US finds rights not well

Grim human, labour rights situation presented at congressional hearing; buyers wrote PM 2 letters in 4 months about hiking RMG workers' wage, probing death of labour leader Aminul

Days after two dozen top global apparel buyers gathered in Dhaka to share concerns over persistent labour unrest, top US officials painted a grim picture of Bangladesh's human and labour rights situation in a Congress hearing Thursday.

This could ultimately affect the country's exports and trade relations with the US if immediate measures were not taken to improve the conditions.

The garment sector, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the exports, could bear the brunt as major buyers from the US and European countries had been continuing to express their unhappiness over the labour rights situation at factories in Bangladesh.

The buyers seemed very serious about the issue and they had even written two letters to the prime minister in the last three months urging her to intervene and improve the labour rights situation and try the killers of a labour leader.

Eric R Biel, acting assistant deputy undersecretary to the Department of Labour's Bureau of International Labour Affairs, told the Congress hearing on human rights situation in Bangladesh, "Working with colleagues at the State Department we reached out to leading companies within days of the Aminul Islam murder."

Aminul, a local leader of Bangladesh Centre for Workers Solidarity (BCWS), one of the most important and credible local partners of the US advancing labour rights in Bangladesh, was found tortured and murdered after having been engaged in efforts to help factory workers form a union.

Robert O Blake, Jr, assistant secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, also voiced concerns over the involvement of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in extrajudicial killings and disappearances.

He also said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted the US concern about the murder of labour rights activist Aminul and the disappearance of opposition leader Ilias Ali.

"The rights of workers were also front-and-centre on the Secretary's visit to Bangladesh. We have urged the government of Bangladesh to allow workers to freely form unions, and allow organisations that seek to protect worker's rights to operate freely."

"This is not only an ethical question, but also one that has the potential to have a huge impact on the Bangladeshi economy," he said.

Blake also said American and other foreign buyers were increasingly unwilling to have their valuable brand names associated with abuse of workers' rights and it was clearly in Bangladesh's interests to make progress on this issue.

The ready-made garments industry employs millions of Bangladeshis, 90 percent of who are women.

At the hearing, Biel said, "Violations in key sectors like ready-made garments and shrimp remain widespread, and the still-unresolved killing of Aminul Islam raises new concerns that those advocating on the front lines for the interests of Bangladeshi workers may remain targets of powerful interests opposed to such reforms.

"We join the Department of State in our commitment to continue to closely monitor the ongoing investigation of the Aminul killing in order to ensure transparency, accountability, and justice for his family, his colleagues at the BCWS, and others engaged in the effort to advocate for workers in Bangladesh and improve working conditions and their overall quality of life."

He said the concerns about labour rights in Bangladesh were significant and cut across key sectors of the Bangladesh economy. They included violations of freedom of association and unsafe working conditions in the rapidly-growing garment sector, as well as child labour in the “informal” garment sector, he said.

He said there were similar kinds of violations in shrimp farming and processing sectors; and widespread violations of freedom of association in the country's export processing zones (EPZs), which are governed by a separate set of labour laws.

The US official claimed that the US-based BCWS' advocacy for workers had made it the target of government hostility. "For example, the government has deregistered BCWS and, in 2010, filed criminal charges against its leaders. Those charges have yet to be dismissed, despite an absence of any clear evidence to support them."

The US official said they would continue to press senior government officials of Bangladesh for a resolution that would enable the BCWS to continue its important work.
Biel hinted that the US could use the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme, through which the US provides unilateral trade preferences to developing countries, to establish internationally-recognised workers' rights in Bangladesh.

The US had been engaged in a formal review of Bangladesh's compliance with the GSP eligibility criteria since 2007, when the AFL-CIO filed a petition alleging serious violations of labour rights in the country.

"That review continues," said Biel, according to the website of the US Department of Labour.

He said there were an estimated 3.5 million workers in the RMG sector. The recent growth in the sector had come with a high cost in terms of worker injuries and even deaths due to factory fires and other unsafe working conditions.

Biel also told the hearing that leading brands that source from Bangladesh have recently spoken out about labour violence, unsafe working conditions, and other labour rights concerns.

He said, "Trade associations representing major apparel, retail, footwear, and licensing industries doing business in Bangladesh wrote to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on April 18 expressing deep concern about the killing and calling for a comprehensive, impartial, and prompt investigation followed by accountability for the perpetrators."

On June 21, a large group of key buyers of apparel and textile products from Bangladesh again wrote to the prime minister, highlighting in particular that the government of Bangladesh had not established any mechanism to adjust the minimum wage upward in order to keep pace with inflation and help address the basic needs of the workers, he said.

The top global apparel buyers who had met in Dhaka recently were also due to write to the prime minister about the conditions of the garment and textile sectors and the prospects of their business in Bangladesh.

Biel said buyers, particularly in the RMG sector, should do more to leverage their market power to help improve the labour conditions in Bangladesh.

The US is the single largest export destination for Bangladeshi garment items. The EU comprises 55 percent of the sector's annual export volume.

HRW ON BANGLADESH

The US government should continue to press Bangladesh to improve on labour issues and women's rights, reform abusive security forces, and meet its obligations to refugees, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.

In a hearing before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the US Congress, John Sifton, Asia advocacy director of the US-based HRW, said, “The people of Bangladesh have suffered a great deal of human rights abuses under successive governments, abuses that have all too often been ignored outside of the country.”

He also said, “The situation in the country deserves regular and high-level attention from the US, the UN, and others.”

Sifton outlined key areas of concern in his testimony, including the murder of a prominent labour rights activist, harassment of domestic rights groups, ongoing abuses by Rab, the need to repeal antiquated discriminatory laws, and the country's failure to provide refuge to ethnic Rohingya fleeing Myanmar.

- The Daily Star, Saturday, July 21, 2012

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Trade deficit hits $5.70b in 9 months on falling export

Despite the decrease in import payments, the country’s trade deficit soared by 17.32 per cent to $ 5.70 billion in the first eight months of the current financial year compared to the same period of FY2010-11 due to falling export growth.

The current account balance from July to February also declined by 31.83 per cent year on year but the balance continued to remain in positive zone for the sake of double digit remittance growth in the period.

A Bangladesh Bank official said a fall in imports in the first eight months could not help much in narrowing the trade gap amid a sharp decline in export growth.

According to Bangladesh Bank data released on Monday, the country’s import payments surged to $ 21.70 billion against exports worth $ 16 billion in July-February in the current FY2011-12.

In the first eight months this year, import grew by 14.44 per cent against 41.92 per cent in the same period last year.

However, during the period this year, exports rose by 13.45 per cent, while the growth was around 40.42 percent last year.

The total trade gap was $ 4.85 billion in July-February FY2010-11 whereas the trade gap in the first eight months of the current financial year stood at $ 5.70 billion.

Import of food, raw materials and capital machinery went down but that of petroleum marked a sharp rise in the first eight months.

According to BB data released in previous week, petroleum import increased by 49.63 percent in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Such growth was 50.05 per cent during the same period last year.

LC opening for petroleum import soared by 97.50 per cent in the first eight months of this year. Such growth was 10.11 per cent during the same period last financial year.

AB Mirza Azizul Islam, former adviser to the past interim government, told New Age on Monday that the trade gap soared mainly due to continuing huge import of fuel oils by the government for running the costly rental power plants.

He said that import growth of petroleum in July-February of the current financial year was slightly lower than that of the same period of FY 2010-11.

But the petroleum import growth in FY 2009-10 was not high like in FY 2010-11 and FY 2011-12 as the government did not start the quick rental power plants at that time, he said.

The trade deficit may increase more in the next month due to lower import growth in March 2012 compared to the same period of the previous year, he said.

The current account balance or the difference between the country’s saving and its investment in July-February of FY2011-12 came down to $ 681 million, or declined by 31.83 per cent, from that of $ 999 million in the same period of FY2010-11.

Despite a double digit growth in remittance in the first eight months, the current account balance decreased because of a lower growth of the foreign direct investment into the country.

BB data showed that the FDI in July-February had stood at $ 490 million or 0.62 per cent higher against $ 487 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Moreover, foreign aid and grants also significantly diminished recently which negatively hampered current account balance, officials said.

The BB official said that trade gap has made a negative impact on the country’s forex reserve which has now come down to $9.67 billion from the $10 billion-mark after import bills payment to Asian Clearing Union in the first week of the March. The forex reserve which hit a record $11.32 billion in March 2011 continued to remain lower due to the higher import bills payment by the government, they said.

Source: The New Age, Tue, 10/04/2012

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ICC-B demands duty-free market access

International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh ((ICC-B) President Mahbubur Rahman has demanded duty- free market access for least developed countries (LDCs) to developing and developed countries.

"The G-20 should recognize explicitly that there are some members of the global community, such as the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), who require support to enable them to benefit from the processes of globalization," he said.

Rahman submitted his suggestion before the ICC G20 advisory Group for its consideration and inclusion in the policy recommendations.

The ICC G20 Advisory Group, an initiative of the ICC, consulted with the CEOs of leading regional and global companies to deliver business input on economic growth and job creation to G20 leaders, said an ICC press release issued here today.

The roundtable was held in Hong Kong on September 22-23 hosted by ICC honorary chairman Victor K. Fung, also Chairman of the Li & Fung group of companies.

Outcomes of the discussions will form a basis for business views being brought to the G20 Summit, 3-4 November this year.

Victor K. Fung said recent events have shown the fragility of economic recovery, and highlighted the need for forward- looking measures to support trade, global economic cooperation and job creation.

"Business has an important contribution to make to the global recovery in terms of job creation. And a concerted "jobs agenda" from global leaders would in turn do much to boost confidence in the business community," he said.

ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier said "Trade will play a key role in tackling the jobs crisis", adding that "Economic growth depends largely on the capacity of G20 governments to improve the conditions for international trade and job creation, and business stands ready as a partner in this recovery."

The roundtable brought together CEOs of leading companies from Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and France.

The ICC G20 Advisory Group is, among other things, encouraging G20 leaders to reenergize multilateral trade negotiations prior to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in December.

The ICC G20 Advisory Group - which is comprised of more than 20 members at the helm of global corporations such as Daesung, Hanwha, Infosys Technologies, Nestle, McGraw Hill, Repsol, Royal Dutch Shell and SEB - is building a platform for substantive business engagement with the G20.

The other members of the ICC Bangladesh delegation attended the consultation are ICC Bangladesh Vice-President Latifur Rahman, Apex Adelchi Footwear Chairman Syed Manzur Elahi, and MCCI President Major Gen Amjad Khan Chowdhury (Retd).

Quote: A moment is the answer to all of lifes mysteries! 

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Textile Minister Criticises Finance Minister for Export Tax Hike

The jute and textiles minister has criticised the finance minister for increasing tax on exports.

Speaking during the budget discussion in parliament on Tuesday, Abdul Latif Siddiqui said the budgetary measures would create problems for the readymade garment (RMG) sector. ‘The RMG sector is in distress and in such a situation, if tax is increased, it will add salt to injury,’ he said.

‘NGOs are creating problem for the sector, workers are instigated and a vested quarter is trying to destroy the export sector,’ the minister said.

‘The tax imposition in the budget is not balanced and I request the finance minister to revise it,’ he added.

Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith in the budget for 2011-12 proposed to increase export tax from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

‘Cotton price in the international market is very volatile and it has pushed up the thread price,’ Siddiqui said, adding, ‘It hits the RMG sector hard.’

‘The sector needs incentive package.’

Siddiqui said the jute sector had reinvigorated as farmers were getting fair price of the golden fibre.

‘I thanked the finance minister to relieve the sector from all the liabilities, but that’s not enough,’ he said.

No business would run without capital, and therefore, he urged the finance minister to provide capital for the next one year.

Source: The New Age, Wed, 15/06/2011

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BGMEA for Source Tax Cut on Export Value

The leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) yesterday expressed concern over imposing source tax on apparel manufacturers in the proposed budget.

At a statement on Saturday, the BGMEA said if the government imposes 1.5 per cent source tax on the garment owners, then it would raise 55 percent to 60 percent risk factors for the woven and knitwear sectors.

In that case, the entrepreneurs will not be able to run their industries, the BGMEA leaders added.

They urged the government to withdraw new source tax imposed in the garments sector and keep it at previous rate of 0.25 percent as of that in fiscal year 2009-10.

“During pre-budget discussions, we requested the finance minister to keep source tax at 0.25 percent, but our proposal was not accepted.”

The source tax could only be imposed on the imported value of the products, not on organisations, the BGMEA said adding most of the industries in apparel sector are small and medium industries and their income from export is also much less, which is generally 1 percent to 3 percent.

In this context, the industries would not sustain if the source tax is more than their income rate, the BGMEA added.

BKMEA demands cut in furnace oil price.

UNB adds: Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) on Sunday demanded tax cut at source on export value and fix it at 0.40 percent to help ensure growth of the sector.

The BKMEA in its post-budget discussion meeting at Narayanganj Club also demanded reducing price of furnace oil so that it can be used as an alternative to gas which has a crisis in the country right now.

It, however, thanked the government and Finance Minister AMA Muhith for reducing duty on imported chemicals used in ETP, extending renewal time of bond license, announcing cash incentive for knitwear sector and other budgetary measures for the sector’s growth.

BKMEA members were present in the meeting.

-UNB, Mon, 13/06/2011

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Indian Cotton Exports Create Artificial Shortage

By Seshadri Ramkumar


The export of 5.5 million bales of cotton from India during the early part of this cotton year has created an artificial cotton shortage in India, said Shishir Jaipuria, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI). In the statement released by CITI on May 31, it was reported that cotton textile spinning mills have decided to continue with the voluntary production slash of 33-40% from June 1 until the stock situation improves.

Indian cotton exports during the early part of this cotton year have created an artificial cotton shortage in India (Image source: Cotton Incorporated)

The recent one-day strike by Indian spinning mills on May 23 and the subsequent production reduction has resulted in a loss of 600 crore rupees.

Mr Jaipuria stated that the CITI has requested no further export of cotton until the arrival of next year's crop.

CITI has demanded urgent steps from the Indian Government to address the crisis situation that the spinning mills and the entire textile value-chain are facing.

However, the fate the cotton exports is likely to be decided on June 2, when the Group of Ministers from the Ministries of Finance, Agriculture, Textiles and Commerce are expected to convene, according to a recent news report on The Hindu.

Source: ATA Editorial Team

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Bangladesh Govt. Awards Exporters in Recognition of their Performances in Exports

Export Trophy Winners for 2008-09 at Osmani Memorial Auditorium

The government yesterday awarded export trophies to 39 businessmen in recognition of their extraordinary performances in exports in fiscal 2008-09.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed the trophies and certificates to the awardees at a programme at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital as the chief guest.

The state-owned Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) gave the awards to the exporters of 19 sectors under three categories. The awards included 19 gold, 13 silver and seven bronze trophies.

The EPB recognises the exporters every year by assessing their performances in quantity, value addition, entrance to new export destinations, new design and packaging and maintenance of quality of the products.

"The EPB followed the national export trophy policy 2006 for distributing the trophies to the exporters as a measure of inspiration," said Jalal Ahmed, vice-chairman of the government agency.

Ghulam Hussain, commerce secretary, said the government will distribute the export trophies for fiscal 2009-10 in the middle of the current year.

He said Bangladesh now exports 168 types of products to 187 destinations. "Exports may cross the $20 billion mark at the end of the current fiscal year, as the trend was positive in the last nine months," Hussain added.

He said the gas and power crises might slow down the industrial sector's progress.

The country's exports may cross the $35-$40 billion mark in the next few years, said AK Azad, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).

But the country needs improved infrastructures to continue such a big boost in the export sector, Azad added. The size of the country's annual budget for 2011-12 may cross Tk 1.63 lakh crore ($22.36 billion), he added.

The contribution of the business community in the economy is increasing every year, he added. "So their opinions should get priority in decision making," Azad said.

He urged the prime minister to take opinions from the business community while forming policies on the caretaker government system.

During the last caretaker government, many businessmen were either sent to the jail or were on the run, he added.

"We don't want the situation to repeat," Azad said.

"Many businessmen migrated to Canada or Malaysia to escape the humiliation of the caretaker government."

Commerce Minister Faruk Khan said, in future elections at all trade bodies will be held using the electronic voting system to maintain transparency and credibility.

Zaber and Zobaer Fabrics Ltd got two gold trophies -- one of those for the highest earning at $125.30 million during the year.

News Source: The Daily Star, Fri, 08/04/2011

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Demanding Separate Ministry for RMG in Bangladesh

Bangladesh export-oriented Readymade Garments (RMG) Manufacturing and Primary Textile (PT) sector with back up support of the Accessory (trimming & packaging) industries, contribute 76 percent to total export-earnings of the country. So we can demand a separate ministry for RMG (Apparel) industry here in Bangladesh. The Apparel Makers' blog is agreed to this Editorial published on Financial Express on 30/03/2011, and demanding the same. As a beneficiary of this industry you can also demand for a separate ministry, just raise your voice by commenting in this post.
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Separate Ministry for RMG [Editorial on Financial Express]

With the global economy showing some signs of recovery in recent months from the crisis, the exports of Bangladesh's readymade garments (RMG) have remarkably picked up. But some domestic hurdles are still in place. The immediate past president of the Bangladesh Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), while speaking at a farewell reception late last week, pointed out some such problems like bureaucratic snags and infrastructural deficit that "are slowing down the normal growth of the RMG sector". He demanded the creation of a separate ministry for the RMG sector. He lamented that the RMG factory owners had to spend hours after hours for getting the necessary paper works, relating to shipment, investment and utilities, done in government offices.

The former BGMEA top boss also disclosed a few statistics about the staggering additional costs that the RMG owners had to count due to inadequate infrastructures, high lending rates, soaring cotton prices and mismanagement at the country's main seaport. According to him, last year RMG exporters had to spend an extra Tk.20 billion on air shipment to meet the buyers' deadline. The production cost in the RMG sector has gone up by at least 45 per cent because of power and energy crisis. The crisis had forced the RMG units to spend an estimated Tk 40 billion on fuel oils last year to operate their own generators to cope with frequent power outages.

The problems, as has been cited by the immediate past president of BGMEA, do thus illustrate amply a deep-in-the-mire operational situation for the country's export-oriented readymade garments (RMG) sector, which is in no way, unlike the case in other major areas in the economy. A host of factors, domestic and external, has been hurting the RMG sector in particular. Notwithstanding this, it has emerged as the largest contributor to the country's export earnings, thus serving as one strong source of its economic growth. The sector is only second to agriculture as far as employment generation is concerned. The RMG exporters are otherwise helpless about meeting the challenges of negative developments in the international market; they have no control over the exogenous factors like the shrinking demand for apparels in the recent times in the developed markets that were hit by one of the worst financial crisises in the world's history.

But the problems on the domestic front are different. These can - and should - be addressed to a great extent through coordinated policy-actions. In this context, the demand for setting up a ministry exclusively for the RMG sector to help it overcome the problem of red tape, in particular, has been a long-standing one, by the related industry circles. Many in this sector tend to believe that considering RMG's contribution to the economy, the demand is justified. But one point for consideration here is whether the formation of a separate ministry for this particular sector will be of any practical help as far as power and port situations are concerned. It might be helpful in expediting the paper works, provided the officials manning the ministry are sincere and dutiful - the qualities that are rare in Bangladesh bureaucracy. There are ministries that are meant exclusively for certain sectors. But the situation there is hardly any different from what is prevailing in ministries that are handling multiple sectors.

Prior to establishing any exclusive ministry for any sector, it is of utmost importance to reform the bureaucracy. Committees and commissions have been galore since independence of the country to reform the public administration. But nothing has happened. In most cases, the reports prepared by those bodies have been successfully pushed under the rug. It is unlikely there would be a fresh attempt anytime soon to bring about dynamism in the country's civil administration. And as far as power and energy situation is concerned, all, including those in the RMG sector, would have to keep their finger crossed.

EDITORIAL: Financial Express, Wed, 30/03/2011

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Exports grow 40pc in the first eight months of the current fiscal year

Workers iron clothes at a garment factory in Gazipur

Exports grew by 40.28 percent in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, compared to the same period a year ago, the government said yesterday.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the country exported goods worth $14.08 billion during July-February of fiscal 2010-11, up from $10.31 billion in the same period of 2009-10.

In February alone, exports grew by 43.33 percent to $1.89 billion, compared to the same month of the previous year, according to government data.

The EPB report shows exports of major products -- knitwear, woven, jute and jute goods, home textile, frozen foods, shrimp, leather goods -- have grown significantly during July-February period.

Among the major exported products, in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, the knitwear sector earned $5.80 billion, which is a 43.93 percent rise from the same period in the previous year.

Woven garment exports grew 37.95 percent to $5.13 billion, compared to the same-year-ago-period. At the same time, products such as tea, chemical products, bicycle, furniture, engineering products and petroleum by-products showed negative growth.

However, EPB set a target to earn $18.5 billion for the current fiscal year, which is 14.16 percent more than the actual earnings last year. During 2009-10, the total export earnings were $16.2 billion against a target of $17.6 billion, which was 4.11 percent higher than the 2008-2009 earnings.

On the growth of exports of the country, EPB vice-chairman Jalal Ahmed said 40 percent export growth has been maintained over the last few months, which is a positive sign in the overseas trade of the country.

The export of jute and jute goods has been increasing thanks to higher demand, part of the reason for higher growth in exports out of Bangladesh. The export of jute and jute goods grew by 51.04 percent to $734.39 million during July-February compared to the same period of the last year.

Moreover, the exports to the EU are growing significantly because of relaxed rules of origin under the generalised system of preferences (e), Ahmed said. The EU's relaxed rules for the least developed countries came into effect from January 1.

Exports are increasing mainly for higher exports to new destinations and because buyers are shifting to Bangladesh from China, the largest apparel supplying country worldwide, said Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

But the steady export growth is dependent on uninterrupted supply of gas and power to the industrial units and improved port management system, he added.

Salim Osman, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, linked the export growth to product diversification. Buyers have now more choices in Bangladesh, which was not possible earlier, he said.

The Daily Star, Thu, 10/03/2011

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Dhaka pushes for GSP renewal

Dhaka has sought US congressmen's help for the renewal of GSP (generalised system of preferences) facilities to Bangladesh and reintroduction of the NPTDA 2009 Bill at the new Congress.

Bangladesh ambassador to the USA Akramul Qader met congressmen Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and Jim McDermott, (D-WA) on Thursday at their offices and sought the support, according to a press release issued by Bangladesh embassy in the US on Friday.

The GSP and New Partnership for Trade Development Act 2009 Bill are expected to help Bangladesh get more access to the US market.

The envoy expressed satisfaction over the recent introduction of a bill at the US Senate, aiming to extend GSP facilities.

He, however, voiced concern over a proposal for amendment to the bill which will have detrimental effect on the exports of some beneficiary countries in the US market," the release said.

Both the congressmen assured of their cooperation to help Bangladesh so that no harmful step is taken in this regard, the release added.

The Bangladesh envoy also briefed them about the present status of the government initiative to bring those involved in genocide in 1971 to justice.

He told the congressmen that there was no scope for human right violations while bringing them to justice as the government is committed to ensuring a fair and transparent trial as per its election mandate.

Qader welcomed Congressman McDermott when he informed that he would be visiting Bangladesh some time in April next.

BDNews24, Sat, 19/02/2011

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23 overseas missions surpass export targets

The majority of Bangladesh's overseas missions, including key ones like Washington, Berlin, Ottawa, Madrid, The Hague, London and Paris, achieved their export targets for the first five months in the current fiscal year.

The actual export earnings for July-November were US$ 8.3 billion, an impressive 15.85 percent higher than the target of US$ 7.1 billion. Also, the figure is nearly 36 percent higher than it was in the same period a year earlier.

Out of the 44 Bangladesh missions, 23 achieved their export targets, shows Export PromotionBureau data.

The 23 missions are New Delhi, The Hague, Berlin, Amman, Ottawa, Muscat, Hanoi, Canberra, Hong Kong, Kuwait City, Riyadh, Dubai, Brussels, Moscow, Pretoria, Ankara, Paris, Tashkent, Washington DC, London, Stockholm, Singapore and Madrid.

Although 21 could not achieve their targets, the export growth for 15 of them was higher than the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. These are Nairobi, Manama (Bahrain),
Seoul, Beijing, Kathmandu, Islamabad, Doha, Manila, Rabat, Tokyo,Tehran, Thimpu, Rome, Cairo and Colombo.

However, export growth of six missions Tripoli, Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Brunei and Yangon -- was down from the corresponding period a year ago.

The success rate was higher amongst those missions with commercial wings, which helped facilitate trade and commerce better. Out of the 16 missions that have this facility, 11 achievedtargets.

They include Moscow, Washington, Berlin, Canberra, Ottawa, Paris, London, Brussels, Madrid, Dubai and New Delhi.

Three out of the 5 commercial wings that lagged behind targets saw a rise in exports over the period of the year before. These three missions are Beijing, Tokyo and Tehran.

Kuala Lumpur and Yangon have commercial wings but saw exports decline.

- Daily Star, Sun, 09/01/2011

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$20b annual RMG exports knocking on door

Bangladesh can earn $20 billion from the shipments of readymade garments and some textile products by the end of this year.

The Export Promotion Bureau’s data showed that in the January-December period in 2010 the export earnings from ready-made garments (RMG) amounted to almost $15 billion with around 25 per cent growth.

Exporters, representative of importers and economist said that a robust growth of the demand for Bangladeshi garments last year and new market opportunities clearly indicate that even more growth is possible this year.

Styles that Outsource from Bangladesh

But they said that such opportunities can be missed if smooth supply of workers and energy and congenial worker-owner relations are not ensured.

A top executive of the Dhaka sourcing office of a major European retailer said that 2011 should be better than 2010 for Bangladesh’s garment sector due to more growth in shipments, both in terms of volume and value.

‘Demand from importers is really so high now that increasing garment export earnings by hundred per cent or even more is possible for Bangladesh, but growth may be similar to last year’s growth or slightly more due to poor infrastructures,’ he said.

He suggested that improvement of productivity in existing factories, increased supply of gas and power and development of more infrastructures are crucial factors now for the industry’s growth.

The EPB’s data showed that shipments in terms of value of readymade garments, in the January-December period in 2010, totaled $14,846 million against $11,892 million last year.

The EPB said that garment exports grew by 42 per cent to $8 billion in the July-December period of the current FY 2010-11 Shipments of textiles, terry towels and other textile products earned nearly $800 million in 2010, and observers say that their earnings can rise to between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion in 2011.

In 2009 RMG shipments showed almost no growth as the tail impact of the severe recession in the EU and US markets caused decline in the demand for garments. However, Bangladesh’s export shipments on an average in that year did not decline like that of the other major apparel exporting countries.

Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, the acting president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that the local factories are seeing huge demand from global importers, and the simplified EU-GSP regime, effective from January 1, is set to bring more buyers to Bangladesh.

‘The government should work desperately for arranging short training courses for unemployed youths across the country as our factories can provide jobs for them, enhance production and increase exports as much as possible,’ he said.

Due to the shortage of electricity, most of the RMG manufacturers are raising production by ensuring even costlier supply of power from diesel oil-powered captive generators, said Mohiuddin. ‘The RMG industry hopes that the power supply situation will start improving soon. The government should act now to enhance the capacity of roads and rivers and ports so that transport of imported raw materials and shipments of finished products get speedier.’

He pointed out that demand by importers in the US and EU markets has already increased as many of them have diverted a portion of what they sourced to China to Bangladesh in the last few months, while the demand from new markets like Japan, Turkey, Korea and South Africa have pushed up shipments.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, senior research fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said that the higher growth of garment shipments in 2010 was calculated on a base of low growth in 2009, but new market opportunities indicate that this high growth will be sustained in 2011.

‘Bangladesh is being regarded as a hub of sourcing by garment importers across the world, while enhanced market opportunities in Europe have opened up more scope for export,’ he added.

Moazzem advised the government to ask its embassies in Europe to proclaim the enhanced capacity of Bangladesh in making high value garments and the benefits that importers will get due to the newly provided zero duty on Bangladeshi woven garments.

-New Age, Sun, 09/01/2011  

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Bangladesh's export to USA sees robust growth in July

Export earnings from USA, the largest market for Bangladeshi goods, registered a robust growth in July this year totaling US$ 446.61 million, which is 24.57 per cent of the country's total export income for the month, reports UNB.

The export earnings from USA in July this year are also 38.10 per cent higher than the corresponding month of the last fiscal. The export earnings from USA in July 2009 were $323.40 million.

Latest statistics, provided by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), show that of the total July export of $446.61 million, ready-made garment (RMG) items including knitwear accounted for $410.71 million with 36.99 per cent growth.

The major items exported to USA in July 2010 were woven garment $291.88 million, knitwear $118.83 million, frozen shrimp $11.03 million, cap $2.27 million and home textile $5.36 million.

Meanwhile, the export earnings from USA witnessed a declining trend in the last fiscal -- almost 8.9 per cent in 2009-10 from fiscal 2008-09.

The most noticeable cause for this is the declining trend for RMG exports from Bangladesh to USA which was affected badly by the global recession.

According to the EPB statistics, the country's export earnings from USA in the last fiscal totaled $3.14 billion, a 7.74 per cent fall over $3.4 billion registered in 2008-09.

The last fiscal (2009-10) marked the end of an up-and-down decade for Bangladesh's exports to USA. From a high of $2.5 billion in fiscal 2000-01, exports had fallen to under $2 billion by 2003-04.

That was followed by four years of consecutive growth, as Bangladesh made the best of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA), which governed world trade in textiles and garment from 1974 to 2004.

Exports rose steadily to cross the $3.0 billion mark in 2005-06, and peaked at nearly $3.6 billion in the fiscal 2007-08. Then the country' s export earnings fell for two consecutive years in fiscal 2008-09 and fiscal 2009-10.

-FE, Mon, 15/11/2010

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Trade body affiliation to be made mandatory for export, import

The government is going to amend the trade organisations act making it mandatory for businesses involved in foreign trade and all local trading companies and industries to be affiliated with a registered trade body, representing their respective sectors.

Commerce minister Faruk Khan on Wednesday said that a draft on the proposed amendment of the act had been sent to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry for their opinion.

The commerce minister was talking with reporters after the outgoing head of delegation of the European Commission Stefan Frowein met Khan in his secretariat office.

Khan said sometimes government could not trace many exporters and importers as they were not affiliated with any organisation.

He said that after the act is amended, for getting a trade license all business organisations would require affiliation with the trade body in their respective sector.

The trade organisation cell of the commerce ministry, the regulator of the trade bodies of the country, is working on the amendment in cooperation of the FBCCI.

FBCCI has long been demanding such a law binding all businesses with trade organisations.

At present, some 250-plus trade bodies and 64 district chambers are associated with the FBCCI. But many business houses do not care about being affiliated with any trade body.

FBCCI leaders feel that mandatory affiliation with trade bodies would help assess the real size of economy.

The draft on the amendment of Trade Organisations Act, which will be finalised by the start of next year, would include the provision under which businessmen would not be allowed to export or import unless they were members of trade bodies in respective sector, the minister said.

Replying to a question, the minister said that existing Delivery Order (DO) system has become corrupt. So an alternate 'Dealer' or ‘Distributor’ channel would have to be initiated.

A committee has been formed to work out alternatives to DO system which would, however, remain in place until an alternative method is innovated and introduced.

Replying to businessmen's allegation that salt producers in Chittagong and Cox's Bazar areas were being affected by the government's import of salt, Faruk Khan said that the government does not import salt.

Khan claimed there was also a ban on importing table salt and the government would act on it if there were information on anyone importing salt.

However, some special types of salt are imported for industrial use, the commerce minister said.

About his talks with Frowein, Khan said that EU had been requested to increase their assistance for infrastructural development in Bangladesh and help the country in controlling floods, river dredging and development of cyclone shelters.

-New Age, Thu 04/11/2010

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