A denim exhibition is set to be held in March, leveraging the country's rising denim industry.
Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of the denim products after China but many consumers are not aware of the fact, said Abu Haider Kabir, business development manager of the Denim Expert Ltd, a Bangladesh-Netherlands joint venture at the Chittagong-based Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone (KEPZ).
“This is why we are holding the denim exhibition to show our strength in the denim sector,” said Kabir, adding that the exhibition will be held at Radisson Hotel on March 1-2.
A total of 28 companies from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Italy and Japan will participate in the exhibition mainly to showcase denim pants, fabrics and modern machinery, he said. From Bangladesh Partex Denim, Nassa Denim and Envoy Denim will participate in the fair. Country heads, sourcing heads, merchandising managers and fashion analysts of 66 international retailers such as Charles Voegele, G-Star, Jack and Jones, s.Oliver, River Island, H&M, C&A, PVH and GAP will participate in the exhibition.
“Such exhibitions take place in Paris, Sweden, Shanghai and Hong Kong annually. And this is for the first time Bangladesh is organising the exhibition.”
Denim Expert, which started its operation in 2008, sends 2.25 lakh pieces of denim products worth $1.92 million a month.
In recent years, the demand for Bangladeshi denim is on the rise for competitive
prices and for relaxed rules of origin (RoO) by the European Union under its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), industry insiders said.  
Many local and foreign companies have invested in the denim sector after the relaxation of the RoO by the EU to avail the duty-benefits from Bangladesh.
At present, around 25 domestic denim makers supply 40 percent of the demand, while the remaining 60 percent is imported. On an average, every factory has a production capacity of six lakh yards per month.