RMG sector has always been one of the most significant parts of our economy. Even amid the COVID 19 pandemic, the country’s economy got back on track due to a surge in export of RMG products. This has happened due to the rise in demand for cloth in Europe and American markets.
According to BGMEA officials, Bangladesh exported apparels worth 18.80 billion US dollars while Vietnam exported clothing worth 16.86 billion dollars in the first seven months of this year. Bangladesh earned 1.94 billion dollars more than Vietnam did during the period.
The country's RMG sector is recovering from the losses incurred amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Purchase orders have increased to a large extent. According to the data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh's RMG exports to the international market surged by 41.66 percent to 1 billion dollars in September this year from the overseas sale in the same month of last year.
We need to
diversify our export basket for sustainable economic growth
The government should now make sure that this surge continues and remains sustainable. We know that our government provided many low-interest loans and other stimulus packages for the RMG exporters amid the pandemic and lockdown. That time befitting initiative to support the factory owners for paying the workers’ wages and paying for other production costs really helped them survive and bounce back.
We need to diversify our export basket for sustainable economic growth. However, we also know the fact that RMG will remain our major source of export for a long time. Therefore, we should try to diversify this sector alone at first as adding value to its current nature is important for the country’s overall economic development.