Year-end export growth shows light of hope

The export of Bangladeshi apparel items has seen an encouraging growth despite the global economic slowdown at the end of the year.

It has shown a shine of hope for manufacturers, media reported noting the Western world is slowly gaining momentum with a new normal arising from the Russia-Ukraine war and the collapse of petroleum products.

Moreover, the inflationary pressures in the Western world are slowly easing which enables consumers to spend more on clothing items.

Christmas sales also experienced a buoyant trend with international retailers and brands selling off their billion dollars of old stocks.

“Despite low inflation and rising interest rates, consumers continue to spend on family priorities and holiday gifts for loved ones this November”, told US-based National Retail Federation (NRF) President and CEO Matthew Shay in a statement recently.

“Holiday shoppers are showing resilience, and retailers are offering great products and experiences at the right price levels to help stretch household budgets,” Shay added.

Moreover, international apparel retailers and brands have started bringing in new work orders for local factories, prompting inquiries for future purchases.

Bangladesh apparel export hit a record $4.38bn in November, 35.60% higher than the same period last year, which exceeded the target set by the government.

In the last 5 months, the export income of the garment sector has been $18.34bn which is another record in garment export earnings of Bangladesh.

Speaking to the media, Mohiuddin Rubel, director of BGMEA said as part of the post-Covid recovery, the entrepreneurs had an extra effort; how to increase exports further and they have been able to increase exports.

However, recovery in apparel shipments will not be strong, it will be moderate and the real recovery is expected to start from March onwards, Md Fazlul Hoque, managing director of Narayanganj-based garment exporter Plummy Fashions told the media.

Chairman and chief executive officer of Ha-Meem Group, AK Azad told the media that 2023 is an important year for local exporters as a business in the Western world is growing at only 4 percent to 5 percent year-on-year.

Speaking to the media, Faruque Hassan, president of BGMEA told that the export of garments has started to increase since last September.

He said, ‘Garment shipments will continue to increase until next January. Because in between we have booked additional work orders from various retailers and brands.’

The optimism of the BGMEA president, the export of garment products will increase at least 30% compared to the last financial year at the end of the current financial year.

According to Hassan, they are not too worried about the outbreak of Omicron, a new type of coronavirus. Because buyers are still placing large quantities of work orders. The global supply chain is also functioning well.