Bangladesh textile garments industry has been suffering a lot during this pandemic situation. It has largely affected order decrease due to COVID-19 outbreak. Last year the industry survived with some good initiatives and government support. As the country is largely affected by the second wave of COVID now it’s really a very hard time for this industry. Recently the BGMEA election has been completed and a new BGMEA committee with the leadership of Mr. Faruque Hassan has taken charge for 2021-2023. Denim Focus has been talking with BGMEA members’ company owners regarding the expectation from the new board.
Subael Sarwar, Director, Penta Group Bangladesh
BGMEA has a dynamic board, under the leadership of newly elected President Mr. Faruq Hasan. We are expecting a promising future. At present BGMEA has a good combination of experienced and young leaders.
There are changes that need to be taken into account for sustainability. Support from banks are not flexible as before. Congestion of Airport and Seaport makes lead time longer for shipment specially for woven factories. Infrastructural support like gas and electricity is not enough to run industries smoothly. The unit price is much higher than other competitor countries. Labor cost is not cheap in Bangladesh. We need to make buyers acknowledge the actual scenario for fair price we deserve.
There are lot of factories who works less than the production cost just to keep machine running. Once a minimum price has been placed to a buyer, it is almost impossible to upgrade price further. It would be beneficial if a floor price is set for every product. Although It has its own challenges, it needs to taken into account.
Pandemic put us through a big challenge. During first wave we encountered cancellation, unexpected discounts and delayed payments. It is also a crucial time in this second wave. Maintaining good health guidelines in factories resulted a decrease in few infected numbers.
I strongly believe BGMEA ‘s new elected board of members will create great opportunities for us. In order to attain our goal members of BGMEA need to work together. We need to think much wider than ever because we are in a global competition. We need to act as one and work better than other competitor countries. Only than we can capture large the market share. Bangladesh is a promising country just right move in right time will result in better sustainability.
As an existing director of BAYLA looking for new opportunities is our priority. Reports will be published stating new opportunities both internally and globally.
