Bangladesh reclaims second position

After losing its second spot to Vietnam in terms of clothing export worldwide in 2020, Bangladesh regained its long-held position within a span of just five months in this current year.

In the meantime, the country made export worth $13 billion that brought it back to the earlier spot.

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, the Southeast Asian country exported textile and sewing products worth $ 12.23 billion during this January-May period while Bangladesh earned $ 13.02 billion at the same time.

The data suggests that Bangladesh earned $ 786 million higher than that of Vietnam during the first five months of the current year.

Bangladesh’s position in global RMG export slid to third from second as Vietnam emerged as a mega exporter of clothing products in 2020, according to the World Trade Statistical Review 2021.

Bangladesh exported clothing goods worth $ 28 billion in 2020 while its global market share stood at 6.3 per cent.

In the same period, Vietnam’s export stood at $ 29 billion accounting for 6.4 per cent market share.

“With confidence, I can say Bangladesh will be able to retain its present growth rate and position in the global market,” Arshad Jamal Dipu, chairman, Tusuka Fashions Ltd, told The Business Post.

“We can predict export growth based on the Utilisation Declaration (UD) data, Otexa and European Union’s statistics that signal a better growth prospects by the end of this year.”

The BGMEA director went to the extent of saying that 85 per cent products are made of cotton, the price of which is stable in the global market, and therefore, it is a matter of optimism that Bangladesh would do better than Vietnam.

According to Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association president Kazi Iftekhar Hossain, with the present trend as well as with work order being in place, it is possible to retain the growth momentum and beat Vietnam in clothing export.

“But success depends on smoother operation in ports and supply chain of raw materials mostly from China,” he made a prediction, calling upon the government to make sure that ports do not grapple with backlog or any congestion throughout the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, trade analysts and economists have urged the government as well as the exporters to take steps to sustain growth.

“Coming back to second position is a good omen for Bangladesh. We have to take into consideration long-term trend. Last year they (Vietnam) did well due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director, Centre for Policy Dialogue, told The Business Post.

As Vietnam is gradually performing well, challenge remains for Bangladesh even during the post Covid-19 era. So Bangladesh should focus on the segment which Vietnam is nailing down, he said, adding that after LDC graduation, Bangladesh will face further challenge due to erosion of duty-free trade facilities.

According to analysts, in the given context, the country needs to find ways of how to draw more Foreign Direct Investment in value-added products alongside taking steps to retain duty-free access to European Union market after graduation.

It is time for manufacturers to improve workers’ efficiency and be ready for catering online supply in order to retain price competitiveness in the global market.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem said the demand for non-cotton products is on the rise, and to tap the opportunity, the government has to come up with policy support including cash incentives against the exports of manmade fiber products.

BGMEA president Faruque Hassan told The Business Post, “Last year, we suffered due to factory closure caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“This year we are on track to recover fully and I am confident that we will remain second.”

“Our focus will be on product diversification, research and innovation. As a part of them, we are going to launch innovation centre,” said the business leader.