BGMEA UNIVERSITY OF FASHION &

TECHNOLOGY ( BUFT )

Course Title: Fabric Manufacturing Engineering - 1

Course Code : TEX 2105

ASSIGNMENT ON:
Group: F (W-9)
Comparative analysis between weaving and knitting
industries of Bangladesh.

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Md. Mahbubul Haque 191-042-801

Lecturer 191-044-801
Department of Textile Engineering 191-046-801
BUFT 191-049-801
191-050-801

Date of Submission: 12-07-2020

Contents:

o Executive Summary
o Introduction.
o Industry Scenario Of Bangladesh.
o Woven And Knit Sector Contribution.
o Top Foreign Buyer Of Bangladesh Weaving & Knitting Industry
o Swot Analysis Of Bangladesh Weaving & Knitting Garments
Industry.
o Impact Of The $ 50 Billion Targets In The Unplanned Capacity
Expansion.
o Products Of Weaving Garments Industry Of Bangladesh.
o Products Of Knitting Garments Industry Of Bangladesh.
o Lack Of Competitiveness.
o Conclusion.
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Over the years the apparel industry of Bangladesh is growing faster than any other industry.
Bangladesh is a developing country, economy of this country is expanding year to year.
Earlier the economy was dependent on the agriculture and manufacturing industry, but now
the scenario has changed, new manufacturing industries emerging and our economy is
booming. The growth of textile and garments industry is more obvious because of easy
adaptability of technology and lower cost of human resource which is the key success
factors of this industry. Apparel industry creating employment opportunities both for skilled
and semiskilled workers, especially for women workers. Export earnings from RMG products
are increasing and by this we are getting lots of foreign currencies. During the initial period
of RMG sector woven garments dominated the export share. After that with increasing
variety of in house knit fabric, gradually knit garments started being the leading garments
sector.The Bangladesh Textile Manufacturers Association (BTMA), which represents
spinners, Weaving or woven fabric manufacturers and dyeing units; the Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), which represents the RMG
sector, primarily the cutting and sewing units; and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers
and Exporters Association (BKMEA), which represents the knitwear fabric manufacturers,
the fabric dyeing units and the knitgarment cutting and sewing units. These three
associations work either in collaboration, or independently from each other, subject to the
agenda they may be forwarding.

RMG is the biggest export-oriented industry and earns 65% foreign currency. The local
market of readymade garments is increasing because of an increase in per capita income
and a change in consumer behavior. The RMG industry is getting more important because of
creating employment, bringing foreign currency, socio-economic development which
creating a positive force to the GDP of our country. Engaged about 4 million people directly
with this industry activities directly on the other hand one core people of the total country
are engaged with his activities. Being it is the main source of earning foreign currency and
labor-oriented industry for which this project development and increasing day by day. If you
see the scenario of last 10 to 15 years record of apparel industry then you must identify that
there is a clear indication of positive growth. In 1978, there were only 9 export-oriented
garment manufacturing factories, which generated export earnings of hardly one million
dollars Total export value history along with knitting & weaving sector is given below as per
Export Promotion Bureau & BGMEA report:

INTRODUCTION

The Introduction briefly describes the background of the of the knitting & weaving
industries study and find out the “ Comparative analysis between weaving and knitting
industries of Bangladesh”. Bangladesh is the second largest garment exporter in the world.
In the year 2016 Bangladesh’s RMG export was 28.668 billion USD. It is one of the biggest
pillars of the economy. Government has set a goal to achieve 50 billion exports by 2021.
The key raw material of making a garment is fabric. It is mainly divided in two categories
woven and knit. This article is going to weaving and knitting industries in Bangladesh .

WEAVING

The woven fabric is produced through a process called weaving. Weaving may be simply
defined as the art of intertwining of threads, yarns or fibers on a loom at right angles to
create a length of textile or cloth. On the other hand, knitting is the construction of a fabric
through interlocking of yarn by means of needles. In case of woven fabric, the threads go up
and down on a loom. On the other hand, the knitted fabrics are held on knitting needles
and stitches are formed which are interlinking. So, the basic difference in the mechanics of
the making of these two type of fabric is that threads go over and under one another in case
of woven while they hang from one another in case of knit. This distinction in the making
provides knit fabrics with a stretch as is seen in the knit t-shirts. So, which fabric to make
garments from depends upon what garments are to be made. For example, to make a loose
type of garment any of the two types may be used). However, in case of making a pair of
leggings such as a bathing suit, one would definitely use knit fabric so as to avail enough
stretch to make the leggings fit and comfortable.

KNITTING

The global knitting industry is growing at a fast rate as the popularity of knitting has grown
tremendously in recent years. The increased versatility of techniques, the adaptability of
many new man-made fibers and the rising in consumer demand for the greatly expanding
areas of sportswear, other casual wear are driving the growth.Bangladesh knit sector saw
great growth.Bangladesh knit sector is one of the largest knit garments manufacturing
industry in the world considering both capabilities and competitiveness. The sector is
producing top quality knit garments at the lowest cost. Bangladesh has been a heaven for
producing knit garments for global brands who are always getting the best deal here, taking
out the best quality out of the lowest possible money. Bangladesh’s RMG sector
contribution in terms of GDP is highly remarkable; it has reached 13 percent of GDP, which
was only about 3 percent in 1991. The contribution of Bangladesh Knitwear sector on GDP is
6.92% and the backward linkage sector has another 2% contribution on GDP of Bangladesh.
It also plays a pivotal role in promoting the development of other key sectors of the
economy like banking, insurance, shipping & Logistic industries, etc. Bangladesh Knitwear
sector contributes to the Bangladesh economy in a distinctive manner. The last 20 years
witnessed unparalleled growth in this sector, which is also the largest exporting industry in
Bangladesh. It has attained top notch stance in terms of foreign exchange earnings, exports,
industrialization and contribution to GDP within a short span of time. The industry plays a
significant role in employment generation, women empowerment, poverty reduction,
health and Nutrition improvement etc.

INTUSTRY SCENARIO of BANGLADESH

KNITTING INDUSTRY

Bangladesh is one of the strongest knit garment manufacturers in the world considering
both capabilities and competitiveness. The country is well known for its quality production
at the lowest cost. Bangladesh has been a heaven for producing knit garments for global
brands. They are always getting the best deal here, taking out best quality out of the lowest
possible money. In 2016-17, the total export in this sector was $13.76 billion which is
approximately 6.5% of the global market share. Bangladesh market share in volume is much
higher. The session informed that in 2016 Bangladesh contributed 12% of global t-shirt
market.
The country has one of the highest capacities in knit garment manufacturing in the world.
Through the last decade, knit factories in Bangladesh increased their capacities in a great
pace and today they have become very large volume producers of knit garments. There are
a total of 4560 garments factories in Bangladesh exporting apparel products in the global
market, of them about 2800 are knitting garment factories.

WEAVING INDUSTRY

There is a demand of approximately three billion meters of woven fabric considering the
current consumption for export per year. In context of that local mill can only produce
around 45 million meters fabric which is around 14-15% of the demand. Every year the
country is spending almost 4 billion USD to import fabric.So, there is huge gap in the supply
and demand in woven fabric. It shows that how big opportunity the country have in this
sector. Where market is ready and it is just catering that only. Investing in woven fabric
manufacturing means saving of huge foreign currency, which will give big boost to the
economy of the country. Not only the demand and supply gap, if we look at the world
market key sourcing strategy trends in a view of that also we can see lots of opportunity for
the local supply. . There are a total of 4560 garments factories in Bangladesh exporting
apparel products in the global market, of them about 721 are weaving garment factories.
 WOVEN AND KNIT SECTOR CONTRIBUTION

TOP FOREIGN BUYER OF BANGLADESH WEAVING & KNITTING INDUSTRY

WEAVING:
Brand name Country
H&M Sweden
Puma Germany
Nike USA
WalMart USA
Levi’s USA
Gap USA
PVH USA
New Yorker Germany
Sainsbury UK
Quick silver Australia
Haggar USA
C&A Belgium
Timberland USA
Colince UK
KNITTING:

SWOT ANALYSIS OF BANGLADESH WEAVING & KNITTING GARMENTS

INDUSTRY

(1)

Strength Of Bangladesh Weaving Garments Industry:

⮚ Positive image as top leading global brands expanded business

⮚ Local trims & accessories availability
⮚ Inhouse washing, wrinkle free units
⮚ Adequate machines & spare parts maintenance facility
 ⮚ Easier to use new methods & technologies than knit
⮚ Presence of local & global experts
⮚ Demand of woven products locally & globally
⮚ Own hand loom & hometex section
⮚ Eco friendly & green factories
⮚ Establishment of multinational companies attracts foreign buyers

Strength of Bangladesh Knitting Garments Industry:

⮚ Worldwide demand for good quality & cheaper knitwear products

⮚ Flexible labor market for continuous improvement& growth
⮚ Local yarn supplier & own knitting(Textile) sector
⮚ Separate dyeing, finishing, printing, embroidery industries increases
⮚ Have export relation of about 153 countries
⮚ More than 200 composite factories with sufficient ETP facilities
⮚ There exist strong backward linkage facilities
⮚ Socially & environmentally compliant factories
⮚ Adopting of clean & green production mechanism
⮚ Duty free & quota free access to EU, Canada, Australia, Japan etc.

(2)

Weakness of Bangladesh Weaving Garments Industry:

⮚ Lack of local fabric supplier& import dependency

⮚ Lack of investment in backward linkage
⮚ Absence of value addition and modern technology
⮚ Can’t compete in regards of short lead time
⮚ Lack of innovation as per fashion & trend
⮚ Cost of utility & natural gas increases
⮚ Recent salary increments of garments worker
⮚ Lack of international standard local experts& business professionals
⮚ Local designers are not trained & can’t make optimized cost product design
⮚ Giving less attention in woven sector than knit or denim

Weakness of Bangladesh Knitting Garments Industry:

⮚ Lack of technology-oriented types of machinery & production system

⮚ Can’t go with the flow of product diversification & short lead time
 ⮚ Lack of forecasting & hypothetical analysis of order taking
⮚ Dependency on some specific buyer order leads to low FOB price
⮚ Higher bank interest & insurance policy
⮚ Lack of variety of knit fabric producing capability
⮚ In-house design & development team are not strong enough
⮚ Recent salary increments of garments worker
⮚ Cost of utility & natural gas increases
⮚ Not go with the flow of market & product diversity

(3)

Opportunities of Bangladesh Weaving Garments Industry:

⮚ Open costing facility among competitors based on cost & quality

⮚ Ease of communication with foreign buyers
⮚ Easier quality approval policy
⮚ Larger demand of woven clothing, bags, fashion accessories etc.
⮚ Foreign buyer specific design or trendy products
⮚ Government recent tax reduction for apparel sector
⮚ Presence of trade analysis & research institution
⮚ Comparatively less product variety than knit to make fusion
⮚ Availability of local trims & accessories factories
⮚ Kneeling of neighbor countries RMG sector

Opportunities of Bangladesh Knitting Garments Industry:

⮚ Buyer attention on the Asian subcontinent market

⮚ Open costing facility of many international buyers
⮚ Research & education on these helps to flourish knowledge
⮚ Government & non-government skill improvement programs
⮚ Buyer own initiatives to productivity improvements projects
⮚ Competitors are moving in other business trends
⮚ Green revolution attracts buyers to expand business
⮚ Presence of economic zone & infrastructure facility attracts a buyer
⮚ Business expansion in the African subcontinent
⮚ International Expo, textile fairs attracts global markets
(4)

Threats of Bangladesh Weaving Garments Industry:

⮚ China & Turkey attracting buyer by their short lead time shipment
⮚ E-buy shop & retail store with custom made products
⮚ Global retailer lower price offer because of grading product systems
⮚ Corruption & other anti-social activities lead foreigner to source any others
⮚ Product variety & demand of fancy items fulfilled by competitors
⮚ Neighbor countries established attractive infrastructural facilities
⮚ Dependency of mother buyers of specific region
⮚ Competitors producing variety of fabric & fabric mixed products
⮚ India & Myanmar focusing on expanding their global market
⮚ Increase of rich people number may have negative impact

Threats of Bangladesh Knitting Garment sIndustry:

⮚ E-shop & variety of on-demand shops worldwide

⮚ Internal competition of knit factories to grab order
⮚ Shorter lead time & product diversity accepted cordially by China
⮚ High making cost & freight on board cost
⮚ Gendered diversion of workforce makes shields for improvements
⮚ Political & environmental crisis
⮚ Competitors producing trendier & fancy items
⮚ Global retailer lower price offer because of grading product systems
⮚ Safety issue, longer working hour, subcontracting leads buyer wrath
⮚ Competitions producing more complex fabric as well as products

Impact of the $ 50 billion targets in the unplanned capacity expansion:

To fight back the setbacks of Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen Fashion fire with a positive
goal-setting approach, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association
(BGMEA) declared a target of increasing Bangladesh RMG export to $ 50 billion by 2021. The
declaration came in December 2013.To achieve this target, RMG businesses in Bangladesh
needed to achieve a consistent 15% yearly growth. But the global fashion market was not
growing at the same pace, rather it was shrinking. The country had no alternative but to
poach business from its competitors to achieve the target. At that time an in-depth study
was required on the competitor’s business model to beat them. Whereas, Weaving &
Knitting Industries kept on expanding their capacities on an existing product line which
resulted in surplus capacity than market demand particularly on some common products.
This launched a fierce internal competition among the factories in Bangladesh. And so
customers are taking undue advantages of this situation.

Products of Weaving Garments Industry of Bangladesh:

The main woven and non-woven products of Bangladesh are shirts, trousers, and jackets,
Denim mostly made from cotton. these are the three main woven products of Bangladesh.
These four products, the majority of which are woven, constitute over 40% of the total
apparel export of Bangladesh.

Products of Knitting Garments Industry of Bangladesh:

The main knit products of Bangladesh are t- shirts, shirts, knitted Jacket , cardigans,
pullover, sweat shirt, sports jersey & trousers, fashions items , bebies items. Bangladesh
exports numerous popular knit items to the global market. Recently Bangladeshi knit
manufacturers have concentrated on making value-added items to sustain strongly in the
global arena. In 2018 (calendar year), Bangladesh knit sector saw great growth. Economists
and business leaders opined that calmness in the country’s political arena, the US-China
trade war, and improvement in safety conditions in the ready-made garment factories were
main reasons behind the increase of knit export.

Lack of competitiveness:

To boost export of woven garments, the issue of longer lead time caused by import
dependence is a key factor while the price edge is another important element.

“Bangladesh is doing better in knit products exports. This is because of we have strong
backward linkage industry,”

“However, woven products manufacturers are highly dependent on import for fabrics,
which costs more. As a result, export earnings from woven goods have seen slower growth
and it is losing its strength in the global market,” On the other hand, value addition of
woven products is less than the knit products which led to lower prices, Hassan said.

“We do not have manmade fibre, polyester and petrochemical, which we have to import.
We will be competitive if we can meet the demand from the local sources,” “Stakeholders
are investing to upgrade machinery to go value addition. This will boost the buyers’
confidence and they will place orders for higher end woven products in Bangladesh,”.
Conclusions:

RMG is the biggest export-oriented industry and earns 65% foreign currency. The local
market of readymade garments is increasing because of an increase in per capita income
and a change in consumer behavior. The RMG industry is getting more important because of
creating employment, bringing foreign currency, socio-economic development which
creating a positive force to the GDP of our country. Engaged about 4 million people directly
with this industry activities directly on the other hand one core people of the total country
are engaged with his activities. Being it is the main source of earning foreign currency and
labor-oriented industry for which this project development and increasing day by day.

Thousands of Weaving and knitting factories of Bangladesh are producing basic knit and
woven products. The price of basic products is going down drastically. On the other hand,
wages have been increased and that is a great reason behind the rise of production cost.
Standing in the situation, factories should invest to increase the capability of doing value-
added products. It is not practical to increase the market share further on those basic
product lines since the demand for value-added products has been increased.

Now the knitting and weaving manufacturers need to identify the products where they
have a poor market share and they need to develop efficient know how.

In fine, Bangladesh has already proved that it is capable to fulfill the global demand for
quality knit and woven, non-woven garments, however, to sustain in the global arena for a
long time, we need to identify challenges and scopes appropriately. The government should
come forward to facilitate the necessary support to resolve the mentioned challenges and
utilize the remaining opportunities. Also, we have to increase our knowledge level and we
have to reduce dependence on basic products. We have to increase production of value-
added products to cater the global buyers and get fair prices.