The optimism the home textile industry had for more than two years is waning as it failed to meet expectations for a second consecutive month.
The industry saw a negative growth of 16.02% to $601.26 million in the July to December period of the current fiscal year (2022-23) from $715.95 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year (FY2021-22), according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
However, the sector's export objective for the aforementioned quarter (H1) of FY23 was $928.24 million, which was 35.23% higher than the actual revenue.
The promising export sector fell out of second place and into third place behind the RMG and leather sectors as a result of the persistently poor growth.
Industry insiders said that the prolonged Ukraine-Russia war, inflationary pressures, and economic turmoil have curtailed the purchasing capacity of the people of destination countries.
Moreover, a number of home textile factories could not export goods as per demand after August due to the gas-power crisis, they added.
However, they anticipate a recovery starting in the following months, particularly in February and March.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Rashed Mosharraf, executive director (marketing) of Zaber and Zubair (Home Textile) said that due to the ongoing economic turmoil, the purchasing capacity of the people of buyers' country was curtailed.
“Who usually bought four units earlier, now they buy only two. Moreover, the current period (Nov-Dec) is already a lean period for home products. We are hopeful that the export will increase in the coming months,” he added.
A total of 18 Bangladeshi home textile manufacturing companies will take part in the four-day trade show “Heimtextil Frankfurt 2023” to be held in Germany from January 10 to 13, and Zaber and Zubair company is one of them.
In this regard, he said that they are hopeful that they will get adequate orders from the expo as this expo is regarded as the best platform for the home textile sector.
“At the expo, we will meet old and new buyers. We hope through the orders we'll get during the expo will play a pivotal role to recover the sector from negative growth,” he added.
M Shahadat Hossain Sohel, chairman of Bangladesh Terry Towel and Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that they faced power outages of nearly 11-12 hours daily last few months ago.
“The pressure of the gas was also low. So, a number of factories didn't ship their products on time which impacted exports. However, the power situation has improved now,” he added.
He is also hopeful that in the destination countries, the “federal purchase” tenders usually open during September-October of the year, allowing them to purchase textiles for hospitals, prisons, homes and other caregiving organizations.
He said that the buyers already contacted manufacturers regarding federal purchase orders.
Industry insiders said that home textile is one of the first-line export sectors in Bangladesh with the ability to produce bulk products.
The home textile export basket of the country includes bed linen, bed sheet and other bedroom textiles, bath linen, carpets and rugs, blankets, kitchen linen, curtains, cushions and cushion cover, and covers for quilts.
In the last fiscal year, the sector bagged $1.62 billion, fetching a growth of 43.28% in FY22 against $1.13 billion in FY21, EPB data showed.
