With the hosting of the two-day Denim Expo at the city’s Radisson hotel, Bangladesh puts yet another signal to the global denim buyers and marketing chain that the industry here is capable to meet their growing demand both in terms of quantity and quality of the produce.
Denim Expert Ltd based in Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone in Chittagong puts on display the fair on Tuesday last where 50 companies — 18 from Bangladesh and the rest from 14 other countries took part. .
Speaking at the inaugural of the fair Gerben de Jong, ambassador of the Netherlands lauded the emergence of Bangladesh as a major player in denim products worldwide. He made the forecast that the country may be a one-stop source for denim products for international vendors and retailers and it is moving fast to that direction.
“The expo is sending out a positive sign to the world that Bangladesh is not a place for tragic incidents, but also a good source of garment items,” he maintained.
He said at the first review meeting of the Sustainability Compact in the Belgian capital of Brussels in recent past, everybody widely recognised the progress that Bangladesh made in workplace safety after the Rana Plaza building collapse.
Jong was one of the participants in the review meeting. After the Rana Plaza building collapse, Bangladesh signed the Sustainability Compact with the EU involving International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva on July last year. Bangladesh made promises to improve workplace safety, labour rights and present responsible business behaviour.
He said “much progress has been made in fire and building safety in the country in the last one year,”
President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Atiqual Islam told the meeting that such an expo is a message to people worldwide that Bangladesh is a place for garment business..
He said Rana Plaza incident does not reflect the entire industry. Bangladesh has done a good job in showcasing the country’s strengths in the sector by making the turn around through implementation of the compliance package.
Denim Expert Ltd Managing Director and the organizer of the event Mostafiz Uddin sounded highly hopeful of the impact of the trade fair. “It is a big day as we can host such a major international event here. It is a non-profit expo and I believe, it will boost the country’s image,” he maintained.
He said with growing global demand local entrepreneurs are investing heavily in denim. It is bear out by the fact that at least six new factories are coming into operation by the yearend, industry insiders said.
Bangladesh has 25 denim factories that produce around 20 million yards of denim fabric a month. Total investment in the sub-sector stands at Tk 6,500 crore.
The country’s share in the $60-billion global market is still insignificant at around $600 million a year.
Bangladeshi denim fabric makers meet 40 per cent of the local demand by exporters; imports account for the rest.
Source: Weekly Holiday
