Monday, September 9, 2002		Feature

Online garment fair in Bangladesh
Ershadul Huq

WANT some colourful, stylish garments from Bangladesh?

Log on and order away.

A virtual trade fair is on at www.bangladeshgarments.info -a Website designed by garment traders in the country for which the sector is the biggest export earner.

The site put up by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) showcases 3,500 units, in what is being billed as a trade fair sans shelves or salespersons. The Website is a cornucopia of information regarding garment lines, price tags, fabric description, quality of wares, international certification, floor space and manpower among other things.

One can even see the factories that churn out the products with the help of video clips. Information on the sector, which fetches $2 billion or 65 per cent of Bangladesh's foreign exchange, is just a click away. IT and Bangladeshi ready made garment (RMG) makers began collaborating for the project in July.

DataSoft Systems Bangladesh Ltd, one of the leading software shops of the country, and E-Vastra Corporation, an organisation of expatriate Bangladeshis in the US, designed the Website.

DataSoft managing director Mahbub Zaman said the site is a major success.

Its launch has put the country's garment industry online. "This will take Bangladesh to the global stage in a bigger way and make the sector's access to the international market easier," he said. Amir Chowdhury of E-Vastra said the RMG sector was the lifeline of the Bangladesh economy. Despite a range of unfriendly factors, its position is strong, he said.

Bangladesh's garment industry, which is facing stiff competition in the international market and which has had to close down 1,300 units, employees 1.3 million people, 90 percent of who are women.

Once the sector used to rely on telephone, telex and fax for foreign trade. Then came e-mail, but as the facility could not cope with needs, the BGMEA decided to go online.Chowdhury said Bangladesh's competitors in the global RMG market-India, Sri Lanka, China, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Mauritius, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe - had scored with the help of Web portals.