After the United States, Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry is losing its dominance in the European market as well. Entrepreneurs in this sector are in a state of disarray after losing two major markets. This has started having a direct negative impact on various industries in Chittagong. Several factories have closed due to lack of work orders. Most of the existing factories are operating at low capacity.
Workers in the closed factories are losing their jobs and living in inhuman conditions. There is also uncertainty among other workers. Labor leaders and economists say that if this continues, there is a risk of a major negative impact on the economy in the long term, including increasing unemployment in the country.
According to data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, in the first six months of this year, various European buying institutions imported ready-made garments worth 4,101.17 billion euros from different countries around the world. Of this, Bangladesh imported 8,644.8 billion euros worth of garments.
In the same period last year, ready-made garments worth 1,344 million euros were exported to Europe. Bangladesh’s exports to this one of the largest markets have decreased by 16.43 percent in the space of a year. At the same time, Bangladesh exported garments worth 4 billion 78 million dollars to the US market. In the same period of 2025, it amounted to 4.25 billion 24 million dollars. This figure is 5.75 percent less than the same period last year.
This downward trend in major markets has directly hit Bangladesh’s industrial sector. Entrepreneurs in this sector say that they do not see the possibility of getting good news immediately due to various crises, including the global crisis and the severe shortage of oil and gas. Meanwhile, many small and large factories have closed due to lack of orders. The most affected are the subsidiary companies working on subcontracts.
Shirina Begum used to work as an operator at the RTT Textile Factory in the Pahartali area of the city. She is in trouble after the factory suddenly closed. She said, I used to get a salary of 12 to 15 thousand taka including overtime pay. Now the prices of everything in the market are high, and it is becoming difficult to arrange two meals a day with the children.
Shirina said, “Since the factory closed, I have been struggling financially with my children. The hardship has increased because my rickshaw-puller husband is ill.”
Like Shirina, thousands of workers who lost their jobs in various factories including Shan Garments and Omama Fashion in Chittagong have become unemployed. Many workers have changed their professions. After changing professions, Rubel now works in an aluminum factory. He said, “After losing my job, there was no work for a few days. I am forced to work here as the factory has not been operational for two months after it was closed.” Regarding the payment of dues, Rubel said, “We have worked for almost three years. According to the rules, we are supposed to get money. But the owner has not given us a single taka.”
According to Chittagong Industrial Police sources, 50 factories have closed in Chittagong in the last six months due to various reasons. Of these, 25 have been closed permanently, while the remaining 25 are temporarily closed. More than 7,000 workers working in the factories have lost their jobs.
An analysis of data from various organizations on the ready-made garment industry shows that at least 20,000 workers in the country have been laid off or laid off in the first six months of this year. Most of them are workers in the ready-made garment sector.
Chittagong Industrial Police Superintendent Mahmuda Begum Sonia said, “We have tried to resolve the complaints of the laid-off workers and factory owners by sitting down. The owners have blamed the raw material crisis and global factors as the reason for the closure of the factories. In addition, the owners have also mentioned the workers’ misconduct and financial crisis.”
Iftekhar Kamal Khan, joint secretary of the Bangladesh Trade Union Center for Chittagong district, said, “We have been receiving various complaints from workers against factories, including layoffs and forced dismissals. This has increased in the last six months. Even after working in a factory for 10-15 years, workers are not getting their due according to the law. Many times, they are dismissed from their jobs without notice.”
He said, “We try to resolve the workers’ complaints by talking to the factory owners at various times. But they do not take any action on most of the complaints.”
According to analysts, Bangladesh’s ready-made garments are overly dependent on cotton-based products due to the inability to increase product diversity and technological capabilities over time. In contrast, the demand for man-made fiber or MMF garments in the United States is growing rapidly. Competitors are taking advantage of the limited capacity in this sector. On the other hand, there is intense competition in the European market. China is dominating the European market by losing orders from the United States. In addition, Vietnam and India are ahead due to free trade agreements with European countries. In addition, the country’s ongoing energy crisis, administrative and bureaucratic complications at ports and customs, and lead times are also acting as major obstacles behind the decline in exports.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Managing Director Khandaker Belayet Hossain said that due to changes in consumer behavior in the international market, the country’s ongoing energy crisis, trade agreements with competing countries in European countries, and the fear of losing duty-free market benefits, buyers are turning to competing countries as an alternative to Bangladesh. As a result, work is decreasing in the country’s ready-made garment factories. Some factories have completely closed. Partial production is going on in many factories. As a result, the factories are having to go through various problems including laying off workers, reducing additional work opportunities, and declaring holidays.
Former BGMEA director and owner of Independent Apparels Limited SM Abu Tayyab said, especially gas-dependent textile factories are being completely closed. In addition to the decline in work orders, the owners are being forced to close the factories due to the energy crisis. The production costs of the remaining factories have increased several times. In the meantime, the opportunity for the workers to earn extra money by working has also been closed. If this continues, the remaining factories will also close. The standard of living of the people will decrease.
When asked about the decline in orders, he said, “We need to rethink the garment industry. We need to analyze consumer behavior in the international market and make new plans.” Regarding Vietnam’s lead, this business leader said, “China is the best destination for raw materials. It takes us 18 to 25 days to bring raw materials from China, while competing countries, especially Vietnam, can collect it within five to seven days. As a result, they can deliver products faster.”
Dr. Selim Uddin, Chairman of the Economics Department of Chittagong University, said, “To handle the current crisis, we have to declare a special resolution and protect our current investment. If we cannot utilize this investment to maintain normal production, then the country will face multifaceted problems. If foreign income decreases, the state will lose its revenue. Then the state will go through multifaceted problems.”
Urging the government to take quick action, the professor said, “We need to solve the energy crisis of factories that are currently producing by quickly purchasing LNG from foreign countries, even if it is several times more expensive. If production decreases, the workforce will naturally have to be laid off. This will increase the unemployment rate.”
