New German Ambassador to Bangladesh Thomas Prinz said the consumers should change their mindset of buying clothes at low prices. “In Berlin one can buy a T-shirt at 3 euro only and a pair trousers at 9 euro,” Thomas Prinz said describing price situation of products of Bangladesh’s largest industry which has been struggling to ensure workers’ safety after the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster. He urged the German people to pay more for the purchase of Bangladeshi garment products so standards can be maintained in the industry. The envoy made the call at a reception accorded to him by the Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI) at a Dhaka hotel yesterday. “Customers in Germany should change their behavior of purchasing RMG products made in Bangladesh at low prices,” Thomas Prinz stressed, adding “It is very tough to maintain standard of the products at such low prices.” He criticised Accord and Alliance – two safety initiatives of the Western buyers – for not questioning low prices of the products at the time when they were working to ensure safety in garment factories. The ambassador said the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Germany increased by 12% in 2014. “I will try to boost the economic relationship and development between the two countries.” He said the volume of bilateral trade reached almost 4.5bn euro in 2014, of which Bangladesh export was 3.8bn euro and German’s export to Bangladesh was about 600m euro. “Bangladesh is a dynamic market with excellent perspectives for future economic development. I see huge potentials for further development of trade ties not only by scaling up but also diversification of products.” He mentioned Bangladesh’s shipbuilding and ICT as potential sectors in diversification of export goods. German investment in Bangladesh has for years remained on a modest level due to problems such as bureaucracy in combination with corruption, energy shortage, land security for factory building, blockades and country-wide political turmoil, said Thomas Prinz. He said an image problem is also to add to these obstacles. He said: “I want to focus on the economic possibilities, development cooperation and people.” BGCCI President Sakhawat Abu Khair also spoke at the event. According to Export Promotion Bureau data, in first nine months of the 2014-15 fiscal year, Bangladesh earned $3.5bn from exports to Germany, of which, $3.26bn came from the RMG products. In the FY2013-14, Bangladesh’s export earnings from Germany was $4.72bn. About 92% of Bangladesh export to German is RMG products, 2.5% sea foods, 2% leather products and the rest is other products.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2015/may/06/german-envoy-change-mindset-buying-garments-cheap#sthash.g5by04EI.dpuf

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said the introduction of System Application Products (SAP) to RMG and other industries will enable companies to be more competitive in the global market by reducing their costs, increasing their profitability and addressing workers safety. The minister came up with the remarks at a seminar organised by Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI) and SAP Bangladesh in a city hotel yesterday. BGCCI along with its Gold partner SS Solutions organised the programme titled “SAP RMG, Textile and Pharma Meet” to launch the special solution package and SAP Education Academy in Bangladesh. The seminar focused on how businesses can integrate and automate manufacturing, supply chain, sales and financial process with an integrated solution specifically designed for RMG, Textiles and Life Science industries at an affordable price with SAP. Bangladesh Football Federation President and Chairman of SS Solutions Kazi Salahuddin, Managing Director Sarazeen Kazi, Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) President Abdus Salam Murshedy and stakeholder Tabith Mohammed Awal were present at the programme. In his address, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said: “I am pleased to know that SAP is launching a special package for Bangladesh Garments and Textiles.” He added that SAP solutions for garments and textiles will enable companies to be more competitive in the world market by decreasing their costs and thereby increasing their profitability. “As 97% of the life science companies in the Forbes Global 2,000 are SAP customers, I am pleased to know that SAP is conducting a special workshop for the pharma industry, which, in order to be compliant with FDA and other regulations for export, requires a global solution with compliant processes,” said Thomas Prinz, German Ambassador to Bangladesh. Mentioning Bangladesh’s position among the dynamic emerging markets, he stressed the importance of using technology for bigger achievements in all those sectors. Prinz also praised the time-appropriate initiative of SAP for the RMG, textiles and Pharmaceutical industries of Bangladesh.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2015/may/06/sap-launch-special-package-rmg-textiles#sthash.TZOp6szb.dpuf

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, the platform of European retailers, on Tuesday recommended that two earthquake-hit garment factories should be evacuated immediately as the Accord engineers found the buildings unsafe during the latest safety assessment. The factories are Ethical Garments Limited in the capital and Man Trust Sweater Limited in Gazipur. The Accord sent the list of the factories to the government-formed review committee on garment factory inspections. ‘We have found the name of two factories from Accord. The ongoing post-earthquake safety assessment of the retailers group identified that cracks have developed in the factory buildings due to foreshocks of earthquake,’ Syed Ahmed, Inspector General of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, told New Age on Tuesday. He said that the Accord recommended for immediate evacuation of the factory buildings. Syed said that the next course regarding the two factories would be finalised following the inspection of review committee, comprised of representatives from the government, Accord, Alliance, BUET, BGMEA and BKMEA. To identify the immediate impact of the April 25 earthquake, that jolted Nepal, Bangladesh and some parts of India and China, the Accord started inspection of roughly 200 factories which were deemed structurally the most vulnerable from its initial inspections. Up to Monday the platform inspected 61 factories and found cracks in three units. Accord officials said that all 11 Accord structural engineers were in the field doing immediate impact inspections at the factories and they were utilising an internationally-recognised system for these immediate inspections. After the Rana Plaza factory collapse on April 24, 2013 that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers, the EU brands and retailers including H&M, Carrefour and Mango, as well as 14 American companies formed Accord and the platform started safety inspection in more than 1,500 garment factories that supply to the Accord’s members. During the inspection the structural integrity in 17 buildings was found below an acceptable level of safety and the platform recommended a government-set review panel for temporary evacuation of the buildings. As per the recommendation, 24 factories in nine buildings were closed while four factories in five buildings were partially closed.

Source: https://newagebd.net/117262/european-buyers-for-evacuation-of-2-quake-hit-rmg-factories/#sthash.xfXWXkbn.dpuf

A two-day “Bangladesh Denim Expo” will be held in the capital on May 11-12 to showcase Bangladesh’s growth potential in the denim industry globally as well as share knowledge with international denim producers and buyers, reports BSS. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed will inaugurate the expo on May 11 while State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam will conclude the exposition on May 12 at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel, says a press release. The show aims not only to promote denim trade in Bangladesh but also to encourage greater business practice to raise the living standard of the people in this country, said chief initiator of the expo and managing director of Denim Expert Ltd, Mostafiz Uddin. “Our primary purpose is to create a platform for Denim stakeholders and to make Bangladesh as one Stop Sourcing Platform for denim industry, which could bring benefits to the entrepreneurs. Any surplus fund from the expo will be donated to a seed fund for establishing a Denim University in Bangladesh,” he said. Twenty-five exclusive denim and jeans related manufacturers and enterprises from the USA, Spain, Japan, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, China, San Marino and host Bangladesh will take part in the exposition while the organisers are expecting good turnout of apparel entrepreneurs, businessmen, fashion professionals and stakeholders of the industry from Europe, USA, UK during the expo. A total of four seminars including a special one with titled “Made in Bangladesh a new Reality-vision 2021” jointly organised with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Denim Expo will be held in the side line of the exposition. The discussion in the seminar will focus towards devising a strategic action plan to overcome the existing challenges with a vision to increase Bangladesh’s share to $7 billion in the global denim market by 2021. According to the industry insiders, Bangladesh is the second largest denim exporter in European markets while it is holding the third largest position in the USA market. Around 400 factories are exporting nearly 180 million pieces of denim jeans to the world. Bangladesh presently has 25 denim producing factories with total investment of over $834 million. After performing the forthcoming May show, Bangladesh Denim Expo will showcase there Next Exhibition on November 11-12 this year.

Source: https://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=257115:bangladesh-denim-expo-begins-may-11&catid=110:business-others&Itemid=156

The government is considering tough action against the garment factories that failed to conduct the detailed engineering assessment (DEA) within the timeframe recommended by the teams of engineers concerned, officials have said. The move came following the failure of a good number of factories that were asked to conduct DEA after initial assessment by experts from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), they have added. BUET under the government-International Labour Organization (ILO) joint initiative assessed about 500 garment factories and recommended DEA for about 250 factories finding structural flaws there. The inspection programme under the joint initiative started from November, 2013. The BUET engineers’ teams gave six weeks’ time for conducting the DEA. On the other hand, an official review panel also asked 45 more factories to do the same. Of them, about 14 units were yet to start the process. The panel, headed by the DIFE inspector general, was formed in 2013 to decide on shutdown of any garment factory, if found risky or non-compliant during inspection by any of the three initiatives – Accord, Alliance and the government-ILO joint programme. When asked, Syed Ahmed, Inspector General of Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) said, “From last month the DIFE inspectors started monitoring whether the factories, that have been recommended to conduct DEA, started the process or not.” He said the government would hold a meeting on Thursday next to select a number of firms for the DEA. The firms will be those that have already been and are to be assessed under the National Tripartite Plan of Action. There is an allegation that manufacturers are dilly-dallying with the DEA process. On completion of the selection process, the DIFE would notify those units again to conduct the DEA, he added. “If any of them again fails to comply with the DEA requirement, the government will ultimately shut down those units,” he warned. When contacted, few manufacturers said they were in the process to shift their units located in rented buildings and they informed the DIFE of it.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/06/91585

Bangladesh became the largest exporter of woven garment items to India in 2014 superseding China, sector insiders said. The country’s export share of woven garments to Indian market reached 29 per cent in 2014 compared to that of 26.96 per cent by China, they added. China, however, remained as the largest knit product exporter to the Indian market. According to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh exported woven products worth $ 85.73 million and knit items worth $27.88 million to India in 2014. But India imported woven items worth $ 80.04 million and knit products worth $ 93.63 million from China in the last calendar year. Bangladesh’s top 10 woven items shipped to India in 2014 included men’s suits, jackets and trousers worth $ 52.40 million while the country fetched $ 19.20 million by exporting men’s shirts to the neighbouring country. Similarly, top 10 knitwear items exported to India last year included T-shirts, singlets and vests worth $ 13.47 million while jerseys, pullovers and cardigans fetched $ 6.89 million. The country’s total apparel exports to India stood at $ 113.61 million, showing a 31.12 per cent growth in 2014 compared to that of 2013, BGMEA data showed. Bangladesh’s apparel export to India was only $ 16.06 million in 2010. Textile and garment industry emerges as a prominent sector in exploring avenue to boost bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh and reducing a huge trade gap, industry people said. People aged between 25 and 50 are the highest population who are 45 per cent of India’s total population and this working age group can be a good target for Bangladesh, they added. India which has about $40 billion apparel market offered duty-free quota of 8.0 million pieces of sensitive garment items since 2008. It was increased by 2.0 million more pieces in April 2011. Later, India has allowed duty-free and quota-free access to 46 items, 45 of them are RMG products. “India is becoming one of the new emerging markets for Bangladesh and with duty-free facility, Bangladesh’s export to the neighbouring country is gradually increasing,” Reaz-bin-Mahmood, vice-president of BGMEA, said. Moreover, the ongoing compliance initiatives taken to ensure workplace safety help the sector gain the customers’ confidence, he said, adding that Bangladesh is still a competitive market for readymade garments due to rising cost in China and shortage of workers there. Faruque Hassan, managing director of Giant Group, said India imports a large volume of woven items as it has many small knit factories. Though Bangladesh enjoys duty-free and quota-free facility for its apparel products in Indian market, there are still some obstacles in the form of countervailing and non-tariff barriers in exporting goods to India, he added. Replying to a query, the BGMEA leader said China which produces fancy and value added knit products especially that of ladies items is playing a leading role in that particular segment in the Indian market. He has expressed the hope that Bangladesh’s knit sector will gradually grab the market. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, additional research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said, “The most important thing is to introduce Bangladeshi products with that of Indian with its competitiveness in terms of price and other trade related issues.” India has a strong production base and its local suppliers/distributors are one of the challenges in entering the market, he said and stressed the need for more networking and confidence building with them.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/06/91547

The German consumers should change their attitude of paying low prices for garment items from Bangladesh, said Thomas Prinz, the newly appointed German ambassador to the country.“It is also necessary to influence discussions at home in Germany,” he said at a reception hosted by the Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI) yesterday to welcome him. “We are asking Bangladeshi companies to invest in safety and security standards, in fire doors and sprinklers. We are pressing the government to increase minimum wages and to allow trade unions. But what have our consumers and purchasers done?”He said the prices for garment products in Europe are decreasing. “Why can we still buy a T-shirt for 3 euros in Berlin or a pair of trousers for 9 euros?The retailers have founded “powerful” organisations like Accord and Alliance to dictate the standards in global garment trade. “Where are the Accords and Alliances to stop that?” Prinz, who arrived two months ago, said he will focus on economic possibilities and development cooperation between the two countries during his time in Bangladesh. Trade between the two countries has developed exceedingly well in recent years, and now stands at 4.5 billion euros, according to the diplomat.While the bilateral trade volume increased by more than 12 percent last year, it is not balanced at present, he said.Last year, Bangladesh exported goods worth 3.8 billion euros to Germany and imported goods worth 0.6 billion.Garment products accounted for 92 percent of the exports to Germany, followed by seafood at 2.5 percent and leather and leather goods at 2 percent.“I see huge potential for further development. Not only by scaling up but also by diversification,” he said, while highlighting the potential of the country’s shipbuilding and IT sectors.German exports to Bangladesh mainly consist of machinery (46 percent), electro-technical items (16 percent) and chemicals and related products (15 percent), according to Prinz. “Here as well there is potential for development,” he said, while calling for reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers.New services and new German products can increase Bangladesh’s productivity. For modernisation of Bangladesh’s economy new instruments are needed.”On investment, Prinz said German investment in Bangladesh has for years remained at a modest level, owing to problems such as bureaucracy, corruption, energy shortage, land scarcity, political turmoil, among others.The ambassador hopes that BGCCI will soon be a part of the main German Chamber of Network, as the trade body has already clocked up over 650 members.BGCCI President Sakhawat Abu Khair and Executive Director Daniel Seidl also spoke.In another programme, Sarazeen Bratzler, managing director of SS Solutions and gold partner of SAP, a business management software, said they will set up a training academy in the country soon to train the youth on information technology.Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed and Prinz were also present at the SAP programme at the same hotel.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/pay-more-bangladeshi-garments-80678

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a platform of European retailers, foundmodest cracks in three factories in its post-earthquake safety assessment in 61 factories. After the 7.9 earthquakes that hit Nepal on April 25, the Accord launched inspection to identify the immediate impact of the earthquake and will inspect approximately 200 factories, which were deemed structurally the most vulnerable from its initial inspections. “We’ve so far inspected 61 factories after the earthquake and found modest cracks in three of those factories,” Brad Loewen, chief safety inspector of Accord on Fire and Building Safety, told the Dhaka Tribune. The Accord is following up with the factories, the brands, labour partners, and the Inspector General to ensure that they are made safe, he said. The factory owners have to hire engineers to investigate the cracks, to check whether it could pose any threat to the workers’ safety or not, said Brad. “The owners have already been asked to look into matter.” Accord Executive Director Rob Wayss said, “The Accord is implementing measures to determine if buildings, we have inspected and which are producing for Accord signatory companies have been structurally affected by the earthquakes.” ‘We’ve requested those factories which required a detailed engineering assessment from the Accord initial structural inspection to have the engineers their company is working with on the DEA to conduct an immediate impact inspection to determine if the earthquake has caused any structural damage to the building where the factory is housed,’ said Rob. The platform also requested its signatory companies to share any related information they have obtained regarding the listed factories with the assigned Accord case handler. The safety issues came under spotlight after the Rana Plaza factory that killed over 1,135 workers and injured over 2,500 people on April 24, 2013.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2015/may/05/accord-finds-modest-cracks-three-rmg-factories#sthash.Ms1beXwZ.dpuf

An uncertainty looms large over the jobs and five months’ dues of 1,200 workers in Swan Garments Limited after the factory owner shut the factory without any prior notice and his subsequent suicide last week. The garment workers are now faced with a precarious situation following the unnatural death of the factory owner, Ming Yuen Hon (Toby), who took his own life. Abu Bakar, inspector (investigation) of Vatara Police Station, confirmed the death and an unnatural death case has been filed in this connection. The untimely demise of the managing director put the Swan Garment workers and the factory itself in a fix as none claims to be the heir to the property. On April 9, Ming Yuen Hon tried to flee Bangladesh without making payments and arrears to the workers, but was caught by his employees. “We caught him at the Airport and brought him back to the factory. After that he paid us a one-month salary,” said Jahangir Alam, line chief of the factory. Later on April 10, the factory owner hung a notice that said the factory had been declared closed, Jahangir added. “We were working in the factory and there was enough work order to run the factory, but over the last few months, the owner had been subcontracting his work orders,” Sharifa, an operator of Swan Garment, told the Dhaka Tribune. She alleged that the factory owner had a bad intention and he delayed making payment, that resulted in five-month dues. “Now it has become very tough to lead our lives as we did not have a single penny,” said Roksana, a worker of the factory. She said she failed to pay her house rent and tuition fees for her child over the past three months. “If we do not get the dues, we have to starve and leave Dhaka silently.” BGMEA President Atiqul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune, “We have discussed the issue with the Ministry of Labour and called for necessary steps to pay the workers dues.” The factory owner has assets and the government can pay the workers through the sale of his properties as there is none to inherit the garment factory other than the government, added Atiqul. The labour leaders and BGMEA in a meeting decided to meet the government to resolve the issue while the garment workers demanded quick disposal of the issue. Meanwhile, at least five RMG workers of Swan Garment received injures while police charged baton to bar them from staging demonstration in front of BGMEA Bhaban. According to workers, at least five of them were injured in police attack. The workers were trying to make their voices for five-month salaries and job benefits heard. Sub-Inspector of City Special Branch (SB) Obaidur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune two workers sustained injuries while police charged baton to disperse the workers to clear the gate of BGMEA Bhaban to let an ambassador out. At around 11am, the workers of the factory gathered in front BGMEA headquarters to realise their salaries of the last five months.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2015/may/05/swan-workers-uncertain-about-getting-5-month-dues#sthash.kSIpST0u.dpuf

The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a consortium of European retailers, has found simple cracks in three factory buildings during a post-earthquake safety assessment in 61 factories in the last nine days. The platform will conduct inspections to identify the immediate impact of the April 25 earthquake at roughly 200 factories which were deemed structurally the most vulnerable from its initial inspections. Bangladesh felt multiple foreshocks and aftershocks of the powerful earthquake of 7.9 magnitude that jolted Nepal and some parts of India and China. ‘As of this afternoon, we have inspected 61 factories. We have issues in three of those factories and are following up with the factories, the brands, our labour partners, and the Inspector General [of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments] to ensure that they are made safe,’ said an official of Accord on Monday. He said that simple cracks were found in three factories and Accord had asked the owners of the units to hire engineers to ensure whether the cracks are risky. ‘Accord is implementing measures to determine if the buildings we have inspected and which are producing for Accord signatory companies have been structurally affected by the earthquake,’ Rob Wayss, executive director of Accord, told New Age. He said that all 11 Accord structural engineers were in the field doing immediate impact inspections at the factories and they were utilising an internationally-recognised inspection for these immediate inspections. Accord has formally communicated with the owners or management of the inspected factories requesting them to provide information on the impact of the earthquake on their buildings and on any precautionary measures or investigations they have done since. ‘We have expressly requested those factories which required a detailed engineering assessment from the Accord initial structural inspection to have the engineers their companies are working with on the DEA to conduct an immediate impact inspection to determine if the earthquake has caused any structural damage to the building where the factory is housed,’ Rob said. After the Rana Plaza factory collapse on April 24, 2013 that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers, Western retailers and apparel brands, reacting to public outrage, began a major push to improve safety at the Bangladeshi factories they do business with. The EU brands and retailers including H&M, Carrefour and Mango, as well as 14 American companies formed Accord and the platform started safety inspection in more than 1,500 garment factories that supply to the Accord’s members. During the inspection the structural integrity in 17 buildings was found below an acceptable level of safety and the platform recommended a government-set review panel for temporary evacuation of the buildings. As per the recommendation of the Accord, 24 factories in nine buildings were closed while four factories in five buildings were partially closed. North American retailers formed another platform, Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety that inspected 600 RMG units.

Source: https://newagebd.net/116933/accord-detects-cracks-in-3-factory-buildings/#sthash.nMs4nR2g.dpuf