Bangladesh:Stable taka inspires BGMEA to aim for higher textile exports

In comparison to the strong currency of India and China, Bangladeshi taka is still weak, which is giving the nation an edge over these two competitors in gaining export orders that mainly include textiles on a large scale.
As a result, the country now aims take its apparel exports to a greater heights, the target that Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has set for its textile sector is, to earn revenue worth US $25 billion within next five years.
Fibre2fashion contacted Mr Anwarul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, President, (BGMEA), to gain more information about the initiatives the association is undertaking to achieve export target. Mr Parvez stated, “China and India are our major competitors, and we have proved our ability by beating them both in price and quality in some categories which will help us to sustain our export growth. We have already started receiving huge orders from buyers and are quite confident of achieving a rapid growth in future. “
Mr Parvez asserted, “The stability in taka has played a major role in giving Bangladesh a strong position, as the value of taka has been around 68.5 per dollar since middle of 2007. On the other hand, both Chinese yuan and Indian currency has witnessed a growth of over 8 percent. It is expected that these two nations will see a further boost in their currency, making exports expensive for foreign buyers.”
Mr Anwarul further divulged, “The Government needs to support textile sector by reducing the interest rates of banks and along with practicing Procedure of L.C (letter of credit) the bank should also take procedure of U.C.P.600, that will bring great relief to textile enterprises. “

The BGMEA President talked about the initial measures been taken to improve the output of the textile units by saying, “First of all we need to increase the production capacity of the textile units to cater the growing international demand. Secondly, relation between management and work force needs to be enhanced so that trivial issues do not affect working atmosphere. The infrastructure requires proper development along with this proper supply of electricity must be given to the units.”
Textile sector will incorporate around 1.4 million workers in next five years, of which more than 80 percent will be women. The nation has set a target of nearly $14.5 billion for this fiscal year, making it 19 percent higher in comparison to last year.