Bangladesh's garment industry is growing rapidly despite the global economic turmoil as China loses orders due to high prices and worldwide demand for cheap clothing soars. Nearly 5,000 apparel makers here initially sought government help when some top US and European buyers postponed and cut orders in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression. But clothing makers say that a massive diversion of orders from China, the world's largest producer of apparel, has more than compensated. In the first quarter to September, garment shipments grew by a record 45 percent to 3.4 billion dollars, government data this week showed, with more than 90 percent of the exports going to the US and Europe. "It's a huge change in fortune for us," said Golam Faruq, owner of the country's largest sweater manufacturer and a key supplier to British upmarket retailer Marks and Spencer.
Nearly 5,000 apparel makers here initially sought government help when some top US and European buyers postponed and cut orders in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression.
But clothing makers say that a massive diversion of orders from China, the world's largest producer of apparel, has more than compensated.
In the first quarter to September, garment shipments grew by a record 45 percent to 3.4 billion dollars, government data this week showed, with more than 90 percent of the exports going to the US and Europe.
"It's a huge change in fortune for us," said Golam Faruq, owner of the country's largest sweater manufacturer and a key supplier to British upmarket retailer Marks and Spencer.
Heard the same thing about electronics sub-contracting, BTW: Taiwanese ODM moving manufacturing from the coastal provinces of Mainland China to "cheaper" destinations; the current favorite: Vietnam. Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.
