The International Trade Centre (ITC), in a study report, has recently found that global buyers were consistently paying lower than the global average price to apparel suppliers in Bangladesh but higher to some of the country’s competitors even if in many cases, local garment manufacturers received 32 per cent to 83 per cent lower rates than the highest prices paid to the suppliers in other countries.
This is as per media reports, which cited the study report titled, The Garment Costing Guide for small firms in value chains, published in August by the ITC while adding as per the ITC, there is a growing argument that customers — retailers and brands — should pay their suppliers a fair free-on-board (FOB) price since they are often paying the prices that are below the factory costs.
For information, the Geneva-based ITC is a multilateral agency, which has a joint mandate with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD).