Staff Reporter :
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked all to beware of conspirators at home and abroad who are trying to destroy the country’s ready-made garments (RMG) sector.
“I’m urging the owners, workers, foreign buyers and consumers to beware of local and foreign conspirators. Make sure that any quarters can’t conspire against our industries and urged them to remain vigilant in this regard,” she said this while inaugurating the first ever ‘Dhaka Apparel Summit-2014’.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) organized the Summit at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the ‘Centre of Excellence for Bangladesh Apparel Industry and International Trade Expo for Building and Fire Safety 2014’.
“Bangladesh becomes the second largest RMG exporter nation in the world. Perhaps several quarters do not like this and that’s why they’re engaged in conspiracy against this sector,” she said and assured that if any problem occurs, the government has the ability to tackle the matter.
Currently, apparel demand in the global market is about $450 billion which is expected to hit $ 650 billion by 2021. For this, Bangladesh needs
8 per cent share of the total global apparel demand by 2021 as against the country’s current share of 5 per cent.
Sheikh Hasina urged the country’s exporters to find new markets and bring new designs in their products to further explore exports of RMG to world markets. She said that her government will remain beside the exporters.
She said that the government has given highest priority to creating congenial atmosphere for investment to ensure massive industrialization and employment generation in the country. It wants to build Bangladesh as a middle income nation by 2021 and a developed one by 2041.
Terming the garments sector as a pride of Bangladesh, she said some 40 lakh workers — of whom 80 per cent are female — are currently employed in the garment industries.
The Prime Minister said the RMG sector has been making progress overcoming various obstacles and the Awami League-led government would continue providing its support in taking the sector ahead as it is the responsibility of the government.
Assuring all-out cooperation to the RMG exporters, she said that her government has undertaken a number of measures to expand markets for RMG products and urged them to fully utilize huge facilities provided by the government to further explore the sector. She said the RMG owners will have to further improve quality and standard of their products to sustain in the world’s competitive markets.
In this connection, she stressed the need for implementation of the short-, medium- and long-term plans to increase share of the country’s RMG exports in the international market.
Sheikh Hasina expressed the hope that the leading apparel buying organizations will remain beside Bangladeshi exporters as the products of Bangladesh are the best in the world in all respects. She said the government, the BGMEA as well as local and international organizations ensured setting up of safe, sustainable and compliant factories in a coordinated manner as Bangladesh wants security of the workers and safe production system in mills and factories.
Besides, she said, her government recruited inspectors for the garments sector and they have so far inspected 2,193 factories under Accord, Alliance and National Action Plan to keep garment industries safe and secure. “They found most of the mills and factories running in trouble-free manner.”
The Prime Minister mentioned that works on reforms are progressing fast in the remaining factories to improve the safety system and urged all concerned to show the mentality of cooperation to this end. Underscoring the need for conducting research to further strengthen the RMG sector, she said that there is no alternative to research and development to make any industry sustainable. In this regard, she expressed satisfaction over the initiative taken by the BGMEA in collaboration with ILO to set up the Centre of Excellence for Bangladesh Apparel Industry.
She hoped that the Centre would be an effective organization in improving strategic management and quality of the industries through continued research and training.
Describing various steps of her government for the development of the garments sector, she said import duties on raw materials for pre-fabricated buildings in export-oriented garment industries as well as on fire extinguishing equipment have been withdrawn to create congenial working atmosphere.
She said the BGMEA has been given the authority to issue certificate of origin while BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology has been set up.
The Prime Minister also mentioned that her government has increased the wages of the workers by 220 per cent to Tk 5,300 from Tk 1,662 in five years.
The Labour Law has been made time-befitting, she said, adding that dormitories have been constructed for the female workers while a Tk 50 crore fund has been formed to enhance efficiency of the workers.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu and BGMEA President Atiqul Islam, among others, also spoke on the occasion.
