FE Report

The country's garment manufacturers go to polls on Tuesday to elect their new leader in the wake of the worst global recession since the Second World War that has cast a long shadow over their future prospects.

The election of the Bangladesh Garment Manufectuers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) pits two leading garment entrepreneurs, Shahadat Hossain Kiron of Dekko and Abdus Salam Murshedy of Envoy groups, vying for the post of president for next two years.

Leading separate panels, the Forum and Sammilita Parishad, into the polls in which 2678 manufacturers will cast their votes, the two candidates have promised to face the global recession head-on and spearhead the sector into new era of growth.

The election comes at a time when global garment trade is witnessing a double-digit decline due to the worst world financial crisis in decades, with analysts forcasting gloomy days ahead for the local manufacturers.

Chief of Sammalita Parishad Abdus Salam Murshedy told the FE Sunday that he would take appropriate measures to combat the challenges being faced by the country's more than 4000 apparel factories amid recession.

"I have been successfully running a top apparel company over the past twenty years. I do know how to face the challenges in the most difficult of times," Murshedy, a former national booter, said.

Murshedy said his top priority would be to enhance the image of the country and the garment sector in particular if he is elected president of the trade body.

"I know the challenges ahead are very very difficult, but we will strive hard and take action-orinted plans to make Bangladesh the number one apparel exporting nation in the world in the near future," he said.

Currently, Bangladesh is the second largest apparel exporting country in the world followed by China , according to the International Monetary Fund.

Murshedy said he would also take steps to build a congenial owner-worker relationship in an effort to ensure a peaceful atmosphere in the industry.

Sahadat Hossain Kiran, panel leader of Forum, said he would draw a set of strategies to double garment export from Bangladesh in less than five years time.

"If we can adopt path-breaking strategies, we can even glean maximum benefits from this global economic recession. My plan would be to take apparel export to US$ 25 billion by 2013," Kiron said.

In the 2007-08 fiscal year, Bangladesh exported apparel worth US$ 10.7 billion, which accounts for some 76 per cent of the coutry's total shipments.

"We want to make BGMEA competent and research-oriented so that our exporters can be able to negotiate both at home and abraod," he said.

Kiron said his group would also find new sites to relocate factories from the capital.

He also pledged that he would initiate move to issue bond licenses and renewal through BGMEA instead of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

Candidates from, the two panels are also vying for 27 posts of directors. Some 556 manufacturers from the port city of Chittagong will also cast their votes.