Riding out challenges facing apparel sector

Still retaining its position as the world's second largest exporter with its 7.9 per cent share in global apparel export after China, Bangladesh's Readymade Garment (RMG) sector is now experiencing its most challenging time. Given the fast-changing external and domestic factors affecting the country's apparel sector, the policymakers both in the industry and the government are required to come up with right strategies and right option to meet the challenges as they emerge. For instance, the country's apparel sector is now in need of increasing the productivity of its workforce as well as improving the quality of its products to survive in the highly competitive global market. But in the present context, some of the issues the apparel sector encounter remaining beyond the control of the local industry, its overseas buyers would do well to come forward to help the sector overcome some of the hurdles in mutual interests. Notably, they did so in difficult times in the past.

The issue has often been the focal point of deliberations in a long series of discussions over time among the industry leaders as well as experts in the field. It was also raised at a recent discussion in the city where foreign partners concerned about the growth and sustainability of the country's RMG sector did enrich the discussion with valuable suggestions. They pointed out the areas of occupational health and safety of workers through reskilling as well as upskilling them and inspiring female workers, whose number in the apparel industry has witnessed constant decline from 80 per cent of the total workforce in the 1980s to slightly over 53 per cent in 2021. In this connection, the role of adapting to new technologies and production tools cannot be overemphasised.

While appreciating those views, it would also require taking into consideration the fact that, currently, the local apparel sector is struggling against rising costs of imported raw materials, energy as well as ever-inflating utility bills. Small wonder that production costs of RMG items are rising uncontrollably. Add to that the falling consumer demand in the major Western markets. Strangely, the overseas buyers are not willing to take such issues into their consideration while placing their purchase orders. As the local apparel producers cannot afford to lose any buyer, they have often to accept their terms risking losses. It is exactly at this point that the country's RMG sector needs the support of its foreign partners in development. They can do that by way of influencing the relevant international forums to act as facilitators so the foreign buyers might agree to share a portion of the cost burden affecting the local apparel sector's competitiveness in the global market.

Once such support is at hand from quarters both at home and abroad, the country's apparel sector will be in a position to go for reinvestment in upgrading itself from its current low-skilled workforce base to a higher-skilled one. In a similar vein, as some of these issues facing the country's apparel sector are existential in nature, the policymakers should also be ready to think out of the box as part of research and development. This is more so at a time when industries globally are transitioning from the traditional to a knowledge-based ones. So, to avoid slipping out of the loop, the local garment industry must be alive to the changing landscape of the trends and technologies in the global marketplace.