Bangladesh is the most attractive destination of European retailers among the six nations due to its competence in the supply of quality products at competitive prices, according to the study conducted based on the production cost indices (PCIs) of six garment-producing nations – Bangladesh, China, India, Morocco, Myanmar and Turkey by Kurt Salmon, a leading global strategy consulting company focused on the retail industry.

India is third, followed by Morocco, Myanmar and Turkey.

Dhyana van der Pols, a sourcing consultant for a group of European garment buyers said that there is no back-up nation to Bangladesh for the global garment business at this moment. So, business will continue to grow in Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh needs to shift production to value-added items from basic garment goods.

In the global comparison of Kurt Salmon, Bangladesh is the second most attractive destination after Cambodia. Globally, Cambodia is ahead of

Bangladesh only because it uses more technology in production.

According to the Kurt Salmon Global Sourcing Reference, Myanmar is also making its comeback to the textile and apparel business as the country with the most potential to emerge as a formidable player among garment-producing nations.

Myanmar has deep experience in the textile industry, but does not cover all parts of the value chain. However, foreign direct investment tripled in the last two years emphasising the high potential.

On the other end of the cost continuum, Myanmar and Bangladesh are showing the lowest PCI value.

Ongoing efforts to improve social and infrastructural conditions, such as the established minimum wages in Bangladesh and Myanmar, indicate further increases in sourcing costs for the future – but still on a very competitive PCI level.

As per report, Bangladesh is gaining market share in sourcing for Europe and North America. But the country is still mainly focused on less complex products.

Bangladesh has the potential to further strengthen its relative position if production capabilities can evolve and quality can be improved while ensuring social and environmental compliance standards.