This year's Bangladesh Apparel and Textile Exposition (BATEXPO) could not attain handsome volume of spot order as the sector is lacking price competitiveness, organisers said yesterday. "The number of foreign buyers and visitors this year were higher than last year but they offered us less price by which we cannot supply them products," Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters' Association (BGMEA), told at the post BATEXPO press conference.

"The global economic recession and local uneven situations have sucked up our competitiveness," he said. This year's BATEXPO received spot order of US$41.64 million against last year's US$55.45 million. Murshedy said RMG factories are running at break even point for which it is very impossible to supply goods such a low price. The BGMEA president said his sector experienced a minus 26.83 per cent growth during the September 2009 comparing the corresponding period of previous year, the highest negative growth in the history of RMG industry. "The growth is also negative by 9.71 per cent during July-September period of FY 2009-10 against corresponding period of previous fiscal."

Murshedy said problem in infrastructure, inadequate gas and electricity supply, mismanagement in Chittagong port and high interest rate of bank loan are raising production cost of RMG which makes sustainability of the factories much tougher. On the other hand, he said, competitiveness of RMG factories in competitor countries increased significantly as those got stimulus package manifold. "Those countries are garbing the international market." "We are negotiating a US$30 million export order. If we can agree on price point we will get US$25 million order by the next two months," he hoped. The apparel sector chief urged the government to provide some policy support immediately to help grab the international market. BGMEA vice presidents Shafiul Islam (Mohiuddin) and Faruque Hassan also spoke on the occasion.

-New Nation