Students of global economy are familiar with specific terms defining the economic powers that influence trade and industry beyond their borders. The Asian Tigers, for example, are the four highly-developed countries (Hong Kong, PERFORMANCE FABRIC Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan) that account for a good percentage of market exports around the planet. Whether these nations will remain on top is up for debate, but as implied by Goldman Sachs those included in the Next Eleven group may prove competitive in the future. One such country is Bangladesh.
Your first thought of Bangladesh might be of the Third World. In the 1970s the country – formerly known as East Pakistan – suffered the ravages of civil war and extreme weather conditions. The plight of her people moved musicians George Harrison and Ravi Shankar to organize a benefit concert to raise funds for relief – the first such charitable event, years before Live Aid. Today, while Bangladesh maintains its rank among nations with high poverty levels, it is slowly developing an economy that has shown impressive growth over the years.
One might think, given the assumed paucity of natural resources and industry in the country, that Bangladesh doesn’t offer much in the way of goods to export. Quite the contrary, though this neighbor to India doesn’t enjoy the same GNP level of the United States or nearby Asian nations, Bangladesh exported in 2009 more than $18 billion worth of supplies annually, a significant growth from $5 billion seven years prior. With the United States as top customer (claiming almost a third of overall product), Bangladesh is known primarily for these goods:
Textiles and Apparel: In proving its place among the Next Eleven, Bangladesh has made quite a mark in the textile export industry. Apparel exports, the nation’s top industry, surpassed that of India for the first time in 2009, accounting for one-eighth of the country’s overall export product.
Leather Materials:Hides used for clothing and other products are a popular product for trade, and are usually included in the totals for textile and apparel exports.