A recent World Bank study states, if the RMG industry in Bangladesh is able to capture 20 per cent of China's apparel export attrition, the former’s export volume will increase by around $29 billion, creating 5.4 million new jobs and 13.5 indirect employment. In fact, the apparel summit, organised by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturing and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and other stakeholders last year targeted exports worth $50 billion per annum by the year 2021, however, there are several challenges the industry needs to still overcome.

Step needed to push up growth

With serious signals coming from international quarters, the government of Bangladesh and domestic private sector will have to seriously look into issues impacting RMG industry's growth. Experts point out that the government of Bangladesh should implement an effective policy for fulfilling the requirements of international buyers, the conditions of US Trade Representative (USTR), the standards of International Labour Organisation (ILO) and any of its subsidiaries, the requirements set by the bilateral and multilateral donors, and conditions imposed by importing nations in the alternate markets - such as, EU, Japan, Australia, and India.

The country also needs to look into impending challenges such as the withdrawal of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) from the US, the chances of EU following the steps of USTR, the signing of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) between the US and Vietnam and other East Asian countries, and no alternative markets for Bangladeshi exports due to the intra-bloc trading of the TPP member countries.

A recent report published by Sourcing Journal indicates that the US apparel imports from Vietnam grew by at least 15 per cent year on year totalling $5.95 billion occupying the place next to China. Bangladesh squeezed past Indonesia to take the third place with a dollar value of exports of $3.1 billion accounting for 6.7 per cent of the apparel imported into the US growing annually at 8.5 in value. Exports to the US from Bangladesh fell by at least 37 per cent since the factory disaster in 2013 from $4.94 billion losing about $1.84 billion of business as of July 2015.

Strong steps need of hour

The Bangladesh government needs to work towards fulfilling the conditions for restoring GSP status from the United States, which may assist in improving the dismal outlook of apparel exports. The government can also establish a committee under the Prime Minister's Office to oversee the activities of private and public sector and the international NGOs responsible for delivery of outputs in terms of workers’ safety, working environment, representation of workers, and solve pending legal issues. Also special economic zones (SEZs) for the apparel-textile export industry may also result in improving exports.

As per estimates, export of readymade garments from Bangladesh peaked above $25.5 billion in 2015 accounting for nearly 82 per cent of the country's total exports. At present, there are 4,296 factories and about 4 million workers in the readymade garment industry. An estimated 10 million people are employed in the support and services sectors. These numbers are expected to double with the projected doubling of exports to the $50 billion target by 2021 provided the country and the industry stakeholders take immediate actions to tackle the concerns shadowing its growth momentum.

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