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Garment exports to Japan double

refayet Ullah Mirdha
Japan proves to be a lucrative garment export destination for Bangladesh as RMG shipments to the Asian giant have more than doubled in fiscal 2008-09 from a year ago.
Bangladesh exported readymade garments worth $74,381 million in fiscal 2008-09, compared to $28,035 million in fiscal 2007-08, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.
Japan has reduced its dependence on imports from China, which gave a boost to RMG exports out of Bangladesh, said manufacturers and exporters.
Recently, the Japanese government has advised entrepreneurs to divert investment to diverse countries.
Knitwear accounted for $21,986 million of total apparel exports in fiscal 2008-09, up from $7,234 million a year earlier. Woven garment exports rose to 552.395 million in fiscal 2008-09 from $20,801 million in the previous year, the EPB data said.
"We are optimistic that Japan will increase purchases from Bangladesh as the country reduced its dependence on China," said BKMEA President Fazlul Hoque. who led a high-powered delegation to Japan in July, in search of more orders.
"Moreover, Japan is a ready market for us, as we produce high-quality products, which is a major criteria to get in," he said.
Hoque said the trend shows Bangladesh will be able to export apparel items worth a billion dollars in the next five
years.
Uniqlo, one of the largest retail chains in Japan, started investing in Bangladesh, to
purchase garment items. "The company is planning to invest $100 million initially," said Hoque.
Japan, being the second largest economy in the world with a $4,348 trillion GDP, is the fourth largest knitwear importer in the world. It imports knitwear items worth $11 billion and woven goods worth $ 12 billion a year.
Exporters said Japan bought garments worth $20 billion, or 84 percent of its total global purchase, from China in 2008.
The second largest exporter
of garment items to Japan is Italy, with a 2.87 percent market share. While Bangladesh's market share in the Japanese apparel market is near 1 percent, the BKMEA findings said.
In recent years, Japan's knitwear imports from Korea, Italy and the US have dropped, while imports from Thailand, Vietnam, India, Cambodia and Bangladesh have risen, the BKMEA survey said.
Manmade fibre sweaters, pullovers and cardigans are the top import items, while cotton T-shirts and knitted shirts for
both men and women are also quite popular in Japan, BKMEA data showed.
Under the worldwide movement of “China+1”, which promotes shifting the production point from China, it is indeed a great decision to choose Bangladesh as a new production point, said Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Masayuki Inoue.
The envoy was speaking at the launch of Matsuoka Apparels at The Westin Hotel Dhaka on March 22,2008.
Former BGMEA President
Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez said Japanese customers are relatively permanent customers. "We should handle with them with care, as they rely on quality," Parvez said.
He said manufacturers should develop some separate product lines in their factories for the Japanese customers, as they never compromise on quality.
On the other hand, Japanese buyers should pay more for the high quality goods, the former BGMEA boss said.
reefat@thedailystar.net