Bangladesh Have Not Yet Reached The Peak Level Where They Would Need to Shift to Another

The garment manufacturing industries in Bangladesh have not yet reached the peak level where they would need to shift to another level of industrialization to avoid decline, Dr. Ludovico Alcorta, Director, Development Policy, Statistics and Research Branch (DPR), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has said.

Dr. Alcorta said this while participating in a dialogue titled “Bangladesh’s Garments Sector: Upgradation and Structural Transformation” convened by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), in association with the DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme (DEGRP) in Dhaka.

Dr. Alcorta drew attention to the fact that as GDP per capita rises, industries grow and reach a peak level before they decline. In view of the global growth prospects of textile industries, Bangladesh’s manufacturing industries still have the potential to grow before reaching the aforesaid peak level before shifting to another level of industrialization, he added.

Participants at the dialogue were of the opinion that Bangladesh’s garment and textile sectors were in need of human resource development, infrastructural upgradation, and significant policy impact in order to take a journey towards raising productivity for structural transformation of the country.

During the discussion, one of the Panel Presenters Dr. Dirk Willem te Velde, Head of Programme, International Economic Development Group, ODI, UK, recommended favourable changes in public policy, and incentives for Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry which has an export value greater than the individual GDP of some 90 countries.

Another Panel Presenter Dr. Christopher M Woodruff, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Warwick, UK, pointed out that the positive impact of mid-level management training has been reflected in areas such as substantial variation in quality of management, and decline in defect rate over time. He added that the production process in factories require innovation as goods become more complex.

In his capacity as Chief Guest, Bangladesh’s Minister of Commerce Tofail Ahmed said the current Government has prioritized investment and industrialization. In this regard, he called for preparing a comprehensive plan of action in cooperation with policymakers and business leaders.