HomeTex is Now Second Largest Export Industry, earning $1.46 billion 

Bangladesh started as an agriculture-focused country, gradually this country was transformed into an industrial country through the readymade garments sector. Now RMG stands as the largest exporter for Bangladesh, agriculture export has declined over the years. Home textile has recently emerged as a new player in textile production and export from Bangladesh. Against all expectations, this sector, in the recent July to May 2022 export data released by the export promotion Bureau (EPB), has come out as the second main export earner of Bangladesh.

According to the data, the home textile has earned $1.46 billion in July-May of FY2021-22, with YoY growth of 41.3%. According to industry experts home textile sectors in Bangladesh have the ability to produce in bulk, leading to accelerated growth of this sector.

Bangladesh home textile currently exports bed linen, bed sheet and other bedroom textiles, bath linen, carpets and rugs, blankets, kitchen linen, curtains, cushions and cushion cover, and quilt cover.

M Shahadat Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Terry Towel and Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BTTLMEA) mentioned that Bangladesh entered this sector of export in the 1980s. Just a decade ago, Bangladesh only earned $150 million from this sector. Buyers considered China, India, Pakistan and Turkey to be key producers of home textiles. Now through the relentless effort from entrepreneurs and stakeholders’ buyers have added Bangladesh to this list.

Experts pointed out that behind the upcoming lead of Bangladesh in home textile is new investment in research, quality products, innovation and the latest technology. Furthermore, government support and sustainable growth planning also played a major part.

Bangladesh is currently home to more than 100 home textile factories. The global market size for home textiles is around $160 billion. Major export destinations for Bangladesh are the EU, UK, USA, Canada, and Japan. One of the large exporter of home textiles from Bangladesh is Norman Group, they export around 70 tons of terry per day with a workforce of 6000. A senior official of Norman Group said that they earn approximately $27 million per month.

Technovio, projected the home textile sector to grow to $170-180 billion by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of 3.5% or more during 2018-2025. This rising demand has been fueled by the covid pandemic as a large group of people were stuck at home. The global share of Bangladesh in Home Textile export is 7%.