Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) today (Oct 30) said the export earnings target from readymade garments set by the government for the FY23 is unlikely to be achieved due to the high inflation in major markets and shortage of energy in the country.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan made the apprehension at a press conference held at the headquarters of the trade body at Uttara in the city.
He said: "Export earnings target from RMG for the current fiscal year will not be achieved as global buyers have been placing the decreasing volume of orders due to inflation."
Faruque also said the readymade garment exports in October might have registered nearly 20 per cent negative growth compared to that of the same month last year.
Faruque said the demand for apparel has decreased in the major markets, including European Union and the United States, due to the high trend of inflation. At the same time capacity remained unutilized in the RMG factories in Bangladesh due to the shortage of gas and electricity, he added.
"Unfortunately, the gas and electricity crisis are creating scope for the global buyers to think beyond Bangladesh," said the BGMEA president.
"I think the export earnings will also register negative growth in November. Under the circumstances it will not be possible to achieve the apparel export target for the current financial year due to the energy crisis, decline of work orders and high inflation in the major markets," he said.
The government has set export earnings targets from RMG of $46.80 billion for the fiscal year 2022-23.
Export earnings from RMG in FY 2021-22 stood at $42.61 billion which was 21.25 per cent higher than the government-set target of $35.14 billion, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.
"The ongoing crisis of gas and electricity has pushed the production cost high as manufacturers have been trying to continue their production through diesel-run generators," said Faruque Hassan.
BGMEA vice presidents - Md Shahidullah Azim and Khandoker Rafiqul Islam and directors - M. Khosru Chowdhury and Neela Hosna Ara, among others, attended the press meet.
BDST: 2103 HRS, OCT 30, 2022
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