Apparel and textile exporters in Bangladesh on Thursday urged the government to allow the operation of export oriented factories during the strict restrictions from July 23 to August 5 to ‘avert the export tumble and bankruptcy of entrepreneurs.’
They made the appeal in a letter to prime minister Sheikh Hasina saying that if the factories remain closed for 18-20 days due to the restrictions and the Eid-ul-Azha, the country would lose export orders for late summer, Christmas and winter.
Apparel and textile sector leaders submitted the letter to cabinet secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam in a meeting at the Secretariat in Dhaka.
Apparel sector businesses said that the meeting yielded no decision regarding opening of RMG factories and they will sit further on Saturday.
‘We have a meeting with cabinet secretary and placed a letter to the prime minister. In the meeting, we explained our situation and the government will announce its decision on Saturday regarding the operation RMG and textile factories during the lockdown from July 23 to August 5,’ Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Faruque Hassan told reporters after the meeting.
The Cabinet Division on July 13 issued a notification, which was published in the Bangladesh Gazette, relaxing the restrictions on public movement and businesses from July 14 midnight to July 23 morning for celebration of the Eid on July 21 and pre-Eid economic activities and imposing fresh restrictions from July 23 to August 5 to contain the spread of Covid.
According to the notification, all industries and factories will remain closed from July 23 to August 5 although the factories were in operations during the restrictions enforced previously by the government.
The government imposed restrictions on movement and business activities several times following the detection of the novel coronavirus in March 2020, keeping RMG sector and other industries out of the restrictions.
First time, the government on July 13 directed that all industries and factories will remain closed during the restrictions to be enforced from July 23, 6:00am till August 5 midnight.
Leaders of BGMEA, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, Bangladesh Garments Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Terry Towel and Linen Manufacturers and Exporters Association in their joint letter requested the prime minister to allow the operation of the RMG factories soon after Eid-ul-Azha.
The letter said that the interruption in export for one month would disrupt the export schedule for next six months.
The trade bodies claimed that the workers were passing disciplined and healthy hours in workplaces and if the factories remain close for 18-20 days workers would move to rural areas and return to their workplaces amid high risk of contracting Covid-19.
BGMEA president Faruque Hassan said that the risks of infection in the factories are minimal as workers do not have any scope for unnecessary movement during working hours.
One the other hand, RMG sector were receiving increased number of orders as the US and EU started opening their business and buyers would hold their orders if the factory remain close for long time in the country, he said.
‘Bangladesh is now receiving huge number of export orders which are highest in past 20 years. If the factories remain close at this stage, the country will lose its potential markets,’ the BTMA president Mohammad Ali Khokon told New Age.
