Political Unrest Losses
Govt to give stimulus to RMG exporters
Finance minister AMA Muhith on Thursday said readymade garment exporters will be given stimulus to recoup the losses they have incurred because of lingering political unrest. He, however, told reporters that the incentives were not finalised after a meeting with the officials of central bank, revenue board, ministry of
finance and the state-owned commercial banks at his secretariat office.
To finalise the incentives, they would sit again with the RMG exporters, he said.
He noted that some RMG exporters might become loan defaulters without the government assistance.
Recently, leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association at a meeting with Muhith
demanded arrangement of a special loan package including low-interest credit for paying workers’ wages and blocking of term loans without any interest for next two years.
The readymade garment exporters wanted relax of rules of loan classification for two years and waiving of additional charges at Chittagong port against the backdrop of ongoing political unrest.
The RMG exporters said production at the RMG factories reduced by 10 per cent while growth of the sector stood at only 2 per cent in last October. The exporters said they were forced to send 1,32,000 tonnes of apparels in air freight and incurred loss of Tk 4,000 crore between January and September.
The business leaders said the RMG exporters were facing a lot of challenges including political instability, labour unrest and implementation of the new wages with 76 per cent hike.
Putting pressure on the successive governments by the RMG exporters for additional incentives is a common phenomenon. Last month, the
government lowered the export tax slightly in addition to providing cash incentive.
-With New Age input
