A recent survey reveals that nearly 38 percent of manufacturing capacity in the Bangladesh garment industry would remain unutilized between January and April of 2024.
“This will be due to a decline of orders from buyers as the consumption of clothing has dropped in Western markets due to the ongoing global economic turmoil,” the survey observed.
This survey was conducted in December 2023 on 100 factories, of which 66 responded to the queries.
The report revealed that 62 percent of the installed capacity of the surveyed apparel units was wholly booked for January to April, with the remaining 38 percent remaining unutilized.
The survey report also informed that 27.5 percent of the installed capacity in the surveyed garment factories remained unutilized in 2023 due to a shortage of orders.
“Prices of garment products fell on an average of 3.90 percent in the past year while the customs and bond-related costs in the factories increased by 47.85 percent in the period,” the report added.
“Buyers were negotiating orders with manufacturers at lower prices than India for similar products, as there was an uneven competition among Bangladeshi factory owners,” said Faisal Samad, Director of BGMEA.
