Home textile: Exports soar 41.5pc in 9 months

According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, income from home textile has increased by 41.5 per cent in the first nine months of the current fiscal compared to the same period of previous fiscal.

Bangladesh, the second-largest exporter of apparel goods, has been able to diversify its export basket by boosting earnings from new products.Home textile products include bed linen, bed sheet and other bedroom textiles, bath linen, carpets and rugs, blankets, kitchen linen, curtains, cushions and cushion cover and covers for quilts.

Alongside these products, demand has skyrocketed for hospital bed sheets and gowns in tune with the rise in the number of Covid-19 patients worldwide.

Exporters and sector leaders said the demand for these items has skyrocketed worldwide as people have been staying at home for a long time due to the pandemic.

As Bangladesh produces quality home textile products, orders from global buyers have increased during the last year.

In nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year, home textile exporters have fetched $846 million, which is 20 per cent more than the target set by the government.

During the same period of 2019-20 fiscal, home textile makers shipped products worth $598 million from Bangladesh.Exporters said the pandemic has increased the demand for home textile products and Bangladesh has been able to take the opportunity.

Rashed Mosharraf, executive director of the Home Marketing department of Zaber & Zubair Fabrics, explained three reasons behind the positive growth.

According to Mosharraf, Bangladeshi exporters’ competence level is increasing and they are marching forward with a roadmap to working with the big retailers around the world.

“This is one of the reasons for the growth. With this, the pandemic has augmented the export growth as the use of home textile products increased significantly,” he said.

Tug of war between the China and US and other countries has also indirectly helped Bangladesh to get more orders for home textiles from the global buyers, he explained it as the third reason for the growth of home textile exports.

“Home textile sector has seen around 40 per cent growth and I hope it will continue for next six months”, said Rashed Mosharraf, adding that his company is now working with more than its capacity.

According to several predictions, the global retail value of home textiles has been estimated at around $100 billion and is expected to register a compound annual growth rate of 5.01 per cent from 2019 to 2025.

Echoing the same, Shahadat Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Terry Towel & Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the pandemic has become a boon for home textile sectors.

As the demand is increasing, orders from major sourcing countries are also rising for Bangladeshi exporters.