Mitigation measures must ‘focus on accessories and packaging’

Measures to mitigate post-graduation challenges for the ready-made garment industry will not bring any desired result unless they address the issue of potential barriers faced by the garment accessories and packaging industry.
Locally-made RMG products will lose their current duty-free market access to major destinations like European Union and some other markets after Bangladesh's graduation from the least-developed country status scheduled for November 2026.
Md Shahriar, president of the Bangladesh Garment Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGAPMEA), made these remarks at a press conference at a city hotel on Sunday.
The event was hosted for the announcement of two concurrent tradeshows -- the Garment Technology Tradeshow in Bangladesh 2025 (GTB 25) and the International Garment Accessories and Packaging Expo 2025 (GAPEXPO 2023).
The four-day shows will begin on January 08 at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) to showcase garment machinery, garment accessories, packaging goods and allied products.
"A number of studies on possible challenges of the country's garment exports and their solutions have been conducted at both public and private stages," cited Md Shahriar.
Strategy for the garment sector only will not bring desired success to address possible challenges, according to him.
Mr Shahriar suggested a consultation with stakeholders concerned on how post-graduation era would affect the garment accessories and packaging sector and how they be addressed.
"Otherwise, possible measures to be taken for garment industry will fail to bring any desired outcome," he uttered.
ASK Trade and Exhibition Pvt Limited and BGAPMEA will jointly host the shows where 500 exhibitors from 25 countries, including Bangladesh, India, China, Japan, South Korea and Germany, will display their latest technology and innovation used at production level.
Mr Shahriar said the garment accessories and packaging industry acted as a backward linkage industry for the RMG sector to help the country reduce import dependency on such goods.
Some 2,100 BGAPMEA members produce over 60 items locally for export-oriented apparel industry and made deemed export worth $6.87 billion last fiscal while they also make direct export of $1.0 million.
The GAPEXPO plays a crucial role in introducing the sector and finding buyers, according to the BGAPMEA chief.
"In the current context," he said, "some 15-20 per cent orders have shifted to competitive countries mainly due to a slide in the law-and-order situation," citing that one of his buyers, Target Australia, has shifted some orders to India.
Mr Shahriar, however, said buyers would return with an improved situation as they (buyers) have trust in Bangladesh.
ASK Trade and Exhibitions Ltd director Nanda Gopal and managing director Tipu Sultan Bhuiyan, among others, were present at the briefing.
Two seminars will be organised on the second day of the expos that will end on January 11.

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