Bangladesh achieved striking growth in export of readymade garments and other textile products in 2006 as earning by the countrys prime industrial sectors grew by more than $2 billion, to $9.2 billion last year. The RMG sector increased its production capacity in the quotafree postMFA regime, and the very competitive prices of Bangladeshi apparels ensured robust growth in export.

With $8,933 million earned by the RMG sector alone, export earning of all textile products in 12 months of 2006 was $9,185 million. During the year, Bangladesh earned $252 million by exporting other textile products: home textiles fetched $213 million and textile fabrics $39 million. Growth in these categories ranged between 10 and 80 per cent in the second half of the year.

In 2006 Bangladeshi exporters enjoyed the maximum benefit of an interim quota reimposed on certain categories of Chinese garments in the US and EU markets. In some categories Bangladesh is much competitive than China. Moreover appreciation of the Yuan in the future and increasing production cost in China will make buyers stick to Bangladeshi RMG producers.

Earning of the RMG sector, which is responsible for more than threefourth of the countrys total export revenue, grew by nearly 30 per cent over the year. Earning by the RMG sector from JulyDecember of the current fiscal year (20062007) reached $4,730 million, growing by 28 per cent over the same period of the previous fiscal year.