Diplomats, an ILO official and economists on Saturday said that foreign direct investment in the Bangladesh readymade garment sector, completion of the ongoing remediation programme in the RMG factories and ensuring workers’ rights in the sector were required to achieve the $50-billion apparel exports target by 2021. They said that the target of $50 billion export set by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association was consistent with the overall economic growth of the country and heavy lifting in terms of investment was needed to achieve the goal. In a roundtable on ‘Target $50 Billion: We Need Your Support to Reach It’ jointly organised by The Daily Star and the BGMEA at the English daily’s office in Dhaka, EU delegation head Pierre Mayaudon said that both the local and foreign investments were required to achieve the export target. ‘Bangladesh should be friendlier to the FDI in the readymade garment sector,’ he said. Mayaudon requested the government to take initiatives to approve foreign funds of about $200 million so that factory owners could able to fix the safety issues at their units using the finances. Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute, said the investment would have to be doubled in the next five years to achieve the $50-billion export target by 2021 and the required investment would not be possible without FDI. ‘The task is not easy but the target is consistent with the overall economic growth,’ he said. US ambassador Marcia Stephen Bloom Bernicat said the export target set by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association was ambitious but achievable. ‘The target cannot be achieved only with cheap labour. To achieve it, standard of labour and productivity must be raised.’ Regarding duty-free market access to the US market, she suggested that Bangladesh should first ensure international standard in workers’ rights and work place safety in all factories. ‘Duty-free and quota-free market access will be discussed when the factory remediation will be completed, no workers will be fired for forming association and workers will not be terminated without compensation,’ Bernicat said. National Board of Revenue chairman Md Nojibur Rahman said that they would remain engaged constructively with the sector to achieve the export earnings target. Regarding duty-free market access, the NBR chairman said that the US provided generalised system of preferences to Bangladesh in aircraft export but the country could not export the item. The US is the highest single-country export destination for Bangladesh’s readymade garment products but the products are not eligible for GSP facilities. Zahid Hussain, lead economist of the World Bank, said that increased productivity and availability of land and fuel were the important components for achieving $50 billion target of export in the RMG sector by 2021. He said that the government should set national priority for gas connection. Zahid suggested a transparent policy for fixing the prices of RMG products and to eliminate the existing cut-throat competition in pricing across the industry. ILO country director Srinivas Reddy said that ensuring labour rights, fixing safety issues and investment in people were the important things for sustainable development in the RMG sector in Bangladesh. To reach the export target of $50 billion the government and the sector people would have to invest in people for future skilled manpower which is fundamental for the productivity, he said. Reddy laid stress on social dialogues between workers and factory owners and said that the dialogues should not be held only to address crisis but on regular basis. BGMEA president Siddiqur Rahman said, ‘The world apparel trade is forecasted to reach $650 billion in 2020 and if we can increase our market share from 5 per cent now to 8 per cent within next five years we can reach the $50-billion turnover by 2021.’ He urged the government to ensure supply of gas, availability of physical infrastructure and access to finance at low interest rate for ensuring targeted flow of investment. Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star, said that if the BGMEA was serious about the export target of $50 billion, clarity of vision was important to achieve the goal. He suggested a high-powered inter-ministerial committee for next five years as the policy support from the government was a must to attain the target. Sammilita Garments Shramik Federation president Nazma Akter said to increase the productivity workers’ living condition needed to be improved. Without sustainable development of workers, progress of the RMG sector would not be sustained, she said. Nazma demanded freedom of association and living wage for ensuring dignity of the RMG workers. Sharif As-Saber, a professor at RMIT University, Australia, presented the keynote paper in the event.
