There is a constant demand to source quality products at efficient price-points. Consequently, Western buyers are now searching for the ‘next China’ and evaluating other sourcing options.
Bangladesh has been the preferred next stop for sourcing ready made garments for some time, but improvements in manufacturing infrastructure means that Bangladesh is also looking like a viable sourcing hub for other export goods.
The changing situation in China
Low-cost manufacturing played a huge role in making China the second largest economy in the world by 2010 (compared to the ninth largest in 1980). Now China is rapidly moving into medium to high-tech manufacturing as its labour costs have risen. China’s exports of labour-intensive manufactured goods are projected to decline creating room for manufacturing in Bangladesh and other South Asian economies where China until recently dominated.
Bangladesh, one of the emerging economies, has already started competing with China in global apparel exports. In fact, China is now using Bangladesh to outsource its ready made garment products taking advantage of the cheap labour costs here.
Bangladesh poised for growth
The Bangladesh economy has been one of the top performers in Asia over the past decade with growth steadily accelerating to more than 6 per cent. This growth has been driven by the classic cheap-labour starter industry of textiles, much like Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan during the industrialization of their economies. Bangladesh has picked up about two-thirds of China’s low-end manufacturing market share in Europe.
The Bangladesh government has an ambitious growth target of 8{1b1b9ce846acca1f39def03dae003274ac5660c9b015842d7bf5d85a3bcad6d8} a year by 2020, and in order to achieve that will be looking to diversify to other trades, where there is more scope for growth.
Benefits of sourcing from Bangladesh
As well as the potential to source cheaper goods from Bangladesh, there are also preferential duty rates on the shipment of most goods.
Whether your business is importing clothing, textiles, footwear or even furniture, Bangladesh is worth consideration. PFE offers Sea Freight services with good transit times from the port of Chittagong. Our extensive network of trusted partners enables us to offer highly competitive supply chains and control them on your behalf. We make sure your goods are delivered safely into PFE’s own warehouses in the UK. Our customers’ goods are not re-handled anywhere in the process. So you can have peace of mind that your goods will be delivered securely, when and where you want them.
Simon Canning, who heads up PFE’s Imports team says: “Bangladesh offers an exciting new market for consumer goods. It has begun to win manufacturers over from China because of lower costs and its improving infrastructure.†Simon continues “If you are considering Bangladesh and need help and advice with importing from the area we are very happy to share our knowledge and experience with you.â€
If you would like a non-committal quote for your shipment, please get in touch.
Image accreditation: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Bangladesh_and_tree.jpg. Image cropped and resized from the original.
