Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine January Issue 2019 | Page 44

NEWS DIGEST - 2018
Parliament passes Textile
< < Bangladesh
Bill 2018
Reforms have been the essence of the year for the
RMG sector and the Government pitched in with a
new textile bill to expedite the reform process.
The Bangladesh Parliament has passed the Textile Bill
2018 with the objective of maintaining and enhancing
the quality of textile products. The bill was moved by
Mirza Azam, State Minister for Textiles and Jute, and
passed by voice vote. According to the draft law, a
directorate will be formed which will be headed by a
Director General.
reel under pressure due to
< < Suppliers
buyers’ price negotiation strategies
Buyers’ demands are bringing in new and adverse
ramifications for the industry:
In what may be termed as an effort to popularise
non-As per Better Buying Purchasing Practices Index
(BBPPI) published recently, pressure created by
buyers reportedly creates impact on the suppliers’
quality, social, environmental and other compliance
performance while another global report underlined
that suppliers cutting across geographical regions,
including in Bangladesh, face mounting pressure from
buyers due to their cost negotiation strategies
Some 55.4 per cent of suppliers had
been affected by high-pressure cost
negotiation strategies
– Report
< < Branding ‘Made in Bangladesh’ is now a focal point
From here on, it’s not the price point rather Brand Bangladesh that would be at
the centre of all endeavours.
In the backdrop of diminishing prices and demand worldwide, Bangladesh’s
apparel makers are stressing on promoting the ‘Made in Bangladesh’ tag as a
business policy.
“What we have to do to expand our business is to brand our
country. We have to promote the ‘Made in Bangladesh’ slogan...” 
– Md. Siddiqur Rahman, President, BGMEA
< < Bangladesh drafts policy to register apparel buying houses
Mushrooming of buying entities and alleged malpractices forces the
Government to tighten the leash.
Bangladesh Government is moving to bring discipline and accountability in the
line of apparel buying houses. Ministry of Commerce has prepared a draft policy
which has been forwarded to all stakeholders to shed light on its proposals.
“We welcome the Government’s move… This will be good for
those who want to be genuinely involved in the buying house
business. In fact, we have been pushing the Government for quite
some time for this.” 
– Md Anwar Shahid, Vice-President, BGBA
< < Bangladesh RMG still reliant on foreign expertise: Study
Bangladesh’s Achilles heel – the middle management continues to be a big
concern for the industry.
Despite significant improvement in the sector, Bangladesh’s readymade garments
industry is still reliant on foreign expertise at the management level, a study of
local independent think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has revealed.
“If 10 foreign experts can train up to 4,900 fashion designers in
Bangladesh, then it is ok. We can afford it.”
Bangladesh losing out its cheap
< < Is apparel
sourcing destination tag
Bangladesh RMG sector’s USP of cheap destination
seems all set to go now; a matter of concern to say the
least!
The report says 88 per cent of the respondents
preferred China as the major choice for sourcing
apparel items while 16 per cent said they would
prefer Bangladesh. Vietnam, on the other hand,
stands as the next popular sourcing spot after China,
securing 43 per cent of preference opinions, followed
by India at 37 per cent.
– Faruque Hassan, Senior Vice-President, BGMEA
on single window signed; RMG sector to be a
< < MoU
major beneficiary
No more delay in export procedures, single-window facility to facilitate all.
Bangladesh’s garment exporters can now expect seamless and speedy export
after an MoU was signed to expedite the process of clearing imported and
exportable goods under a National Single Window (NSW) scheme, between
38 Government bodies and private sector agencies…
“This is potentially a significant and vital step to facilitate trade.”
– AMA Muhith, Finance Minister
44 Apparel Online Bangladesh | January 2019 | www.apparelresources.com