Amidst poor attendance in the vote boycotted by the main opposition, Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, gained a fourth consecutive term with her party securing an absolute majority in the general election, the poll board announced on Monday.
Hasina, 76, the daughter of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, will be serving her fifth term as Prime Minister altogether. She was initially elected in 1996.
In her past 15 years in power, she has been credited with turning around the economy and the massive garments industry. Her win seems to be a positive news for the RMG industry as it ensures the continuation of policies and models put in place to strengthen and expand the garment industry in Bangladesh.
The RMG sector witnessed a qualitative shift in the product portfolio, moving beyond basic garments to higher-end products like non-cotton, outerwear, activewear, and suits.
RMG exports touched a new milestone of about US $ 47 billion registering a growth of 10.27 per cent year-on-year. Out of the total RMG export, knitwear saw 10.87 per cent year-on-year growth, with an export turnover of US $ 25.73 billion. Woven garment exports reached US $ 21.25 billion with 9.56 per cent growth, for the fiscal year 2022-2023.
The share of RMG in the overall export of Bangladesh has climbed to 84.58 per cent in FY 2022-23, from 81.82 per cent in FY 2021-22. Adding all textile and related articles to RMG (including home-textile, headgear, specialised textiles including silk and wool, and textile waste) then the year-end export turnover reaches US $ 49.24 billion, accounting for 88.35 per cent of the national export earnings.
During the fiscal year 2022-23, Bangladesh’s total exports reached US $ 55.56 billion with 6.67 per cent year-over-year growth, which was the highest-ever export earnings in the history of Bangladesh, with RMG exports growing by 10.27 per cent in this fiscal.
