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| Tuesday, 21 December 2004 |
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Bangladesh, other Asian countries among losers as textile quotas end DHAKA, Monday (AFP) China and India have high hopes riding on the abolition of global textile quotas at the end of 2004 but for many workers in countries such as Bangladesh, there is only fear. A number of textile workers in the South Asian nation, one of the world's poorest nations, are despondent and say they do not know how they will survive. "Three months ago I lost my job as my garment factory lost all its orders (because of the end to the quotas) and now I feel totally lost," said Ankhi Akhter, 21. The garments industry underpins the economy of Bangladesh where nearly half of the 140 million population lives on less than a dollar a day. Three-quarters (5.7 billion dollars) of the country's foreign revenue comes from the industry. The United Nations Development Fund believes the end of the decades-old Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) will wipe out an estimated one million jobs as Bangladesh loses contracts to China and to a lesser extent India with their big economies of scale. Indonesia is expected to be another of the main Asian losers from the end of the quota pact guaranteeing garments producers access to lucrative markets in the US and Europe. Experts had predicted that the Philippines and Cambodia would also be badly hit by the loosening of world trade barriers but officials are upbeat about their countries' prospects in the post-MFA era. The World Trade Organisation gave nations a decade to prepare for the end of the MFA that helped nurture the garment industries of impoverished countries such as Bangladesh by granting them access to stores in the West through quotas to curb competition from more efficient suppliers. However, union and industry leaders say the outlook for Bangladesh remains bleak despite attempts to diversify. "There's nothing to make us optimistic about the future although we will have to wait until the end of next year to see the full impact," said Anisul Haque, chairman of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association. The Bangladesh organisation has said it expects a massive 40 percent of garment factories to close by the end of 2005. The industry provides direct employment to 1.8 million people in Bangladesh, 1.2 million of them women, and indirect employment to five million. Average wages are between 25 and 35 dollars a month. Nazma Akhter, president of the Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers' Federation, said the country faced a "catastrophe," adding that the industry had failed to plan sufficiently to soften the blow. In Indonesia where the industry employs 1.7 million workers many factories are expected to close. Those that remain are likely to cut between 20 and 30 percent of workers, said Lili Asudiredja, head of the Indonesian Textile Association. "Without quotas, competition will be extremely tough. We know Indonesia's competitiveness is weak because of factors such as low labour productivity and aging machinery," he said. "Apart from that, the government has yet to take measures to promote competitiveness." The industry in the Philippines, however, thought by some experts to be vulnerable in the post-MFA era, has been consolidating and downsizing for years in preparation for the changes, the divisional head for trade policy at the Garment and Textile Export Board, Chona Felix said. The end to quotas would have an impact but "we have been prepared for some time," Felix said.Cambodia was thought to be vulnerable by some but is also optimistic about the prospects for its 240,000 garments workers. A survey of 15 Western buyers accounting for nearly half the market showed that 60 percent planned to increase business with the country. The garments industry accounts for 90 per cent of export earnings. |
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