Eurofins Modern Testing Services presents Industry Opinion Episode-23 was on the topic- “Key Barriers to Apparel Export Boost” Team Textile Focus received feedback from the industry experts.
Inamul Haq Khan, Managing Director of Ananta Companies; Former Director, BGMEA
After the new independence, we are all very excited across the country, hoping for some good things to happen. We are expecting positive developments in the garments sector as well, and buyers are also very excited that they can source from a good country. Currently, there is a lot of focus on green industry in our country, with green industries emerging everywhere, and factories becoming LEED-certified. Even having a good ruler in a country helps with country branding. All of us demand that the interim government should complete the reforms it is undertaking before holding elections. It is extremely important for our country to have a genuinely elected government. Along with this, we, as RMG owners, are trying to deliver good products and maintain the company environment globally. After traveling to many countries, I feel that our factories are the safest in the world. We are getting a good response from buyers, and they are eager to place more orders in the future.
Ehsan Haq, Director, Knittex Industries and BAYLA
All of our buyers have been working with us long-term, for almost 15-20 years. They have never lost trust in our company, which is great for us. Our current concern is the future business prospects that Bangladesh may have. If buyers believe that there could be human rights violations in our country, they might hesitate to place orders, which has already happened to some extent in July. If we can assure buyers that the situation in our country is now safe and that we have the stability to fulfill their orders, we hope for positive outcomes. The reputation of the chief adviser of our interim government gives us a good impression globally, which makes Bangladesh’s future bright. From Bangladesh’s history, we know that political instability has always been present here, so it’s difficult to predict what might happen again. We all know that our biggest loss has been in the banking sector, where massive corruption and violations have already occurred. We need to focus on how to overcome these issues.
Syed Mohammad Sajjad, Director, Mojumder Group
We are in the midst of a major challenge. On the one hand, our costs are continuously rising—worker wages have increased, the value of currency has fallen, interest rates have risen, and utility costs have risen. On the other hand, buyers are constantly lowering their prices. This problem needs to be solved as quickly as possible through various organizations. Trade bodies need to talk to buyers and explain these problems for sustainable, fair products. On the other hand, we need to invest in industry machinery and human resources. We need to provide training so we can enhance our skill set. As far as I know, China and Vietnam work at 70% efficiency, while in Bangladesh, we are working at around 40-45% efficiency, which needs to be improved through automation and upgrading human capital. Additionally, our order volume is shrinking due to various sustainable online business or customer demands. The previous era was one of mass production, but the current era is one of mass customization.
Amer Salim, Director, Knit Asia Ltd
Currently, the number of orders we have in the country has increased somewhat compared to last year and the previous year, but the main problem is that prices have fallen. Another issue I’ve noticed is the energy shortage, which often disrupts production. However, the problems we have faced over the last 1-2 months are entirely due to political issues. Initially, our buyers were somewhat sympathetic, but now their patience is running thin because they are not receiving important seasonal shipments on time due to the instability in our country. Because of this, they have already moved some orders from Bangladesh to other countries. We believe that in the next season, some orders may go to India or Pakistan alongside Bangladesh because the perception of Bangladesh as a safe zone has been somewhat damaged. Since our chief adviser has a global reputation, we hope this issue will be resolved soon. At this moment, we have a significant need for gas and electricity, and we must be more conscious about this. Our costs are continuously rising, and inflation is presenting us with major challenges. But overall, we are hopeful that we will overcome this soon.
