Buyers cancel, delay work orders: BGMEA

Staff Reporter :
The country’s apparel manufacturers claimed that the international retailers and brands have been cancelling, delaying or putting work orders on hold in garment factories because of volatile global economic situation and for unsold stockpiling of the clothing items in their stores.
“The garment factories are currently running below capacity. Even, a number of factories have suspended production for two to three days a week due to the turmoil economic situation caused by Russia-Ukraine war,” said Faruque Hassan, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
He was speaking at a press meet at the BGMEA office in the capital on Tuesday.
Urging the government for reconsidering gas and power prices, he said, “The hiked prices will create an extra burden on the cost of production to be competitive in the global markets.”
Under the circumstances, the RMG sector is unable to bear the burden of sudden price hikes of electricity and gas, he said.
The BGMEA President also expressed concerns over the theft of export-bound goods on highways and urged authorities to take appropriate measures to stop such incidents as well as bring the responsible to accountability.
“If necessary the law should be amended to make tough provision to punish the thieves who are involved in robberies of goods laden cargoes on the highways as such incidents downgrade the image of the country and the sector to the international communities,” the BGMEA President said.
Alleging some dishonest officials of the RMG industry are involved with the heinous activities, Faruque said, “These unscrupulous officials with the miscreants are looting the export goods.”
Bringing discipline in highways, the BGMEA placed five proposals-installation of CC cameras on Dhaka-Chattogram highway by March, ensuring punishment by arresting the miscreants, source of goods must be confirmed in the case of stocklot export and detectives should also be used to arrest the thieves.
Besides, a database for Covered Van Owners Association, Transport Agency Owners Association, Covered Van Drivers and Helpers should be prepared and handed over to concerned stakeholders, he added.
BGMEA Vice-Presidents S M Mannan Kochi, Md Shahidullah Azim and Director Mohiuddin Rubel, among others, were present at the press meet.