Urgent Steps Needed to Boost Manpower and Garment Exports

Manpower export, one of the country’s major sources of foreign currency earnings, is facing a downturn. Compared with the first eight months of last year, manpower exports have fallen by nearly 32 percent during the first eight months of this year.

According to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), 739,870 people went to different countries for employment from January to August last year (2025). During the same period this year (2026), the number fell to 499,680. This clearly shows that the manpower export sector is facing a major crisis.

A report published in the English daily New Age yesterday said manpower exports have declined to major destinations, including countries in the Middle East. Since 2018, manpower exports to countries such as Oman, Bahrain, Malaysia, Mauritania and the United Arab Emirates have either stopped or declined.

The Iran war, which has continued for the past six months, has further reduced manpower exports to Middle Eastern countries. Many people are returning home from those countries. The crisis that began during the Ukraine war has been further worsened by the Iran war. Its negative impact has also been felt in the country’s foreign currency earnings.

However, experts said the government has started looking for new destinations to expand the manpower export market. Although the Iran and Ukraine wars are among the reasons for the decline in manpower exports, the country’s image is also being damaged because some private recruitment agencies are illegally sending workers abroad without proper documents. This is also affecting manpower exports.

The decline in manpower exports means lower remittance inflows, a rise in unemployment and negative impacts on the economy. There are not enough employment opportunities in the country for workers and less-educated young people. As a result, many of them travel to the Middle East and other countries in search of a better life, even selling their land and homesteads to finance the journey.

Many risk their lives crossing the sea and dangerous forests and die in the process. Such tragic incidents are frequently reported in newspapers at home and abroad. On top of this, many people are arrested after going abroad without proper documents because of dishonest syndicates. They lose everything and become financially ruined. These syndicates have become one of the major obstacles to manpower exports.

Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Dr. Shafiqur Rahman has also called for breaking the syndicates involved in manpower exports. He has particularly urged the government to dismantle the syndicate that has developed around manpower exports to Malaysia.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, during his first foreign visit to Malaysia, urged the Malaysian prime minister to remove the obstacles to manpower exports and open the country’s labour market to Bangladeshi workers. The Malaysian government also responded positively to the request. However, the activities of the syndicate have not yet declined. As a result, manpower exports have not returned to full operation.

The country’s other major export sector, the garment industry, is also facing a downturn. The gas and electricity crisis caused by the Iran war has created obstacles for this sector as well. Although BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan said no garment factory had been shut down due to the gas and electricity crisis, production has slowed down. As a result, exports have been affected to some extent.

Buyers were also hesitant to place orders because of the Iran war. Some buyers suspended or postponed their orders. The gas and electricity crisis has now started to ease. The full impact on this sector will become clear after two or three months.

It is evident that negative trends have emerged in the country’s two major foreign currency-earning sectors—garment and manpower exports. If all obstacles cannot be removed and the path for exports in these sectors cannot be made smooth, the country’s economy will face a major setback.

US President Donald Trump has announced that the Iran war will end soon. This will bring stability back to the Middle East. The war has caused extensive damage to infrastructure, businesses and trade in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and other countries.

Once the war ends, large-scale economic activities will begin in these countries. This will create demand for a large number of workers and manpower. This could help revive Bangladesh’s labour market.

Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, and other government agencies must start preparing immediately for manpower exports. The aim should be to quickly capture the Middle Eastern labour market in the post-war period.

Bangladesh must not focus only on the Middle East. It must also search for new labour markets. European countries have now become major destinations for migrant workers. The number of elderly people in these countries is increasing, while the working-age population is declining. As a result, they are facing a shortage of workers. There is a major opportunity to export manpower to these countries. Japan and China could also become major labour markets.