Bangladesh, now biggest source of suits for Marks & Spencer: country manager
Bangladesh has eventually turned into the largest suits sourcing destination for Marks and Spencer (M&S) as the local suppliers have diversified the garment products and started making high-end items, said Shwapna Bhowmick, country manager of the British retail giant.
Even a few years ago, it was difficult to find any factory to source suits in bulk quantity, she said today.
She spoke at the two-day investment summit organised by Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden.
Currently, Bangladesh is also the largest sourcing destination for the M&S and she wants to source more garment items from Bangladesh because of commitments, diversification of goods.
Currently, M&S sources more than $1.2 billion worth of garment items a year.
Speaking at a session on the garment industry at the summit, she also said her company is no more interested in the basic garment items and she suggested producing more value-added garment items to receive increased prices.
Atiqul Islam, mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation and former BGMEA president, said the DNCC is going to sign an agreement for producing power from the city wastage tomorrow in Dhaka to turn the wastage into wealth.
Islam also said the transport communication will ease soon in Dhaka within the next two or three years as the government has been implementing some mega projects like metro rail and elevated expressways.
Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), suggested signing the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and other regional trade agreements with potential trading countries to retain the trade privilege after the graduation of the country from the Least Developed Country (LDC) to a developing nation in 2026.
Hassan also said currently some $25billion out of $34billion garment items are shipped under the LDC category. So, retaining the trade advantage for Bangladesh after the LDC graduation is important, he said.
Some $5billion to $7billion more investment is required in the garment sector to achieve the targeted export by 2030, Hassan added.
Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association; Mohammad Hatem, executive president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association; Anwar ul Alam Chowdhury, former president of BGMEA; also spoke at the programme.
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