Raw material sourcing, certification big challenge for technical textile export

Bangladesh has been missing out on a huge market of technical textile products mainly because of raw material shortage and testing issues, say exporters.

Entrepreneurs have to be tactful in capturing the around $180 billion market, they opined at a discussion on Tuesday.

"If we can enter the market slowly but strongly, its presence will be sustainable. Thus, we will be able to gain a major foothold in the global market of technical textiles like in readymade garment exports," Tariqul Islam, assistant director at Snowtex Group, said at the event to disclose a study titled "Feasibility study on scaling up the production of technical textile including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Bangladesh.

The German-based Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) conducted the study in association with Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and GFA Consulting Group.

Abdullah Hil Rakib, director at BGMEA and managing director at Team Group, said, "When we started work on exporting outwear [a type of technical textile product], we initially faced a raw material crisis and then came problems regarding certification, followed by pricing issues." 

Tariqul Islam said there is still a shortage of raw materials and lack of product testing facilities. In the long run, outerwear and other textile products have better prospects than PPE and masks.

While presenting the report, Charles Dagher, consultant at GFA Consulting Group, mentioned a number of challenges why Bangladesh has remained behind in technical textile exports.

Lack of collaboration within industry, low-international recognition as suitable TT/PPE sub-sector supplier, a lack of marketing intelligence and branding, little awareness amongst key players in the traditional textile and apparel sector and a lack of certification for raw and processed materials are major challenges.

Uncontrolled unit costs and lead time negatively are impacting sector competitiveness, he said.

The report emphasised reaching out to buyers worldwide and building their confidence in Bangladesh as a supplier country of technical textile products.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said, "Non-cotton items have occupied about 75% of the global clothing fashion, but we only have 25% stake in it. We are now working on product diversification."

Achim Tröster, German ambassador to Bangladesh, Shahidullah Azim, vice-president at the BGMEA were also present at the programme. Jost Wagner, country director of GIZ, moderated it.

The technical textile market is projected to grow to $224.4 billion by 2025 at an average annual growth rate of 4.2%. Meanwhile, the global PPE market is projected to pass $93 billion by the end of 2025.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), in the last fiscal year, Bangladesh exported PPE and masks worth $618 million to the world market, which was 23% more than in the previous year.

According to the BGMEA, 155 of its members export masks to 19 countries and PPE to six countries.