Snowtex eyes $160 million exports to France in 5 years

Snowtex Group, a Bangladeshi apparel manufacturer and exporter, aims to export goods worth $150 million to $160 million to the French market over the next five years.

Bangladesh's trade with France exceeded $2.2 billion last year, with Snowtex contributing more than $100 million, Md Tariqul Islam, assistant director for marketing and merchandising at Snowtex Group, said today following a visit to the Snowtex factory in Dhamrai by French Ambassador-designate to Bangladesh Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet.

"Over the past few years, our annual growth in the French market has been between 15 percent and 20 percent, reaching around $110 million to $115 million annually," he said.

"We are optimistic that the future will be even better, and we expect 10 percent to 15 percent growth each year," he added.

The ambassador visited Snowtex Outerwear Ltd and Snowtex Sportswear Ltd, where 20,000 people work to produce about 30 million outerwear pieces annually.

Snowtex began exporting to France in late 2014, mainly outerwear products such as jackets and sports or hiking apparel, Islam said.

"To expand further in the French market, our main goals are to strengthen relationships, offer better prices, and ensure shorter lead times," he said, adding that even with strong relationships, business continuity depends on competitiveness.

"Until now, we have produced mostly basic products. Now we must move toward high-end manufacturing and greater efficiency. His visit was highly motivating for us," he added.

Ambassador-designate Séré-Charlet said, "This is my first visit to a ready-made garment factory, and I'm very pleased."

He said French companies invest in Bangladesh because they believe in the ability of Bangladeshi workers to produce high-quality goods for the French market.

He added that there is a strong commitment to both product quality and workers' well-being, and what he saw was very promising for the continued development of ties between France and Bangladesh.

He also said France is among the largest importers of ready-made garments from Bangladesh and hopes to further strengthen partnership and cooperation in the coming years.