Bangladesh registers 40 percent hike in apparel exports
February 20th, 2011 - 4:19 pm ICT by IANSDhaka, Feb 20 (IANS) Bangladesh has registered a 40 percent hike in its apparel exports in the last six months, with increased exports to India and new markets wrested from global leader China.With many importers switching from China, Bangladesh has new destinations such as Japan, South Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and some Latin American countries, The Daily Star said Sunday quoting government officials and exporters.
Readymade garments and knitwear exports are Bangladesh’s highest export earners. The total exports were $12.19 billion against the $10.27 billion target. The annual export target has been set at $18.5 billion for fiscal 2010-11.
The sector, however, is plagued by poor wages and working conditions that have frequently provoked workers to take to the streets.
With manufacturers exerting pressures on the government for more concessions, a wage increase that the government oversaw last year is yet to be fully enforced.
The exports are set to rise in coming months, as manufacturers have already bagged bigger orders than before.
“The garment exports will increase thanks to the EU’s relaxed rules of origin under the generalised system of preferences,” said Jalal Ahmed, vice-chairman of state-owned Export Promotion Bureau.
“The trend indicates that our garment export will grow even higher. Besides, we have developed quality high-end products for some new export destinations such as Japan,” Ahmed said.
The government data shows Bangladesh exported knitwear worth $5.07 billion during the July-January period of the current fiscal year, registering 43.22 percent growth compared with the same period a year ago. In the seven-month period, the country exported woven garments worth $4.38 billion, a 39.09 percent rise.
Abdullah Al-Mahmud, managing director of Mahin Group, a leading garment maker, said the higher growth of garment exports will continue in the next few months also, because the buyers are flocking to Bangladesh due to higher costs of production in China.
The higher prices of raw materials, such as cotton and yarn, are also increasing the export earnings, as the buyers are paying more to help the makers cope with the costly imports, he said.
Bangladesh needs to import most of the raw materials for its garment industry.
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- Stop FDI, says Bangladesh's garments industry - May 06, 2011
- Soon, Indian garments to be made in Bangladesh - Sep 02, 2010
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- US importers seek better treatment of Dhaka garment workers - Sep 05, 2010
- Export growth slows to 10.8 percent in October; deficit widens - Nov 08, 2011
- India's exports rose 33.2 percent in Apr-Nov - Dec 09, 2011
- Exports up 44.2 percent in August; deficit widens to $14.1 bn - Sep 09, 2011
- India's exports fall in May - Jul 02, 2012
- India's exports rise 6.7 percent in December - Jan 16, 2012
Tags: al mahmud, apparel exports, canada australia, current fiscal year, daily star, export destinations, export earners, export promotion bureau, export target, garment export, garment exports, garment maker, generalised system of preferences, global leader, government data, knitwear, latin american countries, poor wages, rules of origin, wages and working conditions