RMG orders rise as Western markets reopen

With the reopening of economies in Europe and the US, a new opportunity has been created for Bangladeshi apparel exporters to recover from fallouts of the Covid 19 pandemic, said exporters.

Apparel and textile leaders made the remarks while addressing a roundtable discussion on Road to Recovery organised by Bangladesh Apparel Youth Leaders Association (BAYLA) on Tuesday.

Bangladeshi garment exporters have been receiving a lot of work orders from the international clothing retailers and brands, said Faruque Hassan, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

However, the local exporters have to negotiate with the international retailers and brands for getting fair prices from the sales of garment items.

The demand for manmade fibre garment items has been increasing worldwide, so the local garment suppliers need to grab this opportunity of manmade garment business worldwide, Faruque also said.

Faruque said the BGMEA has been making a study on the recovery roadmap so that the local suppliers can grab the opportunity of the market.

He said the proposed Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) of the European Union will help the continuation of the duty facility to the European markets even after the graduation of the country from the Least Developed Country (LDC) to a developing one in 2026.

Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) said the unhealthy competition among the local suppliers has been affecting the pricing of the garment items.

“We need to reduce the unhealthy price completion among us for getting better prices from the international retailers and brands,” Mohammad Ali added.