"RMG export prices fall up to 16% in last 8 months", 2 June 2024

Export prices of locally made garment items have fallen by 8 percent to 16 percent year-on-year over the last eight months, according to data of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

International market prices declined mainly because of a fall in demand from end consumers suffering from high inflationary pressure due to the severe fallouts of Covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine war.

Moreover, the volume of garments exported from Bangladesh to major markets also exhibited a declining trend over the past 10 months.

For instance, the import of apparel from around the world by the US declined by 7 percent and by European Union (EU) by 13 percent in the July-April period of the current fiscal year.

This was due to the fall in demand, the BGMEA said...

...the bank interest rate rose by 15 percent and cost of production by 50 percent over the last five years, said BGMEA President SM Mannan Kochi yesterday.

The cost of production has increased because of a hike in gas and power prices and wages of workers, he told a views-exchange meeting with journalists at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka.

Kochi also said a recent government decision to not allow any investment to be made outside of export processing zones and special economic zones would have a negative effect on the inflow of such funds into the country...