High time to build our own brand and promote all over the world including Middle East.
As the largest export-oriented industry of the country, the garment sector was stuck in the market of western countries for a long time. But exporters have been looking for new markets for a long time as there is some uncertainty in the existing market which hampers exports and worries exporters and the country’s economy as a whole.
Apart from a large market in the West, various countries have shown interest in buying Bangladeshi clothing. Japan, Australia, South Korea, China, Russia and the Middle East are currently promising new markets in that list. Bangladesh’s garment exports to these new markets have seen a recent growth of 10 percent.
High time to build our own brand and promote all over the world including Middle East.
As the largest export-oriented industry of the country, the garment sector was stuck in the market of western countries for a long time. But exporters have been looking for new markets for a long time as there is some uncertainty in the existing market which hampers exports and worries exporters and the country’s economy as a whole.
Apart from a large market in the West, various countries have shown interest in buying Bangladeshi clothing. Japan, Australia, South Korea, China, Russia and the Middle East are currently promising new markets in that list. Bangladesh’s garment exports to these new markets have seen a recent growth of 10 percent.
Demand for Bangladeshi-made garments has increased in Middle Eastern countries. As a result, the growth of exports to the Middle East is significant. According to the data, domestic garment exports to Saudi Arabia increased by 58 percent. Turkey has increased by 54 percent and the United Arab Emirates has increased by 41.96 percent. According to the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), there is potential for further growth in garment exports to the Middle East market.
According to data from the International Trade Center, the garment market in the oil-rich Middle East is worth about $11 billion. However, in the last fiscal year, the exports of garments made from Bangladesh to the countries of the Gulf region were only $517.7 million. Although Bangladesh is in the second position in the export of garment products in the world, only 4.7 percent of the demand in the Middle East is occupied by Bangladesh. The growth rate is 14.66 percent. It was $451.5 million in the previous financial year. Out of this, the highest amount of $292.3 million of ready-made garments was exported to the United Arab Emirates.
Products worth $185.4 million were exported to Saudi Arabia. Apart from this, $25.9 million in Kuwait, $4.1 million in Qatar, $2.5 million in Jordan, $2.3 million in Oman, $2.2 million in Lebanon, $1.9 million in Iraq, $0.73 million in Bahrain and only $2,000 in Iran in the last financial year.
Opportunities
According to International Trade Center data, in 2022 the UAE procured approximately $4.90 billion worth of apparel items from the global market, followed by Saudi Arabia $3.50 billion, Kuwait $1.20 billion, Qatar $700 million, Oman $630 million and Bahrain $290 million. Bangladesh’s share in this market is less than 5 percent of this about $11 billion Middle East’s fashionable clothing market.
Courtesy: Collected
Several entrepreneurs of the garment industry of Bangladesh said that there is a high demand for expensive clothes in the Middle East market. Mainly dominating the market in China, India and Pakistan. Bangladesh exports relatively cheap garments to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
Gulf countries have ample opportunities to export their traditional and religious clothing, but there is also a demand for western clothing. Many Bangladeshis and subcontinental nationals live in Saudi Arabia and Middle East, we export our fabrics for their needs. Our garment exports to genuine Arab customers are still very limited. If we can target those customers, mainly high-end used clothing, we can achieve high export growth in the Middle East market.
Challenges
The real picture is slightly different from the statistics of Bangladesh’s export of ready-made garments to the Middle East. Made in Bangladesh products can be found in almost every brand shop there. This is a Made in Bangladesh product but not directly exported from Bangladesh. The product is ordered in Bangladesh by the mother company of the international brands. They said to deliver this batch of goods to any port in Middle East. But the product is documented in the name of the mother company. As a result, the financial accounting also rises in the books of the mother company’s country.
The purchasing power of the oil and gas-dependent Gulf countries is sometimes higher than that of Europe-America. But they are addicted to fashionable and brand products. The Middle East has not developed its own brand culture that way. Mainly European and American brands dominate there. Products made in our country are in those brand shops, but they are not directly exported there but go there through third parties or through the mother company of the brands.
If the government takes initiative, we can create a market of at least 5 to 6 billion dollars in the Middle East. Embassies and trade missions there need to be more active to grow the apparel market in the Middle East. New research is needed to know exactly what type of clothing products are in demand in the Middle East. Monitoring of garment exporters and EPB in these countries requires intensive travel to these countries.
Being the 2nd largest apparel exporters, it is high time to build our own brand and promote all over the world including Middle East. We have that capability, all we need is initiative and government cooperation. Brands buy and sell the clothes we make. To promote our own brands, all–out efforts is necessary.
Gulf countries require regional or single country-based expos or exhibitions, which will create opportunities for communication between consumers and producers. The Ministry of Commerce, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, may organize G2G meetings, where manufacturers will also have an opportunity to attend. As a result of this initiative by the government, it will be easier to find potential customers through B2B meetings.
