Notwithstanding the fact that Bangladesh is the second largest garment exporter globally, the readymade garment sector of the country is facing challenge in moving up the value chain due to shortage of skilled manpower.
This was underlined by the experts at a recent seminar organised by private think tank South Asian Network for Economic Modeling (SANEM) in Dhaka.
“We need to focus not only on price competitiveness but also on quality…We need to move up the value chain. From traditional products, we need to move to branded products,” reportedly stated Executive Director of SANEM Dr. Selim Raihan while underlining that Bangladesh’s apparel industry is seriously lacking skilled labour force, which is hurting the scope of moving up the value chain.
Presenting keynote paper on the future of RMG industry in Bangladesh Dr. Raihan further observed that in the coming days, competition from the likes of Vietnam would be on the parameter of quality and not price.
“In near future, Vietnam is going to pose a threat to our RMG market and that threat would come not in terms of price competitiveness but in terms of quality,” reportedly maintained the Executive Director of SANEM, adding, “Already, a good portion of manufacturing job is shifting from China to countries like Vietnam and Cambodia but Bangladesh is yet to take benefit of that.”
Attending the event, experts also reportedly harped on enhancing the negotiation skills of entrepreneurs.