Apparel sector leaders on Tuesday said that the sector was now in a sever crisis of existence due to the ongoing confrontational politics.
Expressing deep concern over the political turmoil they said if the situation continued the export order for spring and summer might decrease by 30-40 per cent and a good number of factories would become sick.
The sector leaders at a news conference in the capital urged the government and the opposition parties to solve the crisis immediately through dialogue to ensure a business-friendly environment.
The news conference was jointly organised by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association at the BGMEA office.
BGMEA president Md Atiqul Islam said the readymade garment sector had not faced such kind of difficulties in the last 30 years.
‘The garment industry is largely depended on the international market, but recently both the prices and volume of export have decreased to the major destinations — the US and EU markets — due to recession,’ he said.
The BGMEA chief said this was the right time to explore new market but a number of buyers from Russia, China, Japan, Brazil, Argentina and South Africa who had come Bangladesh for the first time said that ‘you have failed in test case’ and went back without placing any order.
If the apparel sector loses its existence, a socio-economic disaster will take place in the country as more than five crore people are directly and indirectly depended on the sector, he said.
Replying in a question Atiqul said, ‘Businesses want to get relief from the ongoing political standoff which is hindering the economic growth. But we will not make any political comment as the crisis should be solved by the politicians.’
BKMEA president AKM Salim Osman urged all political parties to restore safety for the entrepreneurs as the image of the country was hampering in the abroad and buyers were losing their confidence.
Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar are now the main competitors of Bangladeshi apparels and some of the buyers are considering shifting their sourcing in those countries to ensure supply chain, he said.
Salim said, ‘Like Hefajat-e-Islam businesses cannot take to the street; we can only request the politicians to shun the politics of confrontation.’
BTMA president Jahangir Alamin said, ‘Not only export but also internal trade and business are now suffering most due to frequent hartals and political violence.’
There is a very big domestic market of primary textile and it depends on weekly markets in the rural areas but due to frequent hartals the weekly markets also suffer across the country, he said.
Jahangir also urged the political parties to chalk out a formula immediately to solve the ongoing political crisis.
At the press conference the BGMEA also released a data on 32 RMG factories which showed that export orders worth $25,65,000 were cancelled in January-March.
The factories had to discount money worth $11,32,000, pay extra charges worth $92,81,000 and $30,47,000 for delay in shipment and for shipping by air respectively.
The 32 factories have incurred Tk 390 crore losses during the period.
-With New Age input
