BGMEA asks buyers to nominate multiple suppliers

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has asked their buyers to nominate multiple suppliers for fabrics and accessories instead of just one, in a bid to ensure better quality, competitive costs and flexibility.

This call came in a letter signed by BGMEA President Faruque Hassan, and addressed to brands, retailers, and buyer’s representatives.

The letter points out, “Here our observation is that in many cases, buyers nominate the source of fabrics and accessories imports. And in most cases, the nomination comes as a single source with no option.

“You would agree that in principle it somehow distorts the business environment and competition, which otherwise would have helped to ensure better quality, better cost and flexibility should the manufacturers had options of multiple suppliers nomination.”

BGMEA goes on to request the buyers to “consider the request to nominate multiple suppliers for one particular input for which we are not competitive enough and to be imported so that we have the option to negotiate and also check the quality.”

Highlighting the achievements of the country’s readymade garment (RMG) industry in the last year, the letter states, “We just concluded the year 2022, and our readymade garment (RMG) industry has set a new landmark of $45.70 billion in exports in a year.

“The overall export of Bangladesh has also reached a new height with around $55 billion export.”

Mentioning that investment in the backward linkage industry is on the rise, especially in the case of fabrics and accessories, the letter adds, “We are now focusing more on non-cotton products and BGMEA is researching to find out our potential in the global non-cotton market.”

The government has also made a huge investment in logistics and infrastructure sectors, the letter read, adding, “Previously, we could use only one land customs port to import cotton and yarn, but now we can import those through other significant land ports.”

“Given all these efforts and progress, we are aiming for more trade and investments in coming years, and we need to find ways to maximise the utilisation of all these opportunities,” the letter read.

The BGMEA also requests the buyers to encourage their suppliers in Bangladesh (garment manufacturers) to invest more in those specialised items, so it could reduce the cost and lead time further.