PM urges textile sector to diversify products, expand market

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged the country’s textile sector to diversify products and expand the market for boosting the export income.

“I think it’s very much necessary to diversify textile products by keeping consistency with the demand of the world market,” she said while inaugurating the ‘National Textile Day 2019 and Multipurpose Textile Fair’ at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Dhaka.

The premier simultaneously asked the related entrepreneurs to add value to their existing products and “explore new markets to raise the country’s export income”.

Sheikh Hasina said fashions, designs and colours of apparel items in global market were constantly changing requiring diversification of the products in line with buyers’ demands.

She said Bangladesh should have an own initiative to search new markets and know the demand of fashion and design of apparel items in the markets.

Sheikh Hasina also asked the public and private sectors to work hand in hand to increase the demand of Bangladeshi products in the world market.

The premier said though Bangladesh holds the second position in textile export in the world, the reality is that the country’s share in world market was only 6.40 percent.

“The garment manufacturers and other concerned will have to work hard to increase the demand of our products in the world market … they’ve to formulate short, medium and long term plans for achieving this,” she said, assuring that her government will extend all sorts of cooperation to this.

Noting that Bangladesh sells garment items at very low prices, the prime minister urged the businessmen to take initiative so that international buyers increase the prices of RMG products at least to some extent.

Sheikh Hasina said: “As a competition prevails among the apparel manufacturers in the world market, I cannot say whether our exporters bargain or not with buyers. But I think they should do it and tell the buyers and concerned countries.”

She went on saying: “If the buyers raise the price of every garment item by at least one dollar, we could develop this sector further.”

In this connection, the premier said she always raises the issue of paying more prices of Bangladeshi garments when she visits the countries, importing Bangladeshi RMG products.

Pointing out that the textile sector is playing a great role in Bangladesh’s economy, the prime minister said her government has formulated the Textile Policy, 2017 and the

Textile Act, 2018 to fulfill the internal demand of cloths and enhance export.

“Our government has strengthened this sector by providing necessary legal support and incentive and presently, four sectors of textile are getting maximum four percent incentive,” she said.

To accelerate RMG export, the government has declared one percent incentive for rest of the textile sectors from this year, she said, adding additional Taka 2,825 crore has been sanctioned in the current budget.

The prime minister said the Textile Directorate has been upgraded to the Textile Department and it has been vested with the duty of Sponsoring Authority of textile sector by undertaking multidimensional planning.

Sheikh Hasina said “one stop service” has been introduced in the Textile Department to ensure faster and quicker services, while all kinds of registrations have been executed by online.

As a result, she said, the entrepreneurs of textiles and garments sectors are getting their required services easily and quickly.

The prime minister said it is necessary to create efficient manpower in textile sector and the Ministry of Textile and Jute is working on it.

“Simultaneously, non-government and private educational institutions are also contributing to skilled manpower in textile sector,” she said.

The prime minister said: “My government has brought down the poverty rate to 20.5 percent and our target is to cut down the rate further … We want to establish Bangladesh as a developed and prosperous country and I have firm belief that we could achieve the goal.”

“For this, we’ve to work hard for the development in all fields including industrialization, trade and commerce,” she added.

Sheikh Hasina, the elder daughter of Bangabandhu, said the countdown to the observance of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary will begin tomorrow.

“We’ll celebrate Mujib Barsho in 2020-2021 and the golden jubilee of independence next year and we want to build a hunger and poverty-free Sonar Bangladesh by this time,” the premier said.

The Ministry of Textiles and Jute arranged the function with Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi in the chair.

The theme of the day is “globalization of the textiles sector—sustainable development”.

Though the National Textiles Day was observed for the first time in the country on December 4 last, its main programme was arranged today.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, State Minister for Labour and Employment Monnujan Sufian, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Textiles and Jute ministry Mirza Azam and Secretary of the ministry Lokman Hossain Mian also spoke on the occasion.

At the function, the prime minister handed over awards to nine organizations and business enterprises for their outstanding contributions to the development of the textile sector.

Later, she opened the “Multipurpose Textile Fair” by cutting a ribbon and visited its different stalls.