Bangladesh should pay attention to the issue of increasing delivery time to tap the potential of its leather goods and footwear manufacturing sector in the global market, experts said at a seminar on Saturday.
They also called for faster customs clearance, easier port services, a strong backward linkage industry and skill development of human resources.
The seminar on “Market Access: New Frontiers for Export” was held on the concluding day of three-day 4th Bangladesh Leather Footwear & Leather Goods International Sourcing Show (BLLISS-2023).
The Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh (LFMEAB) in collaboration with the Commerce Ministry organized the event at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital.
Additional Secretary to Ministry of Commerce Abdur Rahim Khan, President of Manufacturing and Operations of Advanced Manufacturing Group (AMG) Michael Roy, and Managing Director of Blue Ocean Footwear Limited Lien Chun Yao (Jim) were the three panelists of the seminar moderated by LFMEAB Director Amrita Makin Islam.
LFMEAB President and Apex Footwear Ltd Managing Director Syed Nasim Manzur and the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) Md Saiful Islam were also present.
Speaking on the occasion, Nasim Manzur said Bangladesh should not be viewed as a cheaper destination for footwear manufacturing as it was maintaining international standards and different expenses were going up.
“We need to meet the basic needs of our workforce,” he said. The government was also paying attention to the living standard of the human resources.
Responding to comments of other participants, he said that with Bangladesh being a land-scarce country, the local companies should get preference.
He also urged the foreign businesses to introduce modern technologies also in Bangladesh as they did in other manufacturing countries like China.
During the panel discussion, Abdur Rahim Khan said the government had been implementing different programs to enhance competitiveness of the sector and looking for signing bilateral trade agreements to widen the access to export destinations.
He also laid emphasis on bringing in more foreign direct investment, product diversification and technologies.
The business climate issue was not an issue for Bangladesh only, while reform was a continuous process, said the bureaucrat.
Michael Roy said Bangladesh has advantages like geopolitical stability, motivated workforce, product quality and tremendous sense of collaboration among stakeholders.
To ensure global market access, Bangladeshi manufacturers needed to deliver fast, he said.
“You see calendar, we see watches,” he said, underscoring the need for reducing lead time. He also said opportunities were sitting on the lap of Bangladeshi manufacturers, who should take actions accordingly to utilize it.
Lien Chun Yao saw Bangladesh itself as a huge market for footwear as demand for different types of footwear by one individual was growing.
He underscored the need for supply chain localization, training the local workforce and technology transfer.
