Bangladesh may not achieve the apparel export target at the end of this fiscal year due to the energy crisis, decline of work orders and high inflation in the European countries, said Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan.
In response to the questions by journalists, he also said, if the current trend of apparel export continues, the achievement of the target of exporting $46.80 billion in apparel may not be possible.
The president of BGMEA was speaking at a press conference on the Inauguration of the Center for Innovation, Efficiency, and OSH on Sunday at the BGMEA office in the capital.
“The export earnings from garment export in September fell by 7.52% and in October, the earning may fall by 20%,” he said, adding that in November, the earnings may fall further if the crisis of energy in the factories continue and the Russia-Ukraine war doesn't show any signal of ceasing.
“So, at the end of the current fiscal year, achievement of the target export may not be possible,” he said.
However, in the last fiscal year, Bangladesh exported garment items worth $42.61 billion, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
“There has been continuous growth in the garment industry from August last year to August this year, which led the sector to earn $42.6 billion in the last financial year,” he added.
But in the last two months, the sector has noticed multifold crises like a downturn in purchase orders and disruption in the supply of energy and power.
In a response to the question on the political rallies during the national election year, he said that the political parties do politics for the betterment of the country and the economy.
“So, we believe that the rallies of the political party will never hamper the businesses, the economy, and the business environment of the country. We always get proper support from the major political parties of the country,” he added.
Regarding the questions on power and energy issues, he said that the effect of the power and energy crisis is going on all over the world.
“Gas-electricity crisis at the local level has also affected our apparel industry. This increases the production cost and also reduces the production capacity of the factories,” he added.
Moreover, the BGMEA top leader urged the government to supply uninterrupted electricity and gas according to the demand of the export-oriented industries.
Regarding the source tax, BGMEA president said to set the source tax as previously by reducing it from 1%.
At the same time, by reducing the gas supply to the fertilizer factory, I am inviting the concerned to think about whether it is possible to give more gas supply to the export-oriented industrial factories.
Before the press conference, Faruque Hassan inaugurated the Center of Innovation, Efficiency and OSH (CIEOSH) at BGMEA building to increase the competitiveness of Bangladesh's garment industry.
Highlighting the importance of the innovation center, the BGMEA president said: “One of the challenges of the fourth industrial market is technology and automation.”
“We want to work in such a way that we can turn the challenges of the next fourth industrial market into opportunities. The Innovation Center will provide clear guidance and support to turn this challenge into an opportunity,” he added.
He also said that in order to increase the competitiveness of the industry, they need to increase transparency and traceability and present Bangladesh as an acceptable, reliable and green platform to the buyers by making the industry sustainable.
“It will help to achieve $100 billion export earnings and to generate ten million more jobs directly,” he added, saying that the innovation center will help in these matters. It will also create a roadmap for the industry by 2030.
The CIEOSH will help to face the challenges of IR 4.0 through the functions like digital sampling, 3D prototyping, mid-level management, scaling up the workers, and accelerating eco-friendly, green, and energy-efficient industries.
At the event, he also revealed the schedule of the 37th IAF World Fashion Convention, which is going to be held in Dhaka for the first time from November 12-16.