Underwear 5th most exported item

Over the last decade Bangladesh has been enjoying the benefits of a shift in work orders from China and some other countries in many product categories. 

This has come about as the cost of production in China has gone through the roof while there prevails a dearth of skilled workers in the apparel sector. Workers in China are preferring working with sophisticated technologies in the garment sector.

The underwear sector is directly benefitting from the shift of work orders from China and Sri Lanka, growing silently over the last few years.

Currently, underwear is the fifth item exported the most from Bangladesh.

It is a glowing example of diversification of garment items in recent years.

Only a few factories used to produce underwear for some select international retailers and brands as this was not a regular export item for the country.

Now more than 500 factories are regularly producing underwear as demand for the locally made items is growing in the West for their competitive prices.

Usually, the prices of underwear, such as like lingerie, are more than normal attires as specialised fabrics are required for their manufacture.

Last fiscal earning from underwear shipments grew 31.46 per cent year-on-year to $2.34 billion, according to the Export Promotion Bureau's data compiled by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

The export earnings from underwear accounts for 5.49 per cent of the $42.61 billion-worth garments exported last fiscal year.

From this region, Sri Lanka is still famous for producing underwear meant for women as this South Asian country started exporting it many years ago. However, recently they have been steadily losing their market share to Bangladesh.