In the world ranking of apparel exports during first nine months of 2009, Bangladesh has surpassed India, which has lost one rank in apparel exports to Bangladesh during this period and slipped down to No. 6 from No. 5. Bangladesh was on the same rank as India at No. 5 in the year 2008.
As per a survey undertaken by the Bangladesh textile industry, the country has overtaken India in apparel exports to the US by exporting apparel goods valued at US$ 2.66 billion, against India's export of $ 2.27 billion in first nine months of 2009.
The survey revealed that in 2009, the export volume of India plummeted by 80 percent on account of two major reasons, global meltdown and rising competition from Bangladesh, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
According to the figures of World Trade Organization (WTO), in the year 2008 both the countries were enjoying similar position at No. 5 and stood among top 10 apparel exporters, with the likewise figures of $10.90 billion in apparel exports.
It was difficult for Indian exporters to provide goods at low rates to the buyers, who were looking for cheaper deals during economic slowdown, owing to the rising costs of raw material and electricity, as per the survey. Besides, increasing cotton prices is one of the key reasons for fall in India's ranking against Bangladesh, said an expert.
Competitors of India such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are taking advantage of this situation. Apart from this, Bangladesh receives duty preferential treatment from WTO and it has duty-free access as it is classified as Least Developed Country (LCD), added the expert.
Against this, India has to pay 40 percent duty while exporting goods to the European markets. The survey also revealed that exporting goods from Bangladesh is more profitable than from India.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India