Bangladesh’s earnings from apparel exports plunged 3.47 per cent in the first six months of the current calendar year. When competitors like Vietnam and Cambodia are posting double-digit growth in apparel exports, Bangladesh is losing competitiveness in the global market. Reason: depreciation of the pound sterling against the dollar and Bangladeshi exporters’ failure in reducing the lead time for the decline in readymade garment exports. The failure to reduce the lead time is due to lack of raw materials. As a result, many exporters can’t deliver product samples in time.

Earnings saw 2.96 per cent growth in January this year before decreasing by 5.95 per cent in February. Growth was negative in March by 0.97 per cent but posted positive in April and May. Earnings dropped 16.13 per cent in June. The country’s largest export-earning sector makes up 87 per cent of total export earnings and 16 per cent of GDP.

Garment exports marked a mere 0.20 per cent growth last fiscal though the growth rate hovered around 13 per cent only three years ago. There is a need for infrastructure and policy support, long-term tax policy and incentives to help apparel exporters retain a steady export growth.