What next for Bangladesh?

The collapse of the eight-storey Rana Plaza in the Savar district of Dhaka on April 24 that killed 1,127 people was clearly a terrible human disaster. It has led to recriminations, soul-searching about the standards in Bangladesh’s $20 billion readymade garment industry RMG and government action. But, not least, it has also turned the focus on the country’s other potential export sectors as a way to move up the value chain.

Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter of RMG after China, and accounts for 80% of its exports. The industry employs 3.5 million workers 80% of whom are women in 5,400 factories.

It has been an...