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

The Financial Express
Customs delay bites businesses: Significant headway in cross-border trade, say authorities Businesses are facing delay and counting higher costs while complying with customs documentation at the ports, although the authorities have made significant improvement in recent times. In 50 per cent cases, it takes up to 72 hours to get the imported goods released, according to data from the customs and port authority. Muhammed Abdus Salam, managing director of the A.T.S Apparels Ltd, said the existing time and costs needed for the release of goods in Bangladesh are much higher than those of the other regional rivals, including Vietnam. In Vietnam, it takes 48 hours to enter the imported goods to the factory after releasing from the ships in customs ports, he said. Mr Salam said there are some hidden costs involved in the documentary compliance in the port as VAT and other taxes are imposed on port charges.

The Financial Express
BGMEA election: Forum names panel leader Forum, a panel contending for the upcoming election to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), has announced the name of ABM Shamsuddin, chairman of Hannan group, as the panel leader. The incumbent BGMEA President, Rubana Huq, will also contest the election as a member of the panel. The announcement was made at a programme held at a city hotel on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Shamsuddin said the garment sector of the country is now in a critical juncture. Although the most anticipated Covid-19 vaccine is now available, 2021 will be a troublesome year for them, he said. "We've got numerous hurdles to overcome. The first and foremost is the fall in prices," he said, adding that they would have to fight together against it. "We must not show any weaknesses that buyers can leverage." In the last four years, the price declined by 4.75 per cent on average, he said. "Despite having green factories, we are not getting fair prices," Mr Shamsuddin said and stressed the need for sustainable buying practices to ensure sustainability.

The Daily Star
Proposed industrial policy aims at skills uplift The upcoming industrial policy will set a target to increase the industrial sector's economic contribution from the existing 35 per cent to 40 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, according to a draft industrial policy. The new policy is expected to focus on the IT sector in order to help industries improve their efficiency and productivity, it said. "There is no alternative to creating skilled human resources in the industrial sector to build an industrialised country," Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said during a virtual stakeholder workshop on Industrial Policy 2021, organised by the industries ministry. The share of the industrial sector was 25 per cent in fiscal 2005-06, data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics shows. Humayun said the highest emphasis has to be given on skills development in the upcoming industrial policy in order to prepare for the fourth industrial revolution.

The Business Standard
Spinning mills investing more on synthetic yarn Amid the increase in the use of synthetic yarn globally, spinning mill owners in the country are opting for investing more in this segment to decrease their dependency on cotton yarn to stay competitive in the global market. As part of the move, leading spinning mills, including Envoy, Matin Spinning of DBL Group, Maksons, Square, and Shasha Denim, are investing in product diversification. As a backward linkage sector for the textile and export-oriented readymade garment industry, spinning mills have been facing an uneven competition with imported fabrics and yarns for the last four to five years.

The Daily Star
Western dealmakers shouldn’t forget about Bangladeshi apparel suppliers Ultimately, we all want business, my company included. But business surely has to be a two-way street, built on mutual respect, shared goals and cooperation. At the moment, the scales are tipped almost completely in favour of buyers from the West. This helps nobody, certainly not manufacturers and, arguably, not even the buyers themselves, as having suppliers permanently being left out of pocket creates disruption and uncertainty in the supply chains. The Covid-19 crisis has once again brought these difficult issues to the forefront. It's about time we tackled them once and for all or we will all be having these conversations again the next time another industry crisis or recession comes around.

The Business Standard
Taka is now more export friendly A year ago, Bangladesh was losing its export competitiveness because taka was overvalued against the dollar in comparison with currencies of its competitor countries. But the situation has changed quite a bit, thanks to the central bank's aggressive buying of dollars to banks, which has helped check taka's appreciation while currencies of major competitor countries had higher appreciation.

Channel I
Forum Declared A B M Shamsuddin of Hannan group as panel leader in BGMEA election 2021 Forum Declared A B M Shamsuddin of Hannan group as panel leader in BGMEA election 2021