Retaining the shinning apparel business

Bangladesh’s apparel factories are now full of orders and devoid of any looming uncertainty with the reopening of the western markets with full vigour and pent-up demand. A traditional dependable apparel sourcing country for global brands, Bangladesh’s suppliers are now attracting more and more new buyers and new work orders, thanks to shifting orders from several competing countries now struggling with coronavirus. Factories are full, ports are busy, and workers are getting more remuneration. Banks, insurance, and a raft of backward linkage industries linked with apparel factories are doing better business. Once the manufacturing sector does well to its fullest potential, the economy starts getting positive outcomes in its entirety.

Now, questions lie for our industrialists and policymakers towards sustaining the sector and retaining the new buyers. It is equally important for both the government and manufacturers for a sustainable future. If both the parties act prudently, then the $36 billion export sector could reach $50 billion in a year, and even further ahead with only modern approaches by the parties concerned. Bangladesh’s apparel export earnings posted a robust growth by 30.36 per cent to $35.81 billion in 2021, the highest ever, which was $27.47 billion in 2020. The growth is phenomenal, as the credit largely goes to our manufacturers and hardworking workers.

According to a report published in this daily on Sunday, apparel makers recorded more than 20 per cent rise in export orders in 2021 when compared year-on-year, indicated by the surging number of Utilisation Declaration (UD) permissions issued by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Industry insiders attributed this growth to the continued inflow of work orders from global buyers, who have grown more confident in Bangladeshi readymade garment manufacturers’ capacity and commitment to deliver shipments on time even amid the Covid-19 crisis. Data from the BGMEA reveal that the number of UD permissions issued by the trade body rose by 20.77 per cent to 29,849 in 2021 from 24,714 in 2020. A relevant entity grants UD permission to an exporter to allow the import of raw materials for executing work orders placed by an importer.

According to a report of the Asian Productivity Organization in 2018, Bangladesh's per-worker productivity is lower than all other competing countries except Cambodia. On the other hand, per hour labour productivity of each worker employed in Bangladesh is only $3.45, whereas the close competitors of Bangladesh, i.e., Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia have per hour labour productivity per worker of $4.09, $6.41, $44.27, $9.98 respectively. And consequently, the lower labour productivity of Bangladesh hinders the optimal growth in industrial manufacturing and thus there are scopes to work with the skills set of workers employed in the RMG sector to improve labour productivity. In this era of the competitive market, the world is striving for achieving higher productivity. The biggest challenge and burning issue for the companies is how to get value for the money invested in the workforce and infrastructure in terms of productivity. Productivity is the simultaneous implementation and application of efficiency and effectiveness. This is of special concern in textile manufacturing units as a skilled workforce and advanced machinery exist side by side and play a synergistic role in production. For potential business growth and holding a sustainable position in the market, productivity and efficiency are the important and core part of the apparel industry now.

Scientific workstation layout, training for line supervisors, training to sew operators, and installing better equipment are some of the must needed tools to apply in our garment factories for better productivity. To keep workers healthy to bear the longtime workload, nutritional food intake should be ensured through better pay packages. Cluster-wise training centres, and factory-specific training arrangements will yield better outcomes for the industry. The apparel industry in Bangladesh can be a $100 billion export sector only through better understanding the strength and weaknesses of the sector. Research, automation, incentives, and policy support from both government and the private sector are crucial to sustaining growth and retaining new buyers.