Editorial
Post-MFA scenario
There is an opportunity in the challenge
The need for keeping our garments sector buoyant in the post-MFA era cannot be overemphasised. There are basically two points of view insofar as the perceived fallout of the quota-free trade regime goes. There are the doomsday theorists who seem to see no light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. And, there are those entrepreneurs and analysts who discern a clear opportunity in the challenge to prove the staying power of the garment industry in the new trading scenario. The government must support the readymade garment manufacturers and exporters to survive in a highly competitive apparels market they have been catapulted into. The sector itself though, has to take a robust initiative in standardising different components and areas of the production processes. The areas which are likely to come under increasing buyer focus include child labour, industrial environment, safety measures and terms and conditions of service of the factory employees. In other words, the fundamentals must be strengthened further in accordance with the international standards. Manufacturing efficiency and quality of products will certainly play an important role in sustaining our niche markets and gaining new grounds. The local entrepreneurs will have to prepare themselves for competing in a completely unsheltered situation where everything will be decided on the basis of performance alone. The government, for its part, should adopt an enabling policy framework to see the sector through the critical phase of adjustment. The right kind of infrastructure has to be provided for the industry to perform to its full potential. The government must equip the entrepreneurs fully so that they can hold their own in the face of tough competition. Their capability to respond to the needs of the global market, now being flung open, has to be enhanced. The government has already taken some steps to create a supportive environment for the garments sector. The steps are basically aimed at cutting costs of the RMG units. In the present context, the government must play the role of an effective facilitator and promoter of the RMG sector as the latter did its part to tide over the most testing phase of its survival.
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