Refayet Ullah Mirdha

Bangladesh will remain as the preferred sourcing destination for readymade garment (RMG) items well into the future as the country has substantially improved production facilities and on compliance with regulations over the last few years, said international clothing retailers and brands yesterday.

Earnings from merchandised exports from Bangladesh soared 51.18 per cent year-on-year in April to $4.73 billion helped by higher shipment of garments, home textiles and footwear, official figures showed yesterday.

The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will resume selling soybean oil at Tk 110 a litre to one crore TCB cardholder families from next month, Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said yesterday.

The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will resume selling edible oil at Tk 110 a litre to one crore TCB cardholder families in June, Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said today.

Edible oil prices see the biggest increase in Bangladesh’s history as the government moves to put an end to the unprecedented crunch of the essential cooking item.

Bangladesh is becoming a major manufacturer of sleeping bags as China is losing its market share because of worker shortage and higher cost of production.

Nearly 57 per cent industrial and manufacturing units in Bangladesh did not pay Eid bonuses to their workers as of yesterday, missing the deadline set by the government.

Ha-Meem Group, one of the top textile and garment manufacturers in Bangladesh, is eyeing massive expansion to export $1 billion worth of apparel items by 2024, said its owner.

The commerce ministry is going to recommend that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) reduce the import duty on canola, sunflower and olive oil to 10 per cent from the existing 32 per cent.

When the Rana Plaza building came crashing down on April 24, 2013, Bangladesh’s garment sector received a massive jolt and apprehension kicked in that the sector’s growth might slow down.

Bangladesh is yet to make any significant progress in its preparation to retain duty preference set to be withdrawn once it graduates from the group of the least-developed countries (LDCs).

Four local garment exporters have filed a case against British clothing retailer Edinburgh Woolen Mill (EWM) claiming Tk 5.98 crore in payments for goods they had shipped.

Despite the Russia-Ukraine war and a ban on some banks on the use of global payments messaging network SWIFT, apparel shipment from Bangladesh to Russia has largely remained unscathed because of the use of alternative routes and payment channels, exporters say. 

Bangladesh is turning into a major sourcing hub for sweaters for international clothing retailers and brands as work orders are shifting from China and global fashion trends are changing.

Production in spinning mills in this peak season has remained halted over the past six days because of a severe crisis of gas for overhauling at the Bibiyana gas field.

DBL Group, one of the leading local garment exporters, is going to invest in Vietnam to produce thread as many international clothing retailers and brands have nominated the group’s product to stitch clothes.

Hundreds of sewing thread manufacturing units have sprung up in Bangladesh in recent years, allowing the country to nearly attain self-sufficiency in the major garment accessory.

Automation has been substantially coming about in garment factories, with modern machinery being used to make high-end garments and increase productivity in attempts to become more competitive globally.

Local textile millers are expecting bumper sales in the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest shopping season in Bangladesh, since people are apparently set to celebrate the festival joyously as Covid-19 has petered out.

Cotton prices surged to more than a decade high in global market in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, abnormal hike in freight charge and drought in the US,