Apparel Online India Magazine March 1st Issue 2019 | Page 25

INDIA’S PREMIER SOURCING SHOW
SRI LANKA
BANGLADESH
Poised for
greater business The
manufacturing
haven for
innerwear
I T
argeting to achieve US $ 8 billion in apparel
exports by 2025, India’s other close neighbour, Sri
Lanka, exported apparels worth US $ 5 billion in 2018.
The biggest strength of the country is its workers’
efficiency level, which is at 70 per cent, while China stands
at 68 per cent.
n the last calendar year (January to December
2018), India’s import from Bangladesh was worth US
$ 438.22 million which has the potential to grow manifold,
as right from policies of both the countries to the product
strength of Bangladesh and emerging requirements of
Indian retail, all factors are supportive for increasing
apparel import from Bangladesh. Mainly known for
trousers, tees, shirts and sweaters, Bangladesh is poised
to offer a huge opportunity in this direction, besides
gaining strength in newer categories like jackets and
lingerie. Despite the recent wage hike, it is one of the
most cost-effective countries as far as minimum wage is
concerned. Still Bangladesh is concerned for higher MOQ
requirements as majority of the companies still insist on
orders of at least 3,000 to 4,000 pieces of per style.
Sri Lanka’s duty-free apparel exports to India are limited
up to US $ 40 million, yet it did US $ 80 million apparel
exports to India in 2018. Even though it represents a fairly
small share of Sri Lanka’s apparel exports, its apparel
exports exceeded the apparel import quota set by India,
which shows the high demand for Sri Lankan apparel in
the Indian market. Going with the ongoing beat, the Sri
Lankan apparel industry is already demanding to pursue
a sectorial liberalisation through the proposed Economic
and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA) with
India to increase the market access for the Sri Lankan
apparel exporters.
Currently out of the total trouser import of US and
EU, Bangladesh has a share of around 48 per cent
(quantity-wise). While in tees, it is 53 per cent, for
sweaters the share is 36 per cent.
Swimwear, lingerie, activewear, loungewear, workwear
and childrenswear are the core product strengths of the
country, which by and large are missing in India, in terms of
manufacturing. Besides, there are seven ports in Sri Lanka
out of which the Colombo port is the largest in the country.
UVR (in Euro per kg) for trousers is 12.46, for tees is
10.49 and for sweaters is 12.70.
Compliance execution is becoming stronger in Bangladesh
and the country is undertaking a silent revolution
by setting up eco-friendly factories. The top three
environmentally-friendly garment factories in the world
are located here. Over seven out of 10 LEED-certified
factories for scoring the highest standard in the world
are in Bangladesh. A staggering 150 factories are green.
Encouraging this trend, the Government is providing loans
at 9 per cent to garment manufacturers that intend to go
green. Bangladesh is also improving on infrastructure
front and has invested heavily on constructing the Padma
Bridge and the Payra Seaport by spending US $ 6 billion.
On the other side, the Government is also investing to
enhance its power generation capabilities as well. Overall
the country’s infrastructure is continuously improving,
whether it is through an upcoming metro train facility in
Dhaka or through 100 special economic zones. Meanwhile
there are already many giant trims’ manufacturers in
Bangladesh and now the country is witnessing a rise in
fabric production. Logistics is also not a major issue. There
are many positives including the aforementioned aspects
which can strengthen the apparel trade relations between
Bangladesh and India.
Top Groups: Standard Group, Pacific Jeans, Ha-Meem
Group, Beximco Fashions, DBL Group, Fakir Group and
many more
Major Production Hubs: Dhaka, Chittagong, Gazipur
Major clients: GAP, PVH, A&F, Kohl’s, American Eagle,
H&M, JCPenney, Macy’s and many more.
Currently out of the total import of foundation
garments by US and EU, Sri Lanka has a share of
around 13.25 per cent (quantity-wise). While in
babieswear, it holds a share of around 6.49 per cent.
UVR (in Euro, per kg) of foundation garments is 47.96
and for babieswear, it is 17.64.
Top Groups: MAS Holdings, Brandix, Hirdaramani
Major Production Hubs: Colombo, Mathugama, Kandy,
Dehiwela, Bingiriya, Nikaweratiya
Major Clients: Victoria’s Secret, PINK, GAP, Banana
Republic, H&M, Old Navy and M&S
“Our traditional markets, the EU and the US, are becoming
stagnant. Therefore, the Sri Lankan apparel industry needs
to penetrate more into emerging markets such as India,
China and Brazil.” – Rehan Lakhani, Chairman, Sri Lanka
Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA)
Trousers are the highest export products of all these countries (export to the EU) as data
from January to November 2018 shows (Quantity in million KG) (Value in Euro million)
Products
(Trousers) Bangladesh Cambodia Ethiopia Indonesia Myanmar Sri Lanka Vietnam
Quantity 366.8 74.2 0.9 10.3 16.8 16.8 33.2
Value 4573 1127 11 197 242 279 652
Source: Apparel Resources.com
www.apparelresources.com | MARCH 1-15, 2019 | Apparel Online India
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