'The growth in business in 2006 has been generated by the rush of global buyers to Bangladeshi producers who sell at most competitive prices and are expanding the capacity of their industries to feed those buyers,' said AKM Fazlul Hoque, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Export earning by knitwear, in 2006, rose by about 37 per cent to $4,389 million, said the EPB, which recorded earning of $3,207 million in 2005 with growth of 27 per cent over the year.
Abdus Salam Murshedy, a former vice-president of the BGMEA, pointed out that in 2006 Bangladeshi exporters enjoyed the maximum benefit of an interim quota re-imposed on certain categories of Chinese garments in the US and EU markets.
"Local exporters should be on guard in the coming days as new dimensions in the global market are emerging, especially with the end of 2007 in sight, when restrictions on Chinese products will be lifted, changing the market," he said.
Murshed'y organisation mainly represents exporters of woven garments, which earned $4,544 million and registered 23 per cent growth last year. In 2005, woven garment experienced a slight decline of 0.08 per cent in business over the year to $3,683 million. Professor Mustafizur Rahman, the research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, observed that Bangladeshi exporters are benefiting because they have restructured their capacity. "Productivity in the RMG sector increased with better training of labour, more capital and advanced technology," he said.
"In some categories Bangladesh is much competitive than China. Moreover appreciation of the Yuan in the future and increasing production cost in China will make buyers stick to Bangladeshi RMG producers." But he warned that optimism should be mixed with caution.
South Asia Logistics, Bangladesh
marketing@alchempro.com
