Describing Bangladesh’s progress in transforming its garment sector, commerce minister Tofail Ahmed has said the international community has the shared responsibility to advocate fair price for Bangladeshi apparel items. “We’re committed to making our garment factories compliant. We’ve, therefore, undertaken various legal, administrative and institutional reform programmes. These have involved huge cost of compliance and are eroding the comparative edge,” The commerce minister, now in Germany, also said Bangladesh needs more financial assistance and low-cost financing for Detailed Engineering Assessment (DEA) and remediation work. He was addressing a global audience at a social dialogue on occupational safety in the supply chain, being held in Berlin. The Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and the German Social Accident Insurance in Dresden arranged the meeting. Speakers at the event expressed satisfaction over the progress Bangladesh has made so far, reports UNB. Tofail said he believes that Bangladesh will be on top of the sourcing countries in the coming years. “We know buyers are constantly looking for new opportunities for affordable capacity but the factors beyond labour cost, safety compliance and social and environmental impact have got prominence,” he said. The commerce minister said the progress made so far demonstrates a renewed approach in governing the affairs of the country’s readymade garment industry. “No such accidents have occurred after Rana Plaza accident. Yet, it remains a long-drawn and continuous process. The government, through various mechanisms, has been monitoring all the activities so that steps taken in this regard are completed in a well-coordinated manner,” he added. Tofail said these are important steps for Bangladesh following the recent fire and building collapse. ” … the government of Bangladesh has taken measures to address the issues. Tangible progresses are made in the meantime and Bangladesh is following the right tracks -the development partners, buyers, retailers, international labour unions and researchers are mentioning in their writings,” he added. All the plans encompass the assessment of fire, electrical and structural integrity of the active export-oriented apparel factories in addition to legal and institutional reform, transparent and accountable inspections, and setting up publicly accessible database, training and education, Tofail said. “We all are engaged in implementing all the issues and concerns therein,” he added. About 94 per cent of the exports from Bangladesh to Germany are apparels, while Bangladesh’s major imports from the European country comprise machinery, chemical and electrical goods, and medicines. Tofail said Bangladesh’s textile and apparel industry has attracted the attention of scholars and policymakers all over the world because of its robust export performance over the last three decades and increasing contributions to the country’s poverty reduction and women employment. Bangladesh is now the world’s second-largest exporter of clothing, only after China. This sector is the country’s top export-earner, accounting for 82 per cent of Bangladesh’s annualised merchandise shipment. Bangladesh has set a target to achieve US$ 50-billion exports from the RMG and apparel industry by 2021. “We believe such robust performance has been possible due to the advantages Bangladesh has in terms of price and capacity as well as liberalisation of the garment sector through phasing out of quota and duty-free access provided by major trading nations of the world,” the commerce minister added. Bangladesh state minister for labour M Mujibul Haque, German parliamentary state secretary Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, International Labour Organization’s deputy director general for Field Operations and Partnerships Gilbert Houngbo, BGMEA president Md. Atiqul Islam, ILO representatives and EU leaders, among others, spoke on the occasion. Hans Joaehim Fuchtel, parliamentary state secretary, the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Dr Joachim Breuer, director general of German Social Insurance, high-level representatives of ILO, delegates from various countries and representatives of buyers and retailers, research institutions and academics were present.
