South Asian garment manufacturers are looking for more trading opportunities from their existing partners than opting for market diversification to secure their profit markets.
All the South Asian regional competitors are also limited in marketing their products to a few destinations, thus losing their profit margins due to a lack of marketing strategies.
Most rely heavily on preferential trade agreements to sustain their share in their respective markets.
Bangladesh garment manufacturers have recently sought more share from their existing trading partners instead of focusing in market diversification and exploration for new destinations.
Reports suggest that over 70 percent of garment exports from Bangladesh are destined to nine countries, with a prime focus on Europe. Those nine countries included the USA, Germany, the UK, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, and Belgium.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has approached the newly-appointed trade commissioner and director of the trade promotion office of the Italian embassy has sought an active role in pursuing Italian clothing retailers and brands to source more apparel items from Bangladesh and invest more in the south Asian country.
Earlier, the Association had asked for similar treatment from the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh while claiming to boost garment exports to $100 billion by 2030. “This reflects that we still have challenges in market and product diversification,” said Selim Raihan, executive director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM).
