Shortage of coal and a rise in its price have left Bangladesh’ readymade garment (RMG) sector worried.

Exports of clothes from Bangladesh had increased 11.48 per cent year-on-year in the July-September quarter, Fibre to Fashion, a dedicated website dealing with textile and garment noted.

“However, increasing prices of coal, raw material supply disruption from China due to power crisis there and other factors may put a break in October-December,” it said.

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The price of cotton, the main raw material to produce 30-count yarn used for making knitwear, is currently at a decadal high in the international market. Bangladesh being the second-largest importer of cotton, may feel a pinch of this price hike, the website said.

The RMG industry, pillar of Bangladesh economy, has created four million jobs and boosted exports.

As Dhaka is now gearing up to exit the United Nations’ list of least developed countries, it is already looking at measures that would boost foreign investment and increase local production and consumption through its "Made in Bangladesh" outside the ambit of the garment industry.

A World Bank report noted that improving the manufacturing sector’s productivity will be crucial for Bangladesh not only to boost export growth but help in the overall revival of the economy hit by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the website also said that Bangladesh completely depends on import for its yearly coal requirement of about 80 lakh tonnes.