It is usually heard that China is putting up the shutters on its textile mills and garment factories and as a result Bangladesh’s industry is going to be flooded with business migrating from there. Some others think otherwise. They are worried whether the industry is seeing its end and is becoming a sunset industry soon. We think both conjectures are incorrect. China is not done yet with its textile and garment manufacturing. On the contrary, it has laid out plans to effectively counter the challenge of rising cost of production in the current bases of manufacturing by shifting them to low-cost areas within the country. According to some sources, they have already started working on implementation of the mega project and investing billions of dollars. So, China is not yet allowing itself to close its eyes on this kind of shift. Even, for the sake of an argument, if it is going to happen, in a big way or not, then there are other emerging markets too. We can’t and shouldn’t ignore what the readymade garment (RMG) industries in Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, India and the Philippines can do right away. They may be even better prepared policy-wise, investment-wise, infrastructure-wise and location-wise to grab most of this opportunity. Also, we have to consider the cases of Myanmar and some countries in Africa, which too are eyeing RMG as saviour of their respective economies. Bangladesh has been their role-model. So to compete against these countries, stay and grow in the business, we have a lot to do. The task is not easy but not impossible either (as we have lots of advantages) and to make it a success we all have to work in tandem, the government included. To face and work around those challenges, the government has to control, facilitate and oversee RMG affairs more seriously and consistently. Following are our suggestions:
* The government needs to engage and remain with business apex bodies like BGMEA, BKMEA, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), foreign buyers’ association in the country and International Labour Organisation (ILO). The government should have some role to play with regard to buyers remaining least concerned about the price they pay. Most of these buyers are always very firm and united when to ask for more. They have a tendency of resorting to informal bidding on prices to ultimately getting the cheapest out of the makers going beyond all reasons and logic. There are examples where big volume buyers allure a manufacturer to go bigger in capacity assuring him of big business. The manufacturer thus falls into a trap and then with a bigger stomach it has to accept any price just to keep the factory running. Here the buyer is the sole winner. The government can do something to stop this from happening and can work in close relation with respective business associations.
* The government also has to work on improvement of export and import handling of cargos at sea ports and as well as in international airports of the country. Modern equipment, up-gradation of facilities, increasing capacities of cargo handling keeping the standard in line with international ones, ensuring safety of cargo in waiting at the ports for export and inland transportation and safety of export cargo and imported raw materials between factories and ports are of vital importance for sustenance and growth of the industry. Proper and prompt repair and maintenance of busy and most important routes for imports and exports need to be ensured.
* It will be very useful if the government could oversee the industry as a whole how it is performing and meeting industry leaders from time to time to learn about the state of affairs for betterment or solving important issues. Factories, which run businesses below the line of profit and do so continually also need to be monitored for subsequent actions and remedies.
* Taking interest in learning about training of the management staff at all levels in the industry by engaging both public and private universities for that purpose. (The good news is that recently the government is working on a massive plan in this direction where Asian Development Bank and other donors would also fund generously along with the Bangladesh government. This news is very encouraging).
* The government needs to ensure uninterrupted supply of gas and electricity for sustenance, expansion and further growth of the industry. This industry should be treated with exception and electricity and gas could be supplied at subsidised prices with conditions ensuring its growth.
* Bank loans for modernisation and expansion of the industry also need to be competitive in terms of interest rates against those in other competing countries. Without this how could the government expect it to touch the massive export target of 50 billion US dollars by 2021 which it appreciates? Apex bodies like the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) have to always improve on the way they solve issues and attend to the affairs keeping in mind that challenges are increasing. The target of reaching the export figure of 50 billion dollars by 2021 is not easy and this must not end in a failure as a mere tall talk. There are also other concerns for them to worry about. One of them is to grab business opportunities that may come out of China and compete against other interested parties in other South Asian countries. Beyond electioneering times also, they need to engage heavily with the member-factories and do the needful for raising awareness with regard to what are a must to do to become efficient manufacturers for now and years ahead. The top leaders need to listen to the predicaments and miseries what the manufacturers suffer from in daily lives individually. There is nothing more effective than updating the association with info worth learning for setting targets and actions thereupon. It is time to make BGMEA-sponsored University of Fashion & Technology (BUFT) more industry-specific establishing direct dialogue with the factory management, reaching out and liaising with public and private universities to explore the possibilities how they can change the perception of the industry from a poor one to a better one, training the existing human resources and creating a pool of future resources. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and other public engineering and technology universities, Dhaka University and private universities all can play a huge role. Some of these have textile departments, but what’s about garment manufacturing departments? There are so much that can be done in cutting rooms to finishing floors of the RMG industry. Research needs to be done on better methods of sewing, designing work aids in the sewing room etc. The effort of production and industrial engineers from BUET and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, including those from other similar universities, seem to be inadequate for the time. The universities themselves can come forward and take up the industry as their test case for their contributions. Contributions can be made from so many sides. Some of them could be on improving energy efficiency and use of cleaner energy; saving dye and chemical in washing, dyeing and printing, use of steam and water, machine repair and maintenance keeping environment in view. Environment, pollution of the same, etc. have been the recent priorities for international buyers and our government. Creating awareness among owners/Chief Operating Officers (CEOs) about investing substantially in human resources and technology including viable automation in machinery and resource planning for better and more efficient output is the crying need of the time now. Readymade garment industry has been the lifeline of our economy as the highest foreign exchange earner, job provider to uneducated and unskilled labour force, educated jobless youths and also university graduates from almost all disciplines. This industry also has facilitated growth and rapid flourishment of associated businesses, which include manufacturing of all kinds, laundries, printing businesses, embroidery business, and what not. Because of this industry the basic textile (yarn spinning, woven fabric weaving, knitting, dyeing etc.) industry also has gained momentum. Local consumer businesses also have got the taste of new vitality. Hospitality and tourism industry has been thriving because of this. Besides, many owners of RMG industry also have been reinvesting their profits in other non-textile sectors like pharmaceuticals, leather, agriculture, paper mills, hospitals, software, etc. The positive and far-reaching impact of the RMG industry can hardly be over-exaggerated. Because of dearth of properly educated and trained mid-level managers we see that thousands of foreign nationals get jobs in the industry and billions of dollars are being remitted annually to their respective countries. This has been happening for years. According to one source, Indian nationals alone send more than $6.0 billion and then there are Sri Lankan, Chinese and the Philippines nationals, Pakistanis and also some Europeans. While our total exports from this sector are about 28 billion dollars, the estimated flight of such a huge amount of foreign exchange from the country is truly mind-boggling. With our readiness, we can stop this or at least reduce this figure to a great extent and the dollars thus saved would then remain with us helping our economy. Not only we can do it but also we can reverse this scenario. We should be able to send our garment and textile experts, laundry managers and printing technicians to go to other emerging markets in foreign countries and work there to remit their earnings home.
