BGMEA DAILY DIGEST
News published in media related to RMG: Today’s RMG News

April 24, 2024

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The Daily Observer

USTR lauds Bangladeshs recent progress

Delegation of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Monday appreciated the progresses Bangladesh made in past few areas in the labor sector and briefed about the US governments labor action plan, and areas where further improvements are required, including amendments in the BLA (Bangladesh Labour Act). During a meeting between the visiting USTR delegation, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President SM Mannan (Kochi) shared updates on the significant progress made by the ready-made garment industry regarding workplace safety, workers rights, and ongoing labor law reforms in Bangladesh.Led by Brendan Lynch, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, the USTR delegation also comprised Emily Ashby, USTR Director for South and Central Asia, and Jennifer Oetken, USTR Director for Labor Affairs. Joseph Giblin, Economic Unit Chief, and Leena Khan, Labor Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka were also present in the meeting, according to BGMEA. BGMEA Senior Vice President Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, Vice President (Finance) Md. Nasir Uddin, and Vice President Abdullah Hil Rakib, Directors of BGMEA Asif Ashraf, Shovon Islam, Mohammad Sohel Sadat, Md. Ashikur Rahman (Tuhin), Shams Mahmud, Nusrat Bari Asha, and Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on ILO and Labour Affairs ANM Saifuddin were also present.
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The Dhaka Tribune
11 years after Rana Plaza: From unsafe industry to green revolution BGMEA President SM Mannan Kochi said that the Tazreen Fashion fire (November 24, 2012) and the Rana Plaza collapse were a lesson for the country. “We invested crores of taka to make a factory compliant geared towards stopping further industrial accidents,” he added. BGMEA immediate past president Faruque Hassan said that now it can be said that every RMG factory is following the safety guideline, and workers are working without fear. “In the last couple of years, there has not been any fire or building collapse in the RMG sector, except for a few isolated incidents,” he added. BGMEA Director Mohiuddin Rubel said that almost 100% of factories in the country have been inspected and remediated.

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The Daily Star
BUFT hosts International Textile Technology Integration Conference BGMEA University of Fashion & Technology (BUFT), partnering with the China Textile Engineering Society (CTES), hosted a conference titled the "2024 China-Bangladesh Industrial Development Forum on international textile technology integration" on April 23, at BUFT's permanent campus auditorium. The event culminated with the signing of an agreement between BUFT and CTES. Prof. Dr S. M. Mahfuzur Rahman, Vice Chancellor of BUFT, was joined by a distinguished panel of guests including Muzaffar U. Siddique, Former Founder Chairman of BoT, BUFT; Reaz Bin Mahmood, Member of BoT, BUFT; Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, Member of BoT, BUFT; Md Moshiul Azam (Shajal), Member of BoT, BUFT; Mohammed Nasir, Member of BoT, BUFT; Md. Jakir Hossain, Member of BoT, BUFT, and Abdullah Hil Rakib, Member of BoT, BUFT. Additionally, the event welcomed notable figures such as Song Yang, the Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of China in Bangladesh; Jeson Wang, Director of CTES; Yang Hongshan, Director of China Textile & Apparel Council (united testing center); Yang Xiaodong, Vice President of China National Garment Association; Mike Ge, the President of the Textile & Garment Branch of Chinese Enterprises Association in Bangladesh; Wang Xianfeng, Vice Dean of the School of Textile at Donghua University, and Xie Yueting, the Chief Engineer of Xinxiang Chemical Fiber Co. Ltd., all in the capacity of Special Guests.  

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The Business Standard
Industries on survival mission as costs soar In recent years, Meghna Group, with exposures in denim to packaging and bicycles to cars, has made a strategic investment of around Tk15 crore in energy-efficient generators. This move aimed to tackle soaring energy expenses and it seems to be paying dividends. The group is now reaping the benefits enjoying a remarkable 60% increase in energy efficiency compared to their previous generator models.TAD Group Managing Director Ashikur Rahman Tuhin said they have to wait until next August-September to raise the prices as orders are slowly increasing. Speaking with TBS, its Managing Director Shams Mahmud said due to the price hike their gas bills remain 120% higher than they were a year ago although they invested in energy-efficient generators. "If we would not invest in energy-efficient generators, our gas bills would have been much higher after the 179% price hike." Talking with TBS, BGMEA Vice President Rakibul Alam Chowdhury said their sales declined by average 10% to 15% in the EU and the USA due to falling prices.

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বাংলা নিউজ২৪
পোশাক খাত থেকে শিক্ষা নিয়ে অন্যান্য কর্মক্ষেত্রকেও নিরাপদ করতে হবে রানা প্লাজার মত তৈরি পোশাক খাতের দুর্ঘটনা পরবর্তী অভিজ্ঞতা থেকে শিক্ষা নিয়ে এবং জাতীয় ও আন্তর্জাতিক পর্যায়ের নানামুখী সহযোগিতা ও কমপ্লায়েন্স এর সাফল্যকে কাজে লাগিয়ে অন্যান্য কর্মক্ষেত্রকেও আগামী দিনে নিরাপদ করে তুলতে আহবান জানিয়েছে ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন ও নাগরিক সমাজ নেতৃবৃন্দ এবং সরকারি ও বেসরকারি প্রতিষ্ঠানসমূহের প্রতিনিধিরা। বাংলাদেশ ইন্সটিটিউট অব লেবার স্টাডিজ (বিলস) এর আয়োজনে মঙ্গলবার (২৩ এপ্রিল) জাতীয় প্রেসক্লাবের তোফাজ্জল হোসেন মানিক মিয়া মিলনায়তনে 'নিরাপদ কর্মক্ষেত্র তৈরির অর্জন ও চেলেঞ্জ: রানা প্লাজা পরবর্তী উদ্যোগসমূহের অভিজ্ঞতা শীর্ষক এক আলোচনা সভায় এসব কথা বলেন বক্তারা।

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The New Age
Bangladesh fails to hook higher share of global RMG demand rise: report Bangladesh has failed to capture a larger share of increased global demand for apparel in 2024 as China is outpacing Bangladesh in terms of receiving export orders, according to a Quality Inspection MAnagement report. QIMA, a leading provider of supply chain compliance solutions, in its second quarter, 2024 barometer titled ‘Q1 Procurement Uptick: a Beacon of Hope for Western Retail?’ said that after a year of sluggish demand, the first quarter of 2024 witnessed a rise in sourcing volumes across the board, both in overseas supplier regions and nearshoring markets.It showed that global demand for textile and apparel inspections and audits from garment manufacturing countries, including Bangladesh, increased over 20 per cent in the Q1 of 2024 while China was experiencing resurgence in popularity among apparel brands, its competitors in Asia and beyond were keeping pace.

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The Financial Express
Apparel demand resurgence in West promises new bonanza A significant bounceback in global demand for textiles and apparel promises new opportunity but Bangladesh lags far behind China in bagging the bonanza for reasons that include recent cost escalation. Records of inspections and audits among buyers for China show the giant economy had a double-digit growth in recent months, according to latest report. Similar trend is also reflected in both US and EU official import data for the first two months of 2024. Global demand for textile and apparel inspections and audits from garment- manufacturing countries, including Bangladesh, increased over 20 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, according to QIMA latest report.

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যুগান্তর
গ্যাস-বিদ্যুতের দাম ও ঋণের সুদ বৃদ্ধি : ব্যবসা টিকিয়ে রাখা যাচ্ছে না গ্যাসের মূল্য ৩০০ শতাংশ পর্যন্ত বেড়েছে। বেড়েছে বিদ্যুতের মূল্যও। পাশাপাশি ভ্যাট-ট্যাক্স আদায় ও অন্যান্য সেবার নামে অনৈতিকভাবে অর্থ আদায় করছে ব্যবসায়ীদের কাছ থেকে। এর মধ্যে নতুন করে ব্যাংক ঋণের সুদ বাড়ছে। এমন অবস্থায় ব্যবসায়ীরা টিকে থাকতে হলে কমপক্ষে ৪০ শতাংশ মুনাফা করতে হবে। কিন্তু একমাত্র অবৈধ মাদক ব্যবসা ছাড়া কোনোভাবেই ৪০ শতাংশ মুনাফা সম্ভব নয়। মঙ্গলবার ইনস্টিটিউট অব কস্ট অ্যান্ড ম্যানেজমেন্ট অ্যাকাউন্ট্যান্টস অব বাংলাদেশ (আইসিএমএবি) প্রাক-বাজেট (২০২৪-২৫) আলোচনায় ব্যবসায়ীরা এসব বিষয় তুলে ধরে পরিত্রাণ চায়। ওই আলোচনায় ব্যবসায়ীরা আমদানি ও রপ্তানি পর্যায়ে এইচএস কোড জটিলতা নিরসণ, বিনিয়োগ আকর্ষণে উদ্যোগ নেওয়া, দক্ষতা উন্নয়ন, আর্থিক খাত সংস্কারের কমিশন গঠন, ডলার সরবরাহ বাড়ানো, বৈদেশিক ঋণ কমিয়ে অভ্যন্তীরণ উৎস সঞ্চয়পত্র থেকে ঋণ নেওয়া, খেলাপি ঋণ কমানোর সুপারিশ করেন।

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