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News
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October 2011
India cotton exports may
rise 17pc
FBCCI urges Dutch team for
enhancing trade, investment
Duty-free access of 46 items
to India
Stalemate over trial run of
Ctg port CTMS automation
Global cotton mill use to
rise 1.5pc in 2011
Vast scope exists for RMG
waste export
BD RMG export to Japan might
cross $1.0b by next 2 years
Faruk urges RMG owners to
build worker-friendly environment in factories
EPB eyes potential overseas
markets for RMG
Export earnings mark 8.70pc
growth in July
India cotton
exports may rise 17pc
MUMBAI, Sept 21 (Reuters): India's cotton exports could rise 17
per cent, or 1.4 million tones, over an official forecast in the
year to September 2012, spurred by a record harvest, a weaker
domestic currency and a freer trade policy, the top exporter of
the fibre said. India contributes 22 per cent of global output
and is expected to have a bumper harvest of 6.14 million tonnes,
pushing it into competition with suppliers from Latin America,
Australia and Africa, that will squeeze world prices.
Source: The Financial Express (September 22, 2011)
FBCCI urges Dutch team for enhancing trade, investment
Inge Sloekers, programme manager of CBI, called on Ahmed Jamal,
acting-president of FBCCI, in the city Tuesday. Minke of CBI and
Mrs Linda, official of Dutch Embassy in Dhaka, were present on
the occasion.
A delegation of CBI, an agency of Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Netherlands, have been urged to invest in different sectors like
leather, jute, pharmaceuticals, ceramics and RMG.
Acting-president of FBCCI Ahmed Jamal made the appeal when a
Dutch team called on him at his office in the city Tuesday,
according to a press release. The delegation of CBI also seeks
more cooperation from the Bangladeshi business community to
explore trade potentialities between the two countries. Inge
Sloekers, program manger of CBI, led the delegation while Ahmed
Jamal, acting-president of FBCCI, led its team. Mr. Jamal said:
"Bangladesh economy is growing gradually and its products namely
leather, jute, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, RMG, home textiles are
being exported in most of the countries including EU with good
reputation." He urged the CBI team to import high-end products
in their country and made a direct link between CBI and FBCCI.
Mrs. Inge Slokers said: "CBI would do her best to resolve the
hindrance in doing business between the countries and also wants
more cooperation from FBCCI in terms of trade and investment."
Both countries have settled to work for its furtherance of
common interest, the release added.
Source: The Financial Express (September 22, 2011)
Duty-free
access of 46 items to India
It's a big diplomatic success: BGMEA
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)
said the duty free access of 46 Bangladeshi garment items to
Indian market is a big diplomatic success of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina and Commerce Minister Faruk Khan. The trade body
also wants its effective implementation. BGMEA president Shafiul
Islam Mohiuddin said this while addressing a press conference at
its conference room Monday. Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said, India
already has allowed Bangladesh to export 10 million pieces of
garment items to its market under the framework of South Asian
Free Trade Agreement (SAPTA). He said, the two- way trade
between the two neighbors on garment items will be increased
significantly following the Indian government's decision. "If
Bangladesh is allowed duty and quota free access of all products
of sensitive list in India, it will not only promote the trade
relations but also reduce the trade deficit between the two
countries significantly, he added." Bangladesh Knitwear
Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) president Salim
Osman said, the historic step will open up a new era of
opportunity for Bangladeshi garment exports to India that would
massively help the country grab a significant portion of apparel
markets there. The RMG items which will go to the Indian market
are T- shirt, knitted trouser, jersey, pullover, cardigan, hand
socks, undergarment and singlet, the BKMEA chief said.
Source: The Financial Express (September 13, 2011)
Stalemate over trial run of Ctg port CTMS automation
CPA-RMG exporters' tussle over cut off time relaxation
CHITTAGONG, Sept 9: Trial run of Container Terminal management
System (CTMS) automation in Chittagong Port is not taking place
on September 11 as re-scheduled earlier as the port authority
and the RMG exporters are yet to reach a consensus over the
existing relaxation of cut-off time for export containers. In
the backdrop of the stalemate, the government has initiated an
awareness meeting with the garment and knitwear exporters in
Chittagong. The Taka 370 million worth project of export
container listing titled Container Terminal Management System (CTMS)
could not be commissioned on August 14 as the garment exporters
objected the CPA move to withdraw the existing cut-off time
facilities after automation of the export containers. CPA
chairman said he is fully ready to commission the automation of
export containers. If implemented, the automation will enhance
productivity of the yards as the container stacking will be done
according to its geographical location. It will reduce waiting
time of the vessels and utilize the handling equipment in a
planned way, he added.
Source: The Financial Express (September 10, 2011)
Global cotton mill use to rise 1.5pc in 2011
WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Commodity Online): World Cotton mill use is
expected to recover in 2011-12 with a marginal growth of 1.5 per
cent compared to 4 per cent drop in 201-11, according to
International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). Cotton mill use
is forecast at 24.7 million tons in 2011/12, 1.5 per cent higher
than in 2010/11. This rise will be facilitated by increased
availability of cotton, but moderated by still relatively high
cotton prices and competition from chemical fibers.
Source: The Financial Express (September 4, 2011)
Vast scope
exists for RMG waste export
Every year, Bangladesh can earn US$ 100 million through garments
and textile waste export, president of Bangladesh Garments and
Textile Waste Exporters Association (BGTWEA) Aminul Islam said.
There are around 200 exporters and manufacturing companies in
the country, where minimum 100000 people are employed and more
than 50 per cent of whom are women, he said at a press
conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the city
Sunday. He said every day a lot of waste comes out from
readymade garment (RMG) factories and a minimal amount of those
is being used for domestic purposes. "We can use only 5.0 per
cent waste as local demand, and rest of the amount remain unused
every day due to lack of technology and skilled manpower in our
country," said the president and added there is a vast scope for
exporting RMG waste as it is being exported to India, China and
some other countries now. "We should pay a careful attention so
that none could intentionally destroy the prospect of garment
waste export," he added.
Source: The Financial Express (August 22, 2011)
BD RMG export to Japan might cross $1.0b by next 2 years
Bangladeshi RMG export to Japan might cross the
billion-dollar-mark by the next two years, as Japanese buyers
are gradually getting interested in Bangladeshi products,
businesses said. Many of the industry-insiders told the FE that
Japanese lab testing and quality inspection companies are
visiting Bangladesh to survey their investment potentials,
following a strong presence of Japanese apparel buyers here.
President of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) Abdus
Salam Murshedy said presently at least 20 Japanese companies
have their representatives in Dhaka to procure Bangladeshi
apparel products. Talking to the FE, the EAB chief and former
BGMEA president said lab testing is the most important thing for
the Japanese buyers, as their customers are highly quality
conscious. He added that Japan is the latest lucrative
destination for Bangladeshi RMG export. A significant number of
Japanese entrepreneurs are now relocating their factories to
different countries, including Bangladesh, after the Japanese
government announced the "China plus one campaign." President of
the Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)
Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said the largest Japanese retail chain -
Uniqlo - invested $70 million in Bangladesh and the company is
targeting to purchase apparel items in bulk volumes.
Source: The Financial Express (August 13, 2011)
Faruk urges RMG owners to build worker-friendly environment in
factories
Commerce Minister M Faruk Khan has urged the RMG owners to take
more initiatives for building a worker friendly environment in
the factories. The commerce minister said this while speaking as
chief guest at the eighteenth meeting of social compliance forum
of readymade garment industries at the conference room of
commerce ministry Wednesday. The commerce minister also
requested the industry owners to be keen enough not to let any
kind of unexpected situation happen ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr
regarding payment of salary and bonuses. The commerce minister,
however, gave instructions to the concerned authorities to
implement the 'Garment Industrial Park' within the earliest
possible time. Addressing the meeting State Minister for Labor
and Employment Begum Munnujan Sufian urged the factory owners to
give salary and bonuses before August 25.
She also urged the factory owners not to give bonuses less than
fifty per cent of the workers' wages. Secretary of Commerce
Ministry, Secretary of Labor and Employment Ministry, leaders of
BGMEA and BKMEA, representatives from different NGOs and
different ministries were present at the meeting.
Source: The Financial Express (August 11, 2011)
EPB
eyes potential overseas markets for RMG
Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) is now looking for new potential
overseas markets for the Readymade Garment (RMG) industry to
propel the growth of the sector, which earned priceless kudos
for Bangladesh, reports BSS. "We depend mainly on US and Europe
for garment export and are looking for new export markets like
Brazil, Russia, Australia, South Africa and South Korea to give
a big boost to the apparel industry," Jalal Ahmed, Vice-Chairman
of EPB, told the news agency. The earning stood at around 18
billion US dollars fiscal 2010-2011, thanks to the entrepreneurs
and workers for the growth. Jalal said apart from these
anticipated countries, India and China are becoming the
potential markets for RMG export as the export rates of knitwear
and woven items are on the rise. Talking to the news agency,
Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies
(BIDS) Dr Mostafa K Mujeri said Bangladesh got the benefit of
global apparel market after phasing out MFA and developed
counties started rising their labor cost. "We have to attract
our products before China to take over the opportunity of
colossal apparel market. We need to improve electricity, gas and
infrastructure facilities to this end," said Dr Mujeri, also a
former chief economist of Bangladesh Bank. Professor Mustafizur
Rahman, Executive Director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD),
said apparel industry has brought a great success for Bangladesh
and the country has become a major player in the 460 million US
dollars global market.
Source: The Financial Express (August 11, 2011)
Export
earnings mark 8.70pc growth in July
Export earnings last month recorded $ 2.33 billion, a 28.70 per
cent growth compared to $ 1.81 billion of the corresponding
period of 2010, an official data showed. The merchandise
shipment is also 7.40 per cent higher than the target of $2.17
billion in the first month of the current fiscal year. The major
sectors like raw jute and jute goods, knitwear and woven
garment, frozen fish, leather and footwear attributed much to
sustain the growth, EPB officials said. Jute and jute goods
fetched $110.23 million in July this yea recording a 54.66 per
cent growth against $49.51 million in the same period last year.
In July this year, knitwear earnings stood at $1.0 billion and
woven garment at $ 888 million marking 26.20 per cent and 32.28
per cent growth respectively compared to the same period of last
year. Home textiles posted a growth of 51.69 per cent, frozen
fish 30.63 per cent, leather 22.03 per cent, footwear 46.37 per
cent, plastic products including PVC bags and waste 24.80 per
cent and agricultural products 20 per cent, the data showed.
"The earning in July is lower than that of the earnings of March
and April," Mohammad Hatem, Vice President of Bangladesh
Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said.
He feared that the earnings might fall in the next few months
especially from August to October as the importers are in a
'wait and watch' situation due to the cotton prices. "Export
orders decreased to half in the recent times following the
decrease in sale in international markets amid high cotton and
yarn prices," he said explaining foreign buyers are not placing
their orders considering the downward trend of cotton and yarn.
The country earned $22.92 billion in the just concluded fiscal
year and set a target of $26.50 billion for the current fiscal.
Source: The Financial Express (August 9, 2011)
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July 2011
RMG owners give warning of tough action
Exporters worried as delivery delayed
India postpones decision on cotton exports
Steps to resolve problems of jute, textile sectors will be
taken: Latif
41 pc export growth achieved in 10 months
Muhith asks RMG stakeholders to boost coordination
Ctg Port to buy rail-mounted gantry cranes
Export of jute bags can fetch country Tk 1b annually
BGMEA hails Japan for relaxing GSP rules
Bangladesh export to USA sees robust growth in July-Feb
RMG owners give warning of tough action
Ready-made garment (RMG) owners said if the government imposes
1.5 per cent tax at source, they would stop production. They
urged the government to decrease bank interest rate to single
digit and reduce income tax at source on exportable goods at
0.40 per cent instead of proposed 1.5 per cent. "Charging 16 to
18 per cent interest for borrowing money from banking system is
now the big impediment to investment in the country. Moreover,
proposed 275 per cent hike of income tax at source on exportable
goods will aggravate this impediment," they said at a
post-budget views exchange meeting at BGMEA head office in city.
They said the tax at source should be fixed at 0.40 per cent
taking into consideration the weak infrastructure and current
international market so that the export sector can survive in
the global competitive market. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
& Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Shafiul Islam
Mohiuddin said if the government imposes 1.5 per cent tax at
source on the garment owners, then it would raise the raise
factors by 55 per cent to 60 per cent for the woven and knitwear
sectors. In that case, the entrepreneurs will not be able to run
their industries, the BGMEA leaders said. Former president of
BGMEA Abdus Salam Murshedy said, proposed budget has no
allocation for food rationing, skilled manpower and dormitory.
It is not a business-friendly budget. If the proposed budget is
implemented, investment will be decline in the business sector,
he added.
Source: The
Financial Express (June 24, 2011)
Exporters worried as delivery delayed
 CHITTAGONG,
June 19: Garment exporters here are worried as they have to wait
for delivery of imported raw materials for two or more days even
after assessment of the same due to absence of Customs officials
on Friday and Saturday. "Early delivery of raw materials
imported from abroad is very much related with timely export of
the readymade garments (RMG) to the buyers. But the Customs
officials are not available on Friday and Saturday, which puts
us into unusual pressure while meeting the export schedules,"
said acting president of the CMCCI A M Mahbub Chowdhury. Customs
Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association said they submit at
least 500 import bills and over 1800 export bills to the Customs
authority in a single day for assessment from which the volume
of goods to be delivered from the port can be calculated.
Chowdhury said that the RMG exporters are pressed to take
delivery of raw materials from the port at the earliest. The
Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has also raised the container
storage charges by 300 per cent and they are paying accordingly.
"The container storage charge is currently $12 per container per
day which was $4.0 two years back. Accordingly we have to pay
the enhanced charges. Imported goods assessed on Thursday are
being delivered on the next Sunday simply because concerned
Customs officials are not available on Friday and Saturday," he
told the FE. "The government attaches highest importance on the
quickest delivery of import and export goods from the port and
accordingly the port offices and concerned commercial banks keep
open on Saturday. We don't know why the concerned Customs
officials in the jetties are not available on Saturday," said
Chowdhury.
Source: The Financial Express (June 20, 2011)
India postpones decision on cotton
exports
LUBBOCK, USA, June 3 (commodity Online): The highly anticipated
high level ministerial meeting in India to decide on the cotton
export limit for this year which was scheduled for Thursday has
been postponed. According to officials in the India Government,
Ministry of Textile that the Group of Ministers meet involving
the ministries of finance, agriculture, commerce and textiles
which was supposed to take place on Thursday, June second to
decide on the export quota limit for the 2010-11 cotton did not
take place. The date of this meeting is not known at the time of
reporting.
The cotton farmers and traders were expecting that due to the
pressure from the Minister of Agriculture, the current limit
will be enhanced by at least 1.5 million bales (170 kg each).
Dhiren Sheth, President of Mumbai based Cotton Association of
India told this scribe that his association pleads for
unrestricted cotton exports from India. The spinning industry
lobby, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry has been
demanding no additional cotton export be allowed until the
arrival of new crop. Until the next meeting, the export limit
from India remains at 5.5 million bales (170 kg each).
Source: The Financial Express (June 4, 2011)
Steps to resolve problems of jute,
textile sectors will be taken: Latif
Jute and Textile Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui assured Thursday
the business leaders in the country's two potential economic
sectors -- jute and textile -- that the government would take
all steps soon to help resolve their problems. "Though we have
only a few days left before the announcement of the new budget,
we will discuss the issues with the Prime Minister and the
Finance Minister within a day or two," the minister said while
seeking a list of what the businessmen want on a priority basis.
The minister was speaking at a seminar on "Jute and Textile
Sectors Problems and Potentiality: Bangladesh Perspective",
organized by the Federation of the Bangladesh Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in the city. The minister said the
textile sector has greater potentiality than that of the jute
sector which is, however, now doing much better than before,
because of efficient management. The state-owned jute mills are
now making profit, he added. The primary textile sector is
facing a threat due to the new Generalized System of Preference
(GSP) facility of the European Union (EU) and spinning mills
have already been shut down and a good number of factories are
also on the verge of closure. "The use of local jute products
will increase if the law related to this is properly
implemented, in the wake of the government step for making the
use of jute products mandatory for packaging under the law of
2010," said the acting chairman of Bangladesh Jute Mills
Association (BJMA), Syed ABM Humayun. He demanded the
announcement of Jute Policy 2011 in the form of a gazette
notification for its proper implementation while presenting his
key-note paper on the problems and potentiality of the jute
sector.
Source: The Financial Express (June 3, 2011)
41 pc export growth achieved in 10
months
CHITTAGONG, May 31: The country had earned $18.2 billion from
export in 10 months of the current fiscal until April 2011, a
growth by 41 per cent over the corresponding period of the last
fiscal. The government has set the target of export earning at
$18.5 billion for the year 2010-11, but the earning is expected
to be much higher than the target with the current export trend
to continue in the final two months. Although knitwear and woven
readymade garment (RMG) enjoy a lion's share of the export
earning there are potential export products and market
destinations, which have remained, unexplored yet, experts said
at a seminar in the city today. Export Promotion Bureau (EPB)
Chittagong centre organized the seminar titled 'Exploring market
of readymade garments: Japan, Russian and Latin American
countries' at the EPB conference room in the morning.
They said the knitwear and the woven garments had achieved
growth by 46 per cent and 39 per cent respectively in 10 months
of the current fiscal while the export growth of home textile
was 98 per cent, footwear export growth 49 per cent, jute and
jute products 42 per cent and frozen foods export growth 54 per
cent. Director of Export Promotion Bureau in Chittagong Abdul
Moin said the EPB has taken initiative to diversify the RMG
market which is now prominent in the EU and the USA.
Source: The Financial Express (June 1, 2011)
Muhith asks RMG stakeholders to boost
coordination
Finance Minister AMA Muhith urged the stakeholders of the entire
apparel sector Sunday for a better coordination to protect their
overall interest, reports UNB. "The textile sector (leaders)
should join hands to do such thing which will protect their
overall interest," he said when a delegation of the Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA)
called on him at the NEC. The BGMEA chief also demanded a
special allocation in the budget for building dormitories,
constructing hospitals and introduction of rationing of basic
foods for garment workers, building a special industrial zone
for the garment sector to reduce the burden on capital.
Source: The Financial Express (May 30, 2011)
Ctg Port to buy rail-mounted gantry
cranes
The Chittagong Port authority (CPA) has taken a move to procure
rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGC) for the first time to increase
productivity of the county's premier seaport, officials said.
The CPA has prepared documents to invite tender immediately for
purchasing the equipment. After procurement, the cranes are
expected to increase container handling capacity of the port
significantly, they added. "The volume of our container handling
is growing sharply, and to cope with the demand, we've planned
to procure such sophisticated cranes," said Enamul Karim,
terminal manager of the CPA. The suppliers, after installing the
new cranes, will operate and take maintenance responsibilities
for five years.
Source: The Financial Express (May 19, 2011)
Export of jute bags can fetch country
Tk 1b annually
Wednesday May 18 2011
Bangladesh could earn Tk 1.0 billion annually from export of
jute bags the demand for which has been increasing in the world
market, reports UNB. International Jute Study Group (IJSG)
estimated that annual world demand for shopping bags is 500
billion pieces. Leading food retailers Tesco, the Co-operative
Group, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and John Lewis-Waitrose
partnership are expanding grocery convenience formats. In the UK
alone, the grocery market was worth £150.8 billion for the
calendar year 2010, an increase of 3.10 per cent over the
previous year. By 2014, IGD (a research organization dedicated
to the development of food and grocery industry) predicts that
the Chinese grocery market will be worth €761 billion (about
$1.046 trillion at today's rate), compared to a forecast US
market value of €745 billion ($1.024 trillion). Companies like
The Body Shop are also moving towards a "greener" packaging
revolution. Demand for natural, biodegradable bags will
gradually increase as more and more chain shops around the world
phase out the use of polythene bags and use bio-friendly natural
fiber bags instead. Jute goods manufactures of Bangladesh export
around 100,000 shopping bags a month on an average to different
countries. They mentioned that there is scope for export of more
jute bags in the years ahead, as some European countries are set
to ban polythene bags. As per Indian NIIR Project Consultancy
Services India had exported about 40 million jute bags mainly to
Europe in 2008-09 and the number is likely to cross 75 million
by 2011-12. Jute and Textile Ministry resources said that the
government is planning to formulate National Jute Policy which
might include a duty-free export-processing zone for jute good
manufacturers (including jute diversified products producers)
and offer soft loans to these SMEs on flexible terms to
encourage the growth of more industries in the jute sector.
"This will enable the country to obtain larger orders of bags
that are currently being rejected due to the inability to
provide importers with large quantities of bags.”
Source: The Financial Express (May 18, 2011)
BGMEA hails Japan for relaxing GSP
rules
Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)
has praised the Japanese authority for relaxing the GSP rules of
origin on Bangladesh's apparel products saying it would help
boost exports to Japan. The Government of Japan has revised the
GSP rules of origin from apparel imports from Bangladesh
effective from April 1. The declaration came through an official
notification of the Japanese Government on March 31, 2011, a
statement issued by BGMEA said on Wednesday.
As per the declaration, the rules of origin for knitwear items
(products under HS chapter 61) has been relaxed from three
stages to two stages, that means knitwear products manufactured
from imported yarn can now avail this benefit. The woven
garments (products under HS chapter 62), can avail this GSP
benefit if one stage of production is done locally in
Bangladesh, that means woven garments made of imported fabrics
are eligible for this benefit (except handkerchiefs, shawls,
scarves, mufflers, mantillas, veils, ties, bow ties, cravats,
gloves, mittens, mitts, and other parts of garments). Japan is a
highly potential market for Bangladesh with export growth rate
of 133.02 per cent in 2009-2010 fiscal year and 50.36 per cent
in during July-December of the current fiscal.
Source: The
Financial Express (May 12, 2011)
Bangladesh export to USA sees robust
growth in July-Feb
Export earnings from the USA, the largest market for Bangladeshi
goods, registered a 35.53 per cent growth in the first eight
months (July-February) of current fiscal, mostly due to buoyant
performance of readymade garments (RMG) and frozen shrimp,
reports UNB. It totaled US$3284.51 million in eight months
compared to $2423.46 million during the corresponding period of
the previous year. The amount represents 23.34 per cent of the
country's total export earning during the period. According to
recent statistics compiled by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB),
export of RMG to the US including knitwear amounted to $2967.91
million in July-February compared to $2249.62 million during the
corresponding period of last fiscal. The RMG items including
knitwear witnessed a 31.93 per cent growth in the US market. The
major exports to the US market during the period were woven
garment ($2223.58 million), knitwear ($744.33 million), frozen
shrimp ($68.56 million), cap ($26.12 million) and home textiles
($113.21 million).
During the period, about 43.40 per cent of the country's total
woven garment exports entered the US market, followed by
knitwear 12.85 per cent and frozen shrimp 20.89 per cent. 1
Source: The Financial Express (May 11, 2011)
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April 2011
Govt. to import 0.4m tons of cotton
soon
CCCI urges Turkey to lift anti-dumping
duty on RMG
Customs bond commissionerate in
Chittagong next June: NBR chief
Separate ministry for RMG
BGMEA gets new president
Govt packages for foreign investors
attractive: DCCI chief
RMG sector to get special facility at
SEZs: PM
Country's export to Germany, UK, France
increases
New EU origination rules to boost
Bangladesh exports
Chittagong port able to handle transit
cargo now: CPA chairman
Bangladesh missions exceed export
target in July-Jan period
India garment exports may suffer on
cotton yarn shipments
Pakistan's textile, food exports surge
Cotton farming to spread to Pakistan
villages
Cotton yarn exports down in India
Record prices raise global cotton
acreage
Australia forecasts increased cotton,
sugar output, less wheat
Cotton falls from record on signs of
robust global output
Govt. to import 0.4m tons of cotton
soon
Commerce Minister M Faruk Khan Sunday said the government would
take expeditious steps to import 0.4 million tons of cotton for
meeting the demands in the country, reports UNB. "We're
communicating with India and Uzbekistan for the import of
cotton," he said when a delegation of Bangladesh Textile Mills'
Association (BTMA) met him at his Secretariat office in the city
Sunday.
Source: The Financial Express (April 11, 2011)
CCCI urges Turkey to lift anti-dumping
duty on RMG
CHITTAGONG, Apr 10: Bangladesh business leaders have urged the
government of Turkey to withdraw anti-dumping duty on export of
readymade garments (RMG) and textiles from Bangladesh. The
business leaders made the request through the 10-member Turkish
business delegation during its visit to the Chittagong Chamber
of Commerce and Industry this evening. The CCCI directors
welcomed the business leaders of Turkey headed by president of
Turkey-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr Fikret
Cicek. Other members of the delegation are TBCCI secretary
general Murat Karaca, Ahmed Cekir, Dr Mehmud Said, Hasan Huseyin,
Baris Aydin, Nasir Bayraktar, Huseyin Cetin, Mahmut Akarsu and
Ismail Akbas. Senior vice president of the CCCI Mahbubul Alam
who chaired the meeting said: "As Muslim states Turkey and
Bangladesh have been maintaining excellent friendly and business
relations but it is very unfortunate that the Turkish government
has recently imposed safeguard duty for which our exporters have
to pay 17 per cent duty in the sector."He asked the delegation
members to import greater volume of readymade garments, leather,
jute and ceramics from Bangladesh.
Source: The Financial Express (April 11, 2011)
Customs bond commissionerate in
Chittagong next June: NBR chief
CHITTAGONG, Apr 7: Import and export departments of Chittagong
Custom House will be amalgamated in June next and a full-fledged
bond commissionerate will be set up at the same time to
facilitate export of readymade garments (RMG). NBR Chairman
Nasir Uddin said this while exchanging pre-budget opinions with
the business enterprises, industrialists and representatives of
different trade bodies at the CCCI auditorium Thursday morning.
Exporters of readymade garments have long been making
allegations against the National Board of Revenue that the
exporters are facing obstacles to the export of RMG due to lack
of bond commissionerate and amalgamation of Customs export and
import.
Source: The Financial Express (April 8, 2011)
Separate ministry for RMG
With the global economy showing some signs of recovery in recent
months from the crisis, the exports of Bangladesh's readymade
garments (RMG) have remarkably picked up. But some domestic
hurdles are still in place. The immediate past president of the
Bangladesh Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA), while speaking at a farewell reception late
last week, pointed out some such problems like bureaucratic
snags and infrastructural deficit that "are slowing down the
normal growth of the RMG sector". He demanded the creation of a
separate ministry for the RMG sector. The former BGMEA top boss
also disclosed a few statistics about the staggering additional
costs that the RMG owners had to count due to inadequate
infrastructures, high lending rates, soaring cotton prices and
mismanagement at the country's main seaport. According to him,
last year RMG exporters had to spend an extra Tk.20 billion on
air shipment to meet the buyers' deadline. The production cost
in the RMG sector has gone up by at least 45 per cent because of
power and energy crisis. The crisis had forced the RMG units to
spend an estimated Tk 40 billion on fuel oils last year to
operate their own generators to cope with frequent power
outages.
Notwithstanding this, it has emerged as the largest contributor
to the country's export earnings, thus serving as one strong
source of its economic growth. The RMG exporters are otherwise
helpless about meeting the challenges of negative developments
in the international market; they have no control over the
exogenous factors like the shrinking demand for apparels in the
recent times in the developed markets that were hit by one of
the worst financial crises in the world's history.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 30, 2011)
 BGMEA gets new president
Newly
elected president of Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA) Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin took charge Sunday
from outgoing president Abdus Salam Murshedy. He sought
cooperation from all to strengthen country's RMG sector. The
charge was handed over to Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin at the Annual
General Meeting (AGM) of the BGMEA held on the day at the BGMEA
auditorium.
Mr Mohiuddin said, "I will try to strengthen the country's
ready-made garment (RMG) sector through establishing a congenial
relation between the owners and the workers. He also sought
cooperation of all garment owners in this regard.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 28, 2011)
Govt packages for foreign investors
attractive: DCCI chief
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Mr Asif
Ibrahim Sunday said the government offers attractive packages
for foreign investors to invest in different sectors in the
country. "Foreign investors including the British entrepreneurs
can invest in Agriculture, paper and pulp from jute, gas-based
industries, power, fertilizer, renewable energy, RMG, Textiles,
IT, leather and leather goods, ceramics, pharmaceuticals,
electronics, light engineering, steel, infrastructure and
tourism sectors considering the favorable environment in
Bangladesh," he said at a round table in the capital. DCCI and
British High Commission, Dhaka jointly organised the round table
discussion on "United Kingdom (UK): Trade and Investment in
Bangladesh" at the conference room of the Chamber. British High
Commissioner in Dhaka Stephan Evans was present. He called upon
the importers of the UK to import Bangladeshi products at zero
rate of duty. He requested the SME entrepreneurs of Bangladesh
to get information and other requirements of European Union (EU)
market. British High Commissioner Stephan Evans said that there
is a cordial bilateral trade relation between Bangladesh and UK.
He mentioned that UK is focusing on energy, ports,
infrastructure, software, textiles, ceramics, pharmaceuticals
and the environment sector of Bangladesh.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 28, 2011)
RMG sector to get special facility at
SEZs: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday urged the owners of
readymade garments manufacturing units to treat workers as their
children and to be more sympathetic towards them, reports UNB.
She said better outputs from the workers could be ensured
through affection and winning their hearts. The Prime Minister
was speaking at the Grand Gala Final of 'Premier Bank-Gorba
(Pride)' arranged for the workers engaged in the RMG sector at a
city hotel. At the same time she urged the workers to stay away
from wrongdoing in the sector which ensures their livelihood.
They should be vigilant that the sector does not fall victim to
any conspiracy. Responding to a demand of the garments factory
owners, Hasina said the government would set up special economic
zones (SEZs) in the country where arrangements will be there for
RMG sector. Appreciating the event organized for the workers,
the Prime Minister said such initiative would help create solid
bridge between workers and owners and it would strengthen the
existing relations.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 20, 2011)
Country's export to Germany, UK, France
increases
Country's export to key destinations like Germany, the UK and
France maintained a healthy growth in the first five months
(July-November) of the current fiscal (2010-11) as compared to
the corresponding period of the previous fiscal (2009-10),
reports UNB. In July-November 2010, exports to Germany totaled
US$1195.34 million, which was 14.44 per cent of the total export
earnings for the period. Of the amount, knitwear accounted for
$752.00 million, followed by woven garment $346.75 million and
frozen shrimp $19.13 million. Exports to the UK totaled $748.42
million in July-November 2010, which was 9.05 per cent of the
total export earnings.
The export of readymade garment (RMG) items accounted for
$617.02 million as against $506.42 million during the
corresponding period of the fiscal 2009-10, showing a 21.84 per
cent growth. The home textile export to the UK during the period
was $32.37 million, while frozen shrimps $25.84 million and
bicycles $30.31 million. Exports to France during the five
months increased to $534.19 million, which accounted for 6.46
per cent of the total export earnings for the period. Exports to
Italy totaled $286.99 million in July-November 2010 with
knitwear accounting for $170.44 million, woven garment $82.33
million and leather $10.52 million. Exports to Belgium amounted
to $217.78 million that included knitwear $87.48 million, woven
garment $49.34 million, frozen shrimp $54.62 million and jute
yarn and twine $10.13 million. Export earnings from the USA, the
largest market for Bangladeshi goods, registered a robust growth
in the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal
totaling $1956.38 million, which was 23.64 per cent of the total
export earnings.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 18, 2011)
New EU origination rules to boost
Bangladesh exports
A seminar on Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)-New
Regulations on Rules of Origin in Norway, Switzerland, Turkey
and the EU- in progress in the city Wednesday. The revised rules
of origin adopted by the EU will facilitate Bangladesh's export
growth, Norwegian Ambassador Ragne Birte Lund said Wednesday.
"The changes in the GSP (Generalized System of Preferences)
system should help trigger a further rise in export to our
region from Bangladesh and to increase competitiveness of
Bangladeshi exporters compared with non LDC countries" she said.
The new GSP system, which came into effect from January 01,
2011, will allow Bangladesh to export its goods duty free or
with reduced duty rates, she said. The country's export to
Norway increased by 35 per cent last year and the GSP system
will work as a catalyst to increase the growth in the years to
come, she said. "The new GSP facility has opened up the window
of opportunity to explore the untapped markets in the European
Economic Area," Faruque Hassan, vice president of Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said.
With the effect of the new one-stage rules of origin, the
country's 100 per cent apparel exports to EU,Norway, Switzerland
and Turkey are now availing the GSP benefit, he said adding
earlier only 42.72 per cent of the woven-wear textiles could
benefit from the GSP system.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 17, 2011)
Chittagong port able to handle transit
cargo now: CPA chairman
CHITTAGONG, Mar 1: Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is capable of
handling the transit cargo of the neighboring countries any day
from now on, subject to the approval by the government. Mr
Islam, who took over the charge of the CPA on February 13 last,
gave answers to different queries in his first press meet on
issues like port infrastructure, equipment facilities,
modernization of the port under the CPA Master Plan, tender
process, labor unrest, port security etc. Elaborating on the
major seaport's ability to handle transit cargo, the CPA
chairman said that the port handled 1.313 million TEUs (twenty
equivalent units) containers last year.” If we give transit
facility, the cargo handling will grow by 7.0 to 7.50 per cent
over the existing volume of handling. Currently 40 per cent of
the port's capacity is unutilized," he said. About the
infrastructure and equipment facilities of the port, the CPA
Member Nazrul Islam, who is also a member of the sub-committee
on transit, said, if transit facility is given today, then 18.3
million metric tons of additional cargo are expected to be
transported through our country annually. "The additional cargo
to be handled through Chittagong Port will be about 0.18 million
TEUs in terms of container which is barely 7.50 per cent of the
cargo now being handled by the port," he said. About the
security of the transit cargo, he said that the issues relating
to separate yards in the port for stuffing and un-stuffing and
the related security matters, will be decided, once the transit
starts.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 2, 2011)
Bangladesh missions exceed export
target in July-Jan period
Bangladesh missions abroad have shown remarkable success in the
July-January period of the current fiscal, surpassing the export
target by US$ 1,888 million. A total of 36 missions out of 44
earned $ 11,864.2 million in the last seven months against their
target of $ 9,976.43 million, according to the statistics of
Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). Officials said the expansion of
the export market to new destinations contributed to the
impressive performance of the missions. Six missions have
however failed to reach their export target in the period.
However those missions have been able to attract exports worth $
45.2 million against the target of $ 109.04 million. Bangladeshi
missions which have been able to achieve export target are in
New Delhi, The Hague, Berlin, Amman, Ottawa, Nairobi, Hanoi,
Canberra, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Riyadh, Dubai, Brussels, Moscow,
Pretoria, Beijing, Paris, Tashkent, Washington, London,
Stockholm, Tehran, Madrid, Kathmandu, Rome, Colombo, Ankara,
Seoul, Singapore, Islamabad, Doha, Manila, Rabat, Tokyo, Thimphu,
Cairo and Muscat. The missions that have failed to achieve
target are in Tripoli, Bangkok, Yangon, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and
Brunei. Meanwhile, the country's exports registered a robust
growth of nearly 40 per cent during the first seven months of
the current fiscal, the EPB data showed. The export earnings
during the July-January period of the current fiscal also
surpassed the target by 18.56 per cent, the data revealed.
According to the EPB figures, the country earned $ 12,184.19
million during July-January period of 2010-11 fiscal year
through overseas sales compared to $ 8,712.44 million of the
same period in the last financial year.
The major export earners like readymade garments, jute and
frozen foods are showing good performance this year which has
accelerated the overall growth though they failed to do the same
during the period of the last fiscal.
Source: The
Financial Express (February 15, 2011)
International
India garment exports may suffer on
cotton yarn shipments
MUMBAI, April 2 (Commodity Online): With the India government
lifting curbs on cotton yarn exports, the textile industry in
India may suffer; so believes the Tirupur Exporters Association
(TEA) exporting knitwear and readymade garments over Rs 160
billion on an annual basis. The TEA expressed shock on the DGFT
(Directorate General of Foreign Trade) allowing cotton yarn
exports earlier capped at 720 million kg on account of yarn
prices sky-rocketing in 2010-11 season. Currently, this has been
lifted on condition that cotton yarn should be registered with
the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) prior to
shipments. The TEA feels that the move would raise prices of
cotton yarn in the domestic industry, according to industry
quotes in Financial Express. Many countries are already
importing cotton yarn from India to manufacture garments. They
are having advantages in the form of convenient bank interest
rates, refund of VAT as well as low power costs. Naturally,
these yarn importing countries would be able to compete with
India as cost leadership is on their side. Eventually this would
be toppling Indian garment exporters. Once the customer loyalty
is lost it is very difficult to reclaim it, Financial Express
mentioned TEA president, A Sakthivel, as saying. During 2009-10,
India's garment exports earned $10.64 billion in revenues. The
industry employs 7 million people.
Source: The
Financial Express (April 3, 2011)
Pakistan's textile, food exports surge
ISLAMABAD, Mar 21 (APP): Exports of textile and food groups have
witnessed considerable growth during the first 8 months of the
current year as these surged by 28.67 per cent and 18.28 per
cent respectively. The textile exports during July-February
(2010-11) were recorded at US$8.637 billion against the exports
of US$6.708 billion during the same period of last year, Federal
Bureau of Statistics reported. The products that contributed to
the positive growth in overall textile sector included raw
cotton, cotton yarn and cotton cloth, exports of which increased
by 12.97 per cent, 45.30 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.
Similarly the exports of cotton (carded or combed) increased by
18.93 per cent, yarn (other that cotton yarn) by 15.36 per cent,
knit wear by 26.63 per cent, bed wear by 16.68 per cent, towels
by 6.40 per cent, readymade garments by 33,67 per cent, art,
silk and synthetic textile by 64.17 per cent, made up articles
by 18.63 per cent and the exports of other textile materials
increased by 39.58 per cent during the period under review.
Meanwhile, the textile exports witnessed increase of 50.82 per
cent and 0.70 per cent in February 2011 as compared to the
exports of February 2010 and January 2011, respectively.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 22, 2011)
Cotton farming to spread to Pakistan
villages
LAHORE, Mar 12 (Commodity Online): In a bid to tap the highly
priced domestic and international cotton market, farmers in
Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha and Rawalpindi of Pakistan's Punjab
province will be motivated to produce modern varieties of
cotton. The move would ensure 30 per cent more of modern
varieties of cotton spreading to non-traditional areas where
cotton crop is found to be suitable and sustainable given the
conditions prevailing. The government thus has decided to extend
the dividends to farmers in these area as well with the Punjab
Agriculture Extension Department entrusted with the task,
reported The Pakistan economy is still agrarian in nature and
the government's new measure seeks to improve the output of
cotton that would pay the farmers better price dividend.
Currently 0.8 million acres of land fall under cotton
cultivation in six divisions of the Punjab province which are
situated mainly in Faisalabad and Sahiwal. Cotton economy in
Pakistan employs most of the country's labor force and claims a
big pie of exports.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 13, 2011)
Cotton yarn exports down in India
NEW DELHI, Mar 10 (Commodity Online): India's exports have
registered a growth of 49.8 per cent during February 2011, at $
23.6 billion. But exports of cotton yarn, iron ore and fruits &
vegetables are on the negative on account of export ban on these
commodities, said a press release from the government.
Interacting with the media persons here Thursday, Rahul Khullar,
Commerce Secretary of India, informed that during the period
April-February 2010-11, exports have reached a level of $ 208.2
billion at a growth of 31.4 per cent while the imports were $
305.3 billion with a growth of 18 per cent and a trade deficit
of $ 97.1 billion. During the interaction, Khullar informed that
India's imports in February 2011 were $ 31.7 billion. He further
clarified that the import figures are only the rough estimates
and the final figure is subject to change. Balance of trade for
the month of February stood at - 8.1 billion US dollar. On the
export growth, Khullar said that India has crossed $ 200 billion
during February and forecast for this fiscal would be around $
235 billion. He also stated that exports from the Special
Economic Zones (SEZs) are doing very well and it is expected a
huge growth from SEZs.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 11, 2011)
Record prices raise global cotton
acreage
WASHINGTON, Mar 2 (Commodity Online): World cotton area is
projected to rise by 7 per cent in 2011/12 to 36 million
hectares, the largest in 17 years, in response to record prices
in 2010/11, according to International Cotton Advisory Committee
(ICAC). Farmers are expected to expand cotton area in 2011/12 in
all producing countries, ICAC said. World cotton production is
projected to increase by 9 per cent to a record exceeding 27
million tons. The largest increases in mill use are projected
for India, China, Pakistan and Turkey.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 3, 2011)
Australia forecasts increased cotton,
sugar output, less wheat
Cotton production in Australia, the fourth-largest shipper, may
reach a record next year after rains filled dams, while sugar
output may gain even after cyclone and flood damage, according
to the government's commodity forecaster, reports Bloomberg.
Output of cotton may climb to 1.1 million metric tons in the
year from July 1 compared with 839,000 tons this season, and the
sugar crop may rise to 3.85 million tons from 3.62 million, the
Australian Bureau of Agricultural & Resource Economics &
Sciences said in a report today. The wheat harvest may drop 7.8
per cent as lower yields offset an increase in the area, it
said. Global prices of farm commodities have surged on harvest
disruptions and stronger demand, with the Food and Agriculture
Organization's World Food Price Index reaching a record in
January. Increased Australian output of sugar and cotton may be
part of a global response to the agricultural gains. Cotton on
ICE Futures U.S. in New York reached an all-time high $2.0893 a
pound on Feb. 18, while raw sugar gained to a 30- year high of
36.08 cents a pound on Feb. 1
Source: The
Financial Express (March 2, 2011)
Cotton falls from record on signs of
robust global output
NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Bloomberg): Cotton futures fell from a record
on speculation that the global crop will increase, replenishing
a deficit that led prices double in the past five months.
Production will exceed demand by 1.2 million tonnes in the
season starting August 1, making up for about a third of the
shortfall in the past two years, Cotlook Limited, an industry
researcher, said Saturday. Earlier, cotton jumped the most
allowed by ICE Futures US to a record $2.0893 a pound and then
tumbled by the limit. Prices may "wane over the balance of 2011
as global production rebounds and inventories begin to rebuild,"
Luke Mathews, a strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia,
said in a report. Cotton futures for May delivery, the
most-active contract measured by open interest, fell by the
maximum of 7 cents, or 3.5 per cent, to settle at $1.9493 at
2:33 pm on ICE in New York. The price for March delivery dropped
7 cents to settle at $1.9702 after rising to an all-time high of
$2.1102. Futures jumped by the exchange limit in the past two
days. World output will gain 13 per cent to a record 27.65
million tons, more than the projected 4.4 per cent increase in
consumption Birkenhead, England-based Cotlook said Saturday in
its first estimates for the new season. In China, the world's
biggest producer and consumer, output will increase 15 per cent,
the company said. 1
Source: The
Financial Express (February 21, 2011)
|
|
|
|
April 2011
Govt. to import 0.4m tons of cotton
soon
CCCI urges Turkey to lift anti-dumping
duty on RMG
Customs bond commissionerate in
Chittagong next June: NBR chief
Separate ministry for RMG
BGMEA gets new president
Govt packages for foreign investors
attractive: DCCI chief
RMG sector to get special facility at
SEZs: PM
Country's export to Germany, UK, France
increases
New EU origination rules to boost
Bangladesh exports
Chittagong port able to handle transit
cargo now: CPA chairman
Bangladesh missions exceed export
target in July-Jan period
India garment exports may suffer on
cotton yarn shipments
Pakistan's textile, food exports surge
Cotton farming to spread to Pakistan
villages
Cotton yarn exports down in India
Record prices raise global cotton
acreage
Australia forecasts increased cotton,
sugar output, less wheat
Cotton falls from record on signs of
robust global output
Govt. to import 0.4m tons of cotton
soon
Commerce Minister M Faruk Khan Sunday said the government would
take expeditious steps to import 0.4 million tons of cotton for
meeting the demands in the country, reports UNB. "We're
communicating with India and Uzbekistan for the import of
cotton," he said when a delegation of Bangladesh Textile Mills'
Association (BTMA) met him at his Secretariat office in the city
Sunday.
Source: The Financial Express (April 11, 2011)
CCCI urges Turkey to lift anti-dumping
duty on RMG
CHITTAGONG, Apr 10: Bangladesh business leaders have urged the
government of Turkey to withdraw anti-dumping duty on export of
readymade garments (RMG) and textiles from Bangladesh. The
business leaders made the request through the 10-member Turkish
business delegation during its visit to the Chittagong Chamber
of Commerce and Industry this evening. The CCCI directors
welcomed the business leaders of Turkey headed by president of
Turkey-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr Fikret
Cicek. Other members of the delegation are TBCCI secretary
general Murat Karaca, Ahmed Cekir, Dr Mehmud Said, Hasan Huseyin,
Baris Aydin, Nasir Bayraktar, Huseyin Cetin, Mahmut Akarsu and
Ismail Akbas. Senior vice president of the CCCI Mahbubul Alam
who chaired the meeting said: "As Muslim states Turkey and
Bangladesh have been maintaining excellent friendly and business
relations but it is very unfortunate that the Turkish government
has recently imposed safeguard duty for which our exporters have
to pay 17 per cent duty in the sector."He asked the delegation
members to import greater volume of readymade garments, leather,
jute and ceramics from Bangladesh.
Source: The Financial Express (April 11, 2011)
Customs bond commissionerate in
Chittagong next June: NBR chief
CHITTAGONG, Apr 7: Import and export departments of Chittagong
Custom House will be amalgamated in June next and a full-fledged
bond commissionerate will be set up at the same time to
facilitate export of readymade garments (RMG). NBR Chairman
Nasir Uddin said this while exchanging pre-budget opinions with
the business enterprises, industrialists and representatives of
different trade bodies at the CCCI auditorium Thursday morning.
Exporters of readymade garments have long been making
allegations against the National Board of Revenue that the
exporters are facing obstacles to the export of RMG due to lack
of bond commissionerate and amalgamation of Customs export and
import.
Source: The Financial Express (April 8, 2011)
Separate ministry for RMG
With the global economy showing some signs of recovery in recent
months from the crisis, the exports of Bangladesh's readymade
garments (RMG) have remarkably picked up. But some domestic
hurdles are still in place. The immediate past president of the
Bangladesh Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA), while speaking at a farewell reception late
last week, pointed out some such problems like bureaucratic
snags and infrastructural deficit that "are slowing down the
normal growth of the RMG sector". He demanded the creation of a
separate ministry for the RMG sector. The former BGMEA top boss
also disclosed a few statistics about the staggering additional
costs that the RMG owners had to count due to inadequate
infrastructures, high lending rates, soaring cotton prices and
mismanagement at the country's main seaport. According to him,
last year RMG exporters had to spend an extra Tk.20 billion on
air shipment to meet the buyers' deadline. The production cost
in the RMG sector has gone up by at least 45 per cent because of
power and energy crisis. The crisis had forced the RMG units to
spend an estimated Tk 40 billion on fuel oils last year to
operate their own generators to cope with frequent power
outages.
Notwithstanding this, it has emerged as the largest contributor
to the country's export earnings, thus serving as one strong
source of its economic growth. The RMG exporters are otherwise
helpless about meeting the challenges of negative developments
in the international market; they have no control over the
exogenous factors like the shrinking demand for apparels in the
recent times in the developed markets that were hit by one of
the worst financial crises in the world's history.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 30, 2011)
BGMEA gets new president
Newly
elected president of Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA) Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin took charge Sunday
from outgoing president Abdus Salam Murshedy. He sought
cooperation from all to strengthen country's RMG sector. The
charge was handed over to Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin at the Annual
General Meeting (AGM) of the BGMEA held on the day at the BGMEA
auditorium.
Mr Mohiuddin said, "I will try to strengthen the country's
ready-made garment (RMG) sector through establishing a congenial
relation between the owners and the workers. He also sought
cooperation of all garment owners in this regard.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 28, 2011)
Govt packages for foreign investors
attractive: DCCI chief
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Mr Asif
Ibrahim Sunday said the government offers attractive packages
for foreign investors to invest in different sectors in the
country. "Foreign investors including the British entrepreneurs
can invest in Agriculture, paper and pulp from jute, gas-based
industries, power, fertilizer, renewable energy, RMG, Textiles,
IT, leather and leather goods, ceramics, pharmaceuticals,
electronics, light engineering, steel, infrastructure and
tourism sectors considering the favorable environment in
Bangladesh," he said at a round table in the capital. DCCI and
British High Commission, Dhaka jointly organised the round table
discussion on "United Kingdom (UK): Trade and Investment in
Bangladesh" at the conference room of the Chamber. British High
Commissioner in Dhaka Stephan Evans was present. He called upon
the importers of the UK to import Bangladeshi products at zero
rate of duty. He requested the SME entrepreneurs of Bangladesh
to get information and other requirements of European Union (EU)
market. British High Commissioner Stephan Evans said that there
is a cordial bilateral trade relation between Bangladesh and UK.
He mentioned that UK is focusing on energy, ports,
infrastructure, software, textiles, ceramics, pharmaceuticals
and the environment sector of Bangladesh.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 28, 2011)
RMG sector to get special facility at
SEZs: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday urged the owners of
readymade garments manufacturing units to treat workers as their
children and to be more sympathetic towards them, reports UNB.
She said better outputs from the workers could be ensured
through affection and winning their hearts. The Prime Minister
was speaking at the Grand Gala Final of 'Premier Bank-Gorba
(Pride)' arranged for the workers engaged in the RMG sector at a
city hotel. At the same time she urged the workers to stay away
from wrongdoing in the sector which ensures their livelihood.
They should be vigilant that the sector does not fall victim to
any conspiracy. Responding to a demand of the garments factory
owners, Hasina said the government would set up special economic
zones (SEZs) in the country where arrangements will be there for
RMG sector. Appreciating the event organized for the workers,
the Prime Minister said such initiative would help create solid
bridge between workers and owners and it would strengthen the
existing relations.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 20, 2011)
Country's export to Germany, UK, France
increases
Country's export to key destinations like Germany, the UK and
France maintained a healthy growth in the first five months
(July-November) of the current fiscal (2010-11) as compared to
the corresponding period of the previous fiscal (2009-10),
reports UNB. In July-November 2010, exports to Germany totaled
US$1195.34 million, which was 14.44 per cent of the total export
earnings for the period. Of the amount, knitwear accounted for
$752.00 million, followed by woven garment $346.75 million and
frozen shrimp $19.13 million. Exports to the UK totaled $748.42
million in July-November 2010, which was 9.05 per cent of the
total export earnings.
The export of readymade garment (RMG) items accounted for
$617.02 million as against $506.42 million during the
corresponding period of the fiscal 2009-10, showing a 21.84 per
cent growth. The home textile export to the UK during the period
was $32.37 million, while frozen shrimps $25.84 million and
bicycles $30.31 million. Exports to France during the five
months increased to $534.19 million, which accounted for 6.46
per cent of the total export earnings for the period. Exports to
Italy totaled $286.99 million in July-November 2010 with
knitwear accounting for $170.44 million, woven garment $82.33
million and leather $10.52 million. Exports to Belgium amounted
to $217.78 million that included knitwear $87.48 million, woven
garment $49.34 million, frozen shrimp $54.62 million and jute
yarn and twine $10.13 million. Export earnings from the USA, the
largest market for Bangladeshi goods, registered a robust growth
in the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal
totaling $1956.38 million, which was 23.64 per cent of the total
export earnings.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 18, 2011)
New EU origination rules to boost
Bangladesh exports
A seminar on Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)-New
Regulations on Rules of Origin in Norway, Switzerland, Turkey
and the EU- in progress in the city Wednesday. The revised rules
of origin adopted by the EU will facilitate Bangladesh's export
growth, Norwegian Ambassador Ragne Birte Lund said Wednesday.
"The changes in the GSP (Generalized System of Preferences)
system should help trigger a further rise in export to our
region from Bangladesh and to increase competitiveness of
Bangladeshi exporters compared with non LDC countries" she said.
The new GSP system, which came into effect from January 01,
2011, will allow Bangladesh to export its goods duty free or
with reduced duty rates, she said. The country's export to
Norway increased by 35 per cent last year and the GSP system
will work as a catalyst to increase the growth in the years to
come, she said. "The new GSP facility has opened up the window
of opportunity to explore the untapped markets in the European
Economic Area," Faruque Hassan, vice president of Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said.
With the effect of the new one-stage rules of origin, the
country's 100 per cent apparel exports to EU,Norway, Switzerland
and Turkey are now availing the GSP benefit, he said adding
earlier only 42.72 per cent of the woven-wear textiles could
benefit from the GSP system.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 17, 2011)
Chittagong port able to handle transit
cargo now: CPA chairman
CHITTAGONG, Mar 1: Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is capable of
handling the transit cargo of the neighboring countries any day
from now on, subject to the approval by the government. Mr
Islam, who took over the charge of the CPA on February 13 last,
gave answers to different queries in his first press meet on
issues like port infrastructure, equipment facilities,
modernization of the port under the CPA Master Plan, tender
process, labor unrest, port security etc. Elaborating on the
major seaport's ability to handle transit cargo, the CPA
chairman said that the port handled 1.313 million TEUs (twenty
equivalent units) containers last year.” If we give transit
facility, the cargo handling will grow by 7.0 to 7.50 per cent
over the existing volume of handling. Currently 40 per cent of
the port's capacity is unutilized," he said. About the
infrastructure and equipment facilities of the port, the CPA
Member Nazrul Islam, who is also a member of the sub-committee
on transit, said, if transit facility is given today, then 18.3
million metric tons of additional cargo are expected to be
transported through our country annually. "The additional cargo
to be handled through Chittagong Port will be about 0.18 million
TEUs in terms of container which is barely 7.50 per cent of the
cargo now being handled by the port," he said. About the
security of the transit cargo, he said that the issues relating
to separate yards in the port for stuffing and un-stuffing and
the related security matters, will be decided, once the transit
starts.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 2, 2011)
Bangladesh missions exceed export
target in July-Jan period
Bangladesh missions abroad have shown remarkable success in the
July-January period of the current fiscal, surpassing the export
target by US$ 1,888 million. A total of 36 missions out of 44
earned $ 11,864.2 million in the last seven months against their
target of $ 9,976.43 million, according to the statistics of
Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). Officials said the expansion of
the export market to new destinations contributed to the
impressive performance of the missions. Six missions have
however failed to reach their export target in the period.
However those missions have been able to attract exports worth $
45.2 million against the target of $ 109.04 million. Bangladeshi
missions which have been able to achieve export target are in
New Delhi, The Hague, Berlin, Amman, Ottawa, Nairobi, Hanoi,
Canberra, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Riyadh, Dubai, Brussels, Moscow,
Pretoria, Beijing, Paris, Tashkent, Washington, London,
Stockholm, Tehran, Madrid, Kathmandu, Rome, Colombo, Ankara,
Seoul, Singapore, Islamabad, Doha, Manila, Rabat, Tokyo, Thimphu,
Cairo and Muscat. The missions that have failed to achieve
target are in Tripoli, Bangkok, Yangon, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and
Brunei. Meanwhile, the country's exports registered a robust
growth of nearly 40 per cent during the first seven months of
the current fiscal, the EPB data showed. The export earnings
during the July-January period of the current fiscal also
surpassed the target by 18.56 per cent, the data revealed.
According to the EPB figures, the country earned $ 12,184.19
million during July-January period of 2010-11 fiscal year
through overseas sales compared to $ 8,712.44 million of the
same period in the last financial year.
The major export earners like readymade garments, jute and
frozen foods are showing good performance this year which has
accelerated the overall growth though they failed to do the same
during the period of the last fiscal.
Source: The
Financial Express (February 15, 2011)
International
India garment exports may suffer on
cotton yarn shipments
MUMBAI, April 2 (Commodity Online): With the India government
lifting curbs on cotton yarn exports, the textile industry in
India may suffer; so believes the Tirupur Exporters Association
(TEA) exporting knitwear and readymade garments over Rs 160
billion on an annual basis. The TEA expressed shock on the DGFT
(Directorate General of Foreign Trade) allowing cotton yarn
exports earlier capped at 720 million kg on account of yarn
prices sky-rocketing in 2010-11 season. Currently, this has been
lifted on condition that cotton yarn should be registered with
the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) prior to
shipments. The TEA feels that the move would raise prices of
cotton yarn in the domestic industry, according to industry
quotes in Financial Express. Many countries are already
importing cotton yarn from India to manufacture garments. They
are having advantages in the form of convenient bank interest
rates, refund of VAT as well as low power costs. Naturally,
these yarn importing countries would be able to compete with
India as cost leadership is on their side. Eventually this would
be toppling Indian garment exporters. Once the customer loyalty
is lost it is very difficult to reclaim it, Financial Express
mentioned TEA president, A Sakthivel, as saying. During 2009-10,
India's garment exports earned $10.64 billion in revenues. The
industry employs 7 million people.
Source: The
Financial Express (April 3, 2011)
Pakistan's textile, food exports surge
ISLAMABAD, Mar 21 (APP): Exports of textile and food groups have
witnessed considerable growth during the first 8 months of the
current year as these surged by 28.67 per cent and 18.28 per
cent respectively. The textile exports during July-February
(2010-11) were recorded at US$8.637 billion against the exports
of US$6.708 billion during the same period of last year, Federal
Bureau of Statistics reported. The products that contributed to
the positive growth in overall textile sector included raw
cotton, cotton yarn and cotton cloth, exports of which increased
by 12.97 per cent, 45.30 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.
Similarly the exports of cotton (carded or combed) increased by
18.93 per cent, yarn (other that cotton yarn) by 15.36 per cent,
knit wear by 26.63 per cent, bed wear by 16.68 per cent, towels
by 6.40 per cent, readymade garments by 33,67 per cent, art,
silk and synthetic textile by 64.17 per cent, made up articles
by 18.63 per cent and the exports of other textile materials
increased by 39.58 per cent during the period under review.
Meanwhile, the textile exports witnessed increase of 50.82 per
cent and 0.70 per cent in February 2011 as compared to the
exports of February 2010 and January 2011, respectively.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 22, 2011)
Cotton farming to spread to Pakistan
villages
LAHORE, Mar 12 (Commodity Online): In a bid to tap the highly
priced domestic and international cotton market, farmers in
Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha and Rawalpindi of Pakistan's Punjab
province will be motivated to produce modern varieties of
cotton. The move would ensure 30 per cent more of modern
varieties of cotton spreading to non-traditional areas where
cotton crop is found to be suitable and sustainable given the
conditions prevailing. The government thus has decided to extend
the dividends to farmers in these area as well with the Punjab
Agriculture Extension Department entrusted with the task,
reported The Pakistan economy is still agrarian in nature and
the government's new measure seeks to improve the output of
cotton that would pay the farmers better price dividend.
Currently 0.8 million acres of land fall under cotton
cultivation in six divisions of the Punjab province which are
situated mainly in Faisalabad and Sahiwal. Cotton economy in
Pakistan employs most of the country's labor force and claims a
big pie of exports.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 13, 2011)
Cotton yarn exports down in India
NEW DELHI, Mar 10 (Commodity Online): India's exports have
registered a growth of 49.8 per cent during February 2011, at $
23.6 billion. But exports of cotton yarn, iron ore and fruits &
vegetables are on the negative on account of export ban on these
commodities, said a press release from the government.
Interacting with the media persons here Thursday, Rahul Khullar,
Commerce Secretary of India, informed that during the period
April-February 2010-11, exports have reached a level of $ 208.2
billion at a growth of 31.4 per cent while the imports were $
305.3 billion with a growth of 18 per cent and a trade deficit
of $ 97.1 billion. During the interaction, Khullar informed that
India's imports in February 2011 were $ 31.7 billion. He further
clarified that the import figures are only the rough estimates
and the final figure is subject to change. Balance of trade for
the month of February stood at - 8.1 billion US dollar. On the
export growth, Khullar said that India has crossed $ 200 billion
during February and forecast for this fiscal would be around $
235 billion. He also stated that exports from the Special
Economic Zones (SEZs) are doing very well and it is expected a
huge growth from SEZs.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 11, 2011)
Record prices raise global cotton
acreage
WASHINGTON, Mar 2 (Commodity Online): World cotton area is
projected to rise by 7 per cent in 2011/12 to 36 million
hectares, the largest in 17 years, in response to record prices
in 2010/11, according to International Cotton Advisory Committee
(ICAC). Farmers are expected to expand cotton area in 2011/12 in
all producing countries, ICAC said. World cotton production is
projected to increase by 9 per cent to a record exceeding 27
million tons. The largest increases in mill use are projected
for India, China, Pakistan and Turkey.
Source: The
Financial Express (March 3, 2011)
Australia forecasts increased cotton,
sugar output, less wheat
Cotton production in Australia, the fourth-largest shipper, may
reach a record next year after rains filled dams, while sugar
output may gain even after cyclone and flood damage, according
to the government's commodity forecaster, reports Bloomberg.
Output of cotton may climb to 1.1 million metric tons in the
year from July 1 compared with 839,000 tons this season, and the
sugar crop may rise to 3.85 million tons from 3.62 million, the
Australian Bureau of Agricultural & Resource Economics &
Sciences said in a report today. The wheat harvest may drop 7.8
per cent as lower yields offset an increase in the area, it
said. Global prices of farm commodities have surged on harvest
disruptions and stronger demand, with the Food and Agriculture
Organization's World Food Price Index reaching a record in
January. Increased Australian output of sugar and cotton may be
part of a global response to the agricultural gains. Cotton on
ICE Futures U.S. in New York reached an all-time high $2.0893 a
pound on Feb. 18, while raw sugar gained to a 30- year high of
36.08 cents a pound on Feb. 1
Source: The
Financial Express (March 2, 2011)
Cotton falls from record on signs of
robust global output
NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Bloomberg): Cotton futures fell from a record
on speculation that the global crop will increase, replenishing
a deficit that led prices double in the past five months.
Production will exceed demand by 1.2 million tonnes in the
season starting August 1, making up for about a third of the
shortfall in the past two years, Cotlook Limited, an industry
researcher, said Saturday. Earlier, cotton jumped the most
allowed by ICE Futures US to a record $2.0893 a pound and then
tumbled by the limit. Prices may "wane over the balance of 2011
as global production rebounds and inventories begin to rebuild,"
Luke Mathews, a strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia,
said in a report. Cotton futures for May delivery, the
most-active contract measured by open interest, fell by the
maximum of 7 cents, or 3.5 per cent, to settle at $1.9493 at
2:33 pm on ICE in New York. The price for March delivery dropped
7 cents to settle at $1.9702 after rising to an all-time high of
$2.1102. Futures jumped by the exchange limit in the past two
days. World output will gain 13 per cent to a record 27.65
million tons, more than the projected 4.4 per cent increase in
consumption Birkenhead, England-based Cotlook said Saturday in
its first estimates for the new season. In China, the world's
biggest producer and consumer, output will increase 15 per cent,
the company said. 1
Source: The
Financial Express (February 21, 2011)
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January 2011
B'desh now 3rd
largest apparel exporter to US
Chittagong
port penal rate withdrawn
New BTMA
leaders elected
RMG
industrial park to be set up in Munshiganj
Indian cotton
output to hit 35.7m bales: CAI
Local RMG
sector set to face fresh blow
Bangladesh's
export to USA sees robust growth in July
High priced
RMG export orders pouring in
B'desh now 3rd
largest apparel exporter to US
Bangladesh is now the 3rd largest
exporter of apparel and clothing accessories to US market as she
surpassed her competitors Indonesia and Mexico in the recent
months, reports BSS. Until August 2010, Bangladesh was the 5th
largest apparel exporter to the US after China, Vietnam,
Indonesia and Mexico, a release said in the city Friday.
But in the month of September 2010, Bangladesh with its monthly
exports of $358 million overtook Mexico which exported $325
million to the US market in the next month. In October 2010,
Bangladesh overtook another competitor Indonesia as she exported
apparel worth $374 million compared to $365 million from
Indonesia.
According to the analysis of the Commerce Wing of Bangladesh
Embassy in Washington DC, Bangladesh exported about $1.44
billion worth of RMG products to USA during July-October 2010
period, registering growth of 20.37 per cent compared to the
same period of 2009.
Source: The Financial Express (January 1, 2011)
Chittagong
port penal rate withdrawn
Chittagong Port Authority has withdrawn penal rate on store rent
as congestion has eased at the premier port of the country,
reports bdnews24.com. CPA imposed the penal rate, which was four
times higher than the normal rate from December 18, in a bid to
reduce congestion at the port. "The situation has improved as
the shipping agents have started removing the empty containers
from the port yard after imposition of the penal rate," said CPA
secretary Syed Farhad Uddin Ahmed. About 3,000 empty containers
were removed from the yard, he said. The CPA will revise the
tariff structure after appointing a consultant to make it
time-befitting, he added. Equipment and fuel costs have
increased and it is expected that the tariff will be revised
upward, he added. Farhad said the turnaround time has reduced to
two and a half to three days in the recent times from five to
six days couple of months back. "One must understand Chittagong
is not an open port and arrival and departure of ships depend on
high tide," he said. Even after loading of a ship, it may have
to wait eight to nine hours for high tide, he explained.
Source: The Financial Express (December 28, 2010)
New BTMA
leaders elected
Mr. Jahangir Alamin, Chairman of Shamsul Alamin Group and
Managing Director of Fuad Spinning Mills Ltd have been elected
President of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA)
uncontested for the term 2011 and 2012. On the other hand, Mr.
Showkat Aziz Russell, Director of Partex Group & Managing
Director of Amber Cotton Mills Ltd, Mr. M.A. Zaher, Chairman of
Deep Textile Mills Ltd and Engr. Ahmed Ali, Managing Director of
Padma Bleaching & Dyeing Ltd were elected Vice-Presidents of the
trade body uncontested. The Election of the Board of Directors
of BTMA was held recently in the city.
Source: The Financial Express (December 29, 2010)
RMG
industrial park to be set up in Munshiganj
The Industries Ministry is planning to set up a readymade
garment (RMG) industrial park outside Dhaka aimed at shifting
the apparel from the capital, official sources said, reports
BSS. A project earmarking Tk 4.38 billion has been taken to set
up the planned RMG industrial park on 300 acres of land at
Bausia under Gojaria upazila of Munshiganj district. Industries
Minister Dilip Barua said that the main objective of the planned
industrial park is to shift the RMG industry from Dhaka. Barua
said such an industrial park would not only provide one-stop
services to garment entrepreneurs but also reduce pressure of
the potential apparel industry in the city. The park will have
various facilities including attractive industrial plots,
internal roads, drainage facilities, uninterrupted supply of
utilities, Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), waste
dumping yard and fire fighting equipment.
Source: The Financial Express (December 25, 2010)
Indian cotton
output to hit 35.7m bales: CAI
NEW DELHI, Nov 20 (Commodity Online): India's cotton output is
estimated to be of 35.7 million bales for 2010-11 seasons, said
Cotton Association of India (CAI) on November 16th. The data is
based on October 31 estimates. Of the total supply of 41.85
million bales, 650,000 bales are to be imported with total
consumption including mill, non-mill and small-scale units
pegged at 26.6 million bales. This would mean a surplus of 15.25
million bales which is higher than the surplus of 2009-10
reading at 13.6 million bales. A production aggregate of 21.6
million bales from the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya
Pradesh implies a hike in production of 3.4 million bales
compared to previous year's production. Gujarat, alone is
expected to produce 12 million bales of cotton. Meanwhile,
cotton prices registered the biggest weekly slump in sixteen
months on Friday at ICE futures in New York, owing to improved
projections in output from India. Cotton futures for March
delivery slid by 4.6 per cent to stop at $1.2315 a pound at 2:49
pm New York time. In China, a major consumer of cotton, the
industry is expected to import a record 20 million bales of
cotton with 10.9 million bales in the year ended July 31 already
contributing. Domestic demand from textile industry for cotton
there is surging. This was revealed by Olam International
Limited. Olam is having cotton operations in countries including
USA, India, Australia, and Brazil. However, textile industry in
India observed a nation-wide strike this Friday in protest of
exponential prices for cotton yarn. Incoming reports suggest
that the strike observed by power loom, handloom, made-ups and
apparel makers has cost the industry Rs 2.0 billion.
Source: The Financial Express (November 21, 2010)
Local RMG
sector set to face fresh blow
The country's RMG sector is set to face a fresh blow, as India
has suspended new registration of cotton yarn export. Quoting
reliable sources, the fibre2fashion. com, a popular website,
reported Wednesday that the Government of India has suspended
new registration of cotton yarn export. It also said the
Government of India fixed a quota of 7.2 million cotton yarn
export for the 2010-11 fiscal. The registrations for the export
have already been completed, and the ministry in prudence has
decided to discontinue registration for a period of 45 days.
Bangladeshi apparel manufacturers have expressed their grave
concern over the suspension of new export registration by India,
and said such suspension would create an adverse impact on the
local yarn market. "Local cotton market is already volatile due
to shortage of global cotton production… the suspension will
create yet another negative impact on the domestic yarn market,"
said Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment
Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). The suspension
will fuel price hike of cotton yarn in the local market, as a
result of which the local exporters will lose their
competitiveness in the global market, he said.
Source: The Financial Express (December 3, 2010)
Bangladesh's
export to USA sees robust growth in July
Export earnings from USA, the largest market for Bangladeshi
goods, registered a robust growth in July this year totaling US$
446.61 million, which is 24.57 per cent of the country's total
export income for the month, reports UNB. The export earnings
from USA in July this year are also 38.10 per cent higher than
the corresponding month of the last fiscal. The export earnings
from USA in July 2009 were $323.40 million. Latest statistics,
provided by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), show that of the
total July export of $446.61 million, ready-made garment (RMG)
items including knitwear accounted for $410.71 million with
36.99 per cent growth. The major items exported to USA in July
2010 were woven garment $291.88 million, knitwear $118.83
million, frozen shrimp $11.03 million, cap $2.27 million and
home textile $5.36 million. Meanwhile, the export earnings from
USA witnessed a declining trend in the last fiscal -- almost 8.9
per cent in 2009-10 from fiscal 2008-09. The most noticeable
cause for this is the declining trend for RMG exports from
Bangladesh to USA which was affected badly by the global
recession. According to the EPB statistics, the country's export
earnings from USA in the last fiscal totaled $3.14 billion, a
7.74 per cent fall over $3.4 billion registered in 2008-09. The
last fiscal (2009-10) marked the end of an up-and-down decade
for Bangladesh's exports to USA. From a high of $2.5 billion in
fiscal 2000-01, exports had fallen to under $2 billion by
2003-04. Exports rose steadily to cross the $3.0 billion mark in
2005-06, and peaked at nearly $3.6 billion in the fiscal
2007-08. Then the country' s export earnings fell for two
consecutive years in fiscal 2008-09 and fiscal 2009-10.
Source: The Financial Express (November 15, 2010)
High priced
RMG export orders pouring in
CHITTAGONG, Nov 8: Bangladesh has become a lucrative country for
export of readymade garments (RMG) with new orders for quality
items pouring in, exporters said.
"Orders for quite new RMG items like heavy jackets that was
monopolized so long by China have started coming to Bangladesh
following workers' growing unease and impatience with the sector
there," said SM Abu Tayyab, former first vice president of BGMEA
and currently director of CCCI. Not only China but other RMG
exporting countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka are
experiencing declining labour force, which is shifting to other
sectors from the RMG demanding wage hike and related issues, he
told this correspondent in his office at Nasirabad Industrial
Area in the city this afternoon. RMG of both knitwear and woven
is expensive in Vietnam compared to Bangladesh while Cambodia is
lagging behind in the competition with us due to recent labour
unrest, he said adding that export orders for high priced RMG,
supposed to go to Sri Lanka, are also coming to Bangladesh.
"Failure of China and other RMG exporters to comply with the
importers' timeframe has created a unique opportunity for
Bangladesh very recently. And if we can seize this opportunity
it will bring a lot of prospect for the country's economy apart
from generating more employment," he observed. "The government
can utilize this advantage through extra incentives to the RMG
exporters by way of lowering bank interest, depreciation of
Bangladesh Taka against US Dollar, expediting the government's
committed incentive and finally by creating an export-oriented
environment in the country," he said.
Source: The Financial Express (November 9, 2010)
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October 2010
Steps to make textiles free from pollution
India to allow cotton exports from November
Exports in Aug surge 31.25pc
Yarn
price hike BGMEA, BKMEA, BTMA form coordination body
Bangladesh new investment destination: Thai expert
Cotton gains for a 5th day to 15-year high on increased Chinese
demand
Country's export performance bounces back in July
Magic Sourcing Show- 2010 Garment, knitwear manufacturers
receive US$57.5m export orders
Export earning target set at $18.5b for this fiscal
Bangladesh 4th Largest Garment Exporter: WTO
Jute
Goods Export Sets New Record
Steps to make textiles free from pollution
Six leading European and US
apparel buyers in collaboration with International Finance
Corporation (IFC) will assist the local textile manufacturers in
improving the techniques of industrial waste management
cost-effectively.
Indiscriminate disposal of industrial wastes is a major cause of
environmental pollution and the team will draw up plans for
alleviating the present situation to international standards.
The European and US buyers are H&M, Mothercare, KappAhl, Lindex,
Levi Strausss & Co and Solidaridad. IFC the World Bank group
member, will mobilize the regional and international consultants
under the initiative by transferring knowledge and building
capacity of local consulting firms and service providers. The
initiative will also help the textile sector's washing, dying
and finishing sub-sectors improve their environmental standards
and clean production giving value addition to the products.
Textile industries annually discharge as much as 56 million
tones of waste, 0.5 million tones of sludge and consume
tremendous amount of energy for steam and hot water.
Source: The Financial Express (October 3, 2010)
India to allow cotton exports from November
TEXAS, Sept 29 (Commodity Online): India has decided to
allow cotton exports from November 1. The decision was taken at
the high powered cabinet ministerial committee in India chaired
by the finance minster that included agriculture minister,
commerce minister and the textile minister on September 28th has
decided to allow cotton exports from India from November 1. The
registration for exports will begin on October 1st with no
export duty for the allowable target of 5.5 million bales (170
Kg/bale). Nayan Mirani, of Khimji Visram and Sons, Mumbai, who
is also the Vice President of the Cotton Association of India
spoke to this writer from Champaign, IL, USA and broke the news
on the decision of India's Government on cotton exports. He
emphasized that India's cotton farmers should get the price at
international level. According to the country report submitted
by India at the International Cotton Advisory Committee's 69th
plenary meeting in Lubbock, USA last week, the cotton acreage
during 2010-11 season is expected to be 11 million hectares and
the production is expected to be 5.53 million metric tons which
is 10 per cent improvement over 2009-10 season.
Source: The Financial Express (September 30, 2010)
Exports in Aug surge 31.25pc
The country's exports in August surged 31.25 per cent to US$
1.79 billion from a year earlier, led by strong demand for the
country's readymade garments, government statistics showed.
Earning from knit textiles in July-August, the first two months
of the current fiscal year, rose 32 per cent to nearly $ 1.6
billion from the previous year, while that from woven garments
rose 30 per cent to $ 1.3 billion, data compiled by the
state-run Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) revealed. In the fiscal
year that ended in June, exports rose 4.11 per cent to $ 16.2
billion as the global economy gradually recovered, although that
was still 7.9 per cent below the government's target amount.
Sales in July rose 26.5 per cent to $ 1.82 billion, the
country's highest ever monthly export earning.
Similarly, jute and jute goods enjoyed a net 20.69 per cent
growth during the first two months of the current fiscal year,
exporting goods worth $ 122.98 million. The government expects
exports to climb 14 per cent this fiscal year to $ 18.5 billion,
with targets of $ 7 billion from knitwear and $ 6.6 billion from
woven garments.
Source: The Financial Express (September 28, 2010)
Yarn
price hike BGMEA, BKMEA, BTMA form coordination body
In the wake of the yarn price hike, a nine-member
coordination committee has been formed comprising members from
the BGMEA, BKMEA and BTMA to safeguard the interests of these
three associations while addressing the overall problems,
reports UNB. The coordination committee comprises three members
each from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and
Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Textiles Mills
Association (BTMA). The meeting also decided that the BTMA will
take necessary steps to contain the price hike of yarn within a
rational and tolerant level, and that the coordination committee
will take necessary measures to address other demands.
Source: The Financial Express (September 28, 2010)
Bangladesh new investment destination: Thai expert
Thai Bangladesh Business Council (TSBC) President Mingpant
Chayavichitslip said Bangladesh having abundant reasonably
priced workforce and sound incentive packages for the investors,
has been an attractive investment destination. Mr Mingpant is
leading a high level Thai Business delegation including
officials from Department of Export Promotion (DEP), Board of
Investment (BOI), and representatives of Federation of Thai
Industries now in Bangladesh on a five-day business tour to be
concluded today (Thursday). Bangladesh Thai Chamber of Commerce
and Industry President MA Momen said that Thailand and
Bangladesh have a vibrant economic sector where both can share
each other's resources and exchange technical know how. In the
recent years, Bangladesh has established itself as the cheapest
production base in South Asia. With low cost labor and low cost
infrastructure, Bangladesh is now recognized as one of the
globally competitive production base particularly in labor
intensive industries.
Momen conveyed that the new industrial policy and the PPP
(Public Private Partnership) initiative as declared by the
government was geared to attract foreign direct investment
especially in developing our infrastructure needed in energy,
power, roads and telecommunications.
Source: The Financial Express (September 23, 2010)
Cotton gains for a 5th day to 15-year high on increased Chinese
demand
PARIS, Sept 22 (Bloomberg): Cotton gained for a fifth day in
New York, jumping to a 15-year high as rising Chinese demand for
imports depletes world stocks of the fiber used to make
textiles.
Cotton for December delivery rose as much as 1.4 per cent to
$1.0224 a pound, the highest price since June 1995, on ICE
Futures US The contract traded at $1.0192 at 12:06 p.m. Paris
time. Imports of the fiber into China doubled in 2010's first
eight months from a year earlier, according to figures from
Customs General Administration published Tuesday. The global
stocks-to-use ratio for cotton is forecast to fall to 38 per
cent in the year ending in July, the lowest level since 1994-95,
according to the US Department of Agriculture. Global cotton use
will rise to 120.5 million bales in the year that started Aug.
1, the USDA estimates, outpacing production of 117 million bales
and becoming the sixth year that usage exceeds the world crop.
Global cotton inventories will slump 3.3 per cent to 45.4
million bales at the end of the marketing year on July 31, the
USDA forecasts. A bale weighs about 480 pounds. The most-active
New York cotton future has increased 35 per cent this year.
Inventories in warehouses monitored by ICE were down 96 per cent
this year as of Sept. 20.
Source: The Financial Express (September 23, 2010)
Country's export performance bounces back in July
The country's export performance bounced back in July of
current fiscal experiencing a 27 per cent growth piggybacking on
the readymade garment sector. The export sector earned $1.817
billion revenue in July when most of the sectors witnessed
growth by a good margin, according to latest figure disclosed by
the Export Promotion Bureau. RMG sector contributed 81 per cent
to the total export earning with knit garment sector earning
$798.66 million with a growth of 22.55 per cent while oven
garment sector earned $671.28 million with a growth of 28.62 per
cent. RMG sector sprang back to normal life as the impact of
global recession withered and the back-to-school season began in
the US in August.
Source: The Financial Express (September 9, 2010)
Magic Sourcing Show- 2010 Garment, knitwear manufacturers
receive US$57.5m export orders
Bangladeshi garments and knitwear manufacturers and
exporters have grabbed export orders worth US$57.5 million
during the four-day long Magic Sourcing Show- 2010 held in Las
Vegas. State-run Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) in a statement
said that a total of eight Bangladeshi garment manufacturers
took part in the mega trade show held from 16 to 19 August at
the Las Vegas Convention Center. Hosted by Advanstar
Communications, Inc. the event succeeds in providing reliable
supply chain venue for garment industry at international front.
It proves to be a connecting link for more than 700
manufacturers, fabric & trim suppliers, print & design studios,
service providers, vested in more than 40 countries.
Participants in the mega show were Apparel & Footwear
Manufacturers, Fabric & Textile Mills, Trim & Components
Suppliers, Textile Print Design / Print Studios and Service
Providers.
Source: The Financial Express (August 31, 2010)
Export earning target set at $18.5b for this fiscal
The government has fixed a US$ 18.5 billion export target
for the current fiscal year with a growth projection of 14.2 per
cent in comparison to the previous year's export earnings.
Commerce minister Faruk Khan, following a meeting at his office
on Wednesday, finalized the export target. Faruk said power and
gas crises have significantly improved in recent days. This will
help raise production in mills and factories leading to the
increase in export volume. Targeted break-up for the country's
prime exporting products are -- knitwear products US$ 7131.62
million, woven garments US$ 6614.77 million, jute and jute goods
US$ 1115.38 million, home textiles US$ 563.5 million, frozen
food US$ 450 million, leather US$ 298 million, agro-products US$
266 million, and US$ 111.15 million for chemical products.In the
last FY, Bangladesh exported goods worth US$ 16.204 billion,
which was 4.11 per cent higher than that of FY 2008-09. 1
Source: The Financial Express (August 26, 2010)
Bangladesh 4th Largest Garment Exporter: WTO
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has rated Bangladesh as
the fourth largest garment exporter, contributing around 3.0 per
cent to total international exports, said a top official of
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)
Saturday.
Faruque Hassan, the BGMEA vice-president, made the disclosures
while speaking to a group of reporters at his office in the
city. Bangladesh exported apparels worth US$ 12.6 billion in the
immediate past fiscal year of 2009-10, which accounted for
nearly 80 per cent of the country's total overseas sales.
Bangladesh is the biggest exporter of cotton T-shirts and stands
second in exporting cotton pullover and jeans to European
countries. In terms of volume, the country is the second biggest
exporter of cotton trousers to the United States, he said.
Currently, there are about 5,000 garment factories in
Bangladesh, employing around three million workers, 90 per cent
of whom are women.
Source: The Financial Express (July 25, 2010)
Jute
Goods Export Sets New Record
Jute and jute goods export set a new record in the outgoing
fiscal year, mainly due to hike in prices of raw jute in
international market and growing demand of eco-friendly
diversified products across the globe. The country's export of
jute and jute goods posted 76.43 per cent growth in July-June
period of 2009-10, earning a total of US$736.44 million,
according to statistics by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
Export of jute yarn and twine enjoyed 88 per cent rise in the
same period in fiscal year 2009-10 against the corresponding
period of the previous fiscal, earning $397.69 million. Besides,
export of raw jute enjoyed 32.46 per cent growth in outgoing
fiscal year than the previous year. The earnings from raw jute
were $196.27 million in 2009-10 while $148.17 million in
2008-09. The EPB statistics revealed Monday that the jute and
jute goods have secured the position of the second largest
export item from Bangladesh.
Source: The Financial Express (July 21, 2010)
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April 2010
Obama to show Bangladesh as model of food security
Corporate governance improving in Bangladesh
British HC visits textile industry
Germany keen to invest in Bangladesh
Country's RMG, textile
sectors have good potential: Minister
Generator suppliers count cost of gas crisis in RMG sector
Wal-Mart CEO for setting up special apparel zone
Port transit facility a milestone for economy, says BGMEA
Bangladesh 'replacing China as major exporter of cheap RMG'
Bangladesh gets $0.97m
export order in Kolkata trade fair
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Obama to show Bangladesh as model of food security
The US President Barrack Obama has selected Bangladesh as a
model for food security and will present it in the next G-8
summit.
In that light, the US will provide Bangladesh with a good
portion of the assistance of $100 million pledged for food
security of the developing nations, said US Agriculture Attaché
David Leishman to Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur
Razzaque at his office yesterday.
A food ministry official said the decision was taken on the
basis that the country showed efficiency in handling food crisis
in the periods after the natural disasters.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and
agriculture department of the US are working to provide the
assistance, said a food ministry press release.
Leishman, the US attaché for Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka,
said the food management system in Bangladesh is impressive, but
the country takes a lot of time in floating tenders to import
food, which discourages other countries to bid.
"Food prices change rapidly in the international market. If
Bangladesh cuts time in floating tender, more and more countries
and exporters can participate in the bidding," he told the
minister.
The US will help Bangladesh enhance its capacity for food
security and agriculture, Leishman said.
He, however, mentioned the US does not provide food grains free
of cost, except for specific programmes like feeding of
schoolchildren.
Abdur Razzaque said the country has seen an increase in food
production, but it is yet to achieve autarchy. However, the
government is working to that end, he noted.
April 9, 2010 |
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Corporate governance improving in Bangladesh
Brummer & Partners Bangladesh in association with the Institute
of Governance Studies (IGS) of BRAC University Thursday
organized a day-long workshop on the state of corporate
governance in Bangladesh. Objective of the workshop, organised
at a local hotel, was to discuss the state of corporate
governance in Bangladesh with a view to addressing the
challenges of establishing a strong base for corporate
governance in Bangladesh, organizers said. Corporate governance
has recently become a key topic of debate and discussion in
restructuring of state-owned enterprises and the development of
a modern private sector corporate system in Bangladesh.
Participating companies at the workshop were ACI, Al-Amin Group,
Apex Group, Citibank NA, GEMCON group, Green Delta Insurance,
Rahimafrooz, Ananta Group, Nitol-Niloy, HSBC and others.
March 19, 2010 |
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British HC visits textile industry
British High Commissioner Stephen Evans has recently visited ACS
Textiles Bangladesh Ltd, at Rupganj in Narayanganj, says a press
release. Masud Dowood Akbani Managing Director, Max Cohan,
Martin Sluekis Directors as well as other officials of the
company were present on the occasion. The high commissioner
observed the production process and the officials apprised him
of the different operational aspects of the company. The company
set up with fully British finance is producing export quality
textiles which are exported in USA, European countries and
Australia.
March 14, 2010 |
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Germany keen to invest in Bangladesh
German ambassador in
Dhaka Holger Michael has evinced keen interest of investors of
his country to come and invest in textile, apparel,
electro-mechanical engineering and other potential sectors in
Bangladesh. The German envoy said that trade and commerce
between the two friendly countries had been on the rise in the
recent years and would ultimately reach the level of expectation
in the years ahead. He also referred to the recent trade policy
and the duty free access of the Bangladeshi products in Germany.
Holger Michale was exchanging views with the Chairman of
Bashundhara Group Ahmed Akbar Sobhan after attending a contract
signing ceremony at the conference hall of the Group's corporate
office recently.
March 11, 2010 |
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Country's RMG, textile
sectors have good potential: Minister
there is a good
potential for the country's Readymade Garments (RMG) and Textile
sectors as China started increasing its concentration on hi-tech
products moving away gradually from the traditional RMG and
Textile sector, said Textiles and Jute Minister Abdul Latif
Siddiqui. He said, "China has profound attention on hi-tech than
RMG and Textile. We can avail this advantage." The minister made
the remarks while addressing a seminar on 'Italian Textile
Technology', which was organized by Italian Trade Commission
(ICE) at a city hotel Tuesday, reports UNB. Italian Ambassador
to Dhaka Itala Maria Occhi, ICE Representative Erica Di
Giovancarlo, President of Association of Italian Textile
Machinery Manufacturers (ACIMIT) Dr Sandro Salmoiraghi and
President of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) Abdul
Hai Sarkar also spoke on the occasion. An Italian business
delegation arrived in the capital Monday on a three-day visit
aimed at offering new Italian technologies to Bangladeshi
companies and boost export of Italian textile machineries. In
his address, Abdul Latif Siddiqui said, we can fulfill the
demands for machineries and accessories of RMG and textile
sectors and develop the sectors by maintaining a good business
link with Italy. We have been using Italian products since long.
March 10, 2010 |
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Generator suppliers count cost of gas crisis in RMG sector
The prevailing gas crisis in the country's readymade garment (RMG)
sector is making new investors shy away from investing in
capital machinery, industry insiders said at the textile and
garment exposition in the city Friday. The Dhaka Textile and
Garment expo- 2010, one of the biggest expositions of garment
machinery, came to an end on the day. The bulk of the ongoing
energy shortage is felt by the big names among the power
solution providers, the exhibitors said, as the turnover of such
companies was hit hardest. Major suppliers of gas-run generators
for the garment industries reported a drop of almost 50 per cent
in sales over the last 12 months, which they blamed on the
unyielding gas crisis. "The total market size or the compiled
capacity of the gas-run generators sold in the country last year
was 300 MW", said Rashedul Islam Bhuiyan, an official of Bangla
Cat, one of the largest power solution providers in the country.
"However, due to the ongoing gas shortage our sale of generators
for this year could drop by almost 50 per cent", he added.
February 6, 2010 |
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Wal-Mart CEO for setting up special apparel zone
A visiting top executive of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retail
chain, has suggested setting up of a comprehensive industrial
zone for the apparel sector in Bangladesh for convenience of
buyers and to attract greater foreign investment, reports
bdnews24.com. C. Douglas McMillon, President and CEO of Wal-Mart
International, made the suggestion during a meeting with leaders
of readymade garment industry at Radisson Hotel in the city
Friday morning, BGMEA President Abdus Salam Murshedy told the
news agency following the one-hour talks. "He told us that they
consider Bangladesh an important source of apparels. They want
to buy more products from here. For that he suggested setting up
of a combined industrial zone with adequate gas and power supply
for the sector," Murshedy said.
"Such an industrial zone will help raise foreign investment
apart from ensuring convenience of the buyers," he said, quoting
the Wal-Mart chief executive as saying.
Wal-Mart buys over a billion dollars worth of readymade garments
from Bangladesh annually.
February 6, 2010 |
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Port transit facility a milestone for economy, says BGMEA
CHITTAGONG, Feb 2 (BSS): BGMEA leaders here said Tuesday transit
facilities to neighboring countries would usher new prospects in
the country's economic progress and it could be considered as a
milestone for the country's economy. "Country's economy is
possibly going to new height of progress through optimum
utilization of the capacity of our seaports that remained
unutilized for long," Nasiruddin Chowdhury, first vice president
of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)
said in reply to a query at a press conference on CAFAXPO-2010
scheduled to begin from Thursday here.
February 4, 2010 |
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Bangladesh 'replacing China as major exporter of cheap RMG'
CHITTAGONG, Feb 02: The RMG exporters today said that Bangladesh
is gradually replacing China as a major exporter of cheap
readymade garment as the developed countries are yet to recover
from the global recession. "The country's RMG sector was mostly
dependent on the buyers from America and the European countries.
But our market is now expanding to Japan and other countries.
They are showing more interest on our cheap garments," BGMEA
first vice president Nasir Uddin told the media. He said, the
economic recession could not harm our RMG export so much as was
feared because the recession compelled the buyers to opt for
cheaper garments from countries like Bangladesh instead of
China. The BGMEA leaders were addressing a press conference at a
hotel in the city on the occasion of Chittagong Apparel, Fabrics
& Accessories Exposition (CAPAXPO) 2010.
February 3, 2010 |
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Bangladesh gets $0.97m
export order in Kolkata trade fair
Bangladeshi companies received confirmed and prospective export
orders worth US$ 0.97 million in the '23rd Industrial India
Trade Fair (IITF). The eleven-day trade fair concluded recently
at Milan Mela Ground in Kolkata, the capital of Indian state
West Bengal, said a press release. Began on December 24, 2009,
the trade fair was organized by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (BNCCI) in collaboration with the Government of
West Bengal and India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO).
Around 700 exhibitors from different parts of India and six
foreign countries -- Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey
and Vietnam -- participated in the fair. Bangladesh was the
focus country this year and the theme of the fair was 'Climate
Change and Renewable Energy'. Bangladesh got the best award
owing to excellence executed in the 23rd IITF. The participation
in the fair would open up a new horizon of cooperation between
Bangladesh and India and would boost up trade ties between the
two countries in future, the release added. 1
January 26, 2010 |
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January 2010 |
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Look for new markets for RMG, PM asks exporters 20th BATEXPO-'09
opens
Muhith again says 'no' to RMG stimulus
RMG sector
condoles Neil Kearney's death
RMG exporters urge NBR to withdraw scanning fees
Pak cotton output
to cross 12.5m bales in 09-10
70,000 bales of
cotton output expected next season
For a separate RMG ministry
Global cotton output to rise 10.0pc in 2010-11
Indian countervailing duty hits B'desh RMG exports
Deal to improve environment compliance in textile, apparel
sector
Import orders for capital machinery rise by 24pc
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Import orders for
capital machinery rise by 24pc
Import orders for
capital machinery increased by over 24 per cent in the first
five months of the current fiscal, indicating that the country's
overall situation in industrial sector had started improving.
Letters of credit (LCs) worth US$685.18 million were opened to
import machinery during July-November period of fiscal 2009-2010
(FY10) against $550.36 million in the same period of the
previous fiscal, according to the central bank statistics. "The
data clearly shows that our entrepreneurs are placing higher
orders to import capital machinery," a senior official of the
Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Wednesday. Most of the import
orders for capital machinery were placed from different sectors
including textile, readymade garment, pharmaceuticals and
packaging industry, the BB official said quoting the latest
figures.
January 14, 2010 |
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Deal to improve
environment compliance in textile, apparel sector
The Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA),
Bangladesh Export Oriented Garments Washing Industries Owners
Association (BEOGWIOA) and South Asia Enterprise Development
Facility (SEDF) have entered into a tri-partite agreement
recently to improve environment compliance in the textile and
apparel sector.The project is styled SEDF-BGMEA-BEOGWIOA
programme.The project will also help promote cleaner production
methods in the textile sector, BGMEA sources said. The SEDF will
develop the capacity of the associations to monitor and provide
advisory services to their members on issues of environment
compliances.
January 12, 2010
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Indian
countervailing duty hits B'desh RMG exports
The country's
readymade garment exporters have been counting additional duty
to enter the Indian market, as the latter has imposed
countervailing duty on subsidised export items of other
countries, industry insiders said. Apparel items imported from
Bangladesh are being subjected to countervailing duty on the
basis of MRP (maximum retail price) instead of ad-valorem. Two
RMG products---cotton and blended or other natural or man-made
fibre fabrics---will fall under the increased tariff measures.
Duty on cotton garment imported from Bangladesh will increase to
11.8 per cent or US$21.52 from 8.46 per cent or $15.43 per piece
due to changes in tariff in the recent budget. Taxes on blended
and other natural or man-made fibre fabrics also increased to
19.5 per cent or $51.51 from 12.84 per cent or $33.89.
January 9, 2010
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Global cotton
output to rise 10.0pc in 2010-11
WASHINGTON, Jan 05
(Commodity Online): Global cotton production in 2010/11 is
forecast at 24.2 million tons up nearly 10 per cent, according
to International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). The
production in China is forecsted at 7.7 mn tonnes in 2010/11,
one million tons higher than in the current season. Most of the
gain is expected to come from increased area in response to
higher domestic prices.
Production in India is estimated little changed from 2009/10 as
most of the gain in yields tied to improved technology has
already been achieved. US production is expected to climb by
one-tenth to reach three million tons, primarily because of
increased cotton area. Production in Pakistan, Brazil and
Uzbekistan, collectively, is estimated at 4.6 million tons in
2010/11. The three countries are accounting for 4.3 million tons
of production in 2009/10. Forecasts by the IMF, UNCTAD, the US
Federal Reserve and OECD all indicate that the recovery in world
GDP growth during 2010 and 2011 will be gradual. Accordingly,
since income growth is an important explanatory variable in
models of fiber use, projections of world fiber use at the
consumer level for 2010 and 2011 indicate only modest growth.
Based on the expected change in the ratio of ending stocks to
use outside China and the average Cotlook A Index to date, the
2009/10 Cotlook A Index is estimated at 70 cents per pound. The
95 per cent confidence level extends from 64 cents to 77 cents
January 6, 2010 |
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For a separate RMG
ministry
For the overburdened
Ministry of Industries, the RMG industry is only a part of its
responsibilities. Understandably, the RMG sector cannot get its
total attention. A separate ministry for RMG industry would
lighten the burden of the industry ministry. The new ministry
would be able to pay the needed undivided attention to the RMG
sector. The Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA) has been pleading for long for a separate
ministry to look into RMG affairs. So far, the suggestion,
despite its merit, got no due response from the government. A
full-fledged ministry alone can do justice to the RMG industry,
needing undivided attention. A new ministry would be supportive
of RMG growth needs in the short, medium and long terms. The RMG
problems, both complex and many, cannot be left under the
carpet, unattended.
December 27, 2009
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70,000
bales of cotton output expected next season
The country is
likely to see around 70,000 bales of cotton production in the
next season, as the Cotton Development Board (CDB) has planned
to bring more lands under hybrid cotton cultivation, reports UNB.
"In the 2010-'11 season, we're expecting around 70,000 bales of
cotton harvest, as hybrid cotton will be cultivated on new lands
apart from the traditional ones," CDB Executive Director Dewan
Md Intajul Islam told the news agency. He said the use of hybrid
seeds would be raised by three times next year and more plain
areas of Habiganj and the three hill districts would be brought
under its cultivation. In the 2009-'10 season, some 31,500
hectares of land were brought under cotton cultivation with a
production target of 60,000 bales..
December 26, 2009 |
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Pak cotton output to cross
12.5m bales in 09-10
ISLAMABAD, Dce 23
(Commodity Online): World's fourth largest cotton producer,
Pakistan said its output for 2009-10 season is likely to cross
12.5 million bales. According to Pakistan's Agriculture
ministry, this was against 11.8 million bales of previous
season. Pakistan had earlier estimated about 12 million bales in
the crop year ending in March after pest and virus attacks in
the major cotton-growing area of Punjab province. But output had
increased significantly in the southern province of Sindh, 'By
Dec. 15 about 11.29 million bales have arrived at the ginning
factories as compared to 9.09 million bales recorded in the same
period last year,' the ministry said.
SDecember 24, 2009
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RMG
exporters urge NBR to withdraw scanning fees
Readymade garment (RMG)
exporters and the NBR are at loggerheads over newly slapped
scanning fees for export consignments in the Chittagong port,
which the government imposed from early August. Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) have
found the scanning fees as an additional financial burden on
exporters affected by the global financial recession. The
Association has requested the government to withdraw the newly
imposed scanning charges of US$ 5.0 and $2.5 for full container
load (FCL) and light container load (LCL) respectively which the
exporters Tk 1.3 million per day. But, the NBR has said the
government has levied the service charge for scanners, that the
exporters have to spend in other countries including Sri Lanka
and Singapore. A senior customs official said: "The government
has installed the scanner machine to reduce hassle and time in
exporting goods to the largest destination US and EU where
scanning of each container before shipment is mandatory."
According to the estimate of BGMEA, around 200 FCL containers or
3000 LCL containers are either cleared as imports or forwarded
as exports every day from the Chittagong port.
December 1, 2009
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RMG sector condoles Neil
Kearney's death
Leaders of
Bangladesh garments sector were shocked at the news of sudden
death of Neil Kearney, general secretary of Belgium-based
International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF).
Neil was in Dhaka on a visit to see the international compliance
progress in RMG factories in Dhaka. “We lost a great friend of
Bangladesh garment who fought for the welfare of the core
segment of our economy,” Shafiul Islam (Mohiuddin), acting
president of BGMEA said in a press conference in the city
Thursday.
November 20, 2009
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Muhith again says
'no' to RMG stimulus
The government has
again taken a hard line on providing financial incentive package
to apparel sector seeking funds to bounce back from a downturn
induced by global meltdown, reports bdnews24.com. "It is not
right that the world will come to an end, if a child cries. The
government will have to consider all sectors," AMA Muhith told
the news agency Monday. "Those sectors will come under incentive
package that have been really affected by economic recession,"
Muhith said at the Secretariat. The industry's top trade body,
Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA),
at a media briefing said Sunday they saw a 30 per cent dip in
spot orders from buyers at this year's BATEXPO, the country's
largest apparel fair. Spot orders at the last year's expo
amounted to $55.45 million; this year they totalled just $41.64
million, BGMEA President Abdus Salam Murshedy said. Murshedy
sought assistance from the government under incentive package.
In April, the government rolled out a stimulus package of Tk
34.24 billion. However, the two major trade bodies of the
garments industry, the BGMEA and Bangladesh Knitwear
Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), were highly
critical as the highest export-earning RMG sector was excluded
altogether from the proposedpackage. The two trade bodies later
welcomed the revised Tk 50 billion package included in the FY
2009-'10 budget, although they again expressed concern that the
RMG sector still received no specific allocation.
November 10, 2009
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Look for new markets for RMG,
PM asks exporters 20th BATEXPO-'09 opens
The 20th apparel and textile exposition (BATEXPO 2009) kicked
off Thursday to attract buyers from new destinations and invite
fresh investment in the country aiming at taking the sector back
to the pre-recession time. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
inaugurated the fair at a function in a city hotel and urged
industrialists to look for big markets for readymade garments (RMG)
in different Asian, African and Latin American countries. "We
must look for new markets apart from the United States and
Europe," she said adding that good opportunities have now become
visible in Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and South
Africa. Sheikh Hasina said the government is still trying to get
duty free access to the United States market and informed the
audience that decision has already been taken to raise this
demand during the upcoming ministerial level meeting of Free
Trade Agreement (FTA) in Geneva. The Prime Minister said the
government has taken several steps, including formation of task
force and declaring a stimulus package to help the RMG sector
face the global recession the reflection of which is visible to
some extent in the sector.
November 6, 2009 |
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