RMG sector crying for orders in pick season

Farhad Chowdhury: Apart from the global recession, the garment industry of the country is going to face disaster due to various propaganda including the labor movement. Even though the month of November is coming to an end, Bangladesh has not received suitable foreign orders for the upcoming fruit season. As a result, there is a fear that these orders will go to competing countries like Vietnam or Cambodia.
Garment factories in Bangladesh are currently producing products for the spring-summer season. Along with the production of this season’s biggest products, the products will be sent to the buyers till next March. But complications have arisen with the order of the fruit season. Although the second largest order of this season is expected to arrive from this November, the garment traders said that there is not much response from foreign buyers.
Syed Nazrul Islam, the first vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said that we have not received the orders that were supposed to arrive in November, at the expected rate. Buyers are apprehensive about how long the effects of the movement will last.

For that, the products which are supposed to be delivered in March to May, they are not giving us the order yet, they have left it.
Already under the grip of global recession, the growth of the country’s garment industry has been fluctuating for most of the last year. In the month of October this year, garments in Dhaka zone grew by 14 percent and in Chittagong by 10 percent, but in 20 days of November, it decreased by 20 percent. Retention of export earnings for the current financial year is currently a challenge due to non-response from buyers despite repeated requests.
Expressing such fears, Chairman of International Business Forum SM Abu Taiyab said, the number of orders that we expected to come in this season, the number of orders did not come. So, we think this year will go like that and the number of orders has actually come down.
Rakibul Alam Chowdhury, vice-president of BGMEA informed about not getting the order as expected, said, ‘Buyers are telling us every week that they will confirm the booking. But the month of November has come to an end, till now we are not getting any product orders. Currently we are trying to cover the salary part if we can. But we are not able to do that, besides we are not getting the orders.
Along with the 27 countries belonging to the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada are the main markets of Bangladesh’s garment industry. And in these countries, the level of disinformation about the garment industry of Bangladesh is relatively high. Therefore, the garment traders have called upon the Bangladesh embassies of the countries to take action now to restore the confidence of the buyers.
Anjan Shekhar Das, Director of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “Now is the time to make the buyers understand that if they place an order for the production of goods in Bangladesh, then they can safely deliver the goods and safely produce the goods in Bangladesh.” You can take the supply of goods from here on time.’
In the four-and-a-half months till November 20 of the current financial year, the export income of the ready-made garment sector has been about $11 billion. In the last financial year, the export income from this sector was $46 billion.
Export earnings for the period up to November 20 this year stood at $20.67 billion.
According to the latest pay structure, the wages of workers in the country’s garment sector have been increased by 56 percent. Garment owners of Bangladesh have applied to international buyers to meet this cost. But till now there is no positive response from the buyers. However, the new salary structure will be effective next month. And with this, Bangladesh’s garment industry is in doubt.