RMG
Nigerian delegation discusses Dhaka-Abuja trade potential with BGMEA
A delegation comprising high officials of different ministries of the Nigerian government paid a visit to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan in Dhaka Monday (January 16, 2023).
The delegation included Abubakar Aliyu Aziz, director general of the National Identity Management Commission, MaskaUbale Ahmed Shehi, executive commissioner of the Communications Commission, Alhassan Haru, director of Communications Commission, and Roberts Moses Achanya, president of the Nigeria-Bangladesh Trade and Technology Forum.
BGMEA Director Barrister Vidiya Amrit Khan, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association Vice-President Fazlee Shamim Ehsan and Fakir Fashion Managing Director Fakir Kamruzzaman Nahid were also present.
Read more: Bangladesh, Nigeria to explore possibility of signing framework agreement on FTA or PTA
They had discussions about possible areas of collaboration between Bangladesh and Nigeria for bilateral trade benefits, particularly in the apparel and textile industry.
Faruque said there is potential to import more cotton from Nigeria which is a cotton-producing nation. "Nigeria is also a potential market for Bangladesh's apparel export."
He called upon the Nigerian government to reduce import duty on readymade garments (RMG) from Bangladesh and requested cooperation from the delegation in this regard.
Read More: Bangladesh, Nigeria to explore possibility of signing framework agreement on FTA or PTA
BGMEA, SOWTEX to help connect more Bangladeshi RMG exporters with Indian textile suppliers
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and SOWTEX have signed another memorandum of understanding (MoU) to increase the collaboration between Indian fabrics and value-added material suppliers and Bangladesh's apparel manufacturers.
Namely, they aim to boost collaboration in man-made fibers and cotton-based materials using SOWTEX Phygital (physical and digital bridge) sourcing platform.
The platform offers connection and facilitation support to the large textile supply chain from India and other countries. It will also create opportunities to increase Bangladesh's readymade (RMG) exports to India, the BGMEA said Thursday (January 12, 2023).
Read more: BGMEA, IICCI, Sowtex team up to make textile sourcing easier for Bangladesh
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan and Sowtex Network CEO Sonil Jain inked the MoU in Dhaka on Wednesday. BGMEA Standing Committee on Press, Publication and Publicity Chair Shovon Islam was also present.
SOWTEX and BGMEA are in the process of arranging collaborative roadshows in Indian textile clusters along with other textile associations with BGMEA's top manufacturing members and large Indian raw materials manufacturers in several cities in India.
Expos have also been planned in Bangladesh to build up the momentum for this second round of collaboration.
Read More: BGMEA signs deal to improve health status of RMG workers
The exhibitions will play an important role in facilitating business interactions between Bangladeshi RMG exporters and Indian RMG, textile and raw materials suppliers and reaping mutual trade benefits, the BGMEA said.
Apparel shipments rose by 16% to $23bn during July-December: BGMEA
Bangladesh's apparel exports reached $22.97 billion, growing 15.56 percent year-on-year, during July-December, the first six months of 2022-23 fiscal, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said Monday citing the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.
Knitwear accounted for $12.66 billion and woven garments accounted for $10.33 billion of the shipment, with a 13.42 percent and 18.29 percent growth year-on-year, respectively.
"The Apparel industry fared well in December. With a 15.35 percent growth, December 2022 fetched $4.67 billion from readymade garments (RMG) exports, the highest in a single month ever recorded," BGMEA Director Md Mohiuddin Rubel said.
Read: BGMEA delegation meets US State Department official to discuss RMG issues
"If we consider the data of the calendar year, Bangladesh marked a new milestone in RMG export in 2022 amid geopolitical tension, global economic turmoil, and natural disasters. As per the analysis of the BGMEA, Bangladesh's RMG export reached $45.70 billion in 2022 with 27.64 percent growth compared to 2021."
"The export earnings from knitwear was $24.71 billion while the earnings from woven was $20.99 billion, with both registering 26.11 percent and 29.48 percent year-on-year growth, respectively in 2022."
Bangladesh exported goods worth $27.22 billion in the first six months of FY23, according to EPB.
Read More: Bangladesh earned $27.22b from exports in July-Dec amid new records
Bangladesh earned $27.22b from exports in July-Dec amid new records
Bangladesh exported goods worth $27.22 billion in the first six months till December of the current fiscal year 2022-23 amid a growing crisis of foreign exchange, according to an official report.
The country received $10.37 billion from exports only in the last two months (November and December), which is the highest ever export earnings in two months.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh exported goods worth $5.37 billion in December, which is also the highest single-month export earnings.
Read More: Bangladesh's ASM Packall Export to invest $4.8m in Mongla EPZ
In November 2022, the export earnings crossed $5 billion for the first time. In December, the export earnings made another record.
The export earnings in December 2021 were $4.9 billion. The export grew by 9.33 percent year-on-year in December this year.
The readymade garment contributed the highest in the export earnings as usual.
Read More: July-November: Bangladesh’s exports to major countries show "encouraging growth"
The export earnings from the ready-made garments increased by 15.35% year-on-year in December from $4.04 billion in December 2021 to $4.67 billion in December this year.
Faruque Hassan, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said the apparel sector has seen good growth in December due to a unit price hike.
The contribution of the apparel sector soared due to good prices and the increase in the ratio of high-end products in recent times, he said.
Read More: Export of jute products a boon for Satkhira women
He also said that Bangladesh witnessed a rush of orders after the post-Covid-19 pandemic period due to the increased credibility of the country keeping factories operational during the pandemic.
He said now garment makers are exporting jackets at prices above $40 per piece, against previous $30.
The export earnings were $3.91 billion and $4.36 billion in September and October this year. The export was registering a 14.70 percent rise to bag $3.98 billion year-on-year in July, thanks to the good performance of the apparel sector.
Read More: Bangladesh seeks zero tariff on apparel exports to US at 6th TICFA meeting
Bangladesh bagged $4.60 billion through exports in August, registering a 36.18 percent year-on-year growth while it slipped by 6.25 percent (Y-o-Y) to $3.91 billion in September as the flow of orders for garments slowed amid higher inflation and the Russia-Ukraine war.
2022 was a year of turning around: BGMEA
The just-concluded 2022 was a year of turning around and rebuilding the economy, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said Saturday (December 31, 2022) as revellers in major city centres across the world ushered in the first new year without Covid-19 restrictions, since the pandemic began in 2020, with countdowns and fireworks.
"Despite all the challenges created by the century's biggest disaster, Covid-19, we proved our resilience and turned around," BGMEA Director Md Mohiuddin Rubel said.
"We are in a new challenge – the advanced economies are heading towards recession while our economy has not fully recovered from the pandemic crisis yet. Due to the current geopolitical crisis, the prices of commodities, including fuel and food, are rising while the global inflation rate hit a record 8.8 percent in 2022 which was 4.7 percent in 2021."
So, the demand for products and purchasing power in the international market is shrinking. All these are affecting the retail sales market as well as disrupting the global supply chain.
Read more: Bangladesh RMG industry emphasizes technologies to enhance competitiveness, transparency: BGMEA chief
"However, in the 2021-22 fiscal, our apparel export stood at $42.61 billion. It was a landmark in the history of readymade garments (RMG) manufacturing as we exceeded the $40 billion mark in 40 years of journey," Rubel said.
"Apart from the major markets – the European Union (EU) and US – our export share in non-traditional markets doubled – from 6.87 percent in FY09 to 14.96 percent in FY22. Among the major non-traditional markets, growth in Japan, India and South Korea was significant."
According to the "World Trade Statistical Review" published by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2021, Bangladesh ranked as the second largest apparel exporter in the world with a 6.37 percent share of the global market.
"Bangladesh has already become the top denim-sourcing country for the US and EU. Now we are in close competition with the largest apparel exporter, China," Rubel said. "2022 will also remain a distinct year for us as we have exceeded $50 billion in exports."
Read More: July-November: Bangladesh’s exports to major countries show "encouraging growth"
"In 2022, we realigned our vision with ESG priorities and the Sustainable Development Goal 2030. We have the highest number of LEED green RMG factories certified by USGBC. Currently, the number of LEED Green factories is 183, of which 60 are platinum," the BGMEA director said.
One of the biggest successes in 2022 was "Made in Bangladesh Week," he added.
"Going forward, not only in 2023 but also in the next decade, we have to maintain and continue all of these transformations. Achieving excellence in products, fibre, and market diversification and value addition are the key opportunities for this sector," Rubel said.
"Also, we need to develop our capacity in the backward and forward linkage industries. At the same time, we need to focus on innovation, technological upgradation, design and skill development and overall business capabilities."
Read more: BGMEA delegation meets US State Department official to discuss RMG issues
July-November: Bangladesh’s exports to major countries show "encouraging growth"
Bangladesh’s exports to major countries have shown "encouraging growth" during July-November of FY2022-23, says a BGMEA director.
During the mentioned period, our apparel export to the European Union increased by 16.27%, from US$ 7.81 billion to US$ 9.07 billion in July-Nov 2022-23, according to Md. Mohiuddin Rubel, director of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Quoting the statistics of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), he said Germany is the largest European market fetching US$ 2.71 billion with 1.88% growth compared to the same period of the previous year.
Read more: Bangladesh seeks zero tariff on apparel exports to US at 6th TICFA meeting
Exports to Spain and France also increased by 19.15% and 38.87% respectively.
Exports to other major EU countries such as Italy, Austria, Netherlands and Sweden have shown growth by 50.95%, 48.87%, 34.39% and 22.90% respectively.
On the other hand, he said, export to Poland has shown 19.61% year-over-year negative growth during the mentioned period.
The RMG export to the USA during the mentioned period was US$ 3.47 billion, registering 4.07% Y-O-Y growth.
“Besides, our exports to the U.K. and Canada have grown by 11.71% and 30.25% respectively compared to the same time of the previous fiscal year,” Rubel said.
Read more: Bangladesh’s exports crossed $5 billion in November raising hope of easing forex crisis, say official figures
At the same time, exports to non-traditional markets increased to US$ 3.19 billion from US$ 2.47 billion in the same period of time.
Among the major non-traditional markets, our export to Japan reached 597.83 million dollars with 38.11% Y-O-Y growth during July-Nov of FY2022-23.
The other non-traditional markets having high growth were Malaysia 100.21%, Mexico 49.68%, India 48.78%, Brazil 44.53%, and South Korea 30.35%.
BGMEA for effective industry-academia partnership for tackling future challenges
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has stressed the need for effective collaboration between universities and industries for developing mid and high-level managers equipped with the knowledge and skills required to meet the market and industry demand.
The industry needs more qualified and competent workers and professionals to meet the future challenges of the readymade garments (RMG) industry, especially in the context of fast fashion and disruptive technologies, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said Saturday.
He was speaking at a consultation workshop on postgraduate diploma in garment business (PGD-GB) programme organised by SEIP and the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) of the University of Dhaka.
The apparel industry will need more skilled workers and professionals to cope with changing trends in the global apparel industry, especially brought about by the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), the BGMEA president said.
He also called upon the government to continue its support to the RMG industry in addressing the skilled workforce issue to remain competitive in the coming years, especially in the post-LDC era.
Read more: BGMEA urges global brands, buyers to adopt strategies for promoting mutual growth
Fatima Yasmin, senior secretary, finance division, and national project director, SEIP, attended the workshop as chief guest. Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of the University of Dhaka Professor ASM Maksud Kamal was also present.
IBA Director Professor Mohammad A Momen chaired the programme. Fatema Rahim Veena, additional secretary, and EPD, SEIP, and Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, vice-president, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, were also present.
Read more: BGMEA, Oerlikon discuss collaboration on capacity building in manmade fibre, recycling
RMG workers stage demo for arrears in Gazipur; 10 hurt in clash with cops
At least 10 people were injured during a clash between police and workers of a garment factory in Gazipur on Tuesday as they blocked Dhaka-Tangail highway demanding arrears.
The workers of New Line Clothing Limited Factory put up blockaed on the highway near Mouchak area around 9 am, disrupting movement of all kind of vehicles on the road.
Read more: Payments to 3,428 garment workers, families approved from Central Fund
As police tried to remove them from the road agitated workers started throwing brick chips, leading to a chase-counter-chase, said Sahidur Rahman, in charge of Mouchak police outpost.
BGMEA urges global brands, buyers to adopt strategies for promoting mutual growth
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged global brands and buyers to adopt strategies that promote the growth of both sides, including manufacturers while marching towards achieving the net zero goal.
"I would like to call upon the brands to adopt inclusive strategies that also take the SMEs into the equation to ensure sustainable growth of the entire RMG industry in Bangladesh," BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said.
He was speaking at the policy dialogue "Sweden-Bangladesh Partnership in Renewable Energy within the RMG-sector" at a Dhaka hotel Wednesday (December 07, 2022).
Read More: Bangladesh now has 180 green garment factories
Faruque said: "For a country like Bangladesh, the challenges of climate change are double-fold. As a climate-vulnerable country, we have to invest in climate adaptation. At the same time, we have to keep ourselves competitive. We have to invest in climate mitigation to reduce carbon emission and transition to renewable sources."
"SMEs represent the majority of the BGMEA member factories. Given the ambitious goals made by brands towards sustainability, it is difficult for them to invest in climate action. With that in mind, it is imperative to adopt business modules that not only help big factories in Bangladesh but also the entire industry so that no one gets left behind."
The Embassy of Sweden in Bangladesh together with the Swedish brands H&M, IKEA, and Lindex along with the Nordic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) and the Sweden-Bangladesh Business Council have set up an initiative "Sustainable Fashion Platform" to combine and coordinate the efforts on sustainability within the RMG sector in Bangladesh under one umbrella.
Read more: BGMEA, Recover discuss collaboration to turn Bangladesh into global recycling hub
The discussion was organised as a part of the initiative which aims to strengthen Bangladesh's global competitiveness and at the same time build a sustainable partnership.
Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, adviser to the prime minister for power, energy and mineral resources affairs, attended the event as chief guest.
Charles Whiteley, ambassador and head of delegation, Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh; Mehdi Hasan, ambassador of Bangladesh to Sweden; Alexandra Berg von Linde, ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh; Pawan Kumar Tehlani, lead – sustainability and climate change, Business Sweden, Swedish Trade and Invest Council; Tahrin Aman, president of NCCI; and Stefan Liller, UNDP resident representative, Munira Sultana, chairperson, Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA); and Md Habibur Rahman, secretary, Power Division, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, also spoke at the dialogue.
BGMEA directors Asif Ashraf and Barrister Vidiya Amrit Khan were also present.
Read more: BGMEA delegation meets US State Department official to discuss RMG issues
Bangladesh seeks zero tariff on apparel exports to US at 6th TICFA meeting
Bangladesh has proposed zero tariff on finished apparel products — made with American cotton — being exported to the US.
Bangladesh made the proposal at the 6th meeting of the US-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) held in Washington DC on December 6.
Compared to other countries, Bangladesh now pays the highest tariff on its apparel products exported to the United States, which profusely reduces Bangladesh’s competitiveness in the US market.
Also read: US for increasing collaboration among stakeholders in Bangladesh RMG sector
Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, and Christopher Wilson, Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for South and Central Asia, led the Bangladesh and US delegations respectively at the meeting.
The head of US delegation Wilson agreed to continue further discussion on the proposal made by Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh side also included Labour Secretary Md. Ehsan-E-Elahi, Agriculture Secretary Md. Sayedul Islam, Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Muhammad Imran and high officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Commerce and the ICT Division.
Read More: BGMEA delegation meets US State Department official to discuss RMG issues
At the outset of the meeting, Deputy USTR Sarah Bianchi stepped in and welcomed the Bangladesh delegation to the 6th TICFA meeting in Washington.
Sarah said that Bangladesh's socioeconomic strides have made the TICFA meeting more relevant than any other time for both countries.