The readymade garment (RMG) accessories sector has become a potential sector in forex earning. During FY16 an amount of 3.5 billion US Dollar was earned from this sector, which is 25 per cent higher compared to the earnings of FY15. It has been estimated that during the current fiscal (FY17) forex earning from the accessories sector would cross more than 4 billion dollar, according to accessories exporters. The competitive price and high quality of the RMG accessories made in Bangladesh have attracted foreign buyers to shift their attention from China, India and other countries to Bangladesh. Besides export, locally produced accessories meet 95 per cent demand of local RMG industries, said a leader of Bangladesh Garments Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGAPMEA). The BGAPMEA source said that if the current growth of accessories exports could be maintained, the export earnings from this sector would reach around 12 billion dollar by the year 2018. The source, however, listed the challenges of the local accessories industries. The major threat has been posed of reduction of import duties from plastic products in the current year’s budget. Most of the garment accessories are made from the plastic. Countries like China and India are self-sufficient in plastic raw materials, lower import duty on plastic products would encourage the import of the RMG accessories from abroad, which would call for a disaster for the local accessories industries, said Md. Juber Alam, Proprietor of Zerin Tex. The plastic accessories being manufactured locally are corrugated cartons, poly bag, buttons, zippers, and labels etc. which are integral part of RMG export. The products made in Bangladesh are also included different types of extrusion materials, PVC pipes, shopping bag, moulding products, garment bags, woven bags, PET/PE bottles, laminated packages, rigid sheets, household products, cosmetics, medicine pack etc. The destination of Bangladeshi plastic products are European Union (EU), USA, Latin America, Middle East, China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam and many other countries.
