- Bangladesh is the second-largest exporter of RMG products
Nearly 800 readymade garment factories have been closed down for various reasons, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed has said.
“Of them, production at 39 factories were totally stopped while production at 42 other factories were partially suspended due to their failure to ensure safety of the workers,” he told the Parliament on Monday.
Tofail said there were 5,190 RMG factories in the country. “Of them 4,834 are export oriented.”
The 2013 Rana Plaza disaster that killed over 1,100 RMG workers brought the world’s attention to the worker safety issues.
Minister Tofail said North American retailers’ group Alliance and the European group Accord had conducted safety inspection at 3,746 export oriented factories.
Bangladesh is the second largest manufacturer of readymade goods after China. Low production cost and cheap labour have been attributed to Bangladesh’s RMG success.
Replying to a question, he said Bangladesh earned $23,762.95 million from exporting RMG products until May of the outgoing fiscal year.
The government has undertaken various steps to boost RMG export, he added.
Source: Dhaka Tribune