Refayet Ullah Mirdha

As millions of Americans head to the polls on November 5 to vote for either Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris or her Republican rival Donald Trump, apparel business communities in Bangladesh, more than 13,119 kilometres away from Washington, will be watching the results of the presidential election closely.

Bangladesh has been struggling to recover lost work orders in the home textile segment, a significant volume of which shifted to Pakistan nearly two years ago.

Her dream was to enrol in Chattogram University or another reputed institution, but she could not even sit for the admission test as her father fell ill in 1994.

Bangladesh is an inspiring story of economic growth and development. The country became the 35th largest economy globally from almost scratch since its independence in 1971.

Local conglomerates have been growing hand in hand with the economy since independence in 1971, but few have managed to navigate the changing tides over the years.

Bangladesh’s ambitious $100 billion garment export target by 2030 is currently facing a number of challenges both at home and abroad, but local manufacturers and business leaders are still optimistic about achieving the goal.

Creating an environment for free, fair and credible elections is the first priority of the newly appointed administrator of the country’s largest trade body, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

Garment exports by Bangladesh’s market rivals like India, Vietnam, China and Cambodia have increased to major Western markets due mainly to the latest spell of labour unrest and political changeover earlier in August in the country.

After more than a month of disruption due to the political changeover and subsequent labour unrest in major industrial belts, international apparel retailers and brands are returning to Bangladesh with work orders for upcoming seasons.

The uphill battle to restore confidence among the business community is progressing slowly as the Prof Muhammad Yunus-led interim government marks its second month in office.

There has been little progress regarding the signing of preferential trade deals by Bangladesh with major trading partners amidst the change in government following the anti-discrimination movement in July. 

Garment exporters have gone into manufacturing overdrive to recover from continual production disruptions over the past three months due to nationwide protests and curfews, the fallout from the ouster of the previous government, and the recent spell of labour unrest at major industrial belts.

The number of apparel work orders received by Bangladeshi companies from international retailers and brands for the autumn and winter seasons of 2025 dropped by nearly 10 percent compared to the past due to major shocks from the nationwide student movement and labour unrest in major industrial belts over the past two and half months.

Bangladesh will not export hilsa fish to India on the occasion of Durga Puja in October, according to a top commerce ministry official, discontinuing a long-standing tradition of the country as a “goodwill gesture” to its neighbour.

The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) and Fair Labor Association (FLA) have urged the interim government of Bangladesh to take critical and long-lasting steps towards reforms for furthering worker rights of international standards. .The AAFA is an American trade association re

A total of 30 garment factories in different industrial zones across Bangladesh, especially Ashulia, stayed closed yesterday as safety concerns remained following the recent unrest.

Normalcy returned to most factories on the outskirts of Dhaka as labour unrest eased and most workers returned to their factories yesterday. .Garment factories in the Ashulia, Zirabo and Zirani areas have been reopening since Sunday..Of the 407 garment factories in these areas, 392

Nearly all of the roughly 407 garment factories situated in the Ashulia area under Savar upazila and Zirabo and Zirani areas under Gazipur were operational yesterday after security measures were beefed up centring labour unrests.

With 219 garment factories shut in Ashulia yesterday amid worker unrest along the industrial belts, Bangladesh’s apparel sector is feared to get into a deeper crisis if production does not resume on Saturday after the weekend.  

In an effort to bring normalcy back to the industries, the government will review the workers’ wage through the minimum wage board, the interim government has decided.