Leaders of the country's textile and clothing industry on Tuesday emphasised timely policy supports from the government to encourage local and foreign investment in the backwards-linkage industry, especially in diversified and man-made fibre-based garment production.
They also called on exporters for better negotiations with global buyers to get fair prices of locally-made garments, saying plenty of work orders are coming to Bangladesh.
The reopening of economies of the European countries and the USA, buyers' China-plus strategy, and recent electricity crisis and Covid situation in Vietnam have created new opportunities for Bangladesh for recovering from the severe fallouts of the Covid-19 pandemic, they added.
The observations came at a roundtable on road to recovery, organised by the Bangladesh Apparel Youth Leaders Association (BAYLA) at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka.
Garment exporters, textile millers and young leaders of the sector attended the programme.
"Bangladeshi garment exporters are receiving a lot of work orders from the international clothing retailers and brands," Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan said.
Prices of apparel items in recent times have increased - mainly due to a hike in prices of raw materials like cotton and other logistic charges.
"Now we need to maintain negotiation with the international retailers and brands for getting fair prices."
The demand for man-made fibre garment items is increasing worldwide. So, the local garment suppliers need to grab the opportunity of such business.
The BGMEA is making a study on recovery roadmap, so that the local suppliers can grab opportunities of the market, he added.
Bangladesh Textile Mills Association President Mohammad Ali Khokon said unhealthy competition among the local suppliers is affecting the pricing of garment items.
"We need to stop the unhealthy price competition among us for getting better prices from the international retailers and brands."
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association Executive President Mohammad Hatem said since Bangladesh is the leader in green garment factories, the labels should include the issue - so that the end consumers understand where these products come from.
He sought timely policy supports from the government for attracting foreign direct investment in the woven sector, as there is room for investment here.
"Timely policy supports are very important to grab the opportunities," he noted.
Bangladesh Garment Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association former president Rafez Alam Chowdhury urged the government to provide equal facilities to the backward linkage industries to help grow the textile and clothing industry as well as increase export earnings.
Abdur Rahim Harmachi, business editor of News Bangla 24, moderated the discussion. S M Rashidul Islam, general secretary of Economic Reporters Forum, also spoke on the occasion.
