Interviews
'B'desh garment makers must improve quality, design'
27 Jan '12
2 min read
At the ongoing Knit Expo 2012 in Tokyo, organized by the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Japanese buyers said Bangladesh garment manufacturers need to improve on quality and create suitable designs to increase their exports to Japan.
At the sixth Knit Exposition, organized at the Japan Fashion Wear and International Fashion Fair, Japanese buyers said they are willing to shift orders from China to Bangladesh if the two parameters are met.
“Bangladesh has a good potential to improve its garment exports to Japan as the cost of manufacturing in China has increased. However, if the country fails to improve the quality of its garments, it may fail to increase its market share,” a buyer at the fair said.
Another buyer said, “Over 90 percent of our requirement is currently sourced from China, which is becoming costly. So, we have given a sample order and if the garments meet our quality and other criteria, we shall place more orders.”
Traders from Japan are currently sourcing garments from other countries besides China in accordance with the “China plus one” trade policy announced by the Government in 2008 to decrease dependence on China, the biggest garment supplier globally.
Cambodia, Bangladesh and Vietnam are among the countries that Japanese buyers are exploring as China is becoming an expensive place to source for their garments. In recent times, the cost of production has risen in China due to increase in wages of workers.
During the first 11 months of 2011, Bangladesh exported knitwear items worth US$ 138.48 million to Japan, which constituted just 1 percent of all knitwear products imported by Japan. In comparison, the knitwear goods exported by China accounted for 85.17 percent of Japanese imports.
The size of Japanese apparel market is US$ 25 billion, of which knitwear accounts for US$ 12 billion, and the remaining is that of woven garments.
At the sixth Knit Exposition, organized at the Japan Fashion Wear and International Fashion Fair, Japanese buyers said they are willing to shift orders from China to Bangladesh if the two parameters are met.
“Bangladesh has a good potential to improve its garment exports to Japan as the cost of manufacturing in China has increased. However, if the country fails to improve the quality of its garments, it may fail to increase its market share,” a buyer at the fair said.
Another buyer said, “Over 90 percent of our requirement is currently sourced from China, which is becoming costly. So, we have given a sample order and if the garments meet our quality and other criteria, we shall place more orders.”
Traders from Japan are currently sourcing garments from other countries besides China in accordance with the “China plus one” trade policy announced by the Government in 2008 to decrease dependence on China, the biggest garment supplier globally.
Cambodia, Bangladesh and Vietnam are among the countries that Japanese buyers are exploring as China is becoming an expensive place to source for their garments. In recent times, the cost of production has risen in China due to increase in wages of workers.
During the first 11 months of 2011, Bangladesh exported knitwear items worth US$ 138.48 million to Japan, which constituted just 1 percent of all knitwear products imported by Japan. In comparison, the knitwear goods exported by China accounted for 85.17 percent of Japanese imports.
The size of Japanese apparel market is US$ 25 billion, of which knitwear accounts for US$ 12 billion, and the remaining is that of woven garments.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
Popular News
Leave your Comments
Editor’s Pick
Andreas Rass
ZIMMER AUSTRIA | Digital Printing Systems
Kunal Mehta
Kanchi by Shobhna and Kunal Mehta
Esteemed Clients
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
