Foreign apparel makers plan relocation to Bangladesh

A woman picks clothes on display at the 20th BATEXPO-2009, organised by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association in Dhaka. The three-day fair that pulled in warm responses from international buyers ended yesterday.Photo: Anisur RahmanRefayet Ullah Mirdha

Foreign buyers see Bangladesh as a lucrative destination for global apparel outsourcing as the country manufactures quality items at a cheap cost.

Many entrepreneurs now plan either relocation of their factories or venturing into joint business here, they said while narrating their experience as participants in the 20th BATEXPO in Dhaka.

The annual largest apparel exhibition concluded yesterday. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) organised the three-day fair. A total of 62 companies from home and abroad participated in 86 stalls.

Talking to The Daily Star at his stall, Gao Zhourong, marketing manager of Changzhou Giantsun Textile Company Ltd, a Chinese company, said they will set up a garment unit in Bangladesh soon as this is a good place for cheaper labour cost.

"We have already completed talks with a local partner to set up the garment unit," Zhourong said.

Currently, this company has been supplying fabrics of woven garment in Bangladesh, he said. He thinks the response from local and international buyers was very high at the BATEXPO.

Bangladesh imports a substantial quantity of such fabrics from China as the local backward integration can only supply 35 percent of the total demand.

However, the local textile millers have been able to supply around 80 percent fabrics for the knitwear sub-sector for setting up of strong backward integration over the last few years, mainly backed by the GSP (Generalised System of Preferences).

Agha Dastageer of Kassim Textiles, a denim manufacturing company from Pakistan, said Bangladesh's export trends show a huge rise in orders from importers in future.

He said Bangladesh is doing well also in denim manufacturing as many companies have already started exporting fine denim products.

Dastageer said the quality of Bangladesh made apparels is better compared to other competitive countries as the country mainly depends on the European machinery. "European machinery is really good for apparel manufacturing. And Europeans like such quality," Dastageer said.

But Bangladesh is suffering limited products diversification as the country still mainly manufactures basic items, the foreign apparel businessmen said.

Meanwhile, the local makers said orders from international buyers are on the rise, as the world is coming out of recession with the signs of improvement in the advanced economies.

Golam Ahmed, general manager (product) of Intramex Group, a local firm, also pointed to the upward trend of buying orders saying that foreigners are coming to Bangladesh in large numbers.

He suggested that Bangladesh should focus on product diversification in a bigger way, as buyers always demand some new items.

Meanwhile, a considerable number of foreign investors and buyers flocked to the recently concluded 5th Knitexpo in the capital. A record 156 international buyers and investors attended the show, held at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel on November 2-4.

Bangladesh exported $5.918 billion woven garment and $6.429 billion knitwear products in 2008-09 fiscal year, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data said.

reefat@thedailystar.net