DHAKA, Oct 12, 2021 (BSS) - Throughout the years, Bangladesh confirmed
its pioneer position as one of the leading global suppliers in the
textile and garment sector.

The challenge of the hour is to maintain the country’s position
despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Sustainable growth and value addition can be achieved if the sector
expands towards the production of Technical Textiles (TT) and Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE).

This is one of the key findings of the ‘Feasibility Study on Scaling
up the Production of Technical Textiles (TT) including Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE) in Bangladesh’, commissioned by the
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
with support of BGMEA, said a press release.

Today, the study findings were introduced to the public.

Werner Lange, Textile Cluster Coordinator of GIZ Bangladesh, in his
welcome remarks said: “We are proud to share the results, particularly
critical gaps, key actions and an overall strategy to support
Bangladesh in entering into this new market and – most importantly –
in succeeding there in a sustainable and compliant way.”

Under the presence of the Ambassador of Germany to Bangladesh, Achim
Tröster, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan, Vice President Shahidullah
Azim, Vice President Miran Ali, Mr. Werner Lange, Textile Cluster
Coordinator of GIZ Bangladesh and Mrs.

Angelika Fleddermann, Country Director of GIZ Bangladesh, panelists
Abdullah Hil Rakib, Director, BGMEA; Tariqul Islam, Assistant
Director, Snowtex; Thomas Hübner, Business Scout, GIZ; and the author
of the study, Charles Dagher, Consultant, GFA, supported by his study
team colleague Dr. Rajesh Bheda; discussed the challenges and
opportunities that come with the proposed shift towards the
sub-sector.

Faruque Hassan, President of BGMEA said, “At this juncture we need
investment and technical knowhow from the developed part of the world.
Our industry is ready to cater the growing market of the TT and PPE
and demand is also in the rise. We encourage joint venture in
technical textile and PPE and also need support from the brands,
testing services companies and technology suppliers to join hands and
take the potential to a reality.”

The study advocates for Bangladesh to capitalise on the country’s
reputation as a compliant and certified trading partner to EU and US
markets.

Once Bangladesh has built its confidence and reliability in the new
product sector of TT and PPE, advanced technologies can be introduced.

These will help to diversify and sophisticate the product portfolio,
offering greater profit margins. Even a limited number of products, if
they adhere to a high quality standard, will open the door to a host
of niche categories and products.

Encouraged by the success of the early manufacturers, more companies
will take the leap and the sub-sector will grow.

Still, some major bottlenecks remain to be conquered. These include a
lack of awareness of market requirements, inadequate technical
expertise, difficulty in sourcing high-performance raw materials,
compliance and certification requirements, and the dependence on
capital investment.

The German development cooperation, namely the GIZ textile cluster, is
capacitating local stakeholders to tackle some of these challenges.

Outlining the successes of GIZ interventions in the textile and
garment sector, the German Ambassador Mr. Achim Tröster assured the
continuation of support.

He concluded: “We are glad to cooperate with Bangladesh in the
textile sector and – through this study – to give strategic impulses
for further development of the sub-sector of technical textiles.”