Pay more for apparel, Tofail tells retailers

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday urged the international clothing retailers and brands to increase the prices of Bangladeshi garment items as the local manufacturers improved compliance spending billions of dollars.

The minister said this at the fourth round of Sustainability Compact meeting held in Brussels to discuss workplace safety at garment factories in Bangladesh. The third meeting was held in Dhaka last year.

After the Rana Plaza building collapse in April 2013, Bangladesh signed the Sustainability Compact with the EU, committing responsible business behaviour in the clothing supply chain.

Later, the US and Canada—two other important trading partners of Bangladesh—also joined the International Labour Organisation-brokered Sustainability Compact.

The minister said Bangladesh has already amended the labour law and improved workplace safety, which is also praised by trading partners like the US and EU, according to a statement from the commerce ministry.

"I hope the EU will continue the duty privilege on import of Bangladeshi goods under the GSP plus scheme once Bangladesh is graduated to a developing country from the group of least developed countries," the minister said.

While highlighting the progresses that Bangladesh made in workplace safety in front of the diplomats of the EU, ILO officials and envoys of some other countries, the minister also said currently Bangladesh has the highest number environment-friendly green garment factories in the world.