Noman Group, a prominent exporter in Bangladesh with a workforce of about 80,000 distributed across 32 factories, has recently reversed its decision to invest in the establishment of three new readymade garment factories.
Speaking to the media, the chairman of the group, Nurul Islam, explained that this change in plans is attributed to a combination of factors, including the surge in fuel prices, the repercussions stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and various domestic and international challenges.
During an interaction with a Bangladesh-based media house, Nurul Islam reportedly stated that the initial objective had been to create three new garment factories that could collectively employ around 15,000 workers. However, the group has now opted to abandon the expansion plans even as he underlined while gas prices remained stable in Bangladesh’s competing nations, the country is lagging behind due to factors such as its dependency on imported cotton and dyeing chemicals, which has led to a disadvantage in terms of lead time for exporting to Europe, putting Bangladeshi exporters at a disadvantage in the global competition.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has also contributed to the challenges faced by exporters, Nurul Islam noted adding the global market is experiencing reduced demand due to this conflict.
Nurul Islam also reportedly lamented that the group’s profitability has been severely impacted even if in the past, the group achieved an average profit margin of 3 per cent, but the current circumstances have led to losses ranging from 3 per cent to 5 per cent, and this decline is primarily attributed to the ongoing conflict and the substantial rise in local gas prices.
