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All the RMG products manufactured in Bangladesh will use a tag containing ‘Bangladeshe Toiri’ in Bangla along with ‘Made in Bangladesh’ from 1 January, 2024, said BGMEA president Faruque Hassan.

He said, the association is working on putting the “Bangladeshe Toiri” tag in the export products along with the existing “Made in Bangladesh” tag.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) also wants a change to the Bangladesh EPZ Labour Act in order to guarantee trade union and other rights of the workers, which are also a major demand of the US and European Union (EU) authorities.

The apex body for the garment industry also believes that all sectors should have rights that are equal, and BGMEA is dedicated to upholding workers due diligence and human rights.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan talked about it while responding to questions from the journalists at a press conference held on Saturday at its office in the capital.

“We believe that workers have rights to form trade union in everywhere, but problem is the foreign investors, who invest in the Export Promotion Zones (EPZs), they don’t want this,” he added.

Regarding the minimum wage board, he said that they’ve already submitted three names to the labour ministry in response to their requirement. Once the ministry forms it, apparel manufacturers would voluntarily embrace the new pay.

In response to a question, Faruque said that Bangladesh would continue to benefit from Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) treatment from the EU, the UK, and other nations until 2029 due to its graduation from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) category (LDCs).

However, the top body is aiming to extend it, at least through 2032, and the government is supporting their initiative as well.

They already have held meeting with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General, the EU’s senior officials, and the UK’s appropriate authority in this regard.

“Our objective is clear. After LDC graduation, we do not want to take punishment (impose responsibility) due to development trap. We might easily enter the global market as competitors if we can keep the GSP till 2032,” he added.

“We have two logics to expand facilities. First, we are facing economic crisis due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which was their (US, EU) problem. The Second issue is, Bangladesh accepted 1.3 million Rohingyas, one of the highest ever refugee acceptances in the world,” he added.

So, the global communities should increase the GSP tenure for Bangladesh considering these issues.

In response to another question, he said that businesses are not doing so well.

“Our export to the US market has been dropped, though we have tremendous growth in the new markets such as India, Japan and South Korea,” he said.

He also said that the rise in the gas price, electricity price is affecting the sector.

Moreover, global economic turmoil, inflationary pressures have curtailed the purchasing capacity and the buyers have changed their sourcing pattern.

“Currently, they place orders in small slots which are hampering the production plans,” he added.

The BGMEA president said that Bangladesh has a huge potentiality in the circular economy, especially recycle textile waste. “BGMEA is looking for foreign investors in the area, and that is why they are seeking government policy support,”

BGMEA Vice-President Md Nasir Uddin, Sparrow Group Managing Shovon Isalm, JFK Fashion Managing Director M Kafil Uddin Ahmed were also present at the press conference.

News Source : https://prothomalo.com

Bangladesh’s total exports in FY2021-22 were worth $52.08 billion, while exports from the ready-made garment industry alone accounted for a record export earnings of $42.613bn. It implies that Bangladesh’s export sector is almost entirely dependent on the ready-made garment industry. Since the 1980s, Bangladesh’s export sector has been dominated by the garment industry. The role of the garment industry in transforming post-independence Bangladesh from a “basket case” into a role model for development is rightly highlighted first.

Besides, Bangladesh is the major source of clothing for many countries. Due to the higher quality and competitive price of Bangladeshi garments, the name “Made in Bangladesh” has now become familiar to most countries and major brands. Currently, the title of the world’s second-largest garment exporter is still occupied by Bangladesh. As a result, RMG stands as a symbol of Bangladesh’s dignity and self-reliance, along with making a significant contribution through meeting global demand.

MG’s history and contribution to the economy

Bangladesh’s trade deficit exceeded $33bn in FY2022. Despite the huge trade deficit, export volume increased to a new record this year. About 82% of this export income came from garment exports. Most of these RMG exports are made to Western countries, which has a major contribution to mediating the deficit. Bangladesh’s foreign trade stood on this export sector of the country.

The garment industry revolutionized the country’s export sector in the post-independence period, surpassing the then-dominant export industry of jute and jute products. In the 1980s, the first export garment factory was established in Bangladesh. Within a short period, the sector expanded enormously and became a major export industry. Duty-free and quota-free facilities in the European Union and the United States have contributed to boosting the industry.

In 2022, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Bangladesh stood at $470.22bn, where only the garment industry contributed 9.25%. This sector employs 4.22 million people in Bangladesh, of which 2.59 million are women workers. The garment industry of Bangladesh is making an important contribution to the empowerment of women.

Increasing demand for Bangladeshi garments

According to Eurostat data, the European Union imported garments worth $21.18bn from Bangladesh in the first 11 months of 2022. The economic bloc of European countries has increased imports from Bangladesh by 38.39% compared to the same period of the previous year. On the other hand, clothing imports from China during this period increased 19.29% year on year to $27.97bn.

These statistics imply that, unlike Bangladesh, the demand for clothes from China, the main clothing exporter of the European Union, is decreasing day by day in these countries. While the EU’s total imports increased by 22%, Bangladesh alone saw the highest export growth of 38%.

Due to the quality and competitive price of Bangladeshi clothing, demand is increasing in European countries. Besides, European countries are always concerned on factory and work environment. Hence, the continuous improvement of the environment of garment factories in Bangladesh is also attracting importers. At present, the total number of green factories in the country is 192, out of which 50 of the 100 most environment-friendly green factories in the world certified by Lead are in Bangladesh.

However, reports suggest that the ongoing economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine resulted in a sharp decline in demand in European countries. Consequently, the number of orders from the European Union has started to decrease in Bangladesh since October 2022. According to a Bloomberg report published in February, Bangladesh’s garment export growth has declined by 3% in 2023.

Experts are of the opinion that, despite the declining demand for clothing in the emerging global economic situation, it is possible to offset this loss by increasing exports to the US market. According to the Office of the Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), in the first 10 months of 2022, the United States’ import growth from Bangladesh was 48.6% year-on-year to $8.46bn. US apparel imports from the major two sources, China and Vietnam have increased by 20 and 32% respectively.

The US is increasing its dependence on Bangladesh to meet its demand. Since the trade war with China in 2018, the US has sought alternate sources. It intensified after the Russia-Ukraine war, since the warm geopolitical relations with China affected trade between the two countries. It’s clear that the Chinese losing market share is replaced by Bangladesh.

The UK, one of Europe’s largest markets, imported $4.8bn worth of garments from Bangladesh in the last fiscal year. Import growth from China, the UK’s main import source, is declining. There is also an increase in the export of clothing products in Bangladesh.

From 2010 to 2021, China’s share of total clothing export to the UK fell from 37% to 21%. On the other hand, Bangladesh’s exports to India have also increased. In the first 6 months of the fiscal year 2022-23, garment exports have increased by 50% compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year. The demand for Bangladeshi garments is increasing among buyers in India.

Prospects and challenges

Analyzing the data of the major export markets of Bangladeshi garments, it can be seen that the demand for Bangladeshi garments is surpassing its competitors. The influence of China, the world’s leading exporter of ready-made garments, is steadily waning in these countries. These countries are gradually turning to Bangladesh because of the management of Bangladeshi manufacturers and exporters, quality of garments, improvement of the industrial environment and increase in demand for Bangladeshi products among consumers.

However, the ongoing global economic situation may have a negative impact on garment exports. At the same time, the garment industry has to deal with the crisis arising from the increase in the price of raw materials and fuel, and disruptions in production due to the energy crisis.

On the other hand, Bangladesh is about to lose the trade benefits availed as an LDC as it is promoted to a developing country in 2026. If the price of Bangladeshi products increases due to the imposition of additional duties, the demand will also decrease. It implies the possibility of decreasing garment exports in these countries. Therefore, the government and the people, involved in this industry have to undertake sustainable action plans now to face future challenges.

News Source : www.dhakatribune.com