Canadian buyers have assured Bangladesh of raising apparel imports by 20 per cent if globally accepted standards of safety and security in the factories are ensured, sources said.
Bangladeshi diplomats in Ottawa recently met senior executives of two major Canadian buyers-- Haggars Canada and Loblaws-where they talked about the recent developments in apparel sector.
The diplomats met them to assess their position in future business strategies and their policies on import from Dhaka.
The officials said they were under tremendous pressure for seriously re-thinking about their sourcing from Bangladesh after the deadly Rana Plaza collapse tragedy followed by fire at Tazreen Fashions factory.
Senior officials of Loblaws said they were planning to expand their sourcing from Bangladesh for which are now in the process of assigning their first direct representative in Dhaka to ensure safety in the factories from where they will source apparel goods.
The Loblaws is also taking internal measures to include the building inspection provision in its audit system.
Officials of Haggars Canada, which caters high end and medium range apparels through Hudson Bays, Sears and Costco, have also expressed concern over the general state of apparel factories in Bangladesh.
 "They are so much pleased with their suppliers that they are planning to increase their intakes to the tune of 15 to 20 per cent next year," Bangladesh High Commissioner in Canada Kamrul Ahsan informed the ministry of commerce recently.
 "The Haggar Canada president expressed hope that if Bangladesh would fully implement the globally acceptable standards of fire and personal safety in its factory buildings, it would continue to dominate the global apparel market," he wrote.
Mr Ahsan quoting the buyers, however, said any such future incident may force the Canadian retailers to reconsider their import from Bangladesh.
Bangladesh exports nearly billion dollar apparel goods to Canada with duty free facilities under General Preferential Tariff (GPT) scheme.
Canadian buyers to raise RMG import from BD by 20pc
Syful Islam | Published: November 15, 2013 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
Share if you like