Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports fell by 7.74 per cent from July through November 2019. The garment industry has shrunk since July with dozens of factories closing down and at least 29,700 workers losing their jobs. Workers’ salaries remain an issue because manufacturers aren’t receiving a high enough price for their products. Another issue is of training and redeploying workers as the industry adjusts to automation through new technologies. One machine can do the work of seven people. So sector diversification has become important.

The country has not been able to take advantage of the US-China trade war, because its product categories are very different from that of Vietnam, so Vietnam has been a gainer. So, Bangladesh hasn’t been able to expand the type of garments it produces to compete amid a Sino-American trade war that has sent manufacturers fleeing from China to countries like Vietnam.

The readymade garment sector is the most dynamic in Bangladesh’s economy. Exports of readymade garments have nearly tripled over a ten-year period. Bangladesh’s garment industry which produces shirts, trousers, jackets, T-shirts and sweaters is the engine of the nation’s exports and accounts for 84 per cent of Bangladesh’s total export volume.