| Students of global economy are familiar with | | | | Leather Materials:Hides used for clothing and other |
| specific terms defining the economic powers that | | | | products are a popular product for trade, and are |
| influence trade and industry beyond their borders. | | | | usually included in the totals for textile and apparel |
| The Asian Tigers, for example, are the four | | | | exports. |
| highly-developed countries (Hong Kong, Singapore, | | | | Jute:; Jute is a specific vegetable fiber, similar to |
| South Korea, and Taiwan) that account for a | | | | hemp and flax, which is used in the manufacture |
| good percentage of market exports around the | | | | of textiles. Native to the region, jute is used in the |
| planet. Whether these nations will remain on top is | | | | production of coarser fabrics like burlap. |
| up for debate, but as implied by Goldman Sachs | | | | Seafood and Fish By-products: Recent issues with |
| those included in the Next Eleven group may | | | | the Gulf oil spill have no doubt boosted |
| prove competitive in the future. One such country | | | | Bangladesh's role in the seafood trade. Always a |
| is Bangladesh. | | | | popular export, fish by-products and seafood are |
| Your first thought of Bangladesh might be of the | | | | shipped stateside and to Europe regularly. |
| Third World. In the 1970s the country - formerly | | | | Ceramics:Pottery for decorative and practical |
| known as East Pakistan - suffered the ravages of | | | | purposes are created and traded around the |
| civil war and extreme weather conditions. The | | | | world. |
| plight of her people moved musicians George | | | | Domestically, Bangladesh relies upon rice |
| Harrison and Ravi Shankar to organize a benefit | | | | production to keep the economy strong. Other |
| concert to raise funds for relief - the first such | | | | items imported in, primarily from neighbors China, |
| charitable event, years before Live Aid. Today, | | | | India, and Singapore, help stimulate various |
| while Bangladesh maintains its rank among nations | | | | industries. These include: |
| with high poverty levels, it is slowly developing an | | | | Crude Oil and Petroleum: What Bangladesh lacks in |
| economy that has shown impressive growth over | | | | natural resources for production, her trade |
| the years. | | | | neighbors provide to allow for smooth operations. |
| One might think, given the assumed paucity of | | | | Cotton: Perhaps the most important element of |
| natural resources and industry in the country, that | | | | the textile industry, cotton imported into |
| Bangladesh doesn't offer much in the way of | | | | Bangladesh becomes the apparel that is exported |
| goods to export. Quite the contrary, though this | | | | around the globe. |
| neighbor to India doesn't enjoy the same GNP | | | | Food: Though two-thirds of the country's workers |
| level of the United States or nearby Asian | | | | have jobs in agriculture, Bangladesh relies on |
| nations, Bangladesh exported in 2009 more than | | | | imports to supply foodstuffs. |
| $18 billion worth of supplies annually, a significant | | | | Machinery: Equipment for refining rice and textiles |
| growth from $5 billion seven years prior. With the | | | | are especially needed, and provided for by more |
| United States as top customer (claiming almost a | | | | developed countries. |
| third of overall product), Bangladesh is known | | | | Metals: For domestic manufacturing, Bangladesh |
| primarily for these goods: | | | | trades with metal rich nations to achieve these |
| Textiles and Apparel: In proving its place among | | | | goals. |
| the Next Eleven, Bangladesh has made quite a | | | | Inexpensive labor and a growing GNP have helped |
| mark in the textile export industry. Apparel | | | | Bangladesh reach a spot in the Next Eleven. This |
| exports, the nation's top industry, surpassed that | | | | is certainly a country to watch in the next decade |
| of India for the first time in 2009, accounting for | | | | or so to see if their exponential growth will |
| one-eighth of the country's overall export product. | | | | continue and impact neighboring nations. |