DHAKA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The three-day Bangladesh Apparel and Textile Exposition (BATEXPO)-2009, the South Asian country's largest garments export fair, kicked off in capital Dhaka Thursday.
Bangladeshi Prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the annual event, hosted by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), at a hotel in Dhaka Thursday.
The BGMEA said it is staging the fair this year with great expectation to bolster exports in the wake of global economic downturn which already squeezed export market for ready-made garment items to some extent.
"Our primary goal is to boost the market of apparel items in view of the fading recession," said the BGMEA chief Salam Murshedi while speaking at a press conference on the eve of the fair Wednesday.
He said that a larger number of foreign buyers are expected to participate in the BATEXPO fair this year. According to the BGMEA, as many as 62 companies from a number of countries including China, Canada, Japan, U.K. and U.S.A. have confirmed their participation at this year's BATEXPO fair.
According to the BGMEA, there are some 86 stalls at the fair on the sideline of which a cultural night followed by fashion show will be held as part of the BATEXPO tradition.
On the sideline of the exhibition which will end on Nov. 7, it said, the BGMEA also will hold a number of seminars on different aspects of garment.
However, another three-day knitwear exposition, KNITEXPO 2009, organized by Bangladesh Knit wear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, ended on Wednesday.
There are around 4,000 garment factories in Bangladesh, employing 3.5 million workers with 85 percent women. The garment industry is the biggest foreign exchange earner in Bangladesh.
The sector exported products worth 12.35 billion U.S. dollars in last 2008-09 fiscal year (July 2007-June 2008), nearly 80 percent of the country's total export volume.