A delegation of BGMEA comprising leading apparel exporters from Bangladesh have participated in an international trade exhibition -- Texworld USA Summer 2022 – to explore more business opportunities in the USA market.  Texworld USA, one of the largest sourcing events for suppliers, buyers, designers, merchandisers and overseas sourcing professionals, was held in New York on July 19-21, said the BGMEA on Saturday. The international exhibition offers a wide product range covering the entire fabric spectrum. Also read: Canadian Trade Union delegation calls on BGMEA President From casual cotton to function fabrics and sophisticated knits to intricate laces, season-to-season attendees discover textiles of innovative structures, material mixes and surprising color palettes. The delegation headed by BGMEA Vice President Shahiduallh Azim showcased the strengths of Bangladesh’s RMG industry in the fair, especially its growing importance on manufacturing diversified products including value-added apparels made from non-cotton and technical textiles. Ambassador of Bangladesh to the USA M Shahidul Islam visited Bangladeshi stalls in the exhibition where he assured the delegation of cooperation of the embassy in exploring business opportunities in the USA market. Also read: BGMEA wants faster, smoother security clearance services for RMG BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim said that Bangladesh has huge scope to increase its share of apparel exports to the US market. Participation of Bangladeshi exporters in the international trade exhibitions like Texworld, will help to connect with the prospective buyers in the US market and beyond and seize the opportunities.

Speakers at a webinar on Saturday said Bangladeshi entrepreneurs can invest in manufacturing and agricultural sectors of some countries in African continent under African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to expand export to the US market. They said Africa is a big continent with huge investment opportunities even though the trade share of Bangladesh is remarkably very low for lack of PTA/FTA, tariff and non-tariff barriers and infrastructure. The speakers came up with the remarks in the webinar titled “Trade & Investment Cooperation of Africa and Bangladesh: Towards a new Trajectory” held on the fifth day of Bangladesh Trade and Investment Summit 2021. “Private sector needs to be aggressive to invest both at home and abroad. Food processing and agriculture have good prospects there. We’ve to grab the market,`` Planning Minister MA Mannan told the webinar. As Bangladeshi entrepreneurs entered the African market, he suggested that they can invest more in that region with a plan. DCCI President Rizwan Rahman in his presentation said the bilateral trade is about $1.5 billion between Bangladesh and Africa having a positive trade balance for Bangladesh. “Our export to Africa accounts for 1.02 per cent of Bangladesh’s our total export.” Read: Bangladeshi investors keen to invest in South Africa: FM Though African investment is declining in Bangladesh, Bangladeshi investment in Africa is on the gradual rise, he added. The African investment in Bangladesh was recorded only $306 million. AHM Ahsan, Vice Chairman and CEO, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), said African trade with the rest of the world in 2020 was $888 billion accounting for only 3 per cent of total global trade. Last year, the intra-African trade volume of $133 billion was heavily influenced by African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), he said. “Our trade with Africa is significantly low compared to other regions. Bangladesh exports to only 5-6 countries of Africa. Their high import tariff is an obstacle to export increase. But the service sector is a potential sector for investment,” he added. Md Tarikul Islam, DG Africa Wing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Africa is a resourceful country having enormous potentials. “African investment in Bangladesh is not remarkable due to their restrictions over foreign investment. But textiles, pharmaceuticals, footwear, RMG, leather, paper and pulp, ship breaking and agriculture are some of the sectors they can invest in. The visa process for African investors will be eased,” he said. Abdus Samad Al Azad, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Muhammad Zahangir Alam, Director, Square Pharmaceuticals and M Mosaddek Hossain, Managing Director, UniMed UniHealth Pharmaceuticals, among others, spoke at the webinar.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Faruque Hassan has urged the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) to promote Bangladesh as the safe and sustainable apparel-sourcing destination among its members. He also encouraged them to source more garments including non-cotton items from Bangladesh. Read:BGMEA, USGBC keen to promote green growth in Bangladesh BGMEA President Faruque Hassan and Vice President Miran Ali met with Stephen  Lamar, President and CEO of the AAFA in Washington recently and discussed the issues, said the BGMEA on Sunday. High officials of AAFA and other organizations were also present at the meeting. They had discussions on various issues including how to enhance cooperation between BGMEA and AAFA to deepen mutual business engagement and explore areas of further collaboration. BGMEA President Faruque Hassan highlighted the unprecedented strides made by Bangladesh's RMG industry over the years in safety, sustainability and social compliance, which have earned the sector global recognitions. A recent survey report by Hong Kong-based supply chain compliance solutions provider, QIMA, ranked Bangladesh’s garment industry second in “Ethical Manufacturing." Read: BGMEA, WRAP to join forces for Bangladesh's apparel market expansion Apart from ensuring workplace safety, Bangladesh is the home of the highest number of green garment factories in the world. The BGMEA chief highlighted the future prospects of the industry and stressed the importance of industry up-grading particularly in the areas of skills and efficiency enhancement, technological upgrading, and diversification of products, especially non-cotton. Faruque Hassan welcomed investments from AAFA members in these areas, particularly in non-cotton and technical textiles and high-end apparel items. He urged US brands and buyers to collaborate with their suppliers to build their capacities in manufacturing those apparel items which have demand in the US market. Diversification of products is very important to ensure sustained growth of Bangladesh’s apparel industry. Read: Remove derogatory comments about 'Made in Bangladesh' from French movie: BGMEA The BGMEA President also talked about how Bangladesh’s RMG industry has been able to turn around by addressing unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He pointed out that production costs have increased while price has witnessed fall in the US market. He urged for justified prices and sought the support of AAFA and their members to be more empathetic towards their supply chain partners to make the supply chain sustainable.  The AAFA expressed willingness in working closely with BGMEA to promote brand Bangladesh and business interests through their membership.