EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Readymade Garments Industry is the leading foreign currency earning sectors of Bangladesh.
Now-a-days Bangladesh financial sector is very much dependent upon this sector. The annual
export income of garments sector is driven from two sources one is woven garments and others
is knit wear. Redimet garments is a 100% export oriented garments. Redimet garments exports
various garments product in foreign market. The company makes shirts, ladies dress, shorts,
trousers, and others for U.S.A, U.K, Europian countries countries.
They use high tech machineries to produce a quality garments product. They also add new
machineries to increase their production line. They have a mission and the vision is profit
maximization. The merchandising philosophy of Redimet garments is to keep good relation with
their buyers.
The garments Industry maintains a good relationship with every buyer. Hard working and
commitment maintenance is their main strategy. They always try to satisfy their buyers. In this
perspective the merchandiser always try to do their merchandising activities in due time. The
merchandiser of this company is not very much skilled person. More over him has no assistant.
For this reason
Sometimes the company face problem. So, here Redimet garments can recruit high skilled
people with giving high salary.
The Redimet garments should improve their product quality, packing system, internal
environment, and other merchandising activities to satisfy their foreign buyers. This report is
prepared on Merchandising activities and buyer satisfaction of Redimet garments. The OCP
report helps the reader to know about the merchandising activities, practiced in Redimet
garments And the buyer satisfaction level towards the merchandiser.
1.1 Introduction:
The tremendous success of readymade garment exports from Bangladesh over the last two
decades has surpassed the most optimistic expectations. Today the apparel export sector is a
multi-billion-dollar manufacturing and export industry in the country. The overall impact of the
readymade garment exports is certainly one of the most significant social and economic
developments in contemporary Bangladesh. With over one and a half million women workers
employed in semi-skilled and skilled jobs producing clothing for exports, the development of the
apparel export industry has had far-reaching implications for the society and economy of
Bangladesh.
1.2 Background of the Study:
MBA OCP report is an attempt to provide business students an orientation to a real life business
situation in which we can observe and evaluate the use and applicability of the theoretical
concepts. As per norm, this report is the requirement of the fulfillment of the MBA program. This
report Garments Industry of Bangladesh: The Challenging Ahead is the out come of 13 weeks
OCP work on Garments Sector. During this period, my job has related to this department. My
honorable supervisor Md. Mokhter Ahmad, Associate Professor & Coordinator,CENURC (Centre
for University Requirement Courses), International Islamic University Chittago, and Dhaka
authorized this report to me to acquire the practical knowledge.
1.4 Objectives of the Report:
Each & every study should have objectives. The objectives of my project have divided into two
parts.
Broad objective:
To know the overall activities of Garments Industry of Babgladesh: The Challenging Ahed.

Specific objective:
The key objectives of this report are as follows:
To know the duties and responsibilities of merchandising department.
To know the overall internal and external environment of Garments Industry of Babgladesh: The
Challenging Ahed .
Identify the major opportunity and threats of Garments Industry of Babgladesh: The Challenging
Ahed
1.5 Methodology
This report has been prepared on the basis of experience gathered during the period of
internship. For preparing the report, I have also got the information from annual report and
website of the Rising Apparels Ltd. I have presented my experience and finding by using different
chart and tables in the analysis part. I have also write down my report on the basis of primary and
secondary data.
v Primary source:
From different employees in garments I get information. To collect this information I communicate
with this companys different department employees such as Md. Azizur Rahman and Md.
Ashraful Alam.
v Secondary source:
To prepare this report I user different news papers, books which are secondary information.
Especially I use various websites as well as bangladesh garments industry.
1.6. Limitations of the Report
Since our study is based on both primary and secondary data, there is a possibility of getting fake
information. If the surveyed personnel provide us with any fabricated information about their
opinion of their organization, then the report findings may be erroneous. Above all, this study is
weak in some points. The notable ones are as under:
The survey was conducted in a very short time so we were not able to collect more information.
This survey made on crisis situation of Bangladesh, so it was difficult to collect more samples.
Only the big and the reputed Garments Company consider here as sample.
The questionnaire contains some questions that, if answered properly, might damage the
companys image. In this type of questions, the respondents might provide socially acceptable
answers. This risk was unavoidable.
Another limitation of this study is the persons private information were not disclosing some, data
and information for obvious reasons, which could be very much useful.
Lack of experience in this field.
Lack of proper authority to conduct the interview program
Due to long distance between the factory and University campus it was very difficult to
communicate and meet with the supervisor.
Garment Industry of Bangladesh:
The garment industry has played a pioneering role in the development of industrial sector of
Bangladesh. Though it took a rather late start i.e., in 1976 but it soon established its reputation in
the world market within a short span of time. Resultantly garment is now one of the main export
items of the country. Besides, enriching the countrys economy it has played a very important role
in alleviating unemployment. At present there are more than two thousand one hundred garment
factories in the country employing more than 12 lack labors
For Bangladesh, the readymade garment export industry has been the proverbial goose that lays
the golden eggs for over fifteen years now. The sector now dominates the modern economy in
export earnings, secondary impact and employment generated. The events in 1998 serve to
highlight the vulnerability of this industry to both internal and external shocks on the demand and
supply side. Given the dominance of the sector in the overall modern economy of Bangladesh,
this vulnerability should be a matter of some concern to the policymakers in Bangladesh.
Although in gross terms the sectors contributions to the countrys export earnings is around 74
percent, in net terms the share would be much less partially because the backward linkages in
textile have been slow to develop. The dependence on a single sector, no matter how resilient or
sturdy that sector is, is a matter of policy concern. We believe the policymakers in Bangladesh
should work to reduce this dependence by moving quickly to develop the other export industries
using the lessons learned from the success of apparel exports. Support for the apparel sector
should not be reduced. In fact, another way to reduce the vulnerability is to diversify the product
and the market mix. It is heartening to observe that the knit products are rapidly gaining share in
overall garment exports as these products are sold in quota-free markets and reflect the strength
of Bangladeshi producers in the fully competitive global apparel markets.
Preliminary data and informal evidence indicate that this sector seems to have weathered the
devastating floods relatively well. The industry is one hundred percent export-oriented and
therefore insulated from domestic demand shocks; however, it remains vulnerable to domestic
supply shocks and the smooth functioning of the banking, transportation and other forward and
backward linkage sectors of the economy. The Dhaka-Chittagong road remains the main
transportation link connecting the production units, mostly situated in and around Dhaka and the
port in Chittagong, where the raw material and the finished products are shipped in and out.
Despite increased dependence on air transportation, trucks remain the main vehicles for
transporting raw materials and finished products for Bangladesh garment exports. The floods
disrupted the normal flow of traffic on this road.
Eventually, this road link was completely severed for several days when large sections of the
road went under water for a few weeks during the latter phase of the floods. This delinking of the
road connection between Dhaka and the port in Chittagong was as serious a threat as one can
imagine for the garment exporters. The industry responded by calling upon the Bangladesh navy
to help with trawlers and renting a plane from Thai Air that was used to directly fly garment
consignments from the Dhaka airport to the Chittagong airport several times a day.
RMG business started in the late 70s as a negligible non-traditional sector with a narrow export
base and by the year 1983 it emerged as a promising export earning sector; presently it
contributes around 75 percent of the total export earnings. Over the past one and half decade,
RMG export earnings have increased by more than 8 times with an exceptional growth rate of
16.5 percent per annum. In FY06, earnings reached about 8 billion USD, which was only less
than a billion USD in FY91. Excepting FY02, the industry registered significant positive growth
throughout this period
In terms of GDP, RMGs contribution is highly remarkable; it reaches 13 percent of GDP which
was only about 3 percent in FY91. This is a clear indication of the industrys contribution to the
overall economy. It also plays a pivotal role to promote the development of other key sectors of
the economy like banking, insurance, shipping, hotel, tourism, road transportation, railway
container services, etc. A 1999 study found the industry supporting approximately USD 2.0 billion
worth of economic activities (Bhattacharya and Rahman), when the value of exports stood at a
little over USD 4.0 billion. One of the key advantages of the RMG industry is its cheap labor
force, which provides a competitive edge over its competitors. The sector has created jobs for
about two million people of which 70 percent are women who mostly come from rural areas. The
sector opened up employment opportunities for many more individuals through direct and indirect
economic activities, which eventually helps the countrys social development, woman
empowerment and poverty alleviation
History In 1888, New York state factory inspectors provided the following description of sweat-
shops: In New York city, in the tenement house districts where clothing is manufactured, there
exists a system of labor which is nearly akin to slavery as it is possible to get. The work is done
under the eyes of task-masters, who rent a small room or two in the rear part of an upper floor of
a high building, put in a few sewing machines, a stove suitable for heating irons, and then hire a
number of men and women to work for them. Explicit in the inspectors definition of a sweatshop
is the exploitation of garment workers by contractors, who forced their workers to labor for long
hours only to be paid insufficient wages. In addition to physically sweating as a result of their toil,
workers were also sweated in the same manner an animal would be milked or bled.
By the 1880s, for the most part, seamstresses no longer negotiated work on an individual basis
but were subsumed into a system of contracting. Contractors received components of garments
that they in turn assembled according to designs. These finished products were returned to the
manufacturers and marketed under the companys label. As a result, manufacturers distanced
themselves from the hiring and equipping of a labor force, which became the responsibility of the
contractor. Manufacturers paid a set price for each finished garment they received from the
contractor, which was considerably lower then they would then charge retail. Consequently,
contractors, in order to make any profit, forced longer hours and lower wages on their workers.
Contractors, more often than not, exploited fellow immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe
by using social networks and common dialects to hire their labor force. In many instances, a
sweatshop would be staffed by workers who all came to America from the same hometown in
Europe. The exploitation of the contractor, in his own mind, was justified by the fact that he
himself felt exploited by the manufacturers. Furthermore, many new immigrants were willing to
take any job offered to them at all, particularly during the economic hardships of the 1890s (See
Depression of 1893). The line that contractors straddled between being helpful employers and
ruthless exploiter to their fellow countrymen was indeed thin, and varied from shop to shop.
Because the equipment necessary for making garments was not cumbersome, most contractors
based their sweatshops out of the tenement apartments in which they lived with their family.
Within the Lower East Side, there was no pattern as to where one would find a garment
sweatshop. Research shows that in one year shops were in existence in tenements along
Delancey, Sheriff, Division, Hester, Essex, Ridge, Cherry, Ludlow, Monroe, Mulberry, Mott,
Baxter, Pitt, Rivington, Suffolk, Norfolk, Canal, Henry, Cannon, Stanton, East Houston, Attorney,
Allen, Eldridge, Bayard, Chrystie, Orchard (No. 180, in addition to 97), Willett, Jefferson,
Columbia, Clinton and Madison streets. The shop was run as a family affair. The wife of the
contractor would help out by cooking meals (for which the workers had to pay) and attending to
other tasks. Everything in the shop served both a domestic and business purpose. Stoves used
to heat irons were also used to cook meals. The average sweatshop employed anywhere from
four to 30 employees.
In 1904, the opening of the New York City subway system and other transportation networks
allowed the garment industry to move uptown, and to consolidate workers in more factories.
Although sweatshops in tenements remained, factories, such as the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist
Factory (see Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire) provided more consistent employment.
The Evolution of a Garment How the Sweatshop System Worked. Although certain retailers
employed inside shops, which eliminated contractors and paid sewing machine operators and
other workers at a piece-rate to work directly for them, most retailers relied on the system of
using outside shops organized by contractors.
Typically, a designer, either independent or working for a retailer, would design a garment based
on the latest fashions (particularly within the womens clothing industry). Cotton, harvested by
underpaid sharecroppers (usually freed African-American slaves and poor Southern whites, who
lived in a type of veritable slavery where wages and rent were always manipulated to keep them
in debt) was shipped to the giant textile mills of New England and the mid-Atlantic. Textile
workers, often poor, underpaid immigrants working their own long hours, converted the fiber into
fabric.
Retailers purchased the fabric from the mills, and redistributed the material to a cutting
contractor, who would be paid a piece-rate to cut the material into the garment design. Upon
receiving the cut designs, the retailer would re-contract the material, this time to a sewing
contractor (i.e. Harris Levine). Often the system of contracting was highly diversified with each
sweatshop performing a specialized task. A single clothing firm might employ as many as 75
different contractors to work on their clothing line.
Roles within the Tenement Sweatshop
Sewing Machine Operator Might have experience working as a tailor in Europe, almost always a
man. Often the operator was the contractor himself, who employed the workers in the sweatshop.
Baster Prepared the garments for the operator by fitting the pieces together.
Finisher Responsible for adding the finishing touches to the garment by hand; mostly women in
teens and early 20s. Because the finisher was often the only woman in the sweatshop, she might
suffer sexual harassment from her male co-workers. As a result, many preferred to work with
predominantly women workforces in factories or to get married and leave the shop.
Presser Always a male as he had to lift the heavy irons, which weighed up to 20 pounds. Usually
an elderly male. First person accounts from workers in the sweatshops cite that many of the
pressers were Orthodox Jews.
(Most shops would also employ workers at an apprentice status who would perform
miscellaneous tasks such as hauling coal, sweeping the shop, and carrying finished goods to the
manufacturer.)
Seasonality in the Garment Industry:
Generally the garment industry responded to the seasonality of the fashion industry, in which
there was a high and a slack season. (Researchers for the sourcebook were unable to
determine whether the seasons of the garment industry adhered to the actual calendar months,
or followed only the trends of supply and demand.) During the high season contractors forced
workers to labor for even longer hours than usual, in order to meet the demand that had been
created by the issue of the latest fashion. During the slack season, sweatshop workers would find
themselves jobless or sitting around idle, unable to earn wages because a lack of pieces that
they could complete.
Contemporary Sweatshops:
There is a popular misconception that sweatshops no longer operate in the United States, and
exist only as a problem in developing nations that lack unions and other fair practice labor laws.
This is in fact false. In 2000, it was estimated that there were 93,000 workers in the New York
City garment industry. Of the shops that employed these workers, approximately 60% (7,000-
7,500 shops) could be deemed sweatshops in the sense that their operators abused and
disregarded laws designed to ensure that workers were treated decently.
Even as the 21st century begins, the Lower East Side and adjoining Chinatown remain intricately
tied to the garment industry. Along with the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn, many garment shops
in Chinatown still work on the system of contracting. Presently, Chinese workers constitute the
largest portion of immigrants working in both legal and illegal garment shops, although they are
joined by other recent immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Vietnam and myriad
other nations.
Many of the same issues persist. Contractors continue to be recent immigrants themselves and
seem to aid fellow immigrants by providing a job where they need not speak English, can bring
their children to the factory (often to work in violation of child labor laws), and receive payments in
cash so as to avoid taxation and possible detection by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS). Like their historical counterparts, the contractors still sweat their workers as well. The
continued use of the piece-rate system, where workers are paid for each garment produced
rather than at a standard hourly rate, ensures that garment workers in sweatshops earn well
under the federally mandated minimum wage rate. Chinese sewing machine operators working in
Chinatown and Sunset Park often worke anywhere from 60 to 100 (!) hours a week, despite
earning only $150 to $400 per week. Furthermore, workers wages are often withheld for weeks
at a time or altogether, if the contractor decides to abandon his shop and move elsewhere.
The influx of numerous illegal immigrants along with immigrants who came to the United States
through legal means, further complicates the situation. Illegal immigrants, who are often coerced
into paying for their journey on credit, work long hours for clandestine operations. They are
worked even more harshly as bosses realize they are unlikely to form unions or level any type of
complaints, since many possess deeply rooted fears of attracting the attention of the INS.
Consequently, legal immigrants are forced to compete and match the output of illegal immigrants
in order to stay employed.

History
The history of the Readymade Garments Sector in Bangladesh is a fairly recent one.
Nonetheless it is a rich and varied tale. The recent struggle to realize Workers Rights adds an
important episode to the story. Below, we present a detailed narration of the evolution of the
RMG sector from its humble origins to the present day.
The shift from a rural, agrarian economy to an urban, industrial economy is integral to the process
of economic development (Kaldor, 1966, 1967). Although policymakers in the least developed
countries (LDCs) have, at various times, attempted to make agriculture the primary engine of
economic growth and employment generation, this approach has not worked, not least because
of the contributions of the Green Revolution, which has had the dual effect of increasing
agricultural productivity in the LDCs and displacing the rural labour force at the same time. Led by
the example of the East Asian economies, most LDCs now accept the need for greater
industrialization as the fastest path to economic growth. In particular, countries such as Japan,
Taiwan and South Korea have demonstrated that an export-oriented industrial strategy can not
only raise per capita income and living standards in a relatively short time; it can also play a vital
role in modernizing the economy and integrating it with the global economic system.
Bangladesh, one of the archetypal LDCs, has also been following the same route for the last 25
years. Once derided as a basket-case by Henry Kissinger (The Economist, 1996), the country
stumbled across an economic opportunity in the late 1970s. New rules had come to govern the
international trade in textiles and apparel, allowing low-cost suppliers to gain a foothold in
American and European markets. Assisted by foreign partners, and largely unaided by the
government, entrepreneurs seized the opportunity and exploited it to the fullest. Over a period of
25 years, the garments export sector has grown into a $6 billion industry that employs over a
million people. In the process, it has boosted the overall economic growth of the country and
raised the viability of other export-oriented sectors.
This essay analyzes the processes by which global trading rules came to help out a poor country
like Bangladesh. It demonstrates the impact of the rule changes on the garments sector, and the
response of the sector to multiple challenges and obstacles. It also discusses what steps
Bangladesh should take in order to deal with the full liberalization of the international garments
trade, which occurred in January 2005 and which could potentially threaten the countrys growth
prospects. Finally, it details some of the recent developments that have occurred since
liberalization took effect.
OVERVIEW OF THE BANGLADESHI ECONOMY:
Bangladesh is a tropical country in South Asia that is situated in the delta of two major rivers that
flow down from the Himalayas (the Ganges and the Jamuna). The countrys land surface is
therefore largely composed of alluvial silt, rendering the soil highly fertile. Historically, this has
made Bangladesh an agricultural nation; although agriculture contributes only about a fifth of the
national GDP, it employs three-fifths of the labour force (ADB, 2005).
Bangladesh has an estimated population of 140 million (circa 2005), living in an area of about
55,000 square miles. It thus has the unwanted distinction of being the worlds most densely
populated country, and this overpopulation is at the root of many of Bangladeshs socioeconomic
problems. However, the population is largely homogeneous in terms of ethnicity, language, and
religion, and this provides a valuable element of national cohesion.
In spite of numerous constraints, the economy has been on a steady growth path for the last 15
years, mainly due to private sector dynamism. The constraints include pervasive political
instability and violence, endemic corruption and disregard for the law, frequent natural disasters,
inefficient state-owned enterprises that are hotbeds of trade unionism, lack of political will to carry
through necessary economic reform, inadequate infrastructure at all levels (power generation,
roads and highways, port facilities), etc.
Nevertheless, the economy has proved to be resilient. Since 1990, it has grown at an average
rate of 5% per year. The Asian Development Bank projects that real GDP growth will increase to
6% in 2006 and 2007 (ADB, 2005). Bangladeshs total GDP stood at $275 billion in 2004, and per
capita GDP was $2,000 (adjusted for purchasing power).
Sectorally, services constitute the largest portion of GDP with 51.7%. Industry accounts for 27.1%
and agriculture 21.2%. However, the distribution of the labour force is reversed, with most people
still working in agriculture (61%), followed by services (27%) and finally industry (12%). This
imbalance between output and employment is indicative of a large amount of disguised
unemployment and underemployment. Unemployment is estimated to be about 40%. The poverty
rate, as of 2004, is about 45%.
As shown by the above table, merchandise exports have been growing strongly in recent years
and this trend is set to continue. While imports also exhibit strong growth, it should be noted that
the bulk of imports consists of inputs into the production process, e.g. machinery and equipment,
fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, iron and steel, cement, fabric and accessories (for
garments production), etc. The breakdown of various exports by sector is given in the table
overleaf (Bangladesh Bank, 2005). The figures are for the 2003-2004 fiscal year.
As can be seen from Table 2, garments and textile items are the dominant export product,
accounting for 77% of the countrys total export receipts. This is a relatively new phenomenon.
For centuries, the chief export of the Bengal economy was jute, a natural fibre which is used in
making carpets, sacks and hessian, but whose economic value went into precipitous decline after
the advent of plastic bags and synthetic packaging material in the 1960s and 1970s. How the
garments sector claimed the position of top export earner in the years since is discussed in
Levels of Economic Integration:
1. Free trade area: A free trade area is an economic integration arrangement in which barriers to
trade among member countries are removed. Under this arrangement each participant will seek
to gain by specializing in the production of those goods and services for which it has a
comparative advantages and importing those goods and services for which it has a comparative
disadvantage. One of the best known free trade arrangements is the north American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), a free trade area currently consisting of Canada, the Us and Mexico. Trade
between the three members of NAFTA is now in the range of &1 trillion annually.
2. Customs Union: A custom Union is a form of economic integration in which all tariffs between
member countries are eliminated and a common trade policy toward non member countries is
established.
This policy often results in a uniform external tariff structure. Under this arrangement, a country
outside the union will face the same tariff on exports to any member country receiving the goods.
3. Common Market: A common market is a form of economic integration characteristics by no
barriers to trade among member nations, a common external trade policy and mobility of factors
of production among member countries.
A common market allows reallocation of production resources such as capital, labor, and
technology based on the theory of comparative advantage. Example: EU is the successful
common market and is now focusing on political integration.
4. Economic Union: An economic union is a deep form of economic integration and is
characterized by free movement of goods, services and factors of production between countries
and full integration of economic policies.
An economic union 1) unifies monetary and fiscal policy among the member nations 2) has a
common currency and 3) employs the same tax rates and structures for all members.
5. Political Union: A political union goes beyond full economic integration, in which all economic
policies are unified, and has a single government.
This represents total economic integration, and it occurs only when countries give up their
national powers to leadership under a single government.
Example: We combined independent states into a political union. The unification of west and East
German in 1991 has also created a political union, the two nations now have one government
and one set of overall economic policies
Trade Creation:
Trade Creation occurs when members of an economic integration group begin focusing their
efforts on those goods and services for which they have a comparative advantage and start
trading more extensively with each other.
Example: The US and Mexico have an agreement that allows cars to be assembled in Mexico
and shipped into the US. As a result, Mexico, a low cost producer, supplies a large number of
vehicles sold in America and both countries prosper.
Trade Diversion:
Trade Diversion occurs when members of an economic integration group decrease their trade
with non- member countries in favor of trade with each other. One common reason is that the
removal of trade barriers among member countries makes it less expensive to buy from
companies within the group and the continuation of trade barriers with non member countries
makes it more difficult for the latter to compete.
Thus trade diversion can lead to the loss of production and exports from more efficient non
member countries to less efficient member countries that are being protected by tariffs or other
barriers. The creation of economic integration groups is beneficial only if trade creation exceeds
trade diversion.
The European Union:
The foundation of the European Union was laid in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome.
The six Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany) nations who
created the ECSC were the original founders of what was initially called the European Economic
Community and later the European Community.
By 1991 six other national joined the EC (Great Britain, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and
Spain) and by 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden were also admitted to the EC which was now
renamed the European Union.
The main provisions of the following treaty of 1957 were:
Formation of a free trade area among the members would be brought about by the gradual
elimination of tariffs, quotas, and other trade barriers.
Barriers to the movement of labor, capital and business enterprises would eventually be removed
Common agricultural policies would be adopted.
An investment fund to channel capital from the more advanced regions of the bloc to the less
advanced regions would be created.
A customs union characterized by a uniform tariff schedule applicable to imports from the rest of
the world would be created.
These nations formed the European Free Trade Association, whose primary goal was to dismantle
trade barriers among its member.
There are five major institutions that mange the EU:
The European Council is composed of the heads of state of each EU member country as well as
the president of the European Commission. The purposes of these meetings are to resolve major
policy issues and to set policy direction.
The Council Of Ministers is the major policy decision making body of the EU.
The European Commission has 20 members who are chosen by agreement of the member
government. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK have two representatives each, and the
other members one each. It handles a great deal of the technical work associated with preparing
decisions and regulations.
The European parliament currently has 630 members. The individual are elected directly by the
voters in each member country. The parliament serves as a watchdog on EU expenditures in
addition to evaluating other decisions of the Council.
The court of Justice has one judge appointed from each EU member country; this court serves as
the official interpreter of EU law.
Other Economic alliances:
Andean Pact:
The Andean Pact is an economic union that was formed in 1969 by Bolivia, Chile, Colombia,
Educador, and Peru. The original objectives of the Ancom
countries were to integrate themselves economically, to reduce internal tariffs, to create a
common external tariff and to offer special concessions to the two smallest members, Bolivia,
Educador. The group also agreed that no foreign direct investment would be allowed in sectors
such as banking, telecommunications, and retails sales and those foreign investors in all other
Sectors would be required to sell at least 51% of their holdings to local investors over a 15 year
period.
Mercosur:
Mercosur is a free trade group that was formed by Argentina and Brazil in 1988 to promote
economic cooperation. Today the group has been expanded to include Paraguay and Uruguay
with Chile and Bolivia as associate members. In 1995 the members agreed to a five year
program under which they hoped to perfect their free trade area and move toward a full customs
union.
ASEAN:
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was formed in 1967 and now includes Brunei,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. This
economic bloc is different from most others in that the primary emphasis is not on reducing trade
barriers among the members, although this has been done, but rather on promoting exports to
other countries.
FTAA:
The free Trade Area of the America was re launched in Quebec City in April 2001 to eliminates
most trade restrictions. All the economies of North, Central and South America, along with all
Caribbean economies have agreed to start the ETAA in 2005. It will be built upon the framework
of NAFTA.



Top leading garments companies
Fractal Fashion India
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benchmarks in the national and international cotton markets with quality and performance of our
cotton. In future also, we look forward to innovative our Quality managements system and
continuously improve its effectiveness
.
Certification
M.M.TRADERS is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company carrying the brand name M.M.TRADERS
M.M.TRADERS also carrying a brand name of STAR EXPORT HOUSE
M.M.Group is also member of TEXPROCIL.
ProductSl VARIETY STAPLES LENGTH ORIGIN (MM)(Inches) 1 V 797 22-
24 7/8 Gujarat 2Y-123-25< 1Maharastra / Madhya Pradesh3J-34 (S/G & R/G)25-271-
1/16Punjab / Hariyana / Rajasthan4NHH-4424-261-1/16Maharastra5L.R.A.25-271-1/16 to 1-
3/32Maharastra / Madhya Pradesh6MECH 127-291-3/32 to 1-1/8Maharastra / Madhya
Pradesh7 Sankar 6 27.5-29.5 1-3/32 to 1-1/8 Gujarat 8Bunny/Brahma29-321-5/32 to 1-
1/4+Maharastra / Madhya Pradesh/ Andhra Pradesh9MCU-531-34<1-1/4+Maharastra / Andhra
Pradesh/Tamilnadu/ Orissa10DCH 3234-361-3/8+Andhra Pradesh /Tamilnadu11Suvin38-401-
7/16+Tamil Nadu LABORATORY
SIM COT testing laboratory needs no introduction, as it is renowned in the cotton industry all over
India. We house USTER HVI 900 a most reputed and globally accepted testing machine from
USA. We maintain the temperature and humidity as per the recommended international
standards.
Tests are conducted at 20 C & humidity 65 _+ 2
Tests at Sim-cot are carried on in zellweger uster HVI 900 (USA) machine in HVI calibration
mode.
Sim-cot utilizes Bermer Certified (Germany) Machine for Testing.



Expo Dress Marketing Bangladesh
Expo Dress Marketing is a buying house established by a group of company with highly skilled
Merchandisers to meet the challenge of the requirement of apparel sector in world market.
The Merchandisers to meet the challenge of the requirement of apparel sector in world
market.
Gold Pacific Global Limited China
Gold Pacific Global Limited is a leading ASIAN SOURCING & SUPPLY Company with its
sourcing office in China. This Enterprise is run by the highly professional and dedicated group of
people having a gre.

Rough Private Limited Sri Lanka
Rough came into being in the year 2004 and ever since its establishment it has been a leading
manufacturer and marketer specializing in mens T-shirts and Jeans from Sri Lanka. The
company was incepted.

Nainas Apparel Private Limited India
Nainas Apparel Pvt. Ltd. is one of those rare organizations to which success has come naturally
since its inception in 1994. Naina?s Apparel has been in the garment manufacturing field since
the last
Nainas Apparel Pvt. Ltd. is one of those rare organizations to which success has come
naturally since its inception in 1994. Nainas Apparel has been in the garment manufacturing field
since the last fifteen years and has never compromised on quality. It specializes in hand
embroidery which is done on both Indian and imported fabrics, such as chiffon, tulle, organza,
lycra, silk and various other stretch knits. It does so with quality which other companies are
unable to match.
After its initial success in the field of embroidered textiles, high-fashion garments were the natural
avenue to progress to. This segment of the company began in 1995 and has seen
tremendous success. The cornerstone of this success has been the conscious effort to
integrate great quality and value-for-money pricing, using the latest print techniques and garment
washes, etc. It has also been the result of commitment to delivery schedules and a continuous
process of technology and skills upgradation. Today these qualities are recognized and
appreciated by garment importers the world over who see Nainas Apparel as an indispensable
partner to their business.
The company currently has about 150 machines for production with a capacity of 3500-5000
garments per month for the expansion plans for another 100 machines is currently on the cards.
We have been actively Pursuing the medium end youth fashion segment since the last 3 years
and have tasted immense success in this segment also with current capacity at 7000-7500
pieces per month. Impressive year on year growth has enabled the management to undertake
expansion plans in this product base, with an additional set-up of about 120 machines thereby
taking the production capacity to 30000 pieces per month. This would be operational by end of
2010.
We are also in the production of garment accessories like scarves, carry bags, Clutches &
Imitation Jewellery, though they are a small part of the turnover. Our expertise in segments of
value additions like Printing (Flat panels & All over Rotary), Machine embroideries &Technical
Garment Washes has given us a formidable edge in all garmenting segments over our
competitors. We have over 200 workers in-house for intricate handwork detailing for the first line
& the second line. In-fact the company had initiated its operations with the hand embroidery
panels segment, catering to some of the most well known names in the fashion Industry like
Versace, Gucci, Oscar De La Renta, and many others.
The clientele list would include some well known fashion houses like Pepe, Replay, Patrizia
Pepe, Liu Jo, Nolita, Paul & joe, Versace, Fashion box, Missoni, Ittierre (with whom we are
working for labels like Versace, Galliano, Cavalli, CNC, Exte & Gian Franco Ferre). The company
is also into retail operations under the name of NASHA, catering to the ever growing fashion &
design centric community in India.
We cater professionally driven designs and our product development team of 10 people which
form the core of the company considering our business structure. Each business segment
(Handwork panels, High fashion garments & Medium end youth fashion) has a separate team.



Bangladesh garments and itd product world market
Growth rate of the garments industry in Bangladesh
Economic contribution of the garments sector of Bangladesh economy:
Bangladesh is currently one of the 12 largest exporters of garments products in U.S.A and U.K. In
spite of this, the real situation does not come in front of the world. That is they are not becoming
influenced like before any more. We can see this by the price level of our garments products in
the world market. The quantity we are exporting is huge but at a very low price. In the statistics
the impact may be huge but the condition of Bangladesh is not improving at that satisfactory
level. In the term paper we will try to define the cause why the real situation is like this. It is
necessary because the sector is very promising in the environment of bbangladesh.
Bangladesh has a great comparative advantage in garments products that is low labor cost.
Because of this advantage Bangladesh can produce products more easily than other countries.
But labor is cheap here because people who are related to this sector are from very poor
background.
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Most of them are unskilled, uneducated. But if some steps are taken to improve the quality of
labor, the proper benefit of this comparative advantage can come out. The purpose of our term
paper is to overcome this problem and other related problems like cost of raw materials,
Insufficiency of loan in time, uncertainly of electricity, delay in getting materials, lack of
communication, problem in taxes etc. But in spite of these problems this can be the most
profitable sector of Bangladesh if we try to take some steps as follows:
Production of sufficient raw materials in the country.
Imparting training to make skilled workers.
Reduction of VAT and taxes
assurance of safety, salary and other facilities of the workers
More advanced of EPZ
Proper advantage of water houses
Removal of export problems etc.
Problems of Garments industry

The history of the Readymade Garments Sector in Bangladesh is a fairly recent one.
Nonetheless it is a rich and varied tale. The recent struggle to realize Workers Rights adds an
important episode to the story.

The RMG industry of Bangladesh has expanded dramatically over the last three decades.
Traditionally, the jute industry dominated the industrial sector of the country until the 1970s. Since
the early 1980s, the RMG industry has emerged as an important player in the economy of the
country and has gradually replaced the jute industry.

Although Bangladesh is not developed in industry, it has been enriched in Garment industries in
the recent past years. In the field of Industrialization garment industry is a promising step. The
sector now dominates the modern economy in export earnings, secondary impact and
employment generated. It has given the opportunity of employment to millions of unemployed,
specially innumerable uneducated women of the country. It is making significant contribution in
the field of our export income.

Bangladesh exports 35 types of garment products to about 31 countries around the world. The
RMG sector is a 100% export-oriented industry.

That Bangladesh today is considered an economic competitor in terms of international garment
manufacturing by other countries of the region and beyond is the country since gaining
independence in 1971. it appers much of the socio-economic development in the first decade of
the twenty-first century for Bangladesh and its approximately 1.5 million women workers depends
on the continuing success of the RMG industry.
Problems surrounding ready made garments sector:
The garment industry of Bangladesh has been the key export division and a main source of
foreign exchange for the last 25 years. National labor laws do not apply in the EPZs, leaving
BEPZA in full control over work conditions, wages and benefits. Garment factories in Bangladesh
provide employment to 40 percent of industrial workers. But without the proper laws the worker
are demanding their various wants and as a result conflict is began with the industry
1. Raw materials:
Bangladesh imports raw materials for garments like cotton, thread color etc. This dependence on
raw materials hampers the development of garments industry. Moreover, foreign suppliers often
supply low quality materials, which result in low quality products

2. Unskilled workers:
Most of the illiterate women workers employed in garments are unskilled and so their products
often become lower in quality.

3. Improper working environment:
Taking the advantages of workers poverty and ignorance the owners forced them to work in
unsafe and unhealthy work place overcrowded with workers beyond capacity of the factory floor
and improper ventilation.

Most of the garment factories in our country lack the basic amenities where our garment workers
sweat their brows from morning to evening to earn our countries the major portion of our foreign
exchange. Anybody visiting the factory the first impression he or she will have that these workers
are in a roost.

Improper ventilation, stuffy situation, filthy rooms are the characteristics of the majority of our
factories. The owners profit are the first priority and this attitude has gone to such an extent that
they do not care about their lives.

3. Lack of managerial knowledge:
There are some other problems which are associated with this sector. Those are- lack of
marketing tactics, absence of easily on-hand middle management, a small number of
manufacturing methods, lack of training organizations for industrial workers, supervisors and
managers, autocratic approach of nearly all the investors, fewer process units for textiles and
garments, sluggish backward or forward blending procedure, incompetent ports, entry/exit
complicated and loading/unloading takes much time, time-consuming custom clearance etc.
4. Gendered division of labor:
In the garment industry in Bangladesh, tasks are allocated largely on the basis of gender. This
determines many of the working conditions of women workers. All the workers in the sewing
section are women, while almost all those in the cutting, ironing and finishing sections are men.
Women workers are absorbed in a variety of occupations from cutting, sewing, inserting buttons,
making button holes, checking,cleaning the threads, ironing, folding, packing and training to
supervising.

Women work mainly as helpers, machinists and less frequently, as line supervisors and quality
controllers. There are no female cutting masters. Men dominate the administrative and
management level jobs. Women are discriminated against in terms of access to higher-paid white
collar and management positions.

When asked why they prefer to emply women foe sewing, the owner and managers gave several
reasons. Most felt that sewing is traditionally done by women and that women are more patient
and more controllable than men.

5. Wages:
The government of Bangladesh sets minimum wages for various categories of workers.
According of Minimum Wage Ordinance 1994, apprentices helpers are to receive Tk500 and
Tk930 per month respectively. Apprentices are helpers who have been working in the garment
industry for less than three months. After three months, Apprentices are appointed as helpers.
Often female helpers are discriminated against in terms of wages levels, and these wages are
also often fixed far below the minimum wage rate. A survey conducted in 1998 showed that 73%
of female helpers, as opposed to 15% of their male counterparts, did not receive even the
minimum wage.
6. Insufficient of loan:
Insufficiency of loan in time, uncertainly of electricity, delay in getting materials, lack of
communication, problem in taxes etc. Often obstruct the industry. In the world market 115 to 120
items of dress are in demand where as Bangladesh supplies only ten to twelve items of
garments. India, south Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan etc, have made
remarkable progress in garments industries. Bangladesh is going to challenge the garments of
those countries in the world market.

7. Unit labor cost:
Bangladesh has the cheapest unit labor cost in South Asia. It costs only 11 cents to produce a
shirt in Bangladesh, whereas it costs 79 cents in Sri Lanka and 26 cents in India. Clearly,
Bangladeshs comparative advantage lies in having the cheapest unit labor cost.

8. Working hours:
Though the wages are low, the working hours are very long. The RMG factories claim to operate
one eight-hour shift six days a week. The 1965 factory Act allows women to work delivery
deadlines; however, women are virtually compelled to work after 8 oclock. Sometimes they work
until 3 oclock in the morning and report back to start work again five hours later ar 8 oclock.
They are asked to work whole months at a time the Factory Act, which stipulates that no
employee should work more than ten days consecutively without a break.


9. Poor accommodation facilities:
As most of the garment workers come from the poor family and comes from the remote areas
and they have to attend to the duties on time, these workers have to hire a room near the factory
where four to five huddle in a room and spend life in sub human condition.

For four to five workers there is one common latrine and a kitchen for which they have to pay
from Tk=2000 to Tk=2500/-.They share this amount among themselves to minimize the
accommodation expense.

One cannot believe their eyes in what horrible condition they have to pass out their time after
almost whole day of hard work in the factory. After laborious job they come into their roost, cook
their food and have their dinner or lunch in unhygienic floor or bed and sleep where they take
their food. They share the single bed or sleep on the floor.

The owners of these factories must not treat the workers as animals. The owners of these
factories who drive the most luxurious car and live in most luxurious house do ever think that
these are the workers who have made their living so juicy. Will these selfish owners ever think of
these workers of their better living for the sake of humanity by providing better accommodation
for these workers in addition to providing with the job.

10. Safety Problems:
Because of the carelessness of the factory management and for their arrogance factory doors
used to be kept locked for security reason defying act

Safety need for the worker is mandatory to maintain in all the organization. But without the facility
of this necessary product a lot of accident is occur incurred every year in most of the company.
Some important cause of the accident are given below-

Routes are blocked by storage materials
Machine layout is often staggered
Lack of signage for escape route
No provision for emergency lighting
Doors, opening along escape routes, are not fire resistant
Doors are not self-closing and often do not open along the direction of escape
Adequate doors as well as adequate staircases are not provided to aid quick exit
Fire exit or emergency staircase lacks proper maintenance
Lack of proper exit route to reach the place of safety
Parked vehicles, goods and rubbish on the outside of the building obstruct exits to the open air
Fire in a Bangladesh factory is likely to spread quickly because the principle of
compartmentalization is practiced
10. Political crisis:
Garments industries often pay dearly for political unrest, hartal and terrorism etc. The
international market has withdrawn quota advantage over garments export form Bangladesh
since December 2005. Bangladesh has to advance cautiously for getting better position of her
garments in the world market. Finally destruction of twin tower in 11 September 2001. invasion on
Afghanistan and Iraq and depression in world Economy have seriously affected the export trade
of Bangladesh.

11. Price competitiveness:
China and some other competitors of Bangladesh have implemented sharp price-cutting policies
in exporting garment products over the last few years, but Bangladesh has failed to respond
effectively to such policies. China was able to drop the export price of 29 garment categories by
46 per cent on average in the United States within a year, from $6.23 per sq metre in December
2001 to $3.37 per sq metre in December 2002. Bangladesh needs to respond to such price-
cutting policies of its rivals in order to remain competitive in the quota-free global market.

12. Lead time:
Lead time refers to the time required for supplying the ordered garment products after the export
order has been received.
In the 1980s, the usual lead time in the garment industry was 120-150 days for the main garment
supplier countries of the world; it has been reduced to 30-40 days in the current decade.

However, in this regard the Bangladesh RMG industry has improved little; for example, the
average lead time is 90-120 days for woven garment firms and 60-80 days for knit garment firms.
In China, the average lead time is 40-60 days and 50-60 days for woven and knit products
respectively; in India, it is 50-70 days and 60-70 days for the same products respectively.
Bangladesh should improve its average lead time to compete in the international market.

The Ready-Made Garments (RMG) industry occupies a unique position in the Bangladesh
economy. It is the largest exporting industry in Bangladesh, which experienced phenomenal
growth during the last 25 years.

Given the remarkable entrepreneurial initiatives and the dedication of its workforce, Bangladesh
can look forward to advancing its share of the global RMG market
Prospect of Bangladesh garments industry

Bangladesh fears that its current political turmoil may lead to its garment industry losing out to
South and Southeast Asian competitors, including India.
Bangladeshs prime export earnings, next only to India ($12 billion) with an annual turnover of $8
billion and rising at a rate of 30 percent rate, could dip if the Jan 22 general elections do not bring
back political stability. Political turmoil combined with labour trouble that erupted frequently during
2006 has adversely affected the garment industry. Over 200 of the 600-plus factories were
damaged or destroyed during an agitation last summer.
Exports and even manufacture of readymade garments have suffered due to the rail-road-port
blockade that marked last two months of agitation, upsetting commitments made to foreign
buyers, who have begun to look elsewhere. Among them is Van Heusen, a major brand that has
shifted 30 percent of its requirements elsewhere, according to Bangladesh Garment
Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) chief S.M. Fazlul Hoque. The declining trend
of RMG (readymade garments) exports as observed during the October-December quarter this
fiscal would be felt further in the next January-March quarter, he told The Daily Star.

The decline in the growth rate already surfaced in the export figures of October as the woven
export growth came down to 22.70 percent from 31 percent in September.The exporters said
they had experienced a very low placement of orders since the last quarter.The chief of the apex
trade body of the sector said: A worse situation has prompted me to ask the government and
financial institutions for providing soft term loans to the RMG exporters just to continue the
workers salary and thus help survive the industry.
He alleged an international conspiracy to shift the export orders from Bangladesh to somewhere
else on the pretext of political uncertainty in the country.It will be difficult to retain the position as
a RMG exporting country unless normalcy is back in the political arena, Annisul Huq, a former
BGMEA chief, said.
Sources in the apparel sector said India earned $12 billion from apparel exports, while Pakistan
earned $3 billion, Sri Lanka $4 billion, Cambodia $2.2 billion, Vietnam $5 billion and Nepal nearly
$1 billion last year.
According to industry insiders, although Bangladesh is well ahead of many south Asian RMG
exporting countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Nepal, a sharp rise is
anticipated in exports from those countries and it is imminent that they emerge as strong
competitors.The exporters claimed that the country could achieve a tremendous growth in
garments export if the political situation and seaport remain normal.
We are hopeful that export earnings may reach $15 billion within the next five years, if the
election takes place peacefully and the country survives any major political uncertainty, Hoque
said. He said: If the situation does not improve, we will simply lose the game.
Prospects of the RMG Industry:
Despite many difficulties faced by the RMG industry over the past years, it continued to show its
robust performance and competitive strength. The resilience and bold trend in this MFA phase-
out period partly reflects the imposition of safeguard quotas by US and similar restrictions by EU
administration on China up to 2008, which has been the largest supplier of textiles and apparel to
USA. Other factors like price competitiveness, enhanced GSP facility, market and product
diversification, cheap labor, increased backward integration, high level of investment, and
government support are among the key factors that helped the country to continue the
momentum in export earnings in the apparel sector. Some of these elements are reviewed below.

Market Diversification:
Bangladeshi RMG products are mainly destined to the US and EU. Back in 1996-97, Bangladesh
was the 7th and 5th largest apparel exporter to the USA and European Union respectively. The
industry was successful in exploring the opportunities in markets away from EU and US. In FY07,
a successful turnaround was observed in exports to third countries, which having a negative
growth in FY06 rose three-fold in FY07, which helped to record 23.1 percent overall export
growth in the RMG sector. It is anticipated that the trend of market diversification will continue
and this will help to maintain the growth momentum of export earnings. At the same time a recent
WTO review points out that Bangladesh has not been able to exploit fully the duty free access to
EU that it enjoys. While this is pointed out to be due to stringent rules of origin (ROO) criteria, the
relative stagnation in exports to EU requires further analysis.

Product Diversification:
The growth pattern of RMG exports can be categorized into two distinct phases. During the initial
phase it was the woven category, which contributed the most. Second phase is the emergence of
knitwear products that powered the recent double digit (year-on-year) growth starting in FY04. In
the globalized economy and ever-changing fashion world, product diversification is the key to
continuous business success. Starting with a few items, the entrepreneurs of the RMG sector
have also been able to diversify the product base ranging from ordinary shirts, T-shirts, trousers,
shorts, pajamas, ladies and childrens wear to sophisticated high value items like quality suits,
branded jeans, jackets, sweaters, embroidered wear etc. It is clear that value addition accrues
mostly in the designer items, and the sooner local entrepreneurs can catch on to this trend the
brighter be the RMG future.

Backward Integration:
RMG industry in Bangladesh has already proved itself to be a resilient industry and can be a
catalyst for further industrialization in the country. However, this vital industry still depends heavily
on imported fabrics. After the liberalization of the quota regime some of the major textile suppliers
Thailand, India, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Taiwan increased their own RMG exports.

If Bangladesh wants to enjoy increased market access created by the global open market
economy it has no alternative but to produce textile items competitively at home through the
establishment of backward linkage with the RMG industry. To some extent the industry has
foreseen the need and has embarked on its own capacity building.

Flow of Investment:
It is plausible that domestic entrepreneurs alone may not be able to develop the textile industry
by establishing modern mills with adequate capacity to meet the growing RMG demand. It is
important to have significant flow of investment both in terms of finance and technology. Figure 3
indicates that the investment outlook in this sector is encouraging, although the uncertainties
before the MFA phase-out period caused a sluggish investment scenario. In part the momentum
in the post-MFA phase-out period is indicative of the efforts underway towards capacity building
through backward integration. This is evident in the pace of lending to the RMG sector and in the
rising import share of RMG related machinery. However further progress would be necessary to
improve and sustain competitiveness on a global scale
Recommendation
Policy Regime of Government
Government of Bangladesh has played an active role in designing policy support to the RMG
sector that includes back-to-back L/C, bonded warehouse, cash incentives, export credit
guarantee scheme, tax holiday and related facilities. At present government operates a cash
compensation scheme through which domestic suppliers to export- oriented RMG units receive a
cash payment equivalent to 5 percent of the net FOB value of exported garments. At the same
time, income tax rate for textile manufacturers were reduced to 15 percent from its earlier level for
the period up to June 30, 2008. The reduced tax rates and other facilities are likely to have a
positive impact on the RMG sector.

Infrastructural Impediments
The existence of sound infrastructural facilities is a prerequisite for economic development. In
Bangladesh, continuing growth of the RMG sector is dependent on the development of a strong
backward linkage in order to reduce the lead time. However, other factors constraining
competitiveness of Bangladeshs RMG exports included the absence of adequate physical
infrastructure and utilities.

Labor Productivity
The productive efficiency of labor is more important determinant for gaining comparative
advantage than the physical abundance of labor. In Bangladesh, the garment workers are mostly
women with little education and training. The employment of an uneven number of unskilled
labors by the garment factories results in low productivity and comparatively more expensive
apparels. Bangladesh labor productivity is known to be lower when it compared with of Sri Lanka,
South Korea and Hong Kong. Bangladesh must look for ways to improve the productivity of its
labor force if it wants to compete regionally if not globally. Because of cheap labor if our country
makes the labor productivity in the apex position, then we think the future of this sector is highly
optimistic.

Research and Training
The country has no dedicated research institute related to the apparel sector. RMG is highly
fashion oriented and constant market research is necessary to become successful in the
business. BGMEA has already established an institute which offers bachelors degree in fashion
designing and BKMEA is planning on setting up a research and training institute. These and
related initiatives need encouragement possibly intermediated by donor-assisted technology and
knowledge transfer. A facilitating public sector role can be very relevant here.

Supportive Government Policy
In contrast to the public sector-led import-substituting industrialization strategy pursued during the
first few years after independence, the industrialization philosophy of the government changed
rather dramatically from the late 1970s when the emphasis was on export-oriented growth to be
spearheaded by the private sector. Towards this end, various policy reforms were implemented in
the 1980s and 1990s. Some of these reformed policies contributed considerably to the growth of
the RMG industry in Bangladesh.
During the 1980s, a number of incentives were introduced to encourage export activities. Some
of them were new like the Bonded Warehouse Facility (BWF), while others like the Export
Performance License (XPL) Scheme
37 were already in operation and were improved upon. Also, rebates were given on import duties
and indirect taxes, there were tax reductions on export income, and export financing was
arranged. Under the XPL scheme, exporters of non-traditional products received import licenses
for specific products over and above their normal percentage allotment based on the f.o.b. value
of their exports. Under the Duty Drawback System, exporters of manufactured goods were
entitled to get refund of duties and taxes paid on imported inputs used in export production, and
also all excise duties paid on exported finished goods. For certain fast-moving items such as
RMG, a notional system of duty payments was adopted in 1982-83. Under this system, exporters
were exempted from paying duties and taxes on imports used in export production at the time of
importation, but were required to keep records of raw and 21packaging materials imported. The
duties and taxes payable on the imports were kept in a suspense account. Liabilities to pay the
amounts in suspense were removed on proof of exports.
The discussion in this section clearly points to the positive contribution made by policy reforms to
the growth of the RMG industry in Bangladesh. In particular, two policies the SBW facility and
the back-to-back L/C system- led to significant reduction in cost of producing garments and
enhanced competitiveness of Bangladeshs garments exports. It also allowed garment
manufacturers to earn more profit which, when necessary, could be used to overcome difficulties
arising from weak governance. Furthermore, poor governance, reflected in the leakage of duty-
free imported fabrics in the domestic market, paradoxically enough also helped the garment
manufacturers to earn extra profit and thereby enabled them to absorb the high cost of doing
businesses a fall out of bad governance.

Things to be done for solving the problem:
Bangladesh economy at present is more globally integrated than at any time in the past. The
MFA phase-out will lead to more efficient global realignments of the Garments and Clothing
industry. The phase out was expected to have negative impact on the economy of Bangladesh.
Recent data reveals that Bangladesh absorbed the shock successfully and indeed RMG exports
grew significantly both in FY06 and (especially) in FY07. Due to a number of steps taken by the
industry, Bangladesh still remains competitive in RMG exports even in this post phase-out period.
Our Garments Industries can improve their position in the world map by reducing the overall
problems. Such as management labor conflict, proper management policy, efficiency of the
manager, maintainable time schedule for the product, proper strategic plan etc.
Government also have some responsibility to improve the situation by providing- proper policy to
protect the garments industries, solve the license problem, quickly loading facility in the port,
providing proper environment for the work, keep the industry free

from all kind of political problem and the biasness. Credit must be provided when the
industry fall in need.
To be an upper position holder in the world Garments Sector there is no way except follow the
above recommendations. We hope by maintaining proper management and policy strategies our
country will take the apex position in future.

Suggestions Regarding Fire Safety
We need to remember that when there is a fire, the first thing one should do is to run away from
it. And this is what everyone does in such a situation. But the situation become dangerous and
tragic when the escape doorways and gates are found locked. Precautionary should need to be
adopted are given below:

Building should be constructed with fire resisting materials
Adequate exits and proper escape routes should be designed
Protection against fire and smoke should be ensured
Electrical wiring must be properly designed, installed and maintained
Escape routes should be lighted at all times, kept clear, be indicated by signs
Regular fire drills should be held
Doors should be protected and should open along the direction of escape
Doors should not open on the steps and sufficient space should be provided.
Smoke/Fire alarm systems must be installed adequate number of extinguishers should be provided
Prior relationship with local Fire services should be established
Conclusion:
The Ready-Made Garments (RMG) industry occupies a unique position in the Bangladesh
economy. It is the largest exporting industry in Bangladesh, which experienced phenomenal
growth during the last 25 years. By taking advantage of an insulated market under the provision
of Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) of GATT, it attained a high profile in terms of foreign exchange
earnings, exports, industrialization and contribution to GDP within a short span of time. The
industry plays a key role in employment generation and in the provision of income to the poor. To
remain competitive in the post-MFA phase, Bangladesh needs to remove all the structural
impediments in the transportation facilities, telecommunication network, and power supply,
management of seaport, utility services and in the law and order situation. The government and
the RMG sector would have to jointly work together to maintain competitiveness in the global
RMG market. Given the remarkable entrepreneurial initiatives and the dedication of its workforce,
Bangladesh can look forward to advancing its share of the global RMG market.