Positive shift for Bangladesh's garment exports
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Md Shahiduzzaman
NEARLY 5,000 apparel makers in Bangladesh initially sought government help when some top US and European buyers postponed and cut orders in the wake of the worst financial crisis gripping their economies since the 1930s Great Depression. But clothing makers have, of late, claimed that a there has been a large diversion of orders from China, the world's largest producer of apparels, has more than compensated.
In the first quarter ending September, Bangladesh garment shipments, thus, grew by a record 45 per cent to US$ 3.4 billion, the recent data, published in a section of the media, showed. The bulk of the export consignments are going to the US and Europe.
"It's a huge change in fortune for us," said Golam Faruq, owner of the country's largest sweater manufacturer and a key supplier to the British upmarket retailer Marks and Spencer. " This month I got an unexpected 12-million-dollar order to make sweaters for a Swedish manufacturer. They told me in the past they used to give the order to Chinese manufacturers. But this year we offered a far better price," he said.
Faruq said his company had also received dozens of small orders diverted from China, as Bangladesh has become the top choice for producing low-priced basic items like T-shirts, denim trousers, sweaters and shirts. Now the government's Export Promotion Bureau, which monitors shipment trends, is urging the industry to prepare for a "flood of orders" as the global recession boosts sales of the low-cost items.
"We held several expositions in Europe and North America in the past month and top buyers there told us to be prepared for a massive increase in orders in the months and years ahead," said Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) head Shahab Ullah. "They said people in the West have cut purchase of luxury goods and are switching to cheaper items. And it's our manufacturers, not the Chinese, who can supply the items at a price they now want."
Bangladesh's garment sector, specialising in low-end clothings, remains the country's main industry, pumping $11 billion a year into the economy.
It accounts for about 80 per cent of exports and employs more than 40 per cent of Bangladesh's industrial workforce. Bangladesh logged 6.2 per cent economic growth last year, bolstered by a 17 per cent increase in garment sales. This year, the government projects a growth of 6.5 per cent, banking on demand for garments remaining strong.
Knitted items, led by T-shirts which last year made up a quarter of garment exports, were the main drivers of the growth, manufacturers said. "This year thousands of Chinese factories have shut as they are no longer competitive because of higher wages and currency appreciation," said Fazlul Haque, head of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
"The buyers have no choice but to switch orders to another country. It has emerged as a new pattern in global sourcing. And so far, it looks like, Bangladesh is the main beneficiary," said Haque.
Haque said his group, which includes 1,500 factories, had enough orders to the end of the year, although it was still a bit worried over the long term impact of the global financial turmoil.
The Export Promotion Bureau's Ullah said Bangladesh -- now the world's second largest producer of apparels, according to the International Monetary Fund, would continue to dominate the basic apparel sector, if it scales up investment in new factories. "Data shows we're cashing in on the new trend," he said. "But we can do more, provided our factories increase capacity and set up backward linkages such as yarn manufacturing, dyeing and washing facilities as early as possible."
Even then, the question remains whether the current situation will remain sustainable; if the recession in the developed economies turns into a depression. The price factors, lifting of export consignments at the port of entry, post-X-mas sales situation, the mood of the consumers in the rich countries etc., are matters of close observation in the days to come.
NEARLY 5,000 apparel makers in Bangladesh initially sought government help when some top US and European buyers postponed and cut orders in the wake of the worst financial crisis gripping their economies since the 1930s Great Depression. But clothing makers have, of late, claimed that a there has been a large diversion of orders from China, the world's largest producer of apparels, has more than compensated.
In the first quarter ending September, Bangladesh garment shipments, thus, grew by a record 45 per cent to US$ 3.4 billion, the recent data, published in a section of the media, showed. The bulk of the export consignments are going to the US and Europe.
"It's a huge change in fortune for us," said Golam Faruq, owner of the country's largest sweater manufacturer and a key supplier to the British upmarket retailer Marks and Spencer. " This month I got an unexpected 12-million-dollar order to make sweaters for a Swedish manufacturer. They told me in the past they used to give the order to Chinese manufacturers. But this year we offered a far better price," he said.
Faruq said his company had also received dozens of small orders diverted from China, as Bangladesh has become the top choice for producing low-priced basic items like T-shirts, denim trousers, sweaters and shirts. Now the government's Export Promotion Bureau, which monitors shipment trends, is urging the industry to prepare for a "flood of orders" as the global recession boosts sales of the low-cost items.
"We held several expositions in Europe and North America in the past month and top buyers there told us to be prepared for a massive increase in orders in the months and years ahead," said Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) head Shahab Ullah. "They said people in the West have cut purchase of luxury goods and are switching to cheaper items. And it's our manufacturers, not the Chinese, who can supply the items at a price they now want."
Bangladesh's garment sector, specialising in low-end clothings, remains the country's main industry, pumping $11 billion a year into the economy.
It accounts for about 80 per cent of exports and employs more than 40 per cent of Bangladesh's industrial workforce. Bangladesh logged 6.2 per cent economic growth last year, bolstered by a 17 per cent increase in garment sales. This year, the government projects a growth of 6.5 per cent, banking on demand for garments remaining strong.
Knitted items, led by T-shirts which last year made up a quarter of garment exports, were the main drivers of the growth, manufacturers said. "This year thousands of Chinese factories have shut as they are no longer competitive because of higher wages and currency appreciation," said Fazlul Haque, head of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
"The buyers have no choice but to switch orders to another country. It has emerged as a new pattern in global sourcing. And so far, it looks like, Bangladesh is the main beneficiary," said Haque.
Haque said his group, which includes 1,500 factories, had enough orders to the end of the year, although it was still a bit worried over the long term impact of the global financial turmoil.
The Export Promotion Bureau's Ullah said Bangladesh -- now the world's second largest producer of apparels, according to the International Monetary Fund, would continue to dominate the basic apparel sector, if it scales up investment in new factories. "Data shows we're cashing in on the new trend," he said. "But we can do more, provided our factories increase capacity and set up backward linkages such as yarn manufacturing, dyeing and washing facilities as early as possible."
Even then, the question remains whether the current situation will remain sustainable; if the recession in the developed economies turns into a depression. The price factors, lifting of export consignments at the port of entry, post-X-mas sales situation, the mood of the consumers in the rich countries etc., are matters of close observation in the days to come.