BKMEA fears apparel exports may halve
Staff Correspondent

The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association on Saturday apprehended that export earnings of the sector might be halved of what has been targeted in the current fiscal.
Twenty per cent growth of exports has been targeted for the current fiscal but the latest export trends make industry fearful that the growth will be 10 per cent or even less, said the association president, Fazlul Hoque
‘We are facing huge pressure for price cuts further and further while the trend of order settlements is very disappointing,’ said the BKMEA president at a press conference at the organization’s office in Dhaka.
Hoque said the price of readymade garments fell by 10 per cent in the past months and recently they were getting lesser inquiries from buyers. ‘Recession-hit importers are not only reducing prices but procuring in less volume.’
Blessed with their devalued currencies and stimulus packages, exporters in many countries are set to compete out the Bangladeshis in the US and the EU markets, said Hqoue.
‘Bangladeshi suppliers are famous for low-cost exports but we are now facing competition in many low-cost category apparels,’ he added
Hoque regretted that while the government in India, China, Pakistan and Indonesia have been providing stimulus to their exporters for months, Bangladesh is still thinking and talking on the issue only.
He demanded that exiting five per cent cash incentives to knitwear exporters should be raised to 10 per cent for at least next one year.
Replying to a question, Hoque said factory owners already are searching new markets so that they can continue the growth. The BKMEA has targeted Australia, Japan, Spain, and Portugal in this regard, he noted.
The BKMEA president said knitwear manufacturers in Narayanganj and Gazipur industrial belts are facing crisis of gas supply which is damaging productions severely.
‘Gas pressure is found less than half of what is required. So, generator, boilers and dying and finishing units are forced to remain idle,’ Hoque said.