New German Ambassador to Bangladesh Thomas Prinz said the consumers should change their mindset of buying clothes at low prices. “In Berlin one can buy a T-shirt at 3 euro only and a pair trousers at 9 euro,” Thomas Prinz said describing price situation of products of Bangladesh’s largest industry which has been struggling to ensure workers’ safety after the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster. He urged the German people to pay more for the purchase of Bangladeshi garment products so standards can be maintained in the industry. The envoy made the call at a reception accorded to him by the Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI) at a Dhaka hotel yesterday. “Customers in Germany should change their behavior of purchasing RMG products made in Bangladesh at low prices,” Thomas Prinz stressed, adding “It is very tough to maintain standard of the products at such low prices.” He criticised Accord and Alliance – two safety initiatives of the Western buyers – for not questioning low prices of the products at the time when they were working to ensure safety in garment factories. The ambassador said the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Germany increased by 12% in 2014. “I will try to boost the economic relationship and development between the two countries.” He said the volume of bilateral trade reached almost 4.5bn euro in 2014, of which Bangladesh export was 3.8bn euro and German’s export to Bangladesh was about 600m euro. “Bangladesh is a dynamic market with excellent perspectives for future economic development. I see huge potentials for further development of trade ties not only by scaling up but also diversification of products.” He mentioned Bangladesh’s shipbuilding and ICT as potential sectors in diversification of export goods. German investment in Bangladesh has for years remained on a modest level due to problems such as bureaucracy in combination with corruption, energy shortage, land security for factory building, blockades and country-wide political turmoil, said Thomas Prinz. He said an image problem is also to add to these obstacles. He said: “I want to focus on the economic possibilities, development cooperation and people.” BGCCI President Sakhawat Abu Khair also spoke at the event. According to Export Promotion Bureau data, in first nine months of the 2014-15 fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $3.5bn from exports to Germany, of which, $3.26bn came from the RMG products. In the FY2013-14, Bangladesh’s export earnings from Germany was $4.72bn. About 92% of Bangladesh export to German is RMG products, 2.5% sea foods, 2% leather products and the rest is other products.
