Notwithstanding the uncertainty triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh will remain a principal source of apparels in the coming months, The Daily Star reported quoting a new study.

A Dhaka-based think thank, The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Sri Lanka’s Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) carried out the study.

Bangladesh, alongside China, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are major players in the global supply chain of the apparel business.

Medium-term challenges will closely correlate with the extent to which the coronavirus is contained. The second wave has significantly reduced demand in leading markets such as the US, the UK, and the EU, the study said.

The findings of the study were presented at a webinar on 'Recovery of the apparel sectors of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka: is a value-chain-based solution possible?' in Dhaka.

 Khondaker Golam Moazze1m, research director of the CPD, and Kithmina Hewage, a research economist at the IPS, made a joint presentation.

The study found that major sourcing countries have either re-shored or over-concentrated to a limited number of sourcing countries during the pandemic period.

"There is a limited level of initiatives of major market players to keep the suppliers of major sourcing countries and the world of work in uncertainty to address the medium-term challenges."

A significant shift in the distribution of export orders by buyers during the COVID-19 period (January–June 2020) has deprived several major supplying countries, including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh's share in global knitwear markets fell from 8 per cent in the pre-pandemic level to 6 per cent in June last year. Similarly, the country's share in the woven segment declined from 7 per cent to 6 per cent during the period.

Analysis shows that an additional $2 billion worth of orders could be redistributed to supplying countries if the pre-COVID period's market share of export orders is maintained in the case of the largest supplying country – China.

"Both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have the capacity to supply products that are supplied by China," the study said.