With the current volatility of the global economy, it is more important than ever for Bangladesh to ensure that its industries are performing to the best of their capabilities - and the RMG sector is arguably the most important one for us.
The country's garment exports amounted to $12.25 billion in the first quarter of this year which was down from the previous quarter but higher than the first quarter of last year. While this shows relative consistency, we must continue to be pro-active with regard to our industries.
For the RMG sector, it is diversifying our destinations and buyers that is the need of the hour. Major export destinations and buyers have become more and more wary as a result of the global economy being as volatile as it is. Therefore, in order to ensure that our RMG sector doesn't stagnate, expanding the market to reach other lesser known destinations is the most obvious plan of action.
In addition to identifying new markets for our RMG products, what is also important is for Bangladesh to start producing higher quality products which would generate greater prices. While the overall work culture and environment has certainly seen radical transformation, the same cannot be said about the overall skill level of the employees and the quality of products that we offer.
As Bangladesh steps into what could be the most vital two decades of its existence as it looks to become a prosperous nation, identifying how we can maximize the potential of our existing RMG sector to best fortify it for the future would go a long way to ensure that we succeed in transforming Bangladesh.
