The ongoing turmoil being experienced by our RMG sector is nothing if not further proof that relying on one industry alone to prop up the majority of a nation’s economy has never been a good idea in the long run.
With current global crises in mind, the demand for our RMG and textile products stands the risk of declining, and especially with the ongoing strikes and agitations regarding RMG workers and an acceptable minimum wage, our country will need to start pivoting towards other industries when it comes to exports.
To that end, we agree with the commerce minister’s recent plea to businesspeople and entrepreneurs of the nation to diversify Bangladesh’s export basket in order to hit the $100 billion export target. However, as has been editorialized on this very paper time and again, it takes more than simple pleas to make our export basket more diverse.
Promising industries such as light engineering and IT will need state support if they wish to be able to compete in their respective arenas with countries such as China. Last year, the government announced an 11-point plan that seeks to help develop infrastructure, ease financing, and offer industrial incentives for the light engineering sector -- we need more of such initiatives for other industries.
Which is why it is now more important than ever for Bangladesh to finally lose its well-earned notoriety when it comes to ease of doing business. Whether local or foreign, our country does not make it easy for companies or individuals to operate a business due to inordinate amounts of corruption and inefficient bureaucracy within their relevant administrative authorities.
Unless and until we start removing the bottlenecks which keep businesses from flourishing, our export basket will remain stagnant.