Terming Bangladesh ‘Global Leader’ for readymade garments (RMG), Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun on Wednesday said exploring new markets and diversifying products are essential to sustain the current position. “Industrial sector is playing a vital roling to achieve the higher GDP growth and infrastructure development,” the minister said while inaugurating the four-day ’20th Textech Bangladesh International Expo-2019? at International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the city. SEMS Global USA and Asia Pacific organised the expo. At the same time, the minister also inaugurated the “16th Dhaka International Yearn and Fabric Show-2019” and “38th Dye-chem Bangladesh Expo 2019”. Humayun said Bangladesh is moving to the development highway under the prudent policy and dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. “Political situation in the country is stable. Bangladesh has achieved positive growth for the strong position of the government,” he added. Among others, Textiles and Jute Secretary Mohammad Belayet Hossain and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) First Vice President Monsure Ahmed delivered speeches on the occasion. Bangladesh’s basic clothing industry needs multibillion dollars in foreign investment to cater different sub-sectors to attain $50b apparel export in two years. Economists and entrepreneurs are upbeat in observing that the global market potential open to the country can help it even rise far beyond the set short-term target with the much-needed basic investment pooled in. A number of major countries have put on offer free-market access for Bangladeshi products. An additional perk can come as spin-offs from the China-US trade war. But, industry sources said, foreign direct investment or FDI appeared to have stagnated. Policy incentives and certainty are felt as one of needed fillip. Annually, Bangladesh is in need of billions of dollars in foreign direct investment in the textile sector for serving different sub-sectors of apparel industry but gets only a few hundred million. Last year (2018), FDI in the textile sector was registered at USD408 million, an abysmal 3.24 percent less from the mark in the previous year, according to Bangladesh Bank sources. According to Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), currently the textile sector can meet 90 percent yarn demand for knit and 40 percent for woven garments. On the other hand, denim fabrics made in the country can meet around 50 percent demand. For higher-end fabrics this sub-sector is heavily dependent on imports-thus missing out on huge amounts in lost value addition. For failure of the basic sector of the textile sector, value addition in the apparel sector still stands down below 50 percent, textile-sector sources said. Without increasing the value-addition capability it would be difficult to reach the landmark target of USD50 billion earnings by exporting readymade garments (RMG) by the year 2021, although there is much higher potential to be tapped. The export earnings from the RGM sector remain stagnant within USD 33-34-billion cycles over the years. Investors in the textile sector identified three major reasons for failure in wooing FDI into the primary-textile sector. They mentioned rise in production cost and cumbersome process in getting factory permission along with scarcity of land. For resolving land constraint, experts suggest spreading apparel factories to feasible areas across the country out of the high concentrations in and around Dhaka-Narayanganj belt and around the port city of Chattagram. The once-stop-service centre developed by Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) is not functioning well, investors lamented. BTMA president Mohammed Ali Khokon, while commenting on the textile-sector-investment situation, said: “In making investment in any country investors seek security and returns on their investment. Since the production cost is higher due to rise in gas and electricity prices, coupled with land scarcity, FDI flow
