Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry needs to increase its value addition through developing backward linkages in research and development, training, technology innovation, designing, fashion and by using its own fabrics and machinery.

Overall exports (including garments) rose four per cent in January 2017 compared to January 2016 and exports increased 6.43 per cent from December to January.

In the first seven months of financial year 2017 overall exports reached 20.11 billion dollars, of which garment exports accounted for 80 per cent.

In order for Bangladesh to achieve a readymade garment export target of 50 billion dollars by 2020, it is imperative to address some problems in the energy, labor, infrastructure and financial sectors. To achieve this more than 12.25 per cent export growth is needed every year.

Bangladesh's garment products are facing hard competition with some other Asian countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, India and Sri Lanka. Garment exports to the US, Bangladesh’s biggest market, slid by 1.49 per cent from January to November 2016. The sector also saw a 5.19 per cent drop in exports to the UK, the third largest importer during that time.

A training program has been launched for some eight lakh readymade garment workers in Bangladesh.