Bangladesh's textile industry which is making giant strides globally is looking at the northeastern region specifically Assam to make the `Made in Bangladesh’ brand popular and open a business window with its’ immediate neighbor.

“We are looking at Assam and North East which is our immediate neighbor with a lot of opportunities. For our textile lot of raw materials are sourced from India. We can get this raw material through land routes of Assam we are talking to the Indian government in this regard,” Faruque Hassan President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the largest organization in the apparel sector in the country told BNE.

Hassan also spoke about the need for India's support, "Bangladesh and India do not compete with each other in the international market for readymade garments exports. Rather, we complement each other and want to enhance the cooperation for a win-win strategy."

“We mostly import raw materials like cotton and petrochemicals from India for apparel production in our factories.”

He said Bangladesh mostly manufactures products that do not clash with the apparel offerings from India in the global market.

He added that readymade garments export showed nearly 99 percent growth in the first two months of the current fiscal, with India being a major importer of Bangladeshi apparel.

The export to India is expected to cross USD 1 billion in the current financial year compared to USD 764 million last year.

He also said that Bangladeshi readymade garments companies would benefit if India's offer for free transit to Bangladesh for exporting goods to other nations is taken up.

Hasan said that for value addition to the garments made in Bangladesh the textile association is in talks with Indian designers for the creation of a new design.

He informed BNE that the BGEMA is all set to organise the ‘Made-in-Bangladesh Week’ from 12 to 18 November 2022.

The event to be held in Dhaka and inaugurated by Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina will highlight the contributions of the readymade garments sector to Bangladesh’s economy over the last 40 years.

The BGMEA will celebrate the progress in the domestic garment industry and highlight its pursuit of sustainable growth, which will have a positive impact on the economy, environment, and people's lives.

"This is for the first time, the BGMEA is hosting such a week-long event centered around the apparel sector," Hassan added.
During the Made-in-Bangladesh week, the 37th World Fashion Convention of the International Apparel Federation (IAF) will be held in Dhaka as part of the week. This fashion convention will be held to mark the 50th anniversary of the IAF.

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