Bangladesh offers apparel to UK way cheaper than competitors

Bangladesh offers some of the lowest prices for apparel products in the UK market compared to other major exporters such as China, India and Turkey, according to UK government data.

Data from UK Trade Info indicates that, during the January-October period of 2023, the average price of apparel products exported from Bangladesh was 21.39% lower than those from China, 32% lower than those from Turkey, and 26.75% lower than those from India.

Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said, "This [low price] does not necessarily substantiate our competitiveness, but also reveals our absence in the mid-higher priced segment of the UK market. And going forward, we should set our strategy to explore the mid-higher priced segment, broadly.

"On another note, the gap between the value and volume-wise changes in the UK's imports suggests the persisting pressure on the price level, which is concerning for us [exporters]."

During January-October 2023, the UK's global import of clothing declined by 16.44% in dollar value and 12.20% in volume, compared to the same period of the preceding year, UK Trade Info data shows.

Analysing UK import data, the share of Bangladesh in the UK's clothing import is 23% in monetary value and 28% in volume, said the BGMEA president.

"We still have opportunities in this market. So far we have been able to secure our position through cost leadership, well-timed delivery and quality, which kept us ahead of the competition," he continued.

"As we are nearing the saturation point and given the shift in global trade policy and competitive scenario for the next decades, gaining capacity and capability in backward and forward linkage industries, together with in value-added and niche markets would be the key for us to further penetrate and sustain the growth," Faruque said.

"When we say 'higher value addition', the term is often misinterpreted as items like outerwear, lingerie, activewear, etc. In fact, we can add higher value by moving to the mid-to-higher-priced segment of the market, where a T-shirt or Polo-shirt could earn higher freight on board (FOB) for its complex processing such as advanced fabrication, embroidery, printing and even functionality," said the BGMEA chief.

Talking with The Business Standard, the BGMEA president said, "We are producing some high-value products in the same segment to add more value. In some cases, we produce sophisticated products in terms of design, which requires more time and high-cost material input. Such product prices are higher than the regular ones."

"We are also producing handcrafted products which are more highly valued than machine-made products," he said.

The BGMEA president said it is quite encouraging that the economic and competitive transformation of the industry has already started, and despite all the difficulties many new factories, dealing with higher priced and higher valued items, have emerged and are operating successfully.

Apparel exports to UK dips 9%

Bangladesh's apparel exports to the United Kingdom (UK) markets fell by about 9%

due to the decline in the UK's global import of clothing, mainly owing to the economic slowdown driven by the Russia-Ukraine war.

According to the data of UK Trade Info, Bangladesh apparel exports to the UK market stood at $3.01 billion in January-October of 2023, which was $3.30 billion in January-October of 2022.

The country-wise performance in the UK's sourcing list shows China sits at the top followed by Bangladesh, Turkey, India and Pakistan.