A business team comprising representatives from Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Cotton Association visited Gujarat to select a garment warehousing site to be constructed by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to boost exports to India.
The team led by Abdul Matlub Ahmed, president, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry went round public and private sites in Gujarat and discussed with government high-ups and top businessmen there to establish a warehouse to market clothing items across India and set up garment and yarn factories.
Ahmad said that the Indian government has accepted Bangladesh’s proposals and agreed to allocate lands to establish the business hub in Gujarat. Bangladesh looks to establish the hub as the country seeks to boost its annual garment exports to the Indian market to 1 billion US Dollar in three years from about 100 million US Dollar now.
Bangladesh has been trying to sign a deal with India for many years now to maintain a steady supply of cotton to Bangladesh as India sometimes stops the supply of the fibre without prior notice. As a result, Bangladesh’s textile and garment sectors face troubles. So, they have proposed to establish some yarn manufacturing units in India so that they can spin yarn from cotton and send it back to Bangladesh for a steady supply of the raw material.
The warehouse, garment factories and spinning mills would be constructed and operated by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs, India will only allocate the lands. It is also an opportunity for India to receive foreign direct investment and create jobs, Ahmad said.
The BGMEA had demanded 50 acres of land in India to establish the warehouse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka in June.
Demand for Bangladeshi garments is high among the growing middle class in India thanks to lower prices. India is a big market for them, with an annual retail size of over 40 billion US Dollar for the growing middle-class consumers, Reaz-Bin-Mahmood, vice-president of BGMEA said.
