Bangladesh State Minister for Finance MA Mannan, attending the inauguration ceremony of the 15th Dhaka International Textile and Garments Machinery Exhibition, being held at the capital’s Bangabandhu International Conference Center as the chief guest said the Textile is the mother of industries and that the government will do everything possible to boost the country’s textile industry. The state minister also urged for assistance from the business community to help the government achieve these goals.

Mohammad Ali Khokon, the acting president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), said that investment in the textile sector has slowed down in recent times, citing the unavailability of adequate gas and good quality power and land as the main reasons.

The improvements in the power sector are not enough to run their heavy textile industry, the gas sector still has a huge deficit, which is a major concern for their primary textile sector. BTMA, mentioning the government’s initiative to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), urged the government to accelerate the process so that the current crisis of power can be overcome soon.

This year’s exhibition which kicked off yesterday is hosting 1,200 booths booked by 1,100 exhibitors from 36 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany and many more.

Some of the products being displayed at this years exhibition include knitting machines by leading brands such as Mayer & Cie, Karl Mayer, Pai Lung, Santoni, quality color measuring equipment by Konica Minolta, high-caliber printing machines by M&R, spinning machines by LMW, Rieter, Saurer, Schlafhorst, Truetzschler and Murata, as well as state-of-the-art weaving machines by Toyota, Picanol, Staubli, and SMIT.

Exhibits are also scheduled to cover other accessories and technologies from leading international brands, including Loepfe, Groz-Beckert, Graf+Cie, and USTER.

Bangladesh is now the 2nd largest RMG exporters in the world. Textile and garment industry is the most important segment of Bangladesh's manufacturing industry, accounting for 80% of total export earnings and employing 4.4 million people.