State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mirza Azam Thursday said the government is working relentlessly to fill the shortage of technical workforce in textile sector. “It is sad that around 13,000 foreigners are still working in the textile sector who draw salaries equivalent to those of 300,000 workers,” he said. The government is planning to set up textile institutes in each greater district to meet the deficit of local technical workforce in the sector, he added. He was launching the 13th Dhaka International Textile and Garment Machinery Exhibition in the city. Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), Chan Chao International, and Yorkers Trade and Marketing Service are jointly organising the four-day exhibition at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. The exhibition, nicknamed ‘mini ITMA of South Asia’, is the largest exhibition of Bangladesh’s textile and garment machinery. The implementation process of setting up nine textile engineering colleges will start very soon, the state minister said, adding the government will spend Tk 2.0 billion for establishing each college. He said a plan also underway to revive the 70 laid-off textile factories under public-private partnership. Urging textile entrepreneurs to be frugal in using land, he said the businesses could propose their plan to the government to set up factories and the government is ready to provide land. BTMA acting president Md. Fazlul Hoque, Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Md Siddiqur Rahman, BGMEA vice president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, and Managing Director of Chan Chao International Company Ltd. Tiger Lin also spoke at the event. BGMEA president said around 60 per cent raw materials in the woven sector are being imported, the imported amount of raw materials should be lessened significantly to gain the potential in the sectors. “Policy support is needed in this connection,” he said. He said doing business in textile and readymade garments sector is not easy anymore. The number of garment factories has now halved to 3,500, he added. Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin rejected recent TIB report that said apparel sector manufacturers pay bribe buyers to export. He urged the government to provide policy support to diversify export basket, rather than depending on RMG only. Mr. Mohiuddin, also a former BGMEA President, said the government needs to prioritise sectors, which should get gas and electricity first. FazIul Hoque said the first batch of BTMA-run NITER (National Institute of Textile Engineering and Research) graduates passed out from the institute last year. It is engaged in bringing out quality textile engineers to meet the needs of the textile sector. “It is definitely pleasing to inform that participating enterprises got around $ 220 million worth spot business orders last year. Responses are so enormous that it has become extremely difficult for us to accommodate the request of all interested parties in setting up their stalls in the present Expo venue,” he said. He said the DTG exhibition is a good avenue of displaying the latest technological advancement in textile and garment machinery and accessories. Some 1,000 leading brands from 32 countries and regions, participated in the event.
