{"id":5818,"date":"2019-05-09T12:46:22","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T06:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lfmeab.org\/?p=5818"},"modified":"2021-10-14T15:52:52","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T09:52:52","slug":"make-it-compliant-to-boost-export","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flaxa.org.bd\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/make-it-compliant-to-boost-export\/","title":{"rendered":"Make it compliant to boost export"},"content":{"rendered":"

Make it compliant to boost export<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Experts on leather sector; govt urged to make CETP at Savar fully functional<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Industry experts participate in a consultation session on the findings of the study \u201cThe leather sector after the tanning industry relocation: issues and challenges\u201d at The Daily Star Centre in Dhaka yesterday. The event was organised by The Asia Foundation and the Research and Policy Integration for Development, a non-profit organisation. Photo: Prabir Das<\/p><\/div>\n

The government should make the central effluent treatment plant at the Savar tannery estate fully functional to make the leather sector compliant and boost export, said Syed Manzur Elahi, founding chairman of Apex Footwear Ltd and Apex Tannery Ltd.
\n\u201cOur first priority should be making the CETP fully functional,\u201d he told a discussion in the capital\u2019s The Daily Star Centre yesterday.
\nThe discussion on \u201cThe leather sector after the tanning industry relocation: issues and challenges\u201d was organised by the Asia Foundation and the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID).
\nBefore they were relocated, tanneries in the capital\u2019s Hazaribagh used to produce every day about 21,600 cubic metres of environmentally hazardous effluent containing chromium, sulphur, ammonium, salt and other chemicals. These tanneries used the toxic chemicals to treat rawhides and discharged the toxic waste in the open sewers and pits completely untreated, posing serious health hazards to the people.
\nThe liquid waste ended up in the river Buriganga untreated, as none of the factories in Hazaribagh had adequate infrastructure for ETPs.
\nEventually, the government was prompted to relocate the factories to an estate where the effluents could be treated.
\nAt yesterday\u2019s event, Elahi said the leather sector would rebound globally as prices of leather products and synthetic ones have become almost similar.
\n\u201cWe also need to set up a product development centre,\u201d he said, adding that India and Vietnam had made great strides, thanks to such centres.
\nThe former caretaker government adviser also called for developing the skills of workers and mid-level managers.
\nThe relocation of the leather tanning industry from the capital\u2019s Hazaribagh to Savar has faced several hurdles including the lack of a fully functional CETP and other supporting units, according to a paper circulated at the discussion.
\n\u201cIf the quality of the CETP and other supporting units is compromised, the whole purpose of the relocation will be lost.\u201d
\nRAPID Chairman Abdur Razzaque and Prof M Abu Eusuf of the development studies at Dhaka University made a joint presentation.
\n\u201cIf there is no compliance, there will be no business for Bangladesh in the leather sector,\u201d Prof Eusuf said.
\nOne can easily spot the deficiencies by simply looking at the tannery estate, he said, adding that some improvement had taken place.
\nSehly Sadeque, assistant engineer at the BSCIC Tannery Industrial Estate, said discharge treatment was improving in Savar.
\nKhondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said tanners needed to improve their image.
\nStern actions should be taken against non-compliant factories, he added.
\nIt is very unfortunate that Bangladesh imports $1 billion worth of leather every year while the country has unused rawhide, he said.
\nLeather goods makers import the leather because many foreign buyers do not accept products made from Bangladeshi leather, he said.
\nSyeda Zakia Hossain, senior lecturer of the University of Sydney, said Bangladesh could observe the policies, processes and strategies of the countries that have fared well in the leather sector and learn from them.
\nAtiur Rahman, former governor of the central bank, said there were a fund of $200 million as well as the export development fund at the central bank that the leather sector could utilise to make the factories compliant.
\nSaiful Islam, president of Leather goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh, also spoke at the event.<\/p>\n

This article was published in The Daily Star on 6th May, 2019 and was written by their Staff Correspondent. The link of the article is provided below:<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.thedailystar.net\/frontpage\/news\/make-it-compliant-boost-export-1739203<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Make it compliant to boost export Experts on leather sector; govt urged to make CETP…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-press-release","category-3","category-11","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flaxa.org.bd\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flaxa.org.bd\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flaxa.org.bd\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flaxa.org.bd\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flaxa.org.bd\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/flaxa.org.bd\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5818\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flaxa.org.bd\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flaxa.org.bd\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flaxa.org.bd\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}