Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The two-day long Bangladesh Denim Expo began in the capital on Tuesday aiming to ensure sustainability in the sub-sector.
A European diplomat said at the opening seminar that Bangladesh should not only think about productivity, but should also focus on social and environmental sustainability.
Chief Executive Officer of the Bangladesh Denim Expo Mostafiz Uddin inaugurated the show at International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka.
A total of 55 exhibitors from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, South Korea and Vietnam are displaying a wide range of denim products in the expo under the theme - 'natural denim'. The show ends on Wednesday.
Now, Bangladesh is a major player in the global denim business as nearly 30 denim fabric making factories are operating here. Total investment in the denim sector is more than $1 billion. In a few years, export of denim products will rise to $5 billion, from more than $2 billion a year now.
Global denim sales amount to more than $56 billion a year now; the number is expected to reach $64 billion by the end of 2020. In 2015, Bangladeshi denim products had a 22.88 percent market share in the EU and 11.35 percent in the US, according to the US Department of Commerce.
Production capacity of the denim mills in Bangladesh is more than 40 million yards a month against the demand for nearly 70 million yards. The rest of the demand is met through imports from countries like China, India, Pakistan and Turkey.
“The response from the global business community is amazing,” Mostafiz said while explaining response about the expo.
He also said many international retailers, buyers and sellers applied to participate in the show, but it was not possible to accommodate all of them.
BBN/SSR/AD