Home ›› 11 Sep 2022 ›› Governance
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) aims to promote the country’s export-oriented apparel industry locally and globally by showcasing the impressive stories of this sector, especially its compelling strides in workplace safety, environmental sustainability and workers’ rights and wellbeing through its latest initiative called “Made in Bangladesh Week.”
The event, organised by BGMEA in partnership with Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE), will kick off on November 12 and continue until November 18 — highlighting the sector’s continuous strive to pursue excellence. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the event.
Addressing a press conference on the programme in Dhaka on Saturday, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said the apparel sector earned 82 per cent foreign currency by exporting five items. But they are trying to diversify their export basket more by adopting new technology and research.
“We exported 72 per cent of cotton-based clothes despite 25 per cent global demand. That means we are far behind in manufacturing man-made fibre-based clothes. Now we are investing in this sector and during the Made in Bangladesh Week, buyers will be able to know how we are diversifying our product basket,” he said.
He added, “To continue export growth and maintain buyers’ confidence, political stability is most important. We hope all political parties will exercise their rights democratically and unrest will not occur considering the country’s development.”
The BGMEA president also said that orders in the apparel sector have significantly reduced in recent times due to the ongoing global economic crisis and its impacts will be visible after September. Under the circumstances, the country’s energy crisis and fuel price hike have also pushed up their production costs.
“We have to run our factories using diesel-powered generators when we experience power cuts for several hours. With the hiked fuel prices, our production costs have increased,” he lamented.
“Considering the crises, we urge the government to ensure uninterrupted energy supply to the factories to keep production unhurt and reduce the source tax from 1 per cent to 0.5 per cent,” Faruque added.
During the Made in Bangladesh Week, the 37th International Apparel Federation (IAF) World Fashion Convention, 3rd Dhaka Apparel Summit, Dhaka Apparel Exhibition, fashion shows, cultural and award events, factory tours and workshops by BGMEA University of Fashion & Technology (BUFT) will take place. Recognising the importance of strengthening Bangladesh’s presence in the global fashion market and initiating a greater collaboration with the global stakeholders for sustainable manufacturing and sourcing, BGMEA and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) pursued IAF to organise the 37th World Fashion Convention in Bangladesh.
