Bangladesh's ready-made garment exporters have been at risk of losing their share of the pie in the international markets to their Indian counterparts as the labor unrest in this sector soon after the fall of the Awami League government reared its head extensively, grinding the RMG production nearly to a halt.
And Indian producers have seized this opportunity to the full to cash in on this tense situation. As a result, a good number of foreign orders for different types of apparels on the eve of the upcoming Christmas Day have been reportedly shifted to India from Bangladesh due to possible delays in delivery.
This has spurred the growth of Indian clothing exports significantly in recent months. According to a recent report published in the Indian daily The Telegraph, India's RMG supplies to the global markets rose by 17.3 percent year-on-year in September, capitalizing on political instability in Bangladesh.
Surprisingly, this growth in India's RMG exports comes despite global challenges such as inflation and supply chain disruptions, which have impacted other major garment-exporting nations across the world.
But India's RMG exports grew due to turmoil in Bangladesh. And it is clear as Indian Apparel Export Promotion Council's Chairman Sudhir Sekhri said when many global leading apparel exporters have experienced a slowdown in recent months, India has benefitted from Bangladesh's socio-political unrest.
It is an undeniable fact that Bangladesh's internal turmoil has forced many RMG factories to shut, causing delays in delivery schedules to the clients and if the unrest continues for more than one or two quarters, Bangladeshi exporters could face significant challenges in meeting deadlines.
However, this disruption could bode well for Indian exporters to grab monthly orders worth $200-250 million in the short term. Moreover, Indian garment manufacturers are also in a position to leverage operational efficiencies and backward integration to capture market share permanently from Bangladesh.
According to a report from CareRatings, the prolonged labor unrest has opened new opportunities for Indian apparel makers to expand their global presence as international brands seek alternatives and more reliable sourcing options.
Judged by the current situation, it could be said that there is a little hope for Bangladesh's RMG industry to turn around in the near future as labor unrest has been fairly a common feature taking place every now and then in this industrial sector.
Evidently, the latest incident occurred on Tuesday when thousands of garment workers took to the streets in Savar, demanding the payment of their dues and reopening of their factories.
Workers agitation has caused hundreds of factories either torched or closed down across the industrial hubs of Ashulia and Gazipur over the last two and a half months. And factory owners and some of the advisers of the interim government blame the outsiders and external elements for violent protests in our RMG sector.
We are in plea to the government to adopt strict security measures in order for the return of the status quo ante to our garment sector.
