The export earnings from the country’s garment accessories and packaging industries would be as much as $12 billion by 2018 should the sector gets effective support to grow, industry people said. Participating in a discussion at the inaugural programme of the Garment Accessories and Packaging Expo 2015 (GAPEXPO) at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the capital yesterday, leading stakeholders of this sector also demanded that this sector should be developed as a separate industry, reports BSS. Bangladesh Garment Accessories Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGAPMEA) organised the expo, providing a marketing platform for its members to display their latest products and latest collection to the apparels exporters and buyers. Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu inaugurated the expo when he assured that the government would provide all support to help develop the sector so it could expedite the export prospect. The minister said the government already fast-tracked export diversification initiatives so many other sectors including the garment accessories and packaging, shipbuilding and recycling, pharmaceuticals, leather, ceramic, plastic and ICT would grow besides the major export earning readymade garment sector. He said the government would also consider on a priority basis if the entrepreneurs of the garment accessories and packaging sectors want spaces at the BSCIC industrial estate or Garment Palli. Textiles and Jute Minister Emaj Uddin Pramanik, State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan, Bangladesh Bank (BB) Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury and BGAPMEA President Rafez Alam Chowdhury also addressed the programme. Some 300 entrepreneurs from 30 countries are participating in the 4-day expo, ending on Saturday.Later, it had increased only the price of compressed natural gas by 66.67 per cent, from Tk. 18 to Tk. 30 a cubic metre, in two phases in 2011, to rationalise the gas price with the increased price of fuels such as diesel, petrol and octane.
