The incredible development of Bangladesh's readymade garment (RMG) industry over the last three decades has outshined the most optimistic expectations. After the war of liberation in 1971 Bangladesh inherited a shattered economy with industrial production came to near halt. The jute sector which was the sole foreign exchange earners could not keep-up longer than the mid-eighties. Since then the economy got the most needed footing on the readymade garment industry.
What happened till then is a history. During the last thirty years the RMG sector has become more than 79% export earning sector of the country, employed 4 million people directly in the industry and contributing more than 10% to GDP. The industry has branded Bangladesh among the top apparel manufacturing countries in the world as we ranked second largest among the clothing exporting countries. "Made in Bangladesh" has emerged as an icon in the global fashion retailing industry.
It was not an easy task at all, but the irresistible spirit of the entrepreneurs and the extra-ordinary qualities in our people made us conquer all the challenges so far. The successful elimination of child labour, rapid growth in post-MFA era, progress achieved in the social compliance - are just to mention a few.
Even during the global economic recession, while almost all the major economies in the world were hurt, it could not bring the predicted demise in our garment exports. Rather we foresee a brighter future for the industry ahead and preparing ourselves for catering the increased demand of buyers, as well as to move up to higher-end products.
Simultaneous to the success in the textile and garment industry, an extraordinary improvement has taken place in the macro and socio-economic context, which was possible mainly due to the rapid industrialisation and our increasing integration into the global economy. The table-1 illustrates an impressive snapshot of Bangladesh.
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Table-1: Impressive Bangladesh
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Bangladesh India Pakistan
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Per capita 1990 540 874 1200
income (PPP$) 2011 1909 3663 2786
Life expectancy 1990 59 58 61
at birth, years 2010 69 65
Infant deaths 1990 97 81 95
per 1000 live births 2011 37 47 59
Maternal 1990 800 600 490
deaths per 2010 194 200 260
100,000 live births
Female Literacy 1991 38 49 NA
Rate 2009 77 74 61
Female labour 1990 NA 35 14
force participation rate 2010 57 29 22
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Source: World Bank, UNICEF, WHO from The Economist Dwelling in a situation with lot of hurdles and challenges, we have been ranked as one of the next emerging nations in the world. Moody's and S&P rated Bangladesh stable in sovereign credit rating. J.P. Morgan included Bangladesh in their 'Frontier Five' in its report 'From Ho Chi Minh Trail to Mexico', April 2007. Goldman Sachs included Bangladesh in its 'Next 11' after the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
Economy looks promising While the global economy is still struggling to revive the following achievements looks outstanding and a great source of confidence for us:
The importance of the readymade garment (RMG) industry in spearheading the economic progress in the country cannot be over-emphasised. The industry provided major opportunity for families to rise up from poverty. Following chart shows how RMG industry is helping the development of Bangladesh.
Empowering women The most important revolution has happened in the area of bringing women in to the mainstream of the economy, engaging them in wage employment, and thus in a moderate Muslim country the industry has brought a silent revolution through empowering women. The working girls remit money for their sibling's education and other purposes this is pulling up the rate of literacy and participation in primary education. Around 30% of women are primary earners of their families, while rests are secondary earners. Study shows that if 0.35-0.40 Million women lose their jobs, at least 1.6 million members of households face further economic hardship. Women are increasingly participating in family decision-making with a strong voice. Most working women can now chose when to get married or become mothers. As a result the number of early marriages is decreasing; so is the birth rate.
Gender equality If we look back in the 1990s, roughly one-quarter of country's female workers entered into the labour market in industry. According to the labour force statistics the female labour participation rate increased from 23.9% in 1999-200 to 36% in 2010. During the mid 90s the female share of new employment in industry was 39%, which rose to 60 per cent in 2000 primarily employed in RMG industry.
Improvements in reproductive health Reproductive health is an indispensable part of our sustainable development. Garment workers mostly aged between 19 and 24 and migrants from the rural areas with poverty and low literacy -- are perilously exposed to reproductive health issues and diseases like HIV/AIDS, STI, RTI and Hepatitis-B. Particularly, warding off an AIDS outbreak in the garment sector is crucial in terms of the fiercely competitive nature of the international apparel trade. Therefore, to impart knowledge about these issues among the garment workers through workplace interventions and leave them better equipped to prevent the disease BGMEA runs several programs with UNFPA, WHO, Marie Stopes, Population Council and Asiatic MCL. These programs are aimed to build awareness among the workers for their Reproductive Health, Reproductive Rights, Safe Motherhood, Family Planning and related issues. The program has been successfully able to enable the women workers in making family decisions, as a result early marriage and birth rate has become low among the garment workers. They are now aware to keep free from different virus & diseases. Bangladesh was awarded by UB for the outstanding achievements in Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Bangladesh: An Indomitable Nation The history of our civilisation and regional dominance dates back to 1204 CE that earned us the name "'Golden Bengal". The liberation in 1971 destroyed our infrastructure, but not the morale. We are back on our feet. Bangladesh is a proud nation. Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize, is the son of this soil. February 21 and December 16 are our inspiration. We are proud of Salman Khan, a Bangladeshi American, for his academy "Khan Academy" to provide "a free world class education to anyone, anywhere"; Maqsudul Alam innovated the jute genome sequencing; Shuvo Roy and his team innovated the first artificial kidney. Our boy Shakib Al Hasan is one of the best all-rounder in international cricket in recent years; Mount Everest conquerors Musa Ibrahim, Nishat Majumder and Wasfia Nazreen; successful golfer Siddiqur Rahman; and of course the 4 million garment workers who brought more than 19 billion dollar to home last year - are our capability, sincerity, courage and confidence. Bangladesh is no more a "basket case", nor a country of floods and famines. Our achievements tell our ability, and how much more we could achieve.
Gorbo: Musical talent hunt program for RMG Workers The people of Bangladesh are born with amazing traits and spirits; they are exceptionally talented. Gorbo provides the platform to the workers to discover their hidden talents that eventually make them confident and ambitious. GORBO was first organised in late 2010 for the first time; around 40,000 workers participated in the first round audition and through the process of 9 rounds over a period of 6 months we got the most expected 10 performers for the Grand Finale that was held in February 2011. The winner was rewarded with Tk. 1 million as prize money, and following two performers got 300 thousand taka and 200 thousand taka respectively. Betting inspired by tremendous response and appreciation that BGMEA has already launched the second edition of Gorbo.
Opportunities Ahead Bangladesh is on the verge of incredible opportunity in regards to its RMG exports. Global fashion brands, buyers and retailers are looking for alternate to China, since the country is undertaking a massive restructure from low-end bulk production to more sophisticated, high-tech and high value-added industries. Bangladesh has all the strengths and potentials to make it a first choice. Besides, the recent progress in exports to new markets is another source of opportunities for us. . Exports to non-traditional markets has also seen quite a good increase over the last 3 years, particularly in Japan, China, India, South Korea, South Africa, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Chile. The ray of hope does also come from the developments in international trade policy arena, particularly the simplification of GSP rules of origin by EU, Japan, Norway, Switzerland and duty free market access by China, and preferential access to China, Korea and Malaysia. We are optimistic that the new wave of opportunities and the growth momentum will energize the RMG industry to add some new success stories in the coming years.
Needless to say that the potential of industrialisation and opportunities to grow need more steps, strategies and action plans on addressing issues like skilled workers and mid-management professional shortage, electricity-gas supply, road-rail-port infrastructure, trade financing, etc. If all these issues can be addressed immediately we are confident make more than 30% annual growth in the coming years. A prosperous Bangladesh is not far away and we have to use our potentials being united.
Vice President
[The writer is Bangladesh Garments Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Dhaka]