The government should fast-track the process of giving new gas connections to industrial units if the garment export target of $50 billion is to be reached, BGMEA President Atiqul Islam said yesterday. Setting the $50 billion target to be reached by 2021 was a right move, as Bangladesh’s garment products are still performing well in the international market, he said at a press conference ahead of the apparel and safety exposition in Chittagong on August 6. Although fiscal 2014-15’s export target could not be achieved, the garment makers are brimming with confidence, as the international retailers are placing abundant work orders to Bangladeshi factories. However, if the cost of production is not reduced substantially, the competitive edge might be lost, Islam said. Bangladesh Apparel and Safety Exposition Chittagong 2015, a three-day event, will be a follow-up to last year’s Dhaka Apparel Summit. The Dhaka Apparel Summit helped a lot to brighten the image of the country, tarnished after twin industrial disasters –Tazreen Fashions fire and Rana Plaza building collapse, Islam said. At the event in the port city, locally produced apparel products will be displayed in 73 stalls and seminars held on the contemporary issues saddling the sector. The topics include ‘branding Bangladesh’, training and development of skills for strong, sustainable and balanced growth, and financing the apparel growth. At the Dhaka summit, the roadmap for achieving the $50 billion target was prepared. In Chittagong, the outcomes of the Dhaka summit will be reviewed so that corrective actions can be taken, Islam added.
