http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2009/10/21/82118.html
Country’s terry towel exporters recovering from global meltdown
Jasim Uddin Haroon
The country’s terry towel manufacturers and exporters said Tuesday they have been recovering from the impact of global meltdown since July-August as the buyers are showing increased interest in their products.
According to the official data, the exporters shipped US$ 27.25 million worth of terry towel during July-August period of this fiscal, a 19.14 per cent rise over that of the same period in 2008-09.
The terry towel production faced a major setback early in 2009 as the buyers halted or delayed buy orders following their inventories or slow sales amid global recession.
It forced many manufactures to cut down production. Even many opted for sub-contracting during the period.
“Buyers are showing their interest in our products after a slump in demand for about four to five months,” Arifuzzaman, president of Bangladesh Terry Towel Manufacturers and Exporters Association, a group of over 100 terry towel producers, told the FE.
Bangladesh’s terry towel products mainly go to the US and European markets.
Terry towel manufacturing companies have been growing since 1980′s in the country. Their combined export earnings stood at $ 124 million in last fiscal year. The earning target for the current fiscal is $ 143.18 million, an 8.0 per cent rise over the previous fiscal year.
Mr Arif, who is also chairman of Global Fabrics Limited, said the buyers are pressing hard for reduction of the prices of the product.
Currently, the prices of terry towel range between $1.0 and $1.25 a kilogram, which was much higher earlier.
Md Rashid, a senior manager of Bismillah Towel at Comilla EPZ, said the export order is now satisfactory. “We’ve sufficient orders for shipment over the next three months,” he added.
A senior official at the Jaantex Industries at Narshingdi said that their orders for Gulf nations remained steady during the recession saying: “Many buyers are rushing to Dhaka over the past one month.”
There are more than 103 fully export-oriented terry towel manufacturing companies in the country, mostly located in Chittagong EPZ. The textile sub-sector has employed over 55,000 workers.
