Bangladesh manufactures PK Made in China

"made in china" clothing is no longer the cheapest in the world -

"Made in china" was once synonymous with cheap clothing, but in recent years, with the rise in China's labor costs, many foreign brands and even domestic brands have shifted their clothing production to Southeast Asian countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam. "made in bangla", The "made in sri lanka" t-shirts and shirts have replaced "made in china" in the domestic and foreign markets and become the main source of cheap clothing.

US T-shirt 20 yuan a Li ** is a buyer of a Beijing gift company, her company mainly to provide various souvenirs, gifts for corporate customers, some time ago she would like to purchase a batch of t-shirts for a customer. Li ** asked several suppliers, and she was surprised that domestically produced t-shirts had higher purchase prices than imported t-shirts.

“We purchased the most common white t-shirts, and several domestic manufacturers reported to me that the purchase price was about 30 yuan, and a US apparel brand agent gave me a quotation of only 20 yuan,” Li asked in detail. After this agent, they learned that these t-shirts were made in Bangladesh. Due to the relatively cheap price, she finally chose the agent's products.

After getting these t-shirts from Bangladesh, Li ** found that although the quality was somewhat embarrassing, but overall it was decent and the fabrics were good. “The key is that the prices are cheap, so the final customers are satisfied.”

In fact, not only ordinary t-shirts, many foreign big-name clothing also began production in Southeast Asian countries. The reporter searched on Taobao, and many branded t-shirts such as "Dragon Claw", "Gap" and "Levis" sold by many businesses are all native to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The monthly salary of Bangladeshi workers is only 600 yuan. Nantong Xingao was the first domestic company to set up a garment factory in Bangladesh. The chairman of the company, Tang Qun, introduced that in 1994 he went to Bangladesh because of the clothing business. At that time, garment manufacturing in Bangladesh was very backward. It also produces some beach pants and t-shirts. No domestic garment company would like to invest and build factories there.

In 2009, due to the continuous increase in domestic labor costs and the rapid development of the garment industry in Bangladesh, the government used many preferential policies to attract foreign investment. Tang Qun invested 23 million in an export processing zone near Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The U.S. dollar has set up a wholly-owned factory to produce t-shirts, shirts and other clothing.

"The shirt can do $18 a dozen (12), Bangladesh's factories can also make money, change the domestic factories, certainly lose money." Tang Qun told reporters, Bangladesh's labor costs are very low, the monthly salary is only 70 to 100 US dollars (equivalent to RMB 430 to RMB 614), which is almost one-fifth of domestic clothing workers.

According to a survey, among the 16 garment producing and exporting countries in the world, Bangladeshi garment workers have the lowest wages. According to actual purchasing power, from 2001 to 2011, the wages of garment workers in Bangladesh even fell by 2.0%.

With cheap labor and support from the Bangladesh government for the garment processing industry, Bangladesh has surpassed India in 2011, becoming the world’s second largest knitwear exporter after China, and Bangladesh is replicating the rise of the Chinese garment industry in the 1980s and 1990s. This model challenges Chinese manufacturing.

China's clothing cost advantage gradually disappears. Since last year, Vanke Espin has passed some orders for t-shirts and shirts to garment companies in Bangladesh through domestic suppliers. Although the price is cheap, customers do not place large orders. Transfer to these Southeast Asian countries.

Vanke related sources told reporters that currently Vanke's suppliers have foundries in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and other countries. “The labor costs of these countries are low, but the logistics, tariffs, etc., imported into the domestic sales, the overall cost Only about 15% lower than domestic production."

Vanke found that the biggest problem with foundries in these Southeast Asian countries is that the lead time often takes two or three months. This is a fatal flaw for some seasonal garments. “For women in summer, every year, even every month, is popular. For models and fashion colors, where customers are fast-fashioned, they must react quickly. If they deliver goods within two months, they will fall in the summer and they will not be able to sell them cheaply.”

However, Southeast Asian countries can produce some clothing that does not have strong seasonal requirements, such as underwear, classic plaid shirts, casual trousers, etc. Even if you do not catch up this year, you can still sell them in the coming year.

“The cost advantage of domestic garment companies is disappearing. Now the monthly salary of garment workers in the southeastern provinces should be 2000-3000 yuan. There are also four insurance, one gold, and accommodation and other investment. However, many companies still cannot Workers," said the relevant person.

Southeast Asian countries have an advantage in tariffs In recent years, attentive consumers have found that in domestic clothing stores, more and more clothes origin is no longer China, but Southeast Asian countries, especially the parity of such as zara, h & m Fashion.

In fact, China’s garment production capacity and efficiency are still far ahead of these Southeast Asian countries. Although the labor costs are much higher, the overall costs are not unacceptably high. Clothing brands and their foundries continue to migrate to Southeast Asia. In addition to the cost of production, the country also has tariff reasons.

According to the apparel industry, since 2011, the European Union has implemented the GSP on the most underdeveloped countries. Some clothing in Southeast Asian countries can be exempted from tariffs when they enter the European market, and 12% of the tariffs on clothing produced in China.

This 12% profit is not a small temptation for domestic garment processing companies because the gross margin of garment processing has been very low, usually less than 3%. “We will discuss with customers and put some products into production in Southeast Asian countries. A 12% tariff is divided equally between the two parties, which is why we have 6% more profit."