8th August 2024; New Delhi/ Gurugram: The AEPC Chairman, Shri Sudhir Sekhri, commented on the dire circumstances in Bangladesh, saying, “Buyers are very concerned with the escalation of the civil unrest in Bangladesh.” Fast fashion retailers are forced to withdraw their orders from Bangladesh and place them elsewhere in the near future. The majority of these orders are for synthetic materials, which are bought from suppliers chosen by the buyer in China, Korea, and even Europe. Given India’s present import regulations, it is not feasible to shift these short-delivery orders utilizing specific imported fabrics to India. He said that only orders for materials of an Indian origin are anticipated to be sent to Indian factories.
Shri Sekhri went on to say, “In the long run, consumers won’t be comfortable having an undue reliance on Bangladesh. Due to Bangladesh’s capacity saturation, purchasers were already searching for capacities abroad before the current unrest there. The current unrest will hasten their goals. Only if Indian factories increase their capacity will they be able to share in the cake. But, unless the Indian government modifies its import laws to permit more convenient access to imported man-made fabrics, trimmings, and accessories, buyers would still be reluctant to place their orders in India.
