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Bangladesh garment exports soar at China's expense: trade body
Dhaka (AFP) Oct 8, 2008 Bangladesh's leading garment-making group said Wednesday that exports would more than double to around 25 billion dollars over the next five years, as buyers turn away from rising labour costs in China. Garment exports rose by nearly 17 percent to a record 10.7 billion dollars in the financial year to June 2008, and in July alone rose a year-on-year 75 percent, according to figures from the government's Export Promotion Bureau. "In the 2008-09 financial year, our exports will hit 13 billion dollars," said Anwar ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, head of the 4000-factory strong Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). "Most of the bigger factories have expanded due to increased orders from buyers such as Wal-Mart. We've now targeted 25 billion dollars in 2013," Parvez said. Experts said the impoverished country's abundant cheap labour and stagnant growth in Chinese apparel due to higher wages had helped make Bangladesh more attractive to the world's top buyers. "China is still the dominant player in the global apparel market. But they are no longer competitive," said Syed Fakhrul Islam Murad, head of the textile department at private Southeast University. "Bangladesh's wages in garment factories are now at least one-third of China. No one can produce cheaper than us. If the power problem is fixed, the growth would be unlimited," he said. The garment trade is the backbone of Bangladesh's manufacturing industry, accounting for 80 percent of total exports and 40 percent of industrial jobs. A garment worker in Bangladesh earns a minimum 25 dollars a month basic salary after a deal struck in late 2006. Some 40 percent of Bangladesh's 144 million people live below the poverty line and poor households spend nearly 70 percent of their income on food items. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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