We must address the RMG sector’s crisis to keep it growing in global economic volatility

International clothing retailers and brands are either cancelling their orders to garment factories in Bangladesh or putting them on hold because of the persisting volatility in the global economy, higher inflation, and stockpiling of unsold goods. Inflation in Europe and the US as well as many other export destinations has remained at an elevated level despite falling in recent months, meaning a continued struggle for consumers.
 Many international retailers have cancelled orders for the goods that are ready to be shipped from factories. Buyers are even asking many local suppliers to share the losses they are incurring owing to the fall in sales caused by a lower demand. In this background, BGMEA asked the government to reconsider the implementation of the latest hike in gas and power tariffs since the spike in energy costs would create an extra burden on the manufacturers and affect their competitiveness in the global markets.
 The government on January 31 raised the electricity tariff by 5 per cent at the retail level, the second hike in 19 days. On January 18, it increased the retail price of gas by 14.5 per cent to 178.9 per cent for industries, power plants and commercial establishments. If the prices of energy are adjusted downwards in the local market following the decline in prices of liquified natural gas, the prices of many other things will fall in the domestic market.
 Despite the economic volatility at home and abroad stemming from the dragging Russia-Ukraine war and the global energy crisis, the shipment of garment items from Bangladesh is increasing. The garment shipment, which accounted for about 85 per cent of national exports, rose 14.31 per cent year-on-year to $27.41 billion in the July-January period of the current financial year.
 Moreover, a lot of orders are moving away from countries such as China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Myanmar to Bangladesh, helping the readymade garment sector to keep growing even during turbulent times. If economic volatility is fate, we must overcome it by our efforts.