After two big incidents - Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen Fashions fire that claimed several lives, the garment manufacturing sector in Bangladesh worked towards achieving better working conditions last year. The year also witnessed positive rise in its export performance. Between January and November, garment exports registered $26.26 billion, which is already the highest figure recorded by the sector at any given time, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. In 2014, the sector has reported $24.53 billion in exports.

Rising exports, augurs better business prospects

Exports grew phenomenally in the months of October and November 2015, by 18.40 per cent and 14.74 per cent respectively. Buoyed by the performance, the industry is optimistic about the year ahead. Experts point out that garment business moving from China to Bangladesh, low cotton prices and the restoration of international retailers' confidence building and workers’ safety in Bangladeshi garment factories led to the positive export numbers.

As Siddiqur Rahman, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association points out that with most factories inspected and announced safe, 2016 should be much better.

In the year ending on July 31, 2016, Bangladesh may import a record 5.75 million bales (each bale weighs 480 pounds, or 218 kilograms) of the fibre, up 6.5 per cent from a year earlier, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. The garment makers also received positive response from new destinations this year, which accounted for about $5.5 billion of the export earnings. Of the new export destinations, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Turkey, Mexico and South Africa are among the most promising countries for Bangladesh.

www.bgmea.com.bd