Bangladesh apparel sector set to cater to work orders worth US $ 7 billion to US $ 8 billion every month may sound a bit far-fetched for some. Given the existing scenario where Bangladesh is consistently breaching the US $ 4 billion apparel export earning mark every month for the last few months consistently, it does not seem impossible at all, more so if one takes into consideration the order booking scenario.
“We’re getting huge orders from our regular buyers and a large number of new buyers. We are hopeful the buoyancy in garment exports will continue as we have already booked an increased volume of work orders. We have taken some initiatives to maintain the trend,” claims BGMEA President Faruque Hassan, adding, “…our exports rose to US $ 5.0 billion a month.”
As more and more orders make their way to Bangladesh, industry players are also increasing their capacities and across product categories! If some have ramped up infrastructure and added new machines, others have resorted to running double shifts.
Catering to mix of buyers from across geographical locations — 50 per cent from USA, 45 per cent from Europe and 5 per cent from Japan —Designer Jeans Limited is one such name, which is going for major expansion drive!
“We are increasing our capacities in denim production by adding 400 new machines…,” states the Managing Director of the company Jashim Uddin, speaking to Apparel Resources (AR) even if apart from denims, the company is planning to add 500 new machines to ramp up jacket production as well.
Established in 2006 in Ashulia, Savar, the LEED-certified Designer Jeans Limited is a sister concern of Bengal Group, which currently produces around 1.5 million pieces of denim bottoms from its 2,500 machines set-up and caters to a widespread global clientele boasting names such as Guess, LIDL, MANGO, Inditex, LC WAIKIKI, Next, celio, Walmart, etc.
“We have recently added 200 fully computerised jacquard knitting machines and increased our production by around 25 per cent,” claims in the meanwhile Managing Director of Hydroxide Knitwear Limited, Omar Hamid Chowdhury, interacting with AR.
Thanks to the overall increase in demand from the buyers, sweater manufacturer Hydroxide Knitwear Ltd., producing sweaters, pullovers, cardigans and other knit products from wool, cotton, acrylic, rayon and blended yarn for men, women and children for the European market, has added the new machines to augment production capacity.
These 200 machines are in addition to the existing 700 flat knitting machines, which the Gazipur-based sweater manufacturer has already installed to efficiently serve its range of clients including names like Pull&Bear, Vero Moda, Jack and Jones, Matalan, Walmart, Zara, etc.
If Hydroxide and Designer Jeans have added new machines to step up production volume to effectively cater to the increasing work orders, Plummy Fashion Limited has resorted to running double shift. Having turned attention to the US market lately, Plummy is reaping the benefits as Bangladesh’s apparel export to USA has already crossed the pre-pandemic levels even if despite COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh fetched US $ 7.14 billion from apparel exports to the US in 2021, keeping the market as its single-largest destination without any duty preferences.
“For the last couple of years, we are focusing on the US market. Earlier we were catering exclusively to Europe; it was a strategic move,” explains Managing Director of Plummy Fashions, Md. Fazlul Hoque, also a former president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).
The former BKMEA President further added the demand from US buyers for the knit items went up between the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 while underlining knitters in Bangladesh mostly focused on the EU market due to the duty-free facility there.
The trade war between US and China and the changing pattern of apparel use mostly due to pandemic have prompted the buyers to source more from Bangladesh, claims the MD of Plummy Fashions, which is the first ever knitwear manufacturing unit globally to acquire LEED Platinum certification.
Given the market volatility, thanks to the pandemic, Fazlul has decided not to go for the age-old industry’s trend of physical expansion, as yet, even if he has not ruled out the same for future.
“We will be adding 300 machines, once we feel our buyers are going to increase their procurement volumes with us,” Fazlul assures.
Currently 70 per cent of the Narayanganj-based Plummy’s total production is being exported to the US market, while Europe accounts for the remaining 30 per cent.
Plummy Fashions, which manufactures a wide range of knit products in men’s, women’s and kid’s category, also boasts of an equally interesting mix of global clientele including names like Zara, next, Kelvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, FILA, etc.
It’s not just in basics; manufacturers are also increasing their capacities in critical product categories like suits, lingerie and outerwear too.
Take for example Gazipur-based Energypac Fashions Ltd., which set up its unit in 2007 with a goal to produce value-added attires even if it currently exports 5.9 million pieces of suits every year, earning more than US $ 55 million.
The Chairman of Energypac, Humayun Rashid, now plans to expand capacities as retailers and brands are placing higher orders with the factory while after the planned expansion, 2,500 additional pieces of suits would be added to the current daily production capacity of 16,000 pieces.
Energypac’s high-range and value-added suits command impressive price tag of US $ 300 and above even if the export price of a mid-range suit is between US $ 150 and US $ 300, while a low-range suit is priced between US $ 99 and US $ 150 per piece, according to Humayun who counts names like s.Oliver, Peek and Cloppenburg, Louise Phillipe and many other reputed European and US retailers and brands amongst his clientele.
On similar lines, Team Group, which is a leading garment exporter from Bangladesh, is planning a huge expansion drive consequent to higher inflow of work orders even if it aims to export goods worth US $ 1 billion by 2026, when Bangladesh is scheduled to officially make the LDC transition and join the big league of developing nations.
Currently, Team Group’s manufacturing unit 4A Yarn Dyeing Limited runs on a 5 lakh square feet space, creating mainly outerwear for brands like Guess, Next, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, s. Oliver and many more European and American retailers and brands even if by 2025, the Group plans to open another unit and of same size, near the current one.
4A Yarn Dyeing Limited produces a host of products including padded jackets, seam-sealed jackets, quilted jackets, quilted jackets, bomber jackets, down jackets, etc., to cater to names like Craghoppers, Didriksons, Intersport, Reima, etc.
“I have been gearing up my production facility in such a way so that the retailers and brands cannot ask any question regarding the compliances and production facilities, for bringing efficiency and for getting better prices in the time of fierce competition…,” claims Abdullah Hil Rakib, Managing Director of Team Group.
Also increasing their production capacities are lingerie manufacturers Chorka Textile Limited (CTL) and Ananta apparels, as more and more buyers come calling in for intimatewear as the global lingerie market continues to grow and flourish.
In fiscal 2020-21, CTL has exported lingerie worth US $ 90 million from its Narsingdi-based garment factory even though since inception in 2013, the company has invested around US $ 70 million to enhance capacities while Ananta Apparels has pumped in a massive Taka 250 crore to come up with a sophisticated lingerie factory in the port city of Chittagong not so long ago.
It is now planning to add 20 new production lines to the unit while to provide the manufacturing unit sufficient raw material support (accessories and fabric play a very important role in adding value), Ananta Apparels is also planning to set up a synthetic fabric plant at the Mirsarai Economic Zone at an investment of Taka 400 crore.
As the garment makers continue with their expansion drive, fabric and yarn manufacturers are also increasing their capacities to aptly support and complement the garment exporters in this growth journey.
The latest investment to come are from Modern Syntex, Abul Kalam Spinning Mills, Universal Denim, Karim Tex, Nice Spinning, Mondol Spinning, Chandrsee Spinning, NR Spinning, Wazeed Spinning Mills, Raw Tech, Beximco Group, RBD Fibers and Sufiya Cotton Textiles.
Karim Group is investing Taka 1,350 crore to produce 112 tonnes of yarn in a day – 80 tonnes of natural yarn and 32 tonnes of synthetic yarn – to meet the growing demand of yarn, says Md. Wahid Mia, Managing Director of Karim Tex Ltd., even if the new unit will be the largest spinning mill with the latest technology, which is scheduled for commercial production by 2023.
Chandsree Spinning Ltd., a new venture in the textile sector, is investing Taka 100 crore to produce about 28.80 lakh tonnes of yarn annually, says its Managing Director ABM Jafar Ahmed, while on the other hand, Asia Composite, Maksons Group, Envoy Group, New Asia Group, DBL Group, Pride Group, ShaSha Group, amongst others, are also investing to expand their capacities.
Of the investors, Asia Composite has plans to install another 48,000 spindles, along with the current 70,000 spindles even if Envoy Group is also investing Taka 125 crore to set up a synthetic blended yarn production capacity, which will produce 12 tonnes of yarn per day.
“We are enhancing spinning capacity to produce cotton and synthetic blended ‘expanded yarn’ as a substitute for imported yarn,” claims Chairman of the Group Kutubuddin Ahmed.
With the growing enthusiasm amongst the industry players to successfully entertain fresh work orders and supported aptly by the stakeholders, earning US $ 8 billion apparel export monthly is very much on the cards, one would agree.
