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Interview with Md Siddiqur Rahman

Md Siddiqur Rahman
Md Siddiqur Rahman
President
BGMEA
BGMEA

We are ready for the next leap forward
When Bangladesh gained freedom in 1971, it was one of the poorest countries in the world. There were no major industries, and rebuilding the war-ravaged country with limited resources was a challenge. The textiles and apparel industry rose to the occasion, in leading from the front. The readymade garment (RMG) sector is the single biggest export earner for the country, and accounts for over 81 per cent of total export earnings for Bangladesh. The largest trade association in the export-oriented apparel industry is the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). The association started with only 12 members in 1983, and now has over 3,000 active members, and works towards developing the RMG sector. In an exclusive interview with Fibre2Fashion, BGMEA president Md Siddiqur Rahman talks about the country's textile manufacturing sector, its efforts towards achieving environmental sustainability, and the country's target of exporting apparel worth $50 billion by 2021.

How many companies are members of BGMEA? Roughly, how many of these have their own brands? What is being done to help companies create their own brands?

There are around 3,000 active member factories of BGMEA. Our progress on doing own labels/brands is still not mentionable. We are primarily producing for global brands. Our factories are now preparing themselves for the next leap forward. In-house design development, presentation of collections to buyers, investments in high value added production capacity, etc are now happening in our apparel industry.
 

The Rana Plaza and other such incidents put Bangladesh in the spotlight. A whole lot of global brands thereafter pitched in with steps to ensure a clean supply chain, especially during production. However, the murmurs never cease. What is BGMEA and other organisations doing to ensure that the country reclaims its top spot as a clean manufacturing hub? How do you view the progress achieved on this front?

Rana Plaza is an unfortunate part of our history, but we have taken it as our turning point. Since the accident, we have taken unprecedented steps to reform the industry factory by factory. Global brands and retailers and development partners like the International Labour Organization (ILO) have joined hands with our government and industry associations for this reform process. The joint efforts have already helped complete inspections in all of our export-oriented garment factories in the area of structural, electrical and fire safety. Risky factories were closed down, and the remaining factories are carrying out remediation activities. So our success is unprecedented and recognised globally. We are the most transparent country in the world in workplace safety standards, as the inspection reports of each of our factories are publicly accessible on the internet. Moreover, our factories are now taking leadership in environmental sustainability. In all, 67 apparel factories in Bangladesh are LEED certified by USGBC and 220 more have registered for certification already. We have 13 Platinum LEED certified textile and apparel factories in Bangladesh, which include the world's highest ranking factories. BGMEA is supporting and promoting the good practices in our member factories. 

Furthermore, the global brands who compete with each other every day, joined hands together to work for the greater cause of sustainability through the formation of the Bangladesh Accord for Fire and Building Safety (Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (Alliance). This is unique in the world, and this reveals the commitment of global brands on Bangladesh. The progress has been impressive so far. All the stakeholders are cooperating with each other. The remediation activities in all factories may be completed by the end of 2018.

What is the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Bangladesh textiles and apparel sector? Which are the main countries investing in Bangladesh?

One of the amazing features of Bangladesh's apparel industry is that more than 95 per cent investors are local. We have a number of foreign investors as well, both in textiles and apparel. We encourage foreign investments in the area of high value added items, non-traditional apparel items and in the primary textile industry, especially woven textiles.

Bangladesh is known for its apparel exports, but nothing much is known (to the outside world) about its domestic retail market. Please throw some light on the volume and annual revenue of domestic clothing retail in Bangladesh.

BGMEA represents the export-oriented apparel industry in Bangladesh. Since we do not deal with
the local market, we barely have any information on this. However, the purchasing power and per capita income has been growing in Bangladesh, thereby leading to increasing consumption and growing retail market size in the country.

Bangladesh is the second-largest apparel exporter in the world, but it is still dependent on import of raw material (fibre, yarn, fabric) and accessories. Do you foresee Bangladesh decrease its dependency on imports?

There has been significant capacity-building in the area of yarn and fabrics manufacturing, especially for knitwear items. Around 80 per cent of our knitted fabrics are produced in Bangladesh. Denim production capacity too has got a significant boost in the last decade. Almost 50 per cent of the demand for denim fabrics by our export-oriented garment industry is being fulfilled by our local denim mills. Besides, Bangladesh produces almost 100 per cent of its accessories needed locally. However, the country is still dependent on external sources mostly for fibre, because we do not grow cotton or produce petrochemical products. We are lagging behind in woven fabric production, where we see a potential for investment.

Bangladesh has set RMG export target of $50 billion by 2021. What steps are being taken to achieve this target?

We are mainly focusing on product and market diversification, moving to highend items gradually. Infrastructure and skills development are our priorities. The government of Bangladesh under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working to create a more favourable and investment-friendly environment in the country and to reduce the cost of doing business.

Bangladesh is expected to get a developing nation status by 2021, thereby losing the export benefits it currently enjoys being a least-developed nation. What all benefits is the county likely to lose, and how will it affect the country's garment industry?

This is a hypothetical question.

A concept of awarding special economic zones (SEZs) to countries like the UK and China is said to be under consideration. What exactly is this concept, and how will the Bangladesh garment industry benefit from this?

This is more of a question to be asked to the government. However, investors will invest in industries, which are more viable in the longer term. The garment industry in Bangladesh has a clear prospect to grow further. This indicates the need for planned industrial zones where factories can be set up, because we have scarce land. SEZs will be a vital force to make this industry flourish further in a more organised way, resolving the issue of land availability to a significant extent.

Sustainability is now the buzzword. What is being done to make chemical, water and waste management a priority for the Bangladeshi government and entrepreneurs?

We are engaged with our government, buyers and development partners and running a number of projects like Partnership for Cleaner Textiles (PaCT) and Towards Resource Efficiency & Environmental Sustainability (TREES). We are also organising knowledge sessions and promoting sustainability issues like water, energy and chemical management among others.
Published on: 16/02/2017

DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.