Knit exporters eye African market
Sunday, 20 September 2009
FHM Humayan Kabir
The country's knitwear manufacturers are going to explore potential overseas markets in Africa for selling their products as a delegation is expected to visit South Africa and Botswana early next month to search for buyers there, apparel manufacturers said Friday.
"We are working to diversify our export market. A delegation of knitwear manufacturers would go on a week-long visit to South Africa and Botswana on October 4," president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters' Association (BKMEA) Md. Fazlul Hoque said.
"We are hopeful we would be able to explore markets of our products in those two countries as their major demand for garment will have to be met through import within a couple of years," he told the FE.
The market in South Africa, a mineral-rich country, is very prospective for Bangladesh as their garment manufacturers have been switching over to heavy industries due to rising labour costs following their economic boom.
"South Africa will need to import garment products from abroad shortly as their ready-made garment (RMG) units are turning into heavy industries. We want to tap the market," Fazlul Hoque said.
The country's garment export to African markets is so far very insignificant.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data showed that Bangladesh exported woven and knit garments worth US$42.51 million to South Africa and $280,000 to the Botswana last financial year 2009.
China is the major apparel supplier to the South African markets along with a small share of Mauritius and India.
Bangladesh's major garment export market is United States of America (USA) and European countries with nearly 26 per cent and 60 per cent of the country's total RMG export there.
In the last financial year, Bangladesh made shipment of US$3.69 billion worth of garment products to the US market alone out of its total $12.35 billion RMG export to different destinations in the globe.
"Since the global economic downturn in the developed economies have hard hit, so we have been trying to tap some unexplored markets in the developing African continent," said the BKMEA president Mr. Hoque.
South Africa and Botswana are similar markets for RMG products as it does not offer any preferential treatment to the country of origin, he said.
"So, we are confident that we would be able to compete with the major apparel supplier China to the South African markets," the BKMEA chief said.
He said during their visit in South Africa and Botswana from October 4-10, they would sit with businessmen, trade bodies and garment buyers and give presentation on Bangladesh's RMG products and manufacturing strengths.
The country's knitwear manufacturers are going to explore potential overseas markets in Africa for selling their products as a delegation is expected to visit South Africa and Botswana early next month to search for buyers there, apparel manufacturers said Friday.
"We are working to diversify our export market. A delegation of knitwear manufacturers would go on a week-long visit to South Africa and Botswana on October 4," president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters' Association (BKMEA) Md. Fazlul Hoque said.
"We are hopeful we would be able to explore markets of our products in those two countries as their major demand for garment will have to be met through import within a couple of years," he told the FE.
The market in South Africa, a mineral-rich country, is very prospective for Bangladesh as their garment manufacturers have been switching over to heavy industries due to rising labour costs following their economic boom.
"South Africa will need to import garment products from abroad shortly as their ready-made garment (RMG) units are turning into heavy industries. We want to tap the market," Fazlul Hoque said.
The country's garment export to African markets is so far very insignificant.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data showed that Bangladesh exported woven and knit garments worth US$42.51 million to South Africa and $280,000 to the Botswana last financial year 2009.
China is the major apparel supplier to the South African markets along with a small share of Mauritius and India.
Bangladesh's major garment export market is United States of America (USA) and European countries with nearly 26 per cent and 60 per cent of the country's total RMG export there.
In the last financial year, Bangladesh made shipment of US$3.69 billion worth of garment products to the US market alone out of its total $12.35 billion RMG export to different destinations in the globe.
"Since the global economic downturn in the developed economies have hard hit, so we have been trying to tap some unexplored markets in the developing African continent," said the BKMEA president Mr. Hoque.
South Africa and Botswana are similar markets for RMG products as it does not offer any preferential treatment to the country of origin, he said.
"So, we are confident that we would be able to compete with the major apparel supplier China to the South African markets," the BKMEA chief said.
He said during their visit in South Africa and Botswana from October 4-10, they would sit with businessmen, trade bodies and garment buyers and give presentation on Bangladesh's RMG products and manufacturing strengths.