Mr Bhuiyan came up with the remark at the inaugural ceremony of BGAPMEA (Bangladesh Garments Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association) Testing Laboratory located in Tongi industrial area as the chief guest on Wednesday. The Lab has been built under the Integrated Support to Poverty and Inequality Reduction through Enterprise Development (INSPIRED) project funded by the European Union (EU) and the Ministry of Industry Bangladesh, said a press yesterday. It is established to provide internationally acceptable testing facilities for various types of RMG accessories and products to ensure quality as per the requirement of global buyers. Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of RMG products in the globe, and since the country is entering into higher end products, the laboratory will help improve product quality as per the demands of global buyers, said Mosharraf. He also urged the EU to provide more financial and technical support for the sector people so that they can produce best quality accessories products. For the first time in Bangladesh, with the help of EU and Industry Ministry, BGAPMEA set up the Lab, which will help attract buyers through fulfilment of their requirement, said BGAPMEA president Abdul Kader Khan. In the last fiscal, RMG accessories contributed $6.12 billion to the overall apparel export of $28 billion. “We have the testing lab to help the sector people contribute more as it would draw buyers to source accessories from Bangladesh due to its quality,” said Kader. He also urged the government to provide cash incentives against the deemed export of accessories to be self-reliant. Mr Sushen Chandra Das, project director, Bangladesh INSPIRED, also additional secretary to the Industry Ministry, former BGAPMEA present Rafez Alam Chowdhury, Ali Sabet, team leader, INSPIRED Bangladesh, and Anne Raine, senior expert, Bangladesh INSPIRED were present at the function.
