"Export earnings to drop as buyers change sourcing strategy", 18 March 2023

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has apprehended that the export earnings’ growth might decline in March as global buyers changed their sourcing strategy due to geopolitical tensions and production plan in apparel factories were being disrupted.

BGMEA president Faruque Hassan...said that the global brands and buyers were changing their sourcing strategy and placing orders in small slots due to uncertainties in global economy...

Consumers in the western countries have been becoming more interested in buying discounted apparel products and so buyers have decreased the volume of work orders amid the declining trend, the BGMEA president said.

He said that buyers and brands were placing orders in small slots instead of bulk quantity and the change of the sourcing strategy by the global buyers were upsetting the production plan of Bangladeshi factories.

Regarding the change in global trade policy, Faruque said that Bangladesh needed to enhance its capacity to comply with human rights and due diligence protocols adapted by the European Union to avert future challenges in the global business...