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West Surfing Products-Australia
http://www.west82.com/
Great News ... Veltex Corporation has signed initial purchase order for over $750,000 with new client West Surfing Products-Australia who is a disturber of high end surf ware for over twenty years. West Surfing sells its product line in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States
TEMECULA, Calif., April 7, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Venture Net Capital Group, Inc. (Other OTC:VNTN.PK - News) (http://www.vntrnet.com) announced today that they have signed an agreement with Synergie Wellness Products, Inc. (Other OTC:SYHO.PK - News) for VNTN to become one of Synergie's distributors for certain items from its Body Well Solutions product line. VNTN will become a non-exclusive distributor for the sale of the Bodywell powdered drink called ``Heart Beat,'' as well as ``Kickaboo Juice'' and ``Oxy-electro-min.'' VNTN has an established distribution base for its Buzzy's Coffee brand of ready-to-drink iced coffee as well as its Impact Water products. ``The distribution agreement with Synergie is a natural addition to our current product line-up, and takes advantage of our established channels of distribution,'' said a VNTN spokesman.
There's no way you got 106712.....
Odds would be one in a million.....
Veltex is 106713
Any what about the booth. First you said it was one of the largest, now you say not.
You did not go to Vegas.
Getting in the show without a badge would have been imposible....
Any comments on Growth And Value
His story and change of story regarding Vegas is full of holes...
I don't understand. Anyone have history as to why he is acting the way he has?
Add this one to the question list for Matin. Did he see Growth And Value in Vegas?
Wow, I'll be on my best behavior from now on.
What's jail and how long are people there? How do they get out?
miamimice must have had somthing to do. He is 2 or 3 of the bashers......
Textile Industry Seeks Re-Imposed Quotas
22 minutes ago Business - AP
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON - The U.S. textile and clothing industry asked the government Wednesday to re-impose quotas on 14 categories of clothing to protect American manufacturers from a flood of Chinese imports.
The cases covered such products as knit shirts, sweaters, brassieres, dressing gowns and trousers made with man-made fibers and came two days after the Bush administration brought its own cases on different clothing products.
Industry officials said they approved of the administration's effort but that it did not go far enough to protect the U.S. textile and apparel industry, which they contended was in danger of being decimated by the heavy flow of products from China since the first of the year when quotas were lifted.
On Monday, the administration announced that it was bringing its own cases covering cotton knit shirts and blouses, cotton trousers and underwear made of cotton and manmade fabrics. By taking action on its own, the government cut the time for making a decision from perhaps as long as four months to as little as six weeks.
The industry said this move was helpful but did not cover enough clothing categories. They conceded that their own cases could take until October to be decided if the government takes the maximum amount of time available. They urged the government to shorten the decision-making process to help an industry they said was losing 200 jobs per day because of the onslaught of Chinese imports.
They also pledged to file more petitions covering more products in coming weeks.
"The U.S. industry will lose tens of thousands of jobs if the U.S. government waits the full four months to act. We need the U.S. government not only to approve these cases, but to approve them as quickly as possible, which they could do by mid-May," said Auggie Tantillo, executive director of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition.
However, retailers argue that the drive by the U.S. industry will not save American jobs. It instead will simply shift production to other countries, they maintain.
Under the terms by which China was admitted to the World Trade Organization in 2001, the United States and other wealthy countries can limit textile imports from China through 2008 using a provision known as a "safeguard." That language was developed to protect the U.S. market from disruptions once global quotas ended on Jan. 1 of this year.
However, this safeguard provision applies only to China and would not limit shipments from other nations.
The U.S. textile industry argues that China is using unfair tactics, such as manipulating its currency, to keep it undervalued against the U.S. dollar in an effort to gain trade advantages over other nations.
"China's export surge in these categories released from quota on Jan. 1 is directly attributable to the illegal and unfair subsidies given to their producers in an effort to drive all other competitors out of the market," said Cass Johnson, president of the National Council of Textile Organizations.
The administration is hoping to pick up votes for a new free trade agreement with six Latin American countries — the Central American Free Trade Agreement — by showing its support for the U.S. textile and apparel industry. But the pact is facing stiff opposition in Congress.
Several industry officials told reporters on a conference call Wednesday that the administration had not done enough yet to protect domestic manufacturers to warrant their backing of CAFTA.
There's no way you got 106712.....
Odds would be one in a million.....
Veltex is 106713
Veltex RN #'s
RN 106713 VELTEX USA, INC
RN 115119 VELTEX APPAREL
Veltex old Rn 106713 ??? you say 106712
RN Type: RN
RN Number: 106713
Legal Name: VELTEX USA, INC
Business Type: IMPORTER
Address Line 1: 4200 CHINO HILLS PKWY, SUITE 375
City: CHINO HILLS
State Code: CA
Zip: 91709
Phone: 909-597 0330 Ext:
Fax: 909-597 0330
Product Line: GARMENTS
Issued Date: 07-FEB-2002
What shirt ???
reverse psychology ???
So what is Growth And Value up to ????
"They were one of the larger booths" ?????
That's what you said, Please explain?
I have said that I'm here only because I have been reading for months miamimice/hapslap/ascamorreal postings and wanted to express the other extreme.
Geelongguy New Poster ??
Another miamimice account ???
Just here to say the jigs up ???
It' Mr. BBBAAAWWWWHHHHHAAAAA
That's the extreme I'm talking about
I didn't even see that PR, sorry, I guess I need to get more sleep.
I try using a mix of sense and non sense. Bashing or Pumping it's all the same. One's trying to get the stock to go up the other to go down.... You need a mix of both. I'm here only because I have been reading for months miamimice postings and wanted to express the other extreme.
I think the share price has nothing to do with anything other than the intense bashing the company takes...
Does anyone know where the next trade show Veltex will be exhibiting at?
Bangladesh's advantage
While Chinese yuan was still pegged to the US dollar, Bangladeshi taka was down 8% in the first quarter after rising 3.4% in 2004.
Such a devaluation gives a clear advantage to Bangladesh as textile quotas are eliminated, helping domestic exporters in facing competition in the coming months.
Wow 3 more post in a row with no new info....
You bashers post less info than pumpers
No answer to exchange rates or walmart posts?
17 posts in a row of no info bashing ... WOW
You bashers are contibuting so much.
Gidget Product Placement could make us $$$,$$$,$$$
Here's a nice article on product placement
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20041001/hands-on-marketing.html
GO GO GIDGET
I think the product placement idea on a major TV show would pay off nicely. The demand that could be created by a teen star wearing Gidget stuff would be unreal. It's well worth the investment. I would even be fine with Veltex issueing a few more shares to finance it.
That's DD miamimice ----> $5,00/share
BANGLADESH: [Jan 20, 2005] Tesco Britain's number one retailer has set a target to buy garment products worth US$ 100 million from Bangladesh this year......
Maybe they don't know what they're doing, maybe they are wrong and Walmart is wrong, Matin is wrong and miamimice is right...NOT
For miamimice to read and learn .......
Garment Industry Large-scale production of readymade garments (RMG) in organised factories is a relatively new phenomenon in Bangladesh. Until early sixties, individual tailors made garments as per specifications provided by individual customers who supplied the fabrics. The domestic market for readymade garment, excepting children wears and men's knit underwear (genji) was virtually non-existent in Bangladesh until the sixties.
Since the late 1970s, the RMG industry started developing in Bangladesh primarily as an export-oriented industry although, the domestic market for RMG has been increasing fast due to increase in personal disposable income and change in life style. The sector rapidly attained high importance in terms of employment, foreign exchange earnings and its contribution to GDP. In 1999, the industry employed directly more than 1.4 million workers, about 80% of whom were female. With the growth of RMG industry, linkage industries supplying fabrics, yarns, accessories, packaging materials, etc. have also expanded. In addition, demand for services like transportation, banking, shipping and insurance has increased. All these have created additional employment. The total indirect employment created by the RMG industry in Bangladesh is estimated to be some 200,000 workers.
In addition to its economic contribution, the expansion of the RMG industry has caused noticeable social changes by bringing more than 1.12 million women into labour force. The economic empowerment of these working girls/women has changed their status in the family. The attractive opportunity of employment has changed the traditional patriarchal hegemony of the fathers, brothers and husbands. Most working women/girls can now chose when to get married or become mothers. The number of early marriages is decreasing; so is the birth rate; and the working girls tend to send their little bothers and sisters to school, as a result, the literacy rate is increasing. They can participate in family decision-making. Most importantly, the growth of RMG sector produced a group of entrepreneurs who have created a strong private sector. Of these entrepreneurs, a sizeable number is female. A woman entrepreneur established one of the oldest export-oriented garment factories, the Baishakhi Garment in 1977. Many women hold top executive positions in RMG industry.
The RMG industry is highly dependent on imported raw materials and accessories because Bangladesh does not have enough capacity to produce export quality fabrics and accessories. About 90% of woven fabrics and 60% of knit fabrics are imported to make garments for export. The industry is based primarily on sub-contracting, under which Bangladeshi entrepreneurs work as sub-contractors of foreign buyers. It has grown by responding to orders placed by foreign buyers on C-M (Cut and Make) basis. During its early years, the buyers supplied all the fabrics and accessories or recommended the sources of supply from which Bangladeshi sub-contractors were required to import the fabrics. However, situation has improved. At present, there are many large firms, which do their own sourcing.
The hundred percent export-oriented RMG industry experienced phenomenal growth during the last 15 or so years. In 1978, there were only 9 export-oriented garment manufacturing units, which generated export earnings of hardly one million dollar. Some of these units were very small and produced garments for both domestic and export markets. Four such small and old units were Reaz Garments, Paris Garments, Jewel Garments and Baishakhi Garments. Reaz Garments, the pioneer, was established in 1960 as a small tailoring outfit, named Reaz Store in dhaka. It served only domestic markets for about 15 years. In 1973 it changed its name to M/s Reaz Garments Ltd. and expanded its operations into export market by selling 10,000 pieces of men's shirts worth French Franc 13 million to a Paris-based firm in 1978. It was the first direct exporter of garments from Bangladesh. Desh Garments Ltd, the first non-equity joint-venture in the garment industry was established in 1979. Desh had technical and marketing collaboration with Daewoo Corporation of South Korea. It was also the first hundred percent export-oriented company. It had about 120 operators including 3 women trained in South Korea, and with these trained workers it started its production in early 1980. Another South Korean Firm, Youngones Corporation formed the first equity joint-venture garment factory with a Bangladeshi firm, Trexim Ltd. in 1980. Bangladeshi partners contributed 51% of the equity of thee new firm, named Youngones Bangladesh. It exported its first consignment of padded and non-padded jackets to Sweden in December 1980.
Within a short period, Bangladeshi entrepreneurs got familiar with the world apparel markets and marketing. They acquired the expertise of mobilising resources to export-oriented RMG industries. Foreign buyers found Bangladesh an increasingly attractive sourcing place. To take advantage of this cheap source, foreign buyers extended, in many cases, suppliers' credit under special arrangements. In some cases, local banks provided part of the equity capital. The problem of working capital was greatly solved with the introduction of back-to-back letter of credit, which also facilitated import of quality fabric, the basic raw material of the industry. The government assigned high priority to the development of RMG industry.
Till the end of 1982, there were only 47 garment manufacturing units. The breakthrough occurred in 1984-85, when the number of garment factories increased to 587. The number of RMG factories shot up to around 2,900 in 1999. Bangladesh is now one of the 12 largest apparel exporters of the world, the sixth largest supplier in the US market and the fifth largest supplier of T-shirts in the EU market. The industry has grown during the 1990s roughly at the rate of 22%. In the past, until 1980, jute and jute goods topped the list of merchandises exported from Bangladesh and contributed more than 50% of the total export earnings. By late 1980s, RMG exports replaced jute and jute goods and became the number one in terms of exports.
In 1983-84, RMG exports earned only $0.9 billion, which was 3.89% of the total export earnings of Bangladesh. In 1998-99, the export earnings of the RMG sector were $5.51 billion, which was 75.67% of the total export earnings of the country. The net foreign exchange earnings were, however, only about 30% of the figures quoted above because approximately 70% of foreign exchanges earned were spent in importing the raw materials and accessories to produce the garments exported.
Both external and internal factors contributed to the phenomenal growth of RMG sector. One external factor was the application of the GATT-approved Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) which accelerated international relocation of garment production. Under MFA, large importers of RMG like USA and Canada imposed quota restrictions, which limited export of apparels from countries like Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India to USA and Canada. On the other hand, application of MFA worked as a blessing for Bangladesh. As a least developed country, Bangladesh received preferential treatment from the USA and European Union (EU). Initially Bangladesh was granted quota-free status. To maintain competitive edge in the world markets, the traditionally large suppliers/producers of apparels followed a strategy of relocating RMG factories in countries, which were free from quota restrictions and at the same time had enough trainable cheap labour. They found Bangladesh as a promising country. So RMG industry grew in Bangladesh.
By 1985, Bangladesh emerged as a strong apparel supplier and became a powerful competitor for traditional suppliers in the US, Canadian and European markets. Since 1986, Bangladesh has been increasingly subjected to quota restrictions by USA and Canada. RMG industry suffered setback in a number of countries in the 1980s. Some countries had internal problems, for example, Sri Lanka; and some other countries of Southeast Asia experienced rapid increase in labour cost. Buyers looked for alternative sources. Bangladesh was an ideal one as it had both cheap labour and large export quotas. The EU continued to grant Bangladesh quota-free status and GSP privileges. In addition, USA and Canada allocated substantially large quotas to Bangladesh. These privileges guaranteed Bangladesh assured markets for its garments in USA, Canada and EU. The domestic factor that contributed to the growth of RMG industry was the comparative advantage Bangladesh enjoyed in garment production because of low labour cost and availability of almost unlimited number of trainable cheap labour. The domestic policies of the government contributed to the rapid growth of this sector. The government provided various kinds of incentives such as duty-free import of fabrics under back-to-back L/C, bonded warehouse facilities, concessionary rates of interest, cash export incentive, export processing zone facilities, etc. The government also took a number of pragmatic steps to streamline export-import formalities.
There are several weaknesses of the RMG industry of Bangladesh. Labour productivity in the RMG sector of Bangladesh is lower than many of its competitors. Bangladeshi workers are not as efficient as those of Hong Kong, South Korea and some other countries and in most factories, technologies used are not the latest.
In addition to the fact that the industry is vulnerable because it is highly dependent on the imported raw materials, the infrastructure in the country is deplorably underdeveloped. Problems in power supply, transportation and communication create serious bottlenecks. Inadequate port facilities result in frequent port congestion, which delays shipment. All these increase the lead-time to process an order, i.e. the time from the date of receiving an order to the date of shipment.
The application of MFA had negative impact on many garments exporting countries. The countries, which were adversely affected by quotas under MFA, created pressure to discontinue MFA by integrating textile and clothing industries into GATT system. As a result, the Uruguay Round negotiations envisaged the phasing out of MFA by the end of 2004. With the phasing out of MFA, the position of Bangladesh in the world market will change as all countries including those under quota restrictions, will enjoy quota free status. Bangladesh will have to compete with a larger number of established and powerful suppliers of readymade garments. Bangladesh has taken some steps to face the new challenges. Such steps include removing infrastuctural bottlenecks, building additional supply capacity, use of cost reduction strategy, and increase in value-addition through backward integration.
For RMG sector, the backward linkages are weaving the fabric, spinning the yarn, and dyeing, printing and finishing operations. These operations can be combined into one composite mill or they can be established as separate units. Currently, Bangladeshi apparel exporters import fabrics at international prices using back-to-back letter of credit. While procuring through back-to-back L/C, the importers (Bangladeshi exporters of apparels) pay high interest and other charges, commissions, fees for the services of the middlemen involved. The establishment of composite mills or individual units of weaving, spinning and processing will reduce lead time and increase value addition and employment, in addition to improving the cost advantages.
In the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1997-2002), the government of Bangladesh envisages the attainment of self-sufficiency in yarn production by establishing new spinning capacities. The production capacity of this sector increased substantially though not as much as was required. There are 1,126 weaving and spinning mills including 142 ring spinning mills and 15 open-end spinning units in Bangladesh. These units produce mostly for the domestic markets. Of the total production of fabric, only 25% are supplied by the modern mills, the rest of the domestically produced fabrics are supplied by the specialised units, power looms and handloom sub-sectors. The RMG industry uses a small quantity of fabric woven in the handloom sub-sector. The domestic capacity meets less than 8% of the demand for woven fabrics of the export-oriented RMG industry. The domestic production can meet about 40% of the demand for export quality knit fabrics.
The current requirement of yarn for both domestic and export-oriented RMG industry is about 590 million kg and this will increase to about 818 million kg by the year 2005. The current requirement for fabrics is 4,400 million meters and by 2005 it will increase to 6,000 million metres. It is estimated that by 2005 Bangladesh will need 156 spinning mills each with 25,000 spindles, 371 weaving mills each with 125 looms, and 371 dyeing and finishing units each with capacity of processing 10 million meters of fabrics per annum.
The government of Bangladesh has specified some goals in the latest national development plan for backward linkage industries. To achieve the goals set in the Fifth Five-Year Plan, Bangladesh offers attractive incentives to attract both local and foreign direct investment in RMG sector. The Export Promotion Bureau, in collaboration with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (bgmea), undertakes various activities to promote Bangladeshi garments in foreign markets. They also organise annual Exhibition in Dhaka in which hundreds of foreign buyers participate.
Bangladesh exports a very limited categories of products. The factories in Bangladesh produce shirts, jackets, trousers, and other garments, with high concentration (about 60% of the total apparel exports) in the export of shirts of low price. Bangladesh is the largest exporter of men's and boys' cotton shirts in the US market. In this market, it competes with India, Sri Lanka, Mexico and other Central American countries in the lower price segment. The average price of Bangladesh-made shirts was $62.74 per dozen in 1998. This price was the second lowest. The Dominican Republic sold the lowest priced shirts of the same category at $54.79 per dozen. Prices of Indian, Mexican and Sri Lankan shirts were $81.04, $76.26 and $74.77 respectively. Against this, the prices of Hong Kong and Malaysia shirts were $107.34 and $134.08 respectively. Exporters from Bangladesh produce mostly those items on which quotas are available. However, there are a few exceptions. Some South Korean firms operating from Export Processing Zones of Dhaka and chittagong export padded jacket and trousers of higher value. Many firms now export some non-quota items as well. The share of such items in the total quantity, however, is very small. Recently, export of knitwear and sweaters has increased faster than that of woven wears. These indicate that Bangladesh is actively engaged in the process of product diversification.
Although Bangladesh exports garments to some 30 countries, its exports are highly concentrated in two major markets, the USA and EU. The USA as the largest importer country imported 43.24% of total garments exported from Bangladesh in 1998-99. Bangladesh was the sixth largest supplier of apparels in the US markets in the same year. However, if European Union is considered as a single market, the US market becomes the second largest. Bangladesh exported 52.38% of its apparel exports to the EU in 1998-99. The EU is the single most important destination of knitwear export from Bangladesh. Of the individual members of the EU, Germany is the largest importer of both woven RMG (15.6%) and knitwears (14.8%) from Bangladesh and it is followed by the UK and France. The EU as a bloc has been importing from Bangladesh an increasing quantity of apparels. In the last five years Bangladesh's exports to the EU have grown by 174%. The main reason for this phenomenal growth is the almost duty free (due to GSP privileges) and quota-free access to this market. Other export markets are small. Japan and ASEAN countries are potentially large markets. Bangladesh has not yet been able to export sizeable quantity of apparels to Japan, although it imports about 90% of the machinery from Japan to run the apparel industry. Similarly, Bangladesh has not been able to have market access to ASEAN, or Indian markets although it imports a huge quantity of fabrics and yarn from these countries. The main reasons for this are the tariff and non-tariff barriers Bangladesh faces in these markets. Recently, Bangladesh has started exporting to India, South Korea and other new markets. As a member of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Bangladesh has undertaken an elaborate programme to increase apparel exports to India and other member countries of SAARC.
Bangladesh responded positively to the international requirement of elimination of child labour from the garments sector. Under the Memorandum of Understanding jointly signed by BGMEA, ILO, UNICEF and US Embassy, Dhaka on 4 July 1994, Bangladesh pledged to eliminate child labour by November 1996. Accordingly, it took necessary measures to do so. The laid-off children were provided financial support so that they could attend schools until they attain the age of 15. BGMEA and some NGOs jointly operate a number of schools for these children. The factory owners are required to abide by the laws that regulate minimum wages, working conditions, eco-labeling, etc of the garment factory workers. The workers are allowed to form and/or join trade unions. There are many active trade unions with CBAs in the garment industry. But factories located in the Export Processing Zones do not have trade unions. However, the workers of those factories receive higher remuneration and better benefit packages. To meet the international standard, the industry with the help of BGMEA makes sure that the factories do not use any dyes including Azu dye that are hazardous to health. Bangladesh recognises the fact that its economic security depends on the future of its RMG industry. Therefore, it has undertaken an elaborate programme to meet the challenges it is likely to face in the post-MFA world market.
Bangladesh's advantage.Exchange Rates.WALMART KNOWS
While Chinese yuan was still pegged to the US dollar, Bangladeshi taka was down 8% in the first quarter after rising 3.4% in 2004.
Such a devaluation gives a clear advantage to Bangladesh as textile quotas are eliminated, helping domestic exporters in facing competition in the coming months.
More From Walmart.....
Executives at Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, say that they are likely to cut purchases from Fiji, Brunei, Turkmenistan and Macedonia, but plan to keep buying from the rest, and will actually increase their purchases next year from Bangladesh, their biggest single supplier of clothing, exceeding even China.
Maybe miamimice is smarter than the worlds biggest retailer....... NOT
If Walmart is doing it---> $5,00 a share
Wal-Mart's vice president for global purchasing, in an interview before the Chinese announcement. "Bangladesh is very competitive because the labor cost in Bangladesh is only half of what China is, and maybe less than that."
Matin Knows What Wal-Mart Knows .. World biggest retailer ....
"Our policy is to take a conservative position; we will continue to source from where we have been sourcing," said Andrew Tsuei, Wal-Mart's vice president for global purchasing, in an interview before the Chinese announcement. "Bangladesh is very competitive because the labor cost in Bangladesh is only half of what China is, and maybe less than that."
Made Elsewhere Bangladesh Survives to Export Again
DHAKA, Bangladesh - Not long ago, garment makers in the world's poorest countries were in utter dismay, fearing that the long-planned abolition of global trade quotas for textiles and apparel next month would wipe out their factories and send millions of jobs to more competitive operations in China. The International Monetary Fund warned that a quarter of Bangladesh's exports and 2.3 million jobs here could evaporate next year, shaking the entire economy.
So why, then, is Abu Taher tripling his work force, adding five floors to his cotton trousers factory here? And why is Annisul Huq, just down the road, hiring 2,000 more workers and building two new factories - adding to the eight he already has - to churn out more shirts and sweaters for Calvin Klein, Van Heusen and others?
It turns out that the outlook for the textile and apparel makers here and elsewhere is not as bleak as many experts had thought, at least for the bigger, more up-to-date factories in developing countries, especially those like Bangladesh and Pakistan with large, low-wage work forces. "Retailers are asking for better factories, more volume," said Mr. Huq, who got a master's degree in economics and did a stint in television before he started his apparel-making business. "I do not foresee immediately an earthquake in 2005." [In an additional nod to countries like Bangladesh, China said on Sunday that it would tax clothing exports to stem excessive growth next year. And if that is not sufficient, the Bush administration is prepared to further limit Chinese imports.]
Still, the end to decades of textile and clothing quotas on Jan. 1 is beginning to spin the economics of the developing world around and around. The expiration of the quotas is intended to allow for free-flowing trade in garment making. It used to be that by guaranteeing a certain level of clothing production from just about every poor country in the world, quotas became a classic engine for nations with cheap labor and low skills to connect effectively with the global economy.
But now, without quotas to ensure access, quality and modernity will count as much as, if not more than, low wages. Poor countries will have to compete on the scale and skill of their factories and on the efficiency of their roads, ports and electrical grids. Most of the cost of clothing lies not in the labor but in the logistics of moving it to stores for sale, so low manufacturing wages by themselves are not enough.
Of the typical $48 to $54 for delivering a dozen long-sleeve men's shirts to Bangladesh's main port, for example, most goes for the fabric, often imported from China. Just $5 goes to the foreman, technicians and assembly workers, who earn as little as 70 cents a day.
Yet, the savings on labor costs here and in some other developing countries are enough to keep retailers from switching suppliers for now, especially as the Bush administration has re-imposed quotas on several categories of Chinese exports and is poised to do so on more.
"Our policy is to take a conservative position; we will continue to source from where we have been sourcing," said Andrew Tsuei, Wal-Mart's vice president for global purchasing, in an interview before the Chinese announcement. "Bangladesh is very competitive because the labor cost in Bangladesh is only half of what China is, and maybe less than that." But in the longer run, the survival of the garment industry in Bangladesh and other developing countries depends upon how well governments respond to the demands of the global market. That will be affected, in part, by how much they invest in roads, ports and electricity grids; in the past, such infrastructure has been starved of investment here and elsewhere.
Small factories and their workers are the most vulnerable. Less than two miles away from Mr. Huq's main factory, Shirin Akhter sat recently on a low wooden sleeping platform in her dirt-floored shack in one of this city's worst slums.
She lost her $15-a-month, full-time job in a pants factory a year ago and has been unable to find similar work. She now juggles two jobs as a housemaid while her husband searches for temporary work at construction sites.
"I can barely live here, sometimes I cannot eat regularly," she said, cradling her 2-year-old son, Rifat. The garment industry has drawn literally millions of women out of villages into large cities in poor countries around the world. For deeply traditional countries like Bangladesh, where girls who leave their villages are seldom welcomed back, the globalization of trade in apparel and textiles has helped transform a way of life unchanged for generations.
"It is a silent revolution that has taken place in our country," said Morshed Khan, the foreign minister of Bangladesh, one of the few democracies in the Muslim world. "For the first time in a Muslim country, hundreds of thousands of women in their late teens and early 20's are wearing cosmetics, carrying handbags and walking to work every day. "There is no way in Bangladesh" he added, "that this government or any other government can send them back to the kitchen."
Just a few months ago, it seemed unlikely that Bangladesh could avoid that fate. But now the future seems a little brighter.
Here in Dhaka, Mr. Huq became a clothing magnate in much the same way Bangladesh became an international power in the garment industry: largely by luck.
The son of a senior civil servant, he earned a master's degree in economics, only to find himself jobless for two years. It was the late 1970's, and the country was struggling to recover from a devastating war of independence from Pakistan and the subsequent nationalization of many industries across Bangladesh. "I was an unemployed man," he said, "and there are millions of unemployed men in this country."
Mr. Huq became the host of a variety show, and literally stumbled into some luck when he opened a door too quickly and hit a stranger who turned out to be Noorul Quader. Mr. Quader was a civil servant who had just negotiated agreements that allowed desperately poor Bangladesh to start exporting garments without facing any serious quotas.
Mr. Quader had started a garment manufacturing business himself, and Mr. Huq went to work for him for $200 a month. A year later, Mr. Huq left and started his own business with two friends and $1,700 that he borrowed from
his father. As Bangladesh's garment exports grew from $32 million to $5.9 billion in the last two decades, his business grew too.
He now lives in a three-story, impeccably decorated post-modern mansion and is chauffeured through Bangladesh's polluted, congested streets in a black BMW X5 sport utility vehicle.
Mr. Huq's spacious, well-ventilated and well-lit factories are designed to appeal to multinationals concerned about protecting their image from criticisms that they are exploiting workers in poor countries. The factories are fully booked with orders from brands like Calvin Klein and Van Heusen through next August, so he is building two more.
Yet Mr. Huq still worries. His workers earn $15 to $85 a month, sometimes more, based on output. That gives him an advantage over Chinese factories paying their workers $50 a month and up that also cover housing and food costs. But balancing the lower wages here are formidable disadvantages.
One problem lies in the hartals, national strikes called by political factions at short notice that can shut down almost all activity for one to three days. There have been 20 hartals in the last year, and even that is an improvement from recent years.
The biggest problem for Mr. Huq and other clothing makers here is Bangladesh's state-owned port in Chittagong. Studies have ranked it last or close to last in the world in turnaround time for big container ships. The ships must anchor in deep water offshore and then be unloaded and loaded by ancient, state-owned feeder vessels with shallow drafts.
Yet Mr. Huq's large factories have overcome these obstacles, sometimes even operating on Friday, the Islamic holy day, to meet deadlines. "There are some concerns which need to be cured - you cannot change a bureaucracy overnight," Mr. Huq said. "We work overnight, we work Fridays, we work holidays, we ship the goods."
But if Bangladesh does not move quickly to raise the country's competitiveness, it will soon wind up with more unemployed workers living hand-to-mouth in slums like Banshtola.
Ms. Akhter moved here from her village four years ago, finding work as a "helper" in a small factory making short pants for men and boys. She used to clip stray threads after a more skilled worker sewed the pants.
But she lost the job a year ago when her employer ran low on orders. She has been unable to find new work, while her husband has cast about, unsuccessfully, for construction work. They rely on occasional profits from selling vegetables.
Banshtola is filled with tiny shacks, with corrugated steel roofs and walls that are simple bamboo mats, often riddled with holes. The shacks rent for $6.75 a month. There is no running water, and the toilet is a hole in the ground at the end of one of the dirt alleys, which turn to mud during the rainy season.
Workers are often plagued by disease and malnutrition. And in the last two years, mosquitoes have brought an epidemic of dengue fever, which is sometimes fatal.
Ms. Akhter is resigned to her difficulties. But she looks on with a touch of jealousy at the new class of money-earners, women like Muhamad Zulekha, 27, a sweater factory worker whose nimble fingers allow her to earn $85 a month. She says that her husband now listens to her more because she can work outside the home and earn real money.
Until the infrastructure improves dramatically, the burden still falls on cheap workers like Ms. Zulekha - and even Ms. Akhter when she was working, to give an edge to Bangladesh's factories, particularly if the country wants to keep a toehold as the quota system disappears. Indeed, big international buyers and manufacturers have proved leery of
relying too heavily on a single country like China, seeing greater security in diversity. Top Form, a Hong Kong company that is the world's largest bra manufacturer, has decided to make no change to its long-standing policy of keeping 55 percent of its production in China and 45 percent in Thailand and the Philippines.
"Unless we see a more strengthened trade relationship between China and the United States," Willie Fung, the chairman of Top Form, said, "we would not want to put all our eggs in one basket."
Bangladesh textiles will cost pennies soon.
Veltex will be a leader, not a follower .....