The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged British retailer Primark to source more apparel items from Bangladesh.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan urged Primark to increase buying garments, especially high-value items and manmade fibre-based apparels from the country.

Hassan made the call in a meeting with a delegation of Associated British Foods (ABF) led by its Chief Executive George Weston held at BGMEA Complex in Dhaka's Uttara on August 16.

The delegation also included Paul Lister, chief financial officer of ABF; Paul Marchant, CEO of Primark, and Matt Rhodes, manager of Primark, which is a member of ABF.

In the meeting, they discussed issues of mutual interests, including collaboration in strengthening partnership with the Bangladeshi suppliers to produce more innovative and value-added products and improve their environmental performance.

Weston praised the developments of Bangladesh's garment industry in the areas of workplace safety, and environmental sustainability, BGMEA said in a statement.