Refayet Ullah Mirdha

Cotton production in Bangladesh has been low as farmers prefer other cash crops to the white fibre, completely missing out on at least a $3 billion domestic market.

Earnings from merchandise exports from Bangladesh surged 41.13 per cent year-on-year to $4.85 billion in January, the second-highest single month receipts, on the back of rebounding garment shipments.

Any power tariff hike will have a serious impact on the garment industry as it will scuttle its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and erode competitiveness, said Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

Foster Corporation from today will start providing refunds to Qcoom customers whose advance payments got stuck with the payment gateway for non-delivery of products by the e-commerce platform.

Spending behind apparel and footwear in the US exceeded pre-pandemic levels in every month of 2021, says a new study by online personal styling service Stitch Fix. And this translates as good fortunes for Bangladeshi exporters.

Garment shipments to the European Union, including the UK, Bangladesh’s single largest export destination, rose 23.83 per cent year-on-year to $12 billion in the current fiscal year’s first half.

Bangladesh is expected to become the 24th largest economy in the world by 2030 despite a rise in poverty, unemployment and income losses because of the severe impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a government report.

The government is set to extend more policy and fiscal support, rationalise corporate tax, offer bonded warehouse facility and explore new markets and products as it looks to give a much-needed boost to export earnings.

Some local garment suppliers are struggling to avail payments from troubled Western clothing retailers and brands even nearly two years past making shipments while Covid-19 was initially running riot.

E-commerce platform Qcoom and payment gateway Foster Corporation jointly submitted a list at the commerce ministry yesterday detailing a portion of customers who were owed Tk 59.05 crore in refunds.

E-commerce platform Qcoom and payment gateway Foster Corporation jointly submitted a list at the commerce ministry today detailing a portion of customers who were owed Tk 59.05 crore in refunds.

No  new dyeing factory was set up in Bangladesh last year although the  segment is crucial to supporting the roaring apparel sector looking to  double its exports.

The spinning sector in Bangladesh witnessed a major jump in investment last year as entrepreneurs set up 26 new mills to meet rising demand despite uncertainty in the global apparel supply chain owing to the pandemic.

Export earnings hit a new record in December as manufacturers fetched almost $5 billion, backed by the surge in demand from international retailers in Europe and the US.

The stunning rebound of woven garment export after one and a half years helped lift merchandise shipment from Bangladesh in the just-concluded year, helped by rising demand and inflow of increased orders. 

Businesses in Bangladesh hope that 2022 would be better than the previous two years as their optimism grew thanks to the ongoing strong recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. 

The commerce ministry yesterday sought the full list of the customers and merchants from Qcoom.com as it looks to refund the victims of e-commerce fraudulent activities from the money stuck up with Foster Payments.

The government plans to raise its economic growth target to 7.5 per cent for the next fiscal year, banking on the recovery of business activities and rising export earnings.

In the 1980s, local garment manufacturers used to export garment items in old and used cartons as there was no factory in Bangladesh at that time capable of producing the accessory.

Domestic cotton consumption is set to increase in the current marketing year (MY) as many international retailers and brands are shifting their work orders to Bangladesh, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).