," he added. In 2008 Bangladeshi exporters first targeted Japan to diversify its export base away from the United States and European Union (EU) market. Together the US and the EU made up 90 per cent of Dhaka's $16.2 billion export last year. Experts have repeatedly voiced concern that this over-dependence could make the economy vulnerable to any calamitous events in the two markets. Because of the local exporters' intensive marketing drive, several Japanese retailers including its largest apparel seller Fast Retailing set up buying houses in Bangladesh in last couple of years. Mr. Rahman said his association is maintaining regular contact with the event organsier in Japan and commercial counselor of the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo so that the fair can take place some time later this year. "Japanese buyers have shown interest in our exposition. But now everything looks uncertain. We still hope we'll be able to hold the fair any time later this year or in January next year," he said. He said Japanese buyers have slowly turned their eyes on Bangladesh as part of their long-term efforts to cut back over-reliance on the Chinese-made clothing items, which last year accounted for 84 per cent of Japanese clothing market. In 2010, Bangladesh exported knitwear items worth US$ 70 million to Japan, posting a 60 per cent growth over the previous year, according to BKMEA.