Coronavirus-related supply chain disorders are reaching Bangladesh’s clothing sector with upward commodity demand. In certain situations, the prices of local stocks of goods have risen by almost 50% as supplies from China do not arrive in time. Several factory owners were pushed into the air to deliver raw materials in order to reach production deadlines. And the industry is planning for a protracted crisis as the virus continues to spread across the globe, with concerns that US and European destination markets will be affected. About 60% of its tissues were imported from China by Bangladesh. Roughly 15 to 20 percent of the raw materials and 80 to 85 percent of the knitwear sector’s dyeing chemicals and accessories come from China. And every year about 40 per cent of the raw materials for garment accessories and packaging manufacturing come from China as well.
Bangladesh’s textile industry is the country’s top foreign currency earner. Lack of raw materials hampers production in several factories. Despite of the short supply, prices of different raw materials have risen between 30 per cent and 40 per cent.