217 buyers, buying houses register with BGMEA in Bangladesh since '18

Data from BGMEA indicates that 217 buyers and buying houses have registered with the country’s apex garment makers’ body since 2018, with 154 new entrants between 2021 and 2023.

Concurrently, the Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association (BGBA) revealed that approximately 850 out of its 1,500 member buying houses are actively engaged in operations within Bangladesh.

Notably, buying houses facilitated apparel shipment orders exceeding $8 billion in the last fiscal.

Entrepreneurs within the apparel sector observed a positive export growth trend following a lacklustre quarter from October to December 2023. In January 2024, RMG exports surged by 12.45 per cent compared to the same period in 2023.

Additionally, knitwear exports saw a remarkable 17.32 per cent increase, while woven exports rebounded with a 7.16 per cent growth, marking a historic milestone with the highest export turnover in a single month, nearing the $5 billion mark.

BGMEA president Faruque Hassan lauded this achievement, signalling continued expansion, diversification of product and market base, and advancement in value addition even as he attributed this growth to the global economy’s recovery, record-level retail sales in major markets like the US and UK during last year’s holiday seasons, and the alleviation of excess inventory burdens at buyers’ ends, anticipating a surge in new orders.

Kazi Iftequer Hossain, former BGBA president, underscored the increasing attention of foreign buyers towards Bangladesh due to various global factors.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DR)