Ready-made garments
Ready-made garments are the mass-produced finished textile products of the garment industry. Ready-made are clothes that can be bought off the store rack or online and are ready to wear. It acts as a catalyst for the development of Bangladesh. The "Made in Bangladesh" tag has brought glory to the country, making it a prestigious brand across the globe. Bangladesh, once called "bottomless" by detractors, has become a "basket of surprises". The industry that has been contributing significantly to the restructuring of the country and its economy is none other than the ready-made garment (RMG) industry which is now the single largest export earner of Bangladesh accounting for 81% of the country's total export earnings. In 1831, the first ready-made garment factory was established in New York.
The garment industry in Bangladesh became a major export sector and a major source of foreign exchange beginning in the 1980s and exported nearly US$5 billion in 2002. An Export Processing Zone was formally established at Chittagong Port in 1980. In 1985 the United States and Canada actually imposed their own import quotas on Bangladeshi textiles without any international agreement. However, Bangladesh was able to meet each quota demand each year and was able to successfully negotiate for higher quotas for subsequent years.
Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry is booming due to the export-quota system and cheap labor. The main diversification of Bangladesh's manufactured garment industry is exporting to the United States and the European Union. In 2005, the final phase-out of the export-quota system increased competitiveness. However, long-term development and deep-level competitiveness are concluded to be hampered in the long run. Additionally, Bangladesh's RMG industry has suffered from workplace disasters and loss of life. Bangladesh has since launched various initiatives to improve worker and factory safety.
Current situation of the ready-made garments industry in Bangladesh
Exports
of ready-made garments have more than doubled in the last 10 years thanks to
domestic various incentives, incentives, energetic entrepreneurs, and cheap
labor. On the other hand, due to continued neglect and shrinking of the market,
jute export income has halved. Export earnings from the country's once major
exports, gold fiber, and jute products, have disappeared from the total income.
According
to the data of the Export Development Bureau, in the two quarters
(July-December) of the current financial year 2022-23, the export of ready-made garments was 22.997 billion dollars. Which is 84.20 percent of the total export
income for six months. The total export income in six months was 27.311 billion
dollars. During the same period, exports of jute and jute products accounted
for 1.80 percent of the total export earnings, or $496 million.
Ten
years ago, in the July-June six months of the 2012-13 financial year, the
export revenue of ready-made garments was 79 percent or 9.947 billion dollars.
At that time the total export income was 12.600 billion dollars. On the other
hand, the export income of jute and jute products was 502 million dollars, which
is 4 percent of the total export earnings. Real exports of jute are even lower
than inflation.
In
addition to the decline in the export of jute and jute products, the share of
jute in the total export earnings has also halved in a decade. Similarly,
export earnings of ready-made garments are increasing every year. According to
the data, in the fiscal year 2021-12, out of the total export income of 52.83
billion dollars, 42.613 billion dollars was made up of garments. And the export
of jute and jute products was 1.128 billion dollars. Ten years ago in the
fiscal year 2011-12, out of the total export earnings of 24.302 billion
dollars, readymade garments accounted for 19.90 billion dollars. In the same
year, jute and jute products were worth 967 billion dollars.
Due
to the increase in the production of plastic and artificial fiber products,
relatively low prices, and the inability to diversify the production of jute
products in the country, the demand for jute in the global market is lost.
Apart from this, jute and jute products could not compete in the global market.
As a result jute also lost its heritage.
On
the other hand, due to the indomitable mentality and skill of the entrepreneurs
of the readymade garment industry, cheap labor, and state patronage, the export
of readymade garments has increased every year. As a result, the garment
industry has become a major foreign earning sector for the country. A large
number of people have also been employed in the garment industry. The garment
industry has become a major employment sector for people in rural and urban
poverty-stricken areas. The woman who used to be the burden of the family has
now become one of the hands of foreign income. It has become an important means
of remittances from urban to rural areas, which is helping to increase the
erosion capacity of rural areas.
The
concentration and modern mentality of the entrepreneurs of the ready-made
garment industry is the continuous progress of this sector, said the executive
president of the Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA)
Mohammad Hatem. He told that everyone involved in the production and export of
ready-made garments is dedicated to their own business and trade. Starting a
business means, this business must be established. It has found out where and
what to do to be established. He has acquired the skills, and experience to
outpace competitors in the readymade garment market.
He
said the government's policy support has played an important role in the
advancement of the garment industry. Every obstacle in the readymade garment
industry gives the courage to move forward. The ban on child labor in the
garment industry, the lifting of quotas in the US market, and the crisis
created by the Rana Plaza collapse have given the industry the strength to move
forward.
Bangladesh
Trade Union Center (TUC) President Shahidullah Chowdhury, one of the leaders of
the jute industry protection and modernization movement, believes that all
governments have destroyed the jute industry through continued neglect. The
veteran labor leader said that at one time, 12 lakh bales of jute were exported.
Now it has come down to 4 lakhs. Jute mills have been closed in the name of
privatization without modernization.
As
a result, on the one hand, export income from jute, which is closely related to
the country's heritage, has decreased, employment has decreased, the production
of jute as a cash crop has decreased, and above all, the environment has been
destroyed. At the same time, jute production in India increased, he added.
Conclusion
The
RMG industry is not only the driving force of the economy but also the
country's largest exporter and foreign exchange earner and largest employer; it
has played a major role in changing society. Apart from the economic
contribution, the expansion of the RMG industry has led to noticeable social
change by bringing more than 2.10 million women into the workforce. The
economic empowerment of these working girls/women has changed their status in
the family.
Five other industries like the ready-made garment industry can move ahead. There are opportunities to increase exports of jute, the leather industry, frozen shrimp, outsourcing, agricultural products, and services. For this, along with the policy support of the government, the entrepreneurs of the jute industry sector need more attention. The jute industry in particular needs to focus on modernization and research to move forward. Neighboring country India has established its dominance in the jute and jute products market of Bangladesh by anti-dumping. Again they import raw jute from Bangladesh. As a jute-producing country, we have fallen behind despite being a jute heritage country. The jute industry should be thought about keeping all these things in mind.
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