Bangabandhu and Bangladesh's apparel industry

One of the aspirations of our War of Liberation in 1971 was to achieve  economic emancipation, which would lead to a happy and prosperous Bangladesh. It is true that after the nine-month war we achieved independent Bangladesh, but at the same time we inherited a shattered economy. 

The country had one of the lowest levels of urbanisation and industrialisation in the world. Its economy was heavily  dependent on agriculture. Newly independent Bangladesh had very few  export-oriented industries, as major industries had been developed in the then West Pakistan due to the attitude and policies of the government. Our average GDP growth rate was only 2.4% while  the export earnings were $327 million. Even cynics regarded the country as a 'basket case' that was likely to remain dependent on foreign  aid. 

The war had destroyed the country, not our morale. The Father of the  Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman started the new struggle for  rebuilding the war-ravaged country from the rubble. But the task appeared herculean with limited resources. Infrastructure had been totally destroyed, millions of refugees had streamed into the cities with hopes of help, and the floods in July and August 1974 caused damage to more than a million tonnes of food-grains and hampered jute exports worth$10-$l5 million, crippling the economy. 

To overcome the situation and expand trade in the newly independent country, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman visited the US, Iraq, Egypt and Kuwait. During July, August, September and October of 1974, Bangabandhu sent his senior ministers and government officials to hold a series of meetings with various international agencies and leaders of  developed and Middle Eastern countries to apprise them of the economic crisis in Bangladesh.

Bangabandhu's visit to the US to address the UN General Assembly was a historic breakthrough in revealing Bangladesh on the world stage. On 10 June 1974, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution recommending to the General Assembly the admission of Bangladesh as a member of the world body. On 18 September, Bangladesh was formally admitted and on 25 September, Bangabandhu as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh addressed the General Assembly in Bangla. This diplomatic win of Bangabandhu formed the cornerstone of economic relations for Bangladesh with the rest of the world.  

Bangabandhu set up the Planning Commission in February 1972 with Nurul Islam as Deputy Chairman, along with Rehman Sobhan and Muzaffar Ahmad as its members, to formulate development strategies for Bangladesh. In order to meet the financial needs in different sectors,  Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation, Bangladesh Shilpa Bank, and Bangladesh Shilpa Rin Sangstha were set up under state ownership. 

Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) was established to control the import business. The Jute Marketing Corporation, the Jute Stabilisation Corporation and the Jute Export Corporation were also set  up. 

In the initial years, the country's exports consisted mostly of raw jute and  a few jute items. These accounted for about nine-tenths of the total  export revenue of $377 million during the fiscal year 1972-73. But the 'Golden Fibre' gradually lost its golden days. To accelerate GDP  growth and create employment for a huge populace with a low 18% literacy rate were the biggest challenges for Bangladesh. 

In his very first speech in independent Bangladesh, Bangabandhu called upon the people of the country to participate in nation-building, to create employment, and to improve trade and commerce. He also urged to increase the export of goods from  the country to improve the fate of the nation. 

Some entrepreneurs with patriotic zeal paid heed to the call. They considered the ready-made garment industry (RMG) as the best solution for creating employment for the huge unskilled and illiterate population. Nurool Quader, a freedom fighter and former civil servant, pioneered the readymade garment industry in Bangladesh. In 1978, he sent 130 trainees to South Korea where they learned how to produce apparels. With those trainees, he set up the first factory, Desh Garment, to produce garments only for export. Following in his footsteps, other prudent and hardworking entrepreneurs started the RMG business in the country. Since then, the Bangladesh garment industry has not looked behind. 

Bangladesh is now the second largest readymade garment exporting country in the world after China. However, the journey to this envious success was not a smooth one. For instance, the European Union (EU) suspended the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for Bangladesh  in the first tenure of the Awami League government. But the GSP facility under the able leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was restored with intense negotiation with the EU. Then the country faced an unprecedented flood in 1998, and the then Awami League government managed the shipments of merchandise through special flights and seaways as most of the land of industrial zones were submerged. 

Then in 2005, the Multi Fiber Agreement expired and the Bangladeshi  garment exporters started facing stiff competition in the world. However, local exporters could face the setback successfully. The sector was faring well until the sudden devastating fire at Tazreen Fashions in  November 2012 at Ashulia. This time too, the sector successfully coped with the setback. 

Then the deadliest Rana Plaza building collapse happened in April 2013. In the aftermath of the incident, the European clothing retailers and brands formed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and the North American buyers formed the Alliance for Bangladesh Workers Safety to strengthen workplace safety in the country. The two foreign safety  inspection agencies completed their more than five-year long inspections and recommended remediation measures, which the industry completed and transformed itself as the safest apparel sourcing destination in the world.

We have not only made significant improvements in workplace safety, but have also made big strides in sustainability. Bangladesh now has the highest number of green garment factories in the world.  

When the unprecedented Covid-19 hit the industry hard last year, the resilient apparel entrepreneurs of  Bangladesh came back even stronger. With timely government stimulus packages announced by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the country's RMG sector, the entrepreneurs could face the shocks of the  pandemic with confidence and are now concentrating on moving the industry further  forward.  

Bangladesh's apparel industry has had a lot of successes over the journey of  more than four decades. The sector's contribution to the national GDP is  now more than 15%. The industry employs nearly 4 million workers, majority of whom are women having migrated from the rural areas. The sector helped to dramatically empower women. And the country's SMEs are also largely dependent on this sector.  

Despite strong reservations against Bangladesh, Dr Henry Kissinger,  during his 19-hour visit to the country in October 1974, described Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as a "man of vast conceptions" and stated that "without him, Bangladesh would not have existed." Within only three years, seven months and five days (from 10 January 1972 to 15 August 1975) Bangabandhu laid the foundation of our economic emancipation. 

The apparel industry played the role of a catalyst in achieving that economic emancipation. Bangabandhu dreamt of a Bangladesh that is self-reliant and that exists in the world stage with self-dignity. The onus is now on us to make the dream a reality.  

Md Siddiqur Rahman is the Industries and Trade Affairs Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League. He is Chairman of Sterling Group and former President of  Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).