Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine February Issue 2019 | Page 44

BANGLADESH CANVAS
Meet Tipu Munshi – A garment exporter, who is
now the Commerce Minister of Bangladesh
Tipu Munshi, the new Commerce
Minister of Bangladesh, is
a reason to cheer for the
thousands of garment exporters
of Bangladesh, the world’s no. 2
apparel exporting country. Tipu,
a well-known industrialist, is
also the MD of Sepal Garments
Ltd. He even served as the
President of Bangladesh Garment
Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA) from
2005 to 2007.
Working with many top global
apparel brands and retailers,
Sepal Garments, which started in
1985, is one of the leading garment
manufacturers in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s apparel industry is of
the strong opinion that this move
will definitely boost the apparel
export business of the country.
“We expect that he will better
understand the challenges being
faced by the local business
community,” said Md Siddiqur
Rahman, President, BGMEA.
With 50 years of experience in
business, Tipu Munshi (68) has a
strong image of a seasoned and
honest politician. In his interaction
with media, he emphasised on
the importance of a corruption-
free Bangladesh. “We must
remove corruption. Corruption is
unacceptable,” said Tipu Munshi,
Commerce Minister, Bangladesh.
Apart from having an apparel
export business, Tipu is also
the Director of STS Group,
the holding company of Apollo
Hospital Dhaka; he is into cold
storages and agro-industries 
as well. Not to forget his earlier
position, he was also the
Chairman of Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Ministry
of Home Affairs.
Besides the new Commerce
Minister, Bangladesh also got
a new Finance Minister AHM
Mustafa Kamal.  He is a learned
and experienced person, who
successfully led the Planning
Ministry during his tenure as
the Planning Minister. “The
previous Commerce and Finance
Ministers performed their duties
well, but the newly appointed
Finance Minister as well as the
Commerce Minister will help the
country’s trade and commerce
gain pace,” said Shafiul Islam
Mohiuddin, President, Federation
of Bangladesh Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
RMG export alone cannot meet US $ 50 billion export
target by 2021: Government
Exporters Association (BKMEA);
Bangladesh Textile Mills
Association (BTMA); Bangladesh
Garments Accessories & Packaging
Manufacturers & Exporters
Association (BGAPMEA); and
Bangladesh Specialised Textile
Mills & Powerloom Industries
Association, to discuss and find
out the bottlenecks and possible
solutions to this issue.
Notwithstanding the positive
performance, Bangladesh’s
apparel exports in the financial
year 2020-21 will fall short of the
export target of US $ 50 billion by
US $ 11 billion! This was as per an
estimate by the country’s Textile
and Jute Ministry.
As per reports, keeping the same
in consideration, the Government
has reportedly set an export target
of US $ 51 billion from textile and
clothing sector including RMG,
packaging and accessories and
home textiles as export trend
showed that US $ 50 billion target
by FY ’21 would not be achieved
alone from readymade garments.
In this backdrop, the country’s
Textile and Jute Ministry
recently held a meeting with
the stakeholders, including
representatives from different
Government agencies like
Department of Textile; Bangladesh
Textile Mills Corporation;
private sector trade bodies
like Federation of Bangladesh
Chambers of Commerce and
Industry; Bangladesh Garment
Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA); Bangladesh
Knitwear Manufacturers and
44 Apparel Online Bangladesh | FEBRUARY 2019 | www.apparelresources.com
“We have discussed the refixation
of export targets for textile and
clothing sector with inclusion
of accessories, home textile
and terry-towel sub-sectors.
Along with the export earnings
target, stakeholder placed some
recommendations to increase
export,” said Md Mijanur Rahman,
Textile Secretary, Bangladesh.