Int'l buyers pushing exporters to obtain standard certificates

Badrul Ahsan Many international buyers are pushing local exporters to obtain international standard certificates to ensure decent working conditions in factories from where they source their goods, industry insiders said. Officials at local certification bodies said the demand for such certifications has increased dramatically among the exporters after Tazreen fire incident and Rana Plaza collapse mainly because of buyers' demand. Certificates like ISO-series, OHSAS-18001, GFSI, FSSC etc are only available for products, management and environmental issues when the compliance of the industries are up to international standard. According to the certification bodies, over 500 business entities across the country have obtained different standard certificates after the deadly incidents to prove better quality, management system and environmental standard of their products and services in the competitive market. "We were facing continuous pressure from our buyers after Tazreen fire incident to obtain an international standard certificate to prove decent working conditions in our factories," General Manager of Bangla Nice Sourcing Ltd Kazi Mirazul Islam told the FE. "Now we are an ISO accredited company and running business smoothly," he added. According to Mr Islam, many international buyers who do not have their local offices in Bangladesh are trying to ensure, through certifications, that the goods they import are made in compliant factories. Officials at different local offices of accreditation bodies said demand for certifications has risen over the last couple of years in various sectors of the country as ensuring decent working environment has emerged as an important factor in competing in the world market. "Local exporters are knocking us for certifications of their products and services to prove international standard working environment in their factories. This has increased particularly in the last six to eight months," Country Representative of Australia-based SAI Global Iftekhar Mahmud told the FE. He also said many local offices of certification bodies have appointed new executives to tackle the sudden rise in demand for their certifications. "The companies are trying to acquire the certifications to be one step ahead in the competitive world market," he said. Akhter Hamid, another high official of a local office of an international certification body said, "As it is not possible for many overseas buyers to visit Bangladesh to get a first hand experience and ensure quality of goods imported by them and to guarantee decent working conditions, the quality management bodies have come into the picture as never before." "When certain products or services are certified by us, we remain responsible for the quality of the products or services and we provide certifications only after being confirmed that international standards have been maintained." According to the certificate providers, readymade garments are now on the top of the list as companies in this sector are taking certificates to convince their buyers of compliance and quality issues. However, some local businesses have objected that some certificate providers have been issuing certificates in exchange of money without undertaking proper inspections of the workplaces. Moreover, their charges range between Tk 0.15 million to Tk 5.0 million or above depending on the size of the organisation and areas covered by the certificates. ISO-22000 series, ISO 14001 Series and Environment Management System (EMS), BRC issue 6, ISS, ISSUE-6, GMP, OHSAS-18001, GFSI, FSSC, HACCP, SA 8000 and WRAP, Organic Certificate, BAP, Global GAP are working in the country for certification in different sectors of production, management, environment management and other activities. The certification agencies have been working in the country since 2000.