Bangladesh's readymade garment exports to the US are losing competitiveness due to the hike in production costs.Readymade garment manufacturers have attributed the political unrest and safety inspection launched by the global retailers’ platforms, Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

Productivity of Bangladeshi workers is lower than that of competitors and the devaluation of the euro against the dollar has worked as a catalyst to lower growth. On the other hand, compliance has increased production costs, which has led the country’s garment manufacturers to lose their competitiveness in the global market.

Though production cost has risen the product price has not increased. This also makes the sector less competitive and lose market share. So garment manufacturers are introducing production engineering and automation to reduce production cost and enhance productivity to tackle the situation. They have also urged the government to provide policy support to reduce production costs.

Readymade garment exports to the US market from Vietnam also increased by 16.5 per cent while India’s exports grew by 9.82 percent. China, the global leader of apparel manufacturing, lost its share in the US market, which was captured by Vietnam, Bangladesh and India in recent times. China’s export to the US market rose by over one per cent.