RMG Industry Dominates Bangladesh Export

Bangladesh's recent export data shows that the country's total export for the first eleven months of the current financial year 2021-22 is $47.17 billion (EPB) and $38.5 billion is from the RMG industry alone. RMG industry accounts for 81.65% of the total export in Bangladesh. Bangladesh's economy has been growing at around 7% for 10 years and Govt. projects Bangladesh’s export reaching $100 billion by 2030. RMG industry is poised to expand its exports through utilizing digitization and incorporating new innovative technologies to scale to Govt. expectations from this sector.

Past 10 years RMG export data reveals that the RMG industry has been growing rapidly except for 2020 when Covid-19 reduced garments export. Bangladesh RMG industry is known for a few major products such as Trousers, T-Shirts, Sweaters, Shirts and Underwear. In order for this industry to double its export, the RMG industry should focus on diversifying. A common point among Bangladeshi export items is the use of cotton thread, however, in the global market man-made fibre is more popular. To utilize MMF, backward infrastructure should be built to make MMF products more profitable for the industry.

MMF takes up 70% of the global apparel market, to ensure Bangladeshi products is perceived as quality product, factories should focus on new technologies and make quality MMF apparel that would appeal to consumers as high-quality goods.

Another area where the RMG industry is lacking is communication. Many garments order is not completed due to a lack of communication between stakeholders. Complete digitization of the factory would solve such issues. Digitization would also identify areas where a factory can increase efficiency.

Bangladesh denim manufacturers invested heavily in newer technologies and currently, Bangladeshi denim is at the top in US denim imports for three years. This shows that even though initially investing might appear to be more costly in the long run it does pay off.

Furthermore, as China is diversifying its exports toward more expensive technology items, Bangladesh is poised to get more of the global apparel market share. One of the Bangladesh RMG industry's main pain points is lead time. New technologies such as 3D clothing would reduce lead time as well as make Bangladesh clothing designers ready for the new 'Metaverse' era.