Home textile exports in 9 months surpass entire FY21 figure

Home textiles exports continue to show stellar growth in the first nine months of the current fiscal year 2021-22 thanks to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that made people confined to their homes for months.

According to EPB data, Bangladesh exported $1.15 billion worth of home textiles during the July-March period, up nearly 37 percent from the same time a year ago.

At the same time of the last fiscal year, home textile exports had aggregated $846.45 million.  

Industry insiders said during the lockdown, work orders kept on pouring in the country as people stayed in their respective homes for a long period of time. So, the demand for some clothing and textiles increased abruptly, impacting on the shipment.

“International buyers started preferring Bangladesh to mighty China due to political stand. Besides, the major peer Cambodia doesn’t have the backward linkage industry. Therefore, more and more orders have started coming to Bangladesh, raising our exports,” Shahadat Hossian, president of Bangladesh Terry Towel and Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BTTLMEA) told the Business Insider Bangladesh.

Most of the nations in the West had been under lockdown for two years when people stayed in their respective homes and used more and more towels, napkins and other home wear, he explained.

Hossain, however, said, though exports rose sharply, exporters could not pocket the profit due to high cost of raw materials. Yarn prices have increased enormously in the local market.

“We cannot materialise the work orders due to high rates of yarn. And, the millers also repeatedly failed to deliver the products at the scheduled time that affected the export. So, we wrote to the government asking for permission to import yarn on our own,” Shahadat said.

Earning buyers’ trust is another reason that orders have been multiplied.

“In the last decade, Bangladesh earned goodwill in the textile industry around the globe. Buyers now don’t feel comfortable trading with India. Sometimes, buyers place work orders to us at higher rates than India,” said Md Nurul Islam, managing director of Noman Terry Towel Mills Ltd.

Exporters also asked the government to ease import of raw materials and allow shipment through all modes of transport to earn more revenue.

“We also sought shipment facilities through all the borders, rail, water, land and air. We requested the government for a tax and bond free facility while importing raw materials for the betterment of the backward industry,” said Mujibur Rahman, the general secretary of BTTLMEA.

The target for home textile export has been set at $1.37 billion for FY22.