Dewan Mashuq Uz Zaman
Bangladesh’s garment sector is under growing pressure as production disruptions, cautious buyers, and rising costs begin to overlap. Factories are struggling to maintain stability, and the overall outlook is becoming increasingly uncertain.
Bangladesh’s garment industry is going through a difficult phase. On the surface, production is still running, orders are still coming in, and factories are still active. But underneath that, pressure is building from multiple sides at once. It is not one single crisis. It is several small ones coming together.
The most visible issue is energy. Factories are dealing with gas shortages and frequent power cuts. In industrial areas like Gazipur and Ashulia, this has become part of daily life. Work does not run smoothly anymore. It stops and starts with the electricity supply.
Because of this, many factories have turned to diesel generators. But even that is not a stable solution. Fuel is not always available in the right amount. When it is available, it often does not last through long outages. So production time is shrinking without a formal shutdown. In some cases, capacity has fallen by as much as 25 to 30 percent.
This kind of instability does not stay inside the factory. It moves outward. Buyers notice it first. International brands are already becoming more cautious. Some companies are delaying new orders. Others are quietly shifting work to alternative markets.
Global demand is also changing. Western retailers are carrying unsold stock from earlier seasons. Consumer demand is not as strong as before. As a result, expected orders for the July to August cycle have slowed, and in several cases, not arrived at all. Apparel orders for the next season are expected to fall by around 8 to 10 percent.
This creates a strange situation. Supply is becoming less stable in Bangladesh, while demand is also slowing abroad. Both sides are pulling in different directions.
Inside the country, costs are rising quietly but steadily. Transport between major industrial hubs has become more expensive, with truck fares increasing by around 20 percent. Raw materials are also costing more, especially yarn, which has seen a noticeable rise. The situation in the Middle East has further fed into this, disrupting fuel markets and making raw material imports more expensive. But factories cannot easily pass these costs to buyers. Prices remain under pressure, so manufacturers end up absorbing the difference.
On the ground, the impact is visible in small but important ways. Some exporters are now worried about meeting deadlines. In a few cases, air freight is being considered, even though it is far more expensive. Freight charges have also risen as a result of global conflict, adding another layer of cost pressure that connects directly to the deadline problem.
Industry leaders are trying to respond. There are calls for better fuel distribution, stronger energy planning, and faster infrastructure expansion. Some emergency steps have been introduced. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has introduced special fuel cards that allow factories to collect diesel from designated filling stations. But these solutions are still temporary. They reduce pressure, but they do not remove it.
What makes this moment important is not any single problem. It is the combination. Energy is unstable. Costs are rising. Global demand is weakening. Together, they are creating a sense of uncertainty that is harder to ignore.
Bangladesh’s garment industry has always adapted under pressure. That is not new. But adaptation works best when problems are isolated. Right now, they are overlapping. And that is what makes this phase different.
The question is no longer just about surviving individual challenges. It is about how long the system can hold when everything starts moving in the same direction at once.
