Country’s apparel sector seems to have left behind the bad days as export marked a significant uplift in the last year. Export increase in the sector by $12.08 billion in the last five years in the face of all devouring Covid19 and Russia-Ukraine war no doubt fills us with renewed hope.
According to a news report in this daily published on Wednesday, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), apparel export from Bangladesh jumped at $ 32.92 billion in 2018, $ 33.07 billion in 2019 which in 2020 fell to $ 27.48 billion for Covid.
However, the exports that reached $ 35.81 billion in 2021, marked a huge recovery with exports exceeded $45 billion in the bygone year. With the apparel sector turned around combating mounting internal and external challenges, we believe a silver line peeps in the horizon of national economy. Obviously, such development is an indicative of the growing resilience of Bangladesh’s apparel sector which alone contributes the most of the country’s total export earnings.
However, the global economy is confronted with mounting inflation as EURO is depreciating against US dollars. Import costs of raw materials are also on the rise. Yet the outlook is wary of the economic slowdown in advanced economies.
Undeniably, there are still plenty of challenges which need to be addressed the quickest.
We believe the time has come to prioritize taking measures to cut costs at the production end of operations. Moreover, it is also time for our manufacturers to diversify and focus on high-quality products that shall fetch higher amounts.
No doubt, Bangladesh is a developing country with aspirations of becoming a high-income one in the next two decades, but this also needs to be reflected in the incomes of people from all sectors of the country. The country has been under vigilance when it comes to safety compliance as well, but fatal incidents in separate factories are still continuing, which need to be dealt with appropriate actions.
As such, we expect international clothing retailers and brands to acknowledge value that Bangladesh provides coupled with supplying for all their apparels needs.
Unsurprisingly, it is good news that Bangladesh yet remains one of the preferred sourcing countries for western importers and retailers.
Last but not the least, adaptability to the changing trends is a must to sustain growth in our apparel industry in the long run. We must keep pace with the demands of the time. Our industry has now arrived at a juncture where we need to move up the value ladder by shifting from basic to higher-end products to sustain our growth.
