Special Correspondent
One of the largest Indian-based Silicones company Britacel Silicones Ltd. has appointed Arindam Ghosh as Country Head for Bangladesh. Mr. Ghosh has been with Britacel Family for more than 10 years and has contributed greatly to his role by developing new business opportunities in the new areas for the company.
Mr. Ghosh has done Bachelor of Technology in Fiber & Textile Chemistry and having in-depth experience in the vast area of Textile Chemical processing. Recently Team Textile Focus conversation with Arindam Ghosh newly Country Head for Bangladesh market.
Business in pandemic:
Pandemic pressure and shifts in global markets have brought stiff challenges to the garment industry in Bangladesh. The sector will need to innovate, upgrade, and diversify, investing in flexibility, sustainability, worker welfare, and infrastructure. The ready-made garment (RMG) industry is a mainstay of this economic success story: Bangladesh is today one of the world’s largest garment exporters, with the RMG sector accounting for 84 percent of Bangladesh’s exports.
This comes on the back of the sector’s rapid growth and modernization over the past decade. however, the pandemic has stalled the sector’s progress at a crucial moment, here were signs of a slowdown, with the second half of 2019 showing negative growth compared to 2018. Then COVID-19 struck: in 2020, global lockdowns triggered order reductions, cancellations, payment delays, and renegotiation of terms. Instead of all odds.
Bangladesh market opportunities and Challenges:
Bangladesh’s attractiveness as an apparel-sourcing destination remains potent—yet the country has faced increasing competition in recent years, which could compound the challenges of the pandemic. Although comparable data for global exports in 2020 has not yet been published by the World Trade Organization, data from European and US imports indicate that Vietnam likely overtook Bangladesh in 2020—pushing Bangladesh’s RMG industry out of its position as the second-largest garment-exporting country in the world after China.
Bangladesh’s RMG sector is making in diversifying and upgrading its product offerings. For instance, there is now greater capacity to produce garments made from synthetic fibers; manufacture more complex products such as outerwear, tailored items, and lingerie; and provide new washes, prints, and laser finishing.
Bangladesh’s garment sector has every prospect of remaining one of the world’s largest RMG manufacturers and continuing its impressive story of growth and improvement. However, the country’s apparel industry is facing headwinds. As Bangladesh graduates from least-developed to middle-income country status in the next few years, preferential access to European and other markets is up for negotiation. Additional tariffs would be seriously disruptive for the RMG sector, but leveling the playing field with competing markets could also trigger a much-needed focus on productivity, as well as investment in digitization, automation, and sustainability.
