Refayet Ullah Mirdha

The lower price of apparel items shipped from Bangladesh and the lower volume of orders due to the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic are two major challenges for the garment industry, said ABM Shamsuddin, the panel leader of the Forum.

Securing liquidity support from the banking system is important for the survival of the garment industry as exporters have been facing a cash crunch for more than a year after Covid-19 caused shipments to crash, said Faruque Hassan, the panel leader of Sammilita Parishad.

Nine major apparel manufacturing countries, including Bangladesh, have joined hands to improve prices paid by international retailers and brands, prompted into action by bad experiences since the pandemic’s emergence.

International buyers are following a ‘go-slow’ policy in placing orders with apparel suppliers in Bangladesh because of fresh lockdowns and stricter restrictions in key markets amid a rise in coronavirus infections and piling up of unsold goods amid depressed sales.

Bangladesh’s attractiveness as an apparel-sourcing destination has remained potent despite increased competition in recent years, according to a new survey of management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

International retailers and brands are again demanding unusual deferral payment from local apparel suppliers, the second time in a year, saying sales have dropped after Western nations reimposed lockdowns and tougher restrictions because of a surge in coronavirus infections.

If you happen to come upon t-shirts being sold in the United States or the European Union (EU), the chances are that the Vietnamese ones have outdone the Bangladeshis, securing twofold the export price.

The Maldives wants to sign agreements with Bangladesh which do away with double taxation and guarantee and protect investment for increasing bilateral trade and investment, says the archipelagic state’s foreign minister, Abdulla Shahid.

Cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs), which are the backbone of the economy, have been struggling to revive their battered business as the country entered into the second year of the pandemic.

TDS: How do you evaluate the 50 years of relationship between Bangladesh and the UK?

A number of big British companies are interested to invest in Bangladesh to benefit from the country’s large consumer base, said British High Commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson.

The outbreak of coronavirus and subsequent lockdown wrecked a havoc on business activities and wiped out many jobs apart from taking away many lives.

Earnings from exports declined 3.92 per cent year-on-year to $3.19 billion in February because of a fall in apparel shipment as the lingering coronavirus pandemic continues to hurt the country’s key markets.

The government is going to prepare a roadmap soon for Bangladesh’s smooth transition from a least developed country to a developing one in the next five years.

Bangladesh has stepped into a new journey as it qualified to graduate into a developing nation from a Least Developed Country (LDC) after 45 years.

The Indonesian Safeguards Committee (KPPI) recommended that the Indonesian government take safeguard measures against Bangladeshi apparel import to save the Indonesian domestic industry, according to a senior official of commerce ministry of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is confident that it can fend off the challenges stemming from the graduation from the grouping of least-developed countries (LDCs) as the government has taken measures.

Australia is set to lift its ban on direct cargo flights from Dhaka, a move that is expected to boost Bangladesh’s shipments to the continent.

The dearth of work orders from international retailers and brands to small and medium-sized garment factories is so acute that many entrepreneurs are looking for buyers to sell units and exit the industry for good.

Youngone Corporation, a global conglomerate based in Korea, has made massive investments in man-made fibre (MMF) for clothing in its factories in Bangladesh as artificial materials are now dominating the fashion industry, according to Kihak Sung, chairman and chief executive officer of the company.