Consolidation of small readymade garment units and integration of boutique houses with the mainstream industry will be top priorities in order to help sustain the country’s apparel sector’s growth, newly elected BGMEA president Dr Rubana Huq has said. The new leadership of the country’s biggest apparel trade body, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), has also vowed to address the key challenges and emerging issues as well as the important ones to give an impetus to the highest foreign currency-earning sector. “We should now focus on collaboration rather than competing with each other. And it should be both nationally and internationally,” Ms Huq, also the managing director of Mohammadi Group, told the FE in an exclusive interview at her company’s office in the city on Monday. The Sammilito Forum led by Rubana Huq has swept the BGMEA polls held on April 06, bagging all the 35 posts. She is scheduled to take over as the first woman president of BGMEA on April 20. Ms Huq, who did her PhD from Jadavpur University in 2018, has been in garment trade for the last 23 years. She was the wife of late Annisul Huq, a former BGMEA president and former Dhaka North City Corporation mayor. Explaining her vision for the readymade garment (RMG) industry, Ms Huq said she would work for the welfare of all RMG entrepreneurs, irrespective of size, workers and their representatives, collectively so that no factory faces closure in the future. Many garment factories have closed down while a good number of small and medium-sized factories are struggling to survive, as buyers don’t want to give work orders to factories located in buildings that accommodate several other factories or establishments, she said. “For example, if there are four small factories in a building, we will encourage them to consolidate to form a single company, which will increase their combined capacity and give them an edge to negotiate with the buyers effectively,” she added. Buyers will also feel confident to source from them and this has already been proven through one such initiative in the last ten years, said the BGMEA president-elect. When asked, Rubana Huq said they have a plan to launch a pilot programme in this regard at Mirpur. “In our country, there are so many boutique and fashion houses presenting rich designs, trend, embroidery and so on. So, why we don’t integrate those designers with the export-oriented garment industry,” she asked. “We want to bridge small business with middle and large ones to boost the export potentials and turn local business ideas into international ones,” she said. The new leadership of BGMEA will open a number of cells, including price negotiation cell, to help entrepreneurs bargain with buyers, and promote good practices and innovations, Ms Huq added. She said they would also focus on vital issues such as branding the image of the sector and the trade body, product pricing, wage and productivity, market expansion and exploration of emerging markets and policies. When asked, Ms Huq said her goal would be to set the target bar high with better visions. “As a woman, I will accept challenges with fullest courage and conviction, because a woman has more empathy and is probably more transparent.” Terming the BGMEA leadership a ‘responsibility’, she said any victory should be a humbling experience and should not be about being overwhelmed with bouquets and celebrations. Regarding the Accord activities, Ms Huq said re-negotiation should start with physical presence of BGMEA representatives in the Accord for its transition process which is now in limbo. “Transition has to head towards handover,” she noted.
