As second wave of coronavirus hits the US and Europe, Bangladesh's garment industry is again staring at loss. The country’s apparel sector, which had posted growth in exports in August and September, returned to the negative zone in October. The industry has also been hit by a drop in the product price against rising production costs. New work orders dropped in November and December in comparison with the same period last year, the entrepreneurs said.

As per BGMEA, Bangladesh exported garments worth $34 billion, or about 84 per cent of the total export earnings, in 2018-19. With help from the government’s stimulus package and the restart of the economies, the sector had begun to turn around its fortunes. However, export earnings began to dip in March 2020, with RMG export dropping to $2.25 billion that from $2.82 billion in the same month last year, after the pandemic began in China in late 2019. The factories were finally closed in late March with shipments halted. Garment exports plummeted by 85 per cent year on year to only $370 million in April.

Exports in the sector bounced back to growth in July and August bringing relief to the factory owners after a 6 per cent negative growth in June. Garment exporters, however, are losing hope again with the 7.78 negative growth in October.