Competitiveness, efficiency, skills key to apparel sector growth, say experts

Improving competitiveness, efficiency and skill development are crucial for the manufacturers, including the apparel sector, to strengthen their footprint in the international market and cope with the new challenges, speakers said.

Keeping this in mind, they have underscored the need for government policy support to enhance business efficiency in the global competitive market and diversify exports.

They came up with the observations at a panel discussion titled 'Resetting the Competitive Edge: Rethinking Bangladesh's Apparel Strategy  Post-Tariffs & Beyond' organised by Bangladesh Apparel Youth Leaders Alliance (BAYLA) at a city hotel on Saturday.

President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Mohammad Hatem, Chairman of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology Faruque Hassan, Administrator of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Md. Anwar Hossain, Chairman of Sheltech Group & Envoy Legacy Kutubuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury, and Chairman of United Commercial Bank PLC Sharif Zahir joined the panel discussion.

President of BAYLA Abrar H Sayem moderated the event while its head of research Sifat Islam Ishty presented the BAYLA Roadmap 2030.

In his speech, BCI President Mr Chowdhury said Bangladeshi people are mostly born entrepreneurs who show resilience against different forms of odds. Referring to the tariff-related decisions made by the Trump administration, he said it is high time the country's entrepreneurs increased their capability.

"Those who will be competitive would be successful. There should be short-, medium- and long-term preparations to boost our competitiveness," he said. Praising the members of the BAYLA, he said the new generation is performing much better due to their innovative thinking, talent and embrace of automation.

"This young generation should now use their platform to negotiate with the government agencies, including NBR, banks and others." He also said there is a strong need to diversify industries focusing on other areas beyond RMG.

Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad Hatem laid emphasis on withdrawing tariff on man-made fiber to fight in the global market. "We have to import a huge amount of cotton from the USA. It will be better for us if we can reduce imbalanced trade. Muhammad Yunus is a global brand so we should take the opportunity to diversify our exports. Now we need to resolve the problems in banking, NBR, energy and others."

Kutubuddin Ahmed said the government could provide subsidy on US cotton import to increase the use of the product. He, however, said the US's tariff-related decision might come back to its original situation.

High tariff on China imposed by the US would create trouble for the US market itself, he said, urging the new generation entrepreneurs to improve businesses efficiency.

Sharif Zahir underscored the need for business diversification and put more focus on high-value RMG products.

Md Anwar Hossain laid emphasis on research and development (R&D) and solution to data scarcity problem. "However, the young generation should be more interactive with the industry and workers. We have a plan to arrange a summit on RMG industry," he said.

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