The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The three-day Bangladesh Apparel and Textile Exposition (BATEXPO)- 2007 that concluded yesterday, drew remarkable attention of foreign buyers who also made about US $ 53.43 million orders for import, organisers said.

Highlighting success of the extravaganza, some leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said, huge foreign buyers and their local agents visited it. They also made order for importing readymade garments of their choice.

"The actual figure of the total export order is yet to be assessed. But, I think it will not be less than US 60 million," said an official of BGMEA, who was entitled to manage the BATEXPO.

The participants also got US $ 3.83 million worth of spot orders for RMG stock lot in the fair, which drew 3250 local representatives and 110 foreign buyers, he informed.

However, an official release of BGMEA said, the trade fair received US 53.43 per cent spot order for sale of readymade garments. Local representatives and foreign buyers from Canada, Germany, UK, USA, Spain, Russia, Poland, Netherlands, Turkey, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, France, Korea, China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Greece, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Australia attended the fair, besides hosts Bangladesh and made the spot orders.

On display in 82 stalls by 68 organisations, projected a buoyant growth prospect for Bangladesh's apparel making industry and attracted thousands of visitors while the country's southwestern part was hit by Cyclone 'Sidr' that left a trail of devastation along with loss of lives.

Seminars, fashion shows and cultural events, provide added attraction to the fair for upholding development of the country's apparel industry to the world.

Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed formally declared the BATEXPO- 2007 closed at Dhaka Sonargaon Hotel at a function chaired by BGMEA President Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez.

The commerce secretary said the Government will continue its diplomatic efforts so that the US congress pass the New Partnership for Development Act-07 bill in the US Congress that will allow duty free market access to apparel products from low-income countries including Bangladesh.

He said, despite possible challenges, the country's future export prospects are bright and the BATEXPO will play a significant role to increase the country's export earnings.

He hopped that Bangladesh's annual earnings from the export of apparels would reach US$ 15 to 18 billion by 2010. The country earned US$ 9.2 billion from garment exports this year.

BGMEA president Anwarul Alam Chowdhury earlier urged the Government to do its best in pursuing the US to pass the new bill.

He said Bangladesh already emerged as an excellent apparel manufacturer with its industry growing rapidly over the last two decades.

The trade show was helpful to explore newer export markets, he observed.

Bangladesh's share, the BGMEA president said, was two per cent in the global apparel market of 450 billion dollars. Next to EU and US, he said, India could, after it gave duty free access to eight million pieces of apparel, emerge as the third largest export destination for Bangladesh for the item.

The BGMEA leader called for immediate lowering of the rates of interests on credits to export industries, specially the RMG sector.

Countries like India, China or Pakistan provide loans to exporters at rates below 5 per cent, while China provided built-in infrastructure facilities including power plants to garment manufactures and export credits carrying an interest rate of 3 per cent. Bangladesh government, he said, should provide such facilities.

Some 2.4 million workers were directly engaged by the readymade garments (RMG) sector while 10 million were its indirect beneficiaries.