bangladesh, the second-largest apparel producer after china, is set to lose roughly $6 billion in export revenue this financial year amid cancellations from some of the world’s largest brands and retailers, two major industry bodies said on Tuesday. The two groups, which represent the vast majority of the readymade garment and knitwear manufacturers in the country, said cancellations were increasing daily amid coronavirus-driven lockdowns globally, and these risked jeopardizing millions of jobs in the poor south Asian nation.
Low wages have helped bangladesh build its garment industry, with some 4,000 factories employing 4 million workers. Garment exports accounted for $34.12 billion, or 84 per cent of the country’s overall exports of $40.53 billion, in the fiscal year ended june 30, 2019. Mohammad Hatem, vice president of bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said "We’ve lost more than $3 billion due to the crisis. All our orders until July have been cancelled or suspended".
"Suspended orders will eventually get cancelled. All these orders were placed for summer and it takes three months to get these delivered. If they are not taking supplies now they will not take it when the summer is over," said Hatem, adding buyers had adopted a wait and watch policy, and are refraining from placing new orders. He added "Many factories will be closed if this persists".One industry source, who asked not to be named as the order books are confidential, said Gap, Zara, and Primark were among the brands that had cancelled orders. Gap and Zara did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. prime minister Sheikh Hasina recently unveiled a $588 million package for the country’s crucial export sector, asking companies to put the money towards paying workers.
