Knit village seen essential for standing sector in good stead
Thursday, 4 December 2008
FE Report
Having designated sites for knitwear production will yield a lot of economic benefits including direct employment, export growth and product diversification, extremely needed to stand the sector in good stead amid the stiff global competition, speakers said at a roundtable in the city Tuesday.
At the roundtable on Knit Village--Opportunity for Growth and Job Creation, they also said knit villages comprising knitwear industries will ensure environmental benefits through setting up of effluent treatment plants (ETPs).
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) in association with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) organised the roundtable.
Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed attended the programme as the chief guest while Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director Dr Mustafizur Rahman was the special guest.
IFC Programme Officer Martin Norman also was present at the roundtable, moderated by BKMEA President Md Fazlul Hoque.
Speaking at the programme, the commerce secretary said manufacturers should focus on high value-added products as the prices of products abroad are declining fast.
Lauding the Knit Village move by local entrepreneurs, the commerce secretary said such a cluster of villages will ensure the ETP facility on the factory premises and also help address the compliance issues.
He, however, stressed the need for a proper feasibility study on it, as it will facilitate industrialisation creating a further scope of reducing poverty.
CPD Executive Director Prof Mustafizur Rahman said setting up of cluster villages of knitwear products will help the local products graduate from the existing low-end to high-end products.
Mustafiz also said this type of zone might address the income disparity between the eastern and western regions of the country.
He said, "Local knitwear producers will face a tough competition after completion of the WTO negotiation within a few years, then the GSP facility will come down to 4.8 per cent from the current 12 per cent."
The Knit Villages might help face the upcoming challenges in the EU market, he observed.
He lauded the move citing an example of India.
"The turnover of the knitwear cluster in India shot up to Rs 11 billion last year from 1.0 billion in 1990."
Prof Atiur Rahman at the programme said the issue of the country's dwindling gas supply should be taken into consideration while preparing such separate zones for knitwear.
He said there should be a clear-cut guideline on the use of gas. Otherwise they will face an adverse situation, he warned.
"To make best use of the Knit Village, we must either explore gas or import, so supportive government policies are needed," he added.
BKMEA Senior Vice President MA Baset presented the keynote paper on the issue suggesting that the closed and unused factories in Tongi, Gazipur and Savar belonging to BTMC and BJMC might be ideal locations for the knit villages.
He also said the other side of the Jamuna river earmarked for an industrial belt might also be a good site for knit village.
Having designated sites for knitwear production will yield a lot of economic benefits including direct employment, export growth and product diversification, extremely needed to stand the sector in good stead amid the stiff global competition, speakers said at a roundtable in the city Tuesday.
At the roundtable on Knit Village--Opportunity for Growth and Job Creation, they also said knit villages comprising knitwear industries will ensure environmental benefits through setting up of effluent treatment plants (ETPs).
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) in association with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) organised the roundtable.
Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed attended the programme as the chief guest while Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director Dr Mustafizur Rahman was the special guest.
IFC Programme Officer Martin Norman also was present at the roundtable, moderated by BKMEA President Md Fazlul Hoque.
Speaking at the programme, the commerce secretary said manufacturers should focus on high value-added products as the prices of products abroad are declining fast.
Lauding the Knit Village move by local entrepreneurs, the commerce secretary said such a cluster of villages will ensure the ETP facility on the factory premises and also help address the compliance issues.
He, however, stressed the need for a proper feasibility study on it, as it will facilitate industrialisation creating a further scope of reducing poverty.
CPD Executive Director Prof Mustafizur Rahman said setting up of cluster villages of knitwear products will help the local products graduate from the existing low-end to high-end products.
Mustafiz also said this type of zone might address the income disparity between the eastern and western regions of the country.
He said, "Local knitwear producers will face a tough competition after completion of the WTO negotiation within a few years, then the GSP facility will come down to 4.8 per cent from the current 12 per cent."
The Knit Villages might help face the upcoming challenges in the EU market, he observed.
He lauded the move citing an example of India.
"The turnover of the knitwear cluster in India shot up to Rs 11 billion last year from 1.0 billion in 1990."
Prof Atiur Rahman at the programme said the issue of the country's dwindling gas supply should be taken into consideration while preparing such separate zones for knitwear.
He said there should be a clear-cut guideline on the use of gas. Otherwise they will face an adverse situation, he warned.
"To make best use of the Knit Village, we must either explore gas or import, so supportive government policies are needed," he added.
BKMEA Senior Vice President MA Baset presented the keynote paper on the issue suggesting that the closed and unused factories in Tongi, Gazipur and Savar belonging to BTMC and BJMC might be ideal locations for the knit villages.
He also said the other side of the Jamuna river earmarked for an industrial belt might also be a good site for knit village.