International retailers and brands are putting pressure on local apparel exporters to guarantee prompt delivery of goods as they compete frantically to recover the damages, as they suffered during the most recent violent episode that is at the centre of the quota reform campaign and statewide curfew.
Apparel exporters hope to partially offset losses by enhancing productivity, so they will keep their production units open on Friday and pay overtime bills to satisfy lead times after four days of factory and mill shutdowns.
The circumstances of the last week forced suppliers to postpone hundreds of meetings and factory inspections. Additionally, from 18th to 23rd July, there was an internet shutdown that prevented them from communicating with overseas buyers.
The disruption in production, delivery and shipment took place at a time when the sector was struggling to recover its international trade.
According to figures from the Bangladesh Bank, the country’s garment shipments decreased 5.2 per cent to US $ 33.04 billion during the July–May period of the most recent fiscal year as compared to the same time the previous year.
The demand to ship items swiftly is also increasing from overseas purchasers for apparel exporters, who must stock their stores with new designs in time for Christmas, the largest retail sales event in the Western world.
The busiest months for the shipment of items to be sold during Christmas are July, August, and September.
“Buyers do not want to hear about any crisis. They want on-time delivery of goods,” said a garment exporter who ships T-shirts and polo shirts to the US and Canada.
After the devastating effects of the Covid-19 outbreak, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the unprecedented inflationary strain on Western customers, the global textile supply chain has been finding it difficult to recover.