Bangladesh: garment exports up by 20 percent

According to the latest figures by Bangladesh’s Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), exports of readymade garments (RMGs) soared

in the first half of the financial year 2013/14 by 19.95 percent year-on-year.

This strong result comes amid the image crisis that Bangladesh’s RMG sector went through after a series of factory accidents last year that cost the lives of hundreds of workers and shed light on the working conditions in factories in South Asia. In addition, political instability and temporary closures of garment factories during the last six months also made many question how well exports would fare.

In total, garment exports reached 11.932 billion US dollars from July to December 2013, up from 9.946 billion US dollars during the same period last year. The projected goal for 2013 for Bangladesh’s total garment exports is 30.5 billion US dollars, of which RMGs will make up almost 80 percent.

Looking at the various segments, the export of woven garments saw a jump of 20.37 percent to 5.983 billion US dollars from July to December 2013 compared to 4.971 billion US dollars during the same period in the previous fiscal year. Knitwear also showed solid growth with an increase of 19.55 percent to 5.948 billion US dollars compared to 4.975 billion US dollars from July to December 2012.

The 19.95 percent growth of garment exports in the first half of fiscal year 2013/14 compares to a 16.56 percent growth for the same period in the fiscal year 2012/13.

The impact of an increase of the minimum wage for garment workers by almost 77 percent (in effect since 1st December 2013) will be reflected in the second half of the financial year in terms of export volume and orders.