Considering the ongoing global economic crisis, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) urged the British Authority to extend duty-free market access tenure till 2032, which are now 2026 as per the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) policy.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan wrote a letter to the British High Commission to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke on September 14 regarding the issue.
Faruque said in the letter, “I would like to repeat our request to kindly consider an extended transition time up to 2032, as you know that the industry and global fashion industry is severely impacted by the pandemic.”
“Even though we are still suffering from post-pandemic turbulences, especially the disruption in buyers' sourcing pattern, fuel price hikes initially led to abnormal inflation and now countries are taking measures to curb inflation which is impacting disposable income and consumer spending. Furthermore, we need to prepare ourselves with the right investments and readjustment of our facilities,” the letter reads.
The UK is the third largest apparel export destination for Bangladesh and earned $5.02 billion in FY23 with 11.78 per cent year-on-year export growth despite the global economic crisis. While Bangladesh failed to retain export growth in the major destinations due to the order shortage, the country’s apparel makers are still receiving a good number of orders from the market.
The BGMEA president said, “Particularly, it would be great to have a clarification on the rules of origin both for Least Developed Countries Framework and Enhanced Framework, particularly for the apparel items. A clarification on the regional accumulation issue for both frameworks would be helpful.
Mentioning Bangladesh’s apparel sector workplace development, Faruque said in the letter that the apparel industry is progressively transitioning towards greener and cleaner production methods, with an impressive 202 LEED-certified green factories, of which 73 have achieved the prestigious LEED Platinum certification.
This commitment to sustainability has made Bangladesh's RMG sector one of the most compliant and trusted industries globally.
Top officials of several global Brands have visited Bangladesh in recent months to see the progress especially the British brands, including Managing Director of George, Liz Evans, CEO of Associated British Foods, George G Weston, Chief Executive of Primark, Paul Marchant and Chief Executive of Primark; and Paul Lister.
Under the BGMEA Strategic Vision 2030, our foremost goal is to prioritize ESG (Environment, Social & Governance) principles to achieve sustainability, the letter added.
He also said, “Our initiative to ensure the well-being of workers and the environment continues. The government of Bangladesh has formed a minimum wage board and it is expected that the wage will be increased quite substantially.
“We hope that the industry will receive utmost support from the stakeholders to ensure the benefit of this wage increase, especially of the buyers,” he added.
