Apparel Online India Magazine April 1st Issue 2018 | Page 47

BEYOND INDIA
Bangladesh's apparel makers get 500-acre
land for manufacturing in EZ
Bangladesh Government has given
the apparel manufacturers of the
country 500 acres of land inside
an Economic Zone in Chittagong’s
Mirersarai with an expectation
to boost garment exports in the
coming years and reach the US
$ 50 billion target by 2021. A
Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) was inked in this regard
on March 21, 2018, between
Bangladesh Economic Zone
Authority (BEZA) and Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Association (BGMEA)
at Hotel Radisson, Dhaka. BEZA
Executive Member Md Harunur
Rashid and BGMEA President
Siddiqur Rahman signed the
agreement on behalf of the
respective sides. “Such an
initiative would boost the ties
between BEZA and BGMEA, and
(PMO), who was chief guest at the
programme, said.
Local apparel
manufacturers
will get all kinds of
facilities, including
tax exemptions on
earnings, VAT and
electricity, and self-
generated or purchased
power for about 10
years, insiders and
relevant stakeholders
have confirmed.
this will help in making more such
joint ventures between these two
institutions in the future,” Md Abul
Kalam Azad, Chief Coordinator
(SDG) at Prime Minister’s Office
The project, if implemented
swiftly, would reduce the
pressure on Dhaka city. Since
Mirersarai is closer to the
Chittagong Port, it would
cost less for transportation
of the export items and help
Bangladesh in achieving
competitiveness in the global
market, underlined Paban
Chowdhury, Executive
Chairman of BEZA. BGMEA
highlighted the event as a
historic day. The apparel trade
association feels that through
this move, its long overdue
demand has come to a fruitful
conclusion. The body now hopes
that the Government would
assist the apparel manufacturers
with all basic amenities at the
Economic Zone. Among others
present at the programme were
BEZA Executive Member M
Emdadul Haque, Commerce
Secretary Shuvashish Bose,
Federation of Bangladesh
Chambers of Commerce and
Industries (FBCCI) President
Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, and
former BGMEA President
Atiqul Haque.
According to the policies of BEZA,
local apparel manufacturers
will get all kinds of facilities,
including tax exemptions on
earnings, VAT and electricity,
and self-generated or purchased
power for about 10 years, insiders
and relevant stakeholders have
confirmed. Also, all purchases,
excluding petroleum products,
are likely to get VAT and sales
tax exemptions.
Pakistan textile exports up by 7.23% during
July '17 and Feb. '18
Export-friendly policies and
incentives announced by
Pakistan Government of late
and the renewed focus towards
seeking better market access
by Ministry of Commerce seem
to have finally yielded some
positive results for the textile
export industry of the country.
As per the latest data released
by the Pakistan Bureau of
Statistics (PBS), the country
noted a 7.32 per cent growth
during July 2017 to February
2018 to US $ 8.8 billion as
against US $ 8.2 billion in the
corresponding period of FY
2016-17.
The recorded growth in textile
exports has helped Pakistan
to report an overall export
revenue of US $ 14.8 billion
during the eight-month period
under review as compared to
US $ 13.3 billion in the same
period last fiscal. According
to the Ministry of Commerce,
this rising trend in exports is
expected to be sustained in the
coming months as well due to
the rising international demand
and exchange rate correction.
Notably, the value-added textile
sector was the chief growth
driver for the increase in textile
export, as stated in reports. In
the previous review report that
came out in November 2017,
textile exports clocked US $ 1.12
billion, up by 7 per cent on the
year-on-year basis. Then also,
the growth was primarily driven
by the value-added segment,
which noted a 12 per cent yearly
growth during the reporting
month. Further, exports of
readymade garments, knitwear
and bed wear increased by 13.08
per cent, 13.3 per cent and 4.51
per cent, respectively, during
the reporting period. Excluding
towels, made-up articles also
reported a 7.32 per cent increase
in exports while art, silk and
synthetic textile exports marked
a surge of whopping 80.08 per cent
during the said period. A 1.87 per
cent increase in exports of cotton
yarn and a slight growth of 0.04
per cent was also reported in
exports of cotton cloth.
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