BKMEA urges exporters not
to undercut price
3-day Knit+tex Bangladesh 2008
opens in Dhaka on Friday
Staff Correspondent

The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association president Fazlul Hoque has advised the local apparel manufacturers to say no to those foreign importers who press to cut product prices more and more.
   Such repeated price reduction will ultimately result in financial deprivation of Bangladeshi workers, who are already the lowest paid in the world, Fazlul told a news conference on Monday.
   The legally set minimum monthly wage of an entry-level garment worker is now around $25 (Tk 1,662), compared to the industry average of $56, according to a recent study of International Monetary Fund, while it is between $80 and $200 in major Asian exporting countries.
   ‘Please be resolute and start saying no to importers who press for lowering the prices further and further,’ said the BKMEA president, while announcing the upcoming knitwear industry machinery exposition – Knit+tex Bangladesh 2008.
   Bangladeshi suppliers deliver apparels at the lowest prices in the world, but they are being exploited as a section of importers continues to pressure them for lowering prices again and again, he added.
   Fazlul regretted that ‘a section of manufacturers also continue to serve the buyers, even when they find prices are not only poor but unavailable.’
   He cited efforts of the BKMEA to set minimum export prices for certain major and common categories of garment that most Bangladeshi suppliers deal in. He said, ‘We have agreed in principle on MEPs, but are delaying their enforcement as economies around the globe are facing a recession now. When the situation improves, we will formally declare the MEPs.’
   Apparel exports account for 76 per cent of Bangladesh’s export earnings, fetching $10.7 billion in the last fiscal year ended in June. But, the apparel industry has always been blamed for not paying living wages to its workers
   The BKMEA president said despite apparel markets in EU and USA experiencing depression, Bangladesh’s industry was yet to experience any decline in volume of orders. Many importers are also diverting to Bangladesh from China, he added.
   ‘It’s very unfortunate that despite the industry getting increased orders, Bangladeshi suppliers fail to realise increased prices, contradicting the very basic theory of economics,’ Fozlul observed. He named lack in marketing and negotiation skills of Bangladeshi exporters as the reason for the odd phenomenon.
   The BKMEA president said their orders had not declined, but in the face of depression in their markets, many western buyers were asking local suppliers to delay the delivery of goods.
   The three-day Knit+tex Bangladesh 2008, organised by the local event management company CEMS in association with the BKMEA, will be inaugurated Friday at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka.
   CEMS managing director Meherun N Islam said 75 exhibitors from 10 countries had booked stalls in the fair.
   In the backdrop of the global economic meltdown, a number of exhibitors from China and India have cancelled their bookings, but the rest remain enthusiastic as Bangladesh’s growing knitwear industry is still alluring, she added.