Can apparel industry weather any storm?
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slogans for pay hikes and increments, disrupting the already struggling local apparel manufacturing.
Due to unrest, vandalism and fires, factories in major industrial belts like Gazipur, Savar, Ashulia, Zirani and Zirabo were shut down for several months.
In September, factory owners, labour leaders and workers agreed on a resolution for their 18-point demand.
The minimum wage board increased the annual increment for garment workers to 9 percent from previous 5 -- one of the key labour demands in the 18-point.
The new increment took effect in December and the other demands, except for the amendment of the labour law, have been met too. The government has promised to amend the law by March next year.
For many, the resolution after the unrest meant production resumption, but for a few, it was worse.
For instance, Beximco Group laid off over 40,000 workers from its 16 textile and garment units.
The outgoing year involved correcting export data, as export earnings were previously overstated due to incorrect calculations.
In a final calculation, the central bank said that the garment sector’s earnings in fiscal 2023-2024 were $36 billion, rather than the $47 billion calculated by the state-owned Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
The outgoing year was challenging but also a time for business recovery as work orders rebounded with political stability, said Faruque Hassan, a former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Hassan said international retailers and brands are now returning with work orders as sales in the USA and the EU have grown with the rebounding of retail sales.
According to BDL Group’s Managing Director Jabbar, 2024 was one of the highest-exporting years, as they received massive work orders from international clothing retailers and brands.
“Now we really need to do more for better growth of the sector,” Jabbar told The Daily Star over the phone.
He recommended establishing a dedicated EPB-like institution for the garment sector and ramping up investment in man-made fibre and sportswear segments to capture more global markets.
Meanwhile, Rizwan Rahman, a former president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), called for political stability for business growth.
He said the law and order situation has not improved to the expected level and is still affecting the business environment.
According to former BGMEA president Hassan, apart from political and labour unrest, the perennial power and energy crisis severely impacted investment inflow into the sector. As a result, many jobs could not be created in the sector this year.
Hassan also suggested investing more in man-made fibre to get better prices and increase exports, as the demand for specialised garments is increasing worldwide.