Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Wednesday said he would recommend finance ministry to provide cash incentive to the RMG accessories exporters. The minister made the assurance while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the four-day GAPEXPO-2017 as chief guest at International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital on Wednesday. “I will collect information about the garment accessories from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and send it to the finance ministry with recommendation to provide cash incentives to the exporters,” Tofail said. He also hoped that the sector would get incentives if there is no legal difficulty. The government would also provide all out support for the development of the sector, he also said. “I hope the sector would contribute $18 billion to achieve $50 billion export target from the RMG sector,” he added. Speaking on the occasion BGAPMEA president Abdul Kader Khan said, “Garment accessories, a sub sector of apparel industry works closely with the sector as a strong backward linkage industry.” “We have contributed $6.12 billion to the total RMG export in the last fiscal year but the sector did not enjoy cash incentives against export of accessories products,” he said. He also requested to the government to issue Utilisation Permission (UP) to the members of BGAPMEA. “Bangladesh has already established an international standard accessories sector,” said Shafiul Islam, senior vice president of FBCCI said. Bangladesh Garment Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGAPMEA), ASK Trade and Exhibition Private Limited and Zakaria Trade and Fair International jointly organised the exposition.GAPEXPO-2017 is displaying latest collection of garment accessories and packaging. Leading companies from Bangladesh as well as from overseas are showcasing garment accessories, packaging and related machinery including labels, zippers, tags, tapes, thread, ribbon, buttons, rivets, laces, hooks, transfer film, paper, ink in the fair.
