Strength & weakness of Textile Sector

1. STRENGTH & WEAKNESS OF TEXTILE SECTOR IN BANGLADESH Submitted to Ahmad Ullah - Co-Ordinator

2. Prepared By Prepared by : Mazadul Hasan sheshir

3. Introduction • The tremendous success of readymade garment exports from Bangladesh over the last two decades has surpassed the most optimistic expectations. Today the apparel export sector is a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing and export industry in the country. The overall impact of the readymade garment exports is certainly one of the most significant social and contemporary Bangladesh. With over one and a half million women workers employed in semi-skilled and skilled jobs producing clothing for exports, the development of the apparel export industry has had far-reaching implications for the society and economy of Bangladesh. economic developments in

4. History  From 1947 to 1971 the textile industry, like most industries in East Pakistan, were largely owned by West Pakistanis. During that period, in the 1960s, local Bengali entrepreneurs had set up their own large textile and jute factories. Following its separation from East Pakistan the newly formed Bangladesh lost access to both capital and technical expertise.  Until the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, the textile sector was primarily part of the process of import substitution industrialization (ISI) to replace imports. After the liberation, Bangladesh adopted export-oriented industrialization (EOI) by focusing on the textile and clothing industry, particularly the ready made garment (RMG) sector. Immediately after the founding of Bangladesh (1971)), tea and jute were the most export-oriented sectors. But with the constant threat of flooding, declining jute fiber prices and a significant decrease in world demand, the contribution of the jute sector to the country’s economy deteriorated.  The 1974 New Investment Policy restored the rights to both private and foreign investors. Bangladesh's development model switched from a state-sponsored capitalist mode of industrial development with mainly state-owned enterprises (SOE) to private sector-led industrial growth.

5. Problems Regarding With RMG The garment industry of Bangladesh has been the key export division and a main source of foreign exchange for the last 25 years. National labor laws do not apply in the EPZs, leaving BEPZA in full control over work conditions, wages and benefits. Garment factories in Bangladesh provide employment to 40 percent of industrial workers. But without the proper laws the worker are demanding their various wants and as a result conflict is began with the industry. Low working salary is another vital fact which makes the labor conflict. Worker made strike, layout to capture their demand. Some time bonus and the overtime salary are the important cause of crisis. Insufficient government policy about this sector is a great problem in Garments Company. There are some other problems which are associated with this sector. Those are- lack of marketing tactics, absence of easily on-hand middle management, a small number of manufacturing methods, lack of training organizations for industrial workers, supervisors and managers, autocratic approach of nearly all the investors, fewer process units for textiles and garments, sluggish backward or forward blending procedure, incompetent ports, entry/exit complicated and loading/unloading takes much time, time-consuming custom clearance etc. • • •

6. Challenge of Globalization Bangladesh faces the challenge of achieving accelerated economic growth and alleviating the massive poverty that afflicts nearly two-fifths of its 135 million people. To meet this challenge, market-oriented liberalizing policy reforms were initiated in the mid-1980s and were pursued much more vigorously in the 1990s. These reforms were particularly aimed at moving towards an open economic regime and integrating with the global economy. • While most low-income countries depend largely on the export of primary commodities, Bangladesh has made the transition from being primarily a jute- exporting country to a garment-exporting one. This transition has been dictated by the country’s resource endowment, characterized by extreme land scarcity and a very high population density, making economic growth dependent on the export of labor-intensive manufactures. •

7. Market Diversification • Bangladeshi RMG products are mainly destined to the US and EU. Back in 1996-97, Bangladesh was the 7th and 5th largest apparel exporter to the USA and European Union respectively. The industry was successful in exploring the opportunities in markets away from EU and US. In FY07, a successful turnaround was observed in exports to third countries, which having a negative growth in FY06 rose three-fold in FY07, which helped to record 23.1 percent overall export growth in the RMG sector. It is anticipated that the trend of market diversification will continue and this will help to maintain the growth momentum of export earnings. At the same time a recent WTO review points out that Bangladesh has not been able to exploit fully the duty free access to EU that it enjoys. While this is pointed out to be due to stringent rules of origin (ROO) criteria, the relative stagnation in exports to EU requires further analysis.

8. Product Diversification • The growth pattern of RMG exports can be categorized into two distinct phases. During the initial phase it was the woven category, which contributed the most. Second phase is the emergence of knitwear products that powered the recent double digit (year-on- year) growth starting in FY04. In the globalized economy and ever- changing fashion world, product diversification is the key to continuous business success. Starting with a few items, the entrepreneurs of the RMG sector have also been able to diversify the product base ranging from ordinary shirts, T-shirts, trousers, shorts, pajamas, ladies and children’s wear to sophisticated high value items like quality suits, branded jeans, jackets, sweaters, embroidered wear etc. It is clear that value addition accrues mostly in the designer items, and the sooner local entrepreneurs can catch on to this trend the brighter be the RMG future.

9. Labor Productivity The productive efficiency of labor is more important determinant for gaining comparative advantage than the physical abundance of labor. In Bangladesh, the garment workers are mostly women with little education and training. The employment of an uneven number of unskilled labors by the garment factories results in low productivity and comparatively more expensive apparels. Bangladesh labor productivity is known to be lower when it compared with of Sri Lanka, South Korea and Hong Kong. Bangladesh must look for ways to improve the productivity of its labor force if it wants to compete regionally if not globally. Because of cheap labor if our country makes the labor productivity in the apex position, then we think the future of this sector is highly optimistic. Labor Productivity of Bangladesh Is 70% • •

10. Possibilities Quota alone cannot ensure market share rather it create opportunities to enter into the market. On the other hand, rate of quota utilization depends on relative price and quality, which can ultimately determine marketability and consumer acceptance. Considering quota utilization as an indicator of competitive strength of RMG industry Bangladesh has been able to develop a competitive strength in the apparels market in the USAand EU. Bangladesh has recently utilized 100 percent of its quota of silk trousers in the US markets. Quota utilization rates have also been impressive in the case of export of gloves/mittens. Bangladesh should take necessary steps to expand exports of these items in the US market when imports will be liberalized (from 1 January 2005). These categories include men's/boys' outerwear in which Bangladesh appears to have competitive edge vis-a-vis its neighboring countries like India, and also women's/girls' under-garments as well as outwear. • •

11. The future • The RMG sector is expected to grow despite the global financial crisis of 2009.[9]As China is finding it challenging to make textile and foot wear items at cheap price, due to rising labor costs, many foreign investors, are coming to Bangladesh to take advantage of the low labor cost. Even now for the readymade garments most of the manufacture need to bring all the accessories from abroad, which is very costly. Now they are start using locally accessories minting the required quality. Zippers, buttons, labels, hooks, hangers, elastic bands, thread, backboards, butterfly pins, clips, collar stays, collarbones and cartons are the major garment accessories produced in Bangladesh.

12. Conclusion The Ready-Made Garments (RMG) industry occupies a unique position in the Bangladesh economy. It is the largest exporting industry in Bangladesh, which experienced phenomenal growth during the last 25 years. By taking advantage of an insulated market under the provision of Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) of GATT, it attained a high profile in terms of foreign exchange earnings, exports, industrialization and contribution to GDP within a short span of time. The industry plays a key role in employment generation and in the provision of income to the poor. To remain competitive in the post-MFA phase, Bangladesh needs to remove all the structural impediments in the transportation facilities, telecommunication network, and power supply, management of seaport, utility services and in the law and order situation. The government and the RMG sector would have to jointly work together to maintain competitiveness in the global RMG market. Given the remarkable entrepreneurial initiatives and the dedication of its workforce, Bangladesh can look forward to advancing its share of the global RMG market. •