- 84 pc export income coming from garment sector
- BD captured Europe knitwear exports
- January-September, 2023, BD exported 57cr 10 lakh kg knitwear to EU
- Exports increased to non-traditional markets
- Political unrest bad impact in garment industry
- Anarchy over wages affects in garment
- Conspiracy to ban garment industry
Bangladesh maintains growth in apparel exports as usual in 2023 despite the economic recession and other crises in the Western world due to the Ukraine war. However, the effect of worker dissatisfaction over wages and political unrest has repeatedly had to bad impact on the garment sector in 2023.
In the fiscal year 2022-2023, the export income of Bangladesh from the garment sector is 46.99 billion dollars. In the same year, the total export income of the country was 55.55 billion dollars. That is, 84 percent of the total export income is coming from the garment sector. In the fiscal year 2022-2023, the growth in garment exports was 10.27 percent. At this time, the export income from the oven sector is 21.25 billion dollars, on the other hand, 25.73 billion dollars comes from the net sector.
The continuity of the last financial year continues in the current financial year 2023-2024. In the 5 months from July to November of the current fiscal year 2023-2024, the total export income from the garment sector is 18.83 billion dollars, which is 2.75 percent more than the same period of the previous year. In the first 5 months of the current financial year, the export income from the oven sector is 7.84 billion dollars, on the other hand, the net sector is 10.98 billion dollars.
BD captured European knitwear exports
In 2023, for the first time in the European Union (EU) market, Bangladesh has overtaken China, the world's top exporter of knitwear. According to the information provided by BGMEA, from January to September 2023, in these 9 months, net garments worth Tk900 crore or 9 billion US dollars have been exported from Bangladesh to EU countries. During this time, the export from China to the EEU countries was 896 crore US dollars. At the same time, Bangladesh has surpassed China in terms of export of knitwear. In the 9 months from January to September 2023, Bangladesh exported 57 crore 10 lakh kg of knitwear to EU countries. At the same time, EU countries imported 44 crore 20 lakh kg of knitwear from China. However, Bangladesh surpassed China in terms of total garment exports to EU countries last year. In 2022, Bangladesh's apparel exports to the EU were 133 crore kg, while China's exports were 131 crore kg.
Bangladesh's clothing market has increased in Europe
In 2023, Bangladesh's garment exports to the European Union, the main market for Bangladesh's manufactured garments, increased. According to the data of the Export Development Bureau (EPB) from January to September of this year, Bangladesh's exports to the European Union increased by 6.40 percent to 17.52 billion dollars in these 9 months, which was 16.47 billion dollars in the same period of the previous year. However, garment exports to the EU's main market, Germany, have steadily declined over the past few months. From January to September 2023, exports to Germany fell by 12.58 percent compared to the same period in 2022. During this period, exports to the country decreased from 5.35 billion US dollars to 4.68 billion US dollars. In addition, exports to Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia also decreased. However, the good news is that exports to France, Spain, and Italy have increased at the same time. Exports to France increased by 13.22 percent, to Spain by 20.72 percent, and to Italy by 27.02 percent.
Apart from this, the export growth in Denmark has been 15.26 percent. Through this Bangladesh's garment export to the country has crossed 1 billion dollars. At the same time, countries such as Latvia, Romania, Finland, and Croatia achieved strong growth.
Exports increased to non-traditional markets
In 2023, along with conventional markets such as the United States and the European Union, Bangladesh's garment exports are increasing in new markets. For the first time, Bangladesh crossed the milestone of $1 billion in apparel exports to non-traditional markets in Australia and India in FY 2022-23. As a result of the growth of 42.48 percent in Australia, the amount of exports stood at 115 million 73 million dollars, on the other hand, as a result of the growth of 41.58 percent in India, the amount of exports stood at 101 million 28 million dollars.
Not only these two countries but also other non-traditional countries for Bangladesh's traditional market, in the fiscal year 2022-23, exports to South Korea increased by 22.45 percent to 538.4 million dollars, to China by 30.32 percent to 289.7 million dollars, to United Arab Emirates 3. 53.53% increase to $29.23 million, Mexico by 26.50% to $348.0 million, Malaysia by 42% to $29.7 million, Saudi Arabia by 29% to $185.4 million, Turkey by 50% to $290 million.
Political unrest creates a bad impact in the garment industry
Ahead of the elections, the political unrest of 2023 is also affecting the garment sector of the country. With the country's apparel exporters facing challenges to retain the market amid the global recession, political unrest has been a major blow to them throughout 2023. Garment manufacturers and exporters have been challenged throughout the year to retain export earnings due to a strike called by the BNP and other opposition parties in the run-up to the elections.
Garment traders have repeatedly called on the government and the opposition to keep the economy out of political violence. Last November, at the export trophy distribution ceremony, the managing director of Hamim Group, one of the country's top garment exporters and former president of FBCCI, AK Azad said that the country's economy is being damaged due to the strike blockade. The destructive program of strikes and blockades will be withdrawn. Foreigners will not invest during fire breaks. They will not reorder. So for the sake of the country's economy, we have to work with everyone.
Anarchy over wages affects in garment sector
2023 was an important year for garment workers in Bangladesh. Because after a long five years, the new wage structure for garment workers was announced this year. Through this, the minimum wage of workers in the garment sector has been increased from Tk 8,000 to Tk 12,500. Through this, the minimum wage of workers increases by 56 percent. However, due to this increase in wages, there was a lot of unrest in the country's garment industry in October and November.
The government formed the Minimum Wages Board in April last year to fix the minimum wages of garment workers. In the fourth meeting of this board on October 22, the representative of the labor side proposed a minimum wage of Tk 20 thousand 393. And the owner offers a wage of Tk10 thousand 400. However, when the news of the owner's proposal spread, the garment workers started agitation in Gazipur on October 23. Later it spread to Narayanganj, Ashulia, Savar, and Mirpur of Dhaka.
In many places, the workers started vandalism and clashed with the police. Hundreds of factories were closed to deal with this situation. Later, on November 7, the government announced that the minimum wage for workers in the garment industry would be Tk 12,500. After the announcement of this minimum wage by the government, the industrial areas gradually calmed down. The factories were opened. The workers also returned to the factory. At the end of the year, there is currently a peaceful atmosphere in the garment factories. Work is in full swing.
Conspiracy to ban garment industry
On the other hand, the political situation of the country and the labor discontent, some circles started fishing in the muddy water. Bans were raised in the name of establishing workers' rights to stop the continuous prosperity of Bangladesh's garment sector. Different types of rumors were raised and misinformation was spread through social media and other media regarding the possible ban of the United States on Bangladesh's garment industry. Although the sounds of such restrictions have been heard throughout the year, in reality, there has been no ban on Bangladesh's garment industry by the United States or Western countries. There was no hint of a ban from the US government or foreign buyers. Besides, the traders of the country's clothing sector have dismissed the fear of US or Western sanctions in Bangladesh.
In this regard, BGMEA President Farooq Hasan said that Bangladeshi garment traders export goods to the United States without any duty-free facilities. The United States and Bangladesh are members of the World Trade Organization. There are certain rules for imposing a trade embargo on any country. According to that rule, there is no reason to ban Bangladesh.
ARS
