Gross value addition from Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector was 63.23 per cent in the first half of the current financial year. Value addition is calculated considering the import price of raw materials including cotton, synthetic/viscose fiber, synthetic/mixed yarn, cotton yarn and textile fabrics and accessories. Import price of raw materials in the July-December period of fiscal ’19 was 36.77 per cent of total export earnings from the readymade garment sector in the period. Thus, raw materials prices were 36.77 per cent of the total value of readymade garment exports.

Local value addition is estimated at 63.23 per cent. This can reach up to 75 per cent if the textile sector can produce high quality fabrics. The country’s knitwear sector is making a more than 80 per cent value addition. So the woven sector has to concentrate on developing fabrics. The import value of raw materials in fiscal ’18 was 39.06 per cent of the total export earnings from the readymade garment sector and the local value addition was 60.94 per cent. The local value addition from the readymade garment sector has remained static between 60 per cent to 63 per cent in the past six years. Total export earnings from the readymade garment sector during October to December of fiscal ’19 increased by 8.56 per cent as compared to the previous quarter.