[ALOCHONA] Bangladesh loses to India in apparel exports to EU markets

Bangladesh loses to India in apparel exports to EU markets
Courtesy New Age 9/7/08 Kazi Azizul Islam

 

Bangladesh has failed to maintain position of the third largest supplier of readymade garment to European Union markets as India grabbed the position with shipments of more apparel in the early months of current year.
   The industry leaders and trade analysts observed that Bangladesh failed to reap benefit of the EU buyers’ diversion from Chinese apparels and lost the position to India. The Indian apparel makers, who are advanced in direct marketing and design developing, took the benefit.
   According to the latest report of the European Commission on the January-April period this year, Bangladesh earned 1491 million euros from RMG export to the EU countries against India’s earning of 1,684 milliom euros.
   The EC reports also showed that during the period, India’s garment export to EU markets, in terms of value, had increased by more than 2.3 per cent while Bangladesh posted a growth of less than 1 per cent.
   In 2007, Bangladeshi exporters had earned 4.39 billion euros by exporting apparels to the EU markets while Indian exporters fetched 4.18 billion euros.
   Anwar Ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told New Age that Indian exporters grabbed more market share than Bangladesh, taking the advantage of the EU buyers’ reduced procurement bids from China.’
   Fazlul Hoque, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, echoed the same, but he said exports of knitwear that constitutes a major portion of the Bangladesh’s garment export proceeds to EU were increasing.
   Both the leaders informed that Indian dressmakers’ capacity for supplying designed clothing and marketing efficiency helped them grab more market share in the EU.
   Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, agreed on the observations of the industry leaders.
   He said Indian exporters were capable more in direct marketing of their apparels while Bangladeshi exporters depend on buying houses, those eat up significant portion of their export proceeds.
   Besides enhancing capacity in marketing, Bangladeshi manufacturers now need to increase productivity and divert to more value-added products, offsetting rising costs of production.
   The renowned international trade analyst warned that duty-free market access to EU at present ensure competitiveness for Bangladeshi garments in EU market but such preferred market access is going to be narrowed in the coming years.
   At present apparels shopped from Bangladesh and other LDCs enjoy exemption of 12 per cent import duty there, Mustafiz said, predicting that after the end of WTO’s Doha round talks, EU’s import duty would be cut down to 5-7 per cent.
   ‘Such reduction in duty preference would erode compositeness of the exporters from Bangladesh and other LDCs and, on the other hand, will help Indian and other non-LDC suppliers,’ he warned.
   The EU report showed that China though retained its top position with 7.4 billion euro proceeds in the period, its growth rates decreased to about 1 per cent. Turkey the second the largest supplier faced more than 6 per cent decline in growth and earned 2.85 billion euros
   Bangladeshi exporters, who supply garment at world’s lowest prices, are still experiencing growth in their business in EU, but industry leaders apprehended that erratic supply of electricity and gas to industries might arrest their growth.

 

 

---

< __._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___