Product diversification, technology upgradation, skill development, and apparel diplomacy along with environmental sustainability are the key areas the readymade garment industry of Bangladesh was working on to scale up its capabilities and retain competitiveness in the coming years, especially in the post-LDC era, said Faruque Hassan, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
In his speech as a guest speaker, Faruque Hassan said the immediate impact of LDC graduation on Bangladesh’s industry, particularly the export-oriented industries is the possible changes in the market access.
“Bangladesh being an LDC avails duty-free market access to major markets including the EU, Canada, Japan, Australia, and to a few Asian countries like China, India, South Korea, etc.”
With graduation, Bangladesh would no longer be eligible for LDC-specific special and differential treatment, he added.
“Bangladesh will need to improve its diplomatic efficiency to face economic challenges in the post-graduation period. To tackle the challenges from loss of preferential market access. From now we need to think about bilateral and multilateral trading arrangement including FTA, PTA, RCEP etc. with our potential trade partner countries,” he observed.
Developing the capacity of manufacturing diversified high-value products, especially non-cotton items, alongside enhancing capabilities in product-process-technology innovation, reskilling, and up-skilling of people are the key priorities where the industry was putting a lot of emphasis to overcome the challenges and maintain the growth momentum, the BGMEA President further said.
