RMG exporters in a race against time to offset losses

They also could not communicate with foreign buyers due to an internet blackout, which began on July 18 and persisted until July 23. The disruption in production, delivery and shipment took place at a time when the sector is struggling to recover its international trade. Bangladesh’s garment shipments fell 5.2 percent to $33.04 billion in the July-May period of the last fiscal year compared to the same period a year prior, according to data from the Bangladesh Bank.

International buyers are also piling pressure on apparel exporters to ship goods quickly as they have to fill their stores with new designs ahead of Christmas, the biggest retail sales extravaganza in the Western world. The months of July, August and September are the peak time for the shipment of goods to be sold during Christmas. “Buyers do not want to hear about any crisis. They want on-time delivery of goods,” said a garment exporter who ships T-shirts and polo shirts to the US and Canada. The global apparel supply chain has been struggling to recover from the severe fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and historic inflationary pressure on Western consumers.

It was dealt another blow this year in the form of the Red Sea crisis, which triggered commercial vessel operators to nearly double shipping charges. The shipment of goods from Bangladesh to Europe is taking at least a month more than in previous times due to the crisis, which has forced commercial vessel operators to forgo the traditional route through the Suez Canal and navigate an additional 3,500 kilometres around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. As such, in many cases, international clothing retailers and brands are asking for expensive air shipments so goods can reach stores timely. If a kilogramme of garment is sent to Europe through waterways, it costs around 10 cents or less. But if the same shipment is sent through air from Dhaka airport, it costs more than $4. An apparel exporter, asking not to be named, said: “I have planned to keep my factory open on Friday so I can ship goods timely and avoid work order cancellations and expensive air shipment.” However, another exporter said it would be difficult to cater to the work orders because of a raw material shortage, which happened because goods could not be transported to factories over the past week. Faruque Hassan, managing director of Giant Group, said his American buyers could not place work orders during the past week. So, he sent two of his officers to the US so that he does not lose business. It will take more than one month to overcome the losses of one week, he lamented, adding that port, customs and transport services should be expedited so the business can run smoothly.