Bangladesh sees Malaysia as potential RMG export market

21 Jul '12

2 min read

Bangladesh is eyeing Malaysia as a potential market for its readymade garment (RMG) exports during the coming years.

The Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) recently organized ‘Showcase Bangladesh 2012’ with an aim to promote Bangladeshi products and services, especially RMG, in Malaysia.

Speaking to fibre2fashion, Mr. Syed Nurul Islam, President of BMCCI, said, “Through Showcase Bangladesh, we were able to uphold the image of Bangladesh as the second largest readymade garment (RMG) manufacturing country in the world.”

Revealing about the response at Showcase Bangladesh, Mr. Islam states, “The event was really a great experience. It was visited by over 500 people from different sectors. One Bangladeshi garment manufacturer signed MoU with a Malaysian buyer for supplying substantial quantities of RMG.”

Mr. Islam, who is also the Chairman and CEO of Well Group, a leading RMG exporting company in Bangladesh, said, “Malaysia is one of the high economic growth countries in Asia having per capita income of over US$ 9000. Moreover, Malaysia is also a top tourist destination attracting more than 2.5 million tourists every year.”

“Malaysia is a market of over 5o million high income buyers, which makes it a potential market for Bangladeshi garments,” he adds.

The apparel market in Malaysia is estimated to be worth about US$ 2 billion. Most of the country’s clothing imports are currently from China and Indonesia.

The share of Bangladeshi garments is currently less despite the fact that almost all categories of Bangladeshi apparels get duty-free access to Malaysia, owing to Bangladesh’s least developed country status.

In fiscal year 2010-11, Bangladesh’s total exports to Malaysia were worth only US$ 43.87 million compared to its imports worth US$ 1.76 billion. Hence, the increase in Bangladeshi apparel exports would also contribute in reducing Bangladesh’s trade gap with Malaysia.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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